Improves my aim.

RoeDy's Day At The Range (Image from personal collection) by RoeDapple

Obama signature by RoeDapple

When President Obama was pushing Health Care Reform he said his plan would reduce the average family's health care costs by $2,500 per year. The most recent statistics show health care has gone up by $2,370 per family since 2009, more than the previous four years of the Bush administration.

How could he have made a nearly $5,000/year per family error in his calculations?

(image from web source)

Coptic fragment by RoeDapple

This recently released Coptic parchment fragment, measuring 1 1/2" x 3", in part reads,"Jesus said to them, my wife . . ."

66 year old Texan Vic Stacy put 5 shots of .357 magnum revolver rounds into a killer armed with a scoped 30-30 carbine who had already killed two neighbors and their dogs. Police had arrived on the scene but were unable to get a clear shot at shooter Charles Robert Conner with their AR-15 sporting rifles. From 165 yards away Conner's neighbor Vic Stacy had a clear view of the shooter, fired his first shot from his 5" barrel .357magnum and hit Conner in the thigh. Conner then turned his attention to Stacy, who then fired 4 more rounds into the murderous neighbor, killing him.

What, you might ask started this shooting spree? A heavily armed Conner had confronted his neighbor and the neighbor's girlfriend over their dogs pooping in his yard. Clearly a case of one man who had no business with a firearm . . . . and another man who possibly prevented additional killings of responding police officers because he did own (and practiced with) firearms.

More on the story

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/08/14/citizen-shooter-saves-officer-with-amazing-shooting/

The A-Team by RoeDapple

That's right, over 85,000 rounds (estimated) of ammunition fired in my lifetime, and like every episode of "The A-Team", no one has ever been killed or injured as a result of me enjoying my hobby. Contrary to what some believe, firearms are not necessarily designed for the purpose of killing, rather they are designed for launching projectiles in the direction the handler so chooses.

For myself I take great pride in my marksmanship and even if it isn't quite as good as it once was I can still do a pretty fair job of punching holes in downrange paper products.

Gun Sales Are Up, Crime Rates Are Down!

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/september/crime_091911

Maybe we have people like this to thank . . .

Latest FBI violent crime trends by RoeDapple

(image from web source) by RoeDapple

That's right folks! Today is Republican Day, honoring the Republican Party founded on July 6, 1854. To my amazement I found the Republican Party shares its birthday with some notable Americans, including;

Pat Paulsen. Born in 1927, he ran unsuccessfully for president in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992, and 1996. Not sure but I think he ran on the Comedy Ticket.

Nancy Reagan. Born in 1921 and the wife of Ronald Reagan. (My apologies Nancy for divulging your age.)

Sylvester Stallone. 1946. Star of "Rocky", "First Blood", and a lesser known role in "Party at Kitty and Stud's", a 1970 porn flick which was his "break" into the movie industry.

And last but not least, George W. Bush, also a 1946 birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GEORGE W. BUSH and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GOP!!

(image from web source) by RoeDapple

Some of you may have noticed an ongoing theme to some of my blogs in the past. For those of you that haven't . . . Yes, it's true, I like guns! Big guns, small guns, old or new, simple or complex, cheap or expensive. All of 'em. There's a story behind every one of them and I never grow weary hearing them.

As you may have surmised, This song blog will be about . . . Guns!

Please post a song that includes a reference to guns in any form in the title, the lyrics or the artist's name. One song per post and include the title, artist and link or lyrics. Have fun with it, there are literally thousands of them out there!

When a man who is inexperienced with weapons decides to purchase a handgun for possible self defense purposes he is given all knowing advice from nearly every Weapons Enthusiast out there. The latest model of the newest brand, the tried and true that's been around half a century or more, concealability, magazine capacity, caliber . . .

Caliber . . . I have very large hands so any revolver not considered large framed tends to disappear in my paw. Most .357's, .41's and .44's make a good fit for me and I can shoot reasonably well with them. Many self proclaimed authorities on self protection would tell me "Nothing less than a .38 special or a 9mm will be adequate for home defense." Interesting . . .

A female friend recently told me one of these "self proclaimed authorities" I had recommended she talk to gave her the,"Darlin' could I interest you in this two shoot .22 derringer, or maybe this little 'Zapper' .32acp?"

WTF? If it's gonna take "minimum .38 special or 9mm" for me, a 6'3" 240lb man to defend himself, how is a 5'2" 94lb woman gonna do the same with one of those little poppers? I mean, heck no, I don't want to be staring at the business end of one of them but give me a break!

Okay, the line of reasoning here (I'm guessing) is recoil/weight/hand size. Is that reason enough to have them place their trust in a weapon most men would consider inadequate? No. Hell no.

Revolvers chambered in .38/.357, .44 Special and others can be found in small frame configuration. Semi-auto's in 9mm, .40 S&W, .45acp, often found in large framed guns with double stack magazines can also be found in a reduced size suitable for smaller hands.

And recoil? Unmanageable recoil is a matter of letting the gun control you instead of you controlling the gun. When my daughter was 12 she wanted to try shooting the .44 mag. After going over shooting technique I handed the gun to her, expecting to pick it up after it sailed from her hands. The first shot found her with back arched back and gun pointing straight up over her head. Expecting at least a whimper, instead she said,"Well that wasn't so bad!" She proceeded to shoot up the box of full house factory loads. Maybe I need to learn her technique.

An effort is being made by some gun manufacturers and after-market suppliers to make weapons more appealling to women by incorporating color(s). Bad idea. We already have toy manufacturers placing red plugs on the muzzle end so law enforcement can identify a toy from a real gun. Don't put pink weapons out there to confuse things.

In closing I will say I do not recommend or endorse firearms purchase for anyone, male or female, nor do I discourage it. This is a freedom we share, but cannot demand of each other.

Your thoughts on this are welcome . . .

by RoeDapple

Need - noun 1. General: A motivating force that compels action for its satisfaction. Needs range from basic survival needs (common to all human beings) satisfied by necessities, to cultural, intellectual, and social needs (varying from place to place and age group to age group) satisfied by necessaries. Needs are finite but, in contrast, wants (which spring from desires or wishes) are boundless.
(BusinessDictionary.com)

A police officer acquaintance once told me no one ever needs a gun until he or she NEEDS one. From that I am left to assume we as individuals need to determine for ourselves what our needs are.

Using myself as an example I will determine my need for a gun.

Plinking - Definitely need one gun (minimum) for plinking. My first choice for a plinker would be a .22 rifle, scoped and in semi-automatic. Plinking can be done alone but for safety concerns and entertainment value is best in groups of two to five. Targets of opportunity, as I refer to them range from hedge balls, green walnuts, empty shotgun shell and of course . . . . golfballs. So I guess I need one. Always leave your plinking site cleaner than when you arrived.

WAIT!

Clay pigeons - Every Thanksgiving the whole Fam Damnly gets together for mountains of great food, old family recipes and new ones too, a chance for five generations of Dapples and the in-laws to get together. After the meal most of the male family (and some of the ladies) load up the four-wheelers and head for the hill overlooking the big pasture. Cases of bluerock, dove and quail loads and shotguns, mostly 12 gauge. My preferred smokepole for this task is a pump shotgun, 12 gauge of course. Guess that means I NEED at least two guns.

THERE'S MORE!

Target shooting - Yup, as in long range. Best way to do that is with a bolt action center fire rifle. The old eyes aren't quite what they used to be at ranges past about 80 yards so I have opted for variable power scope(s) in top magnifaction range of 12x to 16x. The count continues . . . looks like now I'm at minimum, three guns.

Three Gun Competition - 3-gun involves timed competition among shooters in Rifle, Shotgun and Handgun, mostly high capacity semi-automatic firearms. Although I've never competed in 3-gun, older gents than I still do so I really should have the correct guns in case I get the urge to try. Suddenly I'm at six guns I need!

Self Defense - Taking the Concealed Carry course five years ago was an unregretted personal choice. Deciding not to follow through and apply for the CCW permit was also a personal choice, however after a recent phone call I was assured there was no time limit placed on the paperwork and I still could turn it in. I'm a big guy, 6'3, 240, so would have no problem carrying any reasonably size hand gun. Or guns. The second one is always a surprise. The count stands at eight.

Hunting - Over the years I have hunted game from squirrel size to white tail deer. The guns mentioned so far will suffice for anything hunted thus far but . . . I've never hunted elephant. Or any of Africa's Big Five. For that I would need a large caliber, say .458 Winchester, That would help assure me coming back of my own power and not a mauled mess in a box.

That brings us to nine. Minimum. Firearms are mechanical devices and as such are prone to failure. With that in mind maybe there should be a back-up for each, and variations in manufacturer, caliber, finish . . . there's no limit to the different ways you can add to your NEEDED collection.

I know a collector who has over 150 Winchester 1894 lever action rifles. His goal is to own one of every variation ever manufactured based on caliber, barrel length, finish, limited production runs, etc. I think he is very close but he continues to scour every source trying to find one or two he may have missed.

My own collection is nowhere near as varied as others (I will admit to more than one but less than 1000). I once commented to a friend, "The secret to a large gun collection is never let the wife see all of them at once." Turns out she overheard me so the collection numbers took an immediate nosedive. Working (slowly) on changing that.

Now I know I haven't listed all the perfectly good reasons to exercise my right as guaranteed by our Constitution but I have much faith in the readers here. Y'all tell me now, another good reason to add to the vault!