All Good Things Must Come To An End: Just Kidding, RELOAD!

Hello All!

It has been a couple months since my last submission. For these and all the other sins of my life I ask for forgiveness. With the Catholic humor aside, I wanted to say "I'm Back!" and I am ready to bring this monster back to life.

An update on the past couple months. As some of you may know, I was on a temporary hiatus due to a change in careers in my professional life. I have exchanged the glamor of a shipping facility for the fast-paced delirium of, get ready for it, an office job. For the first three months, I was stuck between the two, waking up at 6 in the morning, working 18 hours a day, then hitting the hay at around 12 at night. So, needless to say, I was preoccupied as hell as I made the transition. Now, I am back to one job which is during the day instead of at night as I have done for the past 7 years.

As for my current job, I am on a team that designs the lot plans for subdivisions and ensures that certain model homes will fit on their desired plots of land. Putting that $32,000 Degree to work finally!

Anyhow, rambling about my personal life aside, let's get on to a little more of the meat of the reason you all are here.

While my activity on this blog has been virtually nil, I have none-the-less tried to maintain my knowledge of firearms and the politics that have been surrounding them lately. Things such as the recent repeal of the Washington D.C. Gun Ban legislation, the not-so-recent NRA Annual Meetings (which I have a small number of photos to share from) and recent events that have occurred close to my home (within a block radius as a matter of fact) that have helped reaffirm the importance of firearm ownership and personal security, especially for those of us who find ourselves in declining areas.

All of these subjects will be dealt with, in addition to more Firearm Reviews and Gear research, moving forward.

Also, I would like to welcome any new followers to this blog and reaffirm that any questions you have, feel free to ask. If I don't know the answer, I will find out!

Until Next Time, Remember: Just because you are busy, just because you have many things on your plate, don't let your trigger finger get relaxed. Drill yourself every day. Dry Fire Exercises. Drawing and Aiming (with the gun unloaded of course) and get creative with how you carry your weapon and how you hide it around your house. God Bless Our America!

Why I Carry A Gun: Crazy People, Crazy People Everywhere.

Join a Gun Rights Advocacy group. I am a member of several, including NAGR. (The gun was safety checked before letting my finger touch the trigger.)

Good Day All. I was sitting around trying to think of a good topic to discuss this week and I was thinking about the places that I carry and why I purchased my first firearm. I really try to carry at all times, since, those that seek to do harm never rest. Some people carry every once in a while and some carry at all times, I am sitting right in the middle and only because my place of work has a metal detector when going in. But, before I go off on a tangent, I will share a few stories of where having a gun available, even when not used, has made me and those I live with safer, or at least be reassured.

When I first picked up my Hi Point C9 handgun for the cheap $125 new in box price, it was on the coattails of a few break ins at the apartment complex I lived in near Noblesville. A friend of the friends that I was staying with was at home when a man came to the door asking weird questions. Asking what they were doing, if they were going to be home later, etc. Of course, being good trusting people that they were, they thought nothing of it. When they came home later that evening, the entire place had been ransacked. The thieves stole a tv, video games and consoles, a cell phone, stereo, and various other items, including a handgun. Needless to say, they were devastated. And for the rest of the tenants, including us in our apartment, there was a gun in the hands of some bad men. The idea drove me to pick up my first gun.

 Like many first time gun buyers, I knew next to nothing about guns; not the difference between calibers, not how a blow-back operated pistol worked, not even the difference between a pistol and a revolver. I grabbed a box of 9mm at the guidance of a friend of mine and I felt nervous, but safer being at home. And for good reason. A few weeks after buying the gun, I was cleaning the apartment (two young men and a poor young woman lived there, poor girl) and I had the front door open so I could take the trash out. I was down the hall and heard a noise; thinking it was my roommates, I went to say "hi" but I stood looking at two young men, who I didnt know, who started to step into the apartment. I yelled "Hey!" and they turned and ran. Meanwhile, I went and grabbed my gun out of its hiding place and pocketed it. (as well as you can pocket a Hi Point pistol) For the next several minutes I continued to collect the trash and take it outside, with one eye on the door at all times.

Since that day, I have been more diligent about not leaving my home open to any prying eyes. I also practice as often as I can for the case of home invasions. I can have a gun in hand anywhere in the house within a few seconds. Which is good considering what happened not long after we moved into the house will currently live in.

My buddy bought a house off of 38th street in Indianapolis, not the greatest of neighborhoods but he was from the neighborhood nearby and used to the types of people that come and go. My girlfriend also moved in with me so we now had a young lady in the house to look after. So, 3 months after we moved in, my buddy got a call from the security company saying that the motion detectors at the house had gone off. Of course we all went home to see what had happened. It appeared that someone had gotten the back kitchen window open and came into the house through it (which is amazing considering the window is 7 feet off the ground). It also appeared that when they set off the alarm, they ran off, the only thing bothered was a bunch of empty liquor bottles on the counter near the window. When the police arrived, they had a K9 search the house to ensure that noone was there before we went in. Thankfully, the only thing that the K9 found was, apparently, a VERY tasty pillow from my room.

Of course, this helped us to rethink how we did things at the house. Everything is locked and checked before going to sleep and we even turn on the alarm when we go to bed. My roommate and I also have gotten creative with how we hide/ready our guns for defense. We have both practiced doing a sweep of the house from the front door and our bedrooms in the case of a break-in. Since the first break-in, we have had other attempts, unruly neighbors who started fights with people in the neighborhood, random people walking around behind the house at night. Basically, not the nicest place to live. The crazy neighbors have moved out (after the property owner evicted all 30 of them from the duplex), so that is a plus but we still have random, suspicious folks around.

My latest story involves my girlfriend: On Christmas Eve 2012, she was working the fine jewelry counter when a young man came in asking about a ring for his fiancee. For an hour she showed him around the rings, all kinds of shapes, sizes... and prices. She ended up showing him a $16,000 diamond ring. He looked at it for a while then turned tail and ran with the ring in hand. Of course, my girlfriend was understandably freaked out, even more so when, upon identification by police, she was told that he was wanted for armed robbery. We thanked our lucky stars that the man just ran instead of sticking around and bringing out a gun. Because of that episode, I have started to show my girlfriend how to use a handgun, despite her protests. (She is from California so that should explain a few things)

I don't say any of this to whine or cry about the state of things in the neighborhood. But I say it to show, exactly, why I own a firearm. Those that know me know that I am no street fighter. I would do my best to fight someone trying to harm my home and friends/girlfriend, but a 9mm Beretta pointed at someone's face just entertains a whole new level of seriousness that fists don't. As the quote goes, "God made Men, Sam Colt made 'em equal". It doesn't matter who your adversary is, a firearm puts you on equal terms with someone who intends to do you and your family harm. A bullet is as deadly to a body builder, as it is to a gangster, as it is to a computer nerd.

That is why, in a nutshell, I own and carry a gun. I haven't had to use my gun, thankfully, I haven't even had to pull it out of its holster. That doesn't remove the chance that I may have to use it in the future. I hope that time never comes, but should it come, I will be as ready and prepared as I can be. I will not be a victim if I can help it.

This wraps up this episode of Blued Barrel. If any of you read this and have a story for why you carry a gun, please share! Until next time, Don't hide your guns in between your clothes in the closet/dresser, it is one of the first places that thieves check during a break in. God Bless our America!

History Lesson: Fabbrica D'Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A.

Oops, sorry you guys. You may not be familiar with this logo. After all, it was used originally for the firearms company started by Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta in 1526 with a 296 ducat (today's equivalent of $236,800) order for 185 Arquebus barrels by the Arsenal of Venice.

There we go, something a bit more familiar for today's consumers, law enforcement and military. As I said, Beretta is an old company, roughly 488 years old, and has been in the hands of the Beretta family ever since the beginning. There are very few firearms manufacturers in the world that can make a similar claim. In fact, Beretta is the oldest actively producing firearms manufacturer in the world today as well as the first manufacturer in Italy.

The company hasn't been in business for so long for nothing. Beretta has built a solid reputation for "uncompromising quality, design, materials, construction and performance" that has become known the world over. I personally own a Beretta 92FS and I can testify for the quality and performance. I will provide a review on my 92 later, but for now let's learn a little more about Fabbrica D'Armi Pietro Beretta.

Maestro de Canne (master gun-barrel maker) Bartolomeo Beretta started it all, handing down the business of designing and building firearms, father to son, for generations. The actual company had been in business since sometime in the 1400's but, the Arsenal of Venice order in 1526 was the first paper order made. The company remained largely unchanged and local until Pietro Antonio Beretta, in the early 1800's, began to travel Italy and make the quality of workmanship that was the Beretta firearm known to the world. Pietro's son, Giuseppe, continued the work of his father, gaining international attention to the small manufacturer in Gardone Valtrompia, Italy.

Pietro Beretta (not the same Pietro Antonio, but his grandson) took over the company in the 1900's and modernized the plant, bringing about new manufacturing methods and patents that helped Beretta remain at the top of the firearms manufacturing industry. Since then, more generations of the Beretta family have taken over control of company. As of today, the company is run by Ugo Gussalli Beretta and his two sons, Franco and Pietro, and it is still one of the most prevalent firearms companies in the world.

Left to Right: Franco, Ugo Gussalli, Pietro. Image from Beretta USA website.

In 1995, Ugo Gussalli and Pietro Beretta formed the parent company, known as Beretta Holdings S.p.A. Since then, the number of subsidiary companies continues to grow with 26 being the current number. You may recognize some of them: Benelli with the US military famous M4 shotgun, Sako Finland with their high-end rifles and Burris, the renowned scope and optics company. You also have Uberti, Tikka, Stoeger, Steiner, Franchi, and Beretta Defense Technologies. If you are like me, you were surprised that all of these companies were under the Beretta banner. If you already knew, dont judge me. Anyhow lol

As for the firearms themselves, Beretta has gained a renown for their weapons. The United States military signed Beretta on in January 2009 with a contract for 450,000 units of their Model 92 series, the largest military order for handguns since World War 2. The 92 series became designated the "M9" and is the primary sidearm for the United States Army, Marines and Air Force to this day.

The Beretta M9 in 9mm Parabellum. The PB in the circle next to the engraving stands for Pietro Beretta.

Beretta is also known widely for their shotguns, such as the A400 semiautomatic sport shotgun used in hunting, competition shooting and home defense. They are also known for their double barrel shotguns, both over-under and side-by-side.

Their real claim to fame, however, is their line of "Premium" firearms. Beretta craftsmanship is some of the most intricate and unique as you will ever find. Every piece is hand crafted by an experienced gunsmith to ensure that the highest level of detail is attained. Once the gun is complete, it will have an entirely unique design on its receiver and the artist will engrave his or her signature to attest to the individual talent that it took to design it. Due to the unique nature of the shotguns, they are very expensive, with the SO10 over-under's MSRP at $90,000 and the Imperiale Monte Carlo side-by-side at $130,000. Some prices may go higher as some of the custom work can include gold and diamond inlays and rare and beautiful wood stocks.

A couple examples pulled from the Beretta website. This is what $90,000 buys you.

You can view and purchase firearms like these in galleries and museums around the world. Beretta itself owns galleries in Milano, Dallas, Buenos Aires, Paris, London, and New York. Besides the guns, Beretta also designs and makes clothes and accessories that compliment the competition shooter, hunter or just someone, like me, who loves Beretta products.

Well, that's that. The oldest firearms manufacturer in the world making some of the most beautiful, reliable and expensive guns in the world. We can honestly say that Beretta is worthy of its reputation as Uncompromising when it comes to quality and appearance. The 15th generation of the Beretta family is making the memory of the Maestro Beretta proud.

That concludes my History Lesson of Fabbrica D'Armi Pietro Beretta. Until the next episode, treat every firearm as if it were loaded and check it before you handle it. God Bless our America!

If you need any other information regarding Beretta, visit the websites at http://www.beretta.com/en-us/ or at http://www.berettausa.com/

Breathe and squeeze... BLAM! *introduction*

I'm not a military man nor was I ever in law enforcement. I am simply a normal American citizen from southeastern Indiana who has a love of firearms that has exploded over the past couple years. As a boy and young man I spent summers playing with my dad's Marlin Model 60 22LR or my cousins' Daisy BB guns in the backyard in the middle of nowhere. I was also in the Boy Scouts of America out of Versailles, IN which taught me much about being outside and how to survive in the elements; From trips to Tennessee to hike the Appalachian Trail to Minnesota to spend a week camping and canoeing in the boundary lakes between the US and Canada. I went through high school and college without so much as touching a gun until I picked up a Hi-Point C9 9mm handgun in 2012. Despite being the cheapest 9mm that I could afford, I still remember the feeling I got when I gripped that pistol in my hands and tore up a Shoot 'N See target from 25 yards. I felt the urge to learn everything I could and get my hands on every firearm I could. I have since traded that pistol in for a motorcycle but, even though it was my least favorite firearm to date, it awakened a love of the gun culture within me.

Firing my Hi-Point C9 for the first time! Wilbur Wright State Park, Indiana.

Since the Hi-Point, I have amassed a very small but growing collection and joined the NRA and NAGR Frontline Defenders in order to help defend our rights to do so.. I am still learning anything and everything I can. What have I learned? Not nearly enough! So, without further ado...

Welcome, ladies and gents, to Blued Barrel Gun Culture! 

My name is Christian and as the title of this blog suggests, we will discuss various subjects related to firearms. For those who don't know, a Blued Barrel is a barrel that has been chemically coated to give the steel a very dark, black/blue look and also provide some measure of corrosion resistance. As I love the look of blued steel and the enemy of ignorance is education, this blog was born. Here, I will provide reviews of any and all firearms that I can get my hands on, as well as those that I cannot (but will eventually I can assure you!) We will also discuss methodology and philosophy regarding firearms as an integral part of American culture and history. I am not following any preset plan for my posts so be prepared to jump from topic to topic. I am also in the process of learning MANY things about firearms in general so we will all learn together. This being my first blog, bear with me as I learn the ins and outs. Ready, Steady, GO!