Welcome to the second edition of Saturday Shootaround.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted:
They fell with their faces to the foe.They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
These two stanzas of British poet Laurence Binyon’s “For the Fallen” seem especially apropos today. Now, into the fever dream.
A three judge panel of the 5th circuit issued a scathing ruling in Vanderstock v Garland, the ‘frame or receiver’ suit. The unanimous ruling said the ATF’s rule “flouts clear statutory text and exceeds the legislatively-imposed limits on agency authority in the name of public policy”, and “constitutes unlawful agency action in direct contravention of the legislature’s will.”
I suspect that SCOTUS will take up this case at some point soon, although probably not until after Garland v Cargill – the bumpsock case- is decided. Oral arguments for that case will be held some time during the spring term at the Supreme Court.
I got to play with an interesting handgun recently, the Walther WMP. Chambered in .22 WMR, it seems like a decent pistol. It has a 4.5″ barrel and the aluminum slide is cut for an optic. I didn’t have an opportunity to shoot it. Yet. When I do, a review will likely follow, unless it’s a complete turd. . .
While at a local the other day, I got into a discussion about low-to-mid priced night vision and thermal optics. I was honestly surprised at the level of dis-and-mis information that is out there about NODS and thermals. So, I spent a half hour explaining the pros and cons of each to the guys I was talking to. If y’all would like an indepth explainer on the subject, let me know in the comments below.
Here’s a quick note for all of our Commiefornia readers; You can now get a Sig P365.
The P365 redefined what a concealed-carry pistol should be, now the most concealable pistol in its class is optic-ready from the factory. Cut to accommodate direct fit ROMEOZero Elite and ROMEO-X Compact red dot sights, the most popular pistol in its class is even more versatile.
The California Compliant P365 is striker-fired, with the clean crisp trigger pull you expect from a SIG. It’s optic-ready with a removable sight plate ready to accept the new ROMEO-X Compact red dot. Chambered in 9mm it is rated for +P ammunition and includes XRAY3 Day/Night sights, and two 10-round magazines.
- California State Compliant with Magazine Disconnect Mechanism which prevents firing with magazine removed
- Equipped with a Mechanical Loaded Chamber Indicator
- Ambidextrous Manual Safety
- XRAY3 Day/Night Sights
- (2) 10-Round Steel Magazines
Now, I’m not a fan of magazine disconnects, and have had them removed from all but one of the guns I’ve owned with one (Hi-Power, I’m looking at you. . .), they generally don’t mess with reliability.
I don’t know how many of you are into surplus but I’ve found a new-ish supplier for my fix. Americana Pipedream has a very good selection of surplus from a bunch of different countries. I’m still looking for some Paddyflage (Irish DPM) tho. . .
Here’s a drill to improve your pistol skills. The El Presidente was developed by Jeff Cooper as a test for potential presidential guards for an unnamed south American country.
It consists of:
- Standing 10 yards away, back facing three targets that are 1 yard away from each other
- Hands at the surrender position
- Turning around and shooting two into the center circle of each target
- Mandatory reload
- Shooting two more into the center of each target
10 seconds is the par time. I average 8ish seconds, and the best shooters can get that down to 5.