Wednesday, January 12, 2011

EXTENDED MAGAZINES

A friend asks: "What's your view on restoring the ban on extended magazines? Sounds reasonable doesn't it?"

My answer? - Ask this question to the people living on the border at high-level crossing points in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

A ban on extended magazines is not at all reasonable at all, for several reasons:

1) The right to self-defense is a fundamental human right, and as such is codified under our Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment specifies a tactical capability - i.e. the citizenry is armed for military purposes. The way it reads, we should actually be armed & trained just like the citizenry in Switzerland, and Israel.


The female of the species is more deadly than the male.



2) High-capacity magazines do not determine a firearm's lethality - marksmanship does. Ask anybody who has served in Africa; the safest place to be when they're shooting at you is right in the middle of the street. African soldiers are notorious for closing their eyes when they pull the trigger and they simply do not aim their shots - and AK-47s have 30-round magazines! Lincoln, on the other hand, was killed with a single-shot derringer. Oswald shot Kennedy with an Italian M91 Carcano rifle, which has a six-round magazine. Sirhan Sirhan killed Bobby Kennedy with a .22 caliber Iver-Johnson Cadet eight-round revolver.


Carcano 91-24 Carbine


3) Weapons bans achieve nothing. The UK has total gun control, and yet for three decades a full-scale guerrilla conflict raged within the borders of the British Isles - combat which featured military assault rifles, belt-fed automatic weapons, even mortars and rockets.

Northern Ireland, UK, circa 1969-1997

Another island nation, Japan, has full arms control - it's illegal to possess even swords; unless you're a member of the Yakuza, that is. During my time in Okinawa a gang war raged, which was okay as long as it was merely 'kuzas killing 'kuzas. Then one day a little girl got caught in the cross-fire and the local government stepped in to put a damper on things.

4) Partial weapons bans symbolically target 'cosmetic' portions of weaponry - magazine capacities, bayonet lugs, pistol grips - yet they actually serve a more sinister purpose; as stepping stones toward total gun control, as exists in places like Illinois, New York, Washington DC and Massachusetts. Gun control laws in these places constrain law-abiding citizens while the criminals continue to arm themselves with anything and everything available.

5) When and if the day ever comes where you have to defend yourself and your family - Heaven forbid - you will want the highest capacity magazines available. It is not High Noon; in a situation, the trained marksman seeks cover and puts as many rounds downrange as possible.

My personal weapon of choice in a fight to the death? I'd start with a late 60s-era muscle car - the automobile has killed more people than any single weapon known to man AND it serves a dual purpose as a convenient form of transportation to distance yourself from the threat. Short of that option, I personally prefer the Remington 870 12-gauge pump shotgun. Absolutely devastating at the close ranges of your typical home defense situations; the five-round tube magazine is enough to provide a merciless hail of ball and/or slug (I modified my 870 to carry seven rounds because I belong to the more-is-better school of thought).


Remington 870 12-gauge pump shotgun

Of course it's not practical to tote a shotgun around town - although it IS legal to keep one in the car, in every state in the Union. My regular carry piece is the venerable M1911 - with the standard 7-round magazine - I make up for lack of magazine capacity by toting extra mags. I know, I know - this contradicts item 5) above; I carry the .45 for two reasons: A) I'm a member of a Cult, and B) because they don't make a 46.



That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


SEAN LINNANE SENDS


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8 comments:

  1. Guncrafter now makes a .50 1911. ammo is a bit steep or roll your own, and they do sell it with a 45 barrel as well. They also got a .50 G.I. conversion for Glocks (20/21).
    I'd love a Model 1

    http://www.guncrafterindustries.com/index.shtml

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  2. You sur eits legal to carry a mossberg 500 anywhere in Massholeachusettes or NewJerky?

    I solved the carry problem by being a member of the cult and upgrading to a 2011. Double stack mag of .45 on the hip makes me feel warm and fuzzy. OK Maybe that's my beard but I still feel warm and fuzzy.

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  3. Doesn't "extended magazine" means there's a double centerfold?

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  4. Anybody know anything about the 1911 Hi-Standard manufactured a while back? My M16A1 back in the day was manufactured by HS and it never blew up on me, but that's about what I know of the company.

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  5. Only way it makes sense to carry a 1911 is cocked and locked, so even with a standard 7 rounder, that's 8. I use Virgil Tripp's 8 round Cobras because I like them better than the "other two big names" and he makes then 7, 8, or 10 depending on what you want in .45ACP. I run 7s in the compact and 8s in the fullsize. I've got a double stack 13+1 I built but it's not a useful carry gun unless it's cold. Just too chunky for my frame.

    All a compromise.

    HS 1911s aren't particularly good or bad. Average-ish.

    Best out of the box for the money (my two cents), of late, are Dan Wesson/CZs. Colts/Kimbers/STIs/etc are all well made. Lots of people miss Schuetzen Pistols Works/Oly Arms and they are up there too for "near customs". All depends on how much money you want to spend.

    My plinker-toy AR pistol runs 42 and 52 rounders, still hasn't killed anybody. Magazines don't kill people. People kill people.

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  6. Good post, but for this: "The female of the species is more deadly than the male." you don't get no prize.

    Stuff like this could be thought about but never expressed publicly ;-)

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  7. My #1 son's second shotgun was a youth model 870
    20 guage. After he outgrew it I realized what
    a great house warmer it would be. Light and compact, five rounds, the little Mrs. loves it.

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