Odds ‘n Sods:

Countrytek mentioned: More mass fish kills, in the upper Midwestern states. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia is blamed.

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KT sent us a link to video from Taurus, hyping their “Judge” .45 Colt/.410 shotshell revolver. This revolver might sense for folks in bear country. And bear country is also often grouse or ptarmigan country. So this whompin’ big revolver might be practical in several ways. I certainly wouldn’t want to make it my primary self-defense handgun (versus two-legged predators), but it does offer some interesting possibilities. As for the Taurus marketeer’s suggestion of using The Judge as a counter-carjacking tool, I have some reservations. The Judge is a huge revolver, and therefore it isn’t concealable. So that would necessitate a CCW permit holder packing a smaller gun on their belt, and “The Judge” in their vehicle. That opens up the liability and potential theft issues of leaving a loaded revolver unattended in a parked car. I’d much rather spend $800 on training and ammo, rather than on an additional gun–in an additional caliber–that would only be marginally more effective than a .45 auto. (The factory loadings for .45 Colt are mild, but it can be beefed up considerably if you handload.) That is just my opinion. Your mileage may vary. (YMMV.) I should also mention that gun writer Jeff Quinn of GunBlast.com field tested The Judge. He suggested that it might be a good choice for folks that live in areas that are heavily infested with poisonous snakes, since you could presumably load the first one or two chambers of the cylinder with #7 bird shot .410 shells

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By way of reader RBS: Contingencies for nuclear terrorist attack: Government working up plan to prevent chaos in wake of bombing of major city