Rhinestones

All that glisters is not gold—Gilded tombs do worms enfold. 

.. That is (mis)quoted from young Bill S

 RHINESTONE COWBOYS .. did you ever wonder just wtf a 'rhinestone' was?

Rhinestones are rock crystals from around the River RHINE Germany .. and were used as imitation diamonds. - They are a form of quartz but nowadays imitation diamonds mostly are "PASTE" which is a type of glass - often with a thin coating of iridescent metal vapor deposited .. copies of copies & FALSE RUBBISH.

Quartz ..

Quartz Watches use an electronic oscillator regulated by a quartz crystal to convert a DC current into an oscillating regular wave form that's more accurate by "AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE" .. at least TEN TIMES as accurate as the best mechanical timekeepers. -  My MWC titanium - tritium "Military" watch is bloody brilliant but will need it's battery replaced from time-to-time eh..

It's time to get accurate ..

But, it truly is hard to pick the reality from so much marketing & 'SPIN' bullshit in life eh.

Plastic cloths pegs ARE rubbish - but plastic Glocks are very reliable ..

Time To Choose .. Will YOU Pick Tarted-Up Crap or A Glock?

Most cheap rechargeable batteries are useless .. but eneloop brand are the best ..

GET SELECTIVE - AWARE - AND ACTIVE

Politicians are basically just the greediest type of lying commission sales shysters - but there is ONE only that shooters put into the NZ Parliament - Nicole McKee. 

ONLY when gun owners get organized - take some action and unite to vote more representatives into positions of power will we then start to regain some justice in New Zealand.

JOIN THE BLOODY LABOUR PARTY & OUTVOTE THE BASTARDS ..

Shooter's groups have to select political delegates as party candidates and block vote for them .. much like the Rainbow Community have.

Marty K.

Gun Control - Imposed Fiction:

STEN Sub-Machine Guns Were Built In Railway Workshops Around The World

If you have ever doubted the judgement of our various National leaders or questioned their sanity .. doubt no more. Take ten minutes to read the Wikipedia explanation & record of the various threats and battles that make-up the "notoriously incompetent international butchery" of the CRIMEAN WARS 1853-1856. - I think that my take might be that millions died because the religious beliefs of their "leaders" who seemed to be arrogant, bigoted, hate-filled, prejudiced, power-seeking maniacs .. something akin to that Brenton Tarrant animal who singly killed 51 innocents in Christchurch March 2019.

Our current parliamentarians may additionally be suffering from poorly oxygenated blood flow to the brain from their under-ventilated office environs, but there is also little in the way of psychological evaluation or other examination such as a 35 page application form to complete - to assess whether they might be 'fit & proper' for directing public policy and legislation.

I already have the latest GUN DIGEST 2022 - that is notable for one "expert writer" wasting 11 pages claiming to test ammunition to verify the known fact that fired bullets will penetrate and fully shoot-through normal building materials - and an even lengthier dissertation on the multiple factory I.D stamp markings of imported Chinese made Type 56 SKS rifles (in both Western & Chinese script).

This publisher's Annual is among my more highly regarded reading material  - but in line with much U S writing .. content can stray into unsubstantiated & opinionated marketing at times .. for example two earlier pieces about Webley revolvers state opposite opinions about their trigger pulls and accuracy. - can it be that saluting the flag every day colors some beliefs about non-American items? You might now even read about Glocks being THE American Gun .. This edition seems not to have any comment about the current rash of restrictive gun controls around our planet.

The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations published a survey (E/CN.15/1997/4 dated 7 March 1997) of 33 countries. - If broad band analyses are conducted, this survey shows that there is no correlation between rates of gun ownership and crime, accidents or suicides.

Back in 1972 UK West Yorkshire Police Chief Inspector Colin Greenwood published his University of Cambridge studies in book form titled FIREARMS CONTROL.

 Greenwood noted that, even after many years of controls, it was effortless for a criminal to obtain a gun of his choice. - Greenwood concluded, “No matter how one approaches the figures, one is forced to the rather startling conclusion that the use of firearms in crime was very much less when there were no controls of any sort and when anyone, convicted criminal or lunatic, could buy any firearm without restriction.” 

If you need evidence that THEY are not listening . read his submission to UK Parliament: 

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmhaff/95/95ap25.htm

Another British writer Philip A Luty made his protest about loss of civil rights by writing a diy book on Expedient Homemade Weapons and another about making ammunition .. Both interesting & informative works are easily found on-line and prove that the media panic & outrage about 3D printing of plastic firearms is both misdirected and irrelevant to reality - considering that in 10 minutes with some tubing and a hacksaw any criminal can produce a simple SLAMFIRE weapon ..

The historic facts show that GOVERNMENTS are the biggest risk to the lives of law abiding families with their standing armies of trained killers and planetary Government arsenals of some 14,000 NUCLEAR WARHEADS specifically designed as "weapons of mass destruction".

I have observed earlier that a good friend who is an Elder of his Church guessed that there might be as many as 100 nukes in the world ..

Our New Zealand administration needs to be strongly reminded of their commitment to form AN INDEPENDENT FIREARMS AUTHORITY to administer the civilian firearms licensing process.

Marty K.

Not So Special? .. The 38 S&W(Short)

Introduced by Smith & Wesson 145 years ago in 1877 for their "Baby Russian" five shot black-powder Model 2 Single-Action revolver - The .38 S&W cartridge, designed by Daniel Wesson himself, has had a long life .. only dropping from military use in the Webley & 'Enf'ield' revolvers in 1963 when the British MOD changed-over to the 'Browning Hi-Power'. (The big .455 Webley remained in British Service use by Northern Ireland's 'B' Specials until 1970). 

Smith & Wesson Model 2 'Single Action' Five Shot Break Action Revolver:

There obviously is a reason why there are so many cartridge types in the world that nominally measure about .38 Inch caliber or more properly 9 mm. - The reason is that this is a "Sweet Spot" where overall effectiveness meets with low recoil & a general ease of use and controllability ..

Of course there are 38's in each of rimmed revolver cases, - rimless semi-auto types, and semi-rimless cartridges. - "Thirty-Eights" can be confusing to study in their rich variety and while most of us will usually think of the '38 SPECIAL' - what I'm talking about here is the "obsolete"? .38" S&W SHORT ..

This single cartridge confuses even itself by having multiple monikers ..   the .38 S&W Short, the 'BRITISH 38/200', - the '.38 Webley & Scott Special'- the '38 COLT NEW POLICE', - the '.38 S&W SUPER POLICE', - the .380 Rim, the '.380 Mk IIz', and even 9×20mmR  .. and - according to Michael Caine, "Not many people know this" - but the current CPR '9 mm CHINESE POLICE' revolver round is pretty well identical in what it shoots. 

.38 S&W .. The OTHER 38:

Now - the first thing you may have noticed is that the .38 S&W bullet is specified to be 3 thousands of an inch fatter than the .357"/.38" - and the brass case is some 6 thou. fatter ..

..38" S&W SPECIAL

38 S&W with 38 S&W SPECIAL

..So they are different and NOT interchangeable.

.38 S&W performance levels are similar to the popular .380" ACP while the heavy 200 grain loads can manage velocities around 650 fps. up to 750 feet-per second - whereas lighter bullet loads can almost go supersonic in a modern pistol.

Current Shanghai Police 9 mm Revolver Norinco NRP9

- Likely Developed from The British 38/200 Version of 38 S&W?

Uh-Hu .. So it is still considered useful for law enforcement use in China eh - but my interest comes from a couple of English Mk.IV Webleys I shoot and hand-load a bit.

Forgotten Weapons seems to like this round: 

  https://www.forgottenweapons.com/38-sw-the-other-38/

.. Nearly twenty nations, mostly subject to a "common monarch" issued the Webley and Enfield revolvers chambered in this cartridge - but can a hereditary monarch be common?

Note 1: There are reported instances where loose machining tolerances have allowed this caliber round to have chambered and fired in 38 Special revolvers.

This image is of a 38 S&W next to a 9x19 mm .. at first glance very similar sized rounds (Indeed I'm currently using a Lee 9mm die-set to reload my 38 S&W) - However the rimless 9 mm is a much higher pressure loading with higher velocities and energy levels.

Note 2: There is a similar sized obscure round 9mm FEDERAL RIM from 1988 that being loaded to higher pressures may cause an over-pressure KABOOM in antique 38 firearms.

____________________

There is much discussion & confusion about proper bullet sizes and loadings for the "Thirty-Eights". .38 is the NOMINAL Caliber .. The issue is that these guns and cartridges started-out as .36" black-powder muzzle loaders .. were then converted to black-powder cartridge guns - that were then adapted to use the new 'Smokeless Powder" cartridges in different versions by different makers. - The bullet diameter for 38 S&W is specified as .361" but good luck finding any so sized. - Most trend-setters say to use lead pills sized .357" while the .380 ENFIELD N0.2 barrel is said to have an actual bore of .352 inch specified.

- Bullets are meant to expand & 'SET-UP' into a barrel's rifling grooves under the high pressure force of detonation so there is a limited range of tolerance to any measured dimension.

There are so many .38 and 9mm cartridges that if there is any doubt .. Don't do it.

Funny thing is but the "obsolete 38 S&W" is so pleasant to handle & shoot in my vintage  Mk.IV Webley (Israeli marked) four inch revolver that the other guns are at risk of becoming "Safe Queens" .. maybe I'll get over it.

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NOW it's STORY TIME .. There is another different old 38 Cartridge called  .38" LONG COLT - also dating from 1877 which is blamed by many "experts" for the deaths of U S soldiers fighting against fanatical MORO Warriors in the Philippine Insurrection and - so the story goes - it led to the U S changeover to the miraculous .45".. because the 38 was a poor "MANSTOPPER".

This cartridge also was originally a black-powder load .. BUT it's original bullets measured .375-.378 inch diameter and were cleverly(not) later reduced to .357 inch .. BUT the Colts revolver bores continued for years to be .375". - Just what awful effect might this have had on the ballistics delivered on target?

One Col. Louis A. LaGarde comes into the story where he claims that an escaping prisoner was unaffected by four shots - three non-fatal lung shots plus one in a hand - and his later "tests" involved shooting at cattle in a slaughter house. - This man had an agenda to prove America needed the FORTYFIVE.

Did LaGarde maybe have shares in a lead mine?

Read all about it Link:  https://gunsmagazine.com/gear/38-long-colt/

My parting question for the day - regarding 'man stopping' effectiveness: If a sharpened plastic toothbrush handle shiv will end a life .. does a $500 custom blade do any more? - If an "obsolete anemic mouse-gun" fired on target works completely .. does the very latest developed fashion in technology work even more completely?

Marty K.

Further reading:  https://www.handloadermagazine.com/the-38-caliber

https://americanhandgunner.com/gear/reloading-the-38-sw-38/

Muscle:

 - I worked with a Neanderthal once .. for many years. - He was a stocky ex-paratrooper both about five feet high & wide who had stolen stuff all over Germany & Northern Ireland - and was a cheerful sort as long as he was well fed and happy. - Two things made him happy .. the first was stealing stuff - and then he had his party trick of circling behind you and clenching his hands together about chest high to squeeze so that you couldn't breath and your ribs started to crack - he'd hold the pressure until the victim collapsed and then he'd let them fall in a heap while he chuckled merrily.

- If you were quick you could spin-out of his grasp  .. & he didn't seem to enjoy having one squat shin bone scraped-bare by a steel shod work boot back-heeled & stamping down.

It was definitely genetic as he had a son 'Wayne' who later joined the NZ Navy when they still had a boat and his fellow Jack-Tars would pay him to go clubbing .. with all the piss he could pour-down bought & paid - as long as he'd smash & crash any local bovver for them when called. Solid meat & bone from the kneecaps up but quite biddable if they sense a profit.

Such is life eh .. If you assess people well .. you can prove your point by telling them that half of their fellow Poms, or shelf-stackers, or Weight lifters, - MP's - whatever - are of below average IQ. - It works every time.

As a lad (- I was born very young) - I was taught that my superiors were also my betters and that we poor folk had to support & give money to our wealthy class's .. it was an archaic form of brainwashing or conditioning no longer much used. - Children nowadays are trained that THEY are the most important person and that whatever they feel they want is true- and that they are entitled to it ( unless maybe Dad is called Wayne.).

It's a sad reality that whoever has the 'most powerful argument' usually wins that disagreement. - Yes I know that America gave-up in both Vietnam and Afghanistan but they chose that withdrawal because they were bored or something. Please don't challenge them to a duel as their 7,000 plus Nuclear Warheads and mechanized armed forces should be "as good as a nod or a wink to a blind-horse"

Power is a persuasive argument unless the other side has an equalizer eh. Working Girls in the old Wild West used to keep a "Get-Off-Me-Gun" snug & warmly to hand for when the Marshal got frisky .. a tidy wee derringer, and perhaps a sharp bladed pig-sticker too used to balance the argument.

Two Tooth Gertie ..

Basic HUMAN RIGHTS used to include somewhere to live, - something to eat, - and a right to have the means to defend yourself, - Murderers and rustlers got hanged ..

Perhaps we now are too modern for any of that? - there are some who claim that an unarmed population are subjects rather than citizens - that may have some truth eh - but I'd definitely suggest that here in New Zealand, right now, - the balance of power between licensed gun owners and government is weighted in favor of the politicians .. and to manage any change we will HAVE to get voices into The BEEHIVE.

Get Political real quick ..

Marty K.

STUPID Laws For STUPID People:

 One difference between shooting and politics is that a shooter actually needs to impact the selected target - whereas a politician just needs an image of them making the moves and noises .. while for them more cash drops into their piggy-banks & life moves on without anyone checking the targets.

The career politician will have told everyone what a great shot she always is - so you won't need to bother questioning her results.

It is fascinating how folk accept that our MPs know best to govern us all .. whereas at election times the pretense is that we all live in a democracy and we 'self determine' our future direction while our wise rulers set the policies for ever

U S Law Making: 

So our "Governments" make Laws that are meant to improve  our lives .. but nobody checks how well they are working or questions the results.

In the UK 2010 they introduced & passed 3,506 new laws in one year - But I can't find any records for New Zealand yet - so I'll consider one only ..

AN ELECTED PRIME MINISTER.

 (Bread & Circuses)

In 1994 NZ Bicycle Helmets were made MANDATORY .. the immediate result was a HALFING IN CYCLIST NUMBERS but a DOUBLING OF THE INJURY RATE.

- Why is this abysmally stupid Helmet Law not reviewed, amended and cancelled - especially when Government says that we need to get our polluting cars off the roads? .. Because they don't want to admit ANY failure of their OMNIPOTENCE.

If the results of the political power games were to be examined and corrected just once .. they would then have to cancel all the ineffective stupid GUN BANS and restrictive new laws they've brought-in over the last 100 years.

______________________

When you look at things quietly .. government propaganda & commercial advertising campaigns are deliberately aimed at "the hard of thinking" emotionally led simpletons .. Because they are the poor suckers most easily persuaded - whereas educated thinking adults will make-up their own minds based on reason and experience from their lives.

.. I once worked with a moron who said " I LIKE the adverts on TV 'cos they're better fun than most of the programs."

Marty K.

Commentary On Conversion Kits:

 Pistol Carbine Conversion Kits like this Roni - are plastic handles

that are made to be fitted to toy AIRSOFT pistols that kids play shooting games with ..

These were BANNED by New Zealand Police and 2.4 Million Dollars compensation plus 3.8 Million administration has been wasted on confiscating guns & a couple of hundred handle kits this year - in case Kiwis were to fit one to a real pistol.

In the U K 'Mother Country' .. If you want to shoot target pistol - You HAVE TO FIT something like this to your handgun to legally own & shoot it.

If you live in England YOU HAVE To make a pistol into a "Section One" carbine size to own it legally .. while in New Zealand that is prohibited and confiscated ..

Both sets of regulations we are told - are politically designed to control and reduce GUN CRIME.

Both countries have reduced Police numbers and resources and both have increasing gun crime by gangs

Both Nations imposed restrictive and punitive firearms regulations on lawful gun owners following amok shootings by mentally twisted hate filled nutters.

Is there a pattern here of Government-Police LIES and FALSE CLAIMS ?

As I understand it .. YES

All Saints Church in Hereford UK has just discovered a 15th century carving in their ancient roof timbers ..

Now THAT is an appropriate laity member comment on the Leaders & 'powers that be'.

Marty K.

Where Are All The Young Shooters?

 Have you taken a young person shooting lately? 

Russian Vitalina Batsarashkina Winning Yet Another Olympic GOLD Medal in Tokyo

.. She's been Shooting Since Early Childhood.

- Are potential young shooters playing the "Shoot 'em-Up" games on their bedroom screens rather than bothering to go out in the cold?

Those computer games are great fun and addictive 'make believe' but the real world we all have to inhabit lies outside the door eh.

The shooting clubs and firearms organizations I am familiar with seem to be almost completely 'OLD MAN'S CLUBS' with grey beards and thinning hair everywhere (I'm 77). - I was just reading a NZ motorbike magazine that noted the same theme for Bikers .. their age group is maturing with not so many new players joining-in.

What's going on?

There are some common features between motorcycling & shooting .. both need a high skill level by the users - both might be judged as anti-social and noisy, - and can be classed as dangerous activities - but at their best are great fun and rewarding at the end of the day .. Maybe the rising costs and increasingly restrictive rules are taking effect.

Why not combine biking with shooting - just like the British Government did back in 1914 ..

Vickers Machine Gun Mounted on Royal Enfield Motorcycle - Sidecar:

I wonder are 'fishing', climbing, Scuba Diving, and other outdoor skills experiencing 'aging' too ?

My guess is that the shooting sports & groups will fade away under the weight of new laws and expensive regulations unless we fight-back politically - becoming a 'LOBBY', and make a big effort to start a new generation of hunters and shooters on their way.

The number of licensed NZ shooters is down to 238,000 from 245,000 .. apparently there are some 5,000 new licence applications outstanding and delayed by the police processing currently.

The NZ Labour Party reckons to have 14,000 members only.

The anti-gun propaganda is working to paint we gun owners into the same class as racist murderers, - violent Gang Members and drug pushers .. roaming the country shooting prize cows, stags and sheep at every opportunity - and passing guns to the criminals.

Fifty years ago - homosexuals were vilified and the police would set out to trap and prosecute them at every opportunity .. right now the non-binary "Rainbow Community" has gained a new image and is an important political lobby who's wishes - no government can afford to ignore.

Fifty years ago our Maori too were treated as second-class members of NZ Society - but no more.

The next scape-goat being blamed for all that is wrong in the world is you & I  - shooters - WE are being pushed to the wall by the hard rocks being thrown at us by a howling mob .. 

UNLESS WE START TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT SOON.

United we stand .. Divided we fall.

It's going to take energy - money - & brain power to sort-out this .. but here's a question to ponder - would I be as committed to the shooting skills & technology now IF I hadn't been taught about guns and shooting safely as a young teen in the school CADET CORPS in 1959?

Our current New Zealand shooting organizations seem to consider that DOING NOTHING is the best way to deal with the punitive suppression of lawful firearms ownership here.

Marty K.

Other Makes than Royal Enfield 

 - Such as Scott, & Matchless Combined with Vickers.

NZ Firearms Licence not for Police Bullshit:

Stone Age -

Bronze Age - 

Iron Age - 

.. At last now we are really moving forward - because we've arrived at -

THE BULLSHIT AGE ..

Hidden in my home there is a police approved-certified firearms safe bolted through the floor with four approved bolts and a heavy steel plate that bridges across & under a heavy floor joist.

That gun safe cost money .. as did having the steel plate engineered and fitted by a builder - and there is a cost to the police regularly inspecting and approving my security. - New Zealand Police state that all lawfully owned & licensed New Zealand firearms must be stored securely in approved conditions - while my ammunition has to be locked away under separate security - yet they also repeatedly claim that the criminal drug supply GANGS get all their weapons from licensed sport shooters.

When murderer Brenton Tarrant committed his 2019 merciless racist slaughter of innocents - Jacinda's NZ Government immediately enacted long prepared & waiting Police prohibitions and extreme restrictions upon lawful firearms owners. 

But it was the Police that gave Tarrant his NZ Firearms Licence while disregarding their own licensing process .. they then issued him permits to purchase the thousands of rounds he used in his killings.

The criminal use of weapons by gangs is unabated while the NZ Police Training College at Porirua is closed for lack of funds until 2022 & not accepting some 2,000 waiting new applicant recruits.

It is not the ownership of firearms by law-abiding citizens that is the problem .. the violent criminal use of weapons here stems directly from the poverty and poor living conditions of many New Zealanders at the bottom of society - and the under resourcing of Police, Prison Services, - Health Services, Housing, - and Education. 

- When the Licensing authority does it's job diligently .. lawful licensed firearms users join a highly select and trained part of New Zealand society - whos members have no known association with gangs, - no criminal record nor any history of violent behavior, - no history of drug abuse or mental illness - and they have the recorded statements of personal referees prepared to state that the applicant IS A FIT AND PROPER PERSON to possess firearms. - And lately they have managed to complete a THIRTY-FIVE PAGE Application and to satisfy that checking process.

 Lawful gun owners are neither evil nor violent nutters .. they are civilized well behaved folk who enjoy the exercise of marksmanship skills, - the 'Outdoors', - and the benefits of wild harvesting game animals and controlling introduced pests.

Imposition of more & more gun rules designed to reduce the number of legal firearms in the country has zero effect on criminal gangs making money from selling recreational drugs - whereas Tax reforms, and decent jobs for the young, - employed building Homes - Hospitals, and Detention Facilities would go some way to reduce crime.

- Most Government policy is all 'spin' and BULLSHIT .. Nero Fiddling while Rome burns - Mind you even that story is a "Literary Construct" - while that Nero was a political leader who kicked his pregnant wife to death before marrying a young boy who he then castrated to make into a woman ..

Politicians eh ..

Marty K.

Arming The Police?

 Right now the New Zealand 'media' is getting excited and asking the Politicians about giving guns to our "unarmed police" - they report that our Police Minister Poto Williams says that SHE represents the Maori & Polynesian constituency of NZ & that they don't want the police to be armed !!

- Back in November 2019 Superintendent Andrew Sissons of the NZ POLICE stated that they have the following arsenal available to serving officers ..

 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

_____________________

- Now I thought that our Government ministers are paid to serve the interests of  all members of society concerning the functions of that Ministry - in this particular case - Policing & Law Enforcement.

I also accept that those figures are a bit 'dated' but they shouldn't have lost too many Glocks yet and I'd hope that New Zealand still has around 12,000 Police plus some 9,500 'DEFENCE' personnel.

Under normal circumstances that is more than enough MSSA's -  Military Style Semi-Auto rifles and Glock pistols to fully arm every duty officer with one of each to carry around .. as long as our Maori and Pacific Islander minorities don't object.

ME? - Of course I've got an opinion on armed police .. but it centers-on our Police firstly being properly LICENSED to use & keep firearms safely as members of NZ society - and only then - thoroughly trained in the use of firearms AS WEAPONS

Marty K.