Friday, January 31, 2014

SUPER Friday Factoid

Being a commie & all, never took U.S. American History in what little high school I attended, & didn't attend many classes when I did take a course in college, so the attempted (first American Presidential) assassination of Andrew Jackson by a two-gun loon (or was he a tool of Jackson's enemies, hmm?) almost 180 yrs. ago (Should we hold this for next yr.? No, the real point's coming up.) mentioned here came as a surprise.

But is this
Researchers at the Smithsonian Institution studied Lawrence’s derringers a century after the assassination attempt. Both fired on the first try.
supposed to mean anything or be significant? Because, dumb John Dickerson, as you note w/ a link & everything, 'twas the ammo, not the gun.
The percussion cap had detonated, but the gunpowder failed to ignite.
Bonus factoid: Delusions are remarkably consistent over the centuries.
He had attacked the seventh president because he believed that the U.S. government owed him a large sum of money. Jackson, who was engaged in a brutal struggle with the Whigs over the National Bank, was nevertheless not in control of it or any other bank. Still, Lawrence would not be deterred from his belief that if he killed Jackson the funds would be released and he would take his place as the rightful King of England and Rome.

4 comments:

Weird Dave said...

He was held at various hospitals and mental institutions for 26 years until his death in 1861.

Keep your powder dry.

mikey said...

People who don't spend a lot of time with firearms don't realize how much of the system is actually dependent on the performance of the ammunition (and, in modern guns, the magazines). I often gunsplain to people that "Wannabes and poseurs talk about guns, shooters talk about bullets". The point being that the gun is just the launching pad, the bullet is doing all the work here. And as this piece points out, can be the primary point of failure. Stovepipes, failures to feed, misfires, jams, that sickening feeling when your gun goes click instead of bang, tap & rack drills.

Truth is, guns DON'T kill people. Bullets kill people - or, in some cases, don't kill people...

M. Bouffant said...

Tempermental Editor:
Stovepipes, failures to feed, misfires, jams
You have described my Charter Arms AR-7. I hope the LASD really destroyed that thing, & that yours is working better.

mikey said...

Feed it nothing but CCI 32 grain Stingers - 1640 fps at the muzzle and zero bullet drop at 75 meters. Flawless feeds...