On Wednesday, May 30, State Representative Cedric Richmond (D-101), New Orleans, asked the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee for a voluntary deferment on his bill. His legislation, House Bill 869, would establish far-reaching restrictions on semi-automatic firearms (dubbing them “assault weapons”) and ammunition magazines. This means that the committee did not consider the bill, but that it could be set again for a hearing at a future point in time at the sponsor’s request. The Legislature adjourns on Thursday, June 28.

HB 869 would target every firearm modified to conform with the now-extinct Clinton Gun-Ban plus many other semi-automatic firearms that have no lineage to those rifles or any military-style orientation whatsoever. It would also require current owners of such firearms to register their firearms with the State Police, obtain and renew a license annually to keep them, restrict how and where they may be used or transported, and

allow the State Police to inspect private homes for compliance.

Also on Wednesday, the committee voted down HB 461 by State Representative Rick Gallot (D-11), which would ban the possession of firearms by students and non-students in college and university dormitories.

I have to admit that I was unaware of Rep. Gallot’s bill, and in fact, when I was in college back in the late 1960’s, university regulations prohibited possession of firearms in the dorms. In fact, they were banned on campus. However, it was legal, by state law, to keep them locked in your vehicle. And still is, though the LSU Board of Regents is attempting to ban firearms kept in a locked vehicle.

I should point out at this time that under Louisiana law, if it is legal for a person to have a loaded firearm in their home, it is legal to have one in your vehicle. The law states that your vehicle is an extension of your domicile.

Over the years, the legislature has voted various laws into place; the Shoot the Burglar law, 1984; the Shoot the Carjacker law, 1998; the Castle Doctrine law, 2006.

It was legal before each of these “laws” were enacted to defend yourself or other people. These ‘laws’ were enacted for political reasons, mainly, to assure politicians of re-election. There was a huge hue and cry from the national media concerning the Carjacker legislation. They bellowed from their ivory towers that ‘blood will run in the streets.’ If that sounds familiar, it is the same rhetoric issued by the anti-gunners and their media allies when Florida and Texas enacted their concealed carry legislation. Blood has not run in the streets, and the number of carjackings has gone way down. Remember, criminals want an unarmed victim.

Rep. Richmond’s reason for authoring the legislation is the rising number of murders in New Orleans. The police department is still not at full strength, the jails are over crowded, and the courts are so back logged it will be years before they can catch up. However, the criminal element there is returning, and it is suspected the murders are part of an on going battle for turf between rival drug dealers. On top of that, the police are outgunned. However, his proposed legislation would affect ONLY the law abiding citizens. It would have no effect on the criminals. And with the situation that exists in a city still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina, law abiding citizens do not need more restrictions on their ability to own and use firearms in defense of themselves, family, and property.

Instead of confiscating firearms from the citizens, as they did in the aftermath of Katrina, they now want to regulate them more strictly, requiring special licensing and expensive fees. Can you say “tax?”

At least it is tabled for the time being. I can only hope that my fellow citizens bombarded their representatives and senators with phone calls and mail expressing their collective disgust and outrage.

Yesterday was Memorial Day, where you salute those fallen heroes of various wars. My grandfather was a veteran, who fortunately, did not make the ultimate sacrifice, but rather spent a lot of his time putting up with me as a small child.

Part of my day was spent at his grave site, where I talked with him, and replaced the small, faded American flag that will fly there as long as there is breath in my body.

He wasn’t long on words, in fact, barely spoke most of the time, but always had time for me. He was the one who taught me how to fish, just as he had taught my father. And it was him who would steal me away from my parents in the summer time, and we would sit quietly beside a creek or lake, drowning worms and minnows. Time well spent as I see it now. And it was fun. And when your six or seven, you want everything to happen now! He taught me patience, that fish bite on their schedule, not ours.

He also reinforced those lessons of firearm safety, sportsmanship in the field, and how to read the signs left by animals, both large and small. How to tell the difference between a doe and a buck by looking at the tracks, and their approximate size. Along with those lessons, he also taught me that unless it was a varmint, that if I shot it or caught it, I would have to clean it, and at some point in the near future, eat it.

He didn’t have a real “bird” dog, but rather a black Cocker Spaniel named Missy. Not being real up on dogs at that early age, I didn’t know that spaniels, as a breed, were bird dogs. But Missy did hunt. Especially quail. Since my grandparents lived way out in the country, 19 miles from any town, and five miles or so from a general store and gas station, hunting was available to us almost as soon as we stepped out the back door of his house.

When I was about eight, I was spending a weekend with my grandparents, and my grandfather asked if I wanted to go quail hunting with him. Ever eager to do something, I of course said yes. He smiled, and opened up the gun cabinet and pulled out his Remington Model 11. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this particular firearm, it was the first semi-automatic designed by John Moses Browning, and built by Remington. It was the forerunner of the Browning shotgun.

He slipped a half a box of shells in his jacket pocket, whistled up Missy, and then pulled a 22 rifle, pump gun out and a box of 22 shells went in a different pocket. He handed his prized shotgun to me, a small twinkle in his eye. Out the door we went.

Once we crossed the fence, he handed me two shells, and I loaded the shotgun. He watched, nodding as I did it correctly, then filled the tube magazine on the 22 rifle. Missy was moving around, nose to the ground, and up in the air, and moved off, nostrils twitching as a scent caught her attention. We walked slowly behind her, watching her work, and as she found the source of the scent, she froze up. I couldn’t see any birds in the thick grass, but they were there.

“You take the covey rise,” my grandfather said. And with that, he motioned for me to walk on in. I did, and had the mini heart attack I always have when birds explode from almost under my feet. It seemed like birds got up forever, but I got off two shots, downing three birds. Then I heard the soft pop pop pop of the 22. My grandfather was shooting quail on the wing with it. Missy was beside herself trying to retrieve downed quail and pausing from time to time to mark other birds. We got them all, six in total, and my grandfather turned for home, whistling to Missy that we were through.

I asked why we had quit hunting. His answer has stuck with me for over a half century. “We have enough to do us,” was his reply. “No need in killing them all, since we’ll want to do this again.” He believed in taking what you needed, and leaving the rest to breed. “Leaving some for seed” was they way he put it.

He complimented me on my shooting skills, which I ate up. Later, much later, I realized that on that day I had no real shooting skills, those were developed later by both my grandfather and Dad. But those lessons learned that day have always stayed with me.

Years later, Dad and I went on a duck hunt in Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula. There was no limit, just what your shoulder would bear and how much ammunition you had. I stopped at 10 ducks, mostly teal. Dad stopped at eight. Others in our party killed over 100 each. When we left our blinds and met up, he saw how many I had, and smiled. Seems that he was taught the same lesson I had been taught.

Dad is still with us, a veteran of WWII. Flew B-24’s. I called him yesterday and thanked him for his service to our country, and told him that a new flag was flying over his father’s grave. He thanked me for my service, and then we talked about times in the field and on the water we have shared. It was a great Memorial Day.

Lots of us talk about gun safety, and generally practice it when we are at the range, or hunting. And for those of us who practice it all the time, we’ll be spending a lot of time at the range and in the field, blind, or deer stand.

Yesterday I was in a well known, established gun store. One clerk behind the counter, a customer in front of me. As I stood and looked at the rifles and shotguns stacked against the wall, and the handguns in the glass cases, the customer in front of me asked to see a particular rifle. The clerk pulled it down and as he handed it over to the customer, swept me with the muzzle. Have you picked up on an error in handling the gun, yet?

The customer took it from the clerk, shouldered the rifle, and swung it from side to side, sweeping me with the muzzle. There are now four serious ‘violations’ of gun safety. Can you name them?

Upon being swept the second time, I grabbed the barrel of the rifle and moved it away from me and pointed it at the ceiling. Both the customer and the clerk were shocked at my behavior. I almost yelled at the clerk to get the owner of the shop. Then I told the guy who had shouldered the rifle to let go of it. He did, after a second or two, still stunned that I would be almost foaming at the mouth at this point. I told the clerk to get the owner, again. More forcefully, and louder.

The owner, hearing the ruckus came out of the back, prepared to do battle, then stopped and smiled and said hello to me. Then he asked what was going on. I told him his clerk needed to be fired. Now the clerk was looking at me in shock. I went on to explain that he had violated the very first rule of gun safety. He had not checked the weapon to see if it was loaded. His first mistake. Second, when he handed it over to the customer, he had swept me with the muzzle. I do not like being on the downrange side of a firearm. Not in the least.

Then I told the owner that the customer had violated the same rule the clerk had, by not opening the bolt and checking to see if it was loaded, and that he had swept me with the muzzle. It was at that point that I took the action that I did.

Both the clerk and the customer said that they “knew” it was unloaded. I asked them how they knew it for sure if they hadn’t checked? Neither had an answer. At that point the customer got a bit huffy and walked out the door. “Bob,” the owner turned to the clerk and asked him why he hadn’t checked the firearm before handing it over. He had no answer.

It is not rocket science to open an action on a firearm to check to see if it is unloaded. It is something I was taught at age five. It is also something I practice religiously, even when I know that a firearm is unloaded and I take it out of my safe, I still check it to make damned sure. I don’t like the idea of having to explain to law enforcement, or my wife, why there is suddenly a new hole in the wall, floor, ceiling, etc.

As gun owners and hunters and shooters, it is inherent on us to be responsible for the way we shoot and handle firearms. The anti-gunners are looking for any excuse to harm our ability to own and use firearms. I don’t want to injure or kill anyone, and I certainly don’t want to be injured, or worse, myself.

Almost every sporting goods store has literature that they give away that has the ten commandments of gun safety. If you have fallen into bad habits, repent. Get the literature and read it. Learn it. Live by it. We’ll all be much better off in the long run.

Was surfing around and found this, written by an Australian police officer. Site was www.710keel.com, a local radio station where I listen to streaming audio.

Australian Gun Law Update

Immediately after the VA Tech massacre the Australian PM went on air and bragged about how much better his nation was now that they had banned guns.

Here’s a thought to warm some of your hearts…

From: Ed Chenel, A police officer in Australia

Hi Yanks, I thought you all would like to see the real figures from Down Under.

Take note Americans, before it’s too late!

This goes back to my other postings on gun control and a biased media. He is exactly correct, we will NOT hear this reported by the media, except in small markets, and definitely will not be accepted by liberal politicians who seek only to maintain their position of power and influence.

Hurricane season officially starts June 1st, and those of us who live in the Gulf coastal states are more than a bit apprehensive. For more than one reason. The whole nation remembers what happened with Katrina and Rita. Massive destruction, loss of life, and unbelievable property damage. Oh yeah, confiscation of legally owned firearms by law abiding citizens of New Orleans by the police department, aided by federal agencies, in direct contradiction of the Second Amendment of the Constitution.

After Katrina hit, the levees failed, and flooded New Orleans. For those who had prepared for such a contingency, and there were some, they were depending on being able to protect themselves and property from the inevitable looting. New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, and his chief of police, Eddie Campus, decided to go door to door and confiscate all firearms. They were stopped from confiscating all the firearms thanks to an injunction issued by a judge after the NRA filed a lawsuit against the city of New Orleans.

The whole world watched as looters wading in two feet of water carried off television sets, stereos, and other items totally useless to them at that time. Not content with looting the stores, bands of thugs roamed the residential districts breaking into homes and taking what they wanted from what was left behind, without fear of being caught. Remember, there was no law regulated law enforcement available. Mayor Nagin stated over the air waves that if you stayed, you were on your own. It should be pointed out that New Orleans was one of the first cities to file lawsuits against the firearm manufacturing industry when Ernest Morial was the mayor. His suit was endorsed by a U.S. Senator, Mary Landrieu, (D-LA), whose father is also a former mayor of New Orleans.

For those who have never experienced a hurricane first hand, you don’t want to. Of course, that is dependant on where you live, forecast strength of the hurricane, expected landfall, and whether or not you are prepared to stay and ride it out, or evacuate to some area out of the path of said storm. Fortunately, I now live 200 miles or so from the Gulf of Mexico, and while we had friends from south Louisiana who stayed with us while their home was literally wiped off the face of the earth, we suffered no ill effects of Katrina. Rita was a totally different story. We had steady winds of 50 mph for hours, with gusts approaching 70 mph as the storm moved inland. All this was accompanied by heavy, torrential rain.

If you live in an area that can be threatened by hurricane force winds, and you intend to stay in your home, for whatever reason, I’m going to outline what you will need in order to cope with the aftermath. Just know that this is not all inclusive, but rather what I keep on hand and prepare for.

First category is food. You will want something that provides energy, is easy to prepare, and easily stored and won’t be harmed or useless if it gets wet. Canned goods are especially good, but don’t forget to have a manual can opener. Bottled water. Lots of it. Figure on a gallon a day per person for three days. While eating a balanced meal is probably not feasible, in this case, we are talking about survival. Food kept frozen in a chest freezer will still be viable for quite a while after the electricity goes out, unless it becomes submerged.

Since in all likelihood there will be no electrical service, or phone service, a camp stove would be good to have on hand, with plenty of fuel. Also a lantern for light. Flashlights, plenty of fresh batteries, battery operated radio and/or television so you can at least find out what is going on around you, and get up to date information regarding what is open, closed, and what emergency services are available. The small hand held CB radios manufactured by Motorola or Midland are great to have. At least if there is a situation where you need help, you can get the word out. Range on them is five miles and beyond under normal circumstances. If you have a portable generator, know it’s fuel consumption rate, and have enough fuel on hand for three days use.

If you have a need for medication, make sure you have at least a three day supply on hand, same as water, and a week’s supply would be even better. Also, a first aid kit, the bigger the better. I have, and keep current, an Army corpsman kit, complete with surgical tools, sutures, compresses, patches, tape, and various disinfectants and ointments. These are available at a number of places. If you can’t get one of these, at least have a first aid kit on hand, of any kind.

Clothing is not mandatory, but a change into dry clothes is comforting. A change of clothes or two can be kept in a plastic tub that you can buy at Wal-Mart or other store. Seal the edges with duct tape.

After surviving the storm, you will most likely have to deal with flooding, depending on storm surge and rainfall. Find the highest point you can in your home. Should you have to retreat to the attic, have an axe or hatchet available to cut a hole through the roof if water level rises that high. No sense in surviving everything else only to drown in your attic.

Another thing you will need is a firearm and ammunition for it. If flooding occurs, you will not be the only animal seeking high ground. Snakes, lizards, raccoons, coyotes, and others will be trying to do what you are doing, surviving. I see no need to live through the catastrophe only to be bitten by a venomous snake or attacked by a starving carnivore. My “survival kit” includes a 20 gauge shotgun, two boxes of ammunition for that, a 9mm pistol with ammunition (both ball and shot) for it, and a 45 ACP pistol and ammunition for it. All three will dispatch anything that wants to share your space. They will be needed to “discourage” looters.

While I no longer live along the coast, I still keep all the items I listed and a few more things, but they are family specific, so you need to consider what needs your family requires. Hurricanes don’t affect me that much here, but I’m still prepared in case of a violent storm and tornados for a worst case scenario.

If you think the media is not biased against guns and gun owners, think again. When was the last time you saw or heard or read an article or aired segment that dealt postively about guns? As an example, I’m going to relate what was recently written in my local bird cage liner, The Shreveport Times.

Two men shot and killed and then run over by vehicle. Police have no suspects, and are still trying to identify the victims. Both were shot with an AK-47 assault rifle.

That is the long and short of it. The article did not elaborate on the caliber of the firearm, but assumed an editorial tone when describing the weapon. Police did not have the firearm that was used to shoot the two men, but somehow the author of the article knew. I was tempted to call the police and have them question the reporter to ascertain how she knew what was used. I have contacted the paper in an effort to reach this reporter, and have a conversation with her, primarily to find out just what level of knowledge she has about firearms. No calls have been returned.

Remember the shooting at the law school in West Virginia a few years back? How many news stories did you read, hear, or watch that bemoaned the ‘ready availability’ of guns. Media watch reported that there were over 200 stories done on the shooting, but only twotold the whole story. The shooter was disarmed by two students, both were law enforcement officers, who went to their vehicles and retrieved their firearms. The “hero” of the moment, however, was a third person who ‘tackled’ the shooter AFTER the two armed students confronted the shooter and neutralized the threat the shooter posed.

In the past week, both ABC and CNN have run polls on their websites asking basically the same question; Do you think more gun control laws are needed? Detractors were YES, NO, NEED MORE INFORMATION. I checked a few minutes ago, and the ABC poll was closed but they did have the final results…No was 76%, Yes got 22%, and the “I don’t know” crowd was at 2%. When I went to check the CNN poll, it was gone, but when I checked it last week, it was running about the same numbers. Have you heard on either network the results of those polls? I haven’t.

While the news media is most definitely against guns, the position of the entertainment industry (movies and television) seems to be one of thrusting guns upon us, and at the same time bemoaning the real life violence that we see or hear about from time to time, yet in their programs, that’s all they have to show us.

In an effort to ascertain the real ‘mind’ of the gun, I set up my computer, complete with webcam and focused it on a 1911 pistol, unloaded, but there was a loaded magazine immediately adjacent to the pistol. I broadcast it over the internet for 24 hours. To my amazement, the gun didn’t move. I was certain that it’s inherent evilness would take over, and the pistol would load itself and go wreak havoc and mayhem in the neighborhood. Oddly, it didn’t. I’m now puzzled because the media says that guns are evil. Maybe theirs are, mine isn’t.

Oh well, all I know is that my guns have killed less people than Ted Kennedy’s car.

It’s that time of the year, again. Warm weather is setting in, and here in Louisiana, that means temperatures in triple digits with accompanying high humidity. Even normal outdoor work or recreational activities can bring on injury, illness, and death.

When working in a high heat environmnet, you should drink plenty of water, or one of the myriad of sports drinks now available to replace what you sweat out. You should take frequent breaks to cool off, though the boss may complain, if you work in a place that is OSHA regulated, then your risk analysis people will mandate that to management.

You should also limit your caffeine intake. This includes coffee, tea, or cola’s. The effect of caffeine is to speed up your body. Your heart rate accelerates, and in hot weather, this can lead to arrythmia. You have to understand that your body is already working hard to cool you down, and by adding a stimulant, you work your heart even harder.

Another thing to avoid is alcohol. Now I like a cold brew as well as anyone, but in really hot weather, the alcohol displaces water in your tissue, accelerating the effects of alcohol. The best time to drink an “adult” beverage is when the work or play is done and you are kicking back and cooling off.

There are three stages of being debilitated by heat. First is heat exhaustion. You suddenly have no energy, you are soaking wet with perspiration. Take a break, drink as much liquid as you can. Again, water or something like Gatorade. Cool off. Put a damp rag or towel on your face and head.

Second is heat prostration. When you get to this stage, you will generally just fall down, or collapse. You need to immediately get in a cool place, down a lot of liquids, and keep drinking cool liquids til you can’t anymore. You are probably done for the rest of the day.

Third is heat stroke. This is the one that can kill you. Generally speaking, whomever experiences this literally passes out and collapses. The body will twitch and jerk, and the possibility of severe organ or brain damage is good. Immediate transportation to an emergency room is necessary to stave off, or limit, permanent damage to organs or the brain, and/or death.

Personally, I have never experienced heat prostration or stroke, but I have experienced heat exhaustion. I have seen other people endure the other two. It is not a pretty sight, and is easily avoidable.

You should include in your daily diet, a good vitamin pill and a banana. Don’t laugh. Bananas are a very healthy fruit, and they contain potassium, which you release when you perspire, and it needs to be replaced, and eating a banana a day will keep that mineral in balance.

We all have families and friends that we want to enjoy for a long time, so don’t be “stubborn” or “macho” when it comes to working in the heat. Do what you have to do. If you don’t, you may not be able to enjoy any other activities for a while, or forever.

Well, it’s that time of the year. Have set in motion the plans for this year’s hunt in South Dakota. Rooms have been reserved, the landowner has been notified, and we are now gearing up for a good time.

Not only will be walking the fields for pheasants, sharp tail grouse, and praire chickens, we are also going to be “camped” out on a prairie dog colony. A large one. It’s approximately 125 acres worth of prairie dogs.

I will be using two rifles, one is a 223 Remington, the other is a 22 WMR. I use the 22 mag out to around 125 yds. on the little critters, and after that, they get the really bad medicine. I load some 45 grain HP bullets that zip along about 3500 fps and have some 50 grain SP that do about 3350 fps. Most shots are inside of 350 yds, though I have taken a few longer than that. Glass on the 22 mag is a 3×9x40, glass on the 223 is a 4×16x40 AO MilDot. I’ll also be taking two shotguns, both 12 gauges, one 870 Wingmaster, the other is a Baikal O/U.

One of the fun things about a trip like this is spending time at the range ‘tuning’ the rifles and ammo, and also shooting clays to keep up the ‘eye’ so to speak. The other fun thing is loading 1000 rounds of 223 so I don’t have to resort to shooting factory ammo and having to figure out where to aim.

This is an annual event, sort of like my “pilgrimage” to the holy center of pheasant hunting. It is also a much needed vacation to get away from everything and have some good times with friends. Those hunting with me are one guy from here, two guys from North Carolina, one from Virginia, one from Kentucky, and two from California. We converge on Pierre, SD, and join a couple of hundred other hunters from around the country to enjoy three to five days of birds, prairie dogs, and good companionship.

We hunt on private land (14,000) acres of it, located about 35 miles east of Pierre, just a couple of miles north of the Missouri River. It’s all rolling hills and grass, corn, millet, and sunflowers. Beautiful country, but no trees. And when you do find trees, you also find a farm house.

Besides the birds and prairie dogs, we always see white tail deer, mule deer, fox, and coyotes. And from what my buddy up there says, he now has a small herd of pronghorn antelopes that graze one of his pastures. Haven’t seen a ‘lope in a while, so am looking forward to that.

We will be hunting the first five days of the season, and hopefully the weather won’t be too cold. The weather changes quickly, and dramatically. First year up there, it sleeted on us on opening day. Last time I was up there, we hunted in t-shirts for the first three days and long sleeves the next two days. They had a mini blizzard the day after we left.

For those that might want to make a pheasant safari, and don’t know any land owners, South Dakota has lots and lots of public hunting areas. One very good one is just south of Pierre/ Ft. Pierre, SD on the main road running down to I-90.

Further information can be found at the state of South Dakota’s website. Link is for South Dakota Game and Fish.

John

The state legislature convened a week ago, and already a major gun control bill has been introduced. Rep. Richmond, (D-New Orleans) has introduced a bill H.R. 869, to “ban assault weapons.” His language closely mirrors Rep. Carolyn McCarthy’s (D-NY) federal legislation H.R. 1022.

It specifically mentions all firearms with “pistol” grips behind the trigger, magazine capacities, barrel shrouds, muzzle brakes, collapsible stocks, and the ever evil “thumbhole” type stock. It also includes wording to ban “armor piercing” bullets.

The wording of his bill is replete with half truths and he states in the body of the bill that “assault weapons” were used in the Columbine shootings in Colorado and were used the D.C. sniper. In truth, neither of these tragedies involved assault weapons.

Without saying so, explicity, this bill is designed to eliminate ownership of AR, AK, SKS, and other similarly styled rifles. He also included “conversion” kits. The language is vague, and I can’t discern whether it is his intention to keep them from being converted to fully automatic rifles, or if that means buying and installing a TAPCO synthetic, collapsible style stock on a SKS.

Additionally, fines will be levied, funds going to the state police to enable their enforcement of said law. Licensing fees for all “assault” rifles will be $25.00/year per gun. Again, all fees going to the state police to pay for enforcement of said legislation. If you do NOT register said firearm, you will, under the terms of this legislation, be subject to a fine of up to $2000 and not more than two years jail time. There is no grandfather clause exempting “assault rifles” owned PRIOR to Aug. 15, 2007.

In a discussion the other day, it was said that the State Police will have the power of a “no warrant” search of your premises. While the initial thrust of this legislation is scary enough, to give any law enforcement agency the ability to enter your home and search it WITHOUT a warrant is beyond belief.

But then, we have said for decades that law enforcement agencies would never go door to door and CONFISCATE guns from law abiding citizens. Well…we were wrong. Remember New Orleans?

We said that the 2nd Amendment protected us. We were wrong. Remember New Orleans?

I have called and written my state legislator and have recieved verbal assurance that my representative is going to try to kill this legislation. If you are a Louisiana resident, you need to write, call, email, or fax your representative and let them know how you feel about this.

Above all…the sponsor of this legislation is FROM New Orleans. And we don’t need a state wide replay of what happened in New Orleans.

REMEMBER NEW ORLEANS