“Liu believes that judges have the authority to impose their views… using clever verbal camouflage to disguise what they’re doing.” — Ed Whelan, a one-time clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and now president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (3/4/10)
Imagine a judicial candidate that is so far to the left that even Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, is hesitant to push him forward.
Imagine a liberal law professor that not only fails to meet the ABA’s basic requirements for a federal judge, but is so green behind the ears that it appears the only reason he is being nominated to the federal courts is because he served as part of President Obama’s transition team.
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If you can imagine such a leftist candidate, then you would be thinking of Goodwin Liu, the President’s recent nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Liu is the Associate Dean and Professor of Law at the ultra-left UC Berkeley School of Law. Only 39 years old, he comes nowhere near fulfilling the ABA’s standards for a judge.
But what he lacks in experience, he makes up for in radical liberalism. In a recent book that he co-authored, Liu says that, “Applications of constitutional text and principles must be open to adaptation and change… as the conditions and norms of our society become ever more distant from those of the Founding generation.”
Got it? Like many radical progressives, Liu believes that our rights are constantly evolving. The Second Amendment might have been necessary in the 1700s, he believes, but now those rights are no longer necessary.
In Liu’s world, there would be no gun rights. Read more
The plan heads back to the House for approval, due to several changes made by the Senate Monday. The plan’s original House sponsors said the legislation is modeled after similar laws in other states and intended to raise a constitutional challenge to the federal government’s oversight of business between states.
The Idaho Firearms Freedom Act is one of several plans approved by Idaho lawmakers pushing back against federal control.
“We’ve given up, as citizens and states, a tremendous amount of freedom,” said Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth. “This simply challenges the power of the federal government to regulate everything in the state of Idaho under the guise of interstate commerce.” Read more
The new Tactical Mark II AR35F is 60″ x 37″ x 27″ and weighs 860 lbs. The new Tactical Mark II AR26F is 60″ x 30″ x 25″ and comes in at 725 lbs.
Both models are 1200º F/60 min. standard fire protection rated, and UL® tool attack listed. Both safes feature new anti-pry features, including Pry-Stop End Bolts, tight-tolerance door fits, chromed locking bolts, fully reinforced integrated door frames, extended throw locking bolts, and the Force Deflector™ Locking Mechanism.
In addition, both models come with the DPX® Storage System exclusive to Browning. This system increases the number of firearms that can be stored in each model by allowing both long guns and handguns to be stored on the inside of the door.
The interior includes space for long guns and shelves for handguns and other items. A Safe Top Basket located on the top of each safe conveniently stores extra gear. The Tactical Mark II models have an additional external accessory rack to hang gear on the side of the safe.
Gorgeous finish, “neutral balance,” and built-in accuracy made the Model 27 a long-lasting classic.
In 1935, Smith & Wesson and Winchester announced a new revolver and a new cartridge simultaneously. Both would bear the same name. The cartridge would go on to become one of the most popular in the history of handgunning. The revolver would also be a milestone. More than 20 years later, it would get a mundane new name: “Model 27.” But until then, it would be known simply as the “Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum.”
To many purists, this model would forever be the Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum.
Finely checkered topstrap and barrel rib were trademark features of the Model 27.
From its beginning, the revolver we now call the Model 27 (if only to distinguish it from its long list of descendants and stable-mates in the same caliber) was welcomed and then almost universally endorsed by gun experts. The ones of its time, and the ones that followed.
The great Elmer Keith, of course, cheered its creation: he was a part of that, as we shall see in a bit. Charles Askins, Jr., carried one with a 4-inch barrel for a good part of his career on the United States Border Patrol. “This is the most sturdy revolver in the world,” Askins wrote. “As a service weapon it is tops! A very great deal of care goes into the production of each weapon; they are in fact custom made.”
The most enthusiastic ambassador of the new gun and cartridge was a member of S&W’s ruling family, Douglas Wesson, who had worked on the .357 Magnum project. Wrote Keith, “Major Wesson hunted big game and killed elk, antelope, moose and one grizzly with his 8-3/8 inch .357 Magnum.”
Later experts shared the appreciation. One was Henry M. Stebbins, who in 1961 noted that shooters were only then becoming adjusted to its power level. “When it came out in 1935 it was terrific enough to frighten some of us a bit by its noise and recoil,” he admitted. “Since then it has done much to educate us as to the amount of such ruction that we can stand and still do effective shooting…what used to seem a ferocious gun is accepted in handgun society today, with almost everyone agreeing that it has its points.”
With today’s iterations of the 27, you can put eight rounds downrange before reloading.
But more experts than those who wrote for gun magazines learned to appreciate the big Smith .357. George S. Patton bought one before he went overseas in WWII, embellishing it with his trademark ivory stocks bearing his inlaid initials. When he gave away one of his matched Colt Single Action Army revolvers to a Hollywood star, he augmented the remaining .45 with the Magnum, which he called his “killing gun.” Patton’s weapon had a 3-1/2-inch barrel. So, legend has it, did the very first .357 Magnum to leave the factory, which was presented to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, though some who study the history of S&W insist it had an 8-3/4-inch barrel.
Many agents bought identical revolvers for themselves, with the 3-1/2-inch barrel, or the 4-inch that Askins preferred. Among those with the 4-inch .357s was Walter Walsh, the legendary FBI agent, fast draw ace, and pistol champion. One day in Maine in 1937, Walsh shot it out with the notorious Brady gang. Armed with a Colt .45 automatic in one hand and his Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum in the other – and with a .45 slug through his own chest, collapsing a lung – Walsh used the .357 to kill gang leader Al Brady. Ed McGivern, the famed six-gun wizard of the period, often used one in his demonstrations, and repeatedly shot man-size targets with it at distances out to 600 yards.
Meanwhile, S&W’s archrival Colt quickly chambered three of their classic revolvers for the .357 Magnum cartridge: the Single Action Army, the massive New Service, and the “targetized” version of the latter revolver, the Shooting Master. Smith & Wesson, however, was inextricably associated with the new cartridge and dominated sales in that caliber for twenty years. None of those Colt .357s resumed production after WWII. In 1954 and ’55, for the first time, a wide choice of new models became available to those interested in the caliber.
Colt introduced their deluxe Python, even pricier than the S&W, in ’55. A year or so before, Colt had brought out their “357,” on the same theme as their service Trooper .38 whose name this adjustable sight Magnum would soon share. It was a slightly smaller, more “holster-friendly” gun, and much less expensive. In 1955, Bill Ruger brought out a highly improved single action on the Peacemaker theme, also budget priced: the Blackhawk .357. S&W countered in those years with a one-two punch.
The recessed chambers of the original S&W .357 may seem an affectation today, but display the intricate machining that characterized this top-line revolver.
One blow was the Highway Patrolman. This was the regular large frame .357 Magnum with choice of 4- or 6-inch barrel, but with no checkering (except on the hammer) or other frills, and with a gray sand-blasted finish. It competed directly with the Colt Trooper for market and price point. The other punch was the smallest .357 Magnum yet, the Combat Magnum inspired by Border Patrolman Bill Jordan. This K-frame gun was, by Jordan’s own admission, designed to be “carried mostly with .357 ammo and shot mostly with .38 Special.”
Approximately a decade later, Super Vel introduced expanding bullet hollow point ammunition commercially, quickly followed by the larger ammo makers. This allowed the .357 Magnum’s potential power to be harnessed for anti-personnel work, creating a shorter, wider wound channel that did massive damage inside the narrow confines of an erect biped’s torso.
The latest incarnation of the .357 Magnum of Col. Wesson, Phil Sharpe, and Elmer Keith is this Model 327 Performance Center TRR8. Tru-Glo red dot optical sight is locked to rail on topstrap, and InSight M6X combined white light and laser sight is attached to shroud of its two-piece barrel.
It allowed the .357 to get past the widely held stigma that it was not suitable for defense or police use, since it would blast through a human body and kill whatever innocent bystander might be on the other side. Suddenly, long after its introduction, the .357 Magnum cartridge was becoming truly popular in American law enforcement. When Remington introduced a 125-grain hollow point at 1400 foot-seconds velocity and Federal countered with one at 1450 foot-seconds, word quickly got around of the awesome wounds it inflicted, only about 10 inches deep but enormously wide, and the .357’s popularity increased in police circles.
The police guns, by then, were .38-frame Combat Magnums and .41-framed guns like the Colts, Ruger’s Security-Six and then GP100, and S&W’s own L-frame, which was an intermediate size between the Combat Magnum and the original 1935 Magnum. Large for its purpose by late 20th century standards, the N-frame .357 Smith was discontinued, first in its economy Highway Patrolman variation, and finally, in 1994, in its original form.
By then, it had made a host of friends among discriminating shooters of yet another generation. Such late 20th century experts as Skeeter Skelton, John Taffin, Frank James, Walt Rauch and Chuck Taylor all had good things to say about the original S&W .357. Jerry Miculek, the top dog of modern speed revolver shooters, blasted his way to fame initially with the 8-3/8-inch barrel Model 27, because no smaller frame would handle the violent 200-grain handloads he developed to set speed records in bowling pin matches. Upon its discontinuation, the big Smith, now known as the Model 27 series, became an instant “cult favorite” among revolver enthusiasts, and prices of existing samples soared. Click here to Read Part II
This article is an excerpt from the new book Massad Ayoob’s Greatest Handguns of the World. To learn more, Click Here.
I’ve been around motorcycles of every description for a long time and nothing, other than the Indian, will ever replace the love I have in my heart for the Harley Davidson motorcycle. It screams American in a way no other bike can. On a few trips to Paris, France, I was surprised at the number of Harleys cruising around the country side; it was great! So, when I laid eyes on Benchmade’s H-D Ti-Fender™ Monolock it was love at first sight. This is a gorgeous knife!
I remember commenting how it reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural designs. Wright is known for his use of straight lines and very soft sweeping curves; looking at the Ti-Fender was as esthetically pleasing as looking at one of Wright’s architectural wonders, striking!
The “Ti” in its name stems from a beautifully designed all titanium handle. The brushed finish gives this knife a sleek and superbly elegant look, which belies the utilitarian inclinations of its country of origin, China. However, looks alone won’t carry the day and the Ti-Fender brings a great deal to the table in both value and features.
This folder sits comfortably in the hand. There are degrees of comfort but the Ti-Fender is one of the more comfortable designs that I’ve come across in quite some time; conforming to the hand in a way that is difficult to explain and has to be experienced. The rolling curves sculpted into the handle remove all pressure points with a conformity that speaks volumes. The drilled out plugs incorporated in the handle’s design enhance both grip and reduce the overall weight of the knife, which comes in at a meager 4.88 oz. Amazing, given its overall length of 8.59 inches.
I found the handle’s length of 4.84 inches, along with its rolling finger coils, superbly functional with any gripping technique including the icepick.
Benchmade provided a pocket clip that is also titanium, which I thought was a very nice touch; other manufacturers would have used a spring steel to cut cost, not Benchmade. That’s class!
Since the handle is finely polished on both halves, you can safely carry the Ti-Fender while wearing your best dress slacks. The pocket clip will not tear or snag your pocket, or pocket lining. The clip is also reversible for tip up right side or left side carry and allows the knife to sit deeply into the pocket, and barely visible.
Benchmade refers to its knife’s locking mechanism as Monolock rather than the familiar frame lock. I’m not sure that a distinction exists, and the Ti-Fender is clearly a frame lock design.
Blade lock up is solid with no detectable up and down, or side to side movement at the axis, and any play at the axis is adjustable using the axis point screws.
The knife’s handle is an open pillar design; therefore, the blade is visible from the top and bottom as you look through the halves. It has been my observation that with some production open pillar knives the blade does not center very well in the frame, not the case with the Ti-Fender. Its 3.75 inch spear point blade tucks nicely and sits perfectly centered in the handle. Benchmade thoughtfully included a lanyard attachment point; although, I’m not sure that I would add a lanyard to this eye-catching knife.
Benchmade elected to use 9CR13 stainless steel, for the blade material, which is a high-carbon Chinese steel that has extra Cobalt added to help with edge retention. It performs very much like a 440C in regards to ease of sharpening and hardness; however corrosion resistance may be somewhat lower than a domestic 440C or Japanese AUS8.
Benchmade claims a blade hardness of 58 – 60 HRC, which compares favorably with many of the heavy duty tactical folders or fixed blade designs but clearly this is not a tactical folder.
If you’ve been reading my knife reviews, you already know that I am a Tanto devotee; however, fixation is never good and a properly implemented spear point “floats my boat” equally well. The Ti-Fender Monolock falls squarely into that box.
The blade tip is exactly at the center of the blade and extends rearward through the knife handle axis, so the puncturing ability of this knife, although not quite up to par with a combat folder, is considerable. That charisma is further enhanced by a faux double edge that could easily be sharpened – keeping in mind state and local laws as well as your own personal safety.
The blade thickness is .120 inches, with a shallow hollow grind; making the knife an excellent slicer. Benchmade knives ship with a razor sharp edge, the Ti-Fender is no exception.
Gimping, gimping and more gimping – folks you are going to love what Benchmade has done with the Ti-Fender. They have provided an abundance of gimping along the spine that extends all the way to the start of the swedge. I love it.
Deploying the blade is a manual process and easily accomplished via the flipper or a combination of flipper and thumb studs. While I’m on the flipper, I would like to see the fine folks at Benchmade apply a slight bevel along the edges of the flipper with shallow gimping to top it all off -not an indictment, simply an expression of personal preference!
Conclusion
Benchmade has knocked the ball out of the park with the H-D Ti-Fender Monolock. Everything on the knife, from its etchings to the finish is superbly implemented. You couldn’t ask for a more elegant and modern look that is at home in a briefcase as it is in a pair of jeans or a saddlebag. Had the knife been made in the United States, it is doubtful that the quality would have been better. At the M.S.R.P. of $125 for the 13900BK it is quite the bargain. You’ll definitely want to add Benchmade’s H-D Ti-Fender™ Monolock to your collection and be sure to pick up a real Harley to match. It’s a great combination!
DEERPARK – State Police are investigating an attempted burglary to a residence 24 Taylor Road in the Town of Deerpark.
At about 9:40 pm. On Tuesday, March 23, homeowner heard someone walking through their backyard. The homeowner, who is licensed to carry a handgun, went outside and saw a man trying to break into his garage.
When confronted, the would be burglar turned towards to homeowner and appeared to have an object, believed to be a weapon, in his hand.
The homeowner fired a shot at the suspect, who then ran into the back yard. Read more
LINCOLN, N.H. — A home intruder wasshot in the leg in Lincoln on Wednesday night, police said.
Police said an intoxicated man entered an apartment at 29 Main St. at about 8:30 p.m. A resident fired a warning shot into the wall before shooting the man in the leg, police said.
“The best we can piece together is that (the intruder) knew someone who used to live in that apartment, and he thought that individual might still have been there,” said Chief Theodore Smith.
The people inside the apartment threw the man out, but police said he returned.”Then, he proceeded to come back into the place and threatened one of them,” Smith said. “The individual pulled out a weapon to defend himself.” Read more
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – A Moultrie burglary victim was ready when someone tried to break in on her again Tuesday night. She opened fire and shot the intruder.
Tamika Seay’s home on Second Avenue Southeast was broken into March12th.
So she went out and bought a gun, and Tuesday night when she heardsomeone breaking in again, she grabbed it, and started shooting. Read more
In general, a person who uses force in self−defense or in the defense of another person may not be convicted of a crime stemming from that use of force. This law applies only when: 1) the amount of force used is reasonable; and 2) the person uses that force to prevent or stop what he or she reasonably believes is an unlawful interference with himself or herself or another person, such as the crime of battery.
Current law specifies that a person may use force that is intended or likely to cause the death of or great bodily harm to another individual only if the person reasonably believes that using such force is necessary to prevent the imminent death of or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another person.
Click here to order the Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry.
Under this bill, if a person used defensive force that was intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm, the court must presume that the person reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm if: 1) the individual against whom the force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcibly entering, or had already unlawfully and forcefully entered, the residence ofthe person who used the force; 2) the person was present in that residence; and 3) the person knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry was occurring or had occurred. This presumption, however, does not apply if: 1) the person who used the force was engaged in an unlawful activity or was using his orher residence to further an unlawful activity; or 2) the individual against whom the force was used had identified himself or herself as a peace officer (or was or should have been known to be a peace officer) and was entering the residence in the performance of his or her official duties.
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Note: The 5 committee members (Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing) is comprised of 3 democrats and 2 republicans.
You will need a concealed weapons permit to carry the loaded gun in the backpack. But you don’t need any kind of permit if you just want to stash your loaded weapon in the tent.
At the same time, unless you feel your life is being threatened, don’t shoot the gun at all.
Click here to order the Gun Digest book of Combat Hangunnery.
What’s going on? Guns in national parks are now under both state and federal restrictions, and the result can be confusing.
State law generally applies to the way guns are carried and how a concealed weapons permit is enforced. California’s odd exemptions to the concealed weapons rule include sleeping in a tent, which is considered your temporary home.
Federal restrictions aim at a bigger picture. They do not allow guns in many federal buildings, such as park visitor centers. They also forbid hunting, target shooting or even firing a gun.
“The fact is, you still can’t use a weapon in the park,” said Steve Shackelton, former chief ranger of Yosemite National Park. “I don’t think we’ll see much of a difference with this law in Yosemite.”
As shooters know all too well, many ammunition calibers have been in darn short supply for a year or more.
So it’s of some note when somebody, anybody, has too much ammo—which was the situation in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, where the city recently disbanded its police force and contracted out law enforcement duites to another local department.
But, city officials told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, what do with 58,000 left over rounds and shotshells? “The 58,000 rounds of handgun, rifle and shotgun ammunition is about five times more than a department the size of the city force would require in a year for duty and training purposes, some city officials said.”
“It seems like it is way in excess of what you would need,” Mayor Scott Klein said.
Actually, the city should have no problem selling the ammunition. One buyer? The Waukesha County Sheriff Department, the same agency that took over law enforcement for Pewaukee. “It’s a high volume of ammunition, that is true,” Sheriff Dan Trawicki told the Journal-Sentinel. “But I don’t know the last time they ordered it and between the wars, prices have really gone up. No doubt, we’ll buy some of it.”
You spent nearly a year working with GOA to kill the anti-gun ObamaCare bill, even though much of the time, people were saying that its passage was inevitable … that it was going to pass no matter what we did.
But as you know, it wasn’t inevitable, and we almost beat the anti-gun legislation that passed last night. By 4 pm yesterday, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi still did not have enough votes to pass this monstrosity!
If you were watching the “sausage making” on Sunday — or have been listening to the news today — you know that we narrowly lost the battle over ObamaCare. [Click here to see how your Representative voted.]
That’s the bad news. The good news is that we only lost a battle… for the war is not over. Here’s what your GOA is doing to stall ObamaCare in its tracks:
Click Here to Order the Gun Digest book of the AR-15 Vol. II.
* Gun Owners of America has been working in Virginia to pass legislation that will exempt citizens from purchasing ObamaCare. This legislation has passed both houses and is now sitting on Governor Bob McDonnell’s desk. He is expected to sign this bill tomorrow, making the Old Dominion the first state to take such an action. Other states are looking to follow Virginia’s example, and you can be sure that GOA will be involved in those states, as well.
* GOA is ready to assist the 38 states which are now planning to file suit against the anti-gun health care law as soon as the President signs it tomorrow. Over ten years ago, GOA helped Sheriffs Richard Mack and Jay Printz sue the federal government after the Brady Law required law enforcement to run background checks. You may remember that in Printz v. U.S. (1997), the Supreme Court ruled in our favor. We will now try to parlay that victory and make the same case here, namely, that the federal government can not force state authorities to act on its behest.
* Finally, GOA is committed to targeting the sell-out congressmen who turned a deaf ear to your letters, phone calls and emails. For almost a year, Gun Owners of America has been the ONLY gun group at the national level working to kill this legislation. Some thought this was an impossible battle… but what they don’t realize is that even though we narrowly lost, the fight has been well-worth the effort. Read more
The Kimber Model 84L™ represents a new category of rifle with the perfect combination of weight and elegance. Weighing only 6 pounds, 2 ounces, it offers the custom and performance features expected from Kimber at a production rifle price.
The “L” in Model 84L could stand for “long”; as in long action. The Classic Select Grade is available in .25-06 Rem., .270 Win. and .30-06 Spfd and carries a 24-inch match-grade barrel to wrings every bit of velocity and accuracy out of America’s favorite cartridges. The Model 84L does not compromise accuracy or velocity to save weight.
The Model 84L action follows the minimal dimensions of the Model 84M, but is slightly lengthened for standard calibers. Both Classic and Classic Select Grade models hold five rounds in the magazine plus one in the chamber. The Model 84L features a full-length Mauser claw extractor for true controlled-round feeding and extraction.
The most dependable system ever developed, it prevents the double-feeding and jamming of common push-feed actions. A properly shaped classic French walnut stock with 1-inch Pachmayr Decelerator pad diminishes felt recoil. Other features of the top-of-the-line model include an ebony forend tip and hand-cut checkering that establishes a new production rifle standard. A combination of both pillar and glass bedding stand up to the tough of the hunt.
The match-grade trigger breaks crisp and sharp at 3.5-4 pounds, just right to make the shot of a lifetime. The floorplate release is inside the trigger bow to prevent accidental opening. All of this attention to detail is just what you’d expect from America’s premier gunmaker and the Kimber 84L does not disappoint.
Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 of the best concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
