Weapons Grade Stupid: "New York homeland security chief used handgun as laser pointer during speech"

     From Albany Times Union: 

Jerome M. Hauer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's director of homeland security, took out his handgun and used the laser sighting device attached to the barrel as a pointer in a presentation to a foreign delegation, according to public officials. It happened Oct. 24 in Albany at the highly secure state emergency operations center below State Police headquarters.

These officials, one of whom claimed to be an eyewitness, said that three Swedish emergency managers in the delegation were rattled when the gun's laser tracked across one of their heads before Hauer found the map of New York, at which he wanted to point.

Hauer, commissioner of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, was disabled by a stroke a few years ago and can be unsteady. He isn't a law enforcement official. He carries the loaded 9-millimeter Glock in a holster into state buildings, an apparent violation of state law barring state employees from bringing weapons to the workplace, several witnesses say.

The incident with the Swedish delegation occurred during a two-hour briefing at the operations center concerning the state's response to Superstorm Sandy, according to one of the officials.

Asked about the matter over the course of several weeks, Cuomo's press aide promised to look into it but has repeatedly had no comment. Hauer's communications officer, Peter Cutler, also promised to look into it, but he has declined to respond beyond saying he is unaware that it happened. "I've heard rumors," Cutler said.

Read the rest here.

      This man is dumber than a sack of rocks. The mere idea of using a pistol, which he wasn't supposed to have in the room, as a laser pointer is monumentally stupid. He completely disregards any shred of gun safety in his actions, with no regard for the safety of his audience, and could have shot a Swede official in the head. The pistol was in all likelihood loaded to boot. And let's not forget he was carrying a Glock pistol (I'd take the Glock line with a grain of salt as any chunky, black pistol is automatically a "Glock" in the eyes of the untrained, but New York does have a lot police departments using Glock weapons), and Glock pistols don't have safeties. When the trigger is pulled on a loaded Glock pistol, a bullet will fly. There is a reason for that, but this post isn't about that. The fact that a major security official in the State of New York exhibited such flippancy with a loaded firearm requires nothing short of this man's firing and humiliation. This is unacceptable in a law enforcement officer on top of his disregard for the laws which he is supposed to uphold. Fire this asshat. 

Mikhail Kalashnikov Dead at 94

     From Defense News:

MOSCOW — Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of fabled AK-47 automatic rifle, died Monday, the office of the presidency in the Udmurtia region where he worked said. He was 94.

Kalashnikov designed a weapon that became synonymous with killing on a sometimes indiscriminate scale but was seen in the Soviet Union as a national hero and symbol of Moscow’s proud military past.

“He died about one-and-a-half hours ago,” Viktor Chulkov, the spokesman for the Udmurtia leader Alexander Volkov, told AFP.

Lavished with honors including the prestigious Hero of Russia prize for designing the iconic rifle, Kalashnikov has said he had never intended for it to become the preferred weapon in conflicts around the world.

“I created a weapon to defend the fatherland’s borders. It’s not my fault that it was sometimes used where it shouldn’t have been. This is the fault of politicians,” he said during an award ceremony at the Kremlin to mark his 90th birthday.

Read the rest here.

The AK-series has been in pretty much every flare up since Vietnam. It's been used to kill a lot of Americans. But, a man cannot be faulted for defending his country. And to give credit were it is due, the AK is probably the most reliable weapon every produced. RIP Kalishnikov, you earned it.

Mossberg MVP: Bolt Action With An AR Magazine

     In 2011 Mossberg came out with a new line of bolt-action rifles referred to as the MVP series. Basically a scout rifle, but with a twist. The MVP series is built to use an AR-15 magazine.

 I first found out about these rifles at this year's NRA convention here in Houston. The MVP Varmint runs $599.99 at Academy, if you can find one. All four MVPs come in .223/5.56 with .308 versions due out this summer. Pics below.

The strength of that angled sliver on the bottom on the bolt could be a concern, as it is what pushes the round out of the magazine.

     This is rather interesting because it dramatically increases the amount of ammunition immediately available to someone carrying a bolt-action rifle. I'm going to have to get my hands on an MVP.

Read more about the MVP at The Truth About Guns.