The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 6 days 6 hours ago
SHOT Show Range Day: Hands On with the RIA STK100 9mm Pistol
Quick! Describe a modern pistol for me. If you aren’t saying, “semi-automatic, striker-fired, polymer-frame pistol,” you haven’t been paying attention. That’s now the standard for the current pistol market. Rock Island Armory, however, is doing something just a little different with the STK100.
RIA kept the semi-automatic striker-fired design, but ditched the polymer frame. Instead, we get an aluminum grip.
The STK100 – It’s Metal
I got hands-on with the STK100 at Range Day, and you can color me impressed.
OMG! Gun Rights Supporters Don’t Like the ATF! Or the NFA! OMG!
Neither of the calls seems particularly realistic, but this is hardly the first time that there has been such a call to abolish the ATF and moreover to repeal the NFA. The first effort to overturn the 1934 law came in March 1939 in a case that was heard in the Supreme Court. In the United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, the Court found that owning a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun was not protected under the Second Amendment.
Range Day: Shooting the Federal .30 Super Carry
At SHOT Show’s Range Day, Federal Ammunition had one S&W Shield Plus chambered in 9mm and one chambered in their new .30 Super Carry round. We shot both back-to-back…
The skinnier .30 Super Carry fit two more rounds into the same gun.
We fired 115 grain 9mm and 100 grain .30 Super Carry.
Blindfolded, I don’t think I could tell the difference. This was the general consensus from a bunch of other shooters, too.
Continue reading Range Day: Shooting the Federal .30 Super Carry at The Truth About Guns.
SHOT Show: Meister Manufaktur by Walther
Walther has taken its Q5 Match Steel Frame pistol to the custom shop and is offering the Meister Manufaktur line of hand finished guns. I swung by the booth to take horrible SHOT Show photos of absolutely gorgeous guns . . .
A Black Diamond and Black Tie were out for handling and man oh man did they feel good. Fit and finish on them is absolutely fantastic. Completely flawless in every way I could see, and the fit between slide, frame, barrel, and more was ball bearing smooth and highly precise.
Continue reading SHOT Show: Meister Manufaktur by Walther at The Truth About Guns.
SHOT Show: Hands On With the Smith & Wesson CSX
Smith & Wesson wasn’t at media day yesterday, so we didn’t get to pull the trigger and make it go bang. But a quick look at the new single action hammer-fired micro-compact in the Smith & Wesson booth made us even more anxious to give it a proper workout.
The CSX feels very solid in the hand with its all-metal construction. It’s sized right in the sweet spot along with the other hot micro-compacts like the P365, Hellcat, Shield Plus and Max-9.
Continue reading SHOT Show: Hands On With the Smith & Wesson CSX at The Truth About Guns.
SHOT Show: New Crimson Trace Heavy Recoil Optic (HRO) and Rapid Illumination Grip (RIG)
At the Crimson Trace booth we found a couple brand new releases, the HRO and the RIG.
Designed for machine guns, heavy-recoiling calibers, and really rough use in general, the new Heavy Recoil Optic offers a large field of view and a sealed, extra rugged red dot housing.
“Street price” will be around $400. The glass looked great and it’s always nice to have an optic that will stand up to truly heavy use.
SHOT Show: First Impressions of FN’s New High Power and M249
Swinging by FN’s booth at SHOT Show, we put hands on FN’s new, 17-round High Power and played with the re-release of their commercial market, semi-auto M249S.
Available in stainless, FDE, and blued, the new High Powers have classic FN styling with a few modern touches.
Two sets of grips are included with every High Power, and FN is offering seven other versions in both wood and G10.
SHOT Show Range Day: Standard Manufacturing’s Switch Folding Pocket Revolver
Options are good. We aren’t all going to carry a duty-sized 17+1 pistol with a red dot every day. And in the end, carrying something is better than carrying nothing.
Standard Manufacturing’s new Switch-Gun is a folding, pocketable 5-shot revolver that deploys like an auto knife and is designed to make it packable, portable and affordable. Something you won’t have a problem slipping in your pocket as you head out the door.
SHOT Show Range Day: Armscor Sidekick .22 Cal 9-Shot Revolver
For about $300, the new Armscor Sidekick comes with both a .22 LR and a .22 WMR cylinder, each holding nine rounds of rimfire ammo.
While it looks like an old school cowboy gun, it operates in both single action and double action modes.
I fired the Sidekick in both chamberings and had a blast.
The action was smooth and the trigger was good.
SHOT Show Range Day: Bushmaster BA30 Straight Pull AR-10 Style Manual Action Rifle
One of the first products to enter the market from the new Bushmaster Firearms is this bad boy, the BA30 straight pull bolt action rifle. Dan and I visited their booth at SHOT Show’s Range Day and sent some rounds downrange.
Without a doubt, the rifle appeared to be at least decently accurate (we were only able to shoot it at 100 yards). I was shooting at a steel silhouette and, while I wasn’t able to shoot for actual accuracy groups here, putting hits in precise locations on the target was easy as pie.
SHOT Show Range Day: The Holosun SCS Red Dot Sight
Holosun hasn’t been shy about innovating in the red dot optic space. At Range Day 2022, they unveiled one of the more innovative red dots on the market. The new Holosun SCS is new in a lot of ways. First, like the AEMS, it ditches the numerical moniker and adopts an acronym. SCS stands for solar charing sight. Holosun’s always been a big fan of solar power on their optics, but the Holosun SCS takes it to new levels.
Continue reading SHOT Show Range Day: The Holosun SCS Red Dot Sight at The Truth About Guns.
SHOT Show Range Day: Franklin Armory Binary GLOCK Trigger System
Dan and I visited Franklin Armory at SHOT Show’s Range Day and put a few mags through the new G-S173 Binary Firing System installed in a few Gen3 GLOCK 17s.
A selector switch on the side of the slide toggles the pistol between normal firing mode and binary firing mode, in which it fires both upon trigger pull and trigger release.
We fired a GLOCK as pictured as well as an SBR’d GLOCK with a shoulder stock.
Visit Vertx: Learn About the Capitol Dress Shirt and Other New Products
Prepared Professionals – you should visit Vertx at SHOT Show 2022! Vertx, a leading manufacturer of low-profile tactical apparel and accessories, will be exhibiting at the convention. They will be releasing several new products, including the Capitol Dress Shirt, and a squared-away team on-site to help with agency, unit, or personal needs.
One of the things to check off your must-check-out checklist is the Vertx Capitol Dress Shirt.
A Classic is Reborn: The Return of the FN High Power 9mm Pistol
No, that spelling isn’t a typo. FN, of course, built the original High Power — then dubbed the Hi Power — along with John Moses Browning back in 1935. Much to gun buyers’ dismay, the Browning Hi Power was discontinued years ago, but now FN is exciting SHOT Show-goers by bringing back the iconic single action 9mm pistol as the American-made 17+1 round “reimagined” FN High Power.
Here’s FN’s press release . .
New From Black Collar Arms: MBA Modern Bolt Action Straight Pull Rifle, Pistol, and Build Kit
From Black Collar Arms . . .
The Black Collar Arms MBA redefines the Modern Bolt Action firearm. This revolutionary straight pull design is incredibly lightweight, fast, and accurate. MBA’s extreme modularity and elegant simplicity represent a significant leap forward in bolt action design.
A few key features of this sub-6-pound rifle…
Straight Pull: significantly faster and smoother than a traditional, turn-bolt firearm, the linear motion of a straight pull also keeps you dead on target.
Not-So-Brotherly Love: Philly Notches 100 Carjackings in First Two Weeks of 2022 – VIDEO
Once upon a time, Philadelphia was better known for its brotherly love than for feral crime. However, with Soros-funded prosecutor Larry Krasner putting criminals’ interests first and the people’s somewhere further down the list, along with so-called “bail reform,” crime has soared. In fact, even before the end of the first two full weeks of 2022, Philly has already seen 100 carjackings.
100 CARJACKINGS IN FISRT 14 DAYS OF THE YEAR. Please be aware of your surroundings.
St. Louis Homeowner Sends Five Home Invaders Running For Their Lives, One to the Morgue [VIDEO]
While Shannon Watts and other prominent gun control shills try to gaslight Mr. and Mrs. America, claiming that defensive gun uses are a myth, Americans aren’t stupid. Millions of the little people have voted with their wallets and bought guns in record numbers. One of those, a St. Louis homeowner, faced down not one, not two, but five home invaders at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
When one of the thugs started shooting, the homeowner fired back and the home invaders ran for their lives.
Franklin Armory’s New G-S173 System Gives Your Gen3 Glock 17 Binary Fire Capability
You may have heard about the fun and innovative Franklin Armory BFSIII binary triggers for a range of guns including ARs, AKs, HK MK5s, CZ Scorpions and more. They give you the option of true binary operation — firing a round with each pull and release of the trigger.
In a first for handguns, Franklin Armory now brings that same fun and functionality to the Glock platform with their new G-S173 Binary Firing System kit for Glock 17 Gen3 pistols.
Joe Biden Agrees – Criminals (and Terrorists) Don’t Obey Gun Control Laws
You don’t need us to tell you that gun control laws only apply to law-abiding citizens. With about four seconds of thought and a few functioning neurons, it’s blindingly obvious that criminals don’t obey many laws at all, let alone gun control laws.
The self-evident nature of the matter makes it all the more remarkable that someone like Joe Biden, whose cranial activity is suspect at best, managed to 1) realize it and then 2) vocalize the concept.
Kennedy: We Don’t Debate Whether Guns Can Be Regulated, Only Where That Line is Drawn
We have to learn to drive before we can get a driver license. We must show ourselves credit-worthy before we can buy a house. Why not prove we’re competent enough to handle a deadly weapon before allowing us to, well, carry one?
Because, supporters argue, the Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms. OK, I’m good with that. Still, that doesn’t mean gun regulation is outlawed. You have to be a certain age before you can buy a gun.