The Top Five American Guns
A link and the following discussion on a recent links post got me thinking about this. I said to myself, “Myself, if I were to pick the five greatest American designed and built firearms in history, what would I pick?”
So, here’s that list. It’s probably not surprising that the designs of John Browning figure prominently. Bear in mind that this is my list, presented for discussion, based on several criteria:
- Innovation in design.
- Commercial success.
- Longevity.
- Artfulness in design.
- How much I like them.
As always, your mileage may vary. So, without further ado:
An old Colt ad.
The 1873 Colt Model P/Single Action Army/Frontier Six-Shooter
Introduced in 1873 and still in limited production today, not to mention widely copied, imitated, and cloned, the Colt Single Action Army is probably the best-recognized, most widely known revolver in history. Not just American history, either.
The old Colt is so ubiquitous in Western film that many an actual historical figure known to favor other models will be shown on screen with the Colt – and often firing a dozen or more shots from the gun’s six-shot cylinder.
Movies aside, the Colt is not only one of the longest-lived sixguns in existence but also one of the most widely imitated. Originally a blend of features from two of the finest cap-and-ball sixguns – the 1851 Navy and the 1860 Army – the Colt was an immediate success and almost as quickly spawned copies and even improvements. The gun does have a few shortfalls, one of which is its sights. Urged on by users and gun writers, most vocal among them being one Elmer Keith, in 1961 Colt introduced the New Frontier model of the SAA, with good target-style adjustable sights. But a young whippersnapper named Bill Ruger had beaten them to the punch, in 1955 introducing the wonderful Blackhawk revolver – the basic Model P design with modern internals and good adjustable sights.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s true, then the old Colt sixgun has been flattered to a fare-thee-well.
The 1894 Winchester
Note: I would have to give the Marlin 336 an honorable mention here, but the fact is that the Winchester 94 was, almost from the day it hit the market, America’s Deer Rifle. While it has been sold in a variety of calibers, the .30WCF (.30-30) is so well known, so ubiquitous, so popular, so effective, that the 1894 Winchester and “30-30” have become damn near synonymous.
The ’94, designed by John Browning, was originally introduced in .32-40 and .38-55, both good rounds, but one wonders if the rifle would have achieved its impressive success were it not for the addition of the hot new .30WCF round in the second year of the rifle’s production. It’s a combination that regularly punches above its weight class. It’s used on tough feral hogs in Texas, and folks living in remote Alaska have killed a lot of moose with it.
As I pointed out in a recent Gold Standards piece, the pairing of the 1894 Winchester and the .30-30 was one of those rare, perfect matings of rifle and cartridge. I would not be a bit surprised to see these rifles still in use in game fields in the 22nd century – assuming that any of the peasantry is still allowed to own any manner of arms by then.
Dad with his 1911, in 1945.
The Colt/Browning 1911
Another of Maestro John Browning’s designs, the 1911 is probably the most influential martial sidearm in history. In use with the American military for over a century, the 1911 has spawned more copies and clones than any other semi-auto pistol. It’s WW2 counterparts, including the famous German Luger, the less-famous P-38, the Japanese Nambus and the British Webleys could not match the 1911 in reliability, ease of use, or (possibly excepting the Webley) hitting power, especially when combined with typical WW2-vintage ammo.
After initial entry training, my first U.S. Army issued weapon was a 1911A1 Colt. It’s not impossible that the sidearm I carried as a Company Aidman was the same one the Old Man carried as a bomber navigator in World War 2. It may not be graceful or pretty, but like a certain watch of note, the 1911 will take a licking and keep on ticking.
Clones of the 1911 were manufactured all over the world, from Argentina to China to the Philippines. Nowadays, it would be easier to name all of the gun companies that don’t manufacture a 1911. Even Smith & Wesson, long the primary rival of original 1911 builder Colt, makes one. Like the Single Action Army, the 1911 is one of the most copied guns in history, and remains in military use around the world today, a hundred and ten years after its introduction.
John Browning Winchester Model 1893 1897 US Patent 441390
The Model 1897 Winchester
And yet a third product of the inestimable genius of John Browning, this was the first pump-action shotgun successfully manufactured and sold in the United States. Every trombone-action scattergun on the market today owes a bit of its success to the mind of John Browning and the ’97 Winchester. While it wasn’t the first pump-gun ever developed – that honor belongs to a slide-action gun designed in 1882 by Christopher Spencer, the designer of the lever-action Spencer rifle of Civil War fame – it was the first to achieve mass-market success.
What’s interesting is that the design first came out four years before as the Model 1893, which was only proofed for black-powder loads. This was a time when high-pressure smokeless rounds were hitting the market, and Winchester wanted a nitro-proofed pump-gun. Browning replied with an improved version, and thus was the Model 1897 born. In production until 1957, the gun sold over a million copies. One of those was John Browning’s personal shotgun, used regularly by the Maestro in the game fields until his death.
The ’97 was unfairly labeled “The Widowmaker” in some circles, because of a rumored fault where the bolt (not being in an enclosed receiver like later pump-guns) would fail and shoot backwards out of the action. I have never found an authenticated case of this happening. The ’97 is today what it was then, a unique piece, the first of its kind, and an American icon.
Marlin 60.
The Marlin Model 60
A plain, unremarkable little tube-mag-fed .22 semi-auto rifle, generally outfitted with open sights and a plain hardwood stock, this unassuming little .22 has the distinction of being the most widely used firearm in American history. Probably more Marlin 60s have been made and sold than any other single model of firearm, and they have been instrumental in having brought millions of kids and adults into the shooting sports.
It would be interesting to see, in one pile, all of the squirrels and rabbits that have been taken by kids with Marlin 60 rifles; I’d bet it would make an impressive pile. And the 60 is perfectly suited for such work. They aren’t overly sensitive to dirt, which is an important consideration where cheap promotional .22LR ammo tends to run dirty. And they’re more accurate than you’d expect a cheap, hardwood-stocked .22 rifle to be. When I was a little kid in Allamakee County, in the days when boys and .22 rifles were generally found together all summer long, probably a third of my friends carried one version or another of the Marlin 60.
Marlin is now owned by Ruger, but a quick look at the Marlin web site shows that the Model 60 is still in production – and is likely to stay that way. Over eleven million of these handy little plinkers have been made to date, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they make eleven million more – that is, if gun-grabbers like Andrew Dice Cuomo don’t get their way.
Honorable Mention: The AR-15
While I’m not a fan of Tacticool, I would be remiss in not at least mentioning the most popular rifle selling in the United States today. The AR has a lot going for it: good ergonomics, low recoil, versatility. It’s a ridiculously easy piece to shoot well. It is the work of moments to swap uppers and go from a scoped target rifle to a short-barreled, short-range, fast-handling bullet launcher. New cartridge developments like the .450 Bushmaster can even convert it into a thumping brush gun suitable for deer and bear.
Full disclosure: I have an AR-15 myself, and so does Mrs. Animal. Neither of us are huge Tacticool folks and in fact we only shoot our ARs a couple times a year – but the fastest way to get either of us to run out and buy a thing is to have finger-wagging slobs lecture us on why we shouldn’t be allowed to own one.
The AR is a useful rifle and, I have to admit, a practical one to own. I view my AR as I view my Glocks: Tools. Like a hammer or a pipe wrench. I have them for a purpose, not for a hobby. My love I reserve for polished blued steel and fine walnut.
Conclusions
There is, of course, a lot of subjectivity in this sort of thing.
With that said, though, I actually did some thinking (a dangerous habit I picked up in my youth) about some criteria as to what could put a gun in the top five. As noted above, in my estimation it’s a combination of several things: Longevity, innovation, commercial success, and artfulness in design. All five of the guns I’ve named have those things in varying proportions.
Are they the only guns that could possibly be placed in such a list? No. I could easily come up with a Top One Hundred American Guns. The 1899 Savage lever gun would be in there somewhere, along with the pre-64 Model 70 Winchester, the 870 Remington sharing space with the Model 12 Winchester, the Smith & Wesson Triple Lock and some lesser known but ahead of their time things like Charles Newton’s rifles.
But five was my goal and five I’ve provided. Comments?
Well, at least I have one of these. A 1970s SAA in .45lc. I have a strong desire for a ’94 in .44 mag to compliment my model 29 (which should have made the list, btw.) Not too excited by semi autos ortacticool stuff.
Personally, I would have had trouble not overvaluing the “I like them” criterion. Therefore, I’d have included the Tommy gun and the BAR. Pretty sure I’d include the Gatling gun even if all elements were considered, excepting maybe longevity. They do still make mini-guns, though.
No shotguns?
Last I checked, the 1897 Winchester was a shotgun.
And a truly great one, at that!
Sorry
That’s a wedgie, for sure.
I, too, love the classics, and I’m not into “tacticool,” in the sense of putting a costume on and touting brand names, but my interests in collecting and shooting run more toward the 20th Century military arms. The Garand (which, could arguably be called a Canadian-designed gun) is obviously the pinnacle of American battle rifles (the M14 had little effect on the trajectory of firearms design and didn’t see enough action to have a real impact in any conflicts).
The Thompson SMG series is probably my favorite early to mid century gun. Even though it is excessively heavy, and sort of unwieldy, it is an amazing piece of work.
The M1 Carbine embodied a transition to a different way of thinking about defensive firearms, and in combination with the submachinegun designs, past and present, probably represented the beginning of the concept of what we consider in modern times to be a PDW. The proliferation of PCC type firearms today owes a lot to this class of fireams.
The AR platform is one of, if not *the* most configurable and flexible platforms in the world in terms of missions, calibers, performance, and ergonomics. It definitely deserves to be placed in a list of great firearms, but not necessarily Animal’s.
Back in ROTC we trained with M1 garands and the non-coms and officers carried M1 carbines. The Armorer (regular Army sgt.) told us the M1 carbine was a “piece of shit” in defensive actions – low powered and didn’t have stopping power. At the time, the Army was converting to M-14 for the grunts.
Hmm.
In terms of terminal ballistics, the .30 Carbine is a little hotter than a +P .38 Special firing round-nosed jacketed bullets. Not exactly pathetic, but nothing to get my leg all tingly.
The point of the M1 Carbine was to supplant the 1911A1 in certain defensive roles where non front line troops still needed to be equipped to fight, but didn’t need a battle rifle. Captured German medical records indicated that the 1911 caused relatively few disabling wounds among German soldiers (in WWI and WWII). That, along with the difficulty in training conscripted soldiers to shoot a handgun effectively, caused a search for a medium weight carbine that could be brought to bear rapidly and would have a good balance of firepower, range, ease of training, and low carriage weight.
The old saw that the M1 Carbine was underpowered is true relative to the M1 battle rifle, but it wasn’t originally intended to be a front line weapon. It became a front line weapon and acquitted itself well in combat. Likewise, the reports of M1 Carbine ammo not being able to effectively penetrate heavy winter clothing in the Korean War is likely an OWT based on Koreans’ practice of effectively removing their dead from the field, and poor marksmanship by US troops partly due to cold.
That surprises me. Is that because relatively few German soldiers were shot with 1911s? Was the ammo underpowered? Because I’ve always had the impression that the .45 ACP was a relatively powerful handgun round as far as terminal ballistic performance went.
Of course “powerful handgun round” is kind of a “tallest midget” thing, at least until you get into the big bore magnums.
Mostly they were shot at and missed.
Hence the focus on a carbine that personnel with non-front line specialties could be taught easily to shoot effectively.
Also, the lower weight lent itself well to support troops who had to carry lots of heavy stuff on foot like mortars and ammunition.
This, with a side order of ‘There’s no such thing as a powerful handgun.’
I know what you’re thinking. “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
If you are using your hand gun in combat, you have already lost the fight.
Patton got his ass kicked by a pair of mules?
In a military application, probably true. Not so much if you’re a private citizen.
Um…not really. But that might just be my “lived experience” talking.
Combat: Close with and destroy the enemy, using maneuver, firepower, and shock effect.
What we did in most of OIF/OEF was not ‘combat’.
We were fucking police-men in really bad neighborhoods; doing a mission we never should have done.
In a certain way, the Carbine was the real precursor to the AR platform – a rifle designed with ease of employment as the primary objective.
Indeed.
I wish more people understood this to be the distinguishing feature of the AR-15 platform rather than falling prey to disinformation that portrays it as an unstoppable fully-automatic bullet slinger that instantly obliterates any living thing in front of it.
I can’t count how many people I’ve encountered who believe that the AR-15 is a recent invention and that it has a uniquely high “rate of fire” and “bullet capacity”.
An overpowered man killer and underpowered poodle shooter st the same time!
I was reading recently where the M14 holds the distinction of being one of the shortest lengths of service as the main battle rifle but also one of the longest in terms of overall service. Particularly if counting the M14 variants.
“often firing a dozen or more shots from the gun’s six-shot cylinder”
Heh.
I have a 1911 action – a Para-Ordnance high capacity .45. That’s it, off the list. I need to confirm what my great-uncle’s revolver is; its quite possible its an 1873 single action. Its not for shootin’, though. Came close to getting an AR earlier this year, but veered off into left-handed bullpups. I suppose I still might get one, but for the moment the well is dry as far as money goes.
That’s my attitude generally toward guns. And knives.
Buy a stripped lower and 15-20 mags to stash away. You can gather parts later. You’ll have the important bit should any GC get passed.
Maybe yes, maybe no. The lower being the regulated component is a matter of administrative policy, and it can change (in Canada, the upper receiver is the regulated component.)
If you’re gonna stash something, stash a complete firing rifle.
This describes me to a ‘T’. I just have no interest in guns beyond how well they shoot.
Word. And I’ll add that my interest includes how they carry, concealability and capacity. My time at the range is for rapid fire practice, with many mag changes, and maintaining desensitization. …though the smell of gun smoke is rather intoxicating.
There is something about the smell of gunsmoke…
It is the one way to handle the killers and the spoilers around Dodge City and in the territory out west.
Oddly, I am almost the exact opposite.
Don’t get me wrong, I love shooting, but the history, craftsmanship, and, dare I say it, beauty, of a fine firearm is what gets me.
But, I don’t carry concealed, so that end of things doesn’t interest me at all.
Great list. Other than the colt army I have a representative of each.
I would have a S/W model 27 for introducing and popularizing the magnum pistol cartridge. Their designs haven’t changed much since then.
By the way I would also have included the 99 savage as well. It was such a innovative rifle. It looks like it could have been designed 20 years ago. I wish I could get my hands on .300 savage so I could sight mine in.
.357s feel alittle magnum-y, but the .44 is deep in the big boom category. A .44mag is very versatile and usable. While being upper end powerful. A fight with a big bear would be way better handled with the larger of the two.
The 1911 is the best handgun for steak defense.
A few years ago I took a picture of one of my 1911s alongside a med-rare ribeye and a glass of red wine, that makes a great little tableau.
All it’s missing is a fine cigar.
Also China! The Shanxi province had a huge love for the .45 ACP, and produced 1911s, Thompson SMG reproductions, and Mauser C96 copies scaled up to the larger cartridge, as well as others.
I went to a tractor show this weekend that turned out to be more of a mini county fair. There were some WWII vehicles and one guy had a tent with WWII firearms. I got to see a Sten, and an MP40, and a Tommy gun, and a number of other rarities up close. I was probably not supposed to touch any of them but I might have picked up a few. It was a pretty nice collection.
From the Ded thread, tell me what’s wrong with this picture, yikes!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gAGfvKQeyenvNyqw9
Does it feel as bad as it looks?
Yep, never seen such a thing, and the pinched disc is right where it starts. Anti inflaamatories and musle rexalants for now,
I’m no doctor…Is it Lupus?
C3 and C2, squished, the rest.. IDK….
Sorry dude.
Are they talking surgery?
That would be the two the missus just had surgery on a few weeks back.
They made you take off your carry gun for the x-ray?
You wouldn’t want some nut job in the Xray booth do you? Cause I like to push buttons,
Looks like you’re missing a washer in there.
That’s a rather large centipede stuck up your ass! Any idea how it got up there?
Feel better, Bob.
He “fell” on it in the shower.
A million to one shot, doc!
I see someone that has done too much salsa dancing.
Listen to the docs and get better brother!
Good luck, Yusef, you’ll feel better when you get some starch implanted, have a note of explanation to give the Homeland Security people.
Already have a Titanium neck, may as well go low this time….
Ugh! I’m so sorry!
I think I would have most of the same ones in my list, and/or some close “substitutes.”
1911A1 – unquestionably. In the semi-auto pistol category it is the gold standard. I’d add my Sig P320 simply because I love the .40 cal round for pistols, but this would be elevating personal choice over all else.
1894 Winchester – Another amazing piece. THE lever action rifle.
I would sub in the following:
– a Mossberg or Benelli semi-auto shotgun over the Winchester 1897, simply because a semi-auto shotgun is something that allows a single man to stand against many.
– a S&W .357 snub in place of the Colt. Again, this is preference and “tool” choice over your criteria, Animal. But I love that hand-cannon and it can be concealed in a jeans pocket.
– the AR over the Marlin because of familiarity and utility
Great list, Animal! Thanks. I can’t argue with any of your choices.
The thing about the .357 Magnum, is it needs some barrel to generate the magnum velocity. In a snub revolver, you get all the muzzle blast of the Magnum, and all the performance of the .38 Special…
That’s why God made the Marlin 1894c.
Yes. I’ve fired the .357 at various barrel lengths. The problem is concealment. That’s my sole reason for the .357 snub – and also my preference for the 5 shot M&P version. I’m pulling it from my coat pocket (or not, if circs dictate).
I’ll take all the flash and burn because I’m likely to be close enough for the flame to be a factor, as well. Well-aimed shots at distance from behind concealment are unlikely to be how this gun is used.
It’s less the flash*, and more the recoil. J-frames are already hard enough to hit with, without the gun being agonizingly painful to touch one off in.
* – although, firing a .38 inside your coat pocket is very likely to set fire to your coat. I’ve tried it. It was a barrel of laughs.
Every time I go to the range, I shoot it with 38’s for beyond close quarter, but I always shoot at least two rounds of mag. Yes, it fucking hurts. Both the recoil and the noise. I do it just so I remember that; but if I have to pull it, I’m planning on being very amped with adrenaline. I’m also using it where I may be sticking it in someone’s ribs.
To be clear, I’m planning on the 357 coming from my jeans pocket while I’m fighting from my back, BJJ style.
The SIG .40 is for everything before that.
That’s actually an area in which small hammerless revolvers really shine. No slide to get pushed out of battery. It is possible to lock up a revolver cylinder in an entangled fight, but it’s equally easy to defeat that if you know the trick to it.
I still submit that the Magnum ain’t buying you anything over the .38Spl.
Hell, my preferred cartridge in the J-frame is the .22LR.
Serious question, how does the 38spl compare to the .357 for exit wounds?
@ Ozy. Click here.
Not quite what you asked, but quite relevant.
I was reaching for that very same link. Lots of good information there.
TLDR – with careful load selection, a 2″ .38Spl and a 2″ .357 Magnum can be nearly indistinguishable in terminal effect.
So WTF?!!
https://www.yahoo.com/news/moth-now-other-name-115943118.html
Gypsy Moth is now gone. Banned. I wish the caterpillars were wiped out by pesticides instead of killing the name.
I’m pretty sure they were named Gypsy moth for the coloring of the caterpillar.
Where are these outraged gypsies? Outraged moths? I’m sick of this fake outrage. But this is way too small of a hill to die on. I was told they were called gypsy moths for their traveling behavior. Anyway, in my estimation a pejorative is only an actual pejorative if it’s used as a pejorative. Gypsy, at least in North America, is not a pejorative.
“It’s hideous and superracist and it’s hurtful,” she said. “But what can you do about it?”
Oh.
I agree about the hill being small, but the fake outrage was the most annoying. The person quoted above can make a mole hill into a mountain and people will listen instead of telling her to get a real job or get bent.
Remember when everyone used to make fun of the book-burners?? (Pepperidge Farms remembers!)
Language control is simply another form of book-burning. That’s all it is. Even worse – and more insidious – because people don’t fight it.
Not picking on you, waffles, but the “not a hill to die on” is exactly what the statists rely upon.
I agree, we need to push back.
All the hills are too small to die on.
Especially the last one where all the survivors are concentrated at the top, surrounded by enemies, and have no options but to fight or die.
Gypsy Rose Lee hardest hit. ☹️
Fleetwood Mac second-hardest.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0577370/?ref_=ttep_ep20
Ha! good one
We are having a pretty nasty plague of the Moths Formerly Known as Gypsy up here.
They were truly a plague in the early 80’s in the North East. Whole mountaintops were bare for a few seasons. The states started spraying regularly and then the population reduced drastically. You used to be able to hear their droppings at night there were so many.
We’re still talking about moths, not actual Gypsies, right?
In 1982, lifelong prankster Joey Skaggs declared himself JoJo – King of the Gypsies, and demanded the renaming of the Gypsy Moth as it was hateful to his people. I can’t believe this is where we really are as a society.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Skaggs
Brilliant – https://joeyskaggs.com/works/gypsies-against-stereotypical-propaganda/
If you hear the word “gypsy” and derogatory stereotypes about a specific ethnic group pop into your head, *you* just might be the racist.
By the way I just read an article that they are making windshields for cars (jeeps) out of Gorilla glass (chemically tempered glass). Windshields were purposely made without tempering to prevent injury in accidents
I though this was a bad idea due to the safety aspect of it, but I imagine with airbags and seatbelts it doesn’t matter as much. It will prevent a lot of impact cracks and chips, but failure is catastrophic, instead of damage you get destruction.
Is this new glass laminated?
It is laminated, I think it is on the outside, which would make more sense.
Yeah, that makes the most sense to me. Have a thinner layer of tempered glass to protect against chips as you say, laminated to prevent shattering, and traditional window glass for strength on the inside.
“The panels for the Jeeps use sandwiched construction that has a Gorilla Glass inner ply and outer glass that is 52 percent thicker than usual.”
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a29214448/gorilla-glass-windshields-pricing/
Windshields were purposely made without tempering to prevent injury in accidents
I think that’s backwards. Tempered glass shatters into fragments that are relatively safe, compared to what you get when window glass shatters.
I think windshields are made with laminated glass or tempered glass, and other car windows with tempered glass. Could be wrong, though.
https://www.franksautoglasschicago.com/blog/2015/06/22/the-different-types-of-auto-glass/
Auto glass is either tempered or laminated. The glass usually used for the front and rear door windows and the rear window are made from tempered glass, the windshield is made from laminated glass.
Laminated glass will break but it will not fly into shards during a collision. The glass is designed to take heavy impact without shattering. This eliminates the possibility of passengers being injured by flying glass. In the event the occupant in the car is thrown into the window, the laminated glass acts somewhat like a cushion.
Almost like you have been looking over my shoulder, Animal. The only miss I had was the ’73. I’ve given away 2 ’94s, one was the first gun I ever bought with my own money, 14 years old, pawn shop, my Dad concurred. My son has it now. The other to my bee partner by way of introducing him to deer hunting. He has shot a number of deer with it. Suthen and I are in a little disagreement but my personal choice was a 336 that my grand daughter in Alaska now owns. The only one on the list that I still own is a 1911 Ithaca, complete with an issue pistol belt and holster. Old soldiers…
Though the ’97 is a great gun I bought 2 Rem 1100s early on. Just gave those to my Alaskan GD/husband. I’m busy trying to figure out where the remainder will go, I want them to be used but my kids are non hunters. Other 2 g’daughters are not too interested at this point. I’m keeping a few yet but time is running out and I don’t shoot much anymore.
Fourscore, old buddy, old pal!
I’ll be sure to bring some cash to the next Honey Harvest. Maybe we can strike a deal.
My purpose for them IS my hobby.
I would have put the Ruger 10/22 on there, just to have something post-WWII
Marlin 60 is from 1960.
Where does the Uzi Assault Rifle fit in? H/T Daily Mail.
Israeli, not American. Now the MAC-10 on the other hand….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU9kVinACYU
I need to buy a MAC-10 or an M11/9 one of these days before they get too expensive.
They’re already too expensive…
Not an American gun.
Nice list.
I think (though it kinda lives in a different world), I’d want to add the M2. Also a Browning design, of course.
Carrying over a topic from the previous thread: what to do if/when the government vaccine missionaries show up at your door?
They’re gonna be wearing masks, of course. So, whatever they say, just reply, over and over, “I can’t understand you. Your mask is muffling your voice.”
In the unlikely event they take off the mask, step right into their 6 foot personal space, like inches away, and say, “I still can’t understand you. Can you repeat that, please?”
If this doesn’t get them to back up over and over until they are off your property: “Let’s talk about something more pressing. Have you accepted Jesus as your lord and savior?”
Answer the door with a gun?
Why answer the door at all?
This. I have a glass panel on my door and I have no problem pulling back the curtian, seeing who is there and not answering.
Fuck ’em, they don’t have a right to make me open the door for them.
Lie if you haven’t gotten it and you don’t want a hassle and, darn it, I can’t find my card. Fuck with or ignore them if you don’t care. I’ve actually been vaxed but it’s none of their damn business as far as I’m concerned and just shutting the door in their faces with no explanation will be my course of action.
This guy gets it. I’ve used the Jesus line on the tel call people after listening to their whole spiel. Most often is not even a reply, just a click.
“None of your business.”
If you wanted to be a real dick about it, how about all of the above? Answer the door holding a gun and the Mormon Quadruple Combo. Cough. “Sorry, took me a while to answer because I’m busy cleaning my guns. What? I can’t understand what you’re saying, cause your mask is muffling your voice. I suspect whatever you are asking is none of your business. But, I’d love to tell you about Joseph Smith, and our lord and savior Jesus Christ!”
I intend to fly under the radar as long as I can. My line has been drawn and I prefer to avoid needing to go down that path as long as possible… preferably never.
To that end, I’ll simply respond that I’m vaccinated. That’s my go-to answer now moving forward. I don’t need to be put on any more lists. I have a feeling that there are many who are getting ready to bite if cornered, but are trying very hard to avoid being put in that situation. Be a Gray Man.
they asked at the ER today, I told them” I was diagnosed in march 2020, right after my Wife died” ,Silence
Wife died of Covid,
“right after my Wife died of COVID she caught in a hospital“, if memory serves.
Damn right, I hinted at that today as well,
Will they even say much at all? I assume they just say whatever it is they have to that covers them legally to demonstrate they’ve made the required efforts to confirm your identity, then the just jab a needle in you, no?
Whatever actually happens, it will reach the Supremes at some point in the future somehow but whatever the case is, and the resulting decision is, it will somehow avoid the most important questions, the “conservative” justices will take positions based solely in law that confound the conservative culture war bloggers, liberty will be eroded, and the march toward full totalitarian state continues.
the resulting decision is, it will somehow avoid the most important questions, the “conservative” justices will take positions based solely in law that confound the conservative culture war bloggers, liberty will be eroded, and the march toward full totalitarian state continues
Check out the big brain on limey!
As succinct a summary of the what SCOTUS actually does as any I have seen.
I calls ’em as I sees ’em.
On a random Thursday while commenting at TOS about 11 years ago I asked if I should buy a gun. So that day at lunch I did. It was a ruger mk 3 22/45. I have put over 7k rounds through it. I have since gotten a 1911 to go with it. I like them very much. I don’t have particularly strong opinions on what is best in firearms. I like what I like. I require absolute reliability, accuracy, aesthetics in that order. My 1911 really fits the bill. Other than the handguns I own hunting rifles I use very seldom and a henry lever 22 that kills varmints somewhat more often.
I should buy more ammo.
Nice guns.
What if the Russians fed the info back to one of their plants in the FedGov to “whistle blow” to Tucker because they knew exactly how Tucker would play it, and how TMITE would respond, and hey presto! Rancor! Discord! Predictable American media and media devotee response. That’s all they want, isn’t it? They get it in spades.
You never know, I suppose. Hall of mirrors and all that.
The NSA’s non-denial denial – “we didn’t hack his emails in order to get him taken off the air” – isn’t helping.
Deceive, inveigle, obfuscate.
That sounds plausible, but while I’m sure Russia does this sort of thing, I’m betting China does a ton more of it. They seem to be all over social media with fake accounts. And wasn’t there a story recently about China paying for a bunch of journalists to visit China and learn about how great it is?
They’re all doing it. We’re definitely doing it.
Doubtful, the NSA is legally allowed to double hop communications and Carlson likely got caught up in that as he regularly communicates with Greenwald and Lord knows who else and was trying to set up an interview with the devil himself Putin. I’m sure a lot of the spooks hate him and would love to leak his communications in an attempt to get him unpersoned and it could even be just a straight flouting of legal requirements as they tend to do.
My Mosin-Nagant was made in America. Does that count?
If you have fewer than 5 guns and are an American every gun is a top five American gun.
I can’t help but note the lack of the M2HB 1918 on this list. It was a game-changer and the fact that is still in service with only the addition of a safety c. 2009 (a shell casing between the butterfly trigger and the selector knob was all I needed).
… is a good indicator that it is a great system.
There have been some materials changes to the barrel as well – I don’t think that Stellite existed in 1918. Still, the M2 should absolutely be on the list.
Apparently, it was patented in 1907. Interesting.
Bring them back in chains.
With Republican-backed voting bills moving rapidly through a special session of the state Legislature, Texas Democrats are planning to make a break for it — again.
At least 58 Democratic members of the state House of Representatives are expected to bolt from Austin on Monday in an effort to block the measures from advancing, a source familiar with the plans told NBC News. The unusual move, akin to what Democrats did in 2003, would paralyze the chamber, stopping business until the lawmakers return to town or the session ends.
The majority of the members plan to fly to Washington, D.C., on two private jets chartered for the occasion and use the time there to rally support for federal voting legislation, the source said. Others will make their own way.
WTF is that? It sounds like some sort of end-around state power, but maybe that’s just the cynic in me.
The federal voting legislation is to bulldoze an eight-lane superhighway for voter fraud, nationwide.
The Interstate Highwayman Act?
Sorry: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4B2a6l6wM2k
I wonder what kind of maneuver might be available to “deem” them to have resigned, and hold snap elections to replace them.
Sure, you’d probably get a new bunch as bad or worse than the old bunch, but there’s something to be said for kicking nearly any elected official to the curb, no?
This sounds like my kind of newsletter.
Would subscribe.
The more things change the more they stay the same. We really are locked in a state versus federal battle for time immemorial aren’t we?
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government…”
So DC should turn these fools asses around and send them back to Austin to represent their constituents.
It would be fun to see the air national guard force the charter jets to turn around and have the state police arrest them all walking off the plane.
Even better!
I suppose just shooting down the planes would be bad optics.
Just shoot them in the
legwing.Fighter jets intercepting them and turning them around would be the best optics since the OJ white bronco chase.
(1) Issue warrants for all of them (or whatever the process is for having DPS drag them into the capitol).
(2) Keep the current session for 30 days, then immediately convene a new one, etc. Basically, make it impossible for them to return to the state until they come back to the legislature and vote.
Legislative theatrics are theatrical.
IIRC, they did something similar regarding redistricting in 2010.
Oh là là!
proof they recently recovered from the virus
Why recently? There’s no reason to think immunity wears off.
How recently?
“Va te faire foutre: ça c’est pourquoi”?
Wish Rufus were here to vet my French .
The top American firearms?
Yes
Yes.
OH HELL NO
Meh
Meh.
Honorable mention is OK.
The single greatest American firearm is without doubt the Browning Hi-Power. Used by more countries for a longer period of time than any other firearm ever made. It was what John MOSES Browning himself designed as a superior version of a firearm.
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/07/jobless-pennsylvanians-attorneys-fear-more-problems-as-work-search-requirement-returns.html
Get back to work, ya lazy fucks.
/We’re hiring.
As a formerly jobless Pennsylvanian I support this curmudgeonly sentiment.
The job hunting requirements are a fucking joke. Blast out 3 resumes and you’re done. Takes 15 minutes tops.
LOL, wut?
I feel safe now.
Drag queens hardest hit.
Regarding the Tucker v. NSA: Here is my educated Guess/informed speculation,
Being familiar with the procedures of that particular agency, I can say that it probably started with some incidental collection in regards to Tucker’s people trying to set up an interview with Putin. As it would be gross negligence for such an agency to have Putin’s staff/schedulers targeted. Most of the line analysts and their immediate supervisors would probably follow the (extremely) stringent reporting regarding including US Person. Phrases like, “A US person“, “a member of the US press” etc. (the latter being only if it was essential to the report) would be used to hide the identity in reporting. The authorization (if there was any) would’ve had to come from on very high (DIRNSA) reveal the identity of a US Person. The policies regarding this are very explicit. If there was any actual reporting done on these communications it would probably follow the procedures outlined above.
I would be very surprised if there was anything rembling a paper trail on this. It is highly probable that this was not handled through proper channels and someone needs to be in a Federal pound-me-in-the-ass Prison. I can’t see them making the mistake of going through the FISA process again, seeing as it blew up in their face (sort of) with the whole piss dossier. Hopefully, Tucker’s peeps are nuking them with FOIA requests and these shit-heels had the hubris to actually write this stuff down.
[Insert standard libertarian disclaimer regarding intelligence agencies policing themselves etc.]
…such an agency to not have Putin’s staff…
I wonder how many NSA staffers are willing to risk their ass by unmasking US citizens without anything in writing from the higher-ups.
It is hard for me to say, I am more familiar with the military intelligence /counter-terrorism side of the house and most of those folks were service members or GS employees that were veterans themselves, which comes with a degree of deference for the rules and the Constitution. This was not universal but it was very much the norm in those environments.
The shops that covered the foreign leaders were almost exclusively staffed with civil servants and contractors so the dynamics might have been different there. All it would take is a cabal of two or three individuals with terminal TDS to circumvent the system.
Interesting. Thanks for the insight.
Yep, the old double hop and some shitbag leaked it. He also communicates with Greenwald, Snowden I’d imagine, and many similar.
I wouldn’t say double-hop per se, it likely started as an incidental collect and some politically motivated asshole heard about it and started digging and/or there was an on the books intel effort and a whistle blower leaked it to Tucker’s staff.
I want to see somebody get stuck in a hole for years over this, but I’m not holding my breath.
Actually, what I want to see is Congress assert its authority and bring the entire apparatus to heel or destroy it.
It would be great if the legislature would do their effing job but they have been avoiding blame by punting their duties to the executive and courts for decades
Maybe they can all fly to Austin and ask Texas to do their job for them.
I am not sure that Texas would appreciate the squad’s appearance in Austin.
Well, Austin’s panties would be soaking wet, at least.
According to normal procedures, there should be an audit trail whenever somebody touches the databases. So there is some sort of hope that the perps will be at least identified, if not held to account.
Something something, raid in Germany.
My guess is that this is about right. And, honestly, it was predictable. After the unmasking incidents that were revealed to have happened during the Trump 2016 campaign, this is just a logical extension. And in the unlikely event we do get to the bottom of it, not a damned thing will happen. Kevin Clinesmith walked away with 12 months probation and 400 hours community service for outright falsifying a FISA application. Do you think they’ll do a damned thing about some guy leaking in their favor.
This^^^^
There are no penalties, hence there is exactly zero disincentive – other than the slight possibly of getting caught – for not doing whatever they want. See the NSA’s “LOVEINT” scandal and all of the abuse of those systems to check up on significant others and girlfriends. It was in the Assange wikileaks and/or maybe the Snowden stuff. There were ways to log spying on someone as simply “erroneous” entries. That error log would have been a treasure trove, but no one in Congress cares enough to do anything about it. IMO because they can’t resist the thought of being able to use it on their enemies. All Nixon did was get caught doing the equivalent to what I suspect had been done or had been bubbling up for decades. How long before Nixon was Tammany Hall? Oh, almost to the Founding of the Republic.
MN politicians are the Charlie Browniest
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/dfl-leadership-disappointed-by-rep-john-thompsons-claims-of-racial-profiling-during-traffic-stop
I would be disgusted by this asshole using racism as a shield to deflect his actual shitbaggery, but at this point, it seems like a given.
My favorite part is that he’s probably not even a MN resident and thus not eligible to be an elected MN scumbag.
If he is a MN resident, he’s breaking the law by not getting a MN drivers license.
He can have a rock?
https://thepostmillennial.com/watch-white-house-suggests-cuban-protests-for-freedom-may-be-about-vaccine-access
Honk Honk.
She’s horrible at her job.
She is just reading from the script she has been given. Best president in our lifetime followed by the worst.
That was in Biden’s official statement, also.
They are all bad at their jobs.
Ayup.
Is she? I think she’s pretty good at sticking to the script. And if the media is going to go along with the most obvious BS, why even bother? Fear of getting called on it? They want to lift the Cuba sanctions. Blaming it on COVID gives their allies an out to blame it on the embargo. I don’t think they really care if anyone believes them or not. Just as long as they can convince one another that they’re pulling it off, they’ve gotten what they wanted.
Five best? Smith and Wesson is only three.