August 1st is celebrated annually as Swiss Independence Day, in recognition of the signing of the Federal Charter of 1291 [1], which united Switzerland’s first three cantons. As of 2013, Switzerland has been free and independent for 722 years [2]. (Our Republic is just a wee fledgling, by comparison.) Having a well-armed populace has assured those seven centuries of freedom for Confederatio Helvetica. Today at the Rawles Ranch [3] we plan to do some target shooting with our Schmidt-Rubin rifles and our SIG PE57, to celebrate.
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The clock is now ticking for residents of Maryland. They have until September 30, 2013 to round out their “lifetime supply” home gun batteries with proper battle rifles before a new state gun ban goes into effect. If you are a Marylander and cannot relocate because of family or work commitments, then I recommend that you buy at least one battle rifle for each family member, with at least six spare magazines for each–and preferably a dozen or more. And if you are on a tight budget, then at least buy stripped receivers that you can build up at a later date. (In the eyes of the law in most states, it is just the receiver that constitutes the “firearm.”)