Articles by Herschel Smith

Reddit/Firearms.

Here is an another video.

I see that some folks recommend the LM choke for quail.  I’ve used the IC choke with some success.  Any experience out there with choked for quail?

Eddie Hall had the world dead lift record when in 2016 he became the first man to lift more than 1100 pounds (1102 pounds).  He was bested in 2020 by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson who lifted 501 kg (1,104.5 lb). This is entertaining to watch.

They’re lucky that sow didn’t claw their eyes out and then rip their hearts out and eat it in front of the cubs as an object lesson.

I await comment by “The Alaskan.”

Three guys springing towards a bear and two cubs; one with some papers and one carrying a child. What exactly was the plan here? pic.twitter.com/VgDmR68CrS

— . (@Lead_Flinger) September 14, 2023

Via WiscoDave.

The supreme court reversed the vacatur order by Reed O’Connor.  Some lawyer is doing some clever thinking.  This time they went for an injunction against enforcement of the unconstitutional and immoral ATF frame and receiver rule.  They got it.  This will eventually be heard by the supreme court.  I stand by my original prediction.  The women on the court, including Roberts, will side with the FedGov.

Because Stephen Stamboulieh is a stud, he got the restraining order on behalf of the GOA against the governor and state police of NM in her gun ban edict.

Here it is (121113193136).

The only thing I’d say is that the case seems simple enough to me that the judge should have vacated the edict altogether and rendered it null and void, and enjoined them from enforcing it – ever.

He did indicate that the plaintiffs were likely to win the case on the merits, but there are unfortunate phrases in the ruling, like this.

Although the State of New Mexico raises important safety concerns, at this stage it fails to demonstrate that the public safety concerns overcome the public’s interest in preventing constitutional violations.  At a fuller hearing on Plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, the State of New Mexico may present more detailed information about how public safety strongly weighs against issuing a preliminary injunction because of the dangers and safety concerns associated with firearms. However, given Bruen’s clarity that “the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home,” Bruen, 142 S. Ct. at 2122, the Court concludes that issuing a TRO to prevent the violation of a constitutional right would be in the public interest.

The judge is still, even now after Bruen told him not to do it, trying to play a public interest balancing act.  As Stephen told him in his brief, that balancing judgment was made when the second amendment was ratified.  It’s unconstitutional to try to do it again.

However, this is a win, and I’ll take a win.  We’ll have to leave the rest to Stephen.  And God.  Because Stephen is doing God’s work.

I’ve immensely enjoyed watching the Osprey family in Boulder, Colorado, for the season.  I saw the chicks when they hatched, watched them fledge, and watched them learn to fish for themselves, all in a single season.  And now they’ve migrated, all individually.  You might have seen images or video of the mother protecting her eggs in a hail storm.

Here are some other images.

Chick #3 hatched last, and had to fight for every morsel of food.  Every now and again when I saw dad bring in a fish and hand it off to mom, I’d scream at #3 to go get some.  This made for an interesting lunch break for me.  But he did learn to fight for himself, and was a big as the rest when he fledged and then eventually left the nest to migrate.  He was also first to learn to fish for himself.

And finally, one of dad himself, the big boy, the feeder and protector of the family.  He did have to chase away interlopers.

All the chicks lived, fledged, and presumably they all learned to fish.  I’ll see mom and dad again next year.  They mate for life and nest in the same location every year (after running off the squatters).

Source.

A Grand Canyon hiker has died while attempting to hike rim-to-rim in a single day at the national park.

Ranjith Varma — a 55-year-old man from Manassas, Virginia — was attempting to hike from the Grand Canyon’s south rim to the north rim in a single day on Saturday when the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received an emergency call at approximately 1:55 p.m. of a “hiker in distress” on the North Kaibab Trail, about one mile south of Cottonwood Campround, according to a statement released by the National Park Service (NPS) on Monday.

“For the hearty souls who are willing to work for it – less than one percent of the Grand Canyon’s five million annual visitors – the real magic lies below the rim,” the National Parks Foundation says on their website. “On this epic Grand Canyon hike, you’ll leave from the North Kaibab Trail on the North Rim, challenging your personal limits as you descend 14.3 miles and 6,000 feet to the bottom of the canyon before connecting with the Bright Angel Trail and climbing 4,500 feet and 9.6 miles back out again to the South Rim.”

That’s 23.9 miles and 10,500 feet of elevation change in a single day for a 55-year old man.  I’m not sure I could have done that at 22 years old on a cool day.  He was trying to do this on a hot day.

My bet is that he died from Rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo), which is a breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue that has to be processed by your kidneys.  We’ve seen this before.

A man has got to know his limitations.

Source.

“The order is being enforced, and citations will be forthcoming from the State Police,” said Caroline Sweeny, a spokesperson for Lujan Grisham’s office. ”To ensure officer safety, we will not be providing additional details at this time.”

[ … ]

On Friday, after announcing the order, Lujan Grisham told reporters “we’re likely dealing with misdemeanors,” but she was not specific.

It’s also unclear if any penalties people could face for violating the order would stand up against a challenge in court. Several attorneys showed up Sunday offering to represent anyone who receives a citation under the public health order, which is already facing several legal challenges.

Potential misdemeanors were not a concern for some in attendance, most were focused on what they view as a violation of the Second Amendment.

I don’t know, but I still think this isn’t as simple as everyone is making it out to be.  First of all, I’m sure the controllers have an overarching plan – or think they do.  Maybe they want images of violators.  But that makes little sense to me.  So they get images of guys and girls with guns.  So what?  There are another hundred thousand in NM (and another several million across the nation) just like them for every one image they capture.

Second, they are obviously running some sort of misdirect – after all, who really believes Ted Lieu really cares about constitutional violations (I’m not going to link or embed his idiotic tweet because I don’t believe him and he’s a liar)?  I’m sure this is still a probing attack, but I’m also certain that they didn’t quite expect what’s happened or what’s coming.  This will be heard in federal court, and there will also be state lawsuits over this.  So the state police issue citations.  So what?  After refusal to pay, the district attorney has put in writing that he won’t enforce it and has gone on record saying that under Bruen this is unconstitutional.  Does the governor really want to go to federal or state court with that testimony on record?

It’s over for them as a company.

It is with deep regret that we announce the closing of Windham Weaponry. Our website/online retail ordering system will remain active through Tuesday night, Sept 12. We will do our best to ship all orders this week and early next week. No credit card will be charged until the order is shipped.

Twelve years ago, when we started Windham Weaponry, our shareholders and longtime employees were excited to continue the traditions and spirit of Bushmaster Firearms, after the new owners decided to leave Maine.

We built WW into a company we could be proud of providing outstanding customer service, high quality products, as well as a great place for our dedicated employees to work.

The last few years have been a very challenging time for the firearms industry, and we have struggled to keep the WW dream alive for as long as possible. Unfortunately, we have not been able to meet our loan obligations with the bank after they worked with us as much as they could.

There was a glimmer of hope when we were negotiating with an investor to help keep WW alive and healthy, but that just fell through.

We have begun discussions with Keenan Auction Company to determine the best course of action for a full liquidation which should happen within the next month or so.

Our shareholders and employees truly appreciate your loyal support all of these years.

Here is a video of one man’s perspective.  Here is a reddit/Firearms discussion thread.

I searched hard in the comments for reasons.  I couldn’t locate any.  There are hints of loan problems, and family that may not be as committed as the owner Richard Dyke (who recently passed away).  There seems to be nothing definitive on why this is happening to the company.

The one thing I do agree with in the discussion threads is that the AR-15 market is saturated (LaRue, PSA, Daniel Defense, Aeroprecision, BCM, S&W, and on the list goes).  Unless you have the money to go big, I’m sure it’s difficult to compete.