The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 2 weeks 5 days ago
How I Spent My Summer Vacation: AR-15 Rifle Builder Edition
I retired from full-time law enforcement two years ago, and I took a job as a part-time school police officer at a local school district. That means I now have summers off for the first time since I graduated high school. Last year I got a long-awaited shoulder replacement so that put a crimp on my first free summer, but this year I was pretty much free to do whatever.
How did I use all of that free time?
Gun-Free Zones Kill: Data Shows Armed Citizens Stop Mass Killers Most of the Time
By Rob Morse
We live in a media-driven culture. We also have government agencies putting out biased reports that serve their political masters. And it’s rare that the media even question those agencies’ reports.
That wouldn’t matter, but many of us tend to confuse media headlines with facts. I’ve seen people on Facebook say that there were hundreds of “mass shootings” this year and that our children aren’t safe in school any longer.
Compromised California Congressman Demands a Gun Ban…Again
For U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), some things will never get old, like calling for a complete ban on America’s most popular semiautomatic rifle, the Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR). Or ignoring criminals. Or taking to social media immediately after a tragedy, before facts are known, and pushing for more gun control.
Yet after a deranged, mentally ill, racist murderer took three innocent lives at a Jacksonville, Fla., Dollar General store, Rep.
Continue reading Compromised California Congressman Demands a Gun Ban…Again at The Truth About Guns.
Do You Correct Other Shooters at the Range?
We’ve all seen it. Someone holding a gun incorrectly at the range, sometimes in a way that’s going to hurt when they pull the trigger. Or, more alarming, someone failing to follow one or more of the four rules of firearm safety. As in the photo above.
If you’re at a supervised range, you’d hope the range safety officer would step in when someone does something really dangerous.
But they can’t be everywhere and see everything, particularly at a range with a large number of shooting lanes.
Continue reading Do You Correct Other Shooters at the Range? at The Truth About Guns.
Mike Rowe’s Unintentional But Valuable Range Safety Tip
Mike Rowe, the well-known dirty job do-er, work raconteur and mover of the book markets, did a safety video that has application to shooters.
In the video, below, Rowe describes how he and his crew had attended beaucoup safety briefings during his work on the television show “Dirty Jobs.” He made the point that safety briefings weren’t really for the attendees. The safety briefings were actually for the employees and for protection of the businesses, who could point to the safety briefings as liability protection in case of an accident.
Continue reading Mike Rowe’s Unintentional But Valuable Range Safety Tip at The Truth About Guns.
Where Do You Keep Your Home Defense Gun at Night?
As a recent Pew poll revealed, almost three-quarters of people who own guns own them primarily for personal protection. But no matter how “operator” you may be, you probably don’t sleep with your gun.
Still, you want to be ready in case you hear that proverbial bump in the night. But that raises the question as to where your gun will slumber when you do.
Lots of gun owners, having done their duty to perpetuate the species, have little future gun owners living under their roof.
Continue reading Where Do You Keep Your Home Defense Gun at Night? at The Truth About Guns.
Gear Review: Zero Tolerance 0006 Fixed Blade Knife
If you aren’t familiar with Oregon-based Zero Tolerance knives, I’d wager you’ve probably heard of Kershaw. The two are sister companies, both part of the Kai group. Given that the pair are headquartered just a few miles down the road from me, I’m more than familiar with them and many of their products.
The primary difference between the two brands is that while Kershaw has design and quality control here in Oregon, they use Chinese manufactured parts to keep the costs in line on their budget-based knives.
Continue reading Gear Review: Zero Tolerance 0006 Fixed Blade Knife at The Truth About Guns.
Washington State Highway Fatalities Skyrocket, Yet No One is Calling for a Ban On Cars
From the CCRKBA . . .
New data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission suggests the Evergreen State is on track to see one of the deadliest years on state highways since the 1990s, yet nobody is demanding a ban on automobiles, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms noted.
“This reflects a glaring hypocrisy on the part of people advocating for stricter gun control laws and bans on certain firearms,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.
Politics is Downstream of Culture: Let’s Look at Single-Parent Homes and Homicide Rates
Here’s a fun fact using data published recently in an article at stacker.com listing states with the most single-parent households.
As always, correlation is not causation. That said, not one state of the ten ranked lowest for single-parent households has a homicide rate above the national average. However, all of the top ten highest states for single-parent households have homicide rates above the national average…except for Alaska.
I used 2021 CDC data on overall homicide rates by state.
Swearer: America Has a Mental Health Infrastructure Problem, Not a Gun Problem
We have a very real national crisis of disillusioned young men who are increasingly alienated from society, overly connected to the internet, and full of anger. They are too easily pulled into extremism and too often turn to violence as an outlet.
We have a local, state, and national mental health infrastructure that is, to put it nicely, failing and falling apart. While many public shooters do not necessarily have a diagnosable mental illness, they’re rarely the epitome of mental stability.
Gun Meme of the Day: They Shoot Dogs, Don’t They? Edition
This post’s title is, of course, based on the classic novel, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? BUT! If you haven’t read outdoor humorist Patrick F. McManus’ absolutely freaking hilarious books, including They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?, then you need to fix that ASAP pronto.
Continue reading Gun Meme of the Day: They Shoot Dogs, Don’t They? Edition at The Truth About Guns.
Just Say No: Chinese Shopping Apps Still Selling Lots of Illegal Silencer Parts to Tempt You
Browsing the Chinese shopping app Temu for shiny objects to scare hawks away from my yard, I was surprised to successfully find “fuel filters.” I thought this stuff went the way of the dodo after our friends at the ATF visited the homes of hundreds of Americans who had ordered similar items via Wish, Ali Express, and other Chinese crap apps.
Okay maybe this pistol booster assembly would be legal. I mean, most mounts aren’t considered silencer parts and are therefore readily available, with ATF’s blessing, a la carte on the interwebs anyway.
Gun Review: Beretta PMXs Pistol ‘Subgun’
It’s been a while since Beretta produced a submachine gun. While SMGs might be en vogue mostly amongst the uber-tactical crowd here, they still tend to please European police forces. They’re smaller and handier than most rifles and fire common calibers the departments are already issuing.
The Beretta Model 12 is a fine SMG, but certainly it’s a product of its time with the open bolt design and lack of modularity.
Continue reading Gun Review: Beretta PMXs Pistol ‘Subgun’ at The Truth About Guns.
Vivek Ramaswamy Talks Guns and the Second Amendment With Colion Noir [VIDEO]
I don’t know how to feel yet about Vivek Ramaswamy. It seems a little convenient that he tends to always have the answer that will please the base. But I can’t deny the guy works hard, as I see him EVERYWHERE.
If he doesn’t get the nomination, it won’t be because he didn’t try. Yesterday he sat down with Colion Noir to talk guns and 2A, so let’s see what he had to say .
Arizona Woman Shoots a Registered Sex Offender Who Tried To Climb In Through Her Window
A 54-year-old woman living just outside of Tucson, Arizona didn’t really want to have to shoot a neighbor to tried to force entry to her residence, but the man didn’t give her many options. Living by herself, she didn’t have anyone else to help her repel the would-be intruder. She did have a handgun, though, and he availed herself to the great equalizer.
The would-be intruder, a 42-year-old registered sex offender named Jayson Magrum, apparently didn’t care that she’d gotten her gun and told him to stop.
Shuham: Far Too Many Americans Still Hold the Delusional Belief That Guns Make Them Safer
Large portions of the American public still believe false claims of all kinds about guns, the COVID-19 pandemic and reproductive health, a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows.
Though the poll found that percentages of Americans who believe that false claims are “definitely” true is small, the portion who think they are “probably” true is substantial. Overall, between half and three-quarters of the country belong to what KFF CEO Drew Altman called the “muddled middle,” saying that the false claims were “probably” either true or false.
Gun Meme of the Day: The Life of a Gunwriter Edition
Pay, schmay. But somebody’s gotta do it!
Continue reading Gun Meme of the Day: The Life of a Gunwriter Edition at The Truth About Guns.
SAF Sues State of Maryland Over Allegedly Malicious Red Flag Confiscation Filing
The Second Amendment Foundation and one of its members, Donald S. Willey, a 64-year-old Marine Corps veteran, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the so-called “red flag” law enacted by the State of Maryland five years ago.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division. Defendants are Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, Dorchester County, Dorchester County Planning and Zoning Director Susan E. Webb, and Dorchester County Sheriff James W.
Gun Review: Stag Arms Stag 15 Pursuit in 6.5 Grendel
Ever since I reviewed a Stag Arms AR10 back in 2017, I’ve been paying attention to the brand. Over the last couple of years, they’ve branched out a bit, keeping up their quality, but adding a focus on aesthetics as well. For 2023, they’ve further expanded their line with their new Pursuit models. This is an entire line of AR10 and AR 15 format hunting rifles available in a range of calibers.
6.5 Grendel has been one of my favorite calibers since it first came out, and when Stag Arms chambered the Stag 15 Pursuit in 6.5 Grendel, I was stoked to get my hands on one.
Continue reading Gun Review: Stag Arms Stag 15 Pursuit in 6.5 Grendel at The Truth About Guns.