Otis McDonald is one step closer to being able to exercise his 2nd Amendment rights. States and local municipalities can no longer say the 2nd Amendment doesn’t apply to them. The last 2 handgun bans in America will fall and then there’s an open road for further progress.

Blogger coverage:

• http://stuckinmassachusetts.blogspot.com/2010/06/im-lovin-it.html
• http://maypeacebewithyou.blogspot.com/2010/06/you-deserve-break-today-mcdonalds.htm
• http://gunnuts.net/2010/06/28/old-mcdonald-had-a-gun/
• http://www.saysuncle.com/2010/06/28/mcdonald-reversed-and-remanded/

1. Require dealers to obtain an ammunition seller’s license and to collect a buyer’s thumbprint, name, drivers license, address, phone number and date of birth.
2. Make handgun ammunition inaccessible to customers.
3. Transfer of handgun ammunition must be done face-to-face.

Fine, #1 and #2 are just annoyances, but what about #3? Requiring handgun ammunition to be transferred in person effectively bans all mail order and Internet sales of handgun ammunition. Right now you can count the number of places where this is the law on one hand and the motivation put forward is to improve the enforcement of other laws and aiding investigations. As long as you can order ammunition through the mail, then criminals will be able to buy ammunition for the guns they aren’t suppose to own. So if a criminal doesn’t obey one law surely they’ll obey this other law if we pass it. Right?

That’s the ultimate problem with laws trying to control firearms and ammunition. The only ones who abide by the rules are those of us who are law abiding to begin with. Criminals can’t own guns, but they still find ways to obtain them. Now criminals won’t be able to buy ammo online, but does anyone believe they’ll have trouble obtaining ammunition illegally for their illegally possessed weapons? The criminals go on breaking the law and the rest of us are saddled with more regulations, rules, hoops to jump through and higher prices. What would be next, a background check and 10 day waiting period for purchasing ammunition like we have with firearms?

Funny thing is there’s nothing in the law about the components used to manufacture ammunition, those will still be available through mail order and the Internet. So even if this passes, criminals could order bullets, cases, powder, primers, dies and a nice progressive reloading press and assemble their own ammo. Actually that’s what I’m thinking of doing. How backwards is this state that the laws they try to pass encourage individuals to think like criminals.

I’ll be mashing my F5 button this weekend on this page: AB 962 Status

Oh hello CZ-75B SA 9mm.

Let’s get you into something a little more comfortable.

But how does it shoot? Not bad for the first 10 rounds at 7 yards.

How about after 20 more rounds of practice?

I had been wanting a semi-auto in a caliber larger than .22 and I saw this posted for sale on Calguns and it met my two requirements: all steel construction and very accurate right of the box. I have nothing against the 9mm round and it is relatively inexpensive compared to .45 ACP so that ends up being a plus too. The plastic grips were fine, but I thought the cocobolo grips added some nice style and contrast to the gun.

The “SA” in the model denotes that it is single action only. Because of that the trigger is pretty nice with a fairly light and short pull. I’ve read that the only gun with a nicer stock trigger is a 1911. Pointability is good and it fits great in my hand. The gun is unique in that the slide is on the inside of the frame which lowers the axis of the barrel closer to your hand and it minimizes the profile of the slide. The only downside is there’s a little less slide to grab onto which makes racking the weapon tougher.

And I think the accuracy right of the box speaks for itself.

The first acquisition was a Rossi Model 62 .22 pump action with hexagonal barrel, a late 70′s reproduction of the Winchester Model 62. Should be a great little plinker.

Next, I had a .22 semi-auto on my list of guns to acquire. I could have just gotten a new Ruger 10/22, but talk about boring. My sister-in-law’s friend had some inherited guns for sale and amongst them was a Remington Nylon 66 .22 semi-auto at a pretty good price. It was in very good shape and was definitely more unique than a 10/22.  It is tube fed like the Rossi so no need for magazines and the tube runs through the stock instead of under the barrel. Not sure how old it is, but I’m guessing it was made in the 70′s.

I guess all I need now is a .22 lever action to complete my little .22 rifle collection. My last addition was a little more important because it will serve several roles. This 1977 Browning Challenger II .22 semi-auto pistol is perfect for my training and introducing new shooters to handguns. The light recoil lets the shooter focus on stance, grip, trigger pull and target acquisition while avoiding the development of a flinch and other bad habits. I expect this to be very fun gun to shoot. Because of the similar grip and single action trigger, the Challenger should provide good training for my eventual step up to Browning’s other masterpiece, the 1911.

I’m planning on getting a membership at The Firing Line in Huntington Beach on Monday which will allow me to practice more often without breaking the bank. The guy’s range trip is on for the 29th. If you haven’t shot before and are even remotely interested in doing so, let me know. I’ll make a standing offer of a free range trip to anyone who has not fired a handgun and would like to do so.

• 2 SKSs
• 2 AR-15s
• 2 Ruger 10/22
• my Savage Mark II bolt-action rifle
• 2 black powder rifles
• 30-30 lever action
• .45LC lever action
• 3 shotguns
• 3 S&W .357s
• Glock in .40S&W
• Ruger in .45ACP
• Springfield XD in .45?
• .45LC revolver
• black powder revolver
• and Jason’s sweet little Colt .22

Fun was had by all and we burned through most of our ammo. I shot everything except the black powder guns, but stuck to my .22 and .357 for most of the day. Probably shot 400-500 rounds of .22 and 100-150 of .357 and .38 special.

A .22 pistol is high on my list right now and I still want a Marlin 1894C lever action rifle in .357. I know I sound like a gun nut, but those are the only other guns I want except maybe a shotgun and a 1911. Pics of all the shooting fun is up in the gallery:

Burro Canyon Shooting