The 2015 National Rifle Association Annual Meeting is done. According to The Shooting Wire, attendance – which had been estimated at 70,000 in the newspapers – was actually somewhat in excess of 78,000.
Nashville, generally seen as a blue island in a red state, proved to be extremely welcoming to the NRA influx. A great many of us in attendance were carrying guns, some openly, which is legal there. Any untoward incidents would have been trumpeted to the skies by the national media. Apparently, none took place, proving once again the truth in the Heinlein quote popularized by Jeff Cooper: “An armed society is a polite society.”
Some interesting guns were seen. The long-awaited Glock 43 slim-line 7-shot 9mm was introduced to the public. I previewed this gun in these pages last month, and now have my own which is well into testing phase. My time with it on the 25 yard bench was brief, but it gave me five shots in 2.10” at that distance with Federal 9BP 115 grain hollow points, and I know I pulled one of those shots a little bit. You have to make sure the magazine is seated all the way, kinda like with an AR15, but I’m not finding any other quirks with it yet.
In rifles, I’m intrigued with Nosler’s new high performance 7mm round, the .28 Nosler. A 160 grain AccuBond bullet at 3300 feet per second has a lot of potential.
In working shotguns, Mossberg’s hugely popular Model 500 is now available in a left-handed version. With ambidextrous top-tang safety, the Mossberg has always had appeal for southpaws, but one that ejects spent shells off to the left instead of distractingly across the shooter’s field of vision has definite appeal to those who shoot from the left shoulder.
Next year, the NRAAM will be held about the same time in Louisville, Kentucky.
Hope to see you there.
With Mr. Colion Noir, the face of the new generation of gun owners.
The new left-handed Mossberg 500 slide action shotgun.
Speaking on self-defense pitfalls at the National Firearms Law Seminar at NRAAM.
.26 Nosler preceded this year’s .28 Nosler.
Thanks for making time to sign books this weekend!
It was a real pleasure to meet you. I appreciated that you were willing to sign a book for the Elizabethtown Friends of NRA.
I look forward to seeing you on the range and in Louisville next year!
Great report. Thanks.
I am ashamed that I had never heard of Mr. Noir until this post of yours. Just watching one of his videos gives me hope, and I can’t wait to take the time to watch more!
Speaking of left-handed firearms, that reminded me that someday I’d like to maybe buy a left-handed Charter Arms revolver. If I lived in a “free” state, I could carry two revolvers, one on each side. Draw the first one with my right hand (I’m right-handed), shoot it dry, then drop it. Draw the other revolver with my left hand, and leave it in my left hand, shoot it dry, and hopefully I wouldn’t have to mess with a speed-loader. Come to think of it, the same thing could be done with semi-autos. With those normal capacity magazines (liberals call them “high capacity”) I wouldn’t need to carry extra magazines. Two guns with a NY reload. Sounds like fun to me. Also, the balancing of the weight would be good for my back.
Nice picture with Mr. Noir. He is great. I don’t watch his videos often enough.
I wish I could have joined you in that shot. We just have to get him to take his hat off next time. LOL. Nice hat regardless. I want one.
Thanks Mas. Always read. Don’t always comment. Always appreciate regardless.
“A great many of us in attendance were carrying guns, some openly, which is legal there. ”
I’m looking forward to the day when it’s so commonplace that it’s not worth mentioning that attendees were exercising their 2nd Amendment Rights.
Old Fezzywig: New York reload works for me, along with double-wield. ‘Way back in the day, Texas Rangers used to go mounted with four Walker Colts, a remarkably heavy twin brace. Double-wield is worth considering to enhance firepower, for which there is no substitute, particularly when you are outnumbered. Three adversaries in the open are said to be an impossible mission, but with double-wield you could be reducing the odds to 1:1.5, making your survival possibly more likely. Double-wield is definitely encouraging, too, if you have an aggressive predator at bad-breath range. Very intimidating to the animal, for one thing.
@Two-gun Steve: Do you have a source which says that Texas Rangers sometimes carried four Walker Colts in belt holsters? Walkers were typically carried (and were designed to be carried) in saddle holsters. (Though Hollywood sometimes puts them on a belt.) At 4.5 lbs each, four of them would be 18 pounds of gun, not counting lead and powder. (By way of comparison, the M60 machine gun, which troops complained about carrying during Vietnam due to its weight, was only about 23 pounds.)
Actually, what Two-Gun Steve said was that “Texas Rangers used to go mounted with four Walker Colts,” which would be consistent with two or more of the guns holstered on the saddle, not the Ranger.
Dave (the Liberal, non-Uncle one): Sir, to be sure, the early Texas Rangers did their ranging mostly in the saddle, with riders using one hand for the reins, and one hand for pistol, saber, or lance. A pair of crossed bandoleer holsters would have been a good idea in case of a dismount, though, and I imagine they quickly evolved. I will research that. The Rangers were greatly feared as fighters. Their fierce reputation did not apparently hamper their own survival, however, or the success of their mission. A limit to the number of “New York reloads” carried was obviously needed to restrict the weight of the equines’ burdens, but even back in that day, no substitute for firepower obtained. The Rangers willingly fought outnumbered, while recognizing that they needed all the help they could get, and their firepower was their salvation. Many types of pistols other than the seriously heavy Walker Colt, especially the Paterson Colt, were possibilities over the years. I guarantee you, though, that if the M60 was available in 1846, the Rangers would have carried it however they could, even though it dictated a change in tactics. I hope today’s Texas Rangers have the M240, and not merely a Civil Affairs-type pacification manual, to use against gangsters and terrorists.
I am familiar with “The Pig,” as we called the M60, respecting its weight and its great appetite for the relatively heavy 7.62 ammo. I especially recommend wearing hearing protection if you fire any such machine gun. You will also want to keep the ammo belts out of the dirt (often best to carry most of them in their boxes, for Pete’s sake, rather than drape them over you like Rambo), and to keep tubes of lube handy.
Thank you, Dave and Mas.
It was great to see you; Mas and Gail. Besides getting my picture with you, I will put it with the one taken 35 years ago or so. I also got my picture taken with Jerry Miculek. I thought about a picture with R.Lee Ermey, but the line was too long.
Cimaron Firearms had a replica Colt Walker, l can’t imagine carrying one on a belt. Maybe a chest rig like that the handgun hunters use.
I made a side trip to the Shiloh Civil war battlefield sight and walked the same ground that my great-great-grandfather walked 153 years earlier.
Two-gun Steve, Liberal Dave, Mas, something else to keep in mind when discussing the Walker Colt, the heft and bulk was a prerequisite for Capt, Walker. The Rangers main complaint with the lighter Paterson was it being too fragile when used in hand to hand combat, rendering it of limited usefulness as a club.
Steve, Dave, you both seem interested in Texas history and the Rangers. May I recommend the best researched and historically accurate novel I’ve read on the subject;
http://books.google.com/books/about/Ride_the_Wind.html?id=jhyl37VUgbQC
This novel accurately follows Texas history from the 1836 kidnapping of Cynthia Ann Parker by Comanche, to the surrender of her son Quanna Parker, the last Comanche war chief, from the perspective of both the Indian and the white settlers. Not a quick read, but a book you don’t want to set down or for the story to end.
As I recall (been 20+ years since I read it), it includes a chapter on Capt. Walker’s and Sam Colt’s collusion on the famous Walker Colt.
You won’t regret the read.
@Mas: I did note that, but Two-gun Steve’s post was in response to Old Fezzywig’s previous post which was clearly talking about carrying two guns on your person. It was the context which caused it to be confusing.
@Two-gun Steve: Though I’m a Native Texan (and yes, that always has to be capitalized), I’m not sure how the Rangers are armed these days. My recollection is that they were, individually, always allowed a great deal of latitude in their choice of armament. This article from 2009:
http://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/guns-of-the-texas-rangers/
says that the issue sidearm is a P226 Sig Sauer pistol in .357 Sig (about which Mas has — I don’t remember where — spoken highly as a round), but that many rangers prefer a 1911 .45 Auto and are allowed to carry them. The Sig was the issue pistol for all of the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is the parent organization over both the Rangers and the Texas Highway Patrol, but there were reports that it was dropped for the Smith & Wesson M&P 9 mm because it carried one more round, was 10 ounces lighter, and had a lighter first-shot trigger pull. That was then reversed about a year ago when trainees at the academy started having problems with the S&W (feed, ejection, alignment after 3,000 rounds) and they at least temporarily went back to the Sig. I don’t know where they are on that now. As for heavier weaponry, I have no idea what the Rangers have, though the last time I heard DPS troopers were issued Colt M4 rifles and Remington 870 12-gauge shotguns.
But given the Rangers’ reputation for toughness here in Texas they don’t need to be armed with anything other than a firm word and a stern look. For us Texans, they have much the same reputation for toughness and competency as SEALs do for the rest of the world: One riot, one Ranger.
Finally, if you want some good nostalgic listening about the Rangers, go over to:
https://archive.org/details/TalesOfTheTexasRangers
where you can listen to or download the entire 1950-1952 run of Tales of the Texas Rangers starring Joel McCrae (and his horse, Charcoal), whose consultant was famed Rangers Captain “Lone Wolf” Gonzaullas (said to have killed 31 men as a Ranger). It’s truly fine entertainment.
Wow, Two-gun Steve, you are really taking me down memory lane here with “the pig” stories. Let me try to return the favor. As much as we vilified that weapon, it was pretty amazing to use when things became a little “het up,” as our Sarge used to say. I was totally blessed (from a firearms standpoint) to be able to shoot all the weapons I did. We began basic with the M14, transitioning to the M16. Then, we began AIT, where we had a CO and cadre that really liked to “burn up the tax dollars” by shooting as much as we could with the admirable goal of having all of us being able to shoot everyone else’s weapon. The 1911, M79, M60, M14A2, both mortars, even the M40 -101mm recoilless rifle, jeep-mounted. There were rumors that the M40 may have been used to hunt whitetail deer in Pa., but I wouldn’t know about that.
Isn’t Mr. Noir that detective guy on Prairie Home Companion? Who knew that NPR could be so pro-gun?
Dave (the Liberal, non-Uncle one): Many years have passed since I read a history that said Texas Rangers were typically toting four revolvers in at least one battle in Mexico. I recall it described as a very CQB fight, but I don’t remember in which town, or exactly when. Looking at Walker Colt history on the Internet, about a thousand of the Walker model likely got to the Rangers in Mexico by October, 1847. The Mounted Rifles troops are drawn as carrying slung carbines or rifles on horseback, and wearing a belt holster. Both Col. Jack Hays and Capt. Rip Ford, though, are each depicted at least once as wearing two belt holsters. As hanging two additional revolvers from the saddle was fairly standard practice, these examples of “Los Diablos Tejanos,” or “Rinches,” were likely fully qualified as advertised: “doubly well armed.”
Not to quibble but to share a bit of trivia: Col Cooper borrowed “An armed society is a polite society” from Robert A. Heinlein, the legendary science fiction author
When I ride a motorcycle, I carry in a crossdraw holster on my left hip. When riding, I can twist it out with my left hand and keep my right on the throttle and brake, controlling the bike, or if I am walking, I can use a right hand crossdraw.
I’ve shot many a feral dog while riding, they will run right up to a motorcycle. They recognize a long gun from a stopped car, but haven’t learned to fear a handgun from a motorcycle… yet.
Anyway, Fezzywig, you might consider adding a crossdraw for your second revolver for dual use or backup as needed.
Thanks, Petercat. I actually do prefer crossdraw. It is an easier draw from a seated position. When are we seated? In the car, in a restaurant, at a computer, and many people sit a lot at work. I also think the butt of the revolver seems to conceal better facing forward, than facing backward. I may be wrong about that, but at least I can view the bulge better. If the butt of the revolver is facing the rear, I can’t see it, but someone standing behind me may see the bulge.
The Mossberg 500 also has advantages for us right handers who are terminally left eye dominant.
Fezzywig, a lot of people don’t like crossdraw because you are supposedly sweeping 90 deg during the draw, but I find that most of that is pointed towards the ground, as with a normal draw. If you exercise proper trigger discipline, it shouldn’t be a problem.
The biggest problem was in getting the trigger guard on my Security-Six enlarged.
(Missouri winters + motorcycle + highway speed = thick gloves!)
Comments are closed.