The Truth About Guns

“I got a call from my son very shaken up that someone in a strange vehicle was here,” Windham CT father Troy Quick told wfsb.com. “They were banging on the door.” “Quick said his two children, ages 12 and 14, ran for a bathroom, locked the door and dialed

“Congress didn’t use terms like ‘true buyer’ or ‘true purchaser’ or ‘actual buyer’ because they are not concerned about the ultimate recipients of firearms or what happens to a gun after it leaves the gun store.” – Richard Deitz arguing before the Supreme Court, Supreme Court takes a shot at ‘straw’ purchases [at usatoday.com]

There’s an old saying (especially true for gun control advocates) that it’s better for people to think you’re a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. A certain elected official neglected to heed this advice and made what might possibly be the dumbest string of statements since Carolyn McCarthy spoke about the “shoulder thing that goes up.” In response, AeroPrecision has designed and started selling a special “Ghost Gun” edition receiver, with markings such as the notation used for Democrats as the “safe” position, “.30 Caliber Clip” for “fire,&#8221

In response to the issues raised by the recently publicized opinion of the Virginia AG on trusts and machine guns, Arsenal Attorneys of Virginia has drafted a bill (VA HB 1266) for introduction by Delegate David LaRock to correct the language in the statute and make it clear that trusts are among the legal entities allowed to register machine guns, and that any previous registrations are declared valid. Good work by Arsenal and LaRock on getting on this issue quickly, before anyone gets in trouble over ambiguous language. LaRock is a freshman member of the House of Delegates, and is also a supporter of HB 878, which would require CLEOs to sign NFA paperwork within 30 days for eligible applicants. It’s worth noting that six other states (Maryland, South Dakota, Arkansas, Montana, Wisconsin, and Connecticut) have adopted the Uniform Machine Gun Act as law

While at the SHOT show, I blogged about the technological bolt-action marvels from German marques such as Mauser, J.P. Sauer, Merkel, and Blaser.  While restrictive European gun laws have pushed the Germans to focus on interchangeable barrels, caliber conversions and platform versatility, high-end American gun makers remain dedicated to old school designs focused on accuracy, workmanship, and value.  So if you are looking for something that is truly “new” when it comes to bolt action hunting rifles, you probably aren’t going to find much from the domestic manufacturers.  But companies such as Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc.  will provide you with dead-nuts accurate rifles with drop-dead gorgeous looks . . .

Founded in 1990, Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc is a relatively new pla

Until the supply of 22LR dried up, my metal-receiver GSG 522SD had become one of my favorite range toys.  Accurate and reliable (if the chamber is periodically cleaned), the GSG 522 has sold like hot cakes. ATI followed up the success of the GSG 522 with a .22LR copy of the MP-44 Sturmgewehr, and is now going to market a new Teutonic plinker, the MP-40 “Schmeisser.” The MP -40 will be available as a carbine (underfolding stock and faux suppressor) and a pistol version (underfolding buttstock permanently retracted). Both 10- and 25-round mags will be available. Like the STG-44 that preceded it, the GSG MP-40 will come from ATI with a wood crate for storage.    MSRP will be $539.95. So is the MP-40 really a Schmeisser? . . .

The term “Schmeisser” may be somewhat of a misnomer as related to the Mp-40, as the original

Dr. Stephen Wardlaw of ctmuzzleloaders.com writes:

A few years ago I was at a cocktail party here in the North East, talking to an obviously liberal type. Someone mentioned to him my interest in guns. His immediate reply was to say “they are terrible things – I wish they were never invented.” I restrained my usual eye-rolling response. I said that he was blaming the implement. If guns weren’t around, something equally lethal would be used by people of ill-will. It wasn’t a particularly satisfying response for either of us. After thinking about it off and on for several years now, I realize that, rather than an apology, I should have made a good, affirmative case for guns. What I should have said was “if it weren’t for guns, you would most li

Tarmac and tires, people. Whenever you’re driving your car, make sure you can see the tarmac and tires of the vehicle in front of you. That way you’ll have a chance to drive around the car ahead should the need arise. Which it would during an attempted robbery or carjacking. Because no matter how fast you are at unholstering a firearm in your vehicle, flexing your right foot is faster . . .

You can use your vehicle to escape or counter-attack as needs be. [NB: It's not clear if the driver above faced an imminent threat of death or grievous bodily harm as he ran over the perps. Let's go with yes.] The wider point: a gun fight is a fight with a gun. The first and most important element is the word “fight.”

If you can’t escape, use the best (i.e. the quickest and most violent) tool/method to attack your assailant. That may involve your firearm and it may not. Don’t forget the “not” part of the equation.

Here’s the scenario: you’re kicking in doors in a village in the sandbox, when your M4 gets a double-feed and you transition to your M9. After swappping shots with Johnny Jihad for what seems like an eternity, you realize you’ve run your gun empty. Johnny hears that you’ve stopped firing and sneaks a peek around the compound wall. Now is a great time to A) reload your M9 and blow him straight to Allah, or B) wait for him to charge you so you can stick him with the magazine-mounted pistol bayonet your mall-ninja nephew mailed you for Christmas.

If you chose B, you’ll love the Manly Innovations MBX pistol bayonet. Make the jump over to The Truth About Knives to learn all about it.

Casey Packer O.D. of Austin’s Lone Star Eye Center writes:

“In order to accurately visualize a target when shooting you must focus on the front sight of the gun while simultaneously viewing the target. Unfortunately, there is an anatomical flaw called accommodation that disrupts our visual system from doing this naturally. Accommodation is the process where our eyes focus in unison on a near visual target. The focusing muscles are connected between the two eyes. Therefore it is not

“Amid concerns about gun owners who failed in their last-minute attempts to register now-illegal assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, lawmakers are considering granting an amnesty period for people who missed the registration deadline,” courant.com reports. “The comprehensive 

Last week’s SHOT Show was my third or fourth convention. (In all the excitement I kinda lost track.) It was definitely the first show where I made the trek over to the Hard Rock Cafe to visit the annual AVN convention. That’s where adult entertainment actors meet and greet a Clorox of OFWGs who believe – quite rightly – that a picture of themselves posing next to a half-naked porn star will give their Facebook pag

I dunno. Ever since FSPRussia returned from his sabbatical – triggered by the assassination of his business manager – he’s a been a bit . . . demure. On the positive side, our Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day Hall of Famer has quit doing stupid things with stupid guns in stupid places. On the negative side, Top Shot proved that it takes more than high-speed ammo porn to make an interesting gun vid. I know what you haters are going to say: I’m an FPSRussia hater. Au contraire! I love Kyle like a brother. OK, it’s true that I don’t actually talk to my brothers. But I love the idea of having a brother. Jealous of his multi-million views and celebrity status? Nope. TTAG’s all about the written word. We’re colleagues, not competitors. I simply think the faux Russkie has lost his creative edge. You too? And if so, any suggestions for Kyle?

Colt has teamed up with Cooper Firearms of Montana to add two more bolt guns to  the M2012 family: the “M2012MT308T” and “M2012LT308G/M2012LT260G.” Made by Cooper for Colt, these new rifles feature the Cooper Arms repeater action with integral M1913 Picatinny rails, a 3-lug bolt, and 60° bolt throw. They also feature a custom fluted, match grade barrel and a single stage, adjustable Timney trigger. A signed, serial numbered and dated test target is included with each rifle. I fired both on range day and was very impressed with the overall feel, performance, and quality . . .

The

“Minutes before a gunman opened fire in a Los Angeles International Airport terminal last fall, killing a security screener and wounding three other people, the two armed officers assigned to the area left for breaks without informing a dispatcher as required,” the AP reports. In other words, they left the airport unprotected. “When the shooting started, the two officials say one of the armed officers assigned to the terminal was at or just outside an adjacent terminal. One of the officials said the officer was on a bathroom break and the other foot-beat officer was in a vehicle on the tarmac outside Terminal

Machine guns are the Voldemort of gun rights groups. America’s Second Amendment advocates argue against Universal Background Checks, for open carry and around felons’ and mental health patients’ gun rights. But none are willing to stand up and say “Americans have the right to own fully automatic machine guns” (a.k.a., “military-style assault rifles”). So hats off to State Senator Lee Bright, currently challenging Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina’s Republican prima

“Because I’m 18, I’m not allowed to gamble and I’m not allowed to drink, but I am allowed to go to strip clubs and shoot machine guns, so that’s why I’m here.” – Eagle Scout John Kovacs, Machine gun tourism in Sin City [at cnn.com]

The dominoes are officially falling. Ruger was the first to confirm that they’d rather let their guns drop off California’s approved list of semi-autos than try to comply with the farce that is microstamping. Now Smith & Wesson is out with a statement (after the jump) confirming that, with the exception of their new Cali-compliant M&P Shield and SDVE, all of their uber-popular M&P semi-auto guns will fall off the state’s approved list by August of this year. And Golden Staters have the nation’s

“Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said Wednesday that the vigilante ‘self-defense’ groups of Michoacan had ‘in no way’ been allowed to expand on his watch, even though the groups began to emerge three months after his inauguration and have indeed grown in scope and power since,” latimes.com reports. In other words, bullshit. The current situation in Mexico’s southern territories is best described as “tense.” The Prez’s major domo, one  Alfredo Castillo, deployed 4,500 troops and 4,800 federal police into the Tierra Caliente to roust cartel members and placate the “armed vigilantes” who took control of their own government. Whether and when “placate” becomes “pacify” –

Cody Wilson, inventor of the blueprint for the first fully 3D-printable gun, has signed a quarter-million dollar deal with Simon & Schuster to write a non-fiction book about his journey to create the first fully 3D-printable firearm. Wilson told Forbes.com that he’d use the opportunity to fully explain his ideological motivations for creating a deadly firearm anyone can download and print in the privacy of their garage. Wilson said the reaction from publishers to his book proposal were very mixed. “It was pretty hot and cold,” he says. “Some think I’m awful, that what I did was terrible, and others think this is an incredible story that needs to be told.” . . .