OK, so all the free thinking types live in Utah, home to plenty of desert and even more Mormons …
Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed the bill into law this week, designating the Browning model M1911 automatic pistol as the official state firearm.
Polygamists are big on the multiple hit theory of gunplay, hence their choice of an automatic. Any real god-fearing western state would’ve chosen a Colt something-or-other if only to piss off all them Texicans – who believe all that Louis Lamour hogwash and figure they annexed Hartford, Connecticut sometime during the War Between The States.
Actually the Browning M1911 has its roots in Ogden Utah, hence a very real connection to the state and its infancy.
While rod makers showed only after most of the real estate was civilized, most states should still scramble to honor what rod makers are left, only they’re a curiously nomadic lot and like the NFL will insist on a generous stipend to keep them in their existing stadi … er … quarters.
Legislatures will have to glad-hand whatever craftsmen remain at whatever political cost, overlooking the tacky epoxy and graphite dust ingrained in their suddenly firm grip, and offer both keys to the state and/or a two week stint in rehab, depending on the degree of varnish inhalation.
All them eastern states will be fighting over everyone whose ever fished in Vermont and built bamboo anything.
I’m hoping California overlooks all past glory. Winston got miffed over Hollywood’s refusal to add their star to the Walk of Fame and fled to Twin Bridges, Montana. Leaving California only the sullied Powell brand, long fallen from any real prominence.
Hopefully our now penniless legislature will skip any ties with the besotted crowd that remains and adopts China, as their lock on manufacturing and volume may be just what’s needed to introduce the boron II Barbie rod, and we’ll again assume our rightful place as trendsetters versus followers.
So yesterday you blogged in favor of the defenseless trout but today you tipped your hat to the capitalist swine. Make up your mind whether to save the small specialty fly shop and it’s knowledgeable guides to the local stream. They rely on Barbie rod sales every season to keep them afloat. Or, we can save the stoopid trout. So what was your problem with carp again because they represent full employment.
Most of the famous Winchester models are Browning designs; but I’m sure you already knew that. When I was younger I read a good biography on Browning. He was an amazing gun designer.
JOHN BROWNING was a local boy, so the Utah committee’s selection of the M1911 as the official state handgun was barely newsworthy – except in it’s militant banality and its ill-timing. The Saints can thank their blessed angel Moroni that they didn’t choose the Glock. A state fishing rod, however, might lead to more wholesome ends. Other states have celebrated their birchbarks and their long rifles, and what state cannot celebrate its Cabelas’s ? Rod craftsmen have long looked to the Orient for their bamboos, so what could be more traditional than to look to the superb and world renowned craftsmanship of the People’s Republic, where the Boron II Barbie was developed, and where they have been producing flawless Barbies for decades ? California could make this happen ! The state that brought the nation Shirley Temple, Mickey Mouse, Ronald Reagan and the beach blanket, need not concern itself with the sneers of the cane pole elitists and their arcane, overpriced and fragile wares. Who can forget that 2008 video of the pink Barbie besting that record 21 lb. catfish ? And nobody has yet complained of snapping off the priceless tip of a Barbie Boron II in a car door. Couldn’t happen without collateral damage to the door. The rod speaks for itself in a choice of glowing colors. It’s affordability, availability and reliability are uncontested.
There’s certainly been a resurgence in popularity of the 1911, thanks in no small part to the Kimbers and Wilsons of the world. So I see no need to herald this move as anything other than a corporate suck-up.
Now, if a state adopts the tactical 12 gauge as their weapon of choice, you’ll know they really mean business.
MG may be right. Like the Man said, Hand guns will work, but when expecting trouble take the shotgun.
Gotta admit, I prefer Mr. Colt’s weapon and it’s little brother 32.
Who needs boron if Barbie is strong enough for that big ole catfish? Hooah!
While it’s true that a twelve gauge has a certain authority, a Remington 870 in a shoulder holster tends to chafe…
As a gun owner and enthusiast, I’m mightily disturbed by this country’s embrace of militant nationalism. Seems like the anti-gun crowd might have been smarter than we used to think. Time will tell.
I would posit fly rod makers are no less fickle than their consumers. Though it is a shame what happened to Powell. Their hollow-built Marysville rods , along with the offerings from Winston represent a pinnacle of cane rod technology, coming as they did from the once great steelhead fisheries of Northern California. Like the steelhead, the Powell name has been abused and allowed to fade into obscurity. Winston quit building fishing rods years ago, and is now in the business of selling bling.
I wrote an article on the wave as well the daily hunt and fish you know more than I could find on it, great article.
Chris