Categories
All About Guns Art

A Classic Ad from the Past

Andy Mukolo on Twitter: "The King of Madison Avenue.… "

Categories
A Victory! Darwin would of approved of this!

Fort Worth shooting: Suspected shooter beaten to death after killing 1, injuring 3, police say

FORT WORTH, Texas — A suspected shooter was apparently beaten to death early Monday after he opened fire at a small gathering in Fort Worth, killing one person and injuring three others, according to police.

>> Read more trending news

The incident occurred about 1 a.m. on the 5600 block of Shiloh Drive in the Como neighborhood, according to WOAI-TV and investigators.

“A small gathering was taking place in the backyard of a residence when one of the attendees became upset and left the gathering,” authorities said in a news release. Officers said the attendee later returned to the party with another person and got into an argument with several people in the backyard.

The attendee, whose name was not released, then opened fire, shooting at least one person. Police said the unidentified partygoer suffered injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.

“The other attendees of the party then gave chase to the shooter,” police said. “The shooter turned and fired at other people; a group picked up concrete landscaping bricks and started ‘throwing them’ at the shooter.”

Investigators said the group eventually caught up to the shooter, who continued to fire bullets as he either fell or was taken to the ground. At least two other people were struck by gunfire, police said.

“A victim was pronounced dead at the scene and another victim was transported to an area hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot injury,” police said. “The shooter was struck multiple times with at least one landscaping brick and was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Police recovered a handgun from the scene, believed to have been used by the shooter. Authorities continue to investigate.

Debra Mobley, a neighbor in the area, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the family living in the home where the shooting occurred had only been in the neighborhood for about a year.

“On weekends they play the music really loud,” she told the newspaper. “One of my neighbors had to go down there and tell them to turn it down.”


Now some say that Texans are getting soft and all that BS. This just goes to show that one does not mess with Texas! GrumpyPin on Quentin Tarantino 

Categories
All About Guns

History Behind Modern Single-Shot shotgun – Madman Review

https://youtu.be/yreOzaFpdTQ

Categories
All About Guns Anti Civil Rights ideas & "Friends"

Remington Reaches Historic $33 Million Settlement With Families Of Sandy Hook Victims Tyler Durden’s Photo BY TYLER DURDEN

Remington and the families of nine victims from the Sandy Hook school massacre, the second-deadliest school shooting in US history, have reached a settlement that was years in the making: the gun-maker and manufacturer of the Bushmaster AR-15 used by shooter Adam Lanza will pay a total of $33MM. Divided up among the families, that comes to $3.66MM each (before the lawyer’s cut). The families insist the money is no substitute for the brutal killing of their loved one.

According to Reuters, the settlement must still be approved by the Alabama judge overseeing the Remington bankruptcy case. The plaintiffs allege that Remington’s marketing contributed to the shooting. In a February court filing, the plaintiff’s legal team  argued that the value of their claims could exceed $1 billion, including punitive damage – a pretty obvious negotiating tactic.

The case attracted national headlines when it as first filed in 2014, nearly two years after the shooting. Lanza killed 6 adults and 20 students using a Remington Bushmaster rifle, shooting his way into the elementary school after murdering his  mother at home. The massacre ended when Lanza committed suicide as police approached.

Only nine families joined the lawsuit, and many joined for political reasons, as the goal is to increase the financial pressure on companies that sell “assault weapons”, a label popular among proponents of gun control.

Josh Koskoff, one of the families’ lawyers, on Tuesday said his clients would “consider their next steps” in response to the offer from Huntsville, Alabama-based Remington.

“Since this case was filed in 2014, the families’ focus has been on preventing the next Sandy Hook,” Koskoff said in a statement. “An important part of that goal has been showing banks and insurers that companies that sell assault weapons to civilians are fraught with financial risk.”

The families initially claimed that Remington knowingly marketed the gun for use by people to “carry out offensive, military style combat missions against their perceived enemies.”

While the families would certainly love to squeeze all the money, Remington has now filed for bankruptcy twice since the shooting, most recently in July 2020, as restrictions on gun sales in some states ate into gun sales.

Whether the settlement will ultimately be accepted remains to be seen, though it’s pretty likely given that both parties have reportedly agreed to all the terms. It marks the first legal setback for gun makers in a year where a California judge overturned the Golden State’s ban on assault weapons.

Categories
All About Guns

The “Quigley Rifle”

 

By Rick Hacker

It was an internationally renowned rifle whose inventor never got rich. And although it was publicly praised by respected frontiersmen such as John C. Fremont, Buffalo Bill Cody and Theodore Roosevelt, the company went bankrupt just as the American West was booming. Yet, the Sharps rifle amassed so much glory in its 32 years of existence that its legacy has continued into the 21st century.

The history of the single-shot that tamed the West began on September 12, 1848, when Christian Sharps patented a unique breech-loading rifle that utilized a lever-operated sliding breechblock. Pressure from the ignited powder charge helped seal the chamber, making the gun safer, more powerful and more accurate than previous breech-loading designs.

right side sharps carbine wood stock gun metal steel blue finish shine

This was still the era of the muzzleloader and the Sharps breechloader had an enticing military appeal, as soldiers could reload without having to stand and expose themselves to enemy fire. Unfortunately for the young inventor, the U.S. was at peace in 1848 and there was little interest in his new breechloader. A subsequent lack of funding forced Sharps to sub-contract the manufacture of his rifle; the first 700 guns weren’t even stamped with his name.

Things began looking up when Robbins & Lawrence agreed to manufacture Sharps’ Improved Model of 1851. A factory was built in Hartford, Conn., and the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company was born. But personality clashes soon caused Christian Sharps to leave the firm, although he continued to receive royalties on every rifle sold.  It was Richard S. Lawrence, chief armorer of the company, who kept the rifle alive, improving on the original patent.

Subsequent models, including the slant-breech Model of 1852, the extremely rare Model 1855 (of which only 800 were produced), and the more efficient vertical breechblock of the New Model 1859, eventually brought the Sharps rifle to the attention of the U.S. government. By using pre-rolled paper “cartridges,” a breech-loading Sharps could be fired five times faster than the standard-issue Springfield rifle-musket. The carbine was especially favored by mounted dragoons.

left side rifle carbine wood steel silver antique lever-action rifle gun

The War Between The States brought orders and much-needed Yankee dollars into the fledgling Sharps company. The rifles’ reputation became so great that Colonel Berdan’s 2nd Regiment of Sharpshooters threatened mutiny when it was shipped 2,000 Colt’s revolving rifles instead of the Sharps rifles it had been promised. They got their Sharps. By the end of hostilities in 1865, a total of 80,512 carbines and 9,141 full-stocked military rifles had been shipped to Union troops, with the Model of 1863 being the last percussion Sharps made. Interestingly, after the war, approximately 5,000 additional carbines were produced with 1865 stampings. However, aside from the barrel stampings, these guns are virtually identical to the Model 1863.

In 1874—shortly after the deaths of Richard Lawrence and Christian Sharps—the company decided to close up shop, right on the eve of America’s great western expansion! Fortunately, a group of investors reorganized the firm as the Sharps Rifle Company. Their new venture was launched with the Model 1874, a cartridge rifle they stamped “Old Reliable.” A variety of options were offered for both target and sporting versions, including special sights, extra-length barrels and engraving. The Sharps was truly a custom rifle, a labor-intensive dedication to perfection. While Winchester’s breech-loading repeaters were selling for as little as $10, a single-shot Sharps listed for $33. Firepower and price tags aside, savvy frontiersmen opted for the more expensive Sharps, because it could do something the weaker toggle-linked Winchester 73s and 76s could not: The Sharps could fire hefty, bone-crushing bullets capable of taking down any animal on the North American continent. With specialized cartridges such as the .44-77 bottleneck, .45-100 and .50-100, the 1874 Sharps became the big-game rifle.

left side carbine lever-action classic antique metal wood steel silver

But it was in the hands of buffalo hunters that Sharps validated its Old Reliable moniker. From 1871 until 1883, an estimated 20,000 “buffalo runners” scoured the Great Plains. In order to harvest the huge, tenacious bison, a hard-hitting, long-range rifle was needed. As a result, the majority of market hunters carried one or more Sharps rifles, switching guns when the barrels became too hot after firing volley after volley at ranges often exceeding 400 yds.

A notable chapter in Sharps history occurred in 1874, during the Battle of Adobe Walls. A war party of more than 700 Kiowa and Comanche Indians had 28 buffalo hunters pinned down. Seeing one of the chieftains on a distant rise, a young hunter named Billy Dixon borrowed a “Big .50” Sharps, took aim, and toppled the warrior from his horse.

left side wood stock rifle metal steel gun carbine classic vintage old gun

Unnerved by the rifle’s far-reaching accuracy, the Indians hastily departed. Later, an Army surveyor officially recorded the distance at 1,538 yds. (seven-eigths of a mile). Years afterward, Dixon admitted it was a lucky shot, but that didn’t matter; the Sharps’ long-range reputation had achieved legendary status.

The Sharps excelled on target ranges as well. During one memorable match at Creedmore in 1877, British marksmen were soundly defeated by Americans shooting long-range Sharps and Remington Rolling Block rifles. Later, an incredulous member of the British team visited the Sharps factory, where he shot 16 consecutive bullseyes at 1,000 yds., using an 1877 Long Range Express Rifle. Thus, another convert was made. In spite of its success, economic woes plagued the Sharps Rifle Company. The guns were expensive and time-consuming to produce, and the company was finally forced to cease operations when a large British order was canceled. The last rifle was shipped in 1881. And yet, the gun had become immortal; it could not die.

metal stamp black steel closeup gun parts barrel action rifle

Today, not only are originals highly collectable, but replicas are eagerly sought by reenactors, competition shooters and hunters. They are popular for the same reasons now as the originals were back in the 19th century: reliability, ease of cleaning and accuracy. Of course, today we have the added aura of nostalgia. But unlike the originals, not all replicas are created equal. There are two distinct categories of modern-day Sharps: custom guns manufactured in America, and mass-produced replicas made in Italy.

The custom market is dominated by Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing Company and C. Sharps Arms, both within shouting distance of each other in Big Timber, Mont. The rifles of these two companies are so close to the originals that parts will interchange, and they are hand assembled with the same care and precision as the old Sharps. Neither company makes the pre-cartridge 1863 any longer, but just as in 1874, both Shiloh and C. Sharps Arms offer a wide variety of options, including round, octagonal and half-round barrels of various lengths, Hartford pewter or Bridgeport schnabel fore-ends, single or double-set triggers, crescent or military buttplates, special sights, fancy walnut stocks, and engraving. In short, if you’re willing to wait and you have the budget, you can get the Sharps of your dreams.

gun in hands carbine sharps rifle ammo ejection stop motion outdoors arms metal wood rifle

So what differentiates Shiloh from C. Sharps? Actually, very little, in appearance and shootability. In fact, at one time Shiloh was actually C. Sharps Arms, but like the original company, a personality dispute split the firm into two entities. However, Shiloh only makes the 1874 Sharps, while C. Sharps Arms offers the 1874 as well as the 1877 and the never-originally-produced 1875 models. Shiloh’s receivers are investment cast in their factory, where they also make their own button-rifled and burnished barrels; C. Sharps receivers are machined in-house from solid stock and fitted with cut-rifled Badger barrels. Both firms specialize in traditional Sharps calibers as well as the .38-55 and .40-65 Win. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two firms is the two-and-a-half year wait for Shiloh rifles whereas C. Sharps Arms can ship guns within two to eight months. They also stock some completed models for immediate delivery.

The Italian replicas are notably less expensive and offer a wider variation of models. For blackpowder shooters there is the .54-cal. 1859 and 1863 carbine, rifle and military muskets, as well as numerous versions of the Model 1874, including the Hawken-stocked Gemmer and a Schuetzen target model. Calibers range from .40-65 to .45-120, with a .45-110 scheduled later this year. Note: If you want a Sharps “Big .50,” you’ll have to go to a custom gun.

right side rifle wood metal steel classic carbine long range shooting gun

The above 1874 Davide Pedersoli reproduction gun is optimized for today’s long-range shooting with an included Lothar Walther bull barrel, improved stock design and tapped for optics.

Virtually every replica is made by either Davide Pedersoli or Armi Sport. Importers include Taylors & Co.Navy ArmsCabela’s and Cimarron Arms; some of the largest selections are available from Flintlocks, Etc. and Dixie Gun Works. The Pedersoli guns are slightly more expensive, and its well-grained stocks have a satin polish. Armi Sport uses an oiled, matte finish for its wood and its receivers are very close to the originals in dimension. However, the one common failing of nearly every replica is the slight “perch belly bulge” of the fore-end. Why these fore-ends can’t be profiled like the originals is beyond me.

Cimarron Arms actually fills a gap between custom rifles and mass-produced replicas, as special after-market finishing and customized engraving are offered. In addition, Cimarron was responsible for the Italian-made copy of the famous Quigley Model. The original Quigley was made by Shiloh for the 1990 Tom Selleck movie, “Quigley Down Under.”  However, it was Mike Harvey of Cimarron Arms who talked Pierangelo Pedersoli into producing a more affordable replica. Today, it is catalogued by practically every importer and has become one of the most popular of all Sharps replicas. It should be noted that the Quigley Sharps is simply an 1874 Hartford-stocked No. 3 Sporting Rifle with an 1863 patchbox. Unlike many of the Italian replicas, Shiloh’s original movie version had no provision for a saddle ring. Interestingly, my Dixie Quigley has a saddle bar but no ring. Some importers outfit this 13-lb. rifle with a vernier tang sight, enabling it to live up to its motion picture reputation as a long-range bucket buster.

gun sight metal round aperature parts steel old

In reality, every Italian Sharps is capable of better accuracy than its factory sights permit. Personally, I don’t know how anyone can shoot a respectable group with the clunky open sights that come on most of these otherwise excellent rifles. The first thing I did on my Dixie No. 3 Sporter was to equip it with the more practical flip-up buckhorn sight from C. Sharps Arms (a similar sight is available from Dixie). And when I took my Pedersoli Quigley .45-70 Govt. out to the range the second time, it was wearing a Long Range Creedmore tang sight and Spirit-Level Front Globe Sight from Cabela’s. My 100-yd. group from the previous week immediately shrank from 4 “ to a less-embarrassing 3/4” using factory ammo. Speaking of sights, the widest selection of accessories are stocked by Cabela’s and Dixie Gun Works. Be sure to check out the cross sticks for long-range shooting and Dixie’s numerous Sharps bullet molds.

All of which brings us to the actual performance of these guns in the field. Without bragging, I can honestly state I own twice as many Sharps rifles as John C. Fremont (he had two). Although I had hunted with an old .50-70 carbine back in my growing-up days in Arizona, finger-pressing a .490 round ball into a brass case filled with FFG blackpowder never quite brought out the full potential of the gun. Years later I bought a C. Sharps Arms 1863 Gemmer (no longer made). Although the .54 military action holds 60-grs. of blackpowder, I had the factory ream the chamber to accommodate 90 grs. This proved to be better suited for big game, as the elk over my fireplace mantle can attest. Rather than load loose powder in the field, I rolled 90-gr. tubes out of potassium-soaked paper wrapped around a wooden dowel. I sealed one end, removed the dowel, filled the tube with FFG blackpowder, and then folded over and glued the other end. I inserted these powder-filled paper “cartridges” into the chamber after I had seated it with a greased conical bullet. You can do the same thing today with Dixie’s Combustible Cartridge Kit. Closing the breech cuts off the end of the “cartridge,” exposing the powder to the flash from the musket cap.

hunter with animal outdoors gun rifle cowboy buffalo sandy blue sky

In the early 1980s I decided to “go modern,” and I acquired an 1874 C. Sharps Arms No. 1 Deluxe Sporter, with double-set triggers, premium wood and chambered in .45-70. I hunted a variety of big game with this rifle throughout the American West and Africa. Most of my shots were taken at 100 yds. or less, but the more I hunted with that Sharps, the more intrigued I became with its long-range reputation. After reading about Theodore Roosevelt’s exploits with a No. 3 Sporter chambered for the .40-90 bottleneck cartridge, I ordered a similar 12-lb. rifle.

The original .40-90 packed 100 grs. of FFG, which produced 2,097 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy. With the advent of smokeless powder, duplex loads became popular, as the smokeless powder burned the blackpowder fouling that clogged the shallow Sharps rifling. Consequently, I settled on a duplex load of eight grs. of MP 5744 beneath 85 grs. of FFG and a paper-patched 385-gr. soft lead bullet. Taking a tip from the old-timers, the paper patching reduced leading and, in conjunction with the duplex loads, improved accuracy. This gave me 2,130 ft.-lbs. of energy and sent the bullets out at 1575 f.p.s.

It was with this combination of cartridge and rifle that I have been able to verify some of the “tall tales” of the old-timers. For example, it is possible to kill a 2,000-lb. buffalo with a single shot from a Sharps. I have done it, stalking a free-roaming Montana herd and firing at the lead bull at a range of 125 yds. On another occasion, using my tang sight and firing offhand, I dropped an antelope at 285 yds. I would never put this in print if I hadn’t had a witness; John Schoffstall, owner of C. Sharps Arms, was with me and saw the shot. We both were equally amazed—I now know how Billy Dixon felt.

Yes, the Sharps lives up to its reputation. But as with anything, you get what you pay for. So study the catalogs, examine the guns if possible, compare prices, and decide whether you want a rugged hunting rifle, a tack-driver, or a collectable heirloom. But whether you end up taking your Sharps to the target range or the open range, you’ll soon realize why they called it “Old Reliable.”

Categories
All About Guns

Tom Selleck’s “Quigley Down under” Rifle

Categories
Cops

I gotta say that the FBI IG is a Ballsy Guy!

ANALYSIS

Federal Bureau Of Incompetence: An Analysis Of The FBI’s Most Embarrassing Failures

Daily Caller: Top Left: Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images Middle: JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Top Right: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images Bottom: APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images

America’s finest at the FBI last week added yet another screw up to what appears to be a growing laundry list of humiliating failures.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz released a report Wednesday in which he accused the bureau of failing to adequately respond to sexual abuse allegations against disgraced U.S. gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

“Failures by Indianapolis [FBI] officials contributed to a delay [in investigating Nassar] of over a year,” the report said, adding that FBI officials failed to respond to the “Nassar allegations with the utmost seriousness and urgency that the allegations deserved and required, made numerous and fundamental errors when they did respond to them, and failed to notify state or local authorities of the allegations or take other steps to mitigate the ongoing threat.”

The report also alleged that after receiving the first complaint against Nassar in 2015, the bureau neither notified state, nor local authorities that he was under investigation, nor did they notify agents in Lansing, Michigan, where Nassar was employed at the time by Michigan State University.

Nassar would end up being accused of sexually assaulting at least 265 women, some of whom were famous U.S. gymnasts like Aly Raisman and Simone Biles, under the guise of medical treatment. He was sentenced in 2018 to 40-175 years in prison.

The sharp rebuke from the IG is another black eye for the bureau, the public missteps of which over the last few decades have come under increased bipartisan criticism.

Politically-motivated spying campaigns, being warned about earth-shattering tragedies before they occur, and refusing to bring actual criminals to justice are just some of the embarrassing failures the FBI has increasingly added to its record.

The bureau under the leadership of former Director James Comey and Acting Director Andrew McCabe drew the particular ire of former President Donald Trump and Republicans due to its handling of the Russia investigation in which the FBI would rely on false information and media leaks in order to investigate members of the Trump team.

In 2018, Horowitz released a report rebuking the FBI for using the unverified information in the salacious Steele Dossier to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to spy on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, who they accused of working as a Russian agent. (RELATED: DOJ Watchdog Puts Final Nail In Steele Dossier’s Coffin)

The report found that FBI agents failed to verify any of the allegations from Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent whose primary sub-source for the dossier was previously investigated by the bureau as a Russian spy. Horowitz also detailed 17 examples of information that contradicted the dossier that were withheld when agents presented their case to the FISA court.

“Our review revealed instances in which factual assertions relied upon in the first application targeting Carter Page were inaccurate, incomplete, or unsupported by appropriate documentation, based upon information the FBI had in its possession at the time the application was filed,” the report said.

The FBI’s handling of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into several members of President Trump’s 2016 campaign for allegations of working with Russia would also be criticized by IG Horowitz for the bureau’s clear political bias against the former president, notably against his incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Flynn’s identity was unmasked in intelligence reports of his calls with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak during the transition and FBI officials would attempt to go after him for a Logan Act violation, an obscure law that prevents American citizens from negotiating on behalf of the U.S.

Flynn would go on to plead guilty to making false statements to the FBI — but later retracted it, saying he was pressured into it by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team. He was later pardoned by Trump. (RELATED: The Biggest Disclosures In Michael Flynn’s Case)

The lead agent on the Flynn case would later cast doubt on the allegations made by the FBI’s sources about Flynn’s contacts with the Russians and later reports revealed that the bureau even offered money to Christopher Steele to dig up dirt on the 4-star Army general.

Further accusations of political bias against the Trump administration would go on to taint the reputation of the FBI.

Kevin Clinesmith, an FBI lawyer involved in both the Crossfire Hurricane investigation and special counsel’s probe, sent several anti-Trump text messages in 2016 to fellow FBI employees, one of which said “Viva le Resistance!” He would later be sentenced to probation and community service for his role in falsifying an email about Carter Page.

Peter Strzok, former deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, would also come under heavy criticism from Republicans for anti-Trump text exchanges he had in 2016 with FBI lawyer and paramour Lisa Page, leading to his dismissal from the bureau.

“(Trump’s) not ever going to become president, right? Right?!” Page wrote to Strzok. “No. No he’s not. We’ll stop it,” Strzok, who was deeply involved in both Crossfire Hurricane and the special counsel’s probe, reportedly replied.

In addition to political bias that has tainted the bureau’s reputation, the FBI has also endured a series of failures to stop mass tragedies before they occur despite being warned.

The FBI had either been warned or tipped off to the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooter, 2018 Parkland shooter, 2013 Boston bomber, and 2009 Fort Hood shooter, as well as the recent Boulder grocery store shooter and Nashville Christmas bomber.

In the case of the Pulse nightclub shooter, it would later be revealed that his father had been an FBI informant for over a decade prior to the shooting. (RELATED: The FBI Keeps Missing Mass Shooters Before It’s Too Late)

When the deadliest mass shooting in American history occurred in October 17 at a country music concert in Las Vegas, the FBI wrapped up its investigation without ever conclusively determining a motive for the shooter.

Perhaps the worst FBI misstep, however, was their decades-long failure to bring notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to justice.

In the four-hour Netflix special “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich,” painter Maria Farmer and her teenage sister Annie both said they contacted the FBI about being sexually abused by Epstein and his crony Ghislaine Maxwell in 1996.

Years later, in 2006, U.S. Attorneys would shut down a federal sex trafficking investigation into Epstein in Florida after he plead guilty to state prostitution charges despite the fact that the FBI suspected he was abusing girls in cities across the country and overseas.

“To say that the FBI was ignorant and just didn’t know, doesn’t really hold water,” Attorney Spencer Kuvin told the Daily Caller News Foundation in 2020 after the reports were revealed by the Miami Herald. “They would’ve had to have been so inept to think that this stopped at the gates of Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion.”

Recent documents in the Ghislaine Maxwell case also showed that the feds had once again deliberated pursuing charges against Epstein in 2016 after a lawyer for accuser Virginia Guiffre warned he was still abusing young girls.

The documents say that a New York prosecutor instructed an FBI chief to ask the Florida agents if they felt “justice had not been served” in the 2006 case but did not get a response. The prosecutor assumed that, by not responding, the “FBI agents in Florida did not express dissatisfaction,” according to the documents.

It would take until 2019 for Epstein to finally be arrested after extensive reporting on his sex crimes was done by the Miami Herald. He would later die of an apparent suicide in prison. Ghislaine Maxwell wouldn’t be arrested until June 2020.

Despite refusing to bring one of the most notorious sex criminals that have ever lived to justice, the FBI finds time to encourage Americans to spy on each other, seize legos from the homes of January 6 defendants, and send fifteen agents to investigate hate-crime allegations that turn out to be garage door pull chords.

Instead of investigating the alleged tip it received about Epstein’s abuse in 1996, the FBI was instead finding the time to funnel false information to journalists in order to smear 33-year-old Richard Jewell, the security guard who saved many lives by discovering a pipe bomb that had been placed in a crowded venue during the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. (RELATED: Richard Jewell, Carter Page And The Illusion Of The FBI’s Power And Competence)

Just today, Buzzfeed News reported that FBI informants “had a hand in nearly every aspect starting with its inception” of the alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in October of last year, which was reported at the time as being foiled by an undercover FBI agent. “The extent of their involvement raises questions as to whether there would have even been a conspiracy without them,” the report added.

All of these miserable failures and corrupt activities have led to a crisis of credibility at America’s principle law enforcement agency.

Given the state of the FBI, it might even be time to officially change its name to the Federal Bureau of Incompetence.

Categories
All About Guns

SLIP-UPS AND BLUNDERS BY MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINO

 

Duke was wrong that Model 1875 Remingtons were never chambered as .45’s — he stands corrected.

 

With my writing career nearing 50 years (full time since 1981) with over 2,000 printed features and columns I’m bound to have made mistakes. I’m talking not of mistakes in opinions. Those can modify or change entirely with age and experience. I’m talking about mistakes of facts.

There was a pretty good one in my column in the Nov/Dec 2019 Handgunner. I stated Remington’s Model 1875 revolver had not been chambered as a .45 except for a “few for government trials.” I was wrong on two points. The more minor one was saying “few” without double checking my sources. Actually there was only one .45 sent to the U.S. Army. It was chambered for the then-standard .45 Government, aka .45 S&W, aka .45 Schofield. However, its chambers were bored straight through so longer .45 Colt rounds would also chamber. The Army officers testing that .45 sample liked it, but no orders to Remington followed. My bigger mistake was saying Model 1875 .45’s had not been made otherwise. Mostly my statement was based on an original Remington catalog dated 1877 and my own observations at dozens of antique gun shows.

Thanks to reader Daniel Pozerak of Michigan I’ve been hereby corrected. He sent me documentation that Remington actually did make .45’s to the tune of hundreds (exact number unknown). These had mostly been ordered by the Mexican Government, chambered for .45 U.S. Government and fitted with 71/2″ barrels. He also enclosed a copy of a Remington advertisement dated 1882 saying the Model 1875 was available in chamberings of .44 Remington, .44 Winchester and .45 Government. Thanks for this info, Dan!

 

Duke has written the .38-40 caliber stamp (bottom) was never put on 1st Generation Colt SAAs. >br> It was always .38 WCF (above). He was wrong.

Mistakes Galore!

 

Here’s another boo-boo of mine. Several times over the decades I’ve written, although Colt’s 3rd Generation Single Action Army revolvers have mostly been caliber-stamped, .38-40 originals never were marked so. I said they were all marked “.38 W.C.F.” I discovered this was wrong when a friend handed me his late 1st Generation SAA marked .38-40 exactly like the new 3rd Generation ones. I’m not sure when the caliber stamping was changed. I have one with a factory letter saying it was shipped in 1926. It’s marked “.38 W.C.F.” on its barrel’s left side. An original Colt catalog I have dated 1935 says the SAA is available in “38-40 (.38 Winchester)”. So the change probably came somewhere in those nine years.

Here’s another example of a mistake you can enjoy celebrating with me. In his book History Of Smith & Wesson, author and S&W historian Roy Jinks said their .44 Special was developed in 1907 so it would hold 26 grains of black powder compared to 23 grains used in their 1872-introduced .44 Russian. As .44 Special fans know it was the introductory cartridge for the S&W Hand Ejector, 1st Model (Triplelock). Several times, I doubted in print the .44 Special had ever been loaded with black powder because its heavy fouling would have quickly tied up those Triplelocks’ finely fitted mechanisms.

I was proved wrong when another writer found black powder .44 Special factory cartridges listed in a 1916 Winchester catalog. And on this note I did more searching and found in the Ideal Handbook No. 28 dated 1926, Remington’s black powder .44 Special factory loads with 246-gr. lead bullets were rated at having 820 fps velocity from a 6″ barrel. I still think black powder would have tied up a triplelock in only a few rounds, but .44 Specials factory loaded with black powder indeed existed.

 

Duke felt logically, the .44 S&W Special (right) was never loaded with black powder as
was the .44 S&W Russian (left). He was wrong again.

On More Oopsie

 

That was in copying previous writers in saying .45 Colt SAAs had 0.454″ barrel groove diameters in the 1st Generation and the dimension was changed to 0.451″ simultaneously with the introduction of the 2nd Generation in 1956. Nope. Not so. Never happened. Back in the 1990s I was given a 1922 factory spec sheet from the Colt factory. It said all their .45 barrels — .45 Auto and .45 Colt — were to measure 0.451″ minimum and 0.452″ maximum across their grooves. I have an SAA from 1926 and its barrel slugged 0.451″. Also, the 1926 Ideal Handbook No. 28 lists .45 Colt groove diameter as 0.452″ and .45 Auto as 0.451″.

So here’s my advice to future gun’riters. Don’t discount everything you read from us current ones. But check our facts for documentation. We might not know what we’re talking about!

Categories
N.S.F.W.

Some women of Summer – NSFW


Inline image 1



Inline image 1
Inline image 3
Inline image 4
Inline image 5
 

Categories
All About Guns Allies

Q&A #13: Cameras, Surplus SMGs, Modern Rocket Balls, and More!