GASG: Progressive claims that Homosexuality = Criminal Acts. How open minded!

From our friend Gwen over at GASG:

6/01/2010: Juneau “men” arrested for using guns to kill Romeo, other things

June 5, 2010 - Leave a Response

Not only did they kill a beloved wolf and other assorted creatures, they baited bears and did pretty much everything illegally. It’s too bad that the wolf wasn’t able to sink it’s teeth into these “men”. I would have liked to see that. Not to kill them of course, but to teach them a lesson that maybe they should just spend their evenings with the playstation, instead of playing with hard, long steel toys that shoot out hot metal while sleeping with other men under the stars and making each other breakfast the next morning.

Categorized in Guns
Tags: Alaska, Crime, Firearms, Guns, Handguns, Hunter, Juneau, NRA, Palin, Pistol, Republican, RickRydell

This is interesting to me because Gwen identifies as a progressive and Democrat (making her a partisan, as opposed to this blog, which maintains a steadfastly non-partisan, relatively single-issue stance). Progressives are, at their best, supportive of rights for everyone -- at least theoretically. However, as Joe Huffman likes to point out, for some reason anti-gun activists seem to have quite a flair for bigotry and hate. Gwen is no exception.

Here, Gwen takes a story about men who broke the law -- criminals, probably even felons -- and equates that with homosexuality. Her innuendo is pretty clearly intended to evoke such stereotypes. Why is this acceptable? Would it have been acceptable if she had equated their criminal activity to a slur about women or a minority instead? How enlightened and progressive of her! If anyone needed more evidence, this is another example of how the anti-rights crowd really thinks.

As a sidebar, it is worth noting that gun control has strong racist roots, and JPFO has built a circumstantial case showing that the origins of the 1968 GCA are pretty similar to Nazi gun control laws. I hate to play the Hitler Card, but it is impossible to avoid the sordid history of institutional racism embedded in many gun control laws. Justice Thomas nicely chronicled this history in his recent concurrent opinion from McDonald.

Groups like "Pink Pistols" -- homosexuals who support self-defense -- and gun-rights advocates like Joe Huffman who work with them -- are the open minded, tolerant half of the equation. As she makes obvious in her blog's hateful speech, Gwen's point of view represents the bigoted, anti-civil rights side of the debate.

On The Issue Itself

While the case is still pending (as far as I know), it seems possible that these jokers were breaking the law. If so they will be punished, because in this country we have the rule of law and we don't punish people for pre-crime. However, I did take issue with the newspaper's description of the wolf.

The regal, mature wolf estimated last year to be 7 or 8 years old and 140 pounds, was always alone. He frequently approached people and their dogs on the frozen Mendenhall Lake. Some hiked with him almost daily.

There were many encounters during which Romeo would play with dogs, sometimes jumping straight up in the air and playing tug of war, according to accounts in Alaska. On occasion, the wolf would be bitten but not retaliate. He apparently liked being chased by other canines.

But he was known on at least several occasions to grab and carry smaller dogs in his mouth before dropping them and was a suspect in the disappearance of a beagle and Pomeranian.

The paper goes on and on (even more than this) about what a nice, friendly, tame, safe animal this wild wolf was. However, wild animals -- especially predators -- are not public pets. Even the paper admits that the wolf liked to nibble on smaller dogs and maybe killed two. When predatory wild animals are socialized to lose their fear of humans, then their interactions get entirely too close. It is not "natural" or normal for bears to eat out of trash cans, for coyotes to live in suburbia, or for wolves to hang out with people. That is a perversion of these animal's inherently wild natures. Moreover, it drastically raises the risk of an adverse interaction between people and animals. How long would it be until Romeo moved up from snatching small dogs to snatching small children? Would he still be a cute "pet" then?

In my opinion, the illegal bait stations were a more egregious crime than killing the wolf. Wolves were open and if Romeo was actually the one that was destroyed (which seems to be still up in the air) it was certainly far too accustomed to people for safety. The only wrongdoing in shooting the wolf was using a .22 rimfire rather than a centerfire, and that regulation is in place to avoid maiming or wounding game. Still, if they acted criminally they should be punished accordingly.

GASG: Guide Killed

This is an old one but I'm running behind. I thought it was particularly egregious commentary from Gwen and deserved to be addressed. This is what she wrote:

6/03/2010: Wasilla brown bear guide shot and killed

June 5, 2010 - Leave a Response

Let me get this straight. Mr. Millo has guns. He knew how dangerous they are. This guy had all the training. This guy was paid by folks, to take them into bear territory, to kill a bear (because they bears looked at them funny or called them names or tried to take their pic-i-nic baskets, or something). They paid him, because he was so very, very excellent at guiding bear hunts.

And he ends up shot and killed?

Guns are soooo great.

Categorized in Guns
Tags: Alaska, Guns, Firearms, Republican, NRA, Death, Wasilla, Pistol, Palin, Hunter, RickRydell, Handguns, Bear

This incident was widely covered in the media and other sources; here are some excerpts.

DPS State Troopers Report:

Case number: 10-47107
Type: Accidental Shooting

Text:  On 5/31/2010 at approximately 0130 hours, the Alaska State
Troopers and the Wrangell Police Department responded to a reported
hunting accident at the head of the Bradfield Canal near Wrangell.
Investigation revealed 50 year old Bret D. Millo of Wasilla, AK was shot
and killed by 51 year old Ralph E. Delius of West Bloomfield, MI on a
guided brown bear hunt.  The incident took place on 5/30/2010 at
approximately 2230 hours.   No indication of foul play was discovered.
Millo's next of kin have been notified.  The State Medical Examiner's
Office will be conducting an autopsy of the body.
From UPI via WLTX:

WRANGELL, Alaska, June 1 (UPI) -- A West Bloomfield, Mich., doctor accidentally killed a man from Wasilla, Alaska., while on a guided bear hunt, authorities in Alaska said.

Dr. Ralph Delius, 51, fatally shot Bret Millo, 50, Sunday night at the head of the Bradfield Canal near Wrangell, Alaska, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.

Delius is a pediatric heart surgeon at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, authorities said.

"We are aware of the news of this tragic accident and our thoughts are with everyone involved," said Anika Corbett, a spokeswoman for Children's Hospital.

Investigating police said there was no evidence of foul play.

The local Detroit news also covered it. The interesting thing there are the comments; there are some folks that attest to the doc's skill as a healer, but a good number that just make crude jokes. Interestingly enough, the posters with pro-firearms names like "girlsnguns" are not making crude jokes. Hrm.

First off, Gwen attacks hunting of bears. I am guessing that Gwen is not a hunter. I am guessing that she prefers to eat chickens and cows that live fantastic lives on a magic farm, or if she is a vegetarian then I am sure she gets all of her produce from a "no kill" organic farm that doesn't kill any rabbits, deer, or other pests (let me know when such a place is ever found).

Moreover, hunting bears is a responsible management strategy endorsed by multiple biologists, government agencies, and researchers. Hunting bears can actually enhance bear populations; hunters usually cull the largest boars because they want the most impressive trophies. Large aggressive boars have a habit of killing any cubs they come across because they don't want the competition. Plus, it reduces negative bear-human interactions; you are three times more likely to be attacked by a bear in an area where there is no hunting like Denali National Park than in an area where hunting is allowed. It isn't about bears looking at you funny; it is about smart, scientific wildlife management.

Next, she attacks Mr. Millo personally, implying that he must not have been competent because his client shot him in her usual sarcastic way. This is a fellow Alaskan who died in a tragic accident. Gwen's comments have no class or sympathy (just like those in the Detroit article comments that seized on the opportunity for crude puns). Again, she wallows in the blood of the victims -- how cruel and vulgar. This is not how you treat your neighbors! Mr. Millo probably knew quite a bit about guiding bear hunts; you don't get repeat clients or new business if you suck at guiding, after all. And the client was required by state law to seek a guide as well, for brown bear hunts; this is intended in part as a safety measure.

Interestingly, the shooter was a well-respected doctor. Gwen subscribes to the "only ones" theory, which says that societal elites such as police and military are the only ones competent enough to operate firearms. In many jurisdictions with "may issue" permits -- which is the legal construct used to prevent "those" people from obtaining firearms (usually grounded in some sort of institutional racism, by the way) -- the only folks who can get permits are cops, doctors, lawyers, and bankers. Socioeconomic elites; the "right" people. This tragic incident illustrates that nobody is exempt from following the four rules of gun safety; accidents can strike anywhere. Having more letters after your name or making more money or donating to the right re-election campaigns doesn't mean you are immune from accidents.

All in all, a tragic accident and reminder of the importance of safe hunting practices.

Interesting Comments from GASG

On an ADN article, Gwen wrote:

It all comes down to personal responsibility. Too many people are quick to place the blame with society, depression, the Muni, APD, Brown Jug, Native Corporations, whomever you don't like, the Troopers, those who give money to panhandlers, those who don't give money to panhandlers, social services, bartenders...

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/06/23/1337116/anchorage-woman-found-dead-in.html?pageNum=2&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container#ixzz0rirRU9OA

Interesting that she chooses not to apply that philosophy to firearms, and she has stated over and over again that she does not feel that any Alaskan other than the police or military is responsible enough to own firearms. Interesting.

Hunting Regs

We've done some traveling out of state recently and I just want to say, holy cow -- we are blessed in AK with low fees, generous bag limits, and relatively simple regs. I can't believe how much moolah people pay to go on a whitetail deer hunt outside, and how complicated it is. Even for non-residents, AK is great for hunting.

I'll try to scrape up some more substantive examples but I left the hunting reg packet in the car tonight...

Grizzly Bear Attack

From the lower 48.

A grizzly bear that killed a 70-year-old man near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming was still on the loose Friday, authorities said.

The Park County Sheriff's Office said authorities had closed part of the Shoshone National Forest while they searched for the bear, which apparently attacked a man after being captured and tranquilized there by researchers Thursday.

The man, Erwin Frank Evert, was unarmed and fatally wounded when the large adult male grizzly bear attacked him, the sheriff's office said. He was in the forest with his wife, a member of a federal team of researchers studying grizzly bears, authorities said.

Clearly he was dressed provacatively and was asking for it.

Been Busy

Sorry for the lack of posting. THere are certainly things to write about. I've just been terribly busy with both travel and work. This summer is packed so it may be a little while between posts.

Marlin Upgrades Complete

I just got my Marlin 1894CSS back from the shop. I have always enjoyed shooting that carbine, but the open buckhorn sights were, I felt, a major weak point. While traditional and authentic they seem more like a cost-saving measure on Marlin's part. I found them rather slow to acquire, which is not optimal on a carbine intended to be used on small to mid-size game at close ranges in heavy cover.

So, with rectifying that deficiency in mind, I took my Marlin to Wild West Guns. WWG specializes in customizing Marlin lever guns, and folks mail guns to them from all over the country to get worked on.

CUSTOMIZATIONS

I had WWG throw a set of their ghost rings sights on there. I'm pleased with how this modification came out. The front sight is now a bright fiber optic sight, visible even in lower light (unlike the stock black post...). The rear sight is a large aperture ghost ring, and it also accepts standard williams apertures of smaller sizes. Both are well protected and easily adjustable. All in all they are great sights. Additionally, WWG gave me free installation which was a nice perk.

I also wanted some work done on the barrel while they had the sights off. First, I had them bead blast all the stainless areas. They worked around the areas covered with nickel bands pretty carefully. The bead blast finish came out nicely, and instead of a shiney stainless barrel I now have a low-glare finish.

Additionally, I asked them to cut the gun down to 16.5". They originally quoted $80 for this, even with the magazine cut and front sight reinstall. Amazing! However, it was too good to be true. They called me and it would have run around $250 to have the barrel cut down, magazine cut down, and front sight redrilled and re-dovetailed. I decided it wasn't worth $250 to me to remove an inch or two, so they left it as is.

All in all I am happy with the modifications. I am also thinking about having them put in a bear-proof ejector, happy trigger kit, and maybe even a lever or action polishing job. We'll see. The goal is to turn this carbine into my ultimate small game and smaller deer rifle; it may get brought along on a Sitka deer hunt. Maybe I should have opted for a .44 magnum but I wanted to have compatibility with my revolver.

WILD WEST GUNS

I have mixed feelings about WWG. On one hand, their shop does good work. I've had them do work on two guns now and both times it turned out to be good quality for a reasonable price (although not overnight; good, cheap, or fast, pick two...). Additionally, they do have a pretty good selection. They were the only place that stocked the 1894CSS in .357 magnum in town. While, I can't say that they have the best price in town on stuff, they do often have rarer items in stock, including ammo. Finally, they also have a robust online presence and are pretty active and responsive on various forums.

However, their service is bipolar. Hans is always friendly and helpful but the other staff can be hit or miss depending on their mood (or the phase of the moon or something). I've emailed them a question only to have them ask me to call them, then when I called them they were not interested in answering questions or dealing with me. If they are so busy that they don't need new customers that's cool but still, I think there is no excuse for being rude. Some folks on the AK Outdoor forums refer to the "Wild" experience so I guess I am not alone. Then again, today when I went in, everyone was friendly and helpful.

One other thing that bugs me is their obscenely high FFL transfer fees. They want $150 per gun to transfer. Gun Runners in town does it for $35, and you can find smaller operations that will do transfers for $0-25. $150 is so insultingly high that they might as well just not do them at all, in my opinion.

As a bottom line, if you have a thick skin and can deal with inconsistent service then I'd recommend WWG, especially for their shop. If you want custom work done on a gun, especially a lever gun, then I don't know who else in town I would go to. However, you have to have a good sense of humor and a lot of patience. WWG must be swimming in customers (probably due to their shop), because I know they've turned Heather off so much that she prefers to wait in the car rather than come in and browse in their shop. I'm sure she's not the only one.

Resurrection Pass

Heather and I just finished a trip out to Resurrection Pass so I figured I'd draft up a quick trip report. The main caribou herd hangs out near American Creek, which is west of East Creek Cabin. I've done some map study and there are basically four routes in to this area:
- Resurrection Pass North (from Hope)
- Resurrection Pass South (from Cooper's Landing)
- Devil's Pass Trail
- Summit Creek Trail

We explored Resurrection Pass North from Hope. Our goal was to tag East Creek Cabin and view the American Creek drainage (valley). We were ultimately successful in doing so.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Day 1 was drizzly and around 60 degrees, and then Days 2 and 3 were clear blue skies and cool, around 50-60 (up to the 70s in the sun). Perfect hiking weather, very comfortable. Couldn't have asked for much better!

The trail itself is in great shape. Aside from a few muddy patches (easily skirted or plowed through in low boots -- no gaiters required) we found it to be broad and well maintained. It is regularly used by bicycles so that is an indiciation of what kind of shape it is in. Some parts are even wide enough for 2-3 people to walk abreast. All except for one of the creek crossings was bridged. One ford was not and it was a bit dicey but that may have just been the time of year -- it is spring so all the snow melt has the creeks running high and fast.

Every 2 miles or so there is a cabin or a campsite, usually alternating. Almost all of the cabins are newly renovated (within the last year). They are in GREAT shape. Most sleep 6 (two couples and two singles) and have wood stoves with ample seating. There are also outhouses which are also in great shape (one nice thing about AK and cooler wx = no stinky outhouses!) as well as tent sites nearby. The camp sites have bear boxes, pit toilets, leveled and cleared tent spots, fire pits, and sitting areas. All are near mountain streams that had ample cold, clear water. Almost all have very good views.

Elevation gain is moderate. The trail slopes gently up into the pass and there is not very much up and down at all, which is nice. There were a few places that needed switch backs but other than that it was a pretty easy hike from that point of view. It is pretty cool because you hike through multiple ecosystems -- you start down low in the coastal forest then move up through sitka spruce, taiga and sub-alpine areas. You can easily view alpine area on all sides throughout.

Wildlife viewing was not bad. We saw hares, porcupines, and a lynx (very rare) as well as lots of birds, including a nest full of raucous ravens. We also saw lots of bear and moose sign, although we didn't happen to see either this trip.

We did not like three things about this trail. First, there is pretty thick forest on much of the trail. While there is not any bushwhacking, it does restrict your view at times. That is the downside of limited elevation gain -- while it is relatively easy to hike a flatter trail, you also don't get up above the tree line for those better views. Not to say that the views were bad -- it was really cool to see the mountains rising all around you and to occasionally get an awesome glimpse back down the pass where you could see all the way to Turnagain Arm -- but still, it was definitely not a "bird's eye view."


Next is the distance involved. It was a long haul to Fox Creek (11.5 miles), where we stayed our first night. We were tired and it took us about 7 hours, even with a good trail and good weather. East Creek Cabin is about 15 miles from the trail head. I've done a lot of hiking and while I normally think of 12 miles as not so bad, this trip it tuckered us out. I can blame part of it on being out of shape and part on bad equipment (Heather had a pack that didn't fit right) but I can safely say that hiking the trail head to East Creek Cabin is a long, tiring, full day's march. I wasn't alone as several entries in the guest logs mentioned that it was a deceptively long hike. Splitting it into two days would be more comfortable.

Finally, while there are some nice overlooks, lots of streams, and pleasant camp sites, there are few open meadows and no lakes. That means less birding, fishing, and wildlife viewing.

Our next trip will be a loop from Devil's Pass to Resurrection Pass Trail then back down Summit Creek Trail. This is all part of the same trail system; instead of coming in from the North this route basically brings you in to the center of the pass. It is shorter but has more elevation gain -- the benefit of that, of course, is better views early on as you get above the treeline! Another plus of this route in the fall is that while I can safely say the odds of seeing a caribou on the Resurrection Pass Trail North itself are very, very low, in the higher elevation Taiga on Devil's Pass or Summit Creek there have actually been successes. Additionally, both feature lakes for fishing, birding, and beaver watching. We hope to do that one in two weeks (third week in June).

Heather took some nice photos of this trip. We also did a lot of thinking about planning for this fall and I'll probably draft up a note on logistics here in the next few weeks as we continue to gather information. No bears, and we didn't bag any of the bunnies or porcupines either, but it was a nice weekend trip. Happy trails!

XBolt Range Report

I just took my new XBolt which I've been talking about a bit here (and here and then ordering it here) to the range. Earlier this week I had it outfitted with optics which I guess I'll talk briefly about.

OPTIC

The Xbolt wears a Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40. I picked this particular scope for a few reasons:

• Price. It was on clearance at SW for $180. I overspent on the rifle, so I was looking for a bargain on optics.
• Firefly reticle. This is basically a fancy glow in the dark reticle which is good for low light conditions. Like I might see in, say, Alaska anytime it is not summer.
• Rainguard coating. This is a proprietary coating that apparently actually works fairly well at dealing with rainy, foggy, or misty conditions. Like, say, Alaska in September.
• Price. Did I mention this was a quality optic for <$200 and I already had spent too much money?

MOUNTS

I started with proprietary XBolt integrated bases and rings. Unfortunately, the good folks at the SW shop with their boresight device could not get the windage adjusted properly. Even though I had special ordered the proprietary rings from another company, they swapped them for a set of Leupold rings and bases and actually saved me money (in the form of a gift card). I continue to be impressed with SW. They worked on my gun for over an hour for free. Everything is now loc-tited down and while I don't like adjustable mounts as much as fixed ones (fewer moving parts = good), at least I had a good boresight.

SHOOTING ACCURACY

So, how's it shoot? Answer -- not bad! I started off with a box of cheaper ammo to zero it, Remington 150 gr core-lokt. After two groups at 25 yards I had it rough sited and moved out to 100. At 100 it took another few groups to get it centered and shooting about 2.5" high.

I then ran a few types of ammo through to see what it liked. My initial procedure was to fire one fouling shot then a three shot group, but I just started counting the fouling shot to get a four shot group instead as it was pretty darn accurate. I was using a bench rest with an improvised front rest made out of my range bag. I let the rifle cool for a few minutes in between each string of ammo while I counted holes, policed brass, and reloaded the magazine. This is what I got:

• Remington Core-Lokt 150 gr: I don't have a four shot group for this as I used most of the ammo zeroing but I did get several 2-3 shot groups of 1.5" or less. Pretty good.
  
• Federal Vital-Shok 150 gr: 2.5" (although three shots were within 1.5", with one oddball -- I might have flinched)
  
• Federal Power-Shok 180 gr: 2", nicely centered
• Hornaday Interlock 150 gr: 1.5", nicely centered
  
• Federal Fusion "Lite" Reduced Recoil 170 gr: This stuff did NOT shoot anywhere near the same zero at 100 yards, advertising copy to the contrary. It shot about 8" below the point of aim and 3" to the right for some reason. I didn't measure the group as it was actually off of my target that got brought home but it was around 2". This was the last group of the day and as I was getting pretty tired the reduced recoil was appreciated.
  

So basically, the Xbolt shot 2" groups out of the box with a relatively new shooter (me). That is fine for hunting big game out to 300 yards. As I improve I think I may start seeing sub-MOA accuracy.

I did have a few double feeds, although that was my fault not working the bolt all the way. No other problems. Things were starting to smooth up as I got to the end of the day so I expect the bolt will continue to smooth out with use.

IMPROVEMENTS

A few things I want to improve:

• Eye relief. Right now the scope is mounted too far forward. It will be even worse with bulky winter clothes on. I need to move the scope back an inch or so.
• Trigger. I want to fiddle with the adjustable trigger and lighten it up a bit.
• Me! I need more practice and range time. Who doesn't?
  

Unpossible

How could someone go on a shooting rampage in that place where Great Britain used to be, an island nation where guns are all but illegal?

Note that the weapons used where common, among the last to be banned (but banned nonetheless).

Armed with two weapons - a .22 rifle and a shotgun - Bird drove down the coast from Whitehaven where the first attacks took place, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake.

Also note that the police response is limited to following the bloody path and counting bodies. As is often the case, the incident did not end until the shooter killed himself.