Great day at the range today with my friend @AdamKinzinger. We got to hang out with some union workers while exercising our freedom. Always have your first aid kit handy. Shrapnel can always fly when you hit a target like today, and you’ve got to be ready to go. We had four first… pic.twitter.com/Qu4YxfrtrU
— Lucas Kunce (@LucasKunceMO) October 23, 2024
First, let’s stipulate that most of us, deep down in the dark places we seldom talk about, have probably fantasized about shooting a journalist or two. Anyone who’s consumed any amount of media over the last quarter century has come to hold reporters at levels far below those of used car salesmen and elected officials. Those are, of course, just idle musings. We’d never actually act on our bottomless antipathy for smug, smarmy, self-satisfied members of the fourth estate.
So given yesterday’s casualty and the perpetrators, the shadenfreude has flowed freely after some shooting range hijinks northwest of Kansas City. US Senate Candidate, Democrat Lucas Kunce, who’s trying to unseat the GOP incumbent, Josh Hawley. He and GOP turncoat Adam Kinzinger held a press event at a private range in the small town of Holt, Missouri.
Both Kunce and Kinzinger are military veterans. Kunce served in the Marines and Kinzinger is an Air Force veteran. As people like Kunce and Kinzinger love to tell the rest of their fellow Americans, people in law enforcement and the military are uniquely qualified to own and use firearms, so you might think that they’d know how to hold a shooting event for the cameras in a safe manner. You’d be wrong.
Here’s the setup yesterday as Kinzinger squeezed off a few shots. Those of you with more than twelve minutes of shooting experience may notice a few points of concern.
First, Kinzinger’s shooting at steel with an AR-15 and he’s doing it from a distance of no more than about twelve yards. That’s Kunce to his left, also holding an AR.
They’re both far too close to be shooting at steel safely. Most guidelines suggest a minimum distance of 50 yards and the folks at Action Target suggest nothing closer than 100 yards. So these two former military men are shooting long guns – note the bolt gun on the table to the right – equipped with magnified optics and dangerously short distances.
On top of that, the former Illinois congressman, who’s prone to bursting in to tears for no apparent reason, also has his eye protection on top of his head. Notice also that there are two containers of Tannerite on the table in front of Kunce and Kinzinger.
Given all of the safety failures on conspicuous display during the press event, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that something bad happened. Kunce and Kinzinger were almost asking for it. As Kunce was shooting at the steel targets, a bullet fragment ricocheted and struck a reporter in the arm.
That’s Kanas City television reporter Ryan Gamboa having his wound attended to by two people who should have known better.
All things considered, Kunce and Kinzinger were lucky. The outcome of this little shitshow could have been much, much worse. The odds that everyone who was there was wearing eye protection are minuscule and even the drooling dipstick Kinzinger, who had eye pro, wasn’t wearing it. And how much fun would have ensued if that bullet fragment had hit one of those cans of Tannerite?
Hey Mansion Man @McCloskeyUSA — my offers still stands for a Marine-led weapons safety training before you get your next gun… It might just keep you out of prison before Election Day. #MOSen pic.twitter.com/3UGaoXvD4p https://t.co/kvurERjYla
— Lucas Kunce (@LucasKunceMO) June 17, 2021
Even better, Kunce, the Marine, loves to hold himself up as a paragon of gun safety. He issued the above tweet to Mark McCloskey, the St. Louisan who stood outside his home with his wife, both armed, as BLM activists marched past in 2020. That tweet didn’t age well at all.
Judging by the latest polling data, Kunce isn’t likely to be haunting the halls of Congress any time soon. That’s probably a good thing as, no matter how much he wants Missourians to think he’s a gun guy they can trust, you can bet dollars to doughnuts that the leatherneck would cast a vote in favor of an “assault weapons” ban if a bill somehow makes it that far in the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body. Party loyalty always seems to outweigh reverence for gun rights every single time when Democrats get themselves to Washington.
The big takeaway – never be lectured to by gun control advocates. Not about civilian gun ownership, gun safety, or the extent to which you should be “allowed” to exercise your Second Amendment rights. These jackwagons are ignorant about eh Constitution and the law, know less than the average armed American, and can’t even manage to demonstrate basic safe gun handling skills.
democrats will always find a way to hurt you, one way or another.
Could it have set off the tannerite? Could only wish. Could have been a twofer.
Kinzinger must have eyes it the top of his head.
Wonder where he stuck the ear plugs!
Imagine being a household name because Trump made you cry.
12 yards shooting steel with an AR…… Hope it was their targets. Doubt a ricochet would begin to have enough velocity to make the tannerite a concern but God damn that is stupid even for a jarhead (joking of course as it seems he didn’t pay attention to his time in service)
Regardless of training. You can’t fix stupid.
This level of stupidity has to be intentional.
I’m sure that reporter will never stop talking about his “battle scar.”
“This level of stupidity has to be intentional.”
The stupidity on display is breathtaking. I have the highest respect for the Marines, but this was unconscionable.
If it was intentional, the headlines write themselves: “An AR15 is too dangerous for even a Marine!!!!!” But I can’t imagine anyone with a functional brain shooting steel with an AR-15 at 12 ranges without eye protection, and doing it on purpose, just to make an antigunner point.
Can we at least hope that they were using frangible ammunition? If they were shooting FMJs, they immediately need their brains recalled. If they were shooting frangibles, at least there’s a half a prayer that somebody, somewhere, at least had a thought. But to set up a tiny short range like that, with tannerite? What was the thought process there? I can’t imagine anyone, anywhere, being dumb enough to set up a tannerite target so close.
* “at 12 ranges” supposed to be “at 12 yard range”
Idea came across no problem and I sincerely doubt frangible was involved given the stupid stuff we were able to get away with in shoot houses “safely”.
Am I the only one that thinks all military branches should have a safety stand down until all o-gangers both current past and retired can touch a firearm without either looking like a fool or nearly killing someone. After Col. Full-Semi-Auto, Commander Scope on Backwards, and now this ass hat something needs to be done.
Needless to say, that “range” setup was dangerous and fails conventional wisdom guidelines.
A range can be that short if you are shooting into a substantial and soft backstop which will absorb all bullet calibers at all velocities below 4,000 feet-per-second.
I will only shoot steel targets at “close” distances (less than 50 yards) if I am shooting handguns. If I am shooting rifles, I typically move the steel targets out to 100 yards. The only exception to that 100 yard distance is at a family property where the targets are about 15 feet lower in elevation than our shooting position–and even then we are still 50 yards away.
One of the scariest videos of shooting steel targets that I have ever seen is a man shooting a rifle, chambered in .50 BMG I believe. He hits his steel target (which appears to be 100 yards away) and his bullet comes whizzing back, at what seems to be at least 90 miles-per-hour, and knocks his ear muffs (hearing protection) off. I cannot begin to imagine how bad my day would be if a .50 caliber bullet weighing in excess of 600 grains hit me in the face at 90 miles-per-hour.
No matter how much training you have. You just can’t fix stupid.
F@#c%ing Idiots!