Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a DKos group of second amendment supporters who also have progressive and liberal values. We don't think that being a liberal means one has to be anti-gun. Some of us are extreme in our second amendment views (no licensing, no restrictions on small arms) and some of us are more moderate (licensing, restrictions on small arms.) Moderate or extreme, we hold one common belief: more gun control equals lost elections. We don't want a repeat of 1994. We are an inclusive group: if you see the Second Amendment as safeguarding our right to keep and bear arms individually, then come join us in our conversation. If you are against the right to keep and bear arms, come join our conversation. We look forward to seeing you, as long as you engage in a civil discussion.
Shadan:
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Although there are compelling statistical arguments on both sides, many experts agree that analysis of the effects of guns on crime and safety is fraught with complications and ambiguity. For example, the studies often fail to account for economic factors and broad changes in the American legal system. For example, some argue that during prosperous economic times, gun-related deaths are likely to fall, while lean fiscal periods mark increased violent crime.
Springfield EMP Review
Sometimes I hate enthusiasm, but I have also learned to trust my buddy. He was right - it was fun to shoot this little 9mm and it really was a great end to what had been a productive but exhausting week. In the end, it was good to be reminded how much I enjoy shooting and to feel a quality pistol in my hand that didn’t add to the ache of my share of 6,000 test rounds.
I looked at the gun, as I reluctantly handed it back to my friend. “What do these go for?”
We walked back to the truck. The Springfield Armory case was open on the tailgate. “This model? About $1,100, new. There aren’t too many used ones for sale yet.”
$1,100 is more than I have spent on any handgun previously and I don’t really need another concealed-carry gun, which is also too heavy for pocket carry. I watched it disappear into the gun case.
I sighed. “Guess I should start saving my money.”
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Maybe it’s a Midwestern thing. I haven’t been to shooting ranges at a lot of places elsewhere in the country. But here, whenever you go out shooting with people, everyone has to try everything. And if people seem sane at the range, many times I’ve seen folks share guns with strangers. Yeah, you wanna be a bit careful about who you hand your guns over to, but if they’ve been dangerous or inept, I’ll usually find a reason to not stick around the range very long anyway.
(KV note: It's that way here. Where does Yooperland fit in?
KV:
Short story:
I went to the range with a couple buddies of mine and their kids. All in all, we had four adults, 3 kids, and 2 LEOs. We did our normal shooting thing and then decided to do a sniper walk off.
A sniper walk off is when you take a steel plate at the far end of the range and shoot at it from varying distances. We start @ 25 yards and everyone gets a shot at it from that distance. Those that hit move on to the next distance, those that miss with all three chances (both hands, right only, left only) drop out. Whoever's left wins.
So we start at 25 yards and everyone (including the 3rd grader [a girl. this is important for later], 4th grader and 8th grader) moves on to the next stage, which is 50 yards. This is where one of the kids (I think the 8th grader) and LEOs (law enforcement officers) drop out. We move on back to roughly 60-65 yards. This is where the other adults and the 3rd grader drop out.
So we move back to 80 yards and it's me versus an 8th grader. I kid you not (pun intended.) I end up winning just in time to hear from one of my buddy's that the ONLY reason I won is because I'm shooting his daughter's brilliantly pink Ruger Mark III/45.
I forget to mention that? Oh yeah, BRILLIANTLY PINK. I didn't have any ammo for my 1911 (and...er... I knew that the Ruger was a more accurate firearm anyway) so I strapped on the matching holster to the catcalls and good natured jibes.
So, I offered the pink pistol (plug plug for Pink Pistols here) to my buddy and let him take a shot. He hits at 80 yards. We move back to 90 yards. He misses, I hit. I move back to 100 yards, just to show off (it's his daughter's gun after all) and hit again.
Moral of the story: it really doesn't matter what a firearm looks like or what colour it is. If you can hit with it, you can hit with it.
Secondary moral: outshooting cops on the range is kinda scary.
Tertiary moral: seeing a big, bearded, biker looking guy holding a brilliantly pink pistol tends to draw stares, laughter, catcalls, and derisive comments until you shoot it...