The Truth About Guns

Ammo supplies have eased in my neck of the woods. But then Lone Star State gun owners stocked up before the post-Newtown surge. And anti-government paranoia is endemic, not epidemic. As more rounds come ’round to gun stores, there’s more variety, too. That’s because the ammo drought raised prices and created market opportunities for new products (“I don’t care what it is, I’ll take a box”). So it’s no surprise that lead-free ammo specialists Liberty Ammunition are launching a new line. What is surprising: the company’s presser proclaims that Civil Defense is lighter, less snappy and faster than all its competitors. And it offers twice the “effective range” of its competitors. [Click

Saul Alinksy, Rules for Radicals: “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” That’s why so many TTAG commentators think we should dial back our coverage on Shannon Watts. They know that Shannon’s anti-gun group, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America—formerly One Million Moms for Gun Control—is a sham. MDA doesn’t have anywhere near that level of grass-roots support (hence the name change). But the mainstream media treats Watts as if she has power, thus giving her power. Our readers think we’re doing the same thing. Which is true. But just like the MSM, we get something out of the deal . . .

“Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.”

By Rock Island Auction

On January 23, 1873 an order was placed by the U.S. Government to Colt Manufacturing for 8,000 revolvers “of the new model.”  The first 1,000 would only take Colt 41 days to complete, but before a single one could leave the factory they would of course need to be inspected.  Enter one Orville W. Ainsworth, the civilian “Principle Sub-Inspector” for the Ordnance Office of the War Department, who would perform the physical inspections of revolvers numbered #202 – 14,343.  He took ill before he could finish inspecting the subsequent contract renewal, but his stamp was still used until that renewal was finished.  According to A Study of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver, that means that the actual dates of service for Ainsworth (and not his stamp) were from mid-October 1873 until November 7, 1874.  If you’re wondering why any of this matters, there are two major reasons . . .

I have a LaserLyte training target and I love it. But I don’t sit on the sofa trying to hit the bull with the SRT laser Glock thingie. The trigger is so far removed from a real trigger there’s not much point. So I have my daughter place the target somewhere in the crib and practice “clearing the house”: looking for and then shooting the target while heading for concealment. [NB: I know that clearing a house is a fool's errand. But it's a skill that's better to have and not need than need and not have.] The ideal set-up would be the LaserLyte Trigger Tyme Compact Pistol, the LT-PRO universal pistol laser trainer and four Reaction Tyme Targets. This now-for-sale sub-$200 kit [presser after the jump] only includes one target, but you’re free to add more targets at about $130 a pop. Dan now has one (and some

When properly stored, modern ammunition has such a long shelf life that your grandchildren could spend their retirement years punching paper and filling their elk tags with those handloads you assembled last month. Riding around in your pocket or a sweaty leather holster ten hours a day (for months at a time) does not count as ‘proper storage.’ How old is your defensive ammunition? If you don’t know, you’re not alone.

It’s no secret that the weapon of choice for the the Gun Control Industrial Complex is propaganda. They like to take numbers out of context, twist statistics to the breaking point and generally lie about the state of the world until they pitch enough of a hissy fit that people start paying attention to heir point of view — no matter how flawed and uninformed. That’s good for us — these people typically work solely from emotion, so facts and statistics aren’t really their strong suit, and they tend to make a ton of mistakes along the way. Anyway, the Moms Demand Action crew have a webpage setup where you can select a Congressperson, choose a pre-written message (what they laughingly refer to as a “gun fact”), and then have the website auto-tweet that message on your behalf. The only problem: all of th

http://youtu.be/zoje0QmvH0M

A debate takes place today in New York City; one side, led by Alan Dershowitz (who sometimes makes perfect sense), arguing that the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms is outdated and should be done away with, and the other side, led by David Kopel, arguing quite the opposite. What can you do? Well…watch the debate streamed live at 6:45 PM EST here and make your opinion known in this poll. At the very l

By uncommon_sense

Many citizens who embrace the Second Amendment to our Constitution contend that it is a bad idea to openly carry firearms in public. They fear it will lead to laws that criminalize openly carried firearms and maybe even concealed firearms. Or worse yet, government might criminalize the ownership of entire classes of firearms such as AR-15 rifles.  Is there any truth to this? Let’s start with a brief look at history . . .

Remember when Chicago criminalized ownership of handguns? Remember when Washington D.C. criminalized possession of an operable firearm in the home? Need I mention New York City’s downward spiral to the current situation over several decades? Or the New York SAFE Act? And how about the 1990s? Does everyone remember the federal “assault weapons” ban and magazine capacity restrictions?  How about the federal gun free school zone act?

However government justified those laws, I can tell yo

“The Perth Amboy Police Department does not recommend that citizens fight with any suspect who produces any type of weapon.” – Perth Amboy PD official statement, Fearful of being shot, victim grabs gun from robber [at nj.com]

Marines putting the Legged Squad Support System through its paces at Fort Devens, Massachusetts earlier this month. The system, or LS3, designed to reduce the load Marines carry in combat, can reach speeds of 6 mph and carry up to 400 pounds. I’m sure it’s ridiculously expensive, and it’s clearly got a ways to go, but you can’t just snap your fingers and be in the future. You’ve gotta get there somehow. . .

Police in Sanford, Florida have backed off a plan to ban the carry of personal weapons by members of the neighborhood watch. While the police chief refused to give any specific reasons for the reversal, it’s likely that someone pointed out to him that the explicit ban on carrying firearms would likely run the city afoul of state firearms law preemption. The carry of weapons will still be discouraged

I swear I’m not making this up. This piece of junk is for sale on Etsy as a ‘Steampunk Bladerunner Pistol,’ and chances are decent that some moron will flush away $220 for a surplus Polish flare pistol and a wooden AK heat shield. Oh yeah: there’s two little brass bands on there too, so there’s that.

Let’s clear the air. TTAG has been critical of law enforcement from day one. Some have even called us anti-cop. While I don’t think that’s a true statement, I do think we hold Johnny Law to a very high standard. And, in an intellectually honest move, I think we hold armed citizens to the same standard. With that disclaimer out of the way, I’d like to spend a few minutes talking about two absolutely amazing interactions I’ve had with local law enforcement over the last few weeks . . .

The first happened while my wife’s car was in the shop. She drove my EDT (every day truck), so I took the motorcycle. I’ve been riding for over a decade and in that time have been stopped several times for various infractions. I’m largely a safe rider, but I can be heavy handed on the throttle.

On my way to work, I exited I-35 and kept

NSSF Press release:

Americans Skeptical of ‘Smart Guns’; Oppose Their Legislative Mandate, National Poll Finds

NEWTOWN, Conn. — By a wide majority, Americans are skeptical of the reliability of technology intended to prevent all but authorized users of a firearm from being able to fire it. They also say overwhelmingly that they would not be likely to buy such a so-called “smart gun” and overwhelmingly oppose any government mandate requiring the use of this technology should it become available . . .

I think I might have stumbled on the ultimate gun guy thing. It’s simple really.

1. Find a friend who is willing to bankroll gun builds but doesn’t have the time to deal with it himself.
2. Suggest gun builds that might be fun
3. Build the guns
4. Shoot the guns
5. Give them back to the friend
6. Move on to the next project . . .

Here are a few snaps from my first build which started life as a Savage 111 chambered in .30-06. This particular rifle was from the package series Savage sells called the

Have you ever thought to yourself, “ya know what would be cool? A semi-auto SBR MAC-10 look-alike in 5.7x28mm!” If you have, were you sober at the time? Yeah, didn’t think so. MasterPiece Arms, on the other hand, thinks that there’s enough demand for just such a firearm and they’ve introduced a brand new SKU for it and started shipping them. From the press release . . .

MasterPiece Arms, manufacturers of the MPA MAC Line of pistols, carbines, suppressors and MPAR Rifles, , introduce the short barrel version of their popular MPA570SST rifle. Built for maneuverability in close quarters while providing extreme accuracy, the new rifle appeals to both home defense individuals and law enforcement officers.

Based on the standard MAC design, the MPA570SST-SBR semi-auto rifle with side cocker is cha

TTAG’s resident sharp shot Kirsten Joy Weiss began her trick shooting career behind the trigger of an Anschütz competition rifle. When certain members of our commentariat chided Ms. Weiss for using a German low-caliber high-end rifle to demonstrate her prowess we reached out to various manufacturers for something more prosaic. And so Ms. Weiss is headed to TTAG central command to tape Trick Shots 2.0, where she’ll be plying her trade with various long guns including a Benelli shotgun, some way-cool ARs, an FN product or two and a brace of Henry lever guns. Which one will be KJW’s go-to gun? Wait! Don’t answer! How about an Anschütz MSR RX22? They’ve been as rare as Henne Zähne. But the company’s presser (after the jump) informs us that RX22′s are finally headed states

“There are other countries in the world prone to natural disaster, but what distinguishes the Philippines, and has made the delivery of aid even more problematic after Typhoon Haiyan, is the prevalence of guns,” Alex Spillius asserts at telegraph.co.uk. Really? “Whatever the causes of the pervasive gun culture and high murder rate, the reports of armed looting that emerged two or three days after Haiyan struck surprised no one. Even if some reports were exaggerated, the Philippines’ reputation for poor law and order preceded it.” Hmmm. “Even if some reports were exaggerated.” That kind of waffli

Last week I showed you one of the most impressive and savage bullets, the Lehigh Defense Maximum Expansion round from a Taurus Judge. It performed amazingly well, but it raised a very valid question — how would that massive hollowpoint cavity handle four layers of heavy denim? All it took was a quick trip to the range, a leftover gel block and a pull of the trigger to give us the answer.

When members of Open Carry Texas rallied in front of a meeting of four—count ‘em four—members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, MDA had a hissy fit. With the help of a misleading photograph (exposed first here), the mainstream media went big on the story. Forbes proclaimed Texas Gun Bullies Use Semi-Automatics To Terrorize Mothers Against Guns-NRA Remains Silent. 40 Armed Members Of ‘Open Carry Texas’ Try To Intimidate 4 Unarmed Women Of ‘Moms Demand Action’