Category Archives: Shooting

Followup: Jackson County

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Last week I wrote about a Jackson County ordinance passed last December without fanfare or notice. The ordinance effectively banned shooting in most of rural Jackson County—areas used for farming, personal shooting and hunting. Under the ordinance, outdoor shooting and archery was banned.

The Western Missouri Shooters Alliance hosted a meeting for affected Jackson Countians, a member of the county legislature, the county sheriff, and two members of the Missouri General Assembly. The meeting drew the attention of the Independence Examiner and several days later, the Kansas City Star.

A review meeting was conducted yesterday afternoon to discuss the ordinance. The county legislature unanimously repealed section (c), the new addition that banned shooting. There are already ordinances in place that govern shooting across property lines and at structures.

With the repeal, the ordinance reverts to its language as it was last year.

Jackson County legislators repeal controversial ordinance that made some hunting illegal

By BRIAN BURNES – The Kansas City Star, 07/28/2014 5:55 PM, UPDATED: 07/28/2014 7:07 PM

The Jackson County Legislature on Monday unanimously approved deleting a section of the county weapons code that prohibited discharging firearms or arrows in parts of eastern Jackson County. The ordinance had confused and angered landowners such as Wade Noland, who said it prohibited them from hunting on their property.Once again, eastern Jackson County landowners can hunt legally on their properties.

The Jackson County Legislature on Monday unanimously approved deleting a section of the county weapons code that prohibited shooting firearms in parts of unincorporated eastern Jackson County.

The vote followed 45 minutes of testimony before the legislature’s justice and law enforcement committee. The swift action pleased a crowd that filled all available chairs and lined the walls of the legislative chambers in the Jackson County Courthouse Annex in Independence.

The old ordinance, approved in December, prohibited shooting firearms or arrows anywhere within irregular patches of land within the county’s “urban development tier.” That tier covers patches of land stretching from near Greenwood to near Sugar Creek.

Legislators and other officials said they had been motivated by genuine concerns over negligent gun owners discharging firearms in a manner that allowed bullets to strike residences.

A county official displayed maps Monday pinpointing the locations of nine incidents reported to the sheriff’s office before the December vote. Seven more incidents have been reported since.

Greg Grounds, the former Blue Springs mayor who co-sponsored last year’s ordinance, insisted that he and his colleagues had meant well.

“It was well-intentioned,” he said, adding, “It was not well thought out by myself.”

Melissa Morehead, a Blue Springs resident whose family owns 36 acres in one of the affected areas, said the ordinance had caused rampant confusion.

“In one hasty move, you criminalized hunting,” she said. “You criminalized that and you didn’t tell us.”

Lack of communication compounded the problem, she said.

“We spent the Fourth of July weekend calling our neighbors,” Morehead said. “For seven months, if we were shooting our guns, we were doing it illegally.”

Joe DeBold, an urban wildlife biologist with the Missouri Conservation Department, testified that property owners who hunt lawfully assist the department in controlling wildlife.

“They have to be able to discharge firearms,” DeBold said.

The legislature unanimously approved the new ordinance, which retains language that prohibits shooters from firing bullets or arrows beyond property boundaries.

Afterward, Kevin Jamison of the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance promised assistance if the legislature ever wanted to revisit the issue.

“None of us want unsafe practices going on,” said Jamison. “That doesn’t help anybody.”

A win for the people against petty tyrants. The common folk still have power.

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Firearms in the local news

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Jackson County, MO, has been in the news this week. The first was the result of unintended, for some, consequences. The second was grandstanding by Kansas City Sly James.

Back in December, the Jackson County legislature added  sub-section (c) to an existing ordinance, 5534.2. That addition said:

c. Discharge a firearm or projectile weapon:

(1) Anywhere within the area described as the “Urban Development Tier” in the Jackson County Master Plan “Strategy for the Future,” dated January 1994, as amended; or

(2) In a manner so as to allow a projectile to travel beyond the boundaries of the tract of real property from which it was fired onto another tract not under common ownership.

This subsection 5534.2.c shall not apply to any otherwise lawful activity taking place on the grounds of a firing range or gun club as permitted under section 24005.9 of this code or under the duly enacted ordinances of any competent municipal authority within Jackson County. (Ord. 2106, Eff. 6/16/92; Ord. 4595, Eff. 12/02/1

Before this section was added, the boundaries of this ordinance was 1-mile beyond existing city limits. After the change most of rural Jackson County was within the new boundaries making shooting firearms illegal in almost all of Jackson County. The Independence Examiner was present and published this article yesterday.

Dozens of people attended a meeting Tuesday night at Bass Pro Shops in Independence largely focused on Jackson County's weapons offenses ordinance. Zach McNulty | The ExaminerTuesday night, the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance hosted a meeting between 120 or more Jackson County residents and officials from the county and nearby state districts. The officials were MO State Senator Will Kraus (Lee Summit), State Representative Sheila Solon (Blue Springs), Jackson County Legislator Greg Grounds (Blue Springs), Jackson County Mike Sharp and his deputy Col. Hugh Mills. Jackson County Legislator Greg Grounds and Jackson County Mike Sharp took the brunt of the questions and comments from the residents.

At the end of the meeting, Legislator Grounds vowed to repeal the new section. Sheriff Shark stated he was assist as he could to do the same. State Senator Will Kraus and State Representative Sheila Solon said that if the county didn’t act, the state would.

The flaw in the ordinance was using a map, drawn for economic development and planning, to determine areas of high density population. The map was never intended for that purpose and is frequently updated, expanded, to show future plans for expansion into the county. Greg Grounds reported he was one of three county legislators who would vote to repeal the section added to the ordinance. Five of the nine county legislators must agree.

There has been a meeting to repeal this new section. That meeting was continued. The followup meeting is scheduled for July 28th.

“The hearing was continued to 28 July, 2014 at 2:30 in the Jackson County Independence courthouse, in the basement,” said Kevin Jamison, President of the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance.

The second instance of firearms in the news was Kansas City Mayor Sly James pushing for an ordinance to prohibit open carry within Kansas City. The city’s Public Safety committee rubber-stamped an endorsement of the proposal.

“’Our community is not a battleground,’ James told the committee,” in an article posted on the Kansas City Star’s website. That statement would be a surprise to anyone who peruses the Star and it’s continuing causality lists that appear almost daily in the Star. It’s unclear what James meant by the statement since there are been no instance of open carry in Kansas City leading to an exchange of gunfire. 

Likely, James is using the old “blood in the streets!” screed that the left has yet, after decades of use, proven. Everywhere citizens are allow to carry, openly or concealed, crime has decreased, not increased.

We really should not be surprised by James faulty logic and fear-mongering. After all, James is a democrat, and Kansas City is a democrat enclave in conservative Missouri. James is following the democrat reflex to continue democrat policies of ensuring Americans are defenseless against the growing criminal element.

James admitted that the city’s ordinance is likely to be an effort in futility. Missouri SB 656 had a provision to prohibit local governments, like Kansas City, from writing ordinances banning open carry. Democrat governor Jay Nixon vetoed the bill earlier this month. However, SB 656 had enough votes in the legislature to override Nixon’s veto. The legislature has already used their veto override once this year.

State Senator Will Kraus (Lees Summit), speaking before the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance Tuesday night, said he was confident the state legislature would override the veto of SB 656 during its veto session on September 10th.

So, if Sly James knows this new city ordinance will be revoked by the legislature, why do it? Anyone knowing the antics of Sly James would immediately say, “It’s to get more face time before the TV cameras!” That would be true, but he already has near-constant coverage by virtue of his office as Mayor. What other motive could he have? Perhaps, so say some, James is looking towards the future and thinking about challenging Roy Blunt for Senator. James knows he can get more political creds from democrats by making the exercise of Kansas Citians right to bear arms more difficult.

Am I an open carry advocate? No, I am not. But there is the occasional circumstance where I would like to remove a cover garment, like a jacket, exposing a weapon and not be penalized for momentarily carrying openly.

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Intended Consequences

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http://www.millcreekrc.org/cms/index.php/mcrc-photo-gallery/image?view=image&format=raw&type=img&id=162Saturday was a range day. I’m in the process of joining a new rifle club. Saturday was the time for the required safety class. It’s a growing range with pistol, shotgun and rifle ranges up to 500yds.

A club member and shooting buddy joined me after the class. We did a bit of pistol shooting (my Colt Commander does give me hammer bite!) and then shot 10″ steel gongs at 200yds. I surprised myself with hits using the iron sights on my AR Frankengun (Olympic upper and lower receivers plus the barrel, with DPMS innards.)

One of my to-does is cleaning my pistols and rifle. That also means I have to clean up my office to free up needed space.  What a way to force me into Spring cleaning!

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I wrote about the Kelo Decision last week in a post titled, Boundaries. The decision allowed the municipality of New London in Connecticut to seize private property (Kelo’s) for a developer’s use. The argument was that the developer would put the property into better use (read generate more tax revenue to the city,) than the private owner. The suit went to SCOTUS and was upheld. A travesty. It was a win for the left who believe everything belongs to government and government allows ‘private’ owners to use their property only under governmental ‘guidance.’

That line of thought has arisen here in Missouri—St. Louis, to be specific.

St. Louis County Abrogates Property Rights

By Timothy Birdnow, April 29, 2014

St. Louis County, Mo. is planning to force property owners to purchase a landlord’s license to rent out or even allow friends or family to inhabit a privately owned domicile.

Not content with collecting fees for “safety” inspections and occupancy permits, the county government is now intent on imposing a landlord’s license and extracting yet another fee.  Duplication of current law aside, this new requirement strikes at the heart of a fundamental legal right: the right to ownership of property.

Private property is the most basic principle in American jurisprudence.  When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he borrowed from the philosopher John Locke, who asserted three fundamental rights enjoyed by all: life, liberty, and property.  Jefferson, at the urging of Benjamin Franklin, changed the last to “pursuit of happiness” because he did not want to give slaveholders any sort of legal justification should abolition finally overtake the “peculiar institution.”  Still, everyone knew what Jefferson was getting at here, and though the Declaration is not a foundational legal document, it does illustrate the mindset of the Founders, who clearly believed in ownership of property.

As John Adams stated:

The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

And so it is; without a sacred view of property, a society inevitably slides into despotism.

The first property right is self-ownership.  We have seen the left nibble away at this concept, and the ObamaCare mandate has effectively tipped the scales toward state ownership of American citizens.

With that under their belts, the Progressives can now turn their lustful eyes back toward real estate.  Actually, they have been nibbling away at the rights of property owners for decades.  Eminent domain, the Fair Housing Act, zoning restrictions, occupancy permits, “safety” inspections (which are more often than not also about cosmetics), property maintenance codes – all circumscribe the rights of owners to have final say on the use of their property.  Yes, many of these things were well-intentioned and have contributed to a more pleasant society, but the movement has been ever toward government regulation of private property.  While property rights are not absolute, where does ownership end?  If government tells the owner how he can use his property, can it be said that we have private ownership at all?

We’ve seen some huge leaps in recent years: the Kelo decision allowing property to be taken from the lawful owner and given to a developer, for instance, or the declaration of property as environmentally sensitive and so not allowed to be developed.  We have the Cliven Bundy affair; Bundy had purchased grazing rights, which are in themselves a contractual interest.  We’ve seen government shut off water to farmers , or allow lands to be flooded, bankrupting farmers and forcing them off their lands.

Now we witness the imposition of licensing requirements for property owners.  The issuance of a license presupposes that government holds the rights and that the “owner” is being granted a privilege.

Read the bill here.

The bill is chock-full of “at the discretion of the Administrator.”

The column continues at the website, but that last sentence is crucial—“at the whim…” In short, the rules can change any at moment for any reason or for no reason at all! The result is total governmental control. He or the agent who makes the rules is the true owner of the property. If this is passed, the county will be the owner of your property, not you.
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Bullet Points

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Today’s topic is a collection of small items that have appeared in the news. Yesterday, everyone was talking about the shootings in Overland Park, KS outside the Jewish Community Center and a Jewish Retirement Home. A lot of information was discussed by the networks and local media outlets. As the day grew on, it was revealed that NONE of the victims were Jewish.

The grandfather and grandson were there for an audition for a local talent show. The Center was being used for the auditions. The show was a regional affair unrelated to the Center. The woman was at the retirement home to visit a relative. She was a Christian. In fact, late yesterday, it was announced that all three were Christians and committed church-goers. Whatever motive the shooter had, he didn’t attack anyone connected with the Jewish Community in the Kansas City area, just innocent people at the wrong place at the wrong time.

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This section could be titled, “What goes around, comes around.” It appears a RINO may reap what she’s sown.

‘RIGHT-TO-WORK’ FIGHT — Following last week’s vote against “right-to-work” and her vocal positioning with Democrats and Labor against the issue, some in the House Republican Caucus have began a quiet campaign to pull Rep. Anne Zerr, R-St. Charles, from her chairmanship of the House Economic Development Committee. Several caucus members have taken that concern to House Speaker Tim Jones, but it is unlikely the speaker’s office will ultimately pull the trigger. On several other priorities (tax credits, for example) Zerr has been a loyal supporter. And it isn’t like Zerr has been necessarily standing in the way: Instead of the “right-to-work” bill going through Zerr’s committee, it went through Rep. Bill Lant’s special committee on the workforce. — PoliticMO Newsletter, April 15, 2014.

There are a few others in the Legislature who should have their leadership and Committee assignments removed. The time for fence-sitting is over. You are either a conservative or you aren’t. Legislators no longer have the option to pick and choose.

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If there was any doubt that Harry Reid was behind the Bundy/BLM confrontation, his remarks on it certainly implies that he was. He spoke with reporters yesterday saying, “It’s not over.”

Tough-talking Harry Reid vows Bundy ranch showdown ‘not over’ for feds

Feds seek administrative solution; protesters stay

By Valerie Richardson – The Washington Times, Monday, April 14, 2014

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid weighed in on the Nevada ranch standoff, warning that even though federal agents retreated over the weekend, “it’s not over.”

Mr. Reid’s remarks Monday appeared to be his first public comments since Bureau of Land Management agents touched off a confrontation with demonstrators last week by seizing cattle from the Bundy family ranch in a dispute over grazing fees. The agency, which says Cliven Bundy owes more than $1 million in unpaid fees, backed off Saturday and returned the cattle.

In impromptu remarks Monday after a speech at the University of Nevada, Reno, however, Mr. Reid struck a defiant tone on the matter of lawbreaking.

“We can’t have an American people that violate the law and just walk away from it,” Mr. Reid told Reno TV station KRNV. “So it’s not over.”

That feeling was shared, albeit from the opposite direction, by some of the hundreds of protesters from across the West who congregated at the Bundy cattle ranch near Mesquite, Nev.

Tyler Lewis, from St. George, Utah, stands in the middle of northbound Interstate 15 with his gun near Bunkerville, Nev., while gathering with other supporters of the Bundy family to challenge the Bureau of Land Management on Saturday. (Associated Press)

Enlarge Photo

Tyler Lewis, from St. George, Utah, stands in the middle of northbound … more >

Many of them remained Monday at the property, despite pleas from federal and state officials to disband and return home.

“I feel sorry for any federal agents that want to come in here and try to push us around or anything like that,” Jarad Miller said in an interview with KRNV-TV. “I really don’t want violence toward them, but if they’re going to come bring violence to us, if that’s the language they want to speak, we’ll learn it.”

Bureau of Land Management agents returned about 400 cattle to the Bundy family over the weekend amid escalating tensions between law enforcement and hundreds of anti-BLM demonstrators outside the ranch.

Mr. Bundy’s son Ammon was struck with a stun gun, and local television footage showed Bundy relatives and supporters engaged in heated arguments with law enforcement officers.

BLM spokesman Craig Leff confirmed Monday that “the gather is over” after telling reporters over the weekend that the bureau will “continue to work to resolve the matter administratively and judicially.”

Speculation on Mr. Reid’s role in last week’s confrontation at the ranch has been rife, given his prominent position as Nevada’s elder statesman and his ties to BLM director Neil Kornze.

Mr. Kornze, 35, served for eight years on the Senate leader’s staff before joining the BLM in 2011. He was the Mr. Reid’s pick to head the agency, and his final confirmation was April 8 as the roundup at the Bundy ranch was underway.

In an updated statement Saturday, Mr. Kornze said the cattle gather was halted “because of our grave concern about the safety of employees and members of the public.”

Mr. Reid also has been accused of attempting to shut down the ranch in order to move ahead with two nearby solar energy projects, an accusation denied Monday by the senator’s press aide.

The column continues at the website.

Every time you turn around, either Harry Reid or his son, Rory, is involved in this story. Rory, runs Harry Reid’s real-estate empire in Nevada and is attempting to sell a solar project with hardware produced by the Chinese. To top if off, Neil Kornze, the newly installed BLM manager, is a former Harry Reid staffer!

Wheels within wheels. After watching Harry Reid’s machinations for the last decade, it is apparent he won’t let this little speed bump halt his Billion Dollar plan. There will be another attempt on the Bundys, another armed raid by the feds on a citizen. The real question is, “Will the militias return if the Feds attack again?”

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Wednesday’s Words

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The big topic in the media these last few days is “immigration reform.” First let’s lay out the facts. It’s not about immigration and it’s not reform—it’s AMNESTY! It’s just another attempt to defraud the American public into believing more liberal lies—with the conscious assistance of some ‘Pubs, Marko Rubio for one.

Rubio made the conservative media rounds yesterday, Limbaugh, Hannity and Levin and others presenting his side of the issue.  The problem is that it isn’t Obama’s side. Rubio stated that security must come first. Good, I’m glad he said that. Unfortunately, it’s a fantasy. It doesn’t mean that border security will actually happen.  There was supposed to be an electronic fence built on the US/Mexican border. It, too, was a prerequisite in the last immigration reform bill. I’m still looking for that fence. From what I’ve been able to determine, only a few miles of the fence was ever built before the whole project was abandoned.

Rubio said the criminal immigrants would be excluded. Evidently he’s forgotten the definition of “illegal.” All those who are here illegally are criminals and they continue in that criminality by staying here. By Rubio’s logic that would mean that all aliens currently living in the US illegally would be excluded. I don’t think that is what he meant.

Legal immigrants, as a condition of being given a Green Card, sign a statement pledging that the immigrant will not accept any public assistance, nor public monies for a period not less that five years—no welfare, no Medicaid, no food-stamps, nothing.

Under Rubio’s plan, there are no similar prohibitions. The illegals would be given social security cards, driver’s license, and be eligible for welfare, food-stamps, Medicaid, plus—the Earned Income Tax Credit—a negative income tax if they earn below the poverty level. Many (most?) of these illegals do live below the poverty level. They will receive money from the government in the form of a tax-refund, a refund on taxes you, not the illegal, paid.

I’m against the whole plan. I would prefer we enforce existing law. We wouldn’t have to round up the illegals if we made it impossible, perhaps just difficult, for them to be parasites on the American public.  They’d soon leave for easier pickings. There is a reason why they are called ILLEGAL aliens.

Here is a LINK to other writers with opinions on this so-called immigration reform.

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I just heard on the radio that a Missouri legislator is pushing for gun safety classes in schools. It is the NRA’s Eddie Eagle project. A number of Missouri schools already have Eddie Eagle classes. This legislator, Dan Brown, wants to make it mandatory for all Missouri schools. The radio newsitem triggered another memory from my childhood.

I previously blogged about guns in schools in my posts, PROTECTED, and MR. HELFRITCH. There was another instance when guns in schools was the topic of the day.

When I was in the third grade, as I remember, one of the local farmers shot himself in the leg with a .22 rifle while climbing over a fence.  It was the talk of our rural community. My father was on the school board and the incident was mentioned. One of the board members suggested that we have a gun-handling session for the schoolkids to make sure they all knew how to cross fences safely and were taught general gun safety procedures. Mr. Helfritch was nominated and after a quick phone call he agreed.

A week later, all the school kids, from the youngest in the first grade through those in the eighth grade, boys and girls, and all the teachers, gathered at the rear of the school yard where an old rusty fence separated the school yard from a field. It was a small school. There were only around 80 pupils in attendance in most years.

Mr. Helfritch taught three grades at a time showing how to check to see if the rifle was empty, how to unload it if it wasn’t, to empty and place the rifle on the other side of the fence before crossing and to only cross when those steps were finished.

Cooper’s Rules hadn’t been written at that time, but Mr. Helfritch wrote some of his own that closely matched those later created by Col. Jeff Cooper. He spent another hour with everyone reviewing his rules, why they are important and some examples of the consequences of failing to abide by those rules. There were some parents present during this class and I remember one saying that he’d learned some new things during that class.

I don’t know why the classes didn’t continue. Perhaps, with the exception of the incoming first graders, all the students had been trained. But time passed. Mr. Helfritch left for another teaching position, there was a new school board—my father didn’t run again and there was a new Principal with different priorities. I do know that none of those students trained by Mr. Helfritch ever had a gun incident or injury.

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Range Report

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My wife, blog partner Dinah and I had an outing Saturday.  We hadn’t been out together for almost a year.  The last time we went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant.  This time Dinah wanted to smell burnt gun power.

We picked Dinah up, loaded the Tahoe and arrived at the Pioneer Gun Club’s outdoor McBride range about 2PM.  There were a few folks at the short rifle range and a CCW class was just finishing the shooting portion of their course at one of the pistol bays.  We drove down to the pistol bays and ended up sharing one with another member who was teaching a teenager how to shoot.

PGC Pistol Bay #3

Between the three of us we had close to a dozen firearms.  Mrs. Crucis and I took two .38s, a .357 and two .45s, a .22 rifle.  Dinah brought her carry pistol, a 9mm, a .22 revolver and some .38s—one a snubbie with Crimson Trace laser grips and her .22 rifle.  We shot all the pistols but didn’t get around to shooting any of the rifles.  Next time we concentrate on them.

We selected an old cable spool as a range table, set up some targets and spent two hours shooting our pistol collections.

Prepping to shoot. PGC

In the photo above is my 2 1/2″ S&W M13 and my Colt Commander.  We used the binoculars to check the targets. We were sharing the bay and had to stay behind the shooting line until we could jointly declare a cold range and go forward.

We shot at 15yds—the shooting line established by the other shooters in the bay.  I started with my .38 snubbie and didn’t do all that great. At least I was able to keep my rounds on paper (although I did score a direct hit on the bottom staple. Thereafter, the target had a tendency to fly up when hit by a gust of wind.)

I know I’m getting older and that reflected on my shooting. The black sights of my snubbie and later the fixed sights of my M13 just blended into the black inner rings of the target.  I wasn’t much better when I switched to the Colt Commander.  The Commander has the standard Colt small military-style sights.

After an embarrassing number of rounds, Dinah found some orange target pasters. The pasters gave us a bit of contrast between the target and the pistol sights. Finally I was able to put some .45 rounds in the 10-ring.

After shooting paper for a couple of hours, we moved to the next bay that was set up for falling steel plates.  The lack of color contrast was an issue again.  I continued with my Commander. The sights once again blended into the grey steel of the plates.  I had one good run knocking down all six plates with a round left over in the magazine.  Thereafter I got tired and just couldn’t maintain a good sight picture.

Keeping a good sight picture is difficult when you can’t focus on the front sight.  I probably would shoot better with trifocals or shooting glasses that would allow be to focus at full arms length.

At the end of the day, I discovered the Commander had given me hammer bite and the pounding recoil all afternoon had caused the  web in my hand to swell.

Colt Commander Hammer Bite

The hammer bite wasn’t as bad as I have received in the past.  I had two cuts that oozed a little and the powder residue stung a bit.  The photo above was taken after I had washed my hands and cleaned the cuts with hydrogen peroxide.

At the end of the day, we migrated to the clubhouse and had some celebratory Ice Cream drumsticks—our tradition.

PGC Clubhouse – McBride Range

Contrary to some of the photos above that I’d taken earlier in the week, Saturday was overcast, dark and spitting some occasional rain.  We were dry during the afternoon but the dark clouds threatened to open at any moment.  We left the range a little after 5pm and headed home.

All in all, it was a great afternoon.

As promised, pics of my Commander

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As I promised, here’re some photos of my “new” Colt Combat Commander.  It was manufactured in 1977 according to the serial number.  I’ll have to get used to the small military sights. At one time, the curved back-strap/main-spring cover was replaced with a flat one.  That’s the same as my other two 1911s.  I may install a curved one at some time.

I haven’t been to the range yet.  It’s been either scorching or raining.  Sunday afternoon is looking good so far.