Quote of the Day – Thomas Paine

Ignorance is of a peculiar nature; once dispelled, it is impossible to re-establish it. It is not originally a thing of itself, but is only the absence of knowledge; and though man may be kept ignorant, he cannot be made ignorant.
–Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man, I (1791)

Reading this I cannot help but look at the shrinking anti-gun crowd and be pleased. We are successfully beating back ignorance and we shall continue to do so.

-B

Quote of the Day – Thomas Paine

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.” – Thomas Paine, The Crisis 1777

Freedom comes with great responsibility. Many currently would like to loose the burden of responsibility that goes with freedom. They would rather have the nanny state take care of them. While walking the line at Boomershoot I was reminded that I am by no means alone in the effort of seeking self reliance and personal freedom.

-B

Due Process, What’s that?

Evidently Child Abuse registries are much like restraining orders, due process is unnecessary to be listed. Many people do not realize how many rights are disrupted without requiring your presence in court. Merely being charged with a felony permanently disrupts your ability to purchase firearms. Well permanently unless you’re willing to pay money to the ATF and FBI. I was unable to purchase firearms due to a NICS black list for a year after the charges were dropped. I was not convicted of a felony, the charges were dropped, the State of Washington even returned the firearm I had in my possession the day of the accident, yet I could NOT purchase a firearm. That NICS hold did not even require my being found guilty in court, it was automatic. To this day that blip on my record still causes issues. I receive a week hold when purchasing firearms others can walk out with immediately. I’m delayed in background checks for other materials, such as when I got checked out to work for Joe. Once your name is placed onto any list, it is difficult if not impossible to remove. If you can remove it, they extort you for money.

It ends up that someone getting a restraining order also results in limited rights for the target without due process. If rights of an individual are going to be limited, substantial evidence along with due process is required. Some people may feel I’m being too harsh, but if you are so afraid of your Ex that you feel you need a restraining order and their rights should be limited, you need to be willing to go to court and testify in front of them. You also need to have evidence to show that your fear is well founded. No person’s rights should be violated, much less without due process. If you feel differently so be it, however I would like to point out the Fifth Amendment says otherwise (emphasis is mine):

No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

While all these things are done with an effort to do good things, rarely do I ever see any real good come out of them. Restraining orders are often abused as well and used as a revenge tactic because of their hampering ability. For some it’s a way to “get even”. More often than not I hear about honest hard working people caught in the middle. Furthermore, if you’re that afraid of your Ex, I highly doubt a restraining order is really going to do it. I would suggest instead getting a hold of myself, Joe, Laurel, anyone in the gun community and ask, “Can you teach me to shoot and defend myself.” I do not know of anyone who would not take the opportunity to teach and help. The wonder of the freedoms we have in this country come with responsibility, if you don’t want the responsibility, you will inherit the risks that go with it. Because of that fact, any law that attempts to solve a “problem” and violates due process and hampers and infringes on the rights of law abiding citizens is not acceptable and not a solution.

Boomershoot 2010 Video and Report

Boomershoot 2010 was awesome and a lot of fun. I don’t know exactly why, but I ended up shooting the opening fireball for the shoot. Laurel from Politics Guns and Beer was there along with an entourage of help. I spent some time behind the rifle, but I spent more time educating and making sure others had a blast. And I’m glad to say, it appears they did have a great time.

The high intensity(video) shoots were fun as usual; feeling the boomers go off rattles your soul from head to toe always puts a smile on my face. The dinner though was a great social hour.

Oleg Volk

Oleg was there along with Laurel, Mike and Abigail.

Abigail

As well as some friends from my days back in scouts. I told them I was going to put this pic online and I’m a man of my word. For those who don’t know, yes I’m an Eagle Scout and the reason I carry is to “Be Prepared.”

Mike, Andy, and Robert

We had a wonderful dinner which raised $2000 in raffle tickets. Half of which went straight to Soldiers’ Angels. The other half is put into a raffle lottery split into 10%, 10%, and 30%. David won the $600 which he then stated that he was going to make a $1000 donation to Soldiers’ Angels when he got home. Thank you David.

Overall it was yet another awesome year at Boomershoot, with a great reminder of how great the people are who participate. I hope to see you all again next year.

B

Quote of the Day – Laurel Griffeath

“Do you really think a bunch of shooting bloggers lead by Joe Huffman is going to go anywhere without the internet Mike?”

Laurel Griffeath – 4/25/2010

[She said this while she was trying to get a WiFi signal at Boomershoot –B]

Friday High Intensity Video

Youtube has finished processing my uploaded video and my collaboration of the footage for the Friday High-Intensity is now up. Enjoy.

By the way, I’m working on a Boomershoot Video for 2010, but it appears it may just be 480p due to some unforeseen reason. Software is complaining and I can’t figure out why. I’ll work on uploading it in the morning.

Boomershoot 2010 PRC AAR

This is my short little after action report on the precision rifle clinic 2010. Friday was a great day for shooting. Winds around 4-8 MPH I discovered my zeros from last year were still good, no real surprise there though. Though I did get a solid reminder in the pre-shooting rifle check. I don’t know how, but the bases of my rings came loose and could have caused some serious issues. I discovered my BDC on my second rifle was quite accurate and was easily putting rounds on the steel at 700 yards.

Bill Waites carrying his gear through the cold and wind up to the line on Saturday. Note the canopies bowing from the wind.

On Saturday morning shooter spotter communication was made difficult by the 10-20 MPH gusting winds. Sucks for making sure you’re heard with your hearing protection on over the wind, however it was just like my first year out there, perfect conditions for learning and practice. We got our 380 zero, and moved out to 625 and had an interesting experience. At the time we moved out winds calmed down a little. My spotter called the wind estimate, checked my book, cranked in the elevation and windage. Got on target, broke the shot dead center. Spotter call center hit. I prepared a follow up shot, my spotter however missed that in the matter of literally seconds the wind shifts from about 5-6 MPH to 16-20MPH. He tells me to hold center again I squeeze it off, 3 Mils left. Crank in the new windage, now I’m 2 Mils low, crank in the elevation bang dead center again. The lesson from this was that the spotter needs to really be aware and willing to issue a hold. Also, viewing trace and splash in the high winds is extremely difficult. The scope is vibrating from the wind and it blows the trail and splash out. At this point we moved back down to 380 and spent time practicing holds, favors, and calling winds since they were changing again. I knew we were on our game when we shot our boomers for the day. Ryan cleared his 3 boomers in the wind in 4 shots, first shot was slightly left. I cleared my 3 in 4 shots, my first went slightly right. When open season was called, we took an additional 10 boomers. I think that count only got so high because Monty ran out of ammo, who was a total bad ass by hitting a 7 inch target turned on its end. He only had a 1 inch wide target to hit, it was gone second shot.

Getting in a natural position was also a major item. Odds are if you’re muscling a shot in, you’re going to miss. Adjust the rifle and your position till you get the target in a natural point of aim. Usually my spotter would leverage the natural point of aim by keeping me in that general area.

The other comment I have, those who saw me this weekend can testify, make sure to wear sunscreen. On Friday I arrived a little late and went straight to shooting, forgetting sunscreen. My nose is roasted, toasted, and blistered, along with my forehead and cheeks. I will be spending the rest of today doing video and pictures of Boomershoot 2010.

B

River Dog’s Shooting Match

River Dog had an awesome idea for a shooting match this year to run during the PRC. From looking at it though I have an idea for a different set of rules. Since River Dog already has a competition up for this year I think I’ll just save my idea for next year. I’ll do some testing on feasibility this year and if it works, I’ll talk to Joe and set up something for next year.