Gear lust.

Quite by accident today, I got to meet a Benjamin Marauder air pistol.

Ow.  Now I want one.

I've done some research on the Marauder previously, and expectations were high based on the opinions of the cognoscenti of airgun-fu, including Tom Gaylord.  The promise is of an actual (meaning: not just advertised) 15-foot-pound air pistol in .22 caliber, which actually qualifies it as a "serious" hunting airgun for small game even larger than the size of our snowshoe hares at distance, and in addition to its impressive power, its reputation includes an excellent trigger, outstanding accuracy (under half-an-inch at 25 yards--with hunting pellets--is damn good for an airgun), exquisitely quiet report, consistent build quality and it's even an 8-round repeater.

As the picture shows, the "pistol" is pretty large, and out-of-box comes set up with a carbine buttstock, which I think is a great match both aesthetically and functionally.  Given the precision inherent in the design, either a buttstock or a bipod seem like good ideas. 

For me at least, the gun had that je ne sais quoi, as well, that speaks instantly upon contact with your hands:  "There are no frills here, and no gimmicks;  I am made to work."  Everything felt smooth and solid, overall weight was luxuriously light (I'm still getting used to airguns), and the design just felt right--immediately.  Yeah, I have a feeling that this piece is going to be just exactly what Gaylord and others have said it is.  And that means I want one pretty badly.

The only downside to the encounter was the counter-jockey, who pretty clearly had no idea about the Marauder, and probably no clue about airguns in general.  When I spied the little carbine behind a row of .22 rimfires in the rifle rack, he wanted me to be sure to know that the airgun behind me, on the shelf, was the "fastest" one they carried.  I glanced at it, recognized it, and as politely as possible said that they were in no way comparable, yet he insisted on telling me that the other gun gave "five hundred eighty FPS".

I'm still new to airguns, but I've learned a lot in a short time, and I can recognize both the BS signature of airgun marketers, and the related but separate BS of the people who are swayed by it.  To put it in terms that firearm folks can recognize, this fella basically told me the equivalent of the following list, all at the same time:

• Dude, don't get the 12-gauge...get the 20.  It's, like, 8 more.
• You should use Remington Accelerators in your '06 on bigger game because they, like, have more FPS.
• Dude, don't bother with that IMR 4064 stuff, just use Pyrodex, it's all gunpowder man.
• Why you wanna look at that five-screw Smith?  Check out this shiny new RG...

And, he apparently didn't realize that the Marauder is advertised at "700 fps"...which unlike much of the industry it actually will make, if you use the proof pellets that nobody actually hunts with but all the "FPS" numbers are based on.  Also, the Marauder is a .22 (standard pellet weight ~15gr), whereas the "faster" gun was a .177 (standard pellet weight ~8gr).  Finally, all knowledge of hardware aside, I'd at least have expected him to understand as a salesman that there would probably be a reason the Marauder was locked up with the firearms, while the other piece was in a cardboard box freely available on the shelf with accessories.

It was some pretty impressive merde, extruded into such a short time, and I recognized the classic flash of hesitation of the guy who realizes his bluff is being called...but when offered an honorable out and an opportunity to engage in conversation (hell, I'm still new, and there's a lot about airgunnery that a firearm guy just might not know) he doubled down on it, so I just left it alone, made my mental notes and cooing noises over the Marauder, and left.  When the time comes, I'll order from Pyramyd Air. 

Sigh.  See, this is why I just can't patronize gun shops in my own town. 

Exactly.

Well, except that it would hardly be Uncle Sam who wants this, wouldn't it?  Personally, I find the fella behind the sign to be far more authoritative.

Other than that, it's just about perfect.  :-)

H/T Wendy McElroy.

No good deed shall go unpunished.

Article.

Summary:  Random acts of anthrophilic anarchy in New Hampshire disrupt the ch'i of Master's local enforcement apparatus, which goes into convulsions over not being able to "do its job".

It's like hugophobia all over again.

Awesome. 

That is all.

The most interesting part isn't the rant.

But the rant, itself, does have some pretty choice moments.  Jon Stewart roasts the current Administration over...well, several things.  Article here, segment here:



It would be easy enough to skewer Stewart over his default worldview, which is that, despite all evidence of history and follow-the-incentive common sense, that "we" can actually vote effective restraint into institutions that have plenary, monopoly power over our lives.

Sure, Jon.  You go right ahead and show us how that works.

What I found more interesting than that, though--even beyond the unmistakable ire-of-the-betrayed vibe he gives off so strongly here--was that Stewart seemed to be most visibly irritated not by, you know, the actual abuses of power in re Benghazi, IRS oopsies, and the AP document seizure...so much as the idea that these bits of executive-bureaucratic malfeasance were indicators of simple incompetence.

You know:  as if the current Administration, in permitting these blunders to be observed by the little people, is not helping in the ongoing deception campaign to keep said little people clamoring to keep getting it more and harder.

(I was kinda hoping he'd point out the irony that here, at last, is a case in which the Administration really is getting a little more serious about its transparency.)

Ready for another failure, are we?

Hey, look:  thugs will be thugs.

The Department of Defense Trade Controls has “requested” Defense Distributed to remove files associated with its Wiki Weapon Project, an announcement posted on the DEFCAD website today announced.

“#DEFCAD has gone dark at the request of the Department of Defense Trade Controls,” the page announces. “Take it up with the Secretary of State.”

“DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls,” a banner at the top of the site explains. “Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information.”

This development is occurring mere days after the announcement that a complete working 3-D printed firearm, the Liberator, had successfully been built, and follows speculation from earlier today when a “temporarily unavailable” message appeared when trying to access the downloadable files.

No surprise here--this was inevitable at some point--and with all the tools, time and (other people's) wealth at their disposal, chances are they'll succeed in making their example of Cody Wilson and DEFCAD.  No doubt there will be the usual share of jingoistic chest-thumping at the brave and nobly-embiggened takedown of (yet another) uppity peasant.

Yes, Leviathan, it's true:  you truly can crush and destroy whatever individual you like, with your laws, your courts, and your enforcers.  Fret not;  your ability, opportunity and nearly frothing willingness to do this is not in question.  And your propaganda machine, as always, will perform yeoman service in persuading the credulous of your absolute moral authority to do so.

But after all this time, you still haven't got it, have you?  Jeez, it's not like we haven't been here before, throughout human history, and the result is always the same:  you will fail to prevent what you seek to prevent.  Oh, you may well "successfully" destroy people's lives trying, but you can't stop the little people sharing information, no matter how hard you try.  As just one example:  remember the printing press?  You tried to stop that one too, dincha? 

You will fail.

You will fail because you don't understand your adversary.  You don't understand what motivates him.  You have no idea why he resists you.  You think you do, but you don't.  Throughout human history people have always found ways to avoid and resist your ridiculous attempts to control, control, control;  those aggravating plebes do it even when they know that the consequence of being discovered or caught is their own certain death, and yet you still proceed with the same strategies of ban!  confiscate!  destroy!  suppress!  punish!, as though after failing a thousand times they will suddenly work like magic on the thousand-and-first.  As Butler Shaffer is fond of saying, "this time for sure!"

You can even go here, and get everything you need to know about why you will fail now as you have always failed before, spelled out compactly but completely, and still you won't get it.

You will fail.

So, you've chosen Cody Wilson and DEFCAD as your next target.  Since you're going to lose, after you're done destroying him, this seems like a particularly vile and senseless thing to do, but hell, nobody does vile and senseless like you do, so what's new?

Enjoy your "success", while it lasts.  It won't, long.


__________________
Hat tip to David Codrea.

Clint Smith on pistol malfunction clearances.

This is absolutely the finest demonstration of pistol malfunction clearances I have ever seen.  Entirely beyond the content itself, you can also watch a master instructor at work, developing his concept linearly, clearly, and completely.  It's simply outstanding.

Most of the mechanics and philosophy come from Jeff Cooper's Modern Technique (not all--and some of the refinements really do seem like improvements), but I'm not sure that even Cooper ever did it this well.  :-)

Clint Smith on the Four Rules

Ya gotta love master instructor Clint Smith.  I've long suspected, from reading others' accounts over quite a few years now, that he is the sort of personality that can get really aggravating, and certainly it would seem that I would have several profound disagreements with him on some pretty important items.

But...for the reasons that people go to him, I'm not sure there's anyone better operating today.  And that comes through loud and clear in what you can find of his work on YouTube.

I've written out The Four Rules before, as taught by Jeff Cooper...but I just don't have this kind of style to go with it:

 
Duly bookmarked, to share with others.