The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 1 week 3 days ago
January Gun Sales Total of Over 1.2 Million Firearms is the 4th Highest On Record
Never before has the federal government and its regulatory apparatus been more weaponized against lawful gun ownership. Never before have more states enacted more gun control law, directly in contradiction of Supreme Court precedent while, in effect, saying, “Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?
Americans see all of this — combined with understaffed law enforcement and the catch-and-release criminal justice system that’s operating in most urban areas — and are acting accordingly.
A Tale of Two Studies: The Real Effect of Constitutional Carry on Violent Crime
By Robert B. Young, MD
“States with relaxed concealed carry laws see spike in violent crimes.”
— New York Post, October 5, 2022
“CDC data shows constitutional carry states have fewer total and gun-related homicides.”
— TTAG, October 4, 2022
Huh? How can that be? Sure, they’re talking about somewhat different things (“violent crimes” versus “homicides”) yet those two typically track each other.
The ATF’s Pistol Brace Rule: This is Not the Time for Infighting
People in the firearms community are passionate. Anti-civil rights extremists love to paint the NRA as an all-powerful lobbying boogeyman, but in reality, their donations are chump change compared other interest groups. The power of the NRA has always been in the people…its membership of millions. Gun owners are engaged and often are single-issue voters.
That passion is great, but it can also result in some negative effects on gun culture. Some of these negative effects started to crop up as soon as the unconstitutional, unreasonable, illogical, and downright silly brace rule was announced by the ATF.
Gun Meme of the Day: Sad Eagle Edition
Don’t make the eagle sad.
Continue reading Gun Meme of the Day: Sad Eagle Edition at The Truth About Guns.
SHOT Show: JK Armament Releases Modular 12 GA Shotgun Suppressors
At SHOT Show this year, JK Armament launched what I believe is the best shotgun silencer to hit the market yet. Available in two flavors, the JK 195 VERSAX and JK 195 SGX, the JK 195s are fully modular suppressors with a baffle and front cap design that makes so much sense it hurts. Specifically, it hurts that nobody has done it until now.
I suppose with a statement like that I have to dive right into the guts of the JK 195s first.
DC Kabuki: Cassidy, Cornyn and Hagerty Introduce National Reciprocity Bill in the Senate
National concealed carry reciprocity is every gun owner’s ideal. Just as a driver’s license is good no matter where you go in the 50 United States (and allegedly in D.C. too), a state-issued concealed carry permit should be similarly honored throughout the nation.
The last time national reciprocity became even a remote possibility and seemed to have momentum — that was early in the Trump administration when Republicans controlled both Congress and the White House — Michael Bloomberg hired on some new minions and committed more of his pocket change to fight the effort.
Both Sides: Armed Self-Defense Far Outweighs the Number of Criminal Uses of Guns
By Rob Morse
Facts are important, but knowledge is even better. Thousands of people die each year from adverse reactions to prescription drugs. Perspective tells us that at the same time, modern medicines save millions of lives.
It is a piece of the puzzle to know that we have over 30 thousand fatal car crashes each year. But we need to see the whole picture to understand we’d live in a vastly different society and be at greater risk if we were riding horses or walking to work every day.
Police Shoot and Kill a Man Who Opened Fire in an Omaha Target Store
By Josh Funk, AP
A man with an AR-15-style rifle and more than a dozen ammunition magazines opened fire inside a Target store in Omaha, sending panicked shoppers and employees scrambling for safety before he was fatally shot by police Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
The man in his 30s, who has not been identified, fired multiple rounds as he entered the store but it wasn’t clear if he fired at anyone, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said.
Gun Meme of the Day: ATF Ticker Edition
Yup, that’s about correct. It was a few days ago when this inaccurate FAQ answer was noticed within the eForms system (ATF has since deleted it), but the clock definitely reset this morning with the publishing of the newest pistol brace ruling.
Continue reading Gun Meme of the Day: ATF Ticker Edition at The Truth About Guns.
NSSF Files Motion for an Injunction to Block Enforcement of Illinois ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban
From the National Shooting Sports Foundation . . .
NSSF, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block state authorities from enforcing HB 5471, the recently-enacted “Protect Illinois Communities Act,” which bans the sale of several hundred of the most commonly-owned semiautomatic rifles in America, including all rifles on the very popular Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) platform.
That same law also bans the possession of standard-capacity magazines and certain models of semiautomatic handguns.
SHOT Show: Colt’s New CBX Precision Bolt Action Rifle System
One of the more intriguing new guns at SHOT this year was Colt’s decision to move outside their comfort zone with a new entrant into the bolt-action precision rifle market. The new CBX chassis rifle looks to be a well-thought-out platform on which to build.
Dipping a toe into the bolt action game, the CBX will initially be chambered in .308 (24-inch barrel) and 6.5 Creedmoor (26-inch barrel). The modular Rem700-based design will allow users to custom fit the rifle and attach accessories via the forend’s ARCA rail and plentiful M-LOK slots.
Florida Man Would-Be Carjacker Is Shot and Killed After Emerging From an Outhouse to Attack a Woman
Surveillance video showed how Florida Man Edward Alexander Barfield, 35, hid in a porta-potty for hours waiting for the right moment to rob someone outside of a Sanford, Florida bar. When a bartender, Chelsea Putnam, a mother of three, emerged at 2:30 a.m. on Thursday morning after closing, Barfield made his move. Police call it an attempted carjacking, but Barfield viciously assaulting the woman.
“Hands come across my throat. Start strangling me.
U.S. Providing Remote Help to Keep Ukraine’s Increasingly Sophisticated Materiel Going on the Battlefield
By Lolita C. Baldor, AP
On the front lines in Ukraine, a soldier was having trouble firing his 155 mm howitzer gun. So, he turned to a team of Americans on the other end of his phone line for help.
“What do I do?” he asked the U.S. military team member, far away at a base in southeastern Poland. “What are my options?”
Using phones and tablets to communicate in encrypted chatrooms, a rapidly growing group of U.S.
Greenaway: We’ve Been Fooled Into Thinking ‘Gun Violence’ is a People Problem
I have had the good fortune to be living abroad for the past three months, serving as a parish priest. As the date of my return to the U.S. approaches, I cannot help but wonder why I would want to return.
To risk being shot and killed while out dancing, grocery shopping, sitting in a movie theater, attending a concert, or doing any number of things or being in any number of places where one is entitled to the expectation of safety?
Buying Your First Carry Gun: Here’s a Realistic Self-Defense Gear Budget For 2023
If you’re new to the gun world or are thinking about buying your first self-defense handgun, wading through all of the information on what you need is a bit daunting. After initiallyt assuming that they only need to buy the firearm itself, most folks are often blindsided by all of the extra stuff that’s required.
Let’s figure out a reasonable, realistic budget for buying a self-defense gun and the other paraphernalia gun in 2023 to make sure you’re set up right.
Montana AG Austin Knudsen: States Are Stepping In to Protect Gun Rights and the Industry
From the NSSF . . .
Fortunately for gun manufacturers, distributors, retailers and law-abiding Second Amendment enthusiasts, there’s Republican Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. AG Knudsen joined NSSF’s Larry Keane on SHOT TV to discuss his efforts to lead the fight on behalf of Montanans against regulations and laws that restrict their rights.
Shipping Company Shenanigans
A recent focal point for AG Knudsen has been discriminatory policies by shipping and financial industry businesses towards the firearm industry.
Wrong Store: Three Armed Customers Stop a Holdup in a North Georgia Convenience Store
By Rob Morse
Crime happens. That fact is timeless, but it also changes over time. We are not the society we used to be. We might sit on the couch and watch big-city crime shows every night, but most of us know that the police won’t get to us in time to stop a criminal’s violent attack.
Given where we live, the police may be simply too far away. That’s true in rural areas and in small towns across the country.
Taft: California’s Anti-Gun Governor Has a Suicide Pact With the Truth
“The Second Amendment is becoming a suicide pact,” Newsom intoned as he walked with [CBS News’ Norah] O’Donnell, surrounded by his security team — men with guns.
And here is where Newsom’s narrative breaks down.
Newsom and his Democrat buddies in the legislative supermajority have done more harm to Second Amendment rights and passed more restrictions on legal gun ownership than any other state. The problem for Newsom is that the Monterey Park shooter, who was by law not allowed to own a gun, not only got a gun but illegally modified the gun.
Bravo Concealment Announces the New LINKed Holster With Mag Pouch
From Bravo Concealment . . .
The LINKed Holster from Bravo Concealment combines our IWB Torsion with an accessible mag pouch. Using just a few screws, a clever but simple design secures a mag pouch and belt clip to our standard Torsion IWB holster so you can appendix carry both at once.
Designed to be adjustable for your comfort, the LINKed Holster puts a secondary mag at your fingertips.