Tel: (780) 426-4866
Phase IV
Fax: (780) 426-4867
West Edmonton Mall
www.shootingcentre.com
Edmonton, Alberta
Handguns
Shotguns
Ruger Single Six ................. $495 & up
Mossberg c/w pistol grip ........................................................................$475 & up
Ruger MK III SS ............... $450 & up
Beretta Extreme I ......................................................................................... $1680
Ruger SRH 480 ........................... $850
Benelli M2 MX4 Camo ............................................................................... $1569
Springfield Armory GI 45 ...................... Springfield Armory XD 40, 9 45 ............................................ $825 & up Baby Eagle Hardchrome ............. $899 Glock 17 ...................................... $825 Beretta NEO’s ............................. $395 HK USP ................................... $1295 Sig Sauer P226 ......................... $1195
Rifles Stevens Model 200 ...................... $365 Tikka T3 Synthetic DM .... $675 & up Savage 111 c/w 3-9x40 DM ............................................ $695 & up Sako 95M Synthetic SS DM.... $1499
Canadian
Firearms Journal Hello from Head Office!! The days are longer, the sun is warmer and winter will soon be over. Now is the time to catch up on everything that was a must to get done this winter. I hope every one had a chance to write or phone their MLA’s, the Justice Minister and the Prime Minister. As long as we keep reminding “them” we are still here, still not liking the waste of money, etc. the sooner they may do something. “Gun Show Season” should be in full swing. If your Club is sponsoring a show please forward us a poster and we’ll hang it in the office. If you would like some materials for an NFA table we can forward you some applications, primers and back issues of the CFJ’s. If you are attending a show that has a NFA table stop by and say hello. If you know when your membership expires please renew at any time to keep your insurance constantly up to date. Clubs please include a list of all members names. Keep the e-mails coming and we will get all your inquiries answered to the best of our ability. Remember when you phone and leave a message to speak slowly and clearly. We can not return phone calls if we can’t understand your phone number. Until next time. The friendly folk at Head Office.
Mission Statement Canada’s National Firearms Association exists to promote, support and protect all safe firearms activities, including the right of self defence; firearms education for all Canadians; freedom and justice for Canada’s firearms community, and to advocate for legislative change to ensure the right of all Canadians to own and use firearms is protected.
Inside this issue Regulars From the Editor’s Desk ...............................................................6 Christopher di Armani President’s Column .....................................................................8 Blair Hagen Vice President’s Column ...........................................................10 Sean G. Penney Letters to the Editor ..................................................................12 Legal Corner .............................................................................18 Bruce Gold Liberty ......................................................................................20 Vin Suprynowicz Self-Defense - The Hypocrisy of Canadian Self Devence Laws ......28 Clive Edwards Politics & Guns - Ammunition Serialization ............................38 Christopher di Armani The International Front .............................................................42 Dr. Gary Mauser Preserving Our Firearms Heritage ............................................44 Gary & Sybil Kangas Internet Destinations .................................................................45
On the Cover If this family was a role model, instead of gang-bangers from broken homes, Toronto would be a better and much safer city.
Kids & Guns - First Trip to the Range, Part 2 ..........................46 Kathy Jackson Youth Development - New Shooters Bring Fun ... and Profit...50 James McDonald Old West Armory - The Shootists :Truths & Myths of the Wild West .....56 Jesse L. Hardin Women & Guns ........................................................................58 Jane Gaffin The Last Word ...........................................................................62 Christopher di Armani
Caution!
Features
Technical data and information contained in this magazine are intended to provide information based upon the limited experience of individuals under specific conditions. They do not detail the comprehensive training, procedures, techniques, and safety precautions that are necessary to properly carry out similar activities. Always consult comprehensive reference manuals before attempting any similar activities. Any printed reloading data may contain printing errors and so is used entirely at the risk of the reader. It is the responsibility of all hand loaders to check factory reloading manuals for the specified components in use. Canada’s National Firearms Association has no ability to control the conditions under which any published information may be used and therefore assumes no liability for use or misuse of published reloading information.
The 577 Snider ..........................................................................14 Bob Shell
The contents of the Canadian Firearms Journal are copyrighted and may be reproduced only when written permission is obtained from the publisher.
Anatomy of an IPSC Stage .......................................................22 Charles Schafer Morally Illegitimate Governments Can Only Make Illegitimate Laws ..........................................................................................26 John Martin Personal Defence Ammunition .................................................30 Frank Hilliard Ladders: These Weapons Also Kill ...........................................31 Doug Craig, Ph.D. A Canuck Goes to Front Sight ..................................................32 Marc Boutet Of Switzerland & Canada .........................................................49 Pierre Lemieux Ergonomic Concealed Carry Pistols .........................................54 Carolyn Boyles
by Christopher di Armani
Welcome to 2009! In this edition we will take a look at a number of interesting topics, and finish up one or two left hanging in the last issue. Kathy Jackson brings us the second part of “First Trip to the Range”. Taking your child to the range for the first time is a big topic, and one that cannot be covered adequately in a single issue. In the second half of her article, Kathy talks about the importance of outfitting your child with the correct gear, and then jumps into a great discussion of targets for this allimportant first trip to the range. Dave Chappelle visited the Pinecrest Gun Club recently to see how they are using their new member shoots to reinvigorate their gun club and generate new interest in the shooting sports at the same time. Pinecrest is doing a great job, and we can all learn a few things from them and how they’ve handled the challenges of maintaining an urban range.
Carolyn Boyles takes us on an interesting trip back in time, to the turn of the century, and some of the most fascinating little pistols ever manufactured, the “pocket pistol”. We’ve had some interesting questions from members, and in this issue we address the question of insurance, raised by one NFA member looking for adequate insurance for his firearms collection. There is also a great deal of confusion
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December 2008 / January 2009
around the status of the so-called “long gun registry”. One member is understandably confused about the subject, and Blair Hagen strives to set the record straight on the gun registry and the legal requirements for gun owners as the law stands today. Bruce Gold investigates the recent rash of deaths caused by police use of Tasers. Where the problems stem from is fascinating, and Bruce discovered the problem is not, as so many are quick to conclude, our front-line police officers. You’ve probably noticed the ads on the back cover of recent Canadian Firearms Journals for Front Sight Training Institute in Nevada. Marc Boutet thought the offer was too good to be true, so he took Dr. Piazza up on his offer of a free gun. In this issue Mr. Boutet reports back on his experiences at Front Sight, and urges any who can manage it to do as he did and take Dr. Piazza up on his offer. Gary and Sybil Kangas bring us a historical look at the Victoria City Police and the firearms they have used over the past 150 years. Jesse Hardin is back with another installment of Old West Armory, this time looking at the shooters of the old west. In this issue he examines the truth and the myths of the fabled gunfighters of the old west. Taking a look at an interesting and unique firearm is Bob Shell, this time detailing the 577 Snyder, a venerable old breech-loader once used by the British Army.
Many are aware of the stalled plans of the United Nations to mark every firearm uniquely in their effort to stem the flow of firearms to war zones. What you may not be aware of is the plans of a company from Seattle, Washington, to bring this marking program to ammunition. Yes, you read that correctly. A Seattle company has patented a system, as yet unproven, to mark every bullet and every cartridge case with unique numbers in what they call an effort to aid law-enforcement. A look past the hype shows their motive is quite different from the altruistic paint they try to cover their idea with, however. IPSC shooter Charles Schafer of the Atlantic Marksmen Association examines “The Anatomy of an IPSC Stage”, where he walks us step by step through one of the more interesting and difficult stages at a recent IPSC event. Vin Suprynowicz brings us another discussion of Freedom and what it means when you live in an everincreasing police state. Can you imagine being refused your flight because you have a picture of a toy gun on your shirt? The world truly has, as Richard Stevens (author of Dial 911 and Die) said, “turned upside down”. Last but not least, Jane Gaffin brings us a look at the hypocrisy of our age in her article “Killing is okay, but don’t use a G-U-N!” Enjoy the magazine! Yours in Liberty,
Dr. Gary Mauser brings us another look at the international front and the plans of our “friends” at the United Nations to “help us”.
CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
www.nfa.ca
by: Blair Hagen, National President
President’s Column
2009,
and it’s an entirely new and different political scenario in Ottawa.
W
hat a roller coaster ride, the waning days of 2008! Canada faced an attempted defeat of the federal Conservative government via the Liberal/NDP/Bloc Quebecois opposition coalition, and the potential for a constitutional crisis not seen in Canada for decades. A coalition of opportunity with Stephane Dion as prime minister, Jack Layton as chief policy maker, and with the entire coalition government dependent on the support of the separatist Bloc Quebeois for survival. The political uncertainty at a time when Canada is entering an economic downturn, with all of the potential ramifications on the Canadian economy made for a tense period of national politics. The firearms community now faces an entirely new political situation in Ottawa. The Liberal Party has replaced Stephane Dion with Michael Ignatieff. Under Dion, the Liberal Party’s policy on firearms was clear: more useless gun bans, more regulation, and a renewed commitment to Canada’s failed firearms registry. Furthermore, the Dion Liberals advertised they intended to take the Canadian firearms community down the same road as Australia. In Australia today, all semi automatic and pump action rifles and shotguns are banned and confiscated. Not just the “military” types, all of them. Remingtons, Marlins, Winchesters, everything. All handguns over 9mm caliber have also been banned and confiscated. In the 2008 election, Stephane Dion
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December 2008 / January 2009
subscribed to the same view of firearms as earlier Liberal Party leaders. Register, restrict, prohibit and finally confiscate. Firearms for a privileged few, and an end to Canada’s proud firearms culture and traditions. New Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff’s views on “gun control” are still unclear. Does he recognize the failure of current Liberal firearms policy? Does he intend to change it? All of these questions are, as of press time, unanswered. There is still a large “gun control” constituency in the Liberal Party that still has it’s head in the sand over the failure of C68. They pay lip service to the two Billion Dollar price tag, tax dollars wasted with no return on public safety. The disenfranchisement of the firearms community from the Liberal Party is brushed off as “miscommunication”. To date, they have held sway over federal Liberal firearms policy. Does Michael Ignatieff have the intelligence and courage to revisit the issue? Certainly he must realize that gun control was a major reason for the Liberal Party being shut out of rural and western Canada in previous federal elections, provinces the Liberal Party needs votes in to form government. The National Firearms Association looks forward to an opportunity to dialogue with Michael Ignatieff’s Liberal Party, but until then the jury is out.
Canadian Firearms Journal
www.nfa.ca
The NDP under Jack Layton will probably not revisit their firearms policy. Party leader Jack Layton has consistently supported gun laws directed at punishing lawful owners and users, and this is unlikely to change given that NDP policy makers are dominated by urbanites, unreformed gender feminists, and actual members of the gun control lobby. Still, there are MP’s in the NDP caucus in parliament who do know the truth about the Firearms Act and the firearms registry, and may choose to support the government on the reform of firearms legislation. NDP MP John Rafferty (Thunder Bay/Rainy River) knows the score. He stood in parliament on November 21st, 2008 and made the following comment: I heard this morning, and I heard recently from the hon. Conservative member, that the government finally would get rid of the long gun registry. I am very pleased to tell the House that for eight years, since the turn of the century, my constituents have told me that we need to get rid of that long gun registry. They have told me that it unfairly penalizes farmers, gun collectors and hunters. If that bill appears as a standalone bill, I will honour the wishes of the constituents in my riding. It appears that Mr. Rafferty is an MP who honestly intends to represent the wishes of his constituents rather than Jack Layton’s Toronto based urbanites who currently drive NDP firearms policy. Will other NDP MP’s have the intestinal fortitude that John Rafferty has when the time comes to vote on a replacement for Canada’s failed Firearms Act? Or will they knuckle under and vote with the more “progressive” members of that party, who see “gun control” and gun prohibition as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
even more regressive gun control laws? Only time will tell. The firearms community’s decade long fight for justice and the replacement of the Liberal Firearms Act continues. Our fight has historical parallels. The fight for universal suffrage and the right to vote for women. Redress for Japanese Canadians who were imprisoned in World War Two and had all of their property seized simply on the basis of their ethnic background. The Firearms Act is an immense social wrong and legislative shame for Canada. If this country is to keep it’s place among first world democratic nations, it must be replaced by sensible legislation. The National Firearms Association has for it’s entire existence attempted to convince Ottawa governments and their bureaucracies that the wrong agendas on firearms were being pursued. The immense national failure of the Liberal Firearms Act has given the firearms community a great opportunity to set government on the right course with regards to firearms laws. Laws which actually address the legitimate issue of public safety, while recognizing the rights of Canadians to own and use firearms. A practical firearms control system that dispenses with social re-engineering and civil disarmament agendas, that focuses on firearms safety, that focuses much needed law enforcement resources on interdicting the criminal misuse of firearms. That celebrates Canada’s honourable firearms culture and traditions rather than denigrating and seeking to extinguish them.
The Conservative government of Stephen Harper seems to recognize this, despite it’s inability to Will Jack Layton allow courageous MP’s like John incorporate these principles into new federal firearms Rafferty to vote the will of their constituents, or will he force them to vote to maintain the status quo, or for legislation. The majority of the NDP party still resists firearms law reforms, even though Canadians have passed severe judgment on current firearms The National Firearms Association has an law and legislation. active and growing membership of shooters and hunters. If you would like to reach each and every one of them, advertise in the
What of the new Liberal Party of Michael Ignatieff ?
Canadian Firearms Journal.
Interested? Call us at (604) 250-7910 or e-mail us at Advertising@CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
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Canadian Firearms Journal
December 2008 / January 2009
9
by Sean G. Penney, National VP Communications
Vice President’s Column Looking To the Future
W
Wow! Looking back at 2008, the year that was, I’m reminded of an ancient Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times!” And boy were they! From the hair-brained attack on responsible gun owners implemented by Toronto Mayor David Miller as a panacea for his city’s socio-economic ills, to the latest federal election and former Liberal leader Stephane Dion’s equally hair-brained attempt to ban so-called “assault rifles,” (ignoring the fact that such firearms are already prohibited!); to the failed LaytonDion-Duceppe coup attempt, Canadian gun owners have been living in all too interesting times!
By the time you read this, Parliament will be back in session and Stephen Harper will either still be in power or the opposition parties will have succeeded in bringing down the government or perhaps force another election. Thankfully, the two latter scenarios seem unlikely. However, Michael Ignatieff is a far more competent leader than Dion, and the Liberals will eventually regain power. It is for this eventuality that we must prepare. That means now, more than ever, we all must get active and put aside any slights or differences in opinion (real or 10
December 2008 / January 2009
imagined) with fellow hunters and shooters. The Canadian recreational firearms community is a broad, diverse grouping of fierce individualists who, at times, seem bound and determined to resist change or accept the validity of a viewpoint other than their own; no matter the consequence! Speaking as a pro-firearms lobbyist, that unique demographically induced inertia is a real stumbling block for those of us involved in fighting to preserve our firearms rights and heritage. We all need to make a concerted effort to be more open-minded, to be more empathetic toward our fellow gun owners who may enjoy different aspects of the recreational firearms community than we do. Trap shooter, handgun collector or duck hunter, we all need to learn to get along and work cooperatively! No matter what “kind” of shooter we may be, we are all in the same collective boat and it is leaking! At present every single major federal political party in Canada is antigun, committed to implementing additional “gun control” measures. The sole exception is the Conservative Party of Canada. That is a fact!
The Liberals, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and Green Party are all on the record in support of additional restrictions on the ownership and use of legal firearms in Canada. Yet Canadian gun owners continue to propagate an attitude of, “if it doesn’t affect me directly then I’ll pretend it doesn’t matter!” We all encounter this attitude at the range, in the field and even at the local coffee shop. During the election this past fall, I called out a couple of my fellow gun club members for voicing their disinterest in the Liberal’s proposed “assault rifle” ban. Both were life-long hunters, experienced trap shooters and both owned restricted target pistols, yet their attitude towards Mr. Dion’s socalled “assault weapons” ban was blasé at best. Since neither owned any “black guns” and couldn’t see any “use” for them, they couldn’t care less if thousands of their fellow responsible gun owners were stripped of their property and rights! Although I shouldn’t have been shocked by their attitude, the total disinterest they shared in the fate of fellow gun owners rocked me back on my heels.
Canadian Firearms Journal
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Unable to simply ignore this issue, I went on the offensive and quickly reminded the duo of just how “useful” such firearms were in both a competitive setting such as Service Rifle, IPSC and 3-Gun competitions; and in a field setting, hunting varmints, predators and big game. Much to their shock, there are many non-restricted “black guns” that are legally used for hunting big and small game across the country every day. “Black guns” are used to hunt everything from gophers and ground squirrels to coyotes and caribou - from Newfoundland to British Columbia, to Nunavut & the Yukon! I know, because I use one myself for hunting Coyotes here on the Rock and others have proven they will work equally well on whitetail deer or Quebec-Labrador Caribou. At the same time, I made the point that the fast follow-up shots, gentle recoil and modular nature of many of these semi-automatic firearms made them ideal for use by disabled or recoil sensitive shooters. Not quite the weapons of mass destruction and/or terrorists that my gloriously ill-informed impromptu pupils assumed they were! Not surprisingly, both individuals were initially defensive, but by the end of my lesson, were acceptably contrite. In terms of classification, there were no legal differences between their .22LR target pistols and my Colt AR-15. It was hard to argue against logic when both were in fact owners of restricted firearms, the exact same class that both former Prime Minister Paul Martin promised to prohibit just two short years ago and which Toronto Mayor David Miller continues to attack today! How then could they justify “banning” the latter and not the former? Is one inherently more evil than the other? Or is the truth that neither firearm deserves such
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a label? Obviously, the latter is the only common sense answer. No matter the cosmetics involved, a firearm is an inanimate object that poses no danger to anyone or anything until it is grasped by human hands. There are no “good” or “bad” guns. Time is of the essence and we can no longer afford to quibble amongst ourselves. To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, gun owners need to hang together, or we’ll surely hang apart. We need positive changes in Canadian gun laws and we need them now! Hunters need to recognize that they are gun owners too; trap and skeet shooters need to recognize that there is a place for handgun shooters and black rifle guys, just as the black rifle guys or competitive handgun shooters need to recognize that all hunters cannot be simply classified as know-nothing “Fudds” (ala Elmer Fudd of Looney Tunes fame!). I know I’ve touched on this topic before, but this is a message that needs to be reinforced. At the root, no matter the firearm we’re shooting, we’re all responsible firearms owners. That single most important fact should be sufficient to weld our community into one unstoppable political force, but it hasn’t. In Australia, gun owners, more so than the gun banners themselves, were the ultimate architects of their own destruction. As various gun organizations, lobby groups and specific interests squabbled amongst themselves, they failed to come together to fight the proposed gun bans.
you! Over the past year we’ve taken steps to revitalize our volunteer Field Officer program and I’m happy to report that we’ve added many new volunteer Field Officers. We hope to grow that network exponentially over the next few years and are looking to you, our members, to step up to the plate. While I’ll be providing a more in-depth look at our Field Officer program in the next issue, any interested persons can contact me immediately. In the meantime, we need each and every NFA member to keep the pressure on their local MPs, the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister’s Office to let them know that responsible firearm owners are not the problem! When self-interested politicians like David Miller, Jack Layton or Stephane Dion chose to attack responsible gun owners rather than the actual criminals, we need to call them on it! Get busy writing those letters to the editor and hitting up the local radio call-in shows! Political correctness and media indoctrination have worked to make firearm a fourlettered word in Canada. It isn’t. We have a long and proud hunting and shooting heritage in Canada, and it is high time we reminded politicians, the media and our fellow citizens of that fact! It is up to you guys, the grass roots to make this work! In looking to the future we all have to ask ourselves whether or not we’re willing to individually accept the responsibility of such a trust? The future is ours to shape if we so choose. It is up to us to choose wisely! Yours in solidarity!
I don’t want to see a repeat of this in our country, but we cannot do it alone! The National Firearms Association is only as strong as you, our members, make it! We need your continued support, and not just with your cheque book! We need
Canadian Firearms Journal
December 2008 / January 2009
11
Letters to the Since the long arm registry has been canceled, what is the present status of the guns in the registry... thanks. A.R. (via email)
Dear A.R., The long gun registry has not been canceled. Long gun registration is still in effect. It is still a requirement in law to have a valid firearms license and a registration certificate to be in possession of any long gun. There is currently, however, an amnesty in place which is due to expire May 16th 2009, and that is likely what is causing so much confusion for gun owners. The amnesty allows those with expired firearms licenses to renew those licenses without criminal penalty. It also allows those with valid firearms licenses to register any unregistered, non restricted long arms they have in their possession. Those with expired Possession Only Licenses (POL) can renew without having to take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC) and apply for a Possession/Acquisition license. Previously this was not possible. There has been a lot of confusion over these firearms amnesties. The purpose of an amnesty is to encourage compliance with current firearms regulations regarding licensing and registration. It is not intended to pre-empt or exempt individuals from these regulations. The purpose of the amnesty is merely to allow Canadians to bring themselves into compliance with the current Firearms Act. In order to end the registration requirement for long guns the government must introduce and pass new legislation in parliament, which it has not yet done. All pertinent gun registry information remains in CFC computer databases (under RCMP control) will remain so until physically destroyed by a future government.
12
To Blair Hagen, Pres. or whomever can help. My personal firearm collection is valued at several hundred thousand dollars. My Home Owner Insurance Policy contents coverage for comprehensive losses of these firearms (theft, fire, water, weather created damage, etc.) has limitations, inclusions and deductibles that in reality offers no protection whatsoever. My insurer will write an exclusive separate firearm policy but the premium cost is horrendous. Can you advise where I can shop in Canada for reasonable comprehensive insurance coverage on my firearm collection. Thank you. W. C.
Dear W.C.. We forwarded your inquiry to the NFA’s insurance contact and his reply is below. Hopefully this helps. Diane Laitila
Diane, We have been asked if we can insure firearms many times. We even thought about putting together a group plan. The problem was we could not find an insurance company that was interested. I am not a “Homeowners Insurance� specialist but I have been told that some insurance companies do not have a limit on firearms. So, he might want to try to find a homeowners insurance company that has no restriction on firearms. Additional thought - if the insurance company does not have a limitation on firearms, he still needs to make sure his contents insurance limit is adequate to replace all of his personal contents plus the guns. Murray Morrison
Hopefully this clarifies things!
All Sport Insurance Marketing Ltd.
Blair Hagen
Toll Free: 1-877-992-2288 Direct: (604) 737-3020 F: (604) 737-3076
December 2008 / January 2009
CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
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Editor
Canadian
Firearms Journal The Official Magazine of the
National Firearms Association
CORRECTION: In the last issue, Doug Christie said his Western Block Party was the only federal party that supported private property rights in general and the right to own and use firearms specifically.
Editor.......................................Editor@CanadianFirearmsJournal.com Christopher di Armani
Jim Hnatiuk, NFA Field Officer and the new Leader of the Christian Heritage Party (www.chp.ca) reminds us there is another federal political party that supports gun owners.
Accounts / Membership / General Info ................ membership@nfa.ca
CHP’s “better solution” is not to restrict its citizens but rather to appropriately punish criminals who attack our society.
Advertising..................... Advertising@CanadianFirearmsJournal.com Clive Edwards (604) 250-7910
Legal Inquiries ................................................................. legal@nfa.ca
National Executive National President .........................................................(780) 439-1394 Blair Hagen natpres@nfa.ca
Christian Heritage Party Policy 6.7.7 states: “We affirm that self-defense is a basic human right which must not be abridged. Citizens should be permitted to possess and use firearms within the limits of reasonable law (i.e. providing for registration of concealable weapons), and for purposes of hunting and sportsmanship, and/or defense of family and innocents, and from aggressors intruding onto the defender’s property. We assert that the federal government must not restrict the right of law-abiding citizens to own firearms, whether for sporting use or for self-defence.”
National Vice-President Communication Sean Penney
(780) 439-1394 natvpc@nfa.ca
National Vice-President Finance Henry Atkinson
(780) 439-1394 natvpf@nfa.ca
The CHP understands that this is where the deterrent should be applied.
Saskatchewan ................................................................. skpres@nfa.ca Dan Lupichuk (306) 332-3907
Policy 7.1.6 states: “We believe the ‘Charter of Rights’ should be amended to include the right to private ownership and enjoyment of property.” Thanks for setting us straight Jim!
Provincial Contacts British Columbia ............................................................bcpres@nfa.ca Sheldon Clare (250) 563-2804 Alberta................................................................................info@nfa.ca (780) 439-1394
Manitoba .................................................................mvormeng@nfa.ca Mike Vormeng (204) 886-2667 Ontario ...........................................................................onpres@nfa.ca Bill Rantz (705) 385-2636 Quebec ...........................................................................pqpres@nfa.ca Phil Simard (514) 365-0685 Vice-President sab@nfa.ca Stephen Buddo (450) 430-0786 Nova Scotia .................................................................... nspres@nfa.ca Dave Udle (902) 567-3600
Questions? Do you have a question? Something you want clarified? Please send us a letter or an e-mail. We would love to hear from you. Letters should be directed to the Editor. Legal and political questions should be directed to the NFA Legal Department. Letters must include the Name, Address, and Phone Number of the sender. P.O. Box 52183 Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2T5
New Brunswick...................................................................................... Harland Cook (506) 459-7416 Newfoundland ................................................................natvpc@nfa.ca Sean Penney (709) 598-2040 Cathy Keane (709) 368-3920 Publication Sales Agreement 40050578
National Firearms Association Box 52183 Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6G 2T5
Tel: (780) 439-1394 Fax: (780) 439-4091 info@nfa.ca www.nfa.ca
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CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
December 2008 / January 2009
13 1
by Bob Shell
The 577 Snider
T
he British brought out the Enfield rifle in 1853 as the model P-53. It is a 58 caliber muzzle loader that shoots a hollow base bullet weighing anywhere between 405 and 500 grains. This muzzle loader was popular in the American Civil War second only to the Springfield in numbers.
The Snider used in test.
During the 1860’s many countries were experimenting with the breech loading rifles and Britain was no exception. Like many countries, they wanted to use existing stocks of rifles to save money. While various ideas were tried, Britain adopted a system devised by American Jacob Snider, whose idea had been rejected by the US in favor of the trapdoor design. The barrel was cut and a swinging breech block was installed. It swung up by the push of a button and a cartridge was inserted and the block pushed back in place. The hammer was cocked for firing. When fired, the breech was opened and pushed back to extract the cartridge. The ejection system is manual: the shooter must pull out the empty cartridge. There is no safety, which was fairly common among rifles of that period. The rear sight is adjustable, though crude by today’s standards, and the front blade sight is typical of the era.
Author shooting the 577 Snider
The rifle is a long affair although a carbine version was also made. My specimen is supposed to be an original carbine used in Canada by the Mounties, and sports an 18” barrel. All in all it’s a clever system. The Snider system saw service until 1871, when it was replaced by the powerful Martini Henry. Like many military arms it saw use for many years after it was officially discontinued. The British gave it to many of their colonies, including those in Africa and India. It was loaded with buckshot and said to be popular with the Indian police for use in riot control. Another advantage of the Snider (as well as other breach loaders) was that you could load it lying prone, unlike the muzzle loader. Besides being faster to load, by lying prone or sitting you presented a much smaller target for enemy riflemen. The cartridge is an odd affair being both large in diameter and shooting a big bullet. The only way to make them at present is out of 24 gauge brass shotgun shells from South America. When the cartridges were first made, the body was cardboard while the head was made from iron. Later a wrapped brass foil case was used before the modern brass case was utilized. If you hald-load them, the .255 Berden primers is the correct size to use, and
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December 2008 / January 2009
CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
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one source of priming and decapping tools for these cases is Huntington Die (www.huntingtons.com). While harder to decap than the standard boxer type, it can be done with practice and patience.
577 Snider with the mini ball and round ball used in tests.
The 577/450 is a lengthened and necked down version of the Snider round utilizing a 45 caliber bullet. The bullet I use is a hollow base design measuring .573 in diameter and weighing 405 to 500 grains. It’s an impressive hunk of lead and I imagine it would put someone down pretty quick. The cast bullets should be on the soft side to enable the base to expand into the bore, thus enhancing the accuracy. Hornady makes a round ball that weighs 283 grains that I also used in my shooting tests. It makes a nice light load for target shooting and has very little recoil. Accuracy was acceptable though not gilt edge. While these are quality guns they weren’t designed for heavy smokeless loads. I use black powder or a substitute only. Using smokeless powder would be too dangerous. My motive in shooting these old guns is to have fun and duplicate the original loads as closely as possible consistent with safety practices. My rifle has a date stamp of 1870 on it, making it at least 139 years old.
577 Snider Loads Top 500 grain mini ball, round ball & 10 X load
Loading the gun is simple just drop the round in and close the breech.
Top 577/450 which took the place of the 577 Snider in 1871. Shot loads made up. These worked well and they can be carried in pocket without fear of spillage when made this way. 1 oz of shot was used
Recently I obtained some reloadable brass made by Jamison. They use the standard large rifle boxer primer. Unfortunately Jamison took a government contract and won’t be making commercial brass anytime soon. This is a shame, as Jamieson made quality brass in many hard to get calibers. The next step was obtaining reloading dies. A couple of companies manufacture them, and I purchased a set of Lee Precision dies for this project. They are massive and require a thread size of 1 & ½ X 12 as opposed to the standard 7/8 X 14” threads. I was impressed by the quality of the dies, which sell for about $110.00, shell holder included. They are a standard three die set and should be used as such. I use a RCBS Ammomaster press which has the capability of taking the oversize dies. If you don’t reload your own ammunition, a company called 10 X sells many odd calibers. (www.obsoleteammo.com).
A 2 by 4 shot with # 7 &1/2 shot nearly penetrated it at 10 yards. In fact some shot did.
With cases from Bob Hayley you need these Berdan primers and tools to reload them. www.nfa.ca
CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
December 2008 / January 2009
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What it looks like shooting black powder through a chronograph.
Load Data The carbine weighs about 7 lbs, so there isn’t a lot of weight to absorb the recoil. Shooting the gun is really a treat, and with heavy mini balls the recoil is frisky to say the least. Accuracy, while fair, isn’t the best, although it would be useful for hunting out to 100 yards using an accurate load. Another problem with longer ranges is bullet drop. With the low velocities available the trajectory would be like a rainbow after about a hundred yards. I did find that it is a handy rifle to carry with a pretty decent trigger pull. That gave me an idea. Since the case is almost straight why not make a shot load for it? Could this really double as a shotun? I did a little experimenting and found that if I put 15 grains of Red Dot with a cut wad and 1oz of shot I have a neat little shotgun. I put a top wad on tightly to hold the shot in and I now have an unusual shotgun. That load is similar to some 20 gauge loads and performed well out to 25 to 30 yards. During all my shooting I had no malfunctions of any kind. At least part of that would be attributed to the design and quality of the gun.
As with all black powder rifles, it is necessary to clean the firearm immediately in order to avoid corrosion. I washed mine with soap and water and put it out in the sun to dry. Afterwards I checked it out for moisture and lightly oiled it. I do that with my black powder guns and it works well, and I never have any rust problems.
The dies used were Lee dies and they worked fine.
If I buy a gun that is grungy I use a product called Bore Paste (www. uspborepaste.com) to clean it initially. Bore Paste does a good job getting off surface rust and dirt. One other thing that I would like to point out when shooting these old guns is safety. They should always be checked out by someone knowledgeable, such as a competent gunsmith, to make Shot pattern at 15 yards. Very sure they are safe to dense could be used for small shoot and haven’t game or home defense. been rechambered or altered in some other way.
A perfect example is I ran into a Rolling Block rifle that was originally 43 Spanish and someone reamed it out to accept a
Close up of rifle showing the action and sights. 16
December 2008 / January 2009
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348 case. I am sure it was done because at the time 348 cases were easier to get than 43 Spanish brass. Once I ascertained that I merely necked up 348 cases and it shot just fine. Without fail you should wear safety glasses and hearing protection when shooting any gun, particularly the oldies. If it does let go you still get to keep your vision and enjoy shooting another day. The Snider with the breech open and ammo.
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CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
December 2008 / January 2009
17
by Bruce Gold
Legal Corner Phasers Set on Stun: Police and their Tasers
O
n 14th October 2007 a Mr Dziekanski, arrived in Vancouver to take residence in Canada. Ten hours later he was dead at the hands of the RCMP. His death was one of over 290 people killed by Tasers since 2001 (src: Amnesty International report). Following the incident and the endless Youtube rebroadcasts of the videotape, the RCMP received a great deal of negative publicity and criticism. BC’s Criminal Justice Branch stated that no charges would be laid against the RCMP because “there is not a substantial likelihood of conviction in this case for any of the offences considered.” A ringing, lawyer-like, non-committal, nonendorsement that achieved the remarkable feat of making the RCMP look guilty at the same time it made the government look devious. Following the incident, the Commissioner of the RCMP ordered an independent review of policy decisions concerning the use of Tasers (Conducted Energy Weapons CEW – in RCMP speak - Tasers are currently classified as prohibited firearms). This “Independent Review of CEW for RCMP” by University of Ottawa criminologist John Kiedrowski found a number of problems with RCMP policymaking. On examination, these problems turn out to be strikingly similar to many of the problems underlying other aspects of Canadian firearms policymaking. The report found that RCMP methods for policy development were centered on a simplistic “checklist as a guide for operational policy development which includes a multi-stage linear process for collecting and processing information.” Kiedrowski noted, “Applying such a checklist is problematic, because the linear and insular nature of the RCMP policy process leads to a greater emphasis on individual programs or operational concerns rather than on the development of a coherent and comprehensive policy vision.” He
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went on to affirm that for policymaking an “essential part of the process is the capacity to examine policies from multiple vantage points (both internal and external to an organization) in order to identify potential deficiencies that might be masked by adherence to a single perspective.” In the case of the RCMP Taser policy, this narrow programbased approach (and manufacturer’s claims of complete safety) lead to a perception that Tasers were a relatively unproblematic “level of force” reducer. This focus on Tasers as a “force reducer“ in situations where officers were required to use force biased the perception of Taser use towards a scenario where strong, healthy individuals were threatening officers. This unconscious assumption and its narrow focus against a particular type of threat can be seen in subsequent training, where the use of volunteers as test subjects was seen as completely unproblematic. Accordingly, those conducting the policy process saw little need for medical consultation. Kiedrowski noted that “outside consultation with regard to the implications of CEW (Tasers) use for persons suffering from serious mental illness or the effects of the ingestion one or more drugs or other toxic substances was limited to two provincial advocacy associations for persons who have a family member with schizophrenia. There was no consultation with national organizations concerned with health policy such as Health Canada, provincial health ministries, the Canadian Psychiatric Association, the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Mental Health Association.” Unfortunately, these assumptions about Taser usage clashed with realities on the street. In practice, police are often first responders to a mental-health
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crisis and a very high percentages of street people and criminals are afflicted with drug or mental problems. Camia Weaver, of the Canadian Mental Health Association, notes, “over 30 per cent of people in B.C. who are receiving mental health services got there by having some kind of confrontation with police first.” The end result of the policy process’s narrow program focus was front-line RCMP officers deploying Tasers with a dramatic under appreciation of how dangerous Tasers could be to certain individuals. (The question of whether the Taser causes death directly, or indirectly is secondary and in terms of the victim being dead - irrelevant.) Kiedrowski also found that there was “little recognition of the need for a problem-definition, research, and consultation model.” This lack of recognition came from analysts who presumed they were the possessors of a prior expertise and unique insight that others could not equal. In the words of the Report “there is a great deal of respect for the field experience of working officers and a great deal of attention paid to such experience, with the result that research, to the extent that it is cited, may be selectively used to support conventional police wisdom and understandings that are part of police culture.” In the case of Taser policy the conventional wisdom, encouraged by company literature, viewed the Taser as a simple, direct, technical solution to the perennial problem of using force against civilians. This assumption lead to a policy analysis that over-emphasized the technical issues tied to a piece of equipment and under-emphasized the procedural issues of when and on whom this level of force should be used. The end result in the Dziekanski case was the “successful” deployment of equipment in circumstances where the “procedural” deployment (should it have been used) was highly suspect.
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The “problem definition” issue that tripped up the RCMP Taser policy process is not new to firearms owners. In her 2002 report the Auditor General noted how the focus of firearms policy had drifted from a “focus on the minority of firearms owners that posed a high risk” to the perception that “the use of firearms is in itself a “questionable activity” that required strong controls”. (Auditor General Report 2002, 10.67, 10.68) In the case of Taser policy, the shift was from a very complex procedural / equipment / human contact problem, raised by police use of force, to a much simpler technical problem of equipment usage. In the case of Canadian firearms law we can see the same sort of shift as the very complex problem of criminal use of firearms became a much simpler technical problem (the “gun problem”). In the case of Tasers this error in policy analysis led to inappropriate, and in this case deadly, misuse of equipment with the subsequent fallout of diminished police credibility. An entire technology, which doubtless has its appropriate uses, is now being called into question. In the case of firearms regulations this particular analytical failure has led to the program becoming “overly complex and very costly to deliver, and that it had become difficult for owners to comply with the Program” (Auditor General 2002 10.67). A similar decline in official credibility and the viability of the entire project resulted.
authors’ lack of professional training in social-science research and policy analysis.” Another failing of the Taser policy analysis was an over reliance on information from the manufacturer. Kiedrowski notes that the “RCMP literature review was very limited ... and there was an over-reliance on anecdotal information from police officers and an uncritical acceptance of information provided by the manufacturers of CEWs and other organizations that relied heavily on materials provided by the manufacturers.” This is a replay of a persistent error in firearms policy analysis, specifically, a heavy reliance on material provided by advocacy groups. In the case of Tasers, from the manufacturer and in the case of firearms policy from political agenda groups such as the Coalition for Gun Control. Both cases demonstrate the dangers of having too great a reliance on information from interest groups who are pursuing their own agendas and who want public policies that will further their objectives. In both cases, flawed research and analysis led to simplistic perceptions of the problem and directed policy towards solutions that were equally simplistic. In the case of Tasers a simplistic perception of whom the device was likely to be used on and a simplistic understanding of the devices capabilities resulted in users with a flawed understanding of potential hazards and police processes that were not well aligned with those hazards. In the case of firearms policies the simplistic and somewhat magical belief that firearms “caused” crime led to an administrative fiasco.
Both of these examples demonstrate the dangers in pursuing policies that are not evidence based and properly researched. Kiedrowski notes “individuals involved in the preparation of this report are professional police officers and not professionally trained researchers or policy analysts. Our review of this report indicates a number of problems that likely reflect, at least in part, the
One can only hope that repeated policy failures and repeated public relations disasters will motivate the authorities to adopt a more scientific, evidence based approach to perennial problems involving violence, firearms and public safety.
CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
December 2008 / January 2009
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by Vin Suprynowicz
“You’ve a gun on your T-shirt”
“A
man wearing a T-shirt depicting a cartoon character holding a gun was stopped from boarding a flight by the security at Heathrow’s Terminal 5,” The BBC reported on June 1.
“If a T-shirt had a rude word or a bomb on it, for example, a passenger may be asked to remove it,” he said. “If it’s offensive, we don’t want other passengers upset.”
Brad Jayakody, from Bayswater, central London, said he was “stumped” at the objection to his Transformers T-shirt.
Jared Diamond wrote a book a few years back called “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.” The premise was for the most part trendy Green: Cultures fail because they try to support too many people on the land, causing them to ruin the soil and cut down all the forests, etc. He actually praised the societies of highland New Guinea and others of their ilk for developing “sustainable” agricultural methods.
Mr. Jayakody, a clean-shaven young man with eyeglasses and short hair, said the incident happened in mid May, when he was challenged by an official during a pre-flight security check. “He says, ‘We won’t be able to let you through because your T-shirt has got a gun on it’,” Mr. Jayakody told reporters. “I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ “(The goon’s) supervisor comes over and goes ‘Sorry, we can’t let you through and you’ve a gun on your T-shirt’.” Mr. Jayakody said he had to strip and change his T-shirt before he was allowed to board his flight. “It’s a cartoon robot — what threat is it to security or offensive to anyone at all?” A spokesnerd for BAA — the quasiprivate outfit that operates seven major British airports, owned in turn by the Spanish Grupo Ferrovial consortium — said there was no record of the incident and no “formal complaint” had been made. 20
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It’s an interesting premise, but hugely flawed. Cultures like the Maya may occasionally collapse due to a failure to develop fertilizers and crop rotation, putting them in dire straits when the inevitable drought or crop blight strikes. But most primitive cultures collapsed, virtually overnight, because of the arrival of a more warlike neighbor with better weapons and tactics. Cortez did not conquer Mexico with the plow. It didn’t matter whether the Apache and the Navajo had better agricultural methods than the Anasazi and other relatively peaceful agriculturalists of the Southwest; the warlike newcomers were simply fully willing and better able to raid them, stealing their women and corn. (Why else did they become “cliff dwellers”?)
It may be that the natives of highland New Guinea do not grow too numerous for their agricultural methods to sustain precisely because they have no modern medicine to extend life spans and reduce infant mortality. They may also have survived because no one with better weapons has yet considered their remote jungle worth taking. The Picts fell to the Celts who fell to the Romans who withdrew and left the natives to the mercy of the Saxons, who were invaded by the Danes and eventually conquered by the Normans. Yes, agriculture sustains larger populations and thus larger armies than hunting and gathering, but you may still be better able to grasp such a course of events by studying the development of the spear, the iron sword, the shield wall, the bow and stirruped cavalry than by analyzing crop rotation. Watch a cat kill a bird, sometime. If you intervene quickly enough, while the prey is still frantically struggling, you may still be able to set it free. But at some point the victim seems to pass into a kind of trance of resignation. At that point, even if rescued and set free, the bird seems past the point of resistance. I submit Western culture is entering a similarly strange and suicidal reverie. Eventually, loud
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and angry foreigners who have grown up hungry will arrive to kill us and take our stuff, as we sit chanting in self-satisfaction at how wise we were to revert to the imagined peaceful lifestyles of our pre-coal, pre-firearm, pre-industrial, short-lived toothless ancestors. I used to predict that our women (and young boys, I suppose) would at that point shriek and moan as they are carried off into slavery, asking what has become of the men with guns who were supposed to defend them. I may have to add: “assuming they even remember what a gun looked like.” Some of the usual whimpering was heard following a recent “road rage” incident here in Las Vegas, in which one crazed driver opened fire and hit another’s wife after the two angry motorists pulled to the side of the roads to settle a right-of-way dispute. “There ought to be a law,” etc. This act broke several laws, of course. Should we make it “really, REALLY illegal” to break the law? The underlying premise seems to be that we should pre-emptively disarm the lawabiding 99 percent of the population in hopes the remaining 1 percent of aggressive bozos will obey the law, which they demonstrate every day they will not. By the same token we could, I suppose, amputate
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the sex organs of all the males in Southern Nevada in hopes it might bring about a reduced rate of rape. Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said no plank of the Bill of Rights is inviolable, all are subject to reasonable government intrusions (a doctrine which our current Supreme Court recently embraced, ruling that when the Second Amendment says our right to bear arms “shall not be infringed” it really means “shall be infringed in almost limitless ways, so long as our government masters insist each new infringement is ‘reasonable’.”) For instance, as Justice Holmes famously pointed out, it’s illegal to yell “Fire” in a crowded theater. Let’s examine the many ways that’s wrong. First, the case in question involved the trial of Philadelphia Socialist leader Charles T. Schenck on charges of urging resistance to the draft in 1917 — a draft which had been barred by the Thirteenth Amendment, by the way. That’s right, the “great” Oliver Wendell Holmes was comparing advising a young man to avoid the draft — in some cases, by exercising his perfectly legal right to apply for Conscientious Objector status -- with “yelling ‘Fire’ in a crowded theater.” This in a series of cases where several staff members of Philadelphia’s German-language newspaper were convicted under the Espionage Acts, largely on grounds they had reinterpreted news stories “so as to bear a changed meaning which was depressing or detrimental to patriotic ardor.”
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So much for the FIRST amendment. Such “offenses” against the government propaganda machine are quite different from doing something which any reasonable person would expect to lead to panic and injuries in a dark and crowded theater. Even if every young American man eligible for the draft in 1917 had heard the advice of the defendants and refused to go serve in France — which is a mighty far-fetched premise — what harm would have befallen America? None at all. We would have remained neutral, just as the lying Professor Wilson had promised. (1916 campaign slogan: “He kept us out of war.”) The Kaiser would not have invaded America. Do you think Mr. Wilson didn’t know the Germans had issued warnings about ships like the Lusitania carrying war supplies to the British? Mr. Wilson wanted into that waning war to win himself a seat at the peace table — to make a reality of his one-worlder dream of a “League of Nations.” In fact, without our entry, the armistice might have offered the Germans better terms. Those onerous French reparation demands gave the Nazis a huge grievance on which to capitalize, helping lead to World War Two. It’s not even illegal to “Yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater,” in the first place. It’s only a crime if there IS no fire in the theater, and you yell in a way intended to cause a panic. This is why we only punish offenders after the fact, rather than sewing everyone’s mouth shut before they’re allowed to enter a theater, so as to prevent them from having the OPPORTUNITY to misuse their right to yell “Fire” — an absurd prescription directly parallel to the notion that we should “take away everyone’s handguns” to prevent them from having the OPPORTUNITY to use them unwisely, instead of simply punishing those who do so, after the fact.
December 2008 / January 2009
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By Charles Schafer
Anatomy Of An
IPSC Stage
I
f you’re thinking that a stage is mostly the exclusive domain of entertainers, then you may be among the population of sports shooting devotees that has yet to give a performance at an International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) shoot. Stages are fundamental features of IPSC competitions. However, in this mode of shooting sport, the shooter will not be seen doing any singing or dancing until his or her performance for a particular stage has been completed. IPSC stages come in many sizes and shapes, and all of them aim to test the core skill set of competitors (safety, speed and accuracy) in a variety of imaginative ways.
A competitor begins his run down the Stage 5 corridor. The referee’s hand holding the timer can be seen on the left side of the picture.
Shooter and referee at the start position of Stage 5. The posted official description of the stage is just to the right of the shooter’s right shoulder.
During the 2008 Maritimes Inter-provincial Match hosted at the Atlantic Marksmen Association outdoor range on August 23rd and 24th, 2008, IPSC competitors challenged 20 stages covering a broad spectrum of difficulty levels. Each stage tested not just the three core skills, but also the shooter’s ability to develop and execute the most effective strategy for completing the challenges posed by the stage in the Diagram of Stage 5 showing the positions of shortest possible time. classic targets and poppers. In this scenario, Critical thinking in strategy formulation for each and the shooter (C) moves from one side of the every stage must consider stage to the other and reloads (R) while things such as what basic running between portals. pattern to use for shooting the Classic IPSC cardboard targets as well as other target types, such as steel poppers, incorporated into the stage design. In addition, each competitor must decide beforehand how best to move through the stage efficiently without compromising safety protocols and, most importantly, when to reload without losing critical seconds (usually while on the run). At the 2008 match, Stage 5 was considered of intermediate difficulty by most competitors. It is officially described as a long course design because it involves a fair amount of moving through each of the seven target opportunities. Competitors had to shoot 14 Classic IPSC targets and four Classic steel poppers.
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Classic steel poppers are about 60 centimeters high and are designed to fall backwards when they receive a solid hit. They are sometimes linked by a steel cable to other dynamic targets which begin to move when the cable is pulled as the popper falls backwards. Classic cardboard targets are divided into three zones, A,C and D. Zone A is at the center of the target and yields the most points for a hit. The target’s zone boundaries are defined by fine needle marks that are essentially invisible at a distance of more than 10 feet, but the idea is to get all hits in Zone A to maximize your score. The official description for Stage 5 suggests that an average shooter will need to fire a minimum of 32 rounds to complete the stage. That number includes two rounds for each of the 14 IPSC Classic cardboard targets and at least one round for each of the Classic steel poppers.
and add an additional round to the magazine, bringing the total rounds in the firearm to 11 rounds. This is referred to as “loading to capacity”, and allows the competitor to shoot 10 rounds (or 5 Classic cardboard targets) before reloading, and avoids a slide lock reload, which would require the shooter to manually release the slide before continuing with the stage, thus saving precious time. In the last part of the Load and Make Ready operation, and with the competitor’s trigger finger extended and outside of the handgun’s trigger guard, the pistol is holstered and the shooter is now ready to challenge the stage. At this point, the competitor takes the officially-defined start position. For Stage 5, the shooter must stand behind Rear Line, hands relaxed at sides. Handgun Loaded and Holstered. The referee stands behind the competitor holding a timer.
However, because the shooter is attempting to maximize his or her speed in completing the stage, accuracy often suffers a bit so that the number of rounds needed to topple the poppers often goes well over the minimum estimate. This is especially true for stages that incorporate mini poppers which, as the name suggests, are considerably smaller than Classic, types and are often positioned at greater distances. Competitors are also allowed to shoot extra rounds at the cardboard targets to increase their chances of getting two hits in the “A” zone. However, that strategy comes at the expense of the additional time needed to complete the stage. The official directions for challenging Stage 5 have two parts – the Start Position requirements and the Procedure for working ones way through the stage itself. At the start position of Stage 5, the shooter must first Load and Make Ready – a procedure that is the same for all stages. Before he or she begins, the referee shouts the range is going hot. The shooter faces down range, draws the handgun from its holster and loads a magazine (10 rounds maximum) and then works the pistol’s slide to send a cartridge into the gun’s chamber. The shooter then may choose to remove the magazine from the loaded handgun www.nfa.ca
View through one of the openings in the right-hand barrier of Stage 5.
CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
December 2008 / January 2009
23
Looking down the corridor of Stage 5.
Competitor in the first second of his run through Stage 5.
When everything appears to be in order (especially from a safety perspective), the referee asks the shooter Are you ready? If the competitor does not indicate any problems, the referee gives the Standby command. Shortly thereafter, the referee starts the hand-held timer which sounds a beep signaling the
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December 2008 / January 2009
competitor to start moving through the stage according to the official procedural rules. The Stage 5 rule states that On audible signal [from the timer], Enter corridor and shoot targets as they become visible. The posted description for Stage 5 also includes a cautionary note: many of the targets are shot at almost 90 degrees in relation to the back end of the range and the shooter should pay close attention to his or her angle of fire. Breaking 90, or pointing a firearm at an angle of more than 90 degrees relative to the rear of the range results in an immediate disqualification. You had best enjoy watching from that point on, because your shooting day is over! Getting back to Stage 5 itself, the shooter can begin by engaging the targets along the right side of the stage. When he or she reaches the down range end of the stage and has engaged the nine classic cardboard targets and one classic popper, it is possible to move backwards along the left side to engage the remaining five targets and three poppers. Alternatively, as shown in the Stage 5 drawing, a competitor could run in a snake-like pattern from one side of the stage to the other finishing at the portal at the far end of the stage. Skilled competitors are sometimes seen moving down the middle of the stage and engaging the targets
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and poppers as they become visible through the openings in the walls of the stage. The times recorded for Stage 5 during the 2008 Match varied according to divisions. In the Open Division, where competitors are using some very expensive handguns designed specifically for IPSC shooting, the average time was 29.6 seconds. Standard Division and Production Division average times were respectively 35.4 and 40.0 seconds. The variation in the numbers that go into calculating these average Stage 5 times can be expressed as a percentage (known among statisticians as the Coefficient of Variation or CV). Open, Standard and Production Division CV’s for Stage 5 were respectively 18%, 22% and 37%. The average time and CV percentages tell us several things. One is that many of the most experienced IPSC shooters compete
Distal view of Stage 5. The orange-colored sticks lying on the ground in the left side of the photo define the start position for the stage. in the Open or Standard divisions using handguns that have been specifically modified to some degree or another for IPSC competitions. The Production Division also includes some exceptionally skilled shooters but also has a larger proportion of novices – all of whom are using production handguns that have had little or no modification whatsoever. At the end of the day, the winner of each division – and the ranking of competitors within each division – is calculated based both on time and on the scored number of hits on each classic IPSC cardboard target. As such, some of the slower and more accurate shooters will, on occasion, find themselves near the top of their division.
Looking through one of the openings in the left wall of Stage 5. The white cardboard targets have been intentionally placed so as to partially obstruct the view of the cardboard target seen in the distance.
However, after all is said and done, scoring high on Stage 5 is all about practice, practice, practice.
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See you on the range! Charles Schafer - Atlantic Marksmen Association
CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
December 2008 / January 2009
25
by John Martin
John.Martin@ufv.ca.
Morally Illegitimate Governments Can Only Make Morally Illegitimate Laws
T
here’s a relatively simple and straightforward method to separate good laws from bad laws. Simply put, good laws don’t require the same level of enforcement as do bad laws. Laws that the overwhelming majority of the population agree with and support have widespread acceptance and moral authority; people respect and adhere to them because they know these laws are just and proper. Enforcement is rarely necessary. Conversely, bad laws lack this moral authority and are routinely flouted by a populace who neither agree with or are willing to abide by a certain restriction. To gain moral authority a law must be seen as fair and, despite a possible curtailing of free will and liberty, bring about a greater good. A reduced speed limit in a school zone is a prime example of a just and proper law that functions with near unanimous public approval. Without this public validation, laws are little more than empty pieces of
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December 2008 / January 2009
legislation. If the only reason to obey a law and cease a particular behaviour is due to the risk of being caught and punished, then we have a problem.
Rarely has a piece of legislation been more vulgar, divisive and hostile.
Any honest observer must concede it had nothing to do with public safety and was little more than a political maneuver for the government of the day to shore up urban centre support while demonizing rural citizens; especially those in Western Canada. It was conceived of and implemented under a shroud of deceit, dishonesty, incompetence and vindictiveness.
It wasn’t until the final days of 2008 that Canadians were finally threatened with something even more lacking in moral authority; a coalition government of arrogant Liberals, silly socialists and dangerous separatists. There were howls of outrage across the land that the results of the last election were being overturned. But lawyers, academics, Toronto columnists and the rest of the chattering classes reminded us ad nauseum that such a coalition was perfectly legal under our Constitution. My own union president even sent fawning e-mails praising the legitimacy of the ensuing government takeover. True; but mind you, slavery was perfectly legal at one time as well.
Consequently, tens of thousands of otherwise law-abiding Canadians defied, some quite openly, an unjust law. There is a cautious time and place for civil disobedience and for many decent Canadians, defiance was the proper and responsible thing to do.
Despite being legal, the coalition, which may or may not still be on the horizon, fails the moral authority test on at least three counts. First, the Liberals were adamant during the election that a coalition with the NDP was out of the question. Secondly,
There are fewer examples of a law more lacking in moral authority than the now “in limbo” firearms registry. While perfectly legal (and subsequently found to be constitutional), the registry had, if any, little moral authority.
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* All four rifles shown are Ruger 10-22 carbines, the most common rifles in America.
John Martin is a criminologist at the University of the Fraser Valley. He can be contacted at
though the Liberals and NDP (who have considerably fewer seats than the Tories) desperately deny it, the Bloc was very much a part of the coalition and regardless of the law or Constitution, separatists have no business influencing government. Finally, rarely has a supposedly credible contender for the Prime Minister’s office been more thoroughly and decisively rejected by Canadians than Stephane Dion. It is obscene that the Liberals, who couldn’t wait to dump the hapless Dion after an electoral smackdown, were adamant he was still suitable to be Prime Minister. Only a madman could conceive that such a government takeover would be acceptable to the country. The French sociologist, Emile Durkheim, wrote of a condition where laws and the state lose both their authority to regulate and ability to instill a sense of self-control. He referred to this phenomenon as anomie; a situation whereby social norms have eroded to the point that the rules and laws are no longer binding on citizens. People become isolated, disengaged
Each one of us is... An ambassador, a teacher, and a mentor. One of the most important functions of the National Firearms Association is making firearms ownership and use relevant to growing numbers of Canadians. To prosper, we must have a steady flow of new shooters and enthusiasts entering our proud firearms heritage. Your membership and your donations to the National Firearms Association are helping us develop the programs Canada needs to make sure our firearms heritage continues to grow.
and alienated. They have fewer reasons to confine their conduct within socially acceptable parameters. They have little incentive to contribute to a society that has rendered them disillusioned and powerless. This describes the condition Canada came perilously close to, and may very well still reach. A coalition government such as the one that nearly seized power would be completely morally illegitimate and bring about devastating consequences. For those who voted Conservative, particularly westerners, a Dion led coalition would have had as much moral legitimacy as a military coup or occupying force. It would be telling western Canadians that “see; even when you win, you still lose.” For those Liberal and NDP supporters who would never consider cozying up to each other, a coalition is the ultimate betrayal and tantamount to their votes being fraudulently stolen. Meanwhile, Canadians who love their country, would see traitors and those who dream of destroying Canada having a working veto over any and all decision making.
A major casualty in all this is a loss of civility and community. The disassociation many Canadians would surely experience would not be unlike the sense of betrayal and anger millions of Americans embraced when they were convinced (incorrectly) George Bush stole the 2000 election in Florida. The animosity and outright hatred that continues to characterize the red state – blue state culture wars south of the border would surely come this way should the coalition take power. There’s something else that would inevitably happen under such a scenario. A coalition government would seek to undo many of the gains and changes initiated by the Harper government, including a likely resurrection of the firearm registry – if for no other reason than to metaphorically slap the faces of those who dared throw the Liberals from power. After all, a government without moral authority has little reason to concern itself with the moral legitimacy of its actions.
I want to help Make It Happen! Here is my contribution to the
National Firearms Association to help protect my rights to own and use firearms. T $100 T $50 T $25 T $________ T My Cheque or Money Order enclosed T Charge my Visa/MasterCard/AMEX Card #:______________________________________ Expiry: ____________ Signature: ______________________________________________________
Name: _________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________ City/Town: ________________ Prov:_________ Postal Code: ____________ Ph.:__________________________ Fx.: ______________________________ E-mail: ________________________________________________________ Mail this form to: National Firearms Association, Box 52183, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2T5
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CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
December 2008 / January 2009
27
The Hypocrisy of Canadian Self Defense Laws
T
he laws on self defense in Canada are, at the present time, fair, reasonable and appropriate to most circumstances that could arise between citizens in their daily lives. Self defense laws must certainly protect the person exercising the right to self defense, but the nuances of the law allow for the fluid protection of the law to flow from one side to the other in the course of each particular incident. What is lacking is the right to legally carry weapons for self defense, which means only the strong, the quick or those fortunate enough to have a weapon at hand (though carried illegally) may actually avail themselves of the legal right to self defense. It is this hypocrisy that brings self defense law into disrepute. On the one hand, we may use anything at hand when the need arises; on the other hand, we are not permitted to “be prepared” (as the Boy Scouts motto advocates) and carry a firearm, a knife, pepper spray or anything else, including a pen should we admit it is intended for defensive use.
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weapons offenses, at least they are alive to face these lesser charges. Should these thugs use their weapons to intimidate or injure a victim of their aggression, it is the victim who is disadvantaged by the law. It may not be fashionable these days to reiterate that God made man and woman, but Colt made them equal. It is however, most certainly true. The old, the infirm, the small, the weak and the young are all more capable of defending themselves against aggression when armed with a firearm, most appropriately a handgun. While training in skill at arms makes one safer and more effective, a gun with no more training than the salesman and the operating manual provide is far superior to not having a gun at all when the chips are down. While it is true that it is the will to survive and triumph that wins fights, the right tool is immensely important. It is the citizen who must have the right to choose the right tool, given their personal circumstances and moral compass.
any case, pepper spray may only be carried in Canada if the stated purpose is for use against four legged creatures such as bears, cougars, wolves or dogs. However, if you carry it for protection against bears or dogs and the need arises to use it against humans, the principle of necessity kicks in and that use becomes quite legal. It must be noted that local laws may prohibit pepper spray from being sold, purchased or carried, and in any case the usual illegal but accepted discrimination against the young and scruffy looking applies. Knives are what most Canadians carry by default. A folder clipped to the pocket is arguably a box cutter, a seatbelt cutter or an orange peeler should it be required. It is also a better than nothing defense against dogs or cougars (both detailed in news reports as having saved lives) and against bears if you accept the Jim Bowie myth. If you are asked if the knife you are carrying is for personal protection it is necessary to answer in the negative, although if you need to use it for such then that is perfectly acceptable as long as you use no more force than is necessary under the circumstances.
Of course this prohibition also applies to thugs and other criminals. If attacked by one of their competitors they may use their illegally held weapons and avail themselves of the laws pertaining to self defense. While they may also be charged with
Pepper spray might be an acceptable compromise for someone young and fast, able to run away quickly after blinding their attacker. It is not acceptable for someone confined to a wheelchair, or someone substantially overweight or suffering from the degenerative conditions of old age. In
December 2008 / January 2009
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“Nudge-nudge, wink-wink” laws help bring the entire legal system into disrepute. Since the 1960’s or ‘70’s many ill thought through band-aid laws have come into existence. The www.nfa.ca
law tries to function by working around these stupid laws, when the only effective means of regaining respect for the law is to clean these “social engineering” laws out of the books. Under respectable law, an illegal act must be committed. It is not enough that one MIGHT commit an illegal act. Indeed, having the capability of committing an illegal act and not committing it the true indicator that citizens accept their responsibility to society. The corollary of that is that that society trusts its citizens. What makes our current situation intolerable is that responsibility and respect no longer exist under our current laws. We are all are treated like and expected to behave like children. Of course justice must be swift, sure and appropriate for those who break the law. Impossible when all, including the justices, see the law as the smelly pile of biomass it has become. Nothing keeps police and politicians respectful of rights like guns in the hands (and preferably on the hips) of citizens. The saying “only corrupt politicians fear armed citizens” has been proven true in every society throughout history. The most democratic and dynamic societies in history have not only accepted armed citizens but have required arms as a duty of citizenship. A disarmed citizenship has almost invariably led to dictatorship or worse. Holding Japan up as a model society where guns are few and crime is an anomaly does not apply to western nations, because Japan is a rabidly, genetically, homogonous society, whereas all western nations are increasingly multicultural. For example, it is almost impossible to define a Canadian without using hyphens. Gender, color, race, sexual orientation, age no longer divide Canadians as much as the government programs aimed at “affirmative action” do, promoting one group of citizens over another. Truly, government is the source of division and dissention in Canada. Our problems cannot be solved while bureaucrats and “advocates” find reward at the public teat. In past societies the only way to eradicate this class has been through violence. The test of our civility is whether we can disengage these leeches peacefully and expediently before they destroy our nation. One thing all Canadians have in common is that when seconds count, help is minutes away. All Canadians need the option of appropriate tools and training for self defense. If we can’t defend ourselves against freelance thugs, how can we hope to defend ourselves from our increasingly fascist governments? www.nfa.ca
CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
December 2008 / January 2009
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By Frank Hilliard
by Frank Hilliard
Personal Defence Ammunition
I
n my book, Home Invasion Prevention (available from http://www.lulu.com/content/2369363), I recommend Remington UMC LeadLess™ Flat Nose Enclosed Base (FNEB) ammunition as a personal defence round.
• It feeds perfectly in semi-automatic pistols because of its rounded (not straight) shoulder.
I said it can be used at indoor gun ranges where its lack of lead vapour generation and semi-wad cutter profile make it ideal. This means if you ever have to defend yourself from a home invader, you can tell the court you loaded your gun with environmentally-friendly target ammunition, not hollow-point bullets with their unsavoury reputation in the minds of prosecutors and the general public.
• It produces a soft recoil, particularly with .45 ACP
Last Autumn I was at a falling plate handgun shoot organized by the West Kootenay Marksmen in Trail, BC and took along a couple of boxes of this ammunition. The results surprised even veteran pistol owners at the range.
• It punches a nice round hole in a paper target the size of the flat exposed portion of the bullet • It generates very little residue in the barrel • It generates very little smoke and gunpowder odour. • And, as you can see, it turns into a monster if it strikes a solid object I’m not a ballistics expert, just a shooter who is interested in home defence. On the basis of my experiences with this round to date, I’d say it makes the perfect ammo for both purposes, and no I don’t work for, or have any connection to, the Union Metallic Cartridge Company.
A .45 calibre Flat Nose Enclosed Base bullet, expands to an astounding 1.25 calibre when it hits something solid, more than double its original size. The lead core disappeared but the copper casing maintained its structural integrity with the sides still anchored to the base, producing a shape resembling a daisy. There are several other interesting characteristics of this particular type and brand of ammunition. • It produces a considerable flame front, enough that you can feel some heat on your face while firing.
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Humour by Doug Craig, Ph.D
Ladders:
These Weapons Also Kill
W
ith falls accounting for 28 times as many deaths as fatal accidents with firearms, and double the total deaths from firearms-related suicides, homicides and accidents, something serious should be done about ladders, as many of the deaths and injuries are caused by falls from them. We do not know the proportion of ladder fatalities, so cannot say exactly how many of the 2,100 fatal falls per year involve ladders. It is probably long overdue to place some restraints on these dangerous weapons. We shall start with registration and if that doesn’t intimidate these ladder owners we will get tougher laws yet.
The In Memoriam page on the diArmani.com website pays tribute to the late Dr. Doug Craig, a geological engineer and long-time Whitehorse resident, who died on October 25, 2005 of a rare form of cancer. He was 71
Those who have owned, cherished and used ladders for years without falling or being killed, may be understandably upset at having to get a Ladder Acquisition Certificate, register their ladder and perhaps even have to give up their ladder. But for the good of the society it may be necessary. The Ladder Acquisition Certificate, or LAC, while being a step in the right direction, is considered inadequate control by the government of ladder ownership and possession. “We want to know where the ladders are”, stated a senior official who declined to be identified. Long ladders will be unrestricted when registering because your government does not want to complicate things for ladder owners any more than the necessary minimum. Remember, they are only trying to make Canada a safer place. Almost anyone could comply with the requirements for an LAC, applicants being rejected if there is a record of being a Peeping Tom or any person subject to acrophobia. Stepladders, however, being shorter and easier to conceal, as in the back of a pick-up with a canopy, will be restricted ladders. And the dreaded Saturday Night Step Stool, leaving a trail of broken legs behind them, will be in a special category of prohibited weapons. Anything more than a seven-rung stepladder is considered excessive by experts who say that eightrung ladders are not needed by the ordinary citizen, so will be prohibited, although they may be grandfathered. That is, the owner of a prohibited ladder may use it but on the death of that owner, either from falling off his ladder or some other cause, the ladder will be destroyed. This grandfathering may appear confusing to those uninitiated in ladder jurisprudence. The lay person may even think that if there is a genuine hazard, the grandfathering makes no sense, having these ladders at large, poised to do harm. And if they are not a genuine hazard, then none of the rest of the restrictions make any sense at all. Some might even consider this a pretext for removing ladders progressively and avoiding the uproar which could result if a major fraction of ladders were removed from the citizens of Canada all at once. Building contractors may get a permit to own, transport and use taller ladders. Have you thought of some of the responsibilities of owning a ladder? What if someone steals it and kills themselves falling off. How would you feel then? And some ladders are much wider at the bottom than at the top, giving them a rather rakish appearance. These are considered to be “assault ladders” and are to be prohibited although some owners claim that these are orchard ladders for picking fruit -- apples and pears. Don’t those bureaucrats in Ottawa even know how to pick apples? Getting the top of the ladder into a safe notch between limbs is sometimes awkward, especially with a wide-topped ladder. Some owners have been most unwilling to register their ladders in compliance with the new laws of Canada so it may be necessary to charge and sentence some ladder owners to prison if they will not comply with the laws, obtain a licence to own ladders and to register all ladders. Possibly the main difference between the above and the Firearms Act is that ladders may take more lives than firearm accidents, depending on the proportion of “falls from ladders” and “other falls”, including bathtub falls. www.nfa.ca
CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
December 2008 / January 2009
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by Marc Boutet
A Canuck goes to
F
or the Canadian handgun shooter looking to improve his skills through training, the choices in our country are bleak. Either from the stark reality of our gun laws or lack of effective marketing, the only options I could find sounded like some guy I’d never heard of offering training in his garage. My eyes turned south of the border. There are three well-known shooting schools in the United States that one might have read about in the various online forums: Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, and Front Sight. Of the three, Front Sight was the only one that accepted non-resident aliens and was reasonably geographically accessible. Some people have asked me what my credentials are to evaluate training, and if I’d had training elsewhere. I won’t make any claims of special expertise. I’m just a recreational handgun shooter who has been shooting my .45 1911 for about 5 years now, working with downloaded information, mostly the US Army Pistol Marksmanship Manual, and that diagnostic pie-chart target we’ve all seen to eliminate a tendency to jerk the trigger and pull low & left. I had taken a holster course at my range, and had attended an IDPA meet that I had tremendously enjoyed. Now I wanted to focus more on that type of shooting, but felt I needed some more training first to root out any bad habits I might have developed. So this October I attended a 4-day defensive handgun course, and a 2-day handgun skills builder class. Front Sight Firearms Training institute is located near a small town called Pahrump, NV, about an hour’s drive from Las Vegas. Because my own research efforts turned up so little, I want to offer a first hand, detailed and factual account so other Canadian shooters can make up their own mind about whether they would want to attend Front Sight.
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Facilities & Logistics I think the most accurate way to describe the facilities is that anything directly related to shooting is top-notch, and the other amenities are functional, neat and clean, but Spartan. This was fine by me, since I was not there for a luxury vacation. There are several 15 m handgun ranges, several 50 m ranges, several multi-directional shoot-houses, and a rifle range. One very large air-conditioned classroom is used for lectures and lunch. There is no food available, and bathrooms are porta-potties, which are, to be fair, plentiful, clean, and completely odour free. There is a very strong emphasis placed on staying hydrated, and cold water & Gatorade are available at each range. There were 340 students in my 4-day handgun class, and probably a couple of hundred more taking various other classes at the same time. In spite of the huge numbers, lines & wait time were relatively short, moved quickly, and intake was very efficient without treating people like cattle, like the Disney parks do. I was quite impressed by how smoothly everything went, including the rental of my 1911. Included in my rental package was a red plastic 1911 which I used for dry practice in the hotel room. For the range sessions, the class was broken down into ranges of 40 or less, which were further broken down in two ‘relays’. Students are paired up with a member of the other relay, and each relay takes turns shooting and coaching each other. This was very effective for maintaining muzzle discipline, spotting bad habits and helping me remember to implement the instructions. Each range had a range master who acted as the chief instructor and 3 to 4 line coaches, so I received significant personal instruction.
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Range Training The first thing I should mention about the training I received is that it is entirely focused on defence. This is about saving your life by winning a gunfight with a criminal who has initiated it, either on the street or at home. Period. The following topics were covered after going over the four safety rules: The 3 secrets: sight alignment, sight picture, trigger press; clearing the 3 types of malfunctions; administrative, tactical & emergency reloads; draw from holster, presentation from concealment.
All these techniques are first presented & demonstrated, then dry practiced, then practiced with live fire, then in live fire under time pressure by using turning targets, or timer signals for the malfunction clearing. Continuous emphasis is placed on the ‘3 secrets’ throughout the courses. In my case, I was taken from an Isosceles stance to a modified (reduced ‘blading angle’) Weaver stance, and my grip was changed. They also tweaked my holster presentation. The instructors don’t force you to adopt the changes they recommend, but ask that you give them a fair try. Since I was paying for this training, I figured I might as well take their advice.
I found that I no longer had a tendency to go left when mashing the trigger (even though I work hard at not mashing), that I was comfortable with standard grips on a 1911 where before I had to put in thin grips, and that my sights got on target much faster. As a result, my speed and accuracy increased significantly. In fact, one time my trigger broke a bit before I reached full extension, and the round was still on target. The four-day course also had a number of what I considered ‘bonus’ topics, such as the tactics of approaching & crossing doorways, low/no light defensive shooting, very basic hostage rescue, and a shoot-house simulation with shoot / no-shoot targets.
The Shoot House It was in a fully built-up (but no roof) building with door & windows on an almost 360 range. Targets are photographic representations. The shooter is accompanied by an instructor who had a death grip on a carabiner passed through the student’s belt at the small of the back. The instructor provides the ‘voices’ of the various targets and describes their actions. Some of the no-shoot targets are very ambiguous, such as a woman with a hand in her purse. The instructor had the no-shoot targets behaving in sort of clueless / brainlock ways, such as ignoring commands for a while. It was the most intense and realistic experience I have ever had holding a gun. When it was over, I even had a few of the post-shooting psychological effects they described in the lectures. The teaching style is very emphatic but friendly and polite. Many of the instructors are quite funny. Some very novice shooters (first time holding a gun!) were treated with great kindness, patience, and received extra care. I would have no hesitation recommending this course to the most timid newbie, if they were even a little bit game.
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December 2008 / January 2009
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cults and their recruitment methods, especially on the psychological side. Needless to say, I was on my spiritual toes while I was there. The senior brass may all be card-carrying members for all I know, but I discerned no recruitment efforts, even knowing what to look for and being very careful. Besides, so much of their clientele base is Evangelical Christian that I suspect they would be shooting themselves in both feet (on full auto) if they tried such hanky-panky.
Most instructors are multiple decade veterans of the military or law enforcement, though about 20% have no prior firearms professional background. All instructors were required to demonstrate their skills at the start of the class (needless to say, they were quite proficient) and all the comments I received from them were helpful.
Lectures
One instructor was the 18-yr (or so) old son of one of the senior instructors. That kid was greased lightning personified. He could deliver two headshots before I reached count 3 of my draw. It was a joy to watch him.
The other two lectures, although dealing with very serious material, still managed to contain enough humour to dispel the tension.
At the end of both the 4 day course and the skills builder, each student undergoes a skills test which consists of timed controlled pairs from concealment from the 3,5,7,10, and 15 m. line (in the skills builder course, the test went up to 25m), timed failure to stop drills and timed head shots from the 5 and 7 lines, as well as timed malfunction drills. Students start out with 100% of points and points are deducted for misses and slow or incorrect drills. Students with 90% of points remaining graduate with distinction, with 70% graduate, and the rest receive a certificate of achievement / completion. Since the distinguished graduates are publicly announced, we know that roughly 10% of each class achieve this level. 34
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During the 4-day course we received lectures on situational awareness (the colour code), moral & ethical implications of using deadly force, and what to do after shooting someone in self-defence. Even though I had read a good bit about the color code, I still picked up a few useful points.
The one about after a shooting was extensive, and covered everything from the psychological effects of surviving a deadly shooting (sort of a modified Kubler-Ross stages chain) to dealing with the police, to finding the right lawyer. It was delivered by a 20-year veteran sheriff’s deputy, and featured an unscripted participation by a law enforcement officer, who was attending as a student, in a postshooting scenario demonstrating what the police would do.
Cult Rumours & Constant Selling Before attending, a few people I trust warned me that Front Sight was a front for a certain whacko cult religion I will not name. Through my church, I have received training in recognising
The only things I saw that approached religious zeal were gun safety, the American 2nd amendment, staving off impending gun confiscation, and the pursuit of more sales, especially those memberships they sell. To be fair, the Front Sight memberships themselves, where you get unlimited free training for an upfront lump sum, were not a bad deal if you can travel there relatively cheaply and often. Some of my classmates attend the 4-day course over and over again twice a year, and obviously benefited greatly out of the deal.
Students When a Canadian thinks about attending a gun course in the states, two worries come that may come to mind are: ‘Am I going to get berated by the other students for being from a godless socialist country’ and ‘Am I going to be in the middle of a pack of camo-clad survivalist/militia nutjobs’’. All the students I spoke with were friendly and helpful. When hearing I was Canadian, they were unfailingly curious about our country, and sympathised about our gun laws. These folks weren’t just polite, they were downright kind & nice, of the sort your grandma and elderly aunts would approve of.
Renting Equipment Since I didn’t relish the thought of crossing the border twice with a firearm, and since I shoot a 1911, I
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elected to rent one. For $25 /day, you get not only the pistol, but a tackle box holding 2 mags, holster, mag pouches & belt, and a red plastic gun you can use for dry practice in your hotel room. You turn in the gun at the end of each day, but keep all the other accessories until the end of the course. I had brought all my accessories and mags, but I really appreciated the red gun, since it allowed me to do my dryfire practice. They even let me borrow it for the three days between the courses. I was issued a Springfield 1911 that was certainly more accurate than I was, and plenty tight enough. Since the only ammo I could find before the 4 day course was one box of WWB, which I kept for the test, and 750 rounds of cheap Remington hollow points, I got a few extra chances to practice type 2 malfunctions, but it fed the ball rounds just fine. During the 2 day course, when the round count per day was higher, it did get a bit dry by the end of the second day and failed to cycle properly a few times. If I had known, I would have given it just a minute re-lube over lunch, and not had those 2 malfs during the skills test. However, the greatest blessing I saw from renting was not having to clean the gun at the end of the day. With days that start on the range at 7:30 and end around 7:00 pm and a 30 minute drive to the hotel, there were evenings I was so tired I had to choose between a shower and dry-practice. I would not have had the time nor the energy to clean a gun after those days. I would advise you to rent; if nothing else it’s good insurance against a breakdown.
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Tips & Advice Before going down I received a lot of very good advice which I would like to pass along. I also made a few observations that I think may be helpful to anyone planning on heading down.
Who would benefit Taking these courses is a significant commitment of time and money. If you don’t plan on shooting your handguns from a holster under time pressure, I would suggest you use your resources for more ammo, and just download the US army pistol marksmanship manual. It did wonders for me. If you’re thinking about or already involved in IDPA or IPSC, this training could make a big difference in your scores. As Canadians who face a better chance of seeing income tax eliminated than the day when CCW’s are issued to civilians, the defensive aspects are, supposedly, irrelevant.
Boots The prep literature I received suggested boots were preferable to sneakers. I was puzzled, but brought my hiking boots down anyway, and, boy, was I glad I did. Ground surface on the ranges is gravel over hard-packed dirt, and even with boots I found myself kicking some of the bigger rocks out from underfoot (which can be a procedural penalty in the skills test, called foot nesting). I can’t imagine trying to shoot with a pointy rock pocking up into the sole of a pair of Nikes.
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December 2008 / January 2009
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Water bottles
Sunglasses & Sunscreen
Bring or buy two or three large water bottles. In the morning, fill them with a mix of Gatorade and water with ice from the hotel machine. Front Sight is in the desert. Dehydration can knock you down before you’ve had time to get thirsty, and will make you lose a day of your course.
The incredible brightness of the sun in the desert is difficult to convey accurately. I wore very dark polarised fishing sunglasses every day, yet it still seemed like a sunny day in the prairies with regular untinted glasses. You need sunglasses as dark as possible. Make sure they’re the wraparound kind that would prevent a hot casing from going though the sides.
It can happen even when it’s not so hot because the desert is very, very dry. Oh, and bring chap-stick for your lips, even if you never use the stuff and wouldn’t know where to find it in the drug store. Trust me.
Hand care Each range has an ample supply of band-aid and duct tape, but I would bring my own band-aid, along with some moleskin & a pair of scissors. Moleskin, which can be found in the foot care section at the drug store, is a tough felt-like adhesive pad that can be stuck on to prevent blisters, and was recommended as the best stuff to prevent blisters by our range master, a 20 year Marine vet. (I figure Marines know about blisters). Monitor your hands during the first few hours of shooting. Apply patches of moleskin to areas that are getting a bit red & raw before blisters develop. You will be much more comfortable. In my case, the back-strap checkering was wreaking havoc on the heel of my strong side palm, and moleskin lasted and worked great.
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I bought some Coppertone waterproof spray-on 70 SPF sunscreen. If you forget your sunscreen for even half a day, you WILL get painful sunburn. A hat with as big a brim as possible is a must, a baseball cap is a minimum.
With so much manipulation of the gun nick and cuts are inevitable, especially during all the malfunction drills. That’s what the band-aids are for. You don’t want to bleed on your gun, and an infected finger can ruin your whole course. Cover the band-aids with duct-tape so they won’t get torn up. And make sure your fingernails are trimmed short before starting the course.
Walmart Ammo & North Dakota Hunting License You will be shooting a lot of ammo, and you want it cheap. Here are the prices I found for .45 ACP: Front sight proshop: $30 for 50. Bass Pro-shop $36 for 100, but with a very small stock on hand. Pahrump Walmart: $30 for 100. The best thing to do is to call the Walmart 3 to 4 weeks before you go down, and have them order and reserve what you want. They are the only Walmart that will do that, and their phone number is: (775) 537-1400. The sporting goods
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counter guy I dealt with is Ron, and he’s on the ball. Because of Front Sight, the Pahrump Walmart sells more ammo than all the Walmarts on the west coast, combined. Canadians be warned: I was warned that it is illegal in the US for nonresident aliens to be in possession of ammunition unless they have a valid hunting license. Doesn’t matter what state, doesn’t matter for what game, or for what ammunition. Fortunately, you can get a North-Dakota license online and print it out at home. I was never challenged, but I sure as hell didn’t want to have an awkward conversation with a sheriff’s deputy who’d looked in my car.
Hotels & Pahrump Front Sight is a one hour drive away form Las Vegas, over an unlit road that has a long dead straight stretch, and a curvy winding stretch as it goes through the mountains. Because of the hours of the class, if you stay in Vegas, you would be doing most of the driving to and back in darkness. Given the length of the days and how tired I was, I was glad I stayed in Pahrump. There are three hotels in Pahrump, all of which have special rates for Front Sight students: The Best Western, the Saddle West Hotel & Casino, and the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino. Book well in advance.
Certificates You should never pay full tuition for your first course at Front Sight. They emit certificates that can be redeemed for the full tuition of the first course. Evidently, it’s a better deal if you use this certificate for a 4 day course than for a 2 day course. These certificates are available on Ebay for anywhere from $100 to $300, or from Front Sight directly for $500 for one person or $750 for two people. I
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had signed up for their email newsletter, from which I did glean a few nuggets of new knowledge amidst all the sales pitches, and on the 12th one, I think, they give you a link where you can buy them online. Otherwise just phone them and ask. To wrap up, I found Front Sight to be a legitimate operation that provides solid firearms training, starting with the fundamentals. I feel I made significant improvements in accuracy and speed from implementing what they taught. There was not even a hint of any religious or cult recruitment efforts, although their self-hyping sales pitches were mildly annoying. I would recommend this training without hesitation to shooters who want to work to improve their accuracy and holster presentation speed, which, in the Canadian context, would mostly apply to IDPA & IPSC participants. A little bit of preparation will help you avoid common pitfalls and keep you in the game. Good shooting & stay safe.
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December 2008 / January 2009
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by Christopher di Armani
Ammunition Serialization: Junk Science or Crime-Fighting Tool?
A
recent item from the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action came through my mailbox, expressing concern for the introduction of ammunition coding legislation in 18 US States, and urged its members to help defeat this legislation. Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington have all introduced legislation to have all ammunition coded “to help police” track down violent offenders. While the origin of this idea comes from the United Nations and their failed (thus far) firearm marking initiative, it is a company based in Washington State that is pushing ammunition marking and coding in state legislatures across the United States.
Ammunition Coding System (ACS) (ammocoding.com), is a private firm based in Seattle, Washington. This firm claims to have technology (patent pending) that can laseretch both bullets and casings. To use this technology practically would require a database, a registry of all
ammunition manufactured and sold anywhere in the United States (and presumably the world). The main page of the ACS website says: According to the United States Department of Justice, there is more than a 30% chance of never finding the killer in homicides involving a firearm. If ballistic evidence cannot be quickly linked to a crime gun, and the gun recovered and quickly linked to a suspect, the chance of arresting the perpetrator is far less likely. If the bullets and cartridge cases used by criminals were linked directly to a potential suspect, more crimes involving firearms would be solved and more gun crime could be prevented. Bullet Identification Technology is a modern crime fighting tool! Who could possibly be against that? I am. Violent criminals willing to steal firearms and murder innocent people will magically be apprehended because they purchased their ammunition legally and provided their real address when doing so. Doesn’t this sound familiar?
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Canada’s gun registry and owner licensing scheme was sold to us by the same (so-called) logic. While there is no link from either website, ACS operates a separate website, ammunitionaccountability.org, specifically for use in lobbying state legislatures to pass their draft legislation that mandates ACS’s plan for marking every bullet and bullet case manufactured in the United States. “We pay for the website and we absolutely claim ownership of the website”, says Russ Ford of Ammunition Coding Systems.
ammunitionaccountability.org, and I urge you to read it. There are a few items contained in the draft legislation that should send shivers down your spine. Section 3.1 All handgun and assault weapon ammunition manufactured or sold in the state after January 1, 2009, shall be coded by the manufacturer. Section 3.2 No later than January 1, 2011, all non-coded ammunition for the calibers listed in this chapter, whether owned by private citizens or retail outlets, must be disposed.
Ammunition Manufacturers
There goes all that great surplus ammo you purchased for your SKS or M1 Garand!
The major ammunition manufacturers in the United States are all against the idea, and have been very vocal about their reasons why. Simply put, they cannot afford to. They would be forced to re-tool their factories to implement the scheme at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
What about the records of ammunition sales? All sales of ammunition will be recorded for seven years. The date of sale, your name, drivers’ license number, date of birth, ammunition codes and any other information proscribed by the legislature.
The president of Winchester Ammunition stated, “It would be impossible, as a matter of pure economics, for my company to comply with this proposal and remain profitable.”
Are you concerned yet?
The president and CEO of Remington Arms said, “This proposal would be prohibitively expensive to implement and turn modern assembly lines into early 19th century piece workshops.”
Manufacturers who do not comply are subject to a $1,000 fine for the first offense, $5,000 for the second, and $10,000 for each violation thereafter.
While ACS has not yet targeted Canada, do not be mislead into believing this legislation will have no effect on you, the Canadian gun owner. Should this issue get traction in the United States, you can be sure the Liberals, NDP and Bloc will all jump on this bandwagon. If passed, it could be the end of reloading as we know it. How can you, a reloader who purchases bullets from one manufacturer, bullet cases from another as well as scrounging spent brass at the range, possibly meet the requirements of this legislation? You would need to purchase a laser engraver, learn how to remove the existing markings on bullet cases and bullets, and replace them with markings from your “manufacturing plant”.
Under the proposed legislation, vendors who do not comply are subject to a $1,000 fine AND one year in jail.
This would apply for each round of ammunition that failed to meet the legislative standard. Who pays?
A draft copy of their proposed legislation is available from
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You do. The entire cost of retooling ammunition factories and the cost of laser-etching each case and bullet will be paid by the end-user, gun owners like you and me. The legislation was defeated in Hawaii, in part because Hawaii’s Attorney General testified against the bill. “[T]here may be legal challenges from ammunition manufacturers outside this State questioning whether Hawaii has the legal authority to require coding of all handgun ammunition that they seek to market in this State.” He went on to say, “Moreover, for such a coding system to work, the assumption is that each round will always be traceable to the proper person who owns the round. That presumption would not hold up under a number of different scenarios.”
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fees that must be paid to ACS for every single round of ammunition manufactured. “We’ve talked about a tenth of a penny to a fifth of a penny for royalties,” says Ford. That means for every single bullet manufactured, Ford and ACS will be paid one fifth of a penny in “licensing fees”. According to information posted on ammocoding.com, Ford’s company website, over ten BILLION bullets are manufactured in the United States every year.
Now that’s an understatement.
It’s not difficult to comprehend why Ford and his company, ACS, are pushing so hard to get this legislation passed. Using Ford’s own estimate of ten billion bullets manufactured per year, his company is guaranteed a payday of $10 million dollars every single year if he is successful in passing his proposed legislation.
Who benefits from the passage of this legislation?
That’s some powerful motivation.
Russ Ford and his company, Ammunition Coding Systems, as he and his company are the legal owners of the patent on the ammunition marking system.
Russ Ford doesn’t see it that way. He argues that his primary reason for pushing this legislation forward is the oft-heralded “public safety”.
The hundreds of millions to retool ammunition manufacturing factories is only the starting point of what it will cost gun owners. This does not include royalty
“One of the things that we have argued since day one is that American shooters are safe and responsible shooters and this should be the last threshold for a uniform national right
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to carry permit system and we have maintained that since day one.” What he doesn’t say is that he is the only person pushing this as a condition to a national right to carry system. By his own admission, neither Ford nor anyone at Ammunition Coding Systems knows how his patent could be implemented. “That’s an excellent point. Because the bullet manufactures are indeed truly scientists in their own field, they’re going to be best able to break the assembly line and install the appropriate laser, if it is indeed laser that is used, laser just seems to be the most capable technology at the present time, and then using simple optical character recognition technology that’s been available for a long time... and this is just an application of different bits of technology to the bullet manufacturing process.” Yet these same bullet manufacturers, these “scientists in their own field” are completely out to lunch when they state how much it will cost to, as Ford describes it, “break the assembly line” and install whatever will be used to etch bullets and cartridge casings. When questioned about whether he knew where or how this could be implemented into the current manufacturing process Ford replied, “No, that would require us to develop an additional level of expertise in an area where there is a bounty of expertise already. We’re not going to re-invent the wheel to come up with a system.”
www.nfa.ca
So while Ford admits he has no clue how or even if this can be done, he knows it can be done because Americans need what he’s peddling. His proposed legislation has been defeated in eight US states so far. Should this stupidity make its way north of the 49th parallel, we must do everything possible to ensure it is defeated here as well. Ammunition Serialization is, at its core, the end-run around the failure of gun confiscations. If the “powers that be” cannot confiscate your firearms, no big deal. They are more than willing to get rid of your ammunition, thereby rendering those un-confiscated firearms unusable. A firearm without ammunition is, as has been said, nothing more than an expensive hammer. The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action posted a radio interview with Ford on their website: http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=227&issue=005 I encourage you to listen to the entire interview and make up your own mind about Ford’s motives, and check my calculations. As I said, by my calculation, Ford has over ten million reasons per year for wanting this legislation passed.
Your Business Card Could Appear Here! Interested? Call us at (604) 250-7910 or e-mail us at Advertising@CanadianFirearmsJournal.com
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by: Dr. Gary Mauser
Tips for Arguing about International Gun Bans
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he sun never sets on the United Nations. At one time, this was said about a British Empire that spanned the world. Now it more aptly describes the UN committees that thrive in virtually all time zones, working to disarm civilians. As 2009 opens, a variety of disarmament efforts are advancing at the United Nations. The World Forum (WFSA) is increasingly concerned about these efforts, and has decided to step up its efforts at UN meetings; unfortunately, we lack the budget (or cachet with the cognoscenti) that the anti-gun-rights groups command. Disarmament might be good if it meant disarming Somali pirates, Islamic terrorists, genocidal governments in Africa, or even criminal gangs in Canada. Unfortunately, disarmament for the UN means taking firearms away from civilians - whether or not they own and use firearms responsibly. In Africa, for example, UN disarmament programs have encouraged dictatorial regimes to systematically take firearms from pastoralists and other law-abiding citizens without making any effort whatsoever to disarm the Mugabe government in Zimbabwe or Arab tribal gangsters in Darfur. The reason is that the UN assumes that all governments are legitimate, despite whatever atrocities they may inflict upon their civilian population. The recent American elections will, at the very least, reduce the willingness of the United States to defend gun rights. President Obama may also promote further restrictions, making Canada’s role in the UN more important now than ever before.
The Biennial Meeting of States During this past summer the 2008 Biennial Meeting of States (BMS) in New York voted -- instead of requiring 42
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a consensus -- to accept the proposed final statement to continue working towards establishing a global framework for curbing the illicit trade in small arms. This may not sound important, but it is. Consensus is the agreed upon method of resolving controversial issues at the UN. Voting sets a very dangerous precedent for future small arms proposals, as the UN general assembly is not a world parliament. The most likely explanation for this extraordinary move was that only a handful of countries dared oppose the overwhelming international mood for disarmament. The only western nation to vote against the final document was the United States, although a variety of despotic regimes abstained. Another Biennial Meeting of States (BMS) is scheduled for New York in 2010, where the Arms Trade Treaty and the Register of Conventional Arms will be discussed. In addition, the BMS agreed to stage a multitude of regional meetings. A recent Group of Government Experts (GGE) on the UN Register of Conventional Arms announced that the Register will now include Ammunition. The World Forum, on behalf of civilian firearms owners, had pushed for the Register to be limited to military munitions, and to exclude small arms ammunition. Recently, the British disarmament ambassador, John Duncan, reported that the GGE will also recommend the inclusion of small arms (there is already “voluntary” reporting). The Register of Conventional Arms could pose a notable threat to civilian firearms owners. The last time a GGE met on the Register it recommended expanding the register to include “voluntary” reporting. These proposals to expand the Register could have real impact if all small arms transfers, including civilian sales, need to be reported to the UN.
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The Forum plans to increase its efforts at the Biennial Meeting of States in the 2010 meeting; I plan to attend as well in order to speak out for ordinary citizens.
Directive 91/477 The European Union has been encroaching on gun rights since its creation. Political pressures are building to disarm hunters and target shooters in the EU by increasing the regulatory burden. Finland is considering banning handguns following recent events in that country. The European Union continues to push firearms marking as a way to combat organized crime. The European ministers for Justice and Home Affairs forwarded proposals to the European Commission for compulsory and complete marking of firearms. The proposed measures would “ensure that traceability for all firearms is strengthened and rules for the acquisition and possession of them will be more rigorous.” The measures are set to “align the pre-existing directive 91/477 on firearms with the United Nations Firearms Protocol to which the Community acceded in 2001, opening the way towards its ratification.” The revised Directive is designed to control and trace the circulation of all firearms and includes the following requirements: - Firearms to be marked at the time of manufacture with references to UN identification particulars; - Firearms to be marked when they are transferred from government stocks to civil use; - Each Member State will be required to maintain data on firearms for a minimum of 20 years;
- The measures also apply to converted firearms, which are to be classified as firearms; - The Commission will develop guidelines on firearms replicas and for deactivation of firearms for implementation at a later date.
The 2008 Elections in the United States The recent elections in the US were not good news for responsible firearms owners. For the first time since 1994, the Democrats control the Congress, the Senate and the Presidency. The last time the Democrats had such sweeping power, then-president Clinton banned so-called assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, and unilaterally imposed UN rules for cross-border gun transfers. With the Democrats firmly in charge in Washington, DC, there is virtually no limit to the pork-barrel or protectionist legislation they can pass. Worse, they can now appoint anti-gun radicals to the Supreme Court as aging moderates retire during the next four years. Historically, Democratic administrations do not bode well for Canada. Mark my words: this is a protectionist Democrat government and it will hurt the Canadian economy. Obama is the most-anti-gun rights President ever elected. Obama has repeatedly proven himself - by his votes if not his words - as supporting almost any restriction on law-abiding firearms owners ever proposed. In the case of a future multiple shooting the Democrats could easily pass sweeping restrictions that Obama would happily sign. On the international front, Obama will certainly support future UN-backed gun bans as well as the British-sponsored Arms Trade Treaty [the ATT]. Under Bush, the US only halfheartedly opposed the UN’s disarmament agenda, but that will evaporate under Obama. The US is expected to join the UK and the European Union to press forward on more and more restrictions and bans on guns. For Canadians this will most likely lead to increasing pressure in favor of the UN’s anti-gun schemes, such as for firearm marking and tracing. Practically speaking, this means fewer guns imported, and those will cost more possibly a lot more. There will be fewer and fewer gun stores and it will be increasingly difficult to buy or import ammunition. This will further accelerate the trend to destroying opportunities for younger shooters and increasingly choke off traditional Canadian culture. The World Forum continues to monitor UN disarmament developments and plans to be active at the BMS in the 2010 meeting. For further information, I urge the reader to access the articles I’ve provided for the Internet Destinations page.
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by Gary K. Kangas, SASS Life, Regulator #223 & Sybil Kangas, SASS Life #55147
Victoria City Police 150th Year 2008 marked the 150th year of the Victoria City Police. he parent peacekeeping force of Victoria actually dates back to 1851 when Sir James Douglas formed the Victoria Voltigeurs. The Voltigeurs were an eclectic group of Hudson’s Bay men organized to police and protect Fort Victoria. Their uniform consisted of a red stocking cap, blue Hudson’s Bay blanket capote and an assumption sash. Their firearms were trade guns and popular handguns of the era. The Voltigeurs were disbanded in 1858.
Gary & Sybil Kangas have produced Wild West shows, videos and stage productions. Their writing has been published in: Trails End Magazine, Guns & Ammo and the Cowboy Chronicle plus various newspapers and journals. They are international competitors in Cowboy Action Shooting, life members of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) and long time members of the National Firearms Association.
With the discovery of gold on the Fraser in 1858 Victoria was propelled from a Hudson’s Bay trading fort to a centre of trade and commerce. The population expanded dramatically. Governor Douglas appointed a Commissioner of Police and authorized him to hire “strong men with good character”. In their early years the fledgling police carried only batons and did not carry handguns unless they were serving warrants. Research indicates that goalers carried handguns. The handguns carried by both police and goalers were owned by themselves. There does not appear to be a standard of revolvers used. Documentation, sparse as it is reveals small caliber pistols, Navy Colts, small frame pocket pistols and large bore single action Colts were carried by various members of the Victoria Police and goalers. A standard firearm was not issued until the late 1890’s. Much of the history regarding the Victoria City Police was not well preserved in the early days. In the 20th century, interest in the heritage of the force has been rekindled by the formation of the Victoria City Police Historical Society and founding of the Victoria City Police Museum.
These photos supplied by Gary K. Kangas
Jonathan Sheldan, a Forensics Officer in the Victoria City Police has been an enthusiastic researcher and preserver of this valuable information. Jonathan was a member of the committee that produced “First Responders Day” in July of 2008 to commemorate the Victoria City Police in the history of Victoria. First Responders Day had an exceptional display of Victoria City Police members’ memorabilia, gear, heritage vehicles, police parade, demonstration by the motorcycle division, K9 Unit plus re-enactors both civilian and police portraying various eras of Victoria Peacekeeping History.
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The preservation of our firearms heritage can be daunting; however there are dedicated individuals such as Jonathan Sheldan who devotes his spare time and energy to this worthy endeavour. December 2008 / January 2009
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These early Victoria City Police Photos were supplied by the Victoria Police Historical Society.
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Internet Destinations Send a message of support to our Canadian troops overseas: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/message/messageview-voir-eng.asp Buy official “Support Our Troops” merchandise: The only “Support Our Troops” merchandise sanctioned by the CF, includes ball caps, t-shirts, car and fridge magnets, cling vinyl window decals, bracelets, lapel pins, and more. Order these and other items online at CANEX. All proceeds from the sales of CFPSA “Support Our Troops” items are reinvested directly into morale and welfare programs for CF members and their families. http://www.cfpsa.com/canex/ A new approach to defending liberty from John Longenecker http://www.libertynut.com/
Links from Dr. Gary Mauser’s International Front column David Kopel, “Obama and McCain: Stark contrast on gun rights,” Denver Post, Nov 3, 2008. http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_10882332. David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant, and Joanne D. Eisen. Human Rights Atrocities: The Consequences of United Nations Gun Confiscation in East Africa, Issue Backgrounder, Independence Institute, Golden, Colorado. June 2006 http://www.davekopel.org/2a/foreign/kenya-uganda.pdf David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant & Joanne D. Eisen. Is Resisting Genocide a Human Right? Notre Dame Law Review, volume 81, issue no. 4, 2006. http://www.davekopel.com/2A/Foreign/genocide.pdf
The company intent upon ramming ammunition marking down our throats. http://www.ammocoding.com/ http://www.ammunitionaccountability.org
Stanley Kurtz. “What We Know About Obama, The illusion of pragmatism advances far-left goals, in baby steps,” National Review, 2008. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=M2E0ZjM5ZWE0Y2 Y3ODA1YmQzMzliZTE4ZWFkNGJkNjg=
NRA Radio interview with the founder of Ammunition Coding Systems, Russ Ford. In this interview Ford admits that while he has no idea how his plan would be implemented, it’s simple and easy. Listen for yourself and make your own decision on his believability. http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read. aspx?id=227&issue=005
John R. Lott, Jr Obama’s gun ban rhetoric: For it before being against it, now no longer for it. Washington Times, Friday, August 29, 2008. http://johnrlott.tripod.com/op-eds/ WashTimesObamaGuns082908.html
Know Your Rights cards http://www.pivotlegal.org/Publications/rightscards.htm Don’t Talk to Cops, parts 1 and 2. A reminder about your right to silence, as emphasized in Pivot Legal Society’s Know Your Rights cards: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=08fZQWjDVKE The most amazing RC Helicopter ever! http://break.com/index/your-new-favorite-model-helicopter. html The Online Library of Liberty - a resource for great historical books on freedom and liberty http://oll.libertyfund.org/ Packing in Pink - shooting gear for the ladies from a new Canadian company http://www.packinginpink.com/products.html British Think-Tank: “If we each carried a gun, we could combat terrorism” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article5299010. ece www.nfa.ca
Gary Mauser. “A Critique of Methods Used to Estimate Civilian Firearms in Small Arms Survey 2007, Guns and the City,” In Shooting Sports Survey, Conservation and Sport, J. V. Gottlieb (ed), Merril Press, Bellevue, WA. (2008). http://www.garymauser.net New Europe. “Gun control measures approved, Ministers declare safety first in unison,” New Europe, The European Weekly, 28 April 2008. No. 779 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/85997.php Damon W. Root. “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town, Will Attorney General Eric Holder respect the Second Amendment? Reason Magazine. http://www.reason.com/news/show/130270.html United Nations, General Assembly reports are available at: http://www.un.org/ga/. In addition UN press releases covering the First Committee can be viewed at http://disarmament.un.org. United Nations, First Committee http://www.un.org/ga/first/index.shtml. World Forum on the Future of the Sport Shooting Activities. http://www.wfsa.net/
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by: Kathy Jackson
First Trip to the Range, Part 2
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efore I even get around to telling you about all the fun you can have with your children on the range, I need to remind you again that having fun is an important goal. This bears repeating simply because a lot of folks who take their kids to the range are actually fostering fond hopes of raising the next Rob Leatham or Annie Oakley. There’s nothing wrong with wanting your kids to do well, but a strong desire to turn your kid into an excellent shot can actually become a self-defeating source of frustration for both of you. If your child doesn’t have fun on the range, she’ll never become an excellent shot because she’ll never want to go shooting in the first place. Of course it can be very satisfying to develop excellent, precision marksmanship, but the satisfaction of making very tiny groups at extreme ranges does not generally arrive until after a shooter has sent thousands of rounds downrange to develop the skill to do it. For at least the first few trips to the range, aim for immediate gratification. Get the kids hooked on firearms fun first, and those thousands of rounds will eventually happen; fail to hook them, and they’ll never have time to develop the skill you want them to have. So take the time to seek out safe, exciting targets that are very easy to hit from the very beginning. There will be time to develop precision skills after your new shooter discovers how much fun shooting can be. 46
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Gear For children, as for most new shooters, the ideal introductory gun is a .22 caliber firearm, preferably a rifle. Rifles are preferred because it is easier to be conscious of muzzle direction with a long gun than with a handgun. Depending upon where you live, it might even be against the law to allow your young shooter to shoot a handgun. It is worthwhile to seek out firearms and other gear which will properly fit your young shooter. Not only will your child likely have more fun shooting a gun that belongs to her alone, but she will likely be more comfortable and learn to shoot more easily if the equipment fits her. Youngsters tend to be awkward anyway, and a too-big, too-heavy gun just compounds the difficulty of learning a new skill. So, if it seems at all practical to you, consider purchasing a gun the right size for your child. If you do not believe that a rifle specifically designed for a child would be a good financial investment at this time (perhaps your child is just on the verge of adolescence), consider purchasing a common and widely-available adult sized rifle, such as a Ruger 10/22 or a similar firearm, and swapping out the adult stock for a smaller one. As your child grows, you will later be able to move
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her into the longer stock without purchasing an entirely new gun for her. When shooting at an established range, remember that benches and chairs on the range will be sized for adults rather than for children. If your child is very young, she might be more comfortable and shoot a bit better if you bring along items such as a booster seat, a phone book, or a stack of pillows to enable her to use the adult benches. Alternatively, if the range allows it, you might prefer to start her out shooting from the prone position -- just be aware of safety concerns such as other shooters’ muzzle directions, the increased possibility of getting hit with brass, and the danger of getting tripped over.
Targets Keep targets big and close. You want your child to have as much fun and experience as much success as possible! No-cleanup Reactive Targets: Necco wafers, saltine crackers, charcoal briquets, ice cubes Slightly Messier Reactive Targets: soda pop cans, gallon jugs filled with water or colored water, gallon jugs filled and then frozen, old CDs, golf balls Reactive Targets that are a pain to clean up: eggs, rotten veggies, or over ripe fruit (all are biodegradable but unsightly and smelly).
Purchased Reactive Targets: “exploding” targets, swinging dingers (resetting steel targets, such as these from Birchwood Casey). Balloons: Balloons come in all sizes and shapes. Experiment! You can use balloons filled with water, with air, or with helium (but be certain the helium balloon is below the berm). You can add a little bit of flour to an airfilled balloon for a “smoke” effect when shot. You can tape nine air-filled water balloons to a cardboard target in a grid pattern, and play Tic Tac Toe. You can tape balloons firmly to a target stand or let them dangle challengingly from a short string. And yes, picking up balloon detritus is a pain in the neck. But shooting them is oh so fun! Just Cool: Coins (need a solid backstop. Try hot-glueing them to a board before going to the range). Coins make cool mementos and both boys and girls enjoy having a necklace with a shot coin as the centerpiece. Outgrown toys can make good targets too, although again, clean up can be annoying. Fun Paper Targets: paper plates, Shoot-N-C targets, animal-shaped paper targets, blown up photocopies of comic books etc. Targets to AVOID: Don’t shoot glass. It’s not just a pain to clean up, it’s also dangerous to clean up. Don’t shoot anything you are not willing to clean up. Always leave the shooting area cleaner than you found it!
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Other Fun Tips Praise, praise, praise. Especially praise safe behavior, and make a big deal of how responsible she is: “I am glad I can trust you to keep your finger off the trigger!” Or, “It makes me really proud to see how careful you are to be safe when you are handling a gun.” Or, “You did really well remembering to put the safety on before you set the gun down.” Build up excitement and confidence, especially when she has to work hard to hit something: “Wow! Did you see that balloon pop? That was great!” Or, “Hey, look at this target! You did awesome!” Or, “I was really proud of the way you kept trying. You’re doing great!” Competition? The downside of competition can be frustration and hurt feelings. These are not good for first time out. The up side: competition encourages improvement and focus, and some kids thrive on it. Bottom line? Know your own kid, and only push just barely hard enough to keep them having fun, NOT hard enough to hurt. Make it a short trip. Leave her wanting more.
Bumps in the Road Pack an extra dose of patience in the range bag. If your child is reluctant to shoot at first, allow her to watch you shoot. But keep her engaged in what you are doing! Have her interact with your shooting -- for example, play a game where the child calls out a target for you to hit. Encourage her to shoot when she is ready. Don’t make a big deal about missing targets. If she’s safe and having fun, that’s all that matters. But if it matters to her, do whatever you need to do in order to give her a good taste of success: Get a bigger target. Bring the target closer. Offer to help steady the gun. Ask questions to figure out where the difficulty is. Listen to your child. If she says she “can’t do” something, figure out why and help her find a solution. Don’t give her a chance to get discouraged and frustrated. Remember, she’s just little. Don’t push her too hard. Her joy in being on the range is, by and large, joy at being with you. Don’t spoil that for her! Stay Safe and Have Fun!
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December 2008 / January 2009
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Of Switzerland
the first contemporary French book advocating this old individual right, has gained a small following as much in French Switzerland as in France.
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hristoph Kohring, a 39-yearold Swiss, introduced me to the audience while loading a Schmidt Rubin M-1931 7.5 mm carbine — also called the Mousqueton 1931 in French Switzerland — the rifle of the Swiss army during the Second World War. And before I started my speech, he also brought out a .357 Magnum and put it on the table in front of me, cylinder open, with a box of 50 cartridges. I know these revolvers: in Canada, I have owned a similar one for more than 25 years, which the state is now intent on confiscating. In my speech, I talked about the symbolism of the right to keep and bear arms (“Armes for their defence”, as the 1689 Bill of Rights said), a right that historically belonged to the free man and was denied to slaves. I spoke of how just 100 years ago the right of ordinary individuals to own and, in many cases, to carry guns was generally recognized in the civilized world. I stressed the instrumental value of this right for self-defence against both common-law criminals and tyranny. My speech was given in a Swiss wine cellar just a few days ago. I had been invited by Ruben Begert, 29, a captain in the Swiss army, to give an informal talk to, and to animate a discussion among, a small group of mostly young fans of the right to keep and bear arms. My long out-of-print little book, Le Droit de porter des armes (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1993), which was www.nfa.ca
After the discussion, the wine, and the food, and without any forewarning, I was offered the Mousqueton as a gift from Ruben and Christoph. I was also given two small handbooks, Instruction de base au pistolet (“Basic Pistol Training”) and Tir de combat au fusil d’assaut (“Combat Shooting with Assault Rifle”). All very useful stuff for a free man. In many ways, Switzerland and Canada are two very different countries. Switzerland has a long military tradition, deeply ingrained in civil society. When a young Swiss male turns twenty, he is conscripted into the army and given an assault rifle which he brings home after his training. He will continue to make short stints in the army until middle age. At any time, each member of the militia is ready to use force to protect his liberty. Until recently, private guns, although subjected to regulations from each canton, were relatively easy to obtain and often to carry. Switzerland is one of the most heavily armed societies in the world. Canada, by contrast, totally lacks a military culture. Except during the two world wars, the country has never known conscription. In this sense, Canada has been freer than Switzerland. Moreover, until late in the 20th century, guns were easily available to ordinary citizens in Canada, probably making it one the most armed countries in the world after the U.S. and Switzerland. Before the 1913 requirement of a permit to carry a handgun, before the 1934 handgun registration, and before the 1977 law controlling the acquisition
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& Canada of long guns, Canada was even, in certain cases, freer than many places in the U.S. In the old British tradition, Canadians had the quiet right, but not the obligation, to keep “Armes for their defence”. These traditional liberties have been fast declining. In Canada, the federal government has imposed a gun licensing scheme that includes an arbitrary process of granting and revoking. Some guns that were previously legal are now confiscated. Gun owners are prosecuted. And popular clamours are mounting for still more controls. As the story of my Swiss speech shows, the process has been slower in Switzerland, but it has been accelerating over the past ten years. The Swiss benefit from a revolutionary tradition which goes back to the 13th and 14th centuries with the revolt against the Habsburg Empire under the leadership of the mythical William Tell. The tradition is still vivacious: in inscribing the book on pistol training, Christoph Kohring wrote “Pro libertate and contra tyrannos, pro Tell and contra Gessler” — a reference to the hated Habsburg bailiff of 800 years ago. Canadians, for their part, have been too nice, smiling, and trustful of authority. This is why you cannot anymore be spontaneously rewarded with a rifle when you give a speech in Canada. Already in 1993, when I gave a rifle to one of my sons for his 18th birthday, he was forced to get a licence from the Canadian Gessler to accept his father’s gift. Now, don’t count on me to tell you where is my Mousqueton now. There is more than one tyrant in the world who would like to seize it. December 2008 / January 2009
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by: James McDonald
New Shooters Bring Fun… and Profit One club has found that increasing the number of new shooters not only helps the image of shooting sports, but also can lower its costs.
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ike many shooting clubs in Canada, Pinecrest Revolver and Gun Club of St Catharines, ON, was facing difficult times. Located at the end of a long cul-de-sac in the city, the indoor bullseye club had watched dozens of new houses spring up on its street. When the club’s closest new neighbor discovered his house contravened zoning bylaws, he opened a hotline to the city of St Catharines building department, and channeled his anger into a campaign to have the club closed. Membership had fallen to less than 100. The concrete floor of the ready room had sunk to one side, resembling the deck of an always-listing ship. The kitchen and washroom were old and outdated. Money was needed for demolishing the old and building new. So three years ago, three members of the executive personally guaranteed a $40,000 mortgage for a term of five years.
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To ensure the first payment was met, at the next general meeting members voted to assess all members – even new ones -- a one-time building fee of $150. Clearly that wasn’t enough. Membership had to be increased, and the club needed new funding. And that’s when it happened… proof that necessity really is the mother of invention. Nobody is quite sure how it started. Pinecrest members are too modest to claim individual credit for what has benefited the group. Nevertheless, a single solution emerged to the twin challenges of too little money and too few members. Tuesday evenings at Pinecrest were normally reserved for prospective members who had taken the club safety course, to shoot under direct supervision of range officers and instructors. For this they each paid $10 to cover the cost of guns and ammunition.
Hebert, Pinecrest treasurer. “Nobody is sure how or why.” It’s pure speculation, but with Brock University and Niagara College campuses, St Catharines is somewhat of a college town. And ten bucks is a cheap night out for college students – and their financially challenged parents. “I think it’s mostly college-age kids,” said Denis. “We get a lot of repeats. And we’re gaining maybe half a dozen to a dozen new members every year.” An average Tuesday night sees 20 new shooters. The best night was 43. “You never know when it’s going to be busy,” said Denis. “This year we collected almost $10,000 from New Shooters Nights. Out of that we pay for targets, ammunition, and maintenance. It’s allowed us to get ahead on the mortgage.” Denis has been keeping a log of the amount of hours volunteered; it’s going to be well over 1,000. About 10 members come out regularly, each spending three hours every Tuesday.
“Crazy” is what you’re probably thinking. “Shooting is in decline, everybody hates us, and gun owners are too cheap and too busy complaining to ever accomplish anything.”
Gradually, the idea emerged to allow anyone to try shooting.
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“It just kind of grew from that as more people became involved, more became instructors, and it took off,” said Denis
Rough math… 10 members x 3 hours x 50 weeks per year = 1,500 manhours of volunteer time each year. www.nfa.ca
Contrast that with an average 40-hour workweek… 40 x 50 weeks = 2,000 hours. That’s a lot of volunteer time. “Like everything else, you get your hardcore group… and everybody else couldn’t care less,” Denis said.
he wants to get into sporting clays, as he likes the idea of shooting at moving targets. Pinecrest offers him an inexpensive way to get a weekly shooting “fix” while he waits for the next PAL course.
“Whether you’re a black powder, rifle, or pistol shooter, we all need to work together, because if we fracture, they’re just going to get rid of us that much faster. I think that’s the problem with a lot of clubs in this area.”
Tonight Matt has brought his friend Kris Lilek – from the local agricultural community of Smithville -- to try shooting for the first time. All Kris knows about shooting is what he’s heard from his friend, and what he’s seen on TV and in movies.
Many Pinecrest volunteers are certified range officers, certified instructors, or instructors-in-training. Helping is a good way towards earning a CSSA instructor certification. Denis is a certified RO, but not an instructor. He helps out as often as his work schedule permits.
For new shooters, the evening begins with about 10 minutes of classroom instruction. Once a volunteer instructor is assured of their competence, they are taken individually to the firing line.
“If we could get everybody to join CSSA and NFA, we’d have a real powerhouse,” said Denis. “We try to get everyone to sign up at least one more person. Not only for the insurance -- because you’ve got to have that anyway – but also because it’s a good way to keep in touch with what’s going on, and to help out the juniors.” On a Tuesday night in mid-December there are fewer new shooters than usual, as colleges have let out for the Holidays. Two college-age males wait at one table. Matt McCarthy -- from nearby Beamsville -- is at Pinecrest for about the sixth time. Having fired a shotgun before,
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When Kris and Matt are ready, each is assigned an instructor. They don eye and ear protection, and go through the door to the range. A few others follow. After several more minutes of instruction, they’re ready to put lead downrange under direct supervision of a Pinecrest volunteer. One such volunteer is former military field gunsmith Walter Allo. He served in the Finnish military 1959-60, and was recalled to duty in 1976-77. On a bulletin board in the ready room are pictures of Walter manning the most powerful one-man rifle ever made – the Lahti 1939. A gas operated self-loading rifle that weighs
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“Nurses, lifeguards, Ventures, Scouts… we’re trying to get rid of the redneck image,” said Ron Holden.
43Kg (95lbs), the Lahti has a 10-round box magazine from which it fires a 2310-grain 20-millimeter armor-piercing bullet with muzzle energy of 37,400 foot-pounds. The Lahti is a far cry from the Ruger, Browning, and Smith & Wesson rimfire handguns used on the Pinecrest range this evening. And it’s unlikely any of the new shooters realize how much firearm experience their instructors have. At the Sporting Clubs of Niagara gun shows (http://vaxxine. com/scon/), Pinecrest members Ron and Glen Holden put on a video presentation and hand out invitations to Tuesday night shooting. The club also does special events for larger groups that have requested an extra night. The fee remains $10 per person, regardless of night. Club members volunteer their time. One group of Muslim professionals – doctors and lawyers -- came from Toronto. They planned to stay overnight in Niagara Falls, so made a day of it by shooting before going out.
“We even had a Mountie come in one night. He wanted us to let him shoot his service sidearm, but it’s likely against regulations. There are so many contradictory laws that nobody knows for sure… and we don’t want to be the test case. Somebody thought he might have been trying to set us up.” As with anything good, word began to spread about the inexpensive fun available on Tuesday night. And then a local radio personality came to shoot. “He didn’t tell us who he was,” said Ron. “Apparently he told his audience what he learned and what a great time he had. The following week we had 42 people show up. We still don’t know which person he was, but we sure appreciate the good publicity he gave us.” Kris and Matt and the rest of their group are now finished shooting.
Several groups of females attend. “It seems to be running about 30% females every Tuesday night,” said Denis.
“It’s pretty intense,” said Kris. “I shot two-handed, and it was louder than I expected.”
The club is open to pretty much any legitimate organization.
Will he come back?
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“Absolutely. It’s fun. I want to get my PAL, and this counts towards my club probationary shoots.” Another member of the group is Terry Ringler, who used to agree that private handgun ownership should be outlawed.
Terry brought his friend Brian Shambleau. A retired stationary engineer, Brian put his first 25 shots on the paper. Then his shots started to move away from the bull. “It’s kind of like a lot of things I do,” said Brian.
“Until I thought about it, and realized that it was only a handful of Jamaican gangsters causing all the gun crime in Toronto,” Terry said. “It’s not target shooters doing the killing.”
“”First time is better until I start over-thinking. Then it becomes repetitive. I’m not sure what the thrill is about shooting… I like artsy stuff… music… painting… but that’s just me. I like different things.”
Nor is he concerned about the other false argument of gun prohibitionists – suicide.
When told about professional exhibition shooter Tom Knapp, who makes “pictures” with a .22 rifle, Brian – and the rest of the group -- acknowledged that would be a cool thing to see, and possibly try.
“That’ll never happen. I looked at pictures of suicides on the Internet, and I’d never leave a mess like that for someone I know to clean up.” Tonight he’s shooting again while waiting for his PAL to arrive. “After I get my membership here, I’ll bring my daughter and grandkids out to shoot. There was a 12-year-old girl in my safety class who loved shooting a .44 magnum.”
New Shooters Night at Pinecrest Revolver and Gun Club is a shining example of the power of volunteers in the shooting sports. Said Pinecrest volunteer Glen Holden, “Everyone we get out shooting on the range leads to a positive experience. They’re pretty much sold. Even if they don’t come back, that’s okay… it’s still one less anti-gun person.” (http://www.pinecrestgunclub.com/)
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by Carolyn Boyles
“Ergonomic Concealed Carry Pistols: An Old Dog With Some New Tricks
American Palm Pistols”
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maller and smaller, that’s the trend in America. First, it was transistor radios in the 1960s (for those of us old enough to remember). Then cell phones beginning in the early 1980s and into the 21st Century. Now it is ergonomic concealed carry pistols.
This type of pistol is referred to as a squeezer pistol. It is not held in the same way as a regular pistol, which is fired by pulling a trigger with your index finger. Instead, it is held in the palm of the hand and fired by tightening the fist. It is also called a palm pistol or turret revolver. An Iver Johnson catalog from around 1900 recommended this type of firearm for bicyclists’ use. One has to wonder what type of danger these early bicyclists encountered that necessitated them to be armed other than dogs.
Right? Wrong. Ergonomic concealed carry pistols predate transistor radios and cell phones by a lot shot, if you’ll pardon the pun. 54
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The first palm pistol was the Turbiaux Le Protector. It was originally patented in Paris by Jacques E. Turbiaux in 1882. Instead of the traditional revolver design as we know it today with a barrel, frame, cylinder, and grip/handle, the Turbiaux had a barrel, firing chamber, frame, and firing lever. Winant claims the Paris patent was filed in 1883.
Carolyn Boyles is a freelance writer and photographer living in Central Arkansas. Her article, “Disability, Self-Defense, and Concealed Carry” appeared in the July 2008 issue of Concealed Carry Magazine. Her writing has appeared in The Storyteller, Audacity magazine, Echoes of the Ozarks vol. III, and on Amazon Shorts. Her photography will appear in Yesterday Once More by Steve Whisnant. Boyles’ book, A Complete Plain-English Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury: Valuable Information From A Survivor was published in 2007. She can be contacted at cboyles@ aol.com
Instead of the barrel being above the hand as in modern pistols, the barrel sticks out from between the index and middle finger. The spring-loaded lever was fired by squeezing it with the palm of the hand. The pistol was produced
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began to manufacture his variation. The improvements Finnegan made to the the Turbiaux design included making the pistol slightly larger, making the safety function better, and making the sideplate more secure. The new gun was sturdier and more reliable.
in two versions, a ten round with 6mm cartridges and a seven round with 8mm cartridges. The 8mm cartridges were the same cartridges that fit the Galois, a European manufacture squeezer. The U.S. patent for the Turbiaux was filed in 1883 with an additional patent being filed by Peter H. Finegan in 1893. Schwing and Cronhelm say Finegan bought the patents in 1892 for production in the United States. Keeping track of the changes in companies producing the successor to the Turbiaux is like trying to keep track of a teenage girl’s boyfriends, not only because changes happened in a short period of time, but also because the information available is limited. Three versions were produced in America, one by the Minneapolis Fire-Arms (also spelled Firearms) Company, one by the Chicago Firearms Company, and one by the Ames Sword Company. The Minneapolis Firearms version was identical to the Turbiaux and was made under license from the Turbiaux’s patents. Sources disagree on the exact production dates. Cronhelm says the Minneapolis version was produced about 1890. Flayderman gives the dates as 1891 to 1892. They were manufactured by James Duckworth in Springfield, Massachusetts and sold by the Minneapolis Firearms Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The next incarnation of the pistol came when Peter Finnegan, a salesman, www.nfa.ca
At this point, the information begins to become sketchy. There is no doubt that the Ames Sword Company (also called the Ames Manufacturing Company) of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts manufactured a version of this pistol. Flayderman does not list Ames in his book. However, the details are a source of disagreement among the different sources. Schwing claims Finnegan was working on behalf of the Minneapolis Firearms Company when he contacted Ames for production of his version of the palm pistol. Cronhelm and Tomlinson do not mention any connection between Finnegan and the Minneapolis Firearms Company. Either way, Finnegan and Ames entered into a contract for Ames to produce Finnegan’s pistol. Schwing says the contract was for 25,000 pistols. The pistols were to be completed in time for the 1892 Chicago Columbian Exposition, more commonly called the Chicago World’s Fair. Ames, whether intentionally or unintentionally, did not deliver the guns until after the World’s Fair had closed, and even then, only delivered approximately 1,500 of them. Flayderman estimates the quantity produced at approximately 3,000. Finnegan refused delivery and sued Ames. Finnegan filed for bankruptcy. Whether Finnegan as an individual filed for bankruptcy or the Minneapolis Firearms Company declared bankruptcy is unclear. Finnegan sued Ames for breach of contract. Finnegan was awarded a cash settlement. Ames
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won the full patent rights for the pistol. Ames also won ownership of the pistols it actually manufactured. One source quotes the number of pistols at 13,000, which is contradictory to the number Schwing and Flayderman estimate were produced. Ames sold off the inventory until approximately 1917. The Chicago Firearms Company of Chicago, Illinois made the final version of the pistol. Approximately 12,800 copies were made. This variation is also known as the Chicago Palm Pistol. The ergonomic concealed carry pistol idea is not a thing of the past. Matt Carmel (“car-mél”) of Constitution Arms in Maplewood, New Jersey has designed a modern variation called simply, The Palm Pistol®. It will be marketed as “an ergomically novel self-defensive firearm for disabled, seniors and others who may have manual dexterity limitations or difficulty sighting and controlling a traditional revolver or semiautomatic.” The Palm Pistol shooter uses the thumb on either hand to release the firing pin, thus reducing lateral muzzle drift. The gun has a loaded chamber indicator and a built-in combination lock. A laser sight is also available. It is a 9mm weapon compared to the Turbiaux and the Ames variation which were built in either 6mm or 8mm, the Minneapolis Palm Pistol which was .32 caliber extra short, and the Chicago Palm Pistol, which was also .32 caliber extra short. Firearms enthusiasts have a fascination with small, readily concealable pistols, which shows no signs of letting up into the Twenty-first Century.
Photo Credits: The Ames Protector: Ron Ruble Enterprises The Palm Pistol: Matt Carmel, Constitution Arms
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The Shootists
Truths & Myths of the Wild West
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here are two historic Wests, one real and the other mythic. Among our contrasting myths are an absurdly sanitized paradise where even the bad guy survives, repents and learns to “toe the line,” and a nightmarish place of near constant violence and strife. The real West is a land of contrasts inhabited by contradictions. A a prime example of this would be that special breed of men known collectively as “gunmen,” “pistoleros” or “shootists,” who were seldom as noble and generous as portrayed on television, and in only a few cases as malicious and deadly as some books make out.
face action – men who hold that they’re right, who insist on looking their antagonists in the eye as well as being the last thing they see on the day of their demise. A shootist was neither a bushwhacker, robber nor assassin per se – but rather, a highly effective and often volatile individual whose violent deeds usually arose spontaneously and out of reaction to a perceived insult or slight. He was more likely to be a loner than either a gang or posse member.... and when reprising the roles of Sheriff or outlaw, white hat or black, he usually filled the part well. Silent, pleasant or petulant, he fairly exuded both temerity and style. He felt safer and perhaps saner outside the general fraternity and shallow associations of civilized men, and likely trusted his own intuition, discernment, skill, instincts and responses above anyone and everything else. Slow to enter into alliances of purpose or convenience, the shootist
We all know that the Western gunfight seldom if ever occurred the ways it’s been commonly portrayed by historically illiterate Hollywood writers and directors: the mannerly encounter at high noon, revolvers holstered until the very last second. Giving one’s opponent the chance for a fair draw. Guns shot out of hands, without a bloody shattering of fingers and palms.... or apologizing to a downed hombre in the Virginian’s dusty drawl. Nor were the majority of even the most ruthless of killers usually all that good with a gun. It is nonetheless a fact that there once was and probably still exists a certain special breed of men whose violent encounters characteristically involve face to
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adhered to the classic martial dictum that “offense is the best defense.” He seldom backed down – not because he was inhumanly fearless, but rather, because he knew how to use his fear as fuel for assertive and sometimes explosive action. Whether objectively right or wrong, the shootist acted out of a moral certainty.... adhering to his own personal code of honor even when breaking existing laws and cultural taboos. By this measure Wyatt Earp was more entrepreneur and vigilante than archetypal shootist. On the other hand Doc Holiday qualifies, even though his willingness to inflict harm could be considered a far greater determining factor than his occasional acts of violence and few resulting victims. The gregarious Billy The Kid had 4 confirmed kills in 14 fights, but for all his bravado we know he would have preferred a life of dancing at Mexican “fandangos,” and making love to warm Señoritas instead of fingering cold grey revolvers! Jesse James was a thief even if a partially politically motivated one, he always worked with a sizable gang, and apparently got over any intrinsic compunctions about shooting from a “hide” or pumping bullets into turned and quivering backs. Clay Allison, however, was mostly an upfront shootist.... if also an unredeemable, homicidal maniac who once literally “shot himself in the foot.” And no one can doubt that lawman James “Wild www.nfa.ca
Bill” Hickock was a prime example of the classic gunfighter. His total of eleven kills is impressive, averaging as he did one kill per fight. But then his record might have been a lot bloodier if not for his penchant for using the butt of his revolver to “brain” or “buffalo” those miscreants he aimed to arrest, instead of just shooting them where they stood. Both Hickock and John Wesley Hardin were ungodly accurate, as well as the prerequisite willing – willing not only to take someone’s life at the drop of a hat, but willing if necessary to die. Even the supposedly proficient Ben
most gunmen on both sides of the law were notoriously poor shots, partly due to the scarcity and expense of ammunition and the scant practice they got a result. Shooting one handed made hits less likely than if they had known to use a modern two handed “Weaver” stance. In a closed room the black powder smoke from the first shots would make it even more difficult to identify and connect with their target. And alchohol was often a major factor. Take for example Wyatt Earp’s brother Warren. In Wilcox, Arizona in 1900 he got the worst of a gunfight by drunkenly standing up to challenge someone.... before realizing he’d forgotten his gun! A low-life contemporary of the Earp’s likely murdered more than 40 men in his lifetime– but almost always with a rifle, from a place of ambush. James P. “Deacon” Miller passed judgment again and again until finally getting his neck stretched by an intolerant lynch mob in Oklahoma in April, 1909.... and may have been the gun-for-hire that (continued on Page 61) (Continued from Page 58)
Thompson had only 4 kills in over 14 altercations. 75% of the rounds fired at the famous The “Gunfight At The O.K. Corral” (which was actually the “Gunfight In The Alley Behind Fly’s Photography Studio) were misses, with the combatants firing some 32 rounds at distances of no further than 12 to 15 feet.... and yet only 12 of those shots even connected. Truth is,
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put a bullet through Billy The Kid’s killer Pat Garrett. And for perspective, it helps to remember that Generals and politicians oversee the deaths of millions more young boys than any self-inflating Western desperado could ever claim credit for.... sometimes for justifiable reasons, sometimes for reasons not so good. If you think about it, more people have lost their lives December 2008 / January 2009
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by Jane Gaffin
Killing Is Okay But Don’t Use A G-U-N
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e’ve heard of U.S. government-paid thugs killing two and injuring one at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992, then moving on to kill 76 Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993. The avenger of these acts, Timothy McVeigh, killed 168 people in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. The Vietnam “peace” protests escalated into destructive riots at Kent State, where the Ohio National Guard killed four students on May 4, 1970. We’ve heard of the trench-coated, gun-brandishing Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold choosing Adolf Hitler’s birthday to murder 12 fellow students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, on April 20, 1999.
“Who was responsible for this carnage?” Poe asked his audience, who expected it to be some drug-induced, trench-coated teenager brandishing an AK-47. “Not at all,” advised Poe.” It was 74-year-old Stelia Maychick, an elderly Yonkers woman out for a drive in her 1987 Oldsmobile.” Screams filled the air as bodies flew everywhere like rag dolls. People were mangled, grotesquely twisted. Two people were dragged beneath the car. The investigators concluded the driver had inadvertently stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake, which accounts for why she couldn’t stop the car! She was not charged and was allowed to keep her driver’s license, according to Poe’s account.
But, until author Richard Poe recounted the massacre in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, how many people had heard of the bloody event that left five dead and 27 injured on April 23, 1992?
Closer to home, a 67-year-old Utah man, peacefully eating an ice cream cone while waiting for a Whitehorse bus, was killed when a driver’s new Subaru careened out of control and hit a bus-stop bench on July 22, 2003.
Practically none.
The car, headed north on Quartz Road when it lost control shortly after 6 p.m., crashed into the bus stop, went over a small embankment and came to a rest on its roof.
It was a warm, sunny day. The park was filled with sunbathers, street musicians, vendors, students, mothers and children. “Violence struck suddenly at 3:30 p.m.,” wrote Poe in his 2001 book, The Seven Myths of Gun Control. “It was like a surreal experience,” remembered a New York University graduate student. “It was like a movie. First we heard noise and it sounded like gunfire...People were just trying to get out of the way.” Paramedics described the scene as looking like a bomb had exploded.
The 40-year-old male driver, a Carcross resident, walked away from the crash. The man waiting for the bus was thrown over the embankment by the impact. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner. At the relevant time, police investigators were unsure if alcohol or speed might have played a factor for the driver losing control and didn’t know if any charges would be laid, despite a man being dead at the scene. (The Yukon Supreme Court later gave him a conditional sentence.) If the Carcross man had killed the Utah man with a firearm, there would be no hesitation about laying charges. But it was a vehicle.
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Just like the Mountie flipping a police cruiser in September, 1993 on the Carcross Road while bringing a prisoner to Whitehorse for a court appearance. Const. Jeff Monkman walked away unscathed from the crash in which his 37-year-old, handcuffed female prisoner, riding in the back seat, was killed. He had neglected to secure her with seatbelts. The constable was not charged for manslaughter. He was charged for driving without due care and attention under the Motors Vehicles Act. In other words, he had been awake too many hours and went to sleep at the wheel. Had his prisoner been shot to death, the charges may have been different, providing any were laid. If the Ian Bush case is any example, none would be. So why do we get upset when the politically-correct blather, “If we license vehicles, what’s wrong with licensing guns?” Plenty. The Motors Vehicle Act is not part of the Criminal Code of Canada. The Firearms Act is.
A firearm does. A vehicle requires registration only when it is removed from private property. If it stays on private land forever, it never needs to be registered. A firearm, however, requires registration even if it never leaves the gun safe. Insurance is a different story, of course. Because vehicles cause so much damage, vehicular insurance is expensive. Insurance for firearms use is practically free. Lawful firearms users can be insured for all their firearms usage, on and off shooting ranges, for about $8 per year. Chew on that a while. That is further proof that the politically-correct eggheads who claim that guns are inherently dangerous are not being truthful. Should the vehicle owner forget to purchase new plates before the annual expiry date and continues driving on public roads, his forgetfulness will be greeted with a fine; or the vehicle might be impounded until he forks over some cash. The owner will neither be prevented from driving again nor from buying another vehicle.
A vehicle does not need to be licensed and registered if it is confined to private property.
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over some cash. The owner will neither be prevented from driving again nor from buying another vehicle. A gun owner who possesses an unregistered firearm or merely forgets to change his address will be criminally charged, have his firearms confiscated, and be sent to jail. Additionally, he will be prohibited from owning firearms for at least 10 years. As a paper criminal, the owner of a G-U-N is treated far worse than a driver who commits manslaughter on a highway or mayhem in a park with a lethal, overpowered weapon called a C-A-R. The government should not be imposing registration fees on the personal property of one select group to pay for “public safety” that benefits the whole. Further, the government is attempting to overthrow legal rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 7: “Everybody has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.” Once people accept the licensing of civil liberties, there is no cap on what freedoms the government will label dangerous and take control of with a discretionary
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licensing regime, where all decision-making power rests “in the opinion of” one bureaucrat and empowers the government to keep slowly turning the screws. Each year, firearms officers disqualify a higher number of applicants than the year before. Once the honest gun owner tries to comply but his application is refused, he’s caught in a trap. He can kiss his filing fees and guns good-bye. When all the good, little obedient servants have revealed where the remaining guns are located, the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST), Canada’s version of the U.S.’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that trained NWEST, will swoop in to seize the privately-owned firearms. Under this type of politically-correct Think upheld by our courts, Canada is well on its way to collapsing, like all other other democracies have before, into a dictatorship. And we’re already well on our way. Jane Gaffin is an author and freelance writer living in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. She can be contacted at janegaffin@canada.com or visited on the web at http:// www.diArmani.com.
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as a result of contractors’ indifference to the risks of asbestos. Thousands are killed in a single modern terrorist strike, and few individuals have more “notches on their guns” than the sexually deranged serial killers of the modern urban age. Our mythic confusion extends to all aspects of the historic West. On the other hand, we imagine a frontier where once things were “set straight” life couldn’t have been pleasanter, the skies were always sunny, and swans floated along inexplicably relieved of any worries like getting eaten. This is the version put forth by the early icons of Western television and cinema, and one still popular with twinkle toed historical revisionists today. And who can fault the appeal of a place where no one ever falls off their horse, where barmaids provide comfort and counsel instead of sass and sex, and all stray dogs find a home? If there is any trouble, it’s because of outsiders and miscreants and not the people we know and love. Justice and goodness inevitably prevail, and those who love enough never fail. If there are any armed robbers or bullies the “good guy” will shoot the gun out of his hand without hardly bruising a single one of his fingers, and the townsfolk will bring him so many flowers and condolences in the jail, that he’ll be released early and forever after behave. No doubt we need this vision of tranquility, redemption and hope. When writing magazine articles I sometimes leave out the darker parts of the story and whiteout the cussing at some editor’s behest. But “better a cruel truth to a comfortable delusion,” as my late friend Edward Abbey wrote. I tell you, if there ever really was a place where “nary a discourigin’ word” was said, that place was definitely not the frontier West. Westerners had, after all, faced a number of challenges, hardships and tragedies that no doubt tested their www.nfa.ca
patience and good cheer. Indeed, the West was never as tranquil, pastoral or resolved as we sometimes like to think. But neither was it generally as violent as we’ve read. At the peak of “lawlessness” towns still suffered considerably fewer murders than modern ghettos of comparable size. One must realize that most guns discharged inside town limits were fired in the air, just for the fun of it. And the majority of shots actually fired
wildness, wonder and verve that made it different from other settings and other times. The romance and reality, lessons and tests, celebrations and tragedies are peculiar to a particular region and a wilder way of being. Theirs is a campfire story far more enthralling than the most entertaining fabrications ever to grace or screen, more momentous than the best told lies.
in anger, missed their intended targets. In fact– aside from deaths incurred during the war with Mexico or as a result of Indian resistance– poor gun handling was the number one cause of firearms related fatalities in the Old West. A study of old newspaper and hospital records indicates that “accidental discharges” provided frontier undertakers with far more business than assassinations and shootouts ever combined.
The real West can never be simplified or stereotyped. It was and remains unpredictable, and sufficiently dangerous to test our intention and instinct, concern and courage, creativity and skill, purpose and passion. This West will always be a magical amalgam of wonder and discovery, peril and possibility, true hearts and wild lands. And it is ordinary men and women, doing exceptional things in extraordinary times.
To Hollywood cowboy actor Tom Mix, the West was no more than a state of mind. “It’s whatever you want it to be,” he claimed – amorphous and ready to serve any master, sell any product, suit any purpose. But the real West had definite form, a particular landscape, a characteristic
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Truly, there could have been no Buffalo Bill grown out of the concrete of thoroughly civilized environs. “There’s scarcely no passion without struggle,” the philosopher Camus tells us, and there could have been no Calamity Jane without a calamity or two. No heroes without villains to test their mettle, to keep them honest, and give them purpose. Face it, there could have been no Ben Lilly without bears, no Wild Bill Hickock without a West to be wild in. The people we find most interesting aren’t the ones that “toed” the line... they’re the ones who at one time or another stepped a good ways over it: the women who flouted convention, the lawmen that skirted the law in order to bring to ground the evil doers, and the banditos that found such creative ways of breaking it.
“Is that true?,” the kids ask a storytelling cook in that old John Wayne movie “Cowboys.” He turns to look them in the eye and says “Well if it isn’t.... it oughta be.”
December 2008 / January 2009
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By Christopher di Armani
Cruel Murderers or the Ultimate Respecters of Life?
H
unters get a bad rap from city folk for being willing to take a life to sustain their own. They are unable to see their hypocrisy, that instead of killing their own food and taking responsibility for it, they are merely “contract killers”, preferring to hire out the slaughter of their food sources. “Hunting is so cruel!” they shriek. “Hunters are murderers! It’s inhumane to shoot a deer!”
kept its head lowered and we saw something red in the close vicinity, leading us to speculate that its antlers were entwined, perhaps in loose snow fencing. As we left the road and approached the deer, a nearby coyote spooked from its bed and fled into nearby woods. Approaching closer, we discovered that the deer’s antlers were
The sad reality is most city folk are so “Disney-fied” they are completely cut off from the reality of nature, from the realities of the animal kingdom they so shrilly claim to protect. The picture to the right is of two deer entangled together by their antlers, the result of fighting over the right to impregnate the females of the area. As hard as it is to comprehend, one of the deer was still alive when two NFA members happened across them while hunting coyotes on January 3, 2008. The second deer, as is plainly evident from the photo, is dead. The following is the description forwarded to me of what they found: “At approximately 3:30PM we saw what appeared to be a large lone deer with its head lowered in the middle of a snow-covered field. It didn’t flee as we approached, prompting us to take a closer look. The deer
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December 2008 / January 2009
We could conceive of no way to disentangle the surviving deer, the temperature was below -30ºC, sundown was fast approaching and its exhausted state made survival extremely unlikely. If we left the area, we believed that by morning the coyotes would return to kill the deer in their customary, cruel manner. We therefore made the decision to euthanise the surviving deer, using our most powerful rifle (a .243 Winchester) to accomplish the task quickly and humanely.” This is nature in all its glory. One animal slaughtering another brutally and cruelly so that it, the coyote, can survive.
intertwined and locked with those of another, dead, deer. An estimated 1-2 acres had been thoroughly trampled by the combatants and the deer violently attempted to dislodge the entangled carcass. The other deer was obviously dead, as its abdomen was open and the internal organs were missing, having been eaten by coyotes. Numerous tracks, beds and scat evidenced the deceased’s fate and foretold the survivor’s.
Take a moment and imagine that YOU are the deer being attacked by the coyotes. Their teeth rip into your hide, pain screaming through every fibre of your being. The utter terror of your defenselessness in the face of the attack is overwhelming. You die a horribly agonizing death at the hands of a predator thrilled at your defenselessness. Now imagine you are the other deer, forced to watch this horrific death from your own front-row seat. Much to the dismay of the “Disney Generation”, mother nature isn’t nearly as kind as a hunter’s bullet.
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