No at matter how close you think you are, it seems that a proper gun collection can never really be complete. The closer you get to having a one of each necessary example of whatever theme you’re going for, the more rare and odd example you discover. There’s just always another variant or factory or marking style, right?
Take, for example, self-cocking (“automatic”) revolvers. Most folks who are aware of them are aware of the two main ones – the historically noted Webley-Fosbery and the modern Italian Mateba. Get them both and you’re set, right?
Well, setting aside the fact that they are/were both made in multiple calibers (357 Mag and .44 Mag for the Mateba; .455 and .38 for the Fosbery) and multiple barrel lengths, there is another, rarer, example of the auto-revolver that is necessary to complete the collection: the Union self-cocker, made in Ohio for a very brief period. Well, my friend who has the first two found himself a Union (one of 80 made), so mission accomplished, right?
Self-Cocking Revolvers. Counter-clockwise from top, Mateba .357, Mateba .44, Webley-Fosbery .455, Union .32
Nope. Turns out there is another one, made by Zulaica y Cia in Spain around 1905.
Zulacia y Cia automatic revolver
And I’ve seen reverences to a Belgian design as well. It’s like following a fractal down to the very end…a path treasures for the adventurous and a path to madness for those poor souls afflicted with OCD. 🙂
BIDEN’S BLANKET ENDORSEMENT AS GUN CONFERENCE LOOMS
WRITTEN BY DAVE WORKMAN
President Joe Biden recently picked up a literal “blanket endorsement”
from several gun control lobbying groups for his 2024 re-election run.
(Official White House portrait, public domain)
In politics, as well as business, timing is everything, so let’s take a look at current events and test the theory.
Last month, in something of a first, it seems like every gun prohibitionist lobbying group on the map joined together to endorse Joe Biden for re-election in 2024. This is quite possibly the biggest non-surprise in recent political history, and it tells us something important.
Gun grabbers, as my pal Alan Gottlieb at the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) calls them, are dead serious about keeping their guy in the White House for another four years.
Adding to the mix, just about this time last month, CNN was reporting how the president would be making an announcement right after Labor Day about how gun control would be a centerpiece in his campaign over the next 14 months.
By now, if CNN was right, we should know what this was all about. It was supposed to include expanding the definition of what a firearms dealer is, and whether active gun traders and/or buyers and sellers should have a federal firearms license. There was more mentioned, and none of it was good news for gun owners.
Another talking point was supposed to be expanded background checks, or so-called “universal background checks,” which translates to more red tape and inconvenience for honest citizens and no problem at all for criminals who simply bypass background checks. There was some question about whether Biden could do this without legislation, which would likely be DOA on Capitol Hill, with an election year looming.
What really makes this interesting is — as I mentioned right up front — is the timing. The weekend of Sept. 22-24, the 38th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference will unfold in Phoenix, Arizona. Would anyone care to bet what and who will be the main subjects of discussion during that lively 72-hour gathering?
Alan Gottlieb created the Gun Rights Policy Conference
38 years ago. It has grown to be an important grassroots event.
What is the Gun Rights Conference?
For the past 38 years, gun rights advocates and grassroots activists from across the country have gathered at some hotel in some city for a weekend of panel discussions, reports, networking, socializing and learning about Second Amendment issues from the top names in the gun rights movement.
The Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC), which is co-hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation and CCRKBA, is something of a “Who’s Who” event. Over the years, it has attracted leaders from virtually every gun rights group on the map.
We’re talking NRA, GOA, National Shooting Sports Foundation, SAF and CCRKBA of course; Illinois State Rifle Association, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Gun Owners Action League of Massachusetts, Washington Arms Collectors, Florida Carry, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and so many other groups it’s impossible to name them all.
GRPC was and remains the brainchild of the aforementioned Alan Gottlieb. Unlike a National Rifle Association convention, this event was designed to always be an educational gathering. It is oriented toward grassroots activism, and over the past couple of years, features have been added.
Last year, there was a day-long legal symposium which drew several attorneys who are getting deeply involved in Second Amendment litigation. In conjunction with the conference there has been a gathering of bloggers and podcasters.
The first one of these gatherings was held in Bellevue, Washington, and I was there. It was, from a journalist’s perspective, one of those rare opportunities to listen and get an understanding of how the most energetic folks in the gun rights movement talked and thought. Things haven’t really changed much; the faces, of course, but not the philosophy. If you want to understand gun rights from the ground up, this little soiree is just what you need.
Among this year’s confirmed speakers will be American Handgunner and GUNS Magazine columnist Massad Ayoob, who happens to also serve as president of the SAF. He will be joined by radio legends Tom Gresham (SAF Board of Trustees) and Mark Walters (CCRKBA Board of Directors), SAF and CCRKBA leader Alan Gottlieb, SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut, journalist John Fund and many others. A full program should be available online within days right here.
Massad Ayoob is no stranger to readers of American Handgunner
and GUNS magazine. What many don’t know is that he is the
president of the Second Amendment Foundation.
Only twice has the event been totally online — during the COVID-19 pandemic — and the virtual GRPC events were viewed online by tens of thousands of people.
Panel discussions frequently involve politicians, academics, attorneys, writers, historians, firearms trainers, and local activists.
There are two receptions, one Friday evening and the other Saturday evening. Saturday’s agenda runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and includes an awards luncheon. Sunday’s agenda runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For those unable to attend, the sessions will be live-streamed, and you should be able to hook up by visiting the SAF website.
Who Backs Biden?
Returning to endorsements for the president, it’s a veritable Rogue’s Gallery of gun control extremists.
The lineup includes Everytown for Gun Safety, the Brady Campaign, Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, Team Enough, Community Justice Action Fund, and Giffords. Would you believe it, Spectrum News identifies this bunch as “gun safety groups.” (If you ever want to have a little fun, ask representatives from any of these groups how many certified “gun safety” instructors they have, where they offer “gun safety” courses and what kinds of guns they personally own.)
When CNN announced Biden’s campaign plans, the report said he would “make gun safety a central issue of his reelection campaign.” What’s he going to do, encourage people to take an NRA home firearms safety course?
The courts have lately been unkind to gun control, but not entirely hostile. After U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas ruled ATF overstepped its authority in writing a “new rule” on parts kits — the so-called “ghost guns” — the Supreme Court reversed and allowed the rule to stand, at least while the actual case makes its way through the lower courts.
Hunter Biden’s so-called “sweetheart deal” on drug charges and alleged gun law violations was derailed by a judge several weeks ago, so that could come up during the campaign. There was a strange silence from the gun control crowd when Hunter’s “deal” on the gun law violation was announced. Hey, if it weren’t for the double standard, the Left would have no standards at all.
But, these people vote, so we better vote, too.
Fatal Choice
An Indiana man made the fatal mistake of apparently driving into the front yard of a couple in the Salem area, then pulling a gun on the male homeowner, according to Fox News.
It was his bad luck the man’s wife was inside. She grabbed her own handgun and shot the suspect — identified as 45-year-old Michael Chastain — fatally. Chastain reportedly had previously dated the couple’s daughter, but she no longer lived at her parents’ home, so it’s not clear why he went there in the first place. It turned out to be the last place he visited, not counting the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Chastain reportedly had a criminal record.
Limping to Jail?
There’s a 23-year-old guy in Hammond, Louisiana, who may be limping into court shortly, thanks to a nastily-placed bullet which hit him just above the knee.
Of course, he earned the lead by allegedly forcing his way into the wrong residence at a mobile home park in Tangipahoa Parish (I can’t pronounce it, either) last month. According to WWL News, the suspect broke in through a window, threatening to kill the homeowner and her family. He also reportedly assaulted a guest in the process. He immediately learned this was the wrong way to win new friends because the female homeowner produced a pistol and plugged him.
Instead of running or even hobbling away, our miscreant reportedly stripped off all of his clothes and then ran to a nearby vehicle, broke a window and tried to barricade himself inside.
If you guessed drugs were somehow involved, you are a good guesser. According to the report, the suspect confessed to the sheriff’s office that he had consumed some “illegal narcotics” prior to the incident. Our model citizen now faces charges including home invasion, second-degree battery, “vehicle burglary,” and resisting arrest.
’ave you ’eard o’ the Widow at Windsor
With a hairy gold crown on ’er ’ead?
She ’as ships on the foam—she ’as millions at ’ome,
An’ she pays us poor beggars in red.
(Ow, poor beggars in red!)
There’s ’er nick on the cavalry ’orses,
There’s ’er mark on the medical stores—
An’ ’er troopers you’ll find with a fair wind be’ind
That takes us to various wars.
(Poor beggars!—barbarious wars!)
Then ’ere’s to the Widow at Windsor,
An’ ’ere’s to the stores an’ the guns,
The men an’ the ’orses what makes up the forces
O’ Missis Victorier’s sons.
(Poor beggars! Victorier’s sons!)
Walk wide o’ the Widow at Windsor,
For ’alf o’ Creation she owns:
We ’ave bought ’er the same with the sword an’ the flame,
An’ we’ve salted it down with our bones.
(Poor beggars!—it’s blue with our bones!)
Hands off o’ the sons o’ the Widow,
Hands off o’ the goods in ’er shop,
For the Kings must come down an’ the Emperors frown
When the Widow at Windsor says “Stop”!
(Poor beggars!—we’re sent to say “Stop”!)
Then ’ere’s to the Lodge o’ the Widow,
From the Pole to the Tropics it runs—
To the Lodge that we tile with the rank an’ the file,
An’ open in form with the guns.
(Poor beggars!—it’s always they guns!)
We ’ave ’eard o’ the Widow at Windsor,
It’s safest to let ’er alone:
For ’er sentries we stand by the sea an’ the land
Wherever the bugles are blown.
(Poor beggars!—an’ don’t we get blown!)
Take ’old o’ the Wings o’ the Mornin’,
An’ flop round the earth till you’re dead;
But you won’t get away from the tune that they play
To the bloomin’ old rag over’ead.
(Poor beggars!—it’s ’ot over’ead!)
Then ’ere’s to the sons o’ the Widow,
Wherever, ’owever they roam.
’Ere’s all they desire, an’ if they require
A speedy return to their ’ome.
(Poor beggars!—they’ll never see ’ome!)
Folks have been fighting in Syria for a long, long time.
I have been to the Syrian border in the Golan Heights. It was peaceful when I was there. However, that was an exception. Men have fought over that forlorn piece of dirt since the very dawn of time. Little has changed today.
I have a couple of buddies who did combat tours in Syria in recent years. Like much of that part of the world, they tell me it is a ghastly place. These guys came back with little interest in ever returning. Many of the people who live there seem to be crazy. Perhaps it is something in the water.
I am not really qualified to articulate a clear description of the political situation in that part of the world circa 2018, but I’ll nonetheless give it a whirl. The Russians were aligned with Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government forces. We were part of a coalition of nations supporting the SDF. The SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) is a loose confederation of ethnic militias comprised of Arab, Kurdish, and Assyrian/Syriac peoples along with a few others. They are the Good Guys to us, though the Turks rather strongly disagree. Mixed in among all that was ISIS.
These guys are just such viscerally repugnant turds. Their dark brand of god ensures that they are no fun at parties and don’t have any friends.
The State of Things There
ISIS is short for Islamic State. They are also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Daesh, and Daish, depending upon who you ask. These are some bloodthirsty scum. ISIS is the only mob in the world vile enough to get all those disparate guys listed in the previous paragraph focused on a common goal. Every sensible person on the planet believes ISIS needs to die. In nearly a decade of active combat, it is estimated that coalition forces have killed more than 100,000 of these jerks.
This particular war has been going on for quite some time, and ISIS is still losing. However, everybody over there has guns, and everybody has a specific agenda. The Americans stand for truth, justice, and the American way. The Russians want to keep Assad in power as he is their boy bought and paid for. The Iranians want to sow their own unique brand of chaos, and ISIS just wants to watch the world burn. That makes Syria one of the most dangerous places in the world.
Merc Life
There was a time when mercenaries were considered disreputable opportunists not unlike hookers or similar marginalized persons of questionable character. Nowadays the profession is much more respectable.
When I was young, mercenaries got a pretty bad rap. They were lumped in alongside prostitutes and politicians as generally seedy disreputable sorts. Then something changed. In the modern era, mercs are called Private Military Contractors (PMCs), and theirs is now a fairly respectable profession. I have several friends who have drunk that Kool-Aid. I considered it briefly myself.
On our side of the pond, there was Blackwater, Triple Canopy, Academi, G4S, and MVM, Inc. For the Russians, though many aspire to greatness, there is really only one show in town. That is Wagner.
What Is Wagner
Also known as Wagner PMC, this paramilitary organization has evolved into a de facto private army for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wagner does not espouse any particular formal ideology, and fighting for money is technically illegal in the Russian Federation. However, these guys nonetheless offer a deniable military presence that is readily deployable and, to be frank, expendable.
There are credible allegations that Wagner is infiltrated with neo-Nazis and similar ilk. They have a reputation for war crimes and brutality wherever they serve. Rape and robbery are common, and Wagner has indeed recruited from within Russian prisons to support the recent invasion of Ukraine.
This scary-looking dude is Dmitriy Utkin, the guy Putin sent to de-nazify Ukraine. Incidentally, Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, is Jewish. His great-grandparents perished in the Holocaust. If de-nazification really is his goal, someone should explain that to Putin.
Dmitriy Valerevich Utkin purportedly birthed Wagner in 2014 to support operations in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. Utkin supposedly has SS collar tabs tattooed onto his neck. He hasn’t been seen in public since 2016. Yevgeny Prigozhin is alleged to be the real money behind the mob. Prigozhin is known as “Putin’s Chef” because of his earlier business as a caterer that hosted state dinners in Moscow. He’s obviously come a long way since then.
The Setting of Khasham
In early February 2018, US Special Operations Forces were deployed to Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. This joint counterterrorist mission had the mandate to wipe ISIS off of the face of the earth, and they were doing a mighty fine job of it. In keeping with their mission, US Special Forces operators were embedded with SDF forces assisting with the ongoing operations deconstructing ISIS. Though there were relatively few American boots on the ground, those troops that were had superb radios. On the other end of those radios there stood waiting a great deal of on-call pain.
The Russians and Americans set up a hotline to help keep things from getting too nuts in the heat of battle.
So much testosterone packed into such a small geographic area is the chemical formula for inadvertent tragedy. In an effort at de-conflicting operations, there was a geographic demarcation agreed upon by both US and Russian forces to keep each side’s troops out of the other’s business. For the area in question that was the Euphrates River. The Syrians and Iranians were not signatories to these documents, but they, in general, had sense enough to stay out of the way. There was also an emergency telephone linking the two respective headquarters. This communications link was maintained to help ensure that nothing got out of hand.
SDF troops were oriented to the east of the Euphrates. The American Green Berets were physically collocated with them. The American government later claimed that Syrian pro-government forces began massing for an attack on a known SDF headquarters.
How It Went Down
The facility in question was eight clicks inside the safe zone. Keep in mind that everybody hates everybody over there. Though destroying ISIS was the published goal, the SDF and Syrian government forces would each be thrilled to obliterate the other while they were at it. The Iranians also had their grubby fingers in everything.
The Combloc T-72 has been one of the most widely exported tanks in the world. The ones seen here in this Moscow parade are likely rusting to scrap on Ukrainian battlefields today.
At around 2200 hours on 7 February 2018, a mixed force of roughly 500 pro-government Syrian forces supported by Russian PMCs launched a weird night attack on the SDF headquarters near Khasham. They led with rockets, mortars, and conventional tube artillery. The infantry attack was directly supported by T-55 and T-72 tanks. The operation was purportedly fairly well-coordinated. Somewhere between 20 and 30 artillery rounds landed within 500 meters of the SDF facility. Did I mention there were American Special Operations troops present there as well?
You really don’t want to get on the wrong side of these things.
Throughout it all, American commanders were supposedly on the horn with their Russian counterparts who denied all involvement. Once the Syrian government forces began firing artillery, Uncle Sam unlimbered his big stick. Before the night was out there had been strikes from MQ-9 Reaper drones, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, AC-130 gunships, F-15E Strike Eagles, F-22 Raptors, and B-52 heavy bombers. US Army artillery did their part with M142 HIMARS precision-guided rockets. In the world of modern war, there really is no such thing as overkill.
The fight lasted about four hours. One allied SDF fighter was wounded. No US troops were hurt. The butcher’s bill on the receiving end of all that pain has since been vigorously disputed.
Truth And Lies
Forgive my sweeping generalities, but the Russians lie about everything. The Russian government lies when telling the truth would be easier. The following week a Wagner leader named Andrey Troshev admitted that fourteen Russian “volunteers” had been killed in the battle. Russian journalists later reported that between 20 and 30 Wagner PMCs had perished. Three other Wagner commanders later capped that number at fifteen. Viktor Alksnis, a Russian hardliner known as “The Black Colonel,” later claimed there had been 334 Russian dead.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the number of Russian dead at fifteen but claimed that they had been killed in the explosion of an arms depot some distance from the fighting. A subsequent investigation by the German magazine Der Spiegel placed the number of dead Russians at around twenty. The Syrian government admitted to 55 dead Syrian soldiers and ten Russian PMCs.
Nobody really knows how bad it was for the Russians and their Syrian government buddies that fateful February night in 2018.
The American report claimed the enemy dead to be around 100. The official narrative acknowledged the presence of Wagner PMCs but never admitted to any Russian casualties. The following year outgoing CIA Director Mike Pompeo stated during a Senate hearing that, “A couple hundred Russians were killed.” He was the head of the CIA. I should think he would know.
Fallout
Russia, Syria, and Iran all launched official objections. The Russians claimed we attacked because we wanted to annex Syrian oil fields. The Syrians labeled US actions a war crime. An Iranian spokesman said, “Today, the U.S. government is the cruelest and most merciless system in the world, which is even worse than the savage ISIS members.” Whatever.
We cannot manage our own southern border. The very last thing the US wants is to try to exploit some forgotten piece of dirt in Syria. As regards the Syrian accusations, I would assert that dropping barrel bombs out of helicopters onto defenseless civilians comes a bit closer to the definition of a war crime. The Syrian government has purportedly deployed some 82,000 of those horrible things over the course of nine years of unfettered civil war. For the Iranians, well, just consider the source. I wouldn’t pee on those losers if they were on fire.
This is a Russian Su-57 Felon stealth fighter. They claim it is pretty awesome, but the Russians lie a lot.
Russian reports later claimed that Su-57 Felon stealth fighters had subsequently attacked rebel positions and killed ten American SF troops. Some Russian online venues claimed these attacks were in retaliation for Khasham. Pravda’s military correspondent Viktor Baranets stated, “According to his information the Su-57s had ‘excellently’ carried out their mission in Eastern Ghouta.” There were no US Special Operations forces reported lost during this time.
It’s tough to say exactly how the world got to the state it’s in as regards Ukraine. I don’t see any easy way out.
Conclusion
The war in Ukraine rages on as I type these words. I have a couple of friends who are fighting over there. I struggle to comprehend what possesses Putin and his people to do what they do. My gut feeling is that they have simply painted themselves into a corner and are too dim to get themselves out. The argument could be made, however, that in the context of Khasham they really should have seen this coming.
ADDENDUM:
Much has changed since I wrote this piece. Yevgeny Prigozhin grew weary of having his men ground into hamburger in Ukraine and staged a brief insurrection that was fabulously successful. However, he subsequently had a change of heart and relocated to Belarus. People who formally oppose Putin have a nasty habit of dying, often by falling out of windows.
In Prigozhin’s case, his Embraer Legacy 600 jet broke up in flight between Moscow and St Petersburg on 23 August 23, killing all onboard. There were rumors of a missile attack or a bomb. Nobody knows, and nobody is terribly interested in digging too deeply. Prigozhin and his Nazi pal Dmitriy Utkin both purportedly perished in the crash.
Though Utkin’s demise seems reliable, there are rumors that Prigozhin faked his death and is now chilling on his own private island someplace. We will likely never know the truth. Regardless, they are both reliably out of play. In short, life goes on as normal in the utopia that is Putin’s Russian Federation.
