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Leverguns, leverguns…well, sometimes we just gotta talk leverguns, right? 

Well, the Cast Boolits forum sure thinks so, because that’s one of their quotes.  And we’re going to do just that.

Seems some of you have noted just how much fun I’ve been having with the .44 Magnum lever-action rifle recently, and you asked for an episode about it.  To that end, here it is.  Our specific focus is going to be on what I’ve found to be the benefits, and the compromises that come with it.  Depending on where you are, you may find a levergun in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .44-40, or .45 Colt to be useful for your situation or not.

I suggest that if you’re in the thick woods and taking shots at an absolute maximum distance of 150 yards, a levergun chambered for a revolver cartridge becomes a very useful tool.  They also have good home-defense characteristics.  It turns out that the Magnum handgun cartridges take on entirely new levels of power when shot out of a rifle-length barrel, either nipping at the heels of the classic .30-30 or even equaling it.

Saddle up, pardners, for a journey into the past, but with today’s modern twist!  (pun intended)

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This is the second part of a two-part series primarily aimed (pun intended) at someone looking to purchase his or her first firearm.  Since there are so many options, a lot of people just don’t know where to start.  Here, we offer some suggestions on what to consider as a first firearm choice.  We also provide some ideas on how to narrow down your myriad options.

Last time, we talked about handguns–revolvers and semi-auto pistols.  This time, our focus is on long guns–the rifles and shotguns. My cameralady from the reloading videos, “Miss B.H.C.”, also weighs in a bit on this.

As in Part 1, here our focus remains the city or suburban resident, mostly out of necessity.

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This is a two-part series primarily aimed (pun intended) at someone looking to purchase his or her first firearm.  There are so many types out there that it can be kinda bewildering.  As a part-time Range Safety Officer, I see a lot of new folks who would like to shoot, and would like to own a gun, but they don’t even know where to start.

Here, we offer some suggestions on what to consider as a first firearm choice.  We also provide some ideas on how to narrow down your myriad options.

In this episode, we discuss handguns–both revolvers and semi-autos–as a candidate for a “first firearm”.  Next episode, we’ll do the same thing for the long guns–rifles and shotguns.  In both episodes, our focus is the city or suburban resident, mostly out of necessity.

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Shortly after the first episode, a few people asked me why I don’t just call myself a “Libertarian” now, given that the term “Liberal” means “Democratic Party Progressives” to so many people.  To them, the word “Liberal” conjures up images of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi.  These folks and those like them are not Liberals, but rather, “Progressives”.  It is true that the Libertarian Party was formed out of a direct response to that misuse of the noble word, “Liberal”.

Back then, I promised to address that in a future episode.  That time has arrived.

This is defiintely an “out of the frying pan and into the fire” episode.  It’s sure to tick somebody off.  I try not to, but it’s probably unavoidable when one takes on a topic like we do here in this case.

Here is my view on the difference between Liberalism and Libertarianism, and why I continue to refer to myself as a Liberal.  I don’t share all of their beliefs, and I consider that the philosophy doesn’t account for certain real-world problems–problems that my Dad, Colin Powell, and Oscar Robertson know well–but there is definitely some overlap.  We Liberals need to start hanging out with the Libertarians more; while we disagree on some points, still, in a lot of ways, they are our natural allies.

Libertarian listeners, my understanding of Libertarianism is by necessity less than encyclopedic.  I am willing to revisit this topic if you can give me a good case to do so; fair is fair.  This episode is to help start that conversation that really should’ve been taking place years ago.

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The Dangers of Banning So-Called “Assault Weapons”

At the present time, there is a bill that recently got introduced in the Senate.  It’s called the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013″.  It was introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, along with twenty or so other Democratic Senators, but chiefly by her.  This is basically a repeat of the first Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, which expired in 2004.

My Dad was on the previous episode.  He and I agree on some topics, and we have different views on some others.  The notion of “assault weapons” is one of the latter ones.  We presented his views on the subject for your consideration last time.  This time, I present mine for your consideration, and you’ll note that they are considerably different.

We also discuss in this episode where these “one step at a time” gun bans eventually end, what the end-goal of the antis really is, and the reason why that must be their end-goal–why it cannot be any different from what it is.

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This is a special occasion for me.  My Dad was in town two weeks ago for the Presidential Inauguration, and since I’d been wanting to do an episode with him, we took the opportunity to do that as well.  This is the man whom I’ve been talking about being alive precisely because he had his gun with him that day.

We discuss a number of subjects, virtually all of them related to firearms policy.  He and I share some views, and we don’t share certain others.  That’s part of the Liberal’s Gun Corner.  You don’t always just hear my own views ’round these here parts.  We discuss the aftermath of the Newtown, CT shooting, “assault weapons”, gun registration, tracking, general firearms safety, and even the notion of confiscation and what to do about it.

This man has been around a lot longer than I have and is very wise.  Whether you agree or not, his counsel is worth hearing and considering.  Next episode, I’ll present another point of view for your consideration.

Music notes:  the intro and ending music is “You Are My Sunshine”, from Dad’s album.  He’s on piano, I’m on drums. 

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By now, everybody with any sort of sensory input has heard about the horrible act of evil committed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut earlier this month.  Before the bodies even had a chance to cool, the antis were already calling for increased gun restrictions.

They are wrong.  Their proposed restrictions will not work, and they didn’t work before.  They sure didn’t work for Littleton High School in Columbine.

We’re going to talk about a way that actually *does* work.  The antis hate that this is the case.  But it’s true, and it’s been proven.  And no, it’s not what the NRA’s recent press release suggests–a police state in every one of our schools.

Given the nature of this terrible tragedy, this is a somewhat longer episode, nearly an hour.  We’ve got a *LOT* to talk about.

Happy Holidays, and love your loved ones.  You never know how long they will be with us.

- T

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For a lot of years now, a lot of fellow Liberals have been packin’ what looks to me like a blanket hate toward White men.  This has taken a major upswing since the November 2012 re-election of President Barack Obama.  White men are now derisively, and even vitriolically, dismissed as “obsolete” and “irrelevant”.  Are blanket hates like this justified, toward anyone?  Is this the truly “Liberal” way to act toward our White brothers?

I believe otherwise.  Last I checked, blanket hatreds are how we got Jim Crow, but I see a lot of fellow Libs doing it just the same.  Waitasec…aren’t such blanket hatreds the polar opposite of what we’ve been claiming to fight for, for all these years?  You might also be passing up on some really good marksmanship and reloading knowledge if you do that.

We also tell a story, a warning about what could happen if We, as The People, don’t always remain vigilant about our Constitutional Rights–ALL of them.  There is, of course, a special focus on the Second Amendment, which is the teeth that ensures all the rest of ‘em.  The road to a loss of liberty is not as long as we think.