WordPress did something creative and managed to lose an entire year of content, from July 2020 to July 2021, representing hundreds of hours of work, testing and writing.
After the initial panic subsided my intrepid wife/in-house IT person Linda managed to figure it out and recover them… and we lost the last four posts since July 23rd.
Linda has recovered those, too, but I need to reconstruct them, add the images to them etc., so those posts will be re-appearing out-of-order as soon as I get them whipped into shape.
In the meantime new content will be appearing as per usual. Thanks for bearing with us in this time of internet f*ckery.
I needed a round-butt J-frame to use as a model/fitting gun for making grips, but was not eager to spring for a new or even good used gun. I mean, it didn’t need to be good for my purposes. I trundled over to Pinto’s Guns in Renton to see what I could find, because you never know with them.
I explained what I needed to Chris, and he disappeared into the back, returning a moment later with a cardboard box. Inside was a fully stripped Chief’s Special that had received some sort of coating like Ceracote. “I think it’s all here,” he said. We quickly agreed on a (very nice) price and it was all over but the paperwork. The ‘box-o-bits’ was mine.
Gun, Interrupted..
Naturally on arriving home the first thing was to assemble it. Not necessary for Grip-making purposes, but definitely needed for Tinker purposes. All the important bits were there, but some of the springs were missing. I got online and in minutes they were on order from Numerich Arms. Shipping cost more than the springs.
The gun also came with a set of ‘oops-I-bought-the-wrong-gun’ shrouded grips, sans grip-screw, of course. They have been re-homed, and I hope their new owner enjoys them.
Naturally I didn’t need the gun to work for grip-making, so I started right in. Made a few different patterns, and in the fullness of time the springs arrived. I installed them and now I had a functional J-frame on the cheap. Consulting folks on the S&W forums it appears my gun was made in 1954 or 55; no model numbers or serial number behind the crane and it has a flat latch.
It had its issues; the edges of the trigger were too sharp and the tip too square, so it could be uncomfortable if I didn’t pull the trigger juuuust right. There was a bit of this and that that wasn’t to my satisfaction too. I’d been hitting it pretty hard in the shop the last couple of weeks, and with a medical appointment this afternoon I decided to play a bit in the morning.
Polished and smooth as, uh, a really smooth thing.
First issue was the sharp trigger. I detail-stripped the gun and took a 600-grit sanding drum to it to round the end and smooth off the sharp edges. Then it was over to the buffing wheel to make it shiny. Mission accomplished.
Next was the hammer spur. I don’t shoot snubbies single–action, and if it isn’t hammerless or shrouded the hammer spur goes. I gotta’ say, the case-hardening on these S&W hammers is hard. I smoother the truncated hammer with the belt-sander, followed by the 600-grit sanding drum and finally polished on the buffer. An artful application of Birchwood Casey Perma-Blue and Brownell’s Ox-Pho and it actually matches the case-hardening pretty well.
Achievement Unlocked: Hello Bob! Also painted the front sight with bright orange enamel.
Back to a sanding drum to re-shape the front of the trigger-guard. This allows faster access to the trigger when my strong-hand trigger-finger is in the ‘safe’ position on the frame.
I refinished the trigger-guard with ox-pho blue, and it was time to address the grips. I’d found some very pretty Goncalo Alves wood the other week, and I’d made a nice set that fits my hand to a T. Easy to grip, and the gun indexes very naturally as it’s brought on target.
Since I actually carry and use revolvers I make sure my hand-made grips will accommodate a speed-loader, in this case the classic HKS 36.
With the modifications complete I cleaned, lubed and re-assembled the gun. It fired a cylinder full of CCI small-pistol primers without a problem, so next it’s off to the range and see what I can do with her there.
This gun was rode hard in it’s previous life; there is some pitting here and there visible through the coating and a lot of wear on the inscriptions. Nothing against that; this gun was made to be used. The trigger I would classify as ‘nice’ rather than great; on the heavy side but very smooth with little stacking. We’ll see what’s what at the range, and if it proves out there this might well become a carry gun.
Last Saturday a man was shot and killed near Silver Lake. This is a small lake with a swimming area and parks, and I spent a lot of time there when I was younger; swimming, picnicking; the sorts of things one does at a recreational area.
A gun is not a solution; it’s the tool you resort to when all other options have been exhausted. It is the LAST resort, not a hammer for every nail.
It was a typical summertime weekend afternoon at the park. Suddenly a man walking his dog started screaming obscenities, deployed a metal baton and began chasing people, including a grandmother with her grandchild. He is not reported to have actually struck anyone, but the situation had potential to end badly. It did.
A bystander intervened verbally, and the man with the baton pepper-sprayed him and struck him repeatedly with the baton. Another man also attempted to intervene, and at some point deployed a concealed handgun and shot the suspect twice. The suspect was transported to a nearby hospital and subsequently died. The shooter was detained and questioned, but no charges have been filed. It appears that the authorities are inclined to view this as a justifiable homicide.
In Washington state rules regarding the use of lethal force in self-defense are that the person employing force must have a reasonable belief that they or another innocent party are in imminent danger of death or grave bodily harm. Someone shouting that they are going to kill you is not enough, unless they have a demonstrated capacity to carry out that threat at that time. This would be demonstrated by that person by brandishing or using a weapon.
By this standard the authorities appear to be inclined at this time to view this as a justifiable shooting, and no charges have been filed. But there’s a difference between ‘justifiable’ and ‘necessary’ that needs to be examined here.
First things first. I was not there. I did not witness the incident, and we do not have all of the facts available to the witnesses, the shooter, the police or courts. Let’s take a look at what we do know.
The weapon deployed by the suspect is considered a ‘Less Lethal’ weapon. This is a weapon that while capable of producing a lethal injury it is not intended to do so. Police batons, pepper spray, rubber bullets and TASERs all fall into this category. Simply striking someone with this weapon is unlikely to produce ‘death or grave bodily harm.’ The suspect also used pepper spray, another ‘Less Lethal’ weapon.
Second, the suspect was obviously deranged and violent, but did not necessarily represent an immediate threat of death or grave bodily harm to either the shooter or the man he had pepper-sprayed. He had deployed a potentially lethal weapon, but had not yet used it in a manner likely to inflict death or grave bodily harm but the potential for both was undeniably present.
Based on the information available to us this appears to be a legally justified shooting. But the question that comes up in my mind is was it necessary? The use of lethal force is the court of last resort, to be employed only when it is the least bad solution to the problem. Looking at the information we have the shooting was justified, but may not have been the least bad response.
We do not, cannot know what was in the mind of the armed citizen that shot the suspect, or what combination of thoughts, experience and immediate circumstances led him to resort to deadly force, but put yourself in the situation for a moment and think about it. Is there something else that could have been done? Might it have been better to use a lesser degree of force? Would it have been better to observe the situation without direct intervention, but be ready if it became necessary?
My inclination, based on the facts available to us is that I would not have resorted to lethal force. I would have stood ready to intervene if necessary, and that intervention might have been an unarmed response. But I’m a large, well trained and physically-capable man. I also have a good understanding of the weapons employed by the suspect. That’s not true of everyone; we are each individuals and need to make decisions based on our own unique circumstances, which will inevitably result in different outcomes. In some cases these factors may result in a sub-optimal outcome, but it might be the best that could reasonably be hoped for.
If you carry a weapon for self-defense you need to be aware of and consider all of the options in a situation. It is immensely helpful to consider situations like this in detail and be aware of those options before you find yourself having to respond. It can literally be the difference between life and death, and not just yours.
