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December 7, 2002
9TH U.S. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS… JUSTICES
REPLACED BY MINDLESS NEO-FASCIST CLONES OF SARAH BRADY… CONSTITUTION
RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL… COURT ACTIVATES STATE MILITIAS… MICHAEL
BELLESILES GIVEN NOBEL PRIZE FOR HISTORY
Well, that’s not exactly what happened, but the truth is just too
unbelievable.
Those fun-loving comrades at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in San Francisco have just ruled that the Second Amendment does not
guarantee the right of individual citizens to own firearms and only
applies to the right of states to form military units. This is the
same band of merry pranksters who recently ruled the Pledge of
Allegiance unconstitutional because it mentions that politically
incorrect supreme being who allegedly created the heavens and the
Earth. That wild and crazy master of comedy, Judge Reinhardt, cited
the discredited and unemployed "historian" Michael Bellesiles,
author of the
fraudulent book, Arming America, as evidence that guns were rare
during the writing of the Constitution. It’s reassuring to see that hizzoner knows good research when it bites him in his brief. This
decision virtually assures us that the individual right to keep an
bear arms is headed for a showdown at the Supreme Court.
more...
November 24, 2002
The
Springfield Armory Micro Compact
By Ray Rios
November 18, 2002
THAT OLD RIFLE
My grandfather gave it to my father and my father gave it to me – a
humble Winchester 30-30 saddle gun. I took my first deer with it forty
years ago, and Saturday, my son, Alex, took his first deer with it. I
was really proud of him. He had studied the arcane lore of stalking
deer: how to mask your own scents, work the wind, track, and use a
tree stand. I had coached him on how to shoot the deer for a quick,
humane kill. He listened and accomplished it with a perfect shot
through the heart. The deer didn't run a foot. It was a good deer, a
six pointer that the guys at the packing plant estimated at 140 lbs.
For Alex, the excitement and sense of accomplishment was profound. Two
days later, he's still walking about six inches off the ground. For
me, it was one of those moments of time compression in which the lives
and times of four generations of my family came together coalescing
upon the symbol of that old rifle. Lots of good old memories of
hunting with my father and grandfather.
Now, I will be the first yell at the top of my lungs that the
essence of our struggle for the right to keep and bear arms is not
about hunting, but at the same time, hunting is an integral part of
our tradition of firearms ownership. There has long existed a sort of
psychological divide in the firearms community between hunters and the
self defense group with each group showing a lack of interest for the
concerns of the other. We all need to increase our awareness that we
face a common adversary which does not distinguish one whit between
hunting guns, “sniper rifles,” self defense weapons, “Saturday Night
Specials,” “assault weapons,” and military collectibles. Our adversary
wants to take them all away.
RKBA is about self defense and liberty's teeth, but it's also about
that old rifle and a father teaching his son how to safely and
lawfully handle a firearm and how to track a deer through the woods.
November 9, 2002
Newsletter Archive
Archive of our electronic newsletter
October 18, 2002
Useful resources to counter the
"ballistic fingerprinting" lies
Let's put this baloney to bed
September 28, 2002
Some MEU's still carry proven M1911 .45's
- Not everyone in the U.S. military carries Beretta’s M-9 9
mm handgun. A small group of Marines still carry .45-caliber pistols —
but they’re a far cry from Grandpa’s World War II gun.
September 16, 2002
Springfield
Armory Loaded
Micro-Compact 1911-A1 By Bill Vojak
Not
Happy With Lightweight Springfield Armory Champion - A dialogue
September 14, 2002
Walther P99: The Glock
Alternative By Stuart Clark
Rules for a Gun Fight
Military Axioms
September 8, 2002
All across the country this week America will celebrate remembrance
and memorial services for the victims and survivors of the 9-11
attack. It really got kicked off this morning in the pulpits of
churches, synagogues, and mosques as our spiritual guides wrestled
with the eternal conundrum of forgiveness and justice. It wasn't easy,
and my sympathy goes out to everyone who has to wrestle with that
angel.
I continue to hear the talking heads, particularly the media wonks,
talking about 9-11 as "the day that changed America." In my most
charitable mood, I hope they mean that this day shook us out of our
complacency and shattered our sense of being insulated from the rest
of the world. But even if this most hopeful interpretation of a
"changed America" is correct, and I doubt that, the statement is still
an error of the highest magnitude and demands rebuke. America is not
changed. You can't change America with four jet airliners or a
thousand because America is not a building, a piece of real estate, or
even a border. America is an idea, a dream, and a vision. As long as
there is one soul who believes in liberty, justice, and equality for
all people, America will live, undimmed and unchanged.
That sounds pretty and poetic, but the fact of the matter is that
we need a lot more than one soul to get concerned and motivated about
the erosion of our civil rights that has occurred since the 9-11
attacks. If, in fact, the message is that we must give up our civil
rights and cherished freedoms because “America has changed” then we
have to preach, protest, demonstrate, sue, lobby, send cards and
letters, and whatever else it takes to send the message that we are
not willing to trade our liberty for some talking head’s vision of
“security.” In other words, get involved. Your letters, presence, and
opinions matter.
It’s tempting to look at the situation and say, “What can I do? My
voice doesn’t count for anything.” The fact is that it does. The
campaign to arm the pilots is an excellent example of how people can
get organized and influence policy and law to the very highest levels
of government. That campaign has been an uphill battle, but the pilots
and their supporters succeeded in making the administration reverse
its position, dump John Magaw, and even managed to get some long-time
foes like Barbara Boxer to jump on the bandwagon.
We have done a decent job of defending the Second Amendment. The
next battle is shaping up on the First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth
Amendments.
"Necessity is the plea for every
infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is
the creed of slaves" -William Pitt, House of Commons, 18 November 1783
September 6, 2002
The
Guns of Frank Hamer
The nemesis of Bonnie and
Clyde packed an M1911 but it was a .38 Super
August 13, 2002
Have Gun. Will Carry. How much do
you carry your pistol? All the time? Only when you need it?
August 2, 2002
The Police Marksman Review of MIL-COMM
MC-25 Cleaner/Degreaser By Tony Lesce
July 31, 2002
"40 S&W's are for people who are ashamed to be seen carrying a
9mm, but don't have what it takes to carry a .45" -- Col. Jeff
Cooper
July 27, 2002
Review Of
The Kahr P9 9mm By Ray Rios
Then What Are You?
Grassroots RKBA Activism at City Hall by By Dennis J. O'Connor
July 15, 2002
Quote of the Year: "Lots of reporters, when they have a
question about guns, they call the Brady people, which is like calling
the Klan for information on the N.A.A.C.P." -- Michael Bane, Colorado
writer and publicist
July 8, 2002
Two Wrongs Don’t Take My Rights
- The USA Patriot Act and the MSEHPA
Is the "War on Terror" becoming a war on freedom?
July 4th
- Happy Birthday, America
"We
hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
Happiness –
That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it
is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute
new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and
organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely
to effect their Safety and Happiness." –
A bunch of scary subversives, July 4th, 1776
I wonder what Thomas
Jefferson would have thought of the Internet and F-16's flying combat
air patrol above the cities of his beloved republic on the 4th of July.
My hunch is that he would be fascinated by both although saddened and
puzzled by the terrorist threat implicit in the CAP's. I also suspect
that he would be outraged by the so-called
"USA Patriot Act" (USA Big
Brother Act).
It was Jefferson who said,
"I prefer the dreams of the future to the memories of the past," and I
suppose that the eternal optimist would say the same thing if he were
here to speak for himself, but also, I would guess that he would
strongly urge us today to remember –
to remember who we are, where we came from, and the principles of
liberty which have guided us for these 226 years.
"Time indeed changes
manners and notions, and so far we must expect institutions to bend to
them. But time produces also corruption of principles, and against
this it is the duty of good citizens to be ever on the watch, and if
the gangrene is to prevail at last, let the day be kept off as long as
possible." –
Thomas Jefferson to
Spencer Roane, 1821.
Jefferson often worried
about corruption of the revolutionary spirit, and of course, he was
right about that too. He knew that the energy which had pulled us
together as a nation, against all odds, was our passionate commitment to
liberty, the unalienable rights of the individual, and the dream of a
nation where everyone stood on equal footing in the eyes of the law.
Bereft of this driving passion we would be lost.
"I
will not believe our labors are lost. I shall not die without a hope
that light and liberty are on steady advance." –
Thomas
Jefferson to John Adams, 1821.
If there be such a thing
as ghosts, I hope the ghosts of the patriots walk our streets tonight. I
can smell the smoke of gunpowder and hear the crackle of their musket
fire a few city blocks away. I hope they keep us fathers and mothers
awake tonight and whisper into the ears of our sleeping children of the
lives they gave for the freedom that we seem so ready to trade for a
cheap illusion of security.
"They that would give up essential liberty for a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." – Ben
Franklin
I hope those old patriots
bother us mightily tonight.
June 24, 2002
 |
"The great body of our citizens shoot less as
times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among
schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the
military services by every means in our power. Thus, and not
otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the
world... The first step – in the direction of preparation to avert
war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come – is to
teach men to shoot!" – President Theodore Roosevelt's last
message to Congress. |
June 18, 2002
Safety Tests for the M1911/M1911A1 Pistol
June 16, 2002
History and
Development of the M1911/M1911 Al Pistol
by Jeff Lesemann
June 3, 2002
Arsenal
Rebuilds - “My Colt has
a Remington Serial Number. What’s Going On?” It’s the most “frequently
asked question” on The Sight M1911. People often suspect that there’s an
error in the serialization tables or that they have stumbled onto a rare
collector’s item. Neither of these is the case, however. These guns are
“arsenal rebuilds.” This term refers to guns which have been extensively
repaired or reconditioned by government armorers at one of the
government arsenals which support the small arms of the Armed Forces.
The Impact of the
Swiss Civilian Militia On Hitler's War Plans
May 19, 2002
If there was still the
tiniest shred of a doubt in anyone's mind about what the gun grabbers
mean by "common sense gun control," the rabid expressions of outrage
from the Brady Bunch and their allies at the Department of Justice's
modest and conditional affirmation of the Second Amendment should put
to rest any remaining confusion about their intent. The gun grabbers
are not about any kind of "common sense" or "sensible" gun controls.
They're about complete and total gun prohibition. Were it not so, why
would they take such umbrage at the simple statement that the Second
protects private gun ownership?
In a footnote in a brief
filed by Solicitor General Ted Olson, the Justice Department reversed
its erroneous and unconstitutional opposition to the individual right to
keep and bear arms which has been the DOJ policy since the Nixon era.
The gun grabbers just went crazy. At least they’re tipping their hand,
and we know exactly what we are facing.
Personally, I have
concerns about the DOJ statement for the opposite reason. I don't like
the "reasonable restrictions" part of the DOJ's statement. Even though
there probably are some "reasonable restrictions" which are legitimate
and rational, the problems arise when we try to decide who is to be the
arbiter of these "reasonable restrictions." My notion of a reasonable
restriction might vary dramatically from the view of great defenders of
human liberty like Charles Shumer, Diane Feistein and Joseph Stalin.
In a related story, a
Denver judge actually had the temerity to forbid the defense attorney of
Rick Stanley, a Second Amendment activist, from mentioning the United
States Constitution in his defense against a weapons charge. Hang your
head in shame, Denver. Rick is a bold and proactive crusader for gun
rights who decided to carry openly an unloaded Beretta .380 in defiance
of Denver's radical and illegal gun laws. I guess the City of Denver no
longer considers itself a part of the United States. Can you imagine the
hue and cry that would go up if a judge in a racial discrimination case
forbade the attorneys from mentioning the 15th Amendment?
May 11, 2002
Where Is The
Militia? By
Larry Pratt
New Gallery Section:
Rarities
May 8, 2002
Range
Report: Para-Ordnance LDA 7.45 By Bill Boyer
Review:
The
38/45 Safestop Pistol
By R. Fuzzy Fletcher
Review:
The
Colt Mustang .380 By Ray Rios
May 1, 2002
I think, when you distill it down to the essentials, that
politicians are about power and control, and the only way they can
justify their existence (in their own minds, at least) is to exert
more power and control over the governed. This cuts across party
lines; only the hobby-horses are different. One brilliant student of
antiquities made the observation that the morality of a society can be
measured in inverse proportion to its laws. Moral societies tended to
have fewer and less complex legal structures and the most brutal and
amoral societies had the greatest number of laws and the greatest
legal complexity, e.g. Egyptians vs. Assyrians. The Assyrian code was
huge and complex, whereas the Egyptian code was very simple. We, as a
society and a government, have lost our moral compass, and our
politicians reflect this disease. They respond by passing more and
more high visibility laws to restrict every aspect of our lives under
the rubric of providing the behavior controls that we should be
applying ourselves from our own ideals and moral grounding. But the
net result is increased power and intrusiveness of government. It is a
downward spiral that will ultimately render all of our laws useless
because they will become so intrusive and complex that no one will
understand them or have the resources to enforce them. The current
California "assault weapon" statute is a good example. It is so
complex and confused about what constitutes an "assault weapon" that
the sheriffs and police are just throwing up their hands on
enforcement because they're not sure what the law means. In Mexico,
the highly restrictive gun law of 1971 which abolished independent
firearms stores, and allowed firearms sales (to civilians) only by the
Defense Ministry is largely ignored. According to research by the
Comision de Proteccion Civil de la Asamblea Legislativa, one third of
the residents of Mexico City currently own firearms.
April 25, 2002
THOUGHTS ON ERFURT
It has become a tragically predictable pattern: a mass shooting takes
place in a “gun free zone” and everyone acts surprised. Blame the
guns; blame the media; blame gun-crazy America; blame toxins in the
water; blame everyone except the shooter and the dysfunctional
politics which creates a free crime zone. Gun control doesn’t work. It
didn’t work at Tombstone, Columbine, or Erfurt. It doesn’t work in
England, Australia, Chicago or Baltimore. Gun control is the friend of
the criminal and the tyrant. Gun control destroys liberty and creates
victims.
If even once, gun control
had shown itself to be an effective means of making our world safer,
rational and reasonable people would be obligated to consider it. The
historical record speaks chapters and verses to the contrary. When the
siren call of gun control is heeded, violent crime, including gun crime,
increases and gets worse. Free people are enslaved and law-abiding
citizens are left defenseless to thugs. Germany already has rigid gun
control laws. All of the school shootings in the United States took
place after the ill-conceived “Gun Free School” bill of 1994. England
has suffered a meteoric rise in violent crime since its draconian gun
prohibition was put in place. Gun control doesn’t work. It never will.
Murder is not a piece of
metal or a chemical compound. It is a choice made by a human being
capable of moral discernment and spiritual insight. But what can a
secular society which has ruled all its values relative expect? When
human life is reduced to an evolutionary fluke and our decisions are
nothing more than biochemical reactions in our nerve tissue, can we
expect our children to act like angels?
My prayers go out to the
people of Erfurt tonight. It may be that we all need more prayers, and
less ineffective gun laws.
Review:
VEPR
Rifle
By Charles Riggs
Review:
Ruger 10/22 Suppressed Sniper Rifle
April 20, 2002
 MIL-COMM
KEEPS A-TEAM OPERATING
From Jim H.: “We just
trained a couple of S.F. "A-teams" who will be going into harms way.
The first thing we did on both pistol and carbine day was to give a
maintenance class and completely clean the weapons with Simple Green
(something I picked up from the American Gunsmithing Institute) and
applying a light coat of
MIL-COMM TW25-B grease,
then wiping off the white "carrier" just like the instructions state.
We shot well in excess
of 30,000 rounds in 4 days and had next to no malfunctions that were
not caused by operator error out of the Beretta M-9s and some brand
new M4a1s. Interestingly enough we had 4 SOPMOD kits (with M-4a1s)
that just came back with some operators from Afghanistan. When we
shot those at lunch (these had not been through the maintenance class)
they all 4 malfunctioned several times!”
Mil-Comm Review and Specifiers List
The Mil-Comm page in the Quatermaster Shop
Review:
New Rollmarked Colt
M1991A1 .45acp Government Model by Andre Vriesman
April 18, 2002
Weirdness on and
around April 19th
It’s a good day to stay in bed
You knew about Waco and OKC, but did you know that the Protestants got
their name, the Spanish got sunk, San Francisco burned, an old soldier
faded away, and a G-Man was born on April 19th? Check out all the
weirdness surrounding this day.
Review:
Enfield No. 4 Mk.1 Rifle by Dick Tracy
April 13, 2002
The
Thunder Rolls:
A different kind of .45
The Smith & Wesson Model 625 Mountain Gun in .45 Long Colt By Big Jim Charles
April 11, 2002
 Our
New Product Line -
Power
Custom Parts for the Ruger 10/22
Ron Power started gunsmithing at a
very young age over 40 years ago. He worked for a gun shop in Kansas
City in 1957 doing all types of repair and customizing on rifles,
shotguns, and pistols. He Started Power Custom in 1959. During this
same time he worked for Armco Steel full time. He retired from Armco
Steel with 30 years. Ron has attended several gunsmith seminars given
by the major manufactures. He served in the U.S. Army and was assigned
to the Marksmanship Unit as a pistol team member and national Match
Weapons Armorer. For Several years he has taught seminars at Trinidad
State Junior College, NRA Gunsmithing Schools, Montgomery Community
College, Ruger Police Armorer School, and as a Police Firearms
Instructor. He was President of the Missouri State Rifle and Pistol
Association for 5 years. Ron has been a serious pistol competitor and
is an avid handgun hunter.
Ron was one of the first to build
heavy barreled PPC revolvers and refine their accuracy. He specializes
in alterations to stainless steel revolvers made by Smith and Wesson
and Ruger Double Action Revolvers. Ron has not only been instrumental
in the design of firearms, but through the use of advanced gunsmithing
techniques, has designed and patented many tools and accessories.
April 7, 2002
Review:
Sure-Fire
Classic Series 6-volt WeaponLight, Model 610R By Tony "TRB" Phillips
Review:
Clark Custom Guns Presents Customizing the Ruger 10/22 .22 Caliber
Rifle for Competition, Hunting & Improved Accuracy by Scotty Gray
April 4, 2002
We have launched a new site,
The Sight Ruger 10/22 which is
dedicated to the "funnest" little rifle ever built. Check it out. This
is a fun and highly useful little gun that shares with the M1911 the
characteristic of lending itself well to customization. I know a lot
about a few things and a little bit about a lot of things, but I’m not
an expert on everything, so I need your help. If you have technical
tips, custom parts reviews, ammo reviews, scope reviews, ballistic
studies, pictures, installation information and other kinds of how-to
information, please send it to me and I’ll post it. Right now, the
site is little more than a collection of links. My plan is to flesh it
out with articles as I get to know my 10/22.
Of course, The Sight M1911 is always hungry for pistol
and holster reviews, tales, lore and technical articles.
If you send me a technical article that I really like,
I might send you a little present.
Thanks for your help.
Review: Wilson
Combat Featherweight IWB by Daniel Coon
March 30, 2002
Laser Aiming Device
- Getting the Bad Guy Under Control
March 22, 2002
Les Baer
Thunder Ranch Special by Leonard Bosh, Jr.
March 7, 2002
Custom 1911A1 Modifications
A Pictorial Guide by Russ White
The
Kahr K9 Elite 98
By Dick Tracy
March 4, 2002
Shades of Sonny Crockett
–
Galco Miami Classic Shoulder Holster
The
High Noon Down Under IWB Holster
My
Home Defense - A low-tech approach to home defense in a high tech
world
February 23, 2002
CZ
75 D PCR COMPACT By Ray Rios
February 17, 2002
The Beretta Vertec: A
double action auto that single action fans can get their hands around.
By J.D. Charles
February 9, 2002
Fluff &
Buff - Tips for enhanced break-in and reliability
preparation for autoloading pistols
February 4, 2002
Is "Cocked and Locked" (Condition One) Dangerous - A
discussion of the safety features and function of the M1911 Pistol
January 9, 2002
Colt Commercial Caliber .45 Automatic Manual, circa 1916
A Colt frame for $10? A new barrel for $2.50? Check out this manual
that came with a commercial Colt around 1916. Special thanks to Frank
Lindquist.
December 31, 2001
FUTURING
Since everyone seems to be doing recaps of the "Year That Changed
Everything," I thought I would fade the trend and do some “futuring” and
take a look at the upcoming year.
Expect to hear more prattle from the
news media on how the 9-11 attack "changed everything." If we truly
believe that 9-11 changed everything, then the terrorists have indeed
won. Terrorist attacks on the homeland are nothing new. The British
burned Washington, DC during the War of 1812. In 1916, Poncho Villa
attacked Columbus, NM and Glen Springs, TX, and American citizens were
killed in these raids. Besides the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese and
German submarines regularly raided, shelled and sunk ships in our
coastal waters. The WTC was bombed first in 1993 and the Murrow Building
was destroyed in 1995. Give careful thought to what the agenda of this
“changed everything” rhetoric might be.
Expect to see additional attacks on our constitutional rights in the
name of "fighting terrorism." This will take the shape of additional
erosion of our Fourth Amendment rights through unwarranted surveillance
on American citizens, increase of federal police powers, advocacy of
national ID cards, and video cameras in public places.
Expect additional erosion of our Second Amendment rights in the name
of "security.” Even though none of these terrorist attacks involved
small arms, the gun grabbers will continue to attempt to link terrorism
with personal ownership of firearms by law abiding citizens. A point of
special focus will be the campaign to convert the NICS audit database
into a national gun owner registry. Gun shows will continue to come
under attack as “arms bazaars for terrorism.” Also there will be a push
to put up more metal detectors and restrict more public buildings from
lawful concealed carry of firearms. I am still waiting to see Mohammed
Atta’s CCW permit.
Look for the politically correct crowd to issue a new formulation of
the idea of “patriotism” centered around the notions of anger
management, hugs, cultural pluralism, and the “we’re all victims”
religion. This will be force-fed to school children. Noticeably absent
will be loyalty to flag, country, and the Constitution. God? Forget it.
Freedom? Not in our gulag.
Everyone will be blamed for the 9-11 attacks except for the people
who did it.
We will grow tired of the war against terrorism before it is over.
There will be additional terrorist attacks against the United States.
The Violence Policy Center will publish a dishonest report using lies
and bogus statistics masquerading as legitimate research.
Sarah and Jim Brady will find another hobby.
AG Ashcroft will continue to annoy just about everyone.
Rosie O'Donnell will not go away.
Geraldo Rivera will shoot himself in the foot… again.
Osama bin Laden will die.
I will buy another gun and my wife will ask me what I need that one
for.
December 22, 2001
Reviews:
CZ 75B by Ray Rios
Why the M1911?
by Syd
The
Para-Ordnance
7.45 LDA By Charles Riggs
Makarov
9x18mm by Bob Tuley
Colt
M1991A1 Government Model by Ray Rios
The DeSantis “Stinger” Pocket Holster By Syd
2001 News Page
2000
News Page
1999 News Page |
