Be Careful...

This was a pretty sobering story.

Ex-Navy SEAL died pursuing his passion

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — The former top Navy SEAL sniper who authorities say was killed at a Texas shooting range was devoted to maintaining camaraderie and helping his fellow veterans find their way after leaving active duty. 

Chris Kyle, author of the best-selling book "American Sniper," and his friend Chad Littlefield apparently were doing just that Saturday when, officials say, they were shot and killed by former Marine Eddie Ray Routh.

Chris was doing what he does, taking a fellow vet to the range, when that vet succumbed to his demons.

My buddy Matt DeVito of Downrange Firearms Training said it best this morning on Facebook:

I posted this last night on my instagram account and decided I should post here as well... 

When we wake up in the morning the news will be showing pictures, and tell a story of one man's "struggle" and how he rose above hardships to become... a "hero" and "inspiration" for others. It will tell tales of his bravery, his fame, his illustrious career doing what he loved. What the news will fail to talk about is the real hero, who's life ended so abruptly. A man who disobeyed direct orders, and put his own life on the line to save others. A man who left the safety of his post, to teach young Marines how to clear buildings, so he didn't have to watch any more American servicemen be carried on bloodied stretchers. A man who overcame his own bouts of PTSD, so that he could continue to help others who suffered from the same afflictions. A man who defined the word BRAVERY. Americans have become a society of takers and not makers, praying to false prophets and idolizing fake Gods. Someone who takes lives in cold blood is held up high on a pedestal, and continues to make millions of dollars living his daily life. Yet a man who takes a life, in defense of countless other lives, is demonized, for keeping people he will never meet, on distant shores, in cubicles and offices far away from the cries of battle, safe and free. I've seen a lot of the hatred spewed around the internet, celebrating the death of Chris Kyle, calling it "karma". It's saddened and sickened me, that the same people that Chris fought for, would be so quick to use the rights he defended with his own blood, sweat, and tears, to make a mockery of his life. 

If you know a veteran, thank them for their service. Thank them for putting on a uniform every day, not just on Sunday, and putting themselves in harm's way, so that you may have the freedoms you enjoy.  

RIP Chris. A TRUE Hero and warrior. Your legacy and spirit will live on.

(reprinted with Matt's permission. Thank you for your strong, powerful words, Matt).

Thank you, Chris, and all who serve and have served.

It's a sober reminder whenever we bring new people to the range that we do need to be extra-vigiliant for a number of reasons. If it's a new shooter, we want to make sure first and foremost that they are safe; secondly that they have an enjoyable time. If it's a returning shooter, same as new only with more emphasis on the second part. If it's someone you don't know... I know I've passed on a few requests simply because they made the hair on the back of my neck stand up; maybe I missed an opportunity or two but when that voice talks, I listen to it.

Be careful out there, folks - especially if you happen to be a 2A supporter, as this is the third we've lost in a month's time (Noveske, Ratliff, and now Kyle)...

That is all.

Once Is An Accident, Twice Is Coincidence...

Earlier this week we brought you the story of the tractor trailer full of S&W guns that saw over 100 guns stolen from it and sold on the street. Now we have this story:

Report: More than 100 rifles stolen from train car in metro Atlanta

ATLANTA – Authorities say they're searching for dozens of rifles stolen from a train car somewhere in metro Atlanta.

Atlanta station WSB-TV reports that more than 100 rifles were taken in the heist from a CSX boxcar.

Forgive me for being just a little bit paranoid here, but we're seeing two different incidents where over a hundred firearms were stolen off of common carriers. The first one was handguns. The second was rifles. The tinfoil hat side of me can't help but look at "Fast & Furious" and wonder if this isn't another "under the radar" deal to drum up support for more gun control.

Think about how much the price of a firearm would go up if they had to ship via armored car rather than on a common carrier. You don't need to make firearms illegal if a Ruger 22/45 costs a thousand bucks, and an M&P-15 is north of $2.5K. Interest will dry up on its own over time - much like full auto, when only the independently wealthy can afford firearms, they become so far removed from the population that they can be ignored.

Take it one step further. If an 18 wheeler coming out of Smith & Wesson isn't safe, nor is a boxcar on a freight train, how on earth can we permit just any average joe to transport a firearm without seventeen different anti-theft devices? They won't outlaw interstate transport, they'll just require that you have an armored trunk with a pager alarm that's monitored 24/7 by ADT...

Mark my words - we'll see a shipment of ammunition disappear within the next 60 days...

That is all.

Another dispatch from...

(image courtesy of Robb Allen)

Is This the World's Greatest Coincidence, Or What?

Just as we were discussing the Fast & Furious debacle - and seeing Darrel Issa being ridiculed for wondering if it were part of a larger gun control campaign, in comes this interesting story:

Talks on global arms treaty set to begin in New York

A month of UN-hosted talks are due to kick off in New York, aiming to establish a treaty controlling arms sales around the world.

Over the coming weeks, negotiators will seek to determine the scope of the treaty and to reach a consensus.

Isn't that interesting? Just after Attorney General Eric Holder was cited for contempt for his role in stonewalling the investigation into the Fast & Furious operation - where the United States deliberately allowed US-made guns to cross the border - there's an international treaty on small arms. What are the odds? Of course, no international talk on arms would be complete without international PSH and deliberate lying out the wazoo:

"It is an absurd and deadly reality that there are currently global rules governing the trade of fruit and dinosaur bones, but not ones for the trade of guns and tanks," said Jeff Abramson, director of Control Arms.

Really, Jeff? Want to inform us, then, what exactly it is that ITAR does, then? How come we can't ship a scope mount outside of the United States without ITAR clearance if there are, as you say, no global rules? Oh, you were LYING, I get it. That's what you gun grabbers do - you lie. You use places like Syria, where the government massacres its civilians with firearms, as evidence that we need to curtail the small arms trade - and then draft legislation intended to take firearms away from private citizens.

Please, just please, someone tell me they'll respond by pointing out that ITAR is a US-initiative. Right after they get through donning the hair shirt over the United States being the largest exporter or small arms, right? I mean, no one would ever think to point out the irony that the largest exporter is the one doing the most regulating, right? Of course, speaking of irony, there's the simple fact that the UN had (has?) Syria on the Human Rights Commission...

Get ready folks. I'll don the tinfoil hat and play "let's imagine". Let's imagine that the MSM had been successful in keeping Fast & Furious under wraps. For a good long time, the narrative was that American guns were being smuggled into Mexico, where they were being sold to the cartels and used to murder civilians, police, rival gangs, etc. All of a sudden there's this global talk on small arms trade and how it should be regulated - and wouldn't the story about those poor Mexicans murdered by guns made in the U.S. of A. (did we mention the largest exporter of small arms? This paragraph I mean?) just fit right in?

Watch these slimy SOBs every damn second. They are just positively salivating to introduce British levels of firearms control here in the US - they've taken down the other former subjects of the British crown already, and we stand as the last bastion of personal freedom. They would love nothing better than for the American small arms manufacturers to be run out of business; to see Smith & Wesson shuttered; Colt nationalized; Remington, Winchester, etc. relegated to the dustbin of history. Then and only then could they go about their business with impunity - because you know as sure as G-d made little green apples green that the state would never give up its arms.

I don't know about the rest of y'all, but that sentence gives me the shivers, and not the good kind.
 
That is all.

Another dispatch from...

(image courtesy of Robb Allen)

Time To Buy Stock In Reynolds Wrap?

SCI-FI sends in this rather disturbing story...

Breitbart's coroner poisoned to death?

Medical examiners in Los Angeles are investigating the possible poisoning death of one of their own officials who may have worked on the case of Andrew Breitbart, the conservative firebrand who died March 1, the same day Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced probable cause for forgery in President Obama’s birth certificate.

Michael Cormier, a respected forensic technician for the Los Angeles County Coroner died under suspicious circumstances at his North Hollywood home April 20, the same day Breitbart’s cause of death was finally made public.

Now, I don't generally believe in coincidences. I'll admit to donning the tinfoil helmet once already over this - it just seemed too neat and tidy that one of the administration's biggest and most outspoken critics would drop dead at an unusually young age. Folks were quick to comment - he had heart issues; this wasn't as out-of-the-blue as it might seem, etc. But here's another sheet of tinfoil to add to the helmet - the same day that the coroner's report is released, someone from the coroner's office mysteriously dies of arsenic poisoning?

And, even more incredibly, they're *already* trying to dissuade talk of homicide? Now, I suppose it could be a suicide - I would imagine that working in the laboratory of a large city would present the opportunity to purchase chemicals that most of us would come under heavy scrutiny for attempting to buy. But there's a bit of that "methinks thou doth protest too much" in the "IT'S NOT HOMICIDE" being the first words out of their mouths.

Maybe it is all just one crazy mixed up coincidence. Sure, one of the bigger anti-administration players just happens to drop dead in an election year. The guy who blew the lid off of ACORN and their "make up the vote" strategy as well as helping Rep. "Show you my" Weiner out the door just happens to have a major cardiac episode early in a pivotal election year. Nah, nothing funny about that, especially with folks from the administration side telling their people to "get in their faces"...

And now this. Sure, maybe it's all just another big coincidence. Maybe the guy never even thought of the Breibart case, let alone worked on it, and decided to cash in his chips. It could happen, certainly - especially given the kind of publicity given the case in general. It's just that the whole "Chicago way" that business has been done, coupled with the "us vs. them" mentality, adding in the Obama enemy's list, etc.; well, sure, maybe it's all just a big long string of coincidences.


All I know is that I wouldn't go for a run in Fort Marcy Park right now if you paid me...

That is all.