Friday, February 08, 2008

MOUSEGUNS

AMMO
AND
BALLISTICS

Some of Old Granpa's Work

General Information

Italian Military Ammo and Firearms Information
Online Muzzle Energy Calculator
Handgun Trajectory Table for All Calibers
Exterior Ballistics dot Com
Ballistics for Dummies
Reloading for Small Self-Defense Concealed Carry Handguns
Old Granpa's Ballistics Forum at the USRAnge
Blazer Ammo - All Calibers -- Velocity and Drop at muzzle, 50 and 100 yards
Old Granpa's tried and true wet-pack and ballistics testing
Old Granpa's Brief History of Wet-Pack Ballistics Testing
Cruffler's Online Muzzle Energy Calculator
Choose Your Ammo Police-Style (Ayoob)
List of Mail-order Ammo Suppliers
Interpreting FBI terminal ballistic testing data ("gelatin tests")
BrassFetcher Gel Tests on Many Calibers
ICC Frangible Bullets Tests
Ballistics Tests On DryWall (Sheetrock) Various Calibers
"Box O Truth" tests small pistols
"Box O Truth" tests small pistols part 2
Terminal Ballistics As Viewed in the Morgue
Norma's Ballistics Calculator for All Bullets
Body Armor Stops Handgun Bullets, But Not Rifle Bullets (Photos)
Glaser Ammo Discussion with Photos
Various Handgun Calibers Compared
Corbon Ballistics Info, All Calibers
Choosing A Handgun by Caliber
Handgun Cartridge Chart of Velocities/Penetration/Etc.
The Top Cartridges of the 20th Century
Federal Expanding Full Metal Jacket
Have No Faith in Your Defensive Handgun Caliber!
Gunthorp's Ammo Basics
Ammo Stopping Power/Other Specs for all calibers
GunsAndAmmo Ballistics Charts for Rifles/Handguns
Have No Faith in Any Particular Caliber
Pictures of cartridges/sizes
Ammo for Self-Defense
Speer Gold Dot Ballistic Info
Impact Force of Falling Bullets
"Stopping Power" for Beginners
Terminal Ballistics
A HARD LOOK AT HANDGUN STOPPING POWER
Pistol Ammo Ballistics from S and B
Ammo Picks for Self-Defense
Google's Directory of Ammo Makers/Sellers
Terminal Ballistics from "Steve's Pages"
TABLE OF BULLET ENERGY - PISTOL LOADS
MagSafe Negative Tests
CorBon PowRBall Review
Ammunition Articles from "Handguns"
Guns and Ammo "Let's Clean House"
Cartridge Size Measurements
Another site for cartridge measurements
Effectiveness of various calibers
Handgun Ballistics
Mini Revolver Ballistic Tables from NAA
A Wide-ranging Ballistics Discussion
Beginner's Guide to Stopping Power
Chart Comparing Handgun Cartridge Stopping Power
Speer Gold Dot Handgun Ammo Reviewed
The Fallacy of Energy Transfer
Ammunition Performance Data
Handgun Effectiveness
Recommended Ammo for Kel Tec P32
The Truth About "Cop-Killer" bullets
Personal Defense Ammunition Terminal Performance Test Data
Federal Hydra-Shok Ballistic Info
Sub-sonic ammo
Interesting Ballistics Discussion
Wound Ballistics, Step by Step
DeBunking Sanow and Marshall on Ballistics/Stopping Power
Chart Comparing Handgun vs Rife Ballistics
Kinetic Pulse Article
Rifle Ballistics Figures (You may like to compare your mousegun)
Carmon Crapson's Water Jug Tests with All Calibers
Download Ballistics Software from Stevespages

Miniatures

Miniature Calibers in German Derringers
Very Small Rimfire Ammunition
Antique Louis Flobert 5mm
Pengun, 6mm Flobert Caps or 22 Short
4mm Cartridges
6mm Flobert Short Cartridges (in Spanish language)

17 Caliber

Chuck Hawks Rimfire Articles
New NAA .17 Cal.

22 Caliber

Aguila Interceptor Review
NAA Black Widow .22WMR -vs- Wet Newspaper
22 Long Rifle Stopping Power
60 GRAIN AGUILA AND 36 GRAIN REMINGTON 22 LR PERFORMANCE COMPARED
22 Rimfire Lethality Discussion
Early Metallic Cartridges
CCI Velocitor 40gr tests
Another CCI Velocitor Review with Test Results
Velocitor Ballistics from Muzzle to 400 yards
Velocitor Range Report
Velocitor Chronographed from Six Different Guns
V-Shrake's 22 Ammo Trials
Golden Loki's .22 Caliber Gel Tests
Six Different .22 Cartridge Styles
.22lr Subsonic Sniper Ammo (24" penetration is not born out by the GoldenLoki Gel tests-see below link)
22LR Super Maximum Hollow-Point Ammunition (1750 fps)
PMC 22 Caliber Ballistics
22 Ammunition Trials
Carrying a .22 mag for Self Defense
Using a 22 for Self-Defense (Discussion)
22lr for Precision Hunting
22 Magnum As A Revolver Cartridge
More 22 Magnum Wetpack Tests
The 22 Magnum Cartridge (Chuck Hawks)
Many 22 Magnum Cartridges (Ballistic Info)
22LR Gel Tests by GoldenLoki
Chuck Hawks Rimfire Articles
The .22 Ammunition Trials
Using a 22 for Self Defense
The Often Over-Looked, Under-Appreciated, Inexpensive .22 lr. Rimfires
Evolution of the Rimfire Cartridge
History of the 22 Rimfire Cartridge
Various Remington 22 Cartridges with Ballistics
22 Rimfire Cartridges/Velocities
22lr Gel Tests by GoldenLoki
22 Rimfire Ammo from Around the World
22 Best for CCW
22 Magnum pistols and ballistics info
CCI 22 caliber ammo
22 Mag self-defense ammo discussion
The Sleeper (22 mag)
22 Mag Discussion
22 Ballistics Information
CCI 22 caliber ammo
22 Mag in Revolvers
Thirty Four .22 Ammo Discussions
22 Stopping Power
Complete Rimfire Ballistics Table
Velocitor and Stinger Compared
Discussion AND Velocity measurements for many makes
22 Rimfire Ballistics Tables
(SubSonic Sniper) 22LR Ammo
Oldgranpa's 22 Magnum "Ballistics Blog"

25 Caliber

25ACP Stopping Power Discussion
25ACP Performance Data from "Steve's Pages"
25 vs 22 Discussion - Which is Better? .25ACP Gelatin Tests
Precision Small Arms

32 Caliber

32 ACP TESTS UPDATED
Chronograph Results Comparing .32ACP, .32NAA and .380
32 Caliber Ballistics, Various Ammo Makes
32 Caliber Shootout - Four Different Guns
32 Caliber is Under-rated
32ACP Gel Tests by GoldenLoki
NAA .32 mousegun ammo
32NAA Ammunition
Kel-Tec P32 gel tests, etc.
32 Magnum Ballistics

380 Caliber

OG and F&S Test Varieties of Ammo in the AMT380
Old Granpa's Comments's on DoubleTap .380 ammo
DoubleTap .380 (OG's report on the Seecamp Forum)
DTWilly Tests DoubleTap 380 ammo
Oldgranpa's Bersa vs KelTec Shootout
Seecamp 380 Bone Test
380 Velocity Testing
Wetpack test of 380 DPX by "Dipped"
Nov. 2006--"Oldgranpa" does wetpack tests of .380 ammo in an NAA Guardian
Corbon DPX .380 tested in a Bersa .380
Rohrbaugh R9S / Seecamp LWS380 Shoot-outVarious Ammo Tested
Same Report with Other Pix and Comments on the Seecamp Forum
DTWilly Compares Corbon DPX to Ranger T Ammo
380 DPX Tested on A Raccoon
DT_Willy's Wet Newspaper Tests on DPX 380
Flyandscuba's DPX tests in the Seecamp LWS380
Corbon DPX 380 Gel Test Results
380 Wetpack Tests with Bersa (includes Corbon DPX)
Old Granpa's Truly Final .380 Wetpack Tests (with a Sig)
Old Granpa's Truly Final Tests with comments by Stephen Camp
Why the .380? (American Rifleman)
38 Special or .380 ACP
Winchester Ranger 380 Remarks
Corbon DPX Reviewed by Stephen Camp
Corbon Powrball in .380 Tests
380 Ammo Discussion
Makarov vs 380ACP
380 Santa Barbara and D. Nobel Chronographed
Santa Barbara Ammo Dissected, Weighed, Measured, etc!
Santa Barbara 87 grain 380 tests
Corbon 380 DPX tests (80 grain)
Corbon 380 Powrball tests (70 grain)
KTOG Discusses Corbon DPX and Powrball
380 Powerball vs FMJ test in wet paper
Popularity of the .380 is Great
GlockTalk Discussion on Best .380 load
Corbon DPX 380 tested in a Bersa
Kel-Tec P3AT testing ammo in gel
380 Defense Loads Discussion
380 Performance from "Steve's Pages"
380 Guardian Velocity Tests from NAA
380 Discussion
380 Performance Data
380 ACP discussion
Best ammo for Kel-Tec P-3AT
380 vs 9mm for Self-defense
Winchester 380ACP varieties
+P ammo for Kel-tec P3-AT
380 and 9mm in Wet Phone Books
GoldenLoki's 9x18 (Makarov) Gel Tests
Bobo's Huge List of Links to .380 Ammo Tests (on KTOG)

38 Caliber

38 Special Snubby Ammo

9mm Caliber

Note: 9mm is about .354 inches

9mm Water Jug Testing of A Variety of 9mm Ammo
Winchester 127-gr. +P+ (RA9TA) ultra speedy 9mm load
Kahr PM9 Wet Pack Ammo Comparisons by JGRider on the USRAnge
Rohrbaugh R9S Range and Ammo Comparison Report
More Rohrbaugh R9S 9mm Ammo Testing
Bonded Golden Saber in 9mm through gallon milk jugs
9mm Velocity Testing on Many Brands
History of the 9mm Cartridge (Long and many pictures)
Long/Good Discussion on Effectiveness of 9mm Ammo
Corbon 9mm 115-gr. DPX +P--(Fired from Browning Hi Power w/factory barrel, w/Barsto barrel, and from Glock 26)
J.P's 9mm Wetpack Tests (Many Brands)
Firearms Tactical 9mm Ammo Performance Tests
The History of the 9mm Luger Cartridge
Photo of 8 Different 9mm Cartridges
9mm speed tests in a Kel-Tec P-11
9mm Ballistics Wetpack Testing
9MM Gel Tests by GoldenLoki
9mm vs 380 (compared)
380 vs 9mm for Self-defense
9mm ballistics discussion
9mm stopping power
Kel-Tec P11 9mm gel tests many ammo varieties
Rohrbaugh R9 Ballistic Tests
9mm High Power Velocities
Corbon PowrBall 9mm 100 grain Ballistics
9mm Aguila Ammo Velocity/etc.
9mm Various Manufacturers Performance Data
Why the 9? Advocating the 9mm cartridge
9mm Ammo Recommendations (Discussion)
9MM Ballistic Info, shot from a Rohrbaugh

357Sig

357 SIG Article from GunWeek
Pete's 357Sig Page (Lots of Info)
A 357Sig Advocacy Page

.40SW Caliber

Flyandscuba's DPX Testing/RangeReport
Gun Tests Ballistic Data from Three Compact .40's
.40 S&W Performance Data
Is .40 better than 9mm?
Extensive Ballistics of 40SW from 4.5" and 16" barrels

.45ACP Caliber

Discussion of Various .45 ammo from a "short barrel"
Kahr P45 / Taurus PT745C Shoot-out and Wet Pack Test
45 Caliber Advertised Velocities
Taurus Hex and Other .45 bullets (see photos)
The Jethro Bodine Ballistics Lab tests 45 ammo

Ammo Sales/Manufacturers

Ammunition to Go (in Texas)
Polywad Shotgun Shells
Triton Ammo (QuikShok, Hi-Vel, etc)
SouthernOhioGun
PMC Ammo
CCI Ammo Company
22ammo.com (22 ammo for sale)
Cabela's Handgun Ammo
Cabela's 22lr bulk ammo
AIM SURPLUS Low Cost Ammo
The Ammo Bank
Ammo Direct
Speer Ammunition Company
Winchester Ammunition
Buy Ammo at "The Armory"
Natchez Shooting Supply
Cabela's Handgun Ammo for sale
Sellier and Bellot USA
MagSafe Ammo
Chestnutridge Ammo for sale
Dan's Ammo for sale
The Ammo Man
RBCD Performance Plus Ammo
RBCD Ammo
Cheaper Than Dirt Ammo
Corbon Ammo Company
The Federal Cartridge Company
Remington Ammo Company
MidwayUSA Ammo For Sale
Hirtenberger Ammo
Wolf Pistol Ammo
DoubleTap Ammo

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Tuesday, February 05, 2008

New Weapon Against Terror: LED Incapacitator Flashlight


LED Incapacitator (LEDI) from Intelligent Optical Systems.


United States Homeland Security has paid a technology group almost $1 million to develop a next generation weapon, an LED Incapacitator (LEDI) for police and officials to use against rioting crowds or protesters.

Homeland Security has paid $800,000 to Intelligent Optical Systems to develop this LEDI and already law enforcement officials are calling it “controversial." ACLU officials are comparing it to the highly controversial Taser.

It was developed to handle protesters without using bullets, pepper spray, rubber bullets or Tasers.

Bob Lieberman, president of Intelligent Optical Systems, spoke to CBS13 reporter Brandi Hitt, saying the moment the flashlight is on, it will cause disorientation. Thus, it will be easy for the police to disable rowdy protesters quickly to make an arrest or to manage a crowd.

The LEDI causes nausea, dizziness and severe headache, as Hitt learned after being exposed to a LEDI on a trial basis. She said watching this in-person is irritating and will disorient you.

Lieberman said the LEDI flashes lights at several specific frequencies. It does not let the brain get used to a pattern, so it varies the frequencies rapidly. It also gives off multiple colors and random pulses. The cumulative effect makes a person disoriented.

Lieberman said the only way to escape these effects is to:

Close your eyes, put your hand up, turn your head away, all of which will give the user the advantage they need,"

U.S. Homeland Security wants to provide this device to the Coast Guard, Security Service, Border Patrol and Air Marshals. Los Angeles County Police will also be equipped with this device soon.

As CBS reports:
Commander Sid Hale with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department helped design the device over the last three years, and says this is something all law enforcement wants, especially at night and for crowd control, so they don't have to pull their guns.
This technology can also be extended from a gun-type device to be used in a variety of situations including in prisons to qualm riots and on vehicles to stop unruly mobs.

Others like ACLU’s Michael Soller, however, say if a user is not trained properly, the LEDI will become as lethal as Tasers, which have killed more than 300 people in the past few years according to the ACLU.

Lieberman said it will not blind a person, as it has built-in measures that prevent the light from going beyond a present threshold. Medical safety tests are already underway, and law enforcement field trials will likely start later this year.

Initially the LEDI will be available for law enforcement but later Intelligent Optical Systems may make this device available to the public. Already some are worried that it may be used by criminals.

You can see the main demonstration in a video here. The above video gives brief highlights of LEDI.

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MUST SEE RUGER VIDEO

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FOR COMPLETE MAKAROV ARTICLE GO TO
http://actionsbyt.typepad.com/actionsbyt/2008/02/makarov-article.html

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NEW GUNSMITH FORUM
http://thegunsmiths.com/phpBB2/

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www.actionsbyt.com

www.actionsbyt.blogspot.com

www.tacticalknives.blogspot.com

www.actionsbyt.typepad.com

www.actionsbyt.wordpress.com

www.truthaboutparts.blogspot.com

www.commentsbyt.blogspot.com

www.tjofsugarland.blogspot.com

www.handgunpartsforsale.blogspot.com

www.hipowersandhandguns.com

www.mouseguns.com

www.trippresearch.com

www.wowtexas.com

http://www.spw-duf.info/links.html#guns

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DO NOT DISTURB - ISLAMIC TERRORIST FIGHTER NOW IN PARADISE WITH HIS 72 VIRGINS


56

Thursday, February 07, 2008

STEPHEN CAMP - CORBON "DPX"

MUST SEE RUGER VIDEO

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FOR COMPLETE MAKAROV ARTICLE GO TO
http://actionsbyt.typepad.com/actionsbyt/2008/02/makarov-article.html

********************************************
NEW GUNSMITH FORUM
http://thegunsmiths.com/phpBB2/

********************************************

www.actionsbyt.com

www.actionsbyt.blogspot.com

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Corbon .38 Special 110-gr. DPX Ammunition

Tested in 3 Different Barrel Lengths

By Stephen Camp

In recent years, a hue and cry for expanding ammunition that doesn't fragment and penetrates at least 12" in 10% ballistic gelatin has been the new beat to which high-performance ammo makers have been marching.

From Remington, we see the Golden Saber while Speer has the bonded Gold Dot line of hollow points. Winchester's law enforcement Ranger SXT line represents yet another entry as does Federal's new bonded version of the old Hydrashok.

Corbon, a maker of fast, aggressive expanding ammunition, continues with the type loads that made it famous, but has also been exploring other possibilities. First came their PowRball, a +P round in several calibers that expands massively and penetrates a bit moreDeep Penetrating X (bullet). I have seen the X bullet used with great success in rifle calibers. than the Sierra Power Jacket Hollow Points used in their traditional defensive line of ammunition. Corbon has the manufacturing rights to a relatively new bullet. It is a copper hollow point "X bullet" made by Barnes. Corbon calls this new load "DPX" for

The copper bullet used in the DPX ammo is homogeneous; in other words there is no jacket to possibly separate from the core. Copper is more malleable than typical gilding metal and less likely to break off during expansion. The copper content on the very well respected Winchester Ranger line of JHP's has a higher copper content than normal for jacketed hollow points.

Corbon offers the DPX for the .38 Special. What' more is that it is offered in a standardpressure load! The bullet has a longish profile and weighs 110 grains.

This is the 110-gr. DPX standard pressure load. It is advertised at 1200 ft/sec. A crimp is evident on the case mouth and there were no bullets that worked loose from recoil during firing.

Examining the .38 DPX cartridge, I noticed that the virgin cases are from Remington and are so head stamped.

The Corbon DPX .38 Special cases are from Remington. The hollow point is massive and approximately 0.135" wide and 0.335" deep. The cartridge is longer than most 110-gr. JHP's. Copper is not as dense/heavy as lead so the bullet must be longer for the same weight.

Corbon wisely chose to offer a .38 Special round in standard pressure. Lots of +P ammunition exists for the caliber, but in light guns, some people just don't care for the snappier recoil. Others don't wish to use high-pressure ammunition in their standard-pressure-rated revolvers.

It's probably a safe bet that the majority of .38 Special revolvers being used for defense are snubs in the role of either primary or secondary weapons. For that reason, I used a 1 7/8" S&W for checking velocities, expansion, and accuracy. I then recalled that more than a few folks have mentioned liking their 3" .38's and .357's, so they might be interested in how this load might perform from their guns. Since 4" guns do defense duty in more than a few households, testing really needed to be included for that barrel length, too!

Corbon's 110-gr. DPX was fired from three Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolvers. The snub was a Model 638. The 3" used was a Model 64 and a 4" Model 10 rounded out the trio.

These three S&W's were used to test the 110-gr. DPX.

Ten shots were fired approximately ten feet from the chronograph screen for the average velocities provided in the following table. Velocities, extreme spreads, and standard deviations are in feet per second.

Corbon .38 Special Chronograph Data:

Gun:

Bbl. (in.):

Low:

High:

Average:

Extreme Spread:

Std. Deviation:

S&W M638

1 7/8

1005

1045

1077

40

16

S&W M64

3

1073

1157

1118

84

27

S&WM10

4

1088

1160

1122

72

25

It is interesting to note that in these particular revolvers, the ammunition performed mostshortest barrel! Notice also that the velocity differences (average as well as high and low) are practically identical for the 3 and 4" guns. None hit the 1200 ft/sec mark, but out of the longer barrels, they were in the ballpark. consistently in the

No apparent signs of excessive pressure can be seen on this fired case or primer. I could literally shake the empties from any of the revolvers without using the extractor rod.

Most defensive scenarios for private citizens are measured in feet or inches rather than yards. Nevertheless, I decided to shoot a slow-fire, double-action group at 10 yards with the Model 638.

This group fired with the snub consists of two cylinder's worth of ammunition or ten shots. Notice that at both 7 and 9 O' clock the bullets hit the target at an angle. I fired another group of five shots using a Model 642 and this did not occur.

Six shots were fired single-action at 15 yards using the 3" Model 64. There was no evidence of key holing and the group is more than satisfactory in size for self-protection needs. Most of us cannot shoot groups of this size at speed and under stress. Groups fired with the 4" Model 10 were practically identical. I did not shoot this ammunition farther than 15 yards today.

Recoil felt considerably less than with my usual carry load, Remington 158-gr. LSWCHP +P. Out of the same gun, the 110-gr. DPX shows to average between 6 and 7% less; it felt like the recoil was considerably less than the figures indicate. Someone sensitive to recoil might very well appreciate this load.

On the left is the front view of the Remington 158-gr. LSWCHP +P compared to the 110-gr. DPX. The former is my usual "carry load" in the snubs, but recoil is sharp and many do not find it pleasant. Felt recoil is subjective but to me, the DPX felt recoil is much less than the 6% reduction it shows on paper.

Recoil from the Airweight J-frame was the "greatest" of the three, but it was not bad at all. I think even a new shooter would have no problem with it. Out of the heavier all-steel guns, it was pleasant.

Corbon advertises that the DPX should meet or exceed the 12" depth desired by many when fired into ballistic gelatin whether bare or passing through 4 layers of denim. I fired several of the rounds from each gun into water.

Here's what I got:

Most of the rounds looked like the "best examples" shown on the left. The single "worst example" is shown at the bottom right. It partially expanded and its recovered dimensions are 0.48 x 0.44". Most of the time recovered bullets averaged 0.67" across and were very uniform. They were also about 0.51" tall. The bullets lost essentially no weight. I didn't pull the bullets and weigh them before firing, but the recovered weights were never lower than 108 grains. Most were right at 109.

The two sideways hits on the J-frame's target were disappointing, but may be peculiar to that particular revolver. It did not happen at all with a different snub I happened to have in my pocket nor was it seen from either the 3 or 4" guns.

I see this standard pressure load as an option for those wanting a lower recoiling lightweight snub defensive load that offers both expansion and penetration. With Federal's 125-gr. standard pressure Nyclad hollow point no longer being available to the general public, DPX might be a viable option. It does offer a few more inches of penetration than the 8 to 10" generally reported from those doing ballistic gelatin tests.

This Federal 125-gr. standard velocity Nyclad hollow point was fired into water from a 4" barrel at an average velocity of 938 ft/sec. Its recovered diameter is 0.42 x 0.49 x 0.54" tall.

Here is the expanded 125-gr. Nyclad hollow point fired from a 4" barrel flanked by an expanded DPX (left) and the "worst" one in today's test (right). The two DPX loads were fired from a 1 7/8" barrel.

I am not privy to the engineering details at Corbon concerning the DPX, but I think if the bullet can be made a tiny bit shorter, the key holing problem will disappear. It is not an issue at all in barrels longer than 1 7/8".

The expanded petals are tough and have sharp edges but soft enough not to be brittle. The longer overall length of the bullet contributes to its ability to penetrate deeper than if it flattened out more. So does having the gaps between the petals. This lessens the "parachute" effect of the solid wide mushroom, but still damages tissue effectively.

The pointed profile of the Corbon DPX made the use of a speed loader a snap. Under stress, finding the relatively large revolver chambers should be easier for shaking fingers with the smaller diameter meplat of this bullet.

Whether by choice, official mandate, or other circumstances, the snub .38 is sometimes the choice for defending life or property. Is it the best? No, probably not, but it has the advantage of being there when needed due to its compact size and light weight.

If you or someone you know uses the .38 for "serious" purposes but have issues with recoil, this load might be worth a hard look. If you cannot or will not use +P in your revolver, this might be worth a try. Will it be replacing my usual +P carry load in my snub? The jury is out on that one. I want to see problems with stabilization have eliminated in the ammo or know that they were specific to my revolver. In a 3 or 4" barrel, I'd have no qualms about using this ammunition right now.

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Is John McCain Ineligible to Be President?



Pundits are now writing obituaries . John McCain's sinking campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

I hereby join them with a fundamental question: Does the Arizona senator fulfill our Constitution's eligibility requirements to be president?

Like several other prominent American politicians, John McCain was not born in the United States.

Article II of the Constitution specifies that "no person except a natural born Citizen . . . shall be eligible to the Office of President."

Because of this, California's Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in Austria in 1947, is ineligible to be president. He moved to the United States in 1968 and became a U.S. citizen in 1983.

Because of this, Michigan's Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1959, is ineligible to become president. She moved at age 4 with her family to Hollywood and failed at acting before entering politics. Granholm became a U.S. citizen in 1980.

Questions arose about another Michigan governor in 1968 when George Romney, father of current GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, sought the Republican nomination.

George Romney was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, where his Mormon father had fled in 1886 with his three wives after the U.S. government outlawed polygamy — what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had previously called "plural marriage."

The Romney family went to Mexico but never gave up their U.S. citizenship. On the eve of Mexican revolution in 1912, they returned to the United States. At age 32, George Romney settled in Michigan in 1939.

Democratic political foes later nicknamed Romney "Chihuahua George," but the general consensus was that he was eligible to seek the presidency.

The first Congress of the United States on March 26, 1790, had passed legislation that said: "The children of citizens of the United States that may be born beyond the sea, or outside the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural-born citizens of the United States."

Most of us could infer that this opinion during the era of America's founding settles the question of whether citizen-sired children like Romney are eligible to become president.

But this 1790 legislation was not the Constitution itself. A future U.S. Supreme Court ruling might reinterpret the vague language of our bedrock legal document otherwise.

This matters because, as mentioned earlier, Sen. McCain was not born in the United States.

John Sidney McCain III was born on Aug. 29, 1936, in Coco Solo in the Panama Canal Zone, where his U.S. Navy admiral father was serving our country.

Panama itself was created by the United States at the whim of Theodore Roosevelt, who backed rebel claims of Panamanian independence from Colombia. T.R. won agreement from the new nation of Panama to build the Panama Canal in a territory called the Panama Canal Zone, controlled by the U.S. from 1903 until 1979, when Democratic President Jimmy Carter surrendered it.

The place John McCain was born was controlled by the U.S. in 1936 but is no longer American controlled today.

Nobody disputes that John McCain was from birth a United States citizen.

And most of us agree that it would be unfair to deny presidential eligibility to patriotic citizens born to parents serving overseas in the U.S. military. Such people are likely to be among the most patriotic and worthy of Americans.

But the Constitutionally-mandated term "natural born citizen" remains subject to reinterpretation by future Supreme Courts.

And, frankly, there is much that seems unnatural and un-American about Sen. John McCain.

Why has he been so eager to extend rights and a path to citizenship to millions of illegal aliens in ways that would benefit the Democratic Party?

Why did he push the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, a measure that manifestly gags freedom of political speech and, again, benefits the Democratic Party?

Why as a nominal Republican has he spoken and voted so often against cutting taxes?

More than any other recent presidential candidate, McCain is a genuine war hero who suffered torture as a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton.

But his odd political positions leave many with a suspicion that this experience turned him into a Manchurian Candidate, secretly programmed by the enemy in ways even he might not understand to do their bidding by advancing the American left.

During his 2000 Presidential run, McCain was lionized by the liberal media as a "maverick," i.e., as someone who criticized and undermined conventional Republican positions.

McCain's campaign is foundering today for two reasons.

He has taken positions too far left to win the hearts and minds of conservatives, who dislike and mistrust him. (Ironically, they prefer Fred Thompson, who as a U.S. senator from Tennessee was close to McCain and in the words of American Conservative Union head David Keene was "a chief water-carrier for McCain-Feingold.")

But of late McCain has staunchly supported the war in Iraq and moved right in other ways that alienated his former boosters in the liberal mainstream media. They therefore no longer find him a useful club with which to bash Republicans.

His flagging campaign, which reportedly has only $2 million on hand but has been burning money at the rate of $3 million per month, recently jettisoned half its staff.

McCain has a long and honorable family history as a warrior. He can remember at age 17, the year he entered the Naval Academy Annapolis, drinking a toast with Adm. Halsey to mark the naming of a destroyer for his grandfather. (The USS John S. McCain was sold for scrap in 1980.)

McCain might enjoy, even prefer, fighting for the presidency from his current position as underdog.

And in theory he could yet win — but his chances of a comeback grow slimmer with each passing day.

When federal authorities were unable to convict gangster Al Capone of other crimes, they jailed him for tax evasion.

For the safety of America, John McCain should never be president. If stopping him requires invoking the petty technicality of his Panama Canal Zone birth, then let it be so.

© 2007 NewsMax. All rights reserved.

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DO NOT DISTURB = ANOTHER ISLAMIC FIGHTER IS IN PARADISE WITH HIS REWARD OF 72 VIRGINS.

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