New Hornady Products

One thing I do like about this time of year is first hearing about new shooting-related products that will debut at the SHOT Show. Today I received an e-mail from the good folks in Grand Island, Nebraska, Hornady Manufacturing, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2009.

My atavistic eyes were first attracted to the .338 Marlin Express. The .33 Winchester has always fascinated me since first reading about it in old Elmer Keith articles. It was a .45-70 necked down to .338 by Winchester for the 1886 Winchester. I first assumed the new Hornady release was simply a necked-up .308 Marlin Express. However, the .338 Marlin Express actually stems from the .376 Steyr. Hornady claims it will match the ballistics of a .30-06 with 180-grain bullets out to 400 yards.

The .338 Marlin Express offers nearly the same velocity and muzzle energy at 200 yards as Elmer's .33 Winchester put out at the muzzle. And the 200 gr. FTX™ boat tail will only be 1.2" low at 200 yards when zeroed 3 inches high at 100 yards. The Marlin ain't Great Grandpappy's 1886 Winchester or Grandma's .348 Winchester Model 71.

Hopefully neither the .308 nor .338 Marlin Express rounds will go the way of the .307 and .356 Winchester cartridges. With the release of FTX™ bullets to reloaders, Hornady has taken a huge step in fostering their survival.

I'd say those who use a .45 Colt revolver for self-defense will like the new 45 Colt LEVERevolution® round. Us cold-weather pistol packers will benefit from Critical Defense™ ammunition for the .380, 9mm and .38 Special, which also utilizes FTX™ bullets, that "will expand reliably EVERY SINGLE TIME!" The bullets are advertised as being able to penetrate heavy clothing, even leather, unlike many conventional hollow points. If these puppies test out, Hornady will certainly grab a larger chunk of the civilian self-defense and law enforcement ammunition market it gained through TAP®.

A Gun Hugger's Christmas List

It's Black Friday, and so far I've only heard of one death and one injury caused by greedheads swooping down on stacks of Chinese imports at a Long Island, NY, Wal-Mart.

One shouldn't confuse Black Friday with Black Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, which have been part of the national lexicon since the 1929 Wall Street Crash. But there may be traders jumping out windows next Monday and Tuesday if the Black Friday sales results aren't good.

Since I don't venture out on Black Friday, I've been shopping online for stuff on the kids' Christmas lists. Then my inner child kicked in. I compiled a shooting-related Christmas list for Santa, which probably won't do any good cause I've been bad this year.

Santa, here it is:

An EOTech 512 or 516 Holographic Weapon Sight
Para-Ordnance PXT 1911 LTC 9mm pistol
An AR-15 stripped lower
Bulk Winchester or Remington 9mm bullets, 115-grain JHP
Badger Ordnance Gen II tactical latch
Safariland Rapid Light System (RLS)
Stevens Model 200 bolt-action rifle in .243 Winchester

Seven items for a whole week of black days, Santa. Travel safe. Don't drink and drive the reindeer.

The Future of the U.S.: Two Views

Tuesday I read about Professor Igor Panarin's predictions of the decline and break up of the United States into six parts. He also tackles the dollar, "unsecured by anything", the escalation of the U.S. national debt from $2 trillion to $11 trillion in 10 years, and the possibility the dollar could be replaced by the Amero, a common currency between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

He said, "We must break the strings tying us to the financial Titanic, which in my view will soon sink." Panarin, a Russian Foreign Ministry "info war" expert and political scientist, added that "we could claim Alaska - it was only granted on lease, after all."

Thomas Sowell, an economist and Hoover Institute senior fellow at Stanford University, wrote two recent columns, "Jolting" the Economy and Ivan and Boris Again regarding the nationalization of business by the government.

"Politicians who want the power to micro-manage business and the economy know that demonizing those who currently run businesses is the opening salvo in the battle to take over their roles."

Sowell, who studied under Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago, was one of Col. Jeff Cooper's favorite reads for good reason.

I'd like to wish any readers a fabulous, blessed Thanksgiving. After the holiday, tune the MSM out and spend some time reading the works of Sowell, Friedman and Cooper. No doubt you'll be more enlightened about the true state of the economy. That's odd of me, someone with a graduate degree in journalism, to write.

Sunday Afternoon at the Range

It was a fine afternoon in the Osage Cuestas. It must have been near 60 degrees when I drove to the range south of the house. Yesterday I would have lost the target stands to the wind, but today it was gentle. I did have to capture one TQ-19 silhouette that took off toward the north after slipping six staples.

I stapled up some four-inch circles and some TQ-19s at 50 yards. I shot several groups with the new 9mm AR-15 carbine using the edge of the pickup bed as a rest. I then stood a few feet from the end of the bed and took on the TQ-19s. I didn't want to hunt brass in the midst of rotting hedge apples. They also make it difficult to kneel or go prone unless, of course, there's a bunch underfoot and there are people around to laugh when you fall. The Osage Orange trees make some fine shade in July and August, so I can deal with the apples.

The 9mm brass landed in nice cluster on the bed liner just behind the cab. The tightwad Scot in me is disturbed when too much brass is lost.

After 150 rounds of 115-grain JHPs, the bolt carrier started to operate sluggishly and I had a bit too much practice clearing malfunctions. I assumed fouling was the culprit. I opened the carbine up, took out the bolt carrier, wiped it down, reassembled, and still had problems. I put it away and worked at seven and 15 yards with the S&W 642-2 .38 Special I've carried daily since March.

When I took apart the carbine later to clean it, I noticed the large roll pin near the rear of the carrier that secures the counterweight was protruding just enough to drag against the upper receiver channel. I drove it in and lightly staked it so it won't work loose in the future. I'll take it for another spin tomorrow after I finish the morning chores.

Be True to Your Party or Pay: Kansas Politics

I read this column by Mike Henricks of the Kansas City Star even though I'm not a fan. The head comparing the Kansas GOP to Stalin hooked me.

It details political payback, the branding of traitors by both the Democratic and Republican state leadership. Certain people delete those branded from their smartphones. These traitors cease to exist: no chance of being sent to national conventions, no phone calls or e-mails answered, no invitations to Kansas Day ceremonies at the state capitol every January, and no lovely holiday cards from the powerful. It is worse than being sent to the gulag for a politico. A bullet in the back of the head is certainly more merciful.

I've been a registered Republican since 1979, the Jimmy Carter era. However, I have a strong libertarian streak. I never vote for a candidate who says more "common sense gun safety laws" are needed. Criminals by nature fail to abide by the law. There's plenty of laws on the books that can be used to stop their rampages. So I naturally draw the conclusion those candidates don't trust me or most of my country folk.

If politicians do not trust the ordinary citizens they want to represent, I'm not about to trust them. No matter if they are a Democrat or Republican, why would anyone elect a representative who allowed mistrust to stand between them and their constituents? If sent to any seat of government, they will only answer to party insiders, the big contributors, the lobbyists, and the moguls. The trinkets, junkets, private jets, chauffeurs, interns, hookers, easy cash and power will lure them until they're indicted or voted out of office into a firm of lawyers and lobbyists.

I'm not about to let party loyalty blind me from identifying with the natural and civil rights of individuals. Both parties are bankrupt. There is a reason why the founding fathers, who struggled and made provisions for the preservation of the "inalienable rights of man" did not make a single reference to political parties in the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Dear Leaders, the loyalty squad works via a secret ballot at every election. The Stoic philosopher, Seneca the Younger, said, "Every reign must submit to a greater reign." For those who have left the ranks for a position of authority, Seneca's words are good ones to study.

Trickle-down Economics, Chicago Style

This Chicago dentist cut down on paperwork such as filing insurance claims and paying middlemen like the U.S. government.

Doc Kimmel, maybe you can pick up some work in prison, and then become a D.C. lobbyist for some bank holding companies, the UAW, or numerous Wall Street whores when paroled. Go legit. There's more money in it--$372,000 is just petty cash when there's billions to be harvested.

Pimps, prostitutes, snitches, FBI wiretaps, a U.S. attorney who will probably be an Obama administration appointee, Kimmel's high-profile defense attorney Joe "The Shark" Lopez, and a money-laundering dentist--who needs to rent old movies when one has free web access to Chicago crime stories?

Eric Holder, the Next Attorney General?

Prez-elect Obama has supposedly asked Eric Holder, former deputy Attorney General during the last months of the Clinton Administration, to serve as the nation's Attorney General. The Senate must confirm the appointment.

For those who haven't heard, Holder played a part in the pardon of Marc Rich, a fugitive commodities trader and Democratic contributor. Rich's ex-wife Denise spent some time in the Lincoln Bedroom when Barbra Streisand and other Clinton donors didn't have it booked. Jack Quinn, Rich's attorney and Clinton's former White House counsel, lobbyied for the pardon directly through Holder.

In January 2008, Holder joined a few other former Justice Department officials including Janet Reno, Attorney General during the Clinton years, in filing a brief in support of the District of Columbia's gun ban in District of Columbia v. Heller. Holder has been the Obama campaign's senior legal advisor since January 2007. He'll follow Obama's lead in viewing the U.S. Constitution as a "living" and evolving document.