Gun Show Bill Passes out of Comittee

Sadly, as I predicted, the Gun Show Bill SB5197 has been voted out of committee and sent to the rules committee. The vote was 5 to 3.

All five Democrats voted for it, and the three Republicans voted against it. For those of you who keep saying that there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats, you might remember this when this bill becomes law and you have to fill out paperwork and pay a FFL holder to transfer a firearm from one private citizen to another at a gun show.

An interesting sidelight is that one of the Democratic Senators, Senator Prentice from South Seattle/Renton, originally was going to vote against the bill, thereby keeping it from coming out of committee. As of the end of the Executive session yesterday, that was her position. By this morning, she had changed her mind and voted for it. I wonder who talked to her last night to change her mind, and what they said? We'll probably never know.

The rules committee will now vote on sending the bill to the Senate for a vote.

It does not look good on this one......

World's Largest Muzzle-Loader Shotgun?

I just got this in an email from DAMIPHINO:

It seems that somewhere in Indonesia there is a volcano that is getting ready to pop and someone had the bright idea to drop a bunch of 8,800 lb. concrete balls into the volcano to slow down the flows of mud etc. when it goes off.

Lets see... a bunch of heavy balls stuffed into a tube with something explosive underneath. That should slow things down.

Damiphino

Alternate Title: Indonesia develops inexpensive anti-satellite technology.

CWSA Informal Pin Shoot Practice

I will be hosting another informal pin shoot practice session this Saturday at Noon at the CWSA range in Coupeville. This is not a CWSA event, so the main gate will probably be locked, so meet me there at noon so I can let you in.

If you get there a bit late and the gate is closed, park outside the gate and walk back to the pin range and we'll let you in. Be sure to sign in on the sign-in sheet in the mailbox just inside the gate by the left gate post. Sign in as a guest.

Be sure to email me or telephone to let me know you are planning to be there, so I'll be watching for you.

This is the last weekend to practice before the first pin shoot of the year, coming up Saturday after next, Mar. 10th.

Manfred: Wish you could make it, but it's a bit far to travel!!

Gopher Hunting in Idaho

Now THIS is doing it right!

Retired Geezer at Blog Idaho has got a picture posted of how they hunt gophers in his neighborhood! Those red neck Southern boys have got nothing on these folks.....

It's A Boy for Countertop!!

It looks like Countertop is going to have to buy a bigger gun safe!

It's a boy!

Congratulations to Momma and proud Poppa!

Go HERE and add your congratulations!!!

Cast Performance Bullets

Cast Performance Bullets

One of the nicest aspects of being involved with shooting sports is all the really great folks you meet. In my search for the perfect bullet for the .480 Ruger, one of the bullets I tried and really liked was made by Cast Performance Bullets in Rainier, Oregon. The bullets seemed to be particularly well made and finished, and came in the heavier weights I was looking for to really send the pins flying.

The Cast PPerformance bullets are available through many of the usual sources, but being as bullets are heavy, and big .480 bullets are REALLY heavy, freight was a major factor in price. The shipment shown above, with 200 .38/180's mot shown, weighed 55 pounds! Cast Performance will also sell direct, and you can order from their website if you like. The prices are about the same, but the freight for me at least, was considerably better since they are only a hundred or so miles away.

I phoned them up to see what they had in stock and ready to ship. The gal that answered the phone transferred me over to Mike Rintoul, owner of Cast Performance Bullets and also Grizzly Cartridges. We had a nice chat, and it turns out that a few years back Mike even used to do a little pin shooting! I've since talked to Mike several times, and I've now got it on my list of things to do to stop by his place and meet up in person, maybe take a few pictures and put up a post.

If you are looking for some accurate hard cast high performace bullets that won't lead up your barrel, you might go have a look at what he's got available. If you are one of the shooters I see regularly at matches, let me know and we can put together a group order. It will save you a little bit on price and a few bucks on freight that way.

Check it out........

Old Revolver Info Needed

A friend of mine just phoned with a question about old revolvers in the West. He's a writer (and a shooter) and he works very hard to keep accurate with the details in his stories.

I didn't have an answer for him, but I know you all would have the info he needs.

He's looking to identify a revolver with the following characteristics:

1. Readily available prior to 1868
2. Found in the United States in the old West.
3. Uses cartridges rather than cap and ball.
4. Fairly small and light such that a woman could carry it concealed.
5. Something around .36 caliber so it has some stopping power.

Any of you know what he's looking for? Once we identify the basic revolver I can help him track down the details.

Thanks!

Rabid Democrats Running Wild ?

With the two to one majority in both houses in the Washington State legislature, the Democrats are pretty much running unchecked in their efforts to pass legislation furthering their agenda. Here's some of the bills proposed by the Washington State Democrats in Olympia this session:

Attacking traditional marriage

* House Bill 1350, Senate Bill 5335 - Legalizing gay marriage


Bah Humbug legislation

* House Bill 1524 - Outlawing incandescent Christmas lights


Coddle the criminals, hug the thugs

* House Bill 1003 - Free condoms for prisoners
* House Bill 1473 - Allowing convicted felons to vote
* House Bill 1874 - Allowing felons back into the community after serving only half their time
* House Bill 2069 - Another early release bill for felons

Criminalizing berry pickers

* House Bill 1040 - Prohibits collecting and selling of huckleberries (Tribal members are exempt)
* House Bill 1909 - More anti-berry picker regulations

Eroding the citizens' cherished right to engage in initiatives, referenda

* House Bill 2018 - Requiring licensing of paid signature gatherers
* House Bill 2019 - More regulations on paid signature gatherers

Government-run health care

* House Bill 2094 - "Pay or Play" government-run health care
* House Joint Memorial 4005 - Government-run universal health care

Increasing the burden against taxpayers (Washington is now the fourth highest taxed state in the nation.)

* House Bill 2138 - Automatic, annual gas tax increases
* House Bill 2309 - Eliminates the 1 percent property tax limit passed by the people
* Senate Bill 5150 - Enacting a state income tax

Infringing upon the Constitutional right of the people to keep and bear arms

* House Bill 1011 - Requires an alien firearm license
* House Bill 1014 - Regulates storage of firearms
* House Bill 1026 - Regulates firearms sales at gun shows and events

Forced political activism

* House Bill 2079 - Agency shop fees (Allowing unions to use non-member dues on political activities without permission. Attempts to do an end-run around the pending U.S. Supreme Court decision on Washington Education Association dues.)

Lawyers' prosperity legislation

* Senate Bill 5816 - Tort expansion

Requiring graphic sex education to be taught to your fifth-grade child

* House Bill 1297, Senate Bill 5297 - Medically accurate sex education

Spending YOUR tax dollars to fund political campaigns

* House Bill 1186 - Public funding of judicial races
* House Bill 1360 - Requiring taxpayer funded campaigns

Undermining support of our troops

* House Joint Memorial 4004 - Anti-war memorial


Huckleberry pickers? You've got to be kidding, right?

Here's the link to the original source from the House Republicans website.

KeeWee's Valentine's Day Present

Thanks to Manfred at Armes et mir Passion I was reminded about all of the neat stuff available at Cafe Press. After scrolling through page after page of shirts, bumper stickers, and other cool trinkets, this shirt just about jumped off the page at me. This would be the perfect Valentine's Day surprise for KeeWee!

It looks like this will be her new pin shoot shirt......

Richard Thompson Videos

Here's something for you Richard Thompson fans. Somewhere I've got a copy of the original recording of this song, done by Bull Moose Jackson, I think. Check out the guitar work......

Please Don't Roll Those Bloodshot Eyes at me

Richard Thompson played an outdoor concert in Seattle in 1990. I got there really early and got a spot in the very front about five feet from the stage. I suspect the back of my head is in some of the video. This song is just a fun piece that lets Richard play a lot of guitar. Amazing.......

Two Left Feet

Even though it sounds like there is another guitar and possibly a bass, this is Richard solo. I don't think I've ever heard anyone get so much music out of only one guitar, although Stanley Jordan comes to mind.

Update: There are several versions of Black Lightning by Richard Thompson on YouTube, but this is one of my favorites. The guitar work is more intricate on some of the other versions, but this version allows you to clearly hear the words and understand the story of the song.

Check out 1952 Vincent Black Lightning.

New Shooters To The Line......

On Saturday KeeWee and I met up with LouG and two new shooters, Wayne and Mac, for some range safety, firearms safety, and handgun, and pin shoot instruction. We started off shooting pin tops with an iron sight Ruger 22/45, and Iron Sight High Standard Citation, KeeWee's red dot equipped High Standard 103 Sharpshooter, and my red dot equipped High Standard Citation.

KeeWee doesn't seem to have lost any speed or accuracy through the Winter with little shooting, so I can see she's going to be trouble at the upcoming pin shoots!

Both Mac and Wayne picked up on pin shooting quickly, and were soon sending the pin tops flying! It didn't take long before it became apparent that Wayne and Mac were not only shooting well, they were almost exactly the same speed.

We set up some pin tops and let them shoot it out. Wayne won the first table, Mac came back to win the second table, and it boiled down to one final table for all the bragging rights. Mac jumped to an early lead, but had trouble with the 4th. pin, allowing Wayne to narrowly take the match! I suspect this rivalry is nowhere near over!!

Mr. C. showing that he actually CAN shoot from a conventional grip and stance, just chooses to find a harder way to do it!

After lots of rimfire pin top shooting, Mac and Wayne tried out Lou's new 9mm. CZ-75, again with good results.

KeeWee tries to hold up the Ruger .480 Super Red Hawk. Mac helps. Maybe a bipod?

At the end I dragged out the Ruger .480 Super Red Hawk for everyone to shoot. I had it loaded with REALLY light loads, so it was somewhere between a .38 and a .357 to shoot. The last thing you want to do with a new shooter is let them shoot something with too much recoil and get them started flinching.

Mac goes after the full size pins with the .480 Ruger.

Everyone who wanted to try the Ruger got the chance, and everyone seemed to enjoy shooting it with the light loads. The double action trigger pull is still very heavy, but single action the trigger is now quite good.

The weather was mild, the shooting fun, and a good time was had by all, a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Missing Music Video

This morning I posted a YouTube music video for your enjoyment, but it still hasn't appeared on the blog. Maybe by morning it will magically appear, probably in multiple copies.....

Pull Out of Washington

You may have seen this before, but regardless of where you stand on the issue of the U.S. involvement in Iraq, here's a sobering statistic:

There has been a monthly average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths. That gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 persons for the same period.

That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capital than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington

NOTE: I have not been able to verify these statistics, and it's not in Snopes. If these are incorrect, would you please leave a link to a verifiable source of better data, and I'll correct the story. Thanks!

Credit to Reese for the original story.....

Red State Blogs and Bloggers

There are two fundamentally different political philosophies in the United States, and those philosophies are nowhere more apparent that in National elections. Even the televised election results show the states in either red or blue, depending on the vote count in the particular state. Although there is a strong correlation between the "Red" states and Republicans, and the "Blue" states as being Democrats, it's really not that simple. By land area, most of the United States is red, but by population, it's about even. The high population density areas strongly blue, and the more rural areas are strongly red.

In my state, Washington, the total vote count makes it a blue state, yet once you get outside of the city limits of the largest cities, Washington is very red. Although I don't have the data to support the idea, I'll bet most countries of the industrialized world are the same. The more rural folks are much more "Red Staters" than their counterparts in the cities.

That led me to the conclusion that being "Red State" or "Blue State" really refers to a state of mind, not a physical geographical location. A "Red Stater" might live and work in a big city, and a "Blue Stater" might live in a rural area. You don't even have to be living in one of the United States to be a "Red Stater", you might be in France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or anywhere, for that matter, since it's a state of mind, not of geography.

What exactly is the "Red State" philosophy? I think we believe that everything revolves around personal responsibillity, rather than having the government take care of the citizens. we believe that the government is ONLY to do those things that individuals cannot do for themselves.

In trying to come up with some further explanation of the "Red State" philosophy, the Cowboy Code comes to mind. I suspect most "Red Staters" are in agreement:

The Cowboy Code

1. A cowboy always tells the truth and keeps his word.
2. A cowboy is a Patriot and stands for Truth, Justice and the American way
3. A cowboy never betrays a trust or takes advantage.
4. A cowboy is brave, but never careless.
5. A cowboy defends the weak and helps them.
6. A cowboy is kind to children, old folks, and to animals.
7. A cowboy is free from racial and religious prejudice.
8. A cowboy is clean about his person and in thought, word, and deed.
9. A cowboy is loyal, hard working and maintains a high ethic.
10. A cowboy is thankful for what God has given him.

A lot of you out there express yourselves way better than I when it comes to explaining what it means to be a "Red Stater", so please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below with your ideas on what it means to be a "Red Stater". I know what it means, but somehow I just can't quite explain it very well.

With all of this in mind, I put together the flag up at the top of this post. If you are a blogger and you would like to put it on your side bar to proclaim yourself as a "Red State Blogger", feel free to do so. I'd be honored if you did so.

If you want to link back to this post so folks can read the story behind the flag, that's be fine, but you don't have to do so if you don't want to. I'm not looking for links, I just want to see the "Red Staters" of the world get some recognition.

New Shooters Pin Shoot Practice

Tomorrow, Saturday Feb. 17th., a few of us, including some brand new shooters, will be meeting at the Central Whidbey Sportsman's Association range in Coupeville, Wa. for a little introductory handgun instruction and a bit of bowling pin shooting. This is not a club event, but rather an opportunity for a few folks to get in a little informal range time on the pin range as my guest.

The main gate will most likely be locked, so I will be at the gate at 12 Noon to sign you in and open the gate. If you arrive a bit late, park on the side of the road outside of the gate and walk in to the pin range and one of us will get the gate open and sign you in.

If you would like to participate, PLEASE drop me an email so I will know you are planning to attend. Bring your eye and ear protection, if you have it, otherwise we have some "loaners" at the range you can use. You can bring your favorite handguns and ammo (no full metal jacket), but if you don't have anything to shoot, come on out anyway, we'll get you some range time one way or the other.

Hope to see you there!

Fun With Cell Phones

Several men are in the locker room of a golf club. A cell phone on a bench rings and a man engages the hands free speaker function and begins to talk.

Everyone else in the room stops to listen.

MAN: "Hello"

WOMAN: "Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?"

MAN: "Yes"

WOMAN: "I am at the mall now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $1,000. Is it OK if I buy it?"

MAN: "Sure, go ahead if you like it that much."

WOMAN: "I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the new models. I saw one I really liked."

MAN: "How much?"

WOMAN: "$90,000"

MAN: "OK, but for that price I want it with all the options."

WOMAN: "Great! Oh, and one more thing...the house I wanted last year is back on the market. They're asking $950,000"

M AN: "Well, then go ahead and give them an offer of $900,000. They will probably take it. If not, we can go the extra 50 thousand if it's really a pretty good price."

WOMAN: "OK. I'll see you later! I love you so much!"

MAN: "Bye! I love you, too."

The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him in astonishment, mouths agape.

He turns and asks: "Anyone know who this phone belongs to?"

Happy Valentine's Day from the Bunnies

Just got this pic and explanation from Damiphino in Billings.....

I went to shovel the drive this morning and here was an outline in the snow. The dogs had been out and you can see their tracks but the outline was apparently done by a bunny. There are bunny tracks leading to and away from the bottom. No people tracks anywhere around.

We have one bunny that lives under the shed that will get to a few feet of you and even challenges the dogs to a game of chase. He'll hop right at them then turn and take off. If they don't chase he comes back and tries it again.

Free Sony Playstation 3

Free Sony Playstation 3 -- For ME?

"Shipping Notice" wrote:

Dear Mr. Completely:

We are having trouble shipping you your free Sony Playstation 3.

Please click the link below to reconfirm your email address for shipment.

http://fortres2s.com/soihc?l=0&m=17442123&e=9ivqvta4YWJV@St37B4i

Thank You,
Associate #5346
Internal Notice Department


My Reply:


Dear Associate 5346,

Thank you for attempting to ship me a free Sony Playstation 3, but there must be some mistake, as my eyesight is not too good and I doubt that I would be able to use it. My finances are also a bit strained at the present time too, and I don't think I would be able to buy any of the games for it anyway.

Instead of shipping it to me, would you please donate it to a local charity, such as an orphanage or senior center in your area in my name?

I'm sure the donation would brighten the days for some folks needier than I.

Thank You.

Sincerely,

Mr. Completely

..........some days I'm easy to entertain!

Pin Shoot Ammo

When talking about pin shooting, the conversation usually turns to the topic of ammunition. With the exception of rimfire, most of the regular shooters load their own ammunition, both to save some money, and to fine tune their ammo to what suits them best. However, "Store Bought" can be used with good success, particularly when you are first getting into pin shooting.

First, lets have a look at rimfire ammunition. Probably the most popular is the bulk Federal 550 packs, or the Federal Match that comes in 325 round bulk packs. The CCI Standard Velocity is also a favorite, particularly with the S&W model 41 shooters, as the 41's seem to be kinda picky anyway. I've used some of the CCI Blazer, and it seems to work fairly well too. I shot Winchester Dynapoints for some time with good results, until they became unavailable, but they are now back into the marketplace. People seem to either really like, or really dislike the Dynapoints. Everyone I've talked to that has tried Remington bulk pack ammo has been plagued with misfires. I've been shooting Sellier and Bellot .22 ammo, and it seems to work well for me. .22's seem to be a little more fussy and it varies from gun to gun, so I'd recommend shooting plenty of ammo through your .22 until you find what works in YOUR particular gun, then stick with it. What works for you may not work well for someone else.

Centerfire ammunition is another story. First and foremost, do not use full metal jacketed bullets on pins for reasons of bounceback. Plated bullets, soft points, hollow points, or lead bullets are all OK.

For .38/.357 revolvers, I've used the Remington .38 +P with 125 Gr. Semi-jacket hollow points with good results. They might be a little more powerful than you need, but they do the job!

The Remington 9mm. 115gr. Jacketed hollow points work well, although just a little bit more power would be nice.

The Winchester soft point white box 9mm. with 124 gr. bullets seem to be just not hot enough to move the pin with enough authority.

The Winchester .45 ACP 230gr. jacketed hollow points work very well, and if you start loading your own .45's, these would be a good load to duplicate.

Of course, after having said all of this, there are going to be folks who disagree, and have their own favorites. Try different ammo, and perhaps you'll find something even better than these suggestions, but this gives you a good place to start. The ammunition pictured above is all made in USA, and available at Walmart at reasonable prices. Some of the other big chain stores will run sales on these from time to time, so watch the sales, and stock up when you get the chance......

See you at the pin shoot!

Olympia SB5197 Hearing Video

Phil over at Random Nuclear Strikes has now got the video posts up at Google video showing the SB5197 hearing last week in Olympia. He's broken the testimony and hearing up into five to seven minute chunks with written descriptions of what's in each chunk. Good job, Phil!

A Little Marine Humor

Last Tuesday, as President Bush got off the helicopter in front of the White House, he was carrying a baby piglet under each arm.

The squared away Marine guard snaps to attention, salutes, and says: "Nice pigs, sir."

The President replies: "These are not pigs soldier these are authentic Arkansas Razorback Hogs. I got one for Senator Hillary Clinton and I got one for Speaker of The House Nancy Pelosi."

The squared away Marine again snaps to attention, salutes again and says: "Excellent trade, sir."

---

One sunny day in 2008, an old man approached the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue, where he'd been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the Marine standing guard and said, "I would like to go in and meet with President Hillary Clinton."

The Marine replied, "Sir, Mrs. Clinton is not President and doesn't reside here."

The old man said, "Okay," and walked away.

The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, "I would like to go in and meet with President Hillary Clinton".

The Marine again told the man, "Sir, as I said yesterday, Mrs. Clinton is not President and doesn't reside here."

The man thanked him and again walked away .

The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same Marine, saying "I would like to go in and meet with President Hillary Clinton."

The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, "Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mrs. Clinton. I've told you already several times that Mrs. Clinton is NOT the President and doesn't reside here. Don't you understand?"

The old man answered, "Oh, I understand you fine, I just love hearing your answer!"

The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, "See you tomorrow, Sir."

Thanks to Billmac for the jokes!

Pin Shoot Big Bore Revolver Class Rules

We've never tried a big bore revolver class at Central Whidbey Sportsman's Association for bowling pins, so this is going to be something of an experiment. We hope to have a good turnout, lots of close competition, and sufficient success with the class to continue it for the rest of the year. We may find that the rules need to be adjusted one way or another after we've tried a match or so, but hopefully we've got a good set of rules at the start and we can use them for the rest of the year as written.

One of the club's concerns with big bore revolvers has been excessive destruction of the pins. A healthy load in a big bore revolver will pretty much destroy a pin with one shot. With pins costing up to a dollar apiece it's understandable that the club would be concerned. Fortunately just about everyone will be shooting hand loads, and can adjust their loads to emphatically take the pin off the table without exploding it into kindling. Tuning your loads for pin shooting will have a lot to do with your success. With the large bullet weights found with big bore revolvers it doesn't take a lot of velocity to get some serious power factors!

Pin Shoot Big Bore Revolver Class Rules:

.430 bore or larger, in other words a .44 Special would be the smallest permitted caliber. Minimum bullet weight of 220 grains. Any type of sights.

Gun holstered, cased, or in a rug when going to and from the line.

Six shot limit per table. No reloads unless you started with only five, or had a cartridge that didn't fire.

Start Position: "Low Ready" - pointed down at 45 degrees.

Five pins per table, set 12" from the front of the table. 36" from the pin to the rear edge of the table.

First round opponent determined by table time, fastest against the fastest down to the slowest against the slowest.

Table winner determined by which ever shooter gets all five pins on the ground first.

However, if after both shooters have fired their six shots, and both shooters still have pins on their tables, the shooter with the fewest pins on his table is the winner of the table. If both shooters have the same amount of pins on their tables, the winner is determined by which shooter has the fewest pins standing. If both shooters have the same number of pins on their tables, and the same number standing, then it's a tie table, and you shoot it over.

Shooter must win two tables against his opponent to progress to the next round. Single elimination format. Lose two against an opponent and you are eliminated.

Timing in: Six shots per table. 5 second penalty for each pin left on the table. Maximum table time of 25 seconds. Two tables for time, with best table time only counted.

The rest of the rules follow the standard pin shoot rules.

Big bore revolvers can also be entered in the regular revolver class, where you are limited to 6 rounds in your first cylinder, and reloading for additional shots is permitted.

You can also enter a big bore revolver in the centerfire optic or centerfire iron sight class, depending on the sights on your revolver. In the centerfire classes you are allowed 8 rounds in your initial cylinder or magazine, and you can reload as many additional rounds as needed.

If you have ever shot at Custer or at CWSA in the past, the rules above should tell you all you need to know for the big bore revolver class at CWSA.

The first pin shoot of the year will be on Saturday, March 10th. starting at 9am.

Be sure to bring along your .22 handguns too, as we also shoot a rimfire optical sight class and a rimfire iron sight class using pin tops for targets. Great fun!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me, or leave your questions in the comments below.

The Rodenator

Got a problem with burrowing rodents? Here's the solution, and it even looks like it'd be fun to use. It's called the Rodenator.

CHECK IT OUT!

Hat tip to The Ninth Stage!

Reno Gun Blogger Rendezvous Dates Set

It seems like next October is a long ways off, but between now and then there is a whole lot of work to be done getting everything set up for the Reno Gunblogger's Rendezvous.

The dates are now set, as is the venue. The Rendezvous will be held at the Reno Circus Circus, where the event was held last year. The core dates are Friday october 12th., and Saturday, October 13th. Special room rates will also be available for Thursday, October 11th., and Sunday, October 14th. Everyone is encouraged to be there for at least Thursday, Friday, and Saturday if possible. The conference room will be available each night for socializing, including Thursday. Saturday night will be the banquet. Saturday will be "Range Day". Sunday may also be a range day, or possibly a day to shoot in a local match, depending on what matches are scheduled.

The plans are to build on the success of last year, keeping most things the same, with some added features and activities thrown in.

Mark your calendars! We are expecting a much larger turn-out this year, and I can hardly wait.....

Olympia Trip - Malice in Blunderland?

Boy, what a long day yesterday! Caught the ferry over to the mainland, then drove South on I5 through some at times full stop and go slowly traffic to eventually hook up with Phil of Random Nuclear Strikes near Tacoma. I missed the freeway exit and had to turn around and find it from the other direction. I wandered around through a lot of construction, road cones, and poorly marked lanes to finally find Phil's place. We jumped into his truck and headed for Olympia. We found our way to the approximate area where the hearing was to be held, and soon found out that there was very little available as to parking. Could it be that the powers that be in Olympia (2/3 Democrats) don't WANT folks to be able to conveniently attend hearings? Could it be that they don't want the public involved in the process, since they already know so much more than we do? It kinda seems like it....

I never have quite figured out why they need a dome on the building.

Anyhow, we found a place to park a couple of blocks from the place the hearing was to be held, and walked over there. I started to feel a little better about things when I started to see NRA hats and people that looked like gun owners. On the patio in front of one of the buildings there were perhaps 100 people standing there holding pro gun signs and wearing anti 5197 buttons, and it was still early. COOL!

Phil and I visited with John Rothlin, the Communications Director for the House Republicans, in his ofice for a bit, then dropped off some letters to some of the congress-critters. Then we headed over to the hearing room building to get signed in for the hearing. The hallways were already getting packed with people lining up to get into the hearing room.

Some of the crowd lining up for the hearing. The line goes clear to the end of the hall, then down another hall, then back again. Almost everyone there was pro-gun.

Committee Chair Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (Dem)

When we finally got into the hearing room, the first room filled up immediately. I think it actually filled up three conference rooms. The room we were in had a large projection screen on the wall so we could see and hear the testimony.

Senator Jim Clements (Rep) from Selah.

Once the hearing got underway I found myself shaking my head in disbelief. Are some of these folks REALLY this stupid or is this some kind of a joke that I just haven't yet been let in on? Nope. we have people running the government in Olympia who are dumber than a box of rocks. Phil video'ed the entire hearing and will be posting some of the video the first of the week so you can see and hear some of it first hand, but for starters, let me give you an example:

"There are 7 million NRA members and 70 million gun owners in the United States, so 90% of the gun owners do not agree with the NRA."

It was like that every time one of the anti-gunners opened their mouths. Gil Kerlikowskie, the head of the Seattle police department told us that this bill would keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Remember Chief Kerlikowskie, the guy who had his handgun stolen out of his car in downtown Seattle when he left the gun lying on the front seat of his unlocked parked car? Credibility = none....

Senator Janea Holmquist kept asking the same question over and over, "Have any of you identified even ONE handgun used in a crime that was purchased by the bad guy at a gun show?" Not one person could come up with even one example. Good for her!

Senator Pam Roach darn near got thrown out of the hearing when she said to the chair (approximate quote - I don't have the exact words) "Felons don't buy their guns at gun shows. There isn't a problem here. Just what is YOUR problem?" GO PAM!

I wish I could be optimistic on this bill, but that's not one of the choices. The sponsor of this bill just happens to be the same senator chairing this committee. With five Democrats and three Republicans on the committee, they can do just about whatever they want..........

UPDATE: For Phil's post and a lot more information about the Senate Hearing, click here.

UPDATE II: I found the complete video of the senate hearing on 5197 on the state's website. CLICK HERE to go see the video. For those of you that maintain that there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats, you should watch this video. At the start of the video there is a little bit on the bill discussed just before 5197. Thanks to Libertynews.org for finding the video location.

Off To Olympia

No blogging today, at least until late tonight at the soonest. I'm leaving shortly to drive down to Tacoma and meet up with Phil of Random Nuclear Strikes, and from there to Olympia to speak out against the proposed bill to require all private party firearms sales at gun shows to go through a FFL dealer.

I'll try to get some pictures and a full report when I get back. This may be interesting as Cease Fire Washington, the local anti-gun group, is planning to bus in anti-gunners from Seattle to pack the house.

Olympia Conference Call

Yesterday afternoon Stephan Sharkansky from Sound Politics, Phil from Random Nuclear Strikes, and I joined in a conference call with several folks from the Washington State legislature to discuss the Republican proposal for a property tax rebate, since the state currently has 3.5 billion dollars sitting in bank accounts that's not otherwise committed to being spent (yet!). The Republicans are saying that we taxed you too much, so we want to give some of it back! What a concept!

The plan is to put half of it into a "Rainy Day" fund, and then refund the rest to the taxpayers. What a refreshing approach. Will the D's let this happen? We'll see.

Why do I have this feeling of dread that somehow the refunds will also be going to folks that didn't pay any taxes to start with, just so everyone gets some?

Along the same lines, we also discussed reinstating the 1% property tax increase limitation, and establishing some controls on the out of control property tax assessments.

We wrapped it up with a discussion about the felons on parole who are failing drug tests, failing to report in to their probation officers, and violating probation in other ways, but aren't getting arrested and put back into jail for violating the conditions of their probation. We have recently had three LEO's killed by felons on parole who were violating the conditions of their parole suficiently that they should have been put back into jail but weren't. The head of corrections for the state, a Gregoire appointee, still has not responded to questions about this problem posed by the Republicans way back in December.

For a more complete report on the conference call, you will want to go read Phil's post here.

Don't forget the hearing tomorrow in Olympia on the proposed law regarding private firearms sales at gun shows being required to be done through a FFL.

Ride Fast & Shoot Straight Blogiversary

Fodder and the Commandress over at Ride Fast & Shoot Straight are celebrating their year one Blogiversary, so drop by and thank them for a year's worth of great blogging.

KeeWee and I had the pleasure of meeting them both at last year's Gun Blogger Rendezvous. Hopefully this year we will get more chance to visit with them, as last year's Rendezvous was the first one, and it got a bit hectic at times.

CWSA Pin Shoot News

.22LR 40gr., 9mm. 125gr. HP, .38SPL 147gr., .44MAG 240gr., .480 Ruger 370gr.

Well, the first CWSA bowling pin shoot is scheduled for Saturday, March 10th. starting at 9am. In addition to the regular classes, we will be trying out the new "Big Bore Revolver" class for the first time to see how it works out and how much interest it develops. So far it looks like it's going to be a popular class, with a lot of interest being shown.

We are also going to try something a little bit different in qualifying compared to the other classes for the Big Bore Revolver class. Instead of shooting four qualifying tables and adding your three best times, you will shoot only two tables and use your best table time for determining your first round opponent. This should not only speed up qualifying, it should also reduce the scorer's workload. I think it will result in approximately the same first round matchups. We'll give it a try and see how it goes.

Here's a basic summary of the Big Bore Revolver rules that we are going to try.

If you are considering giving the CWSA Big Bore Class a try and have never shot a CWSA pin shoot before, you may have some questions regarding ammo, range requirements, and so forth. Leave a comment or send me an email and I'll get your questions answered.

Engineering Johnson's Groundhog Day

Proud daddy, proud son, one less groundhog!

Engineering Johnson has a great picture posted showing him as a lad with his Dad on a groundhog expedition.

If this picture doesn't give you "Warm Fuzzies" you're either a liberal or a groundhog.....

Gun Show Law Hearing Next Thursday

My cold seems to be doing well, and I feel rotten. This, however, is urgent.

There is a hearing in Olympia, Washington about the bill to require all firearms sales at gun shows to go through a FFL holder. In short, no gun show private sales without a dealer being involved.

This is from the NRA's news release:

Senate Bill 5197 will be up for a hearing in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on Thursday, February 8 at 3:30 P.M. in the John A. Cherberg Building, Hearing Room #4.

SB 5197 is a measure aimed directly at private firearm sales, which would mandate that all firearms sold at gun shows be transferred through a federally licensed dealer, thereby imposing dealer restrictions on private individuals who are not dealers. This will establish a gun tax on firearms, expand the growing government database of law-abiding handgun owners, and effectively halt handgun sales at gun shows.

Your attendance at this hearing is critical. Washington Ceasefire is planning on packing the hearing with supporters of the gun show/gun registration bill, so it's vital that NRA-supporters show a strong turnout as well. Attendees should plan on being at the Capitol by noon. Please visit your legislators, even if they are not on the Committee.

If you are unable to attend, please contact your State Senator at (800) 562-6000 and respectfully ask that he or she oppose this ill-conceived and restrictive measure.

From previous experiences, the plan here is to start late, finish early, and make sure the anti-gunners get lots of press. What the pro-gunners must do is get there early and in large numbers. As soon as the doors open into the hearing room rush (as in roller derby?) to the clip boards and sign up everyone in your group to speak.

FILL THE CLIPBOARD WITH PRO-GUN RIGHTS FOLKS!

You don't have to be a public speaker or have a speech written. All you need to do is to state your name, where you are from, and your opposition to the bill. In a couple of short sentences, say why. Thank the panel, and sit down. Speak slowly, clearly, and be polite. No extreme shirt slogans today. Remember that this is basically an orchestrated dog and pony show so the anti-gunners can claim public support for the bill.

The best hope for stopping this bill is for it to not come up for a vote in committee before the deadline for all bills to be out of committee. If voted out of committee it may go to another committee, or it may end up on the floor being voted on. If it gets to the floor with the Dem's having 2/3 of the votes, I'd say it's pretty much a done deal.

That's my opinion, anyway, and now I'm going back to bed.......

Blog Alert - Light Blogging

I seem t o have picked up a nasty cold bug, and at the moment I'm pretty much out of commission. I haven't had a cold in years, so I guess all the colds I DIDN'T catch have now arrived at the same time with a vengeance. I'll be back to speed in a day or so, but until then

S N O R F F L L L L L . . . . .