The rule “Don’t bring a sword to a gunfight” was reinforced once again in Miami, FL on Wednesday. Hector Hechavarria (above) ran into the Presidente Supermarket in Little Havana waving a “sword or machete” and saying he was going to kill everyone. He managed to nip a female customer’s elbow with the blade before the store security guard, Jose Mendoza, drew down on him and ordered him to drop the weapon. Instead, Hechavarria charged him, and Mendoza fired several rounds. Despite being shot, Hechavarria managed to run outside, where he continued to attack the guard. Mendoza, struck over the head, was still able to subdue the suspect . . .
with the help of another man until police arrived. Mendoza was treated and released for his head wound, Hechavarria remains in hospital with “several gunshot wounds.” I was unable to find out what caliber Mendoza was carrying, but since the guy managed to keep fighting, it’s clear it wasn’t .40 S&W. [Commenter Pantera Vazquez points out below that security guards in Florida are limited by statute to carrying firearms in 9mm, .380, .38 or a .357 revolver utilizing .38 ammo.]
Your Lockdown of the Day™ for today comes from Surprise[!], Arizona. Paradise Honors High School was placed on lockdown for about an hour this morning after a report of a student bringing an airsoft gun to the school in his backpack. He never took the airsoft gun out, but his girlfriend knew about it and told a teacher, who then told someone in the school office. A Maricopa Sheriff’s Office spokesman said that no crime had been committed because the student had never taken the gun out of the backpack and never pointed it at anyone. Furthermore, the spokesman said that an airsoft pistol “does not qualify as a real weapon.” Sold out by his girlfriend today. Valentine’s Day was a week ago. Coincidence?
As part of MAIG’s email blast from a couple days ago when they publicized the “We are not gun grabbers” letter from three (former) mayoral members, they also touted adding “more than 65 mayors in 2014 alone.” The list actually totals 68, and since MAIG is very cagey about showing anyone their actual member list so I can’t point you to a page on their site, here’s the list of new members, according to their email. They’ve been sneaky in the past about claiming mayors as members who have done nothing more than sign up to receive “more information in the future,” so take a look and see if your city or one nearby is on the list, and maybe reach out to them and see if they actually intend to have their name associated with this bastion of civilian disarmament.
From The Tactical Wire: Tualatin OR – Warne Scope Mounts has just released an aluminum one piece base for the Ruger 10/22. This new one piece Weaver style base for the 10/22 features four slots in the front and two slots in the rear as well as built in 10-MOA (minute of angle) cant to maximize adjustment for your optic. Made from lightweight aluminum and built ultra-low to not interfere with the factory open sights makes this base a must have for 10/22 enthusiasts. Add our Maxima Quick Detach rings and unleash the full potential of your 10/22 utilizing the 10/22’s own open sights as well as our Return to Zero Guaranteed QD rings for the best of both worlds.
Reader JP writes: “I am getting married at the end of April. As a groomsmen gift, I am heavily leaning towards giving each member a knife. Ideally I want something somewhat stylish, could be EDC, and performs well in most situations; an “all-purpose” knife. Something that 20 years from now they will still fondly use and appreciate, whether it ends up in the glove box of the truck, in the belt loop at all times, or in a survival kit that saves the day when Daryl from the Walking Dead ain’t around. Any suggestions?” Hop over to The Truth About Knives to help him out.
The traffic on last night’s Digest was a little low, and it had one of the coolest high-speed camera shots that I can remember seeing pretty much ever. So if you missed The Slow Mo Guys shooting a full auto M4 filmed at 18,000 frames per second on a $100,000 camera, check it out.
If you’re unfamiliar with 22Plinkster, here’s a trick shot montage to introduce you. If you do know about him, it’s an opportunity to get reacquainted with some of his older stuff.
I’d never seen the one where he shoots down the pipe before. That’s somewhat ridiculous.
Larry Potterfield is the founder and CEO of MidwayUSA, a company that needs no introduction. His company has produced several hundred videos, many featuring the man himself, that contain a wealth of information in a concise, easy to follow format. All are searchable and categorized on the MidwayUSA website here. I ran across this one the other day, and like many others, it’s a neat thing to watch. He’s finishing a gun stock with bar top varnish under a boiled linseed oil finish coat. The bar top varnish is hard and durable, and he uses it to fill in the pores in the grain to get a nice smooth finish for the linseed oil to polish. It’s very time consuming, and not nearly as easy as he makes it look, but the results are undeniable.
The was amazed by how little oil was necessary to finish the stock. If I’d never seen this (or a similar tutorial) and tried it myself, I guarantee I’d have used about 10x too much the first time.
As for Plinkster, very nice trick shots, but KJW is MUCH prettier.
Mythbusters did an episode with the shoot down a curved pipe trick.
Chicago/IL did the same opossum move: they laid there and took it and didn’t oppose the court.
Remains to be seen how it will all play out once actual, real life citizens start carrying outside their homes.
I hope to be one, come March!
Re. the Miami sword/gun incident….good story to reinforce the point that a handgun is not a “one shot/one stop” weapon system. Practice, practice and more practice is required and one must shoot, accurately, into center mass, and leave as many holes as possible in order to stop the threat. And it makes no difference what caliber was used. And no, sorry Matt, .40SW is not the “magic bullet.” Now, if the guard had been able to get several into center mass, and one in the old brain box, that would have been another story.
The slow motion is awesome. My only suggestion for them would be to set up external lighting. Those high-speed cameras need all the light they can get. Some of the best high-speed stuff I’ve ever seen was featured on Midway’s “Gun Stories” show hosted by Joe Mantegna where they often had high-speed stuff shot out out at Gunsite academy where they filmed in the desert sun. The guys who can afford to rent, or buy, an $80,000 high speed camera should look into some halogen lighting and use that as well. I can watch this high speed stuff all day long. Keep ’em coming, Matt.
As for Larry Pottterfield and his videos…great stuff. I got to know Larry a few years ago when my company was involved in the Malcolm Baldrige National Qualtiy Award program (we won, first time a publisher has ever won it). Larry is a huge advocate of it and a real champion for American business and, well, ‘Merica in general and the guy truly puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to gun rights/freedoms. Midway is an awesome place and Larry has what is, no doubt, one of the largest, if not the largest, private gun collections in the world. I mean, the collection is astounding. Their gunsmithing workshop and video studio at their headquarters is also equally amazing. I love watching Larry do his thing on various weapons. Thanks for that too.
Bob,
Gun shows “can” offer some deals, but in my experience, you really have to work hard to get the pistol you want at a fair price. Our gun show has a couple of dealers with pricing that is below what I might find in a store, but for the most part prices are still pretty close to normal retail. One good thing about guns shows is that you can see a lot of different brands and models. Good luck in your search!
I may not agree with the lifestyle choices of some in this world, but NO LIFESTYLE CHOICE warrants THAT KIND OF TREATMENT FROM ANYONE. They are human beings. Absolutely disgusting that people are capable of doing this to others. That’s absolutely horrid.
Well, that’s one way to look at it I suppose…
Oh not him again. How is his 15 minutes not up yet? He is so obsessed with this. He clings to the anti-gun argument like a drowning man to a life preserver. He should thank POTG for keeping his ratings alive.
Piers Morgan British bitter clinger!
Oh … Always wondered what BBC stood for …
Normally I can’t stand that harpy woman, but I gotta say she’s right about this one. Piers just simply needs to disappear from this country and turn up on an operating table somewhere in ye merry old Eengland. Just like whats-his-name did down in Sudan….you know, that Carlos fella.
Tom
Harpy, yes…
PM can jump up and down about gun control until he is blue in the face, his opinions about gun control are irrelevant…
You want to see what PM is all about, watch the show with Ben Shapiro. Ben calls out PM and breaks his entire argument down to parade rest, PM doesn’t even know what hits him.
Let me give y’all a sample of the sounds Matt made after writing that caliber comment: http://youtu.be/sCNrK-n68CM
Due to Russia’s spending on the recent Olympic games, they have adopted the new FOPC (Foot Operated Personell Carrier) for service.
Why are they safer? Because no one is going to jump through all the hoops to get a legit concealed carry permit to commit a crime..
Are they filming her through a frosted lens now?……
It’s mag fed.
Now, that’s a house gun.
Not race, age or economic status. It’s attitude. Too damn many people with an “in-your-face” attitude.
Is there any difference in wait time for gun trust? Just curious!
Not unless you e-file. Give it enough time and those e-file will be waiting as long as paper filers. If memory serves me correctly, Firearms Concierge used the analogy of supermarket lines.
Robert Farago, I’m disappointed in you. How dare you shame the victim.
You should put an SB15 on that bad boy.
The army: where your ingenuity will be appreciated.
Think of it as an SBR without a tax stamp. You can take it home immediately after purchase and start enjoying. If you by a lower and get it registered then you can use it as originally purposed. The AR pistol is not meant to be used in a combat situation IT IS A LOOPHOLE. I have a PWS 107 pistol and I love it! I abandoned the pistol lower, but it now houses another SBR upper. Put a tennis ball on the buffer and go to town.