Archive for History

Guest Post: That’s What Makes Me Free

/ December 23, 2012 / One comment

Screen Shot 2012-12-23 at 11.33.07 AMThis post was originally a comment on another post from a reader of this Blog, Richard.  I wanted everyone to read his thoughts:

People that are “anti-gun” consider themselves either smarter better or have a false sense of entitlement in the area of either psychological superiority or outright dictatorship type of power. The fact that they are willing to voluntarily segregate themselves is all too evident. History has taught us over and over that they are wrong. With the television has came news instantly seemingly in your front yard. Per Capita, the mass homicides are on par as much as ever in history. There are just more people and news travels instantly.

Jack the ripper was never formally caught, but a gun in the first victims hands would have made it where there was never such a name. There will always be serial killers and murderers and those who want to contain this great country like a cattle farm after we are disarmed. China has no jury and if you speak out, or are found to be an otherwise undesirable person, they walk you to the showers in the police station where you are executed typically with a single bullet in the back of the head. They can do this because their population has been disarmed. What would happen if our congress was to do the same things here? What if they were to simply try to pass a nationwide curfew? Or force people to live in government housing? Or force people to work bad government jobs? Or to take away social security? Or to tell you which god to believe in? Or to force your silence? Or to take your life?

The only way to understand the Anti-gun group is to realize that most of them are outright scared of guns and have been taught either by schools or by fearful parents that guns are bad. I have changed the opinions of some but only by bringing them to a shoot, usually without telling them in advance. Once they understand the basics the natural instinct to learn takes over and that’s when their opinions tend to become educated and actually reverse. You would think that when a person accidentally shoots themselves they would adopt the anti gun stance, but that is almost unheard of.

I challenge any person that is anti gun to find a Jewish person and ask them of their history. It averages 20 years after gun laws get passed before genocide happens.  It has happened in the last 20 years right here on earth. Over and over; again and again people still forget the lessons learned. There is not one country that would not like to “own” this great land. We would not need a military if we were not at times in danger. Your opinion that you voice is only legal for one reason and that is because we have fought and will fight for equality. We have fought and will fight against tyranny. We have fought and will fight for the helpless.

This is the United States of America. There are plenty of countries any person that does not like our rights is free to move to. Many have gun bans but also have a history of genocide as well. They are right now murdering families in parts of the world simply because they are Christians and a law was passed to take away the same weapons that are used against them.

I choose not to carry a firearm but I appreciate having the choice. That’s what makes me free!

Category: Guest Articles, Gun Rights, History, Patriotism /

FN FAL: “The Right Arm of the Free World”

/ December 3, 2012 / 5 comments

I have the most interesting friends. One fully embraces authentic older weapons. He has a very eclectic collection of rifles and pistols – every one with a story. I’ll talk about some of his guns from time to time, as they fascinate me. Recently, he has been building an authentic replica of a Fusil Automatique Léger (FAL) built by the Belgian armaments manufacturer, Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN). Fusil Automatique Léger translates to “Light Automatic Rifle”. The short name for this rifle is “FN FAL”.

I had to write this article to educate myself, as I did not know anything about a FN FAL. According to the front page of the FAL Files, it was originally designed to fire a 7.92mm Kurz cartridge, developed by the Germans in WWII.  Following the war, it was adapted to use a 7.62mmx51 (.308 Winchester) cartridge (as the .308 became the NATO standard.)  This classic post-war battle rifle was sold to the militaries in over 90 countries.

7.92×33mm Kurz Vs. 7.62 x 51 NATO (.308)

Watch this video from Discovery to see the FN FAL in action.  It covers the specs of the rifle and gives a quick history.

I will get a chance to use this rifle, and I am excited to try. Because we are in California, it will have “bullet button” to release the magazine, he is having the upper manufactured in the USA, and it will be set up for semi-automatic fire.  After watching that video I would never want to fire the FN FAL in full auto – what a waste of good ammo!  This thing is a beast!

The upper will arrive in the next month, and after that – I will get the opportunity to send some serious lead down range.  When I do – you will be the first know.

Category: Firearms, History, Military, Rifles / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Civil War Rifles and Revolvers on Display in Illinois

/ July 24, 2012 / 4 comments

A rare collection of rifles and revolvers used by soldiers on both sides of the Civil War is currently on display at the Illinois State Military Museum in Springfield, Il.

Among the items on on display is an Allen & Wheelock revolver. Though it was one of the most advanced handguns of the 1860s, only 1,000 pistols were made because of a patent infringement case between the Allen & Wheelock and Smith & Wesson companies.

Also on display is a Colt revolving rifle. The U.S. government had bought hundreds of them before the war, but most were shipped to southern locations and ended up in the hands of Confederate soldiers. Watch the video below to learn more about the revolving rifle, very interesting!

Category: History, Pistol, Rifles /

Bonnie and Clyde Guns to be Auctioned

/ July 16, 2012 / 4 comments

Bonnie and Clyde, the infamous pair who led the Barrow gang during the Great Depression era, are back in the news.  When their car was riddled with bullets and their crime spree ended by their death, a Colt .38 Revolver was found strapped to Bonnie’s thigh with medical tape.  Clyde had a Colt .45 pistol tucked into his waistband.  These guns are about to be auctioned at RR Auction in Amherst, N.H.

Out of all the hard-scrabble, two-bit criminals who choose crime as a profession, why did this pair rise to fame?  I think it comes down to one thing – there is something about a girl with a gun.

Bonnie Parker’s Colt .38 snub-nose detective special was found taped to her inside thigh with white medical tape after she was killed by law enforcement.

Without Bonnie, Clyde and his notorious band of criminals would have never entered the national consciousness.  They would have been dismissed as a group of robbers, who killed to get what they wanted.  Let’s face it – that is bad, evil, but there will always be a small percentage of folks that choose the dark side.  Once the nation saw sassy photos of Bonnie in playful poses with Clyde, the outlaw “romance” with the nation began.  Here we are, nearly 80 years after their death, and they are still interesting.  Countless “Bonnie and Clyde” movies and songs have become part of our pop-culture.

Clyde Barrow’s Colt .45 pistol, found tucked inside his waistband after his death.

Other items to be auctioned:

  • A gold pocket watch Clyde was wearing when he died
  • A brown leatherette cosmetics case Bonnie was using to carry lipstick, Coty face powder and a powder puff.
  • A letter that Clyde wrote to his brother, L.C. Barrow, on the back of a photo showing a house on a platform surrounded by water. He signed it “bud,” his code name when he was on the run.

It is interesting, there is very little to zero proof that Bonnie ever actually fired a shot against law enforcement, but without her we would not remember Clyde and his gang. Good or bad, never underestimate the power of a beautiful woman and a Colt .38 revolver.

 

Good or bad, there is something about a girl and a gun.

Category: Firearms, Good vs. Evil, History / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Guns Aboard as the Titanic Sunk 100 Years Ago

/ April 15, 2012 / No comments

It has been 100 years tonight since the titanic tragically sank.  This story has been retold to every generation since.  The story continues to fascinate.  Is it the declarations that it was “Unsinkable”?  Is it the inside stories, the pressure to make record time, the Captain going down with the ship, the 3rd class passengers that were virtual prisoners?  The lack of life boats for everyone?  The countless stories of courages men and women standing steady and dying with courage?  Or the cowardly stories of men pretending to be women and hiding behind babies to save their own souls.

Tonight, I am sitting in my own back yard, by a fire on the patio – thousands of miles away from the freezing North Atlantic, and yet I feel chills as night falls.  I see flashes of ladies dancing, an orchestra playing, men smoking cigars, and lights sparkling on the chilly water.  I cannot imagine the terror that all, survivors and those who died alike, went through that night.  God rest their souls.

One interesting topic, related to this blog, and the Titanic is about the guns onboard. Check out this link to read a detailed account of some guns, flare guns, and gun related stories on this fateful night.  Very interesting!

Category: History / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,