Catch Up and Clean Up

Every now and again you realize you need to write follow ups to posts and that you’ve let certain follow ups fall through the cracks. So without further ado, here is a little catch up and clean up. To help you out, I put subheadings below.

Gun Confiscation
I discussed the gun confiscations in New Orleans. Geek with a .45 indicates that confiscations appear to be over and in fact some law enforcement officers probably refused to go along with it. In at least one case cops confiscated and then returned guns (last paragraphs on bottom of pdf page).

New Orleans’ Police Chief, probably the mayor, and others cooked up the disarmament scheme possibly to make those who refused to evacuate helpless and more amenable to evacuation. Though actual confiscation appears to be over, those who ordered it and those who grabbed guns must be punished in order to serve as a warning to other politicians and law enforcement officers who would try a similar plot.

Guns proved Necessary in Wake of Katrina
Staying on topic, in New Orleans and other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina guns proved as necessary to life as food and water. I discussed how people saved their lives and protected their property with guns. Without the guns, who knows what may have happened to them. Here’s yet another story about neighbors who banded together to form a “militia,” an example of what our Second Amendment in action.

Fun Watching Tom Knapp’s Live Show
On to more fun topics. As I explained in this post Bill and I extended our Labor Day weekend by taking last Tuesday off. We went to Maine and watched exhibition shotgunner Tom Knapp make amazing shots with his guns. If you ever get a chance to see one of his shows, do so.

Scope for my New Rifle
I hoped to buy a scope for my new Savage Arms rifle (discussed here) at Kittery Trading Post. I had trouble getting a clerk to wait on me. They were busy, but I expected even a “get right back to you ‘mam.” Oh well, it cost the store a couple of hundred dollars.

Last weekend, Bill and I went to State Line Gun Shop and I found a scope. It’s a variable power scope adjustable from 4 to 18 power and distributed by Smith & Wesson. I want to use it for both hunting and target shooting, so I accepted certain compromises on either side of the power range and other features. It should serve me well although if I had more money…. We’ll see how scope and rifle do at Boomershoot this Spring if we can make it.

Bought Another Gun (Two in less than Three Weeks! Someone help me)
While at State Line I bought another gun. I couldn’t help myself, but I made one concession to common sense, I put it on layaway. Let me explain. This wasn’t just any gun and I couldn’t pass it up. I found a 1942 byf-marked Luger with the authentic holster, takedown tool, and a second magazine. I’d put bluing and condition about 90% or higher. All the numbered parts match and all the Heereswaffenamt codes and proofs are accurate for holster, Luger, and magazines. Germany created a system of codes placed on weapons and equipment in lieu of manufacturers’ identifications. The code “byf” indicates Mauser at Oberndorf made the gun.

This is my second Luger. When I pay for it and the price was right too, I’ll compare it with my other Luger which is a 1920 police rework of a World War I Luger. I may get busy and do a “One from the Vault’ featuring both guns.

Taking a Co-Worker Shooting
I mentioned over a month ago that a co-worker wanted to go shooting. Unfortunately, we had schedule conflicts and we couldn’t get out to the range until a couple of weekends ago. My co-worker is a history buff and enjoyed going through Bill’s and my collection of historical guns. He wanted to shoot an M1 Carbine, a Swiss K31, and a Mauser K98. I brought along my .22 Remington Fieldmaster for training.

Range day was a qualified success. We got to the range with a selection of rifles and two handguns. Much to our embarrassment our electronic key wouldn’t open the rifle range’s gate. You may recollect a post on the range’s security. Someone had set the gate so that the electronic keys wouldn’t work even though that was not supposed to happen. Oh well, we moved to a small plinking range where we can use handguns.

We shot Bill’s .22 Beretta Neos and the 1920 Luger I mentioned above. My friend had no real shooting experience so Bill and I had to train him carefully. Of course, we started with safety. We started shooting the Neos loaded with one cartridge, then three, then five, and finally ten. We taught him how to get his shots on the paper through sight picture alone. Once on the paper, we worked on trigger control and accuracy. Pretty soon, he was hitting the Shoot-n-See center at ten yards. Once he did that we discussed breath control, grip, stance, etc. and he began hitting the target’s center consistently. He has talent and I think he’ll be joining us gunnies soon. We moved to the Luger which he enjoyed shooting—a real piece of history.

That’s it for clean up. I know Bill and I need to do a new “One From the Vault” soon and we need to get some range reports done. So little time so many words.