Saturday, March 18, 2006
Smith & Wesson
SMITH & WESSON
go to www.truthaboutparts.blogspot.com
State wants faulty guns replacedCorrection officers are experiencing serious problems with several Smith & Wesson models
Model 64 is prone to misfires, prison officials say. Another model's barrel sometimes falls off.
State wants faulty guns replaced
Dan Kane, Staff Writer
State prison officials want gunmaker Smith & Wesson to replace hundreds of revolvers after dozens failed to shoot and the barrels broke off of others upon firing in training exercises.
The company has witnessed the problems firsthand. Last month, three company representatives met with state prison officials at a shooting range near Smithfield to test about three dozen revolvers.
Four of the revolvers didn't fire when a state weapons instructor pulled the trigger. The cylinder that holds the ammunition jammed on two revolvers. Then, the barrel broke off as the instructor fired a different model with a longer barrel, just as 14 others had in practice shoots dating back to 2003.
"In one sense it's funny," said Chief Deputy Correction Secretary Dan Stieneke. "In another, it's alarming."
In previous tests of revolvers purchased in 2004, roughly one in four misfired. They are .38 caliber Model 64s, which have 3-inch barrels. The .357 caliber Model 65s had the problem with barrel breaks. Test fires of a third revolver, the slightly smaller Model 60, resulted in cracked or sheared barrels in four cases.
No weapons have failed in the line of duty. Stieneke said the guns will remain in service while the department tries to resolve the problems, but annual in-service training will cease until a solution is found. New hires will receive weapons training because there are enough reliable revolvers to train them.
"On the one hand, statistically [the revolvers' performance] is not bad, but it's just the safety issue," Stieneke said. "That kind of failure gets people's attention."
The weapons are assigned to probation officers who keep track of probationers with more dangerous criminal histories, and to correction officers who patrol prison perimeters and escort inmates outside the facilities. (Those correction officers often carry rifles and shotguns as well.)
Correction officers inside prisons do not carry guns because there is a much greater risk that they could fall into inmates' hands. They carry pepper spray and batons.
Correction officials have asked the company to replace the 500 Model 64s purchased in 2004. They might extend that request to replace all of the department's 5,000 revolvers.
If Smith & Wesson does not replace the guns, the department might file a lawsuit or turn to taxpayers for help. Replacing the guns, which cost about $320 each, would come to more than $1.5 million. The department also would have to replace ammunition, holsters and other accessories, and retrain its officers to use the replacement weapons.
"We're at a point where if we have to make a quick switch, it's going to cost millions of dollars, and it's going to take a lot of training and effort to get back up to speed," Stieneke said.
Smith & Wesson officials did not return repeated phone calls for comment. Based in Springfield, Mass., Smith & Wesson is one of the nation's largest gunmakers.
The company's guns have drawn criticism from other law enforcement agencies. In 2001, New Jersey canceled a purchase of about 3,200 semi-automatic pistols from Smith & Wesson for its state police because of high malfunction rates.
North Carolina prison officials have been using Smith & Wesson revolvers for at least 20 years, even as many other law enforcement agencies have switched to higher-powered, semi-automatic handguns that carry more rounds.
Stieneke said that no one noticed a troublesome trend with the revolvers until late 2004, when trainers began seeing misfires with the new batch of Model 64s. A misfire is when the trigger is pulled and nothing happens.
In March and April 2005, the trainers tested all 500 of the new batch of handguns at shooting ranges across the state. They reported misfire rates of between 11 percent and 43 percent.
In the meantime, another problem emerged: barrels dropping or flying off the Model 65s during firing. The department surveyed trainers across the state and counted up 14 cases of barrel failure in the past three years.
Both problems led to the visit by Smith & Wesson on Feb. 21.
Stieneke said the revolvers are no longer a popular item and that might be contributing to their unreliability. For example, the department has had to special order the Model 65s in recent years.
That, along with the weapon failures, has Stieneke thinking it is time to follow the rest of the law enforcement community and switch to semi-automatics.
Staff writer Dan Kane can be reached at 829-4861 or dkane@newsobserver.com.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Protecting Your Property
As most of you realize by now I am a deeply religous person and feel world events are now controlled by devine intervention. This still has no bearing on what I am about to write. Regardless of who takes out Iran these events will effect us all one way or another. We are stretched too thin to handle many more ground conflicts. Its no secret that it takes 20 to 25 (estimate) support troops to keep one fighting soldier on the front line.
When Iran is Neutered and their oil stops flowing to the west, then if Venezuela stops their oil flowing to the west, we are in for hard times not to mention all the natural disasters that are coming. Are we going to be able to protect the Saudi oil fields and refineries ?? I have no idea. Let me also remind you that from crude oil come at least 400 bi products including the manufacture of plastic. All the groceries in the food stores are trucked in, no oil, no diesel, no food...
Lets now talk about protecting your home during a crisis. We do not know if our Police force will be totally operational as all these people have homes and apartments and property to protect. We do not know if the National Guard has enough people to protect our cities and Borders. But I have changed my mind in certain areas and I will explain what I think is the very best approach for an unknown situation that we may face.
I am firmly convinced that ones guns and ammunition should be split up into at least three or more separate areas of a house and or property. In a house I am more comfortable with a handgun than a shotgun or rifle. I have both but I am now convinced that a person should have at least three high capacity pistols such as a Glock 17, or a Beretta 92fs, or a Sig 226, etc. It does not matter to me which you prefer, but I would get all the very same identical models. I would buy at least 10 high capacity magazines for each handgun and keep them loaded with high performance 9mm ammunition.
I would not use any other caliber but a 9mm as it will be your survival caliber. A woman will be able to rack the slide of a Glock 17 or a Beretta 92fs, this is very important if you have a wife and daughters. They will need proper safety instructions. I have given this a great deal of thought, I would set aside these other calibers because in hard times you may not be able to find them. DO NOT buy off brand magazines. One of the best places to buy handgun magazines is www.cdnninvestments.com
You will need a tactical flashlight at each location and the choice is yours. I would not attach it to my handgun. This is my personal opinion only. Surefire is top of the line and I also like Inova and the Blackhawk Gladius and Streamlight. You will need extra batteries and some bulbs need replacing in due time. I am told that Pentagon makes a good flash light.
I like a shotgun and a small AR-15 but if you are in the confines of a house a handgun is much easier to move with and utilize in very tight quarters. A 12 gauge shotgun with a 20 inch barrel is not that easy to swing around door jambs etc. If you use an AR-15 it is a bullet that will not easily stop going thru walls and at close range you can do very well staying with your handgun in 9mm, using +P+ Federal cartridge that can be purchased at www.ammoman.com
I am not going to get into food supplies in this commentary. I am going to confine this blog to weapons and related topics. For night vision I would use "DIGITAL IMAGING" as sold by www.weaveroptics.com I believe that it is much clearer at night using this product than any generation 1 monocular. I believe that Bushnell also makes a product like this that has a swing out screen like a digital camera.
At each selected location where you will store your handguns and supplies you must also have a very sharp tactical knife. It does not have to be a folder, it can be a one piece knife in a sheath. You will need a 2 inch by 6 inch diamond plate in order to shapen a knife very fast, this will take some practice but I would get either medium or fine grit. Do not buy any finer grit than 600. It is best to have an angle of 20 degrees on your beveled edge. You must learn to get comfortable with a very sharp knife.
Dollar for dollar one of the best knives is the model M16 made by CRKT. This stands for Columbia River Knife and Tool company. All their knives are made in Taiwan. If you want the sharpest knife you can find you must look at Cold Steel, www.coldsteel.com
Before I get back to guns let me say that you should keep a first aid kit at each location, you must check with your Doctor and find out what Boxers use to stop the bleeding, and get some. All major fights in boxing have a cut man in each corner and they all use these products between rounds. Face facts, if you are going to fight you must be prepared to bleed and do not panic, you must be able to know how to stop the bleeding even if its only temporary. This is going to be for keeps, there is no turning back when hell comes looking for us.
Be sure to keep medical supplies at all three or more locations. At this point in time I personally would pick the Glock 17 over any other high capacity handgun because it holds about 19 rounds and with the +2 base pad adapter it will hold 21 rounds in the magazine and with one in the chamber it will have 22 rounds of +P+ 9mm cartridges of pure hell. I would call Marc at www.ismi-gunsprings.com 800 773 1940 and I would buy his very best flat wire chrome silicon recoil spring that will handle +P+ ammo.
I would then ask Marc about his chrome silicon magazine springs for the Glock 17 that will work with the +2 base pad adapter. We are getting into some very serious situations and now is the time to get real before its too late.
If you insist on relying on your 12 gauge shotgun I suggest you buy Remington #00 buckshot that is nickel plated. There are many theories about which type of shotgun shells are best, if you wanted to really penetrate a vehicle I would go with a Sabot slug. We are talking about the protection of life and property in your house so I think the proper selection is what I have already told you.
If you are going to use an AR-15 and if you use 62 grain SS 109 cartridges remember that they are for penetration and not for people. If you want a police tactical load that the police use go to www.ammoman.com Federal makes a specific bullet for situations like this. I am giving you good information and I suggest you digest what I have written before you dismiss my judgement.
If you use an AK47 you best pick out a bullet that will not over penetrate. This is a super reliable weapon but not my gun of choice.
The clock is ticking, TIC TOCK and do not wait because after things happen you will be left holding your phone that will not work and your calling the ACLU will not get you very far.
DO NOT BECOME A VICTIM.
Teddy
