courtesy washington post
Previous Post
Next Post

‘I know I don’t need it’ An AR-15 owner explains the allure

Who knew that Eugene Stoner somehow engineered a strange and powerful attractive force into his design? . . .

It has been only a few weeks since a 19-year-old was accused of storming into a Florida high school with his AR-15 and shooting 34 people, killing half — the latest in a recent spate of mass shootings by men armed with similar rifles, including a massacre that left 26 dead at a church outside San Antonio last September.

But this is a gun that Rodriguez has wanted for a couple of years now, a gun that he thinks has been unfairly maligned because of a few people’s bad actions, and a gun that he believes is his right to own. He’s here this weekend not because he worries about an imminent ban, but because he just sold his Mustang and finally has the cash.

Looking for ‘solutions’ to mass killings? Start with punishing failure.

An idea so crazy it just might work . . .

This is why calls for more gun control ring hollow. When the laws that would have prevented Nikolas Cruz from getting a gun failed because those in charge of executing them chose — chose — not to enforce them, because doing so would have made the school’s crime reports look bad, then it’s hard to believe that more laws will make a difference.

You know what might make a difference, though? Consequences.

Consequences for those who failed Parkland’s kids. Sheriff Israel shouldn’t still have a job. Neither should School Superintendent Runcie. And a lot of deputies and FBI agents should be facing, at the least, sharp (and public) questioning about why they failed here.

Sheila Link, Sportswoman and Firearms Authority, Dies at 94

RIP

Sheila Link, a former college music major and bass player who transformed her life to pursue altogether different passions — firearms and the outdoors — becoming a noted authority on both, died on March 30 at her home in Palm Desert, Calif. She was 94. …

As a sportswoman, hunter and raconteur, Mrs. Link channeled her enthusiasms into leading gun-safety workshops and arduous survival expeditions along with writing books and magazine articles, including a column in Women & Guns magazine. …

She was also a frequent contributor to Outdoor Life, Field & Stream and Sports Afield magazines; produced a weekly radio program, “Call of the Outdoors,” which was broadcast for nine years beginning in 1974; and was the author of two books, “The Hardy Boys Handbook: Seven Stories of Survival” (1980) and “Women’s Guide to Outdoor Sports” (1984).

There’s been a surge in the number of Utah women who carry guns — here’s why

We’ll give you three guesses . . .

In 2017, more than 19,000 female gun owners completed the training and got a Utah concealed-carry permit. That’s 64 percent of what the Utah Department of Public Safety issued (though more than half went to out-of-state residents).

Never before had it crossed 60 percent. It came closest in the years directly after a gunman opened fire at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, and teachers flocked to concealed-carry classes. It comes now after a string of deadly mass shootings: 58 people slaughtered at a Las Vegas concert, 26 at a Texas church, 17 at a Florida high school.

Pediatricians to lobby Congress for gun control laws

Why not, every other professional association seems to be, too . . .

They’re supporting a proposed assault weapons ban sponsored by senate Democrats and a bipartisan Senate bill that would restrict the sale of semiautomatic weapons to people 21 and older.

The pediatrics group has been outspoken on the issue of gun violence for years, but Hoffman said this year may offer a special opportunity to get federal legislation.

“This is a unique time,” Hoffman said.

 

Previous Post
Next Post

48 COMMENTS

  1. I had to trade my M14 for a M16 except for the weight I felt like I had been robbed. My M14 was a solid accurate rifle with plenty of legs to reach out and touch someone and I had to give it up for something that felt flimsy, rattled and looked like it was a Matty Matell toy, they hold no special attraction to me. I own 2 because they have been improved and more finely manufactured and serve the purpose I purchased them for.

    • I assume you mean you have a variant of the AR as opposed to the military M4 or M16A2. Your reference to the M16 suggests Vietnam experience with a fully automatic military variant vs. a semi auto civilian rifle

      • That is correct the first one had the 3 prong flash suppressor, the 2nd the bird cage, I preferred to hump the gun or pig M60. My current AR’s are semi-auto civilian versions, 1 in 5.56X45 the other in 7.62X51

        • You made a good decision in getting that .308 AR. The AR10 would have won the M14 trials over the Springfield rifle if not for the president of Armalite forcing Eugene Stoner to submit a prototype with an aluminum barrel, which promptly blew up.

        • It is an example of when one of the contenders is also the testing organization.

          During the FAL and M14 Arctic field trials Springfield Armory gave the group testing the M14 prototypes a lot of assistance with low temperature lubricants. The group testing the FAL did not receive such assistance and opened the gas regulators to make the guns function. Of course this caused increased wear on parts and was used to justify the M14.

          The final nail for Springfield Armory was when they claimed the M14 could be made on Garand tooling, which didn’t work and caused massive cost overruns on the project. Eventually Robert McNamara had enough and closed the Armory.

    • There’s 3 Queens on the Chess board. Somethings fishy. I Tried to email my nephew who I truly believe is a Spook, no luck. Tried to call his mom, service disconnected. … Somethings fishy, my nephew is supposedly a collage sociologists professor,who just happened to teach military tactics and other shit, to the Zapatista’s. Now he’s got some kinda “thing” from Liverpool U.K.( $$$ to do something) in Brazil or some fuckin where. And Sis n everybody else involved is off the grid ( they have lucrative jobs) ??? . Facebook just dumped a shit ton of shit to somebody.. Somethings Fishy…Buy more ammo…, Form a Trusted Militia ..This ain’t Clinton’s 1994..ANSI certified Tin Foil Hat. life member.

      • The US is preparing to kick the nuclear armed bear that they have been poking with sticks for years now. All due to yet another trumped up BS story that not even a third grade child would believe.
        This time around they don’t even bother to lie. Now its just, well we have no idea who did it, but we have to blame somebody. And the bear is handy…
        So what’s to fear? It’s just the same shit on a different day. It’s not like we haven’t tried the “Animal Assad” story a hundred times before…

  2. Pediatricians. Now that is a specialty which receives several semesters of training about firearms, crime, gun rights, gun control, etc. They are SO qualified to advise Washington about gun control.

    Satire// off

    • Well, gun-controller allied physicians have been trying to turn gun-ownership into a mental illness for quite awhile now. If they can claim that the act of owning a gun is somehow linked to a pathological neurosis, they can use that as an excuse to confiscate guns. If someone accuses you of being “pathologically neurotic” just try to prove you aren’t.

      • According to Freud, who reportedly carried a pocket pistol, it is not the desire for a gun, but the fear of guns, that is pathologically neurotic. He considered such fears to be indicative of social and sexual immaturity in otherwise functional people, and a phobia when present to the degree seen in many of today’s antigun activists.

      • So now “Docs against Glocks” has managed to bring the tenor of the argument to a new [low] level that had (until now) only been claimed by the “Chicks for Dicks” group….

    • I suppose these gun control pediatricians know about as much about guns as my gunsmith knows about tonsillectomies!

  3. I’m certain that the subjects, I mean “residents”, of Barnsbury will sleep soundly now that those gardening tool of war are off the streets.

    • Careful, now…that has three tines, it’s a high-capacity garden tool.

      A pitchfork is a WMD to Her Majesty’s Constabulary

        • AAP does not speak for me…. pediatricians for 1911’s

          🙂

          I guess I could have said Pediatricians for PPQ’s, but that wouldn’t be as inflammatory… Pediatricians for PDW’s?

      • You have direct access to pain meds and therefore as a group are more likely to run into those elements of society who wish to use them for non-medical applications?

  4. There is nothing in the Constitution or Bill Of Rights about a citizen having to show a NEED for anything. There are several places where it talks about the government having to show a strong need to take some freedom away from the people.

    It doesn’t matter whether we need an AR-15. The government can’t prove that they need to take them away, so they should not take them away. Any government that restricts any of our freedoms without needing to is the definition of a tyranny.

    • There is nothing in the constitution about letting the government take them because they proclaim to need to either. Shall not be infringed.

  5. “Looking for ‘solutions’ to mass killings? Start with punishing failure”

    Good piece and my sentiments exactly.

    I can’t believe that got published in USA Today. The editors must be out of the office.

    • Consequences. Something my son learned at a very early age. If you are good, you get to do good things. If you are bad, bad things happen to you.

      I cannot recall the last time I had to discipline him in any way. It was certainly many years ago. He does what he is told because he knows there is a reason behind it. He even does things for me without needing to be asked. A few weekends ago, he even asked to be taught how to use a lawn mower.

      It is because he is so good he is given trust, responsibility, and more freedom than many of his peers. And he takes this seriously.

      How did I get such a good son?

      • You have certainly destroyed any future he might have, we are coming from the government to take him away from you and provide the correct indoctrination as a progressive wing nut. When we are thru you won’t recognize him, he will be ready to never work, receive public assistance a free very liberal college education, and a lifetime free of responsibility, work, a self centered lazy democrat. No no don’t thank us, just doing our very well paying government jobs.

  6. Why is TTAG and Dan Zimmerman / Dean Weingarten ignoring the massive gun grab efforts in so many states ?

    Guess what , when everything is banned … you will have no market & no salary !

    What is this …. ammo land …. home of the FUDDS ?

    • Who’s ignoring it? Because of TTAG I’m updated of all the evil going’s on in my state-Illinois. John Boch is at the forefront. Dan and Dean operate out of Texas. It’s pretty EZ to find out what’s going on in YOUR state’s NRA or local Facebook…

    • It doesn’t appear the they are ignoring it to me. How many posts on each instance of bad legislation do you think they should write?

  7. Tools-
    Aside from actual firearms I have a full size axe, shovel, three saws, five chisels, several knives and about 50 different screwdrivers etc just in my work 4wd. Lots more in the shed. None have ever attacked anything aside from me when I’ve been careless.
    Would like to visit Scotland and see where some of my family left from in the early 1800’s but the stupid is too much.

    Doctors-
    Maybe because the hospital my son was born at was near large army base none of the staff ever asked us about guns except when were we going to the range etc. That was almost 30 years ago though.

  8. Has anyone noticed the 34 shot 17 dead, Talk about one shot stop failures, the powerful 5.6×45 seems to be a two shot wounder. Then to make a speed kills bullet even better, shorten the barrel. Oh look a .22 Magnum burning more powder. Yup

  9. Gardening tools and office supplies must always be kept in a safe, away from kids, abusive men, and only taken out in the most dire hortacultural circumstances.

    • Almost wish they would ban my tools. Then Wifey would get out of my ass about all the stuff that needs doing around the house.

  10. It all depends on what one wants to do with a firearm. I like to shoot 100 yards at ranges (that is the max at most). I like to shoot enough to make the cleaning and re-lube worth it. So I shoot 100+ at a range every other week. 5.56 NATO rounds work pretty well at 100 yards and are affordable.

    It is a challenge for me because I don’t use a sandbag, rest, or bipod. That’s why I go every other week. Thus mine is a modern sporting rifle.

    If I wanted to make very accurate long-range shots I would probably buy a bolt action higher caliber with a powerful scope. But the cost and exertion per shot would mean shooting a lot less than 100.

  11. That #weaponsweep has awakened my inner geek and made me recall Klingon general Chang: “Aboard a warship, everything is a weapon.”

    Sure, some weapons are more efficient than others, but there’s no point where we could both sweep away everything that creative people could use as weapons and at the same time maintain this thing we call our civilization.

    Then again, I guess some people simply don’t want to acknowledge these facts.

  12. Funny how “doctors” say they want to save lives by controlling guns when they make their money by killing more people every wee than guns kill in a year. The public is woefully unaware of the lethality of the “practice” of medicine. It IS the number 1 leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Add up all gun deaths, car accidents, alcohol and tobacco related deaths and they don’t equal the body count of the big Pharma drug pushers in white coats. I know most of us don’t subscribe to medical journals but back in 1995 Dr. Luciene Leape laid out the numerical evidence that medicine is responsible for killing as many people a year as if a 747 were to crash every other day killing all aboard. I’m pretty sure the FAA would be forced to look into these incidents if they occurred at such an alarming rate. If this information got out to the general public, they would demand the FDA shut it down. Except the FDA IS BiG PHARMA!!! The fox is watchingvthe hen house.

    Hey, holier than though docs, clean up your house before you go to places you clearly don’t belong. Just because you have to pay off you student loans and want a Mercedes, people ahoukd have to pay with their lives. I wish the public knew more about the truth regarding many things, however, this little secret is well kept by the meds. Sanctamoneous bastards.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here