The incident occurred at the Snappy Convenience Store, located at 115 SE 10th St., Friday night.
Store clerk Samir Al-Madi, 25, told Broward's Sheriff's Office robbery detectives he was on the telephone when he saw a hooded man approaching the store.
According to BSO, when the suspect, 24-year-oldAlexander Brown, pulled out his gun on Al-Madi, Al-Madi reached for a gun and shot Brown in the jaw. Freddy Al-Madi, owner of the convenience store and father of the clerk, said, “He walked in and he tried to kill him. He did not come in here just to rob. The guy was ready. The gun was ready.”
When Brown tried to get up, Al-Madi felt threatened once again and shot Brown again. Brown was taken to North Broward Medical Center. He is expected to survive. Read more
WEST BABYLON, NY (WABC) — A man was shot and killed inside a home in West Babylon, Long Island Monday night. It happened around 7:30 in the evening.
When officers arrived, they found a man shot to death in the kitchen of the home on 6th Street.
He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Apparently a woman and her boyfriend were inside the home when the woman's ex-husband came inside the home. The couple said they assumed a burglar was breaking in and the boyfriend allegedly shot the man. Read more
An Ozark County, Missouri man reportedly used his gun to stop a violent home invader. Police say that one man broke into the home of another and refused to leave after multiple warnings.
When the intruder became violent, the homeownerreportedly feared for his safety and fired in self-defense. The intruder was struck in chest, but survived after being airlifted to the hospital, according to police.
Those opposed to gun ownership for self defense like to suggest that crime victims will be unable to get their selfdefense gun in time to stop an armed criminal. That is simply not the case.
Here, the homeowner was able to get his gun and fire in selfdefense, even after delaying that self defense effort while giving the intruder a chance to leave peacefully. Read more
HOLBROOK – A local Lakeside man shot and wounded another local man when he discovered what appeared to be a burglary in process at his neighbor's home.
Deputies responding to the scene met with Gaylon Crawford, who tolddeputies he had been asked by his neighbor to check on his residence because an alarm had been activated indicating a possible intrusion.
The neighbor/homeowner Jim Schueller, who lives in the Valley, was nothome at the time of the incident. Crawford said he noticed the shop door appeared to have been forced open and the lights were on. When he entered the shop he saw two males in dark clothing, who told him they were retrieving their tools.
Crawford said he drew his handgun andordered both individuals to put their hands above their heads and advised that the police had been called.
Crawford said one ofthe males eventually charged him and he fired his handgun when the individual came within three feet of him (Crawford) because he feared for his life. Crawford was knocked to the ground and lost the handgun and both individuals ran from the area.
Deputies were notifiedlater that a male subject was at Summit Healthcare with a gunshot wound to the left bicep and responded. Once at the hospital, deputies identified Kevin Lee Phillips, 30, as the person with the gunshot wound.
Phillips told the responding deputies he had been at the shopand that an older male had shot him. When asked who the other male was who with him, Phillips said he just knew the person as “Jake.”
Oncereleased from the hospital, Phillips was arrested and charged with second degree burglary and criminal damage. Read more
I spent some time talking with Stephan Kern of Schmidt & Bender about their new ceramic-coated Police Marksman II 5-25 x 56 PM II/LP/MTC/LT scope.
The German company had strewn signage all around the floor of SHOT Show 2010 depicting this tan-colored matte-finish tactical scope, and I couldn't wait to get a closer look.
Here's the information on this scope from Schmidt & Bender's website:
True 2000-meter capability. Unlike most long-range variables thatoffer only a 4x magnification multiple, the 5-25 x 56 provides a full 5x and a wider field of view.
Parallax adjustment in a separate turret, completely adjustable from 10 meters to infinity.
The illuminated reticle has 11 graduated settings offeringprecise control relative to ambient light. The scope includes Schmidt & Bender's unique color-coded “Double Turn” elevation knob that gives the shooter instant reference to where the elevation is set.
The entire 100-minute adjustment range can be covered in just two turns of the knob. The user will never become “lost” within the adjustment range.
Now, after I got done drooling over the scope's new flat earth ceramic finish, Kern demonstrated the scope's extremely tight (read, precise) turret adjustments, which are designed to give the shooter a ready reference to dial up and then easily return to zero. You always know how many revolutions you've made – a handy feature.
Here are some more details:
Main tube: 34 mm diameter light alloy
Surface finish: shock-resistant ceramic coating
Illuminated reticle in the 1st or 2nd focal plane
Elevation adjustment with MTC, double turn and tactile plane
Elevation and windage turrets with locking function
Zero Stop: elevation stop function in the zero position
Zero Click: tactile click of the windage zero position
FNH USA announces its title sponsorship of the new 3-Gun Nation, a championship series of 3-gun shooting events set for broadcast on Versus in July 2010.
Overseenand run by the National 3-Gun Association (N3GA), 3-Gun Nation will afford competitors the opportunity to win a $5,000 purse per event culminating in a championship prize of $25,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place, and $5,000 for third place.
Each episode will feature a dramatic conclusion to determine the winner in which the top five competitors at the endof the event will go head to head at one stage for the fastest time.
Theshow will be hosted by country music star Mark Wills an active shooter and new 3-Gun competitor, along with American Rifleman magazine field editor and host of American Guardian, Chad Adams. 3-Gun Nation will air Mondays at 7:30 a.m. EST and Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. EST.
The N3GA will also launch its web site, www.3-Gun Nation.com, in March. The site will feature original content posted daily – news, feature stories, forums, photos, blogs and professionally produced videos of the events and competitors.
Guns and gear will be evaluated and reviewed by outdoor journalists and professional shooters offering insight into what is, perhaps, the most exciting area of the shooting sports.
“The3-Gun Nation series will bring to light the excitement and drama each amateur and professional shooter experiences in every match as well as show off the coolest guns, gear, and lifestyle that defines the sport,” said Ken Pfau, vice president of law enforcement and commercial sales for FNH USA.
“The show will include vignettes with tips and techniques from professional shooters that willgeared to the experienced shooter as well as being helpful to the beginner. We want to welcome everyone to the sport.”
FNH USA is the sales and marketing arm of FN Herstal, S.A., Belgium. Its corporate mission is to expand its global leadership position in defense, law enforcement and commercial markets by delivering superior products and the finest in training and logistical support. Visit www.fnhusa.com to view the entire line of FNH USA products and services. FNH USA, P.O. Box 697, McLean, VA, 22101, U.S.A.
There's been some discussion around this area about an incident in which an 84-year-old man was restrained with a TASER after getting violent at a local veteran's home.
People always come to me with the same question when there is a discussion of excessive force: Couldn't the police have done something else?
You know what? NO, they couldn't. And here is why. First off none of us don't know the totality of the circumstances. We hear 84-year-old man and we automatically think “frail and helpless.” I don't know what happened leading up to the deployment of the TASER, but I do know a few things about TASERS. They hurt. When things work correctly they immobilize the person getting the ride. They allow police officers to move in and restrain a person with reduced risk of harm to either the officer or the subject.
So, consider these scenarios and consider which sounds safer: You get to the scene and there is an old man going crazy. You get two or three officers and you go hands on directing the man to the floor. Chances are if he's already agitated he is resisting the entire way. Then a 200-pound cop falls on the old guy, pins him to the floor and forces his arms behind his back for the cuffs. Or… two officers respond, the contact officer deploys the TASER and the cover officer grabs the man as he goes to the ground and easily get the cuffs in place with minimal resistance.
The TASER has a document history of reducing injuries to officers and subjects. It is not 100-percent effective. Nothing is. But too many civilians have decided the TASER is the punchline of a big joke. How many times have you heard “Hey, can you TASER my buddy?” It is to the point where civilians look on the TASER as a tool of punishment. It is not. It is a tool that helps to control and stabilize potentially violent subject with minimal risk to everyone. I'd rather be hit with a TASER than sprayed with OC… the OC keeps burning long after the cuffs are on.
Order the Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry by Massad Ayoob. Click Here.
The student posted on YouTube the confrontation he had with officers after they responded to a report of a man with a gun.
Steven Gunn of the Utah Gun Violence Prevention Center says it points to a problematic gap in Utah law that has not been addressed.
“I can't imagine what the reaction might be, well actually I can,” he says, “of a student walking along the campus and seeing another student carrying a shotgun.” Read More
To the little boy's mother, it was just a 6-year-old boy playing around.
But when Mason Jammer, a kindergarten student at Jefferson Elementary in Ionia, curled his fist into the shape of a gun Wednesday and pointed it at another student, school officials said it was no laughing matter.
They suspended Mason until Friday, saying the behavior made other students uncomfortable, said Erin Jammer, Mason's mother.
School officials allege Mason had displayed this kind of behavior for several months, despite numerous warnings.
“I do think it's too harsh for a six-year-old,” said Jammer, who was previously warned that if Mason continued the practice he would be suspended. “He's six and he just likes to play.” Read More
Order the Gun Digest Book of the .45 ACP. Click Here
Dan Mueller, who grew up in the village and now lives in Hartford, is the local George Webb franchisee who also owns George Webb restaurants in Hartford and West Bend. He said it is his policy not to allow guns to be carried into the restaurants.
He said he posted a sign on the door of the Sussex restaurant because of an incident last month involving an individual who carried a side arm into the China Wok on east Main Street.
Mueller said he was also alerted to the possibility that some individuals might carry side arms into local restaurants unless there is a sign posted on the door forbidding it.
He said signs have not been posted at his Hartford and West Bend establishments because “it has not become an issue” at those locations.
He said he was concerned that customers may feel uncomfortable. “If they see someone sitting at the counter with a gun strapped on” or that someone might walk into the restaurant during third shift hours wearing a gun. The restaurant is one of the few establishments in Lake Country open 24 hours.
“We have customers who have stopped at a bar for a few drinks after working third shift before coming here to eat. I don't want a situation where there is someone carrying a gun,” he said. Read more
Mayor Bloomberg and the city chose to sit out the case and did not file a brief with the court supporting President Obama's hometown of Chicago.
“We don't expect it to impact on New York laws,” a Bloomberg spokeswoman said of the case, McDonald vs. Chicago. But both gun rights and gun control groups predict a rash of suits aimed at loosening the city's rules on gun permits.
The case involves 76-year-old Chicago resident Otis McDonald, who claimed the city's 1982 ban on handguns left him prey to street gangs. Read more
Second Generation Colt SAA .44 Specials with Galco leather.
In 1913 Colt began chambering the Single Action Army in .44 Special. From then until 1941, only 506 Single Action Army Models would be so chambered, and only one Flat-Top Target, which belonged to Elmer Keith. In the beginning these sixguns were marked on the left side, “RUSSIAN AND S&W SPECIAL 44”. One of the most beautiful examples of an engraved .44 Special so inscribed was the 7-1/2″ personal sixgun of Ed McGivern shipped to him by Colt in 1919; it is pictured in A Study Of
The Colt Single Action Army Revolver by Graham, Kopec, and Moore. In 1929, barrel markings were changed to “COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY .44 SPECIAL”.
I had one of these 7-1/2″ .44 Special Colts marked the same as the McGivern Colt as related in my book Big Bore Sixguns (Krause Publications 1997).
As I relate in that book:
My new wife solidly entrenched herself in my heart forever our first Christmas together as she presented me with a brand new 6-1/2″ .44 Special Smith & Wesson Model 1950 Target. I had begun a lifelong love affair with the .44 Special. Not only did my wife present me with my first .44 Special, she also combined with a very special .44 Special to make it possible for me to meet another vocal proponent of the .44 Special. It has always been my regular habit to read section 640 GUNS every day in the morning paper’s want ads expecting to find maybe one special sixgun per year. In the early 1970’s the ad read Colt Single Action .44 and old belt and holster.
Andy Horvath built this .44 Special “Fitz Special” on a Colt New Service.
The address was a trailer park just outside of town and I hustled over to find a 1st Generation 7-1/2″ Colt Single Action with cartridge belt and holster. The owner explained the .44 had belonged to his uncle and he wore it regularly as a sheriff in Colorado, and the pitting on the top strap were from his blood when he was shot and was more concerned about having himself patched up than cleaning the Colt. As I handled the Colt I could scarcely contain myself. Except for the minor pitting on the top strap, the old Colt .44 Single Action was in excellent shape mechanically and the case coloring had turned a beautifully aged gray. The left side of the barrel was marked “RUSSIAN AND S&W SPECIAL 44”. A very rare single action!
How much? I asked as I contemplated my budget. $450. I was sorely tempted but with paying for three kids to attend private school, I felt it was out of the question. I reluctantly thanked the man for his time and left. My excitement stayed high all the way home and it was impossible to contain my disappointment as I told my wife all about the Colt .44 Special. She was more than a little surprised I was able to resist buying that beautiful sixgun.
Later that day she headed out to do some shopping and I asked her to stop at the local boot repair shop. I had been so stirred up by the .44 Colt I had forgotten to pick up my finished boots. When she returned home she handed me the boots with a slight smile on her face. As I took the boots I realized they felt a few pounds heavier than normal. In the left boot was the Colt! She had gone out on her own and purchased the .44 Special! You hold on tightly to a wife such as this one!
Great .44 Special sixguns from the middle part of the twentieth century: Great Western SA, 2nd Generation Colt SAA, and a pair of 3rd Generation Colts.
After doing a little research on the Colt and finding out how really rare it was, we decided it belonged to a collector not a shooter as I was. So we traded it for the $450 we paid for it plus two shooting Colt sixguns, a 2nd Generation Colt Single Action Army 5-1/2″.44 Special and a 7-1/2″ New Frontier chambered in .45 Colt. But that isn’t the end of the story as this Colt .44 Special and Russian was my ticket to meeting someone very special.
Later that year I attended the NRA Show in Salt Lake City and carried pictures of the old Colt, especially a close-up of the barrel inscription, all for a purpose. I was looking for one particular individual. When I found him dressed in a dark suit, wearing colored shooting glasses and a white Stetson, I simply handed him the picture of the barrel close up. He grabbed me by the arm and said: “Son, let’s go find a place to talk.” The man was Skeeter Skelton and I had found the way to his heart. Skeeter was second only to Elmer Keith in praising the virtues of the .44 Special during his writing career. Keith retired his .44 Specials after the .44 Magnum arrived; Skelton tried the .44 Magnum, found the Special better for most purposes, and went back to his first love.
The 1st Generation Colt Single Action Army was dropped from production in 1941, never to be seen again. After the war, Colt made it very clear they had no intention of ever resuming production. Television changed all that! A whole new generation of shooters and would be shooters discovered the Colt Single Action Army through all the B Western movies that filled the screens in the early days of television and then were followed by the made-for-TV westerns. Shooters wanted Colt Single Actions and in 1956 the 2nd Generation Single Actions appeared.
The .44 Special arrived in the Single Action Army one year later in 1957 with both 5-1/2″ and 7-1/2″ barrel lengths. For some unknown reason the 2nd Generation .44 Specials were never offered with 4-3/4″ barrels. While not as rare as the 1st Generation .44 Specials, just over 2,300 were offered before they were removed from production in 1966. A companion sixgun to the Single Action Army was the New Frontier, a modernized version of the old Flat-Top Target Model of the 1890s. These are very rare with only 255 total being made with 5-1/2″ and 7-1/2″ barrels from 1963 to 1967. They are also some the finest single actions ever produced by Colt.
By 1974, the Colt machinery was wearing out and the decision was made to drop the Colt Single Action Army once again. This time instead of 15 years it only took two years to resurrect the Single Action, as the 3rd Generation began production in 1976. This time around the .44 Special would be produced from 1978 to 1984 in all three barrel lengths: 4-3/4″, 5-1/2″, and 7-1/2″ and a total production of about 15,000 with about 375 Buntline Specials with 12″ barrels. Colt just recently announced the return of the .44 Special Single Action Army to their catalog.
The .44 Special was also offered as the New Frontier from 1980 through 1984 when all New Frontier production ceased. Something over 3,500 3rd Generation .44 Special New Frontiers were produced and only with 5-1/2″ and 7-1/2″ barrels. Most shooters hold 2nd Generation .44 Specials in much higher esteem than their counterparts among 3rd Generation examples and the prices demanded reflect this.
USFA offers the barrel marking as found on the original Colt Single Action .44 Special.
Colt not only produced the first big-bore double-action revolvers a few years before Smith & Wesson – the Model 1878 in .45 Colt – but they would also be the first to produce what we consider a modern double-action revolver., i.e., one with a swing-out cylinder.
These Army and Navy Models on the .41 frame would evolve into the larger New Service in 1898. Immensely popular, the New Service overtook the Single Action Army in total production numbers due to the fact that more than 150,000 New Services chambered in .45ACP with 5-1/2″ barrels and known as the Model 1917 were ordered for the use of the troops in World War I.
The .44 Special, as with the Single Action Army, first appeared in the Colt New Service in 1913. Before it was dropped, the .44 Special New Service was offered as a standard model with barrel lengths of 4-1/2″, 5 1/2″, and 7-1/2″ with either blue or nickel finish, or the beautifully shooting New Service Target Revolver with a choice of either a 6″ or 7-1/2″ barrel.
Stocks were checkered walnut and the trigger was checkered, as were the front and back straps; the finish was a deep blue; sights were adjustable, with a choice of a Patridge or bead front sight.
Colt’s ultimate .44 Special New Service was the deluxe target revolver, the Shooting Master. This 6″-barreled revolver featured a hand-finished action, sights and a top strap that were finished to eliminate glare. It represented the highest-quality revolver that Colt could build until the Python arrived in 1955. Along with the Colt Single Action Army, the New Service was dropped in 1941.
New Services chambered in .44 Special are very hard to find, at least at my price level. A few years ago a reader came to the rescue with a late-model New Service in .44 Special, which he offered to send to me for inspection. It had several problems: it was out of time, its lanyard ring was missing, and someone had installed a Smith & Wesson adjustable rear sight while leaving the front sight intact. This, of course, resulted in a sixgun that shot way high.
But it had possibilities and it came for very reasonable price. The 4-1/2″ New Service .44 Special was sent off to Milt Morrison of QPR (Qualite Pistol & Revolver), one of the few gunsmiths qualified to work on the old New Service. He totally tuned and tightened it, fitted a ramp front sight and re-blued it. A lanyard ring was found and installed, and stag grips were located and fitted to the frame. The final result is one of the finest New Service .44 Specials around.
In the time between the two World Wars, John Henry FitzGerald (“Fitz”) was Colt’s representative, traveling to all the shooting matches, working on shooters’ Colts and generally sharing shooting information. He is best known for his Fitz Special built on the Colt New Service: “Perhaps some would like to ask why I cut up a good revolver and here is the answer: The trigger guard is cut away to allow more finger room and for use when gloves are worn…. The hammer spur is cut away to allow drawing from the pocket or from under the coat without catching or snagging in the cloth and eliminates the use of thumb over hammer when drawing….The butt is rounded to allow the revolver to easily slide into firing position in the hand…. The top of the cut-away hammer may be lightly checked to assist in cocking for a long-range shot.”
It was common knowledge among his contemporaries that Fitz always carried a pair of .45 Colt Fitz Specials in his two front pockets. He definitely knew how to use them.
I’ve wanted to have a Fitz Special ever since I was the kid learning to shoot big-bore sixguns in the 1950s, and just recently decided to have one made up on a Colt New Service. I found what I thought would be the perfect candidate for a Fitz Special, a 5-1/2″ Late Model New Service in .45 Colt.
Although having considerable pitting on the right side of the barrel and part of the cylinder, it was mechanically perfect and the interiors of both barrel and cylinder were like new. Instead of sending it off to be converted, I shot it first and found it shot much too well to touch as it placed five shots, fired double-action standing at 50 feet, in less than 1-1/2″. By now I have learned not to fix what ain’t broke, so it remains untouched.
Thanks to a reader I came up with a Late Model New Service chambered in .44 Special. It needed some help and made a perfect candidate for a Fitz Special, so off it went to one of the premier gunsmiths in the country, Andy Horvath.
Horvath said of this New Service: “It’s got a few miles on it and somebody got a little carried away with the buffing wheel. I bushed the cylinder to get out most of the endplay, and installed a ball lock on the crane to help with the lock-up. Instead of cutting the old barrel I just made a new one using up a piece of Douglas barrel blank too short for anything else.
The grip frame has been shortened and rounded and fitted with fancy walnut grip panels, and the top of the hammer serrated for shooting single action by starting the hammer back with the trigger and then grabbing the hammer with your thumb.”
The end result is a .44 Special Fitz Special that is one of the finest in existence. built by one of the finest gunsmiths ever. My everyday working load for .44 Special sixguns, the 250-gr. Keith bullet over 7.5 gr of Unique in the short barrel of the “Fitz” registers 830 fps, or just about the perfect equivalent of Fitz’s .45 Colt loads.
I just got finished working with Crossbreed Holsters Superslide OWB holster, Instructor Belt, and their OWB dual mag pouch. Crossbreed uses Kydex for the holster shell and leather or horsehide for the backing plate. It can be worn strongside or crossdraw. A great, high quality product and company. Watch for the full review in an upcoming digital issue of Tactical Gear Mag, along with a review of the Auto Ordnance M1 Carbine-a timeless design that still has a lot of fight left in it.
Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 excellent concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
