The Truth About Guns

Kel Tec continues to introduce more and more new SKUs to its catalog without ever seeming to devote any resources to actually manufacturing the boatload of products they already claim to supply. The newest unicorn in their lineup is the RDB bullpup rifle, shown here in its steel-and-wood M43 variant. Feast your eyes on it here (if you need to) because odds are you’ll never see one on the shelf of your LGS . . .

In addition to sporting the ugliest spot welds I’ve seen since my own 8th grade Metal Shop class, the M43 also ‘features’ an AK muzzle device and bayonet, along with a flimsy sheet-metal front sight post that probably can’t survive contact with the inside of a gun safe, much less contact with the enemy.

Crimson Trace is the top of the mark when it comes to firearm mounted laser systems. They make a set of lasergrips for damn near every handgun out there, but if that doesn’t work for your special snowflake then there’s always the Rail Master line of rail mounted devices. They released the red laser version a while back, but now there’s a combination green laser and white light box that straps to your gun’s accessory rail. MSRP is about $379, and for a nightstand gun it seems like a perfect solution.

Knight’s Armament Co. is announcing the release of the SR-15E3 Carbine MOD 2.  It features a chrome lined, 16-inch hammer-forged barrel (1 in 7 twist), improved three-prong flash eliminator, the 14.5 inch URX 4 handguard, the new MOD 2 gas system, as well as extras such as the ambi QD swing swivel sockets, the 6 Position SOPMOD stock, fully ambi lower receiver controls, extended charging handle, and folding front and rear 200-600 Meter Rear Micro iron sights . . .

Best of all, the entire package rockets in at a surprisingly low 6.6 lbs. Students of the gun will recall that the original M16 A1 was also 6.6

ALG Defense is the slightly downmarket brand of Geissele gear, designed by the same guys and manufactured the same way, but with a slightly lower level of polish. This year they’re adding two new products to their line. First up is this extremely lightweight handguard that has detachable rail sections and comes with the proprietary barrel nut and mounting spanners. The handguard runs $135 for the 10-incher, $140 for 12″ and $145 for the 14″ . . .

Press release [via AmmoLand.com]:

This past Saturday over 50 Second Amendment supporters from the group Twin Cities Gun Owners & Carry Forum met for lunch at an independent and locally owned Plymouth eatery to show support and appreciation for Twin Cities area businesses that recognize the state’s right-to-carry law and allow “lawful carry” at their establishments. The group called ahead and scheduled their lunch meet up during off-peak hours at the eatery, and it’s estimated that the group spent at least $700 or more during their visit . . .

The group meets monthly and purpos

Kel-Tec extensively used 3D printing to prototype their new RMR-30 carbine, a .22 Magnum that uses the same magazines as the PMR-30 pistol. The carbine has a retractable stock, a 16-inch barrel, and uses a straight blowback action, instead of the delayed blowback of the PMR-30 pistol. The RMR30 required a redesign of almost the entire firearm, even though the magazines are interchangeable . . .

Here is a view of the RMR-30 lower receiver alongside a PMR-30 pistol.

We have one source for this story: calgunlaws.com. “In perhaps one of the more shocking discoveries at the 2014 SHOT Show, Ruger spokesperson Kevin Reid revealed that Ruger was going to let it’s entire California Semiautomatic pistol roster ‘…drop off…’ the CA Department of Justice Approved Handgun List . . . Ruger has already let some 60+ semiautomatic pistols drop off the approved handgun roster with the rest shortly to follow.” TTAG main man Dan’s on the case. We’ll post a statement here in a few hours.

The SIG/Sauer catalog continues to expand, now with this new carbon fiber-enhanced M400 and its piston-driven 516 counterpart (not shown.) The free-floating handguard and A2-length fixed buttstock are both fashioned from the cool shiny black stuff . . .

Yes, $2100 is real money, but street pricing should bring this down to the ‘maybe someday’ price category. Which isn’t bad for a SIG, after all.

You can instantly tell that the carbon fiber M400 is lighter than a standard AR, but exactly how much lightness does that carbon fiber (and your extra dollars) buy you?

Good question: the product tag doesn’t say. The SIG rep didn&#8217

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (a wholly owned subsidiary of Mayors Against Illegal Guns) has published an open letter to the Presidents of ABC, CBS, CNN and Fox News. The missive (after the jump) calls on Manhattan’s media mavens to refer to “mass shooters” as “the killer who shall not be named” or some such thing. It also demands that they refrain from publishing photos that “glamorize” or “aggrandize the shooter.” Oh, that’s what they want to call killers like Adam Lanza, James Holmes and Seung-Hui Cho. But what if the mass ki

According to timeanddate.com, it was -7 degrees Fahrenheit on January 6 in Columbus, Ohio. Add in the wind chill factor and you might even say it was colder than a witch’s mammary. Luckily, that didn’t daunt muzzle loading Buckeye Staters dead set on reducing Ohio’s deer population by sixteen thousand-plus animals (one at a time). For those who believe in the PETA principle, ohioinsurance.org reports “20,683 deer-vehicle crashes reported in Ohio during 2012, down from the 2011 figure

It’s been more than three years since I first reviewed Kel Tec’s diminutive and now somewhat infamous PF-9. My review from November of 2010 was quite favorable, and the PF-9 was my carry gun for the next year. It was a promising little gun once it got broken in, but things started to go wrong after less than six months. I don’t know if my experience is typical, but this gun has completely lost my trust.

As you’ll recall, the PF-9 functioned great with factory ammo but had problems digesting my standard-pressure handloads. There was evidence of light primer strikes, and it took a new firing pin and a lot of elbow grease to solve this problem. I honed the firing pin channel with fine-grit emery cloth wrapped around a cotton swab, and this eventually solved the problem. Mostly.

But his particular malfunction proba

I’d first like to welcome Colt Competition to the Republic of Texas. They made the move just after all of the anti-gun legislation started flying, and it looks like they’re settling in well. The company is producing a new rifle called the CRP20SS, which is designed for the law enforcement market rather than the competition market — a first step for an otherwise single-minded competition based company — yet still available to the public. The gun features a 20 inch barrel, tuneable gas system, and modular rail sections to give you rails when you need them and flat tube when you don’t. They said something about pricing but I just plumb forgot — the older similar model is $1,899.

“It’s unfortunate that hundreds of guns purchased in the weeks before Maryland’s stricter firearms regulations went into effect last year ended up in the hands of people who should never have been allowed to own them,” baltimoresun.com opines. Wait. What? Is the Sun saying that the Free State’s statists should have prevented a significant percentage of Marylanders from exercising their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms in the run-up to Maryland’s post-Newtown civilian disarmament regulations? Yup. Whyzzat? Start with this . . .

“The hijacking of our movement by these radical extremists causes me to fear for the future of the right I have spent my adult life fighting to defend . . . When we engage in noisy, extremist rhetoric rejecting all firearms regulation whatsoever, or refuse to acknowledge the plain fact that constitutionally validated regulations and statutes already exist, we risk alienating the American mainstream. And if we lose that mainstream, we will lose this war.” Dick Metcalf, Target: Me [via

Nick and I spotted this rare beast in the wild today at Media Day At The Range, but the headline says it all. We came, we saw, we walked away empty-handed . . .

We were definitely up to the challenge, however. Nick and I both took shots with an absolutely gorgeous (and brutal) Sako .416 Rigby, and a few rounds through a bipod-mounted, gas-operated .50 BMG with a recoil-reducing QDL suppressor would have been a quiet walk in the park by comparison.

But alas, Barrett wasn’t offering any free shots when we were there, and we had places to go and guns to shoot.

Maybe next year.

For ages, STI has dominated the competition handgun market. If you wanted an accurate and quick handgun, they were really the only game in town. Now Dan Wesson (distributed by CZ, or owned by by CZ, I can’t remember which) has come out with a competition grade 9mm handgun in their Elite Series Chaos 9mm. The double-stacked handgun feels pretty great — crisp trigger, smooth operation, and great sights — but the MSRP is right around $4,300. Pretty steep, but then again there are people with that kind of cash to throw around.

Well, I can honestly say I was glad I walked all the way to the end of the range yesterday, because the reps from Lancer were showcasing their new 7.62 x 51 L30 modern sporting rifle. And there was no line to shoot them. Bonus! I gotta say, I love me some carbon fiber: I once dropped a grand on a Dunhill carbon fiber fountain pen, so I was positively salivating over these beautiful precision rifles . . .

These rifles are available in five configurations: Heavy Metal, Designated Marksman, Long Range Tactical, Modern Battle Rifle, and Hunter. They feature ambidextrous bolt releases and oversized magazine release buttons.  They are designed to be used

Guns aren’t death rays, even with solid center-mass hits. A Houston homeowner is alive and safe after defending his home against a crazed robber Saturday night, because he kept shooting until the threat was neutralized . . .

From KHOU-Houston:

According to the Houston Police Department, the suspect smashed in the front window of the home, located in the 3300 block of Dennis near Sampson, with a piece of concrete. The incident happened just before 11 p.m.

Investigators said the homeowner heard the noise and grabbed his gun. He then saw the suspect at his front door.

The homeowner shot one time through the window, hitting the suspect in the stomach, police said. The suspect tried to get up and come after the homeowner, who then shot him a second time. The suspect was hit in the hand with the second shot.

The En

OK, stickers and hats are pretty typical items for swag here at the SHOT Show. But the ever-thoughtful folks at Knight’s Armament are going the extra mile and providing select SHOT Show attendees with PPDs. What, pray tell, is a PPD, you ask? . . .

Well, the KAC Personal Protection Device (“PPD”), is just the thing you need “when your life is on the line” here in Vegas. I can just hear someone shouting, “Cover me, I’m going in!” The tactical colors are a nice touch, but sadly  the “Magnum” versions are still in R&D. 

CNN is reporting that two people have been wounded in a school shooting in New Mexico. The 12 year old who committed the crime walked into school, whipped out a shotgun, and wounded two people before a staff member confronted him and stopped him. According to a terrified pre-teen witness that Piers Morgan was pumping for information the shooter had been bullied at school. No additional information was available at the time, but as a recent Washington Post article points out mass shootings are on the decline. Piers Morgan isn’t having any of it, and is currently interviewing a law enforcement officer who is flatly disputing Piers’ opinion that gun control is the only solution. One would think that the LEO would be the subject matter expert in this case, but obviously Piers’ years of experience in law enforcement is superior. Oh, wait…