Don’t Leave Your Child Alone At The Library

This news article details how some lowlife in Austin, Texas tried to kidnap little girls in a library.


(Picture Source.)

Looks like a real charmer, doesn’t he?

Anyway, the suspect first tried to make off with an 11 year old girl, who wriggled out of his grasp before running to find her father in the library.  The father kept the potential victim near, but didn’t call the police.  When Dad and daughter were in the self checkout line, the suspect came up to the girl and grabbed her by the hand, declaring that the child was coming with him.  Dad told the suspect to let the girl go, but did not call the police again!  The father and daughter checked out their reading material and left for home.

Why didn’t the father call the police?  What does he think they are for, anyway?

Later on, the suspect was found with a partially disrobed 8 year old girl in the bathroom.  Library patrons, unrelated to the little girl who had been assaulted, called the police (at last!) and detained the suspect until the authorities arrived.

Kudos to the faceless, nameless library visitors who did right by the victim.  Shame to the Dad who didn’t care if the suspect went on to assault little girls he didn’t personally know.

Shoot More Or Shoot Harder

I wrote some time ago about how there are extended magazines available for some autoloaders.  These enlarged magazines allow for more rounds to be fired before having to reload.

ruger p89 with two standard magazines and one extended

ruger p89 with extended magazine

This particular essay was in response to a reader who stated that they wanted to increase the firepower of their main defensive arm.

All of that is well and good, but I have since received a small number of missives from my readers insisting that having more shots doesn’t increase the firepower of a weapon.  The only way to do that is to switch to a gun that is chambered for a more powerful round.  Having more rounds to shoot isn’t firepower, but a gun that is more effective with each shot fits the bill.

model 686 357 magnum revolver

autoloader with 15 rounds

The gun on top is a revolver chambered for the potent .357 Magnum cartridge, while the one below is chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge.  The revolver fires a mere six rounds before requiring a reload, while the autoloader uses magazines that hold fifteen rounds each.  If you judge firepower by how much shooty, then the autoloader wins.

But hold the phone!  The .357 Magnum has ammunition available that is more then twice as powerful as the 9mm Parabellum offerings.  If you think of firepower as meaning hard shooty, then the revolver is a clear winner.

So which side is correct?  Is firepower how many times, or how hard?  That mainly depends on where you live.

It has been my experience that those who dwell in the northern areas of the United States mainly insist that firepower depends on how many times you shoot, while those from southern states prefer to think of firepower in terms of how effective each round turns out to be.  Up north they think of fire, while down south they think of power.

It all comes down to personal preference.  Choose whichever you prefer.

Not Really My Thing

I came across a picture I liked.  This was it.

cleaning day

This prompted Steven den Beste to ask the following.



22 long rifle version of a short barreled rifle

(Picture source.)


variants of the m16 battle rifle





ar style pistol

