Tag Archives: news

Followup – Article – An AR-15 ammunition factory built to supply the military shifted to commercial sales and is now tied to more than a dozen mass shootings

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An agreement between the Army and one of the nation’s largest ammunition manufacturers is receiving new scrutiny because of a little-known provision allowing a government facility to produce hundreds of millions of rounds for the retail market.

Over more than a decade, contracts between the Pentagon and a series of private companies have permitted an Army site, the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, to become one of the world’s largest commercial suppliers of cartridges for AR-15-style guns.

The usual statements, from the usual people, about the usual ‘solution’. The free market abhors a vacuum, and while any departure from the 5.56 ammo market will eventually be filled it would be unreasonable to not expect economic law to occur in the short term: when supply is low and demand is high, prices go…up.

No one has enough ammo. More is, by and large, always better. Unless you’re swimming or on fire you cannot have too much ammo. The savvy survivalist, if they don’t already have a goodly amount of the stuff, should take this as a warning that there may be some changes coming up in the market and prepare accordingly.

Article – An AR-15 ammunition factory built to supply the military shifted to commercial sales and is now tied to more than a dozen mass shootings

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While The Times found that the “vast majority” of rounds sold from Lake City to retailers end up in the hands of law-abiding citizens, they have also shown up in a number of mass shootings.

Rounds from Lake City have been tied to at least a dozen mass shootings, including the 2012 Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting, the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, and the 2017 Las Vegas Strip mass shooting, the deadliest in US history, the report says.

Gotta boil that water nice and slow so the frog doesn’t notice.

Its not enough to keep banging the drum about ‘assault weapons’ being bad. You have to keep that idea at the front of the public’s mind or you lose the narrative. So the media (or the people controlling them) keep the beat going….AR-15’s bad, AR-15 magazines bad, and now, AR-15 ammo bad. Do it long enough and hard enough and even the Fudds will start in with their ‘no one needs an AR15’ spiel. (Jim Zumbo has entered the chat.) [Sidenote: we now have .35 and .40 caliber rifle cartridges for using the AR as a hunting platform…so the notion of ‘not suitable for hunting’ has kinda evaporated. Although, honestly, an AR-10 has always been just fine for hunting.]

This is just more coordinated media manipulation to keep the fire burning that we need a 1994 Assault Weapons Ban: The Next Generation. As always, while you may not be able to prevent a ban you can be prepared for it. All it takes is resolute will and some money. Skip the jet skit, put off the new 72″ TV till next year, drive the clunker for another year…..take the money and buy what you need and what you think you’ll need.

Did LC ammo show up at ‘mass shootings’? Maybe. So what? LC probably cranks out millions and millions of rounds per year. The percentage of that ammo used in crimes? A fraction of a fraction of a percentage….just like ‘assault weapons’ themselves.

Go buy another AR. Go buy another dozen mags. Go buy another case of ammo. Even if they never ban them again you’ll still be ahead of the game just in terms of beating inflation and future price hikes.

Just another ‘beware the coming bans’ post

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Unless you’ve been under a rock the last week, you know some guy in Maine (of all places) went sideways and killed about twenty people before taking his own life. As usually happens after these events, the usual crowd wiped the blood onto their faces and began wailing about ‘commonsense’ and ‘reasonable’ restrictions on…well..whatever they think was at fault.

To be fair, the administration really has it’s hands full right now and is probably not interested in getting into a domestic policy quagmire while it’s in the midst of a couple foreign policy quagmires. But…I’ve been wrong before.

But if they do get some traction on their usual ban-dwagon, you don’t want to be caught unprepared. It’s been 19 years since the sunset of the much-despised ‘Assault Weapons Ban’.  If you bought on pistol magazine and one rifle magazine each month (a very easy goal) since then, you’d have about 228 pistol mags and 228 rifle mags…an amount that almost everyone would agree is a comfortable amount to have.

And if you bought one ‘evil’ rifle every year, again not an outrageous or difficult goal, you’d have 19 AR’s in the safe.

But some people just will not learn. It seems like every time some whackjob shoots up a 7-11 and the media starts their campaign about ‘high capacity magazines’ there are people who sudenly think they need to buy. Dude…you should have had your magazine issues settled shortly after the ban expired. I encounter way to many people who think that “Oh, I have a dozen mags for my AR. Thats plenty.” That is wildly shortsighted thinking that fails to account for what perils the future holds. I’m not going to elaborate about that because I’ve covered it elsewhere on this blog more times than I can recall.

TL;DR for todays post: one of these days, these gun/mag bans will come back and you don’t want to be caught with your pants down. Stack it deep. And if you really want a positive habit to develop, buy one pistol mag per month, and one rifle mag per month. They are money in the bank. (Not that keeping your money in the bank is a good idea, but you get my meaning.)

Article – Safe rooms in Israel are everywhere, with steel doors and sparse furnishings. Here’s what they’re like inside.

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Much like how Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 became the paradigm for future planning, this recent event in Israel is going to be the touchstone for quite a while. Finally, someone addressed the ‘safe rooms’ or shelters that have been required in new construction for quite a while. I haven’t checked, but I believe this used to be a requirement of the Swiss as well, although they seem to have relaxed it as the Soviet Union disappeared.

It’s commonplace for homes in Israel to have a specially-built safe room inside to shelter in place after a law was introduced in 1992 by the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command, establishing new civil defense regulations.

The regulations required the inclusion of a residential protected room, a communal protected space, or an institutional protected space in every newly constructed building.

I suppose that, if I had the room, I’d construct something similar but more for providing a secure room for valuables to be protected from fire rather than a hole to hide myself and loved ones in. Frankly, if there’s a situation where hiding from people is necessary then I’d probably be more likely to be standing somewhere inside/outside my house with an AR rather than crouching behind a steel door. And if I was hiding behind a steel door in a fortified room as a ‘last resort’ …well…the first person through that door is in for a bad time.

As for gun policies in Israel. I was always under the impression that in certain regions, along the border for example, the rules were a tad different. I suspect that after this recent development, there may be some rather large changes to the current policies.

Moral of the story, though, is that having your own bunker is never a bad thing.

Article – Tragic story of an Israeli couple who killed 7 Hamas militants to save their children

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An Israeli couple has killed seven Hamas militants to save their children after the Hamas fighters came to their home. The woman and her husband were killed too.

Oleh Vyshniakov, Israel’s consul in Ukraine’s Western Region, shared the couple’s story. On his Facebook page.

Adar and Itay Berdychivsky from the Kfar Aza kibbutz both served in the Israeli army as officers and kept weapons at home.

When the militants approached their house, the couple hid their 10-months-old twins in mammad, a reinforced security room required in all new buildings by Israeli law, and returned to wait for the militants in the main house to distract their attention from their children.

I’m sorry the couple didn’t survive their encounter, but if you have to die then there’s probably no more noble way to die….fighting alongside your loved one to protect your other loved ones. Tragic and romantic at the same time. Its almost like the finale of “Mr and Mrs Smith” but with kids. Assuming, of course, this story is true. The first casualty of war and all that.

I’m glad to read that there were people in Israel who had weapons of their own and didn’t hesitate to use them. The overwhelming majority of news stories tend to promote the idea that all these people just meekly stood around like sheep waiting for a bullet in the back of the head. I hope its true.

Article – Israel Loosens Gun Laws After Unprecedented Terror Attack

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It will now be easier for Israelis to carry firearms for self-defense in the wake of the worst terror attack in the nation’s history.

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir announced on Sunday he has ordered officials responsible for issuing gun licenses to broaden its standards. As the death toll inflicted by terror group Hamas grew to over 600, Ben-Gvir said he wants more Israelis to be able to legally arm themselves.

“Today I directed the Firearms Licensing Division to go on an emergency operation in order to allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves,” he posted, according to a Google translation. “The plan will take effect within 24 hours.”

You know, for a nation that makes historical persecution and genocide a very large part of their national identity, you’d think the Israeli’s would be a bit more strident about a gun in every home. Given their history of being at war with their neighbors almost continually since 1948, and the frequent border incursions by solo terrorists and small groups, it would seem that the .gov would be a bit more free with the boomsticks…especially since everyone has to have military training at some point.

But, as we’ve seen in Ukraine, governments attitude on arming the populace can change pretty quickly when that same governments existence is threatened.

The obligatory ‘behind every blade of grass’ story will be trundled out at any moment, I am sure.

How to win/lose an election in one easy step

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How to lose: New Mexico governor issues order suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque

How to win: Sheriff in New Mexico’s most populous county rejects governor’s gun ban, calling it unconstitutional

Just because something is a law does not mean it is good, moral, ethical, or even a smart idea. All it means is that you have to obey it, whether you agree with it or not. Now, if you have a moral objection you can certainly have that opinon but you’re still obligated to follow that law. Which brings us to Heinlein’s great quote:

I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them.

The corollary to this is, of course, that you have to take responsibility for your actions. I break the law a dozen times a day…I cross against the light, I drive a couple miles over the speed limit, I store gasoline in a non-approved containers, etc, etc.

And when I do all those things I do them fully aware of their ‘outlaw’ status and with the full knowledge that there are consequences to my actions and I won’t dispute them at all. I know the ticket price for this particular ride, I am willing to pay it.

This little bit of ‘Irish democracy’ manifests itself all the time. We ignore the rules that we think are stupid, unnecessary, unconstitutional, or just plain bad. Sometimes we can get away with it…like when your AK doesn’t have enough American-made parts to acieve 922(r) compliance….and sometimes we can’t like when that homemade Sten gun goes brrrrrrrrrrrp and the neighbors call the cops.

If I lived in New Mexico, and I was authorized to carry a concealed weapon, I wouldn’t change a single thing about my behavior. I’d continue to be well-heeled and if caught I’d shrug and say “Youre right, I broke the law. Its a dumb law and I disagree with it, but I did it nonetheless.” I’d totally own that.

I’m curious to see how this plays out. It’ll be struck down, of course…no doubt there. But I wonder if the ripples will spread out to have a bigger effect. Stay tuned.

Give me Liberty or give me a safe without a backdoor passcode

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Benjamin Franklin, my favorite Founding Father, famously said “Three May Keep a Secret if Two are Dead”. Sadly, its a brutal truth: if someone other than you knows your secret, it ain’t a secret.

And now, apparently, your gun safe isn’t a safe but rather a heavy storage locker when the manufacturer will roll over and hand the backdoor entry code over to someone with a badge.

I’ve had two emails so far about this:

Liberty Safe Gave FBI Access Code to January 6 Protester’s Safe

Liberty Safe announced Tuesday they cooperated with the FBI by giving them an access code that allowed agents to get into a safe owned by Nathan Hughes during a raid.

Liberty Safe describes themselves thus: “Liberty Safe has built America’s most trusted gun safes for sale for over 30 years. Our unyielding commitment to high-quality gun safes has made Liberty the premier choice for millions of Americans. You are always protected with a Liberty gun safe with superior fire protection, exclusive military-style locking bars, and unmatched security features.”

But those security features were overridden by an access code Liberty Safe provided to the FBI, which conducted a raid on Hughes’ home over January 6 participation allegations and arrested him.

The first thing I want to say is that whether the evidence in the safe was regarding the January 6 incident, or if it was regarding the Lindbergh kidnapping, makes no difference. The key issue is that the manufacturer of the safe retained the ability to override your personal privacy. I have no doubt that this wasnt some plan on Liberty’s part for anything more sinister than helping people who locked themselves out of their safe….BUT….even the most benign feature, with the best of intentions, will be abused by .gov.

You could say the lesson here is that you should trust a mechanical combination over an electronic one that could be compromised by the manufacturer. And, there’s some merit to that although whether its the manufacturer giving up the secret pass or a local locksmith hired to bypass the combo, the fact remains that a safe screams “Cool stuff in here! Come get it!”

This is the real message from this event: If you’ve got a USB drive of who really killed JFK, or a stained dress from the Oval Office, don’t put it in a big metal box that is, literally, the first place people will look. Put it under the safe, or in the insulation in the attic, or in the oil pan of that dead car in your backyard, or anywhere else than a safe that will be Target Number One of any search warrant.

And I recognize that, if they were handed a court order, Liberty’s hands were tied but I’m not sure there should have been that backdoor there to begin with…thats the part I have a problem with. If there wasn’t a court order and they turned over the data…..well, Its A Bold Strategy Cotton, Lets See If It Pays Off For Em.

So, not that youre doing anything wrong, but if you absolutely, positively gotta keep something away from people with badges, putting it in your high-profile safe might not be the best method.

 

Article – Ontario Knife Co. in Franklinville sold, 56 employees to lose jobs

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FRANKLINVILLE — The Ontario Knife Co. has been sold to an out-of-state interest and is expected to close by the end of the month, the Olean Times Herald learned Thursday.

The move would put 56 employees of the Franklinville cutlery out of work effective July 27. Ontario Knife makes tactical, outdoor and home edged products. Before moving to Franklinville, the company had its roots in Naples, N.Y., where it was founded 134 years ago.

The parent company, Elma-based Servotronics, which is primarily involved in manufacturing aerospace components, announced plans to sell Ontario Knife on March 30.

Its always sad when a long-running American company finally succumbs. I have no experience with Ontario knives but everything I read says their RAT series of knives were quite good. Being a sentimentalist, I ordered some of their knives right after having this news brought to my attention.

For knives, I use Spyderco folders, Glock field knives, and Becker designs from KaBar. And, lately, the Mora knives for less tactical uses like fishing and hunting (good knives at a great value, by the way.)

H/T to the person who told me the news in email.

Article – Family Who Died Trying to Live ‘Off the Grid’ Told Loved Ones About Their Plan: ‘We Tried to Stop Them’

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Before leaving, they “watched some YouTube videos” about “how to live off the grid,” a family member said.

A family member of two sisters and a teen whose bodies were discovered “fairly mummified” in a remote Colorado campsite earlier this month said their deaths should serve as a warning: living in the wilderness without proper experience can be deadly.

Look, I wanna run off inna woods and live in a cabin far away from the world as much as the next guy…but I’m not doing it in a tent, in the winter, in Colorado. Oh, sure, some people can do it, but those people did a bit more homework than watching a few YouTube videos.

When I go Galt and shut the door on humanity, it’ll be in a very well stocked, well fortified, well heated, well constructed little cabin. Believe me, living in a tent is no way to go when you don’t have to. Sure, plenty of hunting camps have wall tents in the winter. But shouldn’t we want better than a canvas house?

I’ll be interested in learning more about this as time goes by. If you see any articles with more info, please link in the comments.