There will be a gun show and military expo at the Dallas Convention center this weekend (see this link for my summary of shows in the area).  I haven’t been to this particular venue before, so it’ll be interesting to check out what’s on display and what’s for sale.

I’ve always been primarily interested in semi-auto handguns, as you can tell from my collection.  However, I’ve taken an interest in trying my hand at rifle shooting.  I’ve been doing a little research and I’ve decided on a bolt-action in .308.  I have several reasons for this choice.  First, .308 is fairly plentiful since it’s a common cartridge, it has good long-range potential, and it has good “knock-down” power (not that I’ll be using it for such, I hope).  The bolt-action mechanism appeals to me somewhat as an interesting departure from all the semi-autos I currently have (simpler to operate, less to go wrong, etc).  I won’t get into the semi-auto vs. bolt-action accuracy debate (I know it’s possible to be very accurate with a semi-auto).

I’m going to be looking closely at what’s at the show with an eye towards finding something that feels right in regards to how it fits me and how it balances.  I’ll also be looking at scopes.  I know that some people regard variable power optics as too much complication, but given my intended usage (it will be for range use only—I don’t hunt), I don’t think it’ll be a problem.

I guess all this is really just rationalization for my decision to add another gun to my collection .

On the news front, this situation with the liability verdict in Florida has left me steaming mad.  The killer broke into the gun owners house and stole the gun.  That, in and of itself, is sufficient grounds in my book to shield the owner from liability.  A person’s home is his castle, meaning that he may store firearms there any way that he sees fit and that satisfies his own needs for safety.  If I were to leave a loaded gun on my kitchen table, it’s nobody’s business but my own, since I don’t have any kids (or anyone else, for that matter) running around the place.  Anyone who steals that gun is automatically in violation of the law.  This is simple common sense, which seems to be in short supply in that Florida courtroom.

I think the thing that really pisses me off is that the jury found no fault with the killer.  Despite his claims that “the gun just went off” (yeah, right, they do that all the time), let’s not forget that when he stole the gun it wasn’t loaded.  The killer loaded the gun himself and took it to school.

Finally, if I was the distributor (who was found 5% liable), I’d file for bankruptcy or go out of business before I’d pay this.  Hopefully, it’ll be overturned on appeal (or maybe the judge will see the light and change it).  It’s a matter of principle.  The verdict is assinine.  If we let these bastards win here, they’ll be going after other industries next.

One other infuriating thing about this case is that the lead attorney has an anti-gun agenda and was involved in the lawsuits against the tobacco companies (unfortunately, I don’t have the link handy, one of my coworkers showed me the news site with that bit of info this morning; I think it was a Florida newspaper).  This speaks volumes about the real motivation behind this case.  He’s got a hatred of affordable and concealable guns and he repeatedly uses the (horribly offensive) term “Saturday Night Special” to describe them (conveniently forgetting to include the original first word of the phrase).  Perhaps I should also pick up a small, affordable, and concealable handgun this weekend, just to spite bastards like this (I’d get a Raven if they were still made).