TINCANBANDIT visits the Palace Saloon

 This post is a follow up to my post on my visit to Tombstone Arizona (see that post here). We also planned a trip to Prescott and part of that included touring Whiskey Row.

In the middle of Whiskey Row is the "Oldest and Most Historic Saloon/Restaurant in Arizona" known as the Palace Saloon. Wyatt and Virgil Earp were known to frequent this bar as was Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate.

Virgil & Allie arrived in Prescott in October of 1877 by the summer of 1878 Virgil was appointed Prescott's "Night Watchman", then in November of 1878 he was elected as the Constable. Virgil was sworn in at the County Courthouse across Montezuma Ave from the Palace Saloon.

In the summer of 1879 Virgil wrote to his brother Wyatt to tell him about the opportunities in the silver boom town of Tombstone.

In September of 1879 Wyatt and Mattie along with his younger brother James met with Doc and Kate in Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory and then traveled to Prescott to meet with Virgil. It was there that the plans were laid to move to Tombstone and seek their fortunes. Who knows the plans may have been made at the Palace itself?

After learning that Virgil would be leaving for Tombstone, U.S. Marshal Crawley Dake swore in Virgil as the "US Deputy Marshal for Pima County, Tombstone Territory", the date was November 27th, 1879. (side note: this was before Cochise County was carved out of Pima County). His orders were to straighten out the issues with cattle rustling and stagecoach robberies in the area.

They loaded up their bags and boarded the train for Tucson.

The 72 miles between Tucson and Tombstone was traveled via covered wagon and probably took 3-4 days.

This is the same bar that Wyatt, Virgil, James and Doc drank at.

On July 14th, 1900, a fire broke out on Whiskey Row and the entire block was leveled. Some patrons did manage to save the bar and some barrels of beer and watched the fire from the lawn of the courthouse across Montezuma Avenue while drinking the salvaged suds.

Here is what it looked like after the fire.

The following year, the Palace and many of the other saloons were rebuilt and still stand today.

Interesting Firearm Photos #95

 

a pinned and recessed S&W model 29, one of the most beautiful revolvers ever made.

Buy Your Girl a Gun Day

 We all know that St. Valentines Day is a made-up holiday, (at least the way it is celebrated today) designed to sell greeting cards, chocolates, jewelry and flowers, so we gun owners made up our own holiday, National Buy Your Girl a Gun Day.

Now I am not suggesting you go out and make a straw purchase or choose a gun for your girl. I am suggesting you pay for the gun that they pick out and sign for.

Rather than buy flowers that will die, chocolate that will make her fat or jewelry that will make elites rich....buy your girl a gun....it is an investment in her safety.

To assist with those who don't understand, I leave you the following:

Why the Gun Is Civilization

Marko Kloos

March 23, 2007

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force. The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gangbanger, and a single gay guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat–it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed. People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.

Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser. People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level. The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weightlifter. It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation...and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

Firearm Factory of the Month: Professional Ordnance

The story of Professional Ordnance starts with the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

The law was passed by the Democrat controlled House and Senate and signed by Democrat President Bill Clinton.

The ban targeted civilian sales of rifles and handguns with specific features.

Two years after its passage a man by the name of Larry Carpenter started a company to make an AR based pistol that would skirt the provisions of the AWB.

This led them to create a rifle version as well, even though it would be restricted to law enforcement and military sales only during the ban.

What was unique about these guns was the use of "carbon reinforced polymer", resulting in a rifle that weighs just 4 lbs (unloaded).

In 1997 the company was moved 4 hours east to Lake Havasu City in Arizona, a much more gun friendly state than California.

Unfortunately, warranty and design problems plagued the guns to the point the company had to close its doors, in 2003, within a year of the ending of the Assault Weapons Ban.

What Remains:

The designs and Carbon-15 name were purchased by Bushmaster and continue to be produced (although much of it was redesigned).

The end of Professional Ordnance was not the end; a new company was created from the ashes: Extar Firearms USA, continues to advance their polymer design. See their website here.

The building in Ontario at 1457 E. Philadelphia Street is still there

Professional Ordnance's former home and Extar's current home in Lake Havasu City is at 1070 Metric Drive

Golden Poop Awards: Guns for sale Ads

Welcome to the 16th semi-bi-annual Golden Poop Awards!

We're back again looking for excellence in writing guns for sale want ads.

Full disclosure, I authored a similar post to this back in 2017, I thought some of these deserved a Golden Poop so I have reimagined this post into another round of GP competition.

This Golden Poop Awards is made possible by support from our sponsors:

PETA: We care about animals, not people.

Nivea: when you want purity, look for white

and Calvin Klein: Fat is the new thin, lies are the new truths, Calvin Klein models are the new ugly.

Writing a bad gun for sale ad is easy, writing a horrible ad worthy of a Golden Poop takes inspiration!

We'll start with the Best Picture category:

D'Marus D'Angelo Williams-Williams snapped this photo in his attempt to sell the only thing his dearly departed grandfather left him. I know the photo didn't help with the sale, but maybe it will win you a Golden Poop!

Roscoe Beaufart has the trinity of bad photos in one here. Bad lighting, check.....out of focus, check.......incorrect photo orientation....bingo! we may have a winner.

The background can help sell an item, or create confusion, these next pictures are winners in the latter department.

16-year-old Cooper McDaniel of Palo Alto California submitted his photo for consideration, the contrasting colors and textures really make this photo pop!

"Cropping photos is a scrap-bookers" says Solo Hutcheson-Grimes who sent us this photo for consideration.

Here we have a nice-looking Dan Wesson revolver, but what is in the middle of the gun? 

Bocephus Haymaker swears the gun is fine, it's just the metallic object with similar shapes to gun parts holding the gun up.

Madison Avenue has long used product placement and sex to help sell products, these sellers took note. In the Product Placement Category, we have the following entries:

Donny Ray Simpson submitted this photo of a pistol he is trying to sell, he used a 1/2 empty jug (or is it 1/2 full?) of diet iced tea, that is a bold strategy there Donny Ray, we'll have to see if it works out for you.

Sex sells, but does it earn you a Golden Poop? Lester Feeler sent in this ad in which his "baby mama" posed with the gun. 

One question Lester, you say only 500 rounds through her, are you referring to the gun or your girl? Mystery always adds intrigue!

The Price is Right is the name of this category. 

Hey, it's your gun, don't let the market dictate what your gun is worth....there is no other gun owner like you, therefore your gun is unique and should be priced accordingly.

Sol Rothstein entered his ad for his Colt Trooper Mk III. After some feedback he thought it might be worthy of a Golden Poop.

Jakob Goldberg sent us his contribution, selling a brand labeled rifle for unheard of prices is pretty daring.

Misrepresentation is the name of the game in this category, this is when the seller upsells his firearm to the point of completely misrepresenting its real condition, manufacturer or model.

Don't let the NRA or Kjestad influence you, you grade the gun how you see it. Who cares if your gun looks like it spent a couple of hours in a cement mixer, after all beauty is in the eye of the gun owner, right?

Omar Bin Lion sent in this ad for his "gently used" pistol.

Describe the gun how you see it, it might be wrong, but it feels so right.

This one is from Booh Jefferson of Zebulon, North Carolina.

A similar category, this one is called Gun Fiction, in this category sellers make up stuff or just plain lie about it. Jasper Duquaine from Durham North Carolina sent in his ad for his n-pap, M70, AK-47 

"I like to use buzz words, it impresses buyers" says Elmer Labourdette, who is responsible for the ad below. 

Andy Assburn sent his submission in, he is the head curator at the Thomaston Place Auction Gallery. His Marlin-Winchester rifle got lots of attention when it hit the internet.

Felonious Jackson, who just missed winning a Golden Poop for gunsmithing sent us this ad his cousin Javarious Jaquishious Javon posted on Armslist. This one is loaded with fiction, buzz words, street slang, misspelling, bad punctuation and a whole lot of Golden Poop material.....I think I smell a Pulitzer.........or maybe that's last night's burrito?

Bubba John Wayne Rudky sent in this ad for his SKS, he says he is an expert on guns, so he thought maybe he may be in line for a Golden Poop.

Another subcategory of Misinformation is the Ye Olde Bait & Switch category. In this category sellers often claim one thing in the headline, then reveal the truth (or another lie) in the ad description.

A common tactic of scammers and click bait authors. List the item for FREE in the headline, then BOOOM hit them with the real price (which is often more than retail) in the last line of the ad....This one is from Anita Cox of Dallas Texas.

Ben Yackinov sent this one in, he used to collect Mosin Nagant rifles, bought from Dick's. He got them for a steep discount and is now flirting with Federal Prison in order to make a profit.

The name of this next category is Cashing In.

These sellers are making sure to take advantage of buyers when the panic hits.... You know what you have, get what you got coming!

Stacey Rect says, "there is a sucker born every minute, so I am always trolling for them."

Antonio Miguel Marquez Rivera VI is the author of the ad below; he says the profit margin is always better when you got the gun for "free".

Ivan Lipschitz, a sales associate at Cheaper Than Dirt, is responsible for this ad, he was attempting to resell an AR lower that he paid $150 for. 

Anger Sells is the name of this category, these are ads which anyone can tell was written by an angry person.

This first one is from Mike Oxsmall, in his attempt to list his Handi-Rifle he let his anger show. Great job Mike, we'll have to see if it is enough to garner a Golden Poop.

Compulsory registrations do not exist for the most part, yet Hollywood has convinced people that all guns are "registered". 

These sellers want people to know the government isn't going to know you bought their gun. 

Some of these are so far undercover, the previous owner doesn't even know they are missing yet....

We'll call this category, "Selling what may not belong to you" 

Tyquan Jamal White sent in his ad.

Everyone who knows anything about guns would like to buy a Colt Python....so by advertising them in another state and saying you will only ship, no "face to face" sounds super sketchy...Then you say you will ship the gun super-secret, "off the books"....you might as well be giving out free candy in your 1978 Dodge Tradesman Van. The following ad is from Bernie Madoff Jr., his location was listed as "undisclosed".

This last category is for those lacking a grasp for the English language, misspelled words, bad or missing punctuation get more points. We'll call this category: English Mother-Fer, Do you Speak it?

Demontravious Gamma-Gamma sent in this ad

 Javarious Jaquishious Javon is already in consideration for a Golden Poop in the Gun Fiction category, but we thought his ad also fit here as it shows a real lack of English skills.

This one was sent in anonymously, If this is your ad and you win, please come forward and claim your Golden Poop.