The Truth About Guns


Question Of The Day: Who’s Your Favorite YouTube Gunny?
We tend to give a lot of credit to the Call of Duty franchise, but the now-ubiquitous YouTube has probably done a lot more for Gun Culture 2.0 than any video game ever did. Even abcnews.com has taken notice of this phenomenon, and published a nicely well-balanced article last week profiling the demigods of the YouTube Gunny pantheon . . .
Among the greats listed by abcnews.com: Nutnfancy, Hickock45, FPSRussia and Military Arms Channel’s Tim Harmsen. Curiously not listed? Gunblast’s Jeff Quinn. Or NRA spokesman Mr. Colion Noir. Or any women. (We gotta work on that part, I think.)
Perhaps against the wishes of its Google overlords, YouTube has brought some of the joys of shooting to literally hundreds of millions of viewers all over the world. And it goes without saying that we all owe a big debt of gratitude to all of these candidates, with the possible exception of our old friend FPSRussia for his at-times wildly unsafe gun hand
Gun Preview: FNH-USA FNS-9
I picked up Nick’s FNS-9 earlier this week and I’ve got grand plans to test it out and write a review for this week. In the interim, I put together a short overview video showing some of the features as well as a demonstration of the trigger travel, break, and reset. My first impressions are . . .
It’s a finely made duty pistol that’s managed to handle whatever Leghorn has thrown at it over the last year and 4000-5000 rounds. It is totally filthy and a little dinged up which means I can’t do much more damage to it.
Things I like:
– The Trijicon Night Sights are bright in the dark, but still very clear and crisp in the light of day
– The frame is covered in aggressive checking which makes getting a grip very easy
– The trigger is fantastic. It breaks cleanly at 5.25 pounds an
Random Thoughts About Rape and Guns
Earlier this week, we ran a quote from President Obama. The President promised rape assault victims “I have your back.” In yesterday’s New York Times, the paper’s editorial team congratulated President Obama and Vice President Biden for Talking Sexual Violence Without Giving Offense. As with Mr. Obama’s empty promise to protect victims of rape after the fact, I found the remarks deeply offensive . . .
“Our daughters, our sisters, our wives, our mothers, our grandmothers have every single right to expect to be free from violence and sexual abuse,” Mr. Biden said. “No matter what she’s wearing, no matter whether she’s i
Restaurant Carry (with Permit) Coming to South Carolina
It appears that people with concealed weapon permits in South Carolina will now have an easier time of finding a place to have dinner. South Carolina is just a signature away from joining the vast majority of states that don’t prevent people with carry permits from bringing their personal defensive firearms into restaurants that serve alcohol. The legislation would, however, prohibit people legally carrying weapons from consuming alcohol in those establishments. Governor Nikki Haley seems likely to sign the bill, which passed the house with an overwhelming 90 to 18 majority . . .
From greenvilleonline.com:
The House’s 90-18 vote Thursday sends the bill to Gov. Nikki Haley, who says she’ll sign any gun bill that doesn’t restrict rights.
As shown on the map above, nearly all states allow permit holders to carry weap
Quote of the Day: Uh-Oh Edition
“If Congress doesn’t act, the president will.” White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer speaking on Fox News Sunday
Self-Defense Tip: Keep Shooting Until You Don’t Have To [NSFW]
There’s a general rule of thumb when it comes to shooting someone who poses an imminent, credible threat of death or grievous bodily harm: shoot until the threat stops. (And keep moving!) We’ve said it here many times: it can take a person up to a minute to die even if you shoot them straight through the heart. And what are the odds of that happening? Despite the Hollywood depiction of gunfights, a bad guy can kill you dead before he dies of fatal wounds. This video illustrates the point. After a 90-minute standoff, Brisbane’s SERT team drills Lee Matthew Hillie, center mass. With rubber bullets. Would the death-by-cop Aussie still manage to get off a shot before collapsing if he’d been ventilated with lead? Yup. You have been warned.
Cheaper Than Dirt Now Selling .9mm Ammo
You may recall that Cheaper Than Dirt took modern sporting rifles off its site after the Newtown massacre. And then took all its firearms off the site. The company claimed the timing was a coincidence. Still do. Something about inventory controls. We ran into a couple of CTD types in the SHOT Show media lounge. We asked them to pass along our invitation to their jefe to write a full accounting of the debacle. * crickets chirping * Anyway, it seems that CTD’s feeling a bit small after that debacle. The above ad was ripped from a reader’s browser, immediately after the GLOCK 42 was introduced. I wonder what that means . . .
The Truth About Gun Trusts – and How Attorneys Lie to Get your Money
This is a sore subject that many people don’t see eye-to-eye on, but as someone who has regular interaction with customers who practice law on behalf of the public and private interest – this is an issue that seriously grinds my gears. Attorneys who claim to be qualified in writing gun trusts frequently extol their virtues in an attempt to separate you from your money. How right they are and how wrong they are after the jump . . .
First, a little bit about myself; I’m a small-time country gun dealer who does something like 200+ filings of ATF Form 3/4 annually. I’ve seen and performed transfers of pretty much everything to pretty much everyone, save for destructive devices since I don’t have the space for an ATF-approved DD storage container. Yet. And I’ve experienced plenty
Chris Hernandez Publishes ‘Line in the Valley’
Chris Hernandez is something of a renaissance man. He’s currently serving in the Army National Guard (with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan). He’s a police officer in a large south Texas city. He’s a published author and active blogger. And he’s also an occasional TTAG contributor (type Chris Hernandez in the search box at right). Chris’s latest, “Line in the Valley” was just published last week. It’s the story of trouble on our southern bor
ATF eForms Plagued by “Severe Performance Issues”
I’m clearing out my inbox this AM. (If I failed to reply to an important email please send it again.) I found this little gem sent to us by a regular reader. It’s dated the 24th of January – an eon in Internet time – but timely nonetheless. In the sense that the antis are still bleating on about Universal Background Checks. You know, creating a national database of all gun purchases and transfers; ’cause that’s the only way that system would work. Of course, it wouldn’t work. healthcare.gov? Exactly . . .
Good morning:
Pardon this Interruption!!!
ATF eForms has been ex
[Pre-GLOCK 42] Pocket Pistol Roundup
From top: Colt Mustand Pocketlite .380, Beretta Tomcat .32, Kel-Tec P3AT .380, Sundance Arms .25, Seecamp LWS .32
By Aaron
Above you’ll see a portion of my pocket gun collection. I thought it would be interesting for others (and entertaining for me) to write up a quick comparison. Before we start, a few caveats and disclosures: first, keep in mind that when I discuss accuracy, I fire my pocket guns at targets at a distance of five yards. Massad Ayoob would disagree with that. He’s made clear in his gun reviews that he tests handguns at 25 yards, but he’s a cop and that makes his requirements different from a citizen’s. John Q. Public would have a very hard time justifying a self defense claim shooting a handgun at someone who’s 75 feet away . . .
Second, this is a pocket gun roundup, not a debate on the best caliber for handguns. I’m not interested in
EDC For CCW: New CRKT ‘Eros’
I got to play with this not-yet-released EDC knife at the SHOT Show last week. If you’re a knife guy, I already know what you’re thinking: So Ken Onion is plagiarizing his own designs now? Not quite: look again at that hollow grind blade and the missing assisted-opening safety bar near the lanyard hole . . .
And jump over to The Truth About Knives for the rest of the details.
“Gun Nut” Eugene Volokh Partners with Washington Post
The well-known and brilliant UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, has partnered with the Washington Post to place the Volokh Conspiracy, a well-argued and -written blog that I have often cited, under the Washington Post auspices. For Second Amendment supporters who may be unfamiliar with the good professor, here’s a quick bio from wikipedia . . .
Volokh is noted for his scholarship on the First and Second Amendments to the United States Constitution, as well as on copyright law. His article, “The Commonplace Second Amendment”[7] was cited by Supreme Court Justice
Quote of the Day: Willie Nelson Edition
“These past couple of years, various states have been passing laws barring enforcement of federal gun laws on certain circumstances. At the same time, states have been passing laws decriminalizing or even legalizing pot. Seems funny how flaunting the pot laws is deemed OK or even compassionate, but talk about defying a federal gun law is deemed unreasonable and that’s an outrage! How dare the states! When is the Second Amendment going to cease being the red-headed bastard child of the Constitution or liberal morality?” – NRA Lobbyist Todd Vandermyde
Weekend Digest: As Good As It Gets Edition
A rather daring and unusual string of robberies took place at three gun sellers in Mississippi last Friday night. A man (not shown) rammed his truck through the front door of Cook’s Gun Shop in D’Iberville (De-eye-berville), smashed several display cases and grabbed up several handguns. Minutes earlier, the man tried the same tactics at pawn shops in Gautier (Go-shay) and Ocean Springs (Oh-shun Springs). He got away with several guns in Gautier, but was unsuccessful making it inside the Ocean Springs store. One source told reporters that as many as 20 guns are now in criminal circulation. Click here to see the video, and note the guy’s not dumb; he used the back end of his truck. . .
A challenger for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) seat is going to use a gun to try to get it. State Sen. Lee Bright of Spartanburg will be
It Should Have Been a Defensive Gun Use: Too Late to Move to Texas Edition
“Landscape gardener Andrew Woodhouse [above], 44, was on trial facing assault charges on the two raiders he found stealing diesel from his business,” telegraph.co.uk reports. “A jury heard how Woodhouse grabbed a fence post one was carrying as a weapon and used it to fight back against them. The father-of-five — who says he has repeatedly been a victim of crime at his gardening company — detained the two burglars until police arrived. But the court was told it was Woodhouse who was the
Self-Defense Tip: Keep Moving
Predators have a strategic advantage: human decency. Not theirs, of course. Yours. Most people will stop to talk to a stranger asking for help. What time is it? You check your cell phone. They take it. Do you know where XXXX Street is? You look around. They clobber you. Got a light? Lights out. I’m not saying treat all strangers like brain-eating zombies. But know this: your gun is no use to you at static bad breath distances. If a stranger approaches you KEEP MOVING. Give directions or say sorry no, can’t help you, while walking away. Sure there are exceptions and yes, it’s situationally dependent. But the moment you stand still is the moment you’ve surrendered your ground. By the same token, practice drawing while moving. The best way to “get off the X” is not to be on it in the first place.
Indiana Bill Would Reform Gun Turn-Ins, Stop Wasteful Destruction
Indiana state senator Jim Tomes has introduced a bill in the legislature that prevents further waste in gun turn-in events, so called “buy backs”. The guns were never owned by the people purchasing them, so “buy back” is a loaded misnomer. The effort seems to be part of a trend in gun-friendly states. Kentucky appears to have been the first state to pass such reform legislation back in 1998. The Indiana bill seems loosely based on a similar Arizona reform passed last year. North Carolina is the latest in a number of states that have passed the money-saving measure . . .
Maryland Mall Shooting: When Seconds Count the Police Are Only Two Minutes Away
“Violence shattered a wintry Saturday morning at a popular suburban mall here when a gunman shot and killed two employees of a skateboarding shop, sending panicked shoppers into hiding,” wsj.com reports. “The suspected gunman was later found dead near a shotgun and ammunition, police said. His victims were a man and a woman, both in their 20s, Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon said at a late afternoon news conference.” “Later” as in two minutes after the police received the first 911 call alerting them that an active shooter was on the premises. Two minutes . . .
Enough time for the shooter to kill two people with a shotgun. Apparently, he had “a great deal of ammunition.
Mexican Revolution Spreading
Mexico’s armed “self-defense” movement continues to grow in the country’s southern regions. The collusion between the drug cartels and the local, state and federal government – funneling a reported $100m per month from criminals to government employees – has led locals to take up arms in their own defense. It’s only a matter of time before the movement works its way north and south – despite official denials that the revolutionaries are thriving in the chaos (“The General Secretariat of Government, Luis Maldonado Venegas, stated that in Puebla ‘there isn’t nor will there ever be a self-defense group,’ and described the announcement as merely media.”) Will th