Letters - Brief Article

Guns Magazine, July, 1999

Worms Of The World, Unite!

Finally, someone had the guts to say it the versatility of the .30 caliber is a weakness, not a strength! ("I Am A Worm" May 1999 GUNS.) I prefer to do my deer hunting with a .270 or go after big game with a .375.

Tell Jon Sundra "bravo." That article proves he's a man of wisdom and practicality, not a worm.

Guy Brian

Boston, Mass.

For the record, the title "I Am A Worm" was chosen by the editor, not the author. Sundra was concerned that the title implies repentance on his part, which he strongly denies. The editor replied. "Got your attention, didn't it?"

Your Money Or Your Guns

Municipalities litigating against gun manufacturers for gunshot injury costs will generate several unwelcome consequences. Whether gun manufacturers win or lose, the process will be very expensive to the public. Here is a partial tally:

First, gun manufacturers must fight governments with nearly unlimited financial resources. They must charge more for their products to cover their costs. On the other side, taxpayers will pay for the litigation. Gun buyers who are taxpayers will be the hardest hit.

Guns will become very expensive, conceivably approaching several thousand dollars per item. Police departments, military and federal agencies will pay similar premium prices, further impacting the taxpayer.

Second, a lucrative market in stolen and smuggled firearms will be created. Burglaries and home invasions will increase. Firearms will be smuggled like drugs because of their high market value. Human costs will fall disproportionally on the poor who can no longer afford firearms to protect themselves.

Consequently, we must hire more police, judges and attorneys, and build more prisons. Will it be necessary to expand police powers to include random searches of vehicles, persons and their homes for stolen guns? Will laws be changed to help find guns in the "wrong hands?" We can surely expect the federal government to propose and implement confiscation programs to protect the public from increasingly violent crimes.

Whether you buy and use guns or not, you have a stake in the coming changes in our society. The ownership of guns for personal defense and recreational purposes has been a mainstay of our culture. A gun can make the weakest as strong as the strongest

Guns are used for self-defense over two million times per year. Similarly, states which issue concealed carry permits to good citizens experience a reduction in crime. Early development of shooting skills supports our military. Overall, guns may be viewed as beneficial to our society as the automobile. Both are subject to misuse.

We must all wonder where our culture is headed. It might be best to begin preparing for the worst.

Don Dishinger

El Granada, Calif.

Charlie Petty's Intestines

I am happy that a writer finally has the intestinal fortitude to say that the super hot handloads are not the way to go! I have seen a lot of guns blown apart by handloads that someone tried to make just a little hotter, usually while trying a load they read about in a magazine.

(I remember one turkey who tried a triplex .44 Mag. load some fool wrote about -- result: one destroyed Ruger, one scalp wound, one scarred hand.)

I believe in freedom of the press, most especially for gun magazines. A lot of trouble has been caused by writers who A) write in such a way as to be easily misunderstood, B) are ignorant and/or stupid, or C) don't bother to check their facts. This appears to be more the case with handloading than with most other issues.

I fear that the general "use caution" disclaimer in most magazines will not be enough when some idiot writer says 50 grains of XYZ (pistol powder) when he really meant 50 grains of ZYX (rifle powder) with the result that handloader klutz loses half his head. Klutz's loss is a lawyer's gain, and another gun magazine is out of business, amid cheers from HCI, who instigated the lawsuit.

Jim Keenan

Middletown, Md.

Un-Smartly Un-Convinced

I have just read Charles Petty's "Handloading" column in the April issue of GUNS. If one has several brands of .45 Colt caliber handguns, including a few Colt clones, and maybe one or two Ruger types I could agree with Petty. Those of us who are concerned with hunting (magnum or close) loads, however, probably own only firearms that can handle these loads.

Personally, all my .45 Colt guns are Rugers. My Cowboy loads push a 260 grain lead right at 920 fps from a Bisley Vaquero. My hunting loads are upwards of that. With only Rugers and a .45 Colt Winchester lever gun, I don't feel I can accidentally blow something up. Don't worry about my becoming enamored with anything that isn't up to being as versatile as my Rugers.

So how smart are those of us that make sure we don't slip a real load into a lesser firearm? How many of us can afford a Freedom Arms .454 for a few days of hunting a year when we can have, for 1/3 the cost, a firearm that will be versatile enough for Cowboy Action Shooting and hunting?

I will still read what you write about loading and firearms because I find you informative and sane, and I can understand the safety message here. There are those of us, however, who do not consider ourselves un-smart when we take the proper precautions.