common ground Friday or my pick for irresponsible gun owner of the week

[gejohnston]

US Park Police edition:

The U.S. Park Police has lost track of thousands of handguns, rifles and machine guns in what a government watchdog agency concluded is the latest example of mismanagement on a police force trusted to protect millions of visitors to the city’s iconic monuments.

machine guns? Why would the Park Police need automatic weapons?

Problems uncovered by the inspector general include two officers who took guns home without permission, including a semiautomatic rifle present during the presidential inauguration in January. The report also found that a former chief kept his department-issued sidearm for 10 years after retirement without anyone noticing.

Seriously? Don't armorers inventory stuff? Don't those leaving have a "things to do check list" to be turned in just before leaving or is that just an Air Force thing?

Investigators concluded that the Park Police not only can’t keep track of the guns it has but it hasn’t disposed of guns more suited for collectors than lawmen. The agency still has 20 M1 Garand rifles, the standard field gun in World War II, and four Prohibition-era tommy guns. The inspector general noted that these weapons are of “limited” use.

Limited is an understatement. BTW, any chance any of those Thompsons could be registered with a form 1? Just asking in case I find my way into the one percent.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/park-police-lost-track-of-weapons-inspector-general-report-says/2013/06/27/ac7fc58a-dcf9-11e2-85de-c03ca84cb4ef_story.html

[DWC]

1. You can't make stuff like this up! n/t

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

2. Oh here let me since...

...none of our neighborhood pro-control types have stepped up.

"The Washington Post is a right-wing source full of right-wing talking points.



But seriously, I believe the Park Police are or were charged with defending some sites (the Constitution Center in Philly for example) that were/are considered terrorist targets. As far as Garand rifles are concerned, I suspect those rifles have been in their possession for 60 years. The government almost never changes anything. You'll note by way of example the FAA still uses the abbreviation "ORD" for the Chicago airport formerly known as Orchard but now called O'Hare.

[Jenoch]

3. There are some remote areas on federal land,

usually out west where there are large marijuana growing operations. If I was going in there, I certainly would wish to have an automatic weapons of some sort, maybe one like this:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=saiga+12+shotgun&um=1&sa=N&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7MXGB_enUS525&biw=911&bih=377&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbnid=BfLUE4zaQakdkM:&imgrefurl=http://www.zombie-guide.com/shotguns/saiga-12-shotgun/&docid=164ssY8b0B6lGM&imgurl=&w=800&h=533&ei=_yDOUYnpOcO-yQGq14C4Cg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=156&page=1&tbnh=139&tbnw=275&start=0&ndsp=3&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:88&tx=102&ty=92

[gejohnston]

4. Yeah but the park police patrol the monuments and parks in DC, NYC, and San Francisco.

These are city slickers, not rangers patrolling Yellowstone and Yosemite.

[oneshooter]

5. GUN PORN...........GUN PORN...........GUN PORN!!!!!!!!

You need to issue a warning at least a week before posting such horrifying pictures! That way the genteel folk "next door" can avoid such racist, evil, nasty photos!!!!!

[premium]

6. These places would fall under the jurisdiction

of the USFS Rangers or the BLM Rangers.
Besides my sidearm, we were issued the Ruger Mini-14 until we went with the Colt AR-15 Sporter.
Actually, early in my career, we had to furnish our own sidearms and, if we wanted to, carry our own long guns, finally, the Forest Service got it's shit together and started issuing us sidearms and long guns, we started out with a S&W 9mm, then switched to the S&W .40 cal. and just before I retired, we went with the Glock .45 cal.

[ileus]

7. I like that soft cover for the drum mag.

[NYC_SKP]

8. I like the detachable frog gig.

clever flash suppressor design.

[SQUEE]

9. As a former Pig gunner, I can say from experince

I would NOT want to hump that in the woods.

[oneshooter]

10. Too much unneeded crap hanging on it that will hang up on the local flora.

[SQUEE]

11. That, and I would be loath to have to bet my life..

on a shotgun at distance or in heavy foliage. Also around here, the hill folk have taken to body armour.

[oneshooter]

12. Back in the day I carried a 870, had the armourers remove the disconnect.

Hold trigger back, pump and shoot. Mixed load of buck and flechetts.

[SQUEE]

13. I have a sneaking suspision you are a graduate of the SEA school of jungle warfare.

My dad talked about that being the preferred carry while on point. By my time, getting an armourer to do anything outside of TM was nigh on impossible. It took me 2 cases of beer and my 6 ration for a month to get the piston honed on my '60 in 89, and this was up in Indian Head territory.

[oneshooter]

14. Yea. The E4 at the armory owed me a big favor.

Something about misplacing a SP report a few months before.