Mr VJP

OK, look into the life and career of William F. Buckley.

SOME who claim to be moral may actually end up with more egg on their faces when they themselves don't live up to the standards they try to set for others. But there were many people who had high morals and did set examples for the whole world without fail. Mother Teresa comes to mind first.

Wooly, I hear wool keeps you warm, even when wet. Is that true?

The guy who answered the phone is probably an elected official in Albany just doing what comes naturally.

Welcome aboard.

Don't put too much stock in those statistics Steve. They're calculated on the number of divorces compared to the total population in the state. Obviously, Blue states have higher populations, more urban cities, and most likely lower marriage rates, with more people just living together. A lot of the Red states in the top 10 are less affluent and people get married at younger ages. Not to mention Baptist and Protestant faiths don't put the same stigma on divorce that Jews and Catholics in the Blue states do. Besides the fact, no one can avoid being divorced if their spouse wants to divorce them, so I guess not all divorced people can be counted as immoral. It would be more telling if divorce rates were calculated based on the number of marriages, but statistics are often skewed to show something the people influencing the report want it to show. That doesn't have anything to do with this issue though. On the topics mentioned, Conservatives will vote for certain values, while Liberals will vote for others. It's the political agenda that is in question and subject to judgement based on morality.

New Report Explodes Myths on Mexico's Gun Supply [/color]Editor's Note: Recently, we were taken to task by a reader who was angry that we didn't cite the specific statistics regarding Mexico's allegedly never-ending supply of firearms supposedly smuggled in from the United States. Today, with a very strong atta-boy to the National Shooting Sports Foundation's news group, here's their report on the latest facts and figures regarding Mexico's true sources of firearms. Like they noted below, it's almost impossible to kill a myth once it's been misstated, but this is one you'll now have the facts and figures - complete with a pie chart - to refute. [/color] A new report calls "The 90 Percent Myth," which refers to the number of illegal guns in Mexico coming from the United States, "more political rhetoric than empirical fact." We couldn't agree more. NSSF has been trying to stamp out "The 90 Percent Myth" ever since ATF misstated the number in testimony at a congressional hearing in 2009. A prompt clarification issued by ATF couldn't put the proverbial genie back in the bottle. Unfortunately, "The 90 Percent Myth" has been widely promoted by Mexican officials and wrongly cited in U.S. news stories, although a Fox News study (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/02/myth-percent-small-fraction-guns-mexico-come/)of the "90% statistic" noted "that number's just plain wrong." In a report issued last week (link below) , the independent research group STRATFOR has corroborated what NSSF has been saying for some time about firearms recovered from drug cartels in Mexico: that it is erroneous and grossly misleading to say that 90 percent (a rounded up number) of the firearms recovered in Mexico came from the United States. http://huntingny.com/forums/file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/ADMINI%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image001.jpg[/img] Link-if possible-to the full-sized image. It's important to the story [/color]The truth is that less than 12 percent of the guns Mexico seized in 2008 have been verified as coming from the United States. The proof can be found in the U.S. government statistics (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09709.pdf) that the STRATFOR report explains below and that the pie chart clearly illustrates: According to a June 2009 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, "some 30,000 firearms were seized from criminals by Mexican authorities in 2008. Of these 30,000 firearms, information pertaining to 7,200 of them (24 percent) was submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for tracing. Of these 7,200 guns, only about 4,000 could be traced by the ATF, and of these 4,000, some 3,480 (87 percent) were shown to have come from the United States. "This means that the 87 percent figure relates to the number of weapons submitted by the Mexican government to the ATF that could be successfully traced and not from the total number of weapons seized by Mexican authorities or even from the total number of weapons submitted to the ATF for tracing. In fact, the 3,480 guns positively traced to the United States equals less than 12 percent of the total arms seized in Mexico in 2008 . . . ." Yes, nearly 90 percent of firearms that were recovered and able to be successfully traced by ATF were found to have originated in the United States (that's 3,480 out of 4,000), but why should that surprise anyone? The United States has a very good system for tracking firearms through serial numbers and purchase records (some countries don't track them at all). Mexico submitted for tracing only those firearms that it believed, due to their serial numbers, would likely trace positive. The vast majority of guns recovered in Mexico are not sent to the U.S. for tracing at all because their markings, or lack of them, show they do not come from here. A number of handguns-the top three are 9mm, .38 and .22 caliber-and other sporting firearms have been smuggled across the border, but the STRATFOR report notes that the drug cartels increasingly prefer military weapons instead of sporting arms. Military-grade equipment such as hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles and light machine guns are certainly not readily available in this country from firearms retailers. These types of firearms and military ordinance are coming from someplace other than the United States. The STRATFOR report points out where the guns are flowing from: "Most of the military ordnance used by the Mexican cartels comes from other sources, such as the international arms market (increasingly from China via the same networks that furnish precursor chemicals for narcotics manufacturing), or from corrupt elements in the Mexican military or even deserters who take their weapons with them. . . . Some of these seizures have included M60 machine guns and hundreds of 40 mm grenades obtained from the military arsenals of countries like Guatemala. . . . Latin America is awash in weapons that were shipped there over the past several decades to supply the various insurgencies and counterinsurgencies in the region. When these military-grade weapons are combined with the rampant corruption in the region, they quickly find their way into the black arms market." While Mexican president Calderon is to be applauded for cracking down on the drug cartels and the rampant and systemic corruption in his country, blaming the United States and its Second Amendment freedoms for Mexico's violent crime will not help solve Mexico's problem. STRATFOR's report argues that Mexico's political leaders have attempted to deflect responsibility for dealing with the cartels: "According to the Mexican government, the cartel wars are not a result of corruption in Mexico or of economic and societal dynamics that leave many Mexicans marginalized and desperate to find a way to make a living. Instead, the cartel wars are due to the insatiable American appetite for narcotics and the endless stream of guns that flows from the United States into Mexico and that results in Mexican violence." This argument, of course, implies that U.S. guns laws and the firearms industry, specifically firearm retailers along the border, are to blame, yet it's those same retailers who cooperate regularly with ATF investigators by providing information that can help bust the illegal firearms traffickers. Also, the idea that there's a steady flow of newly purchased firearms bound for Mexico doesn't square with the fact that in 2008 the firearms successfully traced to the United States were, according to ATF, originally sold at retail, after a background check, on average 14 years earlier. We urge you to read the full STRATFOR report, which ends by dismissing "The 90 Percent Myth": "It is important to recognize that, while the United States is a significant source of certain classes of weapons and ammunition, it is by no means the source of 90 percent of the weapons used by the Mexican cartels, as is commonly asserted." ---NSSF News Editor's Note: Read the STRATFOR Report at http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110209-mexicos-gun-supply-and-90-percent-myth?utm_source=SWeekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=110210&utm_content=readmore&elq=78b57a7b244546e5a2b64f12f34fd298)

Just realized I have a picture of another one of our bikes on the PC. It's a new Sportster.

I know the type. They ride with "Hell's Accountants".

Reminds me of a joke: What does a Harley and a vacuum cleaner have in common? They both make a lot of noise, they both suck and they both have a dirt bag on them. I ride a couple of Harley's as well as race bikes. A couple of us guys got together to form a club and pooled our money to buy 6 bikes. A few of us already had one, but we thought it would be cool to buy a couple that we could all ride. It is easy to buy a $6000 bike when you only need to pony up a grand each. You can also sell one to get a different one. So now we have two 1000cc race bikes and 4 Harley's. I like the V-Rod and the Super Glide, but they don't compare speed wise to my old Cow.

The rifle alone in 98% condition is worth $500. The carbine model in 98% condition is worth $600 with the shorter barrel. By the way, a scope on a used rifle adds very little to the value unless it is a high end model like a Leupold or Zeiss, and even then they only add half of the value of a new one to the total price.

The 180gr bullet in the 30-06 is fine and produces the most energy on impact, even more than the 200gr bullet some times, but it does kick the most and doesn't shoot the flattest. It will do a great job on Whitetail if you hit it right. If you need the 06 to shoot flatter or want it to recoil less, then you might want to drop to the 150gr or even the 165gr and go with a boat tail soft point. I like the 165gr BTSP. It makes a good hard hitting, flat shooter. A compromise round that works for me. Best of both worlds. And my rifle loves them.

They had a recall years ago to replace defective firing pins. You can call them or go online with the serial # to check if this one was fixed. 800-852-5734 is the number they used to use. Hope it still works.

Fall bear meat is very good as well, depending on what the bear was eating most of it's life. If it was living off of peoples garbage, or eating at the dump, it won't taste too good. I think NY doesn't have a spring hunt because it doesn't need one to keep bear numbers in check. The fall hunting season alone is enough to keep bear numbers well below the habitat capacity, so the DEC doesn't need to open a spring season.

NRA Lifer and certified rifle and pistol instructor. Don't expect too many responses from people that are sleeping 2BRKnot2B.

A lot of NYC money comes from the rest of NY State

I don't know what mine means or where it comes from.

I assume that list is only CCW permit holders, no?

Gunbroker.com has a section for selling taxidermy. You can even find out what similar mounts are selling for.

These elected hacks must be watching too many "Scarface" re-runs! "This is America, Chico. First you get the money. Then you get the power. Then you get the woman!" He gets the "Spitzer" award for 2011, that's for sure.

I have more than I need, but not as many as I want!

Thanks guys. I found one on Gunbroker for $130 + shipping. I'm good to go now and appreciate the help. ;D

Sure. The 10 gauge actually came back from the dead when steel shot was mandated. The Mag 10 was the first semi auto 10 gauge offered for sale. It was designed to give goose hunters more range with steel shot, but only 12 gauge magnum level recoil, due to its gas operated action. Besides steel, the various heavy shot options will also perform well in a Mag 10. What choke does the gun have though? A tight full choke may be too much for steel shot to pattern well.

My friend uses a Mag 10 on turkey and coyote with Federal 3.5" mags with #4 shot. There are so many pellets in those shells, #4 shot gives a very dense pattern out to 60 yards with a full choke.

"[A]fter every multiple murder, liberals come up with some crackpot idea to 'do something' that invariably involves infringing on some aspect of our Second Amendment rights. ... In an open society that includes Sheriff Dumbnik and the ACLU, deranged individuals may explode into murder and mayhem now and then. The best we can do is enact policies that will reduce the death toll when these acts of carnage occur. There's only one policy of any kind that has ever been shown to deter mass murder: concealed-carry laws. In a comprehensive study of all public, multiple-shooting incidents in America between 1977 and 1999, the highly regarded economists John Lott and Bill Landes found that concealed-carry laws were the only laws that had any beneficial effect. And the effect was not small. States that allowed citizens to carry concealed handguns reduced multiple-shooting attacks by 60 percent and reduced the death and injury from these attacks by nearly 80 percent. When there are no armed citizens to stop mass murderers, the killers are able to shoot unabated, even pausing to reload their weapons, until they get bored and stop. ... Consider just the school shootings -- popular sites for mass murder because so many schools are 'gun-free zones.' Or, as mass murderers call them, 'free-fire zones.'" --columnist Ann Coulter