What's a 'RUPERTINOE" Cannon Then?

Well for starters .. the name "RUPERTINOE" is a typical British cock-up - in that it's a mistake when copying what was actually written into one guns surface ' RUPERT inv '.

But there you go .. "give a dog a bad name" and "Rupertinoe" it is ..

 Designed by Prince Rupert of the Rhine 1619-1682, an experienced naval commander and senior admiral of the Royal Navy - the gun was intended for use against the Dutch during the Anglo-Dutch Wars.

The Rupertinoe was a high specification, annealed and lathe turned gun made experimentally - at Rupert's foundry at Windsor Castle - reflecting his scientific interests in metallurgy— he was the third founding member of the Royal Society.

He had the cast iron guns heat treated so that the bore might be precisely turned or machined to have a reduced windage so that the cannon balls fit more closely and didn't bounce about so much as they accelerated up the barrel and flew on towards their target. 

This design is notable for having a reduced diameter truncated cone powder chamber and possibly .. the bores were engineered to tighten-up as the ball nears the muzzles.

These machined cannon were lighter and superior to most others of the day .. but they cost much more to produce .. so soon fell out of favour.

Links to very good information:

https://www.arc.id.au/Cannon.html

http://arc.id.au/Cannon.htmlhttp://arc.id.au/Cannon.htmlhttp://arc.id.au/Cannon.html

- Now of course you all are thinking .. "Where's the pictures?"

Here's your homework for today. - If you can find any true image of a Rupertinoe or even those iterations made by John Browne that are called 'DRAKES' - I've got more than one bottle of Irish Whiskey or even a single Malt whisky that I am happy to share with you up here in the Canterbury hills of New Zealand.

The below images are said to be of a John Browne demi-culverin  DRAKE cannon found in Bermuda West Indies 2009:

.. it may (or may not) be a kind of Rupertinoe .. funny stuff history.

Marty K.

- I blame it all on the Chinese (Song dynasty) eh.(They started all this GUN stuff)

.. I've signed-up to Patreon. - after five years writing now you can send me a wee support - starting from $1 - for all this stuff from exotic New Zealand  .. yes most everything here is indeed EXOTIC .. apart from those interesting native birds eh.

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=16618870

Majority Support for Gun Rights? - I Don't Think So:

You gotta be dreaming eh .. at least down here in New Zealand. - My guess would be that right now - 95% plus of ordinary Kiwis are traumatised and fear and strongly feel that guns should be Banned.

THE FINGER OF DEATH:

Prior to March 15th when that Australian killer videoed & live-streamed himself shooting a hundred Muslims in Christchurch .. killing 51 - that antagonism may have been a little less - at perhaps 80% ..

People here and all around the world are rightly aghast and shocked by such a hate-filled assault on a minority grouping. - I am horrified and feeling close to guilty.

Can you start to try to feel the pain, horror, grief, personal loss, & fear of the survivors?

I personally know one F.Licence holder who has now become strongly ANTI-GUN.

- I understand that it is natural that some folk blame THE GUNS for the killing - as that murdering scum used guns to express his hatred .. the "Media" have a strong influence on what people believe.

CONDITIONING works by repetition - if you are told something ten times your sub-conscious mind will accept that input - even if at the conscious level you know it is incorrect.

You see the same ADVERTISEMENTS on television four times an hour .. it's a brainwashing technique that the marketing experts KNOW will influence your mind & your purse.

- Consider this prospect. The typical city dweller aged thirty-five will have been exposed to negative criminal firearms violence on TV, and in the movies perhaps three times every day for the 32 years since she learned to speak .. do the math  .. 32x 365x 3 = 35,040 times. - That's an absolute minimum that takes no account of any extra printed exposure or instruction by educators.

- Approaching 68% of the worlds folk live in urban environs .. 82% of North Americans.
- The UK's 67 Million live in cities & towns while only 0.5m live in the countryside - To most of these co-polymerised concrete inmates .. GUNS EQUAL VIOLENT CRIMINAL ACTS.

One lovely friend - a "true believer" - was saying to me only the other day - that guns mean that all you've got to do is point one ..and people will be dead. - He has zero experience or knowledge about firearms .. BUT HE 'KNOWS' THAT THEY ARE EVIL.
.. Rational fact based argument won't work to counter these emotional perceptions - I'm attempting to steer him into an enjoyable personal range visit .. a long term project.

To even neutralise the conditioning - 35,040 x 'GUNS = BAD' you must need more than the same amount of positive emotional events .. am I missing something here?

- How can you persuade anyone - who's factory farm meat arrives oven-ready in a sealed plastic presentation pack .. that you need a sporting firearm?

This is going to require a costly & unified PR campaign.

Please join and support COLFO's FAIR & REASONABLE Campaign.

Marty K.
.. I've signed-up to Patreon. - after five years writing now you can send me a wee support - starting from $1 - for all this stuff from exotic New Zealand  .. yes most everything here is indeed EXOTIC .. apart from those interesting native birds eh.

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=16618870

UK's 1997 Handgun BAN - How Was It For You?

Following The UK's Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 and 'Part 2' when the UK "GOT TOUGH ON CRIME" - the number of recorded firearms offences in the United Kingdom increased significantly after the law entered force.
 - Excluding offences with air weapons, firearms offences peaked at 11,088 in 2005/2006, compared to only 4,904 in 1997.

The 6,492 offences recorded in the year ending March 2018 still is a much greater number than that in 1997.

 Handguns remain the most common kind of firearm used in crime in the UK, with 2,847 offences in the year ending March 2018 .. despite changes in the definition of what is a handgun to reduce reportage.

Police recorded 39,598 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in the year to December 2017, a 22% increase compared with the previous year (32,468), and the highest number registered since comparable records started in 2010.

2017 Gun crime rose to 6,604 offences.

One corny old saw is ..."Insanity is doing something over and over, but expecting a different result." 

- What should New Zealand expect from our future violent crime statistics?

Marty K.

Police 'DISTRACTION DEVICE' (CO2 sound grenade)

There was a well reported Hostage event ("if it bleeds .. it leads") in Oriana Crescent - Tauranga on Sunday. This resulted in one person being shot dead - but the hostages were released uninjured.

Both video of the police action and reports from neighbours suggest that multiple shots were heard during the 'entry' ... but "a police spokesperson" has stated that the offender was killed with one only shot
 .. Another described "bullets coming through the roof". But police say they fired only one shot.

"We understand residents have reported hearing multiple shots being fired," a spokesperson said.

"This was likely to have been distraction devices, which were deployed twice upon police entry and which can produce a sound similar to rapid gunfire."

My quick research suggests that this "distraction device" might be a CO2 powered "grenade" such as those marketed by  American Speciality Ammunition Inc . - Valken in USA for around US$50. plus each and shown in this video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK4uvcUdb9k

- We .. mere citizens - are unlikely to be informed as to how many of the multiple "bangs" were noise grenades and how many were police firearms discharges .. but assuredly the accepted level of handgun marksmanship by police worldwide is around 82-85% misses.

Marty K.

The YEET CANNON Unlikely To Land Here:

The latest 'Giggle' from the land of dealer-bling USA is the limited edition Hi-Point YC-9 YEET CANNON:

It seems 313,000 votes were placed to call it thus - a bit like the "Boaty-Mack-Boat-Face" micky take.
In the vernacular "yeet" means to sling something away forcibly ...

It's the cheap clunker 9mm from Hi-Point that most everyone likes to take the piss out of.

Well they sell new under US$200 and are ugly m/f's with a top-heavy slide - that's built that way to tame the recoil - because it's a BLOW-BACK nine.

.. It may be the ugly friend that you got stuck with on a Saturday night in town .. but treat her right and she'll buy the beer all night and feed you breakfast in the morning. - Probably make a great wife.

They do work mostly - and isn't that something?

- I'd have one in a shot as I'm well known for my bad taste - but that will not come-to-be, down here in NZ as it's only got a 31/2 inch long naughty barrel so will be prohibited by our police leaders ... Sad eh,

Marty K.

.. When They've Taken Them All ?

Are you any good with your yumi & ya?

.. How about a catapult ?

 

I was earlier reading the NZ police's new security order for persistent licence holders who apply for a 'P' Endorsement .. 'P' is said to mean "prohibited" .. but ..

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox/FMfcgxwGBmwGZmbsbDlWMwWFSCjvwsNt

- If you have the effrontery or balls to apply to still own a freshly prohibited firearm or part - a condition of your ongoing right is stated by order of police - that when you securely lock it into your certified and police approved gun safe - in your soundly constructed home with examined & approved intruder resistant door, window closures & alarms ...

 ... you must first disassemble said prohibited firearm removing an essential component - that then itself has to be stored in a SECOND approved certified safe AT ANOTHER ADDRESS where the approved inhabitant has no access to that part AND does not own any firearm which that part will fit.

- If you don't believe me - check out the freshly announced regulations at the link above..

This is totally outrageous.

.. So a yumi is a Samurai bow - they are unusual in that they are asymmetrical with the part above the grip being twice as long as the bit beneath .. the ya is a long arrow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnRX_Cqhwb8

I'm losing heart here .. but when they have finished emasculating all of us properly licensed persons you may be interested in a man-powered weapon.

These law changes are so bad that shooters MUST fight them until they are exposed & withdrawn .. but don't expect any medals for being right. - there is plenty of history where the correction of abusive nonsense has earned the "whistle blower" herself ridicule and hatred .. check-out Darwin's evolution theory:

Martin K.
.. I've signed-up to Patreon. - after five years writing now you can send me a wee support - starting from $1 - for all this stuff from exotic New Zealand  .. yes most everything here is indeed EXOTIC .. apart from those interesting native birds eh.

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=16618870

P.S. This is an amusement eh -- you might need to look twice:

Surprisingly SMOOTH (Bores):

Smooth-Bore Colts New Service Revolver:

Of course we all know that the M1A2 Abrams tanks mount a smooth-bore 120 mm cannon eh 😄..

- No worries there about that being able to hit what it aims at ..

- But there are folk who'd reckon that a smooth bore gun couldn't hit the usual 'barn door' at the end of the muzzle .. not true in any way.

Our granddad's granddads would have been fully aware of how a well prepared musket might perform - those large bore muskets were reliably capable out to 100 yards. And that was not greatly helped by the manufacturing quality of that era .. when both the metal parts and the gunpowder propellant might be of "variable" consistency.

Coming into the era of the Wild West shows - both Wild Bill Cody and Annie Oakley are known to have shot specially made smooth-bore revolvers in their exhibitions ..

Special Colts SAA Smooth-Bore 44-40

They shot these guns loaded with bird-shot both for safety of the crowds and no doubt the controlled spread of the pellets helped a little when breaking aerial glass balls.

While shot can be used in rifled barrels - the imparted spin will open-up the shots spread way too far ..

Rifling is said to make a gun "SHOOT STRAIGHTER" - but of course the bullet still drops under gravity ..The spin that aides precision and stabilises a solid projectile doesn't help a shot charge at all .. in fact it will spread it.

- For many centuries smooth-bore was the norm:

When used at "normal" ranges without any optics or sniper aids such as bipods - the lack of any rifling in a precise bore won't particularly handicap an average shooter. - It's a whole different game when seeking hits on a target that is kilometres distant.

Henry Repeating Arms are selling their 15 shot .22" lever-action  'Garden Gun' for close range use around the property:

.. Nothing to see here .. until you look closer ..

Link to a TFB story:   https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/11/20/wheelgun-wednesday-smoothbore-colt-revolvers-of-exhibition-shooters/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheFirearmBlog+%28The+Firearm+Blog%29

Marty K.

Windsor-von-Battenberg-Beneficiaries:

According to The HUFFPOST we kiwis are getting the sharp end of the royal sticky-up-thingy ..

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/stephen-punwasi/royal-family-cost_b_12155954.html

- That's kinda strange .. as down here we are the furthest most remote outpost of the queen's possessions but pay the highest rate to have the royal's heads on our coinage and an occasional passing wave.

It's not that I'm anti-royalist as I'm sure that they might - like some of Trump's Mexicans - be lovely people .. It just that I can't see the point or the benefit of keeping any tribe in permanent bejewelled privilege. - Let them earn money or steal it publicly like the rest of us have to.

The 'Royals' are of-course at the very head of the whole rotten British Class System ..

Prohibit "royalty" - and those hereditary aristocratic & odd sounding toffs will vanish - along with that despicable "House of Lords" and it's "vested interests" .. it needs to be replaced by a CITIZENS ASSEMBLY.

.. That would then expose the corrupt cesspit of Parliamentary Privilege to scrutiny - and start to deodorize the associated Eton college & Westminster School along with other private schools for the wealthy & privileged into being upgraded as 'Comprehensives' - part of an excellent state education system.

One education system and one health system  .. one Justice system and one Tax system for all too.

That's not unreasonable eh .. Let's get rid of all this corruption.

I'll Drink To That.

Marty K.

"Silent Guardian" Ray Gun -Targets The Tattooed:

Raytheon's Silent Guardian Pain Ray is already being deployed in detention centres in USA and Oil installations in Abu Dhabi.

Silent Guardian works by projecting a beam of microwave energy at a frequency of 94GHz up to a range of 250 metres. Raytheon says there is no comparison with radiation from a microwave oven, - with a much higher frequency, and that it only penetrates the first skin layer, the epidermis, to a depth of 0.4mm, no matter how close to the beam you are. That's deep enough to trigger the sensory nerves in the skin with a two second burst. 

It's effect may only be skin-deep  when used properly with two second bursts - but trendy folk with stylish tattoos may care to contemplate warnings that injury may occur when their tattoo INK is painfully super-heated & evaporates from their flesh.

Maori MOKO Tattoo.

It's use in marine applications is being touted as effective against piracy .. and to 'toast' / deter fishermen from working too close to oil extraction platforms .. where the fish are - in the Gulf of Arabia.

- Of course DoD scientists are right-now striving to miniaturise the required technology down to portable weaponry size - to permit more general deployment against their civilian populations.

It's no good if we Kiwis say this elitist attitude applies to "the Great Powers - not us" .. because we are up to our necks in controlling civilians around our planet.

 NZ Forces were in Afghanistan for ten years quite recently and stand accused of much mayhem - including causing 17 deaths of children & village families - the latest situation relates to abandoned ordnance such as grenades and mortar shells on 18 square kilometres of practice ranges.

When did our home electorates agree to be ruled by elitist career politicians who constantly avoid the real issues and protect the privileged & wealthy top one percent who's ranks they strive to join?

It's no surprise that our Politicians - Press - and Police are progressively disarming ordinary kiwis.

Marty K.

NZ Police WEAPONS - Reply To OIA Request:

When I learned that our Aussie-Cuzzies were currently the worlds fourth biggest importers of military hardware - it did raise my eyebrows a bit .. but I did already know that they were buying & deploying hi-tech drones:

These six Australian Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Drones can stay airborne for 24 hours - which is reasonable performance for the 7 BILLION DOLLARS that their cost is currently settling-to.

I do realise that New Zealand isn't currently planning to match this purchase .. but our P3 Orion marine patrol planes will soon need replacing & upgrading - just like the Aussie ones.

Governments do seem always to find enough tax dollars for their "Defence" spending - even in the tough times.  Consider "Austerity England" where they are lashing-out 100 Million EACH for a few VTOL planes to park below decks on their 6.2 BILLION POUND two new giant diesel-electric Aircraft Carriers.

This sort of spending .. when combined with our local ARMS PROHIBITIONS made me curious - so I specifically asked our POLICE - under the Official Information Act - just what they had in the various types of weapons .. and to my surprise, - they supplied answers:

Superintendent Andrew Sissons of the NZ POLICE states that they have :

3,021 x GLOCK PISTOLS.

2,913 x AR15 (TYPE) MSSA RIFLES.

53 x Semi-Automatic MARKSMAN RIFLES.

10 x Bolt Action MARKSMAN RIFLES.

74 x Firearms Capable Of Fully Automatic Fire - SUB-MACHINE GUNS.

40 x 40mm GRENADE LAUNCHERS - for use with GAS GRENADES & SPONGE ROUNDS

____________________________________

- So it's somewhat reassuring that they have records of their purchases - as I was rather hoping that they might prevaricate & say that they hadn't counted them lately eh.

There is an issue here regarding police training with these arms. where & how frequently do sworn officers train for the safe use of their grenade launchers? - A further question might arise regarding the secure storage of these weapons - are they kept in certified safes or strongrooms that comply with current legislation?

This weapons list should be made known to the kiwi public. - Most people around seem to think that our "clean & green land" is some kind of blue-green paradise with sheep covered rock-candy mountains and jolly unarmed police.

I had one friend say how our Government was "peace loving and anti-killing" .. until I asked him why then do we train soldiers to kill efficiently and then give them medals and promotions when they prove good at it?

SAS Corporal Willie Apiata V.C.

12,000 Police:  4,705 Army: Air Force 2,525: 2,244 Navy ( 9,474 Total DEFENCE FORCES).

.. So we have fewer total military than police - While we definitely need more police .. that's interesting eh.

We need to amend public delusions with some FACTS .. and reshape their perceptions into TRUTHS.

COLFO are actively working to restore the public image of licensed NZ shooters by consulting with both a team of Lawyers and Public Relations Consultants - BlacklandPR. 

- This will not come cheaply .. please join the struggle to preserve shooters rights by donating to COLFO's 'FAIR & REASONABLE CAMPAIGN'.

Quote: “Politics is now a professionalised game, with a major speciality being digging dirt. Politics has always been a dog fight but underhand denigration of your opponent is now considered part of the job description; it makes up for absence of real policy differences.

“Career politicians find it easier to be against something than for it – so it is essential to demonise your opponents,” Mark Blackham (of BlacklandPR) said.

Marty K.

.22" MAGNUM (WMR) - NEEDS A BARREL:

The .22" WMR cartridge is a very useful wee round that will stretch out your hits on rabbits, hares & turkeys - if your eyes & optics are up to it ... if only the ammo was a bit cheaper to buy.

It was introduced by Winchester in 1959 - but they didn't sell a gun in that chambering until 1960. - S&W, Ruger, and Savage all beat Winchester to the market there.

22"LR, .22"WMR,  5.7x28mm,  5.56x45MM (.223")

           (We're all '22's together!)

That photo above shows that while the .223" really might sometimes be called a "mouse gun" having the same bore as the cheap as chips .22" Rim-fire .. its power is in a different class altogether. - Just look at the case sizes.

 -The .22 WMR at 369ft.lb. with a 40gr pill is also in a much higher class than the "two-two" - giving more than three times the energy of the 104 ft.lb. Long Rifle. ( The NATO 5.56 x 45 mm (.223") gives hugely more at 1,325 ft.lb.)

The 22" Mag  (WMR) is obviously a bigger rim-fire case than the .22" long rifle RF - being longer and slightly fatter - but it is also made using thicker stronger brass to safely operate at higher pressures. The 22 Mag can send its bullets off at over 2,000 feet per second from a full length rifle barrel and around 1,500 fps from a typical handgun. - So it's "flatter shooting" and harder hitting.

Optimum barrel length for highest velocity in 22 Magnum, .22"WMR is around 18 to 19 inches
- Optimum barrel length for .22" R/F Long Rifle is variously quoted as 14 to 16 inches.

- So what's your guess about the muzzle velocity from a 1.25" revolver barrel having a cylinder gap?

Standard Manufacturing S333 THUNDERSTRUCK .22" MAGNUM Revolver.

-  EIGHT CHAMBERS - FOUR Shots - 1.25" Barrel:

I really do like this concept of the twin barrel - two-hammer self-defence carry gun  using a two finger trigger press. This design could enable folk living with hand injuries / amputations or arthritis to be able to shoot effectively. - BUT consider this .. That trigger pull is around 23 pounds and really needs the two fingers to achieve it's l.o.n.g mushy stretch.

 And - reflect on just WHY the wee Thunderstruck two barrel handgun is so called .. surely the roar of two WMR cartridges discharging together from the stubby 11/4 inch barrels will assault your unprotected ears with an almost physical blow ..  I'd guess that the WMR caliber choice was for marketing reasons .. "TWO MAGNUM ROUNDS FOR EACH PULL OF THE TRIGGER"  

And to what purpose? .. Those "Magnum" bullets will be lucky to make anything like 800 ft/sec before they exit those stunted tubes .. no faster than the quieter Long Rifle rounds would manage.

Note: We are considering only velocity here - Shorter barrels will in general give a louder report as the gasses will exit at higher pressure.. High velocity gasses may overtake the bullet leaving the muzzle and slightly unbalance the projectile's path causing a loss of accuracy - this is another good argument for adding a silencer or 'sound moderator' to your guns - as these work by reducing the gases escape velocity and pressure.

NAA 5 Shot Dual-Caliber Revolver.

4 Inch Barrel Should Work OK:

 You really mustn't think that you can safely use RF in WMR chambers despite the smaller 'Long Rifle' .22" going into the WMR chambers (It does not fit). If such double use is wanted you can buy some brands of convertible revolver with swappable cylinders.

This interchange seems to work OK despite the difference in bullet diameter: The 22 WMR bullet is .224 of an inch and the .22 Rim-fire is .223" diameter - so the bullet fit in the rifled bore might be somewhat compromised. - "J" rightly reckons that the mismatched rate of spin in the rifling would be worse than the slight bore diameter difference.

22 Long Rifle with 22WMR Ball, Hollow Point, and Polymer Tipped 'varmint' round.

The .22" WMR  is a very useful medium range 'Varmint'  and small game rifle cartridge available with various design projectiles weighing 30, 40, and 50grains. Excellent here for stretching the distance you can expect to hit rabbits effectively - but the ammunition while cheaper than centre-fire is still much dearer than .22 long rifle R/F - and can't be reloaded.

In America the 22" WMR is held by some to be quite a useful self defence calibre for very compact (sub-compact) handguns and 'Derringers' .. rather than the .22" Long Rifle R/F - but there really isn't much difference in velocity between the two rounds out of a two or three inch barrel (but the 22WMR will be impressively much LOUDER!)

We live in an era where PERCEPTION has become reality .. "It sounds much louder/more powerful".

RUGER Single Six Convertible Revolver Has A 9 1/2 Inch Barrel .. 

And Is Beautifully Made - Quality Can STILL Be Found:

If you enjoy technical questions about ballistics and barrel lengths - The place to start has to be the Web-Site "Ballistics By The Inch" - BBTI - they have measured the velocities of the common calibres 'inch-by-inch' and put it all up on-line in table form. - Brilliant. - They've even had a look at the polygonal rifling versus 'land & groove' performance.

http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/22mag.html

The Keltec PMR 30 s/a 22 Magnum pistol claims to have been around USA since 2010 - and uses a 4.3 inch - 109 mm barrel to release it's load of thirty rounds from quad-stacked magazines. My guess is that it will still be LOUD  .. but a fellow club member is tussling with our irrational licensing regime - who currently are denying him entry and Customs release of the first ever specimen to land here on permit.

The PMR 30 would be useful for knocking down steel silhouette chickens at extended range - if they ever stop being so objectionable.
Marty K
- This post is an 'updated' version of my earlier .22 Magnum post:

 https://flicense.blogspot.com/2014/04/22-wmr-rimfire-magnum-useful.html
M.K.
.. I've signed-up to Patreon. - after five years writing now you can send me a wee support - starting from $1 - for all this stuff from exotic New Zealand  .. yes most everything here is indeed EXOTIC .. apart from those interesting native birds eh.

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=16618870

Police-Prohibited .. Profit-Possible:

There's been a lot of rain up here for several days giving me an excuse for staying inside .. but I had a great day last Thursday - The sun was shining - and State Highway Seven had lovely wild flowers smiling from the grassy verges most of the way into town for my second date with prohibition.

"A frog he would a-wooing go,"

At the hand-in venue - located in a big gun shop - I was treated in a friendly & attentive manner .. the two bulky looking uniformed police guys said "G'Day" and laughed when I told them I was there "to surrender" .. and the team of  'contractors' processed my two hand-ins in a smooth & practised manner.

"GONE .. & YOU NEVER SAID GOODBYE"

Yes well - sadly that's another couple of  'old friends' departed for ever - to that great scrapyard in the sky (- I removed the 4 x scope for future needs 😃). - My pair of Filipino STIRLING two-two rabbit guns are no more .. surrendered as PROHIBITED WEAPONS.

- They  had to go because the rushed and rash government MSSA BAN states that their fifteen round rim-fire magazines made them too dangerous to remain in civilian ownership in New Zealand - and I decided that the cost to have the naughty magazines altered by an approved gunsmith ($140 each with certificate) was prohibitive ..

This futile & undemocratic PROHIBITION will be great for business - as most shooters I know will be replacing & updating their forced confiscations.

I suppose "society" should be thankful that I managed to control both of these now prohibited "weapons" (and myself) for the last THIRTY-THREE YEARS since 1986 when I bought the first one.

I can tell you in confidence - now that the buy-back dollars are safely in my bank account - that I had bought the shorter rabbit gun from the NZ Police themselves at a Police & Customs Auction for $40 .. and the $420 that they gave me to BUY-it-BACK is gratefully accepted but is far less than the listed value.

Considering the pleasure and good use that I'd had from this excellent & most serviceable old "pea-rifle" small-bore - it's appreciation as an asset is much appreciated.

.. They only gave me $245 for the longer version .. as it's varnished woodwork was all scratched and tatty .. that's OK as I'd only paid $60 for that one more recently ..

_______________

They had also previously given me $210 for two Chinese Type 56 x 30 round banana mags (AK 47 look-a-likes) .. that I had been given (.. four of them .. two previously sold) by the then arms officer yonks ago as unwanted confiscations. - I have enjoyed very good relations with police arms officers over the years 😄.

.. So - more laughter from the counter staff as I teased-out the real prices from the ticket prices & I spent a little of my 'misgotten' gains on some (x250) Federal 'BlackPack' 9mm FMJ and  CCI  .22" L/R standard velocity bulk ammo and headed-off back up country with a cheery smile on my face ..

Of course - Life is good eh,

P.S. Everyone who has insight into violent crime and terrorism understands that the current "clamp-down" on New Zealand's lawful sport shooting community is merely political "public relations spin".

- It punishes the only select grouping of mature trustworthy law abiding & proven  fit and proper persons with Licenses - while failing to address the reality of an under-resourced overloaded and misdirected Police Service and Justice system.

That murderous Mosque killer would NOT have been granted a firearms license if the authorities had carried-out their legal duties .. and the removing of our RIGHTS will not remedy that fact.

Politicians are once again choosing to be SEEN DOING SOMETHING .. rather than actually addressing the reality resulting from years of political neglect.

Marty K.

A Four Barrel "Walking Stick":

Henry VIII wasn't always an obese sickly old fart .. he had earlier indeed been a bit of a lad - well he officially worked through six wives while also giving the fingers to the Pope's monastic system during a 'hostile take-over'.

He was without question a GUN NUT .. well as much as you could be living in those early days (1491-1547) - he was attracted to all sorts of weaponry .. so if he were here in NZ nowadays he'd be labelled as a potential security risk with an unhealthy obsession for prohibited weapons.

He used to go walk-about around London carrying his Morning Star "walking stick" - a spiked MACE that also contained a four barrelled matchlock gun:

That might give you a "right royal bleeding headache" eh:

The hinged top spike-blade covered the four muzzles that fired as one when "touched-off".

The story goes that he was checking that his watchmen were on the job - when they stopped, arrested and held him overnight .. until his I.D. was disclosed to them .. but my guess was that while he may have been impressed by their zeal .. his purpose was much more likely to have truly been out on the town drinking & wenching.

Henry's contemporaries considered him an attractive, educated, and accomplished king. - He has been described as "one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne"  - Plus he had the smarts to value personal weaponry for self defence.

He would have been a good mate until you pissed him off - then he'd have knocked YOU off ..

I should at this stage - here add that - of course my interest in firearms, ballistics, cartridges, and various other tools including our Government's Weapons of Mass Destruction - is purely for academic and recreational sporting purposes.

Marty K.

Tue.Tue Revolver - Bigger Than "Two-Two":

In 1893 Charles-François Galand  started making the TUE.TUE revolvers in 8mm (8x24R) after missing a French Military contract. He worked in both Liege Belgium and in Paris France but I read the Tue.Tues were Liege built.

Tue is a French word meaning "killed" - making these the 'DEAD.DEAD Revolvers'.

Galand and his son made several different versions over the years from 1893 to 1935 .. but later models were made in .32" S&W and 7.65 Browning  (-.32" ACP) .


There was one iteration that had the barrel removed forwards to access the cylinder for reloading & a further version where the barrel hinged downwards to clear the cylinder ..

Yet a third and later iteration employed the more common 'swing-out' cylinder.

- I don't really know anything about these French-Belgian revolvers - but the business seems to have continued until 1942 ..

_____________________

I feel strongly compelled to condemn this next advertising image as totally SEXIST and politically incorrect ..

- I only expose you to it's horror as I feel it likely that this French young lady may have a handlebar revolver in her grips:

JOUBERTS French Handlebar Pin-Fire Pepper Box (manually rotated).

- How come we don't get clever stuff like this any more? Marty K.