Day at the Range

Since I couldn't make it to the NRA convention this year, I celebrated by putting a bunch of lead downrange with some friends, including a new shooter. Just look at that nervous anticipation:


Marlin 60SS




RIA 1911A1:



Fooling around a little.

VZ24:




Some more friends and family showed up after we took a break for lunch.

K98 Mauser:

Charles-Daly 12 Ga:


SAR-1:




Colt AR-15:



And just a little more fun.


Group Shot of part of our 'Unorganized Militia':



It was a fun day despite the rain.

Selective Quotes and Claims of Mandates

The site 'Think Progress' went to the NRA convention to ask members about the 'Terror Gap'. After interviewing 'dozens' (out of tens of thousands) they managed to find a few people who weren't informed on the issue, quoted them and the MAIG push poll, and are now claiming
" rank-and-file NRA members disagree with their leadership."

Uh huh, sure.

In contrast, my non-scientific poll on the side is more representative of firearm owners since I have more responses than they do.

Again I put this down to a failure of information dissemination. I encountered the same thing at the 2008 convention where a large percentage of the people had not heard about gun control advocates fabricating a story for CNN. We and the NRA need to get better at this.

NRA 2010 Annual Meeting Day 2 (2nd Hand)

Really wish I was there:

Annual Meeting: what's happening Saturday

Proof of life

Charlotte Observer estimates 16,000 attended today's Celebration of American Values

Meet your friendly neighborhood gun blogger at the 2010 Annual Meeting

Annual Meeting's Antique Guns & Gold Showcase draws quite the crowd

Annual Meeting of the Members is underway in Ballrooms A-B

Law Seminar: Halbrook and Lund

Bushmaster ACR

Typical

Size does matter

Big Brass Ones

Cute kid at air gun range

Antiques

Tactical Coach Gun

1911 in 22LR

Random Shots

Quick pictures from the floor!

NRA 2010 Annual Meeting Day 1 (2nd Hand)

*Sigh

Socializing at the NRA annual meeting

Liveblogging Sarah Palin’s speech.

Joe has pics and report

Xrlq had pics.

Pics from countertop.

QUote of the Day

View from the Media Room

Checking in from Charlotte

Chris Cox Goes After Media

First day of Annual Meeting sees record crowds

Sarah Palin speaks at NRA's Celebration of American Values

Annual Meeting Sportsmens Brunch brings together "900 close friends"

Weekend Wildlife

Camera's set.


Coyote in the mist

Mottled or just shadows?

Running deer

Defending the Defenseless

45 Superman has informed me that Michael Bellesiles is coming out w/ a new book about violence in the late 19th Century.

I won't critique this current book, I hope that he's seen the light on proper research, but what's telling is that even his defenders can't get the facts straight:

"Michael Bellesiles is perhaps most famous as the target of an infamous "swiftboating" campaign by the National Rifle Association, following the publication of his Bancroft Prize-winning book Arming America"

IIRC, the NRA had nothing to do w/ the initial discoveries and the people involved state that directly:

anyone who knows my politics would never associate me with the National Rifle Association."

So this is a typical case of the belief that anything and everything that has to do w/ a pro-gun message (or anti anti-gun) is funded and organized by the NRA( just like the claims that the Zumbo affair was initiated by the NRA.) and therefore can be dismissed out of hand.

So much easier than relying on facts and evidence.

More at Volokh, SIH, Saysuncle.

Not a Functional Brain in the Lot

In regards to that Chicago 'Gun Buyback' that we're still trying to determine the funding of?

Virtually all of the guns turned in Saturday at Uptown aren’t the kind likely to be used to commit crimes.

“There’s not a functional gun in the lot,” said Sgt. Alex Silva, a 23rd District CAPS officer.

And that folks, says it all about the effectiveness of these turn-ins.

Brady Campaign Wants More Gun Deaths

Paul Helmke et al join other irrelevant gun control groups in opposing Eddie Eagle without offering any sort of alternative.

Beyond the quoting of an incomplete study and the (shock) VPC they admit to the real reason they oppose it, they don't like the NRA:

it's difficult for me to believe that the NRA leadership is serious about gun safety for children or anybody else.

Well that and they're jealous that nobody's listening to them anymore.

Of course we'll never see an alternative from them beyond 'Get rid of guns'. Not only because they couldn't afford to develop one but it would distract from their real goal.

Gura v Helmke

In an effort to garner some media attention, Paul Helmke of the Brady Bunch will be debating Alan Gura Friday May 14th in Charlotte, NC.

Seeing Helmke's smile wiped off his face would be a wonderful start to the annual meeting. Wish I could be there.

Wishful Thinking

From the Joyce puppet site 'Stop Gun Deaths' comes this little bit of fantasy:

#Gun lobby worried that #kids don't #hunt, see future collapse of agenda;

That's quite a claim coming from the linked article they use. Especially in contrast to evidence like this and this.

I guess it's easier to close your eyes, cover your ears and yell "WE'RE WINNING!!!" instead of looking at reality.

But it does bring up an interesting question. While keeping kids interested in outside activities (including the shooting sports) is, without a doubt, important, what age did most people get involved?

I've never hunted and have no real interest in starting. I only went shooting w/ my dad once when I was about 10 and didn't shoot recreationally again until my mid-20's, about 10 years ago. Now I'm not only involved in the political side of things, but I enjoy target shooting, plinking, and collecting even though I don't get involved in organized competitions.

So when did you get involved/interested in hunting and/or shooting? Take the poll. Tell your story.

When is a Slippery Slope not a Slippery Slope?

When they're trying to get votes.

Holder on the AZ illegal immigration law:

that "we could potentially get on a slippery slope where people will be picked on because of how they look as opposed to what they have done."

But Holder on 'Terrorist Suspects':

I think we have to give serious consideration to at least modifying that public-safety exception [to the Miranda protections].

And we're all well aware of the support for denying people their rights based off of inclusion on super secret lists.

So where is the "Hope and Change" we were all promised? All I've seen is a continuation of the Bush Doctrine.

This is what it all boils down to " The 2010 census is expected to show a large increase in Hispanic population."

Yeah. Votes.