Err, Sunday Shootaround. . .
Welcome to your weekly 2A roundup, Saturday Sunday Shootaround. This week’s verse was written by Randall Jarell. Jarell was a navigator in the USAAF during WWII. the poem is titled The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner, and was written about his experiences during the war.
From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.
While looking for news and stuff for this column, I ran across an article by Tom Knighton over at Bearing Arms. In the piece, Tom talks about author Larry Correia. Some of you may know his work. I do, though I haven’t read any in quite a while. Anyway, Larry wrote a fantastic facebook post on Fudds and gatekeeping.
Unfortunately, I can’t get the post in question to embed here, so here’s most of it:
I’ve got to address a really idiotic take that I see from gun guys a lot, and that’s crying about video games. As in some angsty bullshit like “hurumph these kids with the tacticool dots and lights and shit think this is Call of Duty but they ain’t respecting the real life experience of us elders hurumph hurumph.” They’re almost always old, and they’re almost always stagnant in their shooting, but think they’re all that and a bag of chips.
First, off there’s a 100% chance this dude also whines about us losing the culture war while he bitches about video games like we’re still living in 1995 where video games aren’t a mega huge industry, big games crush hit movies by orders of magnitude, and it’s a totally mainstream activity for kids AND adults.
I hate to break it to you old grumpy bastards, stuff like Call of Duty has turned more normies into gun people over the last 20 years than anything the NRA has done. (which side note, is another reason Wayne LaPierre pissed me off, with his blaming crime on violent video games like we’re fucking Tipper Gore crying about rock music or something, and I’m happy to see his corrupt and totally out of touch quisling ass get the boot). . .
And those 20 year old kids you’re crying about, who’ve reliably had anti-gun propaganda crap rammed down their throats their entire lives by TV and movies and school and everything around them… Can also identify every single evil black rifle on a well stocked gun store wall by its in game name and they are super fucking pumped when they get the opporutnity to shoot one in real life… If you elitist assholes would get off your elitist fud ass and actually show them.
I sold hundreds of guns to hundreds of newbs this way, and it friggin’ rocked. And most of those guys end up being pro-gun for the rest of their lives. And more importantly, pro-gun where it counts, on the stuff the antis are actually trying to ban, unlike the old snob bastards who’ve been fine with banning ARs as long as the gov leaves their classic wooden deer rifle alone. And thank God that generation of assholes are finally dying off, because putting up with their snooty shit for the last 30 years has driven me mad.
but but but games aren’t real life! Well no shit, sherlock. Only the strawmen in your imagination actually think that. They’re not training. They’re an entertainment medium which makes our thing look AWESOME. John Wick isn’t real life either, but it’s sold a lot of fucking guns. And not that these old bastards will admit it, but most of them at some point got influenced by culture too, which is why they bought their first musket because it was the same one Davey Crockett used. Hell if I know, the point is they are usually really fucking old. . .
Larry Correia Facebook
Why am I covering this? It’s pretty simple actually; if we want to continue enjoying our 2A rights we need to bring more youths into the fold. I shoot, a lot, at a wide variety of ranges and I run into this kind of gatekeeping crap almost everywhere. I, and several of my regular shooting partners, go out of our way to show newbs how to shoot, how to set up their gear and be generally encouraging and helpful to them. I would also point out one of our authors here at the site, WhiteKnightLeo, came into the 2A community via video games.
So, next time you’re at the range and you run into a young person, take a minute and give them a bit of encouragement not criticism.
A New York jury has ruled that former NRA executive VP Wayne LaPierre owes the organization more than a million bucks. LaPierre and former treasurer Woody Phillips were accused of violating their fiduciary duties to the organization. Judge Joel Cohen will also decide if an outside monitor will be appointed in a bench trial starting in May. LaPierre’s fate with the NRA will also be decided at that time, as the jury recommended that he be barred from working for or serving on the board of the group.
While the suit was pretty blatantly politically motivated, I’m of the opinion it was a Good Thing for the NRA in total. LaPierre and his closest advisors had been treating the org as their private fiefdom for far too long.
Full disclosure, this editor is a lifetime voting member of the NRA. That said, I have not given them a penny in a long time. I prefer donating to groups that actually do work in the 2A space like GOA and FPC.
Louisiana took an important step in becoming the 28th Constitutional carry state. The LA Senate passed SB 1, a bill that would allow lawful gun owners to carry without the need for a government-issued permission slip. The Thursday 28-10 vote fell mostly along party lines. The bill now heads to the House, where the Republicans have a 73-32 advantage.
Gun Porn
This week’s gun porn is a very nice Winchester 71 chambered in .348 WCF. As usual this piece is up for auction at GunBroker. Here’s what the seller has to say about it:
Up for sale is a VERY NICE Winchester Model 71 chambered in .348 WCF! This BEAUTY features all original wood and bluing. I would grade this rifle overall at a 95%! The down grade coming from small dings in the wood. This beast is ready for its next hunt or Winchester Collector! DO NOT miss out on your chance to get this VERY RARE rifle at a LOW price! I have done my best to get every angle of this rare piece pictured but if you would like more or have any questions, don’t hesitate to shoot me a message! Thanks and Happy Bidding!
Based on the photos in the listing, I’d give it a 85-90% rather than 95%. The wood is a little rough for a higher rating. Current high bid is $1358 and the auction closes at 2100 today.