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Concealed weapon park ban sign courtesy Colin Campbell, newsobserver.com

The Raleigh, North Carolina Parks Department is taking the passive-aggressive approach to changing the “No Guns Allowed” signs at the city’s 100-plus parks, saying that it would be “too expensive” to replace them all at once, but will update them “as signs are replaced (age or damage) or new signs are added.” Gun advocates say that’s disingenuous, that they don’t need to be replaced, just removed. The signs (above) were installed prior to a state law which allows concealed carry in public parks. Another reason given against a blanket overhaul of the signs is that the state legislature “might change the rules again,” though that argument doesn’t really hold much water, since the state law that negated the signs was passed back in 2011. . .

Though it’s a few weeks old, this showed up on my “Recommended Videos” list a few days ago. Like myself, I know quite a few of you own a Mossberg 500/590, and this seems like a pretty nice piece of kit. There are other side-saddles out there, but many of them attach by replacing the action pins, while this one simply uses the existing tapped screw holes on top of the receiver. I couldn’t find it at Brownell’s or MidwayUSA yet, but it’s available direct from ATI. The full-boat package of the saddle, rail, and 9 shell holders is $139.99, or you can buy any or all of that individually.

 
An encounter between a New Haven, Connecticut police officer and a gun-toting teenager Wednesday afternoon resulted in an unusual story about what didn’t happen. The teen, who is a known criminal in the area, led officers on a foot chase before he encountered Officer David Guliuzza. The teen pulled his loaded .38 Spl and pointed it at Officer Guliuzza. Officer Guliuzza drew and aimed his weapon in response, but did not fire (as it seems would be the case just about anywhere else). Instead, he ordered the teen to put his gun on the ground, which he did. The teen was arrested without further incident. Though he’s going to jail, I wonder if that kid knows how lucky he is to live in New Haven and to have encountered Officer Guliuzza.

Fall is in the air, the leaves are turning, and that means it’s time for pumpkins. To die. IraqVeteran8888 sends a few to a messy grave with a beautiful Benelli M2, while his partner in crime uses a break-action 10 gauge shotgun that looks like a sewer pipe from the front end. They don’t identify it, so if you know what it is please speak up, because I think I want one.

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46 COMMENTS

  1. Officer Guliuzza drew and aimed his weapon in response, but did not fire.

    Of course he didn’t. Now if that kid had had a toy gun…
    Or worse, if it had been a dog…

    • That’s unfair. Don’t mock one of the few truly professional policemen who have been in the news lately. There was a time when most of them were like that.

      • +100

        I will have to agree with that. Finally someone who is not trigger happy and actually acted like a professional. Too bad there are not more officers like Guliuzza

    • Before RF started the TAG he started the Truth about Cars. There was a time in the country when people hated cars as much as guns. There are still laws on the books that ban fins on cars. The issue is always the same, politicians have to scare you so that they can make laws to ban something they do not like. There is still a lot of BS around cars today. A lot of the local town speed enforcement is just for revenue generation. The guy on the horse is very much like a anti-gun person is today and might as well be Bloomberg.

      No matter if it is rock-n-roll, or cars or guns or alcohol or books or video games, there is someone always trying to ban something to “protect the children” or some other non-sense.

    • Lurker (love the handle),

      Wow. I don’t remember that episode (and I used to watch the show regularly), but substitute “guns” for “cars” and…wow!

      So, for someone who has had tragedy strike home and thus can’t see any upside to firearms ownership, this makes some sense. (Note that I said ‘some’.) This attitude / knowledge deficit doesn’t explain the millions of “regular” people who seem to feel the same way.

      Thoughts? Anyone? Buelller?

  2. I have no choice but to commend Officer Guliuzza. I can’t imagine the amount of restraint one must have to not pull the trigger in that situation. He literally had the green light to put him down.

    As for the teen… I commend him on the grounds of making a smart move by putting the gun down, following his worst mistake by pulling it out in the first place… -___-

    How come the Berreta 92 is always the gun they use for GFZ signs? Actually, now that I think about it, when was the last time one was used by a criminal?

  3. The officer did a great thing by not pulling the trigger. Honestly, in that situation going off my military training I would’ve put the kid down for good. That officer showed great restraint and the ability to act more compassionately than someone else thrust into the same situation. He ignored his training and probably every instinct in order to hold fire and allow that kid the chance to recover from his poor choices.

    • Since he was a known criminal, they were probably on a first name basis. It’s easier to restrain yourself if you have an idea of who you’re dealing with. I wonder if it would be different if it was a stranger, i.e. Law abiding citizen.

    • Actually, he did NOT ignore his training. Police training absolutely does not teach you to just shoot folks if they are pointing a gun at you. It teaches restraint and the use of deadly force only as a last option. This officer actually followed his training. The problem is, a lot of LEOs don’t these days, especially big city cops. Why risk not going home when all you’re gonna get out of killing someone innocent is an appearance before the review board and some paid vacation? Maybe if cops were held a little more accountable?

    • Or- and I hate to say this- he might be one of those officers that doesn’t have what it takes to pull the trigger when he should. This time, he got lucky. Next time, he or another officer will be dead because he fails to act.

      It’s not ‘professionalism’ to let the other guy shoot you first, and it’s hard to dodge bullets in the real world.

  4. Sooooo, if a shooting occurs in areas with that sign, are the legislators and supporters of that law going to be criminally and financially liable for giving criminals and the mentally deranged the idea to find unarmed victims there and go to jail as a result? What are they doing to ensure the safety of people in such areas?

    I think a 10-20 minute police response, by now, has been shown as ineffective and inadequate (see all mass shootings to date). First responders on scene have had the best results (see all prevented shootings to date by gun owners that were on scene and responded).

    If yes, then please keep those signs and when any crimes are committed, don’t act surprised please. If the answer is no, then it’s unconstitutional and unconscionable to place those signs as they are an affront to intelligence, common sense, self-defense, crime deterrence, understanding violent behavior and crime prevention.

    In short, these signs promote crime and mass shootings by designating any area (and the people in it) as easy targets for criminal activity and misdeeds.

    Why is that so hard to understand.

    • legislators!!!……..liable!!! Oh goodness, that was joke right? These guys are immune from their stupidity. The laws only apply to us not them.

    • The originol gun had a much longer barrel. If memory serves it had a 32 to 34 inch full choke barrel. Somebody has shortened the barrel on this one and did not put a bead on it.

      It was a gun designed mostly for long shots on geese. When we hunted geese(When lead shot was still allowed) we used 12 bores with 3 inch shells #4 shot, 30 inch barrels with full choke.

      Every serious gun owner should own a couple of single shot shotguns. Gauge is optional, but for long tern SHTF nothing is simpler or more murphy proof than these shotguns. They’re break proof and can be used with the most modern factory ammo or primitive hand made shells. You can even use them as a muzle loader.

      And if a non gun person is part of your circle you can have them up to speed in about 10 minutes if not sooner. What’s not to like?

      • jwm, never thought about using a single shot for a muzzle loader, but i guess as long as you have a brass cap with primer your good to go. although I would probably just reload the whole shot shell by hand using black powder and some 509 caps.

        • That’s the beauty of the single pipe, Griz. Versatility and reliability. Birdshot, buckshot, slugs. Modern factory ammo or craptastic homemade ammo with black powder. Even muzle loading. Best of all worlds.

          I only have 2 right now, both 20 ga. I had a 12 ga until recently and I gave it away. I always keep my eye open for a deal on a single pipe.

  5. I wrote at length about my reluctance to kill in another post. I’d like to think I can read people pretty well, and like I said, I don’t want to kill.

    That being said, if I can see the muzzle of your pistol I’m going to shoot you over and over again.

    It seems to me that perhaps Officer Guliuzza needs a little attention Re when it’s appropriate to use his weapon. I’m not sure this is heroics so much as he either has an invective against deadly force or doesn’t understand it’s use. Either way he’s apt to be killed in the future for failing to kill when it’s clearly necessary.

    I’m willing to wait a long time under tremendous pressure and risk, but so help me if you raise your gun I’m shooting. Guliuzza should have too.

  6. You mean these two dudes couldn’t scrape together enough loose change to spring for a few more pumpkins? Then they leave the Benelli M2 to clean up the scraps from the one shot wonder? There’s something seriously whack here. When has anyone ever seen just one pumpkin?

  7. “Possession of…displayed firearms”…

    There’s a big difference between open carry and “displaying” a firearm. “Displaying” sounds a lot like “brandishing”.

    • I’m sure there are a lot of local folks who would volunteer to help the state remove those signs, wether the state approved of their help or not.

    • That was kind of my thought….DeWalt 18v saws-all at midnight. By the time someone within earshot figures out what’s going on, you’ve dumped the evidence into the nearest accommodating dumpster – We Strike At Night!

  8. Regarding the Raleigh sign issue: The 2011 law (HB650) put limits on what local governing bodies could do regarding concealed carry in parks, but that portion of the law was poorly worded and many towns put up signs using a definition of “recreational facility” which was more encompassing than the bill’s authors intended (this was the 2010 republican majority legislature still in it’s rookie session). This last summer a new law amending firearms laws was passed (HB937) which tightened the language regarding what local governments could do regarding concealed carry. A vast majority of the Raleigh signs are posting areas off limits for concealed carry which are no longer allowed to be posted under the new law.

  9. Raleigh City and Wake County have gun buster and other text intensive signs up all over the place stating that guns are not allowed. A 28 mile greenway thru the county has signs of various vintages stating no guns or that legal concealed carry per the NC general statues is allowed. Contradictory at best and NC is an open carry state. GRNC gets mad props for putting the heat on the municipalities for not being in compliance with a state law. In one article about this issue, it was stated that GRNC would give notice to offending municipalities, give them 6 weeks to remedy the situation and then take them to court if they did not. Right on!

  10. I must confess to demolishing a few pumpkins in the company of friends, but my mechanism of choice is a trebuchet and they meet their maker a half klick downrange.

    I’ve sent a letter of commendation to officer Guliuzza and his department.

    What a pleasant little digest; no rotten news at all. Melikes.

  11. Hey, does anyone know if you can use the ATI HALO side saddle without a sight? Seems like the rail on top would obstruct the view of a bead sight (my preference on a defensive shotgun).

    • I think if you weren’t going to run a sight, and left the picatinny rail section off, it doesn’t look like it’d stick up far enough to get in the way.

      Another option would be to replace the heat shield with an ATI one, like is shown with the side-saddle in the photos here. That adds a rear ghost ring sight and has a taller front sight. Also adds a couple small rail sections way up front for lights, etc. Here for the 500, here for the 590.

      • Thanks for the info Matt! You might be right, it does look like the part that goes over the receiver is fairly thin. At any rate there are options.

  12. Not to be that guy, although that statement invariably leads to being “that guy”.

    I spent time in Iraq; Task Force Band of Brothers in Anbar Province out of FOB Warhorse in 2006 during my first deployment. We did joint ops with the 101st, Rangers and SpecOps and never once was the term “kit” used. Please retire that wannabe Special Forces lingo. It makes us sound like…wannabe Special Forces.

    Also, while praising that officer please understand that him not taking a shot with a loaded .38 pointed at him does not qualify him as the most professional police officer in the country but one of the most cowardly. This wasn’t a “shoot/no shoot” situation. It was a clearly presented deadly force situation and if the kid had taken the shot he would be dead. The officer didn’t take the shot because he froze, not because he knew the kid would drop his weapon. Not all situations where a cop fires his weapon is an excessive use of force and praising this one is a piss poor example to use.

    I love this site and I usually love the articles but this one is bad news. The stereotypical “soldier of fortune” gun owner reference and praise of the most cowardly police officer in the country kinda pushed this one too far for me.

  13. That is a New England Firearms 10Ga. with Synthetic stock. Usually between $79 and $100 at most stores. They are good guns but pack a wallop in recoil.

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