Call me Ahab

posted by Caleb on Apr 26

Full text here.

Gun control advocates had a field day. Within hours, the Brady Campaign had a “Donate Now!” button on their website. The Violence Policy Center was blaming “lax gun laws” in Virginia for the murders, instead of placing the blame on the madman. John Rosenthal, head of Stop Handgun Violence in Massachusetts, even suggested that the gun laws in that state make it less likely for mass murder to occur there.

While this was going on, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine made a statement that seemed to fall mostly on deaf ears. He said, “People who want to take this within 24 hours of the event and make it, you know, their political hobby horse to ride, I’ve got nothing but loathing for them. To those who want to, you know, try to make this into some little crusade, you know, I say take that elsewhere. Let this community deal with grieving individuals and be sensitive to those needs.”

Well said. (H/T Uncle)

posted by Caleb on Apr 20

I don’t normally do online petitions, however here is one that I believe is actually for a worthy cause.

The petition is to rename Norris Hall at VA Tech to Librescu Hall, in honor of Prof. Librescu, who gave his life protecting his students.

(H/T to Michelle Malkin)

posted by Caleb on Apr 18

So, over the past few days my blog has gotten quite a few hits for people searching for some combination of “Walther P22″ and Virginia Tech, or VA Tech, Virginia Tech shooting, etc. This is of course due to the fact that the mutant psycho killer at VA Tech used a P22 as one of his rampage weapons, which has lead to all sorts of media coverage about the Walther. Some of that media coverage has been…less than accurate, to be polite.

I’ve written more than a couple of posts about the Walther, it’s accuracy, reliability and other features. I’ve fired it a lot, and carried it a lot, I am extremely familiar with this firearm. So, in the vein of one of my favorite TV shows (Mythbusters) today I’m going to bust some myths that have sprung up about the P22 in the media.

General Background
The Walther P22 is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for the common and low powered .22 Long Rifle Cartridge. It accepts 10 round magazines and can be had with a 3.4 inch barrel or a longer 5 inch barrel in the “target” model. A small accessory rail forward of the trigger guard is designed to accept Walther’s proprietary laser sight or a rail for mounting a scope or other optical sight. It comes with adjustable sights in the form of a windage adjustable rear sight and interchangeable front sight posts for elevation.

The P22 has a reputation as being notoriously finicky with ammo, generally it prefers higher quality .22 LR ammunition such as CCI Mini-Mags or Stingers. Additionally, the early runs from Walther had issues regarding the integral gun lock (another standard feature) accidentally engaging and shutting down the weapon. This appears to have been corrected in later models.

The Walther is operated in traditional Double Action/Single Action mode, which means that the first shot is fired with a long double action trigger pull (mine measures a neat 10 lbs), with the semi-automatic action cocking the pistol for single action shots for each subsequent trigger pull. In Single Action mode, the trigger on my Walther measures a pleasant 4.5 lbs, with noticeable creep before a clean break.

The Walther is about 75% the size of the larger 9mm Walther P99, and was originally introduced with the thought of being used as a training pistol for agencies which issued the P99. The P22 is sold on the civilian American market as a plinker, a target pistol, and a general “fun gun” in as much as burning up .22 rounds at the range is rather relaxing.

Myth #1

“The P22, chambered for .22 LR is an extremely dangerous close range weapon. Guns like this are designed to be concealed on the body, and their small caliber makes them too small for hunting or law enforcement use.”

I’m not really sure what point the speaker was trying to make about the .22 LR, but he sure did do a good job of making it sound scary and evil. For the record, the .22 Long Rifle is the most common firearm cartridge on the face of the planet. It’s commonly used for everything from target practice to small game hunting to casual plinking. Trying to demonize the .22 as some sort of “murderer’s special” would be laughable if I didn’t know that people are taking idiots like that seriously.

Myth #2

“Guns like the P22 are often referred to as “Saturday Night Specials”, cheap low powered guns that are easy to conceal.”

My little white ass it is. “Saturday Night Special” is nothing but a weasel word, a phrase used by the anti-gun crowd to essentially scare people. It generally refers to a cheap gun, which the Walther isn’t. Retail on them is usually in the $300 area for the 3.4 barrel model, and $325-350 for the 5 inch barrel model. Harrumph. Call my little gun cheap.

Myth #3

…(guns) like the Walther can be fired at extremely rapid rates, firing a bullet every time the operator pulls the trigger.

Well, uh yeah. That’s actually quite true. Of course, so can a double action revolver like a Ruger GP100, or a Smith & Wesson Model 10. In fact, every gun is designed to shoot every time you pull the trigger. Again, I’m not really sure what the person who said is trying to accomplish with their statement, other than to make my little gun sound scary.

I’ll stop here, because I had to change the channel lest I launch my remote through the television. While a part of me is darkly amused at the various attempts to make my little gun sound sooooo scary - I’m also slightly annoyed. Just because some little pismire decided to use a Walther P22 to kill a bunch of people doesn’t make the gun evil. Just because it’s black and plastic doesn’t make it bad, either.

If anyone has any questions about the Walther that I didn’t address in this blog entry, please ask in the comments section. I’d be happy to clear up and misconceptions, questions, etc.

posted by Caleb on Apr 17

I’m having a tough time focusing my thoughts this morning, there is so much emotion surrounding something like this. I quite vividly remember the Columbine shootings in ‘99, and before that the North Hollywood Bank Shootout. My thoughts and what prayers I have go out to those that have lost loved ones in this tragedy.

Sebastian (Snowflakes in Hell) has a tremendous post up regarding his feelings on the situation, and the possible reactions. I echo his reluctance to make political hay out of a tragedy like this, and yet I also am not a fool - I remember that Columbine, North Hollywood, and every other mass shooting in my lifetime has been used as political leverage by someone.

Bitter (from the Bitch Girls) points out quite accurate that the leveraging of the tragedy has already begun by some camps. I’d like to say that I’m surprised, but I’m not. It’s not even just the anti-gunners on this one. Jack Thompson, who has tried to blame every mass shooting in history on violent video games has already appeared on Fox and blamed (surprise) violent video games.

It’s stuff like that makes me want to scream. I know that people are going to use this for leverage. I expect it. Could you at least wait maybe until the bodies are cold, you fucking assholes?

This morning, I’m filled with grief and frustration - grief for the families, and frustration because I know what’s coming. Some assholes will decide that the blood of young men and woman makes the perfect lever for more nanny-state laws. “Trust the state with your safety, you can’t do it alone”, and “it’s for the children” are going to be echoing for a while. What is most frustrating is that you can’t argue against it. Try to raise an objection and you’re shouted down, because you can’t argue with emotion.

Right now, I don’t have too much to say; however I’ll post updates as I get them. Again, my heart goes out to the families of the victims.

Media Update
Well, the media is in rare form. This morning, I’ve heard the .22 LR cartridge referred as a “a deadly close range weapon”, and semi-automatic pistols “guns that can be fired every time you pull the trigger”. I really wish they find some “expert commentators” that were actually, well, experts.

Dancing in the Blood update
I won’t link to the Violence Policy Center on general principles, but they have a statement up (thanks to Smallest Minority for the link)

These tragedies are the inevitable result of the ease with which the firepower necessary to slaughter dozens of innocents can be obtained. We allow virtually anyone the means to turn almost any venue into a battlefield. In the wake of these shootings, too many routinely search for any reason for the tragedy except for the most obvious–the easy access to increasingly lethal firearms that make mass killings possible.”

Again, I’m disappointed but not surprised.

More dancing in the blood from Dr. Phil, who agrees with Jack Thompson that violent video games are responsible.

We’re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murders of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.

Figures.

Mutant update
The shooter has been ID’d by authorities.

Police identified the gunman who killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus before turning the gun on himself as student Cho Seung-Hui, university police Chief Wendell Flinchum said Tuesday.

The 23-year-old South Korean and resident alien lived at the university’s Harper Hall, Flinchum said. He was an English major, the chief said.

It also appears that the feds were able to match the bullets from the shooting at the dorm to the rounds from the later Norris Hall shooting.

From the Chicago Trib, it appears that the mutant left a note. No details on its contents yet.

NRA Update
Some of my “left” friends have been almost gleefully waiting for the NRA to make a statement about this, I suppose to justify their mental image of the NRA as evil. Here’s the statement from the NRA’s website.

The National Rifle Association joins the entire country in expressing our deepest condolences to the families of Virginia Tech University and everyone else affected by this horrible tragedy.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.

We will not have further comment until all the facts are known.

That seems rather responsible.

Guns update
Well, both CNN and ABC have confirmed that the mutant used a 9mm Glock 19, and a .22 LR Walther P22. It’s been confirmed that the Glock was purchased from a gun shop and that the mutant cleared the NICS check. It’s also been confirmed that he filed off the serial numbers, which doesn’t make any sense to me, but then again I’m not crazy.

A few other sources have indicated that the mutant was on anti-depressants, which means that he lied on the forms you have to fill out, as under the care of a shrink/anti-depressants is a disqualifier for gun ownership.