NEWINGTON, N.H., (February 25, 2020) – SIG SAUER Electro-Optics is pleased to introduce the ECHO3 Thermal Reflex Sight. The ECHO3 is a direct view thermal sight, utilizing SIG SAUER BDX technology, with the capability to capture images and record video in eight different color palettes.
“The ECHO3 is an ultra-compact, lightweight direct-view thermal sight,” said Andy York, President, SIG SAUER Electro-Optics. “The innovative direct-view thermal display on the ECHO3 is a massive improvement over traditional eyepiece style thermals which induce eye fatigue and force the shooter to look through the sight. The ECHO3 allows the shooter to sit back and view the thermal display and when targets are identified, the new BDX reticle technology allows for exact aiming solutions in real time.”
The SIG SAUER Electro-Optics ECHO3 is a compact thermal reflex style sight available in a 1-6x or 2-12x magnification, equipped with Ballistic Data Xchange (BDX 2.0), the ECHO3 can be used with 9 different onboard SmartBDC™ ballistic holdover reticles or it can be paired with any KILOBDX rangefinder. The ECHO3 features a motion activated MOTAC™ display that powers up when it senses motion with over 6 hours of continuous runtime, and offers video and image recording in eight color palettes, and six brightness settings. The ECHO3 Includes a quick disconnect mount, with an easy to adjust zoom lens with throw lever attachment.
ECHO3 Thermal Reflex Sight Specs:
Sensor: 320×240 12UM VOX LIWR Core Magnification: 1-6x or 2-12x Adjustment Increments: 0.5MOA Objective Lens Diameter: 23mm (1-6)/ 40mm (2-12) Illumination Settings: 6 Brightness Settings Color Palettes: 8 Color Palettes – Red, Red Hot, Black Hot, White Hot, Edge, Tyrian, Iron and Fire Overall Length: 4.1 in (1-6) / 4.7 in (2-12) Overall Width: 2.6 in.Overall Height: 3.1 in (1-6) / 3.6 in (2-12) Weight: 14.5 oz. (1-6) / 16.6 oz. (2-12) Waterproofing: IPX6 Battery Life: Greater than 6 hours of heavy usage utilizing two (2) CR123 Lithium Batteries Total Elevation Travel: 150MOA x 150MOA Assembled In USA
MSRP (1-6x): $3,899.99 MSRP (2-12x): $5,199.99
The SIG SAUER Electro-Optics ECHO3 Thermal Reflex Sight will be available this spring for purchase at retailers nationwide and on the SIG SAUER Webstore. Complete product specs and information for the ECHO3 are available at sigsauer.com.
About SIG SAUER, Inc.
SIG SAUER, Inc. is a leading provider and manufacturer of firearms, electro-optics, ammunition, airguns, suppressors, and training. For over 150 years SIG SAUER, Inc. has evolved, and thrived, by blending American ingenuity, German engineering, and Swiss precision. Today, SIG SAUER is synonymous with industry-leading quality and innovation which has made it the brand of choice amongst the U.S. Military, the global defense community, law enforcement, competitive shooters, hunters, and responsible citizens. Additionally, SIG SAUER is the premier provider of elite firearms instruction and tactical training at the SIG SAUER Academy. Headquartered in Newington, New Hampshire, SIG SAUER has almost 2,000 employees across eight locations. For more information about the company and product line visit: sigsauer.com.
The United States Marine Corps is staying with the Wixom, MI based optic company, who they’ve purchased their fleet wide ACOG RCOs and SDOs, going forward.
The SCO is likely a tailored variant of the incredibly tough VCOG and is the first large force adoption of a Low Power Variable Optic. The selection makes sense when looking at the mounting requirements to keep the optic level and allow it to quick mount.
This is a big win for Trijicon as the USMC was the most visible user of the aging ACOG and they will be buying thousands of new scopes from the well regarded manufacturer.
I’m looking forward to seeing the USMC SCO be released and the SKU become available, I’ll likely get one for my M16 just to keep it (mostly) Corps compliant.
In the dark ages of the 80s, the CZ75 was as rare as a unicorn here in the U.S. This was because it was built behind the Iron Curtain in the U.S.S.R. occupied country of Czechoslovakia. Very few found their way here and they commanded ridiculous prices.
I was fortunate to get one from a friend who was assigned to a unit in West Berlin. Until last year it sat in my vault, because it was a traditional DA/SA. It was built years before decocking levers were installed pistols. It also had sights that were as useless as those on early 1911s and Hi-Powers.
Since I am not a fan of “safe queens”, this past year I decided it was time to upgrade the CZ. With the front sight being machined into the slide, a new one would need to be machined in and an appropriate height rear sight would be needed. The pistol would need to be converted to single action only as well.
Without a mill, this job was out of my skill set. The obvious choice for work on a CZ was the CZ Custom Shop (czcustom.com). After all CZ pistols is what they specialize in. After a few emails to exchange FFLs, she was off to Arizona. The work order was simple; new sights with a fiber optic front and convert her to single action only with a new hammer and flat trigger.
This is the original front sight of the pre-B CZ75. It is hard to see and needed changed.
A few months later I received notice the CZ was ready to ship. When the big white FedEx truck arrived, I was thrilled. It was like getting a brand new pistol, but at a substantially cheaper price.
The sights are awesome. The rear is a Novak style with square notch that mated perfectly with the fiber optic front. I was amazed; there was a visible front sight. I knew this would make the pistol instantly more user friendly and bring out the accuracy CZs are known for.
CZ Custom installed these Novak-ish sights which aided in accuracy and made them more user friendly.
I then realized the tang hammer was gone, replace by a “commander-esque” one. Also the long curved trigger was replaced by the flat trigger I wanted. CZ Custom also replaced the trigger pin. Apparently the original was had broken and the troops replaced it with an appropriate sized Allen wrench cut to fit. As instructed the trigger pull was four pounds to match my other single action pistols. I know many folks who run and gun prefer them much lighter, but I am not a fan of two poundish pull weights.
The flat single action trigger greatly reduced the distance to the trigger and made the pre-B CZ75 feel like a 1911.
Installing this commander style hammer gave the pistol better lines. CZ Custom did a trigger job that rivaled custom 1911s.
The pistol needed one more item, good looking functional grips. The Hogue rubber grips were serviceable but that was it. When I perused VZ Grips (vzgrips.com) there a pair of blue and black Diamondback G10 grips on clearance that were perfect. A few days later they arrived and fit like a glove. To finish the grip, I applied anti-skid tape to give a secure grip in any weather condition. These additions are visible in the photos throughout the article.
With blue and black grips, the all black pistol needed a new look. Thanks to Duracoat (duracoatfirearmsfinishes.com), the CZ would soon sport a blue and black camo finish. I know this will not set well with diehard traditionalists, but I wanted my pistol to be unique. This finish would do that and protect it from the elements as well.
The finished CZ Custom CZ75 with its test ammunition. Biker Buillets were a limited edition from Super Vel for Sturgis’ Bike Week.
A good looking improved pistol is all well and good, but it has to shoot well too. It was time to head to the range and check the accuracy. I gathered up mixed loose factory ammunition to test the reliability and several boxes of factory ammunition. Test ammunition included Black Hills (black-hills.com), Federal (federalrpemium.com), Hornady (hornady.com), Remington (remington.com) and Sig Sauer (sigsauer.com). Bullet weights ranged from 100 grains to 147 grains and included BHA’s Honey Badger, full metal jacket and various hollow points. This mix would cover ammunition for practice, competition and self-defense.
Not surprisingly the CZ had no feeding or extraction issues. I had not expected any issues since it never had any reliability issues before. What surprised me is the accuracy. Having functional sights dropped the 11 shot group from 4” at 25 yards to 2 ½”. I shot 11 because that is the maximum capacity in some progressive socialist states. When I shot 5 shot groups they were all sub 2 ½”, for a beat up old GI that’s about as good as it gets.
Firing off hand at ranges from 7 yards to 25 yards it was easy to keep all rounds in the A zone of a USPSA target. The all steel pistol with the perfectly executed beavertail kept the pistol on target and the new sights quickly settled where I wanted they needed to be for accurate shots.
If you find an older used pistol, be a CZ75 like this or GI style 1911; do not overlook them. You can build a pistol to fit your needs and for a fraction the cost of a new custom pistol. When you get that new rebuild, get out to the range and shoot safely, accurately and have fun.
The Meprolight Foresight snuck up on me at SHOT Show 2020. I had heard nothing of it until a friend of a friend started talking about it in the Media Room at SHOT. That drove me to go give it a look, and I was impressed enough to pick one up. What sets the Foresight apart from other red dot is its compatibility with your average smartphone and the internal features. The Meprolight Foresight is a complete heads up display that is more than just a weapon sight.
What’s a Smart Optic?
I call the Meprolight Foresight a smart optic, but Meprolight calls it an augmented sight. Built into the sight itself is a reticle of course, as is a compass that utilizes degree readings and a sight leveler. Additionally, the right side of the optic will show you the Bluetooth connection to your smartphone, the battery meter, and the brightness level. The latter three disappear after showing up when the optic is turned on, or when any button is pressed.
The Meprolight Foresight also links to your smartphone via Bluetooth. This allows you to zero the weapon just using a scale on the application. It’s quick and quite convenient and really nice. Just dial in your adjustments and sync the app to your optic and it automatically makes the adjustment for you.
The app also allows you to choose which five reticles you want from the twenty provided. The reticles are diverse and different reticles make sense for different weapons. Some are better suited for rifles, others, for shotguns, and some for CQB on any PCC or subgun.
The optic can also be updated and the next update will even have a round counter that will allow you to track the rounds left in your magazine.
Be Creative
You can also create up to 10 unique zeroing profiles. The more creative you are the more you’ll enjoy this optic. Of course, you can just have ten different guns setup with the optic. However, why not set up a profile for the ammo you use for training and another the ammo you use for home defense or duty use?
My girlfriend absolutely loves the CZ Scorpion, but our zeroes are slightly different. I have one saved for her and a separate saved for me. I have two AR 15s saved on the gun, one with a typical 16-inch barrel and another with a 7.5-inch barrel. Similar weapons, but the zero is very different for both weapons.
Shotgunners will appreciate a zero for bird, buck, and slugs as hunters and this optic makes it easy to do so. The more creative you are the more you will like this optic.
About the Foresight
Outside of the app, the optic can be zeroed in a menu built into the optic. This isn’t as fast or as convenient, but it’s doable. The optic also runs off of a rechargeable system. You can’t swap batteries on the fly. Instead, the optic uses a USB C cord that plugs into the wall. The downside would be the inability to swap batteries in the field, which keeps this from being a military optic.
For home defense, hunting, police use, and plinking the Foresight is perfectly suitable. The battery seems to last forever. I used it for roughly 3 hours today on and off and the battery is still at 97%. The length the battery will last will depend on the reticle design and brightness level. Also, there is a low battery mode that eliminates everything but the reticle. Simply hit the middle button once to switch to low battery mode.
The Foresight at the Range
I’ve zeroed the optic to a ton of different weapons. This includes the Benelli M4, the Tavor TS 12, the SAINT Victor AR 15, a CZ Scorpion Micro, and a homebrew 7.5 inch AR 15 pistol. The Scorpion was zeroed twice, once for me, once for my girlfriend. Zeroing everything is very easy to do and takes hardly any time. The app is very convenient and it makes zeroing quicker than turning turrets.
The 9 levels of brightness make it able to be used during the middle of the night and in the brightest part of the day. The different reticles are quite handy and for the most discerning shooter, you can choose your favorites for each weapon. For example, I like a box style reticle for my shotgun in which I can pattern my chosen buckshot load inside and use to estimate the spread at various ranges.
The optic attaches with ease and uses two QD style mounts that are adjustable for tightness. The optic comes with a wrench to make the adjustments. I made slight adjustments for a nice tight fit.
Pew Pew
The optic switches zeroes and weapons without issue. I swapped between several zeroes and weapons without losing a step. To make sure the optic was always mounted on the same point between weapons I used a dab of fingernail polish to mark the spot.
It takes a few seconds to switch between profiles, but once you are switched you are ready to go. You can swap between your five reticles with the left and right buttons and your brightness levels with the up and down buttons.
Predictably it holds zero perfectly and is quite precise. It’s fun to use, co-witnesses with AR 15 height sights and interacts perfectly with my Android phone. It swaps between weapon profiles and reticle setups with ease.
The green reticle is also a battery sipper and very pleasing to the eye. It’s quick and easy to get on target and the square-shaped window does give a less interrupted sight picture. The Foresight delivers a seamless, and wide field of view. With both eyes opened you have a crystal clear sight picture and an easy to read Heads Up Display.
My only complaint in terms of use is the fact that the reticle that is just a dot is super tiny and hard to see. A good 3 MOA dot would be a bit better than that tiny 1 MOA dot.
The Foresight Future
I think the Foresight could potentially be the future of optics. It’s an early concept that’s not perfect, but the ability for software updates to an optic could be invaluable in the future. It’s an interesting concept and I hope Meprolight keeps pushing it forward.
Done in their succinct and quality styling, a hallmark of their channel, 9-Hole covers the Vortex Razor HD Gen II second focal plane optic. The LPVO by which by all are measured and many are found wanting.
I don’t need wax poetic on the Razor, but the video itself is top notch and worth the 10 minutes to enjoy.
I must however, disagree with them on one point. I don’t think Gen II prices across the board are going to take that steep of a dive, certainly not on the new market, since the Gen II and Gen III occupy two differing niches.
While a few are going to dump their II’s for quick cash to fund a III I think in more cases the II’s will get pushed to a secondary rifle but retained. The II’s and III’s have overlap since the III is designed to cover more than the II did and be a generational hardware upgrade.
However, with the price point shift combined with the capability increase I suspect we’ll see a 4 tiered system emerge in the Vortex LPVO lineup.
Budget Tier
The Vortex Strike Eagle(s).
Screen grab via YouTube
Loved for its price, accepted for what it is.
Base Tier
The Vortex PST Gen II 1-6
Viper PST via YouTube Screen
Whenever someone asks if the Razor HD Gen II comes in black the answer is… kind of. The Viper PST line has been around as a less expensive alternative while not giving up too much in durability and material quality.
“Good enough” for many users and actually meaning it in active, serious, sustained use.
‘The Standard’ Tier
You guessed it… YouTube Screen Grab
This is where the Razor Gen II is going to reside for a long time. Prices may slowly drift lower but there won’t be a dramatic change. The as we (as an whole body of shooters) dig into it we’re seeing that 1-8 and even 1-10 aren’t going to invalidate what the 1-6 can offer a shooter.
Sales of the Gen II are going to diverge more than drop off as users pick up the Gen III for certain new rifles. But I can see several circumstances where a user might own a single Gen III or a couple Gen III’s for certain rifles where a greater number of Gen II’s might top the ‘second string’ or those with shorter barrels or any number of individually chosen distinctions.
II’s aren’t going anywhere and will reside here with the comparable 1-6 and 1-8’s
‘Cutting Edge’ Tier
The Razor Gen III’s are going to live here, with their competition (whenever those begin to hit the market), as the best of quality glass up to this point. These are the very pinnacle of developed optic tech able to be commercialized at this juncture.
Winter turns to Spring. Spring turns to Summer. Summer turns to Fall. Fall turns back to Winter. There is a rhythm to the seasons and the earth. It’s rather comforting in its regularity. It’s so regular, that once you get used to the rhythm you can start paying attention to what’s going on around you in your little corner of the world.
In my little corner of the world when I started paying attention, I noticed plants and foods I didn’t notice before. In a survival situation this can be an invaluable skill. It is a skill I am working on cultivating, and you can too.
We don’t think about it these days when we can skip on down to the Kroger for groceries whenever we feel like it, but spring could be a hungry time for our ancestors. Newly planted crops wouldn’t produce for months. But by spring the winter food stores were almost exhausted, getting monotonous, and/or starting to go bad. People were starving for fresh foods (or just plain literally starving).
Fresh wild spring greens and pot herbs were a welcome treat to break up the monotony, fill empty bellies, and help stave off nutritional deficiencies like scurvy until the new crops came in.
The wild plants our ancestors used for food in the spring were not esoteric deep woods stuff. I’m talking about “weeds” you probably already have growing in your yard (and that you’ve been previously trying to kill off). I live in a subdivision, on a third of an acre lot, in the Appalachian region, at about 1200 feet of elevation, and this free food is in my own yard. So it’s probably in yours too.
It’s important to note that I don’t use herbicides or pesticides in my yard (or fertilizer for that matter). I also don’t have a dog, so whatever grows on my property is unlikely to be contaminated with “stuff” (except around the edges where neighbors walk their own dogs – ARGH) So be careful where you choose to forage for ground-based edibles and be mindful of potential contaminants. Of course in a true survival situation you may not have the luxury of being choosy.
My lawn such as it is, is not a grass monoculture, but rather a mishmash of some grass and some of whatever popped up from the cow pasture that was here 30 years ago. So far the HOA hasn’t complained as long as I keep it mowed. In the early spring, that set of circumstances allows a variety of non-grass edibles to pop-up into my green space.
So, what are some late winter/early spring edibles in this particular environment? And how do we identify them? I started with internet searches and photographs, and then my daughter gave me a wild food book for Christmas last year.
Obligatory Legal Disclaimer:
I am not a professional plant biologist. I am passing on information about identification and edibility from seemingly reliable internet articles and published books. But pick and consume anything at your own risk! I am not your mother or your lawyer (or your doctor for that matter). So let’s all be responsible adults.
Hosta
Let’s start with the most surprising entry. Hosta is a shade-tolerant ornamental that appears in many people’s landscaping. But did you know you can eat it? I didn’t. Well, let’s be specific in that it’s edible for HUMANS. It is toxic for dogs and cats however.
Although they are considered ornamental landscaping in the U.S. , Hostas are purposely grown as food in some parts of Asia. I don’t have any Hostas in my yard, but I may covertly scope out some of the neighbors’ yards.
Apparently if you cut the shoots very young, they will start over and grow back. So you aren’t actually ruining someone’s yard (or your own) by harvesting Hosta and eating it. This article recommended a quick sear of the cut shoots for a taste between lettuce and asparagus. Some Asian recipes do them with tempura. The flowers are edible too, in addition to the early tender shoots.
So even if your neighborhood gets depopulated in the Zombie Apocalypse, you can know that though your neighbors themselves were useless, you can at least survive on your neighbors’ landscaping for awhile.
Purple Dead Nettle
This one gets my vote for most intimidating name. I found this pretty little weed in my own yard last spring, looked it up in my book, and then ate some as a salad garnish just so I could say I did.
Purple Dead Nettle in my own yard last spring.
The “dead” part of the name just means that its hairs don’t sting (UNlike stinging nettle – although that is edible too). This weedy member of the mint family is actually quite pretty from a distance as it produces tiny purple-pink flowers and the leaves are also dark purple-ish. Purple Dead Nettle can turn a brownish patch of spring lawn into a colorful and interesting display in the early season, and it can also brighten up your window garden salad as a garnish.
Some people also use Purple Dead Nettle as a tea or in smoothies as it is reported to be high in Vitamin C. I didn’t personally find the flavor to be much above dirt (technically described as “earthy”), but if one is starving one eats what one can find. It is free in the yard and it IS a pretty garnish.
If I can stick a finger in the HOA’s eye by calling this survival weed a “decorative ground cover” I’m gonna do it.
Purslane
Purslane is another “weed” that is highly edible. It shows up in lawns, gardens, and disturbed soil by about mid-spring. It has a small, paddle-shaped succulent leaf, grows wild in flat mats, and produces tiny yellow flowers in mid summer. It has been cultivated on purpose as a food crop in past centuries.
Purslane is noted to be high in Vitamin E and Omega-3 fatty acids. It is also rich in beta carotene, Vitamin C, and several other minerals and trace nutrients.
Purslane leaf, stem, and flowers have a slightly tangy flavor and can be eaten raw in salads and cooked in soups. One reference even recommends it blended as part of a wild green goddess salad dressing.
So before you grab the chemicals to kill that weed in your sidewalk – check to make sure it isn’t Purslane. Maybe that weed is really a nutritious survival food that you’ll want to keep around!
Red Clover
Speaking of yard weeds – let’s talk about Red Clover. Most people think of Red Clover as mere animal fodder (if they think of it at all). But Red Clover has been a nutritious “people food” for centuries – if not millennia.
The flowers seem to be the most popular portion of the plant because they are slightly sweet. But young leaves harvested before flowering have a mild green pea-like flavor and seem to be popular in a variety of fresh greens applications, in addition to being cooked in soups and teas.
Red Clover contains vitamin C, niacin, thiamin, calcium, phosphorus, and other trace minerals. It also contains isoflavones. So don’t overlook this “weed” as a source of hard times nutrition, either.
Wild Onion/Wild Garlic
I don’t think I know anyone who hasn’t seen these “weeds” pop up in the early spring grass – generally standing taller than the grass at least temporarily. And if you haven’t seen them, you’ve undoubtedly smelled them on the first grass mow of the season. This is Wild Onion and Wild Garlic.
My Wild Onion harvest along with Purple Dead Nettle.
Generally speaking, if it smells like garlic or onion, it IS garlic or onion and is edible. These members of the Allium genus all have that spiky green foliage that is familiar to garlic and onion lovers. There are a few toxic look-alikes, but they don’t have the characteristic smell, so let your nose lead the way.
All parts of the wild onion/garlic plant are edible, so feel free to use it from bulb to tip, in any recipe where you would use the domesticated variety.
Dandelion
Finally, no survival food list would be complete without the much maligned Dandelion.
Picking Dandelion flower heads to make jelly.
Believe it or not, Dandelions were actually introduced into North America. They originated in Eurasia and didn’t grow here naturally until Europeans brought them. Dandelions are remarkably tenacious and prolific. Anyone who has blown the seeds away from a mature puffy dandelion flower can see how easily the plant spreads. In addition, individual plants can live for 5-10 years!
But the payback for the longevity and spread is that virtually every single part of the Dandelion is edible.
Greens – In early spring, the greens can be harvested for salads, smoothies, etc. The leaves are best before the plants flowers, after which they become more bitter, but they remain edible even after the flavor deteriorates.
Young Dandelion leaves plus Wild Onion ready to make a spring salad.
My grandmother served spring dandelion greens with a hot bacon dressing, but they can also be used in pesto, soups, frittatas, etc.
Like other dark green leafies, Dandelion leaves are high in Vitamin K, so don’t eat boatloads of it if you on a blood thinner such as Coumadin/warfarin. Other nutrients include Vitamin C, beta carotene, calcium and iron.
Flower heads – Last spring I made dandelion jelly out of the flower heads, and then baked dandelion cookies with the leftovers. Flower heads can also be battered and fried, or even made into wine. Yes – wine. Now I’ve got your attention, don’t I?
Roots – The taproot of the dandelion – when dried, roasted, and ground – has been used as a coffee substitute by numerous of our ancestors. The roots can also be cooked like carrots or parsnips, or added to soups like any other root vegetable.
It’s a bit of work, but given all of that, why not surrender your lawn battles and learn to make friends with the Dandelion?
So – right here on this page are six very good reasons to put away your herbicides and pesticides and get to know the “volunteers” in your own backyard.
When managing your green space, the bottom line lesson is – humans can’t digest grass. So pay attention to what is already around you and prepare accordingly!
When this book came out in 2017, I was eager to read and review it. David Kopel is a colleague whose work I have admired for years. This is his magnum opus (so far anyway). No one knows more about the legal aspects and history of the Second Amendment and the natural rights that underpin it. I said I’d review it then, so this is a promise greatly deferred but finally kept.
The Morality of Self-Defense and Military Action is a history of moral thought and belief. That may sound esoteric, but these are precisely the factors that most motivate self-defense advocates. DRGO, John Lott, Gary Kleck and many other research experts spend our time refining the scientific case for general civilian self-defense right on outcome bases. But we do that because we believe in the fundamental right of each person to possess the best tools with which to exercise that right.
Most ethical thought in Western civilization has scriptural bases (Old and then New Testament) with strong influence by Classical philosophers. This is what Kopel surveys, in depth, in 400+ pages with surely a thousand footnotes.
There is no doubt that the ancient Hebrews believed in the sanctity of both defense and offense in order to conquer their promised lands. But their might eventually failed to keep those lands, when the Assyrians eliminated the northern Hebrew kingdom of Israel (whose 10 tribes disappeared to history) then the Babylonians captured and removed the two remaining southern tribes of the kingdom of Judea (from which “Jew” derives). The right of defense guarantees nothing in a world with strong enemies.
This principle has been taken up in the Christian world as belief in “just war”, which Kopel thoughtfully analyzes. Generally, offensive wars are condemned while defensive wars are accepted as unavoidable and necessary. Throughout the ages, peoples have migrated and found their place in lands new to them by defeating and displacing previous residents. By the 20th century, the idea that one’s people deserve more lebensraum at the cost of others’ freedom had passed its prime.
But defining the difference can be tricky. How recent must the provocation be to justify defensive action? The Middle East offers classic examples. The peoples that the Hebrews displaced are long gone, but does their early presence and ethnic continuity validate their displacing Arabic speaking Muslims who established their dominance centuries following the Jewish diaspora? Were the Crusades aggression as depicted by Muslim chroniclers, or were they righteous attempts to recover long Christian lands that were earlier overrun by Mohammed’s followers?
Underlying the degree to which civilizational and national defensive war is moral is the eternal question about when personal, individual self-defense is valid. Again, the ancients found little question about this. The Mosaic Ten Commandments include an injunction to “not murder”, not to “not kill” in accurate translation. The Hebrew Bible and Torah include a number of examples showing when one is not just entitled, but has the duty to defend oneself, one’s home and one’s people. The rules can get complicated (you can kill an intruder at night, though not necessarily during the day) but cover the most salient circumstances.
As Christianity became dominant, with its repeated divisions over the past two millennia, we see more pacifist interpretations of Scripture develop. There seemed to be more support in the New Testament for this than the Old. From Gnostics to Quakers (with their rich contribution to American life) and even Presbyterians and Methodists, “purity pacifism” is a strong tradition influencing significant strains of political thought. Spreading the Gospel was at first a more peaceful program than later conjoined conquests of Christian powers over indigenous and of Arabs carrying Islam through much of the old Roman Empire. Christianity’s many martyrs literally testified to that. Nor did it work out well for non-Christians, for example, the Maororis of the Chatham Islands or the Arawaks versus the Caribs.
“Pragmatic pacifism” has more widespread influence. To “turn the other cheek” to an aggressor is one thing, and forgiving “seventy times seven” is a great deal—yet is still a limit (Matthew 5:38 & 18:21). Taking the Good News to all still may require that the messengers carry a sword” (Luke 22:36)—but for what, if not self-defense? In his introduction, Kopel describes how William Jennings “Bryan asked [famous pacifist] Tolstoy what Tolstoy would do if he saw a criminal about to rape and murder a child.” That is the same question that the slightest curiosity about the parable of the Good Samaritan raises. What should the Samaritan have done if he had come across the victim as he was being assaulted?
Philosophies of non-violence may or may not admit of self-defense, with adherents on both sides. Gandhi was a pacifist through and through, while Martin Luther King, Jr., who was inspired by Gandhi, still found self-defense fully justifiable. Non-violent action has clearly been more effective in achieving societal and political change than individual security.
All this is to say that this is an enormous subject, one that Kopel examines thoroughly, in great detail yet very readably. If you appreciate learning from an expert discussion despite the ultimate ambiguity necessitated in respecting different interpretations of historical premises, you’ll want to read this through. If you want to know everything there is that supports a position in favor of the ideals of principled, pragmatic self-defense, you’ll really value this.
There is nothing else out there as authoritative and extensive as Kopel’s Morality of Self-Defense. It is, simply, without compare. Learn, and enjoy!
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— DRGO Editor Robert B. Young, MD is a psychiatrist practicing in Pittsford, NY, an associate clinical professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
I saw this article from Popular Mechanics last week and I’ve wanted to swing back to it for awhile. The problem was.. well.. Virginia was happening and we were busy.
A ‘Right to Repair’. In short: who has the legal rights, through contract, to repair the equipment that soldiers are using.
Maintenance in the Military is a highly highly structured topic. Portions of that structure come from legal agreements with the companies who supply the equipment being used.
These agreements are a double edged sword.
On the one hand. Maintenance support directly from a company that built, say, an M1A2 Abrams tank or an M-ATV patrol vehicle mean that the folks who designed, built, and are looking to upgrade it are always in the loop working on it. That, instead of handing it off to a wide array of techs who all “grew up on” completely different systems and are relying on the accuracy of Technical Manuals (TMs).
The from concept to contract experience does give the company an edge in helping keep the fleet running. However, when certain maintenance tasks must be completed by a maintenance level the users don’t have access to in a timely manner, equipment gets deadlined.
Deadlined equipment isn’t helping complete missions and despite having thousands of people in uniform for the express purpose of maintenance, contracts restrict them from fixing their equipment at a closer level to the active mission than what the contract bound company can get their techs.
Companies make earnest efforts but you end up with situations where fixable pieces are kept deadlined by contract, not by ability. It is something that requires serious addressing as the military gets stuck with equipment lodged at various places in “shipping” for maintenance.
In short, the DoD needs to seriously address how it looks at contracts and add flexibility to help end users keep their equipment on mission at a higher rate. At the same time it needs to keep items that mustunequivocally be maintained at the manufacturer level there to do so. They must, on demand, be able to deliver that maintenance. Improperly doing any of these will result in greater delays… hard nut to crack.
I’ve held a maintenance MOS. I spent 3 years looking at this problem from the inside and wondering, in many many instances, why? Why couldn’t competent folks following directions install a part as simple as a trigger? Contracts. The answer is weird contracts.
I see it from the manufacturer side too, though. Imagine, if you will, the number of ultra dumb customer service calls where a rep has to walk through plugging something in… now imagine that on a macro system running all the complex tests, parameters, and checks on a Predator Drone or the aiming components on a Paladin mobile artillery piece. Sometimes it is simply easier to do it yourself, in person.
This is a complex issue. But it’s one that is keeping a lot of equipment offline. The levels within the maintenance hierarchy are supposed to smooth this as much as possible by enabling the lowest levels, down to the end users, to keep their equipment running. There are breakdowns in this system, some are unfortunately contractual.
Magpul is a company that has always been very close to my heart, due to the military. I try to not let that create any false opinions on pieces of equipment, but be forewarned, there could be bias.
Bias or not though, rounds down range don’t lie. Nor does ease of installation and being able to set a gun up perfectly for my body. I ran the Magpul Fixed ODG Pro 700 Chassis for the first time this past weekend at Isaiah Curtis’s Team match in Atlanta, MO. I set it up the night before with my teammate for the match and shot about 10 rounds down range before running it at the match.
Installation
The installation of the Chassis itself took about two minutes, and the directions that Magpul provides are thought out, but short and simple.
The Chassis uses two of the same size action screws which makes it very easy to not screw up. Be sure that the pistol grip is moved rearward enough to see both action screw housings, there are tick marks if unsure. Follow along in the instructions to be sure the action is placed right, and don’t forget to torque the action screws to 55-60in lbs.
Torque specs are important!
Research and Development was done extensively by Magpul. When any company is creating a product, they will find the best way to install said product and to what spec. Magpul tested 55-60 in lbs and found it to be capable of withstanding the recoil of a rifle in the chassis.
Torquing is important!
The directions also go over left handed action installation. If you look closely at the screws, it will say “MAGPUL USA“. This is a very important detail to me because I’m a sucker for well made parts. When it comes to screws, anything that is made out of country, such as YFS screws, I don’t trust. These screws are coated to prevent rust, yet they still thread in with ease.
The chassis comes with two different pistol grip sizes and 4 screws, 2 for each grip. After installing the chassis, I realized that I forgot to put my Magpul M-LOK Dovetail Adapter-Pro Arca full rail on.
Not a problem. This was an easy fix without taking the action off. We were able to just pull up a bit, putting pressure on the locking attachments, and screw in from outside the rail. I was not able to run my Magpul Bipod for ARMS 17S due to not getting the adapter plate in in time in the mail.
NOTE: Be sure to go over which bipod attachment system you are running, M-LOK, 1913, or ARMS, to make sure you have all the correct pieces, including flathead cap screws if using the ARMS. After installation was done, I then went into the fine tuning of the chassis.
OD Green Fixed Pro700
Setup and Tuning
I chose to run the pistol grip that came on the chassis, which is the thinner one. The grip comes in two pieces, so you can try to get the feel of the different size without fully installing it on the chassis, saving time.
Large grip size and screws
I then laid down on the gun to adjust the cheek riser, length of pull, and butt-pad. I really like how easily it is to adjust everything on the chassis. I could adjust it all while still being on the gun.
After adjusting the cheek riser height, make sure to re-tighten the cheek lock knob so it doesn’t move again. I didn’t end up adjusting the cheek riser fore/aft (which it does), but looking back, I may go back and adjust it closer to the optic. Be aware of these positions in regards to spacing for bolt removal.
Lefties don’t worry, everything is adjustable for right and left handed shooters.
Adjusting the length of pull while laying on the gun: The butt pad height has an easy 1/8″ hex key, and you only need to loosen 1 turn for it to move. Once at desired placement, tighten to 10 in-lbs. I didn’t adjust the cant yet, but after this weekend I may. After the chassis was fit adjusted I ran outside to get a few rounds down range before sunset.
Chassis packaging
First Rounds
I’ve only been shooting precision rifle for about a year. Being a new shooter, I wanted all the stability I could get, so I went for the fixed stock chassis for fewest moving parts. I knew I wasn’t going to be transporting the gun in a way to where I needed the foldable. As a note, I haven’t heard any issues with the folding stock, I just didn’t need it.
I shot a 10 round Magpul AICS Mag through the gun, and it hit a sub MOA group at 100m.
Group off a cattle gate at 100m
Group at 100m off bipod and bag
The most important thing I was looking for with the couple of rounds I was able to get off before the match, was recoil acceptance. With this stock, set to my body, I could easily stay on the target after a shot.
I could absorb the transferred recoil well and the rifle didn’t try to get away from me. In short, it felt like a normal chassis, it felt how I want the gun to feel. Strong, solid, rigid, and controlled.
The stock sits balanced on the bag and is easy to manipulate.
The installation and setup are quick, simple, and gave me some good warm fuzzies about the chassis, but like I said before, rounds down range don’t lie. Keep an eye out for the post match article to follow.
This is about as ‘out-of-the-box’ and ‘follow directions’ as it gets.
Aaron Cowan discusses the role of offset sights on modern rifle systems. The video covers why you might consider adding one to your setup. If you don’t have 10 minutes for the video I’ll give you my .02 on the concept.
Vortex Razor HD Gen III 1-10x with Trijicon RMR HRS in an Arisaka offset mount. The current SCAR 16s set up.
I started running on offset with the Trijicon HRS a few months back and tied it in with my March F 1-8x. The HRS is a Type 2 RMR built for the M17/M18 pistols. It serves equally well in the role of a backup optic and an extreme close range optic for the carbine.
Explain?
LPVO’s like the Razor serve an incredibly versatile role and allow a rifle to take advantage of its full effective range. But to do so the rifle zero has to correspond to those ranges. You are going to zero your primary optic, the LPVO, for 50 or 100 yards and know your trajectory for greater distances either by reading the scale and knowing your holds or following the BDC.
An offset dot gives you the additional flexibility to throw an extremely close zero on your rifle that does not have to be adjusted for. 10 yards is my go to and then I confirm hits at 50 yards. That optic and that zero grant you additional flexibility around your LPVO.
NOTE: An offset optic is going to have your shots arc off the centerline of the rifle since the rifle is canted. They will arc predictably, however. Shots fired through the offset optic (in my case, the HRS) will arc in the direction of the primary optic (in my case, the Razor). Imagine a football thrown that drifts left or right depending upon the direction the primary optic and rifle are angled and you’ll more or less envision the trajectory.
So what you now have with an offset optic is a quick solution for close shots/threats and one for using the rifle from an awkward angle where eye relief becomes a problem. The LPVO can be left dialed up to higher power without detriment to closer target engagements. The offset sight is capable of operating as a backup without removing a failed primary optic.
Unlike backup iron sights, the offset dot is an active part of your sighting systems. Meaning it can be part of an engaged training cycle and maintain active proficiency. Irons, as back up sights, are rarely in a position to be trained with. They require removing the primary sighting systems. Nobody wants to do that.
As a summarized list:
An offset dot gives you a solution for extreme close distance shots that can be zeroed accordingly.
An offset dot gives you a solution that does not have the eye relief requirements of the primary optic.
An offset dot gives you a “no parallax” solution for quickly taking shots at awkward angles.
An offset dot gives you a solution independent of the magnification setting currently on the primary optic.
An offset dot gives you a durable backup that doesn’t require removing the primary optic to use
We typically try to keep things fairly apolitical here at the blog. But this week, I know a lot of our fellow staunch 2nd Amendment supporters have an eye fixated on politics. Michael Bloomberg, an outspoken politician supporting his own brand of gun control seems to be gaining traction as a legitimate major party candidate for President of the United States.
How do you play? Well, it’s easy. Keep your bingo card and ammo handy during any debate Michael Bloomberg is a part of. When you hear him or one of the other candidates mention any of the topics listed on the Bingo card above, mark the spot with your favorite round of ammo. Complete a row, and you’ve got yourself a bingo! We suggest shouting it from the rooftops.
Bloomberg and the NRA
In 2014, the NRA ran an attack ad in several states against Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s fight with the NRA goes back nearly two decades. The fight may have taken a turn from petty annoyance to all-out rivalry in the mid-2000s.
New York Lawsuit Against Firearm Manufacturers
In some ways, Bloomberg inherited a lawsuit brought by the City of New York against several gun manufacturers in 2000. Rudy Giuliani was New York City Mayor at the time. He filed the suit seeking no monetary damages. Rather, he insisted that gun manufacturers were marketing their products in ways that helped promote straw purchases.
In 2004, Bloomberg was New York mayor and his office amended that lawsuit. A year later, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the city’s claim. The court granted the firearm manufacturers immunity under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). This law prohibits gun makers from being held liable for crimes committed with their products.
While the National Shooting Sports Foundation was also heavily involved in defending the industry in that case, the suit put the PLCAA on national display. Plus, it marks one of the biggest early fights between Bloomberg and the NRA.
Bloomberg’s 2020 Platform on Gun Control
Bloomberg’s gun campaigns didn’t stop once he left the mayor’s office in New York. From funding gun groups seeking tighter regulations to a $10 million Super Bowl ad focused on guns, firearms are still squarely in Bloomberg’s crosshairs.
The candidate often points out he doesn’t feel his plan violates the 2nd Amendment rights of any Americans. However, many gun owners might find points of Bloomberg’s platform goes a little farther than what they’d consider reasonable regulation.
For instance, Bloomberg is calling for the following changes or policies:
Retailers maintaining a sales database for all firearm sales
No private firearm sales/transfers without a background check
A reenactment of the Assault Weapons Ban of the 1990s
Permit or license requirement to purchase a firearm
Installation of a Federal Gun Coordinator Position
A 48-hour waiting period on all firearm purchases
Tight restrictions on U.S. firearm manufacturers and export laws
Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown for Gun Safety is managed by a million-dollar team of five full-time executives and a handful of part-timers, according to Internal Revenue Service filings.
Several smaller groups fall under the Everytown umbrella. You’ve likely heard of some of them – Moms Demand Action, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Students Demand Action are some examples.
CNBC reported Bloomberg himself donated $38 million to Everytown for Gun Safety in 2018. That’s a little more than half of what the group raised in funds that year. Accordingly, much of that money went toward localized issues and races.
Not aware of the animosity between the National Rifle Association and Everytown? A quick Google search analyzing the Everytown website reveals the organization named the NRA on more than one thousand different occasions. Taking the fight further, Everytown filed a complaint with the IRS about the NRA’s tax-exempt status in April 2019. In their complaint, Everytown cited a report done jointly by The New Yorker and an outlet called The Trace. The Trace is a media outlet that was born with seed money from, you guessed it, Everytown for Gun Safety.
So, you may or may not have a vote in the Democratic race this primary season. Despite that, no matter which side of the political aisle you fall, hopefully, you now have a good feel for the background of Bloomberg’s gun policies, his battles with the NRA and maybe even scored yourself a bingo along the way!
Everyone is biased, my dear readers. Everyone. Period.
We are only able to draw on the knowledge of our experiences, we are limited to our own perspective and can only infer to other perspectives based on what we read, hear, and see of them. Knowing our biases establishes our frame of reference and allows us to “true” our information so that it can be received well and used well despite our irremovable biases.
An anti-gun reporter can produce a good piece on firearms, violence, and legislation. A pro-gun person can ride the logic train and appreciate the positive goals of a piece of anti-gun legislation, even while still emphatically disagreeing with it. These are the marks of actively intellectually engaged folks who want to put their minds to solving problems, and who make every effort to not let their bias hinder them.
But ignorance produces its own biases, and often these are far far larger hurdles.
This piece from the Christian Science Monitor was published prior to the win we landed in Virginia, when the Senate there shelved HB 961. Take a look through the opening paragraphs.
A seismic shift underway in Virginia has lawmakers asking a question once unthinkable for the home of the NRA: How do you ban “America’s gun”?
Demonstrators stand outside a security zone before a pro-gun rally, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Virginia. Julio Cortez/AP
As chants of “USA! USA!” poured over him, Jeff Hulbert stood at the ready – a soldier, in his eyes, of democracy. Behind him rose the peak of the Virginia Capitol in the state that has become ground zero in the shifting politics of gun rights across the United States.
On a fence fluttered a “We Will Not Comply” banner. Strapped around his shoulder, an Israeli Tavor rifle, which fires the same ammunition as an AR-15 – a military-style weapon that has become popular as an avatar of armed citizenship on the right and decried as a machine of mass death on the left.
Here in the second paragraph we are immediately corralled into the thought channels that this is a Right Wing/Left Wing issue, that this is therefore an extremist issue. It makes anyone who doesn’t identify as extremist (likely the whole audience) pause and disassociate.
It identifies the Israeli Tavor by only a single feature, the fact it fires the same round as the… AR-15 *gasp*, “…that has become an avatar of armed citizenship…”.
But for anyone reading this with a limited knowledge base the bias of their ignorance isn’t going to latch onto the ‘avatar’ line, they are going to associate with the repeated mass media narrative of the AR-15, “…a machine of mass death.”
Why will they gravitate towards that narrative? It’s the sum of their experiences. Their limited experience has been provided by the broad, detail devoid, and often woefully inaccurate mass consumed media channels.
So now the reader steps back and mentally disassociates with “the wings” then latches onto the the limited experiences their exposure gives them about the AR-15 and the associated Tavor, because they fire the same ammunition. If the reader has a strong opinion, they then decry the article as far right/left, when in reality the article most suffers from being insubstantial.
“We think it’s very symbolic to wear our sidearms, to wear a rifle, because the pictures that are taken from here … can live forever and encourage people to remember our rights,” says Mr. Hulbert, a Maryland resident and founder of Patriot Picket, a gun-rights advocacy group.
Token gun guy saying token gun guy thing.
But Cape Charles resident Laura Kinzinger has an opposite reaction. If she saw someone openly carrying a long rifle, she says she’d call the police and then duck, run, and hide.
“It might be legal. But it’s not normal,” she says. “That person might suddenly use it. I mean, there could be accidents. The thought of walking around with an [assault-style] rifle is just horrific. They are designed to kill people. That’s what they do.”
Token scared anti-gun individual decrying the behavior as deviant and strawmanning up with the ‘what if’s’ of horror and death. Ignoring that 22,000 people gathered in close proximity with those death machines… and no one died. No murders, no accidents.
But limited perview opinion again tends to side with Laura, not Jeff. Laura’s statements and the low information opine mass makes her perspective the ‘reasonable’ one at short glance. We are conditioned to take a side, not observe, look at the duality established with the left wing/right wing language.
Firearm rights should be apolitical, and if you look at the political makeup the whole of the gun industry a multitude of views and backgrounds have active and informed representation. But those are informed views, we are talking about the biases of the uninformed.
As complaints of government overreach still echo from the 22,000-strong show of largely armed force in Richmond late last month, newly elected Democrats are moving forward with a ban on new sales of the assault-style rifles, including misdemeanor penalties for possession of magazines that hold more than seven rounds.
The turn of a historically gun-friendly Southern state toward gun restrictions comes as the U.S. Supreme Court takes its first gun rights case in a decade to determine how far municipalities can go to restrict guns. Given that a conservative majority is unlikely to OK broad new restraints, battles at the state level have come to define an epic shift for Second Amendment reformers.
“It is an amazing moment,” says Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of “Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.” “A lot of people since [the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre] have expressed disappointment that nothing has changed, but we have actually seen a real shift in American gun politics. Virginia is really the crucible of that.”
Well… that crucible turned into a can. That can got punted into 2021, safely after elections.
The piece steps back and gives us a quick national glimpse of goings on with the Supreme Court reference. We then dive right back to Virginia.
On Monday, the House of Delegates advanced the assault-style ban to its final reading, with Democratic lawmakers contending that it will not infringe on anybody’s Second Amendment rights. Republicans argue otherwise, saying it would criminalize ownership of some magazines, even after Democrats tempered penalties to a misdemeanor. At one point, police escorted protesters out of the chamber. “Whose side are you on?” they shouted at officers.
It was then shelved in the Senate.
But the political fight between blue suburbs and red rural areas over the proposed ban has also bared tensions among gun owners themselves. Does open carry, as Mr. Hulbert hopes, normalize the image of an armed citizenry? Or does it further entrench the idea that the right to carry a long rifle infringes on the freedoms of non-gun owners?
Here we get into the nasty business of defining things. What is a freedom versus what is a courtesy. Does one person carrying a long gun, or a gun period, actually infringe on another person’s rights? Or is it simply discourteous because someone might be made uncomfortable?
Williamsburg, Virginia, resident Josiah Gray says open carry should be restricted to police officers. The parking officer says carrying a gun might make some people feel safer, but others could be intimidated or possibly traumatized, especially if they lost someone they knew to gun violence.
“You never know how it affects other people,” he says. “If you don’t have a uniform, it looks kind of off to the other people that you have a gun.”
Here we see an appeal to power and authority. A uniform makes it okay. We don’t know a thing about the character of the person in the uniform, we truly don’t, but the symbol of monopolized force makes Josiah feel better. Josiah, completely unrelated I’m sure, wears a uniform.
But we have ample proof that a uniform does not a good person guarantee. Michael Dorner of the LAPD and Nidal Hasan, Major of the United States Army, both come to mind. To say little of the myriad other incidents where the government’s near monopoly on “legitimate” use of lethal force was misused and people died.
But, again to the under informed, to the ignorant, Josiah’s argument will ring true and Jeff Hulbert, with his Tavor that shoots AR-15 ammunition (the comparison set earlier), looks again like the deviant.
Some gun owners share those doubts. Few gun owners question the right, but many ask about the “pragmatic aspect of open carry,” says Wake Forest University sociologist David Yamane, founder of the Gun Culture 2.0 blog. “There are many people in the gun community who really dislike open carry as a method of normalizing firearms.”
True, I am one of them. I am not an open carry proponent. Virginia was an exception. Virginia was the necessary statement. 22,000 organized peacefully and armed against an atrociously egregious bill. That bill was making headway from a legislative body willfully ignoring the citizenry. Remember, the sanctuary counties came as a rebuttal before this demonstration.
And now… now the article authors start spewing overly summarized over simplified and erroneous gun nonsense for dramatic effect.
In essence, an open source platform that has sold more than 8 million exemplars on its journey to become “America’s Gun,” the Armalite Rifle, gun owners say, is basically a slick-looking single-fire rifle. Mechanically and caliber-wise, that is correct. But it is also a masterpiece of war. Its military cousin was a replacement for the unreliable M-14; its ability to kill Viet Cong in tight quarters stunned Army researchers.
This paragraph is… it’s mind numbingly hard to read. I am convinced I have to much expertise in this area to appreciate the full effect of it. It’s trying to soundintellectual and it is failing so completely. It goes further over the edge in a bid to make you believe that if you can’t understand it, then you just aren’t intellectually on a high enough level.
In reality, it’s nonsense. Any remotely informed or technically competent individual should be asking questions about the baffling language used.
The AR was first introduced to the civilian population as a hunting rifle, and its advertising slogan belies its appeal: If it is good enough for the military, it is good enough for all of us. The sunsetting of the federal assault weapons ban in 2004 opened an era of gun rights expansion, where three-quarters of states have now loosened regulations on concealed and open carry, and have expanded the rights of lethal self defense.
“…expanded the rights of lethal self defense” is an interesting choice of phrase. It brings to mind the proverbial bloody shirt while expertly squeaking by a few pertinent perspective setting facts.
While ‘defensive use of a firearm’ incidents number in the hundreds of thousands per year, by the lowest estimations, lethal incidents within that group are about 1% of that low estimate with around half being justified police (uniformed, governing authority, assumed just) shootings.
But that arc has been complicated by the gun’s use in a growing number of mass killings, as well as the rise of violent far-right nationalism, members of which law enforcement said posed credible threats as they sought to infiltrate the Richmond rally.
But has not been complicated rise of violent far-left extremism, Antifa for example?
(Warning: You have entered the Tangent Zone)
Possible, I will admit. The foundational makeup of the probable sympathetic demographics of the left and right extreme support counting them as different threats. In short, the people who make up the list of possible radicals come from vastly different backgrounds.
Since the likelihood that those sympathetic to the emerging far-right and those sympathetic to the far-left come from two disparate origin environments, while both are dangerous, those sympathizers on the right have a higher overall likelihood of coming from a background that produces a soldier and who would be familiar with those tools and tasks of soldiering.
We’ve also spent the last two decades fighting insurgency, we’ve raised a generation during this relevant kind of war. We, as a whole population, are more familiar with modern conflict than anyone in 2001 remotely was.
Leftist groups are trying to arm up and prepare, but the right wing politically has a supermajority on the warrior class in this nation. Therefore, if both extremist ends are looking for soldiers, those capable of organized disciplined violence, the right has a far greater chance of finding someone useful among the sympathetic population, who could be radicalized, than the left. The left is looking to balance this but they are fighting years of imbalance and deeply seated attitudes combined with the fact that the ‘new’ left, like Antifa, are very new organizations.
These organizations exist, even as radical or ‘woke’ as they are, in a highly insular first world environment. They did not form in a near perpetual state of warfare like some regional groups have, or within recent warfare/conflict as have others. The extreme right does tap into a pool that has dealt with the decades of warfare, and groups like the Taliban and ISIS are tapping pools of near perpetual warfare. Groups like the Cartels tap similarly experienced and conditioned populations for their soldiers.
The parameters for where these groups can even find sympathetic people to attempt to radicalize are very very different, and there is a lot of truth behind the stereotypes that the radical left is filled with the “fake flannel soy boy” and “*wacky hair color* vegan non-binary SJW” who are used to making their political efforts against “fascists” from their iPhone and not so much like Ukraine 2014.
I’ve gotten off on quite the tangent here, it is just illustrative of just how shallow this article on Virginia gets into a myriad of problems but tries (and fails) to be an accurate synopsis.
The article goes onto cover some more opinions, cite Gallop on 6/10 people wanting an assault weapon ban, cite a professor who feels this is a crusade of the right (not an inaccurate descriptor, but choice language), and finally point out the fact that banning these firearms would have a less than 1% remotely plausible impact on firearms deaths.
The CSM honestly, in my opinion, did a fair job trying to be fair. They just ultimately didn’t know what they didn’t know, and their attempts to generalize spreads more confusion instead of offering a decent base of perspective.
We are in a culture war in which the enemy is using words in ways that are dishonest. Let’s set at least part of the record straight.
Magazine capacity is a false flag. The arguments against standard capacity magazines that are issued along with police handguns have the same benefit for honest citizens in the same circumstances that police need them. Current statistics reveal that violent home invasions are more frequently perpetrated by larger numbers of assailants than in the past. Honest citizens cannot be expected to defeat multiple attackers without using the same tools that we think the police should use in similar situations.
“Assault rifles”: There is no military definition of an “assault” weapon. There were full automatic firearms that the German Forces of WW 2 called (in translation)“storm guns”. There are semiautomatic and select-fire firearms in various configurations.
The military describes the AR 15 and M16 class of weapons as “minor caliber”. Any firearm projectile can produce damage. The damage is proportional to projectile mass, configuration and velocity for a given target at a given distance. In Washington State .223/5.56 caliber firearms are not allowed for hunting anything larger than coyotes due to lack of effective lethality. Heavier and faster bullets are required to hunt deer and other game animals. There are cartridges for revolvers that have more energy than the .223/5.56, which are actually classified as .22 caliber cartridges.
In all cases, it makes no difference in effect if the cartridge is fired from a break action single shot tool, a manual bolt action tool or a semi-automatic tool which still requires a separate trigger press for every round fired. Thence arises the question: why are semi-automatics needed? The answer is that criminals do not want to prey on victims who are stronger than they are.
Functionally impaired individuals, whether elderly, injured or physically less capable deserve to be able to fulfill their basic human right of self-defense as well as others can. Terrorists, as in San Bernardino, did not hesitate to break laws and murder innocent victims who were forced into defenselessness by California prohibitions.
Only honest citizens obey the law, because laws do not prevent crime. Laws proscribe an activity and provide a penalty if caught and convicted of that activity. SCOTUS has ruled that law enforcement do not have a duty to protect individuals, but rather to serve society after the fact.
Nonetheless, AR-type rifles are issue items for many police departments nationally and internationally. We call them “patrol rifles”. These are the tools brought to the scene when police presence is required. It is intellectually bankrupt to require citizens to call for police assistance and yet deny them the same tools for use in their own self-defense. In a home invasion or a criminal attack outside the home, it is not law enforcement who are the “first responders”; rather it is the intended victims who must respond and then await second responder assistance.
“Gun violence” (like “assault rifle”) is an emotion-laden but semantically invalid, intellectually dishonest, morally corrupt and politically divisive terms used by those who want to disempower honest people to the benefit of criminals and terrorists. Tools do not take actions by themselves.
In Washington State for the latest full year available, more people were killed with hands or feet, as well as by other blunt instruments than by all long guns combined. More people died from injuries in motor vehicle accidents than firearm associated suicide and criminal homicide combined. Yet we do not speak of “hand violence” or “hammer violence” or “car violence”.
It is also intellectually and ethically reprehensible for legislators, executors and jurists to take an oath to . . . support and defend the Constitution of the United States . . .” and pass, execute and validate laws that violate the Second, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, as well as 18USC.
In jurisprudence (stare decisis) precedence is generally given to the most recent rulings. Yet the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states infringing on previously accepted recognition of citizen rights. Such infringing laws cannot reasonably be construed as lawful nor should rulings violating such rights.
In the real world, criminals and terrorists do not obey the laws. Laws limiting legal rights only make life hazardous for honest people.
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—Robert A. Margulies, MD, MPH, FACEP, FACPM is an emergency medicine specialist, retired Navy Medical Corps captain, sworn peace officer, and firearm trainer with multiple certifications from the NRA and the Massad Ayoob Group.
Since its January 2020 announcement, the Vortex Optics Razor® HD Gen III 1-10x FFP has been a hot topic of conversation within the shooting industry. While not officially available until April, one generous bidder can get their hands on a Razor® HD Gen III FFP before the official release, all while benefiting a worthy cause.
Even me… I didn’t get to keep this one and mine won’t ship until April.
From Monday, February 17 at 3 p.m. central time, to Monday, February 24, at midnight central time, GunsAmerica will host an auction for a one-of-a-kind Razor® HD Gen III 1-10x FFP with custom packaging, with 100% of the final bid donated to Fisher House Foundation, an organization dedicated to keeping veterans and their families together when it matters most.
Since 1990, Fisher House Foundation has helped more than 400,000 military and veterans’ families, saving them more than $451 million. Dave Coker, President of Fisher House Foundation, said, “Fisher House Foundation thanks Vortex Optics for its continued support. Their support continues to help bring military families together at a critical time – when loved ones are receiving care in VA and military hospitals.”
While Fisher House Foundation’s main mission is to build comfort homes where military and veterans’ families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital, the Foundation goes even farther, providing more than 12,000 students in military families with more than $24 million in scholarships and giving over 70,000 airline tickets to the families of veterans and active duty military so they can be near their loved ones during medical treatment.
Vortex® has worked with Fisher House Foundation in the past, and they are thrilled to have the opportunity to try something new in service to the Foundation. “The charity auction format is one we’ve been wanting to do for some time, but needed just the right product – we knew the Razor® HD Gen III 1-10x FFP was the right choice,” said Jimmy Hamilton, Chief Media Ambassador at Vortex Optics. “This new optic will be capable of accomplishing some amazing things in the hands of recreational, competitive, and professional shooters. But first, we look forward to it doing amazing things for our nation’s veterans and their families.” Check out this quick video to learn more about the auction.
To auction off the one-of-a-kind Razor® HD Gen III 1-10x FFP, Vortex® needed a partner they could rely on, and GunsAmerica was the perfect fit. If you’re interested in bidding on the custom Razor® HD Gen III 1-10x FFP, follow this link. Learn more about Fisher House Foundation at www.fisherhouse.org.
About Vortex Optics: American owned, Wisconsin-based Vortex Optics designs, engineers, produces and distributes a complete line of premium binoculars, riflescopes, spotting scopes, tripods, and related accessories. Dedicated to exceptional quality, value, and unrivaled customer service, Vortex backs its products with its unconditional, transferable, lifetime VIP warranty.
The Commonwealth has a lot to celebrate today as the onerous HB 961 was shelved by the Senate.
The legislation set to ban ‘Assault Firearms’, suppressors, and magazines of any reasonable capacity was tabled by Senators of both parties who kicked that can down the road with a promise that the State Crime Commission would further study the issue.
That can suspiciously looked a lot like a Molotov or live grenade but we will see.
The 22,000 who showed up to make their displeasure displeasure known clearly struck one of the right cords with the Senate and have bought Virginians time to fix their representation to persons more aligned with the rights of their citizens and not the agenda of a certain 5′ 8″ New York billionaire who bought Virginia’s election.
If you don’t know who I’m talking about watch YouTube for like… 6 seconds, I’m sure he’ll pop up.
The fight is not over though. The issue is shelved.. not rejected.
