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Something for the History Teachers out there – Mad Jack Churchill: A Life Too Unbelievable For Fiction

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I really miss Mr. Heston, a good man and a Great Actor!

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The Handguns of James W. Hoag By David Tong

Hoag Longslide Hi-power pistol
A Hoag modified Browning Hi-Power with 5″, 6″ and 7″ slide/barrel assemblies.

As an example of a fine human being in all respects, and my first employer over thirty years ago, this article is dedicated to Jim Hoag.
James Hoag is a pistolsmith. While he is now more of a general gunsmith, his abiding passion was to create highly and tastefully modified service pistols.
Before he was involved with firearms, Jim Hoag was an aircraft armorer in the U.S. Navy. He served aboard the carrier USS Bonhomme Richard with the Navy’s first squadron of Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft.
After his stint serving Uncle Sam, Jim became a tool and die maker, before deciding to become a gunsmith specializing in handguns. In the late 1950s, he became acquainted with a certain Mr. Jeff Cooper, a retired WWII lieutenant colonel of some notoriety and the foremost proponent of the Model 1911 pistol and its .45 ACP cartridge.
Jim participated in the genesis of the “Modern Technique,” the use of the two-handed Weaver Stance, named after Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Jack Weaver. Weaver could famously place center hits on a silhouette target at 100 yards with his six inch Smith & Wesson K-38 revolver.
Col. Cooper started a shooting club in Big Bear, California, called the Bear Valley Gunslingers. At first this was a group of guys interested in fast draw and point shooting, but Cooper developed other ideas. He believed, correctly as it turned out, that shooting a pistol most accurately required a two-hand hold for both steadiness and recoil control.
Not long after this, Cooper started writing a long-lasting column for Guns & Ammo magazine, called “Cooper on Handguns.” He was a historian, an opinionated raconteur and, the few times I met him, a consummate gentleman.
Outgrowing the developing Big Bear City, Cooper then moved his range operations to Wes Thompson’s Juniper Tree Range, outside of Saugus and near the current Highway 14. It was there the techniques he developed found many adherents and the Southwest Pistol League was born.
This group was dedicated to the use of the pistol in rapid fire, on multiple targets, including movement and reloads. If one mastered these things, Cooper reasoned, he or she could be reasonably assured of prevailing in a personal defense situation.
Jim Hoag and Col. Cooper, among other notables including Ray Chapman, Thell Reed and Ron Lerch, saw the international interest in such training and together formed the beginnings of the I.P.S.C., the International Practical Shooting Confederation. While this organization has rather lost its way, attracting gamers and becoming a “race gun” league, it remains to this day one of the largest groups of people dedicated to understanding the service pistol in rapid fire.
Jeff Cooper moved his training facility to Paulden, Arizona and named it “Gunsite Raven.” Cooper passed away in 2010 and, while some of his techniques are no longer popular, his tutelage moved defensive handgun training away from one-handed target stances on static bullseyes to the type of “practical” shooting done today by hundreds of thousands of shooters around the world.
While they have not seen each other for years, Mrs. Janelle Cooper remembers Jim Hoag fondly. Jim spent time at their home for dinner on many occasions.
Jim worked for a time at now defunct King’s Gun Works of Glendale, California, before striking out on his own in 1972. His shop at 8523 Canoga Ave., Suite C, Canoga Park, CA remains at this location to this day (2016).
He became, primarily, a student of the 1911 pistol, understanding its mechanical advantages and correcting its issues. At first building pistols for his own use in competition, he later decided there was enough demand for him to go into business building them for other competitors and his business flourished.
He was featured in the Guns & Ammo cover story several times, showing his “long slide” 1911 pistols (6″, 8″, and 11″ barrels). In addition, Jim’s standard and long slide Browning Hi-Power pistols (standard-length, 6″ and 7″ barrels) have been featured.
Jim will also build custom, bull-barreled Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Mag. revolvers into superb target revolvers. These receive a Douglas barrel, hooded front sight and action work.
During the short period of my tenure there, Jim was building 1911s for Mickey Fowler, Mike Dalton and Ron Lerch. These men were three of the founding members of the Southwest Pistol League.
Mickey Fowler was the IPSC international champion for several years in the 1980s. He was a very good shot. On one occasion he came into the shop to show us a target with a hand held, 50 yard, 5-shot group from his 6″ Hoag Master Grade pistol measuring just 3/4″.
Jim still builds his 1911 pistols for all budgets and levels of experience. The base model is the “Police Special,” and it is a good starting point. The barrel is fitted to the slide and a new barrel bushing is fitted. Link lugs are fitted to the slide stop pin, high-visibility fixed sights are fitted, the front sight is made of precision ground tool steel and silver-soldered into a Woodruff key cut. The barrel is lightly throated and the extractor tension and hook are adjusted for reliability. Finally, the trigger pull is reduced to a crisp 4.5 pounds.
The second model is the “Class B.” All of the features of the Police Model are included, along with extra niceties. These include a low mounted Smith & Wesson adjustable sight and hand checkering of the frame and mainspring housing at either twenty or thirty lines per inch. Twenty lines is better for a secure hold, but thirty is less abrasive if you have tender hands. The length of the trigger blade is optional and an over-travel stop is fitted.
The third model is the “Class A” pistol. This is a further refined Class B gun. Formerly, a Bo-Mar low mounted adjustable sight was fitted. An equivalent sight is now used, as the Bo-Mar company is no longer in business. The top of the slide is given fine serrations to help reduce reflections. A one-piece steel recoil spring guide rod of Jim’s manufacture is fitted, while additional internal polishing is done to all operating surfaces to ensure smoothness and reliability. A wide grip safety of Jim’s conservative design is installed to help prevent hammer bite with the spurred hammers preferred by many. An extended, single-sided thumb safety of Jim’s design is fitted.
The fourth model is the “Master Grade.” This is the top model and no expense or time is spared. The price is on application. The slide is fitted to the frame for a free-running, yet tight and slop-free fit. This actually makes the pistol more reliable, so long as it is not used in a military context, as the slide, cartridge pickup and barrel location relative to the frame are all in closer and consistent proximity.
A match grade Kart stainless steel barrel is provided. These barrels have additional metal on them that require careful fitting to ensure precise alignment of the barrel within the locking lug recesses and standing breech, the bushing and link lugs and the position of the primer relative to the firing pin. These pistols are tight as delivered and several hundred rounds should be fired to adequately determine their reliability. This said, most of them run just fine right from the shop.
Additional features of the Master Grade include 50 line per inch hand checkering of the rear of the slide, extractor, ejector and magazine latch thumb piece. The buyer has the option of a standard (rounded) trigger guard checkered at 30 lpi, or a similarly checkered squared trigger guard. While most folks do not use the square guard anymore, it is a viable option for those who do. An ambidextrous safety lever is fitted per customer selection.
Finally, additional work is performed to make the pistol look better and work smoother. A stock Colt pistol usually comes with its machined curve lines around the trigger guard and forward dust cover area looking pretty wobbly. Using Dykem solution, scribe lines and very well-practiced eyes and hands, Jim uses files and increasingly fine grades of sandpaper to make these lines dead horizontal and smooth.
Your choice of trigger blade length and width is also fitted. The trigger pull weight is approximately 3.5 pounds and absolutely clean. All functioning machine cuts, including the trigger stirrup and magazine chute, are hand polished to perfection.
Master Grade pistols can be (expensively) modified into “Longslide” versions, with 6″ or 8″ barrels and slides. Jim has made two 11″ Longslide 1911s and these featured barrel locking lugs personally hand cut by Mr. Hoag.
These pistols have a slide shortened to the standard barrel bushing retaining lug slot. Then, a section of 4140 steel is precision bored and reamed to match and welded onto the slide.
The Longslides are annealed to make them easier to machine. A “shaper” is used to cut the basic contour of the slide and then both horizontal and vertical mills are used to bring the steel surfaces down to a few thousands proud of the original slide.
Then, the REAL work begins! A process of draw filing, using fine “mill bastard” files, reduces the Longslide to the original slide dimensions, resulting in a perfect blend to the original part. I have done one of these 8″ slides myself and I can say, without doubt, that I spent well over thirty hours time getting those lines dead straight and flats level.
The Master Grade is also subject to meticulous hand polishing of the flats of both slide and frame. Increasingly fine aluminum oxide paper backed with a 12″ file is used, down to worn-out 600 grit wet with polishing oil. A buffing wheel is nowhere to be found in this process, which takes the better part of a full day to complete on just the two parts.
All parts are then hot blued in house, to maintain complete control of the finishing process. A thorough function and safety check are performed after reassembly and Master Grade guns are test fired to ensure function and accuracy.
The Browning Hi-Power is Jim’s other favorite semi-automatic pistol, as it shares the same single-action trigger pull, manual of arms, all steel construction and fine balance. These days he mostly builds Police Special practical carry pistols or full-house Master Grade Hi-Powers.
One difference between a top drawer Hoag Hi-Power and that of others is Jim manufactures his own screw-removable barrel bushing, to ensure tight tolerance and accuracy of the fitted barrel. He also builds a special order long-slide Hi-Power now and then, although this is rare these days.
My personal experience with Jim’s work includes a Class A 1911, Master Grade Colt Delta Elite 10mm Auto and an almost full-house Browning Hi-Power. I have also shot a 6″ long-slide and that thing tracked silhouette targets during rapid fire like it was radar guided.
Mr. Hoag is now in his eighties. He is probably the last of the “old masters,” the only one who remains a one man shop and the only one I know of who has a Jeff Cooper connection. Those ranks once included the late Armand Swenson and Frank Pachmayr, both from Southern California.
I plan to have Jim Hoag build me one more bespoke 1911 before he retires. If you love this pistol as much as I do, so should you.
ADDENDUM
March 28, 2017 – It is with great sadness that I must let the readers know that Jim has retired after 44 years at his Canoga Park shop. The business is closed, his machines have all been sold and none of his family members were interested in keeping it going. I last visited him in March 2016 and he seemed about as enthusiastic as ever, but after having a stroke three years ago, plus the increasing amount of regulation and scrutiny in the city of Los Angeles and the state of California, he decided it was time to hang it up.
I hope that those of you who were fortunate enough to have Jim build a pistol for you will not immediately relegate it to a safe, but get out and shoot it. That is what he built them for: competition, personal protection and general target shooting. They are all fine instruments that deserve to see the light of day.

 

 I was lucky enough to have met the Old Boy once. He seemed to be to me at least to be a good man. I am just sorry that I did not have the time & money to have him work on some of my guns. Grumpy

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Men With Green Faces (1969)

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RSM JC Lord: The story of a legendary RSM, paratrooper, leader, POW and Sandhurst Sergeant Major

#OnThisDay, 16 April 1945, at around 0950 Stalagluft 11B was liberated by the 8th Hussars. As a Corporal of the 8th Hussars stepped out of his tank at the front gate he saw a smart sentry snap to attention. Smartly dressed, armed and wearing his maroon beret, the Corporal assumed the 6th Airborne Division had beat them to liberate the camp. In fact, five days previously the German guards had handed over control of the camp to the senior Warrant Officer in Stalgluft 11B: WO1 RSM John C Lord, RSM 3 PARA.
In 1941 JC Lord became the first RSM of 3 PARA. He fought in North Africa and then jumped into Sicily as part of the 1 Parachute Brigade assault on the Primasole bridge. On 17 September 1944 he jumped into Arnhem with 3 PARA on Operation Market Garden. By the 25 September he, and the survivors of the Brigade, had been captured and moved to Stalagluft 11B.
On arrival RSM Lord found the prisoners were demoralised, dejected and had given up on the idea of surviving the war. The changes he brought about in the camp over next the seven months were credited with saving thousands of lives. The stories of him are legendary: He instituted the routine of saluting German officers whilst saying in your head ‘You bastards!’ He changed the burial routine in the camp into a formal parade so smart that the German officers were embarrassed at their own turn out and smartness. He marched into the officers block and reprimanded them for not shaving. When the German guards attempted to march him to another camp for being a trouble-maker he hid under the floorboards for five days. Upon liberation of the camp he refused to leave until the final British soldier had left.
After the war he became the first Academy Sergeant Major of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He held the job for a decade. In his memory WO1s at the Academy are known as Lords. The bar in the WOs’ and Sgts’ Mess is named after him and he is the only non-officer to have one of the prestige rooms in the Academy named in his honour.
He would tell new Officer Cadets ‘Gentlemen, my name is JC Lord. JC does not stand for Jesus Christ! He is Lord up there (pointing up to the sky with his pace stick) and I am Lord down here (pointing to the parade ground)!’ He was the Sergeant Major who first uttered the famous line to Officer Cadets ‘I will address you as “Sir”. But I won’t mean it. And you too will address me as “Sir”. But make sure that you do mean it!’
These days RSM JC Lord MVO MBE isn’t as well remembered as he should be. An inspiring soldier and leader with iron-hard discipline, JC Lord deserves to be a role model for every soldier and officer. Share this to make sure another generation of soldiers can understand the man and the legend.
You can find out more about about RSM JC Lord in ‘The Lord Down Here: Lessons on Discipline from RSM JC Lord’, where you can also read his famous speech to the Staff College on the subject and find the book about his life.
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Phil’s Funeral

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Another VICTORY – Millions of Americans Bought Guns Last Month

Millions of Americans Bought Guns Last Month

Millions of Americans Bought Guns Last Month

Firearm retailers reported to their trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, that 40% of their customers during the Surge of 2020 were first time gun buyers. This works out to an estimated 8 million new gun owners in 2020, and March NICS data shows that surge in sales is a new era rather than a short-lived spike.

One year ago, we marked a new all-time record for monthly NICS background checks numbers after March 2020 saw more than 3.7 million, which bested the previous record by more than four hundred thousand checks. As the pandemic was joined by additional societal stressors, the surge in gun sales only picked up the pace. The March 2020 record only lasted until June 2020, and that record only stood until December. Comparatively low-points in between still set the records for each calendar month.

The number of NICS background checks continued to defy expectations. A new all-time record was set in January of this year and, well, here we are again. March 2021 reset the record with 4,691,738 total NICS background checks – nearly one million more checks than March 2020.

This total includes 1,145,307 handgun-related NICS checks and 666,772 related to long guns. It also includes 663,609 permit checks, bringing the year-to-date permit total to 1,816,772. Permits are important because some states allow the presentation of a valid permit in place of a NICS check for the purchase of a firearm. The NRA has also led efforts to allow Permitless Carry in twenty states, so far. Alternatively, some states require a permit to be obtained before one can lawfully acquire a firearm. The chart below shows the number of background checks for permits – not including permit re-checks – by year.  By the end of the first quarter of 2021, we are outpacing last year in terms of permit checks.

These permit numbers certainly include some first-time gun buyers, but do not factor into the estimate that 40% of gun shop customers were first-time gun buyers last year.

Let’s take a look at the checks related to handgun and long guns by year. Long gun related checks have been fairly steady since NICS came online but did peak last year at more than 7.13 million. Handgun related NICS checks increased steadily since the early 2000s, though 2015, 2016, and 2017 saw a larger than usual increase.

Then there was 2020. The number of handgun related NICS checks conducted last year beat the old record by more than 3.8 million. These numbers do not include checks related to multiple sales, sales finalized with a permit instead of a NICS check, or sales of certain types of pistols in some states. Again, there is nothing to suggest that interest in firearms among non-owners has changed since last summer and so we could reasonably apply that 40% estimate to the sales-related numbers. Not every background check leads to a sale and some sales involve multiple firearms, but we’re looking at estimates only. Based on that 40% report from retailers, there may be more than 1.2 million new handgun owners and 738,507 new long gun owners so far in 2021.

That is an estimate based on an estimate, but it is unlikely to be far off. It’s clear that the growth of the firearms-owning community experienced in 2020 is continuing into the new decade.

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The Rifle Brigade – The 95th Regiment of Foot – The Peninsular War

https://youtu.be/9xXtN8jrbCY

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NRA trial opens window on secretive leader’s life and work By JAKE BLEIBERG

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FILE – In this April 26, 2019, file photo, Nation Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre speaks at the association’s Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. LaPierre’s testimony during the NRA’s high-stakes bankruptcy trial offered a rare window into the work and habits of the notoriously secretive titan of the American firearms movement. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

DALLAS (AP) — Wayne LaPierre flies exclusively on private jets, he sailed around the Bahamas for “security” and he never sends emails or texts in the course of his work running the nation’s most politically influential gun-rights group.

LaPierre’s testimony this week during the National Rifle Association’s high-stakes bankruptcy trial offered a rare window into the work and habits of the notoriously secretive titan of the American firearms movement.

Seldom seen in public outside choreographed speeches and TV appearances, the 71-year-old was blunt and occasionally combative under lawyers’ questioning. He took the virtual witness stand in a federal case over whether the NRA should be allowed to incorporate in Texas instead of New York, where the state is suing in a separate effort to disband the group over alleged financial abuses.

LaPierre’s testimony revealed him to be an embattled executive defending his leadership and punching back against what he characterized as a political attack by New York Attorney General Letitia James. But he also tried to acknowledge enough mistakes and course corrections to avoid having the NRA’s reins handed to a court-appointed overseer — a move he said would be a death blow to the 150-year-old group that claims 5 million members.

The NRA declared bankruptcy in January, five months after James’ office sued seeking its dissolution over allegations that executives illegally diverted tens of millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts and other questionable expenditures.

The NRA contends that its Chapter 11 filing is a legitimate maneuver to facilitate a move to a more gun-friendly state, Texas, and was made necessary by a Democratic politician who has “weaponized” her state’s government. Lawyers for James’ office, meanwhile, say it’s an attempt by NRA leadership to escape accountability for using the group’s coffers as their piggybank.

LaPierre appeared on camera before a court in Dallas on Wednesday and Thursday and was grilled by lawyers for New York and Ackerman McQueen, an Oklahoma City-based advertising agency that says the NRA owes it more than $1 million.

The questioning has focused on LaPierre’s management of the NRA and the legitimacy of his filing for bankruptcy without first informing most of the group’s top executives and its board.

On Wednesday, a lawyer for New York asked why the state’s investigation had turned up no emails or text messages from LaPierre.

“I’m old fashioned,” he replied. “I haven’t sent any emails or texts.”

The allegations of financial abuses and mismanagement have roiled the NRA and threatened LaPierre’s grip on power. Political infighting spilled out in public during the NRA’s 2019 annual meeting, where its then-president Oliver North was denied a second term. Tensions also eventually led to the departure of a man who’d been seen as LaPierre’s likely successor, Chris Cox, who headed the group’s lobbying arm.

To be sure, it’s not unusual for chief executives of organizations the size of the NRA to travel by private plane or live lifestyles beyond the means of most people. But LaPierre’s alleged misspending of NRA membership dues came even as the group was urging supporters to donate so that it would have enough cash to battle gun control efforts.

Board members and former NRA leaders who support LaPierre didn’t respond to requests for comment or referred questions to the NRA. Others who are skeptical of LaPierre’s leadership said the trial has only reaffirmed their concerns.

“I’m looking for the next Wayne,” said Phillip Journey, a board member and Kansas judge who is set to testify during the trial next week. “This can’t go on forever.”

LaPierre said Thursday that he kept the bankruptcy secret from the full board because he was worried that someone on it would leak the plan. “We were very concerned,” he testified.

He also said he was within his authority to file for bankruptcy with only the assent of the board’s three-member special litigation committee, he attacked James and New York’s financial regulator as “corrupt,” and he repeatedly strayed beyond the bounds of yes or no questioning to defend his record.

LaPierre’s efforts to explain his actions led to opposing lawyers moving to strike from the record much of what he said after nearly every question. He occasionally raised his voice and his expansive answers drew repeated warnings from his own attorneys and the judge.

“Can you answer the questions that are asked and do you understand that I’ve said that to you more than a dozen times in the last two days?” Judge Harlin Hale asked LaPierre on Thursday.

“I understand your honor,” he replied. “I apologize if I’ve gone too long.”

LaPierre also, however, showed moments of regret and referred repeatedly to the NRA’s “self-correction.”

For instance, he defended summer sailing in the Bahamas on a large yacht he borrowed from a Hollywood producer who has done business with the NRA. LaPierre said the family trips were a “security retreat,” noting that some came as he was facing threats months after mass shootings.

But he acknowledged that not mentioning the voyages on conflict-of-interest forms — which New York’s lawsuit contends violated NRA policy — was an oversight.

“I believe now that it should have been disclosed,” he testified. “It’s one of the mistakes I’ve made.” ___

Associated Press writer Lisa Marie Pane in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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God Speed Prince Phillip!