SCAM FYI: SHOTGUN NEWS SUBSCRIBERS

  Yesterday I got the mail and went through it and opened one envelope and had a bill for my Shotgun News subscription.  So right away I pulled out the check book and started writing the check and then stopped.  The first thing that came to mind was that I am pretty sure that I just renewed my subscription.  I then looked at the front of my most recent Shotgun News and sure enough my subscription runs out 20 Nov 16.  Also the amount on the bill was a bit high.  I do not remember paying $119.85 for one year.  I get a 3 year subscription and I had remembered it was a pretty good price.

Above is the bill that I received in the mail.  A one year subscription through Shotgun news is $34.95 for 36 issues.  I also called Shotgun news to verify that this was indeed a scam and they confirmed that it was.  I tried calling the number on the bill multiple times and never got an answer.  If you receive this bill notify your District Attorney or States Attorneys office.

JFK: Shot by Frangible Ammunition

Let us start off in a review.  In November the REELZ channel ran a documentary that was a compilation of 2 books (Fatal Error by Bonner Menninger and JFK: The Smoking gun by Colin McLarin) that took a theory presented by "Ballistics Expert"  Howard Donahue who was on a test team of shooters in the 80s on trying to prove or dis-porove that Oswald was the lone gun man.  By the way he was the only one to duplicate the shots Oswald took on his second attempt.

His theory states that Secret Service Agent George Hickey was sitting on the folded down roof of the trail car that was following behind Kennedy's limo, and after Oswald shot Kennedy in the back of the neck the car sped up to follow Kennedy's limo SSA Hickey then fell back and fired an AR-15 which then shot Kennedy in the back of the head and killed him.  (See my post already disproving this dated Dec. 16, 2013 SSA hickey killed JFK...... I don't think so.)  Also in this theory it states that George Hickey had Frangible ammunition in the rifle that he killed Kennedy with.  That is why the round broke apart after entering President Kennedy's skull.  This is where my post today will continue examining the Frangible ammunition theory.

If you do not know what Frangible ammunition is, in a nut shell here is the explanation:

From notes and attendance to various schools I have learned the following:

This round was invented utilizing porcelain for the bullet part of the cartridge.  This round was a short range training round to be utilized in "Close Quarter Combat", "SWAT" Operations, and Military Operations on Urban Terrain live fire training.  The reason for the porcelain was to prevent ricochets, and also when it hit a steel target it would then crumble into powder.  Where as the A071 M-193 5.56 x 45 mm round of the day would splatter when hitting a steel target.  Thus possibly injuring shooters.

Above to the left is A071 M-193 5.56 for the M-16A1 with 1x12 barrel and to the right is 

A059 M-855(Currently used) with steel penetrator and used in M-16a2 and M-4 weapons with 1x7 twist barrels

At first this porcelain round was working wonders as far as training went.  It did not harm the Steel targets, it was easier on shooting houses, and these could be used forever.  However a training accident involving a soldier being hit occurred. When the hit individual was taken to the hospital the bullet did not show up on the x-ray and basically the surgeon had to poke and hope to find the round.  To fix this copper was added to the porcelain mix.  With this further instances of accidental shootings the bullets showed up like Neon on X-rays.

To the left is a 9x19mm Frangible round and to the right is a 5.56x45mm round

With that all said and done I will get to the show.  The narrator of the show, Bonner Menninger, and Colin McLarin all stated the Frangible ammunition theory.  This really bothered me for a number of reasons.  First off the Nomenclature for Frangible 5.56mm ammunition in the military is:  AA40 Ctg 5.56mm Short Range Training Frangible.  The reason I know this is from my previous life.  As far as I am concerned and have knowledge of from 1990 to 2003 the military didn't have any go to war frangible ammunition.  If you were shooting someone you were doing it with A071 M193 or A059 M-855 or a variant there of.  So my question here why would the Secret Service use a Short Range Training Round?  The Max effective range for the frangible 5.56 that I have from personal notes is 200 meters which is about half of that of regular rounds.  Another thing that bothered me is the shattering of the round.  First off Frangible usually does not shatter unless it hits steel.  I have seen Frange go through 4x4s 2x6s etc and come out whole.  This could be achieved by so many other ways and will take these on in a later post.  One of these I will cover now and that is the Dum Dum round.  It is a flattened round with an X cut in the head.  It was utilized at the Attica Prison riots and a few other police incursions in the 60s.  Also this round was banned for military use in the Geneva and Hague conventions.

The frangible theory really bothered me.  For some reason it just kept gnawing at me and I kept wondering if in fact Frangible ammo could have even been around at that time.  For some reason a date in the 70s kept popping into my head for when it was first offered.  I then dug up some notes that I had and they showed 1972.    I looked it up on the internet and a few references showed 1974.  Either way this is 9 and 11 years after JFKs assassination that frangible ammunition came to be.

I will conclude this post with the following Synopsis.  This is the second fact that I have taken from JFK: The Smoking Gun, and I am not a professional reporter or investigator but for the second time I have blown a presented fact out of the water.  I think people need to check their facts before getting the check for their book.

(This is an FYI and has nothing to do with this post other than to educate.)  Pictured here is a latter design of Frangible ammunition which has better range due to the metal jacket over the frangible bullet.  This is what is referred to as "The New Green" ammo and has a max effective range in the area between 300-400 meters.  I have not tested it for accuracy or even shot it yet.  I have 200 rounds which I will be testing for accuracy later and posting.

A Bad Congress + H.J. Res 59 = a Loss of Gun Rights.

Let me start this post with a review of the way I am pretty sure the way our government should work.

Every 10 years a census is taken in the United States to see how many people live here in the USA.  Also from this census population densities are added up and Congressional Districts are added or omitted.

Elections are then held to to elect Representatives for these Congressional Districts and speak the mind of the people in the way of drawing up bills representative of the thoughts, wants, needs and desires of the Congressional District conveyed to the Congressman and that do not go against the Constitution but re-enforce it.

Elections are also held to elect senators.  From what I remember from various social studies classes in from Grammar School to College is that in the congress the voice of the people are heard by the amount of people are in a district.  Senators meanwhile adhere to a rule of 2 senators per state giving each state at this point an equal vote on a specific point or bill.  In this a Senator looks at the amount of congressional districts in their home state that voted for said bill, and the senator being a Representative for the people of his state should vote the way the majority of the districts in their state voted.

Then when it passes the Legislative branch of our government it then goes to the Executive Branch, is reviewed and signed into law by The President of the United States.

The past several months the News Media has been Running snippets about the weakness of Congress,  The current congress is the worst congress in history and etc.  Actually at the time I thought it was the best congress yet.  Most importantly to me they protected my right to bear arms!  They have voted and passed legislation and then sent it to the Senate in which the problem occurs with our government.  It is turned down or voted out by the senators whose states presented the legislation to begin with.  At this point I could support this congress and every congressman.  They were sticking to the ideals of their Districts and themselves and most of all protecting the rights of We The People!  The problem was the Senate (Not passing and voting as a party not as a representative.) and the President (Threatening Vetos if he did not get his way.)  This is where the problem with our government laid.

I live here in the Virginia Fifth Congressional District.  My Congressman is Robert Hurt.  Occasionally I go to his web site and give my view on various subjects of interest to my self and others in this district that I have talked to.  The reason I do this is to exercise the right and duty to talk to my congressman and let him know what the people want in his district.  If no one tells him their feelings and views how can he represent us?  Also every now and then I receive an E-mail from Congressman Hurt (Roberts Round-up) telling me what he has done in Washington and who has visited him since his last letter.  Also being a veteran I receive periodic letters from Robert on the things that he is doing to help Veterans.

In December the Bipartisan Budget agreement was passed.  In this budget a cut to Cost Of Living Adjustments (COLA) to Military Retirees under a specific age was brought about to save the government money.  When I first saw this on the news I thought to myself who voted for this and was pretty confident that Congressman Hurt did not vote for it.  Then on Dec 18 2013 I got the below  message from Roberts Round up

Bipartisan Budget Agreement

Dear Friend,

I am pleased to report that last week, for the first time in five years, Congress agreed upon a federal budget. The House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 by a vote count of 332-94.

Fifth District Virginians know that we need to put an end to the reckless government spending in Washington that has brought us to a $17 trillion debt. Since coming to Congress, addressing the crippling national deficit and debt has been my top priority. While we have successfully implemented some spending reforms, such as eliminating earmarks and reducing spending for two consecutive years for the first time in nearly 60 years, we have not been able to make additional progress on our deficits and debt because of the Senate's failure to even attempt passing a budget in recent years.

After years of Senate unwillingness to act on budget policy, I am encouraged by the fact that we have stopped the pattern of handing over our congressional budgetary authority to the executive branch and exercised our constitutional duty to establish the spending priorities for our great nation. This budget plan reduces our long-term deficit without raising taxes. We have exchanged one-time cuts for long-term spending reforms that are not only good deficit reduction policy, but will also secure our military readiness by giving our troops the resources they need to defend our nation.

This budget plan is not a solution to our debt crisis, but it is a step in the right direction. I look forward to continuing to fight for true spending reform and for policies that will balance our budget and guarantee a brighter future for all Virginians and Americans.

If you need any additional information, please visit my website athurt.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-4711, Charlottesville office: (434) 973-9631, Danville office: (434) 791-2596, or Farmville office: (434) 395-0120.

After receiving this message I immediately went to Robert's website and simply asked the following;

Mr Hurt with everything that you have presented to veterans of the 5th district on helping/ watching out for Veterans did you really vote for this bill?

I then received the following via e-mail on Dec 26th 2013:

Dear Mr. Ulman:

Thank you for your recent communication concerning H. J. Res. 59, the Bipartisan Budget Act, and its impact on our nation's veterans.  I appreciate your taking the time to express your thoughts on this important matter.  It is a privilege to represent you and to serve as a voice for the citizens of Virginia's Fifth District.

Fifth District Virginians know that we need to put an end to the reckless government spending in Washington that has brought us to a $17 trillion debt.  After years of Senate unwillingness to act on budget policy, I am encouraged by the fact that we have stopped the pattern of handing over our congressional budgetary authority to the executive branch and exercised our constitutional duty to establish the spending priorities for our great nation.  We have exchanged one-time cuts for long-term spending reforms that will secure our military readiness by giving our troops the resources they need to defend our nation.  While not everything in the budget agreement is as I would have drafted it, it was imperative that Congress act to pass a budget to alleviate the pressure that sequestration imposed on our military.  

I share your concerns about the provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act that would affect veterans' future retirement cost of living adjustments, and I am committed to identifying alternative budget reforms.  I will work with my colleagues to ensure that no veterans are impacted by these changes before they take effect in 2016.  

I hope you will stay connected to our office with updates on the latest news, legislation, and other useful information, by signing up for our e-newsletter on our website, hurt.house.gov. Thank you again for your communication and please do not hesitate to contact our office with any future questions or comments.

Sincerely,
Robert Hurt
Member of Congress

Now one may come to the conclusion that I am just a whining Chicken Little.  The sky is falling the sky is falling.  But There is one statement in this letter that bothers me the most:

While not everything in the budget agreement is as I would have drafted it, it was imperative that Congress act to pass a budget to alleviate the pressure that sequestration imposed on our military.

(I do have to ask this now "Why in the hell did he vote for it to begin with????)  

I only have to ask what will be taken away next in the name of a budget or anything else.  If the Democrats next year present a bill that has gun control measures like those imposed in California and New York will he vote for it just to get a budget?  Will Congressman Hurt sell our rights for a budget?  Sadly I think so he already sold out his personal values on the Bi-partisan Budget Agreement.

I know quite a few ways money can be raised / saved.  If the congress wants to make reductions and get rid of the deficit then if they are taking away from Military Retirees why not join us and take away from yourselves.  Make the retirement for congress and the senate 20 years at 1/2 pay incremented to 30 years at 75%,  Pay caps for Senators and congressmen of lets say $4,000 a month for a junior congressman / Senator to $10,000 a month for a senior congressman and senator would be helpful too.  There are many more ways, just think about it.

I have not talked with other congressman from Virginia or anywhere else but I am thinking that they all have kicked their morals and ideals to the side with the results of the vote and are now whipped dogs and are just doing what Mr Obama and the Senate Democrats want them to do.  I also think they shot themselves in the foot, since most military that I am or have been in contact with are Republicans.  I urge each and every person that feels the way that I do to hold your congressman accountable for this.  I for one have to side with the news media this time and say that this is the worst Congress ever and I look forward now to a loss of our rights.

I have invited Congressman Hurt to look at this post and comment.

Belly Band Holsters

I own one of these types of holsters and I like it a lot.   I have worn it under a cummerbund while wearing a Tuxedo, under loose T-shirts or shirts, and while running. I purchased mine from the Sportsman’s Guide (sportmansguide.com) and from what I remember at a decent price.




I usually carry a large frame semi-automatic or a revolver on one side and an extra mag or cartridges on the other side. The band has two places sewn in to accommodate 2 pistols and 2 magazines if you are so inclined to carry so much fire power.




There are some draw backs to this type of holster. The shortcomings as I have seen them are listed below:


1.     There is no thumb-break or restraining strap. This would help retain the weapon inside the holster better.




2.     The holster is very flexible. When using a small frame pistol the holster tends to accordion around the pistol (Especially during periods of excessive activity) and have personally had the pistol fall out. Thus the reason for large frame pistols and revolvers.




3.      The magazine partitions are not sewn on the bottom. This is not a problem with a doublestack magazine but if you are carrying an M-1911 style 45 with single stack magazine the magazine will work its way down and fall out of the bottom.






Like I said at the start I like the holster and use it.   It is not perfect but it is functional.