Going to be ignoring the blogosphere for a bit.

Have a new fuzzy thing trying to kill her toys and wear us out. :)

ATTN: MD residents who have legally purchased HBARs and AR10s out of state.

The police may be coming for you.

I'd like to know who's making all these random decisions without notifying the public.

More info regarding Saturday's post.

Go read it here.

Do you want your kids to learn how to use a knife properly?

Do you live in Eastern Pennsylvania?

If so, this might be worth checking out. It's a half-day $20 workshop that includes the sharp&shiny.

H/T BoingBoing

God, it's even worse than we thought.

From an email I recieved from Associated Gun Clubs:

Governor Compromises the Privacy of Thousands of Maryland Citizens

We have confirmed earlier reports that on orders from Governor O'Malley, the Maryland State Police are sharing the personal information on 77R firearms purchase application forms with the following non-MSP government agencies:

Department of Human Resources (DHR)
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Department of Transportation
Department of Public Safety
Correctional Services of Department of General Services

This will impact no less than the 38 thousand Maryland citizens who are currently still waiting for the MSP to "Not Disapprove" their applications to purchase a regulated firearm.

It is our information that state employees are being offered "comp time" to work this weekend doing data input. Other than a reported confidentiality agreement, there appears to be no effort to investigate the possible criminal backgrounds of these employees.

These forms contain the applicant's name, address, date and place of birth, social security number as well as information on the firearm the applicant intends to purchase. The Maryland State Police have lost control of the Licensing Division.

At this time, we will not publicly speculate on the Governor's political motivation for this action.

I have no words.

The MDSP have released criteria for the license to own pistols/restricted firearms in Maryland.

More info here.

I believe I've said this many times before, but I truly hate this state. This will completely affect my ability to take newbies to the range, and I abhor this infringement of my and my friends' rights.

I'm not qute sure how to title this post.

I'm still way behind in checking blog posts. Home time is mostly spent with Chris and in cleaning the house in preparation for a new member of the family joining us soon (NOT a two-legged screaming thing, so don't even suggest it), work time is spent working. So I mostly mark everything as read to avoid getting overwhelmed.

Well, two days ago a fellow blogger did a pretty remarkable thing...especially considering how many pro-gun folks tend to be very against the idea of people's genders not fitting the bodies with which they were born.


I know really, really well how hard it is to admit something that major to family and friends. To admit it to a large crowd of people that may or may not support one is ... stressful. And terrifying. And I'm thrilled to see so many people supporting her.

This isn't eloquent; it's late, my brain is squish, and I'm not terribly good at using my words with that combination of situations. Just go read what she has to say.

Satisfaction.

Satisfaction is taking a person from total gun newb to multiple purchases in the span of less than a year. I love being able to help that progression along. The person in question had only ever handled long guns (and maybe twice, at that) before I took him to the range to learn to shoot pistols. He has taken this new hobby beyond my expectations. He now has a collector's license and has decided on everything he's buying between now and 10/1. He's acquired at least two AR lowers, has three pistols lined up, an M1A, and is considering an AR10 after things settle down.

He was previously uninvolved in politics, and I even got him to go with me to the protest back in the beginning of the year. One person at a time, we're winning.

The worst thing about going on vacation...

Is trying to pick up where you left off before you went away.

After 8 days disconnected, I'm a bit behind. Marking most things as read. If I've missed something important, please let me know.

Went to the range last night with my cousin, took the newest pistol, have questions.

Last night my cousin and I went to the range for a mutual birthday paper-killing event. He brought his Glock and his stainless (ooh, shiny) Springfield 1911, I brought my PX4 subcompact 9.

Observations:
We're both incredibly rusty. It took him a couple of mags to get decently small groups. It took me less time, but I'm also not quite used to the pistol, so I was trying to compensate for that.

The Springfield is a very nice pistol. Cousin agrees - he finds he likes it more than the Glock. This guy LOVED the Glock when he bought it. I guess it's that first gun bliss. Not that I can blame him - the 1911 he owns is a much nicer gun. Doesn't rattle, doesn't show any wear, doesn't malf as long as the mags are Wilson.

The Beretta...frustrates me. Since my first trip to the range with it, I get problems near the end of a mag (and occasionally midway through the mag, if I load it all the way). It's had maybe 200 rounds through it since purchase. I know the feed issues midway through the mag are likely related to user error, but I can't quite understand why it won't feed properly.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert in malfunctions, so bear with me:
1 - Fire a round. Fires fine.
2 - Fire a round. Casing ejects, gun strips new round out of the mag, slide doesn't return to proper firing position.
3 - Pull slide back and lock open. Unfired round falls out.
4 - Goto 1.

This happened VERY frequently the first 2 times I took it to the range. Frustrated, I would pack it back up instead of working through the issue. Chris has NOT had this issue when he's put a box through it. I'm thinking some of my issue may come from having shot only metal firearms until this point, but I'd like the input of the masses. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I'm going to try to go to the range with Chris, and have him take video of me firing it so I can get a better idea of what I'm doing wrong.