Trial Set for Teen Who Fought Bullet Removal: A teenager with a bullet lodged in his forehead that police wanted removed to prove he tried to kill the owner of a used-car lot has withdrawn a guilty plea and will face trial on several felony charges...Police said Bush was part of a gang that broke into the car lot and tried to steal vehicles. Police said Bush tried to shoot the manager, a witness to the robbery, but the man fired back, lodging a slug in the fatty tissue of Bush's forehead. Bush claimed he was accidentally shot by a friend. Police and Jefferson County prosecutors wanted doctors to extract the bullet from Bush's forehead. But Bush and his attorney fought the removal because they said it would violate his civil rights. (Note the failure of a head shot to penetrate the cranial vault.) http://www.azstarnet.com/news/243826 --- From AzCDL: HB 2634, the AzCDL-requested bill that clarifies that a person with an expunged or set-aside felony conviction, or one who has had their rights restored, may obtain a concealed weapons permit, was signed by the Governor on Thursday, June 12, 2008. HB 2634 changes ARS 13-3112 regarding the process for obtaining a concealed weapons permit. It provides that if an applicant has ever been convicted of a felony, they may apply for a permit if the conviction has been vacated or if their rights have been restored, provided that they are not currently a prohibited possessor under state or federal law. DPS has interpreted the current statutory language in the strictest possible manner, in order to deny permits to people convicted of minor felony offenses decades ago, people who have since demonstrated no tendency towards criminal behavior. Many of these people are allowed to purchase and posses firearms under federal law (some are even federally licensed firearms dealers), and carry them openly under Arizona law, yet they cannot get a CCW permit due to DPS' strict interpretation of existing statutory law. HB 2634 allows these people the same protection under the law that every other citizen receives. Stay tuned! Information on legislation can be found at the AzCDL website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today! AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html Copyright © 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. --- From John Farnam: 9 June 08 The Amaranthine 9mm: At several recent Pistol Courses, we've had small-statured students, mostly women, show up with little, 40S&W pistols, like the G27, SIG 239, and Kahr/40. All have reported a rapidly-diminishing interest in additional shooting after the two-hundred-round mark! The 40S&W pistols they brought to our Courses had been provided to them by well-meaning husbands, fathers, and fiancees. However, sharp recoil (even with "practice" ammunition) combined with loud, concussive muzzle blast conspired to progressively diminish their enthusiasm for continuing with their training. In one case, my student even developed a blistered palm! I suggested to all that they abandon their 40S&W pistols and substitute 9mms. Upon taking my advice, most rediscovered their interest in continuing with the Program! Even with the most powerful, high-performance 9mm loadings, recoil is still relatively mild, and noise is greatly reduced. Control of the pistol during recoil is also significantly improved. Particularly popular was S&W's M&P/Compact 9mm, with the smallest of the three grip-size options. 40S&W and the 357SIG are wonderful calibers, and both represent substantial improvement in terminal performance over the 9mm. However, modern, high-performance loadings currently available for the 9mm surely qualify it as a "serious" caliber, and I, for one, would have no compunction about carrying a 9mm pistol for personal self-defense, loaded with nearly any modern, 115-125gr high-performance round from Cor-Bon, WW, Remington, Federal, Speer, and a number of other reputable manufacturers. Of course, most of us agree that 9mm hardball is not appropriate for serious applications and is suitable only for practice. On the other hand, given the choice, I wouldn't carry hardball ammunition, in any caliber, anywhere except the practice range. Glib predictions of the decline and eventual death of the 9mm appear to have been untimely and naive. With interest in personal-defensive pistols surging among women, and even small-statured men for whom the discipline of serious shooting has held scant interest until recent times, the 9mm will likely be around for at least another hundred years! /John (It's not just a matter of small stature. I first became familiar with the .40 S&W during my time on the border and, while I had no difficulty firing the USBP Berettas with the relatively hot 155 gr. ammo two-handed, I was surprised to observe how much recoil one of my students, a USBP firearms instructor, had firing one-handed. It only took a couple of rounds to see that I had no better control one-handed. While there are some persuasive argument for handgun cartridges that deliver at least 500 foot-pounds of energy, only hits count and it is my belief that a handgun and its ammo are best evaluated under the worst, not the best shooting conditions.) 10 June 08 Sage follow-up comments on the 9mm- and modern times: >From Irv Stone at Bar-Sto Precision, barrel-maker- second to none: "Recently, we've seen a big increase in 9mm barrel orders here. We have always manufactured and recommended 9mm conversion barrels for the G23, 27, 32, and 33. Nearly any 40S&W pistol can be easily and quickly converted to 9mm, and, with our barrels, they run smoothly and reliably. It's a good option for heavy training, while not beating yourself to death and/or breaking the bank!" You can get hold of Irv directly at _barsto@eee.org_ (mailto:barsto@eee.org) Recommended! >From my long-time friend and colleague, Claude Werner, at the celebrated Rogers School: "Even for men, we advise bringing 9mm handguns to the Rogers School! Many decline this advice and bring 40s and 357s. More than half of the time, we are compelled to provide these same optimists with 9mm loaners, starting with the third day (five-day Program), just to get them though the balance of the Course! As you say, terminal performance with 40s and 357s is surely respectable, but both are difficult to train with, particularly in high-volume Courses such as ours. In fact, no student has ever earned better than a 'Basic' rating' with a 357. Few can do anything better than passable work with it, and I've had to upgrade my electronic earmuffs just to be around them, so obnoxious is the 'over-pressure event' (our term for 'concussion') with that caliber. >From my old friend, Dave Spaulding: "Considering the current shocking disparity in price between 9mm and 40/357, I have seen many move to the 9mm, just so they can continue to practice with live ammo!" >From a friend and colleague in the Philippines: "Particularly for those who live places other than the USA, the 9mm is almost always the only viable pistol-caliber choice. However, unlike you spoiled Americans, those of us from other parts of the world will have to use hardball ammunition for the foreseeable future, if only because superior ammunition is unavailable, or restricted by law. This prison-of-circumstance highlights the importance of being able to achieve multiple, precise hits on the vital areas of a human target, quickly. When hardball is all you have, you dare not wager your life away on the unlikely probability of a one-shot, or two-shot, stop. Rather, a definitive burst of well-aimed shots will likely be required if the fight is to end quickly, and in this scenario, a high-capacity 9mm will satisfactorily support the tactic, assuming the Operator is competent. When we consider that we will not always have two hands with which to operate the pistol, the 9mm's value becomes even more evident. Carrying more ammo than you think you could ever possibly need is also a capitol idea! Figure on two, spare magazines, and more in your car. I'm confident the foregoing sounds anything but comforting to many Operators in the USA, but, then again, gunfights have never been 'comforting' events, whether your pistol is loaded with hardball or DPX!" /John (I don't know where the quote from John's Filipino friend ends but, in any case, note that I am not the only one who appreciates that "manageability" of the cartridge becomes more crucial when only one hand is available to operate the gun. Why not a .380? I prefer a round that has a reasonable chance to damage pelvic bone and .38 Special, in its +P versions, is probably the minimum that can be expected to do that.) 11 June 08 More 9mm options. This from master pistolsmith, Jim Garthwaite: "For fifteen years, I've been building custom 1911 carry-pistols, mostly light-weight frames w/Commander slides. I supply them with two barrels. One is chambered for 9mm (9X19), and the second is chambered for the 9X23. This set-up allows the Operator to practice, using the 9mm platform. Then, by simply changing barrels and recoil springs, the pistol is instantly converted to 9X23. The 9X23 is ballistically equivalent to the 357SIG. Cor-Bon's 9x23 DPX, which I recommend, sends a 125gr DPX bullet downrange at 1,375 f/s (from the 4.25" barrel). It makes a formidable carry pistol! Our ramped barrels prevent gouging of alloy frames and permit the use of the same 38/Super magazine for both chamberings!" Comment: Jim Garthwaite's name is spoken, among experienced Operators, only with the highest reverence! The package he describes above is hard to beat. I have a copy in the works! You can get hold of Jim G at _jg384045@ptd.net_ (mailto:jg384045@ptd.net) /John (I am a bit skeptical of training with one caliber and carrying another, particularly if the carry caliber will not pass what Evan Marshal calls the "Wal-Mart test." Assuming that you can find a Wal-Mart store that still carries ammo, Evan advises limiting oneself to the calibers that would be found at a Wal-Mart store. Exotic calibers, such as the 9x23mm, are likely to leave you dependent on being able to "roll your own.") -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .