Source.

Under the majority’s rule, the defendant wins by default whenever the government fails to prove that a statute unambiguously criminalizes the defendant’s conduct.

Um, yes.  And so what’s wrong with this?  Why wouldn’t any grammar school child come to the same conclusion?  A fortiori, why wouldn’t any educated lawyer come to the same conclusion?

Why would this only have to come from the majority’s rule?  Why isn’t it prima facie obvious to anyone with two brain cells?

It’s effective immediately.  Folks like Rock River Arms and Springfield Armory who ensconce in Illinois now cannot even sell to customers in their own home state.  It’s too bad they didn’t ride the “Gun Valley Moves South” train when it left the station.  I know the gun community.  Some will be reluctant to buy from a manufacturer who cannot even sell their products to folks in their own state.  By the way, Colorado is effectively doing the same thing.

The list of guns citizen in Illinois cannot have is long.  Very long.  You cannot even own tactical shotguns under the new law as best as I read it (I did note that they didn’t specifically mention the Beretta 1301, although I’ll also mention that the new law “strengthens the assault weapons ban by also allowing Illinois State Police to update the list as needed,” Welch said”).  So the ban includes whatever the cops want it to include.

Also, they are preempting the SCOTUS decision on Terry Stops: “If police stop a car driven by a semiautomatic gun owner, they can instantly check to ensure its legally owned.”  What sense this makes one can only guess – if a gun owner has registered the weapon why wouldn’t it be assumed that it’s a “legally owned weapon?”

Also, it’s back to the way it was before Bruen – you cannot have that gun with you (you know, the only ones left not on the list) when you leave home.  You cannot carry it on your person.  So, it’s all the rage now for the communist states to pretend that Bruen doesn’t exist and that the supreme court never spoke to the matter.

I have supreme confidence that this law will be adjudicated, and I expect this law to be struck down, but I’m not sure how long it will be before that happens.  In the mean time, they want citizens to register their guns if they are “grandfathered in.”  Some Sheriffs have said they will not comply, dozens and dozens, somewhere around 70 at last count.

But what does this mean?  Here is one clue.

But that’s not good enough.  Merely refusing to assist the state police isn’t doing anyone any good.  For this to have teeth the Sheriffs would need to ensure that not only were they constitutional Sheriffs, but their deputies were constitutional deputies as well, and that the city and township PDs agreed with this stance.  Those are the preconditions for success.

That would all lead to the next necessary step, which would be a threat to arrest any state police who came into their counties to enforce the new law, and the stomach to follow through with it.  Finally, if those counties have militia to whom the Sheriff could go for assistance, that may prove to be necessary as well.

Do any of the Sheriffs have the stomach for this?  I seriously doubt it.  I’ve said before, nullification laws or threats are dangerous for the citizens if they aren’t serious and don’t carry both the threat and reality of force behind them.  If they are weighty and enforced, they serve as a check on centralized power and authority to infringe on God-given rights.

Illinois is just at the beginning of this whole affair.  Chicago has decided the way it will be for everyone else in their state.  Whether the balance of the state lets it stand will be up to them.

Goodness, there has been so much ink spilled over this subject I can’t even begin to rehearse it all.  Here is an interesting recent piece.

In past years I have run several series of tests with commercial and experimental barrel-cleaning media in an effort to take barrels that had been fired back down to base metal, with no carbon or copper fouling as a starting point. A part of the test was to see which medium worked as advertised and which was less effective than expected. The tests were divided into cleaners that relied on chemical action to realize the expected results and cleaners that were abrasive in nature to remove the fouling. The results were verified via bore scopes with magnification to validate the findings.

It was no surprise that we found that some barrels responded to some of the chemical cleaners better than others. This was particularly prevalent with the smoothness of the barrel’s interior surfaces. Match-grade barrels that had been lapped to remove any irregularities or imperfections cleaned down to bare metal without too much effort. Run of-the-mill production barrels fouled earlier and were more difficult to clean almost universally, though there were a few notable exceptions.

Upon examining the barrels that fouled quicker, it was found that microscopic voids and tool marks left from the original manufacturing process were the greatest contributors to lead, copper or carbon fouling. The rougher the barrel’s interior, the quicker it fouls.

Even after cleaning down to bare metal with the abrasive cleaners, some barrels still needed chemical cleaners to remove the fouling embedded in the voids and irregular spots.

After thoroughly cleaning a barrel down to bare metal and removing all perceivable fouling and contamination, a tight-fitting clean patch pushed through the barrel still had a very slight discoloring present due to the vapor-thin residues left by the cleaning agents. This was not really a concern because the bore scope verified the condition of the bore to the satisfaction of the test.

Out of curiosity, we tried a few cleaners that had nothing to do with firearms, but were excellent cleaners that left no smudges or residual film in their intended application. What we found worked to enable a clean patch in and a clean patch out was glass cleaner. It removed everything but the shine after the hard work was done by the chemicals and abrasives.

I am not recommending you use glass cleaner on your Ruger, I’m just stating a finding that may be of interest.

We’ve discussed this before, but it doesn’t appeal to me as prima facie wise to remove everything.  I need to be convinced before I believe it.

Microscopic voids, minor erosion, stress corrosion cracking, tooling marks, and the like, are part of the scene.  No surface will be free of imperfections.

The very first round after removing all of the copper and lead will refill all of those imperfections with copper and lead.  Why continue to beat yourself up over trying to get it all out as if the gun had never been fired?

Anyway, I know that Paul Harrell uses soap and water, others use copper cleaners, others use solvents and still others use odorless mineral spirits (I do on shotguns).

I have never heard of using Windex on the inside of barrels.  I’d have to study the effect of ammonia on metals (SS, carbon steel, MoCr, etc.) before I was comfortable with that.  At a minimum I’d make sure to remove every last bit of the Windex with solvent and patches, and then oil it, before setting it aside.

Have readers ever used Windex on barrels?

Source.

If you move a rock from one place to the next you may have inadvertently disturbed the home of a tiny critter living beneath it. Moving stones can also contribute to soil erosion or destroy the delicate microhabitats plants and animals need to survive. Also, moving a rock to add to the top of a cairn could cause the whole thing to come down, rather defeating the object.

[ … ]

So what should you do if you see a rock cairn? Well, the advice from the National Parks Service is to leave them well alone, no tampering, building, or adding to existing ones. Don’t be tempted to kick them over either. If that won’t convince you, maybe the law will: the practice of moving the rocks could be seen as vandalism which is illegal.

Yea whatever.  The NPS doesn’t own the earth or any part of it.  “The cattle on a thousand hills” and all of creation belongs to God.

I wouldn’t like it very much if a vandal built a rock cairn to mislead me on the trail.  But some of them are needful as long as they are located correctly.  As for that little critter who might get disturbed if I move one, he can find another place to live.

If I need to collect rocks to build a fire ring, that’s what I’ll do.

We know how important ammo consolidation can be for both cost savings and ease of training/use. Here’s a great hunting combo.

Source:

Almost all shooters – and hunters – are plenty familiar with how Old West cowboys acquired both a long gun and handgun in the same chambering. That combination was most likely a lever-action rifle and a single-action revolver. A few popular pairings would have been traditional handgun rounds like the .44/40 Winchester, .45 Colt, and .32-20 Winchester.

Old-school shooters paired Colt and Winchester. Our modern-day mates are Henry Repeating Arms and Magnum Research. The method of putting together the perfect combination today may not be quite as critical to life and death, but it’s certainly a viable option for hunters, ranchers, and shooters building a supply of ammunition.

We’re taking this one boot step beyond the Old West today, as modern metallurgy and heavy-built actions allow us the ultimate big-bore combo rig that’s not in a handgun chambering but in the classic walloping .45-70 Government. The Magnum Research Biggest, Finest Revolver (BFR) and Henry Repeating Arms All-Weather Side Gate rifle are perfect playmates.

Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com

It’s no mistake that we hunted Cape buffalo in Africa – on two separate trips – with the .45-70 Gov’t. The first foray saw that Henry rifle take down the buffalo with one well-placed shot. The second saw an even bigger beast drop with two rounds from the BFR. With a wide range of factory ammunition and reload recipes, the chambering can be tailored to handle smaller plains game as well.

But it’s not only for worldly adventures. In fact, the .45-70’s rich American historical bloodlines run deep, from U.S. military use and competition shooting to bison hunts. There’s good reason the round is still thriving 150 years later. We’ve harvested whitetails, varmints, warthogs, and all sorts of African plains game with this round from these two guns. They pack easily, look good together, fly well, shoot with 100 percent reliability, and do the job every single time.

The link also has a very informative 7min video.

Field & Steam

If you’re in the market for a rifle scope you can use to hit stuff that’s a long, long, way off, there’s some good news for you in 2023. If you’re in the market for a more general-purpose rifle scope, like a fixed 4X or the one-time industry standard 3-9X, you may have to fire up your time machine. Consumers drive the market, and the market says we need more long-range optics, and that’s what 2023 has given us. From a 1-10X LPVO to a 5-30X rifle scope that retails for less than seven Benjamins, you should be able to find something you like this year. Of course, there are sure to be some new red dot sights as well. From around $370 to ten times that much, here are the latest rifle scopes for 2023.

The GPO Spectra 1.5-8X44i with G4i reticle.

Interestingly:

GPO has added their very practical illuminated hunting reticle to one of their very practical hunting rifle scopes. Their Spectra 1.5-8X44i rifle scope now has the G4i reticle. This is a thin-wired German #4 style reticle with a small, illuminated dot at the center. The reticle brightness is fully adjustable and powers down when the scope has been stationary for more than three hours. This is a wonderful reticle option, in a great hunting scope, with a suggested retail price of $949.

There are others, including a reflex red dot.

Shooting Illustrated.

Both UPS and FedEx allow only FFLs, law enforcement agencies and specific governmental entities to ship and receive firearms of any type, for any reason. That means unless you happen to be an FFL, you’ll have to enlist the services of one to both send your rifle to a gunsmith or to a manufacturer for warranty repairs, or to receive your rifle from either. An added complication is that in order for FFLs to use UPS or FedEx for this purpose, they must first apply for and receive approval to be a firearm shipper from the company they want to use. As an FFL myself, I can attest that this process is neither simple nor a hoop that every FFL will choose to jump through. UPS takes it one step further by requiring that firearm parts only be shipped by FFLs as well. What constitutes a firearm part? According to the UPS representative who serviced my old account, UPS considers a firearm part to be “anything that would be assembled to make a gun or added to a gun,” such as magazines, small parts, aftermarket furniture or any other components.

Moving on to brighter skies, USPS appears to mirror federal guidelines when it comes to the shipping of rifles. “Publication 52” is the postal service’s main-source document for firearm-shipping rules. According to section 432.3, so long as the rifle is unloaded and all other laws (state, local, etc.) are in full compliance, a non-FFL may mail a rifle to another non-FFL within the sender’s state of residence. Outside of one’s state of residence, it may be mailed to an FFL or to yourself (in care of someone else), in advance of your arrival at the destination address. Specific rules are outlined for each of these situations, so check local, state and USPS regulations before shipping that family heirloom off into the wild blue yonder, whether for repair or use in a different state.

USPS regulations are elusive on the topic of FFLs returning firearms to their lawful owners. However, “27 CFR § 478.148” states that an FFL may return a firearm (or like replacement) to its owner across state lines. There are no restrictions on shipping firearm components and parts through USPS, except that receivers and frames that ATF classifies as firearms must be shipped as firearms.

[ … ]

USPS requires that you declare the firearm and certify that it is unloaded before handing your package over to them. At no time may ammunition be shipped with a firearm (regardless of shipping method). You may be required to show a copy of the receiving FFL’s license and include a copy of your driver’s license with the firearm as well. A note for the receiving party is always a good idea. One of my outgoing rifle shipments, also last year, arrived at the receiving end completely out of the box. In fact, there was no box at all, just a rifle in a case. Thankfully, the paperwork was also in the case, so the receiving gun shop had sufficient information to be able to contact me for guidance.

Even though long-gun shipping has become more complicated in recent months, it’s still not overly difficult. By following the relevant laws and shippers’ rules, you can get your rifle where it needs to be without much fanfare.

I think the bottom line is that we’re probably going to have to either [a] drive it to where it needs to go, or [b] go through an FFL.  FFLs know it’s necessary to ask them for this service, so they charge for it.  I don’t blame them – the FFL costs money to maintain.

The murky thing is “firearm parts.”  Thus far I haven’t had any problems ordering things like ammunition, charging handles, BCGs, etc., and I’ve received barrels in the mail before.

But you can count on the federal code making things as difficult as possible.

Seen here.

Plaintiffs have demonstrated a probability of success on the merits of their Second Amendment challenge to the relevant provisions of Chapter 131 Section 7(a), which criminalizes carrying handguns in certain “sensitive places,” subparts 12 (public libraries or museums), 15 (bars, restaurants, and where alcohol is served), 17 (entertainment facilities), and 24 (private property), as well as section 7(b)’s ban on functional firearms in vehicles. The State may regulate conduct squarely protected by the Second Amendment only if supported by a historical tradition of firearm regulation. Here, Plaintiffs have shown that Defendants will not be able to demonstrate a history of firearm regulation to support any of the challenged provisions. The deprivation of Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights, as the holders of valid permits from the State to conceal carry handguns, constitutes irreparable injury, and neither the State nor the public has an interest in enforcing unconstitutional laws. Accordingly, good cause exists, and the Court will grant the motion for temporary restraints. An accompanying order of today’s date shall issue.

The effects of Bruen continue to be felt.  This is the right decision.  These courts all know that they can be disciplined by the Supreme Court.

But this is just the beginning.  There will be hundreds more where necessary.  I predict the gun control laws will continue to fall, including AWB, magazine capacity limits, showing good character, ad numerous permitting schemes.

Furthermore, I expect constitutional carry to come up again in the South Carolina legislature.  I also expect constitutional carry to pass in Florida because they’ve committed to it on video now.  If this doesn’t include open carry then it will be a failure.

Source:

Having a weapon mounted light on your self-defense gun is a good idea whether that gun is used for daily carry, home defense, or as a truck gun. And if you’re like many gun owners, you might prefer a weapon-light-only product over one that includes other things, like a laser. By using a light-only platform there’s no battery sharing with other features, reduced bulk, and no zeroing. It doesn’t matter if you have a handgun or a long gun in need of a light, there’s one out there for you.

The Modlite PLHv2-18350 Light Package (Photo credit: Modlite)

Check out our top 5 list of weapon mounted lights, in no particular order. And remember, just because a product lists a particular firearm doesn’t mean the company doesn’t also make it for other platforms, because they usually do.

They discuss long gun and handgun lights. Though convenient, the Crimson Trace RIG (Rapid Illumination Grip) would probably be bothersome to deal with. Surefire claims that the X300U-A is “recoil proof.” I haven’t run any of the lights listed.

And earlier on TCJ, tactical handheld flashlights.

Prior: God’s Church, Family, State

2 Samual 11:9-13

“But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.” – 2 Samuel 11:9

God was manifest in the flesh, crucified for your sin, rising again from the tomb to offer salvation from sin and life, even life eternal, to all who believe by faith that He is and does what He says. We have a wonderful, loving, and caring God, full of grace and abundant in mercies. If that’s the message you need, stop here.

This post is a hard topic. If you want to avoid facing the reality of our current condition, skip this post. Evil is hard to stomach. Mature Christians must be able to confront the truth of evil in our day if we are to address how to fix it. The object at the outset is to arm you, not cause despair.

The destruction of the family is a blow to the heart of loyalty. The government neither deserves nor bothers any longer to garner commitment, and all its institutions wonder why it’s treated upon the scale from distrust to disdain and outright lawbreaking. The churches soft-peddle a New Religion, becoming full of wicked unrighteous men.

There’s no loyalty anymore. It used to be that a man could have one job, he would work hard, and a company would take care of him. He would have one wife, work diligently to provide for her, and raise his family and she would be loyal to him. The head of the family would have one law, the law of God taught by the Church of Jesus Christ, the foundation upon which civilization must function. But we’re not here to worship the good old days. This law scales up from the individual to the nation.

God is loyal to His own, demanding our loyalty to Him in return. God will never leave you nor forsake you, but what have we done? Loyalty is a component of human behavior and a man’s nature. Being social creatures made in God’s image, we have this same attribute and desire built into us. We have an innate longing to both garner loyalty and to be loyal. Fidelity is how an association of any size functions. But allegiance outside God’s law always leads to ruination in sin.

Though rarely expressed as such, at the core of many a lament today is a lack of loyalty, and rightly so; how can one be loyal to that which is unworthy of trust and respect? Commitment comes from faith that good men will do the right thing, particularly if difficult. All institutions today demand respect but have not functioned for decades in a manner that garners trust; they are deserving of none.

Some men are born having a personality that tends toward loyalty. This is a fantastic character trait, but when the churches, the State, and the family all fall apart, where can one turn? How shall we make a functioning society?

America is littered with millions of people coming to realize their loyalty to the State has been misplaced. This can be a dangerous circumstance as they’ll seek any leader they perceive to be strong enough to direct their cause. And a fraudulent apostate church reinterpreting Scripture to accept sin has led to the ruin of the churches and our country. It’s so bad that forced acceptance of pedophilia and child sacrifice, by law, is not far off. Don’t scoff at this; read your Holy Bible; America is no better than they were. Blind loyalty leads to genocide, and TPTB knows this. Men must be loyal first to God and His law.

Evil tests loyalty by requiring sin, which isn’t much of a test since all men are inherently sinners seeking the iniquity of this world. The darkness truly is the weaker and for the weak of spirit.

God tests loyalty through trials of faith and even tribulations. America is entering one such phase, where the true Church, those in Christ, is being tested. Are they vassals of the unscrupulous empire, or do we follow the Holy One? And God can allow all manner of evil to befall a Christian to draw them closer to Him. God demands loyalty, even obedience. Among the lessons one may find is that God will let you fail, ensuring you know that He is God and that men do not attain perfection. His will, in divine sovereignty, is accomplished in all things.

If you find men who seek to be loyal by nature, you should learn how to be worthy of their loyalty. This is a key component in team building and exists in family nurturing as well. But how can a leader know if somebody is loyal? Seeking a way to devise a test comes to mind, but we have no such formula for righteousness, only time together finding who is full of love one for another.

Some are more so than most by nature. They look for groups to which they can become loyal. It might be that people who appear to have their feelings hurt easily are faithful by nature, searching for reciprocation. They’re not soft or weak but have a remarkable character trait that needs to be recognized and fostered.

People are petty and don’t think long-term, but hard times are arriving. No team wants people that are hesitant to commit fully at that moment of critical decision. Always fostering a team attitude is leadership at its most basic. Don’t take advantage of the loyal.

A man should know himself and his own nature. If somebody is seeking to be loyal, they should be forgiving, accommodating, and patient in all things. Trust takes a long time for others to realize. Even relying solely upon what people say can be misleading; loyalty is found in the trenches of doing hard things together.

The loss of loyalty is a direct result of sin. If you’re a Bible-believing Christian, that’s not much of a revelation. In the case of corporations, commitment to money over people and products is the error. As to government, so too devotion to money and power over the security of the liberties bought in the blood of loyal men. Of the family, the lust of the flesh destroys the foremost fundamental requirement for a functioning society. When marriage is nothing more than a hookup that lasts a few years instead of one night, your society will soon fall.

In the Garden, holy God gave one law that man might not sin against Him. He created the first institution of civilization, the family, to live in peace and prosperity by obedience to His command. At the roots of the destruction of loyalty in America and the west is sin, the violation of God’s law, and His created order upon earth.

Uriah is a hero. We’ve heard much preaching about that section of Samuel but never on the loyalty of Uriah; perhaps the churches are not loyal to Christ our King. The modern churches teach and preach how David and Bathsheba sinned, but then how they moved passed their sin. The American churches teach adaptation to contemporary society with all its wicked sins instead of preaching and teaching how to build and maintain a culture based upon the moral laws of God Almighty. Teaching Christians how to adapt to the beast system instead of how to resist it is despicable; it destroys trust and respect and separates men from the loyalty to God they should always strive to maintain. That’s the foremost problem in American Churches today. When the church has no foundation of moral code, the destruction of the family and the State soon follows.

Few are loyal to a church nowadays. It’s a separate topic, but most Christians seek to find where they feel pleased instead of being challenged in their faith, growing and prospering in the faith of Jesus Christ. Entering into the finers pot (Proverbs 25:4) is hard, but purity before the throne must be above all else. On the tombstone of America will be written: they were comfortable.

Why would men be loyal to a church that condones divorce? In some instances, Jesus taught a more stringent law than the Old Testament, and divorce is one of those instances. See Matthew 19:7-9.

Uriah refused to leave his king (2 Samuel 11:11) until receiving new orders to return to his brothers in battle. That’s loyalty, both to the king and to his brothers. The well-being of his people was at stake because they were at war; this was loyalty to his family and clan. The first reason Uriah gave for not rejecting his moral duty by leaving the battle was that the Ark of God was down on the field; Uriah was devoted to his God. He was loyal to his Creator, the Lord of hosts, the God who is the right hand of the faithful warrior for good.

Government is merely a reflection of society. When men reject sin, flourishing families are established, and a just government is soon born, the structure of which matters much less than the morality of the component members. Loyalty is garnered because the government is loyal to the same law of God that the Church of Jesus Christ is, and the families adhere to it.