Richmond Guns

Virginia Citizens Defense League president Phillip Van Cleave will be speaking at the Richmond City Council meeting on Monday, at 6pm. The purpose of his appearance is to challenge the management of the Richmond Coliseum over the harassment of citizens wearing gun rights lapel stickers at two recent events.

Anybody in Richmond who can spare an hour or two might want to stop by. [Map after the jump.]

That's not entirely fair, I admit, but the whole "ZOMG!" feel to this blog post at BrightestYoungThings got under my skin a little bit. Basically, a bunch of DC denizens set out to Northern Virginia and they're astonished by the whole gun scene.

Still, they do a pretty fair range report on the Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly and I don't mean to be too, too critical of it. It's a really fun piece and has tons of excellent photos and and a few videos embedded, though the color saturation is a bit much. Also, there's a pretty girl.

Amazingly, Terry McAuliffe is the front runner in next week's Democrat primary for Virginia governor. McAuliffe may be the biggest douchebag on the whole planet, but he's certainly the biggest in the Commonwealth of Virginia, where it turns out he lives. How do people decide, "Yeah, we've got a couple decent candidates running, but I'm going to vote for the sociopath?"

It's not unlike the presidential candidacy of John Edwards, who like McAuliffe is transparently unfit for elected office. Yet millions of people voted for him, and many more were apparently shocked to learn that he was keeping a girlfriend on the side. The guy made a fortune exploiting people with cerebral palsy to steal from obstetricians. Having a mistress is actually small potatoes compared to what he did openly in his career as a trial lawyer.

Which gets me to my point. (Yes, I have a point.) Mike Stollenwerk with the DC Gun Rights Examiner is recommending, because McAuliffe is so strongly anti-gun, that Republican voters crash the Democrat primary next Tuesday and vote for Brian Moran. I don't much care for the Moran family, but I think Stollenwerk is probably right. Creigh Deeds is likely to lose anyway, so a vote for Moran might actually result in a McAuliffe loss.

So if you agree, vote Brian Moran on June 9th, regardless of your party affiliation.

I drove up to the Southeastern Guns & Knives show in Fredericksburg this morning. I was hoping to pick up one of those sweet little Kel-Tec SUB-2000 folding rifles, but nobody seemed to have them in stock. So instead I bought a cheap little Armscor 206 - basically a Philippines knock-off of the Colt Detective Special - from Trader Jerry. I paid $239 before taxes and fees. (Colt discontinued the Detective Special in the mid-90s.)

The Armscor 206 is my first revolver. It's chambered in .38 Special and has a wood checkered grip. Very retro and cool. I'm planning to take it down to Dominion Shooting Range on Monday and run 50 or 100 rounds through it, to make sure it's reliable. The plan is to keep this as a "beater" gun - just shoot it for fun and use it for concealed carry when I go places that are likely to leave me wet and muddy.

If you want an Armscor 206 of your very own, you can contact Trader Jerry, who had several more, or click here to visit Impact Guns.

I thought to myself when I first looked upon the Armscor 206, "This is the kind of gun Lee J. Cobb would carry." And what American male doesn't love Lee J. Cobb? So when I got home I googled "'lee j. cobb' gun" and damned if this was the first result. It's tough being this good.

Here's an interesting article by a Cincinnati TV station about women purchasing handguns and seeking concealed carry permits.

I noticed yesterday that Kel-Tec P-3AT magazines are available again at the manufacturer's site. They're hard to come by and if you want one or several, this is a good time to place your order.

For those of you unfamiliar with the P-3AT, along with the very similar Ruger LCP it's probably the most concealable self-defense handgun made. Many people choose to carry the P-3AT during summer months because it's extremely light and thin, reliable and reasonably powerful.

[P-3AT 6-round standard magazine]

Howard Nemerov at the Gun Rights Examiner explains why prices on ammunition have climbed so high, and why it's so difficult to find handgun calibre ammo:

Buyers help keep prices high because of concerns over what might happen in the future. As prices spiral and demand clears the shelves, people worry about getting ammunition in the future. Add a few rumors, people worry more and demand goes up even more. It may be best to stop stockpiling ammunition for now to reduce demand. Instead, spend your energy on convincing Congress that the civil right of self-defense is an idea whose time has come.

Right now there's a mania for handgun ammo - it's a bubble. In time the bubble will "pop", and you'll be likely be able to buy cartridges at a discount.

So if you've got all you need for now, there's little point in stocking up.

I just heard an ad on Limbaugh for this weekend's Dixie Classic show at the Showplace on Mechanicsville Turnpike. I didn't spend as much time as I wanted at The Nation's Gun Show in Chantilly last month; I was there with a friend and we were rushed to meet another friend for dinner. So I really want to dig in and spend a few hours walking the aisles this weekend. It should be very interesting!

Go check out this sign.

I've never spoken to my neighbor about whether he keeps a gun in the house. My suspicion is that he does, but I think generally it's a better idea not to disclose such things to people outside the family.

I missed this story in the Times-Dispatch early in the week. The title is a bit inflammatory - ‘Modern survivalists’ dig in for disaster - but the text is pretty good and explains why a lot of people are building up their margins and buying guns.

A Texas gun store owner is quoted as saying:

You have the everyday good ol' boy Texas gun owner. You have the folks that are coming in and saying, 'I've lost my job and my neighbor lost their job' and they really believe they might have to fight over a bucket of carrots or something. And you have the guys who are first-time gun buyers and they don't really know why. It is Main Street. It is crazy.

I'd put myself about 80% of the way along toward three, from two. I like the term "preppers" that the writer uses to describe those who are preparing for the worst.