Instead of trying to come up with an original post while crammed into a hotel room with 2 small kids on our annual excursion to the coast I’ll post a roundup of observations from my fellow gunbloggers.

Starting off we have some Thomas Jefferson coverage with The Declaration of Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms and more coverage of Citizens, Not Subjects over at Sispey Street Irregulars.

You can read the Declaration of Independence from Boots & Sabers and Walls of the City.

Borepatch looks at what the Founding Fathers would think of the Tea Party movement. New Jovian Thunderbolt has some awesome videos of Anvil Shooting, a 4th of July tradition.

Les Jones has a bunch of cool infrared pics of fireworks, and Breda has John Adams’ thoughts on the even of Independence.

I will update this post as the day progresses, and I have time between trips to the beach.

Flag credit to Jonathon Colman

And Thomas Jefferson realized this after writing the 1st draft of the Declaration of Independence. According to new information discovered by the Library of Congress he obliterated the word subjects so thoroughly that it took modern technology to determine what he had originally written.

But in a moment when history took a sharp turn, Jefferson sought quite methodically to expunge the word, to wipe it out of existence and write over it. Many words were crossed out and replaced in the draft, but only one was obliterated.

Over the smudge, Jefferson then wrote the word “citizens.”

Read more at this Washington Post article.

Happy Independence Day my fellow Citizens!

HT to Standard Mischief

I’ve switched over to using rawdog to parse the feeds for gunbloggers.com instead of rolling my own. It uses some of the same python modules, but generates a static page for much lower load on the system.

The Ugly Truck Gun started off with a free un-anodized upper receiver that I got from PCR-00 a few years back. As with most gun parts something had to grow around it. My goal was to make a gun cheap enough that I wouldn’t be afraid to toss it behind the seat of the truck.

In that respects, it was a rousing success –

I built it for < $400, but it had a small problem. It doesn't want to shoot worth crap. It fails to feed the 2nd round, 1st one doesn't get ejected fully. This doesn't do me much good. A baseball bat would be more useful.

In addition to the upper, I also got the handguards and A2 sight parts from fellow ARFCOM members. I had the A2 stock from another build and added a blemished lower receiver ($90!), DPMS lower parts kit and barrel bought from another ARFCOM member. The BCG is also DPMS if I remember correctly.

I decided it was time to update it, an anodized upper receiver was 1st on the list. And if I was going to do that I figured I may as well add a Magpul MOE stock to make it easier for other family members to shoot. I ordered them from Del-Ton who I have dealt with before. The stock was backordered for about a week, but finally all the parts arrived.

The extra stuff there is a Brownells Upper Receiver Action Block and an AR15 Armorer’s Wrench. I also have a set of punches and roll pin holders which are helpful for putting together lower receivers.

Swapping the stock was simple, other than almost losing the buffer detent and spring.

I pulled the handguards off (nearly the hardest part of the whole operation), and knocked out the gas tube retaining pin. Note, pull the tube out and put it in from the front. Its easier that way. Trust Me(tm).

Removing the barrel requires clamping it in the action block and using the armorer’s wrench to remove the nut from the upper receiver. This was made alot easier because of some advice from Dino over on ARFCOM — User high temp bearing grease on the threads when you put it together.

When putting things back together you have to line up all the rings so that the gas tube will fit. It can be tricky to get the slots in the nut just right.

Put the gas tube back on from the outside of the receiver. I’ve already tried it the other direction. It doesn’t work so well. Make sure the gas port is aiming down and the retaining holes line up. Use a roll pin holder to drive the pin back in and finish it off with a punch.

And the final product. Hopefully I’ll make it to the range this weekend to see if the operation has been improved at all.

I recently re-joined the Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club in an effort to give myself a good reason to get out of the house and do something other than sit in front of the computer. I’ve acquired a couple of new pistols over the last year and not had much chance to shoot them, so today was the day to get some lead on the paper.

I noticed that Mr. Completely and his wife Kee Wee were going to be at the match. I’ve been trying to meet him for the last several years and can never seem to make it out to a match. Today things worked out perfectly, I was already planning on heading to the range with a friend — We didn’t compete in the match, but managed to see Mr. C shoot a couple of stages — his barrel holding technique has to be seen in action!

He and Kiwi are off to Holland for the European Steel Challenge Championships, Best of Luck to them!

We spent a couple of hours putting the new guns through their paces, everything worked out fairly well. As usual I was anticipating recoil with my 1911′s (hitting low to the left), holding on too tight and using the wrong part of my finger on the trigger. Gee, lots of things to improve on! The IMI Automag III was a BLAST to shoot as always. One of the nice things about it is that you don’t have to put alot of ammo through it to get a huge amount of pleasure out of shooting it. As usual the first shot left my friend grinning from ear-to-ear. I tried to catch a picture of the muzzle flash, but my camera wasn’t shooting fast enough.

It is interesting that when shooting the Automag I don’t have my problem shooting low-left, instead they string out straight to the left just a bit. The grip on it is noticeably longer than the 1911, and with its extra mass it moves around in my grip less.

My new Buckmark ran great! After tweaking the adjustable sights a few clicks to the right it was hitting right on. I think I’ll try my hand at the Fun Steel Shoot next month using this gun — its dead easy to clean and .22 is still pretty cheap to shoot. I’ll have to get some practice in beforehand, but at least I won’t be breaking the bank.

I also got to try out a Sig 226 in .22 and 9mm. Why Sig makes their .22 magazine 10 rounds and the 9mm 20 rds. is a mystery. Shot a Kimber Ultra Carry II as well. Tiny little gun which has a very noticeable amount of muzzle flip compared to my 1911′s. I wouldn’t want to shoot it regularly, but it makes an excellent concealed carry piece.

The weather was great, the guns all worked really well, the company was excellent and we had an excellent lunch at the Red Apple Diner on the way home (Prime Rib special for $8.95, who could pass that up?).

I think Patriots’ Day should be a national holiday.

I don’t have anything to add to D.W. Drang’s post about applying for an Oregon non-resident permit. Head over there and read it.

And it looks like WA Ceasefire’s Ralph Fascitelli got a reminder of this at the recent hearing on an attempted WA ‘assault weapon’ ban. From Dave Workman’s Examiner column:

Prior to the hearing, as several Open Carry activists gathered in the hallway of the John A. Cherberg Senate Office Building, Washington CeaseFire’s Ralph Fascitelli approached a member of the State Patrol’s security team and, after pointing out that there were visibly armed citizens in the building, demanded of the trooper: “Do you know if they’re loaded?”
Sources have confirmed to the Gun Rights Examiner that Fascitelli appeared both irritated and unnerved, and he wanted the State Patrol troopers to check every firearm at the door of the building to see if they were loaded. He was told by the WSP that troopers do not have the authority under state law to do that.

That, Mr. Fascitelli, is what is known as freedom.

Today I had the pleasure of spending 4 hours in a classroom with a few of my fellow GunBloggers — D.W.Drang from The ClueMeter, Phil and Scott from Random Nuclear Strikes and I attended Shawn Mahood’s Utah CFP Class. Utah is one of the most pro-2nd Amendment states in the country. They have worked hard to make their Concealed Firearm License accepted by as many states as possible (33 states recognize Utah resident permits, several of these will not honor a non-resident permit). The requirements for a non-resident Utah permit are that you need to take a class from an instructor certified by Utah, and be able to pass a background check. If you have a WA CPL then you should have no problems obtaining a Utah permit.

In the interest of full disclosure, not because the .gov tells me to but because its only fair to those reading, I won the chance to attend this class for free. I have attempted to make sure that did not affect my opinion of the class.

Shawn Mahood's Utah CFP Class

The class was held at the Federal Way Wholesale Sports location, we had about 12 people in the class with varying backgrounds. Several were former military, some were former cops and the rest were normal folks like me. Mr. Mahood was an excellent speaker, easy to understand, dynamic and interesting to listen to. The class covered a wide range of subjects from the 4 rules, to firearms nomenclature to detailed Utah laws covering the use of deadly force. The material could be a bit dry at times, but Shawn did an good job of holding my interest and I didn’t find myself looking at the clock once. We took breaks every hour and spent some time getting to know our fellow classmates, including one guy who was present at the Tacoma Mall shooting.

I highly recommend this class for anyone interested in being able to exercise their rights in as many states as possible. I plan on doing some camping next summer and this will come in handy for those western states that don’t recognize my Washington CPL. Shawn’s company is also running a NRA Basic Pistol and WA Concealed Carry Basics classes in February. Check his website for details.

Once you have completed the class and received the stamp on your application you have 1 year to submit it to Utah along with a passport photo, a fingerprint card, copy of your driver’s license and $65.25. They are supposed to process them within 60 days, but because of the popularity they are running at about 65 days or longer. Once you have your permit you can then legally carry in states that recognize non-resident Utah permits. You can use sites like Carry Concealed as a guide to which states recognize your new permit — but you really need to verify directly with the state, as well as familiarize yourself with that state’s laws. Internet sites are not always up to date. For example Nevada no longer recognizes the Utah permit, but Nebraska now does.

I tried to find something about the class to complain about. The only thing I can come up with is that it would have been nice to have some extra time for more ad-hoc discussions. I’d like to thank Shawn for the chance to take his class. I encourage you to tell your friends and family about this excellent resource that we have available to us.

I hadn’t realized it has been September since I posted anything. I noticed the sidebar wasn’t working right after one of the recent wordpress updates. I’ve switched to a new theme and tweaked the logo to fit.

Part of the reason for the silence is that I don’t want the blog to be an echo chamber, just posting the same things everyone else posts. I haven’t had anything original to write so I’ve been focusing on other things.

I’ve just finished moving the site over to use mod_wsgi instead of running it as a CGI module. There should be a slight speed improvement, but not anything that you will likely notice.

I’d also like to welcome two new blogs to the list – The Molly Minute and Sipsey Street Irregulars

I hear Molly cleaned the clocks of the Bloggers at the GunBlogger Rendezvous steel shoot this weekend. Congratulations!

How you felt when you saw the attack of 8 years ago?

Never Forget.

You can view the WTC Image Archive here.

A clean-cut, well spoken citizen shows up armed at a Obama rally in Arizona. This guy has guts, we need to see more of this.

In the UK they are discovering what happens when you disarm your population. According to this article muggins are now commonplace occurrences, with the thieves so bold that they will rob you in front of witnesses and so called security guards.

…and I speak as someone whose car was carjacked and whose house was broken into, with us in it, listening to his every stumble.

When my husband chased the robber down the street, the dutiful police officer advised us to install even more expensive security.

I can only hope that at some point our friends in England will realize the error of their ways and allow their subjects to arm and defend themselves as all people should be able to do.

H/T to John Lott

For a number of months now the fate of the land that Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club sits on has been uncertain. The land is leased from the WA State Department of Resources (DNR), and they recently announced that they want to swap the ownership with Kitsap County for some other property that the County owns. There was concern over how the County would administer the lease.

Back in March we packed the land use hearing, and on Monday there was a meeting (that I missed) of the County Commissioners to vote on selling the land to KRRC outright. All of our pressure worked! Because today we have this:

The Commissioners signed an agreement to sell the 72 acres that the club sits on to the club! No more lease hassles!

Its been a while since I’ve updated you with additions to GunBlogger’s new feeds. In no particular order I’d like to welcome the following blogs: The Clue Meter, Ry Jones, Rivrdog, Vin Suprynowicz, Dave Workman, Liberal CCW, Around Orlando, New User of Guns, Sharp as a Marble, One Inch Group, Gunblogger Conspiracy, Gun Nuts Media and Snarky Bytes

Whew! That’s quite a list. If you have a blog you want to see added please contact me.

“I, Sylvanus Wood, of Woburn, in the county of Middlesex, and commonwealth of Massachusetts, aged seventy-four years, do testify and say that on the morning of the 19th of April, 1775, I was an inhabitant of Woburn, living with Deacon Obadiah Kendall; that about an hour before the break of day on said morning, I heard the Lexington bell ring, and fearing there was difficulty there, I immediately arose, took my gun and, with Robert Douglass, went in haste to Lexington, which was about three miles distant.”

Read the rest of Mr. Wood’s account here at Eye Witness History

Although our President doesn’t seem to hold the same values as us. Breda has an excellent post on Obama’s Bow to the Saudi King.

A lot of blood has been spilled to guarantee me the right to never have to bare my neck in submission to another.

And yet…

Head down, eyes lowered and executing a bow so low that he needed to put a foot back to balance himself, Barack Obama is practically genuflecting to the King of Saudi Arabia.

A disgusting display if you ask me.

This news falls into the category of ‘you get who you vote for’. Of course I didn’t vote for him, but a number of my friends did.

Under the Bush team a prominent and profitable bank, under threat of a damaging public audit, was forced to accept less than $1 billion of TARP money.

Fast forward to today, and that same bank is begging to give the money back. The chairman offers to write a check, now, with interest. …But the Obama team says no, since unlike the smaller banks that gave their TARP money back, this bank is far more prominent. The bank has also been threatened with “adverse” consequences if its chairman persists. That’s politics talking, not economics.

Read more about Obama’s politicization of the economy here at the WSJ

All of this was expected by those of us who recognized Obama as the Chicago style fascist that he is. And this isn’t the end of it. Given a taste for this this kind of power he will not be able to stop. Look for him to move into healthcare and oil. I see prices at the pump are climbing towards $3 again. I expect to see the administration begin its smear campaign against the oil industry any day now.

I just got back from the hearing tonight and KRRC members turned out in force! I estimated at least 250 people there, the county commissioner’s room was packed and people were standing out in the halls.

The quick summary of the situation is that the land KRRC is on is leased from the DNR, who wants to swap the land with Kitsap County for some other nearby land. The Lease would then be transferred to the County, which has a spotty track record with upholding leases.

There were lots of good questions for the State and County officials there. Questions like “why wasn’t KRRC told about this proposal until just this month?” and “why has shooting been left out of the county’s proposed land use plans”. The last one is especially telling, given that the club has been there since 1928 and by some accounts the area has been used for recreational shooting since the late 1870′s — before Washington even became a state.

The KRRC executive committee is standing their ground on their insistence that there be a legally binding contract ensuring the continued existence of the club before they will support the proposed land swap.

In other words we don’t trust our government, at the State or County level, to do the right thing, unless we have it as a legally binding document.