Gents:

Who has suggestions for science-y websites I should check out that are interesting or funny?  One of my favorites is What If?, which is a dude who uses physics to humorously answer questions like, "What if you pitched a baseball at 90% of the speed of light?"  Another one I enjoy is The Oatmeal, and the blog "Things I Won't Work With" is a great one as well.  Unfortunately, those sites don't update very often, so I need more fodder.  Any suggestions?

Ann Coulter's column this week talks about the unlikelihood of a gun ban happening at the federal level.  Whether you like her or not, she makes good points about how the Democrats will use an AWB to gin up fear with the soccer moms in preparation for the 2014 elections, while not allowing it to come to a vote, for fear of losing Senators like Max Baucus of Montana.  I think she's right, but I hope that NRA members stay active through the 2014 elections and send some of these scumbag gun-grabbers packing just for talking about a ban. 

Full article

This link will take you to a study published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. It's 46 pages long, but worth a read, especially if you're tired of hearing that "more guns equals more crime". Analyzing the data across countries, regions, demographic subdivisions, and time, among others, shows that more guns simply do not equal more crime.

Guns do not make normal people into murderers during fits of rage. An evaluation of convicted murderers shows that about 90% had multiple previous felony convictions. Since those people are already prohibited access to firearms, further restricting them would be pointless.

The study consistently finds that countries/regions/demographic groups/time periods which have higher firearm ownership experience lower rates of violence, although the authors make certain that they distance themselves from claiming causation. Nevertheless, the certainty is that more guns do not equal more death, and they often equal less.

The facts are indisputable, and this debate should be over. The only thing left to argue over is whether higher levels of gun ownership *reduce* violence, or whether that is simply a coincidence. In either case, no evidence exists that society would be made safer through the abolition of firearms, while a good deal of evidence indicates the opposite would be true.
Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy

So the new Guns & Ammo has a review of an interesting idea: an AR-15 that takes AK mags and is chambered for 7.62x39.  Seems like a pretty sweet idea to me, although I see two problems: there is currently no piston-driven variant available, and the handguard is not free-floated.  Strange, if you ask me, since reliability of the AK is its main selling point, and the accuracy of the AR sells them.  Using DI and a non-free floated barrel seems like keeping the worst of both worlds, at least to me.  At any rate, it looks pretty slick; I wonder if the barrel nut is standard AR.  At least that would allow a guy to put on an aftermarket free float handguard, although considering that the rifle starts at $1200, one would think you wouldn't have to immediately turn around and drop a couple hundred more on a handguard...  Anyway, I found another review on the internets, so read it and tell me what you think!

Rifle Shooter Mag LAR-47 Review

Price: $37.99 at Navy Exchange, probably more out in town.
Max lumens: 103
Battery life (rated by Maglite): 5 hours, 15 minutes on high beam; 201 hours on low beam
Size: 1" diameter, 4.8" length
Batteries: 3 "AAA"
Bulb: LED

I had looked at this light a few times for a front pocket EDC item.  I like having a light, but had previously thought that the XL100 was slightly too bulky and bought a Gerber Hail instead.  After realizing that the Hail's exposed tailcap pushbutton was susceptible to being activated in the pocket and epoxying a short chunk of black PVC over the butt of the light, I came to the understanding that my Hail was now the same diameter at both ends as the XL100.  Comparing the 6 lumen output of the Hail to the 103 lumens on the XL100, I bought it. 

First impression: This thing is bright, but it's not going to replace your Surefire.  On the other hand, that's not what I was after anyway.  I just wanted a decently bright, pocketable light for EDC, and the XL100 is a pretty good fit for that role.  It's a bit bulky in the pocket, so you're probably not going to carry this in your business suit, but in the types of pants I wear it's good to go.  (I'm fat, so mostly cargo shorts and and pants.)  The beam is nice and bright, but brightness can be adjusted to fit your liking and preserve battery life.  The beam is not adjustable, so you're stuck with what Maglite thinks is the optimum beam.  That said, I like the beam for what the flashlight is going to be used for.  It's sort of a broad flood with a bright spot in the center.  While this no doubt means less throw, it also lights up a darkened room very nicely, and is quite bright.

If you buy this light, do not throw away the instructions before reading because you'll need them.  The light has five modes; Strobe, Nightlight, Dim, SOS, and Signal, as well as a lockout function that positively prevents the light from coming on in your pocket.  There's some sort of motion sensor in there, because to switch modes, you hold the light horizontal with the picture of the mode you want up and hold the button for one second.  The light comes on in Dim mode unless you do the previous step, so if you use it in Strobe, the next time it comes on it will be in Dim, which is the normal flashlight mode on a dimmer switch.  The dimmer remembers the last setting, so the light comes on at that lighting level by default when you turn on the light.  Here's where it gets crazy.  In addition to the light knowing which mode icon is up on the light, it senses rotation as well!  To change dimmer or SOS brightness, strobe speed, or toggle the flash in Signal mode, you hold the light horizontal as before, hold the button for one second, and then rotate the light to the desired setting.  To activate the lock, you point the light straight up, hold the button for one second, and then (while holding the button) point it to the floor and release the button.  That locks the light until you do the same thing again to unlock it. 

We'll see if Maglite's reputation for toughness will continue with the XL100; my pockets tend to be dangerous places for anything remotely delicate, so the motion sensor thing may not hold up.  We'll see.  Bottom line:  I like this light.  Some of the functions are a little gimmicky and not that useful, but I like the lock, the ability to adjust brightness and therefore battery life, and the quality seems consistent with what I expect from Maglite.  Now that Maglite has finally come into the 21st century and embraced LED, I think their lights will become more popular again.  (I also have a 2 D-Cell LED Maglite and I love it!)  I would recommend this light to someone who's looking for a durable, affordable little light for utility use; and especially if having a cooler light than your friends is a factor.  "...Yeah, that Surefire is cool, but can it flash SOS in Morse code for you??"    

Hey all.  Was wondering if Magnum Firearms is still open for business, or if it's been shut down.  Will it be open on the 26th, if it's still in operation at all?

Request from Schofield Rod & Gun Club....
Can you please send a notice to our members... to be on the look out for someone trying to sell an over and under Perazzi MX2000 shotgun 32inch barrel and/or gun case with extended chokes? My home was burglarized on 17 October and among other things... stole my Perazzi gun case with my over and under 32" shotgun barrel that belongs with my trap combo shotgun.

Please let me know…I have already reported it to the police…an are already hopefully investigating it.

Thanks,
R/Chet Fong

Copied and pasted this from the HawaiiCCW facebook page.  Keep an eye out!

Found a funny page that lists some of the contrary and simultaneous beliefs one must hold to think that gun control is a good idea.  Some of the gems:

That you should give a mugger your wallet, because he doesn't really want to shoot you and he'll let you go, but that you should give him your wallet, because he'll shoot you if you don't.

That free speech entitles one to own newspapers, transmitters, computers, and typewriters, but self defense only justifies bare hands.

That guns are so complex to use that special training is necessary to use them properly, and so simple to use that they make murder easy.

That guns are an ineffective means of self defense for rational adults, but in the hands of an ignorant criminal become a threat to the fabric of society.

Saw a news article on Drudge Report this morning that was pretty crazy.  A bunch of black and hispanic youths were running around the suburbs looking for some white kid who allegedly beat up a black kid a few hours earlier.

    LaVelle, 5 feet 10, 220 pounds, a well-known sports-league organizer and coach in the community, went outside to try to calm the angry mob.    They were standing on his steps. One shouted, " 'Something's going to happen now!' " LaVelle recalled in an interview Friday
     at his house. LaVelle got nervous and went back inside, locking his door with a deadbolt.

     But the attackers pounded on his front windows and kicked his wooden door so hard, it flew open and some of them entered his house.
     "The first guy hits me with a pipe. The second guy knocks me in the face. All I'm hearing is my wife and kids screaming," said LaVelle, who feared that the next time they saw him, he would be in a casket.

     He said that he was able to push the attackers out the door, but then a third man - who had a gun - tried to extend his arm. LaVelle grabbed onto the gunman's lower arm and shoulder so he couldn't raise the weapon. Then, police sirens screamed in the neighborhood,
     and the mob turned and ran.

People act like I'm some kind of neo-Nazi loon when I say that ARs, AKs, and 30-round magazines do have a legitimate self-defense purpose.  That drives me up the walls, man.  This is exactly the shit I'm talking about when I say a guy would be smart to have something a little more potent than a .45 with an AWB-compliant magazine.  It happens, maybe not often, but it does happen.  The Brady Bunch apparently don't read the G-D newspapers.  "Assault clips serve only to allow a shooter to kill more people quickly."  Well, don't let the cat out of the bag, but yes, that is one of the many advantages, but let's take the Gun Grabbers' spin off of it for a second.  "Standard capacity magazines serve to allow a shooter to engage multiple targets quickly, magnifying the deterrent effect of the rifle or pistol, especially when confronted by a mob of adolescent feral animals."  The article describes the mob as numbering in the dozens.  You're going to need a whole bunch of VPC-appeasing magazines to deal with that scenario. 

Luckily the police arrived just in the nick of time, but that was only by the grace of God.  Glad him and his family are ok.

So my buddy recently got set up to reload.  I went over and helped him get rolling, and we stayed well within the guidelines of the Hornady reloading manual.  (I don't remember off the top of my head what edition or anything; but I know he just ordered Hornady's most recent edition from Midway)  He's using Lee stuff across the board, including a Lee Autodisk thrower, and a Lee Classic Turret.  We loaded up a batch of .270, and a batch of .40.  Went to the range this weekend to try it out.  Pulled the first case out of the rifle, and the primer was flatter than hell.  We secured shooting until we could figure that one out.  I had to leave, but he went over to the pistol side to try out his .40's.  Same thing; primers flatter than my old junior high girlfriend.  If I can get it figured out, I'll post the pics I took, but it's not really necessary, suffice it to say that we've got too much pressure.  We were in the low to middle section of the load data for each caliber, and we were as careful as I know how to be.  His Autodisk wouldn't throw accurate charges with the powder he had for his rifle, so he actually measured each charge on the scale for .270. 

The only constant I can think of is maybe his scale is off.  Anybody else got any ideas?  The ammo wasn't out in the sun, and we checked every round for LOA; they were all in spec.  I know I'm committing a major faux pas by asking a reloading question without providing powder types.     Sorry.