The idea of silencers being used by the criminal element during Prohibition is more of a Hollywood tale than actual fact. Silencers went into the NFA registry for one main reason that this NGVAC follower hit by accident in his mocking reply :

Remember we are right smack in the middle of the Depression and the Powers That be did not want common folk to go out there and kill the King’s deer (and other critters) to feed their families. The viability of a pistol as a “killing instrument” for a mob enforcer is because it can be easily hidden and easily retrieved in order to do the deed. Adding a foot of pipe at the end of the Smith And Wesson Model 10 revolver (Most common sidearm of the time if I am not mistaken) makes no sense, plus a lot of the noise from revolvers come from the cylinder gap.

Enjoy the comments of the thread. There are some really loonies flying that flag.

The 155mm “Long Tom” was the backbone of US Artillery during WWII. It could fire a 95lb shell a distance of up to 15 miles and was very accurate. Additionally, it could fire at a rate of 40 rounds per hour. The gun could fire high-explosive, armour-piercing, chemical, smoke, and illuminating shells. It was usually mounted on a 10 tired carriage for easy transport. It was also found in self-propelled mounts.

Source: For sale: Original WW2 155mm ‘Long Tom’, a rare and impressive piece of history

Yes, it is demilled, but it does not take much to bring one of those puppies back to life again….and yes, I am just saying that to scare the bejesus out of the Antis. The idea that Gun Nuts could lay their hands on that kind of artillery should send them into deep bunkers in South Africa out of sheer terror.

With the proper budget, Long Toms would make for an interesting Fourth of July.

Via Bearing Arms and Bob Owens.

Now that is too cool. I thought the mini gun was going to melt even with multiple barrels.

4 Lbs Boston Butt

1.5 cups Orange Juice (no pulp)
0.25 Cup Key Lime Juice
0.25 Cup EV Olive Oil
0.25 Cup Rum (not spiced)
4 TBSP Dark Brown Sugar
2 TBSP Minced Garlic
1 TBSP Kosher Salt
Greens from one bunch Cilantro (chopped)

In the Crock Pot low heat for 8 hours

Enjoy

I finally got around to seeing the Jurassic World last night.  I know, I know, it came out 4 months ago, but I have a baby so the only way I get to enjoy a movie with the wife when it gets to On Demand.

It was enjoyable, not as good as the Jurassic Park, better than Jurassic Park III, on par with The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Having seen all four movies now, and knowing that the studio had consulted with paleontologists and biologists, I wish they had consulted with a couple of gun guys and maybe a professional safari guide too.

I get that having a bunch of bad ass, ex-military, Blackwater types for security is really cool looking but I don’t think that hunting terrorists (which I haven’t done) employees the same techniques as hunting dangerous game (which I have done).  It’s not like lion or Nyati (Cape Buffalo) use IED’s.  Also, when what you are hunting is 50 feet long and weights 6 tons, I don’t think belt fed 5.56 has enough stopping power.  The Raptor-Whisperer (Chris Pratt) did have something big bore, but I just don’t think .45-70 really cuts it.

They did this in every movie.  Muldoon, the game warden in Jurassic Park, was packing a SPAS-12 shotgun, and the dinosaur capture crew from The Lost World was carrying a mix of HK G3’s, M-16’s, etc.  The ONLY character who brings enough gun was Roland the professional hunter from The Lost World who was packing a double gun in 600 NE.  And he never gets to torch it off.

I can see the advantage of a .308 semi auto against Velociraptor.  Of course, when hunting something that can hunt you back, there is no such thing as “too much knockdown power.”  Since Velociraptor are pack hunters and human size, I think a semi auto .308 with a 20-25 round mag would make up in volume of fire for what it lacks in single hit knockdown.

Anything bigger than that though – which is most of the non-human population of the park – it’s time to break out the big guns.  Nothing less than .375 H&H at and ABSOLUTE MINIMUM.  I’m partial to the .500 Jeffery since ammo and brass are relatively easy to find.  Other calibers in the family of Dino-stoppers that come to mind as being available in factory bolt guns: .460 Weatherby, .505 Gibbs, .458 Lott.  Then there are the other proprietary cartridges for stopping a charging elephant.  The .500 A-Square, .600 Overkill, .585 Nyati, and .577 T-Rex.

The later three I’d steer clear of.  Too much recoil to be controllable by all but the most experienced shooters and they lack penetration.  The British discovered that smaller diameter, faster bullets penetrated better on dangerous game.  The 4 bore and 8 bore gave way to the .700 and .600 Nitro, which were eclipsed by the .500 NE 3 inch and .470 NE.

If I had to bring something into play that required more than the 6,800 ft-lbs of energy that the Jeffery had, I’m going full bore 50 BMG.  Some of the lighter ones are pushing 20-21 lbs, which is heavy but doable (you’re not humping it around in the filed all day).  Also a 647 Barnes Triple Shock loaded to 2,900 FPS will carry 12,000 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle.  That should stop a T-Rex.

Maybe I’m over analyzing this.  But how many people need to get eaten over 2 years on two Islands and the city of San Diego before they get their act together.  Seriously?  For a lot less than the cost of some Blackwater-esque mercenary company, I bed they can get a couple of redneck hunters who would mop up a rampaging dinosaur problem for nothing more than the cost of the guns, ammo, and taxidermy rights, and they would fare a whole lot better.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, SC (WBTV) -Deputies estimate that they’ve seized between 7,000 and 10,000 stolen guns from a house and warehouse near Pageland. Deputies have arrested Brent Nicholson in connection to the stolen goods.Chesterfield County Sheriff Jay Brooks says the seized guns, ammunition, and hundreds of other items were all found on a single property off of Highway 9 outside of Pageland city limits.

Brooks says the guns alone filled one tractor trailer and ammunition filled another.

Source: Neighbor speaks on man arrested after 7,000+ stolen guns found n – WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC

Here is the kicker:

When asked what Nicholson was doing with so many guns, Brooks said, “(he) looks like a gun hoarder to be honest with you.” Deputies have found no evidence that he ever sold any of the guns.

“You know he just had 7,000 guns,” Brooks said. “99.9 percent are hunting rifles and shot guns.”

The way I see it, all the Gun Control groups plus PETA and any other Animal Rights organizations should get together and cover this guy with awards. Not only he kept “dangerous” weapons off the hands of their legal but crazy gun owners, he targeted guns that were intended to kill and maim Bambi and all those poor forest creatures that have as much right as anybody to live.

Brent Nicholson should be true face of Gun Sense.

She was a nasty one. Most South Floridians had a bad feeling about this sucker and prepared, even though some idiot on TV assured that it would reach our side as a weakened category one. It turned out to be an almost category three but for five miles an hour.

The blue roofs…mine was one.

and the obligatory repairs

The local trees did not fare well.

According to Wikipedia:

Hurricane Wilma caused widespread destruction of critical infrastructure, including power, water and sewer systems. Florida Power and Light, the largest electricity utility in the state, reported more than 3,241,000 customers had lost power, equivalent to approximately 6,000,000 people, with most residents getting power restored in 8–15 days. Running water was restored for most residents within 2 days.

We were without power a bit longer, but we never lost water service. Where I used to work was one of the last areas where power was restored last and it took a month. The only saving grace was the weather was beautiful right after the hurricane: the highs were never above the low 80s dropping at night to the low 70s ,very low humidity, breezy and not a drop of rain.

I wanted to post pics of the massive looting in the aftermath of Wilma, but I remembered that there was not much to be even a statistical blip. Some careless people lost their generators to burglars, but the crap you saw in New Orleans does not happen in Florida, a state where the signs that go “You Loot, We Shoot” plus accompanying firearms and ammo are part of the hurricane kit in every home.

I might be exaggerating just a bit about the sign being part of the hurricane kit.