Jerry McEwen...Hero

Mr Jerry McEwen was killed on Tuesday, 18 December attempting to stop a purse snatcher. Mr McEwen was just a normal man, who saw someone robbing a elderly lady and didn't stand idly by and do nothing, he didn't break out his mobile phone and tape a video for YouTube. He did what true men do...he stepped up to the plate and tried to help. Unfortunately...he paid with his life. I didn't know the man...but he is what American men once were...and hopefully can be once again. It's not known if Mr McEwen ever saw the knife. We'll never know if that would have changed his mind. I doubt he would knowingly rush a thug armed with a knife..but he just might have.

Attempting to take on a robber/carjacker/mugger one on one isn't a good idea...even if you're armed. The best thing to do it to try to get a good description of the suspect, car and license plate number. That DOESN'T mean that you won't be seen trying to be a good witness. If that happens..you're in the same boat as Mr McEwen...now what do you do....you protect yourself. Like I posted on TGO( http://www.tngunowners.com/) I'm not going to stand by while some little old lady is getting jacked, but I'm not going to draw down and drop him either. I'll try the good witness thing...if he wants to stop me from doing that...well...he made his choice and so will I.

From the Metro Police website:

Ex-convict Robert Williams, who has a history of violent offenses, is being sought for Tuesday afternoon’s murder of Jerry J. McEwen outside the Kroger store at 61 E. Thompson Lane. Also being sought is Williams’ presumed girlfriend, Stephanie Lynn Hudson, who drove Williams away from the crime scene. Arrest warrants have been issued charging both with criminal homicide.

McEwen, 54, of Coarsey Drive, was fatally stabbed in the chest as he attempted to stop Williams, who had just robbed a 60-year-old woman of her purse in the Kroger parking lot. The robbery victim fell to the ground during a struggle with Williams. She was not seriously hurt. Williams and Hudson fled the scene in Hudson’s 1991 maroon and silver Ford Explorer.

Williams, 52, was paroled from the state prison system on May 15, 2007 and registered with the Metro police department as an ex-con on May 21, 2007. Williams was convicted in 1983 of assault with intent to murder, armed robbery, and two weapons offenses in Madison County. He was convicted in 1984 of assault with intent to murder in Hickman County. He was sentenced to 38 years and is on supervised parole until the year 2013. Williams had been paroled twice previously, in 1998 and 2000. Those releases were revoked in 1999 and 2001. He was convicted of weapon possession by a convicted felon in Shelby County in 2001.

Hudson, 36, registered with the Metro police department as an ex-convict in November 2006. She received a ten-year sentence for multiple forgery convictions in Marshall County in 1999.

Anyone seeing Robert Williams or Stephanie Hudson, or knowing their whereabouts, is urged to contact the Emergency Communications Center at 862-8600 or their local law enforcement agency. Williams has been known to use the names Roger Williams, Shaheed Rasta, and Rasta Shaheed.

Robert Williams

Stephanie Huson

2nd Admendment gets its day in court?

The supreme court is going to hear the case of the DC gun ban early next year...just in time for the elections. A ton of people are happy that SCOTUS is going to finally hear a 2nd Amendment care. I don't understand it. Too many people think they can "interpret" the smallest Amendment to the Constitution to mean something other than what was intended.Now...I'm not the brightest bulb in the lamp when it comes to law...but follow me on this:None of the other Bill or Rights are even considered to be a "collective right" just the shortest one. What if each of the Bill of Rights were "interpreted" to be a collective right. What if they put the same restrictions on freedom of speech as they did on guns.Just think about that for a minute. In places like Vermont and Alaska, you'd be able to speak your mind. In Tennessee, you'd be able to speak your mind, but not where is was posted a "No Speaking Zone" You couldn't speak out if there was alcohol being sold for on premise consumptionIn Illinois you'd have to license each and every word you wanted to speak.In NYC...no talking at all, unless you've got connections to the ruling political class. they'd send teams of speech police to other states in order to get people to write books they could take back to NYC and hold press conferences to talk about how evil the word are and how the surrounding states need to implement New York style speech control laws.
The 2nd Amendment is pretty simple to under stand:A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
See the commas.....I wish I had a time machine and could go way and whisper in the founding fathers earspsssst....a long time from now...people are going to get stupid..trust me. take out everything but the last part.
happy Thanksgiving everyone...be thankful for everything you have, and remember the men and women that are fighting to keep you safe.

There still is Customer Service

About a month ago I sent my Nighthawk Customs GRP Bobtail back to the factory to have ambi safetys installed. Yes...I know the 1911 guys are launching themselves at the screen right now screaming about how easy it is to install ambis. Nighthawk wants to do ALL the work on their guns themselves. Hand fitting, the right finish,etc. I have installed ambis on other 1911s, it isn't that hard as long as you drop the mainspring out of the way (found that out the hard way)
According to the shop (Guns and Leather, Greenbriar Tennessee) is should only take a few days. After the 1st week, I asked the shop to call and check on the status; that's where the fun begins:
1. They misplaced it..but they have it in hand now (at least twice)
2. The abmis had to be permakoted
3. They misplaced it...again
4. It's ready to be shipped...the next day.
5. (a week later) It's ready to go out the door...again
6. (a few days later) it's shipping tomorrow
I FINALLY get the GRP back...along with a bill for 147.00. I e-mailed Nighthawk before sending it in, and was quoted 80.00. Ben (one of the sales staff at Guns and Leather) didn't feel right about that after all the trouble, so he was going to check with the owner, Dennis and get back to me. I came home and posted over at M1911.org to vent a little bit.
Dennis didn't have to call Nighthawk...they called him. Evidently someone at Nighthawk called him the next morning and told him "we've got a unhappy customer" Poor Dennis didn't have a clue. I wasn't upset at G&L, I was ticked at Nighthawk. After dropping over 2K on a gun, I felt like I was getting shanked a bit, not to mention the delays.
They told Dennis to get in touch with me and do "whatever it takes" to make me happy with Nighthawk again. They also told him to wipe out the bill for installing the ambis.
Wow...just wow. I couldn't believe that level of customer service still existed. I didn't bring it up with the intention of doing anythign other than griping a bit.
Nighthawk really stood up for their mistakes, and went above and beyond to make it right. Remember when great customer service was the norm? Evidently Nighthawk does, and still lives up to their reputation as a great company to deal with.

The Nighthawk Talon II

I figured the best way to express myself today was with my first video blog. Don't expect too much :-)
The grips didn't really show their true nature in the video, so I'll have to get some stills posted. They are a very attractive gray/black mix of G10.

Addition to the armory

I went shooting last week with one of the trainers from HGR Firearms. He was interested in testing out the 1911 style of pistols. He's a Glock shooter, and a damn good one at that. I took out my Kimber Ultra Raptor and my Kimber Pro CDP shown here with her new Kimber magwell for faster reloads


The Ultra series from Kimber is their ultra short 3 inch series, the Pro series are the 4 inch or Commander style of 1911. I tried the Ultra series for concealed carry, but I like using a 230 grain load. A nice big heavy show bullet. That round coming out of a 3 inch 1911 is...snappy is the only word I can use to describe it. By the end of the session, both of us agreed that a 3 inch 1911 isn't for us, so it went into the "trade in" file. We went back to the retail area and I started looking. I was interested in a railed 1911 for home defense. If you've got a pistol setup with a light, that's one less thing you've go to grab if something goes bump in the night. I looked at a HK USP Tactical model with ambidextrous controls, a Sig Sauer Elite P220 and a Springfield Operator. Al in .45 all railed pistols. Now, I've owned HK,s Sigs and Springfields before so they're all good pieces. I couldn't make up mind to save my life...so I left empty handed. I thought about it all night, but couldn't make a decision.

I went back out Friday and ran a few service calls...then back to the shop to make up my mind. Guns and Leather in Greenbriar TN is also a authorized dealer for Nighthawk Customs; a manufacturer of HIGH END custom 1911s. I walked in the door and what do I see but a used Nighthawk Customs Talon II 1911. Someone had ordered it with a bobtail, custom diamond black finish, and a ambidextrous safety. The previous owner took it home, put her in the safe and never touched her again until he traded it in for a Browning over and under shotgun. she had never been fired;so to me it was new as new can be. They have had it for a while, but I never thought about buying it..until Friday. the only thing it was missing was the rail...butr my HK is railed..so that requirement was already filled. i quickly filled out the forms, paid for her and waited for the TBI to do their magic..and waited...and waited. Tennessee has what they call the Instant Check system. It works very well...when the servers aren't overheating. We got all that figured out and down to the range again.


For those who don't shoot; it's a great stress release. No matter what kind of day I've had, a good session of punching holes in paper makes it better. Doing that with a custom 1911 makes it that much more relaxing. 100 rounds out of a new pistol is usually OK, nothing to brag about. I expected it to be a bit worse than usual actually seeing as the new piece was a bobtail. I've never shot a bobtailed pistol before. It feels completely different in hand. I expected this to be a hindrance; it wasn't. The bobtail makes a 1911 point even more naturally for me. Right out of the holster, right on target without trying. I am not a bullseye shooter. I don't try to put all my rounds in a single hole. If the groups are too tight, then you're shooting too slow. I go for COM (center of mass) shots. If they're all COM on the target I'm happy. with the Nighthawk COM double taps are almost too easy. The trigger reset is quick and easy to feel; the steel frame is a bit beefier than the CDP but not too bad. I've been carrying her all day today around the house with no real problems. I didn't pay sticker for her, but I could have bought two Kimbers for what I paid for her. But...she's as close to affordable 1911 perfection that I've found so far.

I need to vent a little bit

What else is new :-)
I went by the post office Friday to check my PO box...as I do every day. There was a frail little lady who (much to my horror) driving herself around. I was in the middle of a email on my Treo, when I glanced up and saw her stuck in the door. She had lost her hold on the door and she was stuck between the door and the sill. I started to get out of my car and see if I could help, and saw a man walking towards the door rather quickly. I sat back for a moment, and watched him walk AROUND her to another door and go in the building. I ran over and helped her get out of the door before she fell and got really hurt. It took everything I had not to go into the counter area and beat the jerk around his thick skull. I can't believe this person would actually go out of his way to walk around this poor little lady just to go stand in line at the damn post office.

Idaho Teens Tote Loaded Guns Around Town Legally

These two kids have the right idea. The very last line of the article makes it worth repeating...
Idaho Teens Tote Loaded Guns Around Town Legally
Sunday , May 20, 2007

POST FALLS, Idaho —
Two home-schooled teenagers in this northern Idaho town say they are carrying loaded guns to the library, grocery store and other public areas for self-defense, as a crime deterrent, and to educate others about their rights.
Zach Doty, 18, carries a loaded Glock handgun on his hip. His 15-year-old brother, Steven, carries a .22-caliber rifle in a sling on his back.
Police have been called on several occasions to question the teens but have not found the teens to be in violation of the law.
In Idaho, residents 18 and older can openly carry a firearm in public. And those ages 13 to 17 who have parental permission can carry a rifle in public.
"I certainly don't anticipate that I'll need to use it, but I'd rather have it and not need it than to not have it and need it," Zach told the Coeur d'Alene Press. "There's no reason for me to hide a weapon."
Zach was stopped April 17 on his way to Bible study. On Friday, police again responded when someone reported the brothers with guns in a park. But police left after confirming it was the Doty's.
Zach has also been approached by others.
"There have been good opportunities to speak to people," he said. "I make sure they know that open carrying is legal, why I carry and I encourage them to consider doing so themselves."
The brothers carry their weapons to parks, the library, grocery stores and other places. They can't have their guns with them on school property, courthouses or jails.
Not everyone is comfortable with armed teenagers in the neighborhood.
"I turned back so that my wife could verify what I saw," said James Rebal, who called police after seeing Zach with his gun. "He was very nicely dressed and I saw nothing to be concerned about other than the weapon. It's not something you see in Idaho. Virginia Tech was fresh in my mind, and I thought it was better to err on the side of concern."
A lone gunman killed 32 people and himself last month at Virginia Tech University.
John Dunlap, commander of the American Legion Post 143, said he asked Zach to leave the Legion at a recent lunch because Zach was carrying his gun.
"He left and came back the next day (without the gun) for soup," said Dunlap, who described the brothers as "well-mannered."
Ed Santos owns Center Target Sports in Post Falls and is a gun safety instructor. He said the Dotys came to his shop but he doesn't sell handgun ammunition to people under 21.
He said that just because the Dotys are carrying guns in public doesn't mean they're not responsible with them, but questioned the need to carry them in town even though it was legal.
"My advice for them is the same as it is with adults — yes it's your right and yes it's legal, but why draw unnecessary attention to yourself just because you can?" Santos said. "I believe the intent (of the law) was to allow it more for hunting and recreation."
Zach said he's not paranoid or a radical.
"If I was an extremist, our founding fathers would all be extremists," he said. "Without them, we wouldn't have our independence. We'd be a disarmed British system of feudal subjectivity."