Freedom Seeker

Guns love or hate them without guns virtually every country would not be a country. Politics goes only so far. Also throughout its history guns have made it much easier to put food on the table. There is also the fun in shooting contests whether it be with a pistol, rifle, or shooting clay pigeons. Many countries such as the United States embraces the right to bear arms or to own a firearm for self defense.There are a few other countries that embrace guns as much as the United States such as the Czech Republic and Switzerland just to mention a few.

                 “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”.

I live in the United States. Every Independence day and New Year celebrations many people fire their guns. I live in a city and I can hear all the different types of guns being fired during these celebrations. I just smile. The many countries that do not embrace the US second amendment have had their crime rates go up dramatically. In a world full of hate and the criminal element it is the gun (in my opinion) more than diplomacy that saves the day. You cannot reason with religious fanatics, armed thieves, or crazies such as terrorism. They only understand force.

Cartridge pistols and rifles, black powder firearms (percussion cap and ball, flintlock, whether they be a reproduction or a modern day percussion cap and ball firearm), or air guns are all lethal.  Some of the more popular firearms arethe  AR15, AK47 to the M1911 a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986.

Taken from theprepperjournal.com: “The AR-15 is a lightweight, magazine-fed, air cooled rifle with a rotating-lock bolt, actuated by direct impingement gas operation or long/short stroke piston operation that fires 5.56 mm/.223-caliber ammunition.

A Little History

The AR-15 was first built by ArmaLite as a small arms rifle for the United States armed forces. Because of financial problems, ArmaLite sold the AR-15 design to Colt who made some modifications and the redesigned rifle was subsequently adopted as the M16 rifle which was the main rifle used by US Armed Forces. Colt then started selling the semi-automatic version of the M16 rifle as the Colt AR-15 for civilian sales in 1963 and the term AR-15 has been used to refer to semiautomatic-only versions of the rifle since then.”

Do you prefer the lure of muzzleloader hunting above all else? Keep historical weaponry alive with black powder rifles, shotguns, and hand guns. There was quite the evolution of firearms starting with flintlock muskets of the late 1700s such as the 1795 Springfield .69-Cal. Flintlock Musket. Then there was the Pedersoli 1816 Harper’s Ferry .69-Cal. Flintlock Musket. Then along came the 1859 Sharps Berdan .54-Cal. You do not have to get a replicated firearm from the past Impact Guns also has many modern day percussion firearms.

Do you prefer pistols or revolvers?  With a trusted brand like Uberti, you are assured of  top-quality black powder pistols and revolvers. Percussion (cap and ball) black powder guns were a big advancement over the Daniel Boone type Flintlock. Using cap and ball instead of a flint and a pan of gunpowder made carrying the weapon so much easier. Cap and ball guns were more reliable and the revolver was able to come to be.

For the longest time, inventors tried with varying degrees of success to create a handgun that could fire more than one shot before having to reload. But it only became viable with the invention of the percussion cap around 1820. The small copper cap filled with shock-sensitive explosive eliminated the flint mechanism and the need for priming powder in a flash pan.

Connecticut-born Samuel Colt drew inspiration for a handgun that had a rotating cylinder that used one barrel and was locked in place by the cocking of a hammer. After various hardships, Colt had his first working handgun and set up the Patent Arms Company to produce the new gun.The year was 1836 and the gun was the Paterson Colt. The Colt Paterson was the first practical repeating firearm, and it got its name from the town of Paterson, New Jersey, where Colt set up shop. The gun came in a belt and pocket model and was available in .28, .31, and .36 caliber. Less than 3,000 Patersons were built and the U.S. government ultimately declined to adopt the new gun, which was deemed too fragile and complicated.

Then along came Captain Samuel Walker of the Texas Rangers. He developed a cap and ball revolver and was  produced by Colt in 1847. The Walker Revolver was the largest gun manufactured by the company and remains the most powerful sidearm ever used by the U.S. military. It also held the largest powder charge of any black-powder revolver. Only about 1,000 of the originals were produced, making the Walker one of the most sought-after firearms by collectors.

The Walker,however, had what was considered a design defect. The load (black powder) it was designed for was 50 grains, but the cylinder would actually take 60 grains. People would use 60 grains anyway but that practice had a bad way of bursting the cylinders. Colt remedied the issue by shortening the cylinder so that it would only hold 50 grains, like it was always intended to, and released the gun for public sale as the Dragoon.

I have 3 replicated revolvers from the black powder era. One is the Colt Model 1851 Confederate Navy .44-caliber revolver. Although designated as a Navy revolver, the Model 1851 saw heavy use among Army officers who favored .44-caliber firepower. It was constructed partly of brass because of the South’s limited supply of steel. The other two are Remington  Model 1858 New Army .44-Caliber  Revolvers. (The “1858 Remington” is a modern collector’s term for the Remington New Model Army. The Old Model started production in 1861 with the slightly improved New Model Army coming out in 1863). My Remingtons are stainless steel. My two models were probably the two most famous revolvers used in the civil war.

The Colt® 1836 patent expired in 1857, and so Remington introduced a solid-frame design that was both elegant and reliable. The Remington became so famous that it was the prevailing choice of military officers following the Civil War. Colt improved on their previous version and came out with their 1860 model. The Colt was Wild Bill Hickok’s weapon of choice. I like the balance of my colt and it is lighter than my Remingtons. My Remingtons,however, are more rugged. It is amazing how big the pistols were back then. I mean the people were so much smaller. They meant business! I use 35 grains of black powder in my Colt whereas I use 40 grains of black powder in my Remingtons. Using 40 grains gives my Remingtons the same firepower as a snubnose 357 magnum!

Legality of Black Powder Firearms

It is legal to own a Black Powder Firearm as described under Federal law. The language of 18 USC 921 is clear, and specifically states that muzzleloaders are not considered firearms — they may be legally owned and possessed by anyone. Whats more no liscense is needed to buy a Black Powder Firearm. You can walk into any store, buy a percussion (cap and ball) type of firearm that uses black powder and just walk out. Remember, though, this is federal law be aware of the laws of your state. This is what I found out about state laws: From a Blackpowder site “Notice: The sale of all black powder firearms and ammunition is regulated by law in the following areas: Michigan, Illinois, California, Hawaii, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico.

Shipping is either illegal or requires some type of license or document exchange from those states.  Check your local and state laws before ordering.” There you have it. If you live in the states of Michigan, Illinois, California, Hawaii, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee, or Puerto Rico, you need to read up about their laws governing percussion cap type of firearms otherwise you can buy a black powder pistol, revolver, rifle, or shotgun in the same way that you would buy a loaf of bread. I live in Kansas. In Kansas a person can carry any firearm by way of concealment without a liscense.

Think black powder guns do not shoot hard?  Look what a 40 grain black powder load in one of my darringers did to a 44 caliber lead ball ! The picture does not show how flat and broken this .44 lead ball is.

Black powder revolvers are perfect for home defense. I mean come on how many times do you need to fire a gun to drive away an intruder? Once,twice,three times tops? Do not get caught up in hollywood gunfights where 75 rounds are exchanged between two people. In the real world this does not happen very often.

Legality of Cartridge Firearms…How to Buy a Pistol, Rifle or Shotgun

Taken from www.washingtonpost.com:

1) First, if you try to buy a firearm over the Internet from one of the nation’s 130,000 or so* federal firearms license holders, then you have to go through a background check, period. They’ll ship the gun to your nearest licensed dealer.

2) Likewise, if you want to buy a gun online from any seller in another state, they can’t just mail the gun to your doorstep. The Gun Control Act of 1968 strictly regulates direct mail of virtually all firearms across state lines, save for antiques. Again, the seller has to ship the gun to a federally licensed dealer. The buyer would then have to go to that dealer, fill out paperwork, and undergo a background check before picking up the gun.

3) But there’s also a third option. I can check out an ad posted online by a private seller and then meet up to buy the gun in person. (There may also be some situations in which the gun could be mailed within the same state, though not handguns.) That would be a private sale and federal law wouldn’t require a background check — although some states would. California and Rhode Island require background checks for all private sales, while 12 states mandate checks for private handgun sales.

Taken from gun.laws.com:

“Gun laws vary from state to state.  Although each state has different laws which pertain to buying a gun, there are few gun laws that all states generally follow. In most states there is a minimum age in which a person can legally purchase a gun. Lastly, all states require a gun license prior to the purchase of a gun. All states also require a background check and a clean legal record. 

Gun laws which vary by state are not federal laws and are therefore enforced and regulated by state police and state governments.  Within state laws, there are also specific laws which pertain to certain gun use; for example hunting laws.” In other words know the gun laws of your state.

Federal firearms laws prevent the sale of a weapon directly to an individual in another state. We must ship your firearm directly to an FFL Dealer near you. The steps to follow are:

1. Order your firearm online using our secure shopping cart.
2. Find a dealer near you that will accept the transfer of the firearm for you. Most sporting goods stores and pawn shops will provide this service for a small fee. Also, gun clubs, shooting ranges, etc. may provide this service to you. If you don’t know which dealer to use in your area, put a comment in your order and we will help you locate one near you. We have access to a large list of dealers in the USA that will gladly handle a transfer for you. Most dealers charge around $25 for a transfer. You must confirm the transfer with your local dealer in advance.
3. Next, have the dealer get us a copy of his signed license if we don’t already have it on file. To check whether a license is on file, contact us.Please Note: It is now legal for us to accept a faxed or e-mailed copy of your dealers license! Print out this convenient coversheet, fill it out and give it to your dealer to fax with his license. That’s all there is to it!
4. Make sure the dealer knows the firearm is coming from us. If you used a dealer that we already had on file, call him to let him know that a gun for you is on the way.
5. We will send you an email when the firearm ships, which will include a tracking number.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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