Merv's Politically Incorrect Audio Blog

You're describing people who are already the richest people in the world. I'm saying if you're not the richest person in the world, starting at an average net worth or even $10m there is no safe medium risk path from that to top 10 richest person in the world. I cannot adopt a Buffet, Musk or Gates investment strategy in my position and become as rich as them. To go for more poker analogies, you and I are UTG while they're on the button, every round.

Silver's favorite example of the all-in is Sam Bankman-Fried. SBF thought the only wrong move was to not go all-in. And that worked until it didn't. SBF should have converted to an established Buffet/Musk/Gates risk averse strategy, but he didn't think he could lose, even after he had obviously lost.

But the all-in doesn't necessarily have to mean 100% of assets. It can mean dropping out of college and just absolute dedication to your founder goals. Musk's work ethic is legendary, even if you loathe the man, and VC firms want someone who is obsessed with making some world changing vision happen, even if they're batshit, which may be preferred. But that's about the extent I know of that world.

 

I’m sorry, but some of this is simply factually wrong, there is, and never has been, anything ethical about using a small caliber .223/5.56mm AR platform gun for deer hunting. Because it is NOT anywhere near as lethal as larger calibers like 30.06, or hell, even older, my 1898 30-40 Krag. (Used by my dad deer hunting in the 50’s and 60’s before me thereafter). For this reason, in most states, the minimum legal caliber for deer hunting is .280 or larger (it varies by state). Bullet mass is critical (more than velocity in fact, though velocity of course matters), in terms of stopping/killing power. Simply put, taking a 400 yard shot on a whitetail with a .223 AR is deeply immoral and unethical; anything less that an ideally perfect hit will cause immense suffering, and likely a lost animal as it escapes to die in misery.

The reason the militar\y uses that caliber is because it is small, the ammo is light (like less than 1/2 the weight for the same number of rounds). AND it is far more likely to INJURE an enemy than kill them; injured require far MORE resources and cause more distractions on the battlefield, cutting overall unit effectiveness more effectively than just killing immediately. This was an intentional military decision when they moved away from 30 caliber

AR’s chambered in .223/5.56mm don’t “explode organs” or anything like it. Certainly no more than other, more purposeful calibers and bullets designed to be more deadly. They punch relatively small holes (only marginally/fractionally larger than a standard .22; and their velocity is not statistically more than most .30 calibers, which fire far, FAR heavier bullets). Physics matters. F=MA, and the typical hunting 30 cal bullet is 180g versus 55-60g for .556. At least that is the case with my guns. They also don’t shoot hollow/expanding bullets like you can with larger calibers, which increase deadliness/stopping power and which CAN “explode organs” (though that is a bit fanciful a description, what they DO is expand while entering in effect increasing caliber/hole size and making more severe injury far more likely

You CAN get AR’s chambered in lots of OTHER things (.300 blackout, etc.) that are in fact quite suitable for deer hunting, but the “military” AR ain’t it (notwithstanding the factual difference between real military AR’s and civilian ones - which is “don’t care/doesn’t matter” in deer hunting scenarios; semi-auto versus full auto doesn’t matter for any ethical hunting I can think of other than perhaps when you do a hello fight to hunt freal boars decimating east texas fields and farms,..

I’ve thought about getting a larger caliber AR-platform, but am rather fonder of my .30-06 Springfield, and 30-40 Krag Jorgensen (both bolt actions). My AR in 5.56 (an Sig Piston gun!) is for having fun (targets, etc.). I have no delusions of it ever being a “home defense weapon”. It is a piston gun (not gas) because it is virtually jam proof, it doesn’t have the same degree of “lack of maintenance” issues that standard gas guns have; you can submerge it in a mud pool, take it out and it shoots fine.

30-30 Winchesters are old and slow velocity (relatively). Again my 30-40 Krag (the very first smokeless powder 30 caliber military rifle - it preceded the ubiquitous 30.06 Springfield military rifle, is far more powerful. Both firing a bullet 2.5-3.5 times more mass at over 2000fps… Now, you wanna talk relics? 45/70’s! Now there you go! Almost twice the gunpowder of a 30-40 Krag coupled with a bullet having 50% larger cross sectional caliber.

Now, this is also quite independent of home/custom reloading. Wherein one can create (slightly) “hotter rounds”. This is typically done to increase accuracy more than anything else (independent of saving money on ammo). I’ve tended to just keep my custom loads in line with commercial OTS ammo, but I have friends that do experiment, especially with handgun rounds)

Home defense? As you stated, You don’t want something that penetrates walls if you can avoid it; especially if in condo/apartments. This means handguns with proper ammo, or shotguns (which are less maneuverable). Long rifles of any kind are a bad idea (you don’t want to stop a baddie, only to have it go through and through wall behind and hit your kid, for example. And pretty much any (legal!) long gun is high risk for just that. SBR’s, as you point out, aren’t legal, but actually would be useful in home defense, with a proper load.

The only “crazed nutjobs” most citizens likely ever need fear are the ones that have already proven deadly:

Radical left wing rioters burning down homes and businesses (which has happened in reality, remember 2020 when more than a dozen were murdered?… or the idiots fleeing our cities when they finally realize that food, etc. don’t just magically appear, and start to try and swarm the countryside, when the great Ponzi scheme really collapses for real… far, far more likely than “crazed Maga nutjobs” (especially since there haven’t been any of those “Maga nutjobs” killing people (anywhere) to-date, unlike the BLM rioters, or going way back, the Rodney King rioters, or, the 67 Detroit Riots, or… most recently, the Venezuelan gangs intentionally imported and relocated around the country. (None of which, for the record, were “crazed right wingers”; not a one).

Out here where I live, all my neighbors are well armed, and very polite. Some are democrats, some republicans (our town is about 50;50) From my immediate neighbors (a beef farmer and a German Auto repair shop) to our local dairy brothers. Hell, when I moved into town, the police chief showed up, welcomed us, and asked point blank if we were armed. And then proceeded to give advice (including don’t have bird feeders as we get bears!) Some of us shoot together. I’ve no worries about OUR town IF the SHTF; everyone knows everyone, quite literally; no punk ass violent thugs (of any political stripe) are going to pass muster here. Chief told me on the first day that I could shoot my handguns on my property if I wanted to, though he did say to let the neighbors know first as a courtesy (I haven’t bothered, we’ve a local gun club, hunting club, and range that is 8 minutes away on other side of town with a lot more land).

Until most people realize the fact that J-random legal bolt-action 30 caliber deer hunting rifle is far FAR deadlier than any standard AR, it is simply impossible to have rational arguments. People see em and go “ooohhh, scary”, and their rational brain locks up.

“Ancient bolt action?” You’ve clearly got seriously limited exposure to bolt action rifles to make this statement, Not only are they far more accurate, they are far more pleasurable to use and shoot. The “action” on my Krag is butter smooth, better in fact that any other bolter I’ve shot over the last 50 years. I can get 5 rounds off smoothly in less than 8 seconds. Think of the difference between a nice, massive metal volume knob on a metal shaft, versus a flimsy plastic volume knob glued to a flattened out plastic shaft <grin>. It FEELS way better. Like butter!

OTOH, my dad saved my kid sister from a potentially deadly dog mauling with his .45ACP back in 1974 in Arizona; didn’t need a long gun. (Wasn’t carrying a long gun).

Over the decades I have offered to train ALL my friends (left or right) on and about firearms; interestingly enough, in my first hand experience, the ones that take me up come to their senses eventually. The ones that still yell about crazed right wingers never even take me up on the offer, preferring to yell and rant whilst wallowing in their complete and utter ignorance.

All my firearms and ammo (are always under appropriate lock and key, unless I am carrying, or off hunting, etc.) All my family was trained early on, as is appropriate.

 

As someone who has been on firearm forums, I advise all to not engage in any further stopping power debate. You are entering one of the largest supermassive black holes on the web.

Abandon all hope, ye who tread beyond this point.

 

Just a big fat freaking TLDR from me.

 

Truth.

PTSD

 

Yep, we all remember those "radical left wing rioters" in DC in January 2021. Shit, they even scared me and I'm way up here in Canada.

 

Any chance of getting a match together: the radical left wingers versus Britain's radical right wing.

 

Unless I’m forgetting one, the worst violent attack on Americans by other Americans ever was by a right wing extremist and white supremacist. Timothy McVeigh.

 

Accurate. And none of the assault rifle bans ever actually banned any of the underlying semi-automatic centerfire detachable mag platforms. Everything has always been available, legally. The weapons just got stupid looking. The standard was correlational, like trying to control carbon emissions by restricting tire size, banning hood latches, and requiring non-reclining seats.

 

My only beef with Raygun is not understanding how he got turned into a saint.
I mean, I wish I had his PR firm.

 

I like the idea of the larger caliber MSR’s. My son is contemplating one in 300 blackout next. Frankly, I pretty much am an Sig slut-guy… whether my P226 or Mosquito (Wifey) or Patrol (AR). They are just built… right. None of that sloppy Glock plastic.
Makes for fun convo’s with my Son’s new Father in Law (Cop in Casa Grande Arizona, ‘cause he’s a Smith and Wesson guy… but, their Mexican food is so freaking awesome it always stays friendly! Ha!

If those dudes you know hunted with standard .223/5.56 AR’s they likely violated the law (It’s been decades since I last hunted in Michigan so maybe that’s changed). It was 30 cal or go home in my day there.

In the almost 4 years I spent in Texas, I never got to the place where something like an SBR was on my list (moving my gun safe and guns there was non trivial). Eldest and I built a standard AR there from parts though, and that was fun. It’s not as accurate as my Sig AR though, and, being standard/classic gas piston, is messy and a drag to clean). But, hell yes, if SBR is legal do it.

PS those riots in LA in the early 90’s… that was the Rodney King scene… think BLM/summer 2020 thirty years earlier… then, 30 years before that was the 67 Riots in Detroit (and elsewhere). Still have the scar on my face where I was hit by a rock at the ripe old age of 8… it’s almost like there’s this 30 year cycle thing going on… hmmm

 

Not ONE of which was armed, nor killed anyone. But, ok… you do you.

 

You (I’m guessing) weren’t coming of age in the late 70’s and trying to find a job, or borrow money, or buy a car, or a house, or afford gas, or… the entire country and world were in the shitter… all at the same time.

Most of those that were there, understand why

 

Look only to Canada for a cautionary tale. I have a cheap Chinese Norinco M-14 clone. It is now prohibited and sitting in my safe waiting for the government to buy it back from me. Good possibility that will never actually happen, but whatever. In any case my Tavor 7 is not restricted in any way, I just had it out at the pits plinking a few weeks ago. I've been shooting for 45 years and the regs just get more nonsensical over time, I shrug my shoulders and go on.

Anyway, I expect a looming change of government will fix things here shortly, at least for a little while, but in the event one day they do try to ban semi-autos in general here the Aussies look to have something worth spending my non-existent buy back money on that will still make anti-gunners cry;

https://www.scsa-au.com/taipan-x

 

I heard some radio chatter on the news today from the "authorities" monitoring that crowd.
Lots of guns spotted, glocks on hips, ARs under long coats. ...

Sure, "not a one was armed". It's a a really stupid thing to say when there were tens of thousands of people there in a country where the number of guns outnumber the number of people and people carry guns to little league games.