Day: June 7, 2008


Observations on Real World Pistol Malfunctions and Failures, by PPPP

Mr. Rawles, I just returned from instructing a handgun course with 42 people on my range, and another 40 on my brother’s range. (He is also an instructor). I wanted to pass along some information on handgun maintenance and note several observations from this weekend that are typical in the courses we teach (approximately 800 rounds fired [per student] over several days). First., the [Model] 1911 model handguns took top honors in failures (defined as taking you out of the fight, not just a malfunction). Six of the approximately 25 [Model] 1911s had these problems. (includes both ranges). This is …


Letter Re: An Oil Trader’s Observations on the Market Implications of War with Iraq

Jim, I’ve been trading crude oil for a few decades now, and in the last two sessions I’ve seen trading like I haven’t seen since Desert Storm, large unexplained up moves, $5.50 yesterday (6/5) and as I type this the market opened $6.00 higher. For a huge liquid market such as Crude Oil, these are large moves. I went to the Jerusalem Post to search out any open source tidbits/indicators and I stumbled upon this article. To buttress this, Gold is up $22 and Silver up 35 cents. The first piece of Israeli ordnance to hit Iranian soil could cause …


Letter Re: Advice on Backup Power for a Ranch in Western Canada

Hello, I’m debating with myself. Do I install wind power or purchase and fill another diesel tank? The wind power would be the best investment, but my concern is the wind tower would be a giant sign that a prepared person lives here. I live in the middle of the Canadian west 10 miles from a town of 1,000 people 40 miles from a city of 25,000 people and 250 miles from a city of 400,000 people. I own 1,000 acres and my yard is in the middle. Does the distance from large population give me enough protection to install …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Diesel thieves wreak havoc on California farmers    o o o Yishai found us this, by way of Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit: If GPS Gets Knocked Out, the government has a backup plan.    o o o I missed this news article when it was posted a couple of weeks ago: Home Foreclosures: Crisis Is Only Getting Deeper. More recently, we’ve read: Bernanke urges more action to stem home foreclosure crisis    o o o Some analysis by Frank Barbera: Return of the Credit Crisis – Did It Ever Leave? We still haven’t seen the full impact on the …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I say that the Second Amendment doesn’t allow for exceptions — or else it would have read that the right “to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, unless Congress chooses otherwise.” And because there are no exceptions, I disagree with my fellow panelists who say the existing gun laws should be enforced. Those laws are unconstitutional [and] wrong — because they put you at a disadvantage to armed criminals, to whom the laws are no inconvenience.” – Harry Browne, August 8, 2000, speaking at a Second Amendment rally in Arkansas