The Defender's Creed

I read this this morning in the weekly e-mail from the USCCA (United States Concealed Carry Association) and thought it bore repeating again and again.  I may print it and frame it to put on the wall.

The Defender's Creed
By: John Farnam

I accept and understand that human predators exist. Criminal or terrorist, they take advantage of our civilized society to prey upon the weak. They represent evil and must be confronted and defeated.

I believe that self-defense is a moral imperative, and that illegitimate force and illegal violence must be met with righteous indignation and superior violence.

I will not rely on others for the security of myself, my family and my community.

I proudly proclaim that I run with a like-minded pack. I do not amble through life with the mind-numbed herd.

I will train with my chosen weapons, maintain them and carry them in a condition of readiness at all times.

I will be mentally prepared and physically equipped to effectively respond to an attack or emergency.

I will constantly test myself against realistic standards to discover my strengths and weaknesses. I will turn weakness into strength.

I will seek to learn new skills and techniques, and then teach what I have learned to other members of the pack.

Be it with firearm or blade, empty hand or blunt object, I will hit my enemies hard, fast and true.

I will live a quiet and unobtrusive life, but I will develop and retain the capacity for swift and decisive violence.

I recognize that I am the modern equivalent of the traditional Minuteman, and that I may be called to service at any time against heavily armed enemies. I will respond effectively.

I accept that I am a pariah among some of my countrymen, and a quaint anachronism to others. I will not hold their ignorance against them.

I will win, or die trying.

I swear this creed before God, my family and my fellow citizens.




John Farnam is an internationally acclaimed firearms instructor, and the author of three books and numerous articles. Please visit his website: http://www.defense-training.com

Interesting News Piece

Last night, after watching Jay Cutler and DA BEARS!!!! beat the Broncos, the late local news came on, and they had a story that blew me away.

Now, it is easy to find "stories" in the MSM that portray gun owners as right-wing wackos. But this particular piece I found to be very good, done by the local NBC affiliate about a USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association) regional competition held this past Saturday.

The video is HERE.

Or to watch the whole newscast and see how the story was led into, go HERE. The story about the USPSA begins at 13:30.

The news station even linked to the USPSA site. Which I clicked on, and right there on the homepage, was another video from the local Fox station with a feature story about an area shooter preparing for the USPSA Steel Challenge. Watch that video HERE.

I guarnatee you would not see stories like this on a Chicago station.

So many options

Well, I think I am taking the Stoeger back to Gander Mountain tomorrow after a meeting in Peoria. So today, I was surfing through the Gander Mountain site at some options to replace it.

Here's the list I am thinking about.

1. Marlin 39AS .22 lever action. I've always wanted a lever action, and like the function of the Marlin levers.

2. Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle. I've thought about the Mini-14 for years. The only drawback-.223. Not really a big fan of the glorified .22.

3. Colt Single Action Army Revolver. The Peacemaker. 'nuf said.

4. Marlin 336 XLR lever action. The classic Marlin, with a laminated stock, stainless barrel and receiver, and chambered in the classic .30-30 Winchester.

5. Marlin 1895CB lever action. The first lever action I ever shot was chambered in the .45-70 Govt. and so is this.

6. H & R 1871 Buffalo Classic. Another .45-70 Govt. with a 32" barrel, single shot rifle. Just a classic for the high plains.

7. Winchester Model 70. Its a Winchester. What more do you need to know. I'm a Winchester whore. The first two guns I ever fired were Winchester, and they are American Classics.

8. Tikka T3 Hunter. Manufactured in Finland, no Tikka T3 leaves the factory without shooting a sub-1" group at 100 yards. Adjustable trigger pull with a simple Allen wrench. Amazing quality for a cheap price. And in .243, it is the perfect midwest rifle, coyote, deer, javelina, fox, whatever. And they are said to be very affordable..

GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The resolution that had been obtained, has been lost.

And I'm so mad I can't see straight.


Back in June, I talked about arriving at a resolution to a long running problem. I thought the issue was dead.

Until today. I finally took the new Stoeger out to use during some dog training. Since I wasn't actually shooting any birds, just trying to mix gunfire with retrieving, I was using 12 gauge poppers (a.k.a. blanks). But that shouldn't matter since a) the Stoeger Uplander does not up operate on recoil, and b) the problem was with the first barrel. Yes, ladies and gents, brand new shotgun that it took a year of bullshit to finally get to replace the malfunctioning gun, has the EXACT SAME PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I fired 10 or 12 rounds of blanks during training, and had two not fire.

Needless to say, I am slightly pissed.

So next time I go to Peoria, the shotgun goes back and I am going to get something different. I don't know if it will be another shotgun, a rifle, or a pistol. But it sure as hell ain't going to be a Stoeger Uplander.

Resolution

Last summer, I mentioned that I hadn't gotten some new guns shot. Well, I got one of them shot for the first time during dove season, the Stoeger Uplander. But the problem was that out of the four shells that I put through the gun, one didn't fire. I never thought much about it.

Then New Year's Day rolled around, and there was an extended range session that combined about 1,500 rounds of 12 gauge, 20 gauge, .45 ACP, and .40 S&W. One of the several firearms used that day was the Uplander. But it didn't take long for all of us there that day to get very frustrated when one barrell of the Uplander repeatedly didn't fire. It seemed to be every shell or every other shell through the right barrell (which is the first to fire) would not actually discharge. The primer in the shell was dimpled, but no discharge. Needless to say, I was pissed. Over $600 for a gun and it doesn't freaking work! But it is still under warranty.

I took the Uplander back to Gander Mountain, where I purchased it. When I walked up to the gunsmith counter, he took one look at the gun and said "Oh, it's a Stoeger. I get so many of those in I don't even work on 'em, I just send 'em back to Benelli."

Shit.

So at the end of January (it took me a month to get to Peoria since it is an hour drive), the Uplander was sent to Benelli. I finally got it back in early April. The day I got it back, I took it out to make sure it worked. First shell in the gun: CLICK!!!!!!!!!!!! DAMNITDAMNITDAMNIT!!!! I put 8 more shells through that barrell and had a total of 2 mis-fires. Even more pissed than before. I just spent two months without my shotgun and paid $25 in shipping to get an unfixed gun. So I call Benelli and complain that it is not fixed and that I am NOT paying shipping again to fix the same problem. They tell me to go back to Gander again, and they can bill Benelli for the shipping. So back to the Gunsmith, and as I walk up to the counter, he recognizes me immediately (I've been told I leave and impression on people). He asks what do I have this time.

"Same gun, same problem" I tell him.

"Well, we can send it in again."

Another month of waiting, and the gunsmith calls. Benelli sent it back and said they found no problems.

"They're lying to ya," I respond. So the gunsmith suggests that I bring in a box of the shells I was having problems with and he can test fire it before I take it home.

So when I go to pick up the Uplander, I carried in two boxes of shells. The gunsmith took 4 to his test range and fired, with no problems. I am simply dumbfounded. And he could read it on my face, I am sure. So he suggests, let me try four more. This time, the first shell in the the right barrell doesn't fire. So the gunsmith comes out and calls Benelli to tell them that he had the same problem I did. They ask what shells he used. After he read off the label, the Benelli rep said "Oh, we recommend you don't shoot anything lighter that an 1-1/8 ounce load."

"Well why does that matter on the first barrell?" (and it wouldn't matter on the second barrell either, since the Uplander does not require recoil to set the trigger).

But the gunsmith humors the rep, and says he'll try an 1-1/8 oz load. First shell, CLICK!

Back on the phone to Benelli. This time, he gets the return authorization.

Finally, we have a resolution.

A little over a week ago, the gunsmith called me. "Benelli sent you a new gun."

So the next time time I am in Peoria, I get to go pick up a new Stoeger Uplander. Hopefully, without the problems.

Great News

This is some of the best news I have heard in weeks.

If I was Michelle Obama, I would say "This is the first time in my adult life that I have been proud of my country."

But I'm not, I have been proud of my country so many times I can't count. Granted, there have been disappointment's, but this makes me VERY proud.

DO WANT!!!! Join the Revolution

I have been waiting for it for 2 months, and today was the day.

Benelli introduced their new shotgun TODAY!!!!

The Benelli Vinci.

Go here to see the commercial, in depth video and and such.

And while those are cool, this REALLY shocked me when I read it:

"Twelve Vincis, three days, 88,000 rounds and zero malfunctions."

Holy CRAP.

It is a 3-piece modular system consisting of a Barrel/Receiver Module, Trigger Group/Forearm Module, and Quadrafit Buttstock. Equipped with the Benelli Crio Choke Tubes and the In-Line Inertia Driven System. The Benelli Vinci is also equipped with the ComforTech Plus system which reduces felt recoil, along with the QuadraFit Plus system which allows custom fitting of the Buttstock Module for drop, cast, comb height, and length of pull.

Knee Jerk Reaction

The last 24 hours have been loaded with stories of violence.

Nutjobs in Alabama and Germany who decide the world is against them and want to seek revenge.

The problem is that whenever these incidents happen the immediate knee-jerk reaction of the uneducated masses is to jump up about more gun control.

However, a reasoned examination of those who resort to these horrendous actions would never be stopped by punishing law-abiding gun owners. Quite frankly, less gun control could potentially stop many of these incidents prior to the horrific ends.

Look at Virginia Tech and NIU. One student or professor, properly equipped to protect themselves and others, could have saved so many lives.

Or look at Maryville, Illinois on Sunday morning. We know two things about that morning: 1) Illinois gun control laws did nothing to stop a seriously disturbed man from walking into Sunday services at a church and shooting the pastor, and 2) Illinois' draconian ban on law-abiding citizens having the means to protect themselves and others ensured that no one in the church on Sunday was able to save the life of Rev. Fred Winters.


So fight the knee-jerk and show that the Country still has some sense. Go to this article and on the right hand side, there is a poll on whether there should be more gun control.

h/t to Sebastian at Snowflakes in Hell for the poll question.

Jennifer cites many of the same thing I do and does a great job of making the point I was going for.

Blogroll Updated!

I finally got my blogroll updated!!!

Something that has needed to be done for months. I removed some old links that didn't work anymore, updated some that had changed URL's, and change formats.

Previously, I had been using Blogrolling, but their software has been screwed up for months, and Blogger came out with this great thing where it actually will tell you went blogs were last posted to-which is a time saver for me, as I would normally go through every single site in the roll.


Also, I added one new link. On Second Opinion is a blog written by David E. Young, a Constitutional Scholar and authority on the original intent of the 2nd Amendment. He edited The Origin of the Second Amendment, which was cited 6 times in the majority opinion of D.C. v. Heller. When he talks, we all need to listen and learn.

Support

When I came into the office this morning, my mother (I work in our family owned business) holds up The Dispatch newspaper out of the Quad Cities, where the main headline grabs my attention: "Sheriffs support concealed guns."

That's right boys and girls, the Illinois Sheriffs Association adopted a resolution in support of the passage of a Concealed Carry law for the State of Illinois. Not only adopted the resolution, but here are the really great kickers: The association's resolution noted it surveyed Illinois sheriffs on the issue, and 90 percent of those responding "support concealed carry in Illinois ..." and "...the group unanimously supported the call for a concealed-carry handgun law."

I'll spare you the reprinting of the entire article, you can go and read it at the link above, but I do want to highlight some of the keys quotes of the article.

From Henry County Sheriff Gib Cady (my county): "We are constitutional officers for the people, and the people want this."

From Todd Vandermyde, spokesman for the National Rifle Association: "Sheriffs aren't the puppets of mayors and county board chairmen. What's being proposed is not a radical idea. Forty-eight states have it. Forty-eight states can't be wrong."

No, they can't be wrong. 40 states have show that Will-Issue programs are effective crime deterrents.

Maybe, just maybe this will grab the attention of some in Springfield.

Trip to the Beltway

Sometime last year I stumbled across a great website.

The United States Concealed Carry Association.

I signed up for the weekly newsletter, which really got me almost daily e-mails on current issues on concealed carry, personal protection, firearms safety, shooting tips, money saving tips while still doing effective practice, etc.

Today's e-mail really caught my eye in the first portion.

Before I jump into today's Ammo-Saving tip, I want to bring you in the loop on something that I'm REALLY excited about. A couple guys who you may or may not have heard of before are hard at work on it as we speak... Skip Coryell and Ted Nugent. Oh- you have heard of Mr. Nugent, you say?

Well, you're probably wondering right about now, "what is ole' Uncle Ted working on?" Well... it's gunna be huge. You've probably heard of the million-mom march... well, this is something about a billion times better- a Million Gun Owner March, on Washington D.C. It's roughly slated for the Spring of 2010.

This idea is YOUNG right now- in fact, it's so young that I'm about to give you a URL to a website that isn't even active yet.

But it will be after Friday:

http://milliongunownermarch.com/

Remember- the site is still under construction, but I'll shoot you another email when it's up and ready. Guys, I am VERY excited about this. This will be our chance to stand up PEACEFULLY and be heard. We will be able to show the world that American Gun owners are organized, peaceful, proud, dedicated citizens who only want their rights to be left alone.

I think I am going to have to begin planning a trip to D.C. for this. Let's show D.C. what a million people REALLY looks like.




Also, don't forget IGOLD to make your voice heard in the state. In this very hostile time towards the 2nd Amendment, we must remain diligent in our fight. We must never give an inch.

If only it would PASS!!!!

When I returned to work after a trip to the South, I was greeted Monday morning with this headline:

Taking up arms: Proposed bill would allow Illinoisans to carry concealed handguns.

This is nothing new in Illinois. Every legislative session a bill that would stop the State's continued denial of the basic fundamental right of self-protection. However, in a State where 31 of 59 Senatorial Districts and 62 of 118 Representative Districts come from 3 counties (Illinois has 102 counties) and 35 Senatorial Districts and 70 Representative Districts are in the 4 counties of Chicago and its suburbs up to the Wisconsin state line, downstate Illinois gets shafted out of good legislation if they can't secure at least 1/3 of the Chicago/Suburbs vote. So every time this legislation to remove the injustice comes up, it gets killed by Mayor Daley and his cronies. Even though 2 states allow anyone who can legally own a gun to carry concealed, 38 states have Will Issue concealed carry where if you meet the requirements for a permit it will be issued, and 8 states have restricted concealed carry where you have to show a certain need to carry beyond simple personal protection-i.e. your job requires you to transport large sums of money or you have actually received threats to your safety. Only two states have absolutely no provision for any form of concealed carry-Illinois and Wisconsin.

If this bill would get passed through the General Assembly and by some great miracle, be signed into law by the new Governor, Illinois would be the 39th Will Issue carry State.

So what is it that makes this year different from other years. So different that it warranted a front-page article in The Dispatch newspaper.

The backing of the President of the Illinois Sheriff's Association. Sheriff Gib Cady, who is the Sheriff in my home county of Henry, supports the measure and will encourage the Association to back this legislation this year.

He said statistics show crime goes down in states with concealed-carry laws.

Gib Cady obviously has taken the time to look at the MOUNTAINS of data showing that concealed carry makes us all safer.

It is too bad that Moline, IL Police Chief Gary Francque and East Moline, IL Police Chief Victor Moreno have never bothered to look at the statistics or the results of the 48 existing programs in the United States.

Francque is so confused that he believes "The threat to law enforcement would be enormous with that many people out there allowed to carry guns. I am a supporter of a person maintaining a weapon in their home and defending in their homes, but to be out running around with concealed weapons, you're asking for a huge increase in violence."

Moreno believes that the public interation with law enforcement will somehow become much more tense and be detrimental.

In some states, the law requires that CCW holders must identify themselves as such whenever approached by a law enforcement officer, but not all states with CCW require this.

In the article, there are several people listed supporting this necessary measure. Of course already mentioned was Sheriff Gib Cady. Also expressing support were Mercer County Sheriff Tom Thompson as well as State Rep. Pat Verschoore and State Sen. Mike Jacobs. Both Jacobs and Verschoore are Quad Cities Democrats. The one theme with those supporting the bill is the requirement for training a licensing-which would be like the 38 states with Will Issue programs.


Maybe. Just May Be we are finally starting to be able to grab a toe-hold in Illinois to finally get concealed carry.

We all need to do our part and be diligent about contacting our State Representatives and Senators and pushing them to support or even co-sponsor this bill.

HB0245-Family and Personal Protection Act

Listing of Illinois State Senators

Listing of Illinois State House of Representatives

Downstate General Assembly District Map

Chicagoland General Assembly District Map

An Important Message

I saw this video over at Contagion's and it is a very powerful piece about the results of the British Handgun Ban.

The last 20 seconds have a very important message for Americans that we all need to take to heart.



We must always be vigilant and never yielding, for we must never allow ourselves to live in fear, and with the words so often used by Charlton Heston:

Join the Resistance

I spend a lot of time in the vehicle. And while I love music and listen to a LOT of it, I frequently need a change. So I kick on the AM radio and listen to conservative talk radio.

My station of choice is 560 WIND out of Chicago. The morning starts with John Howell and Cisco Codo-who are local hosts and talk about Illinois and Chicago politics, along with national stuff. Then Dennis Miller is live for 3 hours, then 2 hours of Mike Gallagher, and finally 3 hours of Michael Medved takes me till 5:00. After 5, the station get too staticy to be able to listen. I have even bee known to listen to these guys via internet streaming radio while at my desk.

Anyway, Mike Gallagher (who is probably my favorite of the 3 syndicated shows) has been running adds about joining the resistance. Grassfire.org has an online petition they are collecting signatures on to present to President-Elect Obama.

The Resistance States:
As an American citizen, while I will show respect to President-elect Obama, I oppose the far-Left and socialistic elements that comprise the centerpiece of his agenda. I recognize that it will take a patriotic and resilient Citizen Resistance to block implementation of this agenda and I join with others who oppose these threats to our liberties.

Specifically, I Resist: Socialistic wealth redistribution including any and all tax increases and big-government welfare programs. Silencing conservatives through the Fairness Doctrine and other efforts that restrict free speech. Open border anarchy including amnesty for illegal aliens and promotion of multi-nation “unions”. Government-run health care that weakens our system and imposes more tax burdens on citizens. Weakening of our military through rapid pullback from Iraq, defunding our troops and overall disarmament. Social liberalism including radical pro-abortion agenda, the end of marriage and the homosexual agenda. Liberal court activism that undermines faith, family and liberties while expanding government control. Post-American globalismthat diminishes our global role and threatens our national sovereignty. Environmental extremism, the CO2 tax, undermining coal and nuclear, and bans on exploration. Weakening the 2nd Amendment through unconstitutional gun laws that take away or penalize us for owning firearms and our right to defend our family, our property, and ourselves.

I signed the petition. I hope you will, too. Go to www.resistnow.com and sign and share with your friends.

Remember:

A note to my friends...

...who live in Rockford, IL.

Please MOVE!!!

When this is the mentality of the police and you live in a state that refuses to recognize the need to be able to protect ourselves, it is time to get the hell out of Dodge.

Regardless of the motive, [Sgt. Sam} Pobjecky advises robbery victims not to put up a struggle.

“Anytime someone demands money from you, you should not resist in any way, especially if they produce a weapon,” he said. “If they are violent enough to carry a weapon, they are certainly violent enough to use it.”

Here's an idea: Take your own personal protection seriously. Learn to protect yourself. Refuse to be a victim and send the goblins to hell.

h/t to Thirdpower at Days of our Trailers*.

Torture Test

Caleb of Call Me Ahab posted a link to a really cool blog series.

At pistoltraining.com, they ran a feature for 7 months they called "M&P Monday" as they ran a torture test on the Smith and Wesson M&P9 9mm pistol.

62,333 rounds later, the gun had a breakage that caused lawyers to stop the test.

Go read the series. It is a heck of a testament.

Turkey Shoot Videos

When I talked about the new header photo, it was requested that I post some of the other stuff from the shoot.

Well, I got my videos uploaded last night an have posted them below.

First. is the longest video. It starts with a guy having a problem getting his Brown Bess to fire, followed by Doc shooting his elk rifle, followed by The Man From Ohio and finally the Village Idiot hitting a target.



Second, is another video of the Village Idiot taking a shot and missing.



Finally, is Doc taking another shot with his certified elk killing rifle. I've seen the pictures of the elk and seen the roundball that killed it.






Some photos. Click on the photo for a larger view.

This is the photo right after the header shot was taken.

Second, it the firing line, just for some perspective on attendees.

These next two shots are just lucky captures just after ignition. Notice the orange flame from the muzzle.

Finally, is a shot of good friend Wil, just as he is about to fire his Brown Bess.

Hope you enjoy the pictures and videos.

New Header Photo

You've probably already noticed the new picture in the header.

It is not me shooting (actually, it is The Man From Ohio), but it is a photo I took last weekend at the Fort Obie Turkey Shoot. If you notice in the pan, the sparks falling. The frizzen is not visible as it is traveling forward. I am amazed I got this shot.

There are a couple of others for the shoot where you can actually see the flame coming out the end of the barrel.

Closing Time

Kim-

Thanks.

Look forward to your book(s).

Petey






The blogosphere is a a little dimmer this week, with the closing of the The Other Side.

Need Advice

I know some of you my readers are like me and into guns.

Well, for those of you, I need some help. I am looking to buy an AR-style rifle prior to inauguration day, just to be on the safe side.

My issue is, I am most particularly interested in one chambered for the 7.62 x 39mm (also known as the AK round). The only company I have found that actually manufactures an AR rifle in this chamber is DPMS Panther Arms.

They have two different models, the 20" barrell Panther, and the 16" barrell Panther.

Mostly what I will be doing is target shooting and predator hunting. But, ya never know what can happen. Just want to be prepared.

The main reason for the 7.62 x 39mm is because I think .223 is undersized and basically, an overglorified .22, and a .308 is really expensive to shoot. But 7.62 x 39, I can buy Mil Surp in 750 and 1,000 round sardine cans pretty cheap, as well as lots of other brands out of Eastern Europe/Asia.

The advice I need is what kind of luck anybody has with the DPMS guns and in particular the 7.62 x 39. Or if someone can convince me of a different caliber or manufacturer for the same kind of money for the gun/ammo.

I figure I have about 65 days max.