Bellevue's West Coast Armory Range

Recently there has been some anti-gunners protesting a new gun range in Bellevue.

Story here

So, as suggested by the good blogger at Insights, I emailed the people listed and told them that:

1. This is my range and I support it.
2. I use it to train to safely and effectively carry the gun I'm licensed (by the King County Sheriff BTW) to carry (such a name dropper I know).
3. They are a lawful and legitimate business that should be supported, especially in a time like this.

A few days later I got a reply from the Land Use Directors. She forwarded me a word document with a management brief prepared for the City Council.

Here is the text of the reply:

City of Bellevue MANAGEMENT BRIEF

DATE:	February 24, 2010
TO:	Mayor Davidson and Members of the City Council
FROM:	Carol Helland, Land Use Director 452-2724 Development Services Department
SUBJECT:	West Coast Armory

The Council has received several dozen e-mails regarding the newly established shooting range called West Coast Armory. Some of the e-mails have been from residents of the Woodridge neighborhood who expressed concern about the recent opening of the shooting range in the Richards Valley light industrial district. Other e-mails are from gun enthusiasts who expressed their appreciation for the new recreational opportunity that is now available to them in Bellevue. This memorandum describes the shooting range use, its location, the operational limitations placed on the use, and the permit process that allowed the range to be established.

Project Description: West Coast Armory (WCA) is an indoor shooting range with associated firearms training and incidental retail. This use is characterized as a “recreation activity” for the purpose of applying the Land Use Code, and falls in the same use category as bowling alleys and gymnasiums. This use was first characterized by Bellevue land use staff in the early-1990s when Wade’s Gun Shop and Shooting Range was established in the Bel-Red light industrial district. Retail sales are prohibited at the WCA location, because miscellaneous retail trade is not an allowed use in the light industrial district. Incidental retail (such ammunition, eye and ear protection for use at the range) is appropriate.

Location: 13216 SE 32^nd Street. The shooting range is located on the access road to the Factoria Transfer Station. Please refer to the attached location and zoning maps. Uses located in the vicinity include a PSE service facility, warehousing, bulky building material sales, and other recreation activity uses (including gymnastics, dance, and martial arts instruction). There are limited infrastructure improvements in the area of WCA (no sidewalks or curbs); and like most light industrial districts in the City, the pedestrian environment is inhospitable. The streets in this area of Richards Valley are not part of an integrated transportation grid. As a result, access to this area is generally limited to individuals destined for one of the businesses located there.

There was a shooting range that used to be located on SE 30^th Street. Weapons Safety Inc. was located at 13215 SE 30^th Street (a short distance to the north of WCA), and operated at that location from 1994 to 2003. The West Coast Armory range seems to have replaced that use in Richards Valley after the prior range was abandoned. The WCA use likely came to the attention of residents living in the vicinity of Richards Valley

in late January when the owner employed a “sign handler” to stand on Richards Road and advertise the newly opened use. E-mails from Woodridge residents opposing the use began to arrive in the Council Office shortly thereafter. Support for WCA appears to have emerged more recently in response to leaflets being placed on cars in the Factoria area urging people to oppose the shooting range use and to contact the Bellevue City Council to voice their opposition.

Required Review: Recreation uses such as this shooting range are permitted outright in the light industrial land use district, and there are no applicable design guidelines in these districts. As a result, land use approvals including notice (such as an administrative conditional use permit or design review) are not required. The establishment of this use required a tenant improvement permit and a business license, which were both applied for and received prior to the business opening.

Operation: Like other recreation activity uses located in a light industrial land use district, WCA is restricted to incidental sales only. Miscellaneous retail sales are not permitted, and this restriction was included as a condition of the required tenant improvement permit. Other recreation activity uses provide illustrative examples of how incidental sales are conducted. For example, the gymnasium located in the Richards Valley light industrial area sells a limited supply of leotards to its students and members. But the leotards are available to the individuals who are otherwise already on the premises for a class or competition. The limited sale activity conducted at the gymnasium does not constitute a miscellaneous retail sales use, and is appropriately incidental to the recreation activity use.

With regard to the regulation of firearm purchase and sales specifically, the State of Washington, by enactment of RCW 9.41.290, has preempted the entire field of firearm regulations. Under RCW 9.41.290, cities may only enact ordinances relating to firearms that are specifically authorized by state law. State law authorizes cities to enact ordinances restricting the areas in their respective jurisdictions in which firearms may be sold, but cities may not treat a business selling firearms more restrictively than other retail businesses located within the same zone.

In response to the communications received by the Council Office, I conducted a site visit on February 2, 2010. The purpose of my visit was to confirm that the operation was being conducted consistent with the conditions placed on the tenant improvement permit. The owner is in the process of making changes to the lobby area of the premises in order to comply with the conditions of permit approval and ensure that retail firearms sales do not occur at the Bellevue WCA location, and that operations include only sales that are appropriately incidental to the shooting range recreation activity use as required by the permit. These corrections are being made through the temporary certificate of occupancy process and are required to be completed by no later than March 18, 2010.

Now that is funny...

Some NSFW language, but this post just about make me spit out my diet coke.

Disguised Weapons Wanted

Listening...

For the past year I've been in learn mode.

I do this every time I get into something new. When I started shooting seriously, I began looking around at places from which to absorb things. This is my modus operandi and I love it.

I joined the NRA just to get the American Rifleman (I'd grown up on it at my Grandpa's place).

I subscribed to a bunch of gun blogs. Say Uncle, Gun Nuts, Breda, Smallest Minority, etc.

I subscribed to a bunch of iTunes podcasts - The Gun Dudes, ProArms, and the Handgun podcast. The gun dudes are fromUtah, so I get where they are coming from and they're a hilarious bunch.

After over a year of reading/listening I've learned a whole lot, even though I tend to tune out the right-of-center politics for non-gun related stuff.

Its been an interesting year of learning, growth and challenging my own assumptions. I guess whomever said that only the smart people realize how little they know was onto something.

Taking a New Shooter to the Range

Recently I took my wife and friend of hers (plus her husband) to the range for a friday night date. The range is new and was very slick - the reinforced barriers between each bay were reassuring.

So here are a few tips from my experience:

#1 If you were a jerk teaching them to use Email, a stick shift or their phone, just stop now. Hire a pro. Seriously, you'll do more damage than good. Patience and understanding is a must in this game, so if you don't have it, just move along.

#2 Work on the 4 rules of safety. Be serious - no joking around. Make sure they know them well. I did this *before* we went to the range, in my kitchen as I taught my wife how to load, unload and take down the gun. With snapcaps. NO ammo in the room.

#3 Start with something small. I like the 22, as do most people for a first time shooter. Teach them to load one round in the mag/cylinder. You don't want them sweeping you with extra rounds after shooting it. Repeat for awhile. Go over the proper grip, trigger control and sight picture.

#4 This isn't about accuracy. Not even close. Set up a target at a nice 3-5 yards at most to start with. Just shooting is the important part at first, not hitting the bullseye.

#5 Praise.

#6 After they get the feel for it, you can add rounds to the magazine and let them do multiple shots. Stay close by to supervise and remind them of the finger/trigger rule every chance you get. They may even thank you.

You may even want to end here. We didn't. They wanted to try something bigger so I changed back to the 9mm upper and we shot a box of that. They were amazed at the increase in recoil and that it was eminently controllable. They even got some Zombie targets for the last magazine or so - lots of fun.

After about an hour at the range, we were done. Time to wash up and go out for dinner where went over what we'd learned and I answered any questions. It was a very good night. We all had a ball.

Big success.

One website I poached liberally from is here.

So where you been?

I know, I know. Busy doing other stuff. So lets get caught up on where I am as of today.

My last post was in September of last year. Wow. Time flies.

Since then I've done a few things and purchased a few new guns and sold another.

1. Glock 26. Wanted it for two reasons: first to replace my daily carry gun while it went to Kel-Tec for some fixing. I figured while I was at it I might as well get a bigger gun for winter carry. I did a lot of thinking/researching/spreadsheets on the different 9mm options out there.

What I really wanted was a Kel-Tec PF9 but those are impossible to find round these parts. I narrowed it down to the Glock 26, a Walther PPS and a Kahr MP9. In the end I went for the Glock because it would work with my nice stockpile of Glock magazines, which is pretty cool. I'll probably get a PF9 when they become available again because they're so cheap. I love my Glocks for simplicity, reliability and flexibility, and the 26 has not disappointed me. The only issue is thats a pretty thick gun.

2. Marlin XSL in .308. I need a gun that can reach out and touch things from a distance. But I don't like rifle shooting that much, so this was a nice compromise over my annoyingly high-shooting Mosin Nagant. Got it on sale at Cabelas and it shoots like a dream. I popped a illuminated Tru-Glo scope on it with some nice rings and I can shoot a quarter size hole at 100 yards easy enough.

Like I said, I don't like rifle shooting as much as pistols, but its good to have.

I bought a quad rail front end for my Kel-Tedc Sub2000, and it works pretty well, although I noticed on my last range trip it was loose and needs tightening (and probably some loc-tite). I was trying to sight in a red dot that I put on a quick-release platform (the gun folds, so the red dot has to come off) and ended my quest right there.

One thing that bugs me is that I found the Kel-Tec is one dirty gun - after shooting a few rounds of S&B 9mm FMJ - I noticed that the rounds in the magazine were filthy. As in covered with black residue. Not sure if that is normal, but it was disconcerting.

Another big advance for me was that I got my wife to the range. But there is a backstory there too.

I've been going to the local (and cheap) outdoor range close by, but its a bit of a drag in that you can't draw from the holster and the range is pretty basic. I like it, but wanted something more. I dislike the guys at Wade's guns in Bellevue, so I was happy to see that West Coast Armory was opening a new range close by. Its a dream.

Its brand new, has a pro shop and several different bays. I bought a lifetime membership (ouch) and get special access to the LEO bay that will let people move and shoot without the bays in the other two ranges. Its going to be cool. They'll also do IDPA in there I hear. In the regular bays, each is protected by bulletproof dividers, so chances of getting hit by and ND is much lower. That and I'm in the upper membership bay, so that limits who goes in there some.

So I went to check out the range, got a tour and signed up. Once I got over the pain of the initial payment, its going to cost the same as the outdoor range with alot more plusses. Awesome.

Anyhow, back to my story. I have mentioned to my wife I wanted her to learn the basic mechanics of the handguns. I took out the Bersa Thunder 380 and Glock 17 and safely showed her the various parts and how it works (no ammo in sight, snap caps for training). She liked the Glock alot more and felt she'd be confused with all the levers on the Bersa.

Then we recruited a friend and her husband to go on a date night to the range and had a ball. We started slowly, using the 22 upper kit for the Glock and walked slowly thru each.

I did alot of research before hand on how to teach people to shoot, and followed it to a T. But more on that later.

Overall it was a great experience and we'll be doing it periodically with contests to see who can shoot the best.

What I'm carrying on a daily basis

Hey folks. Been Mr. Slacker with the blog already. I do a few other blogs and I'm very good with those. This one? Not so much.

I saw an interesting post on several other gun blogs about what people carry daily, so I decided to add my own.

My wife pretty much thinks I'm nuts for carrying all this, and I can see why. So here is my pictorial assemblage for my on-person carry stuff:

Lets go clockwise from the firearm...

1. Glock 26. I bit thick, but it works and I can use my other Glock 9mm magazines (including my 33 rounders if needed). My Kel-Tec P3AT is in for service and I wont see it for a month or more. It was not doing a good job of feeding the first round.

I carry this glock with the pants clip IWB at 5 o'clock. I carry it without a round in the chamber for obvious reasons. I have one of those trigger sheath things on order, but have no experience with it.

1 Extra 10 rounder magazine. Both full of 124 grain +p Remington Golden Saber hollow-points.

2. Wallet - self explanitory

3. Paracord bracelet - carry 6-7 feet of paracord with you at all times. Useful for alot of stuff and can be undone is seconds.

4. Lockpick kit (red) for picking when I lock myself out or lose the key.

5. SOG Flash II knife - compact, sharp and was pretty inexpensive.

6. Goinggear.com Ferro Rod Flints - these things rock. I forget which model this is.

7. Leatherman Juice XE6 in purple - the girly color makes it easy to find when I drop it on the ground.

8. iPhone in case - for running Surefire's shot timer, of course

9. Uzi Tactical Pen - ha ha I know. Its new and goofy. But its a great kubaton and writes stuff too.

10. Flashlight - iTP A3 EOS Upgraded - 90 lumens on 1 AAA battery - in a very small package. I don't like the controls for this, but have yet to find another mini flashlight that is so bright. With lanyard in orange for finding it. Bought at goinggear.com as well

The leatherman, flashlight, flint and lockpick kit go in a belt holder. The knife in my left pocket (opposite the firearm) and the extra magazine goes either in my pants pocket or a belt holder.

Ah, and I forgot to put my keys in there. They are the standard keysets on a locking carabiner with an REI aluminum whistle and Photon squeeze flashlight.

I've also added a set of latex examination gloves to the mix.

My vehicles all have an extended Bug Out Bag with much more...

Visiting the Big Boxes

So I did some hiking/cave exploring near Mt. St. Helens this weekend with my boy scout troop. We had 12 boys in the depths of the Ape Caves and had a hoot. It did rain on us Friday night, but I'd brought a comfy tent, big sleeping bag and thick pad. NormallyI'm an ultralight camper and don't splurge much in that department. As my wife says, I usually go out with a hankie, a small sheet of plastic and a blanket. She's not far off.

Anywho...

On the way down, I grabbed by son from school and we left earlier than the rest of the troop. Two reasons:

a) it was a pretty day, I love hanging out with my son and...

b) Cabelas is on the way.

I stopped at Cabelas last week and bought a black powder rifle and a few other things. Cabelas is in Lacy, which is just before Olympai, making it quite a drive from the homestead. About 1.5 hours or so. It takes along time to get there, so this was my first visit.

I tend to frequent the local gun shops here, mostly because I like supporting small businesses and because I don't wanna drive 3 hours for a box of 9mm ammo.

So, anyhow, the revolver I bought last week was defective, so I wanted to exchange it. Ugh. Exchanging regulated items is such a pain. And the best part was that they gave me a brand new one with the same problem. The little doohickey that secures the ramrod on the front of the barrel comes out of the dovetail. Weird. In fact, all the guns they had did likewise.

So after 2 hours of paperwork, shuffling etc, we ended up taking the new one with the same problem and me planning on doing some home gunsmithing. A tap from a punch and maybe some JB weld and it will save me hours staring at a gun counter.

Ugh.

The other reason I went there was to get powder/caps. I figured I'd get that stuff later around home. Nope. Nobody around here carries it. At least within 30 miles.

So I was chagrinned to find that they were outta caps. Ugh.

So we bought some siliconized socks for a few long guns and headed to the campout.

On our way back, we decided to check out SportCo. I think this is the company that took over/replaced/bought out Sportsman's Warehouse. Didn't know they'd had issues, but regardless.

SportCo is quite a bit closer to home. About 30 minutes. Nice.

They had a nice stock of stuff and I found the caps/powder in stock. Easy peasy.

Now I can go to the range this week and shoot this sucker.

PS. Yes, I carry a gun on all scout outings. I figure, I'm one of the adults in charge and since I carry anyhow, I'm going to be prepared for cougars and anything else that comes our way.

P.S.S I looked at a Taurus Judge while buying powder. It was pretty nice. I'd mostly want it for 45 LC and not .410. Seems to me to be a better backcountry gun than the Kel-Tec .380 I carry now. Bigger, and heavier though.

Heading to St. Helens...

Should be fun enough.

But the best part is that I can swing by Cabelas on the way.

Cabelas used to hold no position in my mind. REI was my sporting goods store.

Well, things change. Now I need primers and Pyrodex and some lube. And I need to look at stocks for my Mossy 500.

REI? They got nothin (and everything they do have there is too heavy for my ultra-lightweight pack anyhow).

So hooray for Cabelas - the only place I can find that will carry Pyrodex. Just gotta figure out how one stores it now....

Took the new Mossberg 500 to the range this week and put some slugs down range. I was surprised at the recoil - I was expecting less and it gave me more. I'd say more than my Mosin-Nagant. Just surprised, thats all...

I managed to hit the target at 50 yards. 3 in the same hole, the rest scattered a bit. Shot standing up too. Need practice.

The other reason I'm going to Cabelas is to exchange the black powder revolver I picked up there last week. The little clip that holds the loading lever fell off when I put the latter thru its intended motion. Plop on the floor, very unceremoniously.

Odd that.

Bleh. Monday

Having issues with my Mac at home. Stupid snow leopard has got me down.

And, of course, the local range is closed till Wednesday so I can't take either of my two new purchases out for a spin today while I wait for backups to save my skin.

As I mentioned last week, I bought a Mossberg 500 last week to round out my collection. Now I have a nice 20 gauge shotgun with both home and field barrels. Nice, ready to roll. I picked up some buckshot today at the gun store so I now have birdshot, slugs and buck on hand.

I also, in a moment of weakness, bought a black powder Navy revolver from Cabelas this week when I was driving by en route to Portland. $129 bucks for the brass framed Confederate Navy version (i.e. the cheap one) went home with me. Otta be fun for some laughs. Some guy at the range a while back had me shoot some black powder stuff and I knew I'd eventually bite...

I also got a bore-snake and some more hoppes #9 on sale as well. Of course, the sale stuff leaked all over the back of my truck, but its like incense for gunnies anyhow. Mmmm. My truck smells good.

In California...

So I'm in California for a few days. Flew in yesterday and leave tomorrow AM.

I used to live here in the Bay Area and I don't miss it. Not at all. Ok, maybe the weather I miss on rainy days in Seattle, but that is about it.

There are too many people, everything is expensive as hell, and the south bay (where the mothership resides) has this awful strip-mall aesthetic.

Since becoming a gun owner, these trips to CA have been an exercise in silliness. I bring a gun always (checked luggage, its easy), but since CA has very restrictive gun laws, I have to make sure I pack only my 10 round magazine for the Glock. I can't carry it on me, so it stays in unloaded in a locked box in the trunk. Which does me little good. Today I went on a 5 mile walk down the Steven's Creek Trail and it was the first time I'd been out without a gun on me in more than 6 months. It felt weird. I resent being disarmed thusly - and while I understand I can technically open carry an unloaded gun in CA, that just does not seem like a good idea.

What kinda backward idiots make conceal carry illegal and provide for open carry? Ugh. I sure don't miss CA.

I hate being targeted by these restrictions when I'm a law abiding citizen.

Amen.

I lived with and believed those misperceptions for most of my adult life.

I'm Baaaaack!

Oh man, what a slacker.

I mean a month!

To be fair, it was a crazy month. I got sick. My kids got sick. We had several out of town trips (soccer, backpacking trip, family reunion) and I really wasn't at home for much of August.

So here I am, back and the kids are finally in school. Time to breathe. Wahoo.

So here are a few things on my mind:

1. Carrying guns at health care rallies. This happened in August and the media went all apoplectic (yes, I love that word, and it fits). Personally, I see two sides: 1) people should see people exercising their rights with guns but 2) you'll look like a whacko to anyone not plugged into gun rights. Deadly weapons are *not* kosher for the unwashed masses. They see them as scary. Dangerous. More scarier. And so parading around with them makes them think we're barking mad. Of course, maybe they'd stop thinking that if they saw more of them. So yes, I get the point and I respect what some are trying to do here. Where do I fall? Not sure.

2. Healthcare debate. Sheesh. I read alot of conservative blogs nowdays - mostly gunny stuff - but I'm really a bit fed up with the blathering on healthcare. I wanna read your blog to learn about shootie stuff, not your weirdo conspiracy theories on how Obamacare will put mom on an ice flow. I lived with Canadian healthcare most of my first 20 years and it rocked. It was awesome. And it still serves my parents wonderfully. The one thing that puzzles me though, is people who say its the US government that can't do it right, even if others can. Huh, that is an odd thought. Not sure if I see this as realistic or a cop out.

3. Van Whatever his name is. More political crapola. You yanks get all tied up over partisan politics and don't realize that your two party system is broken. Its broken big time. You get corrupt republicans on one hand and corrupt democrats on the other. Money makes them all do the same things for the same backroom dealers, regardless of the rhetoric. We lost power decades ago and its now just a game for the big men. Too bad we don't have a parlimentary system that lets alternate voices have an actual say instead of waste time/effort/money and votes. And yes, I'm very familiar with the downsides of such a system, but they are easier to handle than the wreck of a democracy we have now. Sigh.

4. Obama talking to your kids. Sheesh. Seriously? This is tying you up in knots? The outrage I've been seeing over this from people I otherwise respect is just insane. Do you really think Obama is going to sit down and indoctrinate lil' Billy, reading directly from Mao's little Red Book? Seriously? Hell. Back here in RealityLand, he's just going to tell them to work hard and get good grades. And they released the text before hand so you could stop hyperventilating. The way people were freaking was almost like we were headed for a Killing Fields style camp for reeducation instead of an inspiring (ok people, ignore the politics, look at what he's done/overcome - he's our first black president with a dad who hearded goats!) story to help an increasingly lazy and incapable youth. And yes, I *know* the many of them are weak, lazy and ill prepared to handle freedom - I'm a scout leader and I see first hand the results of parents who don't expect anything from their kids, give them everything and let them fiddle with their stupid X-box paddles as their only chore. No expectations. No work ethic. Just soft and lazy pudding people. I wish this wasn't true, but it is.

Ok, so lets turn the tables. I was a major George Bush hater. I really dislike the guy, but I wouldn't have minded him talk about banalities and maybe tell an inspiring story or two to my four kids in school. Shrug. Like he'd make them read Kristol or something. Ok, maybe the "what you can do for your president stuff was a bit silly" though...

5. Politics. Feck! Forget it. I bought another gun today. I finally rounded out my arsenal with a Mossberg 500 20 gauge shotgun. Got the 20 because its a bit easier for kids/the wife to handle. And because Mas said it was a good choice on ProArms awhile back. I got the two barell kit (field, home defense) for $279 at Big 5. I'd gone to the local armory and they only had 12's in stock. So I had to go to the big box store. Ugh. But that isn't a bad deal. Sweet. So now I have a sweet home defense shotgun that I gotta get to know.

6. Took my Mosin Nagant to the range a few times in the last few weeks. Here is the short rundown of my travails: 1) Shot 20 rounds, didn't even hit the target at 100 yards. Scared me. I have a 22 LR that I shoot like a champ, so I was concerned. Went home frustrated. 2) Went back. Finally hit the target at 50 yards. Was all over the place. managed to put a few holes in at 100 yards too, but it looks like crap. I was concerned I had a bad bore (no idea how to tell really, I'm a newbie remember) or the crown was crapped up. I decided to put it back in the original wood stock (had it in an ATI synthetic stock - a moment of weakness in Cabelas in July). Maybe that would help. 3) Went back and after a few poor shots noticed I was flinching when I shot. I then analyzed what I was doing and I was flinching like a madman. I mean, really bad. The rifle has alot more recoil than I've been used to with my 22s or handguns, so I was jumping at it. I forced myself to calm down and voila (yes I speak French) things stared to settle down. The rifle shoots a bit high, but I pulled a 2" group at 50 and an 7" group at 100 yards. Not perfect, but much better. Turns out all my worry about a bad gun/bore/crown blah blah was due to me acting all goofy when I pulled the trigger. Controlling myself changed everything.

I have much to learn...

7. Monster Hunter International - this book oozed fun. I really enjoyed it. I had a really hard time with the first chapter though. Let me get this out - I'm a total literature snob. I read. A lot. And I like appreciate literature. Thus, I hate reading poorly written stuff. Why waste time when there are so many great books out there. And yes, I'd flog Dan Brown if I ever met him. I like Steinbeck. I love Nabokov. Willa Cather. Mark Twain. Joyce. But sometimes they don't write stories about vampires, so I read other stuff (aka slumming it). I loved World War Z (after I made fun of someone for reading it), so when I read about MHI somewhere (Gun Nuts?) I bought it for my iPhone and ended up really liking it. The first chapter really didn't impress me and I almost put it down. But in the end I persevered and the writing got better and the story line sucked me in. My only other complaint was that the shootie stuff was too much. I respect that he knows what he's talking about. I respect that he does not talk about 1911 revolvers and "everything is an Ak", but the shooting parts were overdone. I mean, worse than Mac Boland bad. And the shooting hardly does anything good anyhow. So maybe I'd mellow on the tacticool descriptions a bit.

PS. I also like it because the author is Mormon and I saw some mormon theology in there. I saw it immediately and loved it. I knew what I was reading and confirmed with some google work. You go Larry. I forgive you for that shaky first chapter and the gunny-McGunny focus somtimes.

Go get it.

8. Obama Joker. Its just that - a joke. I see no racist overtones here. Its also very clever. I like clever. Those people on the left who freaked out over this are just goofy. And no, I don't think Obama is a socialist. Or a communist. Not even close. That banter is just to rile up and distract one side. The other side gets riled up and distracted by something else. Maybe chickens in a cage or some sort of non-CFL lightbulb armageddon.

9. Little Black Book of Violence - a great read (part way thru) on avoiding violence and why. Very good when you walk around with a deadly weapon every day and want to avoid trouble. I love his advice on how to let things roll over and thru you. I'm getting older and certainly feel a bit wiser than that dumb 21 year old kid I once was. Pick your battles - and most are not worth fighting...

Hot. Hot. HOT!

Freaking freakity freak. Its hot here in WA. It hit 106 at yesterday.

Ugh.

Well, I used that as an excuse to go buy a nice 22 rifle. I kid. Honestly, I went into the gun shop just to see what they had...

They had a scoped Marlin Model 60 SN (synthetic stock) with an acceptable scope on it for a decent price, so after humming and hawing about for a while, I went for it. It looky like this. Except I have a better scope on it.

I have a Henry Survival Rifle in .22 LR that works great, but its not a great gun for plinking, so I was on the look out for a good, reliable and inexpensive 22. It will serve to teach my son to shoot, go plinking and maybe piss off a zombie or two when they invade.

I took it to the range and its a tack driver. This is the first time I can be accused of tearing a ragged hole in a target. The shots went a bit high and to the left, so after some dial time with the Bushnell scope, I was in business.

This is a 14 round tube fed magazine. And I think I like that more than a 10/22 with a detachable magazine - I'm growing to hate the magazine thumb I get from all the autoloaders I have.

I shot 100 rounds and had no issues feeding. So accuracy and reliability. Sweet.

PS. If you're counting, that is #6

Two Things - Conceal Carry & Heathcare

Personally, I like the idea of concealed carry permits.

Let me state up front that I really get the whole "its a right, I shouldn't need a permit" idea. I know where you are coming from and I'm not saying your notion isn't without merit. But part of me still thinks that its OK to ask citizens to demonstrate our sanity before putting a gun in our pocket.

Honestly, I don't want felons to have guns. I don't want some dude whose been in and out of the institution and wears a tinfoil hat to carry a gun. I don't want that guy with a restraining order or who beats his wife to have a gun. That just isn't rational or safe.

I want it safe for law abiding citizens to carry guns.

So I didn't have much of a problem going down and submitting to a background check and some fingerprints. Personally, I wish they'd required a few hours of class time too. Honestly, not everyone is as thorough as I am (ahem) and spends beaucoup time looking into concealed carry before doing it. I spent hours reading, watching videos and discussing options and responsibilities before I took the plunge, and I probably still don't know everything I should. But I tried really hard and continue to. I think that anyone who wishes to carry a deadly weapon better be clear on many things first, and mandatory training is probably the best way to do it.

With regard to the national reciprocity bill that got nuked this week: I was all for it because traveling is such a pain now (as I've discussed over the last week). But at the same time, I can see the argument from those opposed that the state with the least restrictions will force others to have to accept this, even if the people of said state want a bit more from their own carriers.

I guess the states with no permit (Alaska and Vermont, any others?) rely on the other gun laws to keep the nutbars out? Maybe that works. Thoughts?

Secondly, healthcare. I love the gun blog-o-sphere. But I'm really getting sick of the healthcare crap getting thrown in all the time. Ugh.

Honestly, I'm a big fan of a more rational approach to healthcare. Our current system sucks. And before you get all uppity, consider that I know what I'm talking about. I've lived with Canadian healthcare for half my life and it is a really great system.

No really. Its always been there for me and my family and all the doomsday crap I hear about it is just silly fear mongering and ignorance.

Oh, and a good conservative friend of mine once outlined his fears by stating it wasn't *any* government healthcare program that he feared, just a US-based one. His opinion was that the US government is just too inept and corrupt to do it right, even if others can and have done a better job of it.

That kinda floored me. Of course, he was more than happy with the MIC and them having keys to the nukes, but healthcare was right out.

Really? Is this a common thought?

Response!

Got a response from Senator Murray already:

Dear Mr. Morganthen,

Thank you for writing to me regarding S. Amdt. 1618, Senator Thune (R-SD)'samendment to provide for uniform reciprocity for concealed weapon possession across the country. It is good to hear from you.

Senator Thune's amendment would allow gun owner with a right to carry concealed weapon in one state the right to carry a concealed weapon across the United States. Like you, I am concerned about the level of violence in this country, and its effect on our families and communities. Legislation to regulate the use of firearms is and should remain primarily a state issue. I believe that our national crime-fightingstrategy should include reasonable measures to control firearms that strike a balance between reducing street crime and maintaining individuals' rights.

As a U.S. Senator, I have supported common-sense measures to reduce or restrict gun violence while posing the least possible inconvenience to law-abiding gun owners. Please know that as the Senate considers this and other firearms legislation, I will keep your concerns regarding this important issue in mind. If you would like to know more about my work in the Senate, please feel free to sign up for my updates at http://murray.senate.gov/updates. Thank you again for writing, and please keep in touch.

ha ha. It almost seems like they missed my point...

Vote on Natioanl Conceal Carry

I just got done emailing my senators from Washington to suport the Thune/Vitter amendment to the DOD authorization bill. I used some text copied from a template I found somehwere on the internet and added some of my own recent history traveling thru 5 states and doing the gun juggle.

So I'd urge you to contact your sentaor with your support as well...

Armed Again

I'm back in Utah. It was sure nice to pop that Kel-Tec back into my pocket after a week without. Peace of mind.

I have my two older boys with me and we did some shooting in the desert a few days ago. I also shot my Mosin Nagant for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at how it handled. The action isn't smooth by any stretch, and that is slightly annoying - you gotta pay attention to the action to make sure it opens, loads the round and closes properly. I'm sure it will get more normal as I do it. The rifle is certainly heavy and I'm sad to report the new resin stock didn't change the weight much at all. I was hoping to take off a bit of the weight. The kick of the gun was totally manageable and I've decided to scope it - I already have the parts, just gotta find a gunsmith to put it on.

We also shot some .22 and had quite a bit of fun plinking with cans and the like. My older boy was quite accurate with his shooting overall. Proud papa.

I'm slowly trying to introduce my kids to the guns, their safe use and right now I'm really drilling in the 4 rules. I made them repeat them like 20x - between each mag change and the like. I sure wish I would have had this when I was a kid.

My 12 year old son shot the Glock with 22 LR kit from Advantage Arms and I even let him shoot a magazine of 9mm just so he could see how it handled. He did a great job of keeping that gun under control and was hitting what he wanted to at 25 ft or so. Not bad.

Now back to work...

Terrified

I loved this:

http://blog.joehuffman.org/2009/07/17/HesReallyOnOurSideRight.aspx

Joe Huffman points out the irrational feeling many in our society have for guns.

A man in the parking lot adjusting his concealed carry piece is a "gruff, dangerous man" who is ready to kill everyone.

A woman talking on a cell phone from, gasp, out of state has a pistol in her purse with children present!

Etc.

The poster on "The Gun Guys" (who, btw, didn't fool me for a minute when I started reading the gun blogosphere) is either truly terrified of these scenarios or trying to add a bit of melodrama around the scenes to scare the rest of us. The latter is a time-honored technique, honed and polished to a shining turd in the national discourse. Bush and his cronies were very effective and have made their little friends billions of dollars using this tactic. And if you think the left is going to sit by and not learn from their, ahem, little advancements, you're fooling yourself.

As for me, I recognize the fear here. I used to feel it when I saw a gun in public, as I detailed a few posts ago. Guns are equated in the modern media with rapid-fire death. Guns are shown as the "way to solve problems" in 99% of the situations we see portrayed on TV and in the movies. I like a good shoot-em up as much as the next guy, but honestly, the depictions are far from reality. Bam bam! Problem solved and I get the girl. Uh huh.

So consider this:

There are millions of people carrying responsibly each day around you. On your next trip to Starbucks or Nordstrom, consider that someone in your immediate periphery has a legal handgun tucked away for self defense. How many times have you seen a shoot out? Pools of blood at the park or in the restaurant because someone had a gun around children!

Not often. It does happen, and criminals will continue on occasion to perpetrate their evil.

But for the law abiding citizen like myself, that gun is there only to defend myself and my family. And unlike TV, it will only happen as an ultimate last resort. I'll get myself out of most every predicament, even dangerous ones, without having to draw it.

And personally, I've decided that I will only do so to save myself or my family. If I were in a supermarket and a shoot out happened in front, I'd take myself out the back. No heroics. I just don't want to pay the price for mistakes if I shoot the wrong person or a ricochet hits a bystander. If they come at me in said supermarket, different story, but that is my current thinking. I hear that there is a $10K price tag attached to each bullet I shoot. Ouch. I'll only spend that when absolutely necessary.

So unlike that terrible crime drama you shouldn't watch on TV (read a book, please) I won't go looking to solve every problem with a gun. Blood will not run in the streets. Kids are perfectly safe around me (mine are) and that won't change because some misguided person tries to scare everyone else into thinking otherwise.

How about you?

Still Disarmed

I'm still in the four corners region and I'm still disarmed.

After just getting used to carrying all the time, and liking the extra reassurance that it gives, I really hate not having my Kel-Tec on me.

Stupid, stupid.

On the positive side, we were out in the desert a few days back and I got to try two new types of JHP self defense ammo in the Kel-Tec. Self Defense .380 has been impossible to find for the past 6 months, so I was happy to visit a few stores with some MagTech and Corbon JHP stuff in stock.

I bought a few (expensive) boxes and took it out for some shooting. I learned early to make sure to test your ammo before it becomes your carry load, for obvious reasons that if it causes a misfeed, then you're SOL and might as well not have the gun in the first place. Makes sense.

So I put 20 rounds of both thru the gun with zero problems. And it was amazingly accurate - shooting both close up targets (7-10 meters - yes the metric system is better) and stuff farther away at 25 m. I setup a man-size target at that latter distance and was able to put 6 rounds into it quickly - center of mass with an acceptable grouping size. This *is* a pistol for close in distance, so I was happily surprised at the results.

The ammo was:

• CorBon DPX- 80 grain JHP - solid copper bullet intended to minimize penetration and maximize expansion. This stuff was expensive at $30 a box for 20 rounds. Ouch. They claim it retains 100% of bullet weight and has a higher fps. Mostly greek to me, but ok.
• MagTech Guardian Gold - 85 grain JHP +p load (technically) - traditional HP design, and much cheaper at $13 a box.

I'm just happy to have self defense stuff again. I've been carrying around the same 6 rounds of Remmington Golden Sabre for 8 months.

Anyone have any thoughts on their preferred .380 loads for small guns like this? How many rounds do you put thru in testing? At $30 a box, I was hesitant to do more with the CorBon stuff, but maybe I'm being cheap.

Open Carry

Ok, so someone suggested that Nationwide open carry was the way to address my conceal carry query from the other day.

Honestly, its a good thought, but in the end, I think Open Carry in normal, everyday routine, is a complete non-starter.

Concealed carry is by far the best thing to happen to gun owners in the past 20 years. We get to arm ourselves legally and the malefactors don't know which of their intended victims is really to strike back. With open carry, they know immediately, and its like an invitation to being the fist one shot. With concealed carry, random as it is, the criminal mindset is reinforced negatively - it can work like slot machines, where random reinforcement is enough to drive people to peeing in change buckets rather than go to the bathroom.

Think of that flawed 20-20 episode intending to bunk concealed carry. You know, where the guy with the gun in a classroom was set in the same spot so the armed intruder could come right in and pop him - no guessing, no wondering, just pop pop (simunitions) and they were dead. Oh look! Conceal Carry does not work.

Fail.

And open carry is likewise. I'm all for open carry in the wilderness - that rattlesnake or cougar won't do a double take and slink away if they spot that XD on your hip.

But in the real world, that gobshite criminal will just pop you first...

PS. I noticed on the gun blogs that there is some sort of national conceal carry law making the rounds. Would love to see this pass if it does just that and nothing more...