Tag: Miscellaneous Gun Stuff

The IRS Don’t Mess Around

So I noticed this post on The Firearm Blog this morning. The post opens with the following:

By now you have probably heard about the news that the IRS is buying Remington 870 shotguns. Why? Who knows.

So I thought I’d bring up something interesting that most people don’t realize. The IRS, being federal employees, actually have armed agents. The company I work for has been raided by the IRS (Not for anything the company itself did, but because of selected people in the company). This happened before I was hired but I’ve obtained the details from my co-workers who were here at the time since they do like to bring it up. One of the facts that is always emphasizes was that the IRS agents were armed when they entered the building and started rounding up all the employees. Once the employees were rounded up they were put under armed guard until the agents were able to secure all the computers in the building.

The IRS don’t screw around, if you are breaking enough tax codes to catch their ire they will do the logical thing and arm their agents when they come a knocking. The shotguns the tax men have recently purchased are most likely to be used in such raids.

Eight People Shot Dead in Virginia

A lone psycho in Virginia has managed to kill either people. Not many details have been given but this piece of information I thought was rather interesting:

At one point, a police helicopter was fired on and forced to land with a ruptured fuel tank.

That’s a lot more hardcore than usual. Normally in these cases the shooter would kill himself when the police arrived. Wait for the Brady Campaign and Bloomberg’s Posse to make an announcement saying the gun caused the crime. Also I’m betting they say it’s an AK-47 at some point.

Another New Shooter

This weekend ended up being a combination of ups and downs. Being this isn’t the personal life of Christopher Burg blog (Most of the time) I’ll leave the downs out of it. The up of this weekend was I got another new shooter out to the range.

Well I shouldn’t say a new shooter but a shooter whom went only once and wasn’t thrilled. I don’t know why people think starting off a new shooter with a 12 gauge shotgun is a good idea but they seem to keep doing it. Anyways the new shooter, Monica, wanted to try handguns and needless to say I’ve got a couple of those on hand. I also have another female friend who likes to shoot and came along. I find that it’s best to have another woman around when you’re taking a new woman shooting and that proved to be a good move again.

I started her off with my Glock 30SF equipped with the Advantage Arms .22 conversion kit. This proved to be a mistake on my behalf because it was so cold the kit was malfunctioning left and right. On top of that Monica appeared to be afraid of the Glock. So I switched her over to my Smith and Wesson 686 .357 magnum revolver loaded up with underloaded solid lead .38 special rounds. She liked that gun a lot more than the Glock. Surprisingly with very little coaching she was hitting paper no problem with it. Usually when you give somebody a large firearm their instinct is to flinch which throws the rounds south.

We also had Monic shoot my other friend’s EAA Witness in .45 auto. I figured it best to start Monica off with a .45 from an all steel gun as opposed to my recoil happy lighter than air subcompact Glock. In the end she decided the .38 special was more to her liking and kept shooting that.

By the end of the range trip she was happy and enjoyed the new experience. Nothing like taking a new shooter out to make your weekend good.

.50 BMG Goes Boom

We’ve all ready stories about Glock, XD, AR-15, and various other gun kabooms. But rarely have I seen one involving a .50 BMG rifle. Well here one is. The rifle doesn’t look to banged up but by God the aftermath looked pretty bad.

It sounds like the shooter used a hammer to close his bolt. Pro tip, if the bolt isn’t closing properly that’s the rifle’s way of telling you there is something wrong.

Crossbreed Holster Service

For daily carry I use a Crossbreed SuperTuck in the waistband holster. Over my time with a carry permit I’ve purchased three of their holsters; one of the XD, one of the Glock, and one for my 1911. As I mentioned a while ago a crack developed in the Kydex on the XD holster. Well I sent it in for service and finally received it back.

First when I say finally I mean nothing ill, I sent it a week before Christmas. I wasn’t expecting it back until after the holiday season. Well it came back to me last week. I was rather impressed when I opened the box and it contained an entirely new holster.

I was expecting them to simply replace the Kydex. Once again when I say this I wasn’t think any ill, I figured the leather was still good so why not just swap out the broken part. Either way I have a new holster and they even send me a roll of Lifesavers. Anyways this is more or less a post just stating that I’m very happy with their service. Their holsters are a touch expensive but if something goes wrong it’s not my problem which is well worth the additional cost.

Too True

I found something I agree with strongly on View From the Porch:

You know what bugs me? Serious fighting pistols with high-dollar price tags that have obviously never been used for anything but holding down the carpet on the gun safe shelf. Colt Gunsites and Les Baer Thunder Ranch Specials that have obviously never been to Gunsite or Thunder Ranch; HK USP Tacticals with the “Hostile Environment Finish” that have never been exposed to an environment more hostile than the trip from the car trunk to the indoor range. With guns like these, “Not a scratch on it!” is something of which to be ashamed, not to brag on. I hereby resolve to call these “Minnie Pearl Guns” from now on.

It always amuses me when somebody spends big bucks on a defensive handgun. Although my reasons are slightly different than mentioned in the linked post.

First this opinion is based around concealed carry. If you want to use an expensive gun in competition that’s fine. But I find carrying an expensive gun to be a poor idea. My reasoning is several fold, but I have one main concern. God forbid you have to use your gun defensively you need to realize there is a very high chance the gun will be confiscated by the police for the investigation. Also realize there is a chance, a great one in some states and/or cities, that you will never see that gun again.

If you’re carrying a Glock or XD you’re out a little over $500.00. It sucks but it’s not the end of the world. If on the other hand you have a very nice tricked out 1911 you stand to lose a $1,000 or more investment. That doesn’t jive with me well. Of course somebody may decide to say I’m promoting the idea of carrying the cheapest gun possible, that isn’t true.

I’m advocating carrying a gun you know will go bang for a fair price. Reliability is key and there are many reliable guns for reasonable prices. Glocks, XDs, M&Ps, snubby revolvers, and the list goes on. They are very reliable and don’t cost a $1,000.

Anyways it’s just a side note I thought up when reading the linked post. When carrying a firearm you should consider the affect effects if you need to actually use your gun defensively.