by David E. Petzal

On April 11, Florida Special Prosecutor Angela B. Corey announced at a press conference that George Zimmerman would be indicted for second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. She prefaced this by informing the world that her team of investigators were fearless defenders of the victim, yet mindful of the rights of the accused; immune to political pressure from anyone; compassionate yet strict; enforcers not of public opinion, but of Justice. She did not say that hers was the greatest assemblage of legal minds since the drafting of the Magna Carta in 1215, but that was probably because she forgot. It reminded me of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote: “The louder he spoke of his virtue, the faster we counted our spoons.”

In all likelihood, we will never know the complete truth about what happened in the death of Trayvon Martin, but I think I can guarantee that whatever took place, George Zimmerman will go to prison.

He is guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of three counts of SWA—Stupid While Armed—and there is always a penalty for that.

by Phil Bourjaily  

The AR 15 continues to prove its versatility in all kinds of ways – even ways that leave you scratching your head and asking “why?” For instance, I heard about the  AR 15 muzzleloader upper at SHOT and looked in vain for it, finally concluding that it was a Mythical Creature and not a real AR accessory. Since then, I have found these two videos that prove its existence.

And, to give the people at CMMG Inc. credit, the .50 upper is cleverly designed. As you see in the video, the magazine holds extra pellets and bullets for handy reloading, and the gun will handle a three-pellet (150 gr.) load of pyrodex.

by David E. Petzal

As 2011 lurches into history like a smelly old wino, I take MAC in hand to review some of the lows of the year.

You Can’t Get it Right All the Time: In the 1960s the Department of Defense decided that all future combat was going to take place at 300 meters or less and, now that the distance has increased again to 500 meters and over, is scrambling to come up with guns and ammunition that can hack it at long range. We, of course, are paying for all this.

What’s next? Tac Nukes? Some weeks ago, Mayor for Life Bloomberg referred to the New York City Police as “my private army.” People assumed he was joking. I don’t. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has coyly announced that the NYPD has the technology to shoot down airplanes, presumably to avoid a repeat of 9/11. Commissioner Kelly did not say what kind of armament was involved. It could be missiles, or it could be 30mm cannon on Mayor Bloomberg’s private jet. The NYPD averages one hit per 72 rounds expended with its handguns, so the mind reels at the havoc it can wreak with this kind of firepower.

by Phil Bourjaily

A while back we talked about relative recoil of the .44 magnum and the S&W .500. Here’s a video on the topic from none other than “FPS Russia,” who has become a viral hit due to his ability to procure all kinds of weaponry (dragon’s breath, mortars, the AA12 shotgun, an APC with a M2 on it) and shoot things while keeping up a foulmouthed running commentary in a fake Russian accent.

At any rate, in this video FPS Russia doesn’t swear much, and the comparison here between the .44 and the .500 is instructive, even though you can’t actually feel the recoil. You can tell that the .500 is louder, and that a bigger fireball comes out of its muzzle.