The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 1 week 2 days ago
SHOT Show: Gelstorm 8mm Gel Ball Blasters
Toy guns are firearms? Well, regardless of how these gel ball blasters identify, they sure look like fun. Honestly I have no idea how long gel ball blasters have been around, but as an alternative to airsoft or paintball, it seems like a great idea.
The little gels run about $10 for a pack of 5,200 of ’em. Tiny when dried, they take up minimal space. Just add water and about two hours to soften them up and they grow to their 7- to 8-millimeter shootable diameter.
Continue reading SHOT Show: Gelstorm 8mm Gel Ball Blasters at The Truth About Guns.
SHOT Show: Gov. Kristi Noem Has Eliminated Permit and Background Check Fees in South Dakota
South Dakota’s Republican Gov. Kristi Noem attended SHOT Show 2022 with one message for firearm industry manufacturers and businesses: “South Dakota is open for business.”
Gov. Noem told NSSF’s Nephi Cole, Director of Government Relations – State Affairs, that was the theme of her 2020 State of the State address and it applied before the coronavirus pandemic as well as now. That goes especially for the firearm and ammunition industry.
Discrimination: Why the ACLU Won’t Defend the Free Speech of Those Who Carry Firearms
By Lee Williams
For more than 70 years, the American Civil Liberties Union’s official position on the Second Amendment has been rather silly and somewhat difficult for them to explain.
The ACLU, which describes itself as the “premier defender of the rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution,” still believes that the Second Amendment protects a collective right rather than an individual right to keep and bear arms. They base their argument on the 1939 Supreme Court decision, United States v.
SHOT Show: Matrix Arms MX19 Aluminum Frame GLOCK-Compatible Pistols
Combining a machined aluminum frame with rubber grips (the units in the photos are prototypes), Matrix Arms has put a unique spin on the popular GLOCK-compatible pistol category with their MX19 and MX19 Elite.
Stainless steel slide rails and locking places are bolted into the frame.
Both frame and slide are compatible with GLOCK Gen 3 components, but the MX19 is a complete pistol so you won’t be short any pieces.
Another 1.2 Million New Firearms Sold in January as Sales Return to The New Normal
Another indicator of gun sales returning to normality as the National Shooting Sports Foundation reports that adjusted NICS sales background check volume was about 1.2 million in January. The NSSF’s Mark Oliva tells TTAG that . . .
The NSSF Adjusted FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System report of 1,190,856 shows us that there is a continued interest in firearm ownership in America. This marks the 30th month in a row that background checks for a firearm purchase topped 1 million in a single month and ranks as the fifth strongest for the month of January.
Democrat AGs, Three Foreign Countries Back Mexico’s Bid to Bankrupt American Gun Makers
[Thirteen] states and the countries of Antigua and Barbuda and Belize filed separate briefs urging a federal judge in Boston to not dismiss Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit against companies including Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co.
The companies have argued Mexico has failed to establish its harms were attributable to them and that a U.S. law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, protected gun makers from lawsuits over their products’ misuse.
Gun Meme of the Day: AK Purist Edition
It’s like cats and dogs, man.
Continue reading Gun Meme of the Day: AK Purist Edition at The Truth About Guns.
A Different Vibe: SHOT Show in the Time of Covid
Leading up to the NSSF’s 2022 SHOT Show, a lot of the buzz was about the exhibitors that wouldn’t be there. A number of industry companies made the entirely rational, calculated decision that shipping a lot of their personnel to Las Vegas for a week during the dreaded Omicron surge — and then bringing them home to work alongside their production staff — wasn’t a risk they were willing to take.
There was at least some apprehension among a lot of people TTAG talked to — industry types, exhibitors, and those in the media who cover the annual confab — about traveling to Vegas this year.
Continue reading A Different Vibe: SHOT Show in the Time of Covid at The Truth About Guns.
SHOT Show: Recover Tactical’s P-IX Modular AR Platform For GLOCKs
It’s wild how many pistol-into-carbine chassis/body/receiver systems were at SHOT Show this year. It seems like everyone is getting into the space, but all approach their solution in slightly different ways, which is cool to see.
Meandering through the new products center while avoiding the trade show security folks assigned to COVID mask harassment duty (I had my magic hat on, I don’t know why I’d also need a magic mask), I saw this clamshell thing eating a GLOCK like “Bird One” from You Only Live Twice.
Ukrainian Civilians Train to Mount a Resistance Should Russians Invade
By Mstyslav Chernov and Lori Hinnant, AP
The table tennis coach, the chaplain’s wife, the dentist and the firebrand nationalist have little in common except a desire to defend their hometown and a sometimes halting effort to speak Ukrainian instead of Russian.
The situation in Kharkiv, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from some of the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed at the border of Ukraine, feels particularly perilous. Ukraine’s second-largest city is one of its industrial centers and includes two factories that restore old Soviet-era tanks or build new ones.
SHOT Show Range Day: Armscor STK100 Aluminum Frame Striker Fired 9mm Pistol
At SHOT Show’s Range Day I went hands-on with the new STK100 from Armscor, a GLOCK-17-sized, striker-fired pistol with a nicely sculpted aluminum frame.
The STK100 felt great in my hands and I really enjoyed shooting it.
One unique aspect of the STK100 is its use of a clamshell design — two halves bolted together — for the frame rather than being machined from a single piece.
Surprise! ATF Has Been Keeping Records on Hundreds of Millions of Firearms Transactions
The Biden administration is in possession of nearly one billion records detailing American citizens’ firearm purchases, far more than Congress and the public has been aware of, according to new information from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The ATF disclosed to lawmakers that it manages a database of 920,664,765 firearm purchase records, including both digital and hard copy versions of these transactions.
Gun Meme of the Day: Whats The Character Limit Again? Edition
Regarding the news from yesterday about the new ATF rulings going into effect soon, we still don’t know how much of the proposed regulations survived the public comment period. Perhaps it’ll be everything ATF is seeking to do. Perhaps, hopefully, it’ll be an extremely small portion that we can work to overturn. Regardless, I definitely went full Frank Costanza on them in my comment, as I’m sure many of y’all did, and we’ll see soon what effect it had.
Responding Officer in Hot Pursuit Shoots, Kills Armed Off-Duty Officer Trying to Detain Robbery Suspect
By Gene Johnson, AP
A sheriff’s deputy who responded to a call about a robbery suspect at a Washington state home mistakenly shot and killed the homeowner — an off-duty police officer who was trying to detain the man.
Authorities in Clark County say the suspect fled in a stolen Mercedes after robbing a gas station in Vancouver, near Portland, Oregon, at gunpoint Saturday night. He eluded police on a busy highway and ran off after they stopped his vehicle with spike strips.
LA Times: A Bottom-of-the-Barrel Anti-Gun Op-Ed From a Failing Big City Daily
By Lee Williams
The Los Angeles Times is in serious trouble. The once-great newspaper has lost the pulse of its own community. Its leaders can no longer read the room. They keep shoveling their anti-gun propaganda, but no one is listening. Their readers are too busy trying to buy guns.
If the Times’ editors came out of their ivory towers, which are no longer even in L.A.
Firearms Policy Coalition Sues Challenging Gun Purchase Denial Based On A 40-Year-Old Misdemeanor Conviction
From the Firearms Policy Coalition . . .
The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) has filed a new lawsuit that challenges the federal government’s wrongful denial of an application to purchase a firearm, as well as burden-shifting policies and practices that force gun buyers to prove they are not prohibited persons under the law. The complaint for Newton v. United States, along with additional case information and documents, can be found at FPCLaw.org.
SHOT Show: Lionheart Regulus Double Action Plus Pistols
You may remember Lionheart from almost a decade ago. The company started out importing Korean K5 Daewoo pistols, then began producing their own version of the design here. There were a range of opinions about the gun back then and the company faded from the scene.
Now Lionheart Industries back under new management and promoting their upgrade of that Daewoo K5 design, the Regulus 9mm pistol in both Alpha and Beta configurations. There’s also a Combat model that’s a fully tricked out Alpha with threaded barrel and suppressor-height sights.
Continue reading SHOT Show: Lionheart Regulus Double Action Plus Pistols at The Truth About Guns.
Another Philly Carjacker Shot, This Time By a Legally Armed Pizza Delivery Driver [VIDEO]
Like many urban areas in the U.S., Philadelphia, thanks in part to it’s Soros-funded prosecutor who refuses to prosecute many crimes that are on the books, has a serious crime problem. Carjackings have become commonplace and more and more good people have decided to arm themselves for protection. Early Thursday evening, a man ran up to a pizza delivery guy and demanded his car at gunpoint.
The licensed good guy andswered him…ballistically. By the time the robber hit the ground, he had six new leaky holes he hadn’t started the day with.
SHOT Show Range Day: Angstadt Arms New MDP-9 Pistol
What you see here is the surprisingly light, incredibly easy-to-shoot Angstadt Arms MDP-9 pistol. Our friends at the ATF will be happy to learn that yes, you can shoot it one-handed, pretty easily, in fact. The MDP-9 a roller-delayed blowback 9mm that a lot of people have been looking forward to for quite some time. We were awfully glad to get a chance to shoot it at Range Day.
The MDP-9 weights a mere 3.6 pounds, has a full-length top rail, runs on nearly ubiquitous GLOCK magazines, and has a three-lug flash hider that’s just itching for a suppressor.
Continue reading SHOT Show Range Day: Angstadt Arms New MDP-9 Pistol at The Truth About Guns.
‘Aspiring Rapper’ Posts Bail With Record Deal Money After Allegedly Shooting NYPD Cop
A 16-year-old “aspiring rapper” and Crips gang-banger used record deal money to secure his release after shooting an NYPD cop. Camrin Williams, aka C Blu, reportedly shot himself in the groin while struggling with cops. The same round then struck a 27-year-old cop in the leg.
The good news is the cop has since been released from the hospital. The bad news? News reports don’t indicate that Mr. Williams castrated himself.
The shooting was one of four in recent days in the increasingly crime-ridden cesspool of New York.