Thougts on the Shooting in Aurora, CO.

First, it is not a "tragedy". Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. What happened in Aurora was an atrocity.

Second, I am hearing anti-gunners yet again floating one of their eternal question, "Why does anyone need <fill in you favorite evil gun or feature>?

OK, I used to be try and be reasonable with them. I tried to explain why a certain "evil" gun can be a rational choice. Then I figured out they don't want an answer. It was like debunking the Creationists on the old Talk.Origins. No matter how often someone explained it to one, he just backed off for while and came back later with the same line of bullshit

Life to short to waste it on idiots so now, in my dotage, I'm going to just give the short answer: It has nothing to do with "need". It's about what I want and it is none of your fucking business why I want it.

In a sane world, there is no reason why I have to justify my choices to you. I don't have to give you a reason why I use Linux instead of Windows or a Mac. I don't have to explain why I drink Southern Comfort or Jack Daniels nor explain why I don't drink Rum or Tequila. I don't have to justify to you the sex or number of people I sleep with. It is none of your business what kind of guns I own or how many rounds each will fire before reloading.

I hope that is clear enough.

Revolver Malfunctions

Four part series of posts from Grant Cunningham -- the man who wrote the book on revolvers

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four.

Target Shooters Causing Fires?

Some of the recent wildfires are being blamed on target shooting. I'm sure the antis will try to use those fires as an excuse to further restrict gun rights. That is what they do and, in that, are as predictable as a dog going after a hamburger. Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of irresponsible gun owners out there helping the antis advance their cause.

I don't know why it so hard for some people to understand that steel jacketed bullets can cause fires. Iron is pyrophoric and the small particles generated by an impact with a hard surface will ignite spontaneously in air. The phenomena is well known to chemists, firemen, and anyone who has used a flint and steel.

Copper and lead are safer but caution is still necessary. Both metals are also pyrophoric but are more difficult to ignite because the oxide scale is not as brittle as that for iron. Impacts on steel plates will generate sparks if the copper jacket fragments are small enough.

It occured to me as I was typing the above that Utah was called a "red" state even before the infamous map from the 2000 election. This is because of color of the hematite rich rock and concretions in its deserts. Hematite is iron oxide and the small particles generated by an impact will ignite spontaneously in air. So Utah deserts may be at a higher risk of bullet induced fires under drought conditions.

Jeez, people. Let's be careful out there.

Progress Report for America

On this Independence Day you might want to read How are we doin'? by Vin Suprynowicz. I think he aptly summarizes the feelings of a large number of people

How are we doing, safeguarding those “unalienable Rights” with which we are “endowed by our Creator” — in support of which 56 patriots solemnly pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred Honor, 236 years ago?

We remain free by many measures. Americans can still pretty much live where we want, work where we want, drive where we want. In fact, for women and racial minorities, many of those liberties have expanded, compared to 70 years ago. We can all be proud of that.

But the average urban American can be excused for sensing the police state now constricts like a boa around many of our remaining freedoms.

Read the rest here.

More Commentary on the Zimmerman Case by Marty Hayes.

From the July 2012 Newsletter of the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network.

Page 11

Page 12

Page 13

Hayes summarizes the statements made by Zimmerman after the shooting and covers how the media may be distorting the story. He also points out out how the the prosecution behavior in the case indicates the state may be out to get Zimmerman in any way possible.

The penultimate paragraph is instructive,

Lastly, as I write this, there has been another bond hearing to see if the judge would again grant bail for Zimmerman. The prosecution argued strenuously that they believed Zimmerman was the initial aggressor in the incident, and that at trial, Zimmerman would not have the right to claim self defense as a defense to the crime of second degree murder. In making this statement, the prosecution pretty much agreed that Zimmerman had the right to use deadly force because he was being assaulted, but they claim that because he started the altercation, he doesn’t have the right to claim self defense

Looks like the prosecution's strategy is to admit that Martin was beating on Zimmerman but try to get the judge to disallow a claim of self defense under the so-called Stand Your Ground law because Zimmerman started it. I don't know if Zimmerman, in his zeal to be a good citizen and help out law enforcement, told the cops enough to make the above strategy viable. That remains to be seen but, if he did, it is just one more example of why an honest citizen should tell the cops no more than absolutely necessary.

Always remember that anything you say can and will be taken out of context, reworded, remixed, and then used against you.

A Flaming Shotgun

Wielded, it appears by a flaming idiot.

Giant Wildfire Started During Bachelor Party

JULY 2---The largest wildfire burning in Arizona was started during a bachelor party when one shotgun-toting celebrant fired a shell that promises to shoot “100 feet of fire, setting everything in its path ablaze,” The Smoking Gun has learned.

The Sunflower Fire--which has burned nearly 18,000 acres of the Tonto National Forest and is not fully contained--began in mid-May after five Arizona men gathered to celebrate the upcoming May 19 nuptials of Bryan Reeder. The group--all in their mid-20s--traveled from Mesa to the Sycamore Creek area for a weekend “campout and bachelor party,” according to court records.

Note to future idiots with a shotgun. If you're the type of fool that is tempted to shoot an incendiary round into dry brush, do the rest of the world a favor and shoot yourself in the head instead. That way the rest of the world can get a good laugh at your expense and you are less likely to pass your pathetic, defective genes on to future generations.