The much ballyhooed movie “Public Enemies” starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger is set to hit theaters July 1.  Early reports say the director was scrupulously careful to get the details right to the early 1930s – the clothes, the cars, the locales, and yes, the guns.  Backtracking to last year in this blog, you can see what some of the scenes look like today, including the Biograph Theater in Chicago, outside which Dillinger was killed by Federal agents in July of 1934.
Doubtless riding the coattails of an anticipated wave of renewed interest in all things Dillinger after the movie premiers, the high profile auction house of Leslie Hindman in Chicagoland will offer what they claim is “the gun that killed Dillinger.”It is scheduled to go under the gavel in late July to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the legendary shooting.
The revolver in question is a Colt Army Special, caliber .38 Special, which belonged to Captain Timothy O’Neil of the East Chicago, Indiana Police Department.
Only trouble is, no records indicate that Captain O’Neil ever fired that revolver, or any gun, on the night in question.
FBI records indicate that the only rounds discharged at the scene were fired by three agents of J. Edgar Hoover’s Division of Investigation, which would soon after be re-named Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Charles Winstead triggered three rounds; Clarence Hurt fired twice; and Herman Hollis got off a single shot before Dillinger collapsed with his Colt .380 auto pistol in his hand, drawn and fully loaded but unfired.
Clarence Hurt was famous for his skill with a service revolver, but I don’t recall what handgun he was using that night. Herman Hollis was known to carry a Colt Super .38 semiautomatic. Charles Winstead stated in his official FBI report that he shot Dillinger with a DOI-issue Government .45 automatic.  It is generally believed – and was certainly believed by Hoover – that Winstead was the one who inflicted the gunshot wound that actually killed Public Enemy Number One.
Leslie Hindman has an excellent reputation as an auctioneer. I hope she and her staff do a little research before the auction.
I’m looking forward to seeing “Public Enemies.” Some of y’all will doubtless get to see it before I do. You’re welcome to post reviews and comments here.

I am not by any means an expert on the Gender Wars.  During the Sexual Revolution, I was MIA, and during the Battle Between the Sexes I was a POW.

However, I’ve noticed that cute threads on this topic sometimes pop up in the Internet gun forums.  A few years ago there was one called “Ten Reasons Why Guns Are Better Than Women.” (Your primary doesn’t get jealous of your backup. You can get a silencer for a gun. You can trade a .44 for two .22s.)

This was quickly followed by a riposte on the theme of “Ten Reasons Why Guns Are Better Than Men.” (Guns don’t leave spent casings all over the toilet seat.  Guns work whether you stroke their ego or not. And, yes, you can trade a .44 for two .22s.)

I was reminded of this by a recent “joke for guys” on the Internet titled “Spring Classes For Women.”  A self-styled shooterchick of my acquaintance responded.  Apparently, one rule of life that should be right up there with “do not eat the yellow snow” is, “do not tease smart women who carry guns and have shooting trophies.”  Her responses can be found in red, below.

I’ll go hide behind solid cover now…

Spring Classes for Women at
THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED
by Tuesday, June 23, 2009

NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM.

Class 1
Up in Winter, Down in Summer – How to Adjust a Thermostat
Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 wks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hrs beginning at 7:00 PM..

It was Hot, it was cold, go outside if you don’t like it.

Class 2
Which Takes More Energy – Putting the Toilet Seat Down, or Bitching About It for 3 Hours?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Doesn’t matter bitching is an art form, a means of expression.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Drive Past a Wal-Mart Without Stopping?–Group Debate.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Not if they may have ammo.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between a Purse and a Suitcase–Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

A suitcase is rigid, hard to the touch. A purse needs to hold all your personal items, a camera, a recorder, and all his shit you need to keep track of.

Class 5
Curling Irons–Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Bathroom Cabinet?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM

They don’t need to; they can happily coexist with the Hair/beard trimmer that men leave on the counter.

Class 6
How to Ask Questions During Commercials and Be Quiet During the Program.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

When is there a break on Glocktalk?

Class 7
Can a Bath Be Taken Without 14 Different Kinds of Soaps and Shampoos?
Open Forum.
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

No

Class 8
Health Watch–They Make Medicine for PMS – USE IT!
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Do they have an equivalent for crabby men?

Class 9
I Was Wrong and He Was Right!–Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

This is a class on Fantasy/Mythology

Class 10
How to Parallel Park In Less Than 20 Minutes Without an Insurance Claim.
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday’s noon, 2 hours.

Or you can be like a man and park 2 blocks away.

Class 11
Learning to Live–How to Apply Brakes Without Throwing Passengers Through the Windshield.
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Yeah, slow down two blocks before you need to.

Class 12
How to Shop by Yourself.
Meets 4 wks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Leave his butt at home, take the plastic.

Class 13
How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy–Remembering To Take a List To The Store, Avoiding Separate Trips for Each Item Needed.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered..
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours…

Just go to Walgreens, they have everything you need and if you look long enough you will find it all.

Class 14
The Stove/Oven–What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.

Yes, if he gets the ammo off/out of it, you can actually cook with it.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Farmers and other practical working folk appreciate folding knives that can easily be opened one-handed.  One hand holding a heavy sack of grain, for instance, while another slices it open.  There are some citified wimps, however, who haven’t gotten past their 1950-era fear of “switchblades.” While today there are ingenious “assisted opening” knives with a mechanical advantage that makes them easier for arthritic old folks to use.  Naturally, the wimps want them banned.
Take a look at THIS and express your views please before the deadline.
To see how far the madness can go, check This from New Point Knives and This and This from England.
We all know enough not to “run with scissors,” but we need a bayonet charge of lucidly-expressed outrage to our political representatives to put a stop to this sort of stupidity.

A few entries ago, you were promised that as soon as we got our hands on the latest new Ruger rifle, you’d hear back. Well, we muckled onto three or so of ‘em this past week, so here we go.

We toured the production cell at the Newport, New Hampshire plant. Ruger’s switchover to “lean manufacturing” has changed the look of the factory dramatically in the last few years. SR556s were literally flowing off the production line.

But, enough of that: how does it SHOOT?

The subtle feel of the mechanism as it cycles is different from your usual Stoner-type AR15, because the Ruger entry works of a piston design, specifically a proprietary two-piece piston. One of my fellow shooters said, “It feels like a whoosh, not a sproing.” That about describes it, even if it ain’t engineer terminology.

My buddy Russ Lary threw a 6.5-20X variable power Leupold Tactical scope onto his T&E SR556, and cranked it all the way up. Twenty power magnification ain’t much for sophisticated bench rest shooters, but for us meat n’ potatoes riflemen, think “Hubble telescope with crosshairs.” At about 100 yards, he found sub-one-inch groups easy, with Match grade 69 grain and 77 grain loads from Black Hills Ammunition shooting the tightest.

The piston system does indeed run cool. I could race a pair of 30-round magazines through it as fast as I could pull the trigger, and the carrier (bolt) was still room temperature to the touch. I’m told by folks I trust at Ruger that this thing has gone 20,000 rounds without a malfunction OR a cleaning in factory torture-testing. In the several hundred rounds of 5.56mm and .223 Remington that we’ve run through it, we didn’t have any malfs either.

It’s early yet, but I’m likin’ this rifle!

Russ Lary discovers that the SR556 is accurate…

…Gail Pepin discovers that the SR556 is reliable…

…and Mas discovers that the SR556 is fun.

On the SR556 production line.

Ever notice how often you see articles about knives in gun magazines? I don’t think it’s coincidence…and I don’t think it’s a “weapons obsession” thing, either. Having been a police instructor since 1972 (and noticing the whole time that cops appreciate nice knives), and having been a trainer of armed citizens since 1981 and seeing the same syndrome in that sector, I have to say that it’s more an “appreciation of stuff that really WORKS kind of thing.

There are lots of great knives that are readily available at good prices. Why have a knife custom made? Sometimes, for some people, it’s simply about pride of ownership. My dad was a watchmaker, who sold and repaired Rolexes and even Patek Phillippes, but generally wore a simple Bulova on his wrist. I learned at his feet. I wear a Pulsar because my daughter gave it to me for my birthday years ago. My Hamilton is in the safe somewhere behind my collector Colts and Smith & Wessons.

Sometimes, for some other people (like me) a custom knife means that the thing was built exactly for the needs that you perceived. I’ve designed only two knives over all these years: the now-discontinued C-60 folder from Spyderco, and the fixed-blade “personal knife” I designed back in the day for the Masters of Defense project that was sold as the Razorback and, since MoD was acquired by Blackhawk, has morphed into the current Trocar model.

In the current (May/June 2009) issue of Backwoods Home magazine, I wrote a story on Jason Clark, a custom knifemaker in Florida. Unfortunately, that particular article isn’t on-line. You can find his website at http://clarkcustomknives.com. I’ve known Jason for more than a decade now, and I’ve watched his hobby grow into a business that makes some really nice products…and will make them for YOU, and YOUR particular needs.

When my chief of police bagged it last year after 35 years behind the badge, I asked Jason to make a custom knife for him as a retirement gift. The recipient loves it. Jason does impressive work.

My latest Jason Clark Custom Knife is a fixed-blade working tool. Slim and flat, it’s an homage to the Green River Patch Knife, with a tip that rises from the cutting edge to the spine like the prow of a Teddy Roosevelt-era battleship. There are double finger-grooves that allow the grasping hand to “choke up” for close, precise cutting, or just “grab and go” and get the necessary slicing done reflexively at high speed, depending on user need. Jason made an exquisitely fitted Kydex sheath for it with twin loops that snap over a belt for inside the waistband carry. It’s for cutting, not stabbing, but that serves my daily needs quite well, and if anything needs to be directly punctured and I don’t have remote control instrumentation handy for that, there’s always a folding knife in the right front pocket that’s shaped for such a task.

Best of all, Jason can custom-build a “knife like he built for Mas” for only a hundred bucks, plus shipping. When you sign your name, it’s a little cooler to do it with a Mont Blanc than with a Bic pen. When you check the time, it’s cooler to glance at a Movado wristwatch than at the LED readout on your cell phone. And when you have to “separate matter,” as Spyderco founder and CEO Sal Glesser so eloquently put it, it’s pretty damn cool to do it with a knife that was custom made to your particular specifications.

Which explains why so many of us get off on custom made knives. Touch bases with Jason before the Outside World discovers him, at which time you’ll have to wait a few years and pay a fortune to have him build your dream knife for you.