Guns, Cars, and Tech

Category: Guns

  • Notes from the weekend: HOLY CRAP THAT WAS FAST Edition

    Listed the house on Friday morning. Three showings over the weekend and we’re mulling over one offer. The two that didn’t make an offer were buyer-side problems. All the realtors said the house showed really well.

    About 90% of the houses that fit our criteria are under contract. If we accept this offer, we basically have two houses to choose from. Both need work.

    I got to use the first aid kit I bought several years ago. I bought one at Target or something (very similar to this one) to keep in the car. It’s no IFAK, but it’s got some iodine, basic bandages, some band-aids, etc. I basically dug a channel out of my finger while loading some boxes into my wife’s car. Two days later, it’s still bleeding. Glad I had it. Need to make a note to buy one for her car, too.

    Getting old sucks. I somehow injured myself (to the point of barely being able to move all day yesterday)…while feeding my son yogurt.

    At our realtor’s suggestion, we moved the Tactical Dog’s crate out of the living room. Should have done that a long time ago, because for the first time since we brought her home we were able to watch an entire movie without stopping to get her to calm down. That movie? The Red Dawn Remake. My one takeaway from that movie was “wow, those actors have really good trigger discipline!” So there’s that.

    Blogging may be light.

  • Tragic Rule 2 Violation

    It’s all over the local media.

    Police are saying that this was an actual accidental shooting caused by a mechanical failure, not a negligent discharge. My suspicion is some sort of decocker failure.

    Unfortunately, there was a rule 2 violation, and the man’s 10 month old son was shot in the chest and killed.

    It’s probably a good idea to stay away from the comments sections of the news articles.

  • Weaver Kaspa Scope?

    I may have mentioned that I am keeping a friend’s firearms while he is out of the country, with his explicit wish that I shoot them. One of them is a Remington 700 in .308 that has an absolutely terrible 4x scope on it. My friend will be gone until sometime in 2015, so I’m thinking about replacing the glass with something a little better.

    The big-box sports store near my house has this Weaver Kaspa 4-16X44SF Ballistic-X Scope on display, and I kind of like it:

    It’s got side-focus and a range-finding/bullet drop compensating reticle (which I can’t find much information on). The windage and elevation are finger-adjustable once you remove the caps, making it functionally like this one, but less “I bought this because it looks all tactical and stuff.”

    Anybody got one? Should I run far, far away? The display model in-store is clear and easy to use, but will it hold up to .308? Save my money and get a “real” scope later?

    My priority this year is optics for the rifles I have, and this one is inexpensive enough that I’m tempted to go ahead and get it for the loaned one.

  • A little late in noticing, but…

    Apparently even the Tennessean (the local main-stream paper) has noticed that there’s a bit of an ammo shortage right now.

    By the way, this ran on the front page as the big color article, so I’m guessing today was a slow news day.

    As per usual, it’s probably best to not read the comments.

  • I literally facepalmed…

    …when I came back from lunch and saw this as the top story on local media.

    A do what now?

    Police arrested a south Nashville man after they said he was threatening a neighborhood with a semi-automatic machine pistol.

    A semi-automatic machine pistol, you say? How’s that work, exactly?

    I double-facepalmed when I clicked on the article and read the URL title: “south-nashville-uziarrest”

    The gun is reportedly a MAC-10, but I’m sure it’ll end up being a Masterpiece Arms 9mm. Or an AR or AK pistol. Or a revolver.

    Oh, and I tried to email the reporter but their “Email us” link is malformed.

  • Parking Lot Bill Passes House

    On it’s way to Governor Haslam, who’s not keen on it.

    We have a very weak executive office in TN. It takes 60 votes in the house to pass a bill, but only 51 to override a veto. The bill got 72 votes.

    It will go into effect July 1st if Haslam doesn’t veto it.

    It’s extremely important to note that this bill does not preempt your employee handbook. You can’t be prosecuted for violating a 1359 sign, but you can still be fired.

  • War on Constables

    MTSU trying to decide if it should punish a Constable for….having his gun on him as required by state law. The investigation began because MTSU campus cops saw “police equipment” in his car. That probably means lights, but who knows.

    Bowling Green, KY, off duty deputy shoots former constable. That deputy has hired a lawyer after claiming he shot a man who used to be a Constable and is currently a well-regarded youth theater director in self defense. The shootee also used to be in the bassist in a Christian band that’s popular enough to have it’s own Wikipedia page. If you look at the slideshow in this report you can see that one of the people involved was sitting in the driver’s seat of the white F-150, and one of them was outside the passenger side of the vehicle. We know this because the passenger side glass is busted, but nothing else.

    This report indicates that the shooter didn’t identify himself as a law enforcement officer until after he’d shot the shootee. It also says that the shooter had exited his vehicle and shot the driver of the white F-150.

    I’ve got some definite opinions about what happened, but whatever it was it doesn’t look good for the deputy. The former constable is currently in critical condition and might not make it.

  • Why would they need to cancel school?

    My commute in this morning was unusually light. I even wondered aloud if schools were closed as I pulled in to the parking lot 20 minutes early. As it turns out, Williamson County Schools were closed today.

    The reason? One of their maintenance workers walked right through a restraining order and opened fire on his wife and kids on Saturday night.

    They caught him late last night, but why did they cancel school? Are the “NO FIREARMS ALLOWED” signs defective? Not large enough? Misspelled?

    Our children are completely protected from harm by ensuring that no legal firearms are allowed on campus, so why did they need to shut down school? Surely we could trust that a man who violated an order of protection and opened fire on a car containing his own children wouldn’t risk [gasp!] a whole year(!) in prison by carrying a firearm into a school, right?

    Right?

    Why are you laughing?

  • Parking Lot Bill in Civil Justice Committee

    Committee started hearing the bill at about 12:05.

    Mike Stewart (D-Nashville) apparently doesn’t understand there’s no such thing as a “public business.” He kept going on and on about “but I privately purchased this property. Why would I be affected by this?”

    Apparently the bill only applies to the criminal penalties under TCA 39-17-1359. It does NOT protect a carry permit holder from being fired. This is different from the “Employee Safe Commute” bill that we fought for last year, which would have protected the employees from being fired.

    Sherry Jones (D-Nashville) was apparently asleep, and asked the same question that was just covered for 10 minutes.

    Bill passes out of committee. Goes to Calendar and Rules Committee next week.

  • Rep. Scott DesJarlais Response to Gun Control Efforts

    It took a couple weeks to get back to me, but here is the response I got:

    February 19, 2013

    Dear [redacted],

    Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the potential introduction of gun control legislation. I truly appreciate having the benefit of your views on this important issue.

    It is hard to imagine anything more horrifying than the tragic shooting that occurred this past December at Sandy Hook Elementary School. As a parent with three school age children of my own, I join many other concerned parents in recognizing the need to create a safer learning environment in our schools. I believe that it is of the utmost importance for us to enact sensible measures to protect our children. However, I agree with a majority of Tennesseans in expressing my concern that the Obama administration is using this catastrophic event as a way to limit our Second Amendment rights.

    President Obama has stated on numerous occasions that he is willing to bypass Congress through the use of executive orders to achieve his gun control objectives. Should the President resort to legislating through executive order, not only would he be circumventing Congress; but ultimately, he would be trivializing the will of the American people and the constitutionally protected democratic process in which they chose to participate.

    After the Sandy Hook tragedy, Americans deserve a comprehensive and effective strategy to protect their families from such senseless acts. Unfortunately, the President has chosen to advance a political agenda that in the end will have little impact on stemming gun violence while further eroding the rights of law-abiding citizens. As a proud supporter of our Second Amendment, I am prepared to use any legal means to protect these constitutional rights from infringement. As gun control legislation is introduced into the 113th Congress, rest assured that I intend to oppose any legislative effort that will infringe upon our constitutionally guaranteed rights defined in the Second Amendment.

    It is an honor and a privilege representing you and all of Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District. Please let me know if you have additional comments or question on this or any other legislative matter.

    Sincerely,

    Scott DesJarlais
    Member of Congress

    Compare that response to what people are getting from Senator Bob Corker.

    One is a strong response. The other is not.