Know how I know you open carry?

Springfield XD?  Eh.....not the best of choices but OK.  SERPA holster?  Shit choice, crap holster.

XD + SERPA = Open Carry, 90% certainty.  So many open carry guys carry this lower tier crap gear and guess what?  They don't shoot enough to see why it sucks and therefore, it is good enough for their usage which mainly entails shopping and eating fast food whilst sporting their crap gear.  Don't believe me?  Peruse opencarry.org

Also, just because the USMC adopted the SERPA, doesn't mean it's good.  See the MOLLE pack fiasco or watch this video from SouthNarc's training.

Seriously, if you MUST open carry with a retention holster, get a Safariland ALS.  If you are happy with the SERPA/XD combo. remember this Biblical verse:


Boobolitz 4:13 - yea verily, the shepherd of the sheep shalt go forth into the flock of the Lord, and thy shalt wearith thine Croatian divining rod of retribution upon thine body within the shell of holy kydex. Though the evils of the world, the neckbeards of Satan congregate at Walmart, the sons the Lord need not fear, as they shall be sheltered by the holy sheepdog. I say verily unto you, woof.

Below I have thrown together a quick list of trainers and organizations that recommend against or have disallowed the SERPA holster:

• Gunsite recommends against using the SERPA
• Todd Green has banned the SERPA from his classes
• John McPhee has banned the SERPA from his classes
• Nation Park Service has banned the SERPA for its officers
• Paul Howe does not like the design of the SERPA
• SERPAs banned from FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
• US Forest Service bans the SERPA
• Larry Vickers has banned the SERPA from his classes
• Travis Haley has banned the SERPA from his classes
• Chris Costa does not recommend the SERPA
• Trident Concepts does not allow the SERPA in their classes
• Lawsuit filed against SERPA manufacturer

A Crimean coincidence or 5.45x39mm is rumored to have been banned by the ATF

It all started with a Facebook post from the infamous James Yeager.......

And by this afternoon, the panic had set in.  Military surplus 5.45x39mm has been flying off of the shelves (though I have a bit, I bought some more myself).  The formidable hivemind at Ar15.com researched the hell out of this.  One guy even called the BATFE and confirmed what folks were saying; that apparently once some, anyone builds a "pistol" (AR or AK pistol in this case) that can shoot imported steel core ammunition or "Armor Piercing", that steel core ammunition will be banned.  You see, that's part of the "for sporting purposes only" language in the Second Amendment, folks.  The BATFE is operating on some sort of reality distortion field where steel core ammo made in the US is fine but imported steel core ammo is evil......

  Copes confirmed the sad reality of this as did AIMSurplus (both posting on AR15.com).

  Reports abounded like the below:

AIM sold 440 cans within 1/2 hr. 

USAC, who claims to be the retail arm of a major importer, had well over 1500 tins listed this morning and now show out of stock.

  

Folks, this is bad.  The non-logic of this hurts the head.  I can name at least one good dude (a friend) who was planning to build a small business around 5.45x39mm AR15s.  Ask yourself "what is the point of this?  Is it not just a back door towards disallowing more firearms and ammunition to the American people?"

I know it sounds paranoid but I don't think this happening on the wake of the Crimean crisis is a coincidence......  However, following the letter of the law as seen below, the BATFE is technically right except, did anyone tell them that 5.45x39 is .21 caliber?

(B) The term “armor piercing ammunition” means—

(i) a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; or (ii) a full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.

The prohibition that this definition applies to is:

It shall be unlawful:

(7) for any person to manufacture or import armor piercing ammunition, unless--(A) the manufacture of such ammunition is for the use of the United States, any department or agency of the United States, any State, or any department, agency, or political subdivision of a State;(B) the manufacture of such ammunition is for the purpose of exportation; or(C) the manufacture or importation of such ammunition is for the purpose of testing or experimentation and has been authorized by the Attorney General;(8) for any manufacturer or importer to sell or deliver armor piercing ammunition, unless such sale or delivery--(A) is for the use of the United States, any department or agency of the United States, any State, or any department, agency, or political subdivision of a State;(B) is for the purpose of exportation; or(C) is for the purpose of testing or experimentation and has been authorized by the Attorney General;

Right now, AR15.com is on a witch hunt to see which genius manufacturer "manufactured" a 5.45x39mm pistol and have zeroed in on JBI Armory, who sure enough advertises 5.45x39mm and 7.62x39mm "pistols."  

LWRC acquired by Colt

Told ya so in November.

Interesting and kinda sad twist:  This development that has been in the works since last fall is now being attributed by F&D Defense as an effort by LWRC's owner and shareholders to avoid F&D's lawsuit.  A direct quote from F&D's front page of their web site.

LWRCI has moved to sale ownership of its company on the heels of revelations that F&D is the actual inventor of its flagship Intellectual Property which is incorporated into its M6-IC, M6-IC-SPR, M6A2, M6A2 SPR, M6-SL, PSD, M6.8-A2, M6.8-SPR, M6.8-UCIW, and REPR rifles, enabling its piston system to function properly.

F&D had a contentious relationship with the rest of the precision rifle world long before this little announcement.  Their staff would get on SnipersHide forums and honestly make the rest of the world run away from their products and company through their immature tone and willingness to not take the high road but rather to squabble in an adolescent fashion, usually after one of their rifles did not shoot that well as reported by an independent tester.  Most of their worst tiffs have been disappeared, no doubt related to the current lawsuit in which it's reported that the owner of F&D is representing himself.  

What could possibly go wrong?

MVM, Silver Eagle, and hypocrisy defined

  <This blog post was written using freely available public (via search engine) information>

  There's this company in Northern Virginia.  A company by the name of "MVM" that specialized (past tense) in providing armed security services to certain government agencies overseas.  After a few fallouts with their government clients, they have lost the bulk of their government PMC (Professional Military Contracting) security contracts that in essence, provided security to government personnel overseas in combat zones.

•    MVM Inc loses CIA contract after failing to provide enough security guards

•    MVM loses largest contract, son of founder removed from corporate website

•    MVM "officially" loses Scorpion and Panther programs

  So, the PMC market has its ups and downs.  The company that has this contract today won't tomorrow.  The sorry program manager that ran off all of the good people might not be employed in a year and so on.  In other words, companies lose contracts.  

  However.......  MVM is owned by a family.  The Marquez family (you'll see their names in the links above) and the company is headed by Dario Marquez.  This family has the oddest political leanings for a family that owns a PMC company (PMC companies and employees are routinely vilified by the left wing because as we all know, an honorable serviceman turns into a baby killer the moment he leaves the military and picks up a gun).  The family that owns a "shooting range" in Northern Virginia near DC (it's primary purpose  for being built was as a training facility for the PMC company) that is replete with suppressors ("silencers" in common slang), machine guns for rental, and a "shoot house" for urban warfare training routinely and always donates to Democratic candidates both in the local and national races.  In other words, they donate only to anti-gun candidates.  Odd, that.  Sort of......hypocritical from where I'm standing.

  Behold the donations below (from public websites, mainly opensecrets.org).  There's more details in this thread at AR15.com but I like to think I've summarized fairly well why their shooting range doesn't deserve your business.  These people aren't on the side of gun owners  They have a shooting range because it was a cover for their PMC business and their donations could very well end up funding the next politician to legislate new laws to take away the rights of American gun owners.

MARQUEZ, DARIO
OAKTON, VA 22124

HANLEY, KATE
VIA KATE HANLEY FOR CONGRESS
12/30/2003 -1140.00 24990276510

MARQUEZ, DARIO
OAKTON, VA 22124
MVM INC/PRESIDENT AND CEO

HANLEY, KATE
VIA KATE HANLEY FOR CONGRESS
06/10/2003 2000.00 25970140778

MARQUEZ, DARIO
VIENNA, VA 22182
MVM INC/OWNER

DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF VIRGINIA
06/09/2008 500.00 28932324497

MARQUEZ, DARIO JR.
VIENNA, VA 22182
MVM INC./PRESIDENT

BECERRA, XAVIER
VIA BECERRA FOR CONGRESS
11/08/2007 500.00 28990165570

MARQUEZ, DARIO O
VIENNA, VA 22182
MVM INC/CEO

CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM
VIA HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT
01/31/2008 2300.00 28930684586

MARQUEZ, DARIO O JR
IR,

OBAMA, BARACK
VIA OBAMA FOR AMERICA
06/30/2007 1000.00 27990397138

MARQUEZ, DARIO O JR
OAKTON, VA 22124
MVM INC

SANCHEZ, LORETTA
VIA COMMITTEE TO RE-ELECT LORETTA SANCHEZ
09/19/1997 250.00 98032813409
09/26/1997 750.00 98032813409

MARQUEZ, DARIO O.
OAKTON, VA 22124
MVM INC./EXECUTIVE

MORELLA, CONSTANCE A
VIA CONNIE MORELLA FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE
05/03/2002 300.00 22991303760

MARQUEZ, DARIO O. JR.
MCLEAN, VA 22102
MVM, INC./SECURITY SERVICES

CONNOLLY, GERRY
VIA GERRY CONNOLLY FOR CONGRESS
07/29/2008 1200.00 28992613196
07/31/2008 1100.00 28992613175

MARQUEZ, DARIO O. JR.
VIENNA, VA 22182
MVM, INC./SECURITY SERVICES

CONNOLLY, GERRY
VIA GERRY CONNOLLY FOR CONGRESS
01/28/2008 2300.00 28931156406

MARQUEZ, DARIO O. MR. JR.
OAKTON, VA 22124
MVM INC./BUSINESS OWNER

FEDERAL VICTORY FUND
09/30/2002 5000.00 22992002662
08/09/2005 5000.00 26990086008

Total Contributions: 21060.00

TRY A: NEW QUERY
RETURN TO: FEC HOME PAGE

Here is the current president of SEG

Contributions to Political Committees

MARQUEZ, SCOTT
HERNDON, VA 20171

CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM
VIA HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT
05/12/2008 400.00 28932062072

MARQUEZ, SCOTT
HERNDON, VA 20171
MVM, INC./SECURITY SERVICES

CONNOLLY, GERRY
VIA GERRY CONNOLLY FOR CONGRESS
01/28/2008 2300.00 28931156440
07/31/2008 1000.00 28992613191

Total Contributions: 3700.00 

MARQUEZ, DARIO O JR
MCLEAN,VA 22102 MVM INC. 3/15/2013 $1,000 Connolly, Gerry

MARQUEZ, DARIO O JR
MCLEAN,VA 22102 MVM INC. 9/10/2013 $1,000 Connolly, Gerry

MARQUEZ, DARIO O JR
MCLEAN,VA 22102 MVM INC 5/9/2013 $1,000 Kaine, Tim

MARQUEZ, DARIO O JR
ASHBURN,VA 20147 MVM 9/17/2013 $1,000 Moran, Jim

On tactical training fallouts

Suarez International recently had a whole slew of instructors leave in one fashion or the other and form their own forum, Paragon Pride.  I've always enjoyed reading Suarez's forum Warrior Talk and watching as a bystander, the constant change and adaptation to the training and gear market there.

Right now, WT is focused on gear seemingly and AR15s in particular.  Any gun forum veteran can tell you that is a complete reversal of Suarez's old positions but....Suarez has a long track record of doing so and burning business bridges.  That's not gossip, it's readily available and public information.  Personally, I find it indicative of character when you have a trail of former business associates you can longer speak with but....I'll say this; I dig how Suarez promotes taking care of oneself and family over all other things and I agree with the capitalist sentiment.

Of course, my WT forum membership was sort of revoked in that my password was changed and I cannot get back into the forum but that's a fairly normal practice there.  WT is very censorship heavy (which is their right) so you have to be very careful about what you say and what you link to on that forum.

  I will make a quick prediction that current Suarez instructors and business partners will end up on Paragon Pride so guys, don't be too smug about your current status with Suarez.

Anyway, Paragon Pride has a very good start on their forum and I wish them luck.  You can link to other forums, blogs, etc.There's a lot less group think there and I like hanging out there so far.  Good luck with the new community, guys!

CavArms and I

I'll preface with that Marine thing that I've often been accused of overdoing.  I'm loyal to friends and I never forget when someone has done me a good turn.  Too loyal?  Not sure but hey, go back to the Marine thing.  It's how we're wired.

I've read a bit of vitriol directed at the former owner of CavArms and his prosecution by the BATFE.  These documents are readily available online and I've read through them.  I don't think he didn't make some errors that were not easily avoidable.  I do get that.  However, I'm still of the camp that the man should not have been stripped of all 2nd Amendment rights because of business paperwork.  Happily, he kept on keeping on and now has another business.  He also refers to himself as a "US resident" and that makes perfect sense to me.  Forever unable to pick up a gun to defend himself or his family.  Literally, forever.  Do you feel safer?

  Anyway, in 2007 I took a .230 grain .45ACP to the elbow in a negligent discharge.  My life was forever changed.  My finances took a deep, deep dive.  I was in a cast and sling off and on for nearly three years.  At a financial low point, I put my custom Nighthawk 1911 up for sale because I needed the money badly after losing 40% of my salary and having to pay for my own insurance.

Shawn Nealon,  a man I've never met in person; saw my ad trying to sell my Nighthawk.  To my great surprise, he responded publicly and said something along the lines of :

Dude, don't sell your guns!  I'll donate a rifle to you so that you can raffle it off and keep the proceeds for your expenses from the shooting.

I didn't take the rifle though I probably should have because I'm still suffering financially from this incident.  If this shooting had happened today, I'd probably start a fund to pay my bills.  But that's not my point.  My point is that Shawn Nealon is an estimable human being who probably would have offered the same thing to one of his now detractors if they were in a similar situation.  I really don't have the words of thanks that I should but I have no problem throwing this incident in the faces of those that talk shit about Shawn.  Is my argument completely logical?  Nope.  Were the detractors there offering me help?  Nope.  Do you think a guy like this deserves to be punished the rest of his life?

Even after I refused the offer of a rifle, Shawn insisted on giving me a CavArms AR15 lower receiver.  It was shipped following all applicable laws to my FFL.  He sent me a complete lower to "aid in my recovery" and let me tell you, that lower is danged indestructible.

Dean R Koontz in Twilight Eyes put it better than I.

Humanity ain't always what's pretty. Some of the worst killers are

pretty. Humanity ain't always what sounds nice and falls smooth on the

ear, 'cause any pitchman can charm a snake, but some pitchmen ain't too

humane. A person shows humanity when he's there you need him, when be

takes you in, when he has a genuine kind word, when he makes you feel

not alone, when he makes your fight his fight. That's what humanity

is, if you want to know. And-if we had a little more of it in this

world, maybe we could get ourselves out of the handbasket we're in ...

or at least stop carrying that handbasket straight to Hell, the way we

have been for so long.

-an anonymous carnival pitchman

Anyway, if you agree with anything I've said, please consider Shawn's new business for your medical needs.  He'll ship quickly and he's honest.  He'd also have your back in a pinch and I know that from experience.  He's camping this week so don't throw an online tantrum if you don't hear from him right away.

And they say open carry people are attention seekers......

  Sometimes I browse the local section of opencarry.org.  Mainly when I'm feeling upbeat about the future and need brought back down to depressing reality or if I just need to see if there's a gathering of shitty SERPA holsters and Springfield XDs going on so that I can avoid it.  The below post really jumped out at me.  Not only does the guy basically admit he can't shoot but.....he open carried on his Segway to the grocery and then rode the Segway through the grocery store while open carrying.

  And they say open carrying by itself is attention seeking.... (I don't think ALL open carriers are attention seekers but there's definitely a problem in the "movement").

  Not only that, he managed to find a reason to carry his "open carry M14" (we can safely assume he thinks his M1A is an M14) into his optometrist's office because he "needed" new glasses for competition or something like that (you don't see a lot or...any open carry guys at competitions from my personal experience).  I'm sure he's just as proficient with his "M14" as he is with his Sig .45.

  Anyway, it's below and unedited.  Try not to hurt yourself with the face palm..........  Thanks, guy.  Thanks for making gun owners look like attention seeking loons with your "education" of the people.  This will REALLY help our gun rights.  I mean, it beats being proficient, training, going to matches.  and not acting like an attention seeking teenage girl, right?

I have taken in the last six months to carrying a SIG .45. I have a long way to go to be good with it, but I'm within safety parameters.

This evening, I rode my Segway from the house, through the neighborhood, to the Greenbriar shopping center, and rode the Segway into the Giant store to pick up some groceries.

Clearly I was out of the ordinary with the Segway . . . operated as politely as it possibly could, always deferring to anyone going in my direction.

By the way, there is a most gun-friendly optometrist next to Giant -- Nicholas Marotta and his wife at Greenbriar Optical. I once took my OC M-14 in there, because I needed a special lens to allow me to focus on the front sight. In the exam room, I held the rifle off-hand, sighting, while he held the letter card at the muzzle, and patiently did the "Is C better, or now D . . . C . . . or D?" bracketing of the correction. Now THAT is service.

Link to the original post lest folks think I'm making this up 

Gun forum and industry drama for the day

  If you're feeling the itch for some good ol' fashioned gun industry drama, head on over to SnipersHide and read this thread.  Basically, a guy bought a tacticalrifles.net rifle and put it away in his safe after having to replace a part on it when he received it and it didn't shoot well for him.  It sat in his safe for a while and then he got the long range itch again.  Didn't shoot well for him so he took it over to Marc Soulie of Spartan Rifles and Marc performed the fascinating video diagnosis you see below.  Marc fixed the rifle and made it a 1/2 MOA shooter but.....naturally, tacticalrifles.net sent him a threatening legal letter and I believe one to the owner as well.

  The owner of SnipersHide (LowLight/Frank) saw the thread and promptly posted his response to a previous tacticalrifles.net legal threat and......his own experience with a tacticalrifles.net of a student's.

  You stay classy tacticalrifles.net, stay classy.  Legal threats beat QC, anytime.