The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 3 days 17 hours ago
SHOT Show: New PF320 Complete Pistol From Polymer80
Branching out from 80% receivers for ARs and pistols, Polymer80 has begun manufacturing and selling complete firearms. The newest is the PF320, which employs a SIG P320 Fire Control Unit inside a ready-to-shoot package with P80 frame, slide, barrel, etc.
I like the ergonomics of the P80 frames a lot, finding that I point them naturally and intuitively, plus they have great texture and the general shape just works really well for me.
Continue reading SHOT Show: New PF320 Complete Pistol From Polymer80 at The Truth About Guns.
SHOT Show: Black Collar Arms APS (Adjustable Pistol Support). It Isn’t a Stock, It Isn’t a Brace.
Alright, alright, alright. A third category of rear accessory for firearms has dropped. We’ve had shoulder stocks since the invention of the long gun, we’ve had pistol braces for about a decade, and now we have pistol supports. New from Black Collar Arms is the APS, or Adjustable Pistol Support.
Designed to be a second or third point of contact for a large format pistol, the APS provides a stable, height-adjustable rest for the rear of the pistol.
SHOT Show: Holosun’s New RML Gives You Small, Lightweight Red or Green Laser Aiming Capability
Holosun just introduced their new RML Rail Mounted Laser. It’s tiny and affordable and will come in both red and green laser versions. The RML will come in five models with MSRPs ranging from $105 to $162 and is expected to hit stores in March or April.
Here’s their press release . . .
Lasers are becoming invaluable to verify an accurate and effective aim, especially in low-light environments. Pistols and rifles fixed with lasers have been shown to improve fast target acquisition.
SHOT Show 2022: The Striker-Fired KelTec P15 9mm Pistol
The world of higher capacity micro-compact handguns seems to be growing daily. SIG started it and everyone’s followed in their very big footsteps.
The latest and one of the more unique entrants comes from KelTec. Unique is a word often used to describe KelTec products, and the P15 isn’t any different. The P15 is KelTec’s entry into the micro-compact market and provides a very lightweight, very thin carry option. In fact, the polymer model seems to be the lightest, thinnest micro-compact on the market.
Continue reading SHOT Show 2022: The Striker-Fired KelTec P15 9mm Pistol at The Truth About Guns.
The Question Gun On Gun Owners’ Minds: What Will Joe Biden’s Next Pivot Be?
By Lee Williams
The Biden-Harris administration is trapped inside a hostile media spotlight, a victim of their own incompetence. They’re like a cornered animal – desperate for a way out, but clearly willing to settle for anything that would shift the public focus off of their ever-growing list of failures.
They’re a consistent bunch, that much is true. They consistently lurch from one self-inflicted crisis to another, while we pay the price for their mistakes.
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.