2006, Where are we?

Model 10 Snubbies.....No FFL Required!

J&G Sales has round butt Model 10 snubbies for sale, only $99 each, no FFL required. Of course, you do need a frame..........The horror.......What happened to these poor Model 10 snubbies........

FWIW, they also have 4 inch DAO Model 64's up for grabs for $219. You need a FFL for those though.....

Idiots With Guns #64

The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom


The Four Rules
1. All firearms are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

Pawn Shop Circuit: Model 28-2

This morning I went by Kenny's pawn shop to see what was new. Kenny had a nickel Rossi Model 68 in his case among the Glocks and pimp pistols. It was a five shot .38 Special revolver and Kenny had tagged it at $150. That was a fair enough deal, I suppose, but I would rather have a beater Model 10 for that money. It seems as though the old S&W wheelies are getting harder and harder to find.

I looked over the Rossi a bit more, and to my surprise I started to consider it. I quickly killed that impulse though. I do not need the gun, and it is not a Smith. I handed the nickel Brazilian back to Kenny.

Next, I drove over to Dave's shop. Dave had brought quite a few different guns out of hock. There were a couple of Glocks, the SW1911PD, a Walther P99 , three big bore Ruger revolvers, and a Steyr pistol; but the handgun that caught my eye was muted blue steel and walnut. A Smith & Wesson Model 28-2 was residing under the glass. $239. Last year, around Christmas, I purchased a pristine Model 28-2 from Dave. This recent Model 28-2 had a bit more wear on it, and was priced the same. The good thing, however, is I would shoot it. My first 28-2 is a fine revolver, but I just do not shoot it much because it is so pristine. This N frame Smith would be a definite shooter. The price was fair, and I asked Dave for a form 4473.

Pay a little more, buy quality.

Thoughts Over Coffee

I went to sleep last night having just learned that a tyrant was finally dead. I slept well and soundly. I awoke early this morning, and since I did not have work, I surfed the web to confirm the news. He was dead. Hanged by hooded executioners, refusing a hood himself.

I wondered a bit why it took so long to finally kill this deranged despot after he was captured. Three years. Why did he deserve a trial? His crimes were certainly widely recognized, and even if he was thought innocent of one, there were plently of others. A trial seemed like such a waste of time and resources in a country ravaged by war and strife. Why not simply kill him and feed him to the dogs, I had thought. He deserved nothing more than to burn in hell while his corpse was digested and his memory erased forever.

This morning, I realized why it took so long. The trial had not been for Saddam Hussien. It had been for ourselves.

At Last.........

Seven New Orleans police officers were indicted today on a variety of murder and attempted murder charges arising from misguided use of deadly force on the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans, six days after hurricane Katrina. The killings, locally known as the Danziger Bridge Massacre, left two innocent people dead and four more seriously wounded, as they were trying to escape the ravages of the storm.

Today, the state grand jury finally called bullshit on the New Orleans Police Department's version of what happened on Sept. 4, 2005. The killings have been portrayed by the officers involved, the NOPD, and the MSM as an appropriate response to sniper fire at rescue workers near the bridge in eastern New Orleans. The dead victims have been demonized as criminal snipers. The injured survivors fled New Orleans in the aftermath, and gained little exposure in the press as they tried to tell their story. The facts demonstrate that the only people shooting at people that day were officers of the law. Indeed, the grand jury cleared Lance Madison, a man whom police had arrested that day and booked framed with attempted first degree murder for supposedly shooting at law enforcement. Lance Madison had no firearm. No person in his group had a firearm.

Four police officers, Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius, Officer Anthony Villavaso, and Officer Robert Faulcon, were charged with the first degree murder of James Brissette, a 19 year old man. Faulcon was also charged with the first degree murder of Ronald Madison, a 40 year old mentally retarded man who was shot seven times in the back. Three additional officers at the scene that day were also indicted on charges of attempted murder.

"We cannot allow our police officers to shoot and kill our citizens without justification, like rabid dogs," District Attorney Eddie Jordan said in a news release. "The rules governing lethal force are not suspended in an emergency. Everyone, including police, must abide by the law of the land." Damn right. Well said Mr. Jordan.

More information, including autopsy reports.

Fake IDs

Yes, it's a prank, but is it funny, sad, or frightening? More here.

R.I.P. James Brown

Supica's Third Edition Is Out!

The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson compiled by Jim Supica and Richard Nahas is unique in the literature of gun collecting. It is the S&W collector's Bible. The third edition has just hit the racks, available at Amazon.com or Old Town Station.

If you are a S&W aficionado, do not miss this book!

Hands Full

I regret that I have had my hands rather full over the past couple of weeks, and have not been able to blog as I would have liked. Hopefully that will change in the future. If not, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Idiots With Guns #63

Spread the love.......Shoot your hand before you shoot the camera......

The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom


The Four Rules
1. All firearms are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

Pawn Shop Circuit: Return

I could not repair the little H&R 922, so I returned it to Neil this afternoon, and told him what needed repair. Neil told me he would pass on the information to the next buyer, and placed the revolver back on his shelf. He gave me a full refund and thanked me for oiling and checking out the gun.

I did not have time to visit Kenny or Dave.

Pawn Shop Circuit: Stocking Stuffer

I went to Neil's shop today, to place a bit more money on my Colt Commander. Little by little, I am whittling away at the price tag. Neil still had his S&W 686 for $399. Neil had also added a little Harrington & Richardson .22LR revolver to his selection. It was a blued 922, the type that has the pull-pin cylinder. I own a H&R 923, which is the nickel version of this revolver. I asked Neil to show it to me. He looked kind of surprised, and removed it from the case.

The little revolver appeared to be in fair shape, except it appeared to have a non-functioning hammer block safety, and it apparently had been converted to double action only. The hammer would not stay cocked, and a notch was not palpable. It had apparently never been oiled or cleaned. I had to wonder if a little elbow grease might whip it back into shape. Neil had a $69 price on the gun. That was agreeable to me. It will make a great stocking stuffer.

Christmas Gifts for the Gun Nut

At Christmas time, it is often difficult to know what to get for a person who has a passion for firearms, so here are a few pointers/suggestions:

Ammo: The gold standard. You cannot go wrong with ammo. My future son-in-law bought me a case of .45ACP last year. I was very pleased. Note I call him my future son in law today. Make certain you buy the right caliber ammunition. Ammo is usually non-returnable, and if you buy the wrong caliber, your recipient may have to buy a new gun. That's really not a bad thing though.

Targets: Gun nuts tend to be a bit budget conscious when considering targets. Tin cans, McDonald's toys, index cards and old AOL CDs are common high class targets among the gunnie set. When we cannot find those, we shoot at less attractive items. A package of Birchwood ShootNSee targets makes a great gift. In fact, a box full of them is fantastic.

Holsters: To buy the right holster you need to know which sidearm your gun nut carries and how he likes to carry it. If you have any questions, a gift certificate from Mitch Rosen, Milt Sparks or Gene DeSantis will suffice. If you pull a holster off the rack at the gun store, make certain you buy the right one, as they are usually non-returnable, and your recipient may have to buy a new gun.......

Belts: If your recipient still carries his piece strapped to a Dickie's belt from Wal-Mart, buy him a real gun belt. Trust me, it's one of the best gifts available for a skin flint CCW person.

Grips: Grips are a wonderful gift for a gunnie.....Just remember two types.....stag or ivory.....no faux......and you can't go wrong. Make certain you buy grips for a gun your recipient already owns, or you will have him going to the savings & loan before the next gun show. Hint: there are no ivory or stag grips for Glock, HK, or KelTec guns.

Clothing: Shirts and caps with your gun nut's favorite brand of weapon embroideried often makes a cherished gift. I have several S&W and Colt shirts, which I love to wear to cocktail parties to attract other gunnies I haven't yet met. The Smith & Wesson apparel is particularly nice......If your gunnie likes Smith & Wessons. If not, a Glock polo shirt may trip his trigger.

Magazine subscriptions: Forget it.

Cleaning Supplies: This one is tricky. Take a look at what he already has, and buy the same thing in a larger quantity. The only really safe lubricant gift he may not already have is Ballistol or Slide-Glide.

A New Gun: You really can't go wrong with this gift. If you have any question of which one to buy, just buy two......No gunnie appreciates anything as much as a free gun.

Jeff Cooper on Liberty

"We are annoyed by the assumption on the part of certain public figures that the citizen should be able to prove the need for the citizen to acquire a means of protecting himself. The citizen's personal needs are no business of the state. Liberty, when in place, grants the right of the citizen to do what he chooses, as long as he does not stamp on the rights of others. Nobody needs caviar, or a pleasure boat or opera tickets. Whether he wants these things is no business of the state."
Jeff Cooper

Combat Shooting

Training for a gun fight by standing in one place is like training for a NBA basketball game by playing horse. If you cannot shoot while moving, you will likely not succeed.

Polymer Memories

When the HK USP was first imported to the States, in 1993, I knew I had to have one. Polymer seemed to be taking over the handgun market back then. Glocks were a huge success, but the sculpted angles of the USP slide, along with it's grip angle and thumb safety appealed to me more. I finally found this full size HK USP in .40S&W, used, and I quickly bought it. I had Tritium sights mounted, and with the HK bright light, I felt ready to take on the night's boogey men. I have since purchased a compact USP, as well as a P7.

Over the years, I have adopted the shotgun for home defense. I have gone to the 1911 as my semi-auto handgun of choice. I don't shoot the old HK much anymore. The .40 caliber ammunition is as expensive as .45ACP, and I would rather shoot old slabsides. I removed the HK from it's drawer today, cleared it, and dry fired it a bit. I have to wonder how I ever tolerated that trigger. The gun is stone reliable, and it's accurate enough, but the trigger is awful, gritty and stacking. But never let it be said that I did not try the plastic fantastics. Heck I even owned a Glock for a few days......I just found a gun I like a hell of a lot better, that I shoot a hell of a lot better, in the 1911. I was young then. I was easily influenced by things such as "hostile environment" finishes. I finally found my way though, the same way so many before me found, to the single stack brainchild of John Moses.

Idiots With Guns #62

Brain surgeons.....
The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom

The Four Rules
1. All firearms are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

Pawn Shop Circuit: Two 1911s

I drove back out to Dave's shop today to have a look around. Dave still had the SW1911PD for $750, as well as a little H&R revolver for $150, a Llama .45. The SW1911PD was certainly interesting, it is a pistol on my A list. For seven and a half though, the price is a little steep. At $600 I might bite, at $750 I'll wait. If it's still there at tax return time, perhaps..... The scandium Smith is nice. I asked Dave if he had any more old WWII revolvers hidden in back. He just smirked. I fondled the SW1911PD a bit more, handed it back to Dave, and bade him farewell.

On the way to Neil's shop, I swung into Kenny's place. Kenny had no handguns under his glass, but he did have a few pump shotguns for around $120 each. When I finally got to Neil's place, I asked him to pull my Colt Commander from the safe. I fondled it a bit, and I realized that this Series 70 Colt was more my meat. I pulled a Franklin and a half from my billfold and gave it to Neil to put towards the Commander's release. Neil had a like new Smith & Wesson 686 in the case, but it had the lock. No way for me, there are just too many Smith's out there to put up with that! Neil was wanting $399 for the 686. I hope he finds a buyer.

Light Blogging

Heavy work.

Carjacking Stopped Cold

A Salt Lake City man says his gun saved his life when a man threatened to take his car on December 6,2006. It's a story that adds fuel to the debate over Utah's concealed weapons law. The suspect in this case has not been caught yet. It's probably fair to say he'll think twice before ever threatening to steal someone's car again.

Even when running errands, just like he was doing this morning, Mike Taylor is on guard. Mike Taylor stated "The police have their hands full with everything and I don't think they could be every place at once." So Taylor was ready when, he says, a man threatened to steal his car.

"Finally he told me he was going to kill me and take my car for himself. At that point I felt like he was going to kill me and I feared for my life so I drew my firearm and called police," stated Taylor. He never fired a shot.

Clark Aposhian, Bureau of Criminal Identification Chairman says that is what usually happens. "We have not seen any type of pattern of abuse or escalation of these types of robberies," declared Aposhian. "We haven't seen blood in the street that a lot of my adversaries or detractors would talk about."

Taylor has held a concealed weapon permit for six years.

Pawn Shop Circuit: Victory!

I had that feeling when I walked into Dave's shop this morning. It's kind of hard to describe, but it's the feeling that I had better go check those shelves.
Today the instinct yeilded a very nice Victory Model Smith & Wesson in .38 Special.

This Victory Model lacked the US Property markings, and thus had been sold through the Defense Supply Commission, and was used stateside. It was in great shape. All the numbers matched, including the grips, and it retained it's original finish. The case hardening colors on the trigger and hammer were still bright. The action was smooth and tight. Chances are, it rested in the desk drawer of some manager type for years.

Dave did not have a tag on the gun yet, so I asked him how much he wanted. He retrieved his tattered Blue Book, and turned to his S&W tab. He asked "This is a Victory gun, right?" I said yes. Dave saw a range of prices in 95% condition spanning $200 to $400. He was a bit confused and did not want to ask anymore questions, but he knew what he gave for the gun. "How about $300?" he probed.

"That's fair." I replied, and I began to fill out the 4473. This was not the Victory Model that was at the estate sale. This wartime Smith & Wesson was in great shape with the original grips and lanyard ring.
The old revolver is in much better shape than my other Victory Model. This one still has the original parkerized finish, and it appears to be essentially unfired. It does have a turn ring and a bit of muzzle wear.

Unfortunately, I did not have time today to do much more than photograph the revolver. I'm looking forward to putting some lead down range with it soon.

Idiots With Guns #61

The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom

The Four Rules
1. All firearms are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

Pearl

Pawn Shop Circuit: Ladysmith

I drove by Neil's today, and I went inside to get my Smith & Wesson Model 65-5 Ladysmith off layaway. Neil had stored her well, and she only required a bit of cleaning to meet her full potential. Neil got me a 4473 to fill out as I gave the revolver one last series of checks prior to laying my money down.

This revolver has almost anything a person could want in a carry gun. Top drawer reliability. The most effective caliber on record. Fixed sights. A non-wearing finish. A smooth trigger. The three inch barrel affords the carrier full extraction of empty cases, while minimizing the barrel to a concealable length. The round butt of the revolver means it is much less likely to print through clothing. For $299, it was a heck of a deal.

The only negative is the engraving of the Ladysmith script in the sideplate. On this revolver, it is actual engraving, and not easily removed. In the final analysis though, who cares if it is labeled ladysmith? It is one of the finest K frame carry revolvers ever produced by Smith & Wesson. It does have MIM lockwork, but it has no zit lock. A blue finish, recessed chambers and a pinned barrel would be the only way to improve on this gun. On a carry gun, even that is superfluous. Maybe a trip to Clark's for a meltdown.........

Vintage Leather & Steel

There was a time before nylon and plastic......

Smith & Wesson Model 10
in a leather basketweave
S&W police holster

Idiots With Guns #60

This one should be black and white.
The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom


The Four Rules
1. All firearms are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

Smith & Wesson Grip Adapter on Ebay

Smith & Wesson Pre-War K frame Grip Adapter

Winning bid: US $610.00

The Poodle & the Leopard

A wealthy old lady decided to go on a photo safari in Africa , and took her faithful old poodle named Cuddles, along for the company. One day the geriatric poodle began chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discoverd that he was lost. Wandering about, he was alarmed to see a leopard stalking in his direction, licking his chops.

"Oh, oh! I'm in deep shit now!" thought the old poodle. Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settled down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard was about to pounce, the old poodle exclaimed loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the young leopard halted his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror came over him and he slinked away through the trees. "Whew!", said the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, decided he could put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he scurried, but the old poodle saw him heading after the leopard with great speed, and knew something must be up. The monkey soon caught up with the leopard, and spilled the beans. He quickly struck a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard was furious at being made a fool of and said, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine! Now, the old poodle saw the leopard approaching with the monkey on his back and thought, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sat down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them. Just when they had crept close enough to pounce, the old poodle exclaimed "Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"

Moral of the story...
Don't mess with old farts...age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill! Bullshit and brilliance only come with age and experience.

Thanks Gary, I needed that today!