Genghis

I'm an attorney in Texas. The law here generally prohibits people from "carrying" handguns, but there has always been an exception for hunting, fishing, or conducting another sporting activity with a weapon commonly used in such activity, or traveling directly between such activity and his residence. It doesn't matter if the gun is concealed or not, except that CHL holders who are carrying under authority of the license have to keep the gun concealed. So I don't believe IDPA shooters in Texas without CHL's are breaking the law by driving to the match, shooting in it, or concealing the gun during the match. Over the last few years the Legislature has changed things, so now law-abiding citizens with guns in their privately-owned vehicles are considered to be "traveling" and therefore allowed to carry handguns, as long as the gun is not in plain sight. I'd guess that if you search every vehicle in the average parking lot in Texas, probably more than half of them would have guns. So this law made it legal to do what about half of us do. Only about 1 1/2% of Texans have CHL's, so the new traveling law protects a whole lot more people than the CHL law. This is not legal advice.

I think the locals were showing you some hospitality - assuming you would want to sandbag and doing their best to help you.

I'm a C-Class slacker who never practices, but a couple months ago I had an experience that was pretty amazing to me. I was shooting a stage that ended with four poppers, lined up one in front of the other. I was shooting Limited. I shot the first one, shot the second one, shot the third one, and suddenly everything almost froze in place, and I could clearly see that I could hit the fourth popper over the shoulder of the third one, without waiting for it to fall any farther. There was no uncertainty - I KNEW I had the shot because I could see the falling popper was below the line of the shot, and I could see the front and rear sights and the fourth popper all lined up. I took the shot and the fourth popper dropped. Probably saved me a fraction of a second on the stage, but it was one of those moments that make it all worthwhile.

Kids are never too young to learn gun safety. NRA's Eddie Eagle program teaches them if they find a gun, Stop! Don't touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult.

I'm an attorney and NRA Instructor/TC. I've represented shooting ranges, and been involved in some parts of planning them. NRA has a range development program. here's a link: http://www.nrahq.org/shootingrange/index.asp. Their Range Source Book costs $59: http://materials.nrahq.org/go/products.asp...20Source%20Book. It's about 4 or 5 inches thick, and has very detailed information about building a range. They also have a program that can send a consultant out to look at your area, and IIRC all you have to do is pay travel costs. This would be more beneficial for an outside range, but maybe you could get the info by phone or e-mail and save the travel costs. There's an indoor range in Tyler, Texas called Lock & Load. Steve Prater is the manager. B.J. works there. It's been there for 10 years or so, and the current owner didn't build it, but Steve might be able to help. If not, he can put you in touch with the owner.

I remember riding up that road at Walter Mitty speeds and wondering how in the h*ll anyone could drive it at the relativistic speeds achieved in the race.

I would probably drive to Dallas, Austin, Houston, or San Antonio for a class, assuming it fit with my schedule.

The strategy that started this thread (doubling your bet every time you lose) is a way to shift the odds from a high chance of losing a little bit each time (betting roughly the same amount on each hand) to a low chance of losing a whole lot (increasing your bet until you cover your losses or lose it all). It doesn't change the house odds on each hands. It just changes how the house odds on each hand add up in the end. One of the casinos in Shreveport had $1 million in $100 bills posted behind clear plastic, on the wall in the hallway leading into the casino. The intended message was, "Look at how much money there is for you to win!" The message I got was, "Look at how much money we've taken from other people who have walked down this hall!" [Thread Drift] It's funny how the law says that gambling is wrong, unless the government is running things. The house odds in lotteries are around 50%. I've talked to lottery players and explained that it's the equivalent of two people each throwing down a dollar, then having the house take one of the dollars, then flipping a coin to see who gets the remaining dollar. Doesn't seem to deter them, though. I guess that's why some people call the lottery "the Chump Tax." No offense to any lottery players!

I downloaded some targets a while back for practice with Airsoft guns. IIRC they end up 1/3 scale if you print them on 8 1/2 by 11 paper. PM me if you want me to send you the files.

I've been switching back and forth from 1911s to a Glock since I started this game. At first when drawing I had a tendency to point the gun high (or low) because of the different grip angles. I've been working on REALLY watching the front sight, so now I draw both guns to a proper index and don't even notice the difference. I do notice a difference in the triggers. When I trot out the Glock after shooting the STI for a while, I have a tendency to think I can get a good sight picture then slap the trigger and move on. The longer Glock trigger pull often results in pulling shots off-target, until I REALLY focus on holding the sight on the target til the shot breaks. I know conventional wisdom says you'll get better if you keep running the same gun, but I think switching back and forth has helped me progress.

What targets? Fighter pilots shoot their cannons at targets towed behind other planes (hate to be flying one!). I assume Minigun gunners have some similar exercise to show they've learned their craft.

I don't know how they evaluate gunners during their training, but I'd hate to have to tape their targets.

I just bought one of those paint pens and a stencil at Office Depot and traced the numbers onto the basepads. Came out looking like it was professionally done. I haven't been to the range yet, so I don't have any info about whether the paint rubs off.

B.J. is sponsored by TS. I've seen him galloping one of their .22's with a dot around the range. You might check with him for some more info.

Someone just sent me a Dillon video clip of an SUV with a Minigun installed. I forwarded it to a friend who is not familiar with such things. I started to include the oft-quoted claim that the three Miniguns in an AC-47 can "in three seconds cover an area the size of a football field with at least one bullet to every square foot." Then I did the math, and it just doesn't add up. Here is one reference to this claim: http://yarchive.net/gun/vulcan.html Each Minigun shoots up to 6,000 rounds a minute, or 100 rounds a second. So three guns fire a total of 300 rounds per second, or 900 rounds in 3 seconds. A football field is 120 yards long (counting the end zones) and 53 1/3 yards wide. That's 360 feet by 160 feet, so the total area is 57,600 sq ft. So it would take the three Miniguns 192 seconds (57,600 / 300) to fire enough rounds to cover each square foot (assuming they were evenly distributed). Even if you go by square yards, it would take them 21 1/3 seconds (6400 / 300) to cover the whole field. ONE Minigun can put one bullet in every LINEAR foot of a football field (excluding end zones) in three seconds. Am I missing something?

Ditto on getting a PS3. Blu-Rays look great, but there is one thing I didn't expect. A Blu-Ray picture will have dark bands at the top and bottom of the picture. This is even true on a widescreen HDTV. Made me mad when I watched my first Blu-Ray - why doesn't the pic fill the whole screen?

I recently ordered copies of Brian's book for two friends. (Incidentally, I don't know how someone could become a high C-class shooter in Open and Limited without getting a copy. He'll probably pass me now). I couldn't believe how quickly the books got here. It's a good thing, because one of the shooters is new to the sport, and wants to take the book on vacation. Brian's shipping reminds me of the Wile-E-Coyote cartoons where he sends off his order form to Acme, and almost gets run over by the truck bringing his stuff!

Ammo? When I started reloading .38 Super I had some frustrating variations on the chrono. Turns out some of my brass (A-Merc) was so bad the bullets could move around in the casings. It's not hard to imagine other issues that could affect accuracy.

The problem is that in these cases the authorities will probably scrutinize your actions under a microscope. They will pay special attention to what you say after the incident, and you may not be in the best mental condition at the time. With all the adrenaline flowing, and the emotional reaction to the incident, the relief at being alive, and all the pressure of being questioned, it would be very easy to say something that could be used against you. It might be a minor inconsistency in your story, or misremembering something in the heat of the moment, or gushing out too much information, or even saying something perfectly proper that could be misinterpreted. But anything you say can and will be used against you.

Exceptions to the Heller Right to Keep and Bear Arms: Here is a quick summary of what the Heller opinion does, and what it does not do. You can read the full opinion here: http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/HellerOpinion.pdf What it does cover: P. 64: 'In sum, we hold that the District’s ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense. Assuming that Heller is not disqualified from the exercise of Second Amendment rights, the District must permit him to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home. ' Note that most or all of the items below are dicta. That means that since they are not an essential part of the Heller ruling, they are not part of the official holding. Machine guns/NFA Weapons: Scalia's discussion on p. 52 indicates that the NFA is probably valid. Heller's holding is limited to 'weapons ordinarily possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.' On p. 55 he also says, 'We also recognize another important limitation on theright to keep and carry arms. Miller said, as we have explained, that the sorts of weapons protected were those “in common use at the time.” We think that limitation is fairly supported by the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of “dangerous and unusual weapons.”' Can the States violate 2A? Probably not, at least if Scalia writes the opinion. On p. 53 he says, 'For most of our history, the Bill of Rights was not thought applicable to the States.' This implies that we now know that the Bill of Rights (including 2A) does apply to the states. Indeed, some of Scalia's opinion provides examples of where individuals and non-governmental groups were bound by 2A. Felons, Mentally Ill: On p. 54 he says, 'Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. . . nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill . . .' Prohibited places, Brady Bill, FFL's: [P. 54, same sentence continues] ' . . . or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.' Pistols: P. 57: 'Under any of the standards of scrutiny that we have applied to enumerated constitutional rights, banning from the home “the most preferred firearm in the nation [handguns] to ‘keep’ and use for protection of one’s home and family,” would fail constitutional muster.' Safe Storage laws: P. 60: 'Nor, correspondingly, does our analysis suggest the invalidity of laws regulating the storage of firearms to prevent accidents.' But this portion will have to be read in conjunction with the Court's overturning of that portion of the DC law that required guns to be inoperable or to have a trigger lock attached. Licenses: 'P. 59: 'We therefore assume that petitioners’ issuance of a licensewill satisfy respondent’s prayer for relief and do not address the licensing requirement.' Other Loose Ends: P. 63: 'And there will be time enough to expound upon the historical justifications for the exceptions we have mentioned if and when those exceptions come before us.'

I've seen a few other opinions where the court says in essence, 'We agree with the opinion of the lower court and adopt it in its entirety.' Heller affirms the lower court's ruling but doesn't specifically adopt its reasoning.

I'm about 35 pages into the 157-page opinion (including dissents). Some initial observations: 1. We won! The Supremes (or at least five of them) decided that the 2nd Amendment means what it says. 2. Scalia wrote the opinion. He dug out a number of Supreme Court cases that touch only tangentially on 2A, or that dealt with seemingly unrelated issues, and applied their reasoning to this case, which shows he did his homework. 3. The opinion relies heavily on contemporary state constitutions, that section being reminiscent of the research of Dave Kopel and Eugene Volokh. 4. The decision was 5 to 4, with Kennedy casting the swing vote (as I predicted!). This means the upcoming presidential election is CRITICAL because the new President will probably appoint at least three replacements. I haven't made it to the part applying the ruling to the DC law. This is a critical part of the case, because the level of scrutiny determines how many gun control laws could be overturned by this decision. Scalia did note that the decision will not invalidate concealed handgun laws, the felon-in-possession law, and the prohibition on "mental defectives" possessing guns. This means there will be significant exceptions to RKBA.

That is EXACTLY why you should never consent to a search - the Founding Fathers thought the right to refuse a search was important enough to address in the Bill of Rights. Punishing you for exercising that right is unacceptable. I represented a guy who "did the right thing" and consented to a search. One of the guys who was catching a ride to work with him had some marijuana and rolling papers on him. When they bailed out of the car, the marijuana ended up under the passenger seat, and the papers ended up under the driver's seat. My guy got charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Texas law requires a CHL holder to produce that license along with his DL when stopped., but ONLY if he is carrying a handgun under authority of the CHL. In effect it requires you to admit you have a gun, which is kind of a scary thought. So far I haven't had any trouble. The conversation usually goes like this: "Do you have your handgun in the car?" "Yes." "Where is it?" "Which one?" Then we usually have a long conversation and maybe show-and-tell on the side of the road. But that's Texas, so YMMV. I can't tell you how many appellate cases I've read that go like this: "Appellant was driving down the Interstate when he got pulled over. He consented to a search, and the officer found 500 pounds of marijuana in his trunk. He was convicted of possession with intent to sell. He appeals, claiming the search was illegal. "He consented to the search. Appellant's conviction is affirmed."

I happen to be a lawyer, but this info is being provided as a public service and not as legal advice. Consult your own attorney before taking any action relying on this law. Since Reconstruction, Texas has generally prohibited people from carrying pistols. There has been an exception for people who are "traveling." The problem is that the Legislature has never made any effort to define the term until relatively recently. The courts have steadfastly refused to define the term. As a result, the only way to find out what the term means is to get arrested, tried, then appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals. It has been common knowledge that an overnight trip, or a trip in which you cross two county lines, constitutes "traveling." Unfortunately this common knowledge is wrong. The courts decide these cases on a case-by-case basis, without announcing any rules of law. In the 2005 legislative session, Rep. Terry Keel introduced a bill attempting to solve this problem. I testified as the expert for NRA and TSRA before a Senate committee. The bill (HB 823) passed. The purpose of the bill was to say, "Law-abiding citizens can keep guns in their cars," but a number of prosecutors and law enforcement agencies didn't get the message. In 2007 the Legislature passed a bill which should finally solve this problem. HB 1815 revised the handgun law to exclude persons who carry a handgun in their own motor vehicles, or in vehicles they control. This is different from the previous versions, which made carrying a handgun illegal then created an affirmative defense, a defense to prosecution, or an exception to the prohibition. The prohibition does apply to people already prohibited from possessing firearms, members of criminal street gangs, persons engaging in criminal activity other than Class C traffic offenses, and people who keep their handguns in plain view. Of course there are a lot of other laws that govern guns, including some that prohibit us from taking them to certain locations, so be sure you know all the applicable laws before packing heat. The Texas concealed handgun law protects about 1 percent of the population. Most people estimate that about half of Texans carry a gun in their car. Until 2007 they faced arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment. Thanks to Rep. Keel, the Legislature, and Governor Perry, the 49% without CHL's are now safe.

It means even if Scalia writes the opinion, he may not be speaking for a majority of Justices. Sometimes there are more than two positions on a case. Justices can agree with one part of a decision and disagree with another. They can agree with the result but disagree with the reasoning behind the result.