GEnie Outdoors Newsletter July, 1995 Edited by John Marshall (J.Marshall2/Paladin) TABLE OF CONTENTS: ----------------- 9507A CAST BULLET ALLOYS by Kenneth Mollohan 9507B CONCEALMENT HANDGUNS by John Marshall 9507C THE HATCHER SCALE by John Marshall 9507D NRA NEWS by the National Rifle Association Staff ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 9507A CAST BULLET ALLOYS by Kenneth Mollohan *BULLETS *CASTING *ALLOYS Permission is hereby granted to Genie (General Electric Information Services) for a one-time usage of this copyright protected document in their outdoors newsletter. All other rights reserved. This document, or any portion of it, may not be otherwise reproduced by any means without the written consent of the author, who may be contacted at (412) 573-1183. This is NOT a public domain document. Cast Bullets Chapter Three Cast Bullet Alloys Kenneth Mollohan Copyright April 1995 ALLOY SELECTION If I were to list every lead alloy that has been used for cast bullets, the types of loads they were used with, how they worked in one man's gun, but not in another, ad nauseam, chapter three would could go on forever . In truth, the differences are easier to understand and deal with if you examine them from a performance standpoint instead of considering every minute variation of composition. Actual alloy composition ... as such ... isn't really important. Your world won't come apart if you find out that the alloy you are getting good results with has 15 % antimony instead of 12 % like you wanted it to. Nor does it matter whether the hardness you are getting good results with comes from high antimony content, or from quench hardening. The alloy properties are what count, not the alloy composition. No matter what metal blends and processing are used to get them, the properties important to bullet casters are hardness, cost, the ability to cast well, and the ability to reproduce your results. The hardness of cast bullets is a primary factor in determining how well they will perform in high pressure loads. The harder bullet is better able to withstand the compressive forces of firing and the abrasive effects of bore fouling. This translates into less damage, which translates into increased uniformity and accuracy in high power loads. Note that this is also true of low power loads, in that the alloy must still be strong enough to withstand serious deformation. But many people believe that an alloy that is just BARELY strong enough is best for light loads. Their reasoning generally runs that a slight base upset is important to good obturation or sealing of the bore, which reduces the lead fouling that hurts accuracy. In other words, they think that losing a tiny bit of accuracy because of marginal bullet strength is better than losing a lot of accuracy because of leading. Wherever the truth may lay, light target loads with cast bullets can deliver extraordinary accuracy. I've seen a group fired in competition that would have hit your thumbnail ten times in a row at two hundred yards! Good results require good bullets. If you are getting good bullets from your alloy, that's fine, and you can go on to the next section. If not, here are a few tips you can try to correct it.. If your bullets come from the mold wrinkled, with folds and rounded edges, your groups are going to be poor no matter how carefully you prepare them afterwards. The ability of an alloy to pour well is usually called castability, and is mostly determined by two things: The fluidity of the molten alloy and the lack of contaminates. In other words, an alloy that cast well will have low surface tension and be free of dirt and incompatable materials. One way to reduce the surface tension is to add tin. It is frequently possible to salvage poor metal by adding two or three percent of tin, but do not add more than this, because the improvement in castability from tin tapers off very quickly above this level. If tin is used, it would be best if the salvaged metal is used for relatively low velocity rifle and pistol loads. The hardness probably will not be consistent enough for reliability in heavy rifle loads. The traditional remedy for poor flow is to just add tin until it DOES cast well. And this will still work, but as noted above, this can lead to other problems. Adding antimony will also improve the fluidity of the alloy, but not as much as the tin will. Depending on their nature, contaminates can form inclusions to damage the balance of a bullet, or they can make the alloy "slushy", so that it does not pour well. Inclusions can be handled by cleaning and fluxing your alloy properly. But slushy alloys are more difficult to deal with. A number of metals like zinc or aluminum are not soluble in molten lead to any extent, and an alloy contaminated with them will have a slushy consistency that will not cast well no matter what the temperature, or how much tin you add. There are two other things you can do to salvage such metal. The first is to turn down the thermostat and let the alloy cool until it is just barely liquid. At lower temperatures, solubility of many contaminating metals in lead is at a minimum. At lower temperatures, the sludge will frequently float slowly to the top of the lead alloy, and most of it can be carefully skimmed off. This can do a great deal to clean up your alloy, and then raising the temperature again will put some of the residues that you could not skim off back into solution. Now try to cast your bullets again, and you should see a big improvement. If not, just fall back on plan two: Pour the darn stuff into a coffee can with a big eye-bolt, and present it to your brother-in-law as a boat anchor! The easiest, and fastest way to reduce surface tension is to just turn up the thermostat on your lead furnace. Everyone knows that a hotter alloy will cast better, but not everyone knows that's because the surface tension is lower at higher temperatures. This will also keep your mold hotter and make the lead more fluid, so it will take longer for the lead to crystalize (harden), and it has more time to fill out the mold cavity. The hotter your alloy is, the better it will flow. Small additions of antimony may help lower the surface tensiion too. Since a major attraction of cast bullets is inexpensive shooting, cost of the lead is a major consideration. Type metals like linotype and monotype are hard to find, and they are expensive when you do locate a source. Fortunately, lead weights used to balance vehicle tires ("Wheelweights") are common, and they make good bullets. Used Wheelweights are inexpensive, and sometimes free. But be careful to to focus TOO well on economy. Col. Harrison said that while economy is a worthwhile goal, when it leads you to use materials that guraantee failure, you may wish to re-examine your system of values. In other words, just because a big pot of soft lead was given to you free doesn't make it a suitable for cast bullets, any more than a wax candle being free makes it a good material. Soft lead will have to be hardened somehow for most cast bullet applications. Reproducability is also important. If you develop a load that works well, you will want to make it again and again. This can be pretty rough to do if you're using a batch of scrap alloy with unknown composition and hardness. If you have a good supply of salvaged metal, one solution is to melt down as much as possible into a single batch, which you will KNOW is uniform. But you can carry the trick one step further too: Just make up as many batches as you can, and label the ingots "A", "B", etc to mark each batch. Then when you go to fill your pot, use one ingot from each batch. The effect will be the same as if you had melted all those batches into one big batch. This trick can be used to make a uniform supply of alloy that can last for a year or more. Sooner or later though, you will run out of your favorite alloy, and have to make more. You can fiddle with witches brews for years, adding a pinch of this and a little of that, and going to the range too test every one until you come up with something that does as well. But you can sure save yourself a lot of work by investing a few bucks in some way to measure the hardness of the alloy. If you reproduce the hardness, you will also reproduce the accuracy potential, with a 99.9 % guarantee! There are a lot of commercial hardness testers, ranging from laboratory Rockwell and Brinell testers costing thousands of dollars, to a simple set of art supply pencils. All will do for the simple measurements you will need. Another question of reproducability occurs with the use ot tin in lead alloys. As noted below, alloys with tin will soften with age, and you can get startling differences in hardness even from the same batch of metal. The trick here is to use an alloy hard enough that it is still adequate after it has softened a bit. Just let the softening take place before you use them. The rate of softening slows down rather sharply, after the first week or so, and almost all the softening occurs within a couple of weeks. And while it doesn't seem to ever quite quit softening, it may take years for noticeable softening to occur after that. ALLOY BLENDING THE METALS Only four metals make up the useful range of ingredients in modern lead alloys. They are lead, tin, antimony and arsenic. Oh, it is possible to use other metals. Some early alloys had a few percent of copper, and alloys can contain other trace ingredients without serious harm. But most of metals are either like copper, and unusable because you just cannot dissolve enough at ordinary melt temperatures to affect the properties much, or like zinc, which not only is poorly soluble, but it increases the surface tension until it makes the alloys almost impossible to cast good bullets with. Others present special problems, like the metals salvaged from modern automobile batteries, which can react with moisture to form toxic gases in your home. Lead is really a poor choice for a bullet metal from a technical perspective. It has many drawbacks that include staining of clothing and hands, as well as being toxic. It's far too soft and it presents a serious bore contamination problem (leading). It has only three properties that are desirable for bullets: It is dense, easily worked and it's cheap. The density provides for adequate bullet weight to retain high energies after the bullet passes through the air, and gives the greatest energy on the target for a given bullet size and shape. Well, that's not QUITE true. There are denser and harder metals that would do a better job. Two that spring to mind are Gold and Uranium. However, these introduce other minor problems like cost and availability: Believe it or not, I HAVE seen bullets cast out of gold (not MINE, you can be sure), but not many of us can afford bullets of gold or uranium, no matter how much better they may be in theory. Sometimes reality rears its ugly head and roars! Tin was once THE alloying metal of choice. Not only will it provide useful increases in hardness over pure lead, but even small amounts of tin will vastly reduce the surface tension of lead alloys, which improves the fluidity of the molten metal and makes it easier to get good, uniform bullets that are well filled out, and have no wrinkles or similar defects. Tin is expensive, but not so dear that casters can't use a few percent to improve the castability of their scrap lead alloys. However, modern metallurgy has shown the use of tin in lead alloys has some serious disadvantages. Alloys with significant levels of tin will not quench harden vary well. And whether quenched or not, they will soften badly with aging. The amount of softening they will undergo is worse as the level of tin increases. The use of tin in historical bullet alloys is probably a major reason why cast bullets have been long regarded as an arcane black art, where only experts could obtain good results, and even then, only after many years of experience in memorizing the proper incantations. In actuality, bullets from the same pot of high tin alloy might shoot well when fresh and hard, but do poorly a few months later after age softening had set in. Naturally such a lack of consistency from exactly the same components would get pretty discouraging. I'm not sure why tin does this, but it seems to act as a solid solvent that weakens the bonds between crystals in the solidified alloy. Antimony will also improve the castability of lead slightly, but it's major contribution is to harden lead alloys. It has long been a major component in hard type metals that need to cast well and be hard for wear resistance in printing presses. These same qualities made antimonial type metals well adapted to far more powerful loads than were ever achieved with lead/tin alloys, and was fully as important as proper bullet design in ushering in the new wave of popularity that cast bullets are experiencing. Arsenic is a relative new-comer to the list of desirable alloying ingredients. It was little used in the past, largely (I suspect) because of its lethal reputation. However, arsenic is not much different from lead (whose toxicity is notorious) and antimony, which got it's name because a medieval cleric / alchemist was investigating the interesting new metal, and by way of testing its properties, he fed it to a number of his fellow clergymen. When they all died in excruciating agony, he concluded that it was "Anti-Monk" metal. In time, the term became corrupted to the "antimony" metal we use today. Or so I've read. At any rate, adding arsenic to these metals does not greatly change the overall toxicity of the alloys. All of these metals have to be treated with respect and caution, but all of them can be used with safety. Arsenic will also harden lead, but not like antimony or tin hardens it. The mechanism is discussed below, but its use is limited to less than one percent in most lead alloys. Arsenic hardening is at the heart of quenching, which is a leading edge of cast bullet technology today. THE ALLOYS: The number of possible lead alloys is almost infinite. Even the number of alloys developed for printing is large, but only a few are common enough to be of particular interest. most common metals can be classified as monotype, linotype, wheelweights and soft lead or miscellaneous scrap or salvage. Monotype and linotype are usually used to harden scrap lead or for casting by those who want to avoid the minor hassle of quenching alloys, but they are quite expensive. Wheelweights are probably the most versatile lead alloy available for bullet casting. Their composition is not standardized, but they are usually about 2 or 3 % antimony, 0.5 % arsenic, and the remainder lead, with no more than traces of tin or other metals. This will serve well for light loads just as it is, without quench hardening. Or they can be dropped from the mold into a bucket of water for a substantial increase in hardness that will let them serve very well in magnum pistol and midrange rifle loads. Or they can be quenched from the oven to rival or exceed the hardness of print metals for a tiny fraction of the cost. Soft lead can be almost anything from range salvage to plumbers lead, but it will not often be hard enough to be very useful, unless it is used "as is" for muzzle-loaders. Despite their cost, type metals are just as good as they ever were, and that is very good indeed. They will serve in the heaviest loads, and of course cast superbly. Also, the loss of hardness with aging that all tin-bearing alloys are subject to is minimized by high levels of antimony, so the hardness change is not important except at high performance levels. Tin is a very common ingredient. Some formulas used quite a bit, and "Ten to One" (ten parts lead to one part tin) used to be a widely recommended alloy. Even today, five percent tin and five percent antimony is still recommended as Lyman # 2 alloy. Despite the problems that tin can cause, Lyman # 2 is still popular for the same reason that the 10 to 1 alloy once was: It is notably harder than pure lead, and casts superbly. However, as the disadvantages of tin become more widely known, I think such alloys will join the 10-1 blend in the archives. Automobile batteries used to be another popular source of scrap lead, but the alloys used in modern batteries is very unsuitable to cast bullets. The other ingredients will actually form intermetallics with the antimony in preference to antimony. The new intermetallics are not soluble in the lead, and will be removed as dross, leaving you with an alloy that is actually softer than it was before you added antimony to it. The total yield is very small, and of very poor quality. Leave car batteries to the recycling centers. Another class of alloys is sometimes used for casting bullets. Zinc alloys are sometimes used to cast light-weight, high velocity and non-expanding bullets for target practice and general experimentation by the curious. However, they are totally incompatible with lead alloys. They will raise the surface tension of any lead alloy containing more than a tiny trace of zinc. They have such a bad effect on the castability of lead alloys subsequently used in the same equipment that many who have tried it recommend separate pots and molds for zinc and lead alloys. Since this chapter is devoted to lead alloys, their existence is noted for the record, and their potential will not be dealt with here. ALLOY HARDNESS The primary question in selecting lead alloys for casting bullets is "How hard should it be?". The answer of course, is "At least hard enough to give good results!". This is may be a cute evasion, but it's also the only possible answer. If you are shooting light target loads at close range, you can probably use almost anything that will melt and cast reasonably well. If you're shooting deer at 50 to 100 yards, then something in the 15 to 20 Brinell range will be the minimum that will probably work well for you. And if you're interested in shooting a .300 Magnum in 1000 yard competitions, you'll need paper patched bullets with hardness in the range of 22 to 30 Brinell. In all cases, the ONLY test of acceptability is on the range. If it shoots well, it's hard enough. If it doesn't, the answer may be a harder alloy (though it could also be as simple as cleaning your bore!). Note that except for muzzle-loaders, there are very few cases where a cast bullet can be TOO hard. Like gasoline octane, enough is good, and too much seldom hurts. When in doubt, make it a little harder than you think it needs to be. If you find you need a harder bullet, you have several options. You can buy a harder alloy (expensive), you can make your current batch of metal harder by adding antimony, or you can try quenching it. Quenching is the least expensive choice, but it is extra trouble, and it may be easier to just harden your current batch of metal by adding a little antimony. At one time, the recommended procedure was to pre-blend the antimony into an equal weight of lead to make the mixing easier. Trouble was, blending the antimony and lead was not easily accomplished! One recommendation was to have the local metal shop to melt the antimony with an acetylene torch so you could then stir the lead into it before it cooled. I also recall a RIFLEMAN article that gave detailed instructions on how to construct your very own small backyard blast furnace fueled with charcoal from your barbecue and driven by the exhaust from your vacuum cleaner! This is one more proof that if one grips the bedpost, grits his teeth and grunts hard enough, he can make ANYTHING into a hard job! In truth, blending antimony into lead or lead alloys is NOT difficult, nor does it take a torch or a blast furnace. All it takes is a little time and enough heat to melt the lead. Antimony is soluble in lead just like sugar is soluble in water. If you pour the sugar in the water and stir it from time to time, it will dissolve in the water just fine, and so will the antimony dissolve into the lead. The only difference is that the antimony is lighter than the lead, and it will float if you just pour it in the lead pot. This is not a good idea because you can evaporate small quantities (and antimony IS toxic), and you also limit the contact with the dissolving lead to the bottom of the antimony, a condition guaranteed to slow things down. The best procedure is to go down to the kitchen department of your local store and get a STEEL strainer. Don't get a strainer made with aluminum, because aluminum will raise the surface tension of the lead alloy, and make it cast poorly. Now bend or trim the strainer ears and handle until you can insert it upside down into a pan you can use to melt lead in. Crush your antimony with a hammer to pulverize it: Salt granules dissolve a lot faster than a salt block. Now put a pile of antimony on the surface of the molten lead, and use the strainer to push and hold it completely below the surface of the lead. Use a heavy iron bar to keep it there if you need to. It will not dissolve as fast as sugar in water, but give it time and it will go in fine. This immersion will not only prevent any evaporation of the antimony, but it will also maximize exposure of the antimony, and shorten the time needed to dissolve it. Ideally, you should weigh both the lead and the antimony, so you will know how much you have added. Tin is unique among the common alloying materials in being soluble in both molten and cold, solidified lead. It is fairly hard, and hardens lead by adding it's hardness to that of the lead. It is alone among the common alloying materials in being soluble in both molten and cold, solidified lead. Antimony hardens lead alloys in two ways. The first is by precipitating as the alloy cools and forming many tiny crystalline inclusions that reinforce the lead alloy much like struts reinforce the roof of your house. The second is by forming an intermetallic compound with tin which functions in much the same manner, but is more effective in hardening than tin alone. This intermetallic is 50% tin and 50% antimony. Any tin or antimony in excess of this will just act as if it is present alone. In other words, if an alloy has 3% tin and 8% antimony, the cooled bullet will actually consist of 6% intermetallic crystals and 5% antimony crystals imbedded in a lead matrix. If the percentages are reversed to 3% antimony and 8% tin, you will still have 6% intermetallic crystals, but they will be imbedded in a lead/tin alloy, and there will be no crystals of pure antimony at all. The famed Lyman # 2 alloy is really not 90% lead, 5% tin and 5% antimony, even though that's what you put into the pot. If you want to be really accurate, it's 10% intermetallic compound crystals imbedded in 90% lead! Now someone is sure to ask why an alloy with the tin all reacted into an intermetallic compound is still able to cause age softening of alloys. The answer is easy (though not helpful): Durned if I know! But I can at least put my ignorance to good use with the comment that this is a good illustration of my earlier comment about the ever expanding complexities and fascination of cast bullet technology. There is always something new to be learned! I haven't covered half of what there is to say about lead alloys, but that's a good start, and this makes a good place to stop. I find that I have already blabber-mouthed far beyond what most people will want to read at one sitting anyhow, so I'll cover quenching of lead alloys to harden them later. Unfortunately, I am no longer able to access Genie services, and have little choice but to postpone such a discussion for the foreseeable future. However, someone who understands Genie software (I don't) will wander by someday, and I hope to resume this series at that time if I haven't bored you to death with it by now. Until then, please be patient with your friend ... Molly ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 9507B CONCEALMENT HANDGUNS by John Marshall *HANDGUNS *CONCEALED CARRY It's no secret that the concept of legal concealed weapons carry is spreading like wildfire across the country. From New Hampshire (state motto: "Live free or die") where no permit at all is required and anyone may carry concealed, to Texas, where a concealed carry law was recently passed and signed by a new governor pledged to do so, the trend is there. The National Rifle Association has campaigned long and hard for concealed carry permits with considerable success. In spite of dire predictions of high-noon shootouts and vigilantism, such occurrences rarely if ever happen among the law-abiding cleared for concealed carry. And the stats show that the violent crime rate often goes down after passage of a concealed-carry-permit law. It certainly did in Florida, and that state's experience with their law has been used as an example for others to follow. Here in Phoenix, murders are already down 10% from last year; Arizo- na passed a concealed-carry-permit law for the first time late last year. The word is definitely out on the street that if you intend to committing mayhem, you'd better be damn careful, because the citizen you assault might be fully capable of stopping you in your tracks with a legal concealed weapon. So because your state might have or soon have a concealed-carry- permit law on the books, it's worthwhile to examine the choices of firearms that might be suitable for such duty. Certainly the selec- tion of a CC handgun involves a lot of personal preference, but there are definite advantages and disadvantages to most of the guns that might qualify for such duties. In this article, we'll examine some of the more popular choices and give both fact and opinion on each. Before we begin, it's wise to remember that each of us differs in our physical configuration and manner of dress. What may be suitable for a 6 foot-3 man built like a football tackle may not be the best choice for a 5 foot-2 woman of slight build. Also, what may be a good choice in the summer might not be the optimum selection for winter, and vice versa. Casual clothing permits options that would not be socially acceptable in office or formal garb, and so on. In short, there probably isn't any one best choice for a concealed defensive firearm, but there are plenty of options to suit the particular situa- tion. Let's look first at deep concealment firearms. Typically, such guns are intended for situations where your manner of dress is not going to permit anything bulky to be packed for concern over being spotted as obviously armed. Tiny arms suitable for this role have a terrible history as "manstoppers," but they have often proved to have a deter- rent effect when some gun is better than no gun at all. Here in Phoenix in the summer, my typical office wear is a pair of dress slacks, a dress short-sleeve shirt, and a tie. This particular combination of clothes does not permit a normal-size handgun to be packed on the body. However, a tiny "pocket pistol" can be slipped into a pocket, and properly done, be undetectable. Another option is a small handgun stowed in an ankle holster. For ladies, a garter or bra holster or a handbag can be the resting place for a small unobtru- sive handgun. Here are some "deep concealment" handguns you may wish to consider. The Hi-Standard double derringer. Now out of print since the High Standard Manufacturing Company went bankrupt, these diminutive little .22 double-action derringers are still available on the used gun market, and are often seen at gun shows. These little guns were chambered for either .22 Long Rifle or .22 Magnum. They feature a stiff double-action-only trigger pull (no trigger guard), and a very flat configuration. They don't weigh much, and can be almost forgot- ten about once secured on the person. They give you two quick shots, and then must be reloaded like a break-open shotgun, The double action design and the crude sights mean that they aren't going to be very accurate much beyond a few yards, but they can serve as a deterrent nonetheless. I've owned one of these in .22 LR since the middle '60s, and have found that with care and a controlled trigger pull, I can hit an object the size of a gallon milk bottle out to around 20 yards or so. The little gun was never designed to be shot at this distance, but it can be done with practice. The best way to hold this little number, with its rounded vestigial grip, is to lay the index finger alongside the barrels, and use the middle finger to manipulate the trigger. Thus employed, shooting it can be as in- stinctive as pointing your finger. The North American Arms Mini-Revolvers. These little five-shot sin- gle-action revolvers are about as tiny as a revolver can get. You can find them chambered for .22 short, .22 LR, and .22 Magnum. The .22 short and LR handguns are small enough to be carried in the watch pocket of a pair of Levi's, and the .22 LR version can be fitted with a folding grip which envelops the gun when folded, and which extends out to give a far more comfortable hold than is afforded by the stand- ard small bird's-head grip. This folding grip adds very little in bulk to the handgun when closed up, and it does serve to conceal the shape of the gun when it's inserted into a pants pocket. This grip has a belt clip, which can also be used by the ladies to hook the little revolver onto a bra, for example. With the grip, the gun can still fit into a Levi's watch pocket, and becomes invisible when a shirt is worn over it tail out. It's one of the most comfortable little guns to wear. Sadly, the .22 out of a short barrel isn't going to be much good except as a deterrent, or if used, for a head shot. The mini-revolvers do offer a 3 to 4-shot advantage over a derringer, as they can fire 5 shots without reloading. Reloading is best done away from a stressful situation, as it involves removing the cylinder pin and then the cylinder, poking out the empties with the cylinder pin, single-loading five fresh rounds into the cylinder, replacing the cylinder in the frame, and reinserting the cylinder pin in the cylin- der and frame. It's slow and cumbersome, and the gun is in pieces while you do it. As a safety factor the little revolvers must be carried hammer down either on an empty chamber (making them 4-shots), or with the hammer resting fully down in one of the safety notches in the cylinder, which are located between cylinders. One must take care to do this right, as it's definitely playing with fire to leave the hammer down on a live cartridge. If this is done, a blow to the hammer could set off a round to go who knows where. .25 ACP pocket pistols. These little semiautos, not much bigger than the firearms mentioned above, offer the advantages of increased fire- power and quick reloading. They are typified by the "Baby Browning" and the little Colt .25, both John Browning designs. Since these are hammerless designs, they are best carried with the firing pin down on an empty chamber, and a full magazine. Employing them requires jacking the slide to chamber a round. Carrying them with the chamber loaded and the safety applied is not recommended for two reasons; one, the firing pin spring may take a set, and two, the safeties are not really positive enough to give a margin of comfort. These pistols do offer a flat configuration and small size. The .25 ACP is not much better, if any better, than a .22 LR for defense purposes, and such guns are best employed as potential deterrents than actually used. The little Beretta .25 DA/SA semiauto does offer an alternative to carrying the chamber empty, because it employs the traditional double-action first shot method. However, it seems to me that the Beretta pistols, even the smallest ones, are bulkier than they need to be across the frame as compared to others. The Seecamp .32 ACP pocket semiauto pistol. This little pistol is in a class by itself. It is designed around the .32 ACP Winchester Silvertip HP round specifically, and is little bigger than the typical .25 auto. It is a bit of a cult item, and there's a waiting list to get one from Seecamp. Although the Winchester round is recom- mended, it will also feed, chamber and fire the high-performance Glaser Safety Slugs and the Magsafe .32 ACP loads were recently re- designed to function in this pistol. It has no sights, which is a turn-off for many shooters, and is double-action only. It does offer a more effective round than the .25 ACP, but it's still not up to the .380 ACP or .38 special class. Now, let's look at handguns a little higher up on the size scale, which will serve comfortably for concealed carry. Typical employment will be in an inside-the-pants holster with the shirt worn out, in a shoulder holster beneath a vest or open shirt, in an ankle holster, or in a handbag. Perhaps the minimum cartridge recommended for actual employment in a defense situation is the .380 ACP, or as it's known in Europe, the 9mm Kurz (German for "short"). This is a rimless cartridge employing a 9mm bullet at relatively moderate velocity. In hardball configura- tion, the round is not a reliable stopper, but with certain hollow- point loads, the cartridge can do some damage to an assailant. Arms chambered for this number can be fairly compact in size and light and weight. The pressure of the cartridge is low enough to permit blow- back actions, fixed barrels, and simplicity. Pistols for the .380 cartridge are all over the place, so I'll stick to some personal recommendations, both for and against a few specific pistols. Once upon a time, I purchased a .380 "Backup" pistol, made by AMT of Pasadena, California. I was intrigued by the small size of the pistol, and figured it could almost go where no pistol had gone be- fore. The stainless-steel "Backup" is a single-action hammerless design, meaning that it's best carried with a loaded magazine and an empty chamber. That's OK. The quality control on the pistol is definitely NOT OK. First off, the firing pin spring had taken a set (no doubt from the previous owner keeping it cocked), and it had no power to reliably ignite a primer. Secondly, the pistol was a jama- matic - not reliable in its feeding, chambering, and ejection, even with hardball ammo. Thirdly, the pistol is damnably difficult to disassemble; it nearly requires three hands in addition to a block of wood to hold the slide back, and a pin punch. I got rid of this little number later at a gun show, with a note that it needed work. This was honest, but an understatement. I would never again be tempted by one of these little pistols. A trifle bigger pistol is up next, and my recommendation regarding it is a hearty "thumbs up." This is the famed Walther PP design, as personified in the PP, PPK, and PPK/S pistols made both on these shores and in Europe. The design of this pistol originated in the late 1920's, and its (now) traditional double-action design set the standard, both then and now. It's a blowback design, immensely reliable, slim and handy. In .380, it's a serious hideaway defense pistol. The first shot can be fired double-action, and it can be carried with the safety off, as it incorporates a firing-pin block that rises only when the trigger is fully back. Subsequent shots are single-action. In the event of a misfire, the pistol reverts to double-action so you can take another whack at the primer. Field- stripping is simple; lock the slide back, pull down on the trigger guard, press it to one side to keep it down, pull the slide all the way back, lift its rear up, and slide it forward off the frame. This leaves you the grip/barrel frame, the slide, and the recoil spring to deal with. It's a slick system that's been widely copied. There are basically three models of the PP design. There is the original full-size PP pistol ("PP" stands for "Polizei Pistole," or police pistol). There is the PPK variation (PPK meaning Polizei Pistole Kriminal, or police pistol/detective model). Its barrel and frame are shortened for better concealability for undercover work. Then there is the strange-birthed PPK/S pistol, which is a combination of the longer PP grip frame and the PPK slide and barrel. It con- ceals almost as well as the PPK, but has the larger magazine capacity and hand-filling feel of the PP. It came into being because the PPK, due to the factoring points of the '68 gun control act, could not be imported. So the Walther factory in Germany simply combined the two pistols to make one that would pass importation criteria. The "S" stands for "special" for the American market. Later, of course, the small PPK was made in America, and import laws don't apply to it. There are other small .380 pistols that have some merit, notably the Colt Government single-action design and the Beretta double-action pistols. The Colt is a dead-ringer for the 1911 .45, except it's smaller. The Berettas look a lot like their big brother, the 9mm 92F, which was adopted as standard by our military. The Beretta .380s are to me overly bulky, due to their double-stack magazine design, while the little Colt is slim with its single-stack magazine. A step up on the power scale gives us some nice revolvers in .38 special for the concealment role. Perhaps the most highly regarded of the "pocket" revolvers are the little J-frame Smith & Wessons. This series actually began a long time ago with the I-frame revolvers, which were chambered in .32 caliber and for the stubby .38 S&W cartridge. Later on, Smith decided to chamber this little number for the longer .38 special, and this necessitated lengthening the frame somewhat; this became the now- standard J-frame. One of the best of the early J-frames was the Chief's Special, or model 36. This was a blued 5-shot revolver cham- bered in .38 special. It was an instant hit with police for a backup revolver, and it became very popular as a concealed-carry piece. Later on, this revolver was produced in stainless steel as the Model 60; it was the first commercial handgun to be made almost entirely of stainless steel, and the factory couldn't make them fast enough. At one time, S&W made a little number they dubbed the "Centennial" re- volver, which had an internal hammer so it could be drawn quickly without snagging on clothing. This revolver also featured a grip safety along the rear of the grip frame, which had to be depressed before the revolver would fire; this was reminiscent of the even earlier "Safety Hammerless" revolver, which was a top-break design. Thoughtfully, the factory provided a little pin which could be removed when the grips were off the frame, and which could then be reinserted so as to lock out the grip safety for more assurance of discharge when the trigger was pulled. In recent years, the Centennial was re- introduced in stainless steel as the Model 640, sans the grip safety. This sleek little double-action-only revolver has become immensely popular, and with a strengthened frame, it is chambered now in the potent .357 magnum. As the Model 940, it is chambered in 9mm Luger, and is intended to be fired with full-moon clips holding 5 rounds of this high-pressure number. I have a Model 640 in .38 special, and can attest that it packs easy, draws nicely, and within the limits of the double-action-only design, is quite accurate when the shooter does his or her part. The model 640 in .38 special is capable of firing sustained doses of even +P+ high-pressure ammo. Taurus offers the Model 85, which is very similar to the J-frame Smiths. These little revolvers offer a lot of power with very compact size, but with full- house loads, recoil can be vicious. Good hand-filling grips are highly recommended. My 640 is dressed with a pair of Herrett's Shooting Star checkered wood grips with a palm swell on both sides, and this makes it very comfortable to shoot, adding only about 1/2" to the depth of the grip. It enables me to wrap four fingers around the grip easily. Smith now offers the "boot grip" as an option; this is a checkered black neoprene grip that provides a bit more bulk but no more depth; I find it awkward, and must curl my little finger under the grip to grasp it right. Colt is also in the snubby revolver fray. This began years ago with the Colt Cobra, a small (D-frame) 6-shot revolver with a 2-inch barrel in .38 special. This later evolved into the famous Detective Spe- cial, which has recently been reintroduced with an ejector rod shroud to prevent bending of the ejector rod in rough usage. Colt touts the advantage of the extra round over the Chief Special and its cousins, but that extra round does make the revolver marginally more bulky. In this regard, you have your choice with Colt or S&W - an extra round or less bulk and weight. Next up in power level are the 'mini-autos' in 9mm caliber. As you probably know, the 9mm Parabellum cartridge is a high-pressure number, usually requiring a locked breech in semi-auto configuration. Fore- most among the "chopped and channeled" 9mm concealment pistols is the Smith and Wesson line, perhaps best personified in the Model 3913. This is an alloy-framed stainless-slide pistol with a 3.5" barrel (1/2" shorter than the standard 4" barrel), and a shortened frame. It also has a bobbed hammer which cannot be cocked easily for single- action fire; you have to move the hammer back a bit with the trigger to thumb it back, not an easy task under stress. It's definitely designed for double-action first shots. The single-stack magazine holds 8 rounds, which with one in the chamber gives you 9 shots of full-house ammo. The grips on this number are grey to match the frame and slide, which is an advantage between a T-shirt and an outer shirt, offering little see-through contrast. It's provided with a finger-rest mag and an flat-bottomed mag, so you have your choice of maximum control or minimum size. As the 3913LS, it's a Ladysmith pistol, and so etched on the right of the slide. This pistol has a tuned trigger which is a mite easier for arguably less powerful female hands. The LS model has one slide-mounted safety lever on the left, while the 3913 is ambidextrous with two levers, one on each side of the slide. This makes it a bit bulkier for concealed carry; it's very similar to the blued 3914 model. With the "NL" (no logo) option, the 3913NL is identical to the Ladysmith in configuration, but lacks the Ladysmith logo on the slide. I have one of these, and suspect it also lacks the lighter, smoother trigger, as I'd judge it about equal to an old Model 59 I've kept around since the middle '70s. The 3913NL I have weighs just 25 ounces, is extremely compact, and is not noticed at all when packed in an inside-the-pants holster. It's very comfortable for all-day wear in the summer. All Smith 3rd-generation pistols have a magazine safety, which means it's not possible to discharge the pistol when the magazine is removed. The jury is out on this feature, but it's there. Competing with the Smiths are chopped Glocks and Berettas. Both are somewhat bulkier than the single-stack-mag S&Ws, with their double- stack magazines. The Glock, of course, has a polymer frame, which does offer the advantage of less weight. The Berettas can be had in traditional double action (TDA) or double-action-only (DAO). The Glock has its weird (to me) trigger action which is a cross between single- and double-action in feel; it has no safety, and negligent discharges with the Glock are perhaps somewhat easier to achieve, if you can call that sort of thing an achievement. The 9mm mini-guns are to my mind the optimum combination of serious power and concealability, and should be given serious consideration. The represent one of the best possibilities for firepower, cartridge effectiveness, and smallness. They do demand the best ammo possible, and I highly recommend the Cor-bon 116 gr. +P hollowpoint for defense work; it has an excellent street one-shot-stop record. My 3913NL is my gun of choice for concealed carry in the summer. Next up on the defense-power scale, it's a tossup between many medi- um-frame .357 revolvers as typified by the Ruger SP101 design, the Smith & Wesson Model 19 and its derivatives in stainless steel, and the Colt Python-class revolvers. All of these revolvers are more bulky than their junior counterparts, but give you increased control- lability. With 2", 3", and 4" barrels, you're going to get some muzzle blast and flash, and a LOT of noise when the gun discharges. There is no question that these handguns are effective defense guns, but the cylinder girth makes them harder to conceal and they may dig into your flesh a bit, making them rough for prolonged concealed carry. They are impressive, somewhat concealable, effective, but heavier and less comfortable. They're pushing the concealability envelope a bit. For full-power handguns epitomized by those chambered for the time- honored .45 ACP cartridge, you have a plethora of choices. Colt, Smith & Wesson and Glock all offer bobbed semiautos for this car- tridge, some with alloy frames for increased lightness. The small width of the 1911 design allows flat packing, so much so that in the winter, the full-size 1911 design can be carried with almost as much comfort as the shorter Commander or Officer's Model pistols, with the advantage of full velocity and power for the low-pressure round. I myself prefer the full-size Colt in the winter, when it can be better concealed in a shoulder holster under a jacket, rather than dragging down my pants. It's believed that hollow-point bullets may clog with fabric when fired through layers of winter clothing, and they may thus not open up properly, lacking the necessary hydraulic pressure. If this is the case, the .45 caliber makes bigger intrinsic holes, and this alone makes it the caliber of choice in the winter. In the summer, some may find them bulkier than optimum, and certainly heavier than their 9mm or 40mm counterparts. There's no disputing the de- fense capability of the .45 ACP; it's the standard by which all others are judged. OK, there's one category left - full-house handguns chambered for the .44 and 41 magnums, the IMI .50 Desert Eagle, etc., and yes, Dirty Harry did pack a Model 29 concealed. Of course, he was a skinny guy with an oversize jacket, and Clint Eastwood only had to pack this Smith & Wesson N-frame monster for the scenes in which he appeared in the movie! I have a Model 29, and I have a shoulder holster for it, but you can bet it's not my concealment handgun of choice in either summer or winter. The shoulder holster is for packing in the field, for hunting, and for packing for possible defense use against wild animals. The .44 magnum is more of a hunting cartridge, harder to control, and the possibility of over-penetration and danger to the innocent is always there. It's not the optimum defense cartridge, and neither is its first cousin the .41 magnum, or the monstrous .50 for which the Desert Eagle handgun is chambered. That goes for the now-discontinued .44 Auto-mag, also. I suppose I could manage to stuff my Model 629 8 3/8"-barreled revolver so as to conceal it in the winter, but, I'd walk lopsided, that's for sure! Let's just laugh and say "sure" in a derisive tone when you see this sort of thing in the movies. It's not real world. So there you have it - from tiny to monstrous; these are the choices that are out there for concealed carry. My choices? Here in Arizona, I favor three handguns, each employed depending on the circumstances. For deep concealment and effortless packing, my little North American Arms .22 LR 5-shot mini-revolver with folding grip slips into the watch pocket in my Levis, or slips into the side pocked of my dress slacks. It's virtually unnoticeable, and it will serve when any handgun is a better option than nothing. For effective defense capability in the summer with optimum conceal- ability and comfort, it's my 9mm Smith 3913NL in an inside-the-pants holster. If I ever need it, it'll do the job, and meanwhile, no one's tipped to the fact that I'm packing some serious ordnance. My Model 640 .38 special revolver runs a close second for summer work, with my Walther PPK/S in .380 bringing up the rear, James Bond not- withstanding. In the winter, I choose to use my favorite pistol - my early Colt Stainless series 80 Government Model (full-size) in .45 ACP. It rides in a shoulder holster under a jacket comfortably, and the bulk of a jacket conceals it adequately. There's no question about this gun's effectiveness, or mine when armed with it. Two extra mags balance the other side of the shoulder rig, giving me 22 rounds of fast and powerful firepower. There's no better deal around. I hope this overview of concealment firearms gives you some food for thought - I know I haven't mentioned all the possibilities, and I may have left out some of your favorites. Let me know on the GEnie outdoors forum roundtable what YOU think - there's plenty of room for opinion there! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 9507C THE HATCHER SCALE by John Marshall *HATCHER *STOPPING POWER *HANDGUNS *CARTRIDGE POWER One of the truisms of handgunning is that all other things being equal, a bigger bullet is going to do more damage than a smaller one. And it is also true that bullet shape has a lot to do with how much damage a bullet will do. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but by and large, the above rules hold pretty true. Way back earlier in this century, a fellow by the name of Julian Hatcher sought to find out why these truths were so. He had a dis- tinct advantage, because he was then Chief of Ordnance for the U.S. Army, and had a lot of people and equipment to utilize. He called in another fellow by the name of John Taliaferro Tompson, whom you may recall was involved in another venture which became the Thompson submachine gun. Thompson was then a Colonel in the Army Ordnance Corps. Hatcher also engaged the services of Col. Julius A. LaGarde of the Army Surgeon General's office. He asked the two of them to collaborate on some empirical tests of bullet effectiveness, and this they did. The results became the famous Thompson-LaGarde study. To his dismay, Hatcher discovered that he could not correlate kinetic energy, to the observed results of the tests. He reasoned that there must be something missing in that equation, and attempted to create a mathematical formula which correlate to stopping power, or terminal effectiveness. For reference purposes, the quick formula for computing kinetic energy in foot-pounds is: W x (VxV) where W = bullet weight in grains, V = velocity, --------- = KE and KE = kinetic energy in foot-lbs. 450,240 He next attempted to factor in bullet mass and shape, as well as its weight and velocity, and the results started to more closely match reality. He called this advanced formula's results the index of relative stopping power, and the formula went like this: 1 WV -------- x ----- x A x y = RSP 2(32.16) 7000 RSP = Relative Stopping Power W = Bullet weight in grains V = Velocity in feet per second A = Cross sectional area of bullet in square inches y = emperical shape factor, using a lead roundnose bullet for a basis of comparison, with a factor of 1000, and a lead semiwadcutter having a factor of 1250, or 25% greater effective- ness. For years, Hatcher's formula reigned supreme, as it closely approxi- mated on a linear scale observable stopping power; any handgun car- tridge could be compared to any other handgun cartridge in effective- ness. Of course, back then they didn't have expanding HP bullets or frangible bullets such as the Magsafe or Glaser examples, but we can factor those in today with a close guess as to their shape factors. All attempts in later years to come up with something better by way of a yardstick on handgun stopping power have pretty well met with fail- ure. A prime example was the Law Enforcement Assistance Administra- tion's "relative incapacitation" study which used gelatin blocks, a computer-generated "man," every example of ammo known at the time, and computers to tabulate the data. The results were interesting, sound- ed good if you said them fast, but they didn't relate to what was happening on the street. A subsequent full report refuted the first one, and the whole thing was declared a mess from the get-go. This brings us back to Hatcher's scale. Included in this newsletter is the program "HATCHER.BAS" which will run on most computers that have a BASIC executable file (GWBASIC is what I use). You can exper- iment with it a bit, feeding it your cartridge's velocity, weight, cross-sectional area, and bullet shape. It will give you a reading, which you can compare with pretty-well proved cartridges like the .45 ACP hardball ammo which is ubiquitous. It does all the hard work of calculation for you. If you can use it, great - just don't bug me for another version which will work in more modern permutations of BASIC like QBASIC or Visual Basic. I just don't have the time or inclination to learn to program them; I learned how to program in BASIC, and that's all, folks! Oh, it also calculates foot pounds of energy in the same breath, so you can have both figures at once. Enjoy! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 9507D NRA NEWS by the National Rifle Association Staff *NRA *SECOND AMENDMENT *RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS *RKBA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION: JULY 7, 1995 NRA PUBLIC AFFAIRS 703-267-3820 RIGHT TO CARRY MARCHES ON AND ON AND ON... Fairfax, Va-- This week, the right to carry movement continued as Nevada and North Carolina joined the growing list of states passing this lifesaving legislation this year. On Monday, the Nevada legislature gave final approval to carry legislation which was signed by Governor Bob Miller earlier today. On Thursday, the North Carolina legislature gave its final approval to carry legislation, however unlike Nevada, the governor can neither sign nor veto the bill. "This is a national movement by the states to empower their citizens," said Mrs. Tanya K. Metaksa, chief lobbyist of the National Rifle Association. "Not only was the theme of empowerment felt in the nation's capitol on election day, it was felt in many state capitals as well. The right to carry movement is reflective of elected officials heeding their citizens calls: Let us have the ability to protect ourselves and our loved ones," she continued. "With the addition of Nevada and North Carolina, eight states have passed lifesaving right to carry this year," said Mrs Metaksa. "With Justice Department studies showing that 88% of all violent crime occurs outside the home, this legislation is long overdue." 28 states now allow law abiding citizens to carry firearms for self protection. In the 20 states that had right to carry laws prior to 1994, the crime rates are lower as compared to the states without carry laws in all the major crime categories that the FBI tracks (Shall Issue: The New Wave of Concealed Handgun Permit Laws, by Clayton Cramer and David B. Kopel). "NRA will continue to aggressively fight for citizen's self defense. The few states that have rejected right to carry will not be forgotten. And, as in Texas where then Governor Ann Richards vetoed right to carry legislation two years ago, the NRA and the voters will make the needed changes to secure the basic civil right of self defense," she concluded. =+=+=+=+ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For further information, June 30, 1995 call: NRA Public Affairs 703-267-3820 THE RIDDLER? NRA Comments on President's Visit to Chicago Atlanta, Georgia -- President Bill Clinton's visit to Chicago, Illinois, for a gun control fund-raiser was, from all appearances, riddled with irony. "The same Administration intent on banning guns by banning bullets is soft on criminals with guns, and, according to a Senate hearing, soft on criminals with drugs," commented Mrs. Tanya K. Metaksa, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, during a visit to Georgia. "He has called on Congress to ban ammunition despite a 1986 law that works flawlessly. Since 1986, when NRA helped craft and support a law limiting certain ammo to police use, no police officer in the United States has been killed with any projectile fired from a handgun through the protective material of a soft body armor vest. The number is _zero_." "Our president also praised his ban on guns based solely on their appearance -- in Chicago where handguns are banned regardless of their appearance. Both prohibitions fail to stop criminals. "And our president is praising a waiting period in a state that employs the NRA-backed instantaneous criminal background check. These ironies must be truly embarrassing." On the President's ammo ban, Mrs. Metaksa cited a remark made by a White House official who told the Associated Press that it was not a "huge problem." "Indeed, the `huge problem' that the president's scheme utterly fails to address is that persons with prior criminal histories are involved in the majority of homicides of law enforcement officers," Mrs. Metaksa said. "During the last ten years, 73% of those involved in officer killings had prior criminal arrests, 56% had been convicted of criminal offenses, and 23% were actually on parole or probation when the officers were killed. "That's the `huge problem.' It is the same problem that cost officer Daniel Doffyn his life. He was tragically slain by three suspected gang members -- drugs dealers who are suspects in previous shootings, including murder. "That's the `huge problem.' And that is why NRA has been working for criminal justice reform -- from `Three Strikes You're Out' in Vermont to the `Hard Time for Armed Crime' initiative in Washington state. Thatūs the kind of work that keeps real assault weapons and real cop killers off our streets." Mrs. Metaksa noted that NRA currently has 10,000 certified law enforcement instructors who work with 450,000 law enforcement officers annually. "NRA also subsidizes vest purchases and buys a $25,000 life insurance policy free of charge to every law enforcement officer who joins. Since 1992, we have provided $450,000 in payments to the survivors of our law enforcement members who lost their lives in the line of duty. "If you work out the figures, that means -- every other month, some law enforcement agency loses an officer, an agent, a sheriff or deputy -- and so does the NRA. Forty thousand Americans joined NRA last month. Our survey of new members found that more than 18 percent reported that they or someone in their household has been or is currently in the field of law enforcement. Members of the law enforcement family join NRA, because they know where NRA stands on the most important issue of the day: their safety." The Clinton gun ban, Mrs. Metaksa said, impacts some 190 firearms rarely used in crimes. "It is effective only in masking poor performance in banning _real_ assault weapons -- namely, armed, violent criminals. Federal weapons prosecutions have plummeted 23% his first two years in office. H.R. 1488 not only repeals the Clinton gun ban. It requires the Attorney General to start enforcing the laws that put armed criminals behind bars." Mrs. Metaksa noted that the background check component of the federal waiting period has been found void and unconstitutional by five federal courts. She also noted that Georgia and Pennsylvania have recently opted out of the waiting period scheme in favor of the NRA-backed computer check for gun purchasers. "Wait prompts flight, but the instant check prompts instant arrest of the rare dangerous criminal who attempts a direct commercial purchase. On passage of the federal waiting period legislation, the NRA-backed check was employed by Virginia, Delaware, Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois." Since then, Colorado, South Carolina, Georgia, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Utah and Pennsylvania have adopted the mandatory check. Mrs. Metaksa also quoted yesterday's AP report: "The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said, `Black Rhino' bullets, said to be capable of piercing body armor, apparently do not exist. The agency in January did approve the sale of the `Rhino-Ammo' fragmenting bullet after firing tests showed that it was no different from other hollow-point bullets that had no armor- piercing qualities." "His advisors should stop counseling the president to build laws -- and campaigns -- on myths," Mrs. Metaksa said. =+=+=+=+ CLINTON ATTEMPTING TO BAN GUNS BY BANNING BULLETS On June 30, 1995, President Bill Clinton made the following statements while receiving the Abraham Linclon Courage Award at 15th District Police Headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. Referring to the recent, fatal shooting of Chicago police officer Daniel Doffyn, Clinton said "[A]s we remember Officer Doffyn, I say there is at least one more thing we must do. Today I am announcing support for legislation that will ban armor-piercing bullets of all kinds. . . . "[W]e do ban some kinds of armor-piercing bullets. . . but . . . the law is written . . . in the wrong way. . . . based on what it's made of. . . . (that's) not good enough because clever people have figured out how to design ammunition made from common materials that do just as much damage. . . . "This legislation will change that. It will see to it that we judge ammunition not based on what it's made of, but based on how much harm it can do. That should be the test, and the test should be simple and straightforward. If a bullet can rip through a bulletproof vest like a knife through hot butter, then it ought to be history. We should ban it. . . . (I ask you to help me) "oppose their (NRA's) efforts to keep us from getting all these horrible police-killing bullets out of our lives. . . " POINTS TO REMEMBER * Clinton's notion that the current "armor-piercing ammunition" law, enacted in 1986 and added to in 1994, is too weak because "clever people" have designed new ammunition with additional armor piercing abilities, is sheer nonsense, as definitively demonstrated by the recent, nationally-broadcast expose of the "Black Rhino" hoax swallowed hook-line-and-sinker by anti-gun politicians and their allies in the media. Indeed, Officer Daniel Doffyn, whose death Clinton is shamelessly trying to use for his own political purposes, was not killed because a bullet penetrated his protective vest. According to a Chicago Police Department spokesman, one of the bullets that killed Officer Doffyn struck him in the head, while a second bullet entered an opening in his vest -- it didn't defeat the material of the vest. * President Clinton is attempting to resurrect an approach to banning ammunition that the Congress considered and rejected in the mid-1980s when it enacted the first "armor piercing ammunition" law. The previously-rejected approach proposed today by the president, would ban virtually all commonly used rifle ammunition, and a great deal of handgun ammunition, commonly used by law- abiding hunters and target shooters, and by people who own firearms for self-defense against criminals. In 1986, Congress adopted the approach that Clinton now criticizes, an approach that the original sponsor of the "armor piercing" ammunition legislation, Rep. Mario Biaggi, a highly decorated police officer who had been wounded in the line of duty, said "was no compromise on the part of police safety." * Clinton's approach would ban virtually all rifle ammunition used for hunting, target shooting, or self-protection in the United States, such as .30-30 Winchester, .30-'06 Springfield, .308 Winchester, .300 Savage, 7mm Remington, .270 Winchester, .257 Roberts, .243 Winchester and .223 Remington, to name just a few. * Clinton's approach would ban most handgun ammunition, including that which is used for hunting, target shooting and self- protection, such as .45 Colt and Auto Colt, .44 Remington, .44 Smith and Wesson Special, .41 Remington, .357 Smith and Wesson, 9mm Luger, and many .38 Special loads, to name just a few. * About the only ammunition that would not be banned is .22 Rimfire ammunition, several outdated rifle cartridges, such as .25- 20 Winchester and .32-20 Winchester, and several lower-powered handgun cartridges, such as .25 and .32 caliber (which anti-gun activists have for years claimed, albeit incorrectly, that criminals favor.) * The real problem is the criminal. During the last ten years, 73% of those involved in officer killings had prior criminal arrests, 56% had been convicted of criminal offenses, and 23% were actually on parole or probation when the officers were killed. (Source: FBI, "Law Enforcement Officer Killed and Assaulted, 1993") * The problem is not bullets that defeat the protective material of body armor vests. During the last ten years, 70% of the police officers who have been fatally shot were not even wearing their protective vests, according to the FBI. In fact, less than 2% of the officers feloniously killed in the line of duty during the last ten years were killed because a bullet penetrated their protective vests. A police officer is 30 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle accident than be killed because of a bullet penetrating his or her vest. (Source: FBI, "Law Enforcement Officer Killed and Assaulted, 1993") The Nat'l Institute of Justice has found that "many (officers) who possess body armor do not use it routinely." ("Selection and Application Guide to Police Body Armor, 1989) NRA-ILA Research and Information Division, July 7, 1995 =+=+=+=+ Six Months of Progress ... For $17.50 A speech by Mrs. Tanya K. Metaksa Executive Director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action to the Outdoor Writers Association of America Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 28, 1995 I want to thank the Outdoor Writers Association of America for this opportunity -- but let me begin with a viewers' advisory. This morning, you will hear facts, not fireworks. You will hear about NRA benefits, not brimstone. And you will hear about NRA progress ... not petty politics. In public discourse filled too often with downright spitefulness, we need more downright information ... information about benefits - - about value -- about production. So, this morning, I want to share with you the tangible benefits of NRA membership -- the value of belonging -- and give you a sense of what NRA produces because people join us -- for thirty-five dollars-a-year annual dues. Later today, you'll hear from our president, Tom Washington, about NRA's education, safety and skill training programs. If you add my words to Tom's, I believe you'll be convinced that NRA is delivering real value to its members. When Americans join NRA for thirty-five dollars, the NRA Institute for Legislative Action invests in hunting and wildlife conservation, invests in an education strategy about the Second Amendment, and invests in meaningful criminal justice reform. And in just the first six months of this year -- our members are seeing a substantial return on their investment. Let's examine the dividends our members have enjoyed. Let's measure our return -- in just the first six months of this year -- on seventeen dollars and fifty cents -- half the NRA annual dues. One of our greatest achievements this year has been our work with other conservationist groups to restore the National Wildlife Refuge System. In order to understand the scope of our achievement this year, you've got to understand a little of the history ... We all know it was a hunter -- Teddy Roosevelt -- who first established this system with the opening of Pelican Island, Florida, in 1903. We know that our excise taxes, duck stamps and entrance fees represent the bulk of the funds used to acquire new lands. And we know that, today, Roosevelt's vision touches nearly six million anglers, more than a million hunters and over 90 million acres. But the National Wildlife Refuge System has deteriorated. Until recently, Roosevelt's vision appeared lost. * Biological programs were ignored due to lack of funding. * Wildlife habitat was deteriorating due to lack of maintenance. * Much needed work on those lands was postponed, year after year, and now deferred maintenance is measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The symbol of Roosevelt's greatest domestic vision has decayed. So too has the relationship between the refuge system and the hunters who helped create it. For years, wildlife-dependent recreation -- including hunting -- has been relegated to second priority, wrapped up and discarded in the phrase, "secondary use." Since hunting is a "secondary use" of the refuge system, it can be allowed only after a determination is made that hunting is compatible with the purposes of the refuge. Using "secondary use" as their primary target, environmentalists filed suit against the Fish and Wildlife Service for permitting what they alleged to be incompatible uses on refuge lands. The lawsuit prompted the Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a system- wide review of ALL uses in ALL five hundred and four refuges. On the heels of that system-wide review came a memo from the director to field personnel to divert funding from "secondary uses," if those uses could not pass some sort of test. If they applied the test initially prescribed by Fish and Wildlife Service, refuge managers would be forced to throttle all hunting, fishing, wildlife photography -- in short, ALL wildlife-oriented recreational uses in many refuge areas. That was, at least, NRA's view. Indeed, it must have been the feeling of many Fish and Wildlife Service personnel, because several leaked the director's memo to NRA and other conservation groups. This under-funding of hunting -- I call it the unfunding of hunting -- spoke volumes to me about the mind-set of the political leadership of this agency. The Fish and Wildlife Service leadership simply did not understand the significance to hunters and anglers of the refuge system we hunters helped create and maintain. Essentially, the stewards of our nation's wildlife resource -- hunters -- were being asked to leave. We were upset when we got our eviction notice, but the landlords just didn't get it. So this was the history. And soon after our successes in Election '94, NRA set about reforming the refuge system. This year, together with the Wildlife Legislative Fund of America and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the NRA began working with the Congress to overhaul the refuge system. What did NRA-member-hunters get this year for their $17.50? * The launch of Congressman Don Young's National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act of 1995 (H.R. 1675). This bill opens the parachute to stop the free-fall in wildlife habitat management. Moreover, it recognizes the pivotal role played by hunters. How? By making all wildlife-dependent activities, INCLUDING hunting, a PURPOSE of the refuge system -- not a fund-it-if-you-can "secondary use." And NRA has done more than push pro-hunting bills the first six months of this year. Together with thirteen other conservation organizations, NRA formed CARE -- the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement. CARE helps the Fish and Wildlife Service overcome problems created by the long-term throttling-down of funds. CARE is key. Lawmakers are responding to the legitimate calls of the people to eliminate questionable programs. But the ill health of the refuge system is BEYOND question. CARE teaches lawmakers that the refuge system has been resource-starved and disproportionately neglected ... for years. CARE teaches that what's needed is not the budget ax, but a resource injection. That's a lot for seventeen fifty and six months -- but there's more. Americans have witnessed the positive message of lawful self- defense generated by pushing Right to Carry laws across the various states. Even TIME magazine tipped its hat to our enactment just this year of Right to Carry in Virginia, Utah, Idaho and Bill Clinton's home state of Arkansas. It has just been signed into law by the governors of Texas and Oklahoma, and it is moving in Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and California. Some forty percent of the population can now apply for a permit to protect themselves and their families. That's not all. There's an education component in Right to Carry. In following the Right to Carry movement, millions of Americans are examining their views on the right of self-defense. Without ever applying for a permit, millions of Americans are understanding, perhaps for the first time, that the Second Amendment is anchored in the right of self-defense -- and their right to defend themselves does not stop at the front door. Our CrimeStrike Division has advanced criminal justice reforms and victims' rights in fifteen states and the U.S. Congress in the first six months of this year -- from "Three Strikes" in Vermont to "Hard Time for Armed Crime" in Washington state. Let me repeat that -- criminal justice reform and victims' rights ... in fifteen states ... in just six months. I don't think ANY citizen organization can claim such a record. Don't let anyone tell you that NRA is not out there advancing public safety for law enforcement and civilians alike. We're there before the arrest is made, making sure the sentences will be tough, inappropriate plea bargains are trashed and pre-trial release of dangerous offenders doesn't put crooks back on the street before the officers make it home for dinner. The fact is, law enforcement and NRA have one thing in common, and that's history. We not only fight for the kinds of reforms cops need to do their job, we've trained hundreds of thousands of officers nationwide, thousands each year. NRA pays for free life insurance for every officer who joins NRA, free life insurance worth $25,000. Each year, NRA sponsors the Jeanne Bray Memorial Scholarship competition to help the children of officers get the education their parents want for them. And your NRA is doing more than just talking to politicians on Capitol Hill. We're educating America. Americans have witnessed an unprecedented partnership between NRA, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader on the right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes. The first fruit of that partnership was a comprehensive education strategy that is well underway. Our strategy has enabled witness after witness to tell the positive story of their use of a gun in self-defense -- and most of those witnesses, by the way, or their spouses are hunters. Our strategy helped scholars speak to the true meaning of the Second Amendment and social scientists debunk gun control as ineffective. And we crafted the most monumental educational conference in the nation's capitol on the right to bear arms -- "The Second Amendment: Right Under Fire?" -- a symposium featuring prominent scholars, journalists, public health and criminology professionals, leading presidential candidates and other leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. If you're sighted in and your aim is true, you are forced to conclude that members have got a lot for their seventeen-fifty. NRA has helped safeguard hunting. NRA has advanced the right of self-defense. NRA has been a leader in criminal justice reform. And, perhaps most important, NRA has helped teach the constitution to an America that is souring on sound bites -- and hungry for its history. As we honor the father of America's wildlife refuge system by working to recapture his vision, let's also honor the Founding Fathers who left us a constitution and democratic institutions through which we can advance our rights, build on scientific wildlife conservation and preserve our outdoor cultural heritage. And let's honor NRA members who, for seventeen dollars and fifty cents, made possible all the successes you and I have witnessed for the first half of 1995. Thank you. =+=+=+=+ History of Federal Ammunition Law Restricting Projectiles Based Upon Construction In 1966, Lorain County, Ohio, coroner Dr. Paul Kopsch, Lorain Police Sgt. Daniel Turcus, Jr., and Dr. Kopsch's special investigator, Donald Ward, began designing special-purpose handgun ammunition for law enforcement agencies' use. The objective was to provide police with handgun ammunition capable of penetrating hard materials, such as automobile doors, cinder blocks and walls. Previous efforts by major manufacturers at producing ammunition of this general type had been only marginally successful. Most projectiles, constructed primarily of lead, a comparatively soft metal, cannot consistently penetrate hard materials when fired at handgun ammunition velocities. In the 1970s, Kopsch, Turcus and Ward began producing their "KTW" line of handgun ammunition, featuring projectiles manufactured with case-hardened steel cores capable of significant penetration, even when fired at handgun ammunition velocities. In 1981, after experimenting with various metals and alloys, they began manufacturing their projectiles using brass as the primary element. To prevent damage to firearm barrels caused by firing hard metal projectiles through them, KTW projectiles were coated with Teflon. Many in the media, however, incorrectly claimed that Teflon also lubricated the point of impact and significantly increased the ability of the projectiles to defeat soft body armor (often called "bullet proof vests") worn by many police officers and other individuals. Government tests proved otherwise. The Justice Department determined that Teflon had "little or no effect on the penetrating qualities of the projectile" when fired at soft body armor, while the U.S. Treasury Department concluded that Teflon was "little more than a cosmetic additive" to the ammunition. In January 1982, NBC TV transformed KTW ammunition into a political issue, by running a sensational, nationwide, prime-time television spectacle titled "Cop Killer Bullets." The title of the piece was as preposterous its message. KTW ammunition had never been offered for sale to the general public; it was originally intended for, and was marketed to, law enforcement and the armed forces. Additionally, no police officer had been killed with KTW or similar projectiles, a record intact to the present. Law enforcement officials pled with NBC to discontinue its sensational reports on KTW, lest criminals learn of the virtually unknown ammunition. Placing its ratings and profits ahead of the lives of law enforcement officers, NBC not only refused to drop its coverage, but rebroadcast "Cop Killer Bullets" six months later. Not to be undone, the print media soon joined in the hype. Publicity-hungry anti-gun members of Congress soon recognized that NBC's "Cop Killer Bullet" term was the most exciting buzzword since "Saturday Night Special." Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-N.Y.) introduced "a bill to stop the proliferation of 'cop-killer' bullets." Biaggi's bill proposed a performance based prohibition, which would have outlawed any bullet that, when fired from a 5" barrelled handgun, would be capable of penetrating the equivalent of 18 layers of Kevlar, the tradename of a fiber used in the construction of soft body armor. Technical experts of the FBI, BATF, Secret Service and police forensic labs throughout the country warned that a performance based ban would be impractical and unenforceable. The National Rifle associaition (NRA) warned additionally that it would have affected more than 85% of commonplace, conventional hunting and target shooting rifle ammunition, in addition to the specialty handgun rounds that were the intended targets of the bill. NRA joined many in law enforcement in opposition to the bill. Federal and local law enforcement experts could not think of an acceptable approach to restricting the ammunition, but with input from the NRA, the original performance-based concept was discarded for one based upon the design and construction of the projectiles themselves. In 1986, after a four-year battle, Congress approved H.R. 3121, which prohibited the sale, other than to law enforcement and the armed forces, of ammunition manufactured with "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," other than shotgun shot required by federal regulations for hunting and other specifically-described projectiles. Upon that bill's passage, the original sponsor, Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-N.Y.), said "Our final legislative product was not some watered-down version of what we set out to do. In the end, there was no compromise on the part of police safety." Despite NRA's help in writing the law, the anti- gun lobby continues to claim that NRA opposed it. In 1994, after the development in Sweden of another special- purpose handgun round, one never introduced in the United States, Congress again used a construction-based approach to restrict its sale, by prohibiting sales of ammunition manufactured with 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." Modern, lightweight Level A/IIA body armor vests typically worn by police officers are capable of defeating conventional handgun projectiles, which comprise the vast majority of rounds encountered by officers in hostile encounters. According to Second Chance Body Armor, Inc., the industry leader in the manufacture of police protective vests, police officers' "chances of encountering (threats) beyond Level A/IIA are REMOTE." (Emphasis in the original) Heavier, higher-performance vests capable of defeating more powerful rifle rounds are also readily available to police officers. However, higher-powered rifle ammunition accounts for a small percentage of the ammunition officers face in dealing with criminals. =+=+=+=+ "Government, Citizens And Keeping The Trust" "Do you think the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses a threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens, or don't you think so?" Shockingly, 52% of Americans answered yes to this Time/CNN poll question posed a week after the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City. Such is the depth of the concerns of millions of honest, hard-working, tax-paying citizens. Since the cowardly bomber murders, however, public attention has failed to center on the critical question of why so many citizens no longer trust their government. Rather, the focus has been on a small number of people who form so-called "citizen militias." These groups exist, we are constantly informed, in defiance of governmental efforts to control firearms. While the National Rifle Association, of course, opposes gun control schemes, for decades it has followed an explicit policy that condemns violent individuals and groups, including those advocating the violent overthrow of the government of the United States. NRA defends the individual right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms for legitimate purposes, the individual right guaranteed by the Constitution. This right is not dependent upon the Second Amendment's militia clause, nor does participation in a citizen militia organization make that right any more valid or strong. Consequently, NRA has never been involved in the formation or support of so-called citizen militia units. It is the gun control advocates who advance the fantasy that the right to keep and bear arms is a "collective right," contingent upon participation in a "citizen militia." As constitutional scholar Stephen Halbrook says: "If anyone entertained this notion in the period during which the Constitution and Bill of Rights were debated and ratified, it remains one of the most closely guarded secrets of the 18th century." On the other hand, one can cite, as just one example, famed English jurist Sir William Blackstone, whose writing strongly influenced the framers of our Constitution. Blackstone referred to the right of the people to be armed as an "auxiliary" right that serves "to protect and maintain inviolate the three great and primary rights, of personal security, personal liberty, and private property." Following the Oklahoma tragedy, there have been calls to expand the powers of federal law enforcement agents. Fingers of guilt have been pointed at individuals and groups who bear no responsibility for the terrorist attack but who do exercise their right to express anger and frustration at what they feel their government has become. These are the voices of not only those who choose to join citizen militias. For every militia member, there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who are angered by a tax system that penalizes rather than rewards hard work, angered by a regulatory system that confiscates private property by transforming puddles into "wetlands," angered by a criminal justice system that often seems to treat criminals as victims, and, yes, angered by politicians who seek to disarm them under the guise of fighting crime. These citizens spoke loudly last November in voting booths across the nation, and they proved to any doubters that government remains subject to democratic change. These citizens became active participants in the debate about the proper role of the federal government, about what power should be concentrated within Washington, D.C. That debate, despite what some political opportunists seem to suggest, is legitimate, is necessary and is thoroughly American. It is these same citizens who rightfully question BATF/FBI actions at Ruby Ridge and Waco and feel that the government, in its internal reviews, has stonewalled attempts to arrive at the truth behind those disasters. It is these citizens who distrust Attorney General Janet Reno's recent promotion of the censured FBI official who oversaw both the attack at Ruby Ridge and the assault in Waco. These citizens know that only the harsh light of congressional hearings - hearings NRA continues to call for - will bring out the truth. Distrust of government now runs so deep in some Americans that they see the menace of unmarked "black helicopters" flying over their towns. They see U.N. troops occupying U.S. soil. They fear intrigues to establish a "one world order." For their concerns they most often are dismissed as paranoids, or worse, by the cultural elite who claim that the citizens voting for change last November 8 were, as ABC News anchor Peter Jennings contemptuously suggested, angry two-year-olds acting out temper tantrums, stomping their feet, rolling their eyes and screaming. While the evidence supporting notions of global conspiracies may be illusory, that doesn't mean NRA ignores threats to the Second Amendment from the international quarter. In fact, NRA assisted Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms in investigating a Japanese gun control resolution introduced at the recent Ninth U.N. Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in Cairo. Sen. Helms and Sen. Larry Craig addressed the issue of the globalization of gun control in a letter to Attorney General Reno as the conference was underway. "Japan's proposal may not be binding on U.S. citizens," they wrote, "but it would be a serious mistake for any U.S. administration to support any proposal calling for actions that could ultimately be an infringement of the U.S. Constitution and the rights of law-abiding Americans." Sens. Helms and Craig pointed out that "as is usual with such ill-considered proposals, it assumes that firearms, not criminals are the cause of crime." The Clinton administration, however, failed to heed the Senators' words, and the resolution was passed without dissent. Times have changed. But was it so long ago that a paladin of American liberalism wrote: "Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms. This is not to say that firearms should not be very carefully used and that definite safety rules of precaution should not be taught and enforced. But the right of the citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government and one more safeguard against a tyranny which now appears remote in America, but historically has proved to be always possible." The nation has changed greatly since Sen. Hubert Humphrey, whose unflagging optimism always saw and sought to summon the best from his countrymen, wrote those words. Today law-abiding gun owners are viewed with suspicion if not fear by a cultural elite that seeks to demonize them. It is these gun owners who some politicians increasingly seek to blame for the nation's crime problem. NRA will continue to insist that the traditional right of American citizens to own and use firearms for lawful purposes be respected. NRA will continue to support politicians who support that right and seek to defeat those who do not. NRA will also recognize that freedom and liberty are not gifts that governments or politicians can bestow or take away. Filling Congress and state houses with pro-gun legislators is not enough. Gun owners also must not allow themselves to be demonized and become false images in the hearts and minds of their fellow citizens. Attorney and author Jeffrey Snyder captured that truth in a recent essay. "Ultimately, it is the support and esteem of our neighbors that we must win," he wrote, "for it is upon them that the continued enjoyment of our rights depend." =+=+=+=+ NRA CrimeStrike 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030 * July 5, 1995 * 1-800-TOUGH-11 * Inmate Escapes -- Can the Numbers be Trusted? On June 23, convicted killer Tyrone Bernard Diggs shaved his head, beard and mustache and walked away from a work-release job in Columbia, MD. That same week, inmate Derrick Washington also "walked away" from a Maryland pre-release center. Neither convict has been recaptured. But according to Division of Corrections spokeswoman Maxine Eldridge, these are not classified as "escapes" -- which are violations of security -- rather, these are mere violations of "trust." Approximately 70 of the 400 prisoners in Maryland's work- release program -- nearly 20% -- "walked off" last year. According to Robert Bidinotto, editor of the new book Criminal Justice? and the award-winning author who brought the dangers of weekend furlough for violent criminals to national attention through Massachusetts' Willie Horton case during the 1988 presidential election, "in state after state, corrections officials are playing Russian Roulette with innocent human lives. Frequently," Mr. Bidinotto said, "the reporting procedures of state departments of corrections mislead the public into thinking these programs are safe, when in fact they represent a significant threat to pubic safety." To interview Mr. Bidinotto, call 1-800-TOUGH-11. Do Clinton Campaign Ads "Lie by Omission?" The unprecedently-early Clinton/Gore '96 $2.4 million campaign ads, now running in swing states, have come under attack as pushing the truth-telling envelope too far, even for political ads. One tells viewers a Houston police officer was shot and nearly killed by Wayne Bunch, then blames the tragedy on "assault weapons." But it fails to mention that Bunch, a 42 year-old career criminal, was able to kill the officer because he was freed from prison on early parole. Another Clinton ad retells the horror of November 23, 1994, when two FBI agents and an District of Columbia homicide detective were gunned down inside the police station, then blames the triple murder on "assault weapons." The ad fails to say is the gunman, Bennie Lee Lawson, Jr., was able to murder three law enforcement officers because he was freed from prison on parole. The charge? Weapons violation. According to NRA Chief Lobbyist Tanya Metaksa, "The tragedy of these killings of dedicated men in blue is that all four deaths could have been prevented if we had simply required those convicted felons to serve their time. Had they been behind bars, these officers would be alive today." Focusing the crime debate on "assault weapons" instead of criminals, she said, "is tantamount to looking the other way." FBI Agent John Kutcha, who survived the November shooting at D.C. Police Headquarters, angrily told the crowd at this May's National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, "I would not be sharing these words with you tonight [about the slayings]... had it not been for a failed criminal justice system that gave an early release to a violent criminal who destroyed such good lives." Says Elizabeth Swasey, CrimeStrike Senior Counsel for Policy, "every day in America, convicted criminals on parole like Bunch and Lawson commit five murders, 14 rapes, 228 robberies and 163 aggravated assaults -- that's 59,495 violent crimes every year. And amounts to nearly 60,000 criminal victimizations that could be prevented every year if we would just start focusing on the real `assault weapons' -- violent criminals -- by keeping them in prison." To interview Mrs. Metaksa or Ms. Swasey, call 1-800-TOUGH-11. Home Detention Device Nets $5 at Pawn Shop Broward County, Florida officials were stunned when a woman, convicted of drug charges and sentenced to home detention monitored by an electronic ankle bracelet, sold the $1,700 piece of equipment for $5 at a local pawnshop. Evelyn Davis, a.k.a. Michelle Williams, 27, reputedly nipped off the monitoring device that connects with the "BI 9000 Home Escort" electronic box, and then pawned the box. Ms. Davis now faces a series of additional charges, including grand theft, dealing in stolen property, resisting arrest and obstructing justice. State Reform Legislation A listing of state criminal justice reform legislation will be available next week through NRA CrimeStrike. Legislators and media representatives may call 1-800-TOUGH-11 for pre-release data. Do Prisons "Overflow" with Non-Violent Offenders? State prison inmates in 1991, before incarcerated, killed twice as many people as all Americans who died in the Vietnam War. Sixty percent were convicted of at least one violent crime, 80% are repeat offenders -- 45% serving at least their fourth sentence, according to The Bessette Quarterly Report on Crime and Justice, USA. =+=+=+=+ NRA-ILA FAX NETWORK 11250 Waples Mill Road Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: 1-800-392-8683 Fax: 703-267-3918 Vol. 2, No. 28 6/30/95 CLINTON "GUN CONTROL" ADS: "IT'S NOT ABOUT POLITICS" That's what President Clinton says about his new political ads, glamorizing his 1994 gun and magazine ban. But truth be told, the ads, which were unveiled on Tuesday, June 27th, are nothing but politics. The President made the decision to sink millions of dollars into this campaign venture despite the fact that the election is a full 17 months away and at this time, he doesn't even face a primary challenger! According to presidential press secretary Michael McCurry, the 12 state ad campaign highlights Clinton's determination "not to let the National Rifle Association [get] the upper hand." It's all about politics -- and poor performance. The Clinton gun ban masks Clinton's poor track record in rounding up real assault weapons - - armed criminals! Federal weapons prosecutions plummeted 23% in the first two years of the Clinton presidency. And Speaking of Politics: On Friday, June 30th, President Clinton requested that Congress introduce a bill he authored to ban bullets. His proposal is remarkably similar to Rep. Charles Schumer's (D-N.Y.) failed bullet ban amendment to the House anti- terrorism bill (see FAX ALERT No. 26). In an attempt to disguise this legislation as a pro-law enforcement bill, Clinton entitled it the "Saving Law Enforcement Officers' Lives Act of 1995." This yet-to-be-introduced bill, coupled with the President's campaign ads, represents nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner the support of the law enforcement community for the President's 1996 re-election campaign. Despite its benevolent title, the Clinton proposal would ban bullets commonly used for self-defense and target shooting while offering no protection for police officers from repeat violent offenders. PRESIDENT EQUATES BRADY FIVE DAY WAIT WITH DRUG TESTING: Speaking in front of law enforcement officers and select members of Congress on June 29, President Clinton alluded to a recent Supreme Court decision upholding drug tests for high school athletes as being analogous to the Brady Act's five day waiting period. Referring to the "hassle" of drug testing for student athletes, Mr. Clinton noted that like the Brady five day waiting period, it's a "hassle" we must endure for the good of the nation. The President also noted his disdain for law-abiding citizens who opposed the Brady Act and the gun and magazine ban, and get upset over being treated like criminals. The President said that none of us can "go off in some sanctimonious huff, saying that just because we don't do anything wrong, we shouldn't be asked to contribute to our country [by] obeying these gun laws." THIS YEAR'S MODEL: On Tuesday, June 27th, Rep. Major Owens (D-N.Y.) introduced his annual Second Amendment-bashing bill. For the past two sessions of Congress, Rep. Owens has introduced legislation calling for the abolishment of the Second Amendment. This year, however, he's trying a new tact -- H.J. Res. 98 -- which, rather than calling for the end to our right to keep and bear arms, calls for a constitutional amendment "clarifying" the Second Amendment. In its entirety, the one sentence proposal reads as follows: "The right enumerated in the second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall be construed as a right of States and not of individuals." H.J. Res. 98 has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for further review. Although it's doubtful this proposal will see any action in the 104th Congress, we'll keep you informed of any developments. A LOOK AT THE STATES: Indiana: The Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance prohibiting the carrying of firearms in certain public places. However, language was deleted that banned gun shows at county fairgrounds. Louisiana: Governor Edwin Edwards vetoed SB 886, NRA-supported right to carry reform legislation. The only way to pass SB 886 now is through a special veto session of the legislature. Members: please call your State Representatives & Senators at their district offices & urge them to hold a veto session! Nevada: It appears as though the legislature will adjourn tonight without passing SB 299, the NRA-backed right to carry reform bill. We'll come back in future sessions and work to pass this much-needed reform! North Carolina: The Senate approved HB 90, NRA-supported right to carry legislation. If the House concurs with the Senate amendments, or if both chambers approve a conference report on this measure, it becomes law without the governor's signature. Ohio: The House approved HB 336, NRA-supported instant check legislation to replace the Brady Act waiting period. HB 266 will likely be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration after summer recess. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out SB 68, the right to carry bill. It now moves to the Senate floor for consideration -- possibly during one of two floor sessions to be held in July. If the Senate approves the measure, NRA-ILA will work on the House side to address committee amendments added to the bill which relate to training and restrictions on carrying by individuals with a permit. Members: please contact your State Senators & urge them to support both HB 336 & SB 68. Oregon: Governor John Kitzhaber is undecided on signing two bills into law: SB 1096, a bill replacing the state's 15-day waiting period on handgun purchases with an instant check system, and HB 2784, legislation clarifying and strengthening the state firearms preemption statute. Both bills passed with overwhelming bipartisan support! Members: please call Governor Kitzhaber's office at (503) 378-3111 & encourage him to sign both SB 1096 and HB 2784! =+=+=+=+ ============================================================ N R A G R A S S F I R E ! ------------------------------------------------------------ The Newsletter for NRA-ILA Volunteers July 1995 Vol. 1, No. 7 ============================================================ HEARINGS ON FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ABUSES THIS MONTH A special U.S. House of Representatives' joint subcommittee of the Judiciary and Government Reform and Oversight committees is conducting investigations into the government tactics that led to civilian and law enforcement officer deaths at Waco and Ruby Ridge. Reps. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.) and Bill Zeliff (R-N.H.), co-chair the joint subcommittee, and have scheduled hearings for mid-July. According to Rep. McCollum, the hearings will be "an exhaustive examination of the Waco tragedy so that at the conclusion of the hearings, the American public will feel they have all the answers." Echoing Mr. McCollum's sentiments, Rep. Zeliff assured that Congress "will come to these hearings with an open mind, yet we intend to be tough, credible and fair." The House hearings are scheduled to last several days, and while Senate hearings are also being planned, no dates have been set yet. We'll keep you posted as to any hearing date changes or other new developments! SENATE PASSES S. 735 -- COUNTER-TERRORISM BILL During the week of June 5, the U.S. Senate passed S. 735, its version of anti-terrorism legislation, -- without the restrictive "gun control" provisions proposed by President Clinton and his anti-gun allies in the Senate. These proposals called for the end of the Civilian Marksmanship program, ammo bans, and firearms registration (just to name a few), and each fell by the wayside or never even came up for a vote! While Senate Republicans eliminated Clinton's anti-terrorism proposals that threatened other civil liberties, the Senate later added in scaled-back measures giving new "roving wiretap" authority to federal agencies to monitor conversations of suspected terrorists on different telephones, expanding the use of the military in cases involving chemical or biological agents, and requiring tracer elements in some explosives. Thanks to NRA, however, the Senate voted 90-0 not to include these microscopic identifiers, known as "taggants," in black and smokeless powder. We are outraged that the consideration of this bill, that was supposed to focus on terrorism, was used as an attempt by anti-gun Senators to take away freedom, rather than protect it. Moreover, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has promised that the defeated amendments which threaten our basic gun rights will be resurfacing in coming weeks. Rest assured NRA will be ready to address all remaining concerns. HOUSE GEARS UP FOR FLOOR FIGHT ON ANTI-TERRORISM BILL On Tuesday, June 20th, the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 1710 -- its counter-terrorism bill. H.R. 1710 awaits final floor action by the House, which will occur in the next few weeks. Prior to the June 20th vote, the Committee rolled back an attempt by Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to give the Attorney General broad powers to ban bullets commonly used for hunting, target shooting and self-defense. Make no mistake, however, Schumer and Company will be back with their proposals and they'll use every parliamentary procedure at their disposal to try to include these previously failed measures in the final version of the bill. What can gun owners expect? An attempt by Mr. Schumer to insert the bullet ban back in the bill and possibly an effort to place "taggants" in gunpowder. And speaking of taggants: NRA's concern over taggants is safety. The chemicals in these small plastic tags, when applied to gun powder, can create an accidental fire hazard. Introducing a fire hazard into the homes of millions of Americans doesn't counter terrorism, it counters public safety. NRA takes no position on taggants in explosives or fertilizer. Like the Senate-passed S. 735, H.R. 1710 eases restrictions on the placement of "roving wiretaps" and permits the military to assist in terrorism cases involving chemical or biological agents. Rest assured, NRA lobbyists are working hard to ensure that no provision of H.R. 1710 negatively impacts the rights of gun owners. We will keep you informed of any new developments. Action Item: Please contact your U.S. Representative again and urge him to oppose any "gun control" amendment offered to H.R. 1710 on the House floor. Encourage your family and friends to call as well! LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD CO-SPONSORS Although debate on H.R. 1488 -- the bill to repeal the Clinton gun and magazine ban -- isn't likely to occur until mid-fall, NRA-ILA continues to recruit co-sponsors to the bill. The more co-sponsors we get, the more we're guaranteed debate on this critical measure this year! Action Alert: please continue to contact your U.S. Representative and urge him to become a co- sponsor of H.R. 1488. If your Representative is already a co- sponsor, be sure to thank him, and urge him to lobby his fellow lawmakers to do the same! DE-FUNDING OF DCM ATTACHED TO DEFENSE SPENDING BILL An amendment by U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio) to replace the Civilian Marksmanship Program with an independent, non-profit federal corporation was accepted to the House Defense Authorization bill. This newly formed non-profit corporation will be able to solicit funds from non-federal sources. According to Gillmor, this will eliminate the need for federal funding. More to follow soon. REP. YOUNG INTRODUCES BILL TO PROTECT HUNTING ON REFUGES On May 18th, Rep. Don Young (R-Alas.), with 18 of his colleagues, introduced H.R. 1675 -- a bill to safeguard hunting, fishing and other wildlife-dependent activities on national wildlife refuge lands. H.R. 1675 would amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act by elevating these activities to a "primary purpose" of the system. Currently, these activities are treated as "secondary uses" which has made them vulnerable to budget cuts and lawsuits challenging the legitimacy of hunting on refuges. Upon introduction of H.R. 1675, Rep. Young stated that the refuge system needs the "enthusiastic support of the American people who finance the system not only with the payment of their tax dollars, but also by purchasing Duck Stamps and paying excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment." NRA-ILA Conservation, Wildlife and Natural Resources Director Susan Lamson recently testified in support of H.R. 1675 before the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. Full committee action on H.R. 1675 is expected in mid-July. Action Alert: Please call your U.S Representative and urge him to sign on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 1675. IRS TO INVESTIGATE NRA The IRS is preparing to undertake a major examination of NRA's financial returns and statements. Unlike ordinary audits that affect thousands of Americans every year, the NRA will be subjected to a Coordinated Examination Program (CEP), that can last between two and three years! During a CEP, IRS agents will become part of the every-day corporate life of the Association. Why the intense scrutiny? Whatever the reason, NRA is confident in its reportings. And while the anti-gun media is again trying to stir up controversy regarding this non-issue, we are certain the IRS will find that NRA has complied with all laws and has faithfully completed our tax returns. CLINTON'S LINE IN THE SAND On Thursday, June 22, President Clinton spoke at a $1,000-a- plate fundraiser in New Jersey. When the President spoke of his commitment to keeping his gun ban on the books, he alluded to former New Jersey Governor, Jim Florio, who lost his 1993 re- election bid in large part because of his own gun ban. Mr. Clinton noted, "Jim Florio gave up his governorship for it (semi- auto ban), and if I have to give up the White House for it, I'll do it." Well Mr. President, we'll be glad to grant your wishes in 1996 if given the chance! CLINTON "GUN CONTROL" ADS: "IT'S NOT ABOUT POLITICS" That's what President Clinton says in his new political ads (unveiled on June 27th) glamorizing his 1994 gun and magazine ban. But truth be told, it's all about politics -- and poor performance. The Clinton gun ban masks Clinton's poor track record in rounding up real assault weapons -- namely, armed criminals. Federal weapons prosecutions plummeted 23% in the first two years of the Clinton presidency! Clinton is fighting H.R. 1488 which not only repeals his gun ban, but requires the U.S. Attorney General to do her job -- by establishing a task force in every U.S. Attorney's office to prosecute criminals. NOTABLE QUOTABLE Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) had some interesting words to offer with respect to NRA members. But wait just a minute -- it's not what you might think! In referring to a recent NRA fundraiser that has received much attention recently, Sen. Biden noted, "The NRA puts out an ill-advised letter, and all of a sudden everyone in the NRA is a 'thug,' a 'bum.' The vast majority of NRA members in my state are honest, decent citizens." ACTION AT THE STATE LEVEL Even as state legislative sessions wind down for the year, pro-gun bills are becoming law in the states -- making 1995 one of the most successful pro-gun years in history. Enclosed you'll find a special NRA-ILA "Mid-Term Report," that will tell you exactly what pro-gun bills passed, failed, and are now pending in state legislatures across the country. For an update on legislation currently pending before your state or local governing body, please call NRA-ILA at 1-800-392-8683. NEW SURVEY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR RIGHT TO CARRY A June telephone survey by the Tarrance Group has found that support for gun rights remains strong, despite the media's attempt to link firearms ownership rights to the tragic Oklahoma City bombing. The poll of 1,000 registered voters found that 65% support the right of law-abiding citizens to carry firearms for self-defense. Further, 84% believe the individual criminal should be held legally responsible for the misuse of guns -- not law-abiding gun owners. CDC AT IT AGAIN Once again funded with tax dollars by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Arthur Kellermann has released yet another "study" that concludes guns are not effective for self-defense. If you'll recall, Kellermann is the author of the much touted, yet highly suspect "study" that claimed for every criminal killed with a gun in self-defense, 43 family members are slain. Like his previous work, this so-called "study" was flawed from the outset. First, even by his own admission, Dr. Kellermann's sample of only 198 Atlanta households was too small to yield any conclusive results. Additionally, Kellermann never bothered to mention in how many of these 198 households a gun was even present. Despite his attempt to discredit Professor Gary Kleck's research showing that people use firearms for self- protection more than 2.5 million times per year, Kellermann's "study" actually found that in the instances where individuals used firearms for self-defense, no one was injured! Unfortunately, Dr. Kellermann's research will be published in both the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. D.C. GUN CRACKDOWN A special team of Washington, D.C., police officers and BATF agents will begin a crackdown on illegal firearms activities in the nation's capital. U.S. Attorney Eric Holder, who's spearheading the effort, dubbed Operation Ceasefire, says these special squads will be targeting vehicles that are in violation of safety standards i.e., operating with improper lights or heavily tinted windows. They will also target pedestrians who may fit a specific profile of an individual likely to be carrying a gun. BATF agents will enter any information about the seized firearms into two different local and national databases that track firearms. Could it be that officials have conceded that DC's handgun ban, which has been in place for almost 20 years, hasn't stopped the criminal misuse of firearms? AMMO BUST A BUST It seems the seizure of 75 million rounds of ammunition by federal authorities last month has unravelled. According to U.S. Customs officials, the May 3 seizure of 75 million rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammunition was the largest impoundment of ammunition in U.S. history. The only problem: the confiscation was made on the grounds that the ammunition was illegally imported from China, when in fact the ammunition was actually legally imported from Russia! The 75 million rounds will be returned to Eagle Exim, the importer of the ammunition. DEATH KNELL FOR DEATH CLOCK They've pulled the plug on the three-story tall "death clock," that adorned Times Square in New York City for the past year. According to a June 21, New York Times story, the so-called "death clock," which "tracked" the number of firearm fatalities using a questionable statistical formula, has "quietly" disappeared from its perch at Broadway and 47th Street. Incidentally, the financier of the "death clock" project is anti- gun activist Robert Brennan, who along with his brokerage firm, was found by a Federal Court to have conducted "a massive and continuing fraud" on his customers, and ordered to pay a $71.5 million restitution. AUGUST GRASSROOTS SEMINARS Help ensure a repeat performance of 1994's election successes by attending an NRA-ILA Grassroots/Election Seminar! These seminars discuss how we can elect pro-gun lawmakers, political strategies for 1995 and 1996, and up-to-date information on legislative activities in your state and the U.S. Congress. We'll provide you with a variety of election-action materials and free working luncheon. And best of all, each seminar is absolutely free! Below, you'll find the seminar schedule for August. For more information, or to register, call NRA-ILA at 1- 800-392-8683. Saturday, August 12 Shreveport, LA Shreveport Sheraton Hotel 1419 East 70th Street LOOKING FOR LEADERS The 1996 elections are right around the corner! As we proved in 1994, the voting power of gun owners makes a world of difference. Pro-gun candidates can only win if they have the campaign support of local NRA members and gun owners who are willing to volunteer a portion of their time to help elect pro- gun lawmakers to office. These individuals, however, need a leader to show them what's entailed when volunteering for a campaign. The campaign needs a committed volunteer leader who can get people to a scheduled event, and help get out the vote on election day. And the gun lobby needs to make sure the candidate knows who helped him win office. Enter the Election Volunteer Coordinator program! As the Election Volunteer Coordinator for your district, you'll be the liaison between the pro-gun candidate's campaign and his gun-owning community. You'll work directly with the campaign to find out what needs to be done to get the candidate elected, be it walking precincts, stuffing envelopes, or hosting a fundraiser. You'll assemble individuals into an organized team of volunteers, and utilize the resources right in your community -- gun clubs, shooting ranges, and gun shops. You'll help register voters and put together neighborhood events, and other activities that need to be done to elect pro-gun candidates to office. If this sounds like a lot of work, it can be -- but the rewards can be monumental! If you have some campaign experience, coordination and delegation skills, and the desire and interest in developing a solid relationship with your lawmakers, this is the volunteer assignment for you! For more information on this program, please call NRA-ILA at 1-800-392-8683. Copyright 1995 NRA Grassfire NRA Institute for Legislative Action Fairfax, VA 22030 ------------------------------------------------------------ NRA-ILA MID-TERM REPORT: STRIKING SUCCESS IN THE STATES At the half-way point of 1995, state after state has showcased an unprecedented level of pro-gun activity. Whereas in previous years, gun owners struggled to prevent anti-gun bills from passing, so far in 1995, gun owners have achieved a startling success rate at either passing pro-gun measures, or further advancing pro-gun proposals through the legislative process. This success is directly attributable to your active participation in the 1994 elections. Listed below is a brief synopsis of the gains gun owners have made from January to June this year at the state level. Right To Carry Overview In 1994, four states passed laws either establishing a "shall issue" carry permit system or reforming existing statutes: Alaska, Arizona, Tennessee and Wyoming. Thus far in 1995, seven more states have passed right to carry legislation either establishing a "shall issue" carry permit system or reforming existing statutes: Arkansas (signed by Governor Jim Guy Tucker), Florida (became law without Governor Chiles' signature), Idaho (signed by Governor Phil Batt), in Oklahoma (signed by Governor Frank Keating), Texas (signed by Governor George W. Bush), Utah (signed by Governor Michael Leavitt), and Virginia (signed by Governor George Allen). In Louisiana, an NRA-supported right to carry reform bill passed the legislature, but will be vetoed by the Governor. We'll be back in 1997 to pass this critical measure! Right to carry legislation is currently pending in seven states -- Massachusetts (pending in Executive Committee), Michigan (introduced in the House Judiciary Committee), North Carolina (passed House, and Senate Judiciary and Finance Committees, and will soon be debated on the Senate floor), Nevada (passed Senate, pending in Assembly Judiciary Committee), New York (passed Senate, pending in Assembly Codes Committee), Ohio (pending in Senate Judiciary Committee) and Wisconsin (in drafting stage, will be introduced this summer). State Firearms Preemption Overview In 1994, two states passed legislation clarifying and strengthening state preemption of firearms laws: Pennsylvania and Indiana. Indiana's law contained a grandfather clause which allowed gun bans in Gary and East Chicago to remain in place. Utah also enacted preemption for one year, establishing a Governor's Task Force to study what, if any, authority local municipalities should retain in the area of firearms regulation. Both the Task Force and the legislature's Judiciary Interim Committee recommended passage of permanent preemption legislation that would wipe out waiting periods in Salt Lake City and other municipalities. Four states have passed legislation so far in 1995 establishing a state firearms preemption statute or clarifying and strengthening existing law: Georgia (signed by Governor Zell Miller), Oregon (awaiting signature of Governor John Kitzhaber, who is currently undecided on whether to sign the bill into law). In Utah, the state legislature passed legislation making the one-year preemption law permanent. It was signed by Governor Mike Leavitt. Preemption also passed in Wyoming (signed by Governor Jim Geringer). State firearms preemption legislation is pending in two states -- North Carolina (passed House, pending in Senate Judiciary Committee) and Wisconsin (pending in Assembly Criminal Justice & Corrections Committee and the Senate State Government Operations & Corrections Committee). In Illinois, preemption legislation passed the House, but died in the Senate. We will come back next year and work to pass this much-needed reform! Instant Check Overview In 1994, computerized "instant-check" systems were implemented in five states, exempting prospective handgun purchasers from the onus of the Brady Act's five-day waiting period: Colorado, Idaho, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Utah. So far in 1995, three states have passed instant check legislation, overturning state or local waiting periods or the Brady Act waiting period. Georgia (signed into law by Governor Zell Miller; this law also exempts handgun purchasers from the Brady five-day wait), Oregon (pending signature by Governor John Kitzhaber, who is currently undecided on whether to sign the bill into law) and Pennsylvania (signed into law by Governor Tom Ridge). Instant check is pending in two states -- North Carolina (passed House Judiciary I and House Finance Committees, and is currently pending in the House Appropriations Committee) and Ohio (passed House Judiciary Committee, pending on House floor). Shooting Range Protection In Maine, the Governor has signed into law NRA-backed shooting range protection legislation. In Minnesota, NRA- supported shooting range protection language was deleted from another bill in conference committee just before the legislature adjourned for the session. In North Carolina, a shooting range protection bill has passed out of one House Committee and has been referred to a second House Committee for consideration. In Oregon, an NRA-backed shooting range protection bill has passed the legislature and been sent to the Governor for his signature. In Tennessee, Governor Don Sundquist has signed into law an NRA- backed shooting range protection bill. In Washington, NRA- supported range protection legislation passed the House, but was killed in a Senate Committee. In Wyoming, the Governor has signed into law NRA-supported range protection legislation. Sportsmen's Protection In Hawaii, the Governor has signed into law NRA-backed sportsmen's protection legislation. In Nebraska, the Governor has signed into law NRA-backed sportsmen's protection legislation Now, all 50 states have a hunter harassment or sportsmen's protection law on the books. =+=+=+=+ The American Rifleman, July 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two million times a year for personal protection, and that the presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents crime in many instances. Shooting usually can be justified only where crime constitutes an immediate imminent threat to life limb or in some cases property. Anyone is free to quote or reproduce these accounts. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 Three young hoodlums thought their plan was fail-safe as they smashed through the front door of Leo Wilburd's Little Rock, Arkansas, home identifying themselves as police. Wilburd didn't fall for the ruse, and instead traded shots with one of the masked intruders as his wife and three young sons cowered in a bedroom. As four errant shots struck the walls around the defiant family man, at least one of the shots from his .38 found its mark. The three intruders fled the home and were later arrested after the wounded suspect appeared at a local hospital for treatment and confessed to the crime, identifying his accomplices. (Democrat Gazette, Little Rock, AR, 3/22/95) An 82-year-old East Dallas, Texas, man one-upped an assailant one-fourth his age during an attempted robbery, giving the crook much more than he bargained for. Approached from behind by the bandit while walking up the driveway to his home, Jack Topletz whirled around and fired several shots, fatally wounding the man. (The Morning News, Dallas, TX, 4/5/95) Already wanted by police for an earlier break-in, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, criminal found his way into custody via the hospital after a homeowner's bullet cut another burglary attempt short. Sam Horey was talking to his mother on the phone when the sound of breaking glass alerted him to trouble. Grabbing a 9 mm, Horey confronted the intruder in his living room, wounding him with a single shot. (The World, Tulsa, OK, 3/29/95) Awakened at the sound of breaking glass, Oktaha, Oklahoma, storekeeper John Wyatt grabbed his .22 semi-auto rifle and ran from the back room of his convenience mart. Discovering two intruders, Wyatt exchanged gunfire with the men, striking one of them. Both fled, with the injured crook making it just a short distance from the store before passing out. It was the third time Wyatt has been forced to use a firearm to defend himself at his business. (Daily Phoenix, Muskogee, OK, 3/18/95) Gastonia, North Carolina, resident Randy Watson confronted the teenaged thief breaking into his vehicle and told him to sit down until police arrived. Instead of complying with Watson's request, the indignant juvenile charged Watson, striking him in the head with a car stereo, knocking him to the ground. An injured Watson returned the favor with three slugs from his .380. Gastonia Police Capt. Mike Quilliams said the action probably saved Watson's life. (The Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, NC, 4/12/95) Describing his city as being fed up with crime, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, assistant district attorney refused to bring charges against 52-year- old James Junior Lucas for defending himself against two thugs. After a "parking tax" was demanded from him as he sat waiting to pick up his wife from work, Lucas saw one of his attackers reach behind his back as if grabbing for a weapon. Concerned for his safety, Lucas fired several shots through the window of his car, killing his assailant. A knife was found near the criminal's body. (The Citizen, Asheville, NC, 4/10/95) It was like a case of deja vu when two Poughkeepsie, New York, senior citizens found themselves being attacked in their home by the same strongarm robber who had mauled them in 1987. Struck in the head and bleeding, John Brennan managed to reach his handgun, the sight of which caused the parolee, armed with a stick, to flee the home. The criminal was later arrested and returned to prison as part of a plea agreement that would keep him there for 10 to 20 years. He had only served 6 1/2 years for the earlier attack before being released. (The Journal, Poughkeepsie, NY, 3/18/95) Buckling his three-year-old daughter into a child restraint seat, Dothan, Alabama, resident William Kenneth Long was approached by three masked thugs demanding money. With the barrel of a .38 jabbed into his back, the young father turned around, and instead of handing over his wallet, delivered a single shot into the head of the armed bandit, killing him. The other punks fled the scene and were later arrested. (The Eagle, Dothan, AL, 4/19/95) Despite being struck in the side by a robber's bullet, Hartford, Connecticut, jewelry store employee Alex Keylin managed to return fire with his .25 cal., protecting a fellow employee and keeping the two bandits before him from taking any jewelry. Keylin fatally wounded one of the criminals, who, with his accomplice, fled in a vehicle that crashed just blocks away. The dead man had a long criminal record dating back to 1982. (The Courant, Hartford, CT, 4/14/95) A Phoenix, Arizona, gang member thought he had the upper hand as he trained a shotgun on his quarry. But the scattergun was snatched from his hands by his intended victim. Despite aid from another gangster, the first gangbanger was beaten senseless and struck by gunshots, both from his own shotgun and from his mark's .44 Mag. The attack cost the criminal both arms. (The Republic, Phoenix, AZ, 4/2/95) Awakened to the sounds of gunfire, Miami, Florida, resident Manuel Lopez grabbed his own gun and ran into his living room to discover four armed men herding family members into the house from the front lawn. One of the intruders made the fatal mistake of pointing a gun in Lopez's face. The householder shot him, killing the robber instantly. The other men fled the scene at the sight of their fallen accomplice. (The Herald, Miami, FL, 4/9/95) =+=+=+=+ BULLET POINTS VOL. 1, NO. 001 JUNE 28, 1995 "It's Not About Politics" ... say the political TV spots by Clinton-Gore touting the Clinton Gun Ban. In fact, it's all about politics -- and poor performance. The Clinton Gun Ban masks Clinton's poor track record in rounding up real assault weapons -- namely, armed criminals. Federal weapons prosecutions plummeted 23% in the first two years of the Clinton presidency. NRA Finances ... By any measure -- membership, programs, political successes, infrastructure -- NRA has never been stronger. Operating on a balanced budget, NRA in 1995 is more capable than ever of fulfilling its mission to advance Second Amendment rights. Who is the NRA ? ... Forty thousand Americans joined NRA in the month of May 1995, and one of every six reported that they or someone in their family had been the victim of a violent crime. Crime victims join NRA, because they know where NRA stands on the most important issue of the day: their safety. NRA & Law Enforcement ... What does NRA do for law enforcement? Trains and certifies a hundred thousand police firearms instructors. Subsidizes body armor for officer-members. Buys a $25,000 life insurance policy at no charge to every officer who joins. Stands up to Time-Warner when the media giant power-marketed "Cop-Killer" in 1992 -- the first national organization to get involved. Advances criminal justice reform and victims' rights -- in fifteen states and the Congress in the first five months of this year. From "Three Strikes" in Vermont to "Hard Time for Armed Crime" in Washington state. NRA is pushing public safety and protecting police long before they make an arrest. CrimeStrike reforms make sure sentences are tough, inappropriate plea bargains are trashed and pre-trial release of dangerous offenders doesn't put crooks back on the street before the officers make it home for dinner. The fact is, law enforcement and NRA have one thing in common: history. Gun Bans Eroding Clinton's Base ... The Wall Street Journal reports that labor's traditional support for Democrats has been eroded by gun control issues. A recent AFL-CIO poll of 853 union members found 29% are less likely to support a congressional candidate who supports the Clinton Gun Ban. Americans agree: self-defense is a fundamental right, and restrictive gun control is fundamentally ineffective in controlling crime. Self-Defense is Fundamental ... Right-to-Carry is sweeping the nation, says Denise Griffin, analyst with National Conference of State Legislators. "In a word, the issue is blossoming. We've seen a remarkable increase." That remarkable increase is the work of the NRA in helping making this vital self-defense measure the law in Arkansas, Virginia, Utah, Idaho, Texas and Oklahoma -- this year alone. Today, for 40 percent of the population, the NRA has made sure that the right of self-defense doesn't stop at the front door. For more information on the above mentioned topics, please call NRA/ILA Public Relations and Communications at (703) 267-1190. =+=+=+=+ -------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright(C) 1995 by the Outdoors RoundTable and GEnie. May be reprinted &/or distributed only with this notice intact. The Outdoors RoundTable is the official source of camping, hiking, boating, metal detecting and all other outdoors activities on GEnie. To sign up on GEnie, just follow these simple steps: 1. Set your communications software for half-duplex (local echo) at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud. Recommended communications parameters 8 data bits, no parity and 1 stop bit. 2. Dial toll-free in the U.S. at 1-800-638-8369 (or in Canada at 1-800-387-8330). Upon connection, type HHH (Please note: every time you use GEnie, you need to enter the HHH upon connection) 3. At the U#= prompt, type JOINGENIE and press 4. At the offer code prompt enter OT295 to get this special offer. 5. Have a major credit card ready. In the U.S., you may also use your checking account number. (There is a $2.00 monthly fee for all checking accounts.) In Canada, VISA and MasterCard only. For more information, call 1-800-638-9636