Open carriers (and open carry activists) don’t always have negative interactions with law enforcement, even though those are the videos that make the headlines. Sometimes the encounters are very positive. There seems to be a trend recently to publicize the good ones as well, sort of pour encourager les autres but in a good way. For some of the more obnoxious LEOs, seeing someone else do it right will have no more effect than meeting a member of the Citizen Disarmament Movement with logic and facts, but maybe it’ll help those that just don’t realize they could be doing it better. The video above shows a good example from outside Detroit, MI and click here for one from Waco, TX. . .

Dish alert: there’s an as-yet unconfirmed rumor, related to us by a person in the industry who’s in a position to know, that Colt firearms has just purchased LWRC International, a well-known maker of quality rifles including the 7.62mm R.E.P.R. No further details are available at this time. Watch this space.

You can’t make this stuff up. Remember the vivid images from Watertown, MA of heavily armed LEOs swarming the streets and forcing people from their homes during the lockdown following the Boston bombing? Well, the Watertown Police Foundation would like your images of that day for their 2014 calendar, which is being created “to salute the valor of the Watertown Police in dealing with those events.” Presumably they’re looking for images more positive than the ones that spring immediately to my mind. Money from calendar sales will go to the Foundation, which among other things, supports the Watertown Boys and Girls Club. I suppose that’s better than more guns with giggle switches. [h/t: Steve S.]

Battlelink Minimalist Stock
Mission First Tactical, LLC (MFT™) has designed the lightest butt stock of its kind ever produced. At only 5.8 ounces, they’ve dubbed the new patent pending add-on the Battlelink™ Minimalist Stock. Based on input from [unspecified] operators around the world, the slide-on replacement has an angled non-slip rubberized buttpad and is available here.

Emboldened by the recent recall victory, Colorado House and Senate Republicans are aiming to present legislation in the 2014 session that will alter or outright repeal the Centennial state’s recently-passed gun control legislation. It will likely be an uphill battle, though, as Dems still control both the House and the Senate, and the bills may not even make it out of committee. Still, supporters remain hopeful. The action will also have the secondary benefit of keeping the topic front and center in the run-up to the 2014 elections. Sen. Andy Kerr, a Democrat from a swing district who’s up for reelection in 2014 and who voted for the gun control measures said, “I’ve talked to constituents who love my votes on guns and who hate them. At this point, I don’t see any reason to change my stance.” Make your voices heard. He’s not going to change his mind if his constituents remain silent.

And finally, a shotgun that a man had stashed in some bushes near the Pittsburg, CA courthouse went off as he retrieved it last Friday morning. The mistakenly launched load struck a window of the building. The shot hit the window of the jury assembly room, cracking it, but didn’t penetrate into the interior of the building. No one was injured at the courthouse, which was sparsely populated when the smoothbore went boom at 7:40 a.m. Surveillance footage showed the man retrieving the shotgun from the bushes before running to a nearby SUV and driving away. Police were still looking for him Friday afternoon.

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32 COMMENTS

  2. That cop rocks he obviously will never move up as he is on the wrong political side but still he should be made state commissioner

  3. Speaking of rubber buttpads, anyone know of buttpads for the Keltec KSG? I think I need something different, judging by the flinch I’ve developed from buckshot out of it.

    • Not off hand but you can make your own with a chunk of rubber and a dremel or modify one that’s close enough to fit

    • Please submit a review of the gun! It would be nice to know if you have had the same problems that MAC had, or if your experiences have been positive.

        • Kel-Tec should make this in semi-auto, with shell followers that automatically trip the switch when the last round is fed in. I would be all over that gun.

      • Yeah, looks like we’re covered there, but I’ll just say it anyway.

        -It ate about 120 shells (birdshot, buckshot, slugs) out of the box without complaint. FWIW, I’ve only had it a few days.
        -It likes to be racked hard to cycle, but I found hand placement was forgiving.
        -Double-feed seems like the most common error, and it’s harder to clear one than in most scattergats.
        -My shoulder hurts.

        I don’t know if its physiology or what, but I found heavy loads hurt me way more with the KSG than my Mossberg 500 or a Benelli M4. Oh well – it’s still a hell of a gun.

  4. There are good cops all around the nation as well as bad cops. Even if the bad are in the minority they color all of them as bad. Kudos to the officer in the video, there are not enough like him.

    Kudos to the CO sheriffs and upstate NYS sheriffs and all those who have made a stand to support the 2a.

    I just wish many of the silent good cops would speak up more about bad cops and act more like the fine gentleman and officer above.

    • It really makes since for police officers to support the 2nd amendment and the right to carry. If a police officer is laid-off or pursues another line of work, he/she doesn’t keep his/her badge. Retired police officers have HR 218, but other former police officers do not. Just because a police officer quits or is laid-off doesn’t mean the danger of stumbling upon an angry “customer” will go away.

  5. Rubber is for wimps.

    Evil shotgun. Once he’s named, may I presume IGOTD?

    Must be tough: support the Law o’ the Land, or one’s constituents? I dont envy him.

  8. Sheriffs are not in the Constitution of the USA. And their powers vary widely state to state (tend to be least in the Northeast, whereas in the West they traditionally have a bigger role)

    But Alaska does not even have any sheriffs. Sorry. That tidbit about being the only constitutional law-enforcement is part of this weird claim I have heard a lot about some mythical power of sheriffs. Their powers are defined by the laws of their respective states. They are not the supreme law enforcement authority in themselves.

    • I think a lot of people confuse Sheriff with Marshal. The latter being the oldest law enforcement officer in the Federal system.

    • Sheriffs tend to be listed in their STATE constitution. In Michigan it’s article XVII section 4. Remember, there is more than one constitution. While the US constitution is supreme the state constitution is just as important to know for citizens in that state.

      As far as Alaska it’s kind of tough to have county officials when there are no counties…

  9. “Make your voices heard. He’s not going to change his mind if his constituents remain silent.”

    The truth of the matter is it a waste of time to change the mind of a Democrat politician. Obama’s inner circle strong arms any Democrat politician who does not fall in lock step. And even if they fend off Obama’s henchmen, they will only pay lip service until they win the next election. You have to replace them with recalls and elections.

  10. YES!!!! GIVE THOSE FINE PEOPLE A CIGAR!
    Both law enforcement and open carry protesters could learn a lot from that video. I mentioned a few digests back that I know many OC’ers have good intentions, and these folks set a fine example. The sheriffs deputy himself carried himself in a calm, personable manner, and both parties were educated; that’s the real beauty of it.
    This is what win-win looks like. Instant share.

  11. Good cops…….there are plenty of them.
    Unfortunately Open Carriers there are plenty of them too.
    As I see it.
    Its their right in some states to do what they do.
    Does it do the Pro gun side any good.
    Also in my opinion NO.
    Why incense the public at large??
    They aren’t going to change any ones minds and for the most part create more fear amongst antigun folks.
    It doesn’t bring the masses over to our side.
    Florida is one of the few states that does not have open carry and I’m fine with this.
    If you do have a CCW and your weapon shows its not a crime here as long as it wasn’t intentional.
    Open carry on your own property is also ok as it is in most states and Im fine with that too.
    But as a gun rights activist even I have to draw a line someplace.
    For me its these open carry demonstrators to me are doing more harm then good.

    • So… you only support and advocate for the right to keep and bear arms on one’s own property? A licensed privilege (CCW) is not a right. It never was and never will be. By your own admission, you aren’t actually a “rights activist” but really a “privilege activist”. You are supporting a government privilege to bear arms to the detriment of the right to keep and bear arms. You could choose to support both the right and the privilege, you know. 😉

    • Ever packed a rifle into the woods and then discovered that you’re not 100% on how to get back to your vehicle? It happens here all the time and usually that means walking until you cross a road, then taking it back to where you need to be. Since concealing a rifle is both problematic practically and illegal in Ohio even with a CCW permit, I suppose it’s your position that every lost hiker and hunter be in violation of state law?

      The very same thing applies to carrying my rifle across the street from a parking space and into a gun shop to have work done. Sure, I could use a case, but shouldn’t be required to.

      If acquiring ID to vote is supposed to have a suppressing effect on voting by the poor, would not the need for a rifle case and or vehicle suppress the 2A rights of the poor as well?

      While the Founders most likely could never envision a situation in which any sane person would think that people should not have arms for their personal, individual defense and hunting, they saw a need for enshrining their right to bear them, individually for their collective defense against threats foreign and domestic. By arms I’m sure they meant the best long guns the citizens could come up with (at least) meaning these would be borne openly.

      Just for a moment imagine the minute men scrambling to put their rifles into cases, unloaded, to stay within the law on their way to Concord, then un-boxing and loading them as they await the British. If it sounds like an absurd comparison, it merely highlights the unconstitutional and asinine position of being pro concealed carry and anti open carry.

      One carries concealed for tactical advantage, to avoid conversation about the fact of being armed, to avoid disturbing others or setting an unwanted tone, perhaps even to be polite. However the onus should not be on those who are armed to be watchful of the pathologies and affected offense of those who are not armed, it is enough that one does not actually harm them, whatever their feelings about arms may be. Were I to take offense to camera phones due to their intrusive nature Re: my 4A rights and the deadening effect they have on 1A rights would it be reasonable for me to express fear and affect offense if others don’t keep such phones concealed? Of course it would be on me to protect myself from the power of these devices and to work out my own mind on how to properly comport myself in public, not to require others to keep them out of my sight.

      Given that the right to personal computers with built in cameras and internet connection isn’t a natural one, and certainly not enshrined in the BoR, I have a better case against openly carried internet connected cameras that anyone does against openly carried guns.

      Don’t be a Fudd, open Vs concealed is another dividing line just as hunters Vs MSRs and many others. If I had to choose one (and if anyone had to make such a choice) I should choose open carry and allow concealed to be unlawful, though I would never make such a choice.

      On protesters: If a person wishes to exercise various parts of the 1A (to assemble, to speak freely) and the body of the 2A (to be armed) at the same time what of it? Are the rights mutually exclusive so that such cannot be exercised in unison? Could one not be protected from unwarranted search while also exercising their religion? This is what you suggest when you would have the open carry protesters barred by law, again if my example is absurd it’s because it illustrates your equally absurd premise.

      I believe what you’re after is appeasement; let’s not rile the sheep too much lest we lose the privileges we have. This is not about privilege however, it is about rights. Written words on velum in a vault in Washington are not rights. Peoples actions are rights and those you cannot exercise do not exist.

        • Thank you Fellow Ohioan. I was merely expounding on what I believe it was that you were more succinctly saying above. I troubles me when I encounter people who are of the opinion that actually exercising rights may lead to their loss. It should be self evident that to avoid an activity in the hopes of not being restricted from that activity is to already be so restricted by your own volition and without effort by those who would enjoin you from it’s exercise.

          As much as anything the 2A is about civil rights (though there are those who cringe to hear it called so). The open carriers may sometimes be loud, obnoxious and off-putting (though the vast majority are not), however when Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on the bus she not only was, in many peoples view, being rude and off-putting, she was actually breaking the law. It is hard to imagine that anyone would now say that what she did was ‘wrong’, particularly those who value civil rights. Perhaps someday with perfect hindsight we’ll find that the open carry protesters were maniacs, however I suspect we will see them as the vanguard of a civil rights movement that put the civilian disarmament firmly in it’s place via both legislation and case law. If minorities had never challenged Jim Crow laws for fear of becoming even more oppressed, we’d still have separate but equal, which no reasonable person could say was right.

  12. Somethings missing in this post………………….. trying to put my finger on it……………… oh yea, Leonard Embody is missing, anyone seen or heard from him?

  13. Go figure, a polite, positive encounter between citizens exercising their First and Second Amendment rights and a sheriff deputy.

    And for anyone who is perplexed, this encounter went well because no one was hysterical … most importantly the deputy.

    • Honey gets more flys than vinegar, Ralph. Employees, and the cops are our employees, deserve to hear when they do a good job just as they deserve the a2s chewing when they don’t.

    • I’m guessing by the way it was moving that it was clipped to his backpack or rifle strap in the vertical position. He gets a pass because it wasn’t handheld. I’m just glad he ran it through an image stabilizer before he uploaded it.

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