This little Ducky packs heat
I picked up my Christmas present today, a brand new Ruger GP-106 .357 Magnum revolver. Finally, a wintertime hobby to get the Duck out of the house between December and April.
For a Blue state, Minnesota's gun laws are surprisingly lax. I was required to go through a background check through the county sheriff, which resulted in a permit to buy a firearm which is good for 1 year. Minnesota also has a concealed carry law, which allows authorized citizens to carry a concealed firearm in public. The permit process is similar to the process to buy a firearm.
The Minnesota concealed carry law was passed in 2003 after the election of a Republican House and governor, to the wails of many a Twin Cities anti-gun progressive. The law also allows property owners to ban handguns from their premises by posting a notice to that effect at building entrances.
The kind of firepower that the average American citizen can legally get his hands on is really quite surprising. While undergoing infantry training at the Basic School in 1980, I got to experience firing a wide range of military small arms, including this, this, this, this, and this. Although the training was deadly serious, it was still a blast to handle this kind of hardware. Not that I intend to turn into a gun nut, but now that I am fully invested in my 2nd Amendment rights, look for more gun-friendly content in coming issues of the DD.
For a Blue state, Minnesota's gun laws are surprisingly lax. I was required to go through a background check through the county sheriff, which resulted in a permit to buy a firearm which is good for 1 year. Minnesota also has a concealed carry law, which allows authorized citizens to carry a concealed firearm in public. The permit process is similar to the process to buy a firearm.
The Minnesota concealed carry law was passed in 2003 after the election of a Republican House and governor, to the wails of many a Twin Cities anti-gun progressive. The law also allows property owners to ban handguns from their premises by posting a notice to that effect at building entrances.
The kind of firepower that the average American citizen can legally get his hands on is really quite surprising. While undergoing infantry training at the Basic School in 1980, I got to experience firing a wide range of military small arms, including this, this, this, this, and this. Although the training was deadly serious, it was still a blast to handle this kind of hardware. Not that I intend to turn into a gun nut, but now that I am fully invested in my 2nd Amendment rights, look for more gun-friendly content in coming issues of the DD.
posted by Anonymous at 4:42 PM
13 Comments:
Oh dear god.
Don't point that thing at me.
Unless you're planning to get into intense firefights, it seems to me that a revolver is better than a semi-auto.
Even if you think that you MIGHT be in firefights, say as a police officer, if it's likely to be one-on-one, the lack of jams and the ability to rapidly bypass misfires outweighs the lower rate of fire.
Although five out of my parents' six children have been/are in the military, and thus are well familiar with firearms, it still raised eyebrows when one of my brothers gave his wife a Glock 9mm semi-auto as an anniversary present.
Not only was it incongruous with our family culture, it seemed an odd occasion for a gift of the power of death.
Brit
You're just jealous that they won't let you buy one. If you ever make it to the States, drop by Minnesota and I'll take you to the range.
Oroborous,
Yes, that is a strange anniversary gift, unless she wanted one, that is.
I've heard it said that a revolver is better than an auto for the first six shots. I've fired the .45 auto in the Marines. It has a wicked recoil, so a well aimed 2nd shot takes a little more time to get off. The Ruger is a very sturdy pistol, the frame, including barrel, is milled from one piece of steel, and the cylinder locks in place during firing. With autos, you have the barrel and slide moving back with the recoil, which affects accuracy.
I'll mostly be plinking targets at the range, I'm not expecting any desperate home defense battles. I'm hoping that 6 .357 slugs should be enough to deter any invaders. If not, I'm screwed.
A policeman friend of mine said the most effective means of getting rid of a home invader is the sound of a pump shotgun cocking.
So he figured that having an emergency switch that would cause your stereo to broadcast that sound with the volume at 11 was just the ticket.
Of course, if that doesn't work, and you don't have 6x.357 slugs to back it up, then you are screwed.
BTW -- absent an honest to gosh sword I got from my stint in the navy, I'm a free rider on those who take their 2nd Amendment rights seriously.
It's very strange for a citizen of a gun-abhorring nation like mine to read this thread. Presumably no-one's being ironic?
Reminds me of a Robin Williams stand-up piece in which he compares American and British police. The English bobby on the beat's best warning: "Stop! Or...I'll say stop again!" Seems to work, though. There was a remarkable uproar recently when a young policewoman was shot dead - only the second time this has happened in 7 years in Britain - and everybody started baying for blood and calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty. Which of course leads us to another interesting transatlantic differerence...
Robin Williams also had a good skit on a Swiss Army officer introducing the knife to some new recruits.
"Now some of you men may never have had to open a bottle of chablis under enemy fire..."
martpol:
For once, from me anyway, no irony.
I live in a neighborhood that is at least comfortably well off, and where crime is virtually unknown.
At least half my neighbors are armed.
Jealous, jealous. I live in the anti-gun District of Columbia, so my dream of getting firearms for Christmas must deferred for yet another year.
J
Welcome to the DD. That's a bummer. There must be firing ranges in Maryland or Virginia that would let you borrow a gun to shoot, at least. I found this range in the Twin Cities that will rent you a fully automatic gun for $60/hour. That would be a nice Christmas gift!
Duck:
I take it that's for an hour's use on the range.
Otherwise, renting a fully automatic gun for an hour might be viewed as somewhat suspicious...
Yes, Brit. Waddya think we are, some kind of crazy, gun-addled cowboys?
I think there's a place in Nevada where you can blow stuff up with C-4.
By the way, do you have a license for that cricket bat?
The only license I need is a love of King and Country and a rousing chorus of 'Jerusalem' permanently swelling in my bosum.
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