OC Update/roundup

A little more about Saturday's confrontation with Madison PD.

Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal articles, as well as a story from WISN. (Looks to be primarily about the return trip the next day, the computer at work is missing it's flash player for some reason...)


A more in depth play by play from WCI on the OC Forum.


Madison PD internal newsletter from 2004 showing the officers should have known they were in the wrong (right side, first page, 3/4s down about...)-

However, Wisconsin law currently does not allow officers to arrest citizens simply for failing to identify themselves.

Also a press release from ICarry.org:

ICarry.org - Sept 20, 2010 Breaking News Release: Lessons from Wisconsin's Last Incident of Police Harassment of Citizens Lawfully Carrying Firearms in the Open




On Saturday, September 19th, a group of five responsible firearms owners gathered to share company and conversation at Culvers on Town Blvd in Madison, Wisconsin. Approximately eight Madison police officers approached the firearms owners who were enjoying food and discussion with one another.


Demanding identification of the gun owners, officers used intimidation and coercion in attempts to force the citizens to provide ID. State law does not allow officers to demand ID in circumstances like this, and Madison PD’s very own “legal updates” explains exactly why refusing to provide ID is not “obstructing.”


http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/...Summer2004.pdf


Despite this well-known aspect of law, at least two of the law-abiding firearms owners were arrested and cited with “obstructing” charges for not providing ID. All of the citizens were harassed in public, intimidated and coerced, and inconvenienced and humiliated by the disrespectful, diminishing, and suppressive behavior of Madison police officers.


ICarry.org would first like to thank Wisconsin Carry, Inc. for its steadfast resolve to protect citizens’ rights in Wisconsin. ICarry.org is committed to supporting Wisconsin Carry, Inc. and all responsible firearms owners in the state.


The vast majority of officers are well-trained to respect the rights of citizens openly carrying firearms. Over the past few years in Wisconsin, a great deal of education has been provided for police, and police throughout the state have been exhibiting exemplary performance. There have been only a select few isolated incidents of failure of training or behavioral problems with police.


ICarry.org would like to see this incident be the last. It’s time to accept and embrace the lawful practice of open carry. There is no need to discriminate or profile against open carriers – they should be afforded the same level of dignity and respect as all other peaceful citizens. Like police officers, they too carry a sidearm only for self-protection.

 (note: date should be Saturday, September 18th)



Photo from the incident (from the OC Forum)



Audio from the event here or here.



Rumor is that a 60+ year old woman, possibly a customer, called them in saying something to the extent of "I don't know if it's legal or not, but there's a bunch of guys with guns, and I would just hate to have not called if something bad were to happen."

Not a big deal really, however, as has happened several times in the past, the dispatcher has not simply told the caller that it is legal, and maybe had a squad drive past, but instead dispatched officers, who then unlawfully detained and charged individuals.  Poor practice by MPD.

From how it all sounds, WCI's got a cut and dry case, with plenty to back it up.  I'm glad I'm a member.

Yeah... that sounds like a great idea...

UK Proposes All Paychecks Go to the State First.

Avast! Madison Police Overstepping Their Bounds

The following press release was sent out a couple hours ago by Wisconsin Carry Inc.:

Saturday night at approximately 7:30 pm 5 Wisconsin Carry members were peaceably dining at a Culvers in Madison.


8 Madison Police officers arrived and demanded ID from our members. As Wisconsin is not a police-state, Wisconsin law does not require you to provide identification to an officer unless you are operating a motor vehicle.

2 Wisconsin Carry members, in consideration of their legal rights politely declined to provide ID and were handcuffed, detained, and issued citations for obstruction.

Wisconsin Case-Law clearly states that refusing to give your name is not grounds for obstruction.

"No law allows officers to arrest for obstruction on a person s refusal to give his orher name. Mere silence is insufficient to constitute obstruction." Henes v. Morrissey,194 Wis. 2d 339, 533 N.W.2d 802 (1995).

Wisconsin Carry filed suit against the Racine Police Department on January 8th 2010 for unlawfully arresting one of our members, Frank Hannon-Rock, on obstruction charges for refusing to provide ID. Wisconsin Carry obtained a $10,000 judgement against Racine in that case where the Racine City Attorney explains to the Racine City council that the officers did not have the authority to arrest Mr. Hannon-Rock.

audio of that encounter is available here:

http://www.youtube.com/wisconsincarry#p/a/u/1/PuiO8tixuKY

Wisconsin Carry will be taking action against the Madison Police Department and the officers who illegally detained, handcuffed, searched, and cited our members.

Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is a non-profit Wisconsin corporation dedicated to the protection and expansion of the right of law-abiding Wisconsinites to carry in the manner of their choosing. www.wisconsincarry.org

Nik Clark
Chairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc.

I'll try to keep track of this one.

Yar!

Avast! It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Couple pics...

Hit up the range... yesterday... afternoon (I miss sleep...)

Got some fairly decent pics.  More after the jump.

Full-auto Remington ACR

Video over at TFB.  Looks quite controllable.

I still wouldn't mind one.  Maybe in a couple years when the price comes down.

Plotting...

Anybody have any experience with this upper?  I gather they're pretty new, but BCM is a pretty good manufacturer, and being a Wisconsin company is a definite plus.

Note to self: get that paperwork rolling...

Marty & Remy

Deep Fried Beer

We interrupt this irregularly scheduled blogging break for some important news.

A Texas Chef has deep fried beer.

I am a little ashamed to learn that it was not a Wisconsin Chef...

Time....

...I haz none.  Classes and work today, barely had time to put some food in my tummy.

Hopefully back on the blog-horse tomorrow.

Possibly Awesome...

...or disastrously disgusting.

Well that's about as irritating...

...as a pair of 60 grit chamois...

Apparently you can't vote for multiple parties in the WI primary even if you don't just get lazy and simply check one.  The computer rejected my mix of Republicans and Libertarians, despite only voting one person per office.

Party line voting is retarded.

Coffee...

Delicious delicious coffee... I don't think I would be able to make it through this month without it.  The Basement Brewhouse on campus serves up various flavors of Stone Creek Coffee, right now I'm sipping the excellent Hazelnut blend.

There's some darn fine roasters in this state.

MOH Vid'ya Game

If'n you hadn't heard, apparently the powers that be are rather butt-hurt that you can play as a Taliban in the newest MOH title and pulled it from AAFES's shelves (er, won't be putting it on them... it's not actually out yet.) For you non-.mil folks AAFES is the Army/Air Force Exchange System, better known as the PX.  There's also talk around the intertubes about boycotting the game over it too, which is just silly.

Apparently there's thought that our service members can't handle the option of playing as the bad guy and killing a digital representation of the good guys.  Nevermind that anytime you do force on force training somebody needs to be OpFor... Nevermind that in MW2's multi-player settings half the time you're playing the bad guys... The people in charge simply don't think that the unwashed enlisted masses aren't grown up enough to realize it's just a video game.


In reality, guys are still going to buy it.  All AAFES has accomplished is driving sales for Amazon.  I know I'm still planning to buy it eventually.  I just hope the single player narrative is longer than MW2's.  I suck at the online stuff.

Old Story...

...but always a nice one.  Uncle mentions the FBI stats show crime is down, despite the huge upswing in gun sales in 2009.  Some more numbers over at ENDO.

Of course the anti's will cry out it's unrelated, despite the mentioned upswing in sales, the death of the DC ban, and the increase in the OC movement, all of which should have caused us to be swimming in a blood ocean (heh).  It should be real interesting to see what happens to Chicago's numbers when the 2010 numbers come out...

Absolutely Gorgeous.

I completely agree with Steve, this rifle is simply stunning.  I just wish there was a better sense of scale in those pictures...

Heh.

Usually "Pundit Kitchen" seems to be pretty one sided, but every now and then they sneak one through.

Vote

Wisconsin Primaries are tomorrow.

Sure is purdy...

$4k 1911 from Kimber.   Could use better grips though.

September

I didn't get much of anything posted this weekend, I was pretty busy with Army stuff and just didn't have time.  Yesterday kind of snuck up on me, otherwise I would have had something written up in advance.  I'll have to make a note to remind myself next year.

Anyways, as I was catching up with the blogosphere's weekend developments, I read one of the posts over at The Warrior Class from yesterday and thought it was too good not to link to, so go on over there and read it (don't be afraid to wander either, they've got some good stuff.)

It's a start...

...but I can think of some better methods.  I do not know the bank's feelings towards OC, but I'm sure it would have made the bad guy think twice.

It's about time.

That's really all I have to say about this at the moment.  To my knowledge this is the first time since Vietnam that the MOH will be awarded to a living recipient.

More on yesterday's Pirate Raid

Kit Up! has the inside info on how things went down.  Sounds as close to perfect as you could hope fore.

Complacency Kills

I was going to mention this last night, but I'm lacking in motivation as of late, so Tam beat me to it.


In the handful of places I've seen mention of this story, it never fails that one of the first comments is in regards to how dumb of an idea it is.

I completely agree.

I don't care how much you publicize the "virtual speed-bumps," there's still a percentage of people who won't have heard about it, and could conceivably swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting little Suzie.

There's another percentage that will no doubt be driving that same route every day, and that's where the post's title comes from.  It's a long standing saying in the military.  Don't get used to things, or you'll wind up dead; don't let your guard down; etc...  In this case there's a chance that one of those regular commuters will become so accustom to "running over a little girl" on the way to work that if a kid did chase a ball onto the road in the area that driver's not going to think twice until the telltale "thump."

The forced perspective aspect is kind of cool, but the anthropomorphizing of the image is equal parts morbid, tasteless, and dangerous.  Why not just a giant 3-D "SLOW DOWN"?

I'm all for it.

US Marines free German ship from Pirates.  Good to see them getting back to their roots.

Meals Rejected by Everyone

In case you haven't seen it, the New York Times has a slightly interactive article about various field rations from the various forces in Afghanistan.  It's always interesting to see what's out there.

Nastolgic

Ruger's going old school.  Make it black, throw a flash hider on it, call it "tactical," and jack up the price! (Although there is a modern touch, it's got an optics rail...) The Mini-30 has gotten the same treatment.

Hand Sheaths

I've been running a pair of Mechanix Fastfit gloves through their paces the last couple months, and I've got to say, I'm more than pleased with these puppies.

We've seen pictures of guys in the big Sandbox and Rock Garden (Iraq/Afghanistan) wearing various Mechanix gloves for a while now(and despite earlier discussions, that's not why I got them), but this was the first pair I've used.  I've stuck to Hatch and other "Mil/LEO" brand gloves for most of my time, but I've heard good things about the Mechanix, and recently they've started offering more "subdued" colors, so I was more welcoming to the change.  Plus the $15ish (usually less) price doesn't hurt (looks like Amazon's got the black ones on sale too, might pick up a pair or two to stash away.)

The reason we wear gloves is to keep your hands from getting beat to snot doing stuff.  In the shooting world the most prevalent issue is heat.  Guns get hot.  Bullets create tons of friction zipping down those rifled barrels, gunpowder burns at pretty high temperatures, and black guns are fantastic at converting that solar energy into good old thermal.  Needless to say, gloves are up there with eye and ear pro if you're doing serious shooting.

Target shooters have used gloves for years, but they tend to be pretty thick, especially on the support hand.  Ideally the thickness and padding keeps your pulse from bouncing the rifle around.  However they are thick and pretty rigid.  High Power and Bullseye shooters aren't worried about fast magazine changes or switching from right to left to get around obstacles and whatnot.  Dynamic shooters need to have gloves that are flexible enough not to imped dexterity, yet still enough protection that you don't hear bacon frying whenever you handle your weapon.

The Mechanix Fastfit Gloves fill this need pretty well, and don't look half bad.  Yes, they're what the "cool guys" tend to use, but there's a reason for that.

As I said, the colors are pretty well subdued, the yellow isn't a bright yellow and those patches can  be easily removed if it bothers you.  Otherwise they're black and dark grey.

A really nice feature, at least to me, is that there's no velcro strap on the wrist, just a strip of elastic.  I find velcro closures on gloves tend to snag on pretty much everything and add unnecessary bulk to the wrist, and suck massively if you wear a watch.

The palms are Clarino (a synthetic leather) that's pretty common in gloves these days (all my biking gloves use it.)  It's pretty tough, and much more flexible than most leathers I've used.  They're also super-thin, so you can feel your weapon's controls and conduct low-light chamber checks to your heart's content.

There's also a re-enforced hole in the pull tab on the wrist, I keep meaning to tie a couple loops of 550 chord through there so I can clip them to my vest in the field.  This is an often overlooked feature on gloves, and it's much easier to just clip them to your vest than cram them in one of your pockets.

I tend to buy gloves on the smaller side, especially for shooting or rappelling.  I would rather get little red lines on my hand from the seams than get the fingertips stuck in a knot 40' off the ground or be able to reload a gun without chambering said fingertip.  That being said, the Fastfit's seams are very well made and very comfortable.  The gloves are also incredibly flexible-

And as far as the thinness, I can even use the touchscreen on my phone while wearing them-

Slidey!

The trade-off is, of course, that you wouldn't want to grab a hold barrel and hold on.  But they offer enough protection to keep you from sizzling before you realize said barrel is hot, and that's really all you need.  Plus if you take a digger on some wet gravel at your next carbine class, some scuffed up gloves beat the hell out of pulling granite chunks out of your hand for the next week.

Long story short, the Mechanix Fastfits are well worth it.  Go pick up a pair if you're looking for some decent range gloves.

I'm still around...

Just been busy as previously noted.  I'm hoping to write up a quick review of some gloves I've been using as soon as I get time and the weather cooperates for picture taking.  Plus I want to dive into my cheap vest and how to look good on a budget.

Speaking of which, there's some talks bouncing around the ol' sphere about what exactly looking cool might entail.  I still like the Coyote/FDE family for solids, and I'm warming to Multicam for the ultimate in coolness, although with that finally being adopted by the Army I may start leaning away. (I don't like wearing "Army" stuff when I'm not doing "Army Stuff".)  However the amount of stuff out there in MC and the limited scope of issue by the Big Army makes it a bit more bearable for the time being. (I'm still hoping they'll just ditch UCP and go Mulitcam across the board soonish though.)

Gun works

Ran about 300 rounds of Federal Bulk through the M&P15-22.  Only a handful of feed failures, but they were all due to me not loading the mags right.  (I tend to do it on purpose... failure drills!)  Looks like it's all good to go again.