Not much time to blog today, we had to go shopping, fill the tank ($75), sit in the patio and hang out with ‘Bear.’ Tomorrow, the truck to goes for periodic maintenance to the service department and we take the training for our Utah CCW permits.

Our vacation next month will take us to places where the permit is valid, so the maintenance for the truck and the CCW training are mandatory, as far as we’re concerned. Bear is happy for us, as you can see.

I just read a pretty good editorial in the Orange County (CA) Register. The title, “You Can’t Ride a Polar Bear to Work”, intrigued me and so I read the item (hat tip Opinion Journal). So, I thought I would pass it along here. Plus, it gives me another chance to post this silly polar bear picture.

The article starts with this news item about the reversal of John McCain’s attitude toward offshore drilling:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain this week reversed his position and drew environmentalists’ wrath when he came out in favor of lifting the federal ban on offshore oil drilling. Mr. McCain apparently realizes he needs motorists’ votes more than environmentalists’ endorsements. Better late than never.

And concludes with this encouragement for McCain to similarly reconsider drilling in ANWR:

We hope that even if it’s only a crass appeal for votes, Mr. McCain rethinks his opposition to drilling in ANWR and also pledges to overcome Democrat opposition to leasing interior federal lands that may contain 1.8 trillion barrels of oil in solid shale rock, which a RAND Corp. study estimates could be enough to meet U.S. energy needs for centuries.

The U.S. realistically can’t become energy independent, but it can become energy self-sufficient by drilling closer to home, reviving shunned technologies such as nuclear power and by encouraging private companies to seek new technologies and approaches in support of that goal.

There are a lot of good points made in between the start and finish of the article. Take the time to read some interesting things about energy consumption and production in our country.

You have to admit that most guys would avoid taking a picture of their guns on a pink towel in the laundry basket. This little baby goes with me everywhere, even when I do the laundry.

I think she’s pretty with her red rosewood grips and shiny black frame.

Damsel takes a lot of pictures. When she’s not taking photos of flowers, she just might be capricious enough to arrange nineteen rounds of 9mm +P+ hollow points into a heart-shape and take some pictures of the resulting ’sculpture.’

As for the rounds themselves, I picked up a box of 50 Winchester SXT 127 grain Luger +P+ rounds to keep in the Glock 26 magazine for home protection. The box warns not to use these rounds in pistols not rated for +P+ loads, since they produce about 25 percent higher pressure when discharged.

I selected these rounds because of the greater stopping power it provides my backup home defense pistol. Damsel selected them for the photo for being shiny and photogenic.

We’re sort of a left-brain, right-brain complimentary pair.

In the garden, the green beans are growing. By the weekend, we will most likely have enough to serve as a side dish for our traditional Chicken Fried Steak entree.

Each spring for the past several, I planted ‘Kentucky Wonder’ green beans in the garden. Most years they produce enough beans for us and our neighbor who gladly accepts the excess beans.

Image: Kentucky Wonder Bean Buds.

About Kentucky Wonder beans:

This old-time country pole bean with brown seeds is a favorite. Beans are approximately 6″-8″ inches long, slender and stringless. Will produce heavily if harvested diligently. This bean has been popular since the mid 1800s.

We prepare the beans according to a recipe we both like a lot.

Chop the beans into one-inch pieces, bring them to a boil in an inch or so of water in a large pan. After boiling for three or four minutes, strain the beans and set aside.

In the same pan, render a couple of slices of chopped bacon until almost crisp. Next, add a couple of cloves of garlic and a quarter of an onion finely chopped. When the onion becomes carmelized, add the beans back to the pan. De-glaze the pan with a tablespoon of white vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar or sweetener of your choice.

Thoroughly stir the beans to re-heat and coat with the pan drippings and then serve.

I’ve had this old shotgun for over forty years. There were periods during those years where it didn’t see much use. A few years ago, Damsel and I bought some guns and started shooting regularly. Shortly after, I took the old gun off the shelf and cleaned it up. It really needed a lot of elbow grease to get the fine layer of oxydation off of the metal parts and the stock and fore-end needed a little scrubbing and oil. Now the old Ithaca gets to go to the range two or three times a year.

I took it today and put just five rounds through it. The Remington 870s pump action guns sort of spoil us because you load the chamber and the magazine and crank out five or seven rounds. This old gun, in contrast, requires you break the chamber open, load a round, cock the hammer, point and shoot.

The newer guns make me lazy, I guess, and I don’t shoot the old gun very much just because it’s tedious. But, my old Ithaca is fun to shoot once in a while just because it’s an old friend to me.

I photographed both of these flowers in the patio yesterday. It’s the first time I can recall the Easter Lily cactus (left) and my Easter Lily (right) were blooming simultaneously. I have to be vigilant for the cactus to bloom since it does so overnight and will wilt before the next sunset. Each is beautiful in it’s own way.

David W. Spears, who lives in the city where we live has filed suit to be issued a permit to carry a concealed firearm. We’re going to watch this story as it develops since it could change our police chief’s policy for issuing CCW permits.

California has a ’shall issue’ law on the books that assigns the issue responsibility to local law enforcement. The chief’s policy seems to conflict with California Department of Justice rules for issue.

Excerpted from the Daily Breeze:

Spears contends that when he applied for a permit in Torrance, he was issued an application form, but at the same time received a letter from the Police Department stating that “we do not have records on the issuance of any such permits, since it has been the long-standing practice of our chiefs of police not to issue such permits to citizens.”

“Defendants’ formal policy is logically and clearly intended to put a ‘false face’ on defendants’ public persona, making it appear that defendants comply with the requirements and rules of the Department of Justice and with (the) Penal Code - when they actually do not,” Spears’ lawsuit alleges.

“Instead, defendants willfully disregarded and ignored their own written policies and procedures, willfully disregarded and ignored the law, and willfully violated plaintiffs’ constitutional rights in order to deprive him of a means of self defense.”

One of several supporting documents to the lawsuit includes a letter from the state Department of Justice that states the Police Department is required to notify the agency of any license denials and retain records of those denials.

Terry A. Nelson, Spears’ attorney, said in an interview that the Police Department doesn’t follow those requirements either.

“It would be funny if it weren’t so serious, but Torrance totally acts in the concealed carry weapon permit arena in violation of federal law,” Nelson said. “I speculate that the reason they don’t is if they kept the records they’d show numerous applicants being told, ‘don’t bother’” to apply.

Spears works in an occupation where he regularly is confronted with hostility. All he wants to do is to pack his Glock subcompact .45 pistol in case one of his hostile ‘clients’ gets too rambunctious.

I don’t blame him. As I said earlier, we’re going to be watching this case.

UPDATE: Spears Drops Case Against City

Continue reading » Man Sues Police Chief for Right-to-Carry

During a shoot in March 2008, Damsel dropped six 125 grain .38 special rounds and one 158 grain .357 magnum round in her Smith & Wesson 686 revolver. She then squeezed off the rounds in three pairs and then the final round. Bang bang … bang bang … bang bang … BOOM!

The seven-second video at the right demonstrates the difference both aurally and visually. You can hear the difference (if you turn up the audio level) and you can see the bigger kick as she fires the magnum round.

We both tried this experiment and got about the same results. One patron at the range asked ‘Mixing rounds, are we?” We both nodded and laughed as did he.

I was curious about the reason that Smith and Wesson developed the magnum round, so I looked in Wikipedia and found this historical account:

The .357 Magnum was developed over a period of time in the early to mid-1930s in a direct response to Colt’s .38 Super Automatic. At the time, the .38 Super was the only pistol cartridge capable of defeating automobile cover and the early body armor that was just beginning to emerge in the post-World War I “Gangster Era”. Tests at the time revealed that those early ballistic vests defeated any handgun cartridge traveling at less than about 1000 ft/s. Colt’s .38 Super Automatic just edged over that velocity and was able to penetrate car doors and vests that bootleggers and gangsters were employing as cover.

Then there is the original question about S&W’s development of the magnum round:

In order to reassert itself as the leading law enforcement armament provider, Smith & Wesson developed the .357 Magnum. The new round was developed from its existing .38 Special round; it used a different powder load, and ultimately the case was extended by 1/8th of an inch (3.2 mm). The case extension was more a matter of safety than of necessity. Because the .38 Special and the early experimental .357 Magnum cartridges were identical in physical attributes, it was possible to load an experimental .357 Magnum cartridge in a .38 Special revolver, with potentially disastrous results. Extending the case slightly made it impossible to chamber the magnum-power round in a gun not designed for the additional pressure.

Oh, and then there’s this - the famous .357 magnum muzzle flash that didn’t show up in the video above . . .

When getting ready for the annual vacation this summer, the first thing on our list of priorities is to get our Utah CCW permits. It will be for a good reason - we like to travel via other than Interstates to scenic places - and we’re getting a little older and could be seen as easy targets by those with criminal intent.

I read an article today where the problems facing older unarmed Americans is described:

Criminals like easy targets. A nice new Motor home with out-of-State plates, some friendly retired folks traveling on vacation, out of their normal environment, sounds like an easy target? Have you ever considered what you would do if you were traveling in a remote, unpopulated, unfamiliar area and your vehicle broke down or you had a tire blow out?

For some reason that expensive cellular phone plan with three bars and excellent coverage around town suddenly has a dead zone exactly where you are now stranded? What if the wrong person stopped to help you? He or she may look innocent enough, but could actually be a serious criminal predator, searching for stranded motorists in need of assistance.

The author of the article also quotes John Lott on the effect of CCW on violent crime:

John R. Lott, Jr.: Author of More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, reveals that States with the largest increases in gun ownership also have the largest decreases in violent crimes. Thirty-eight states now have such laws - called “Shall-Issue” or “Right to Carry” laws. These laws allow adults the right to carry concealed handguns if they do not have a criminal record or a history of significant mental illness. Lott also points out that States with the most restrictive Gun Laws, such as California, New York, and Washington D.C., also have some of the highest violent crime rates in the Nation.

The Utah CCW permit is accepted by many states. When planning our vacation route, states that are candidates for where we’ll be spending our vacation dollars are shown in pink below.