Is the RKBA Safe, for Now?: ...So far, there is no sign of incipient serious gun action on the Hill, or out of the White House. Two new bills that have generated much gun community chatter are sitting mostly sponsorless for now in the Judiciary Committee. Second Amendment enthusiasts are excited about Florida Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns's National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 (H.R. 197) (co-sponsored by Virginia Democrat Rick Boucher), which would create cross-state reciprocity for states that issue concealed carry permits, allowing a gun owner who has one in his home state to essentially use it in other states. (Stearns has authored essentially similar bills in the past, which got nowhere.) ... (Big Brother may be a pragmatist but, if his less pragmatic brethren in Congress send him an infringement bill, will he veto it?) http://www.reason.com/news/show/131352.html --- The Len Savage Case Revisited: An expert who testified against the government in a disputed Wisconsin gun case involving what the defense has described as a "broken" gun says federal agents ever since have been retaliating and the government's actions are costing his business hundreds of thousands of dollars... The dispute stems from Savage's testimony during a Wisconsin gun dispute. There a man loaned out a gun, it fired several shots at one time at a gun range, and the federal government prosecuted him for transferring a "machine gun." ...The agent whose opinion Savage had contradicted, Max Kingery, shortly after was assigned by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to review a gun part that Savage was proposing to build and sell as part of his business... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87535 --- Off-Duty Officer Shot with Own Gun: A 49-year-old off-duty Los Angeles police officer was in serious condition Saturday night after being shot in the shoulder during a struggle with two assailants who approached him as he was leaving his City Terrace home, police said... Police said Razo and one attacker were armed with handguns. During the struggle, Razo's weapon dropped and was picked up by one of the assailants and used to shoot the officer in the upper region of his right shoulder, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said... "Now you understand why gun and gang violence should be our priority," L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at a morning news conference... (Does this mean that the mayor wants to disarm officers for their own saftery?) http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-officer-shot1-2009feb01,0,4684170.story --- Ruger .327 Magnum Issues: ...A friend of mine and I were shooting his SP101 .327 a week ago and it would intermittently lock up or act like there were filings in the action. He called Ruger last Monday and was told that there "was a problem with the cylinders" and that they (Ruger) were not yet sure "how to fix it". They offered to several options to rectify his situation and there is no complaint from him concerning Ruger, per se. (I am not yet sure what option he chose.) In short, Ruger does seem aware of the problem and is seeking or possibly found a solution. (This is but one more example of why waiting to buy a "new" anything in the firearm world is not a bad thing. The design is proven in the much more common .357 and that revolver's a favorite of mine but the idea of a six-shooter from an original five-shooter was enough change that I thought I'd sit back a while...) ... http://www.stoppingpower.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16507 --- From John Farnam: 29 Jan 09 Pig-hunting in FL: Yesterday, while pig-hunting with friends in south FL, I shot a large, wild pig at a range of two meters, as a part of a culling operation. He was ensconced in a thicket, facing me (turned slightly to the left), and he was coming out directly toward me! I had only a two-second window to engage him. He was a big, plump male, with three-inch tusks, weighing in at 250 pounds. He is the biggest pig I've ever shot! I used my RA/XCR in 7.62X39, equipped with a forward-mounted Aimpoint T1, Laser Devices co-axial flashlight, and loaded with Cor-Bon/123gr/DPX. As I nervously approached the thicket, I used my mounted LD flashlight to peer into the darkness. I finally saw the pig's tusks, and it was only then that I figured out what I was looking at. It was actually identifying the tusks that enabled me to see the rest of the animal. Allowing for optical-offset, I put the Aimpoint dot on the base of the pig's right ear. I fired two shots in rapid succession. Both struck the pig just under his right eye and ranged on into his neck and chest. Neither exited. The pig's reaction was to take one step backward and then fall on his side. He was DRT within seconds! His charge was truncated in an instant. I was delighted, once more, with the performance of DPX. In 7.62X39, it makes a more-than-adequate hog-killer! Had I been relying on iron sights, my shot would have been more difficult, as we were under a heavy canopy, having just come in from bright, afternoon sunlight. Once under the canopy, it was dim indeed! My Aimpoint dot was actually too bright for the environment, as I had not had the opportunity to dial it down as we closed in on the pig, but it was still useable, and I could see around it sufficiently to located and identify my target. My XCR ran perfectly, and, combined with the Aimpoint T1, and DPX, it makes a formidable patrol rifle- and hog-gun. Co-axial flashlights are indispensable! /John (John seems to have good results with medium-power rifle DPX loads, typically on medium-size game. No one seems to dispute the effectiveness of DPX handgun loads. However, I have seen reports that DPX bullets are not the best performers in full-power rifle cartridges used on large game. Note the need to adjust the intensity of the Aimpoint dot according to light conditions. I understand that this is an issue for our troops, when they leave sunlit streets to enter houses.) 31 Jan 09 Rifle Quirks: At a recent Urban Rifle Course I, naturally, had students shooting from various prone positions. We were using an outdoor range, and our shooting position was a grass-covered mound. However, while shooting with the muzzle close to the ground, a good deal of dust was invariably stirred up by muzzle turbulence. A student, using an AR-15 in 223, had a Safariland Rapid-Light affixed to the right side, on a portion of rail near the front of the forend. The light worked perfectly, but, after our prone exercises, the lens was heavily coated of with multiple layers of dust. Subsequently, during our low-light exercise, we all noticed how dim the light was! Neither my student, nor I, noticed the dusty lens, and we both mistakenly concluded that the batteries were weak! When we finally saw the real problem and wiped off the lens, normal brightness was restored. It is amazing to me how much a flashlight beam is dulled by even a light coating a dust on the lens! Something about which to think after you've been shooting with the muzzle close to the deck! Another AR-15 had an aftermarket, add-on rail clamped into the top of the carrying-handle. It was held in place, only finger-tight, by a single screw. Even when tightened as much as we could, there was still noticeable horizontal play in the rail. The shooter had an Aimpoint T1 mounted as far forward on the rail as he could get it. Two difficulties reared their ugly heads: (1) The optic was so high above the boreline (nearly five inches), the shooter had to add an after-market, clamp-on cheek-piece to the stock in order to get any kind of cheek-weld. The cheek-piece adamantly refused to stay put, and, in addition, interfered with normal operation of the charging-handle! (2) Thus set up, the rifle would not hold zero! We were compelled to re-zero it several times during the day, but it still drifted off within a few dozen rounds. An unacceptable arrangement! My conclusion is that clamp-on rails, on top of AR-15 carrying-handles, upon which optics are subsequently mounted, are invariably too high, and too unsubstantial, to render satisfactory service. When a rifleman has dubious confidence in his zero, both he, and his rifle, are close to useless, except at pistol ranges. Icy sureness of the continuous legitimacy of one's zero is an absolute necessity for any rifleman. Accordingly, flimsy mounts for optics and/or iron-sights are a death-trap. Not recommended on any rifle used for serious purposes! /John (I have experienced similar clouding of the lens, with powder residue, on an early-generation SureFire light that was mounted for me, by an associate, too close to the muzzle of a shotgun. I have subsequently moved the light as far back as the mounting system allows. A cleaning patch moistened with a water-base bore solvent, such as M-Pro-7, is an excellent way to remove such material, with minimal risk of scratching the lens. The carry-handle mount of optics on AR-15's and M16's was an early expedient that elevates the sighting plane outside normal limits, albeit not as severely as the mounting of the first-generation infrared sniperscope on the M3 variant of the M1 Carbine. Anyone intending to mount optics on an AR-15 should select a flat-top variant that provides both a solid mounting and an appropriate sighting plane.) --- From Force Science Research Center: III. A fascinating look behind the statistics of fatal shootings Reading mere statistics, even on a subject as vital as officer-involved shootings, can glaze your eyes after awhile. So it's refreshing--and valuable--to come upon an in-depth treatment of deadly force that adds flesh and bones to stark numbers. Such is a fascinating new book, Pulling the Trigger: A 25-Year Study of Deadly Force Encounters by Law Enforcement, by former FBI agent Larry Brubaker. Across 373 pages, Brubaker reports in detail on 110 fatal shootings by municipal cops, sheriffs' deputies, and state peace officers--every ballistic confrontation, in fact, in which suspects where killed in the State of Minnesota from 1981 through 2005. The statistics are compiled: the weapons used, the number of officers on the scene, the gender, age, and experience on each, and so on. But the meat of the book is in the narrative reconstructions Brubaker has put together about the encounters themselves. They run a broad gamut, showing step by step how the volatile, deadly mix of officer, offender, and circumstances actually exploded into gunfire. There are bank robberies, SWAT operations, pursuits, armed robberies, domestics, suicides-by-cop, man-with-a-gun calls, EDP encounters, accidental shootings, off-duty confrontations, drug-related matters, replica weapons--the down-and-dirty works of everyday policing that sometimes spins bad. "What Brubaker documents can be projected to virtually any state, and he presents a rich source of instructional material for creative trainers who can use his narratives for scenario ideas and tactical discussions that can improve officers' chances of surviving a gunfight," says Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Research Center. One of Brubaker's sons is an officer on St. Paul PD. Another, now serving in the Army, assisted FSRC in some of its early time-and-motion studies regarding action/reaction in shooting situations. Brubaker himself spent much of his FBI career as a trainer and crisis negotiator. He was a charter member of the International Homicide Investigators Assn. Pulling the Trigger can be ordered online at: www.galdepress.com ================ The Force Science News is provided by The Force Science Research Center, a non-profit institution based at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Subscriptions are free and sent via e-mail. To register for your free, direct-delivery subscription, please visit www.forcesciencenews.com and click on the registration button. (c) 2009: Force Science Research Center, www.forcescience.org. Reprints allowed by request. For reprint clearance, please e-mail: info@forcesciencenews.com. FORCE SCIENCE is a registered trademark of The Force Science Research Center, a non-profit organization based at Minnesota State University, Mankato. ================ -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .