Maybe its a feature, not a bug

As Criminal Laws Proliferate, More are Ensnared

It really shouldn't be surprising that lots of people are getting thrown into jail for victimless crimes which require no criminal intent. That's kind of the point of such laws, isn't it? It is pretty darn naive to think that "selective enforcement" by paragons of virtue in the legal system bureaucracy would prevent abuse of such broad statutes.

Thus, After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.

Alexis De Tocqueville

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. When there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

Ayn Rand

Did they check to see if the ATF took them?

26 AK-74 assault rifles and a dragunov were stolen from a US Army fort in California.

First question: Did the Army check to see if the ATF sent them to Mexio?

Second question: Why do we have dozens of AK-74s in a US armory? I guess they're likely props for the National Training Center, but really, do they need to be fully functional? Wouldn't a $300 WASR-10 get the point across?

Third question: Don't the thieves know that it is illegal to have an scary looking rifle in your possession in California?

Fourth question: Don't the thieves know that they need to register their new NFA items? Oh, wait--that law only applies to good guys.

Ammo and Fires

"Local Anti-Gun Bigot Responsible for Deaths of Million Children"

Right up front, that byline is sarcastic and illogical. It will make more sense in a moment though.

Our local anti-gun bigot wrote:

7/27/2011: Anchorage fire kills child, likely because of ammunition

http://www.adn.com/2011/07/27/1987707/house-on-fire-in-mountain-view.html I’m sure that gun owners are very sad today because they are feeling at least partly responsible for killing this little child. The smart ones are, anyway.

If you read the ADN article, you'll find that a residential house fire resulted in the tragic death of a young child. The cause of the fire is unknown. Several people ran out of the house. Realizing that they had left a child inside, one tried to re-enter but was restrained. Firefighters showed up and had to fight their way through sheets of flame. They found the child, already dead, inside the home.

As a side note, eyewitnesses heard ammo cooking off. One claimed that bullets were flying everywhere. As a note, the firefighters did not identify this as a hazard or limiting factor; the problem for them was the huge sheets of flame in front of the doorway. Still, according to Gwen Blanston, each and every gun owner in Alaska is responsible for killing the little girl. By this logic, Gwen -- who I assume owns a car, or at least a gasoline powered lawn mower -- is responsible for the deaths of a million children every year in traffic wrecks from gasoline powered death machines. I think most of us would rightly call such reasoning ludicrous.

Moreover, Gwen appears to be ignorant about how ammunition acts in a fire. In a fire, small arms ammo will eventually "cook off." This generally results in the cartridge casing rupturing, which may spray shrapnel from the brass fragments a few feet. These can be sharp but are very unlikely to penetrate ammo cans, magazines, drywall, heavy work clothing, etc. When the case ruptures, the lead bullet at the end of the cartridge may pop out and be propelled a few feet. However, it will generally not "fire" or "shoot" like it would out of a firearm. Firearms have something called a "chamber," which serves to contain and control the explosion of the powder inside the cartridge, focusing the energy of the bullet down the barrel. Without a chamber, you don't get a focused explosion or a major projectile effect.

Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable in this and many other cases. Just because people said they heard the bullets whizzing overhead doesn't mean it happened that way. If there actually were bullets flying everywhere, don't you think that the first responder's vehicles and the neighbor's houses would be full of bullet holes? Eyewitnesses probably heard the "popping" sounds as individual cartridges cooked off and assumed that bullets were flying, which is probably not accurate.

It is not inconceivable that a few rounds could explosively cook off as projectiles. This would obviously be most likely with a firearm stored in condition 1 (i.e., with a round in the chamber). The chambered round, if it cooked off, might behave much like a fired round. Obviously, however, such "shots" could not exceed the total number of firearms with chambered rounds in them. Hardly a barrage.

Now, a reloader might have additional fire safety concerns. Storing large quantities of powder would obviously be a significant hazard. This is why powder magazines have traditionally been carefully controlled facilities built with an eye towards fire safety. Still, the average house has many things which are much more hazardous than regular cartridges and maybe even small quantities of powder (say, a few pounds -- typical for most reloaders). Things like gasoline cans for the lawn mower, aerosol cans, a few gallons of paint in the garage, and so on are going to be as or more hazardous.

So here we have an anti-gun bigot who is terrified of firearms and all things related to them, as well as very ignorant about the subject, blaming an entire class of people for a tragedy which they had no part in, on the basis of eye-witness evidence which is likely not technically accurate, for a factor which was ultimately irrelevant.

Cracking the Code

Jihadist reads the manual, decides to target unarmed military personnel in-garrison. Luckily the plot was foiled.

By the way, it should be pointed out that the soldier probably isn't allowed to buy privately owned weapons without registering them on base and getting permission from his commander. As a junior enlisted person, he probably is supposed to live in the dorms and thus must abide by the base's privately owned weapons policy. It is almost as if people who go AWOL, assemble bomb making materials, and plot treason in time of war don't care about gun control laws and regulations.

It could be that all the publicity around the Ft Hood shootings followed up by lots of terrorist propaganda highlighting has made it clear that most military members tend to be disarmed by policy at home station. Then again, this is a totally logical policy for most military leaders to implement. After all, if they allow weapons on base, and someone does something stupid or unsafe, their career is toast due to their perceived bad judgement. If the instead prohibit weapons and create a victim disarmament zone and then a terrorist attack kills a bunch of their people, it is a tragedy or maybe an intel failure, and then we get all concerned about our diversity and sensitivity training.

Suicide at Eielson

This week, a young airman at Eielson AFB up in Fairbanks committed suicide.

This is obviously a tragedy.

It may be worth considering the privately owned weapons policies on most bases. I have never heard of a base that allowed privately owned weapons to be kept in the dorms. They generally must be stored in the unit armory, and often can only be accessed at certain times and at the discretion of the armorer (who can decide that you look drunk, depressed, etc). Some bases go further and require permission of the individual's supervisor or commander to withdraw a weapon from the armory. Furthermore all weapons must have a registration on file, and the commander usually has to sign off on the registration. Of course, carrying weapons on base is strictly prohibited and transportation must be done in accordance with strict guidelines (usually unloaded in a locked container seperate from any ammunition).

In short, it is gun control mecca: registration, pseudo-licensing (given that the gun registration is approved by the CC, who has full discretionary authority to forbid the gun from being on base at all and broad discretion over the person in question), no carrying, no storage, discretionary issue of arms from a central storage facility under supervision, and so on. Yet the suicide still occurred.

Perhaps the answer to help prevent these tragedies lies in other interventions, like timely mental health support and supportive cultures.

Prohibited Person Shoots up Guard at Platinum Jaxx

Our local anti-gun bigot, Gwen, is bleating about a crime downtown in Anchorage. Apparently security wouldn't let a guy into Platinum Jaxx -- one of Anchorage's hippest nightclubs, which isn't necessarily saying much -- because he didn't have his ID. When he came back with his ID, he was rude and verbally abusive to the bouncer, who told him to take a hike. Third time, our upstanding model citizen Mr. Aaron Cook came back with a pistol and shot the guard. The bullet passed through the guard and hit a bystander.

At the ripe old age of 26, Mr. Cook has the following items under his belt already...

• Arrest for Murder 1 and Assault 4 (back in 2004!!!)
• Domestic Violence protective order
• Malicious Destruction of Property charges (misdemeanor)
• Substance abuse charges -- open container, drug possession
• Drug dealing charges (Class B Felony)
• A long litany of traffic violations and a fishing violation

So here we have someone who is almost certainly a prohibited person -- having a hat trick of substance abuse, felonies, and DV -- out on the town with three buddies, possibly a gang, trying to bring a loaded weapon into a place where they are forbidden. Who knows what he did in his juvenile years before his murder charge at the age of 19. Exactly what law does Gwen think would stop this? Even if we postulate a 100% citizen disarmament regime, would it have been a less serious crime had Cook stabbed the bouncer with a shiv instead of shooting him?

I couldn't find anything about the 2004 murder charges. I do wonder why someone who's had this many run-ins with the law is still on the streets. While I couldn't find info about the disposition of the cases, murder 1 isn't usually the sort of thing that gets shaken off, and neither is felony drug dealing.

Thankfully the perp either had bad aim, used FMJ rounds which are poor stoppers (but overpenetrate), or both. It looks like the bouncer and the bystander are going to be ok. Hopefully he gets a longer stay this time.

Dum Dum Bullets

PSH from UK newspapers:

18.20 The chief surgeon at a hospital treating Norway's victims said the killed used special 'dum-dum' bullets designed to disintegrate inside the body and cause maximum internal damage.

Dr Colin Poole, head of surgery at Rinriket Hospital in Honefoss, northwest of Oslo, said surgeons treating 16 gunshot victims have recovered no full bullets.

These Bullets more or less exploded inside the body... These bullets inflicted internal damage that's absolutely horrible.

You mean, the bad guy used evil bullets, just like the ones that the London police department uses? This seems like the same deal as semiauto rifle nomenclature: if the cops have them, they're patrol rifles or "expanding ammunition that prevents injury to bystanders and enhances officer safety." If civilians have them, then they are "assault weapons" and "dum dum death bullets."

As far as JHP "exploding..." Well, I'm pretty sure that there's no explosive charge inside a JHP round. I'm pretty sure that they typically expand to maybe 2x their starting size. In fact, people shot with JHP may be less likely to die because they typically get shot twice before they stop instead of a half dozen times or more with ineffective FMJ, so they have a lot fewer holes in them.

I think the investigation in Norway will find that there were so many deaths vice injuries because the perp was coup de gracing victims with a shotgun. Generally the probability of survival when you get shot in the cranium at point blank range with a twelve gauge is relatively poor.

The whole thing is a tragedy, but blaming it on a specific type of ammunition -- ammo which is greatly preferred by LEOs everywhere if they can get it, in fact -- kind of misses the point. Expanding bullets are mandatory for hunting in many countries, probably including Norway.

Heck, the same British newspaper even ran an article pointing out that Norway's tough gun laws were easily circumvented, then wrapped up by saying that the Scandinavian countries are fast forwarding tougher gun laws. The blood dancing has begun before the victims are even cold and the shock can wear off.

This whole tragedy highlights so many things that many of us know. When seconds count, the policy are minutes (or hours, for rural and remote properties) away. Running and hiding against an active shooter isn't always the best plan. Gun control generally doesn't terribly affect people bent on mayhem. Right now the best thing is to have thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families, but also to start to think about lessons learned to keep this sort of thing from happening locally.

Bear Attack

Breaking news, KTUU has the story.  Mama bear attacks a group of out-of-state teens involved in a survival skills and leadership program.  That's one way to practice those newly-learned survival skills.

In all seriousness, it sounds like those kids did everything right in the aftermath of the attack.  Good for them, and hopefully all of them will recover from the injuries.

ETA: A lot of people at the ADN and at some blogs are commenting that this group was foolish to go out into the woods without a gun.  What they are forgetting is that these were teens and all from out of state.  While Alaska state law is fine with kids being trained with guns, how well trained do you think that sixteen year old from CT is in firearms handling?  I don't know about you, but I don't want some kids who've never held a gun before packing grizz medicine!

The group had bear spray, they were making noise as instructed.  The attack seemed to come too swiftly for them to use the bearspray, much less a gun.  It does happen sometimes.  In the history of this organization it is only the second bear attack and the first grizzly attack.  This particular class has been happening for 40 years in Alaska.  Sometimes shit happens.

Bottom line: neither bear spray or guns are magic talismans against bear attacks (or people attacks for that matter).  You have to be trained in how to use them, mentally capable of using them, and have the time to use them.

I don't know what sort of training they had with the bear mace so I cannot comment on that aspect.  I will say that they should have EACH had a bear spray.

Another Update: From the new story up on ADN, some of the teens apparently ran when the bear attacked. That seems to have been their only mistake though.  Sometimes smart people forget the right thing to do, especially when a great big bear is trying to nom your face.

Instruction - It's Awesome

The local shooting range offers free basic instruction in trap and skeet shooting for a few hours every week.  Today I had time go take advantage of this.  Now, I've done some shotgun shooting, bagged a few birds (both the tasty kind and the clay kind), but I've never really had any instruction.  Given that I need to get a lot better for the sake of Pup next year, there's no time like the present for learning.

For free instruction, I was VERY impressed.  It was just me and the instructor and fifty rounds of birdshot.  The first thing we did was get me shooting right handed.  He also corrected my shoulder mount, cheek weld, and other posture issues.  According to him, my stock is maybe an inch or so too short, which was initially surprising until I thought for a minute and realized that here I was shooting in just a t-shirt whereas all of my previous times with the shotgun had involved several layers of fleece and jackets.  Definitely something to consider!

The next thing we covered was sight picture.  Go figure, I'd been doing it wrong.  He gave a very clear explanation and I immediately started breaking birds.  Funny how that works!

I certainly wasn't breaking everything I shot at, but when I had my posture correct and my sight picture correct, the clays were dust.  Even better, when I missed, I was able to say to which direction I missed, by how much, and why, giving me the confidence to go out and shoot more on my own, knowing that I won't just be turning money into noise.

This is why training is so important, and particularly training specific to the platform you are using.  Sure, all my pistol training gives me some basic skills with shotguns and rifles, but each has its own quirks and tricks which may not be intuitive.  I'm doing some more handgunning over the next month to get my NRA instructor certification, but once I've got that knocked out the first thing on my priority list is a good shotgun class.  I still have a lot to learn, but I'm excited to get out there and learn it!

Bombs and Shooting in Norway

ADN has the story.

Of particular note is the first sentence: "Norway's peace was shattered twice Friday when a bomb ripped open buildings in the heart of its government and a man dressed as a police officer gunned down youths at a summer camp."


Emphasis mine. Some people who support increased police powers, no-knock warrants and cops being able to do anything because they are cops need to remember that the bad guys can yell "POLICE" just as loud as anyone.

Piggy Back from Chris:

How's the gun control working out for you? Discretionary "shall issue" permits for ownership. Arbitrary caliber limitations. Arbitrary limitations on the type and number of firearms owned. Strict storage. Licensing of owners and registration of firearms. "Self defense" as an invalid reason for ownership (sport shooting and hunting only). Licensing to buy ammo. No concealed carry. I doubt open carry is legit. Yet somehow this crime occurred. Unpossible.

NICS and POC States

I recently bought a long gun out-of-state. I was charged for the NICS check. This was really odd, because I know that NICS is free. I initially thought that the dealer might be fleecing me with a "Profit Fee" but it turns out that some states have actually chosen to be the "Point of Contact" for all NICS checks. That is, instead of having the FFL call the FBI hotline directly, the FFL must call their state's background check office. The state then serves as a middleman between the FFL and the Feds. This layer of bureaucracy obviously costs money, and the cost is passed on to the FFL and thus the consumer. This cost is usually passed on whether the check is passed or not because the FFL is charged even for a rejection.

At first I thought this was totally retarded. Why would any state take on the expense and hassle of dealing with this? However, before totally discounting it I wanted to understand why some states had made this choice.

There are some "benefits" to states that want to go this route:

• Additional prohibited person categories. Some states like Oregon have implemented additional categories of prohibited persons who are not allowed to buy guns. The only want to enforce this is to run your own statewide background check system.
• Access to new databases. NICS only checks a few national databases. The States may be able to access things like mental health records more easily. Of course, the states could also just be more diligent about keeping the NICS database up to date.
• Additional denials or failures to approve. This POC setup allows the state to not give approvals as readily as NICS might. For example, for many years Georgia apparently gave a reject or a "fail to approve" to anyone with a previous arrest for felony/drug/DV charges. The failure to approve meant that the transaction was up to the FFL; most FFLs chose not to proceed at that point. Whether this keeps guns out of the hands of bad guys or whether it is a convenient way to disenfranchise certain groups of people is up for debate, I'd say. TN and CO still work this way.
• Allows the state to have its own criteria for fixing errors. For example, if you were wrongly denied in Georgia, the process to fix it is expensive, time consuming, and requires a lawyer and action by a court. However, the POC office regularly overturned "many" denials using an informal process that circumvented the expensive legal route. Whether this is the bureacracy actually helping people out, or a way to deny redress to certain groups while allowing "good old boys" to be grandfathered in is up for debate.
• Jobs Program. Obviously the state POC employs people. This office can be entirely funded by gun owners. It probably doesn't require any state appropriations to run, and I doubt that gun owners are organized enough on this particular issue to really bring significant political heat to bear. So, this serves as a way to create some cushy jobs for political appointees or unionized bureaucrats. Oregon and Georgia each spent on the order of a million bucks each year to run their programs.
• State Records. The state POC gets the full information for each buyer as well as the type of gun being purchased. I am unclear on whether or not they are required to destroy this information like NICS is supposed to. In theory it would be trivially easy for the state to build records of who has bought guns.
• Limit times of sales. Sales can only occur when the state POC office is open. If you want to prevent gun stores from operating during nights or weekends this is a great way.

The DOJ chartered a study to look at the effects of the POC state on denials to see what kind of results the system gets. The study looked at Georgia and Oregon over a three month period of time, but they screwed up their data collection methodology and thus one month of data was bad.

The study seems to conclude that POC states are a good thing and well worth the extra cost. I'm not so sure that their data supports that conclusion. In GA and OR, the states denied 1.9% and 0.8% of checks that NICS would have otherwise passed. In other words, best case -- assuming that GA and OR had extra info that NICS did not that denied a prohibited person -- they could a few hundred bad sales which made up a tiny percentage of total transactions.

Of the Oregon denials, 26% are related to their extra prohibited person categories. Of the others, the study discusses that Oregon casts a very broad net with name permutations. The average denial reversal rate for NICS is 28% in non-POC and partial-POC states. The reversal rate is only 11% in Oregon. It is unclear as to whether this is because Oregon is very accurate, or because the process is hard and cumbersome to use in Oregon. In any event, that means that we can toss about a 1/3 of the extra 0.8% of denials that Oregon's system found; 26% are things NICS isn't looking for and 11% are reversed.

Of the Georgia denials, the study says:

According to Georgia, there has never been a formal appeal of a denial filed, perhaps because of the court-based requirements; rather, the Georgia POC handles them informally and a relatively large number of reversals occur, especially for open arrests which later result in non-prohibiting convictions.

If the number is "relatively large," then it would not be unfair to estimate that perhaps half of Georgia's 1.8% of extra denials get thrown out. So we can say comfortably that the state POC systems may allow 0.25-1% of prohibited persons who might otherwise be missed by NICS to be properly excluded.

This of course raises a few questions, at least to me.

• Cost/Benefit: Is it worth a million dollars a year in order to prevent 0.25-1% of prohibited persons from buying a gun from an FFL? If so, why should this cost be borne by law abiding gun owners, when any benefit to society is being shared by everyone?
• Discrimination: In particular, the Georgia experience seems like it could be rife with abuse. The policy of denying large numbers of people then using an informal process at the POC to resolve the denials seems like it could be easily twisted. I'd be very interested to see if there are patterns of discrimination in the denials, and in the arbitrary and informal reversal process.
• Effectiveness: The question isn't "how many bad guys did we turn down that NICS would have missed?" The right question is, "how many bad guys did we successfully prosecute for straw buys?" or "how many bad guys did we prevent from getting firearms?" Given that a prohibited person could just drive across the state line to a non-POC state and perjure himself on the 4473 or illegally buy a firearm in a private sale and commit a felony, I'm guessing that the number is pretty small.

The study admits right up front:

Politically, a state’s attitude toward gun ownership may also influence its choice of status. Many POC states have enacted prohibiting legislation that is stricter than federally-mandated regulations.

Maybe that's the bottom line right there. That might be too simple -- after all, some firearms friendly states like Utah are also POC states -- but it is a convenient explanation.

Body Armor

I've recently mentioned that DW and I had to move to a not-so-good neighberhood with crime way higher than we're comfortable with. We also are headed to tornado country next. Tornadoes are frankly pretty terrifying as far as natural disasters go. In a hurricane, you have plenty of time to leave and not be there. An earthquake is just going to happen. With tornadoes you know that there's a pretty darn good chance that your house will soon look like a pile up pick up sticks but there's nothing to but sweat about it for a few minutes.

Disaster	Time to Prepare	Likelihood of Doom
1964 Earthquake	6-9 seconds	Hope you know where the gas line shutoff is
Hurricane Katrina	Days	Can you swim?
Tornadoes	6-9 minutes	You’re screwed

It probably doesn't help that Jurassic Park and Twister were popular movies when DW and I were at a formative young age, so we are both unusually concerned about dinosaurs and tornadoes.

If you get hit with a direct hit from a tornado, you're pretty hosed unless you happen to have a school bus which has been converted into a bunker. However, a lot of the damage comes from flying debris. It is easier to protect against that. Materials like kevlar are often used in safe rooms that actually work to protect people in real disasters. It makes sense; if a material can handle a .44 magnum round then it can probably stop splinters and nails too.

Has anyone tested kevlar against 14 million grain projectiles at low velocities?

So, with all this in mind, DW and I bit the bullet and ordered some body armor. I have personally worked with body armor before and am a believer in its ability to save lives. The stuff works. There are really two options out there for the budget consumer.

The first is US Palm's defender series. The defender is a pretty darn good idea. It is a ready to go chest rig set up for a pistol (chest holster + 3 mags), AR-15 (mag pouches), AK-47 (mag pouches), or molle. I believe all the vests also have room for a light. They come with varying levels of protection, but the entry level has a soft 3A plate in the front. Price? I've seen them for $200. This is a great "off the shelf" solution for someone concerned about home invasions. If your game plan is to hunker down in the master bedroom and call the cops, then you only need armor in the front. I really like the idea of having a "grab and go" pistol set up; that's basically what I had when I was downrange and it was very comforting when the alarms went off to have to toss on my chest rig and know that I had armor, a sidearm, some mags, a first aid kit, and a light. For $200 off the shelf the US Palm is a great solution. You can upgrade later with a hard rifle plate.

However, there are some issues with it. First, the armor plate is small. It stops well above the abdomen and may not cover the breadth of the chest on many people. There is no back or side protection, which could be an issue if you ever need to check the house or if you are concerned about flying debris in the tornado scenario.

The other option is to get some used police surplus armor. There are many vendors on the internet but I personally chose BulletProofMe. It is a bit more expensive than the defender and you're not getting a new kevlar vest (you're getting used). However, you get much more protection for your money. Additionally, BulletProofMe will work with you to ensure that you get the right size. DW and I are both very pleased with how carefully they worked with us on the measurements and how well the vests we ordered fit. They take into consideration things like male vs. female body shapes, if you'll need to be able to sit comfortable (size to account for that), if you wear duty gear on your belt or not, how much of a wrap vs. ventilation you want on the sides, etc.

The vests are just standard police surplus which means all they have for upgradeability is a 5x8" trauma pad pocket. This is perfect for adding a light steel and ballistic impact pad for a bit of stabbing protection. You could also add a 5x8 SAPI shoulder plate to get some rifle protection. Or, you can layer the vest with a plate carrier.

I would really like to have an option to affix some mags, a chest holster, a light, a phone, and a first aid kit so as to have a "grab and go" rig but that is the downside of police surplus. My compromise is to have a set of pants all "set up" next to the bed. If I whip on the pants then everything I need is in the pockets. I can have the pants on, the vest on, and the pistol in hand in around a dozen seconds. Given that there's two of us, the game plan is for one to immediately cover the door while the other gets dressed, then switch, then grab the long guns and call the police. All told it will be under a minute.

I've seen armor in the field and it works. I don't understand why people will spend tons of money on combat handguns, an AR/AK/12 gauge shotgun, and premium defensive ammo and not consider armor. After all, if there is a bump in the night, the goal isn't to ventilate the bad guy -- the goal should be to not get hurt yourself while you hold the fort until the police arrive. For less than the cost of a Mossberg 500 or a few boxes of premium handgun ammo and mags, you can get soft armor that gives you substantial protection in a "worst case" scenario.

Armor also works to protect people in many less nefarious scenarios, like a natural disaster where there's a lot of debris. That's why we wanted the full side and rear protection that the police surplus vests give. There's a reason why many first responders wear armor, after all. I can see there being a use in many other fields for it: heck, when I was a security guard in college, it would have been a good idea. I was naive and in condition white at the time and didn't consider the risk I was taking. Even low-paid security guards who work in gun free zones and who aren't authorized any defensive tools like mace can benefit from armor. So can cabbies, bouncers, and many other "normal" people.

Nanny Stateism For the Win

I recently traveled in some Left Coast states which from time to time tend to be bastions of "nanny stateism" (they're also imploding financially, but that's another story). Generally I really don't like a lot of the policies they impose on their hapless residents, or which their residents impose on each other. However, I was pleasantly surprised by one of these impositions: requiring restaurants/fast food eateries to print some nutrition information.

I think there is a legitimate state interest in ensuring that both parties on a transaction have accurate, non fraudulent information. For example, "truth in lending" laws mandated a clear one page summary so that Jim Bob would know that his interest-only balloon loan ARM would screw him in the future if he didn't get lucky. I see requiring the calorie counts to be placed right along the price to be similar: it ensures that consumers know what they're getting. It is especially important as places start to market everything as "healthy" or "organic." Just because it says it is good for you in the name doesn't mean that it actually is.

This actually worked out for me in practice. Back in college I loved to get me some Panda Express (I think they put crack in the orange chicken). Alaska doesn't really have too many Pandas and when we stopped for lunch on the road at a food court I pounced on the chance to feed my addiction. However, the cold hard nutrition facts stared me in the face: my old college standby, a two-entree plate with noodles, orange chicken, and beef and broccoli plus a yummy spring roll would net almost 2000 calories. Not being a college student with the metabolism of a cheetah anymore that was clearly not a Wise Choice.

I was faced with some options. I ran the numbers and decided that the spring roll needed to go right away. Heck, even with just a single entree plate and the orange chicken it was a lot of calories. I could cut the noodles and get their stir fried veggies, but seriously, skip the noodles at Panda Express? You might as well skip the bible at sunday school. I could also skip the orange chicken, but remember how I said they put crack in it? I needed a fix. It is that good.

Luckily, Panda Express has kids meals. The sign said that they were for kids under 10 only, but I guess I'm at that age where the attendant assumed I had a bawling kid squirreled away in the car or something, or they just didn't care. So, I was able to get my noodles and orange chicken using the portion control strategy to manage the calorie count.

Likewise, at Five Guys (nom nom nom -- also not in Alaska), I observed that my standard little hamburger and fries was WAY too many calories for a reasonable meal. I ended up getting it, but didn't feel compelled to finish all the fries either.

My point with all of this is that I actually really enjoyed the calorie count law. It helped me make better, healthier decisions. It doesn't require fast food places to not serve MSG, or to ban certain ingredients, or anything like that. Plenty of people were still getting big 2000 calorie two-entree plates, just like plenty of people got interest-only balloon ARMs because they had the freedom to choose. Ensuring that everyone in a transaction has the info to make an informed decision is a reasonable thing for government to do, I think. Information parity is one important way to remove market distortions and make a free market run more smoothly.

Yellowstone Bears and East Coast Conversation

Looks like someone got mauled and regrettably killed by a bear in Yellowstone. This is sad because bear attacks are largely "preventable." A bit of knowledge, "whoa bear," and a defensive tool can be pretty effective. These things protect human life but they also protect the bears by keeping them wary of people and more likely to keep their distance, which prevents future problems.

When we where at Yellowstone recently we carried bear spray everywhere. I don't think it was paranoid because (1) we always have bear spray in the car anyways in the roadside assistance kit and (2) National Parts are probably the most likely place to have a human-bear interaction because the bears are concentrated and bold.

One of the east-coast tourists noticed during dinner and we got to talking. I explained the "whoa bear" concept, the spray's effectiveness, etc. He asked what would happen if the words and spray failed... Would I use "harsh words?" I said that I would probably prefer to use "large caliber words" at that point of affairs. This got an uncomfortable facial reaction and rapid change of subject.

Choose Local

Shannyn Moore has a decent editorial up about buying local. I have quite a few disagreements with Ms. Moore on other issues but I think I can concur with her that we have some great local places worthy of support in Alaska. I prefer to shop locally when I can. However, those local places that relied on having a literal monopoly and abused their customer base for it are not worthy of such support and they won't survive the Big Box + Amazon world.

As an emergency preparedness sidenote, she reiterates that Alaska's emergency food supply (FEMA or otherwise federally provided, I think) is in Oregon. Hint: There's a reason why the state suggests at LEAST a 7 day food supply. If we get a 1964-repeat that messes up the ports and bridges then it may take awhile for all that food to arrive...

Ooops.

Home Invasion in Mt View

The gun grabbers will use the following news story as an example of why we need more gun control. I think it is a terrifying anecdote demonstrating how ineffective gun control is.

ADN is reporting that three men (plus a getaway driver outside) kicked in an apartment door in Mt View and demanded money. The man inside complied and gave them his cash, but the invaders still stuck a gun in his mouth, threatened to kill him, and ended up pistol whipping him. The robbers also threatened to kill two other adults and an infant in the apartment.

Who's Who: The Assailant

As usual, the assailant is a prohibited person.

Raymond Thomas: Age 19, so he could possess, but not purchase a handgun (federal law). Also, he could not conceal a handgun (state law). Young Raymond already has quite a rap sheet -- and these are just his unsealed adult records! Last year he was arrested on felony assault with a deady weapon charges and several others. He also has a misdemeanor arrest for substance abuse issues (drugs). ADN is reporting that there was an outstanding warrant open on him.

Interestingly, his two partners do not have criminal records that I could find in the state of Alaska -- the unusual name of one of the assailants did make it hard to search the database. However, I'd bet dollars to donuts that if you conducted a national search of criminal databases you'd find multiple offenses on their records in other states or in federal court. Normal people don't say, "You know, I'm going to go hang out with a drug abuser that commits violent felonies, kick in someone's door, and threaten to kill their baby. That sounds like fun!" That's what career criminals say, and armed robbery or attempted murder is usually something that people work up to after a long string of substance abuse, domestic violence-based relationships, and violent crimes.

The statistics on this issue are pretty clear--large percentages of violent offenders have previous convictions, and even larger percentages have some sort of run in with the law that got plead down or had the records sealed after probation was up. Even if they don't have previous felony stops elsewhere, I'd bet there's a good chance you'd find substance abuse or DV in their background.

"Just Give them What they Want"

In this crime, the victim gave the perps what they wanted. He handed over his money as demanded right away. Even after complying, the perps stuck a gun in his mouth, pistol whipped him, and threatened to kill an infant. This must have been a terrifying -- and extremely dangerous -- experience. Complying with an armed robber's threat is no guarantee of safe treatment. We've already discussed this before, and compliance with a violent offender is not actually that safe. You can give them everything they want and still end up pistol whipped -- or worse.

So here we have at least one prohibited person -- and possibly others in his team -- kicking in the door of an apartment. Even if the perps had not had pistols, I'd lay pretty good odds on the group of three men armed with single shot shotguns, knives, clubs, etc attacking by surprise in the middle of the night against the innocent homeowners. The victims comply as the anti-self defense people suggest and are still terrorized. Exactly how would more gun control -- which targets law abiding, non felonious citizens who follow the rules -- have affected this situation?

Parting Shots

The ADN mentions that a witness took some shots and exchanged fire with the perps as they were trying to escape. This situation is unclear. On one hand, it could be a "bad shoot" of vigilantism: in general, a private citizen cannot legally and should not engage fleeing suspects. Even the cops don't do that. The only exception is if it is very clear to a reasonable person that the suspects are intent on committing more imminent felonious mayhem in the community and must be put down. Frankly, I wouldn't want to have to defend shooting a guy in the back in court on that affirmative defense unless the perp is running around with a machete shouting "Allahu Akbar" and chopping people up or something along those lines.

Or, it could have been a rival criminal thug taking some potshots. As the person was described as a "witness" that seems less likely.

The other possibility is that the witness was taking down the perp's information and was threatened or engaged by the perps first. In this case, he might well have valid ability, opportunity, and jeopardy and his fire would be justifiable. This is basically the situation Sean recently discussed.

We just don't have enough information to tell which it was yet.

Open Carry in Hostile Territory

As regular readers will be aware of, I'm currently traveling outside of Alaska. We're in "hostile territory" in a Southwest city whose police department is quite hostile to the right to keep and bear arms, despite strong state preemption.

Today we were coming back from the range and decided we wanted ice cream, because gosh darnit, after a few hours at the range in the Southwest it gets hot and you want ice cream. I had not brought an IWB holster, though, and it was way too hot to throw on a windbreaker. I considered disarming. However, I don't like downloading a handgun in the car unless necessary (gun manipulations in a crowded car with no safe backstop = bad idea). We were also in a not-so-nice part of town. And even though the specific shopping area we were in wasn't that bad, there's been a string of crimes including broad-daylight defensive shootings, carjackings, and kidnappings of middle class people with no obvious connections to drugs and gangs. So it isn't paranoid to be aware of a possible threat.

We were thinking about hitting up the Sonic drivethrough to be low profile but then I said, "heck, why not open carry." Of course, DW snarked back that the worst that would happen is that the cops would gun me down (a reasonable fear here, perhaps) but then again, they're publicly bitching about cutting their presence due to budget cuts and layoffs (which have yet to actually occur, mind you) so I figured maybe things are safer for us law abiding citizens these days.

To make a long story short, we carried in a mom & pop frozen yogurt place and I got offered the 10% mil/LEO discount. Also had a nice conversation with the manager. Zero issues.

I also OC'd into Target. I walked right past the rent-a-cop who was in condition white browsing the cosmetics. She did not even notice the sidearm even though DW and I hung out picking up shampoo and such on the aisle right in front of her. Totally oblivious. Nobody else seemed to notice until I got to the checkout line, when the lady behind me in line seemed to be eyeing the gun, a bit unsure. I just kept talking with my wife, and we resisted the temptation to get a candy bar on the way out. We also had a nice conversation with the checkout clerk who welcomed us to LV.

On the way out of the Target the rent a cop -- now back at her post in the front of the store by the shopping carts -- noticed me walking out and her eyes bugged out of her head. I just made eye contact back, smiled and kept walking out.

I am normally wary of the whole OC thing and prefer CCW for a lot of reasons in an urban environment. However, it is nice to have the option to OC, especially when it is really fricking hot out. It is hard to conceal even a compact M&P in this heat. And while it can hurt the cause by "scaring the horses," if you are presented neatly (I had pressed "tactical" shorts and a button up collared shirt, and was with my family) I think it can help "normalize" carry to some degree.

DW was a bit jealous as she forgot her OWB holster. She is now ordering a nice Dragonworks Leather custom holster so that she can OC and show off the nice leather.

AR Components

I've started ordering parts for my AR project... Here's the rundown. Hopefully it helps someone else getting into this. I rounded off most of the prices but figured that covers S&H costs. Regrettably as I haven't known exactly what I needed and couldn't get everything all from one place, I have paid shipping for a few separate orders.

The total cost right now is coming out to $1080 without the lower receiver. That is a bit more than I originally wanted. I think in hindsight it might have been a decent idea to go for a Noveske skinny carbine. With discount it would have come to around $1300 -- assembled! Still, this will be a good learning project to put together. I'm also pleased with the quality of most of the components I've ordered based on reviews.

UPPER COMPONENTS ($680 + FH welding)

• BCM Mid-Length Upper Group ($500 w/ shipping). I selected this because it has an excellent set of features including M4 feedramps, gov't profile barrel, fully chrome lined bbl and chamber, 1:7 twist, 556 (vs 223) chamber, and a few others. I thought the price was screaming good at first, but then after ordering I realized it lacked a charging handle and bolt carrier group. Ouch.
• Phantom 5C1 Flash Hider ($30). Somehow, BCM was out of pinned A2 flash hiders. I need a pinned flash hider on the 14.5" bbl to get it over 16" and avoid NFA/SBR issues. So, I ordered a seperate flash hider and will have to get it welded on locally.
• Bolt Carrier Group (~$60). I haven't ordered one yet as I didn't realize that it was needed. The BCM BCG is a good value, given that many of these run over a hundred bucks. Regrettably they are out of stock, so I may have to settle for the DPMS which is running $55. I'm just not willing to spend over a hundred bucks at this point on it.
• Charging Handle ($25). I'm going with the Noveske. There is a DPMS for about ten bucks left, but I think another ten bucks is probably worth it. The BCM Gunfighter and Gasbuster handles look nice but again I'm getting cheap...
• Daniel Defense 1.5 Fixed Iron Rear Sight ($65). A simple fixed sight, nothing fancy.

LOWER STUFF ($125)

• Stag Ambi Parts Kit ($85). DPMS was on sale for $55, but I think the Stag LPK will get me higher quality. Given that I was going to pay $25 for an ambi safety anyways, this was a good deal. I want a BADASS 45 degree selector but am unwilling to pay the asking price right now.
• Troy Ambi Bolt Release ($30). I want the ambi controls so I can start shooting this left handed with my dominant eye. I did pass on the ambi mag release as it is expensive ($90) and because the odds of me needing a fast left handed mag change are pretty low.
• JP Enterprises "Yellow Spring" Trigger Kit ($10). I considered a nice Geisselle trigger. This is a fraction of the price for a significant improvement in the stock mil-spec trigger.

FURNITURE ($275)

• MagPul MIAD ($30). I wanted a set of nice matching OD green MagPul furniture.
• MagPul MOE Handguard ($30). This is also OD green. Additionally, this handguard is one of the simplest and lightest handguards which suits me fine.
• MagPul MOE Vertical Forend ($20). Ok, I'll admit that I don't have any need for a Forend. However, they are kind of handy for maneuvering in close quarters. It also looks like an "evil" feature that will piss off a gun grabber. I'll probably end up taking it off but wanted to try one out for less than twenty bucks.
• MagPul CTR Stock ($85). I thought this was a bargain. $85 for an upgrade to a MagPul? Sweet! I've also heard great things about them. However, I didn't realize that I also needed a buffer, receiver tube extension, castle nut, etc.
• Stock Kit with H Buffer ($77). I'm picking up one of these to support the CTR. It is $10 more than just the hardware (without the M4 stock). I figure for $10 having an M4 stock that is guaranteed to work might be nice in case the CTR doesn't work out. Had I done this a bit smarter I would have ordered a package with the MagPul which is an easier and cheaper way to do this. Or skipped the MagPul altogether right now.
• Blackhawk Sling ($7). I have nice single point sling as well as a nice three point sling packed away. For now I figure a cheap sling will be convenient.
• MagPul MOE 5-slot Rail ($5). I don't plan on hanging lots of crap on my AR. I do have a Surefire X300 that is currently on a pistol, so I'd like a short rail to have the option to affix a light.
• Noveske End Plate ($24). I figure while I'm assembling the stock I may as well throw one of these on. They're apparently a bit of a pain to go back and do later.

LOWER RECEIVER

I've dropped the idea of a billet as I found a bunch of ambi components that work on standard forged receivers. So at this point it is basically just picking a roll mark as most of the receivers come from the same three places anyways.

I was originally deciding between a S&W M&P and a Grizzly (Utah). Then DW pondered about getting a custom engraved one. Which is actually a really good idea. Now I'm looking at getting a pair of custom engraved receivers with sequential serial numbers that we'll get custom set up with a sweet Alaska emblem -- we're thinking of just a simple picture of the Big Dipper along with the slogan "North to the Future" (Borealis Ad Futura?). She doesn't want an AR now but may in the future, so why not pick up an extra lower? They're cheap...

• McKae Basic Lowers ($75!!!) plus Ident marking services
• Orion Arms
• USA-15

I have plenty of time on this one though. I need to get the upper bbl flash hider welded in place before taking possession of a lower so as to avoid ATF's "constructive possession" nonsense.

New Jersey's Security Dilemna

Recently we heard that Newark, NJ was laying off around 10%+ their cops. Newark -- not being a paragon of safety in the best of times -- is evidentially suffering a rash of drive by shootings and other issues.

The city council's solution is to require private businesses, specifically fast food joints open for "fourth meal" at night, to hire private armed security guards.

Of course, I can't imagine that late night Chinese places, Taco Bell, etc can afford to hire paragons of private security professionalization. They will either close their doors late at night, or they'll hire cheap crappy rent-a-cops with marginal training and equipment. The average citizen and small business owner -- who is still denied any right of self defense in Jersey -- loses. I wonder if NJ will start accepting CCW applications from people who work at fast food joints late at night for having just cause now? I doubt it...

AR-15 Lowers: More Refined Thoughts

I've thought a bit more about AR-15 lowers and have narrowed it down.

OPTION A: PREMIUM TOP OF THE LINE

In this route I'd get an AR-15.com complete billet for $821.

This sounds like a lot but if you part it out it is a reasonable price for a premium set up.

• Norgon Ambi Mag Release: $90
• BAD-ASS 45 deg selector: $90
• Geissele 3 Gun Trigger: $220
• MAGPUL MIAD: $22
• MAGPUL CTR: $72
• ASAP Sling Plate ($37), NoMar Sling Plate ($22), or QD plate

That's a total of $531. Toss in another $50 for all the normal guts of a lower part kit and that's $600. That means the receiver itself is valued at around $220. And of course somewhere the 10% federal excise tax is getting squeezed in.

You can go up to the Magpul PRS stock for another $27, which is a good deal (CTR + custom sling plate = ~$100$, PRS = $175). I don't rally want the PRS, however. I'm building more of a home defense/CQB/utility rifle, not a 1000 yard precision shooter, so adding the extra pound of weight is undesirable.

Still, while all the components add up to one glorious rifle lower, $821 is steep. I do really enjoy a good trigger, though, and the Geisselle sounds amazing.

OPTION B: GOOD BILLET RECEIVER WITH OPTION TO UPGRADE LATER

I could get the ARFCOM lower for $275. This includes an ambi-bolt release kit. I'd then have to add some stuff:

• MAGPUL MOE Stock: $54
• MAGPUL MIAD: $22
• DPMS Mil-Stock Parts Kit for the Innards: $53
• "Yellow Spring" Trigger Upgrade: $8

Total cost: $412. Upgrading to the CTR (a good value) would be another $20, and then you have to add in at least an Uncle Mike's sling swivel ($10) for an "out the door" of around $440. This does not give me an ambi rifle set up. However, it does leave the option to upgrade later to a nicer trigger and full ambi rig.

I've also heard rumors that Geisselle is going to release an affordable version of their "SSA" trigger, which is a two-stage "duty" type trigger, after SHOT. That would be a nice upgrade.

That may ultimately be a bit more expensive in the long run. It also involves me building everything myself ("some assembly required"), which is good because I'll learn a lot but bad because the time required does need to be factored in. But, I could also just do some of the essential controls, like an ambi safety for thirty bucks.

OPTION C: FORGED RECEIVER

Instead of a $275 billet receiver, I can get a $100 forged receiver. After putting the same sort of furniture and innards into as the above, it'd probably run about $265. Maybe a bit more. This is notable as it is literally a third of the price of the top of the line option. However, for another two hundred bucks, it might be worth it to have the option to go full ambi in the future.

Letting Nature Take Its Course

As you may have heard, a grizzly bear killed a hiker in Yellowstone this week. This does not surprise me in the slightest, given the picture above that I took just a few weeks ago, less than a mile from the trail where the fatal attack took place (yes, I know that's a black bear in the picture, but do you think the tourists knew?). One of the things that really boggled our minds while we were in Yellowstone is just how people-accustomed the bears are.

Now, from the reports given, it appears that the bear was defending her cubs. What is not known is how the hikers acted. Did they do anything to aggravate the bear? Did they have bear spray? Did they know how to react when the bear did attack? Some of these questions we might never know the answer to.

What does concern me is that nothing seems to be being done about the bear. Yes, the bear was just being a bear, but when bears become accustomed to humans, problems happen. When bears become accustomed to eating humans? Bigger problems happen. I'm not an expert by any means, but doing nothing doesn't seem to be the best choice here.

Update: Apparently they saw the bear once, continued hiking, saw it again, then it attacked. They ran - not necessarily the right choice. I don't know about you, but if I'm hiking and see a grizz with cubs, I'm not continuing unless I'm armed with something. Also seems like the wife reacted well by not moving while the bear grabbed her. Usually that's enough to stop a cub-defensive attack from a grizz. She didn't see what her husband did. Maybe he did the right thing and was just unlucky.

These are the risks we take when hiking in the woods. But it pays to be more aware of the risks, particularly in National Parks, where bears are not hunted and have absolutely no people fear. Yellowstone is a particularly bad place for this, due to the sheer amount of traffic it receives. With that many people, more and more bears, things are going to happen.

The National Parks in Alaska have pretty good strategies for minimizing bear-human encounters. Katmai requires everyone to listen to a lecture on bear safety as soon as they arrive. Denali's road access is limited, and back-country campers are again required to watch a video on bear safety. I don't know how well these could be applied in larger parks like Yellowstone, but it might be worth thinking about.

AR-15 Lowers

The lower on an AR-15 is probably not quite as important as the upper for most people. My requirements are a bit more complex though, as we want an ambidextrous lower to accomodate our handedness issues. That seems to limit the options to "billet" lowers, which are made in a different process than "forged" lowers.

I did a bunch of searching and found a few options.

• AXTS is offering a "true" full ambi lower which is being sold through AR-15.com nicely equipped for $850 bones. Pricey but once you work out the cost of the premium components the lower is coming in around $200, which is a good deal as AXTS sells them for $420 MSRP and AR-15.com sells them for $275.
• Knight's Armory. The SR-15 lower runs $750 but comes equipped with everything you'd want, including a trigger group that doesn't suck. Also has the nicest roll stamp of the bunch.
• Spike Tactical. About a hundred bucks cheaper ($650) than Knight's with decent furniture. I don't care for the roll stamp offered in this one though.
• Sun Devil. Their claim to fame is a tension adjusting screw that will ensure a tight fit with any upper.
• Tactical Innovations. A newer entrant but looks like good quality. Comes stripped. Cheap, at right around $200.
• And a thread with a few more....

I would love to get a fabled Noveske/Magpul collaboration lower but frankly I don't think I could afford one... if I could even find one.

It looks like I can "roll my own," starting with a TI or Sun Devil reciever for around $200, then adding in my own stock, grip, trigger group, etc. That could probably be around, say, $400-500 + labor if I stick to cheaper parts. Or, I can get a complete lower for $650 +/- 100 bucks.

Definitely something to think about.

We're Winning: Gun Range in Chicago Land

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to introduce a new ordinance next week that would allow indoor gun ranges within city limits, MyFoxChicago reports.

Of course, it might be a trojan horse. But when one of the most anti-gun Presidential Chiefs of Staff in history is supporting an ordinance allowing gun ranges in the most anti-gun city in America, I think it is hard to say that we're not winning. As a note, I think it is a smart idea to push this as a money maker. Carrots: Tax revenue from shooting activities in your city. Sticks: More expensive lawsuits to fight.

Refreshingly, anti-rights bigots also showed their true colors:

It also hasn't pleased opponents of gun ownership. Tio Hardiman, executive director of Cease Fire Chicago, told MyFoxChicago that bringing gun ranges into the city will encourage more people to start shooting.

“It's going to make our work a little harder because people are going to start looking at it like saying guns are ok, they have a gun range here now and it's ok to just learn how to shoot and that's what we're fighting against every day of the week,” said Hardiman.

These people don't want anyone to take up shooting for any reason. Their goal is suppression of the shooting sports and elimination of private firearm ownership, but it is refreshing to have them come out and admit it. I'm going to tag this as Brady related because Ceasefire Chicago is almost certainly affiliated with them in some incestuous way.

Unpossible: Prohibited Person Shoots VictiSm in School Zone

Our local hoplophone is bleating about about a horrific crime that occured recently in Anchorage.

6/30/2011: Anchorage woman shot in head

June 30, 2011 - Leave a Response

http://www.ktuu.com/news/ktuu-breaking-news-shooting-at-assisted-living-home-20110630,0,5688955.story It’s been a busy summer, and clearly, the gun owners haven’t been preventing crime. I’ve simply been busy to comment on it. In any case, a lady was shot in the head tonight because someone decided that owning a gun was a good idea. Was it, gun owners? Or are you only thinking that it wasn’t a good idea for this guy to own a gun now that he’s shot someone in the head? You are a too late to the argument.

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

There are a lot of problems with this post. We'll start with the easy ones. The last sentence is a bit incomprehensible, but I'll assume that she's saying either "you're not too late to the argument" or "you're a bit too late to the argument." Either way, her babbling needs a refutation. The tags are also nonsense. This had nothing to do with Republicans (has she never heard of Blue Dogs?), the NRA, Sarah Palin, hunters, Rick Rydell, or the GOP.

Now let's move into unpossible land. If you look at the shooter, you'll find someone who was likely a prohibited person.

• Substance Abuse: You will find a misdemeanor arrest for underage substance abuse. This of course is not conclusive. People are arrested for all sorts of things. A single underage drinking citation is not indicative of an alcoholic. But it does indicate that there might be more to it, especially given correlations between substance abuse and mental illness.
• Felonies? We don't have any violent crimes on record for the shooter, which is unusual as most people who attempt murder have a long rap sheet. In fact, ADN reports, "The charging documents say McEvoy had no known criminal convictions in Alaska." Of course, who knows what is in any juvenile records which I assume are sealed.
  
• Mental Illness: There was definitely a history of mental illness. The shooter was previously a resident of a mental illness "halfway house" type facility. Of course, because it isn't a licensed or registered facility, he could not be committed. Because the folks who run it want to keep people out of the traditional mental health system, he wasn't be entered onto the NICS list of prohibited persons like he would have been had he been committed to a facility.
• Age: It is unlawful for someone under the age of 21 to buy a handgun. The shooter turned 21 about a year ago. Either he bought the handguns BEFORE entering the halfway house program (unlawfully as a minor) or he bought them AFTER (when he should have been flagged on NICS as having been committed to an institution).

Another "unpossibility" was that this shooting occurred within a federal gun free school zone. The facility is about 500 feet from the perimeter of a neighberhood school. I have no idea how he was able to bring firearms inside that magic perimeter.

Of course, there were danger signs. Despite what Gwen and others believe, in actuality few people "just snap." Even after "graduating" the halfway house program -- without a NICS entry -- his landlord called the police because he was marching around the building with an M1 carbine. APD apparently did not take any action on the report. This is not normal behavior. His associates at the house and neighbors knew that "something should be done" but none got the authorities involved or called the FBI hotline to have him added to NICS.

Gwen thinks that the answer is prohibiting firearms. Let's explore that idea. Even if handguns were prohibited, the guy owned a rifle. Even if rifles were prohibited, he could get a single barrel shotgun -- one of the last firearms to be prohibited even under repressive regimes. Even if firearms were totally unavailable, he could have used a knife. If you outlaw sharp things like that place where Great Britain used to be has, I'm pretty sure that a crazy, motivated, fit 21 year old male with the advantage of surprise has a pretty good capability to threaten grievous bodily injury to a 19 year old female with a club, brick, or other improvised bludgeon. Of course, one wonders how a 19 year old female might ever protect herself from a larger, stronger male assailant. We'll let that question simmer for a bit though.

In my opinion, the real issue here is much more complicated than Gwen makes it out to be. There are issues about how we as a community deal with substance abuse and mental illness. Demonizing the weapon is a convenient and easy way to dodge serious questions; it is also kind of deceptive, given how uncommon "gun crime" is to start with. Blaming objects also diverts attention and energy away from tackling more difficult issues. I don't have any easy answers. I don't think there are any.

Clearly, some crazy people are locked up in institutions for the rest of their lives, and people with minor emotional disturbances function freely in society. Determining how to handle those individuals in the middle of the broad spectrum is a lot harder in a free country with pesky things like "due process." The answer, however, is not to blame the vast majority of individuals who are law abiding and functional. I think we need to ask tough questions about where we're falling down as neighbors and families when it comes to helping people in the grey area.

Thinking about a Modern Sporting Rifle

I've been thinking about getting a "MSR" (or EBR, or AR-15/other semiauto medium caliber longarm) for awhile. However, other priorities have made this less of an urgent need. I've really been more interested in acquiring hunting arms, like my 45-70.

DW and I recently moved into a new place which is in, shall we say, a less than desirable part of town. It was a necessary move to be close to work, but we're definitely reworking some of our personal protection plans. Part of that is upgrading our longarms. If I'm in my castle, bunkered down behind the bed waiting for the 911 response, I want a long gun -- not a handgun.

I ran down the list of options...

Pistol Caliber Carbine. I really like PCCs. Especially with moving frequently, it is easy to have a stock of pistol ammo around. Plus I just have a somewhat irrational love of them. However, tactically, I see them as being good for just a few things.

1. Extends the tactical reach of a pistol out to 50-100 yards.
2. Gives you a shoulder-mounted platform that may be more easily operated under high stress, especially by someone with limited training.
3. Allows easy mounting of accessories (lights, optics, etc).
4. Gives you an impact (bludgeoning) weapon if things get really close.
5. Lighter recoiling than basically any other option.

The key advantage -- extending your sidearm's reach out to 100 yards or so -- isn't really applicable in a home defense situation. Additionally, while you do get a velocity gain out of a longer carbine barrel with common handgun cartridges, this can actually lead to overpenetration problems. Not exactly what you want in a townhome or apartment.

I think a PCC makes a lot of sense in some cases. I just don't think it fits my current situation. I'm still not totally opposed to picking up a cheap hipoint in 40, but the 10 round mags also kind of defeat the point of a pistol caliber carbine. Still, I can think of worse things than 10 rounds of 40 in a 10 lb club with the option to transition to 15+1 of 40 in a sidearm.

"Tactical" Shotgun. We currently have a trusty Mossberg 500 in 20 gauge. To my mind, a tactical shotgun needs a few features:

• Ability to mount a light
• Ghost ring sights
• Adjustable stock to fit male and female users
• Pistol grip (to retain with one hand while the other is busy with, say, a 911 call)
• Short "riot" barrel to manuever around inside the house

The problem is that Mossberg doesn't make a 500 model to these specs in 20 gauge off the shelf. Sure, you can put one together yourself, but it is a fair amount of effort and expense. I could get one in 12 gauge but that means adding another gauge to the shotgun collection which I don't really want to do. I could also get an SA-20 semiauto but that would defeat the idea of parts/barrel commonality between the mossbergs in the house.

MSR. The final obvious option is a semi-auto "Evil Black Rifle" or "Patrol Rifle." Obviously the AR-15 and AK-47 jump to mind. The AK is cheaper, but the AR has a lot more options. In a family with two cross-eyed dominant shooters who shoot leftie and righty, and who are different sizes, the "one size fits all" AK isn't the best choice. That means the AR is the better option.

I've started doing research on AR's and have done a great deal to educate myself on them.

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Right now, I'm leaning towards picking up a security barrel for the Mossberg 500 for <$100 and keeping some buck and slugs handy while we start to assemble an AR or two. The problem with doing the AR is that to do it "right" means dropping some scratch -- over a kilobuck, I think. You can get entry-level ARs for less but with this sort of thing I think I know enough to "buy once/cry once."

Of course, the long gun thing is only part of our "hardening" approach. We're taking some additional steps that don't involve firearms at all to improve our posture, hopefully significantly.