Oops… Reality sucks…

Posted on by May 9, 2013

I don’t think this one is going to get much play in the MSM…

Between the years of 1993 and 2011, as the assault weapons ban expired, more Americans purchased guns, the Supreme Court overturned outright gun bans, and individual states not only loosed gun control restrictions but also issued concealed carry permits to private citizens, incidents of gun violence in America collapsed.

Between 1993 and 2011, nonfatal gun crimes plummeted 69%; from 1.5 million to 467,300. Gun-related murders dropped 40%; from 18,253 to 11,101. Gun-related murders for black Americans plummeted by 51%.

The report also shows that the media-created hysteria over school shootings is wildly misleading. Between ’93 and ’11, the murder rate in schools dropped by almost a third; from 29 to 20.

Read the full article HERE at Breitbart.

And one more thing, while I’m thinking about it…

Three pictures from the NRA convention, taken at the RIA booth.

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For those who are searching for those old sniper rifles, take a look at the prices here, remembering these are ALL documented weapons…

And buyer beware at those gun shows where ‘supposedly’ real ones show up!  If there ARE documents, then they are worth that $10,000 price tag, otherwise not so much…

I’ve seen supposedly ‘real’ 03A3s for $7-10,000, and ‘real’ M-1Ds for $15,000 but with NO PAPERWORK!

That one picture, one thousand words thingie…

Posted on by May 7, 2013

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Did ‘you’ get it???

 

And for the youngsters, Abbott and Costello…

Blech…

Posted on by May 7, 2013

0600, it’s already 83 degrees, with 77% humidity…

Pardon me while I just melt over here in the corner…

Sooo…

Is this ‘cover’ or ‘concealment’???

_DSC1911Y’all have a good evening!

Leg 4…

Posted on by May 7, 2013

Bagged it out of Houston this morning on the ‘next’ leg of the trip…

Bonus points if you recognize these locations…

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A hint on this one, 30 mumble years ago there was ONE hotel called the Princess…

IMG_1252And now I’m going to trot my draggin ass off to bed…

To all those who were in Houston, it was great to see y’all again, and I truly enjoyed the weekend!!!

 

NRA Convention, final thoughts…

Posted on by May 6, 2013

It was great to see all the usual suspects, and to meet new folks in real space for the first time too!

Weekend was too damn short…

We all got PLENTY of exercise (that was a damn BIG show floor)!

NRA media folks were outstanding!  And I didn’t ‘sense’ any resentment from most of the MSM media folks (other than the NYT idjit who seemed perpetually pissed off the entire three days).

With over 600 displays, I didn’t see them all even in three days.  But there was everything from low end to OMG, HOW MUCH??? on the floor.  EBRs and variants, accessories that ran the gamut from tacticool to really useable, lots of concealable holsters, ammo makers (who to a person said they are trying to catch up) and admitted they are 4-6 mos behind at the moment.  Materials seem to be the common shortfall, both for ammo makers and for gun manufacturers.

Interestingly, Midway didn’t even have a booth this year…

As for the usual suspects, we were spread out over a few different locations, so trying to get everybody together proved interesting, but it did get pulled off three times (thanks to Phlegmmy, Ray and Breda).  The after the party party was fun too, and the hotel folks were VERY obliging in letting us pile into the lobby area every night (but then again we DID clean up after ourselves).  Sadly, some folks had to leave yesterday to head home, and the rest of us are out today.  Probably a good thing, as I needs SLEEP!!!

As I said, I hope I managed to answer the questions that I got in emails and in comments, and I will just say there will be wrap up posts from Lawdog, JayG and Jennifer with LOTS of good pictures…

And one more tease…

Doc - May 5, 2013, 17-00

 

 

Well, two…

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And a reminder to self, DO NOT eat BBQ beans before spending 17 hours on airplanes… Sigh…

NRA Convention Day 3…

Posted on by May 6, 2013

Whew…

Made it to the end, and survived another one…  The crowd was not as heavy today as yesterday, but still lots of folks there!

Comments from various folks-

Usher lady- Two and a half days and not ONE grouchy person, I’m amazed!

Usher Man- Y’all are the politest folks I’ve seen in years in here.

On duty LEO- It’s just not natural; way too many people, and everybody is polite; I almost feel bad for taking overtime to work this… Almost…

Booth person 1- BIG damn crowd, very sharp, lots of informed knowledgeable people all three days!

Booth person 2- My feet hurt… and my brain hurts from the questions!

Booth person 3- Good thing it’s ending, we’ve run out of everything!!!

On duty(ish) LEO- Hey, they told me to walk around, didn’t tell me I couldn’t “look” while I was doing it! (with three gimme bags in the off hand)

For the ladies, there were quite a few “ladies only” boothes; Flashbang holsters was VERY popular every time I walked by there were 8-10 ladies there.  Across the aisle was a booth with ladies handbags with concealed carry pockets (they ranged from VERY discreet purses, to outlandish (sparkles, designer, colorful).  Other boothes did have items for women, holsters bags, etc (including hunting gear and pants that actually fit).

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And this was pretty much the ‘status’ of most displays… EMPTY!

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And a tease for later…Doc - May 5, 2013, 16-58I’m off on the rest of my road trip, so probably no post tomorrow…  I hope I’ve answered folks questions, and at least given y’all an idea of the show.

Thanks to NRA Media for allowing us to participate, and special thanks to Philip Schreier for allowing us to get educated on the Museum guns that were here!

I’m getting too old for this…

Posted on by May 5, 2013

The after the party party two nights in a row are getting my ‘attention’…

The first night we were real classy…

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And yes, good scotch WILL eat waxed paper cups…

And here’s AD in the wild… Scotch and beef jerky!  At least it wasn’t Cheetoes!!!

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But damn, it’s fun be able to just sit around in the hotel with good friends, good booze and just chat about life, liberty and the pursuit of what ever happiness happens to be walking by!

And I never cease to be amazed at how ‘quick’ folks are, male/female, sober or not… And the breadth of the conversation(s), that go on and the digressions that come up!

It’s also great to meet new folks (both bloggers and commenters), and get a chance to put names/faces/voices with the folks.  While the commonality is guns, it is truly a diverse group of folks, spanning ages from college to 70+, and a huge variety of jobs, life skills and personalities!

Sadly, folks have to start leaving today as many have to work tomorrow and have either long drives or flights at zero dark-30.

I’m going to trundle back in this morning for a few more hours of the show to try to actually finish seeing the whole floor.

At least last night we ‘upgraded’… Real plastic cups! 🙂

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Y’all enjoy a quiet breakfast with family, and enjoy the day!!!

NRA Convention Day 2…

Posted on by May 4, 2013

panorama-2My dogs survived today… 🙂  This is a look at about 1/3 of the show floor…

Lots of interesting things at the show, and a LARGE crowd!  It was pardon me, excuse me, stop cold, move three feet…

Here’s the crowd at the Colt Booth!

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And here’s their new pistol…

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Ambi safety, thumb groove, vestigal rail (for laser), dovetailed sights; oh yeah, and a polymer frame… Damn them… 🙂

Ironically, the same project manager from Colt was there, we chatted and he said these are the first four off the line (and no he wouldn’t give me one for T&E)… So basically all the questions Matt and I had last year are now answered!  Sumbitch… gotta start saving again…

Stopped by the Brownell’s booth just as Larry Weeks was getting his picture taken with the Francis family.

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For those who don’t know who she is… Go HERE. And I have to pick at Larry, but she’s only 13 and almost as tall as Larry… and the whole family is very personable, and NOT hung up on their celebrity (I think that is due to Chad Francis).  And the younger daughter is getting started too!

Product wise, they have a new complete set of screwdriver/bits out and they ARE on my buy list!!! And in an interesting twist, apparently Brownells is now sponsoring the CMMG Midwest 3-gun Match! Guess Midway dropped the ball on that one…

I’m sure I’m not the only one that found the protesters this morning…

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There were 16 with signs, and maybe 5-6 more but I couldn’t get a good shot for all the media in the way…   Sigh… And THEY WILL BE ON THE NEWS, bet on it!!!

More from the floor…

Posted on by May 4, 2013

Talking to folks from various booths, everybody is crowded, the perception is that ‘this’ show folks seem especially knowledgeable…

My comment, “Well, this IS Texas!”

FNH, Leupold, Colt, pretty much everybody I talked to echoed that sentiment..

And those new Leupold Mk8 scopes are ‘sweet’… Sigh…

And thanks to Lars and Kyle from the NRA media, last year’s show had 340,000 square feet of show floor, this year the floor is 440,000 square feet, so this IS the largest NRA show floor to this point!  And over 600 exhibitors.

Looks like the coverage just got a little more international…
Just met a crew from the BBC, who are apparently getting a LOT of questions/requests from their bosses about the show.
Also, NTV from Japan is here, should be this really interesting!
And conversation in the media room elicited that apparently two of the Sandy Hook ‘family victims showed up (location unknown) but apparently long enough to get on the 5pm news here in Houston…

Chatting with the NTV folks (Japanese TV), they are covering the show straight, their ‘hook’ is the 2nd Amendment, because Japan doesn’t have one (and very few guns). They are interested in the self protection aspect, and the lady commentator mentioned women being able to protect themselves…

The German reporter is covering the show for the “gun public” in Germany and Europe.

And more media… NRA Convention

Posted on by May 4, 2013

Looks like the coverage just got a little more international…

Just met a crew from the BBC, who are apparently getting a LOT of questions/requests from their bosses about the show.

Also, NTV from Japan is here, should be this really interesting!

And conversation in the media room elicited that apparently two of the Sandy Hook ‘family victims showed up (location unknown) but apparently long enough to get on the 5pm news here in Houston…

Off to the floor, lots to see and folks to talk to.