I’ve got one. AK has one, or more, and The Firearm Blog put one through a 505 round test

Mossberg Maverick 88: The Affordable Self-Defense Shotgun

In my home state of Ohio, there was a time when shotguns were a multi-purpose hunting and personal defense tool. We hunted deer, turkey, waterfowl and upland game with our shotgun (oftentimes a single shotgun with multiple interchangeable barrels), and they were the firearm of choice for home defense. Shotguns were the most popular long gun for local law enforcement agencies, and trap, skeet and sporting clay shooting competitions drew huge crowds.

Things have changed since then, but shotguns remain a popular and versatile choice for many hunters and shooters. For those who feel that a scattergun is simply the best option for personal protection, Mossberg’s Maverick 88 remains a popular choice, and with good reason—this reliable and affordable pump-action 12-gauge offers plenty of stopping power when you need it most.

The Maverick 88 is a no-frills cousin of Mossberg’s legendary Model 500 pump-action shotgun, and although the two guns are aesthetically and mechanically similar, they are not identical guns. Both the Maverick 88 and Mossberg 500 come with sturdy dual extractors and twin action bars, anti-jam shell elevators, positive steel-to-steel lockup for added durability. The Maverick 88, however, features a crossbolt safety in front of the trigger guard instead of the tang-mounted safety found on the Model 500. The Maverick 88 is assembled in Mossberg’s Eagle Pass, TX, facility.

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Very likely another Parkland Springs type shooting has been averted.
Maybe these fools in Florida will start treating these kids as the dangerous criminals they are instead of coddling them.

Teen killed by police while pointing ‘military-style rifle’ at drivers in Tarpon Springs

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. – Police in Tarpon Springs say a suspect, killed Saturday [?] for waving a “military-style rifle” at cars and officers, was actually a high school student with an Airsoft pellet gun.

17-year-old Alexander King was shot and killed by officers at the intersection of Pinellas Avenue and Tarpon Avenue shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Investigators say police responded after multiple 911 calls about a “white male wearing dark clothing pointing a military-style rifle” at passers-by.

According to Chief Jeff Young, when the officers arrived, the suspect lifted the weapon, charged it, and pointed at the officers.

Video of the incident recorded by a bystander appears to show King yelling “shoot me” toward officers.

Taking cover behind a nearby vehicle, officers said they were forced to open fire. King was hit multiple times and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

King, a junior at Tarpon Springs High School, had 22 prior run-ins with police, 11 with other Pinellas County law enforcement agencies and 11 with the Tarpon Springs Police Department, including a felony arrest for battery on a school board employee in 2017 and one for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in 2018.

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ONE DEAD AFTER HOME INVASION IN EUGENE

EUGENE, Ore. — An alleged burglar was shot and killed after entering a south Eugene apartment early Monday morning, Eugene police said.

The Eugene Police Department responded to reports of a burglary in progress around 3:40 a.m. at South Crest Apartments on Donald Street. According to officials, neighbors called 911 to report gunfire before patrol officers were able to arrive on scene.

When police arrived, they found the suspect inside the apartment and tried to perform CPR, but he was already dead.

A man and a woman live in the apartment. Officials said it was the man who pulled the trigger on the suspect. Both of the residents of the apartment were cooperating with police.

Violent crimes detectives have been notified and are investigating the incident. There is no ongoing threat to the public.

This is a developing news story.

Well, that ‘we’ isn’t as inclusive as might be thought.

We Still Haven’t Learned The Lessons Of Luby’s 30 Years Later

Luby’s Cafeteria is one of the earlier mass shootings of our modern era. Predating Columbine, it was a nightmare scenario that the city of Killean, TX is still reeling from 30 years later. That’s certainly understandable.

After all, it was something so unexpected that it would be difficult not to reel.

The tragic Luby’s Cafeteria massacre in Killeen left survivors, residents, and city leaders hoping and praying such a senseless, murderous incident would never happen again in the United States.

“No community is, or could ever be, prepared for the tragedy which struck Killeen on October 16, 1991,” said a 1991 Herald thank-you-to-first-responders display ad from then-Mayor Major Blair and Killeen City Council. “Our hope and prayers are that a similar event will never again occur in any community.”

At the time, the Luby’s tragedy was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, however, that’s no longer the case.

In the three decades since George “JoJo” Hennard, 35, of Belton, drove his blue Ford Ranger pickup through a plate glass window of Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen and murdered 23 Luby’s Cafeteria lunchtime diners on National Bosses Day, America has mourned 111 mass shootings, eight of those in Texas, in which 846 people were killed, according to a mass shooting database by nonprofit Mother Jones.

Two of those mass shootings occurred at Fort Hood, in 2009 and 2014, in which 16 people were killed in all.

In the decade prior to the Luby’s massacre, according to the mass shooting database, America had nine mass shootings, classified as an attack where three or more victims are killed in a public place.

It’s awful.

One thing everyone can probably agree on is that we haven’t learned our lessons since then. The problem is that we don’t agree on what those lessons actually are.

For the anti-Second Amendment jihadists, though, the lessons are “guns r teh badz.” Never you mind that five people were just murdered with a bow and arrow last week, the problem truly is guns.

Yet there was an actual lesson here:

Former state representative and Luby’s survivor Suzanna Hupp, lost both of her parents in the Luby’s shooting. Hupp, who lobbies for looser gun control laws, said she would’ve been able to stop the shooter if Texas had allowed concealed carry in 1991. She had a handgun at the time, but left it in her vehicle because of the law at the time.

DING DING DING! We have a winner!

Luby’s was a target in part because people couldn’t carry a firearm there. There was little to no chance of meeting armed resistance. Hupp would have been in a position to end the attack before it really got going, but she complied with the law. We saw the same thing happen in Virginia Beach, too.

What’s that phrase? “If it saves just one life,” or something like that? Yeah, I think that’s it.

Look, I’m not saying ending gun-free zones will put an end to mass shootings. I think it’ll stop a lot of them, but someone will still try to shoot up places for whatever demented reason.

What I will say is that we can specifically point to two cases–and who knows how many others we’re unaware of–where someone was barred from carrying a gun, so they were unarmed when a mass shooting happened. If it wouldn’t have made a difference in any of the others, it would have at least saved lives in Luby’s Cafeteria and in Virginia Beach.

But I don’t believe they were the only two cases, either. They’re just the two I know of definitively.

That’s the lesson we can’t seem to learn. We can’t seem to grasp that bad things are going to happen. You’re never going to stop that. But you can minimize the damage by trusting law-abiding citizens with the very rights protected in the Constitution, including the right to keep and bear arms.

Virginia Parents Announce ‘Not a Domestic Terrorist’ March in Washington

Ivermectin: The Elephant in the Room

There are a great many unknowns and controversies associated with the COVID pandemic.  Among the most urgent are those associated with appropriate therapeutic and prophylactic interventions.  Some of the most intense disputes involve repurposed therapies — i.e., drugs that have been approved for treatment of some other condition being used as therapy for COVID.  This is the case with the anti-parasitic agent ivermectin.

Much of the controversy regarding ivermectin involves “evidence” that the drug has a benefit in treatment of COVID.  Detractors will often use the hyperbolic claim that there is no evidence that ivermectin is useful in this setting.  The truth is that there is, in fact, some evidence.  Ivermectin has been known since at least 2012 to have antiviral activity.  It has been shown to have at least some antiviral activity against a number of viruses, including HIV-1, Zika, flaviviruses, and dengue.  It is known to have in vitro activity against SARS CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID.  It has been shown to have some efficacy in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a disease caused by a coronavirus with similarities to SARS CoV-2.  There are plausible mechanisms proposed for why ivermectin might be useful against viral infections: it inhibits a class of proteins that are necessary for the virus to replicate within human cells.

These observations are evidence.  They are not definitive evidence.  They are probably not sufficient, or even persuasive evidence, but these assessments should not be confused with “no evidence.”

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Impossible!

BLUF:
And again, we were reminded that the bad guys don’t pay attention to signs banning firearms or illegal weapons.  If they were the kind to abide by rules, they wouldn’t be bad guys.

A Pennsylvania mall that bans guns has mass shooting

Although the daily news always provides plenty of examples of people doing genuinely bad things (assault, robbery, rape, murder, etc.), the fact is that most people in America are law-abiding.  And while some will sit passively while a violent rape occurs directly in front of them, many of these good citizens will act when called upon to do so.  Nevertheless, America’s retail stores and entertainment venues insist on disarming the good guys under the delusional belief that it will stop the bad guys.

The latest example of this urge to disarm comes from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where a shooting occurred at the Park City Center shopping mall on Sunday afternoon:

Gunshots rang out at the Park City Center in Lancaster around 2:30 p.m., according to Lancaster Online.

Two people suffered gunshot wounds and two suspects were in custody, according to police and the website, which said the injuries were not life-threatening.

An argument broke out between four people outside an international food store, the owner of the store told the outlet. One man brandished a gun during a scuffle, and it was knocked away by a man who then opened fire, according to the report.

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As the Black Bear is at the top end of the food chain, hunting them can be a ‘reciprocal’ event

Missouri’s first black bear hunting season begins Monday

MISSOURI (KY3) – Four-hundred people will be allowed to participate in Missouri’s first black bear hunting season, which officially begins Monday.

The black bear hunting season runs from Monday, Oct. 18 to Wednesday, Oct. 27, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The approved regulations limit bear hunting to only Missouri residents and restrict it to designated areas of southern Missouri. Conservation agents will limit hunters to one bear, and hunters may not use dogs to assist.

The Missouri Conservation Commission gave final approval of MDC’s season framework, permit and harvest quotas, and other related regulations for hunting black bears in Missouri at its March 26 open meeting.

Officials say the bear population in Missouri has been growing. Conservation agents now estimate there are 600 to 1,000 black bears in the state.

“Being able to add this iconic species to the long list of hunting opportunities for Missourians is a testament to the decades of bear research and management by MDC staff,” said MDC Director Sara Parker Pauley. “A limited annual hunting season will help manage the growing number of black bears in the state.”

“A bear-hunting season in our state will provide opportunities for Missourians to participate in the sustainable harvest of this valuable wildlife species,” said MDC Bear Biologist Laura Conlee. “As our black bear population continues to grow, a highly regulated hunting season will be an essential part of population management into the future. The timing and length of the season, allowed hunting methods, and a limited permit allocation coupled with a limited harvest quota will ensure a sustainable harvest of our growing bear population.”

MDC proposed a limited and highly regulated black-bear hunting season following several years of public comment, including informational open houses in 2019 and a public-input process throughout 2020.

The selected hunters are allowed to participate any time from half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset during the 10-day hunting season.

For more information on the state’s first black bear hunt, CLICK HERE.

Can we now have an honest discussion about Islamist terrorism?

Police think the killing of David Amess may have had an Islamist motivation. We need to talk about this. [ya think?]

Another “Known Wolf”. Almost like it’s not a bug, but a feature.

Sir David Amess: MP murder suspect detained under Terrorism Act.

The man arrested by police following the killing of the MP Sir David Amess has been named as Ali Harbi Ali.

The 25-year-old is being held under the Terrorism Act and officers have until Friday to question him.

The BBC understands Mr Ali was referred to the counter-terrorist Prevent scheme some years ago, but was never a formal subject of interest to MI5.

Whitehall officials told the BBC that the man being held was Ali Harbi Ali, a British man of Somali heritage.

Police said a man, who was held on suspicion of the MP’s murder in Essex on Friday, was now being held at London police station after being rearrested under the Terrorism Act. They are not looking for anyone else.

Early investigations revealed a potential motivation linked to Islamic extremism, police said on Friday.

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Armed 95-year-old foils home invasion in Covington County

COVINGTON COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) – The Covington County Sheriff’s Office is crediting a senior citizen with forcing an alleged burglar into retreat, which ended with his capture.

Sheriff Blake Turman said Timothy Ray Jordan, 40, broke into a home on Fisherman’s Road near the Dozier community Friday evening. The 95-year-old homeowner was reportedly napping in his living room, but the back door’s shattering glass woke him up.

The sheriff said the homeowner armed himself and caught Jordan ransacking the kitchen. He said Jordan also hurled a chair through the dining room window at some point.

According to the sheriff, the armed senior citizen did not run away. Instead, he ordered Jordan to leave. The suspect did, and the homeowner called 911, Turman said.

Turman said deputies saw Jordan behind a home on Hub Road. They pursued the suspect, who ran inside the home. Further investigation revealed that Jordan had also burglarized that Hub Road home, according to the sheriff.

He was taken into custody at the Hub Road residence.

Investigators say Jordan initially started his “burglary spree” at an adjacent home’s gazebo before going to the Fisherman’s Road address.

Jordan was charged with second-degree and third-degree burglary, as well as second-degree and third-degree criminal mischief.

He is currently being held in the Covington County jail without bond for probation violation. The investigation is still ongoing.

“The victim protected himself and his property from a career criminal. The victim was at a disadvantage physically, but his weapon enabled him to protect himself. The investigation revealed that Jordan fled the residence because the homeowner had armed himself. Thank God this had a good ending, and the victim should be commended on his courage and quick thinking,” Turman said.

We need common-sense control — of criminals
The laws are there to protect us, but laws don’t stop criminals.

Last weekend’s shooting in St. Paul was a terrible tragedy, predicted by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher as he patrolled the area the night before. The knee-jerk reaction of Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Democrats in the Legislature could also have been predicted: Calls for universal background checks and red flags laws.

These reactions ignore the reality of the situation: Criminals don’t follow laws.

Democrats largely overlooked the death of another woman, in Minneapolis last week, who was hit by one of two cars involved in a rolling gun battle. Five Minneapolis children have been shot by stray bullets this year alone and they didn’t roll out the news releases.

But this event — a mass shooting — finally warrants comment.

Even more predictable and laughable is blaming Republicans for gun violence because we stand with law-abiding citizens and their right to own a gun for self-defense.

Our Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committeeheld hearings to review the current laws on the booksaddressing gun crimes in 2020. Several citizens wearing  “Moms Demand Action” T-shirts told me after the hearing that they had no idea we already had so many laws to address gun violence.

Those laws weren’t passed on a whim, hoping they would be followed. We didn’t debate the criminal code at length so it can be ignored. We pass laws to support the work of law enforcement across the state and provide justice for victims.

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Update: He deleted the post and is trying to apologize. If you’ll read it you’ll see that while he calls what he wrote ‘rude’, he doesn’t specify what and he also doesn’t repudiate anything.
In other words, he hasn’t changed what he thinks of people.

“cleanse our gene pool”?
I did NAZI that coming.

He left his email. Maybe let him know how we hold him in contempt. I did. I told him that that – right there, if for nothing else – made me hope it blows back on him so bad he goes bankrupt.

This is by the owner of NAA – North American Arms

September 2021 Soapbox – I believe in Vaccinations; So Should You.

Just when you thought the end of this life-threatening COVID pandemic was in sight, it’s become painfully clear that it is not.  In fact, we’re heading in the wrong direction.  What makes this realization even more painful is that, not withstanding our missteps regarding wearing masks, social distancing, economic shutdowns and the like, the end could have been in sight.  If only more of us had embraced the simple protocol of getting vaccinated, we’d be well on our way to leaving this scourge in our wake.  Instead, we’re back, smack in the middle of it and “life as we knew it” is still a distant dream.

I continue to believe in vaccinations.  I believe they are far and away the most effective means of protecting oneself from contracting the COVID virus, AND is the key to eliminating the ongoing threat of the virus – and its increasingly more threatening variants – worldwide.  I also believe that, if a vaccinated person DOES contract the virus, he/she/(they) will suffer far fewer and less severe symptoms that those who are not vaccinated.  Is there any doubt?

Over the past few months, my thoughts about those who don’t believe in the value of vaccinations has transitioned from disinterest to sympathy to incredulity to contempt.  I believe that those who don’t take advantage of the opportunities to become vaccinated are ignorant, misguided &/or selfish, or any combination of the three.  Despite all the unarguable reasons in favor of getting vaccinated, there remains a surprisingly large number of people who stubbornly refuse to do so.  Why?  There seems to be a variety of excuses that are proffered, almost none of which hold any validity.  I offer some of the more popular ones, in no particular order.

“I don’t believe the vaccines are safe”.  How much data, gathered over what period of time, will it take to put this false narrative to bed?

“I don’t believe the vaccines are effective”.  While there have been some, few instances of people contracting COVID after having been vaccinated, the effects they suffer are, almost without exception, an order of magnitude less severe than they would have been otherwise.

“I have already contracted the disease and so I already have some level of immunity and see no benefit from vaccination”.  Right on the first count, wrong on the second; you can be certain that your immunity will only be bolstered with a vaccination.

“I am afraid of suffering side effects from the vaccination”.   While some have reported this to be the case, there are stunningly few and the effects are modest/weak and very short-lived.

“My circumstance puts me at a heightened risk from being vaccinated”.  I don’t know what circumstance that is; it most certainly does not apply to those attempting to become pregnant, for example.

“I have a history of adverse allergic reactions”.  Maybe.  That alone has a taint of legitimacy.

“I claim a religious exemption”.  For the life of me, I can’t understand the basis of such a thing.  What religion would advocate against something that will protect your life and that of others?  Certainly none that I’ve ever heard of.  Go ask the Pope.

“I can’t afford it”.  Bullshit; it’s free.

“I don’t know where to find it”.  Are you living under a rock?

“I’m a freedom-loving American and I simply don’t want to”.  Ahhh, here we go.  This is far and away the most frequent – and lamest – excuse.  Even Donald Trump, the poster-child for the selfish exercise of frequently nonsensical individual freedoms (“I’m not wearing a mask because I don’t want to”.) has been vaccinated and has encouraged other people to do so as well (NB he’s also previously contracted the disease, above).  As a member of a society, you have an obligation not to threaten the health and well-being of others, particularly when doing so comes at no risk or expense to you.

I’ll admit I enjoy no small measure of schadenfreude reading stories of those stubborn people who find themselves stricken and on death’s door, suffering from their earlier foolish decision not to get vaccinated.  I look at it almost as a Darwinian effect, helping cleanse our gene pool.  Excuse my lack of sympathy.  Too bad.  Completely avoidable.  Didn’t have to happen.

I know that this is one of my more controversial and likely to be one of my least popular rants.  I take this personally.  There are individuals in my own family who are the subject of my (heretofore silent) disdain, as well as several other friends, as well as people on my team at NAA, people who I otherwise respect and whose company enjoy.  Not so much so now.

I acknowledge that it’s your decision to make but, I’ll admit, I don’t have much regard for those who lack any sense or moral obligation to the greater community – and to there own friends and loved one whose health and safety they so cavalierly threaten.

Please get vaccinated.  The life you save may well be your own – or mine. Please feel welcome to share your reactions with me at Sandy@NorthAmericanArms.com

Atlanta home invasion suspect shot while attacking disabled resident

ATLANTA – A homeowner turns the tables on man police say broke into his northwest Atlanta house.

Investigators tell FOX 5 just after 11 p.m. Wednesday the suspect busted into the Dahlia Avenue house. After entering through the window, police say the alleged home invader grabbed two kitchen knives. He then allegedly went into another room and tried to stab a resident who uses a wheelchair.

Another resident opened fire on the suspect, shooting him in the stomach and arm. The suspect was found nearby by officers. Paramedics rushed the injured home invasion suspect to Grady Memorial Hospital. He underwent surgery and was in stable condition as of late Thursday morning.

The homeowner told detectives he didn’t know the guy who broke in and has no idea why his house was targeted.

Police block street where home invasion shooting took place
Tyrell Johnson, 36, was later identified as the suspect. He will be charged with burglary and booked into the Fulton County Jail once he is released from the hospital.

Neither the homeowner nor the disabled resident suffered any injuries.

Georgia police say woman who tried to rob 2 men at gunpoint was shot to death by own firearm

Georgia police on Wednesday identified a dead female robbery suspect who allegedly tried to rob two men at gunpoint inside a vehicle but was shot and killed by her own gun during a struggle.

The Warner Robins Police Department said its officers were dispatched at 12:30 a.m. Sunday to the 100 block of Fred Drive and found 21-year-old Kyndal Reynolds with a gunshot wound. Reynolds was transported to Houston Medical Center, where she died.

Tywana Antonette Cody, 42, has been charged with being a party to a crime of aggravated assault, party to a crime of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery and felony murder. She is being held at the Houston County Detention Facility.

Reynolds and another woman, 42-year-old Tywana Antonette Cody, met two men earlier in the night. While all four were together inside a vehicle, Reynolds “attempted to rob the male companions,” police said. Investigators believe one of the men attempted to disarm her, and Reynolds was shot with her own weapon during a struggle.

“All parties stayed on scene and met with investigators,” police said.

Cody has been charged with being a party to a crime of aggravated assault, party to a crime of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery and felony murder. She is being held at the Houston County Detention Facility.

“Investigation reveals Ms. Cody was working in concert with Ms. Reynolds to rob the men,” police said.

Armed man killed during attempted home invasion in Gahanna

GAHANNA, Ohio (WSYX) — A suspected intruder was shot and killed during an attempted home invasion at an apartment complex in Gahanna Sunday night, police said.

Officers responded to the shooting at 876 Falcon Hunter Way at the Residences at Central Park around 8:30 p.m., police said.

A 911 caller stated he had heard a knock on the front door, and he shot an armed man who attempted to push his way into the apartment, police said. The caller also saw a second man running away.

Paramedics transported the injured man to Mount Carmel East Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Investigators were questioning the resident and another occupant.

 

Here’s the part that is seen so often
It’s like it’s not a bug, but a feature.
Kongsberg: Bow and arrow suspect known to Norway police

A man arrested over a deadly bow and arrow attack in Norway had converted to Islam and there were fears he had been radicalised, police say.

The 37-year-old Danish citizen is accused of killing four women and a man on Wednesday night in the southern town of Kongsberg.

Police were in contact with the man last year over their concerns.

The suspect has not been identified, and police are working to establish whether it was a terror attack.

Meanwhile, flags were flown at half-mast on Thursday while flowers and other memorials were placed in Kongsberg’s main square.

The victims were all aged between 50 and 70, regional police chief Ole Bredrup Saeverud told reporters.

Residents have told local media that the close-knit community has been deeply shaken by the violence.

Police confronted the man six minutes after the attack began at 18:12 (16:12 GMT) on Wednesday, but he shot several arrows at the officers and escaped. He was caught at 18:47 – 35 minutes after the attack started.

All five victims are believed to have been killed after the police first encountered the man. Officers fired warning shots before he was eventually arrested.

Man armed with bow and arrow kills five people in Norway attacks

OSLO, Oct 13 (Reuters) – A man armed with a bow and arrow killed five people and wounded two others in a series of attacks in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg on Wednesday, local police said.

The suspect was in custody, police added.

“The man used a bow and arrow … for some of the attacks,” police chief Oeyvind Aas told reporters. The police were investigating whether other weapons had also been used, he said.

“The man has been apprehended … from the information we now have, this person carried out these actions alone,” Aas added.

One of the wounded people was an off-duty police officer.

Newspaper VG showed images of an arrow that appeared to be stuck in the wall of a wood-paneled building.

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Joe Rogan Interviews Sanjay Gupta and a Train Wreck Ensues

Joe Rogan has found himself at the center of a debate over the COVID-19 vaccines, despite never presenting himself as anti-vaccine. His great sin was daring to get treated for the virus after contracting it earlier this year. The fact that Rogan’s doctor included ivermectin in the medicinal regime sent heads exploding, as he was accused of taking “horse dewormer” amid other unfair, out-of-context claims.

Today, though, Rogan got a bit of redemption by running circles around CNN’s chief COVID hysteric, Sanjay Gupta. You may recall Gupta as the same guy who touted Chris Cuomo’s COVID X-ray, only to be embarrassing fact-checked by actual radiologists.

During the long-form discussion with Rogan, there were several key moments that showed just how out of his element Gupta was. Here’s one of them.

What Rogan is doing in the above clip is showing the absurdity by which COVID hysterics shift their viewpoints to meet what ultimately boils down to a political narrative. Because he wants to insist the vaccines are highly effective, Gupta presents himself as not worried about a breakthrough infection.

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