The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 6 days 16 hours ago
Opinion: On Finland’s New Ranges, Puukko Knives and Sisu
When Soviet Red Army troops poured across the Finnish frontier three months after the outbreak of World War II, Simo Häyhä, a farmer and member of Finland’s Civil Guard, laid down his pitchfork, picked up his M28-30 Mosin Nagant, jammed his Puukko knife in his belt and calmly went out to kill communists.
Häyhä shot more than 540 Red Army troops in just three months—most using iron sights—becoming the most successful sniper in history.
Continue reading Opinion: On Finland’s New Ranges, Puukko Knives and Sisu at The Truth About Guns.
Nighthawk Custom Guns: Custom Gun Capabilities For A Perfect Build
Over the past few years, I have been fortunate to spend the first week of October in Idaho at numerous firearm-industry editorial rendezvous. More than a dozen gun writers gathered to see what the gun, optics and ammo companies had to offer for the coming year.
On the range and later back at the ranch I chatted with Nighthawk Custom owner Mark Stone to learn about his business. Long-time publishing colleague Nino Bosaz joined Mark and I, and as typical, an editorial brainstorming session began.
Tennessee Gun Owners Face Full-On Attack On Rights
Gun owners in Tennessee have found themselves facing a barrage of anti-gun legislation as the session ramps up in The Volunteer State.
Nine anti-gun measures are currently under consideration in House subcommittees. And all would greatly infringe on lawful gun owners’ Second Amendment rights while having no effect on criminals or violent crime.
One measure, HB 2329, would roll back Tennessee’s status as a Constitutional, or “permitless,” carry state. The bill would delete the section concerning firearms carry that states, “or who lawfully carries a handgun pursuant to § 39-17-1307(g).”
Another measure would institute so-called “universal” background checks for guns sales in the state.
Continue reading Tennessee Gun Owners Face Full-On Attack On Rights at The Truth About Guns.
Black Aces Tactical Releases the Alpha-9 Pistol
Black Aces Tactical just dropped a new semi auto 9mm pistol, the Alpha-9, on social media today. Other than the basic specs there aren’t a lot of details on it, but we can glean a few things from those, and the pics. The gun is stamped Adler Arms AD-9, and made in Turkey. Adler Arms is in fact a Turk gun company that makes a pretty wide variety of rifles, shotguns and pistols.
The Alpha looks to be a Glock 19 clone, or at least Glock 19-inspired piece.
Continue reading Black Aces Tactical Releases the Alpha-9 Pistol at The Truth About Guns.
How Joe Biden’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention is Directing the War on Guns
The White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention has become a significant threat to our guns and our civil rights.
When the office was unveiled in September 2023, President Joe Biden said it would, “centralize, accelerate, and intensify our work to save more lives more quickly. That’s what it was designed to do. It will drive and coordinate a government and nationwide effort to reduce gun violence.”
The office wields tremendous power but operates in secrecy, without oversight.
A Brave New Yorker Needs Our Help Keeping His Freedom
Dexter Taylor is the kind of guy most of us would hang out with. Not only is he hard-working and intelligent, working as a software engineer, but he chooses challenging hobbies. A while back, he got into building gun parts in his spare time, and was even considering going into business.
“I found out that you can actually legally buy a receiver and you can machine that receiver to completion, and you buy your parts and you put them together and you’ve got a pistol or a rifle,” Taylor said in a podcast interview.
Continue reading A Brave New Yorker Needs Our Help Keeping His Freedom at The Truth About Guns.
The Kansas City Category Error
Influential people with anti-gun views often want to “wade into the debate” after a big shooting. They’d have us believe that they are apolitical people who were above or outside of the debate, but because something that happened was so terrible, it merits them taking the highly unusual step and perhaps enduring some personal sacrifice.
But, if you do a quick search, most of the celebrities who act like this have a history of doing it.
Continue reading The Kansas City Category Error at The Truth About Guns.
California Bill Would Require Insurance Agencies To Ask About Guns
In yet another attempt to snoop around in matters that aren’t any of their business, the California State Assembly is considering a measure that would make insurance companies include questions on an application for homeowners’ or renters’ insurance concerning the number of firearms in the home.
The bill, AB 3067 by Democrat assemblyman Mike Gipson specifies: “In addition to existing regulations, an application for homeowners’ or renters’ insurance shall include questions regarding all of the following: (1) Whether there are firearms kept in the household, including in any accessory structures, and if so, how many.
Obscure Object of Desire – PJK-9HP FP9 FEG Hi-Power
In the history of ridiculous names for guns, the FEG Hi-Powers stand out. For example, the gun I’ve got today is the Fegyver- és Gépgyártó Részvénytársaság PJK-9HP FP9. This is what happens when you live under communism. You’re marketing sucks, and branding is a pipe dream. I can’t tell you what that stands for, but the name is fitting for such an odd version of a fairly famous firearm. From here on out, it’s going to be called the FEG Hi-Power.
Continue reading Obscure Object of Desire – PJK-9HP FP9 FEG Hi-Power at The Truth About Guns.
Yet Another Reason NFA and GCA Need To Die
When Congress defined the term “machine gun” in federal law, they thought it was pretty clear, and in most ways, it really is. If a single movement of the trigger produces only one shot, it’s not a machine gun. If you can pull the trigger back and the gun continues firing, it’s generally a machine gun. Pretty simple, right?
This distinction is important because a semi-auto weapon (assuming it’s not an SBR or other NFA item) isn’t heavily regulated at the federal level—no tax stamp, no need to get approval to transfer or cross state lines, or any of that other stuff.
Continue reading Yet Another Reason NFA and GCA Need To Die at The Truth About Guns.
FPC Files Brief In California’s “Sensitive Places” Carry Ban
The case challenging California’s “sensitive places” law that bans carry in nearly every public place in the state continues to move forward, with appellants filing response briefs with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In the lawsuit Carralero v. Bonta, the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) on Feb. 16 announced that it had filed a response brief with the circuit court. FPC secured a preliminary injunction in this case at the district court last year, and it remains in effect while California appeals.
CCI’s ‘Uppercut’ .22 Long Rifle Defensive Load Shows Impressive, Reliable Expansion Every Time
Nobody has ever said that the .22 Long Rifle makes a man-stopper defensive cartridge. However people still carry it for self-defense purposes. Maybe people have disabilities that preclude a more traditional centerfire cartridge for defensive purposes. Others prefer the ultra-petite size and weight of some small pocket pistols. Or there may be budgetary or availability considerations in a person’s life.
No matter the reason, I know plenty of normal people who carry a .22 everyday.
Weatherby Orion 20-Gauge Side-By-Side Shotgun
A competent side-by-side shotgun retailing for under $1,000 sounds as unlikely and unattainable as a sub-6-pound elk rifle that shoots consistently. But Weatherby has accomplished the unexpected with its new Turkish-made Orion that hammers birds and has just enough style that you don’t have to feel inadequate around Beretta- and Orvis-equipped wingshooters.
Let’s be clear: The Orion isn’t some undiscovered heir to elegance. Instead, it’s an unadorned workaday side-by-side that digests a wide range of payloads, is at home on the marsh as in the uplands, and that you won’t feel bad when you scratch and ding.
Continue reading Weatherby Orion 20-Gauge Side-By-Side Shotgun at The Truth About Guns.
A New Name For Anti-Gun Tragedy Exploiters: Coffin Surfers
I recently came across something pretty funny on Twitter that I think merits some more sharing. In the past, I’ve called the people who take advantage of tragedy to push an anti-gun agenda things like “blood dancers” or “vultures”. But, this new one sounds pretty good:
By the power vested in me by Twitter, I am declaring the term “Coffin Surfer” the new name we will call people who immediately seek to use the death of someone else to advance civilian disarmament.
Continue reading A New Name For Anti-Gun Tragedy Exploiters: Coffin Surfers at The Truth About Guns.
A Good Neighbor Arrested in California: 250 Guns, 20 Cans, Million Rounds of Ammo
California arrested a man last month for the high crime of owning about 250 firearms, a million rounds of ammunition and a few cans. In most states that would make the man a great neighbor. In Texas it would make him a very eligible bachelor to the ladies. Unfortunately, the statists in California don’t have a lot of love for the little people owning effective defensive firearms.
Rob Bonta, the California Attorney General, shared some photos of the unnamed Richmond, California, man’s collection.
Dems Target The Most Law-Abiding Of Virginians With Restaurant Carry Ban
The fact that most proposed gun bans target only the law-abiding while ignoring violent criminals isn’t lost on most gun-rights supporters. Interestingly, a proposed ban under consideration in the Virginia State Assembly actually targets the most law-abiding of law-abiding citizens.
Senate Bill 57, authored by Sen. Saddam Salim, makes it illegal for a concealed handgun permit holder to carry a concealed handgun onto the premises of any restaurant or club that sells alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, whether the permit holder drinks any alcohol or not.
The Sionyx Opsin: Military Grade Night Vision is Finally Affordable
Almost two decades ago I decided I needed a PVS14 monocular. I had used PVS7’s on the U.S./Mexico border, then been issued a PVS14 in Afghanistan, and after I came home, I went down a rabbit hole. Eventually, I ended up with multiple PVS14s, multiple dual-tube goggles and more equipment for mounting them to your head, your gun, your spotting scope, your camera and anything else than you can imagine. Needless to say, I learned a lot along the way.
FPC Notches Win In Georgia Young Adult Carry Ban Challenge
The Firearms Policy Coalition recently won a small victory in the ongoing war against Georgia’s ban on concealed carry for young adults.
On Monday, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s law banning 18- to 20-year-old citizens from carrying a firearm for self-defense.
In the case Baughcum v. Jackson, the court countered findings by the district court that ruled the individuals represented in the lawsuit didn’t have standing.
Continue reading FPC Notches Win In Georgia Young Adult Carry Ban Challenge at The Truth About Guns.
What We Can Learn From That Spicy Florida Acorn Video
A recently released body cam video out of Florida has been making the rounds on social media. Why? Because a cop seems to lose his mind and starts cranking rounds into the back of his own patrol vehicle. Inside is a man who he had already arrested and placed in the vehicle, and he thinks that not only is the man shooting at him, but that he had been hit.
According to media sources, the officer lost it when an acorn fell on his vehicle (you can barely hear it in the video if you turn it up), which he mistook for a gunshot.
Continue reading What We Can Learn From That Spicy Florida Acorn Video at The Truth About Guns.
The Power of Love: It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye
A black hole is a celestial body so named because its force of gravity is such that not even light can escape. Science fiction authors have depicted such weird phenomena as portals to strange dimensions or wormholes leading Lord-knows-where. Astronomers recognize such stuff because, when juxtaposed against the inky deadness of space, a black hole is a special kind of dark. Down here on earth, gunshot wounds are a comparably special kind of dark. When studied up close, a gunshot wound can offer a glimpse into a bad man’s soul.