Why You Need Guns Now

Even though it’s Christmas and hopefully you’re relaxing, I’d like to quickly remind you why you should have your guns now, as proven by the reactions by both the left and the right after the horrific Connecticut shootings.

In short, the aftermath of these shootings has shown that far too many people lose all rationale and do crazy things after a “disaster.” For instance, it’s no surprise that the liberals want to ban AR-15’s, ban the number of rounds that a magazine can hold, and our favorite New York mayor even talked about confiscating all of the guns in New York.

But the liberals weren’t the only one’s losing all rationale, so were some gun folks.

For example, the website Cheaper than Dirt stopped selling firearms and essentially committed business suicide. Whatever gutless executive made that call ought to be fired and there’s nothing that ticks me off more than people without conviction.

One of the biggest handgun trading websites in the nation is on KSL. It’s a Utah website where people buy, sell, and trade guns. Well, last week I was getting ready to do some advertising on the website and the KSL ad rep I was working with sent me an email and said they were temporarily taking down the entire firearms section. Again, some gutless executive has no idea who his customer is and made a bonehead decision.

The fact is, it’s sad when people can’t stand by what they believe.

But enough about corporate executives being wimps, let’s talk about other irrational things that have happened since the shootings. The popular website Brownell’s sold as many AR-15 magazines in 72 hours as it usually does in 3.5 years.

And pretty much every gun store in the nation was jam packed with lines going out the door and people dropping as much as $7,000 on merchandise. And when my wife was in Walmart last week I asked her to take a look at the ammo section for me and she said it was almost empty and basically the only ammo left was .22.

My point of telling you all this is: first, you ought to be prepared before a disaster takes place. I haven’t bought any guns or ammo or any accessories since the Connecticut shooting because I already have what I need. And if you don’t already have an AR-15 don’t go and buy one now and get ripped off (I saw listings where people were selling a $1,000 AR for $4,000.) Wait until things die down and then go buy one.

Second, keep your head cool during a disaster and the aftermath. While people from both sides make foolish decisions and take irrational actions, try and keep your wits about you. Lastly, the aftermath of the Connecticut shooting is far from over, so please stand by your convictions and don’t buckle like many people already have. In other words, stand by what you truly believe in.

The only type of gun control we need?

After the horrific Connecticut shooting, my phone began to ring from friends and family, as it always does after a tragedy involving firearms. Some were gloating and asking me “how do you defend your guns now?” and others wanted to know if they should buy an AR-15 this week in case they’re soon banned.

Well, I never have a problem “defending” my guns. Any person with common sense knows that evil people, since the beginning of time, have been murdering others. If it’s not a gun, the person might use a sword, or a pipe bomb, or a rock, or any number of devices to kill others.

We also know, as proven by history, that anytime guns are taken from the good guys, the only people with guns end up being the bad guys. After all, the bad guys never follow the rules, or go through background checks, so getting a gun is much easier for them than it is for law-abiding citizens.

With that being said…

I only believe in one simple type of gun control to keep guns out of the hands of those that shouldn’t have them. What I’m referring to is simply a (quick access) gun safe that only you and your spouse have the combination to.

But even as I say that, the Connecticut shooter was 20 years old, and I image when I have a 20 year old they will probably have their own guns and I will trust them with firearms in the house if I feel they are responsible enough to handle them.

And that’s one of the major questions about this shooting. Many news outlets have said the shooter was mentally ill and if his mother knew he was mentally ill, and showing signs of trouble then obviously she should not have allowed her son to have access to her guns.

Of course, as a parent, you probably don’t want to admit your child is mentally ill. I’ve never been in that position, but if I ever am, I hope I will see clearly enough to realize they shouldn’t have access to any guns.

Now…

I’m pretty sure Diane Feinstein and her fellow Democrats won’t think my measure of gun control is strong enough and I know she and others will put on a good show for their constituents espousing the evils of guns. But I don’t think AR-15s are getting banned and I don’t believe any tougher gun controls will result from the Connecticut shooting.

The reason being is because the gun culture in America is now too strong. In other words, there are now too many Americans who have the common sense that guns are needed to protect us in our homes (since the police will be there 9 minutes later, if we’re lucky) and that guns are needed to keep our government honest and to protect ourselves from other evils in this world.

My fear, as usual, is the only time the anti-gun crowd will realize the importance of owning a firearm is after someone has broken into their house and murdered their child, raped their wife, or beaten them to within an inch of their life.

By the way, as far as I know, Utah is the only state that allows concealed carry in schools. Obviously, I think that’s great because when concealed carry isn’t allowed in schools then there’s zero chance of a legally armed citizen stopping a madman with a gun in a school. But if concealed carry is allowed in schools, we have that chance.

My prayers go out to the family members of the victims and even as a parent I can’t begin to image the pain and suffering they are going through now. God bless them and stay safe.

How to avoid lead poisoning

Whether you shoot every day, once a week, or once a month, I want to show you how to avoid lead poisoning and explain to you why this is so important. The fact is, far too many shooters are unaware of the dangers of lead, which was proved to me recently when a group I was talking with didn’t even know ammo still contains lead these days.

So first off, let me explain how you’re exposed to lead every time you shoot. Lead is contained in the primer of each round, so when you fire your gun all of the residue and powder from the explosion lands on your hands, face and shirt and you’re essentially covered in lead particles. (It’s even worse if you use lead bullets without a copper jacket.)

In addition, if you clean your firearm when you get home, that firearm is covered in lead dust. When you’re shoving the cleaning rod down the barrel that dust is shooting out of the barrel into your house.)

And lastly, if you happen to walk around and pick up your brass after you shoot, then you’re picking up brass covered in lead. And if you put that brass in your pocket or scoop it up in a hat, then you have a pocket or hat covered in lead dust.

So why is this such a big deal?

Well, as I’m sure you’re aware, lead isn’t good for the body. It gets absorbed in the nervous system and kidneys, and causes headaches, muscle pain, loss of appetite, seizures… and every guy’s favorite… impotence. 

What’s more, it’s especially dangerous for children to be exposed to lead. Adults absorb about 20% of the lead they ingest, whereas, children absorb over three times that amount… 70% of the lead they ingest.

In fact, when I was with the Agency I knew a guy who’s children were showing developmental problems. He and his family were tested for lead and showed extremely high levels.

What happened is that when he’d get home from the shooting range he would walk all through the house and track lead all over the house from his shoes. Then, he would pick up his children and they’d get lead all over them from the shirt he was wearing.

So here’s what I do to make sure that my family and myself doesn’t get lead poisoning.

1. I have a pair of shoes that are dedicated to the shooting range. I take them off before I even enter my house.

2. When I get home from the range I fully undress in the garage. I take off all of my clothes and put them in the wash.

3. Even though I’ve taken off all of my clothes I still don’t touch my daughter or my wife until I’ve had a chance to shower. When I first get in the shower I wash my face with cold water (hot water causes the pores to open and you’ll absorb more lead.)

4. When I clean my guns, I make sure that I am using cleaning rags underneath and that the lead dust isn’t falling on my carpet. I also make sure I’m alone and that my daughter isn’t anywhere near me. (Obviously, I wouldn’t have anyone around me when I clean guns anyway.)

So from now on when you get home from shooting, please take the proper precautions so you’re not putting yourself, children, or grandchildren at unnecessary risk of lead exposure. 

How to test your new gun

Like a lot of gun owners, I get in certain “moods” where I feel like carrying one of my guns for a while, and when that mood wears off, I switch to another gun. For instance, I’ve been carrying my Glock 19 a lot lately and I’ve been neglecting my Springfield 1911. 

But not anymore. Last week I decided it was time to bring out the 1911 for a bit, but before I did that I wanted to get some work done on the hammer and beavertail. I found a gunsmith in St. George, UT who could do the work and the gun will be ready to pick up this Friday.

But here’s the thing…

When I pick up my gun from the gunsmith I’m not going to immediately put it in my holster and start carrying it around. Nope. I’m going to treat it as if it was a brand new gun (because work has been done on it) and I’m going to test it out like I do each and every gun I buy.

In my opinion, it’s pretty foolish to buy a gun and start carrying it without making sure the gun works. I realize that many guns, especially Glocks, don’t need to be broken in these days and they’ll operate fine right out of the box. However, they’re still mechanical devices that can come flawed from the factory so I’m always testing mine out no matter what.

So here’s the simple test I do when I get a new gun and the one I’ll do when I get my 1911 from the gunsmith this week.

First, I simply look the gun over. I look it over for any cracks, any sharp edges or anything that would immediately scream “this gun has problems.” If I don’t see any problems then I go to the range and put about 200 rounds of full metal jacket ammo through the gun. I make sure the gun cycles properly and that there aren’t any problems. I also make sure that the sights are properly aligned and they don’t need any adjustment.

In addition, I also perform several reloads to make sure the magazines drop free and don’t stick, and that there aren’t any other problems I discover with the magazines.

If the gun works shooting the cheap ammunition then I introduce my jacketed hollow point ammo. I’ll shoot between 100-200 rounds to make sure my gun feeds this properly. I know that jacketed hollow point ammo isn’t cheap, but I really wouldn’t shoot less than 100 rounds when testing out a new gun.

After I’ve put about 400 rounds of ammunition through the gun I’ll take it home and clean it and look it over once again while the gun is apart. After I’ve done all this, then I’ll be comfortable enough to put the gun on my hip and start carrying it concealed. You may feel comfortable doing less or you may want to do more of a test, but whatever you do, don’t bet your life on a gun without first making sure it works.