By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

From "The 50 Worst Guns of All Time"
Does anyone remember the old Marlin Goose gun with a 36" barrel? Mother of God what a block. It swings like a school bus and weighs about as much as a blue whale. I retired mine to a back corner in the basement where it can rust away for all eternity.

Posted by: Benjamin Kimm | May 17, 2006 at 12:51 PM

From "The 50 Worst Guns of All Time"
There's nothing worse than a rifle that promises exceptional accuracy and looks like a million bucks, yet is manufactured with such sublime sloppiness that it misfires about 15% of the time.

This rifle has defied all warranty work, laughed at the efforts of 4 different gunsmiths, and could have easily inspired a firearms "lemon law."

This rifle so bad that selling it would be like spreading a disease. And it's the real reason why God, in His infinite mercy, created the hacksaw.

We're talking about my cursed Remington 541-T.

May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the house of Big Green!

Posted by: El-Wazir | May 17, 2006 at 11:30 AM

From "The Guns I Own: The Springfield SOCOM 16"
Great toy...if the mission is just marketing...with a nostalgic eye toward affluent plinkers.

The truth is, the M-14s which continue to have real-world relevance "over there" – because of the reach and lethality of their 7.62 round – all have the original-length, longer barrels.

And here's something else to consider:

With its short, stubby barrel, this new M1A features dramatically increased muzzle blast, which is magnified even MORE by that ear-splitting muzzle brake.

Of course, I realize all of this is probably falling on deaf ears...

Posted by: El-Wazir | May 15, 2006 at 01:19 PM

From "The Real Deal, Part 1: The Story of Finn Aagaard"
… Finn wrote as he lived, simply. He was a professional, above all, and his writing reflected this. He never over-romanticized the chase, or the buffalo charge. If he got out of a scrape, he simply told it as it was. His prose was short and sparse but it was full of nutriment. Come to think about it, wasn't that quality one of the things we liked about Old Jack O'Connor?

I miss the old guy. I miss the old guys.

Posted by: O Garcia | May 15, 2006 at 10:42 PM

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

Quick: Name an organization that is even more inept, ineffectual, and hopelessly corrupt than Congress. That’s right, it’s the United Nations, and later this month it will convene to consider its Report on the Implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. And now I must quote from The Shooting Wire, whence this info came:

“That UN Programme, if ratified, would give the UN control over all weapons production, distribution, and ownership globally. That control would put the United Nations in charge of all weapons, including those of law enforcement, setting strict limits on the types—and quantities of weapons police departments could own.”

Now if this is a joke, and I’m not getting it, I apologize, but the Shooting Wire seems to be in earnest.  Can you imagine U.N. enforcers in their little sky-blue berets marching into an LAPD armory and demanding all the really neat stuff that the LAPD uses to kill people who cross it? They’d be clubbed to death in the street. Or New York? “Make it worth my while, pal,” the NYPD armorer would say.

If Secretary General Annan would like to bring a little law and order to the world, he could start with his own delegates, eighty-three percent of which are scofflaws, and collectively owe their host city $18 million in parking fines.

Personally, I’ve always thought that the UN headquarters would make an excellent highrise apartment building, and failing that, it could simply be cleared away for a parking lot. We need parking space in New York City.

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

Editor's Note: Some of the best stuff written on this blog comes from those who post comments at the end of Dave's entries. These are three from last week's posts. Click on the headline above each comment to post your own opinion.

On Where are the Women
"I come from an outdoors family where my mothers and sisters have hunted and/or shoot as well! My fiance hunts and goes to the range with me. Her children are interested in hunting as well. I am a VERY lucky man to have a lady in life that enjoys the shooting (as well as fishing) sports!
Nothing turns me off, and scares me more, than men who think women shouldn't hunt or fish. This behavior has done more to contribute to the decline of hunting and fishing in today's society than alienating women from the grand wonderful heritage of hunting and fishing."
Posted by: Eric | May 10, 2006 at 08:13 PM

On The Colt Model 1911
"I have heard this before, about the 1911 NOT being a sporting gun, and it has not been especially true in my book. I have enjoyed using it on armadillos, snakes, jackrabbits, and once scared the wits out of a running coyote at 200 yards--witnessed. I believe that we have consigned the old workhorse to a retirement home, and forgot that he has a lot of mule in him, and when he arrives, he has a lot of kick in him . . ."
Posted by: Thos. Fowler | May 10, 2006 at 10:21 PM

On My Deal With the Anti-Gun Mayors
"I agree that most of the rationale behind gun control laws amounts to knee-jerk reactionary political band aid solutions to complex social problems. But as a resident of the greater Chicago area, I am also aware of the horrific price of gun violence on a nearly daily basis. In the past few weeks, two 14-year-old girls were shot dead in their homes by random gang gunfire. Not aimed at them of course, but victims of stray bullets. As a responsible gun owner I don’t want to have my rights curbed by these terrible events. But as a father, I don’t want some random round to hit my child."
Posted by: Bill | May 06, 2006 at 01:27 AM

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

Editor's Note: Each week until he runs out of guns, Dave will be writing about each of the different firearms in his collection here on The Gun Nut. This is the first.

When I reported for basic training in 1963, the Army was just phasing out of the M-1 (Garand) and into the M-14, which was an improved Garand.  The M-14 lasted only 4 years as a general-issue infantry rifle before it was supplanted by the M-16. However, it continues to see specialized use with the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Its range, penetrating power and reliability are superior to those of the M-16, and there are still places where these qualities are highly useful. New ones--called M1As--are made by Springfield Armory of Genesco, IL., at very high prices.

Springfield’s most recent M1A wrinkle  is an evil-looking firearm called the SOCOM 16. SOCOM stands for “special operations commander,” and the 16 refers to the fact that this rifle--actually, a carbine--has a barrel that’s just over 16 inches long, which is the shortest length rifle barrel you can own without the ATF coming to have a talk with you.

It’s heavy (9 pounds plus), all black (courtesy of a fiberglass stock) and evil-looking. It is a rifle of no redeeming social value, and it’s a ball to shoot. There’s almost no recoil, courtesy of the gun’s weight, a recoil suppressor that keeps the muzzle from jumping, and the fact that the 7.62mm NATO cartridge for which its chambered doesn’t kick much anyway.

All I have to do is lay hold of this anti-social little powerhouse and I’m once again a 22-year-old Private E-2 squad leader, shivering my ass off on the cinder track in front of the World War II-era barracks that housed November Company, 4th Tng Rgt., Ft. Dix, NJ. Believe me, you can buy lots of fun for $1,700.