A simple test to screen out robotic gun control journalists (i.e. all of them)

cruuuuzzzz

[Image blatantly stolen from Legal Insurrection, who probably stole it from somewhere else]

 

 

I’m behind, and I’m sorry. The holidays are busy as hell here. But since apparently gun control is back on the menu for this political season (in that democrats are going to force feed it to us via the media.) I thought we’d return to my favorite failed attack of the season thus far. I won’t recap the background in full as you already know it (and if not the LI link above will give it to you, but also come out from under your rock.) But the gist of it is, crazy liberal journalists insisted Cruz’s open break action was still highly dangerous because GUN! and was likely to go off and shoot someone. (By the by, the picture of the Gizmodo guy in the LI article holding his gun upside down by the stock? Great way to shoot yourself in the foot if you trip. But he’s blindly following rules I guess.)

Having finally had 3 minutes to think about it. (OK, 45 seconds followed by 2:15 of laughing.) I thought that perhaps what we finally needed was a clear and convincing test to screen out once and for all the idiots in journalism who likely have never seen a gun in person (much less fired them.) I have some (limited) background developing tools like this so I thought I’d give it a try.

And so I present my test:

You see a turtle lying (Sorry wrong script let’s try this again.)

After a weekend at a friends farm plinking, you set up on your L-shaped workbench to clean your Ruger 10/22. The Trigger assembly and bolt lay in front of you, the barrel and receiver (still attached) lay to your right. The stock is…just imagine wherever it is I can’t tell you everything. You get up to get a glass of water, return and pick up the trigger assembly to brush it out, when your wife comes in surprising you. You turn around dropping the trigger. Which of the following runs through your mind:

  1. Oh god, I should have never bought a gun, they’re so dangerous! WHAT HAVE I DONE.
  2. What direction did I leave the barrel facing?!
  3. Was the safety on?!
  4. Whelp, now she won’t be able to complain when I buy that new upgraded trigger I wanted.
  5. [Other, please explain]

Also, since this test is in Common Core format to accommodate your journalism degrees, you must explain your answer. Please note, only one answer is correct (with possible exceptions for properly explained “Other.”)


So there you go, administer this short test to any journalist and see if they pass it.

(PS, sorry the multiple choice isn’t “a, b, c” etc. WordPress is overriding what little HTML I know.)

11:30CST Update: Added a sentence refreshing people’s memory about the Cruz thing since I’m apparently farther behind than I thought.

 

14 comments to “A simple test to screen out robotic gun control journalists (i.e. all of them)”
  1. I’ve never fired a shotgun. Does dropping the trigger assembly damage it? I’d pick 4 if I knew it would, and 5 if I knew it wouldn’t.

  2. well a 10/22 is a .22 rifle.

    And honestly, I try not to drop any parts so I wouldn’t know first hand. But the 10/22 is designed to be fairly cheapish, lots of plastic parts so I could see it doing at least some damage to the trigger assembly.

    Or….any excuse to buy a new upgrade ;).

  3. Correct answer (5)- Other: “Honey, I told you to always give me a trigger warning when I’m at my workbench!”

  4. Oops, lol. Haven’t shot a rifle in 30 years and didn’t have to clean it when I did. Is a 10/22 also known just as a 22?

  5. Yes.

    tsrblke is talking specifically of a Ruger 10/22…one of the most popular .22 rifles on the market. They are great little rifles, and are infinitely modifiable.

  6. Yeah, I chose that since I just picked mine up on Thanksgiving (since Black Friday gets ever earlier).

    If I really wanted to scare up a journalista I’d have used an AR-15 or an AK47 as my demo 😛

    Although you can get an AR style stock for the Ruger 10/22 (as CBD said infinitely modable)

  7. People clean and strip their guns far too often. That causes wear and tear just like firing them. I think that a wipe-down is often all that is needed, especially if you are firing jacketed bullets.

  8. Without a doubt, #4. The Ruger 10/22 is a terrific little rifle, amazingly accurate out of the box, reliable beyond belief, etc… but the original factory trigger stinks. Ruger has recently admitted as much by introducing their own aftermarket unit, priced (iirc) around $75 – which is a lot less than the Volquartson (sp?) and the like.

  9. I’d say this much. The factory trigger sucks, but for an inexpensive plinking gun where I just want to have fun it’s good enough.

  10. 5 hi sweetie. I was just thinking about upgrading this part on your new toy. What do you think?

    I have bought 2 or 3 10-22s for the wifey. You can literally replace anything on it.
    Got her a pure pimp version with blue anodized green mountain (I think) barrel and trigger guard, hogue rubber stock, trigger … Almost no original gun. Three times the price, but cool as heck, and no wifely grief at all.
    And the lady can shoot!

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