TheWombat

Handgun selection is good. They've had Ed brown and Wilson combat recently, didn't check to see if still there. Best to call them TheWombat Sent using Tapatalk

I typically go to RTSP during member time at the weekend. For several months I could arrive at opening time and shoot for 2 hours due to how few other members were there. Over the Christmas break it was busier, but hey it was vacation.... This morning even a few minutes prior to opening time there were more people lined up to shoot standing outside than ports available. Maybe it is the last week of vacation, maybe it is more members or people wanting to try their new toys. Either way they are definitely busier at present even at member hours. I'm not sure if we'll see it settle down a bit as people begin to conserve ammunition, or once we get clarity as to what Obama will try to do in terms of gun-control. The RTSP team were however polite, helpful and friendly although they are looking a little fatigued, no doubt from the massive surge since Obama's re-election and Sandy Hook. I assume like other FFLs they are receiving large volumes of phone calls each day enquiring if they have AR-15s and whether NICS checks have been approved. Not a complaint, just an observation on the increase in members shooting during member hours. +1 to RTSP! TheWombat

Ray Ray, Let's not get too carried away here! As a visitor to the USA who came here by choice I need to respect the laws and culture of the nation. As such I respect the 2nd Amendment as it is an integral part of the foundation of this nation that I have chosen to reside in. Yes I enjoy going to the range and shooting, and competing in IDPA etc. Yes I have semi-automatic pistols and rifle, and yes I have concealed carried when outside New Jersey. Does that change my views on: open-carry - no - overall I am not an avid supporter of open carry (assuming that concealed carry is available) for a number of reasons training requirements - no - overall I still believe that there are certain responsibilities that come with firearm ownership and concealed carrying and there should be some level of ability and training. I understand that putting training requirements as a pre-requisite to firearm ownership opens up significant risks and goes against the probable intent of the 2nd Amendment. I believe that there needs to be some level of balance between 'trusting the population' vs 'considering the safety of the population'. The question is where do you draw the line of balance? I can fully understand why some parents would have concerns about allowing teachers to be armed in schools - if nothing else then statistically it is inevitable that at some point in time a teacher would draw a firearm (and possibly use it) inappropriately. I can also see that an armed teacher could prevent at least some deaths in the situation of an armed attacker by delaying them or distracting them. Think of it this way for those of you who are parents with multiple children - how many times have you had one child misbehave and sent all the children to their rooms, or taken away all their toys... or been affected by this as a child at school. Yes this is very different to the 2nd amendment but is still worth reflecting on. One irresponsible/bad guy does something bad with firearms - let's remove/restrict firearms for everyone is what we're seeing as a mindset from government and many of the public. I do believe that the current gun-control debates are a knee-jerk reaction by ill-informed politicians who want to be seen to be doing something. They perceive it as easier to restrict aspects of firearm ownership rather than solve some of the root cause (mental health, parenting/family unit, moral values, criminal justice system allowing convicted felons to be quickly back on the streets etc). I can see that they are thinking of quick wins here and fixing some of the root cause will take time and cost money. While it is easy to state statistics supporting (or not) firearms, gun rights etc - I do try to be open minded enough to understand that crime (violent or not) cannot be solely a factor of gun ownership numbers - there are cultural, geographical, economical and other factors at play within a single country. When trying to compare across different countries there are even more complexities such as how crimes are categorized, recorded (or not) etc in addition to significant cultural and mindset differences that make comparisons difficult, if not impossible. Hence the comparisons of Switzerland vs USA are in my view somewhat irrelevant. The US is at a potential turning point where the nation needs to decide if firearm ownership is something it supports going forward, and if so in what way. However any changes impacting the 2nd Amendment, if they occur, need to be done in a way that is legal and constitutional. Yes there is a risk that taking away firearms could result in a tyrannical government. As I am not allowed to vote, I may have a view, but the legal voters of the nation need to decide what path they wish to take. I personally believe that restricting magazines and ARs etc from this point in time forward will make no material difference. The nation therefore needs to decide whether it is no firearms at all - i.e. taking away what people already own, or it needs to support the 2nd Amendment and tackle the root cause of gun violence. There are pros/cons with both options. While I am unable to vote I have written to both the Star Ledger and the Secaucus Spectator in the last 2 weeks, I am a member of NJ2AS, NRA and SAF and have also carried out additional donations to them over the last 18 months. I don't agree with everything they do and their messaging/approach at times - however the NRA, for example, is not just a lobby group - it also has a significant education arm that is working to teach responsible firearm ownership to children and adults alike. I personally feel that the NRA should look at itself and change some of it's leadership to gain greater support from the middle ground, however that is a separate discussion. Considering that there are 80 million firearm owners in the US, it is interesting to see that the pro-firearm petitions on the whitehouse site typically struggle to get more than 20,000 signatures yet we're hearing of significantly more people for the anti-firearm petitions - although maybe this is smoke and mirrors. Maybe however the nation is changing.... Am curious to see how the next few months unfolds. hth TheWombat

awesome! TheWombat

Interestingly it looks like the PPQ M2 replaces the current PPQ and it comes in 4" and 5" lengths and most interestingly of all has replaced the paddle style magazine release with a button magazine release. I am sure this will increase the popularity of the PPQ as many people struggled to transition to the paddle style magazine release when their other firearms were button. It may also disappoint some of the existing PPQ owners who greatly like the paddle style release. TheWombat

Honestly, it won't make that much difference at first - any 'inaccuracy' will come down to shooting fundamentals not being followed (grip, sights, trigger control, breadth control, follow through) so I'd suggest going for cheap brass ammunition. I typically buy Aguilla, American Eagle or Speer Lawman which were costing around $195 to $240 shipped for 1000 rounds pre-Sandy Hook. I did some experimenting with a number of other brands and also with 115, 124 and 147gr. I personally found I preferred 124gr or 115gr however for standard range time I'm happy to use any of these. There are a number of online places that people recommend including SGAmmo, Natchez, TargetSportUSA, AmmunitionToGo, Palmetto State Armory, WeaponsWorld being a few that I usually check up when I'm buying. Being new to the shooting sport/hobby/discipline myself I can say that the weight and type of ammunition shouldn't be a concern until you're more experienced and doing competitions. If you haven't yet, then consider some formal training - you'll see from my prior posts that I've found GunForHire to be good but there are plenty of other options. If you happen to be somewhere commutable to RTSP then PM me and we can see if we can meet up there one time. I have some fun and good drills I can put you through once you're comfortable with the fundamentals. Enjoy! TheWombat

:-) TheWombat

:-) You won't be disappointed. Just take it easy at first so you don't do an accidental double tap.... TheWombat

Buy the Magnum Research magazines - they are identical for use and much cheaper. I believe the specific model to go for if 9mm is Baby Eagle MAGFA915 mags. Check on the Walther Forum or search this forum for my prior PPQ posts. hth TheWombat

@bulpup thanks! Understand the desire to make it shorter and your edits look good. Perhaps people can re-use parts of both of these as/when required in response to their local publications and politicians. TheWombat

I'd recommend taking her into a shop and letting her hold and look at a number of firearms. It really needs to be her choice - although the .50 Desert Eagle may be where you step in and say perhaps not! Many firearms have interchangeable grips etc and a number of suggestions posted. When MrsWombat was interested in firearms she chose for herself and was selecting based on the aesthetics as well as other factors. TheWombat

My response ended up being much longer than planned, which is unfortunate. While I expect it will be ignored I have at least tried. TheWombat

The January edition of the Secaucus Spectator had the following front page article: "A Good Man With a Gun" After the Newtown school shootings, the NRA asserts that "A good man with a gun can stop a bad man with a gun." The NRA has offered to be the TSA of community schools and provide volunteer "good men with guns" in U.S. schools. There are close to 17,000 people residing in Secaucus in 7,2000 households. Many of them have guns, rifles, shotguns, assault weapons and the like. The overall U.S. propensity to have a weapon in the home varies by year but in 2011 the level was 47 percent. By inference, between 2,500 to 3,500 hundred [sic] weapons are stored in Secaucus households. The 1792 Uniform Militia Act required all free able bodied white male citizens under 45 to muster with a local militia and equip themselves witha good musket or flintlock. In 2008, District of Columbia vs. Heller, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes of self-defense within the home and federal enclaves. A NJ owner of a gun is issued a permit by local police which implies the ownership of a gun is a privilege not an absolute right. The NRA approach to school safety envisions shootouts within schools. However, a bad man with a gun that has full body armor and a weapon that can fire 30 rounds per minute would normally destroy a volunteer person with a 38 pistol and no bullet proof vest. Secaucus has passed local ordinances forbidding Styrofoam, restricting parking on public streets, serving no hard liquor in BYOB restaurants and the like. What if Secaucus passed an ordinance requiring all rifles and multi-round weapons to be taken to the Police Department where they would be stored. When an owner needed a rifle for sport or range firing they would check out their weapon by providing a copy of their gun permit. The gun owners would retain ownership of their rifles and assault weapons and the stated usage of the gun would be recorded in the event something untoward happened. Almost 10,000 people a year are killed by guns. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To which I responded with a written letter (with a big thank you to Pizza Bob for helping proof read and with some edits) Secaucus 9th January, 2013 Dear Sir, As a legal firearm owner living in Secaucus, I am pleased to see an article opening a discussion on firearms ownership. Your article in the Jan 2013 issue of the Secaucus Spectator began in the open spirit of covering some key facts about the number of households in Secaucus that contain firearms. I believe the numbers you state (2,500 to 3,500) may actually be on the low side, as many households contain multiple firearms. However, the latter part of the article seems to be missing some key points and considerations in the, ongoing and very visible, debate around how to reduce violence. I'm unsure of the relevance of your reference to the Militia Act of 1792. The Bill of Rights, which, of course contains the second amendment, was ratified prior to passage of the Militia Act. The Supreme Court has already ruled that the second amendment is an individual right (as are the others in the Bill of Rights), so your obfuscation of including that reference is consistent with the mainstream media’s treatment of the firearm issue. This is part and parcel of the rhetoric used by the media in the current firearms discussions, which is typically 'anti-gun' and portrays gun-owners as stereotypes and discredits the efforts and price paid by millions of American's since independence. New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. NJ requires a prospective firearms owner to obtain a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card (FPID) and/or a Permit to Purchase a Handgun (PtoP), dependent on the type of firearm they desire to purchase. The process to obtain a FPID or PtoP is arduous. It involves completing an application form, fingerprinting, mental health check, character references and a background investigation by the local police department. This process is implemented once for the purchase of long arms, but must be completed for each individual purchase of a handgun. To complicate matters further, many local police departments add their own conditions, restrictions and additional forms. I would point out that this is a violation of the very law that the police are tasked to enforce (see: 2C:58-3f). While an FPID is good for as long as the named person resides at the issue address, the PtoP’s have a shelf life 90 days (renewable for another 90 days at the police chief’s discretion). The fact that NJ is one of the few states that that has a “One Gun A Month” law (applies only to handguns), places an additional burden on the lawful purchaser. As you quite rightly point out in your article, this convoluted process can be construed as making ownership a privilege rather than a right. The New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS) is currently fighting this battle to reclaim and affirm this right on several fronts. Your suggestion of storing "all rifles and multi-round weapons” at the local police department is specious on its face. You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the reason our forefathers framed the second amendment – it was to give citizens a final recourse against a tyrannical government – potentially the very government you advocate “storing” our privately owned firearms. It is also at odds with your quoting of the DC v Heller case covering self-defense, since a legal firearm owner would be unable to defend themselves if their firearms were stored at the police department. The suggestion would also place additional burdens on an already overworked and understaffed police force, one that would be better utilized to actively reduce crime on the streets. Such a system would also preclude the firearm owner from using their property in a defensive mode as occurs approximately 2 million times a year in this country. We would therefore see muggings, rapes and other violent crimes increase as seen in the UK, where the violent crime rate is 3 to 4 times that of the US. In addition, your suggestion that firearms be stored at the local police department would require a further change in NJ firearms law to make transport to and from the PD legal. Existing NJ law states that "All weapons being transported under paragraph (2) of subsection b., subsection e., or paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection f. of this section shall be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package, or locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported, and in the course of travel shall include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under the circumstances." As 'reasonably necessary' has never been defined this puts legal firearm owners at risk of prosecution. While New Jersey already has some of the most oppressive gun laws in the country we still have crime ridden cities like Newark, Camden and Trenton where shootings are common place. One only needs to look at other large urban areas such Chicago or Washington, DC, where guns are virtually outlawed, to see that gun laws have little to no effect on crime. Should this not make us question whether gun control actually is the right answer? Empirical evidence seems to suggest otherwise. There is significant data that supports the theory that a high level of legal gun ownership actually reduces crime. In the majority of tragedies the "bad man" did not wear any body armor although the media continues to misrepresent the facts. The media tend to label simple "tactical gear" as body armor. As for your assertion of the ineffectiveness of a lone armed individual against an active shooter – the current law enforcement paradigm would tend to refute that assertion. During the Columbine and Virginia Tech tragedies the strategy was to wait for law enforcement to arrive en masse before entering the site and engaging the shooter. It has been found that those precious minutes cost many lives. An armed presence, on-site, that can react immediately greatly reduces the number of casualties. The current paradigm is for the first law enforcement on the scene, regardless of number, to engage the shooter. It has been proven that these cowardly mass murderers, when confronted by an armed force, will either surrender, or take their own life. Many studies have shown that Law Enforcement, even with the best intentions, can take, on average, 10 minutes to arrive at an active crime scene. That mitigates for an armed presence on-site, rather than wasting minutes and lives waiting for an exterior law enforcement armed response. Given current response times, a 'bad guy' can massacre many innocents, regardless of the hardware used. Trying to restrict certain types of rifles or magazines will not alter this. The 10,000 people a year killed by guns, that you quote, is largely a result of gang on gang violence, which will occur irrespective of gun legislation. The majority of gangs have illegally owned firearms. This mayhem would not stop even if their firearms could be removed. The actual number of firearm fatalities through accidental discharges and tragedies may be less than 20% of the number you quote. The NRA has an excellent education division that successfully teaches safe firearm use and storage to millions of Americans each year. They further promote gun safety for children through their Eddie Eagle program, which is available to all school systems. This education and awareness campaign saves many lives each year and promotes safe firearm ownership. We already have a surplus of laws covering firearms, our priority should be to simplify and enforce these while encouraging gun owners to responsibly store firearms and ammunition securely at home. Stories in the news, such as the recent article on NJ.com, about Corey Thermitus, a young man caught after carjacking a woman at gunpoint point up a major failing in the criminal justice system. Corey already had 2 felony convictions and multiple arrests, but was back on the streets to, yet again, prey on the populace with an illegal gun. I would encourage you to include groups such as the NJ2AS in your discussion of how we can work together to ensure the safety of our children and the public while supporting the Constitution that this nation was founded upon. Yours faithfully, ------------------------------------------------ TheWombat

Typo on my part.. I meant UK and USA. have corrected original post. For those who are unable to watch the video, this is a summary of the key point regarding US and UK crime comparison. US gun homicides = Piers Morgan stated 11,000 (FBI stats for year 2011 = 8,583 homicides by firearms; 400 justifiable by LEO; 260 justifiable by private citizens) UK gun homicides = Piers Morgan stated 35 (Ben Swann quoted 59 gun related homicides) US violent crime = 466 per 100,000 residents UK violent crime = 2,034 per 100,000 people i.e. fewer guns doesn't mean less violent crime TheWombat

This 4 minute video from Ben Swann breaks down the facts and stats around gun violence and overall violent crime between US and UK. http://www.fox19.com/story/20538164/piers-morgan-vs-alex-jones-and-gun-homicide-rates As someone who grew up in the UK I was surprised by some of the stats where the UK has more violent crime than the US Worth watching and being aware of some of the details when people start quoting about the UK TheWombat [edited due to type where I said UK vs GB rather than UK vs USA]

I lived in Sweden for a while and still have many friends there. As much as I support the US 2A, one crime with AKs doesn't prove that gun control doesn't work. When I lived in Sweden a few years back it was incredibly rare to have a shooting. Different country, different culture, different mindset. Interestingly the majority of Swedes used to have to do military service, not sure if that is the case anymore, so they have familiarity with firearms. However as with most countries these days crime gangs are being more of an issue. TheWombat

iPad Mini is good, MrsWombat has one. I actually prefer it to my large iPad. For Facebook, email, surfing and a few games it's a no-brainer. Particularly if you use the same iTunes account. TheWombat

I received a similar chase up for a prior DVD they sent me that I had returned. I ignored it and kept getting chased. Eventually I phoned them and said I'd already sent it back... no further chasing TheWombat

Believe there is still confusion, the videos that people are referring to were aired on the 15th Dec and have since been superseded. I have not seen any recent update stating that it was just handguns being used. TheWombat

Maximum penalties yes.. However when I see comments on the forum and in Facebook about shooting her, hanging her etc... I don't believe that is the maximum penalty for whatever gun laws may have been broken... I could be wrong though? TheWombat

Was at RTSP at 8am this morning. Continues to be a good range, definitely busier at the moment which I assume is due to Christmas vacation and people trying our their new toys. Plenty of handguns for sale in the gun cabinets. No ARs or AR lowers. TheWombat

I hope there is due justice. Let's await the facts. I don't think the firearm community will help ourselves if we sound like extremists with our responses. Just my 2 cents. TheWombat

Well done! TheWombat

Today Senator Greg Ball (Patterson – R, C, I) called for the Journal News Newspaper, a Gannett Company, to immediately remove a map they have posted on their website that unethically reveals homeowners with pistol permits in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties. The Journal News says that the information contained in the map was obtained by submitting Freedom of Information requests for the names and addresses of pistol permit holders by county. Senator Ball has now announced that he will introduce legislation in the New York State Senate, to prevent this from happening again. [additional content and commentary from Senator Ball in the link below] http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/breaking-news-senator-ball-issues-statement-journal-news-gun-permit-map-and-introduces well done, good to see someone stepping in TheWombat

Another option to consider.. Buy an Apple Airport Express, then connect the Airport Express with a Cat5/6 network cable to the network switch or router. The big advantage of this is that when you are travelling - either domestic or international, and find a hotel that has a wired internet port you just plug the Airport Express into the wired port and all your wireless devices you have will work. I have both approaches, i.e. a wireless router and an apple airport express. If you are replacing your current router with a wireless one, just make sure it has a good hardware firewall on it. Most of the main brands (Netgear, dlink, cisco, linksys) should be fine. This is a useful website for research and reviews: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/ hth TheWombat