GUNS Magazine, February 1957

IF YOU WANT to out-shoot and out-hunt the experts, take the sage advice of one of the world's best shooters and hunters, the Rev. Oswald T. McGinn, a 78-year-old Catholic priest now in retirement. The gun-toting padre has not retired from shooting and hunting, however, and he can hit just about anything he shoots at. His unconventional technique violates every rule in the book, except the Good Book. Seeing some of the many exhibition shoots he has given might make one wonder if his bullets are guided by the sure hand of God.

"The Shooting Priest of Texas"--is that a great title or what? I can't begin to tell you the sense of joy it gave me to read about this wonderful man, and the sense of contempt I feel for some of his modern-day counterparts. Things sure were different 50 years ago, right down to Fr. McGinn being welcomed in schools to teach the kids real gun safety, as opposed to today's hysteria reflex conditioning. I haven't been able to locate any more about him on the internet, so if you have any information, please share it with us.

This issue also features "The Case for Legalized Machine Guns", which demonstrates how "matches train Swedes for national defense" (incidentally, according to Firearms Laws in Sweden, unless the law has changed in the last few years, they still do, albeit with some stringent requirments), and gives us another great and authoritative quote about the National Firearms Act of 1934--burn this one into memory:

Lt. Col. George M. Chinn of the US. Marine Corps, has stated: "No single law has done more to damage the national defense of the United States than that machine gun act."

Also in this issue:

• "Pistol Shooting at Rifle Ranges"
• "America's Youngest African Hunter"
• "Making a Handgun Holster at Home"
• "The Rawest Racket in Hunting"
• And much more, including the classic period ads

Download your copy now. It's free, at least until it disappears in a few months to be replaced by "newer" issues. But if you missed previous issues, don't worry--GUNS Magazine is putting them on CDs for a very reasonable price.

A Request for BIDS

While I find no Constitutional authority for the Feds to conduct background checks at all, I don’t realistically expect my point of view to prevail any time soon. Interestingly, Puckett and Howard share that view. Still, BIDS truly represents a rollback of infringements without giving up any ground through compromise, and would do much toward eliminating the danger of a gun owner registration database.

"A Request for BIDS," my February 2007 Rights Watch column for GUNS Magazine, is now online.

[More on BIDS]

Out of the Frying Pan

In Minnesota, 74-year-old farmer Kenneth Englund is in trouble with the law for chasing down a suspected thief and holding him at bay with an unloaded shotgun...

Meanwhile, in the nation's capital, The Washington Post today tells how retired lawyer Gary Peterson helped police collar a fleeing robbery suspect by conking the guy on the head with a frying pan. The kid had burst into Peterson's kitchen.

What stands out for me is that in the situation with the gun, actual violence was avoided.

Here's what I think explains the different attitudes conveyed by the authorities:

[W]e liked his choice of weapon...

You'll notice they don't like the choice enough to deploy with skillets instead of guns themselves.

We're the Only Ones Stopping and Frisky Enough

The New York Police Department released new information yesterday showing that police officers stopped 508,540 individuals on New York City streets last year — an average of 1,393 stops per day — often searching them for illegal weapons. The number was up from 97,296 in 2002, the last time the department divulged 12 months’ worth of data.

Let's just put this in perspective:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

But I'm sure this plenty of stare decisis to back up "The Only Ones" on this, and a defendant or his attorney would be charged with contempt of court if they attempted to taint the jury's opinions with something as subversive as the Bill of Rights...

And just remember: Our enemies hate us because we're free!

Bustin' Caps at the "Gun Culture"

The authors...say they hope to explicate "gun culture," which they never define, while also absolving hip-hop, in which many lyrics glorify guns and gun violence, of responsibility for gun violence.

Which means this is just total drek from the get-go, seeing as how to explicate means to detail and analyze. Maybe they meant "implicate"?

Regardless, here's a little real world test we can apply:

What percentage of drive-by's, gangland shootings, armed robberies, etc. were committed last month by people who identify themsleves with the gangsta rap culture, whether it's going to the clubs, buying the music, etc. Now how many similar incidents have been committed in the past century by those who identify themselves as NRA, GOA and JPFO members, and just to be fair, we'll include smaller regional groups like VCDL, RMGO, etc.?

Does this mean I'm blaming (c)rap music? Not at all, although I do believe the more misogynistic, racist and thug variants of the genre provide a pretty good character indicator for people I don't particularly want to be around.

This Day in History: February 3

On the evening of February 3, 1781, American General Nathanael Greene and his troops successfully cross the Yadkin River to evade General Charles Cornwallis. The crossing followed consecutive Patriot losses at the Catawba River and at Tarrant’s Tavern, as well as heavy rainfall on February 1, which Greene feared would soon make the river impassable.