My Favorite Guns

Considering Correctness

2011-10-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

Considering correctness

Originally published October 28, 2011
The Frederick News-Post

By Steven R. Berryman

(also, be sure to read the postscript at the end!)

Of course the words we choose define us, and reveal the messages we attempt to convey; isn't that what language is for? English has twice the number of available words to choose to enunciate our meaning as the next closest language, German. Although the context of usage is critical, we are being driven mad by the "political correctness" demands of a liberal education system.

Should a pejorative word with a political charge be chosen, is it fair to the targeted recipient and to the casual reader, especially as some become inflamed? For instance, we don't say "stimulus" anymore. [We say "jobs bill."]

In this week's Monday Advance section, FNP columnist Frankee Lyons passionately explored the word "illegals," treating readers of this paper to a fresh new discussion. The value of anonymous comments in response -- available to the online edition -- was clear as they peaked at 87 responses posted the next day.

Tracking comments is a good indication of the public mood.

These comments fell quite predictably along partisan lines, scribed by many with views already on record. Each response took one side or another quite distinctly; the long debate on what is undeniably the national dysfunction of uncontrolled borders still seethes.

Before I forget, Lyons is the freshest in age of the FNP columnists, and so is to be especially commended for learning how to strike such a resonant chord with so many readers. Despite views to the contrary, writing an opinion column is not about being absolutely right on any given issue, it's about generating the conversation. "'Illegals'?" was brilliant in this respect.

But that's just my opinion!

Followers of this column and my blog already know well my position on what I shall now call "the ongoing phenomenon of noncitizens breaking into America without visa or legal status of entry." This will keep me from the impolitic shorthand of "illegals."

Forming a position early on, my association with the group Help Save Maryland goes back a full year before this became such a hot topic. The enforced political correctness of those with a stake in the game -- immigration lawyers and CASA of Maryland, for instance, was instrumental in labeling my group both "nativist" and "extremist." This was formally pronounced by a group called the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Racist accusations are the ultimate in words that carry baggage for many; talk about words that carry a political charge! To inflict the damage, the charge need not even be true.

What gets lost in the semantic argument we choose is the argument itself. Is some false sense of "fairness" to those who made it over the fence more important than our national sovereignty as citizens with something to protect?

Very clearly in our public education system, the value of being a U.S. citizen has become subjugated to some Walt Disney version of fairness; we have a diverse culture, a history, and a heritage worth protecting.

Sticks and stones may break our bones ...

Steven R. Berryman

writes from Frederick.

(srbmgr@comcast.net)

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[Postscript: the next day, a prime example of why we use the force of words presented itself!]

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyID=127696

Murder charges filed
Suspect ID'd in March shooting death at Burger King
Originally published October 29, 2011
Frederick News-Post

By Brian Englar
News-Post Staff

NEW! Click photo to view additional photos

	Courtesy Photo Mejia-Varela

	Advertisement

"> Frederick police have obtained an arrest warrant for a Salvadoran national wanted in the shooting death of a Burger King manager in March, Frederick County State's Attorney Charlie Smith said Friday.

Jose Reyes Mejia-Varela, 21, is in Baltimore in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service awaiting sentencing on charges of illegally re-entering the U.S. after he was deported.

Mejia-Varela is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jacinta "Patty" Ayala, 32, who was shot and killed in an apparent robbery as she was opening the Burger King on East Patrick Street in Frederick, where she was an assistant manager.

He faces additional charges of armed robbery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and theft of between $1,000 and $10,000, according to Frederick police.

Smith said during a news conference Friday the warrant would be served after Mejia-Varela is sentenced on the federal charges. His office hopes to begin trying the case within six months after he is brought to Frederick.

Smith said that in the absence of eyewitnesses or a confession, cracking the case was a painstaking task requiring hundreds of hours of work by investigators. He described the case against Mejia-Varela as "very strong."

"This was a case that really took a lot of diligence looking at each and every piece of evidence possible," Smith said. "One piece of evidence that would be presented would reveal a need to investigate three, four, five different avenues."

Police would not release any details about the crime itself or say how Mejia-Varela -- a former employee at the Burger King -- was identified as a suspect.

Frederick police spokesman Lt. Clark Pennington said detectives interviewed Mejia-Varela during the original investigation but did not consider him a suspect at the time. Pennington said they discovered he was in the country illegally and reported him to immigration authorities.......ctd on link above...

==========================================================

Ref: Also, the column this refers to is here:

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_columnist.htm?StoryID=127434

Eclipse II 45 auto

2011-10-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

be sure to see: http://www.kimberamerica.com/1911/eclipse-ii

Rem 700 PSS .308 / Tactical Scope

2011-02-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

View from the "Man Cave"

Remington 700 PSS "Police Special" 26" with Tactical Scope / Mil-Dot reticle, setup for rapid response:

Glass bedded FG with Harris bipod and good ammo by Black Hills aplenty.

My Trust in Guns

2011-01-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

My trust in guns

Originally published January 28, 2011 in The Frederick News-Post

By Steven R. Berryman

All politics aside, it would also be useful to consider aspects of firearms ownership in America from a layman's perspective; this, despite Sarah Palin's cross hairs, and the Brady anti-gun group.

That we have politicized guns was inevitable, as our Founding Fathers deemed it necessary to write them into our Second Amendment to the Constitution, just after your freedom of speech!

Many Constitutionalists consider that this confers a "right to carry" as well as to own.
"Shall issue" indicates that formal state posture on ownership as an automatic right, barring reasonable disqualification due to criminal record or history of relevant mental health issues. Virginia trusts its citizens.

The obverse of this is that a granting institution must show a specific cause if they choose not to issue a permit of any sort.

"May issue" indicates that it is the arbitrary choice of a state to authorize your right to own or carry a firearm, specifically when requesting a concealed-carry permit, or CCW, as in the case of Maryland. This interpretation results in an automatic no almost every time, based upon data from the Maryland State Police, who are the gatekeepers of this regulation.

Only a handful of permits are assigned each year in Maryland out of thousands of requests.

One hurdle: Can you document two threats to your life?

Ask Frederick Police Chief Kim Dine about "shall vs. may issue" and he will certainly defer to his years policing in Washington and lean toward "may" based upon witnessing thousands of murders in that city.

I'm certainly willing to take population density into consideration, but then again it can be argued that there are more "bad guys" per square foot in cities, based on published crime statistics.

Here, the classic case can be made: If the potential perpetrator believes that a city law would make it unlikely for a mugger to run into an armed citizen, it then makes him feel safer and more likely to strike. Criminals are chicken by definition, if you have not figured that out already!

On the other hand, if a residence has a sign stating: "Don't worry about the dog; this house protected by Smith & Wesson," it's his neighbors that need to be most concerned as the next closest target.

Now ask the sheriff of Frederick County, Chuck Jenkins, about "shall vs. may issue" and first I will bet you that he would find agreement with Dine in that all police/sheriff forces are too limited to protect all the people all the time. Jenkins is a gun-possession advocate, siding with trust in citizens.

Trusting in people who trust guns is a basic National Rifle Association tenet, and you know that "gun folks" learn use and teach a fundamental respect for firearms, safety, marksmanship, and proper use and storage.

Here you can insert an argument that a certification process including actually shooting with proficiency, control, gun maintenance and storage should be included in our laws.

Despite my ribbing, Jenkins is seriously vying for his right to grant handgun carry permits instead of the state police. He says "the sheriff knows the people best, as he's the closest to them."

The problem is that not all sheriffs are of equal competency across Maryland, and not all have patrol divisions and run a detention center. It would be hard to craft a law for just one county sheriff at the state level.

But me, I trust our sheriff, and I trust "gun people."

Steven R. Berryman
writes from Frederick.

(srbmgr@comcast.net)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please send comments to webmaster or contact us at 301-662-1177.Copyright 1997-11 Randall Family, LLC. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.The Frederick News-Post Privacy Policy. Use of this site indicates your agreement to our Terms of Service.

Is America "coarsening?"

2011-01-17T10:28:00.000-08:00

http://www.regularfolksunited.com/index.php?tab=article_view&article_id=5155

New column; first for "TheTentacle" in a year!

Is America "coarsening?"

By Steven R. Berryman

[from The Tentacle of January 17, 2011]

There are currently more dead via gun play than the total days elapsed in the year for Prince George’s County, MD. An Asian man in the Wellington Trace subdivision of Frederick County shot members of his family before killing himself.

These headlines occurred in the shadow of the Arizona shooter of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords; his Glock held a magazine of 17 rounds of 9mm ammo in a single clip, plus another single bullet in the chamber if he so chose. Just for the record, this is the same weapon favored by the Virginia Tech shooter.

Ironically, the manufacturer calls this special type of semi-automatic pistol a “safe action,” referring to the reduced possibility of accidental discharge.

With so much breaking – and tragic – news, who could blame local newspapers for looking like police blotter reprints? And they do.

But…Is America itself “coarsening,” and if so why? And coarsening compared to what?

Another’s column reminded me that unresolved conflict had – relatively recently – been routinely handled by pistol duel; just ask Aaron Burr about Alexander Hamilton! This, the gentlemen’s choice of the elite.... [ctd below]

.....for the rest, please click:

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4171

srbmgr@gmail.com

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Beretta 85 from long ago

2010-07-11T14:04:00.001-07:00

This is my old Beretta 85 15 rounds of .380 in a very high quality package, with backup clips and American Walnut stock, teflon tac knife shown for relief.

For fun I tossed in some custom ammo.

Traded a .44 S&W 6" SS Magnum for this, and then traded it again for something else after that, but back in 1980 or so. Shot it with some other agents, but it was too wide in the grip for me, so I upgraded eventually to the CZ RAMI in .40 Cal that you can see in anoter post on this blog.

My "take" on GUNS

2010-05-22T05:34:00.001-07:00

My take on guns

Originally published May 21, 2010

in The Frederick News-Post

By Steven R. Berryman

While you were distracted by the economy, they fixed your health care system. While you were distracted by your health care system, they worked on cap-and-trade plus immigration "reform."

Under the continued distraction of the last two items above, surely you will never see the pre-planning to remove guns from your home. Surely the man whose agenda has become a substitute for the United States Constitution will not think twice about a nation safer from firearms.

"It's for your own good" will be the rallying cry, but where have we heard that one before?

Notice the man in the Oval Office flinch noticeably when pressed on the Constitution, his specialty. Expect that he believes that our laws emanate from our government, and not from a higher power.

The Founding Fathers of the United States of America (can I still say that in print?) foresaw a time when our federal government would become so large that it would become unresponsive to the people and disconnected. A time when power of the individual citizen was diminished and discounted.

The Founding Fathers saw that the tyranny of top-down power by a government over a population was possible, so they designed a multiple-tier government with separation of powers. Checks and balances were made needfully cumbersome to retard a potential stranglehold over our people.

The Constitution of the land gave us freedom of speech as our First Amendment, even protecting the Westboro Baptist Church, desecraters of soldiers' funerals, as a necessary evil to protect a greater good for the nation.

The Constitution of the land provided for a Second Amendment in order to protect our First Amendment. As noted author Robert A. Heinlein has stated: "An armed society is a polite society."

The Second Amendment of the Constitution of these United States pronounces with crystal clarity that:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

... And spare me the argument about this intent only being for the "Militia." During the day of this writing, the Militia already had guns!... [ctd ]

...for the rest, please click: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_columnist.htm?StoryID=105185

srbmgr@comcast.net

Firearms Clutching in Maryland

2010-01-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

[see http://www.thetentacle.com/ of July 7, 2008 (below) for the original post!]

Firearms Clutching in Maryland

Steven R. Berryman

Having grown up with guns, little did I know that the politics surrounding them packed more energy than a .44 Magnum “wheel-gun.” Of course, that was when television came in over an antenna, was black and white, and afforded four stations of programming.

We were all “programmed.” John Wayne almost never went anywhere without a handgun or rifle, unless he had a whole warship. Even then, the Navy offered up a Colt .45 automatic to the men.

The entire fantasy genre of the Western was predicated on the association between man and gun. Between Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and The Rifleman, there was an overt connection made between heroes and their firearms.

Hollywood was so hooked on these Western formulas that when Gene Roddenberry pitched the first pilot episodes for Star Trek to the network executives, the content was so far out that he had to use “Wagon Train to the Stars” as his analogy.

Little did they know how much social commentary was hidden in this show, masquerading as science fiction. Phasers hid an agenda that may be viewed as Shakespearian 100 years from today.

But forget phasers; I wanted the real deal, and started with a pellet rifle first, and a bolt action 7mm Magnum rifle on my 18th birthday. A present from me to me!

Didn’t shoot it much, as it was far too powerful for any use in Maryland. But I enjoyed the clutching. As I learned about the National Rifle Association (NRA), I was to be drawn to the United States Constitution and politics by guns.

The Second Amendment drew me in. I was fascinated by the fact that our “Framers” and Founding Fathers added it in second, immediately after the right to free speech! There was an automatic association there…that told me that someday it was assumed that guns would have to protect free speech.

From a tyrannical government? From foreign invasion? From burglars and villains? Take you pick.

We know now that citizens were intended to own guns, not only militias, as expressed in the recent landmark decision by the U. S. Supreme Court in DC v. Heller.

For practice, one could travel to Warrenton, VA, to Clark Brothers and shoot for free pretty easily, just buy your ammunition from them is all they ask. The outdoor range out back was the scene for lots of camaraderie, male bonding, and target shooting.

Remember well that any transportation of firearms to a range must include complete unloading, and keep a trigger lock on. Keep any ammunition stored in a totally separate place, such as in a trunk, assuming your firearms are in the back seat.

Turning 21 in Maryland means you can own the coveted handgun. This right of passage comes with more added responsibility, as they are much more dangerous than long-guns in so many ways.

A 9mm Smith and Wesson 39-2 nickel finish and walnut grips was my first. The U.S. Air Force used these for security, and do to this day. It is a double-action semi-automatic and just looks very cool. Fun to target shoot, but not that accurate over 15 yards.

Should you ever take on this awesome responsibility, get with all of the rules first. The state will require you to view training videos as a condition of your purchase, and you will undergo a background check.

Previous court convictions and mental health records come into play. The National Crime Information System database will be looked into, and there is a mandatory waiting period.

The crew at Atlantic Guns in Rockville is wonderful. Take a ride there and ask lots of questions if you are at all interested. The window-shopping is half the fun while you learn.

The best rules to observe with any firearm are to always assume a weapon is loaded, and handle it as such, even when you know it is not. Never point a gun at anything you don’t intend to shoot. Point away and in a safe direction at all times, unless you plan to fire it.

Store guns unloaded, hidden, and in a secure location, and even then use trigger locks as additional safety. The exception is a high quality quick release safe, specifically for home protection, if you are so inclined.

In Maryland, you must retreat to the furthest reaches of your house, and be prepared to prove that your life was in danger in any such protective use.

After my first purchases and range time, bolt action Remington rifles became my passion. The 700 series were our original Marine sniper rifles as pressed into service. Our modern military still uses highly refined derivates of this one in .308 caliber for some applications, as do S.W.A.T. police teams.

You can get one of these in a standard civilian version for hunting – or target shooting – at very reasonable price; and out-of-the-box accuracy with a good scope can put the same bullet through the same hole two out of three times at 100 yards.

View firearms as an awesome responsibility. Risks therein can be properly managed as in piloting a plane or riding a motorcycle. Extra vigilance is essential.

Firearms can be viewed through many a lens. They can protect you and your way of life. They stand as a symbol of our very independence. They contain history and ties to your past. Their very legality acts as a deterrent to criminals. And of course, it is fundamental to our very Constitution.

“An armed society is a polite society,” according to writer Robert Heinlein.

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=2675 for the original post!

Thompson 45 SMGs

2009-12-29T10:37:00.001-08:00

Used by Vic Morrow in the TV series "Combat" by Big Joe in "Kelly's Heros" and by Machine Gun Kelly and Al Capone in real life Chicago.

The United States Army used them up through the beginning of the Viet Nam "Conflict." Lots of lead; not too relieble. Too expensive to manufacture, so we went with the "Grease Gun" and stamped metal instead......uugghhhh...

Obama's H.R.45 Gun Grab!

2009-08-28T06:08:00.001-07:00

August 27, 2009 [as advertised in Human Events]

Dear Concerned American [RE: Gun Grab!]

The great pay-back has begun, and it's going to be ugly.

Liberals in Congress are paying back the anti-gun extremists who put them in office, and Barack Obama's H.R. 45 is the first step...

...and it's a big step. My name is Dudley Brown, Executive Director of the National Association for Gun Rights. I'm writing you today to warn you of the very real threat this gun control bill poses to your liberties.The National Association for Gun Rights has a petition ready for you to sign, but I want you to understand just how dangerous this bill is before I give you the link. Please bear with me for a moment. You see, H.R. 45 would establish a national gun registry database which would:

Increase requirements for firearms purchases, far beyond those ever proposed.

Create a national firearms registry overseen by the Federal Government.

Invoke Draconian penalties for bookkeeping errors related to the Federal Firearms Database.

It gets worse though.

Sarah Brady and her allies in Congress want to force you to take a written exam to prove that you are "fit" to exercise your Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. I'm outraged by this, and I know you are too.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that gun registration is the first step on the road toward totalitarian confiscation of all firearms by a federal power. In fact, the most brutal dictators of the last century were famous for their gun registration and confiscation schemes. It was easy work for Hitler's brown-shirt Gestapo to confiscate the firearms of German citizens because years earlier, well-meaning liberals had forced all guns to be registered with the government ... all in the name of safety. When Hitler came to take their guns, he had a list of who owned every gun and where they lived! But H.R. 45, Obama's National Gun Registry and Citizen Disarmament Act, is more than just a forced registration of all firearms in America. The bill also makes it increasingly difficult to buy a gun in the first place.

Taken right out of Sarah Brady's Christmas wish list, H.R. 45 includes a laundry list of new restrictions on firearms purchases. In addition to the outrageous national gun registration requirement, the bill also requires you to:

Pass a written examination to purchase a firearm.

Release your medical records -- including confidential mental health records -- to the government to get your "fitness" to own a firearm approved.

Observe a two-day waiting period before all firearms purchases.

Pay a gun tax of $25 or more on all firearm purchases. Moreover, H.R. 45 bans all private firearms sales and maximizes penalties for minor clerical errors in dealing with the national gun registry. The list goes on and on. It's enough to turn your stomach. I know I don't have to tell you, but these restrictions make a mockery of the Constitution. "The Right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" might as well say: "You have no rights." If a two-day waiting period, a written exam and a gun tax aren't infringing our rights, I don't know what is!

The National Association for Gun Rights is fully committed to stopping H.R. 45, but we need the help of grassroots conservatives like you. You and I must join together, draw a line in the sand, and fight this battle to the end. We must make this gun-grab expensive for the enemies of freedom. If we do, they'll flinch ... and lose. By mobilizing hundreds of thousands of grassroots gun owners across the country, the National Association for Gun Rights can put anti-gun politicians on the hot seat.

Are you with me?

Are you opposed to national gun registration?

Are you opposed to a written examination to buy a gun?

Are you opposed to a new $25 gun tax? Are you opposed to a total ban on private firearm sales?

If you said, "yes" to any of those questions, I need you to click here to fill out NAGR's HR45 petition and join us in this fight. Stopping un-Constitutional gun control bills like H.R. 45 may be NAGR's top priority, but we can't do it alone. Along with your signed petition, please send the National Association for Gun Rights a generous contribution if you can. You will have the opportunity to donate right after you sign the petition.

The fact is H.R. 45 is just the first step. Sarah Brady and her cohorts in Congress now have the support of a willing White House and won't stop until they've reached their ultimate goal: a national ban on the individual ownership of all firearms.

That is why I simply must hear from you immediately.

Please take a moment to sign our H.R. 45 petition -- even if you've already signed it -- and, if at all possible, make a contribution of $200, $150, $100 or maybe just $25 to help the National Association for Gun Rights fight H.R. 45 and Sarah Brady's gun control wish list. I know this is a lot to ask, but inaction could very well lead to defeat and the loss of our right to keep and bear arms. Whether you can afford the full $200 or a lesser amount of $50, please contribute what you can.

Thank you in advance for contributing your time and money towards defeating H.R. 45, Obama's National Gun Registry and Citizen Disarmament Act. For Freedom and Liberty,Dudley BrownExecutive Director National Association for Gun Rights P.S. H.R. 45 is the most sweeping gun control proposal ever offered in America, and under this administration, it might just pass -- unless you act today.

Please join with the National Association for Gun Right in opposing this gun-grab by signing our petition and making a generous contribution of $200, $150, $100 or just $25 -- immediately.

================================================================

The National Association for Gun Rights, Inc. is approved as a non-profit tax-exempt advocacy organization under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions or gifts to NAGR are not tax deductible for IRS purposes.Not paid for at taxpayer expense.
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P 08 George Luger pistole of WWI and II

2009-06-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

Ergonomically brilliant.

It commands respect far beyond its 9mm calibre. Weapon of choice for the German Wehrmacht officer corps till the cheaper to build P-35 (which I also love) was used as a replacement.

Not much to say, other than it is an ultimate collector item, and did not get replaced due to a qualitative or reliability reason. Just production realities of the war.

...Although the P-35 was double action...as an advantage of dubious distinction in wartime...

Glock - Solid as a Brick!

2009-01-31T06:20:00.000-08:00

Thirty Two round clips are a deal these days and offer affordable firepower - plinking paper targets has never been so efficient!

I customized with a 6" Storm Lake "drop-in" barrel and some night sights. Ammo for the 9mm can be Cor Bon 115 grain JHP +P which affords a ballistic equivalent of - almost - a standard .357 Magnum round, considering the extra barell length and powder charge in +P.....times 32 rounds. ~1,400 FPS mv!

Time to watch the Charlton Heston version of The Omega Man - the Matheson novel originally titled "I am legend."

Gun foes need to give it a rest

2008-11-30T05:34:00.000-08:00

From the Frederick News Post - November 30, 2008

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_lte.htm?storyid=83325

Gun foes need to give it a rest

by Nick D'Apice

[This is a response to the Nov. 13 column, "The run on guns," by Elizabeth Marsh Cupino. ]

I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for the Supreme Court of the U.S. I also thank God that the Second Amendment was upheld by the court in D.C. v. Heller. This is about a civil liberty, not "the interests of anglers and hunters." This is as much a case of civil liberty as the 13th Amendment ending slavery and the 19th allowing women to vote (suffrage).

If the majority is fearful of gun ownership, then the U.S. Constitution should be amended, not interpreted. As much as many do not like it, this was just performed in California by the passing of Proposition 8; right or wrong, the will of the majority has been stated.

Until such time as the Constitution is amended, individuals will continue to exercise a right to bear arms, whether that be automatic assault weapons or concealed handguns. Laws that prevent such ownership are in direct conflict with the Bill of Rights and will be fought with the same intensity as Civil Rights and Women's Suffrage.

Also being a responsible weapons owner, my children are trained and familiar with the safe handling of firearms. I secure those weapons for quick access by me alone, and not my children. I rest easier knowing that an armed policeman is available at our high schools or there is an armed pilot in the cockpit of our commercial airliners.

I still don't get the controversy over the latter, as we entrust the "captain" with our lives. I personally would feel even safer if every adult on an airliner were armed; no longer would there be a fear of someone hi-jacking or storming the cockpit.

There is a reason why massacres happen in "gun-free zones." Honest, unarmed citizens cannot defend themselves against armed criminals. But because this is an emotional debate, most individuals who are fearful of weapons, or were raised to believe that "weapons kill" when in fact "people kill," believe that disarming everyone includes criminals, when in fact the statistics prove the converse!

But emotion dictates that the facts shouldn't get in the way of what we want; that is a normal human emotional response. In the meantime, if individuals wish to stockpile ammunition or guns because they believe a new administration will attempt to restrict that right, that's fine! If some individuals want an excuse to buy new weapons, then again, fine! I don't see the issue.

If these individuals were rushing to buy American-manufactured cars because the Big Three may go bankrupt, everyone would cheer and say "that's great," even though those same vehicles could be used to willfully terminate another person's life. But because weapons ownership is a feared element that cannot be controlled by a portion of the population, it is vilified as a habit of the "anglers and hunters."

I am neither an angler nor a hunter, but I am a proud firearms owner and Second Amendment advocate. I rest easier knowing that if a law is passed that contradicts that amendment, we will win in revoking that law because of the Supreme Court precedent; it may take time, but we will win.

And just as having "a little discrimination" or allowing women to vote on "some, but not all" of the issues would never be tolerated, we should not sit idle and allow some of the Second Amendment to be infringed upon in any way, including registration or restrictions. Until such time as the amendment is altered by the Constitutional process, it should not be isolated and subjected to exceptions that are justified by debate. In doing so, we expose all liberties to be subject to erosion by debate.

Please give it a rest. I'm as tired of hearing the anti-gun rhetoric as you probably are about preaching the evils of gun ownership. Also, you don't see me preaching on the benefits of restricting a women's right to vote (infringing upon the 13th) but instead defending the Second. If you feel that strongly, organize and amend the constitution. In other words, as was done in California: Put up, or shut up.

Until then, your First Amendment right is secured, and we can just ignore your rhetoric for the constant static it is.

Nick D'Apice writes from Ellicott City.

Firearms Clutching in Maryland

2008-07-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

The Other Side of the Coin

2008-06-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

On the occasion of the landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court in "DC v. Heller" I am most happy that my colleague, Ed Lulie of The Tentacle, chose to make this subject his own in this analysis.

He and I share the same opinion, that a major point has been obfuscated by major media about the ramifications of the upholding of the lower court ruling. My original post on this, to give you an overview is Sidearms Showdown in DC (simply click the words at left to review).

[the following column appeared in this link on The Tentacle: June 27th, 2008 http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=2661]

The Other Side of the Coin

Edward Lulie III

To the dismay of the major media the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, has overturned the Washington D.C. handgun ban and found that the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms meant an “individual’s” right.

Two things come to mind. First to wonder why was it even close? There really never was a serious argument that the 2nd Amendment did not apply to individuals. It did, it does and even if the court’s makeup shifts and they then declare that it doesn’t, well even then it will still mean what it says.

The decision caused immediate panic and fear for some urban liberals who were blogging that D.C. would now be a free fire zone, and that bloodshed and chaos would reign supreme; seems to me that D.C. has already been like that for years.

Now law abiding citizens will have the ability to protect themselves, but only after the D.C. government has made them miserable with burdensome regulations and laws designed to ignore Thursday’s ruling.

D.C. officials have already been speaking publicly and saying that residents will only be allowed to have one handgun. There will be more dismay later when many of these regulations and rules will be thrown out as well. Watch and see.

Secondly I was just stunned by the general lack of historical knowledge. The right to self defense was part of the common law; it was assumed and taken for granted. The right to bear arms was never about people protecting themselves from intruders or hunting.

It has always been about the right of revolution that when a government became too onerous and burdensome that citizens should always have the ability to overthrow it. That isn’t a popular theme these days.

The left is despondent over this ruling. Yet in reality little will change. The vast majority of gun owners will continue to be responsible, and will not engage in violence.

Criminals will continue to ignore our laws just as they always have.

Some small number of mentally disturbed or insane individuals will continue to misuse firearms and murder innocent people, sometimes killing dozens. That horror is a sad part of the price we pay for the freedom that we have.

Ninety-Nine percent of gun owners would never dream of raising their weapons against the government; but most would not hesitate to come to its support.

The Second Amendment is an insurance policy that the founding fathers have given us. That, in the event that tyranny and despotic forces would gain power, the people would have the tools to overthrow such rule and restore freedom.

We don’t teach that in school. It is not a popular idea. We do not like to think that our government could ever become something so horrible that citizens would ever think of being willing to die to overthrow it.

Our founding fathers understood this because they experienced it themselves firsthand. They lived through the war to free themselves.

That was why the 2nd Amendment was created. Not to let citizens have the right to self protection in their homes, but to have the right of self protection against tyrannical government.

The first amendment allowed citizens to be free to speak out against government; the 2nd amendment was there in case that didn’t have the desired effect. It was never about having the right to hunt deer or protect oneself in your own home.

I wonder how often in the days ahead any one will mention the right to revolution?

Will the media actually try to learn some history so that they might understand?

Or will they spend their efforts by blasting the ruling as radical, extreme and dangerous.

Any bets?

Sled Ride - The SR-71 Blackbird

2008-05-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

Why in a gun blog?...Well, I posted this here because this air-breather ram-jet flies FASTER that a high-powered bullet!

The guy with me is "Buzz" Carpenter, test pilot for the SR-71 program who I met at Space Day. He knew Kelly Johnson of the SkunkWorks, Burbank, personally and had great stories to tell. The titanium used to build the airframes, for example was purchased covertly by a CIA front company during the height of the Cold War from the U.S.S.R!

The sled ride………….

By Billy J. Foster

SR-71 Blackbird

In April 1986, following an attack on American soldiers in a Berlin disco, President Reagan ordered the bombing of Muammar Qaddafi's terrorist camps in Libya . My duty was to fly over Libya and take photos recording the damage our F-111's had inflicted. Qaddafi had established a 'line of death,' a territorial marking across the Gulf of Sidra , swearing to shoot down any intruder that crossed the boundary. On the morning of April 15, I rocketed past the line at 2,125 mph.

I was piloting the SR-71 spy plane, the world's fastest jet, accompanied by Maj Walter Watson, the aircraft's reconnaissance systems officer (RSO). We had crossed into Libya and were approaching our final turn over the bleak desert landscape when Walter informed me that he was receiving missile launch signals. I quickly increased our speed, calculating the time it would take for the weapons-most likely SA-2 and SA-4 surface-to-air missiles capable of Mach 5 - to reach our altitude. I estimated that we could beat the rocket-powered missiles to the turn and stayed our course, betting our lives on the plane's performance.
After several agonizingly long seconds, we made the turn and blasted toward the Mediterranean'You might want to pull it back,' Walter suggested. It was then that I noticed I still had the throttles full forward. The plane was flying a mile every 1.6 seconds, well above our Mach 3.2

limit. It was the fastest we would ever fly. I pulled the throttles to idle just south of Sicily, but we still overran the refueling tanker awaiting us over Gibraltar .
Scores of significant aircraft have been produced in the 100 years of flight, following the achievements of the Wright brothers, which we celebrate in December.. Aircraft such as the Boeing 707, the F-86 Sabre Jet, and the P-51 Mustang are among the important machines that have flown our skies. But the SR-71, also known as the Blackbird, stands alone as a significant contributor to Cold War victory and as the fastest plane ever-and only 93 Air Force pilots ever steered the 'sled,' as we called our aircraft.

As inconceivable as it may sound, I once discarded the plane. Literally. My first encounter with the SR-71 came when I was 10 years old in the form of molded black plastic in a Revell kit. Cementing together the long fuselage parts proved tricky, and my finished product looked less than menacing. Glue,oozing from the seams, discolored the black plastic. It seemed ungainly alongside the fighter planes in my collection, and I threw it away.
Twenty-nine years later, I stood awe-struck in a Beale Air Force Base hangar, staring at the very real SR-71 before me. I had applied to fly the world's fastest jet and was receiving my first walk-around of our nation's most prestigious aircraft. In my previous 13 years as an Air Force fighter pilot, I had never seen an aircraft with such presence. At 107 feet long,
it appeared big, but far from ungainly.

Ironically, the plane was dripping, much like the misshapen model had assembled in my youth. Fuel was seeping through the joints, raining down on the hangar floor. At Mach 3, the plane would expand several inches because of the severe temperature, which could heat the leading edge of the wing to 1,100 degrees. To prevent cracking, expansion joints had been built into the plane. Sealant resembling rubber glue covered

the seams, but when the plane was subsonic, fuel would leak through the joints.
The SR-71 was the brainchild of Kelly Johnson, the famed Lockheed designer who created the P-38, the F-104 Starfighter, and the U-2. After the Soviets shot down Gary Powers' U-2 in 1960, Johnson began to develop an aircraft that would fly three miles higher and five times faster than the spy plane-and still be capable of photographing your license plate. However, flying at 2,000 mph would create intense heat on the aircraft's skin. Lockheed engineers used a titanium alloy to construct more than 90 percent of the SR-71, creating special tools and manufacturing procedures to hand-build each of the 40 planes. Special heat-resistant fuel, oil, and hydraulic fluids that would function at 85,000 feet and higher also had to be developed.

In 1962, the first Blackbird successfully flew, and in 1966, the same year I graduated from high school, the Air Force began flying operational SR-71 missions. I came to the program in 1983 with a sterling record and a recommendation from my commander, completing the weeklong interview and meeting Walter, my partner for the next four years. He would ride four feet behind me, working all the cameras, radios, and
electronic jamming equipment. I joked that if we were ever captured, he was the spy and I was just the driver. He told me to keep the pointy end forward.

We trained for a year, flying out of Beale AFB in California , Kadena Airbase in Okinawa, and RAF Mildenhall in England . On a typical training mission, we would take off near Sacramento, refuel over Nevada , accelerate into Montana , obtain high Mach over Colorado ,
turn right over New Mexico , speed across the Los Angeles Basin , run up the West Coast, turn right at Seattle , then return to Beale. Total flight time: two hours and 40 minutes.

One day, high above Arizona , we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. 'Ninety knots,' ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. 'One-twenty on the ground,' was the reply. To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was 'Dusty 52, we show you at 620 on the ground,' ATC responded. The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter's mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ' Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.' We did not hear another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast.

The Blackbird always showed us something new, each aircraft possessing its own unique personality. In time, we realized we were flying a national treasure. When we taxied out of our revetments for takeoff, people took notice. Traffic congregated near the airfield fences, because everyone wanted to see and hear the mighty SR-71. You could not be a part of this program and not come to love the airplane. Slowly, she revealed her secrets to us as we earned her trust.
One moonless night, while flying a routine training mission over the Pacific, I wondered what the sky would look like from 84,000 feet if the cockpit lighting were dark.While heading home on a straight course, I slowly turned down all of the lighting, reducing the glare and revealing the night sky. Within seconds, I turned the lights back up, fearful that the jet would know and somehow punish me. But my desire to see the sky overruled my caution, I dimmed the lighting again.. To my amazement,

I saw a bright light outside my window. As my eyes adjusted to the view, I realized that the brilliance was the broad expanse of the Milky Way, now a gleaming stripe across the sky.. Where dark spaces in the sky had usually existed, there were now dense clusters of sparkling stars. Shooting stars flashed across the canvas every few seconds. It was like a fireworks display with no sound. I knew I had to get my eyes back on the instruments, and reluctantly I brought my attention back inside.

To my surprise, with the cockpit lighting still off, I could see every gauge, lit by starlight. In the plane's mirrors, I could see the eerie shine of my gold spacesuit incandescently illuminated in a celestial glow. I stole one last glance out the window.
Despite our speed, we seemed still before the heavens, humbled in the radiance of a much greater power. For those few moments, I felt a part of something far more significant than anything we were doing in the plane. The sharp sound of Walt's voice on the radio brought me back to the tasks at hand as I prepared for our descent.
San Diego Aerospace Museum

The SR-71 was an expensive aircraft to operate. The most significant cost was tanker support, and in 1990, confronted with budget cutbacks, the Air Force retired the SR-71?The Blackbird had outrun nearly 4,000 missiles, not once taking a scratch from enemy fire.
On her final flight, the Blackbird, destined for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum , sped from Los Angeles to Washington in 64 minutes, averaging 2,145 mph and setting four speed records.

The SR-71 served six presidents, protecting America for a quarter of a century. Unbeknownst to most of the country, the plane flew over North Vietnam , Red China, North Korea , the Middle East, South Africa , Cuba , Nicaragua , Iran , Libya , and the Falkland Islands . On a weekly basis, the SR-71 kept watch over every Soviet nuclear submarine and mobile missile site, and all of their troop movements. It was a key factor
in winning the Cold War.

I am proud to say I flew about 500 hours in this aircraft. I knew her well. She gave way to no plane, proudly dragging her sonic boom through enemy backyards with great impunity. She defeated every missile, outran every MiG, and always brought us home. In the first 100 years of manned flight, no aircraft was more remarkable.

With the Libyan coast fast approaching now, Walt asks me for the third time, if I think the jet will get to the speed and altitude we want in time. I tell him yes. I know he is concerned. He is dealing with the data; that's what engineers do, and I am glad he is. But I have my hands on the stick and throttles and can feel the heart of a thoroughbred, running now with the power and perfection she was designed to possess. I also talk to her. Like the combat veteran she is, the jet senses the target area and seems to prepare herself.

For the first time in two days, the inlet door closes flush and all vibration is gone. We've become so used to the constant buzzing that the jet sounds quiet now in comparison. The Mach correspondingly increases slightly and the jet is flying in that confidently smooth and steady style we have so often seen at these speeds. We reach our target altitude and speed, with five miles to spare. Entering the target area, in response to the jet's new-found vitality, Walt says, 'That's amazing' and with my left hand pushing two throttles farther forward, I think to myself that there
is much they don't teach in engineering school.

Out my left window, Libya looks like one huge sandbox. A featureless brown terrain stretches all the way to the horizon. There is no sign of any activity. Then Walt tells me that he is getting lots of electronic signals, and they are not the friendly kind. The jet is performing perfectly now, flying better than she has in weeks. She seems to know where she is. She likes the high Mach, as we penetrate deeper into Libyan airspace. Leaving the footprint of our sonic boom across Benghazi , I sit motionless, with stilled hands on throttles and the pitch control, my eyes glued to the gauges.

Only the Mach indicator is moving, steadily increasing in hundredths, in a rhythmic consistency similar to the long distance runner who has caught his second wind and picked up the pace. The jet was made for this kind of performance and she wasn't about to let an errant inlet door make her miss the show. With the power of forty locomotives, we puncture the quiet African sky and continue farther south across
a bleak landscape.

Walt continues to update me with numerous reactions he sees on the DEF panel. He is receiving missile tracking signals. With each mile we traverse, every two seconds, I become more uncomfortable driving deeper into this barren and hostile land. I am glad the DEF panel is not in the front seat. It would be a big distraction now, seeing the lights flashing. In contrast, my cockpit is 'quiet' as the jet purrs and
relishes her new-found strength, continuing to slowly accelerate.

The spikes are full aft now, tucked twenty-six inches deep into the nacelles. With all inlet doors tightly shut, at 3.24 Mach, the J-58s are more like ramjets now, gulping 100,000 cubic feet of air per second. We are a roaring express now, and as we roll through the enemy's backyard, I hope our speed continues to defeat the missile radars below. We are approaching a turn, and this is good. It will only make it more difficult for any launched missile to solve the solution
for hitting our aircraft.

I push the speed up at Walt's request. The jet does not skip a beat, nothing fluctuates, and the cameras have a rock steady platform. Walt received missile launch signals. Before he can say anything else, my left hand instinctively moves the throttles yet farther forward. My eyes are glued to temperature gauges now, as I know the jet will willingly go to speeds that can harm her. The temps are relatively cool and from all the warm temps we've encountered thus far, this surprises me but then, it really doesn't surprise me. Mach 3.31 and Walt is quiet for the moment.
I move my gloved fin
ger across the small silver wheel on the autopilot panel which controls the aircraft's pitch. With the deft feel known to Swiss watchmakers, surgeons, and 'dinosaurs' (old- time pilots who not only fly an airplane but 'feel it'), I rotate the pitch wheel somewhere between one-sixteenth and one-eighth inch location, a position which yields the 500-foot-per-minute climb I desire. The jet raises her nose one-sixth of a degree and knows, I'll push her higher as she goes faster.
The Mach continues to rise, but during this segment of our route, I am in no mood to pull throttles back..

Walt's voice pierces the quiet of my cockpit with the news of more missile launch signals. The gravity of Walter's voice tells me that he believes the signals to be a more valid threat than the others. Within seconds he tells me to 'push it up' and I firmly press both throttles against their stops. For the next few seconds, I will let the jet go as fast as she wants. A final turn is coming up and we both know that if we can hit that turn at this speed, we most likely will defeat any missiles. We are not there yet, though, and I'm wondering if Walt will call for a defensive turn off our course.

With no words spoken, I sense Walter is thinking in concert with me about maintaining our programmed course. To keep from worrying, I glance outside, wondering if I'll be able to visually pick up a missile aimed at us. Odd are the thoughts that wander through one's mind in times like these. I found myself recalling the words of former SR-71 pilots who were fired upon while flying missions over North Vietnam They said the few errant missile detonations they were able to observe from the cockpit looked like implosions rather than explosions. This was due to the great speed at which the jet was hurling away from the exploding missile.

I see nothing outside except the endless expanse of a steel blue sky and the broad patch of tan earth far below. I have only had my eyes out of the cockpit for seconds, but it seems like many minutes since I have last checked the gauges inside. Returning my attention inward, I glance first at the miles counter telling me how many more to go, until we can start our turn. Then I note the Mach, and passing beyond 3.45, I realize that Walter and I have attained new personal records. The Mach continues to increase. The ride is incredibly smooth.

There seems to be a confirmed trust now, between me and the jet; she will not hesitate to deliver whatever speed we need, and I can count on no problems with the inlets. Walt and I are ultimately depending on the jet now - more so than normal - and she seems to know it. The cooler outside temperatures have awakened the spirit born into her years ago, when men dedicated to excellence took the time and care to build her well. With spikes and doors as tight as they can get, we are racing against the time it could take a missile to reach our altitude.

It is a race this jet will not let us lose. The Mach eases to 3.5 as we crest 80,000 feet. We are a bullet now - except faster. We hit the turn, and I feel some relief as our nose swings away from a country we have seen quite enough of. Screaming past Tripoli, our phenomenal speed continues to rise, and the screaming Sled pummelsthe enemy one more time, laying down a parting sonic boom. In seconds, we can see nothing but the expansive blue of the Mediterranean . I realize that I still have

my left hand full-forward and we're continuing to rocket along in maximum afterburner.
The TDI now shows us Mach numbers, not only new to our experience but flat out scary. Walt says the DEF panel is now quiet, and I know it is time to reduce our incredible speed. I pull the throttles to the min 'burner range and the jet still doesn't want to slow down. Normally the Mach would be affected immediately, when making such a large throttle movement. But for just a few moments old 960 just sat out there
at the high Mach, she seemed to love and like the proud Sled she was, only began to slow when we were well out of danger. I loved that jet.

Billy J. Foster

Gun Control

2008-03-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

Gun Control

By Harris R. SherlineMarch 17, 2008

"Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. The right of citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against the tyranny which now appears remote in America but which historically has proven to be always possible." (Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr., 1911-1978, two-term Democratic Senator from Minnesota and 38th Vice President of the United States)

The Right of the People To Keep and Bear Arms

The dispute between those who favor gun controls and those who don't is predicated on their respective interpretations of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and specifically on the term, "a well regulated militia.

"The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argues, "We believe that the constitutional right to bear arms is primarily a collective one, intended mainly to protect the right of the states to maintain militias to assure their own freedom and security against the central government." (Source: ACLU website), while the other side believes that the use of the word "militia" refers to the citizens of the U.S. in general.

They both attempt to bolster their respective positions with statistics about the effects of gun control laws on crime. Advocates of "gun control" believe that removing all guns from individual citizens will prevent crime. But, the evidence doesn't support this.

Gun Control In Great Britain

A nationwide survey of British police officers in 2003 revealed that 20% wanted to be armed. Even the police, or at least most of them, are not permitted to carry firearms, and only about 6,000 of an estimated 142,000 in the country were armed.

In Britain's Gun-Control Folly, Scott McPherson commented, "Those opposed to arming more officers present a strange counterargument. As the Post put it, 'Opponents suggest it would just lead to more gun crime.'" How's that? "Petty criminals might arm themselves in response." This view is particularly ridiculous when we consider that the UK's leftist government banned virtually all private firearms ownership and all handgun ownership in 1997 amidst great fanfare about "making Britain safer." Since then, crime has skyrocketed. So guns were outlawed to fight crime, and now not even police should have guns lest the increasingly emboldened criminal element get upset about it. That's some twisted logic.

"According to historian Joyce Lee Malcolm (Gun Control in England: The Tarnished Gold Standard, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, 2004): "[Between 1997 and 2003] crimes with [banned firearms] have more than doubled." Clearly since the ban criminals have not found it difficult to get guns and the balance has not shifted in the interest of public safety...In the four years from 1997 to 2001 the rate of violent crime more than doubled. The UK murder rate for 2002 was the highest for a century."......

For the rest, look up:
THE AMERICAN JINGOIST: The Gun Control Debate.#links

Side-Arms Showdown In DC

2007-12-06T05:41:00.000-08:00

I hope you like my first article in The Tentacle, which will now appear each Monday!

December 3, 2007 Side-Arms Showdown in DC

Steven R. Berryman

By upholding a lower court ruling, the District of Columbia gun ban could well be overturned with finality by the U.S. Supreme Court next spring. You might ask why this bothers both the NRA and The Brady Campaign.

Click here for the article!

http://thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=2310

My NRA-ILA Grassroots Article Contribution

2007-07-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

My NRI-ILA Grassroots Article Contribution

"Freedom’s Voice Page 4July 2007" / The Activist Corner

--By Steve Berryman, Frederick, MD

[The following was published when the NRA asked me about how to get similar articles to http://infoservesme.blogspot.com/2007/03/i-got-published-by-wfmd-on-gun-issues.html published at the local level to benefit all of the Membership]

Grassroots contributions towards citizen gun rights begin at home. First you have to have a voiceand a message; the next step is the amplification!I’m Steve Berryman, and anyone that knows me knows my passion for gun rights for citizens. My approach is to bevery well informed on local politics and local gun laws as a first step. Without having something of interest andrelevance to say, your audience will quickly dismiss your message.Get your information from multiple sources—learn the issues that fire people up—then go find a parade and get infront of it. I use every outlet at my disposal, from personal networking, to blogging, letters to the editor, a MySpacepage, and my local drive-time radio show, WFMD’s “The Morning News Express” with host Bob Miller.I met Bob locally, and we became friends on multiple fronts as we were like-minded, community-oriented gents. I began to do regular call-insto the radio show while commuting from Frederick to Gaithersburg on I-270, a one hour ride. I called in accident information, and providedcommentary to “color up” his show with my perspectives on the topical issues of the day. Bob’s regular guests include everyone from theMayor of Frederick, MD, to School Board members, County Commissioners, and the Police Chief. Even Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-6) calls in to get his voice on record.Having an audience gives you the ability to amplify your message, and in turn get others to do the same. It is critical to have the facts—supplied by NRA and NRA-ILA’s Grassroots Division, (let alone the 2nd Amendment!)—on your side! But it is the value of YOU thatbecomes the motor to power the Will of the People, and thus, protect our Freedoms. My message to you is to use both barrels and all of yourmedia outlets!By Steve Berryman, Frederick, MarylandTHE ACTIVIST’S CORNERPLEASE NOTE: All submission’s to “The Activist’s Corner” should be sent to freedomsvoice@nrahq.org. Please include yourname, address, phone number, e-mail, and if possible, a photo of yourself. Every submission will be reviewed and considered forpublication.

____________________________________________________________________And,

from Senator Shelby of Alabama:Freedom’s Voice Page 4July 2007IN THE SPOTLIGHT —U.S. SENATOR RICHARD C. SHELBY (R-AL)CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SENATOR SHELBY: 110 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-0103;Phone: (202) 224-5744; Fax: (202) 224-3416; Web Site: www.shelby.senate.gov; E-mail:

Senator@shelby.senate.gov.

NRA-ILA would like to commend the recent pro-Second Amendment actions of Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL).On June 29, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee took action to reinstate language commonly knownas the “Tiahrt Amendment” into the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill. The amendment, offered bySenator Shelby, passed with broad bipartisan support. The Shelby Amendment language will keep sensitive firearmtrace information in the hands of law enforcement and out of the hands of politicians and special interest groupstrying to further their anti-gun crusades. The committee also rejected a Lautenberg-Feinstein Amendment thatwould have gutted the Shelby Amendment.The “vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee is a step forward in NRA-ILA’s ongoing fight to preserve traceinformation as a law enforcement tool and ensure it is not abused to advance political agendas,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W.Cox. “We know we will be engaged in a protracted battle with billionaire politicians and their allies here on the Hill. We will continue our hardwork to ensure that the Shelby Amendment remains American public policy as it has for the past five years.”The gun control lobby, its political allies, and trial attorneys have long coveted trace information. These data have been abused to harass andto further politically-motivated lawsuits against lawful firearm retailers and manufacturers, and to undermine the “Protection of LawfulCommerce in Arms Act.”All freedom-loving, pro-Second Amendment Americans (especially those in Alabama) should contact Senator Shelby and thank him for hisongoing commitment to protecting our rights!

.357 4" Ruger for Self Defense!

2007-04-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

OK,
I never get to vote on these things.............but if they ever make me a "Guns & Ammo" (paid) writer...............I plan to nominate the Ruger GP100 Stainlsess 4" Revolver as my best personal choice as a "Castle Defense" firearm for myself.................

How could you go wrong? Ballistically, the best.............
Fail-Safe........just pull the trigger on any misfire......and another round comes up.............
I load some shot-shell in a similar gun.........and some HardBall after that......to demonstrate my compassion...........
You can't miss at close range.............and talk about the intimidation factor...........a real winner!............

My note to WFMD's Bob Miller

2007-03-10T21:42:00.000-08:00

I got published by WFMD on Gun Issues!

My friend Bob Miller posted this to his Morning News Express "Listener Email" site http://www.wfmd.com/ after I prodded him into it!!
Bob is pictured here.

[Steve let's us know his feelings on Guns.As our Delegation begins to discuss Assualt Rifles. Steve gives us his opinion on this subject. ]

Hey Bob,I am very pleased to hear the passionate responses by your listeners to your discussions of Gun Ownership issues over the past few days. You should be proud of the voices being raised (overwhelmingly) in support of owners rights to keep and bare arms legally in Maryland.I find it strange that the "vocal minority" has control of so many of our Annapolis Legislators.......in pushing Brady-Like propositions, like SB-43, the Assault Rifle Ban bill of 2007. For the record, as a Nation, our Congress refused to renew very similar legislation last year allowing it to lapse. This is because it is proven to NOT be the nature of a firearm that makes it more likely to be used in a crime. And who determines what type of firearm is best for hunting? You have the right to hunt with anything you choose to......even a semi-auto AR-15, which is a civilian M16, non automatic fire. Another example is that some of the most popular Varmint Shooting rifles are also used as sniper weapons by police and the services......Hunters prefer them for their accuracy.Bottom line is that our Founding Fathers, including Jefferson and Madison, included the Second Amendment (you know how important they thought it was, because it came almost first on the list!) so that an Armed Citizenry can protect itself as individuals from crime, back up the national forces such as Military, Guard, and Police, Assist in times of national emergency where the Government does not or can not help (Katrina in New Orleans for a recent example, or a massive Terrorist event in the future, as a distinct possibility) and be prepared to take back the Nation, should it become corrupted by some future evil leadership run amok.Even those that speak out against legitimate firearms ownership [Rudy Giuliani, Sarah Brady] as a knee-jerk reaction get the benefits of having armed citizens in the mix: Potential Burglars and Muggers are deterred from committing their crimes of aggression by the very fact that they NEVER know who may be carrying, and what home might be protected with a firearm. It is documented that professional criminals are far more afraid of finding a gun owner than running into a cop.A ban on assault rifles, as an example, may begin the slippery slope of taking all the rest of our firearms.....no matter what the bill sponsors say.........The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany outlawed gun ownership.......I say trust in the citizens. WE ARE THE PEOPLE!I suggest that your listenership all consider joining and supporting the NRA at http://www.nra.org/ and get involved while it is still so important to do so. Also, please include a link on your MNE page if you can.Thanks for all you do,

--Steve Berryman.

Also, We have a great victory recently with Washington, DC striking down their handgun ban, after 70 years!...........I predict that the perps will have to be more careful now.......

Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk Flat-Top

2006-05-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk Flat-Top: Looks like the real-deal!.....less bulky and clunky than its predecessor.

.........Is a poor mans Cowboy Six-Shooter, meant for serious desert plinking, or with some customization......some Action Shooting.....

Sigarms Equinox P229 .40 Automatic and Insight Technology M6X Laser/Light combo

2006-04-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Sig Equinox P229 and Insight Tech Laser/Light M6X combo is a double action .40 cal automatic pistol with a darkened stainless steel slide and alloy frame.

A nice and potent combo for Reliability, super fit and finish. Must be accurate as the Secret Service issues a more basic version of this to their agents for concealed carry. I have the Insight M6
on a Beretta Vertec .40 for home defense use.

It's just like the hit TV show 24 Hours, wherever the red laser dot [ .], focused from the laser is, the bullet goes......to within about 1/2" in low-light situations freehanded. If you had the gun on a bench rest situation, all shots go through the same hole up to 15 yards, easily.

H & K MP5

2006-04-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

State-of-the-art Sub machine gun. Used by Military special ops units and Secret Service due to high rate of cyclical fire, and utter reliability. German origin. 9 MM is typical.

Get a Class-3 Liscense (sign away your constitutional rites) to the BATF. Spend $1,000 for the right to do this....

Contact Jonathan Arthur Ciener corp......spend $6,000. and:

....and buy a gun you can only test fire in Kentucky!

Dirty Harry's Model 29 S&W

2006-04-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

In the seventies....everyone was impressed with this .44 magnum caliber handgun, thanks to the movie Dirty Harry.....an alcoholic cop with an attitude and a state-of-the-art weapon.....M29 8-3/8" barreled, blued S&W revolving handgun.

It's basically a rifle cartridge in a handgun. In lore, Harry Callahan used to use the much lighter .44 Special loads with reduced recoil. Not much fun to shoot the Magnum stuff past about 30 rounds, and you can feel the recoil through your bones!

"Are ya feeling lucky, punk?"
Clint Eastwood is an icon.

Colt Python and S&W model 19

2006-04-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

Two superior wheel guns! I had a round butt 2 - 1/2" version, and also a square butted goncalo alves butt 4" version, both nickel in the early 80's....since sold.

The ribbed barreled gun up front is a Colt Python.........Both of these in .357 cal as were the best at the time for stopping power.......still modeled upon......

Some day I want a Python......

Smith & Wesson model 39-2

2006-04-07T14:31:00.000-07:00

This was my first pistol; purchased the moment I came of age. Mine was nickel plated and I used it on secutity runs with Audio Associates.

Wish I had kept it! The 39-2 was famous for being the first double action pistol to win wide acceptance (the German P-35 was first, used in late WWII and later formed the basis for Berreta and others)

Used until recently as a sidearm for the USAF and others.

Kimber Eclipse Custom II series for pure "sex" appeal

2006-04-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Kimber Eclipse Custom II .45 Auto: just for the sex appeal of it......If I only had a spare $1,200.....

Brushed/blued side panels...

Muti-color full grained grips...

This is the snag-free version. Also see the target version.

Detail and finish can't be beat......shoots straight.

Firearms Resource page

2006-04-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

[I'll try to keep this updated as time goes on......]

Gun resources you can use:

http://www.wheretoshoot.org/ - Find a shooting range and practice, practice!
http://www.clarkbrosguns.com/links.html - for product information
www.NRA.com - For your Rights
www.ILA.org - For knowing and working with the Law
http://www.packing.org/ - To keep you out of trouble with the law.
www.uscca.us - ccw resource that believes in trusting citizens!

“An armed society is a polite society.”Robert A. Heinlein
“Carrying a gun is asocial responsibility.”

CZ 2075 RAMI for the CCW crowd

2006-04-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

This would be my choice for a double action concealed carry pistol. .40 cal and very small relative to the punch. Steel construction with internal guide rails. Holds 8+1 rounds in the chamber.

Of course, in MD we have no CCW permit available to us, so maybe it's time to move to Virginia, Florida, or Texas......where they trust their citizens. [I guess MDs thought is to keep the State safe from its citizens, how ironic!]

Smith & Wesson Model 65 3" Revolver

2006-03-26T10:35:00.000-08:00

Model 65 was a Military & Police handgun in .357 Magnum caliber. The pistol was used by police detectives and our Texas Border Patrol and others for many years as an off-duty or concealed carry weapon. When reliability is a life saving attribute, you can't beat a revolver!

The .357 is an improved .38 special with lots more ME and MV. Best "one-shot-stops" stat by the famous Evans and Marshal study. [the .40 auto was modeled after its ballistics]

Hechler & Koch USP Standard

2006-03-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

German sexy.........unbreakable, but too plastic....Would be the perfect "Desert Island" If I Could Only Have One Pistol sidearm! I'd like to play with one, though before a purchase.

The .45 cal version of this with a threaded barrel is used by our SOCOM forces.

Browning HP Practical

2006-03-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

World famous John Browning design.......gets lots of special ops use. Very cool, if single action......I like the .40 version. You get (only) 10 plus 1 capacity, but that's enough with this caliber! I used to have an older version of this years ago, but traded it. Maybe someday........I'd love to get one like this.

Remington 870 Tactical Shotgun

2006-03-23T20:28:00.000-08:00

7 Rounds of 3" Magnums.......need I say more?.......who needs a sight! I like the version without the pistol grip......it gets in the way.....This should be part of every mans (or women's!) home defense kit......just the sound of racking the pump would make any intruder run, and if they don't......

Dan Wesson PMA-1

2006-03-23T20:03:00.000-08:00

Dan Wesson's PMA-1 (or Major Aussie) is a .45 semi custom Series 70 Stainless Government patterned Auto. Shoots better than the shooter can handle for the most part. Bomar style target sights and Match Grade Barrel come with it. Along with beavertail safety, extended controls, and Match trigger.....a potent combo.... Buy the Pachmyer finger grips and ditch the Rosewood ones, though.

Somewhat picky on the ammo [prefers round nosed], so needs a little tuning......and use the right lube for stainless in the rails or you get friction damage......two handed grip for sure!

Beretta 96 Vertec in 40 cal

2006-03-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

The Beretta Vertec 96 in .40 cal does very nicely with a matching laser sight/light combo by Insight. The Military really wishes they had gone above the 9mm to this.....but then there's that NATO obligation......

Rock River Arms DEA / Govnt Model

2006-03-23T19:22:00.000-08:00

"Government /DEA" based upon their LE- Tactical A4 model. Set up much like this picture, with an EOTECH Holo Scope / Co-axially mounted GG Flip sight as a back up. Shoots about 1" MOA freehand at 50 Meters. Shoot the Blue box Nyclad Ammo from Black Hills.

30 and 40 round clips are LEGAL!

Remington 700 PSS [Police Special] in .308 / Leupold 3-9x variable Tactical Mil-dot Scope

2006-03-21T08:27:00.000-08:00

1/4" MOA at 100M from a sand bag with a Harris bipod and Black Hills 168 grain factory HP ammo........

Effective out to 800 Meters......but you need a spotting scope!

Best "out-of-the-box" sniper rifle for value is the reputation.

The COPS have lots of these, based on the Marines version.

This was our choice of category in Viet-Nam.