I usually take a couple of videos when we go to the range, and Sunday was no exception. Damsel loaded seven .357 magnum rounds into the S&W 686 and emptied the revolver in bursts averaging one per second. The unique thing about this video is that all seven rounds produced prominent muzzle flashes.

When I want to capture a muzzle flash, I usually have to single-step through the video to a frame with the nice flash. I generally get a nice bright plume every few rounds and can make a still picture out of a selected frame. The thing missing from a still, however, is the nice, dynamic nature of the real thing.

Click  >  to see this visually pleasing pyrotechnic display.

Well, starlight sorta, and at the end of one of the freshly cleaned shotgun barrels. And yes, I was trying to get the star in the center, and in focus.

We had a very good time shooting today.

We went to the home improvement center today to get some things we needed around the house. As usual, I went into the garden shop and snapped some pictures of the flowers. This Columbine was among the 90 or so pictures I took. Click image for larger view.

From Wikipedia:

Aquilegia (columbine) is a genus of about 60-70 species of herbaceous perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They are known for their distinctive flowers, generally bell-shaped, with each petal modified into an elongated nectar spur.

Just do it . . . regularly. You’ll be glad you did and have some fun at it too.

It would be nice if we could add the draconian California micro-stamping and lead ban laws along with the pending insane ammunition bill to Connecticut’s list as suggested by the following opinion from the Republican American (Waterbury, CT). The article contends that “guidance” offered by the Court will prove to be contentious for years to come.

Unfortunately, the SCOTUS case will only decide on the individual ownership issue without regard to whacko laws that over regulate our legally-owned weapons and tax us to death with fees. Any guidance given will likely be ignored by states and local governments.

State Gun Bills Should Be Spiked

When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy says the Bill of Rights guarantees Americans’ “general right to bear arms,” chances are very good the tone and direction of the long national debate over gun laws is about to change radically.

. . .

It’s good that justices finally will rule the Second Amendment guarantees the individual right to bear arms, but their desire to offer guidance on what constitutes “reasonable” and “common-sense” gun restrictions may prove problematic for legislatures, lower courts and law-abiding citizens for years to come. What a sportsman would consider common sense, for example, no doubt would seem unreasonable to a gun-controller.

With the gun debate changing so dramatically, it makes sense for Connecticut lawmakers to shelve the two unreasonable gun-control bills under consideration. The first would mandate serial numbers on bullets, the second, firing pins that stamp a code on the shell cartridge.

In theory, these measures would enable police to trace the bullets to their owner. But in the real world, the serial number would be obliterated the instant the bullet strikes an object less malleable than lead. Meanwhile, the stamping technology is in its infancy, is easily defeated, would not be required on the types of guns favored by criminals, and would require gun companies to retool their manufacturing and assembly processes; most have said it would be more economical to move their operations and high-paying jobs to other states. Finally, both bills would impose expensive unfunded costs on state and local police without guaranteeing any improvement in public safety.

Lawmakers should be in no hurry to enact gun-control laws that justices likely will vaporize when they strike down the D.C. gun ban in June.

I added the emphasis.

We got this one from the Botanic Garden Gift shop several weeks ago. At that time, we only paid about 25% of the asking price normally seen in the garden center hot house. It’s been really beautiful the whole time, but like all orchids, will soon fade away.

This is just some more California craziness, not to mention another tax on legitimate gun owners and sportsmen. Just like all other gun-prohibitive laws, this one will be ignored by criminals and will punish honest law-abiding firearms enthusiasts and those seeking self-defense in their homes.

No rational person will fail to see that the target of this legislation is me and other firearms enthusiasts. However, gangstas, hoods, sickos and perps of all descriptions will add this to the list of the insane gun laws of California that they ignore.

Next Wednesday, March 25, the Assembly Public Safety Committee will consider legislation that would require gun owners to obtain a “permit-to-purchase” before buying handgun ammunition.

Introduced by State Assembly Member Kevin De Leon (D-45), Assembly Bill 2062 puts ammunition sales in the crosshairs. AB2062 would require that law-abiding gun owners obtain a permit to buy handgun ammunition and would impose severe restrictions on the private transfers of handgun ammunition. Applicants for a “permit-to-purchase” would be required to submit to a background check, pay a $35 fee, and wait as long as 30 days to receive the permit.

Under AB2062, it would be unlawful to privately transfer more than 50 rounds of ammunition per month, even between family and friends, unless you are registered as a “handgun ammunition vendor” in the Department of Justice’s database. Ammunition retailers would have to be licensed and store ammunition in such a manner that it would be inaccessible to purchasers. The bill would also require vendors to keep a record of the transaction including the ammunition buyer’s name, driver’s license, the quantity, caliber and type of ammunition purchased, and right thumbprint, which would be submitted to the Department of Justice or the number of his handgun ammunition purchase permit. Vendors would be required to contact the purchase permit database, to verify the validity of a permit before completing a sale. All ammunition sales in the State of California would be subject to a $3 per transaction tax. Lastly, mail order ammunition sales would be prohibited. Any violator of AB2062 would be subject to civil fines.

The whole NRA-ILA article is here.

If you’re in California you can contact the committee members. The contact list is below.

Continue reading » California Contemplating Ammunition Sales Restrictions

Damsel made me this great looking and great tasting omelet for my Easter morning breakfast. I had the second half of this along with a couple of sausage and some shredded potatoes for breakfast this morning. Monday morning comfort food . . .

We had a busy day, today. After attending the Mass of the Holy Sacrament (virtual via satellite TV), we went to target practice, then took a drive, came home, cleaned the guns and prepared Easter dinner.

This picture has nothing to do with that, but I wanted to put something on about Easter Sunday.

Which part of the chocolate bunnies do you eat first?

Today, after shopping, we drove to Point Vicente and stopped at the L.A. County fishing access. Parking for the access is on Palos Verdes Drive South just around the bend from the lighthouse. There is a path that leads to the rocky beach area, where you can fish or look in the tide pools. It is a little steep and you should wear sturdy non-slip shoes. The hike is worth it, however, to get close to the surf and enjoy the wildflowers along the way. This a photo of the rocky beach and the offshore rock formations.

Today’s heart-healthy meal is stir-fry chicken. Broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, water chestnuts, spinach, coriander, savoy cabbage and zucchini with chicken medallions topped with scallions. This was very tasty. Not seen in the photo, but enjoyed very much is a TsingTao on the side.

Here are some comments from a couple of folks after oral arguments in the landmark second amendment D.C. vs. Heller case before the Supreme Court earlier this week. The case is a challenge by the District of Columbia to overturn a ruling by a federal court that their total ban on handgun ownership is unconstitutional.

NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre was in attendance:

I was at the Supreme Court [Tuesday], and based on what I heard, I have every expectation that the Court will soon restore the Second Amendment to the District of Columbia.

Everything I saw in court shows the District’s ban on functional firearms is out of sync with American history. The arguments today clearly indicated the Second Amendment is an individual, and not a collective, right. The District’s attorneys spent their time swimming upstream against the U.S. Constitution.

Alan Gura, attorney for Heller et al, made these comments in response to criticism about his remarks regarding continuing the ban on machine guns:

The solution to 922(o) will have to be political in the end. The fact is, outside the gun community, the concept of privately owned machine guns is intolerable to American society and 100% of all federal judges. If I had suggested in any way — including, by being evasive and indirect and fudging the answer — that machine guns are the next case and this is the path to dumping 922(o) — I’d have instantly lost all 9 justices. Even Scalia. There wasn’t any question of that, at all, going in, and it was confirmed in unmistakable fashion when I stood there a few feet from the justices and heard and saw how they related to machine guns. It was not just my opinion, but one uniformly held by ALL the attorneys with whom we bounced ideas off, some of them exceedingly bright people. Ditto for the people who wanted me to declare an absolute right, like I’m there to waive some sort of GOA bumper sticker. That’s a good way to lose, too, and look like a moron in the process.

I think Heller got himself a pretty good attorney.

Finally, there is this viewpoint shared by anti-second amendment gun haters:

It looks like the no-gunners are running scared.