Rum Sodomy & the Lash - Issue #46 of 2023

3D Printing & DIY

AWCY? uploaded the Glock 17F package, which is a side-folding 3D-printed Glock chassis by unseenkiller.

From Odysee:

The Glock 17F, inspired by the SMC for the P320, is a Glock 17 frame with top and rear Picatinny rails, affording the user universal flexibility for any optic or rear mounting system.
 
In keeping with the F in the name, this project includes a folding chassis system. The folding chassis engages perfectly with the frame and creates a pressure lock to prevent your stock or brace from opening unintentionally. This design has both PY2A and FMDA rail options, as well as 3 different texture options. The folding base comes in smooth, single and double QD options for sling mounts.

Guns

New Founding Podcast with Lucas of T. Rex Arms

This week, The New Founding podcast released an interview with Lucas Botkin, the controversial CBO of T. Rex Arms.

Anyone who has been around guns in the last ten years knows of Lucas Botkin and his sometimes jimmie-rustling hijinx. He gets a lot of flak from people for his theatrical shooting style, slight build, and occasional faux pas. But overall, I am a fan of both Lucas and T. Rex Arms as a company.

At the end of the day, Lucas has made a bona fide contribution to the cause of 2A. And because he makes a legitimate contribution and I think that he acts in good faith, I can overlook the occasional cringe. Assessing things based on outcomes rather than methods can help keep things in perspective, and T. Rex has undeniably moved the needle in the right direction when it comes to shaping and influencing how new shooters adopt 2A ideology.

Perhaps you disagree – but regardless, the podcast episode is a good one. Lucas has developed into a talented executive with some interesting things to say, and if you follow the gun industry or culture, this is worth your time.

(Also: check out the New Founding episode with Erik Prince if you missed it.)

Hear More:

Remington to Close NY Manufacturing Facility

Remington Arms will close its Ilion, NY, manufacturing facility in March of 2024. It is expected that layoffs will impact nearly three hundred workers at the 200+ year-old manufacturing facility.

In a letter to union offices:

“I am writing to inform you that RemArms, LLC (“the Company”) has decided to close its entire operations at 14 Hoefler Avenue, Ilion, NY 13357 (the “Ilion Facility”),” begins the letter ending two centuries of history. “The Company expects that operations at the Ilion Facility will conclude on or about March 4, 2024. The Company did not arrive at this decision lightly.”

Read More:

‘Merry Christmas from RemArms’: Ilion plant to close in March

Some families have worked at the plant for generations

Observer-DispatchAmy Neff Roth

New Barrett Long Range Gun

Friday, Barrett Firearms announced their new MRAD Extreme Long Range (MRADELR) rifle. This beast of a bolt gun features a 39" barrel chambered in .416 Barrett.

Recently crowned the “Ballistic Best Editor’s Select” for the Best ELR Rifle, the MRADELR has demonstrated excellent precision and accuracy with its remarkable performance at the global King of 2 Miles competition earning a remarkable 2nd place finish as a production rifle competing primarily against custom builds.

Read More:

Barrett introduces new MRADELR® Rifle - Barrett Firearms

Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc., the leader in long range, is pleased to announce the commercial release of their newest, award-winning firearm, the MRADELR. The MRADELR is a high quality, military…

Barrett Firearmsnathan

Shield Arms vs PSA

Shield Arms and Palmetto State Armory are currently embroiled in a copyright lawsuit. The claim? That PSA stole the Shield Arms S15 magazine design to sell with the Dagger Micro.

Read More:

Lawsuit Alert: Palmetto State Armory v. Shield Arms -

We have a good old-fashioned patent suit today. The parties are names you probably already know, Palmetto State Armory and Shield Arms.

The Firearm BlogDaniel Y

Politics

GOSAFE Act Would Ban Gas-Operated Rifles

This week, Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Angus King (IND-ME) introduced the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act, or GOSAFE Act, which would ban virtually all modern semi-auto rifles.

Rather than categorizing "bad" weapons by their external features like in a typical assault weapons ban, the GOSAFE Act cuts right to the chase and simply bans gas-operated rifles with detachable magazines (which is basically any modern rifle worth owning for the sake of self-defense). In short, the GOSAFE Act would ban most AR-15-pattern rifles, AR-10/LR308-pattern rifles, and most AK-pattern rifles.

From the bill:

The term ‘gas-operated’, with respect to a semi-automatic firearm, means any firearm that harnesses or traps a portion of the high-pressure gas from a fired cartridge to cycle the action using—
 
(A) a long stroke piston, where gas is vented
from the barrel to a piston that is mechanically fixed
to the bolt group and moves to cycle the action;
 
(B) a short stroke piston, where gas is vented
from the barrel to a piston that moves separately
from the bolt group so that the energy is imparted
through a gas piston to cycle the action;
 
(C) a system that traps and vents gas from either the barrel or the chamber to directly strike or
impinge the bolt, bolt carrier, or slide assembly, to
unlock and cycle the action;
 
(D) a hybrid system that combines elements of
a system described in subparagraph (C) with a system described in subparagraph (A) or (B) to capture
gas vented from the barrel to cycle the action;
 
(E) a blowback-operated system that directly
utilizes the expanding gases of the ignited propellant
powder acting on the cartridge case to drive the
breechblock or breech bolt rearward; or
 
(F) a recoil-operated system that utilizes the
recoil force to unlock the breech bolt and then to
complete the cycle of extracting, ejecting, and reloading.

The GOSAFE Act has exemptions for .22lr rifles, shotguns, bolt action rifles, most handguns, and guns with permanently attached magazines.

There is virtually zero chance of the GOSAFE Act clearing Congress, but that's not the point. As Dan Zimmerman at TTAG points out, the bill was actually "introduced to force Senate Republicans to vote against it. The intent is to provide Democrats with a campaign talking point to help them in a number of competitive races next November that will determine control of the Senate." I tend to agree with this assessment.

Read More:

Full text of bill [HERE].

NRA-ILA | Federal Legislation Introduced to Ban “Gas Operated Semiautomatic” Firearms

Joe Biden has long insisted he would ban what he calls “assault weapons” and has enlisted a motley succession of extreme anti-gun legislators to aid in that effort. Now, Senators Angus King (IND-ME) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) have joined that dubious collective by introducing perhaps the most sweepi…

NRA-ILANRA-ILA

Super Soldiers

The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference's recent "Black Swan – Dawn of the Super Soldier" panel discussion raised a few eyebrows, as the group discussed the prospect of programs to write data directly to the brain of US soldiers and questioned why we don't administer performance-enhancing drugs to warfighters.

“We’ve actually been working with a company called Teledyne to look at technologies that are able to write to the brain at a very high resolution,” he said. “This is very early, so there’s still a lot of development to do. But this is something that will be coming in the future, to be able to wear a device that non-invasively can write information directly to your brain without any surgery, without any sensation on your skin.”
 
A good deal of the conversation revolved around the ethical and legal boundaries of creating super soldiers. “What risks are we willing to take? There’s all these wonderful things we can do,” Matook said. “We don’t want a fair fight. We really don’t, this is not an honorable thing. We want our guys to be over-matching any possible enemies, right? So why aren’t we giving them pharmaceutical enhancements? Why are we making them run all week when we could just be giving them steroids? There’s all these other things you could do if you change societal norms and ethics. And laws, in some cases.”

This all sounds pretty dystopian. But the military already runs on steroids and energy drinks, so maybe this is just the natural evolution of things. And after all, if we're going to spend $857B a year on the military, it's only fair that we get a few super soldiers borne from extremely questionable biomedical engineering programs out of the deal.

Read More:

Pentagon Scientists Discuss Cybernetic ‘Super Soldiers’ That Feel Nothing While Killing In Dystopian Presentation

The soldier of the future will be “flooded with pain-numbing stimulants,” cybernetically enhanced, and, one official sort-of joked, must be eventually “terminated.”

VICEMatthew Gault

Going for Gold

Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller received on Friday a six-month sentence of home detention for his participation in the January 6 "attack on Democracy."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Olympic gold medalist swimmer Klete Keller, who threw his USA team jacket in a trash can after he stormed the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Friday to six months of home detention for joining the mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the seat of American democracy...
 
...He also joined a chorus of rioters in singing the national anthem in the middle of the Capitol. He resisted efforts to remove him from the Capitol, ripping an elbow away and shaking off a police officer, prosecutors said.

If you are worried that six months of house arrest isn't a severe enough punishment to atone for the heinous crime of singing the national anthem inside the US Capitol after "ripping an elbow away" from a police officer, keep in mind that this two-time gold medalist is actually receiving a harsher sentence than many teens are getting for murder these days.

Read More:

Klete Keller, Olympic gold medalist swimmer, gets 6 months in home detention for Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Klete Keller has been sentenced to six months of home detention for joining the mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

AP NewsMICHAEL KUNZELMAN

Adjacent News

Shane MacGowan Dies

Famous The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan died this week at the age of 65. Known for his heavy drinking and a strong sense of Irish nationalism, MacGowan is survived by his wife and prolific discography.

Having grown up in an Irish republican family, MacGowan said in 2015 that he regretted not joining the IRA. In a filmed interview he said, "I was ashamed I didn't have the guts to join the IRA, and The Pogues was my way of overcoming that".

Many articles will tell you that Fairytale of New York is his best work. It's a catchy tune, but if you want a glimpse of some real sadboy hours, The Band Played Waltzing Matilda or Pair of Brown Eyes from The Pogues' 1985 album Rum Sodomy & the Lash is what you need to type into Spotify or YouTube.

Read More:

Shane MacGowan’s cause of death revealed as world mourns Pogues frontman

Pogues frontman is being remembered by fans, friends and admirers from around the world

The IndependentRoisin O’Connor

Shout-Outs

Here are some stocking stuffers for the Christmas season that support people we know from around Twitter. These aren't sponsored ads, and I don't have any financial relationship with anyone here, but I do think it's a good practice to showcase the works of people in our space when they are producing cool things. So, here:

Leo the Elf Saves Christmas – Some of you will recognize anon @Caesar63BC from the timeline. In addition to being one of /ourguys/, he recently published a wholesome children's book. This is a nice gift for any kids aged ~7-12 in your life, and buying it supports good people. See it on Amazon [HERE].

Trilogy Defense Pre-Orders – Use coupon code "ENBLOC" at Trilogy Defense for a 10% discount on their new hats. This is a pre-order; hats will ship in January. These are from Billy Ragland, one of the few Twitter users who are consistently preaching the correct gospel about weaponlights. Take a look [HERE].

NC Scout's New SIGINT Book

NC Scout (@brushbeater) has a new book out about SIGINT. His last book, The Guerrilla's Guide to the Baofeng Radio, is an excellent resource, and I suspect his SIGINT book will be too. See it on Amazon [HERE]. Hat tip to WB for sharing this one with me.