Misunderstandings By David Bock

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

Misunderstandings By David Bock

One of the challenges when dealing with people who are unfamiliar with firearms is that many of their impressions have been formed in the media sphere.  Whether through books, movies, television, video games, or the nightly news, an often erroneous understanding of firearms exists. 

Take the fun Bruce Willis movie “Last Man Standing” for example. In one scene his character sends an opponent flying through a plate glass window and rolling across the street with multiple shots from a pair of 45 caliber pistols.

Any gun owner knows that this is impossible and a clear violation of the laws of physics.  However, we generally let it pass as dramatic license and enjoy the movie.

This is not a unique dramatic element.  I could call up many similar scenes that are as equally unrealistic.  I’m sure many of our readers can as well.

The problem isn’t the dramatization of firearms in movies.  I enjoy a good shoot ‘em up movie as much as anyone and probably more than many.

The problem occurs when this type of exaggeration is someone’s only exposure to, and understanding of, firearms.

Here’s another example.  For people living in large urban areas with strict gun laws like New York City, very few people have hands on experience with firearms.  On the occasion they hear about a firearm on the news, it’s almost certainly been used in a crime.  In their mind, firearm usage equals crime.  If, after this association has been fixed, they meet a law abiding firearm owner, it’s often difficult if not impossible for them to break free of their conditioning. 

This is especially true if they’ve also conflated a political position with their misunderstanding of firearms.

Several years ago, when we still lived in upstate New York, members of my family came to visit from New York City.  One of the things some of them wanted to do was visit my local shooting range.

As usual, I started them out with my Ruger 10/22.  Everyone who chose to shoot had fun.  I then pulled out one of my New York legal AR15s with a 22 rimfire conversion kit installed.

At the sight of this, one of my cousins immediately recoiled and refused to shoot it because she thought it looked too scary.  This belief persisted even after I showed her it shot the same ammunition as the Ruger and my petite wife fired it with no issues.

Because of the media implanted association that AR15s are somehow more dangerous that other firearms, she was scared and intimidated.

On another family visit, I gave my uncle (a firearm owner in New York City) a tour of my gun safe.  His reaction was one of shock.  Asking why I had so many guns and why did I have holsters for my pistols?

Following that visit he referred to my firearm collection as “an arsenal” since that’s what he had been taught by the nightly news.

By the way, at that time, my collection was a handful of pistols and maybe a dozen long guns.  Many of them antiques.  Some arsenal, huh?

Sometimes this misinformation is not necessarily accidental.  I remember watching a firearm related story on a local news broadcast years ago.  There were several shots of someone shooting various rifles with voiceover telling the story.  Then they showed someone firing an AR15 and cut to a cinder block flying apart.  It later came out that the cinder block had been shot with a 12 gauge shotgun firing a slug.

Their excuse was that they didn’t have enough time to show the effects of all the firearms so chose the most dramatic to close the segment.  However, instead of showing someone firing a shotgun and its effects, they chose an AR15.  Subtle this wasn’t.

As I mentioned earlier, some people will firmly hold on to their misinformation, especially if it’s combined with a political position. 

I once had a several minute back and forth with one of my more stubborn left leaning friends that AR did NOT, in fact, stand for Assault Rifle. 

He was insistent that it did.

I explained that the AR series of firearms were developed by the Armalite Division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation and all of them had the prefix AR.

He remained insistent.

Finally, I pulled out one of my reference books and showed him a picture of the AR17.  A two shot semi-automatic 12 gauge shotgun introduced by Armalite in 1964 for the sporting market.

At this he relented. Albeit reluctantly.  His opinion, which had been formed by repeated exposure to misinformation, had become personal. After that conversation, I made this meme to help educate others.

On the other hand some of these misconceptions can be pretty amusing as well.  Years ago, when one of my nephews was young, he was really into the video game Call of Duty.  One night when he was visiting us I mentioned that I had some of the guns used in the game and asked if he would like to see them. 

His answer was an enthusiastic yes.  He specifically asked about the M1 Garand and as I unlocked my safe I told him some information about that rifle.  I then asked him how much he thought it weighed.  His response? 50 pounds.  Which at the age he was then was probably around half his weight. 

Admittedly, at nine and a half pounds the Garand isn’t light, but it’s not nearly that heavy.

Remember, while education is important, knowledge is essential and neither of them do us much good without wisdom.

255 thoughts on “Misunderstandings By David Bock”

  1. “Sometimes this misinformation is not necessarily accidental…” — I submit that this is often true, not just “sometimes”. The lying propaganda surrounding the AR-15 is a clear example. How often do you see cartoons, and hear statements, about “shredding Bambi”? Never mind the fact that an AR-15 is too low-powered to be legal for deer hunting in a number of states. Or the use of the adjective “high powered” when describing the AR-15? I like to refer to it as “modest powered light weight rifle”, partly because I think that’s accurate and partly to help some heads explode.

    Liked by 1 person

        1. A genuine factory-made FN or IMBEL, yeah. Unfortunately, I’ve heard too many horror stories (including several from individuals I know well and trust) about DSA’s offerings to consider one, and they’re pretty much the only game in town here in the States for FALs..

          Like

          1. The AR10/AR.308 does have its issues, but they are known and most of the time able to be gotten around or compensated for. Also easy to make, at home, or so I’m told (~_^)

            Like

            1. The “.5” in the “3.5 rifles” I mention in my long-winded rant/whinefest about Mama Raptor below may or may not be an Aero M5 build that I may or may not be in the middle of sourcing parts for…

              Like

              1. I may or may not have aquired 2 Polymer80 AR308 receivers (and a tupperware G21 clone) before Joe’s ATF decided they could change the law without silly things like the delegation of powers and what. Of course, with some plate aluminum, a drill press, hacksaw and the correct drilling patterns, a non polymer lower for both AR10/15 is doable.

                Liked by 1 person

                  1. This is why America has the Great Lakes. All those tragic boating and canoe accidents have to happen somewhere.

                    Like

                2. Considering the numbers of terrorists the Israelis faced, not only did they need to seriously add our 2nd Amendment to their Constitution, they need to have fully automatic weapons with at least 20 t0 50 round magazines. Looking at the sheer numbers of terrorist sympathizers demonstrating in NYC and other cities, we need to tell the BATFE that their job has been downsized by 90% and the rest of the gun grabbers in the Federal government to take a hike or face a rope.

                  Liked by 1 person

                  1. too long the left there eroded things, I recall folks from there or regular visitors joke that at the mall they checked you for guns, and if you had none, offered a rental. True 2nd, full rights, indeed are needed.

                    Like

      2. Sure. It seems to me the point of an AR-15 (M-16) is that its ammo is light, as is the rifle. Just good enough to reliably wound an enemy soldier, which often is as good as or better than killing him. (Not in the case of terrorists, I suppose, since they are unlikely to bother with wounded colleagues.)

        Like

        1. though, being civilians defending oneself and not regular army, and terrorists also not being regular army, FMJs are not required, so the .223 poodle with a Deer round will do far more damage. But the 10 is not a lot heavier, and a deer round will do wonders on a Hamas sized target. But both are often pricey compared to FMJ. Cheap soft point ammo in .308 will knock one out for dirt naps.

          Like

    2. For hunting deer I’d pick a 30/30, 308 or a 357 rifle/carbine over a 223/556. For manning the barricades in SHTF, I’d take an AR, AK, or Mini 14 in a heartbeat. Different tools for different jobs.

      Like

    3. I once saw a demonstration on a TV show where they shot one watermelon with an AK-47, and another one with a bolt action hunting rifle (I think it was .300 Winchester Magnum). The AK put a hole through the first melon, and split the rind in a few places. The hunting rifle obliterated the second one.

      Anybody in the know would realize they cheated; they used military ball FMJ ammo in the AK, and softnose or JHP in the hunting rifle. Sure made an impression on the ignorant, though.

      I’ve shot 2 liter pop bottles full of water with .223 JHP ammo, and blown them into mist and teeny tiny scraps of plastic. I wouldn’t want to use FMJ for…vermin eradication.

      Like

      1. Try .223/5.56 55gr FMJ in an old-style slow twist 1:12 or 1:14 barrel. It just barely stabilizes the round, and when it hits, it goes wobbly.

        The newer heavier bullets such as the 63gr and up need a faster twist, thus the 1:9 or 1:7 commonly seen nowadays for ‘green tip” and the very long match bullets. They way overspin the old 55gr fodder.

        Like

  2. Hamas loving Demoncrats never care about the truth, it’s what makes them Demons from hell. Too bad for them ignorance does not produce electricity, if it did we could get rid of fossil fuels and power star ships to other planets.

    Like

      1. Improvised explosives, to boot. I hear more carload of ammonium nitrate have gone missing from rail cars lately.

        Like

          1. there is also stuff not looked at as closely as AN(FLO to come later) that could make things unpleasant (either by bigbadaboom, or “You’re gonna want to hold your breath for a while, and get out of the downwind area

            Like

            1. Yes… what is the novel where the bad guys drive a propane tanker truck into a highway tunnel that runs right under downtown SomeBigCity?

              Like

                1. In one of Ringo’s “Ghost” books (Tiger by the Tail?) it was a mosquito sprayer filled with, IIRC, nerve gas.

                  Like

                  1. ‘A Deeper Blue’ and the 2nd tier terrorists at Disney World had VX nerve gas in spray cans of mosquito repellent. They also stole also a neighborhood bug-sprayer truck, and a crop-duster plane.

                    Like

                    1. Don’t forget that the Aum Shinrikyo death cultists in Japan (they of the Tokyo subway Sarin attack) actually did something very much like that. They used a converted refrigerated truck driving around a neighborhood in a Japanese city spraying sarin. Killed 8, injured 500+, and they got away with it until after the Tokyo subway attack when the authorities finally realized that Aum did it.

                      Like

              2. There was a Stallone movie, Daylight, where people did something similar; they were just idiot criminals driving a truck with explosive toxic waste through the Lincoln Tunnel, crashed, and caused a catastrophic cave in.

                I have no doubt the Jihadists, given that their first attack in 1993 on the WTC involved a truck bomb, are quite willing to do the same kind of thing with deadly intention.

                Like

          2. Nope. Trailer bomb. Tamped. Deliver onto a bridge at 0430 hours.

            I gave a lot of thought after 11 Sep 01 to this scenario…I have vivid, painful memories of the traffic jam that happened when some idiot decided to jump off the Woodrow Wilson Bridge (southern crossing of the Potomac River in Washington). Snarled traffic for about six hours – I had to get home by driving south to Fredericksburg, then cross the Potomac at the 301 Bridge. Meaning I didn’t get home until 2230.

            Like

            1. Think how few chokepoints there are in a modern city that would stop traffic flow almost completely. The Wilson Bridge is a great one for DC, along with somewhere along 395 to stop traffic into the District from the south. Here in Charlotte, two or three simultaneous crashes (or other incidents) would completely paralyze this metro area of well over a million people.

              Like

              1. Atlanta: GA 400 under I-285 North. Already happened once; accident involving gasoline tanker in the 90s IIRC.

                Like

  3. I recently read a book by a good Regency-era writer, well-rounded in her understanding of period activities, such as carriage travel, servants, estate management, etc. Dozens of books to her credit.

    Her expertise, however, did not cover the field sports. Now, no one can be an expert on everything, but it was startling when her hero “took a gun out shooting” for pheasant, spotted an intruder, and did a precise trick shot that took off the intruder’s hat to scare the person away.

    Alas, she had never understood that the “gun” in taking a gun out shooting implied “smooth-bore” — in other words, a shotgun (small game is hunted with shotgun) — and the notion of someone deliberately aiming a shotgun at a person without intent to kill was more than a little disconcerting.

    I had a pleasant correspondence with her about when shotguns/when rifles/loaders/practices, etc., with a side excursion on hunting with hounds (both for shooting and for chase) in case one of her plots went there sometime..

    She had never encountered anyone who shot guns for any reason. No reader (virtually all female) had ever complained (she had sold over 4000 of that particular title). This was a hole in her generally well-researched work that she had never fallen into before, and that no one else told her about. That says a lot about how few people (she was British) handle guns in the modern era.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. So many people have never even held a firearm in their hands. Never felt it go off, and have never seen that little hole in the paper that tells you that you did it right.

      Leftists have so many things to answer for.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. :-)

          Have you been reading my comments on my range results?

          I resemble that remark. Though with practice it can get better. For degrees of better.

          Like

          1. You get a friend to put one dummy round in a five round stack. Then shoot the five rounds. When you hit the dummy whatever flinch or bad habit you have will be revealed. Video is helpful.

            Sometimes balancing a penny on the barrel is instructive, once you get past the obvious flinches and/or pulling. When you get to the surprise dummy round, the penny should not fall off. If it does, you keep practicing with the dummy round technique until it stops falling off. Five or six tries will usually be enough.

            Do that one weekend a month for an hour or two, and you will be a better marksman than most.

            The downside of that is you start spending money on really -good- rifles and ammunition, because you can hold 1/2 minute of angle at 200 yards and all your five round strings go into an inch.

            Like

        2. Get yourself a couple of bricks of .22 and a rifle with iron sights. Doesn’t matter what kind. Start at 15 yards with a BIG NRA standard target and put one of those little dime-sized orange dots in the middle. Shoot seated, from the bench.

          Over the course of the afternoon you will start hitting the little dot eventually. When you can hit the dime, move the target back to 25 yards. Keep doing that and you will hit the dime at 100 yards after a couple of lazy weekends.

          Nobody hits the dime the first shot. An eight year old girl can hit it after a little practice, with a rented pistol no less, the first day. (Then I rented her a FN-P90 and she nearly bankrupted me buying ammo.)

          Like

    2. The other thing is birdshot may well actually hit someone and not stop them.

      It’s bird shot because it’s small enough to not turn your pheasant dinner into meat confetti.

      If you’ve got a shotgun of bird shot and the other guy has a revolver, you are not in a good spot.

      Like

        1. Is the penetration sufficient to actually stop them though? Especially through clothing?

          I’ll have to go check, but I recall it was still a dicey proposition defending yourself with just that.

          Like

          1. Depends on the shot size. Pheasant are generally hunted with shot from #6 (early season, close flushes) to #4 or 5 (late season, flushes quite a bit further). I would not want to be shot with either at less than 50 yds; they (especially #4 or 5) penetrate both “regular” clothing and a bit of meat; at 20 yds or less they’d generally be crippling-to-lethal.

            Liked by 1 person

          2. All the energy of the shot column is dumped into that area. Whether it’s a lot of little balls, or a smaller number of bigger balls, it’s the same mass and about the same energy.

            Not that I recommend tiny shot. I prefer something in the #4 – #2 range. If you want to go heavier than that, use slugs. I have a particular hate-on for #00 buckshot, which is pretty much useless for hitting anything beyond 20 yards but the balls are still randomly deadly at over 100 yards.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. I think I’ve read that hardened #1 buck with a low recoil load is probably the best, because it has enough penetration, fits a ton of balls in the short shells, is easier to keep on target for follow-up and doesn’t tend to go further than it needs to.

              Like

            2. I have several shotguns that will put all 9 on a man-size target at 50m, and one particualr one will out them all in the A zone of that target.

              Full choke and a shell with a quality wad do wonders.

              I tend to prefer a fighting gun to ahve a modified choke or tighter. I do not plan to use slugs, so no worries there, and if I do, 1 or 2 wont matter much. However, If I want to throw a slug, its usually a rifle.

              Rifles work in far more situations than shtguns. I know the shotty has a rep, but much of it is hollyweird, not functional. Granted, room clearing or trenshc fighting, where you stay in handgun range, the right load is potent. But the long gun in short space tends towards awkward. And up close, they almost need as much aim as a rigle. Certainily beyond spitting distance they do.
              Shotguns are niche players. Rifles rule.

              Used to favor the shotgun. then I spent a whole bunch of years using them, comapred to handguns, pistol calier carbines, and rifles. If I am going to a fight, its a rifle fight.

              Like

            3. I tend to go with #4 Buck; better patterns and more even coverage from cyl or imp cyl. If I need something effective beyond 50 yds it’s saboted slugs (12 or 20) or a .308. Beyond 200 yds it’s 6mm Rem. And .44 Mag or .357 Mag works from 0 to 100 yds or more. Or all that would have been true before the terrible canoeing accident…

              Like

        2. In “Death in the Dark Continent”, as part of his Leopard chapter, Peter Capstick recounts being tapped by Guns and Ammo to do an article on shotguns for hunting. His basic conclusion was that even with 00, shot shells weren’t worth much even on something as relatively thin-skinned as a leopard past 30 yards. “As many leopard hunters have found, getting close enough to the charging leopard is rarely a problem.”

          OTOH, he also recounts being ambushed by a lioness while hunting guinea fowl with #8, and “her head looked like a watermelon someone had backed over after I pasted her at halitosis distance.” He doesn’t recommend the experience.

          Like

    3. I was…involved in the production…of a Western romance. No names named, other than my assurance that I DID NOT WRITE THE THING.

      Setting: late-1800s rural California. Hero: menaced by Black Hat who wishes to silence the heroine, to whom he has a marriage of convenience. Guns in house: zero. Until I protested, at which point, guns in house: one.

      Which the hero took out from its hiding place IN A FLOWERPOT. WITH A FLOWER GROWING ON TOP. And handed to her, after disentangling it from the flower roots.

      My headdesking nearly split the wood.

      Like

  4. There are a couple of trends that abet this ignorance. First the rural to urban shift. Last I looked, only 15% of the current US is classified as rural. If you live in NYC or Boston, you don’t need guns to keep down the vermin, deter the bears, keep the deer from eating your flowers, or the coyotes from eating your puppies. In urban locations you only need guns if you’re a gang-banger or trying to protect yourself from one.

    The second trend is the decreasing exposure to guns caused by the volunteer military. Almost every young adult male in my father’s generation served in the military in WWII. After that the military draft for men was compulsory until 1972, so most men had some direct exposure to firearms even if they never had to fire one to protect themselves. Remember you had to be 18 to be drafted or voluntarily join the military, so we’re talking baby boomers here. Even the progeny of that generation have now mostly gotten close to retirement themselves.

    Only those among us who live such increasingly sheltered lives can be both ignorant of firearms and be worshipful of nature, having never experienced nature up close beyond the few minutes it takes to walk across the asphalt parking lot from their climate-controlled car to their climate-controlled home/office/store.

    Like

    1. The rural / urban split is a motte and bailey: the definition is such that even a tiny village in the middle of nowhere counts as “urban”, but the image which is evoked is of a bustling city center.

      Also, firearm ownership has been skyrocketing for more than 20 years at this point. On the available evidence conscription produces a deranged view of weapons overall, combined with the ever popular “I was in the military therefore I know what I’m talking about” (they never do). Whereas stuff like videogames might give the person a few silly ideas, but ultimately gets the kid interested.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Not sure why you dismiss my urban/rural argument. Yes, the census definition of “urban” is a place with at least 2500 inhabitants, so it can include very small places, but despite what may have been happening since COVID and StarLink, the trend to seriously urban areas is many decades long.

        The fact that firearm ownership has been skyrocketing unfortunately doesn’t always mean greater familiarity with firearms. How many of those folks are panic buyers who buy one gun and put it in their drawer, never even visiting a gun range? I actually don’t know, but I don’t discount it as a possibility.

        As to military service and “a deranged view of weapons”, that has not been my experience at all. Yes, I met one Marine airman who was as ignorant as a stump, but that was in the early 70’s and neither his colleagues nor anyone else I’ve met who’s been in the American military (and that’s a lot of personal experience) has ever shown the slightest “deranged view of weapons”.

        Like

            1. No you didn’t. You substituted a strawman you wanted to attack instead of what I actually said.

              Hint: “military service” and conscription are not the same thing.

              Like

              1. Ah, my apologies. Still I haven’t seen any such evidence for conscription promoting such. And my father, all his friends, and all my contemporaries grew up during conscription, and again, I saw no such evidence with them. I do admit that my experience is strictly with Americans. I can make no claims to experience with Russian or even Israeli conscripts.

                Like

              2. I think we also need to realize he was referencing the WWII draft, which was also a different beast than the sort of conscript army you’re referring to.

                And I think you can see this in the 1950’s-1980’s US cartoons. Elmer Fudd, though he may have been a moron, had shotguns that worked like shotguns.

                But something has changed with the current generation. The guns are all sort in that uncanny valley, as though the artists’ knowledge comes mostly from the previous Elmer Fudd cartoons, instead of actual experience with the original item.

                Like

                  1. Chuckle Chuckle

                    There was a short period (recently) where Elmer Fudd wasn’t allowed to hunt “The Wabbit” with any sort of gun.

                    Plenty of cartoon violence with Elmer trying to kill Bugs but not with his famous gun.

                    Apparently, there was enough up-roar from fans that Elmer got his gun back. :lol:

                    Oh, somewhere I remember hearing that idiots who made the change watched the cartoons and realized that it wasn’t the same as watching the older cartoons. :wink:

                    Like

        2. No, he’s right. The inhabitants of a big city might not have much exposure to firearms, but the people in suburbia DO. Quite a bit.

          Like

          1. And just because areas are city urban doesn’t mean these areas don’t contend with hoofed rats (deer, sometimes elk), bear, cougar, fox, bobcat, coyotes, even actual rats. Outdoor home video proves that. Everyone has been blaming the raccoons for all the overturned garbage cans. Turns out raccoons are the ones caught. Just as often the culprits are actually black bears.

            Like

            1. The question is do those folks in suburbia use guns to discourage the bears, deer, etc., or do they never think of “harming nature”? My father used to go out in the evenings and use his single-shot .22 rifle to shoot the rabbits off the lawn, and to kill rattlesnakes although I confess I never had good enough aim for the snakes myself. Our feral cats handled them better than we did by keeping them on the asphalt in the hot sun until their cold-blooded bodies overheated and they were easy prey.

              It’s been many years since I’ve lived outside the city, even in suburbia, but I gather that there are now laws against killing bears even when they dump your garbage. No one thinks of confronting a cougar who is about to attack them, with a gun. At best they’re just taught to wave their arms and try to look fierce. Instead, they just die and leave it to Fish & Wildlife to track down their killer later.

              Am I wrong about this? I could be, but, from what I hear, I don’t think suburbia has become a gun culture even to protect themselves from predators. Everyone is too busy worshipping nature and sacrificing their cars and stoves on the altar of the sun god. Maybe I’m projecting because I live in the People’s Republic of California.

              Like

              1. They’ve already sacrificed our toilets and washing machines to the Water Gods, leaving us with toilets that don’t flush and washing machines that don’t wash.

                Like

              2. question is do those folks in suburbia use guns to discourage the bears, deer, etc., or do they never think of “harming nature”?
                ……………..

                Not so much that. Result is the same. Even in the county, but suburban, we are not allowed to fire a firearm; period (not even air or BB, although we did set up son with supervised BB shooting range in backyard, into target bag, backstopped by shed. Yep. Rebels are us.) Not sure if that is county or state. Hunting is absolutely 100% forbidden. Not exactly never think of “harming nature”, but harming nature by firing a firearm because fired a firearm will get someone in huge trouble, in these neighborhoods (if caught).

                While our neighborhood isn’t as likely to see bears or cougars (too far into the valley from either the Willamette or west valley green belts), the south/southwest hills, very west 11th, and east/southeast Springfield, do, and do regularly. It is encouraged to keep garbage secure during the week, only out on the curb on garbage days (bears being smart, know this). Bear proof cans are not required. But the area only has black bears. Cougars go where the deer are. Even as close as we are to fields, we don’t see many deer, not even as road kill. Coyotes, turkeys, hawks, and eagles, we do see, regularly. No wolf packs, not even further east in the Cascades. Yet.

                Even farmers and ranchers working the surrounding fields are discouraged from using firearms to discourage predators, small or big. They are encouraged to use non-lethal alternatives (dog guardians, *llamas, donkeys). How do you think I know the acronyms 3-cubed/triple-s/SSS? If the predator isn’t collared, harassment to SSS is what happens.

                I can’t speak to your neighbors. Personally I grew up suburban (we live now a mile from my childhood home) and grew up with guns (took them to grandparents or great-uncles to fire them in prep for hunting, for meat). We have guns (or would if we hadn’t had the canoe accident). We have at 2 neighbors that I know of that hunt for meat and are passing the tradition down to the next generation. We don’t, we camera hunt. Got out of the habit when it meant both paying for an out of state tag to hunt with family, plus only weekend hunting, which meant western Oregon brush hunting. So not seeing that either suburban or urban raised means “not familiar with how firearms work”.

                Will admit that semi-auto handgun case ejection was a minor surprise. I grew up with revolver handguns, which do not auto eject, but do auto advance. But rifles I knew the casing had to be ejected to fire, whether manually done or semi-automatic.

                Like

                1. A few tens of miles south of you, neighbor cameras have shown a bear one block west, and a cougar one block south, but just once each so far as I am aware.

                  Mostly coyotes. When first we moved here, a nearby neighbor told me about a coyote that had recently had an accident with an air rifle.

                  And deer, of course. I’m about to embark on a lifelong hobby, preventing the deer from eating my tulips. Liquid Fence appears promising.

                  Like

                  1. few tens of miles south of you.
                    …………………

                    Oh. Definitely. Bears, cougars, et. al., oh my.

                    It would be easier to carve out where bears and cougars aren’t as likely to be seen in Eugene/Springfield metro, than to list where they have been seen and caught on video.

                    My point on our specific location amidst the metro area, that even if not suburban, open prairie while possible transit area for cougars or bears, not likely to be hunting ground. Not with the surrounding areas.

                    Like

            2. Had a neighbor once who was always shouting at his dog for getting into the trash cans. One day I looked over the fence and told him it was not the dog. He responded to that in a less than friendly voice so I walked around to his yard and showed him the ‘coon tracks. I also told him to shine a flashlight on the tree at the back of his lot at night and he’d see lots of shiny eyes looking back at him. They wouldn’t be dogs either.

              I don’t know if I actually reached him but I never heard him cursing the dog about the trash cans again.

              Like

            3. “Turns out raccoons are the ones caught”

              Yeah, most Home Depots don’t stock live-traps for bears…. 8-)

              Like

              1. “Turns out raccoons are the ones caught” Yeah, most Home Depots don’t stock live-traps for bears…. 😎
                ……………………………….

                Yes. At least not in Springfield/Eugene metro. Greater Yellowstone/Tetons, Glacier, etc., Home Depots should. Calling the state wildlife department does not guaranty too often means the death of the animal. Because “relocation doesn’t work. Don’t ya know.” Thus learn to live with the animals and shut up. (FWIW still pissed that Wyoming wildlife services took the life of one of 2020 season 399’s quads less than two months after she kicked them their during third summer (2022). Jackson residents made a lot of money off of Queen 399 and her quads. He should have been relocated, not killed. The resident creating the attractant should have been fined out of the area.)

                Now that enough homes have exterior motion detection cameras, the others are getting “caught”. Turns out the raccoons weren’t the cause of most tipped over garbage cans. Just the ones caught in the act of scrounging what bears left. Cougars prowl the neighborhoods for other prey or just pass through. The screeching has been epic. In retrospect the actual reaction should be “duh”. A lot a chatter of populations of young cougars and bears moving into “human” territory, and “human neighborhoods” moving into cougar and bear territory. Yes, and the bears and cougars have always moved along the fringes, and river greenways, and into fringe neighborhoods, just silently unseen. Now that there are the home cameras, not so unseen. Now when you hear that yappy panicking dog, big or small. It is because the dog smells predator.

                The passing of no hunting with dogs, in Oregon (except government sanctioned pest removal hunters), has had an impact, as bears and cougars do not have as healthy fear of dogs anymore. Your average domestic dog has a healthy fear of bears and cougars.

                Like

                1. Cougars prowling the neighborhood…

                  That happens in college towns.

                  Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty….

                  (Grin)

                  Like

    2. Now add that a huge proportion of lawmakers got educational deferments from service, and never received military training. Too many of them are the ones making decisions about gun control.

      Like

      1. I’m not sure how many of my seriously gun enthousiast acquaintances have military service. I can think of any number that don’t, starting with myself (deferred from the Dutch draft due to moving outside Europe).
        Conversely, there are assorted military and ex-military types, even those who actually carried a rifle in the field, who are victim disarmament advocates. Rep. Auchincloss (D-MA) comes to mind. He’s one of those liars of the “I’m a veteran so I know how scary AR-15s are and why no mere civilian should ever own such a thing” type.
        Of course there are also REMF paper shufflers like Buttigieg, who was photographed somewhere holding a rifle in a manner that makes me think (a) he never held one before and (b) he was scared to do so.

        Like

        1. I still remember seeing the idiot DA that persecuted prosecuted Kyle Rittenhouse pick up an AR-15 from the evidence table and:

          1. Didn’t check if it was loaded
          2. Pointed it at the jury
          3. Put a finger on the trigger

          I would have laughed my ass off if that dumbshit had shot a hole in the wall above the jury box. “But— but— it wasn’t loaded!”

          That’s how you get incidents like the Alec Baldwin shooting.

          Like

          1. Its called “jury tampering”. He deliberately tried to make the thing as scary as possible, so the jurors would react with their glands instead of brain.

            You didn’t really thing it was happenstance or incompetence, do you? You know they rehearse for big cases, and dry run presentations to coaching.

            Like

            1. “Jury Tampering”. How’d that work out for the prosecutor? If anything his handling of the AR15 cemented his absolute idiocy and ignorance.

              If he’d treated the weapon safely, with respect, the impact would have been more “threatening”. Not that even that could have changed the outcome.

              Like

          2. In addition, how many of the Kyle Rittenhouse jury members not duck and cover? Not that the jury box framework would have stopped the bullet.

            Like

            1. Well, if I’d been on that jury (not a chance) I’d have got up and exited the jury box promptly.

              “Why, no, Your Honor, I’m not afraid of guns, I just get nervous when idiots wave them around.”

              Like

              1. If I’d been on the jury (not a chance even if called up for the pool), my gut reaction would be to do the same. But I would have held back. Why? No way would I want any taint of proceedings. By staying and not saying anything, until in jury room during deliberations, no chance of judge calling the trial, and possibly giving the idiots another bite at prosecution. Rittenhouse deserved his vindication and acquittal.

                Like

              2. Sorry. If I’d been on the jury, my instinct would have been to leap out of the jury box, land in a crouch, rush the asshole pointing a rifle at me, grab it by the barrel and bash him in the head with it.

                No doubt that would have resulted in a hung jury, but it would have served as an example of how to handle a crazed lunatic with a rifle in close quarters.

                Like

      2. As politicians, lawmakers do not need to know anything at all about the topics of bills which they introduce or for which they vote. Thomas Sowell has it exactly correct:
        * No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems – of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind.*
        Gun control is an ‘issue’; politicians need an ‘issue’ so the can show the voters ‘something is being done, I’m doing it, vote for ME!’

        From a CA lawsuit years ago:

        Stephen Helsley, a senior DOJ official, tells this story:

        A Okay. Well, what triggered me on the handgun part of it
        was — as I’m prone to do, I’ll tell you a little story. When the
        unsafe handgun bill was being presented by Senator Roberti, I
        came into the hearing room as Simon Hayes, who’s chief counsel
        for the Senate Public Safety Committee, was briefing him before
        he presented the bill; had a copy of Gun Digest in his hand,
        pointing to it, and when the discussion broke up, I went to Simon
        and said, “What was the Senator doing?” He looked at his shoes
        and they looked up at me and he said, “Senator Polanco asked me
        what part of the gun the barrel was.”

        Now, he’s the guy that wrote the unsafe handgun bill, said it had
        to do with handguns blowing up and, of course, there’s no test
        for that in the law.

        Not everyone is a True Believer, like some West Coast governors one could name, but somehow the TBs have achieved positions of influence in the legislatures, and if you are a back-bencher and want your bill considered, to make the Folks Back Home think you are Doing Something They Care About, then you vote the way the leadership tells you.

        Like many others, I have personally sent actual snail-mail to the full Senate and Assembly Public Safety committees in California, carefully and neutrally explaining that the bills they were considering would not accomplish the gun behavior changes the bills purported to achieve. Never got a response – because the bills were simply not about ‘guns’, they were an ‘issue’.

        Like

        1. Which probably goes a long way to understanding why I’ve lost 3 elections for Select Board. Election (and re-election if I ever get to first base) aren’t what I’ve concentrated on, only the issues facing the town.

          Like

  5. Multiple reports of drones and paragliders coming into Israel from Lebanon. May the Lord fight for Israel.

    Like

      1. Glad I’m not the only one who had that thought!

        Put a couple of wingshooters on rooftops and give ’em 10-gauge semiautos stoked with turkey loads, and those paragliding assholes will start to Have Problems.

        Like

        1. Slow moving target inside 200m? Chipshot with rifle.

          BrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrCRAKPONK………..

          Like

          1. True, but shotguns will shred the parasails.

            BLAMMO! BLAMMO!
            [insert Stuka “Jericho Trumpet” dive siren sound effect here]
            ker-SMASH!

            Like

            1. Sorry. No.

              They will put some holes in them. They will increase rate of descent a bit. They wont “shred” them. Try your favorite turkey load on a taut bedsheet at 100m. That parasail fabric is fibrous and tough. Much tougher than a bedsheet.

              Shoot the payload. Hit the squishy. Done. Hit the motor and the squishy comes down near enough for you to play more games, or just get a better shot on squishy.

              Any the rifle gets you out to a couple hundred meters. That shotgun gets you -maybe- 100m at best.

              Liked by 1 person

      1. Good news. Mind you, it might be a test of the IDF’s responses, but every but of time the north is quiet is a good thing.

        Like

    4. 10/11/2023: 12:31 PM

      More Americans confirmed dead in Israel-Hamas war, State Department says
      The U.S. State Department confirmed the deaths of at least 22 Americans in Israel since Saturdays’ surprise attack by the terror group Hamas.

      “We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected,” a state department official said.

      Fox News’ Nicholas Kalman contributed to this update.

      Posted by Chris Pandolfo

      And we have American idiots celebrating and defending Hamas murderers of our own people.

      Like

      1. It’s bad enough when Americans support Hamas, but I’ve heard too much garbage from Europeans concerning their “Laws Banning Hate Speech”.

        So when European countries don’t apply their “Laws Banning Hate Speech” to European Idiots supporting Hamas actions against Israel, it tells me that Europe hates Jews and Israel.

        IE In Europe “Hatred of Jews & Israel” is supported by European governments. :mad:

        Like

        1. Which is hypocritical as all hell, since they supported the creation of Israel and the emigration of as many Jews from their countries to their as possible. Talk about “NIMBY.”

          Like

          2. Next time we have to save the Euros’ asses, we conquer the place proper and colonize it. “never again” indeed.

            Like

        2. Meanwhile, the EU announced it is continuing to subside Fatah. As if there is a difference (other than minor adjustments in tactics and PR) between any of those terrorist organizations.

          Like

          1. Either that or have protests in the streets, would would cause the normies to vote for the lesser socialists, which would force them to deport the new minority of the month and upset their new world order.

            Like

  6. One of my favorite dramatic Hollywood bits of nonsense is when someone points a weapon at someone, you immediately hear the gun being cocked. In a tense scene, if the person holding the gun merely shifts their aim to another target, we hear the gun being cocked again, all without seeing anyone actually touching the action. This can happen several times in a “tense” standoff scene.

    All I can think is, “Gee, if those are semi-auto, they must leave a pile of unfired bullets on the ground…”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s as bad as hearing a metallic rattle sound every time somebody raises a sword. You should have tightened that hardware before the battle, you dumbasses!

      Properly handled and maintained swords and guns don’t make funny little noises in use. A sliding sound as they’re pulled out of the scabbard or holster, a click of the safety or the hammer being pulled back. Nothing more.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. If you’re sword is rattling when you raise it, your hilt is obviously loose and you’re likely to see the blade go sailing if you swing it or parry with it.
        You’ll die shortly after that, with a dumbfounded look on your face.

        Like

        1. I’m still convinced that sort of thing was where the “and if you really want to mess him up, chuck your pommel at him, ” actually came from. Not an actual serious tactic.

          Like

      2. Well, for the most part they’re working with film techniques designed for the old radio shows/talkies, where every move had to be clearly audible to the audience. Especially with action films, I think those things are so ingrained that no one has ever thought to change them.

        Like

      1. Oh, ffs. The racking the shotgun thing. They rack it and -no shell comes out- meaning it was chamber-empty when they started threatening…

        Yeah. I don’t watch much American TV, you know? Fricking anime magical girls shows have better attention to detail and better fight dynamics.

        You want to see some gun handling, read my “Alice Haddison’s Busy Day” story. Zombies go down and stay down because Alice knows her sh*t.

        Like

  7. I’ve been fighting in this gun “debate” since 1992. Before then I was pro-gun but I didn’t feel there was any point talking about it.

    The gun “debate” in Canada was lost by gun owners in 1968. That’s a long time ago. Since then we live in a miasma of media bullsh*t arranged to justify that decision. Therefore, almost everyone who wasn’t in the army or didn’t have a family member teach them how to shoot is 100% ignorant of firearms, what they can do, and what they can’t do.

    But YouTube is helping us catch up. I watched a video of a guy blasting away at a pop machine. (That’s a soda vending machine for you Americans.) He went from 9mm pistol through shotgun and then long guns all the way up to .50 BMG before a single bullet made it all the way through that machine. 416 Cheytac sailed through like the machine was made of paper, proving once again that Col. Cooper knew what’s what about guns. (At $20 a round it -better- go all the way through, is what I was thinking.)

    All of the above video description is UTTERLY MEANINGLESS to 95% of Normies out there in NormieLand, thanks to the CBC, CTV, Global, the Globe and Mail, and so on, ad nauseam. Oh, and public education, lets not forget those b@st@rds. Their union is issuing expressions of support for Hamas this week, just so we’re all clear what their deal is.

    To the point where, as I’m sure I’ve said here before, I personally know people with an MD AND another advanced degree who still think the entire cartridge comes out of the gun, brass and all, despite having talked to me about it. (I bent her ear -so- hard.) This is a common belief, as it turns out. An awful lot of people think that.

    An awful lot of people think it is pointless to fight back against men with guns too. They’ve been trained to “shelter in place” which really means “hide and cower.” That’s gotten a lot of people killed lately, [spit], which is all I’m going to say about it.

    The truth is, fighting back is the only thing that’s going to save you. Exhibit A, Inbar Lieberman, whose team of 12 stood off all the terrorists and killed 25 of them. Miss Lieberman is a cute 25 year old girl. She killed five of them herself, according to the NY Post. Nobody but terrorists died at her kibbutz.

    HOW DID SHE DO THAT?!!!

    Planning planning planning, training training training, and her team of civilians had -guns-. That’s how. They knew what they were facing, they had their shit together, and they fought.

    All the kids that died at the rave in the desert? They didn’t have guns. Shani Louk didn’t have a gun, she didn’t have any training, and she didn’t understand what Hamas terrorists really are.

    If she had, I’m sure she’d have been stacking a body count just like Inbar Lieberman.

    Bonnie McDaniel, take note. Yeah that’s right, I know you lurk these comments. Go look up Shani Louk, you appalling idiot.

    By the way, the media is pushing the “You are helpless! Hide and cower in fear!!!” thing very hard right now. All the MSM stories are about murdered people, you have to go to the New York Post to find ONE (1) story about Inbar Lieberman.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You can’t debate about gun control — you know too much about guns! You’re biased!

      If you’ve never read Larry Correia’s (The International Lord Of Hate) post on gun control:

      https://monsterhunternation.com/2012/12/20/an-opinion-on-gun-control/

      Even if you have, it’s worth reading again from time to time. One of the first few commenters makes the ‘point’ that as a subject matter expert on both guns and gun laws, Larry is too hopelessly immersed in ‘Gun Culture!’ to discuss gun control rationally.

      So ‘gun control’ can only be discussed by the hopelessly and/or willfully ignorant. Which makes sense from their perspective, I suppose; the more you know about guns, the less you are able to believe that gun control reduces crime.

      Here in the U.S. we have twice as many guns as cars — but cars kill twice as many people every year. Drunk drivers kill more people than criminals with guns. I know, let’s ban alcohol! That will work.
      ———————————
      The government can mandate stupidity, but they can’t make it not be stupid.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. “You can’t debate about gun control — you know too much about guns! You’re biased!”

        I thought I wasn’t allowed to debate because I’m a Straight White Christian Male. These rules are so confusing…

        Like

            1. As I wrote in my review:

              Sadly, this book will not reach those most in need of it. Even if they read the words, they will not learn what they don’t want to know.

              Like

      3. I had a (liberal) friend tell me once that all mass shootings are done by men so we should ban men from having guns. I said, “They’re all liberals too. Maybe we should ban liberals from having guns.” For some reason the topic never came up again.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. We had our required annual employee training just the other day.

      I’m please to note that they forwent entirely the DIE and cultural sensitivity stuff.

      They replaced it with “Run Hide Fight” active shooter training. (Which, don’t get me wrong, is an enormous improvement.)

      But it had me looking at my workspace, which is a cubicle behind a copier in a dead-end office space with only one door.

      That right there removes “Run” as an option at all. “Hide” is only an option if an assailant doesn’t actually enter the suite. So, “Fight” is it.

      I need to clean my pistol and start carrying it again.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. When we did that training, my boss kept looking at me with an expression that he knew that Fight was going to be my go to option and I had already identified options for improvised weapons. This was just before I went out on disability so “run” wasn’t a good option. As for the third option, “hide”, “ambush position”, tomato, tomahto.

        When my daughter was in High School, the only room without multiple escape exits was the Chemistry Lab. Some of her fellow students were a little freaked out as she described all the possibilities that gave her. /Proud Pappa

        Liked by 1 person

      2. When I lived in AZ I carried everywhere, on general principle, just because I could. And my pistol was -always- clean, because the Suck Fairy is out there, waiting to ruin your day. Nothing will ruin your day faster than hearing a -click- when you expected BANG.

        What do I carry in Canada? A cane. Because Canada is run by socialists who want us all dead.

        But at least I’ve got a goddam cane, which is more than anybody else I see waltzing around like the whole world is butterflies and rainbows. It’s not much, but better than just my fingernails.

        Here endeth the rant. /!@#%/

        Like

          1. You know darn well what kind of a cane The Phantom carries. ~:D The good kind.

            I made some wooden ones a long time ago (which I don’t carry because they get stolen) and found that they don’t hold up to striking/blocking activites more than a couple of blows. Currently experimenting with laminated constructions of ash, maple and oak, with epoxy glues.

            Promising. >:D Particularly when you put a steel rod down the middle. Home handymen, be aware that Home Depot oak and boat epoxy are all you need for this endeavor. Slice up some 1/8″ plies on your bandsaw and have at it.

            Because they can take your nail file at the airport, but they can’t take your cane. Yet, anyway.

            Like

            1. The Reader likes the approach although he might try it with teak (he knows – $$$$$). Some pictures would be appreciated by the audience here.

              Liked by 1 person

              1. I have one halfway done in walnut, showing the method of construction. I’ll post a pic to Phantom soapbox today. I have one in ash that I made in the 1980s, leading to the current lamination experiments, I’ll post it too.

                Progress on projects is slow here at Chez Phantom these days. ~:(

                Lee Valley Tools makes a -very- nice cane tip, the best I’ve found.

                https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/hardware/project-supplies/metal-parts/63218-veritas-cane-and-staff-tips

                Nice and strong, handsome, and twenty bucks. Excellent.

                Like

                  1. Blackthorn works fine, so does ironwood; I have both, curtom cane and Brazos walking stick respectively, and both have brass tips covered with easily-removed rubber tips. And be careful about “enhancing” your cane (steel core, lead weights, etc); some jurisdictions consider that a “concealed weapon”.

                    Like

                  2. Fine for a walking stick. I’ve used pecan, rosewood (that one was a long time ago) ash, hickory and oak. But not for what we’re talking about. Different sort of thing entirely.

                    One of the problems with making these sticks out of lumber is that they are supposed to be riven from a log and shaped with a drawknife, not cut with a saw. When you saw the lumber you get grain discontinuities, which means the stick will break when striking repeatedly.

                    Remember, baseball bats break all the time. They’re also supposed to be riven, but these days they never are. Too wasteful. That’s why escrima sticks are often rattan.

                    By introducing lamination you solve the grain run-out issue and introduce improved stiffness over plain-sawn lumber. By using different species and geometries in the core of the stick, you can get a range of different weight, hardness and flexibility. Same reason skis aren’t made from a single board anymore.

                    I’ve looked into it a little, over the years. ~:D

                    Like

                    1. Since I have short legs, my cane and my escrima stick are about the same length. Handy, that.

                      There’s an LAPD training video for the nightstick, made somewhere around 1960, up on YouTube. It’s for the old school “long” night stick, just slightly shorter than an escrima stick. The video is about half blocking attacks and about half come-alongs and strikes. Nothing overly complicated – I don’t think a lot of training time was budgeted for the nightstick – but all of it practical for street use, unlike much of the escrima stuff.

                      Liked by 1 person

                  2. Very nice! That should be strong enough for…ummm…activity. :-)

                    Do you intend to make the “back head”(?) rounded like a ball-pein hammer? That would probably improve its utility for extracurricular work.

                    Liked by 1 person

                    1. It gets carved down into an attractive knob that allows one to hang the stick on the counter at the store, because leaning sticks on things is annoying. I may add a small rubber inlay to the bottom of the knob to improve grippiness.

                      That the little knob has other uses is entirely incidental, of course. [Said blandly, in Jeeves accent.]

                      The other end gets a more pronounced knob and hook, same reason. Also it adds to the hand comfort, a surprisingly big deal at 67. Arthritis was an unpleasant surprise.

                      I’ve seen a lot of canes out there on the market with little pointy bits on them. To me this is a mistake. Little punctures don’t do much, in my experience. People don’t really notice things like that until half an hour later. The aim of the game is to make them notice -immediately-.

                      Like

                    2. Sounds like the way to go; my blackthorn cane (shaved from a single root; no cross-grain cuts) has both a knob (handle end) and as noted, a brass ferrule at the tip. The kendo standard is “thrust to the soft, cut to the hard”; both my cane and my ironwood stick (also shaved, not sawn) will do nicely for both. :twisted:

                      Like

                1. I was still on Twitter back then, and it went a bit viral. This was before he had some surgery (not that he got much more mobility after that) and really needed a cane to move about and often was stuck in a wheelchair. Luckily he held onto it until someone got the heat in the right place and he was allowed to get through security. He was headed to a Con iirc. Not like he could grab just any cane, with his size.

                  Like

            3. A small commercially labeled squeeze bottle of ammonia base glasses cleaner, needed of course just to clean my glasses or sun glasses. Perhaps a bit more ammonia therein than the label states, sometimes my glasses are pretty dirty.

              BTW, many of those bottles are so well designed you could hold your glasses out 6-10 feet away and still clean them,

              Liked by 1 person

              1. A fellow HS student was getting picked on, and decided to carry a squeeze bottle of HF. Mercifully, he never had to use it; I’ve run across a couple of industrial accidents where HF was involved, and that shit is nasty.

                Like

              2. I had one many years ago, when I occasionally walked to work and had a dog who apparently hated me on the route (came through a quarter-acre lot, with kids in it, to slide under the fence and run up to bite me in the back of the leg). I felt much better carrying that puppy, which our best friend, the knife maker, had made. Just wood, but solid.

                Like

            5. For what it’s worth, I found this book to be somewhat useful. https://www.amazon.com/Cane-Fighting-Authoritative-Walking-Self-Defense/dp/1941845304 ($9.99 on Kindle) Haven’t read all the way through; there were several weeks when I had to use a cane, but now I’m back to something else. Though with the “day of rage” threats, I’m likely to follow Colonel Cooper’s advice for carry. Flyover Falls is not a likely candidate for reindeer games, unless… Still, I’ll be home Friday.

              Liked by 1 person

      3. Only job where I ever had anything that remotely resembled active shooter training was The Supermarket, and it was glorified “Shelter-In-Place” instruction. This was before “run-hide-fight” became a thing. After the “training” (which was maybe a 5 minute lecture) ended, my boss – who was also into guns and knew I was as well, pulled me aside and said “I only gave those instructions because I had to. We both know it’s a bunch of BS. This isn’t official, but if there is an active shooter in the building, do what you have to do to get out.”

        Like

      4. One of the reasons I won’t go back to work IN the hospital. They have a strict no firearms policy. And they still haven’t figured out who the person was who did a drive by of my place.

        Like

      5. What they never teach is the “look” step. Look at your location. Identify entrances, exits, plan your route. Otherwise you’re just a sheep following the other sheep into the chute.

        You think a shooter goes into an area cold? Nope. He’s been there and knows exactly how to best herd the sheep. He knows where the exits are and where people are most likely to run.

        Like

        2. As Blue Oyster Cult once sang of Ayatollah Khoemeni and the Mullahs, “If he thinks we’re the devil, then let’s send him to hell”

          The sentiment can be applied to Hamas, Hezbollah, and those who cheer these genocidal Jew-hating maniacs.

          Like

      2. Mike, I don’t often say this but I think you’re being far too charitable today. >:D

        Anyone who supports Hamas at this point is not merely a useful idiot. They’re self-identifying as a guy who would like to do the same but lacks the guts. “By Any Means Necessary” is them telling us their preference.

        The useful idiots are all being very quiet right now. Most of them seem to have gotten the message loud and clear, quite surprising given how stupid they are.

        If some guy is going to do me the favor of self-identifying as a demon before the fact, I’m inclined to take them at their word.

        Like

        1. I occasionally have to self-moderate, else the American Stasi/KGB will “invite” me to another “interview”, or escalate to a “home inspection”. Been there, done that. I’d kind of like to not show up in the national news as a deceased terrorist (Democrat definition) who posted at According to Hoyt.

          Liked by 1 person

    4. > I watched a video of a guy blasting away at a pop machine.

      “You’re going to have to answer to the Coca-Cola Company…”

      — some old black and white movie

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Another commonly held misconception: Handguns are no good against a person with a rifle. Usually used to denigrate the idea of concealed carry

    “Just what good would your concealed handgun do against a killer with a rifle”

    At close range we are actually about even tactically, and if I get a chance, I find a good place to ambush him and take him out from behind And now I have a rifle.

    ‘SHOOT HIM IN THE BACK OMG!!!111!!!! THAT’S HORRIBLE”

    Heh.

    I remember a line from a prepper magazine from the 80’s: After the SHTF, With the right combination of skill, luck, and ruthlessness you can use a .22 single shot pistol to get any weapon you want.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. During WW2 we dumped thousands of ‘Liberator’ pistols over occupied France. The Liberator was a $2.00 single-shot .45 ACP pistol made out of stamped sheet metal, packed in a small box with instructions and 5 rounds of ammunition. Its intended purpose was for shooting some unsuspecting German soldier in the back so you could take his gun.

      Is a murdering criminal more deserving of a ‘fair fight’ than an enemy soldier?
      ———————————
      The Democrats trust violent criminals and terrorists with guns more than they trust you.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Nod.

      Elsewhere, some idiot tried to claim that “Only a person with an Assault Rifle can take one a Bad Guy with an Assault Rifle”.

      It was if the idiot believe that an Assault Rifle “protected” the user from bullets from hand-guns.

      And yes, the idiot Was Talking About a person with an Assault Rifle entering a room (ie close range).

      Like

      1. The reason for the claim was expressed in one word you used three times. Starts with “i”, ends with “t”.

        Like

    4. Ah yes, the “fair fight” stupidity. Such things run so deep in the “debate” that even the most biting sarcasm can’t penetrate.

      There’s no point in talking to them. They are invincibly stupid.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Matt Helm’s comments (parephrased) in one of the books (Murderer’s Row?): “The Lone Ranger would turn his back. Hopalong would never speak to him again.”.

        Further, “Why should it be different if he was facing north instead of south when I shot him?”

        Giving an enemy an even chance is the epitome of stupidity.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. There’s a place for insisting on fair fights. Schoolyard squabbles, for instance.

        I remember seeing a video of some sixth grade kids – a tiny skinny active one picking on a much taller and larger fat kid – and then the big one gets tired of being tormented and plants the little one in the ground.

        It occurred to me that the most useful advice one could give the kids watching is “Don’t pick on someone smaller and weaker than yourself, it makes you a coward and a bully. Don’t pick on someone bigger than yourself, because it shows that you are too stupid to live. Pick on someone your own size so that everyone can at least agree that it was a fair fight.”

        Liked by 1 person

    5. Lol. I had this conversation at the range. “OK. I bet you a c note I can hit that IPSC target (torso-sized silhouette) at least once with this (1911 in .45)” “Bullshit.” “C note.” “You’re on”

      (standing, two hands) BLAM… “…shit…”

      “Where are you going? the Bank?” (hand out)

      A zone (center mass) hit on first round. By sheer dumb luck, I hit the “A” , clipping one leg of it.

      (waves hand)

      “uh. 20, 40, 60…..”

      Granted, I was much younger, but once you know where it hits at that range, any competent shot can do it.

      Watched Pop win a similar bet with a 2″ J-frame Smith and Wesson (pocket 5 shot gun). He put five in it in about as many seconds.(Miss ya, Pop…)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. When I was in TX back in the 80s, my roommate regularly used my Browning Hi-Power to center punch targets at 100 yards. Bastard. Just had to rub it in that my issues with my then new pistol were not in the hardware.

        Like

        1. Our more recent trips to the range. Son and hubby shredding targets either side of me. My target? Maybe one or two holes in it. No, I had not only shot two rounds. Not kidding that it “appears” being down range of me shooting is the safest place to be. Comment by hubby and son? “Suppose to hit the target. Not scare it.” Getting better. But boy does it show I am not a natural.

          Like

          1. You might try a bunch of dry fire training. Usually the thing is if you’ve got weak hand strength you may not be steady while pulling the trigger, and you could be flinching in anticipation of the shot. I had both of those problems when I started.

            A lot of dry fire and laser light type practice can help both of those without spending a ton on ammo.

            Like

            1. may not be steady while pulling the trigger, and you could be flinching in anticipation of the shot. I had both of those problems when I started.
              ………………….

              Nailed it. Had to figure out how, for me (not son, not hubby, not range safety officers, me) to correctly hold handgun so it was steady.

              Yes, flinching (drop) is a problem. Does not happen if firing with a laser. Just need to spend the money and practice, practice, practice. Getting a lot better. Not to the point of picking a spot on the target and hitting that spot (which hubby and son are practicing at). But I am hitting the target. I do better if I fire off the first in a magazine, then immediately follow up with the remaining 7 with little pause. Subsequent magazines the flinch is much less a problem.

              Liked by 1 person

              1. Sounds like a follow-through issue. Dry fire against a blank wall. Focus on sight alignment. Release the shot without disturbing the sight alignment. Keep the sights aligned for at least one second AFTER shot release.

                Repeat later on the range with live ammo. Focus on shooting one shot perfectly. All else comes from that.

                Like

      1. “How the prisoner get shot, soldier?”

        “He was running away, sir.”

        “He was shot between the eyes.”

        “He was running backwards, sir.”

        Like

      2. I think it was from Justified…

        “You ******! You shot me in the back!”
        “Well, if you wanted to get shot in the front then you should’ve run towards me.”

        Context: baddie was firing over his shoulder as he ran away from the good guy. Baddie missed. Good guy returned fire, and didn’t miss.

        Like

  9. Add in the implied class issue, expressed as, “No private citizen should have access to weapons of war!” Generally meaning any weapons at all.
    That works out to, “Peasants shouldn’t have weapons! Peasants don’t need weapons! Only the specially trained and virtuous, those chosen to be warriors, should have access to Weapons.”
    Because “weapons,” are sacred symbols of higher social status and power. Peasants should never presume to rise above their station by seeking the holy symbols.
    Yeah. Right. Most of us are, “yeomen,” not Peasants. Big difference in practice.

    Like

    1. Because “weapons,” are sacred symbols of higher social status and power.

      I mean….. they are. That is why all Americans are supposed to have them.

      Like

      1. True, but that’s emphatically not how Our Betters (TM) mean it.

        “Master? That sumbitch ain’t been born.”

        Like

    2. I don’t remember if it was in Halbrook or elsewhere, but I remember reading about a tradition in medieval Europe, back in the days when they still had slavery. At that time, if a citizen wanted to free a slave, he was expected to give the newly minted freeman a spear and a shield — weapons offensive and defensive, the marks of a free man.
      Oleg Volk did a graphic on this theme, though in that one the weapon is a flintlock.

      Like

  10. Oooh yeah. I’ve been having that “debate” with my parents for well over a decade, probably pushing two at this point. And despite readily acknowledging that the media outright lies about (or at the very least exaggerates, misconstrues, or otherwise makes mistakes) about virtually everything else, for some reason they still take everything the MSM says about guns as gospel.

    Granted, as an angry teenager, I wasn’t great at the whole “debating” thing. And laughing in Mama Raptor’s face when she said “The AR is the most powerful kind of gun ever made!” probably didn’t help my cause any. Nor did the one single range trip I took her on, but that wasn’t my fault (indoor range because I didn’t have access to an outdoor range, went at a time that was usually empty only for it to be jam-packed, and the guy next to us was shooting a compensated 10mm Auto). But I digress….

    I thought I had made a breakthrough when, during the Summer of Love And Fiery-But-Mostly-Peaceful Protests, Mama Raptor came to me me and said she wanted to buy a gun and needed my help picking one out. But, after months (not exaggerating) of back and forth, Mama Raptor abruptly decided that no, she didn’t want a gun because she doesn’t have it in her to shoot someone.

    However, she has NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER with the idea of wailing in a bad guy with one of her cast-iron frying pans. I’ve (gently) pointed out the seeming hypocrisy and that she’d actually do a heck of a lot more damage with the frying pan than the pistol-caliber carbine I’d been pushing her towards (she was under the impression that the gun would do WAY more damage than it really would, and seriously underestimated how much damage the frying pan would do), and also that the frying pan wouldn’t do much good against Mister Antifa lobbing firebombs at the house from however many feet away. She commented that she’d “never really considered that,” and that was the end of the conversation.

    I still say that if I could convince her to try my 10/22, she’d be hooked, or at least more amenable to the idea of firearms ownership, but so far no joy. As it is, she still hounds me whenever I talk about getting another gun of my own, says that I have “way too many!” and that I should sell one before buying another. As it stands, my “arsenal” consists of 3.5 rifles and 2 pistols. Same lady, BTW, who told all her friends I had “built a bunker” in their basement while I was still living with my parents. Said “bunker” was an improvised pantry with a few weeks worth of water and canned goods.

    Oh my, I’ve certainly gone on one heck of a ramble here. Mea culpa! [dons carp-proof suit]. We now return you to your regularly scheduled comment thread.

    Like

      1. She already has several (and to the best of my knowledge has NEVER used any of the cast-iron ones!) and regularly gripes about how there’s too much clutter in the kitchen and pantry, so… yeah. The thought would be appreciated, the actual implement not so much.

        That reminds me, I also pointed out that she keeps those frying pans in the pantry, which is in the far corner of the house, so if somebody breaks in at night (her biggest fear), it would be extremely easy for them to get between her and the pantry, and then was was she going to do? She didn’t have an answer for that, and she’d clearly never considered the thought before.

        Like

        1. I know this older woman who lives alone, and let me tell you, she kinda terrifies me. Saw her take out a grizzly bear with a frying pan just from looking at her dog. You know, Fish and Game were a tad upset when she bagged two moose one morning with that same fry pan because they got in her vegetable garden. All the state troopers just love the heck out of her though. That big prison break when those 8 rapists and murderers escaped? Almost feel sorry for the rapists when that pan took out their family jewels. As for the killers, they were all lined up on the ground crying and bruised to Hell and back; just begging those cops to be brought back to prison where it was nice and safe. Nah, I ain’t worried about her. Noticed she had a fry pan under her pillow when I was moving furniture for her. To quote B.J. Barakis, “I pity the fool who thinks he can take her.”

          Like

        2. Would she use a baseball bat? They do have a certain utility.

          When mom passed, we found she had a double shotgun stashed in the closet. (notedly not fond of guns.) There were pairs of buckshot shells in a dozen places in her room, each about one step or two from the others. Go Mom. (Miss ya too..)

          Like

          1. Frying pan is much more practical than a baseball bat. To get the proper impact, you need a long arc with a baseball bat. Short handle, wide, heavy, cast-iron surface, so even if it doesn’t hit squarely, it can still deal punishment.

            Like

            1. Apologies to Harley Quinn, but baseball bats make poor weapons unless the impactee is already on the ground, and you’re just delivering the coup de grace.

              Like

            2. The bat is “freindly” and unlikely to casue the person to reject it out of hand. Its almost a toy. Leaning in a corner, no one pays it any attention, especially if there is also a ball and glove.

              One jabs with a medium or long stick. Too easy to block a caveman swing. Jab fast and hard at vitals or fragiles. If you must you can finish them off with the caveman clobber, back of head or back of neck.

              Try it on a heavy bag. You might be surprised.

              Like

          2. Maybe? I haven’t asked. Knowing her, she’ll just say “Why? I have my frying pan.” Or something to that effect.

            She already has her home-defense plan figured out. It is, to channel Nick Fury, a stupid-ass plan, but it’s her plan and, tbh, better than nothing (not much better, but still…)

            Like

          1. Oh don’t even get me started…

            One of the reasons Mama Raptor and I went back and forth for several months on the gun, and one of the reasons why I think she finally decided against it, was because she insisted that I be the one to teach her.

            Never mind the fact she and Papa Raptor live in Florida and I live several hundred miles away from Florida and am not a certified instructor in any way, shape, or form and by my own admission am a lousy shot in desperate need of remedial training, she adamantly refused to consider a certified and experienced instructor who knew what the hell they’re doing because the only person she trusted to train her was ME!

            [insert sounds of Raptor repeatedly slamming his head against his desk here]

            Like

            1. I can see why you wouldn’t want to be her sparring partner. All that pent up frustration from raising your kids. Not sure the hugs, kisses and apologies for knocking your melon in would be worth it. /laugh

              Like

            2. We are running into the same problem with youngest sister and BIL. Sister grew up in the same household I did (56 months younger). Her first years hunting were after I left home. After HS graduation no more hunting (again, out of state hunting license to hunt with family). BIL has never been around any type of gun. Now they have dad’s shotgun (shot twice, ever), mom’s smaller .38 revolver, the 22 revolver pistol used on their boat when they were fishing for commercial salmon, and the “smallest” of dad’s revolvers (which, trust me, is not small, I think .44? but forget. We tried to offer a trade for the latter, for the Glock 9mm hubby won. to keep the three larger revolvers together as a set. All will extremely nice wood handles. Glock worth slightly more. But not about value. About history.)

              Now they want all three of us to come up and teach them how to use them. What we are willing to do is to go up and go to the range with them. But we were very, very, very, very, (enough “very”‘s?) clear is they needed to schedule to have a certified firearms instructor there to work with them, at least initially. Plus presume, like the ranges we frequent, they have to take an initial range safety coarse (typically a short video) and issued a card for that range (so would we, as new range). Our concealed carries won’t work for their state, except that our destination would be the range. Wouldn’t carry them in a location reachable by any of us, and unloaded, but still hidden.

              Hubby did, I listened, go over basic firearm safety, when BIL and sister picked the firearms up (after they bought a gun safe pond to lose them in canoeing :-) ) Basic rules. Plus making it very clear that the revolvers do not have safeties. While harder, lot of preasure to fire without cocking the hammer, all will fire without hammer pulled back. With the hammer back, any pressure on the trigger, will fire.

              So far, we have not been invited up to join them at the range. I suspect they are waiting for their youngest to finish college and move home.

              The middle sister took “her” hunting rifle (was mom’s until mom quit hunting) and dad’s hunting rifle. Those went directly to their oldest daughter and SIL, locally. SIL has his own large safe pond, for canoe/boat accident, so no safety/range assistance required. We really need to talk to him about where he gets his range time in. He is the family member who has more than just his concealed carry, and carries all the time, including (implied when asked) family functions, because of his profession (not military or law enforcement). He said what endorsements, acronyms I didn’t know and don’t remember.

              Like

            1. Combat waffle pan! ~:D I need to use that somewhere, that’s tewww good to forget.

              One of my characters once used a soup ladle in combat with an alien, but combat waffle pan is the bomb.

              Like

  11. Being able to respond to an armed danger/shooter has become a wise standard to maintain. As for pistol vs. rifle – yeah… the rifle “wins” but don’t discount the pistol and who’s shooting it. Remember back a bit where the young man took out an active shooter in the mall with his pistol and it was (I think) over 40 yards?

    There is also the story I always loved:
    https://investortimes.com/freedomoutpost/texas-cop-takes-active-shooter-100-yards-away-holding-reins-horses/

    So today’s lesson is to armed as best you can as often as you can and be prepared to confront evil should it show up. It is also moving toward winter where I can go from the how to hide the small revolver when it’s so hot out to… oh boy, a big bulky coat – now, how do I get this shotgun in there?? Well, or for some sort of that.

    Like

    1. And the Air Force SP who took down the active shooter at Fairchild AFB back in ’94. Scumbag was armed with a MAK-90 (Chinese AK-47 copy), the SP had a Beretta M9 pistol. SP fire four times from 70 yards away, hit the scumbag twice, and killed him DRT.

      Like

      2. Sam Andrews made my Cowboy rig. I have another two on order.

        Dang fine work. Just a long, long wait for anything on off-the-shelf.

        Like

          1. Tell me about it. Me to gun-holder-sack store: “Hi, do you have anything suitable for a [redacted].”

            Gun-holder-sack-store: “Nope. Unless you would like this lovely gun-rug!”

            Me: “No, thank you.” I didn’t want a gun taco, I wanted a gun-carry-thingy.

            Like

      1. A Wakizashi is plenty of sword blade for social purposes, and much easier to hide. I tend to prefer a Bowie, and have made them, but the “sidearm” sword is also a winner.

        A straight or slightly-curved Wakizashi can hide in a pool stick bag.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Saya from Blood The Last Vampire movie, katana in the mailing tube. ~:D

          “You see the cute Japanese girl in the cute sailor uniform with the mailing tube over one shoulder? Do not annoy her.”

          Yes, I am a hopeless nerd.

          Like

    4. Just right for your bulky coat n Old T’er; a Rossi 12 gauge shot pistol, but they’re are are a bit hard to come by, I think there are only 5 of them. Not that I think one would want to fire it more than thrice in a lifetime though.

      Hum, thinking, just a passing thought, about my double barrel black powder Diablo as a carry. Just a passing thought though. ;-)

      Like

      1. Did everyone on the thread know that you can order a 12 gage double barrel muzzle loading blackpowder pistol with no Federal paperwork? Diablo = 6″, Desperado = 11″. It is essentially an old-school “Howdah” gun. (Local laws vary. Caveat Emptor.)

        Did you see the movie “Punisher”? I beleive the shotgun pistol he used was a Diablo.

        Like

            1. I do wish they made a 20 gage. A bit more practical and some what easier on arthritic hands.

              I once had occasion to try a Howdah muzzle loader in .58. (rifled bore).

              Liked by 1 person

              1. Actually with American Guncraft’s recommended charge the Diablio has a surprisingly light recoil.

                Back in the late ’50s, in a country long ago and far away (Since it would be illegal in the U. S,) a friend of mine had a 20 gauge shot pistol, a pirate style grip with that little wooded tit sticking out to the side at the top to, perhaps, keep your thumb from slipping up towards the hammer. I learned early firing it to keep my grip well below that tit or else the recoil would make it tear the webbing twix my thumb and fingers.

                Much heavier recoil than the black powder Diablio.

                Like

  12. I posted this in yesterday’s comments, but I think it’s more here. This is the link to the 9th Circuit Rn Banc Panel’s granting of an injunction pending appeal in Miller v. Bonta, which is the case involving California’s ban on standard capacity magazines –

    Click to access gov.uscourts.ca9.345123.10.0.pdf

    The dissent is long and exhaustive. The majority opinion basically boils down to, “Because we said so,” and an interest balancing argument, despite the fact that Bruen banned those

    Like

    1. Yesterday, I posted a link to Washington Gun Law’s video on the majority opinion in the injunction. Here’s a link to his video that just went up about the dissents –

      Like

  13. Born in ’52; by the time I was 8 I had a BB gun and knew how to use it. By 10 we’d graduated to 22s, then to shotguns. Had my own shotgun at 12. Didn’t really get acquainted with larger rounds till I visited relatives in the US. Then it was 5″/38s in the Navy, but that’s another story.

    Like

      1. “Mr, O George we are coming up to your cabin to inspect your weapons” # 1 ATF Guy.
        “No your not, the bridge is out” Mr. O George replies.
        “Mr. O George I can see the bridge from here” #1 ATF guy says.
        Boooom, from 5″ 38, suckers are loud AF I mean shake the paint off the overhead loud AF, short flight time, extra loud kaboom.
        “The bridge just went kablooie” #2 ATF GUY.
        “Why don’t you just put me down as a boating accident, save everybody a lot of time and trouble?” Mr. O George asks.

        Later at supervisors office,
        “So, this O George had a boating accident and lost all his guns, is that what you are telling me?” ATF Supervisor asked.
        “Aum, ya boss he was real broke up about it too” #1 ATF guy said.
        “Why are all these gun nuts such terrible boaters?’ ATF Supervisor asked.
        “Aum Probably because they spend all their time shooting and not taking care of their boats” ATF Guy #2 said.
        “Ya, know, that kind of makes sense” ATF supervisor starts looking at #2 ATF guy suspiciously.

        Like

        1. “I don’t feel right not inspecting O George, he could have anything up there” said ATF Guy #2.
          “Don’t worry about it so much, the bridge is out he ain’t going any where” said ATF Guy #1.
          Flash back to O George warming up his surplus M-60 AVLB portable bridge.

          If can can dig up a 5′ 38 mount, I can dig up an M-60 AVLB portable bridge. Though hiding the radar control directors might be tricky, that is unless they are suspicious about a fiberglass grain silo….bwahahaha…

          Like

          1. I am starting to get bad ideas about a 5′ 38 mount, put one of those steel prefab sheds on a track, fire control directors in a fiberglass grain silo, at least the top third is fiberglass. Need to shoot, building on tracks rolls out of the way, roll backs after shots fired. Some of us may have entirely too much time on their hands.

            Like

  14. You know, reading this thread I keep hearing the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi:
    “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”
    I knew there was a reason I feel at home here.

    Like

  15. Yes, “run, hide, fight” indeed! Once upon a time, I was working in a Corrections Academy and the State Dept. of Public Safety decreed all would take the course on it. State Troopers, neat uniform, nice gun belt – instant expert and trainer showed up to teach us.

    About half way into it, I leaned over to my office buddy sitting beside me and loud whispered: “He does know we have an armory here with rifles, pistols, shotguns, flash-bangs, tear gas, grenade launchers and an actual quarter ton of ammo?” I got glares from the executive types and said Trooper just pretended to not hear and finished up the canned presentation. There were no questions.

    Like

  16. Oh yeah, the misconceptions… sigh… At one point when I worked for .gov, I had to loan the assigned NCIS agent an ankle holster because some of the ‘scientists’ in the building were ‘scared’ to be around somebody carrying a gun! A @$#%!@ NCIS agent!!! Sigh…

    Like

  17. Many of them antiques
    ………………..

    Getting ammo from antiques is often a problem. At that point they are just clubs. Still looking for 2535 (however that is actually written) for, by Winchester serial number is 125 years old.

    Like

    1. I looked at the reloading manuals (stored next to the boating information) in the house, and two of them actually have data on the round. (It’s called the “25-35 Winchester”). One manual dates to 1986, but the Hornady is current, so there’s a faint possibility some new stock was made. They say that European guns were chambered in it, under the designation “6.5 x 52mm R”

      An alternative might be to find somebody who could do custom loads. (Assuming they have the brass cases and loading dies on hand.) According to Hornady, the round was introduced in 1895 and is not known as a tremendously successful cartridge by modern standards. [shrugs]

      What can I say; I have a .30-30, which (some people claim) is also obsolete. OTOH, it’s what I have on hand.

      Like

      1. Hubby has ordered from Hornady supplied sources when online has stated the loads were available. Money refunded every single time as stock ran out. We have permanent, at least until at least one box is gotten, orders in at 3 BiMarts locally (River Road, Junction City, and W. 11th). BIL loads but he doesn’t have the die set or cartridges. Dad used to reload for it (he reloaded for everyone). Last year that I know there were loads for it was 1976, which is the year I carried it hunting (didn’t fire it, but it did have loads in it). Dad’s reloading gear has been gone 15 years now. Mom swears she didn’t send any loads with the gear (her younger brother took it), or when she passed on grandpa’s guns to her younger brother (long story on why dad got them first). But we didn’t get any 25-35 when we cleaned out the back room. I suspect there are some stashed somewhere that we will find when we finally clear out the entire house when mom passes.

        Yes, it is a model 1894 Winchester 25-35, octagonal barrel. Built 1898 (I think). Great-Uncle who dad inherited it from was born 1906. Don’t know if he bought it used, or inherited it. But do know that most his nephews, plus mom’s younger brother (who was a nephew-in-law), plus one great-niece (me), carried it hunting their first years of hunting (until could afford their own rifle or a different one came available). To a person that carried it, a common comment is: “That sucker is heavy!” Note. It 100% is.

        Like

  18. The ARTICLE is superb!!! Well said, and true! Thank you! As for the comments- Americans killed by the subhumans, and the Biden / Obama regime’s response is to stamp their feet, shout, “Ooooh you old meanies! So THERE!!” if we had a real president, then the immediate response to ONE dead American wold be the utter elimination of Tehran from the globe. That might set an example for Syria, Jordan et al.

    Like

  20. }}} At this he relented. Albeit reluctantly. His opinion, which had been formed by repeated exposure to misinformation, had become personal.

    Actually, chances are, within a week he was back to agreeing with anyone that it stood for “Assault Rifle”.

    Seriously.

    The following is mildly whimsical, but it does describe a mechanism in how liberal brains work:

    I have previously mentioned this concept in your blog comments, about a year ago… (in case it sounds familiar)

    The Liberal Midnight Reset Button® operates to protect Officially Accepted Liberal Dogma® from challenges to the latters’ “integrity”.

    Consider:

    a) Suppose you meet a libtard who appears reasonable (they do exist… kinda like actual true moderate Muslims, rare but they are not quite unicorns). They are open and honest and fully willing to discuss, without excessive histrionics, any point of view they espouse…

    b) Now, pick a topic dear to them, which you know they believe in but which you also know to be clearly wrongheaded, even if well-meaning.

    c) Start with their supposition, and take them, step by logical step through from their supposition, getting acquiescence at each stage: “Yeah, that follows, uh-huh…”. Show by such reasoning that the net affect of their supposition is the end result will be the exact opposite of what they purportedly support or believe in.

    d) OK, you’ve won. Now what? Wait. You’ll hear something like… “Hmmm. I’m going to have to think about that.”, and you’ll go your own separate ways.

    e) Now, a week passes, seek them out. Bring the subject of their supposition up again, subtly. You will hear them espousing the exact same notions of their original supposition unchanged, unaltered, as though the entire reasoning process you took them through in “c” never happened!

    So what happened? The Liberal Midnight Reset Button® is what happened. At some point in the ensuing day or so, after they dropped off to sleep, their tiny widdle libtard brain started to process the new information. It carefully examined the new information in relation to Officially Accepted Liberal Dogma® (OALD), found it to be unacceptably running counter to it, and purged the new information without adding it to the libtard’s store of knowledge. BAM, conflict ended, Liberal Twitticism remains intact.

    With practice, you can even watch this thing start to kick in as you have the discussion with them. In many cases, if they learn you’re “dangerous” to their precious Officially Accepted Liberal Dogma®, they will preemptively act to terminate, redirect, or otherwise alter the conversation to avoid the necessary mental CPU cycles required to purge the non-agreeing data.

    Yes, I’m being facetious… But only in a sense. This process does exist and it really does act to prevent true libtards from actually learning anything new. And yes, I’ve seen it kick in on more than one occasion.

    And once you understand this as a concept, and realize it actually IS a kinda-sorta function of liberal brains, you can actually start to understand how their minds actually work, or fail thereupon. They have a very very difficult time learning from experience unless they get absolutely bitchslapped by a piano dropping on their heads.

    And that’s usually way too late.

    Like

Comments are closed.