Supporting gun ownership and sportsmen's rights in response to the flurry of anti-gun and sport legislation under consideration in Congress and the Illinois State Legislature.
(If you would like to include your organization or events on our calendar, please contact us and we'll accommodate you)
D&J Gun's, McHenry County Sportsmans Association , and State Line Rifle Association Present: The Shootenany
Come out for a day of Shooting Fun for $ 25.00 each.
Where: Racine County Line Rifle Club, 8922 Rifle Range Rd , Racine, WI 53402 , (414) 762-7774
DIRECTIONS: Take I-94 West. When you get into Racine County exit at Route 20 (Exit 333) and turn right (East).
Take Route 20 East, approximately 5 miles to Route 31 (Green Bay Road).
Turn left (North) onto GBR, and travel approximately 6.5 miles until you come to County Road G.
At County Road G, make a right turn (East) and go 5/10th of a mile.
Directly after the Railroad overpass, make a left turn onto Michna Road and follow it about 1.5 miles until it dead ends by the train tracks.
At the railroad tracks, turn right and follow the tracks about 3/10th of a mile to the entrance of the RCLRC.
Once you enter the range property, look for the sign that directs you to the 600 yard range.
If you live in Northern Illinois, give yourself at least one full hour of travel time in the event you get lost.
When: July 27 2008 , 9:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
What: This range is equipped with a 600 yd. target line , there are shorter ranges and a Walk/Shoot is being set up.
Who: This Private Range is open to MCSA , SLRA and our guests on this day.
This is a "Bring Your Own" operation. Bring your own Rifles, Pistols and Ammo. Targets will be provided.
The Range Boss is Don Chichoski of D&J Gun's.
Range Officers are Rick Sherrell, Brad Guth and Jim Stuart.
All shooters are also safeties and anyone can call a Cease Fire.
Live rounds will go down range from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Advance Party will arrive by 8:00 A.M. to set up the range.
Shooters should bring : Spotting Scopes, Mat's, Rain Gear, Shooting Glasses & Hearing Protection, Food & Water, and Lawnchairs.
There will be water on the range for Sanitation/Emergency Purposes only, also a 1st Aid Kit will be on site.
For more information and Shooting Supplies please call D&J Gun's @ 1-815-363-9541.
Law-abiding gun owners in Illinois still can't carry concealed in Illinois, however, they can become carry permit holders in other states like Florida and Utah. Many local stores will teach the law-abiding gun owner how to properly become a carry permit holder in these states.
One example is D&J Guns in Lakemoor, IL. Find their link in the sidebar and call 'em for more info!
One final item of note is that Winnebago Co. is going to put the firearm carry permit issue on the November ballot so that voters can decide if the Sheriff can issue carry permits to law-abiding gun owners.
News article here.
Posted 03:06PM Jul 23, 2008 by MCSA
This is a great read from the "Front Site, Press" blog.
"International evidence and comparisons have long been offered
as proof of the mantra that more guns mean more deaths and that
fewer guns, therefore, mean fewer deaths.1 Unfortunately, such
discussions are all too often been afflicted by misconceptions and
factual error and focus on comparisons that are unrepresentative.
It may be useful to begin with a few examples. There is a compound
assertion that (a) guns are uniquely available in the United
States compared with other modern developed nations, which is
why (b) the United States has by far the highest murder rate.
Though these assertions have been endlessly repeated, statement
(b) is, in fact, false and statement (a) is substantially so…
…If the mantra “more guns equal more death and fewer guns equal
less death” were true, broad based cross-national comparisons
should show that nations with higher gun ownership per capita
consistently have more death. Nations with higher gun
ownership rates, however, do not have higher murder or suicide
rates than those with lower gun ownership. Indeed many
high gun ownership nations have much lower murder rates.
Consider, for example, the wide divergence in murder rates
among Continental European nations with widely divergent
gun ownership rates…"
Posted 02:34PM Jul 23, 2008 by MCSA
From CBS2Chicago, we hear of another gun buy-back program. $100.00 prepaid MasterCard for any gun turned in.
"Today I'm asking every resident of Chicago to turn in their firearm -- shotgun, rifles, automatic, semi automatic, pistol, revolver… No questions asked," Daley said.
I think that the SecondCityCop (Chicago Police Officer, blogger, and 2nd Amendment supporter) summed it up the best:
Because god forbid you have guns around when the crime running rampant across the city comes to your home. After all, didn't the governor just say he's going to send the National Guard and State Troopers to the City because it's out of control? Yeah, we know he backtracked a bit, but J-Fed still had his first meeting with the troopers to see how an agency short 500 officers is going to expend the manpower necessary to shore up another Department that's short a few thousand street officers.
If you've got a piece of crap gun that's rusted shut and wouldn't fire if you soaked it for a week in a vat of machine oil, go get your $100 card. Use it to buy a decent gun. But Daley's gun laws are going to come tumbling down around his ears in short order. No need to give away decent guns for $100. You know the criminals aren't.
By the way, this raises some interesting question about our FOID policy: How can people who don't possess a FOID card legally turn guns in without being subject to the law? I mean, seriously, they're transporting guns to a church illegally and they're basically admitting that they kept unregistered long arms or illegal handguns in willful violation of the law!
Oh, I see, one law applies to them and another applies to us... Hypocrites...
Posted 02:17PM Jul 23, 2008 by MCSA
There has been some buzz about this - NYPOST Article
"An outspoken Long Island gun owner's home was raided by Nassau County detectives, who seized two dozen weapons he lawfully owns just one day after Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's office made a 911 call about him."
Waiting for more info as this develops...
Posted 02:07PM Jul 23, 2008 by MCSA
Looks like S&W is releasing a commemorative 442 revolver marking the ruling on DC vs Heller.
Check out Smith and Wesson's homepage.
Posted 08:36AM Jul 22, 2008 by MCSA
I'm lucky! Here's the kicker: I'm not even Irish!
I thought that July 12th starting off bad would jinx me; see, I left my car windows open overnight and went out to a personal swimming pool on wheels early in the morning. My first lucky break was that I was running early and had a chance to annoy my neighbors by firing up the wet-dry shop vac to suck the worst puddles out and give 'er a once-over with a few towels. Next was to add a little Fabreeze and things were looking up...
Coming back to our point, that feeling of being jinxed when one is about to put 500-1000 rds downrange is not the most confidence inspiring. Being the lucky SOB that I am, my second lucky break was that I was getting ready to head out to the Harvey, IL police range to take Team Spartan's "Advanced Pistol 2" class with John Krupa and Vince Jamison. See, Krupa and Jamison are consumate instructors that'll ensure you do everything safe, but push you to your limits so that that you won't make a mistake on the street!
Furthering my lucky streak, the weather kept partly couldy (nice to mimize sun) and we didn't get delluged or vortex-ed like last time!
Ok... So enough about me yapping about my good luck, what is AP2 about?
AP2 builds on a lot of the techniqes that were presented in AP1 - the natural shooting stance, thumbs forward grip, etc - but focuses on deploying the pistol as an offensive weapon that is used to engage an active shooter. This is not without its own controversy: 1.) A pistol as an offensive weapon(?) and 2.) the idea that offensive tactics that are, well, potentially "offensive" to the sheep. In exploring the justifications to those two issues, we'll see more of what AP2 is all about.
The Pistol as an Offensive Weapon(?)
First off, keep in mind that Krupa and Jamison are Chicago Police and that until the recent decision to equip some officers with M4's, the rank-and-file didn't have access to rifles. If faced with an active shooter scenario, the operator is going to use what is available to them at the time: the pistol. This meshes with the reality of active shooter incidents in the real world - Say Uncle explores some of those situations in his article "Mass murderers vs. Armed Citizens".
While the pistol is usually understood to be defensive in nature, especially so for its civilian role, it can make for an effective offensive weapon: it's small size in close quarters where a rifle wouldn't be effective and the fact that most folks train more with their pistols than any other platform.
So with that in mind, what are the parameters for maximizing the pistol in an offensive role? We come to our second topic...
Offensive Tactics
The pistol is most effective at short range, so getting into range is paramount: AP2 had us doing a lot of footwork!
Examining the footwork component, in the first half of the class, Krupa had us working constantly on continous motion during stoppages, magazine changes, and "hunting scenarios" - the pistol at low-ready, eyes scanning, waiting to see a threat and challenge or asses. Most active firing was done from tanding position, firing a short string (2-3 shots).
These basics culminated during a continous motion drill while firing on a swinging target (windmill-type): two cones setup ~10' apart. Starting from one cone, move off the line of force, fire 2-3 shoots and move to the next cone, fire 2-3 shots, etc. The key is to keep moving during magazine changes, while working/clearing stoppages. Oh, and don't forget that you've got to get that target to turn over and that you'll run out of ammunition at some point!
After lunch, we focused on putting movement together with firing: we discussed the concepts of "warrant service speed" and "hostage resuce speed" and focused on motion forwards and backwards with the rest of the firing line while a partner ensured (by pushing or pulling) that we weren't too far forward or back. It was interesting that movement backwards was often smoother than movement forwards!
During one of our breaks, Krupa set up a series of blue barrels and we began working on lateral motion around cover while engaging multiple targets. At this point, most people were already engraining movement and felt pretty comfortable working around the barrels.
At somepoint during this drill, the point was raised how to approach the situation if someone was working with you: enter position "SUL". SUL is a simple concept that is much talked about - it specifically points the pistol, held vertically, to the ground just before your feet. While the weapon is in SUL, it is possible to move around friendlies or other people without sweeping them with the muzzle. This rotational motiong was practice and on the line under the instructors watchful eyes. Final culmination was a live-fire "snake drill" through a section of barrels with friendlies interspersed!
The day ended and was, in my opinion, far too short, but even my luck had to run out at some point...
Posted 04:27PM Jul 18, 2008 by MCSA
Dick Heller is the man who brought the lawsuit against the District's 32-year-old ban on handguns. He was among the first in line Thursday morning to apply for a handgun permit.
But when he tried to register his semi-automatic weapon, he says he was rejected.
From the WarOnGuns blog... Wow.
Posted 11:54AM Jul 18, 2008 by MCSA
Just FYI - there is a small section that had ranges and some sympatico local business listed...
Posted 11:05AM Jul 17, 2008 by MCSA
I'm adding a link to AWOL... They're on Rt 120 in Lakemoor.
Check 'em out here (they've got an online store): http://www.awolarmysurplus.net/index.html
Posted 10:31AM Jul 17, 2008 by MCSA
If anyone lives near Crystal Lake and wants to buy 5.11 gear, tac-boots, etc, check out Today's Uniforms at 35 N. Williams St. in Downtown Crystal Lake. They supply most of the area PD's with uniforms and gear.
If they don't have something in stock, they can order it fast. Bonus point: They are a retailer for the super-awesome ESS eyewear line. The ESS "Ice" shooting/sports glasses are simply the BEST around.
I know we've decided on cheap, durable and good OD gear, but this is for folks who might want anything extra, special, or extra-special such as MOLLE Chest Rigs, Mag Pouches, Dump Pouches, etc...
Posted 10:18AM Jul 17, 2008 by MCSA
The Lake County Pro Second Amendment Resolution will be brought before the Lake County Board in August.
Date: Tuesday, August 12th 2008
Time: 9:00 AM
Location: 18 N. County St. (10th Floor) Waukegan, IL
Note: There is a security checkpoint at the County Building where you must pass through metal detectors. Please leave all items that may be construed as contraband at home; Flashlights, pocket knives, etc. Give yourself ample time to get through this checkpoint. Try to be there about ½ hr before the start of the hearing.
The Lake Co. people appreciate all the support you have shown them and would like to see as many supporters as possible at this meeting. Come show your support for the Constitution and the Second Amendment.
Posted 06:48PM Jul 16, 2008 by MCSA
Blogger Brigid at "Home on the Range" brings us this old poster:
My, how times have changed! Click the image for a great article on the fallacy of gun control...
Posted 02:37PM Jul 16, 2008 by MCSA
Caleb, aka NRAhab, at "Call me Ahab" hosted gun bloggers Breda and Tracy on the lastest "Gun Nuts" podcast (just a fancy word for streaming audio)!
It is a very interesting look into the motivation on why these two women choose to carry, practice, etc.
Tracy blogs at http://www.planettracy.typepad.com/prettypistolera/ and has focused, it seems, a lot on USPSA/competitive shooting as a jumping off point.
Breda, whose fantastic artilces we've re-posted (with permission, of course!), blogs at http://thebredafallacy.blogspot.com/ . She overcame a significant lack of exposure to firearms to develop a stellar hobby and defensive interest.
Catch the podcast at http://www.nrahab.com/2008/07/16/podcast-chicks-and-guns/ and click the button for the audio.
Posted 03:38AM Jul 16, 2008 by MCSA
Added a link on JCR's "How to Start a Local Pro-2 A Group" (it's available in PDF or a zip of each separate doc.)
Also added a link to the Illinois State Police FOID page...
Posted 03:29AM Jul 16, 2008 by MCSA
