In some parts of Illinois, we have seen freezing temperatures and even a skiff of snow.  It will warm up this week and we will have Indian Summer for a short time at least.  This is nature’s way of reminding us to winterize our cars, find the ice scrapers, and dig out the sweaters and winter coats.  Remember that one left glove you still have but the right one is missing?  You might want to do some glove shopping this coming week while there is still a selection.

Indian Summer was a new experience for Europeans when they arrived in the new world.  Europe didn’t experience the phenomenon.  Not only was there a period of warmth, but there was also a lot of haze in the air from prairie fires set by Native Americans.  Occasionally, we still experience that condition these days.  Indian Summer days are my favorite time of the year. 

As we near the Midterm Election races across the country, they are tightening up.  With only 19 days to go, there is no question the Second Amendment is on the ballot.  The well-financed left wing anti-gun coalition is pouring money in every race where they think they can harm the Second Amendment and our gun rights.  What does this mean?  It means every gun owner needs to wake up, get involved, and work harder than ever before.  Every part of the shooting sports has to be supported and expanded.  We are all going to have to give not only more money to fight the billionaires, but more of ourselves.

I get calls from people who whine that they should not have to defend their Right to Keep and Bear Arms because we have the Second Amendment.  Sad to say that isn’t the way it works.  For people like us, there are only two conditions in life if we want to maintain our freedoms.  They are: we are either at war or preparing for war.  If we don’t stand up, we get the last condition-defeat. 

Joe Biden is once again calling for more gun control after the mass shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina.  There is a 15-year-old male in custody.  We don’t know the rest of the story yet, but you can bet there is a lot more to the story.  I am guessing it will be the usual trail of mistakes and incompetence all of which is your fault even though you had nothing to do with the situation.  It is too bad we can’t outlaw stupidity and incompetence.  If we did, there would be a lot of politicians and bureaucrats in the unemployment line.

Much to the chagrin of Georgia gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams, who is always complaining about firearms and concealed carry permit holders, two Georgia EMTs were saved by a permit holder.  Darrion Suave Fraley was attacking cars and threatening people in a Gainesville neighborhood.  An ambulance arrived before the police and Fraley was threatening the EMTs with a gun.  An armed citizen intervened and shot Fraley before he could harm the EMTs.  Fraley survived but is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm in a crime, possession of a knife in a crime, and obstruction of an EMT.  At least he didn’t have to wait long before EMTs arrived.

It is certainly no shock that the September firearm sales are the third highest in history.  September marks the 38^th straight month firearm sales topped a million.  American citizens love their firearms for a variety of reasons not the least of which is self-defense.  Despite the hostile conditions in Illinois, the numbers of FOID cards and Illinois Concealed Carry Licenses continue to grow.   Here are the latest numbers.

FOID cards - 2,428,477
ICCLs - 449,534

I am not surprised with the Safe-T Act looming.  I would think we could reach 500,000 ICCLs sometime next year.  Gun owners have a lot more power than they think if they would act in unison.  As an average, there are 20,580 FOID card holders in every State Representative District and 41,160 in every State Senatorial District.  Of course, some districts have more and some less, but the numbers are still significant.  Now is the time to vote pro-gun if there ever was one.  Get out and vote.

Tidbits:

October 20, 1944 - General Douglas MacArthur returns to the Philippines.  When the Japanese invaded the Philippines, General Douglas MacArthur was ordered to leave and go to Australia.  He told the Philippine people and the world that he would return.  MacArthur had begged for more men and equipment but was turned down.  It was a bitter pill he had to swallow when President Roosevelt ordered him to leave his troops behind and go to Australia.  While in Australia, he devised a plan to defeat the Japanese.  The plan called for “island hopping” taking back some islands in the Pacific while cutting off others leaving the Japanese to starve.  Those islands were mostly uninhabited except for Japanese troops.  General MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz butted heads on whether to island hop around the Philippines or not.  MacArthur was not going to leave Americans, Filipino troops, or citizens in the hands of the Japanese.  He knew the Japanese would slaughter them if given a chance.  Most of the captured Americans were from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio.  These were mostly National Guardsmen from these states who were called up and sent to the Philippines as reinforcements.  

My father had joined MacArthur’s Command in Australia.  He and the other soldiers knew what the Japanese had done to the American and Filipino troops.  Remember, the Philippines were part of the United States at the time.  The anger against the Japanese and their treatment of prisoners of war was unimaginable.  After the invasion of the Philippines, my father was on a mission to recover the bodies of beheaded airmen the Japanese had slaughtered.  This and many other atrocities caused him to have nightmares for the rest of his life.  I could hear him from my room yelling and tossing and turning.  He would sweat though his night clothes and the bed.  My mother would do laundry every day for the first five or six years after he got back.  He was blinded in one eye by a Japanese hand grenade in the Philippines.

He and the other soldiers he was with were buddies until they died.  I am not saying they wanted to be in the South Pacific, but they certainly wanted to settle the score with the Japanese.  He admired the Filipinos.  Once they had driven the Japanese out of a town or village, the local citizens would dig up an American flag and schoolbooks which they buried and start school.  He also admired MacArthur.  If MacArthur said he was going to invade hell, my father’s only question would be when do we leave?  Every one of his buddies I met felt the same way.  The liberation of the Philippines began on this day in 1944.

October 22, 1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis.  President Kennedy announces to the citizens of the United States that the Soviet Union is moving guided missiles into Cuba.  The next six days were nerve racking for the people of the United States.  Finally, it was resolved but unknown to everyone, the United States President had agreed to dismantle American Jupiter missiles in Turkey.  The United States had developed intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the Soviet Union which made the Jupiter missile obsolete, still Nikita Khrushchev had backed down.

October 23, 1939 - DuPont introduces lady’s nylons.  They sold 4000 pair in two hours.  Later, DuPont
would rework the formula and make nylon gun stocks.

October 24, 1861 - The Transcontinental Telegraph is completed.  It was the communication line that Abraham Lincoln used to telegraph to keep the Eastern and Western United States together in the Union.

October 26, 1881 - The gun fight at the OK Corral.  Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, and Doc Holliday shoot it out with the Clanton-McLaury gang.   The entire gun fight lasted 30 seconds and about 30 rounds were fired.  Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were dead.  Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran for the hills.  The Earp’s and Doc Holliday were charged with murder but were acquitted.

The Earp’s were from Monmouth, Illinois, originally.  After the gunfight at the OK Corral, Wyatt Earp left Arizona and moved to California where he trained race horses and became a prize fight promoter.  In 1896, he refereed a heavyweight championship fight between Bob Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey.  Fitzsimmons knocked Sharkey down but Earp ruled It was an illegal punch and disqualified Fitzsimmons.  Fitzsimmons sued but lost.  Still, Earp’s reputation was damaged.  Earp went on the Gold Rush in Alaska where he lost is famed Buntline Special when he dropped it in a river.  In later years, he worked in Hollywood as an advisor to the movie industry.  There he met a young prop man who later changed his name to John Wayne.  They ate lunch together a couple of time a week.  Wyatt Earp was the last survivor of the gun fight at the OK Corral.  He died in 1929 at the age of 80.

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Saturday, October 22, 2022
ISRA Academy Basic Pistol Class

Saturday, October 29, 2022
Tactical Carbine Class
Armed Women of America

Sunday, October 30, 2022
Bullseye Match
Fall Glock League

Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Pellet Rifle League

Saturday, November 5, 2022
Range Work Day
ISRA Steel Challenge

Sunday, November 6, 2022
Bonfield Muzzle Loaders
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Gun & Trade Shows

Peoria Gun & Knife Show – Peoria, IL
Exposition Gardens
Dates: October 22 & 23, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00

Crown Point Gun Show – Crown Point, IN
Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: October 22 & 23, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

Bloomington Gun & Knife Show – Bloomington, IL
Interstate Center
Dates: October 29 & 30, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $8.00 (2-day pass $10.00)

Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show – Kankakee, IL
Kankakee County Fairgrounds
Dates: October 29 & 30, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-3:00
             Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00

Sauk Trail Gun Show – Princeton, IL
Bureau County Fairgrounds
Dates: October 29 & 30, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-4:00
             Sunday: 8:30-3:00
Admission: $5.00

Mt Vernon Knife Show – Mt Vernon, IL
Rolland W Lewis Community Building
Dates: November 4 & 5, 2022
Hours: Friday: 1:00-6:00
             Saturday: 9:00-4:00
Admission: $3.00

Aledo Gun & Knife Show – Aledo, IL
Mercer County Fairgrounds
Dates: November 5 & 6, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

Kane County Sportsman’s Show – St Charles, IL
Kane County Fairgrounds
Date: November 13, 2022
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:30
Admission: $7.00