Selecting a Pistol for Concealed Carry

I often read and hear a lot of discussions on what pistol makes a good concealed carry pistol. I found this info and it has just about all you need to know on how to choose your concealed carry pistol.

If you are reading this, perhaps you haven't made up your mind or have questions about your selection of a personal defense handgun. There have been many articles written on this subject, most of which boil down to a discussion of calibers and actions. While the caliber and action discussion is important, I find it incomplete and lacking in some important considerations for a person who carries a concealed handgun for self defense. Hence, my point of departure is what it means to live with a pistol every day.

Conceptual Basis

The paradox of the concealed personal defense weapon is that it is something you hope you will never have to use for its intended purpose, but with which you must achieve a level of mastery and familiarity comparable to the other tools you use to survive and get through your day. You wouldn't drive to work in a car that you didn't know how to operate. You wouldn't wear a coat that was three sizes too small or use a carpenter's saw to slice up a pot roast. No, you use the tools appropriate to the job and you learn how to work with them competently. The same holds true with a self defense pistol. You should know how to operate it and have the level of skill necessary to use it safely and effectively. It should fit your hand and your lifestyle because you will be spending a lot of time with it. It should be comfortable to shoot and hopefully to carry, although when asked if a carry gun should be comfortable to wear, master trainer Clint Smith said, "Your carry gun should be comforting, not comfortable." Your pistol should be powerful enough to do the job and accurate enough to hit the target. It should be completely reliable, and its operation should be as familiar to you as riding a bicycle or brushing your teeth. You must also have a clear understanding of the legal issues surrounding the use of deadly force -- when you can and when you can't -- and the methods and techniques of using a gun in a self defense situation. Sounds like a lot? You're right; it is, and if you are unwilling to master the skills and concepts of lethal force, do yourself a favor and just don't carry a gun. (See also The Psychology of Self Defense and the Force Continuum)

Skill and Familiarity

Handguns are not easy to shoot well. The ability to consistently put bullets into a target quickly and in the places which will stop an attacker is a skill that requires a lot of practice. Too many people have the notion that a pistol is a kind of magical talisman and the user need only take it out and wave it around and the problem will magically disappear. Nothing could be further from the truth. A gun brandished at the wrong time and without the fighting skills necessary to employ it effectively will make a whole bunch of new problems, including getting you killed or arrested and charged with some very serious crimes. Hence, making the decision to carry a gun should be made only with the commitment to practice and learn. This may take the shape of attending classes or participating in a practical shooting sport like IDPA. At the very least, a regular practice schedule should be part of the package. This means that you will be spending a lot of time with your pistol. The gun should be comfortable in your hand, have manageable recoil, and be sturdy enough to stand up to heavy use in practice sessions, matches, and classes. The gun should also have reasonable accuracy. You should be able to consistently put all of your shots in an area the size of a saucer at ten yards quickly.

Types and Sizes: Pros and Cons

Pocket Guns

When many folks think of a concealed carry gun, they think of little-bitty pocket pistols that will easily disappear into a pocket or purse. While these may be light and convenient, that's all they are. Aside from that, they're pretty useless. They lack the power to put down a determined attacker and they lack the accuracy to hit anything at more than spitting distance. But even more importantly, most little guns are unpleasant to shoot. Being very light and having small handles, their muzzle flip is very bad. After a few rounds your hand may begin to hurt. Shoot a match or take a class at Gunsite with one of these pocket guns? Forget it. If you don't learn to use it, how much good is it going to do you when the chips are down? In this group, I would include the small Berettas, Airweight snubnose revolvers, Seecamp .32's, Kel-Tek .32's and derringers. There may be a place for these pistols, but they all suffer from serious inadequacies. (I am particularly fond of the Airweight snubnose .38 Special revolver, but it can be an unpleasant gun to fire.)

Medium Frame Revolvers

Even though they have been around for 165 years, revolvers remain an excellent solution. These pistols are simple to use and accurate. They can handle hot loads and larger bullets making them effective personal defense weapons. Examples of this class of pistol are the Ruger GP Series and the S&W Model 66. The ideal revolver would have a 3" to 4" barrel, a six-round cylinder, and a grip that fills your hand. The biggest drawback of these pistols is the speed of reloading, but with practice, a revolver can be reloaded as quickly as an autoloader.

Medium Frame Auto Pistols

The overwhelming majority of professional trainers, operators, law enforcement and military people prefer medium to large framed autoloading pistols. These pistols have the best combination of speed, firepower, accuracy, and power. These pistols will generally load 8-10 rounds in their magazines (or more if you can find the magazines), have full-length grips, and 3.5" or longer barrels. These guns tend to have adequate accuracy and power, and large enough grips to be comfortable. Examples of this type of pistol would be the Glock 17, 19, 21 and 22, the S&W 39xx, 59xx, and 69xx series, the SIG 22x series, the H&K USP and P7, the Kimber ProCarry and Compact, the Springfield Champion, Para-Ordnance P12, and many others.

Large Frame Pistols and Revolvers

I like big pistols. They shoot more accurately, absorb more recoil, and develop greater muzzle velocity due to their longer barrels. I would include in this group the Beretta 92, the Colt Government Model M1911 (and clones), The N Frame S&W revolvers, Colt Python, Anaconda and their copies. Characteristically, these guns have 5" barrels and weigh 36 oz. or more. The biggest drawback of these pistols is their weight. They get heavy and small framed people may have difficulty concealing them.

Autoloader Action Types

There are four types of actions around which semi-auto pistols are built. It's important to understand the differences:

Single Action - M1911 Colt .45 ACP and Browning Hi-Power 9mm

This is the oldest autoloader design still in service, designed by John Browning (with the help of the Army Ordnance Board) during the period between 1905 and 1911. The hammer must be cocked, generally by racking the slide, for the gun to fire. This design in .45 ACP, .40 S&W and .38 Super is favored by competitive shooters, FBI SWAT, FBI Hostage Rescue Team, and many special forces units because it has the best trigger, outstanding accuracy and is very fast. For the gun to be carried in a state of readiness, the hammer must be cocked and the manual safety applied, "cocked and locked" (see "The Conditions of Readiness"). This looks scary and is not recommended for novices or those suffering from attention deficit disorder.

Double Action/Single Action - Beretta 92F (Armed Forces M9), most Smith & Wesson autos, SIG, Walther, and some Rugers.

This has been the standard design for most autos for the last 50 years. These pistols are cocked by the first trigger pull, but subsequent shots are cocked by the action of the slide cycling back. Consequently, the first trigger pull is long and harder (Double Action) since it is also cocking the hammer. Subsequent trigger pulls are easy (Single Action) since the hammer is already cocked. These guns have an external safety lever which puts the gun on safe and de-cocks the hammer. This is generally thought to be the safest design since the long, heavy first trigger pull and the external safety which blocks the firing pin tend to prevent the gun from going off by accident. The criticism of this design is that it forces the shooter to learn two different trigger pulls and accuracy often suffers on the first double action shot. Most accidental discharges with these sorts of pistols are the result of the shooter forgetting to de-cock the hammer.

Double Action/Single Action with De-Cocker Only - Ruger and SIG

This is a variant of the DA/SA which is used by Ruger and SIG. It functions just like a DA/SA except the "safety" lever is not a safety. It only de-cocks the hammer, but the gun will still fire when the de-cocker is applied and the trigger is pulled. I personally do not like this design since the de-cocker looks just like a safety lever but does not put the gun on safe.

Double Action Only - Glock, Smith & Wesson Sigma, some Berettas, some Rugers, Kahr, Kel-Tec, and others.

This is the newest action design made popular by Glock. With these pistols every trigger pull is the same and they have no external safety or decocking levers. The hammers are not cocked by the cycling of the slide (except for the Glocks which are pre-cocked by the slide cycle, and are not true double action). DAO pistols depend on the long double action trigger pull to prevent accidental discharges. In a sense these are autoloaders which fire like revolvers. Triggers vary from model to model. Some, like the Glocks, have very light triggers. Other DAO triggers can be quite heavy and long, and can be very unpleasant to shoot. The advantage of this action is its simplicity and the fact that every trigger pull is the same.

Calibers and Power

Here we get into mysticism and voodoo, and I will just give you my personal opinion and you can take it for what it's worth. I like the .45 ACP and the .357 Magnum the best. Just under them in effectiveness are the .40 S&W, the .44 Special and the 9mm. Below them are the .38 Special and the .380 ACP. There are other cartridges, but these are the most common for personal defense weapons and the ammunition is readily available.

I wouldn't be comfortable with anything smaller than a .380 (actually, I wouldn’t be comfortable with anything smaller than a .45 ACP, but that’s a different argument. See also Jim Higginbotham's "Case for the .45 ACP"). My personal favorite handgun cartridge is the .45 ACP because of its power and accuracy, but smaller cartridges will do the job if you do your part. Like the selection of the gun, the selection of a cartridge should be based on your ability to shoot it well. A good hit with a .380 is better than a miss with a .45. So, as a general rule, your self defense cartridge should be the largest and most powerful load that you shoot well.

The Selection Process

Don't be in a rush to buy the first gun you see. Give it a lot of thought. Ideally, shoot as many pistols as you can before you make a decision. Most gun ranges have pistols you can rent to see how they feel. If you have friends who own pistols, go shooting with them. Most will be happy to let you shoot their guns and share with you their experiences with them.

Be careful about the advice of clerks at gun stores. Some are very knowledgeable but many others are total idiots. Just because someone works at a gun store doesn't necessarily mean that he or she is an expert on personal defense pistols. They will all offer an opinion, whether they actually know anything about the matter or not.

I would also maintain a healthy degree of skepticism toward articles in popular gun magazines. They don’t make money by trashing the offerings of their advertisers.

Consider how you dress and your lifestyle. How will you carry the pistol? Can you adjust your wardrobe to accommodate your pistol? Particular body shapes may present special problems. Your physical strength and conditioning may also be a factor, i.e., powerful auto pistols tend to function better for people with strong arms and hands. How much time do you have to devote to practice? As a rule of thumb, autos require more training than revolvers, so don't pick a single-action .45 auto if you're not willing to learn to use it.

As important as any other single factor is the size and geometry of your hand. Hand size varies greatly between people and it is very important to handle a gun and note carefully the comfort of the grip and the position of the controls on the pistol. If you can't easily manipulate every control on the gun with either hand, then find a different gun. People with short thumbs may have trouble with the safety of an M1911. People with short palms may have difficulty with the thick handles of the double-stack 9mm and .40 pistols. People with meaty hands may be "bitten" by the slide of a small auto when it cycles.

Does the gun feel good in your hand? Is the trigger smooth or is it rough and heavy? Is the frame fairly narrow so that it will conceal well? Does the gun have the right balance of power, weight and size? (Remember, bigger is better for shooting and power, but can you carry it for 8 hours if you have to?)

You will notice that I have said nothing about price. I really hate to hear people making a decision on a handgun based on price. No one wants to pay more than we have to or what is fair, but price should be the last consideration. You won’t remember a hundred or so dollars extra you paid for the right pistol, but you will remember the ill-fitting bargain pistol that doesn’t shoot right or feel good.

To summarize, hold it, feel it, fire it if you can, and recognize that you're going to spend a lot of time with the pistol. Remember also, that it may be called upon someday to defend your life. No, it isn't easy, and you may end up buying two or three pistols before you find the one with just the right balance of weight, power and comfort.

Holsters

The selection of a holster which fits the gun you intend to carry is critically important. For a detailed discussion on this matter, click here.

Reloads

Most of the tactical gurus recommend the carry of at least one reload. If you observe police officers, they often carry 2-4 extra magazines or speed-loaders. If your gun is an autoloader, the second magazine is a good idea for two reasons: (1) you may need the extra rounds (and it's better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them), and (2) magazines sometimes fail and having a backup will ensure that you won't get caught with a non-functioning gun. Hopefully, very few of us will ever need twenty one or more rounds, but the carry of a spare magazine or speed-loader is just a wise practice. One of the reasons I prefer an autoloader to a wheel gun in this role is that the flat shape of a magazine is easier to carry on your belt than the rounded and somewhat bulky shape of the speed-loader used for revolvers.

Summary of Selection Criteria

1. Your personal defense weapon should be as large and as powerful as you can shoot accurately and carry with a reasonable degree of comfort and concealment.
2. Your personal defense weapon should fit your hand perfectly.
3. You should be able to manipulate the controls of your weapon with either hand alone.
4. Your personal defense weapon should be of sturdy construction and be able to withstand heavy use and rough handling.
5. Your personal defense weapon should be accurate enough to consistently hit a target the size of a saucer at 10 yards quickly.
6. Select the largest caliber you can shoot well, and a caliber for which ammunition is readily available.
7. A good quality holster must be available for the model of pistol you intend to carry.

What Pistol Do I Carry? Click Here

Related Articles:

Pistol Packin by Jim Higginbotham.

Concealed Carry and the 'Large' Auto Pistol by Jim Higginbotham.

Custom Auto Pistol Modifications for Serious Duty by Jim Higginbotham

Defensive Marksmanship by Jim Higginbotham

Handgun Power by Jim Higginbotham

Recommended Modifications to the Colt .45 Auto for Self-Defense Use by Les Bengtson

The Case for the .45 ACP by Jim Higginbotham

The Psychology of Self Defense and the Force Continuum by Syd

The .45 ACP Cartridge - Development, Specs, and Performance

Selecting a Holster for Concealed Carry

Drought in North Alabama rated 3-D

It's hot and dry here and we have been getting smoke from south Georgia and north Florida for almost a week now. The winds off the coast is pushing the smoke probably over 350 miles up here into northeast Alabama and most every day now, the visibility is about a half mile. I can't even see the next mountain over from me and it's just a mile away across the valley. It's hard being outside for extended periods of time when it's like this. I try to do some outside work early in the morning and stay inside the rest of the day. The forecast for rain is still almost a week away. Sure hope just some of it would move this way and clear the air here as it's really bad on breathing.

Drought in North Alabama rated 3-D

May 28, 2007 12:33 AM

The drought conditions in the Heart of the Valley aren't something anyone should take lightly.

The extreme drought has firefighters working overtime.

Every shift they tell us they're responding to a brush fire.

Sunday on Monte Sano families snapped pictures, marking the weekend as a special time to spend with family and friends, while remembering those who serve.

Many kick off the holiday with some good ole fashioned grilling, but it's very limited this year because of a statewide burn ban.

Atop Monte Sano a sign reads, "No fires!"

Donna Balinger, of Lewisburg, Tennessee, came to the mountain for the Martin family reunion.

She says it's definitely taking a toll, "You know, no rain, so we've just not been grilling."

They did their grilling at home and brought it to Monte Sano.

Her sister-in-law LaDonna Balinger, is now having to rearrange plans for her daughter's 21st birthday on Memorial Day. "We're having to cook hot dogs inside instead of having the roast outside with the fire and everything because of the dry weather and the warnings."

We also caught up with a medical student from the Alps.

He says it's common to grill in the summer so we asked, is it this bad in Switzerland?

"Four years ago, we had similar conditions so it was forbidden to have any fire in the woods," says Markus Ruttr.

He says he has no problems complying with what's being asked.

"This is one of the worst droughts I've seen here in 16 years," says Huntsville Fire Captain Rolen Locke.

So bad, North Alabama is listed in an extreme drought.

Huntsville Fire and Rescue pointed us to the USDA.'s website.

The drought monitor shows we're listed as D-3, a step below the utmost threat.

It's made several environmental agencies across the state take action by implementing the burn bans.

But there's been some confusion as to where you can burn.

" You can still grill in your backyard. It's just the state parks and the national park in the state of Alabama. There is no grilling or campfires at this time," says Locke.

And for those who smoke, firefighters want you to be careful when you discard your cigarette.

"We've had several grass fires started by people throwing butts out of cars, going down the road in the median" adds Locke.

The dry weather also means no fireworks this weekend.

Area officials are still determining whether many annual fireworks shows such as one in Ditto Landing will still be a go.

Alabama Monster Wild Hog

This is a really big wild hog. It weighs as much as some buffalo and appears to be longer than most. This wild hog might set a new world record. And it was killed by a 11 year old Alabama boy using a .50 caliber pistol.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Hogzilla is being made into a horror movie. But the sequel may be even bigger: Meet Monster Pig. An 11-year-old Alabama boy used a pistol to kill a wild hog his father says weighed a staggering 1,051 pounds and measured 9-feet-4 from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail. Think hams as big as car tires.

If the claims are accurate, Jamison Stone's trophy boar would be bigger than Hogzilla, the famed wild hog that grew to seemingly mythical proportions after being killed in south Georgia in 2004.

Hogzilla originally was thought to weigh 1,000 pounds and measure 12 feet long. National Geographic experts who unearthed its remains believe the animal actually weighed about 800 pounds and was 8 feet long.

Regardless of the comparison, Jamison is reveling in the attention over his pig.

"It feels really good," Jamison said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "It's a good accomplishment. I probably won't ever kill anything else that big."

Jamison, who killed his first deer at age 5, was hunting with father Mike Stone and two guides in east Alabama on May 3 when he bagged Monster Pig. He said he shot the huge animal eight times with a .50-caliber revolver and chased it for three hours through hilly woods before finishing it off with a point-blank shot.

Through it all, there was the fear that the animal would turn and charge them, as wild boars have a reputation for doing.

"I was a little bit scared, a little bit excited," said Jamison, who lives in Pickensville on the Mississippi border. He just finished the sixth grade on the honor roll at Christian Heritage Academy, a small, private school.

His father said that, just to be extra safe, he and the guides had high-powered rifles aimed and ready to fire in case the beast, with 5-inch tusks, decided to charge.

With the animal finally dead in a creek bed on the 2,500-acre Lost Creek Plantation, a commercial hunting preserve in Delta, trees had to be cut down and a backhoe brought in to bring Jamison's prize out of the woods.

It was hauled on a truck to the Clay County Farmers Exchange in Lineville, where Jeff Kinder said they used his scale, recently calibrated, to weigh the hog.

Kinder's scale measures only to the nearest 10, but Mike Stone said it balanced one notch past the 1,050-pound mark.

"It probably weighed 1,060 pounds. We were just afraid to change it once the story was out," he said.

The hog's head is being mounted by Jerry Cunningham of Jerry's Taxidermy. Cunningham said the animal measured 54 inches around the head, 74 inches around the shoulders and 11 inches from the eyes to the end of its snout.

"It's huge," he said. "It's just the biggest thing I've ever seen."

Mike Stone is having sausage made from the rest of the animal. "We'll probably get 500 to 700 pounds," he said.

Jamison, meanwhile, has been offered a small part in "The Legend of Hogzilla," a small-time horror flick based on the tale of the Georgia boar. The movie is holding casting calls with plans to begin filming in Georgia.

Jamison is enjoying the newfound celebrity generated by the hog hunt, but he said he prefers hunting pheasants to monster pigs: "They are a little less dangerous."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More about the wild hog that turns out that it wasn't wild after all.

FRUITHURST, Ala. (AP) — The huge hog that became known as "Monster Pig" after being killed by an 11-year-old boy was raised on a farm where it had another name: Fred.

Phil Blissitt said he purchased the 6-week-old pig in December 2004 as a Christmas gift for his wife Rhonda, and they sold it to the owner of Lost Creek Plantation after deciding to get rid of all the pigs at their farm.

He told The Anniston Star in a story Friday that the sale was four days before the hog was killed in a 150-acre fenced area of the plantation.

"I just wanted the truth to be told. That wasn't a wild pig," Rhonda Blissitt said.

The Blissitts said they didn't know the huge hog drawing widespread media attention was Fred until they were contacted by Andy Howell, game warden for the Alabama Department of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, whose agency found that no laws were violated in the hunt.

"Did you see that pig on TV?" Phil Blissitt recalled Howell asking. "I said, 'Yeah, I had one about that size.' He said, 'No, that one is yours.'

"That's when I knew."'

Phil Blissitt said he became irritated when he learned that some thought the photos of Fred were doctored.

"That was a big hog," he said.

Mike Stone, the father of Jamison Stone, the 11-year-old boy who shot the huge hog to death during what they described as a three-hour chase, has said the hog weighed more than 1,000 pounds and was more than 9 feet long. He told the Star he had been under the impression that the hog was wild, not farm-raised.

"We were told that it was a feral hog," Mike Stone told the Star, "and we hunted it on the pretense that it was a feral hog."

Telephone messages left Friday with Eddy Borden, the owner of Lost Creek Plantation, were not immediately returned.

Stone said state wildlife officials did tell him, though, that it is not unusual for hunting preserves to buy farm-raised hogs and that the hogs are considered feral once they are released because they are back in a natural environment.

Stone said he brought Jamison to meet with Blissitt Friday morning because he wanted to get more details about the hog. Blissitt said he had about 15 hogs and decided to sell them all off for slaughter, but no one would buy that particular hog because it was too big for slaughter and too big to use for breeding purposes, Stone said.

Stone said Blissitt told him the pig had become a nuisance and that people were often frightened by it when they came onto his property.

"He was nice enough to tell my son that the pig was too big and needed killing," Stone said. "He shook Jamison's hand and said he did not kill the family pet."

Remington's Model 5

I always liked to have a handy .22 rifle around and Remington has made some very good ones. I have an old Remington model 521T that I love to shoot. Here's something new from them.

Remington's Model 5
Story by Ralph M. Lermayer

The latest Remington rimfire to carry the cinco moniker proves it can hold its own with the best of them.

Photo: Remington’s most recent ISP import is an attractive, well-made, quality rimfire that will retail for under $350. It represents the best of European craftsmanship for a bargain price.

The number “5” in a Remington bolt-action rimfire rifle model number is not a casual inclusion. All of the greatest bolt-action rimfires offered in the past by Remington have had a “5” designation. The 510, 511, 512, on up to the great 541 and latest 504, are all evolutions of a line of bolt-action rimfire rifles that are dependable, accurate and affordable. The latest, the Model 5, will attempt to continue that tradition, but unlike all of its predecessors, this rifle did not come out of a Remington plant.

The Model 5 is another in the new line of firearms bearing the Remington logo, but imported from overseas. The Spartan shotgun line, the 798 and 799 Mauser bolt-action rifles, and now the Model 5, are all part of Remington’s expanded marketing philosophy — find high-quality gun manufacturers overseas, bring their products to the Remington quality standard, and offer the U.S. market high-end firearms, branded Remington, at competitive prices. Some take issue with that, although importing is not a new strategy.

Photo: The five-round clip fits through a solid steel floorplate. The button between trigger guard and magazine releases the clip.

We have no problems with Brownings made in Belgium, high-end over-and-unders from Italy, or the European craftsmanship associated with Sako or Mauser. They know how to make good guns overseas and can produce them for a lot less money than we can here. We would all prefer to have every gun made here by our workers, but that’s not the case. Enter the Model 5.

When I first saw the Model 5 at a seminar in Nevada, I knew I’d handled it before. As a matter of fact, I tested, hunted with and owned the rifle under at least two of its previous surnames. It is made in Serbia by Zastava, a firm that’s been building firearms for decades. When I first saw it, it bore the Interarms name and was brought in along with the MKX centerfire. Later, Charles Daly stamped its name on it, and ran it through its distribution channels as a Daly rimfire.

Now Remington, aligned with Zastava, is bringing in the barreled actions for the Model 798 and 799 (formerly Interarms MK10), a classic and superb Mauser action, and the Model 5. Zastava is supplying the barreled actions, and Remington employees are mating them to laminated stocks in their Mayfield plant, putting them through final testing and quality control, and shipping them to us. The result: a whole lot of value and European craftsmanship in rifles that hit the shelves for under $350.

The Hardware

The Model 5 is built around a 22-inch carbon-steel, hammer-forged barrel with a 1-in-16 rate of twist — a perfect setup for a .22 Long Rifle. A .22 mag is also available with similar dimensions. It is mated to a solid-steel receiver with a massive all-steel underlug housing the magazine. A single screw through the front of the all-steel trigger guard ties the receiver to the stock. A second wood screw through the rear floorplate hole locks to the stock wood behind the trigger cutout. The receiver accepts standard .22 groove-style rings.

Photo: A simple adjustable single-stage trigger is standard on the Model 5. The author found it difficult, but each red dot in the image shows a potential adjustment.

Atop the barrel, a very sturdy flip-up metallic rear sight, adjustable for windage and elevation, is matched to a solid ramp front. That front blade is protected in a removable front hood. It’s a typical European metallic sight setup, and a system that has stood the test of time. They deliver a clear metallic sight picture and are extremely durable.

Five rounds in the detachable magazine and one in the chute make the Model 5 a six-shooter — more than enough for walking the hardwoods in the fall for longears or bushytails. A large button, big enough to work with gloved hands, extends through the floorplate and pops out the magazine.

Fire control is handled with a simple single-stage trigger, military in its simplicity, but set up for a full range of adjustments. Trigger tension, overtravel and sear engagement, as well as what looks to be a mechanical motion stop, are all accessible. But, in keeping with today’s litigious society, all adjustments are sealed with a red varnish or epoxy. It can be adjusted, but I’d relegate it to a gunsmith. These single-stage triggers are ultra dependable, but can be darn tricky to adjust correctly. A mechanical safety located on the side blocks the sear. Its operation is smooth, quiet and positive.

Photo: Current rifles show the Zastavo (Serbian Army) crest. This may change to the Remington logo.

The bolt is removed by simply pressing and holding the trigger. It is a solid steel, two-piece bolt with a welded-on bolt handle. Extraction is via two fully functioning claw extractors, set 180 degrees apart and spring loaded for a positive grip on the rim of the spent case. One of my gripes with many of the U.S.-made bolt-action rimfires is the use of only a single spring-loaded claw extractor with the second fixed. It’s done that way to save a few bucks. The European dual approach found in the Model 5 is the better way. Mechanically, there is no skimping in the production of the Model 5.

As I said, this rifle has been around for a long time, and all the operational needs are dealt with. Any kinks in this design were worked out long before most of us were around. Bluing, metalwork and fit are excellent.

The Woodwork

Previous importers housed this rifle in both low-end composite and solid-walnut stocks. Remington has chosen a full-size laminate made up of 25 laminations of what is probably birch, stained a light walnut and checkered nicely in the fore-end and grip. If it’s machine checkering, it’s some of the nicest I’ve seen. A dark wood grip cap and polymer buttplate finish off the package. It is, all in all, a very handsome, hand-filling, good-looking stock.

Wood-to-metal fit is fair to good with the barrel semi-free-floating due to a large gob of some kind of soft material located just back of the fore-end tip. That material keeps the barrel from contacting the barrel channel. The barrel channel could stand a little finish sanding and probably a coat of wood sealer.

Photo: Ample checkering in the fore-end and grip may be machine-cut, but it looks good enough to be hand-done.

A single screw through the front of the floorplate locks the receiver to the wood on a steel pillar, with a second wood screw directly into the stock at the rear. For the moment — and this may end when current shelf stock is gone — the Zastava crest (Serbian Armory) graces the buttstock.

The package weighs 63/4 pounds without scope, is 403/4 inches in overall length, sports a nice scratch-resistant satin luster and carries and points quite well — a nice rifle by any standards. In spite of the price tag, there’s nothing cheap or under par about this rifle.

At the Bench

I mounted a 3-9x Bushnell rimfire scope in a set of Warne grooved rings. That brought the total weight up to about 81/2 pounds. After cleaning the factory protective lube out of the barrel, I ran about 10 rounds through at 25 yards to zero it, gathered up an assortment of .22 ammo from lightweight zappers to subsonic stuff, and worked it over at 50 and 100 yards.

I must qualify the results with a disclaimer. As set from the factory, this was one beast of a trigger, taking almost 6 to 7 pounds of pressure to break. I know this trigger can be easily improved because I’ve done it. I owned this same setup under the Interarms name and had the trigger polished and adjusted to break smooth as butter at about 2 1/2 pounds. I didn’t do it with this one simply because it wasn’t mine, and it had to go on to another writer for testing and evaluation.

Photo: This soft gum-like material in the barrel channel is the only barrel contact. The rest of the barrel is free floating.

In spite of that, the rifle still managed to deliver groups in the 1 1/2-inch range with standard ammo, and with the Lapua or Remington Ely Match, held to 3/4 inch at 50 yards. I know, with a better trigger, groups far smaller are inherently available in this rifle. It clearly favored the standard-velocity stuff, but every .22 is unique, and only testing will tell you what it likes best. The very next one may prefer an entirely different brand and weight.

Conclusion

The Model 5 is a great rimfire, a well-built, quality product that will give its owner years of service and continue after it’s handed down to the next generation. It’s the kind of rimfire everyone should own. You must be prepared to give the trigger some attention, and maybe run a little sandpaper and sealer in the barrel channel, but that’s no big deal.

Suggested Retail is $350 blued, which means with a little careful shopping, you can probably pick one up for $250 or so. This is the kind of quality we expected years ago, and we may never again in our lifetime be able to buy it for this low price. After a trigger job, my last one became a half-inch shooter out to 75 yards. I foolishly traded it off. My order and check are headed to Remington for one of these, and it won’t be “trading stock.”

–Ralph M. Lermayer
GunHunter Magazine • November 2006

Immigration Bill Could Outlaw Gun Shops

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm

Wednesday, May 23, 2007


First, there was the McCarthy-Dingell bill. The folks on Capitol Hill have been telling you we need HR 297, a bill to greatly expand the Brady Law. They say it will stop future Virginia Tech shootings. And, oh yes, there's one more thing: they want you to believe the McCarthy-Dingell gun control bill isn't really gun control.

Now, they want to bring you an anti-gun immigration amnesty bill. Already you're hearing it's not really an amnesty bill. (Yeah, right.) So don't be surprised if they tell you it's not an anti-gun
bill either.

Forget, for a moment, the fact that the immigration package negotiated in the Senate could grant amnesty to up to a hundred million illegal aliens who have flaunted our laws.

Forget, for a moment, that it would pull the rug out from under the growing number of states that have vetoed the anti-gun National ID bill passed by Congress in 2005.

Forget, for a moment, that the bill will strengthen existing laws by requiring all legal Americans (like you) to own a National ID card before you can get a job.

In addition to all these things, the bill could, in the hands of an anti-gun administration, result in the closing of every major gun store in America.

GUN CONTROL IN THE IMMIGRATION BILL

Senator Ted Kennedy and the anti-gun zealots who wrote the bill just couldn't resist the temptation to get their hands on our guns. They have included language that GOA has been able to defeat in the past.


When Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced these anti-gun provisions in 1998, the GOA grassroots were able to convince seven senator cosponsors to pull their names from Hatch's bill.

At the time, The Hill newspaper credited GOA with having "generated a significant number of postcards" into Senate offices. "The defecting [seven] senators, echoing the concerns of the GOA, are apprehensive about the violation of Second Amendment rights," reported The Hill.

The current language in the amnesty bill is only slightly different from Hatch's original language almost 10 years ago, but it would essentially do the same thing -- threaten every gun store in America.

In Section 205, for example, all it takes for the employees of a gun shop (of five or more persons) to become a "criminal gang" is:

* For them to commit two or more violations of ANY federal felony gun offense -- which includes virtually all gun offenses, including paperwork violations; and

* For the anti-gunners to find that violating gun laws was a "primary purpose" of the group.

So let's say your local gun store sells two or three firearms to Mayor Bloomberg's thuggish agents under New York City's extraterritorial "sting" operations. Your gun shop is now a
"criminal gang."

This provision could even be used against a family of five who drives by two schools on the way to a movie with a gun in the glove compartment. Certainly under a Hillary administration, it would not be surprising to see them treat this infraction as a "felony" under the weird language of Gun Free School Zones Act. Thus, you and your family would become a "criminal gang."

OTHER PROBLEMS IN THE IMMIGRATION BILL

There is still no official immigration bill -- that is, the working draft does not have an official senate number. The draft was concocted by senators who put it together behind closed doors, all the while bypassing the normal committee process.

While this unofficial draft has been "the buzz" around the country this past week, several things have been overlooked. One thing, to be sure, is the threat to gun owners' rights mentioned above. But also ignored is the fact that the negotiating draft imposes draconian penalties for those who live in states that have the audacity to veto the National ID card (which passed as part of the REAL ID Act of 2005).

If you live in a state such as Montana, Maine, Idaho, etc. which has passed legislation opposing the government's efforts to turn your driver's license into a National ID card, YOU COULD BE DENIED EMPLOYMENT OF ANY SORT.

Gun Owners was already concerned about this law -- which has yet to be implemented -- because of the threat it poses to gun owners' privacy. But now the immigration bill will go even further by requiring all present and future private sector employees to be screened by the Electronic Employee Verification System (EEVS).

And in Section 1(a)(4)(i) of the draft legislation, the bill allows for EEVS approval of your continued employment only if your private employer meets "strict standards for identification documents that must be presented in the hiring process, including the use of secure documentation that contains a photograph, biometrics and/or complies with the requirements [of the] REAL ID Act...."

Hence, no National ID card... no job.

Amnesty Battle

We lost the first skirmish in the 2007 Amnesty Battle on Monday evening.

The Senate voted 69-23 for cloture on a motion to skip the committee process and bring the Kennedy/Bush/Kyle (KBK) Amnesty (S. 1348) to the Senate floor for debate and amendments all this week and then another week in June.

We needed a switch of 10 votes to have killed it on the spot. (You will want to look at the list of YES voters and see if one of your two Senators is on it. If so, your job the next three weeks is move that Senator into the NO column.)

Don't be discouraged by how far we missed on this one. We would have done better, but Majority Leader Reid (D-Nev.) backed down under Republican pressure and relented on his earlier insistence that the debate and final votes on the amnesty be finished this week.

The delay is good for us in that it gives all of you much more time to express your outrage at the giant amnesty and foreign worker increase that was engineered behind closed doors.

THE HERO SENATORS OF THE DAY

The fact that these 23 Senators voted NO and didn't want the KBK Amnesty bill to even be debated suggests they have a hard-core opposition to the bill and are to be congratulated.

And you are to be congratulated to if you live in one of their states, because they wouldn't have voted against Democratic Leader Reid, Republican Leader McConnell (R-KY) and President Bush if it hadn't been for the pressure that you and your fellow state voters put on these NO Senators.

VOTED NO AGAINST BRINGING AMNESTY TO SENATE FLOOR

Alabama:
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Shelby (R-AL), Nay

Colorado: Allard (R-CO), Nay
Idaho: Crapo (R-ID), Nay

Kansas: Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Kentucky: Bunning (R-KY), Nay
Louisiana: Vitter (R-LA), Nay

Montana:
Baucus (D-MT), Nay
Tester (D-MT), Nay

New Hampshire: Sununu (R-NH), Nay
North Carolina: Dole (R-NC), Nay

North Dakota: Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Oklahoma:
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay

South Carolina: DeMint (R-SC), Nay
South Dakota: Thune (R-SD), Nay
Tennessee: Corker (R-TN), Nay

Texas:
Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
Hutchison (R-TX), Nay

Vermont: Sanders (I-VT), Nay
West Virginia: Byrd (D-WV), Nay

Wyoming:
Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Thomas (R-WY), Nay

I am especially gratified to see the NO vote from Democrat Sen. Tester (D-Mont.) who defeated a Republican incumbent last year. Interestingly, he brought veteran Democratic Senator Maucus (D-Mont.) with him on this vote.

And the sole new Republican Senator -- Corker (R-GA) -- also voted NO.

THESE SENATORS VOTED 'YES' BUT SEVERAL ARE ON OUR SIDE

We can't be sure exactly where all of these Senators stand. Most of them are fully committed to rewarding illegal aliens. But some have grave doubts about S. 1348. Because of their relationship with the Senate leaders of their political party, they honored the party request that on this procedural vote the Senators resist trying to block it.

Several have said if the Senate fails to make key amendments to the amnesty bill, they will have to pull off the bill.

That will be our hope. In the meantime, you will need to spend a lot of time with Senator(s) on this list from your state, making sure they promise to vote NO on the final passage.

Alaska:
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Stevens (R-AK), Yea

Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Arkansas:
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea

California:
Boxer (D-CA), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea

Colorado: Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Connecticut: Lieberman (D-CT), Yea
Delaware: Carper (D-DE), Yea

Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Yea
Georgia:
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Isakson (R-GA), Yea

Hawaii:
Akaka (D-HI), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea

Idaho: Craig (R-ID), Yea
Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Indiana:
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea

Iowa:
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Yea

Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky: McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Yea

Maine:
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea

Maryland:
Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea

Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Yea
Michigan:
Levin (D-MI), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea

Minnesota:
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea

Mississippi:
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Yea

Missouri:
Bond (R-MO), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea

Nebraska:
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea

Nevada:
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Yea

New Hampshire:
Gregg (R-NH), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Nay

New Jersey:
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea

New Mexico:
Bingaman (D-NM), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea

New York: Schumer (D-NY), Yea
North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Yea
North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Yea

Ohio:
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea

Oregon:
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Yea

Pennsylvania:
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea

Rhode Island:
Reed (D-RI), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea

South Carolina: Graham (R-SC), Yea
Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Utah:
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Yea

Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Yea
Virginia:
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea

Washington:
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Yea
West Virginia: Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea

Wisconsin:
Feingold (D-WI), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea

MANY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES NOT VOTING

Biden (D-DE)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)

Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
McCain (R-AZ)

Nelson (D-FL)
Obama (D-IL)

The Senate Continues to Bypass We-The-People

Kennedy-McCain joins the Jon Kyl coalition plotting to STOP any amendments from "deal-breaker" changes that would sap its support

On Monday the Senate bypassed the people and forced an Amnesty First bill to the floor. A select group of Senators will hold daily meetings starting Tuesday to determine whether proposed revisions would sink what they are calling their "grand bargain."

Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC) Vice President, Carmen Mercer, and Tony Dolz from CA are being joined by MCDC volunteers on Capitol Hill all week during this CRITICAL TIME of DEBATE telling Senators to Secure the Border First say NO to AMNESTY and NEVER to SPP.

The bill is being criticized from every direction including the Minutemen, U.S. Border Patrol, Labor Unions, Hispanic Groups, Presidential Candidates and even many politicians.

Two charged with drug trafficking after I-20 stop

Two Georgia men are being held without bond today on drug trafficking charges after the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department's highway safety unit intercepted marijuana with a street value of more than $3 million.

A sheriff's official said this morning that deputies found 1,600 pounds of marijuana in a tractor-trailer rig about noon Monday that was eastbound on Interstate 20 near Leeds. The marijuana was concealed between a load of camping gear and patio furniture in the rig's trailer, officials said.

Deputies believe the marijuana was bound for Atlanta, a major drug trafficking hub, and would eventually be returned to for sale on Birmingham streets. The trailer's two occupants were arrested on charges of trafficking marijuana. The suspects are identified as Antwan Steed, 29, of Lithonia, Ga., and Harold Osgood, 33, of Atlanta.

Sheriff Mike Hale is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. about the seizure.

Springville PD seizes 500 pounds of meth, cocaine

The Springville Police Department announced Tuesday morning the seizure of more than 500 pounds of methamphetamines and cocaine recovered during a Sunday traffic stop.

Chief Ronald Black said a patrol officer pulled over a tractor-trailer for a traffic violation early Sunday morning and discovered during a search of the truck a hidden compartment that had 116 bundles containing methamphetamines and cocaine.

Police arrested the driver, Yedidiyah Fonken, 29, of McAllen, Texas, who is being held without bond in the St. Clair County Jail, Black said.

Egg Industry vs the Gas Industry

I've heard all sorts of arguements on how to get the gas prices down to a managbel level. This is about the best way that I have heard.

A man eats two eggs each morning for breakfast. When he goes to the grocery store he pays .60 cents a dozen. Since a dozen eggs won't last a week he normally buys two dozen at a time.

One day while buying eggs he notices that the price has risen to 72 cents. The next time he buys groceries, eggs are .76 cents a dozen. When asked to explain the price of eggs the store owner says, "the price has gone up and I have to raise my price accordingly".

This store buys 100 dozen eggs a day. I checked around for a better price and all the distributors have raised their prices. The distributors have begun to buy from the huge egg farms. The small egg farms have been driven out of business.

The huge egg farms sells 100,000 dozen eggs a day to distributors. With no competition, they can set the price as they see fit. The distributors then have to raise their prices to the grocery stores. And on and on and on. As the man kept buying eggs the price kept going up. He saw the big egg trucks delivering 100 dozen eggs each day. Nothing changed there.

He checked out the huge egg farms and found they were selling 100,000 dozen eggs to the distributors daily. Nothing had changed but the price of eggs.

Then week before Thanksgiving the price of eggs shot up to $1.00 a dozen. Again he asked the grocery owner why and was told, "cakes and baking for the holiday". The huge egg farmers know there will be a lot of baking going on and more eggs will be used. Hence, the price of eggs goes up. Expect the same thing at Christmas and other times when family cooking, baking, etc.happen.

This pattern continues until the price of eggs is 2.00 a dozen. The man says,"there must be something we can do about the price of eggs".

He starts talking to all the people in his town and they decide to stop buying eggs. This didn't work because everyone needed eggs. Finally, the man suggested only buying what you need.

He ate 2 eggs a day. On the way home from work he would stop at the grocery and buy two eggs. Everyone in town started buying 2 or 3 eggs a day.

The grocery store owner began complaining that he had too many eggs in his cooler. He told the distributor that he didn't need any eggs. Maybe wouldn't need any all week.

The distributor had eggs piling up at his warehouse. He told the huge egg farms that he didn't have any room for eggs would not need any for at least two weeks.

At the egg farm, the chickens just kept on laying eggs.

To relieve the pressure, the huge egg farm told the distributor that they could buy the eggs at a lower price. The distributor said, " I don't have the room for the %$&^*&% eggs even if they were free".

The distributor told the grocery store owner that he would lower the price of the eggs if the store would start buying again. The grocery store owner said, "I don't have room for more eggs. The customers are only buy 2 or 3 eggs at a time". "Now if you were to drop the price of eggs back down to the original price, the customers would start buying by the dozen again".

The distributors sent that proposal to the huge egg farmers. They liked the price they were getting for their eggs but, them chickens just kept on laying.

Finally, the egg farmers lowered the price of their eggs. But only a few cents. The customers still bought 2 or 3 eggs at a time. They said, "when the price of eggs gets down to where it was before, we will start buying by the dozen."

Slowly the price of eggs started dropping. The distributors had to slash their prices to make room for the eggs coming from the egg farmers. The egg farmers cut their prices because the distributors wouldn't buy at a higher price than they were selling eggs for.

Anyway, they had full warehouses and wouldn't need eggs for quite a while.

And them chickens kept on laying.

Eventually, the egg farmers cut their prices because they were throwing away eggs they couldn't sell. The distributors started buying again because the eggs were priced to where the stores could afford to sell them at the lower price.

And the customers starting buying by the dozen again.

Now, transpose this analogy to the gasoline industry.

What if everyone only bought $10.00 worth of gas each time they pulled to the pump. The dealers tanks would stay semi full all the time. The dealers wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the huge tank farms. The tank farms wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the refining plants. And the refining plants wouldn't have room for the oil being off loaded from the huge tankers coming from the Middle East.

Just $10.00 each time you buy gas. Don't fill it up. You may have to stop for gas twice a week but, the price should come down.

Think about it.

As an added note...When I buy $10.00 worth of gas,that leaves my tank a little under half full. The way prices are jumping around, you can buy gas for $2.65 a gallon and then the next morning it can be $2.15. If you have your tank full of $2.65 gas you don't have room for the $2.15 gas. You might not understand the economics of only buying two eggs at a time but, you can't buy cheaper gas if your tank is full of the high priced stuff.

Also, don't buy anything else at the gas station, don't give them any more of your hard earned money than what you spend on gas, until the prices come down..

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder Helps Stop Robber: "Authorities say `good Samaritan' bought deputies time"

Chappell handed a teller a few bills, and the teller collected the coins for him. Shots rang out. Chappell glanced up and saw that the teller at the next window, Eva Lovelady Hudson, had been fatally shot.

Merriweather continued firing down the line of tellers, Chappell said, killing Sheila Prevo. Customers and employees ran for cover.

At the counter, Merriweather demanded money and keys. No one is sure whether that demand came before or after he fired his gun, or if it was during the barrage.

Merriweather then dashed behind the counter and grabbed teller LaToya Freeman by the hair and ordered her to open the vault. Another teller, Anita Gordon, tried to protect her co-worker, but Merriweather turned and shot Gordon in the face and neck. Freeman fell to the floor, leaving some of her hair in Merriweather's grip. Merriweather fired shots at Freeman, blowing off the tip of her right index finger.

Amid the rampage, Chappell and at least one other customer fled the bank.

Chappell was carrying his own gun, for which he has a concealed weapon permit. He took cover by his sport utility vehicle just outside the front doors, drew his weapon and waited.

Inside the bank, with Freeman wounded and no longer able to comply with his demands, Merriweather grabbed bank manager Myron Gooding and forced him to open the vault. Merriweather then grabbed a bag of money and exited the bank.

He found Chappell waiting.

"I was prepared to shoot him," Chappell said.

Returned with hostage:

Merriweather threw his hands up and turned to go inside after seeing Chappell. He returned to the doors a second time only to go back inside the bank. But when he returned a third time, he had taken Gooding hostage.

At the same time, sheriff's deputies Ray Sorenson and Randy Davis were passing by the bank when they spotted a woman falling. She fell, rolled, got back up and kept running.

The deputies, who serve outstanding warrants, quickly turned around to investigate. That's when they spotted Chappell standing outside, his gun drawn. Chappell screamed that an armed man inside had shot "two or three people."

"I'm very surprised that the guy he held hostage didn't get his head blowed off," Chappell said.

Alabama Sunset

The weather here has been hot and dry, with no rain in sight. This afternoon, it started getting a little cloudy and thunder and lightning was all around, but one little thunder storm moved south with no rai here at my place at all. A little later on another one started up just north of me and it seemed to move right around too, still no rain. I have been pumping water out of my little pond onto the garden and the garden is really starting to look like a garden now. Maybe one of those afternoon popcorn showers will help out tomorrow or in a few days, I hope so.

Here's my Alabama Sunset fading down behind the next mountain over from the front of my house on Friday May 11, 2007!

I have been busy keeping my forum in good working order, so if any of you woulf like to take a look at that you can find it here at The Mountain Lots of good stuff being talked about there.

I got access to some private land to do some of my deer hunting on when season opens up, a 100 acres of a friend of mine. I have been told that there is a lot of deer around there. I sure do need to get 2 or 3 next season to stock up the deep freeze with some good venison. I just love the taste of venison. I've got to go scout the place out so I'll know where to place my stands when season comes in in the Fall. Maybe one morning early when it's cool, I can make a trip and do that.

Ya'll have a good day!

Low-cost ruses can deter thefts at hunting clubs

I saved this article from my local fish wrapper and thought it was good enough to maybe try some of these ways to deter hunting camp thefts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I joined my first hunting club more than 25 years ago, I thought I'd make a good impression and purchase a new television set to replace the decrepit one on which the club had watched Saturday football games for years. Two weeks later, someone broke into the club and took the television along with numerous tree stands, hunting clothes, a microwave and anything else of value that was not nailed down.

If you are a member of a hunting club, you know that break-ins at hunting clubs are common. Many clubs are easy targets by nature. Almost all are located in rural areas well off the beaten path where someone might notice something suspicious. They are typically vacant during the week and full of things that are easy to sell or pawn.

I've visited dozens of clubs throughout the years and witnessed a variety of clubs that have taken precautions to prevent break-ins. I've seen nicer clubs with elaborate surveillance systems and clubs with game trail cameras mounted in the yard (they got some good pictures of the burglars, but nobody knew who they were).

But the best solutions I've seen are relatively simple and cheap.

One of my favorites was the system that I saw at a hunting camp near Auburn a few years back. It's not only effective for keeping out burglars, it has thwarted poachers, the club's owner said.

I was surprised on my first visit there to find the road going to the camp lined with official-looking U.S. government signs. The signs explained that the property had been declared a federal wildlife research facility and was under 24-hour video surveillance and patrolled by federal marshals.

Trespassing was a federal crime and the minimum fine for trespassing on the first offense was $15,000, the sign read. When I asked the owner about it being a federal wildlife research facility, he just laughed at my naiveté. There was not an ounce of truth to any of the signs, but the break-ins and poaching on his property had stopped.

I saw another, similar ruse in West Alabama. The hunting camp had signs on all sides of the house, warning club members to disconnect the booby traps before unlocking any door or opening any window.

Once again, the owner laughed. There were no booby traps. The break-ins had stopped immediately after the signs went up, however.

My favorite deterrent of all time is located at a hunting camp near Fort Deposit. This camp was broken into so many times that the owners were forced to take everything with them every time they left. During one break-in, burglars stole even the blankets and pillows.

Where these people got a human skull I don't know. It was placed on the fireplace mantel with an orange light illuminating it and the rest of the old house was left dark. The owner said a few break-ins occurred after the skull was placed on the mantel, but nothing was taken. He said the break-ins have now stopped completely.
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Mike Bolton's outdoors column appears every Sunday in The Birmingham News