The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 3 days 18 hours ago
New From Tacprogear: Pro Travel Bag
So you’ve tried every standard type of holster under the sun and can’t abide dragging around a boat anchor pistol all day long. Some people are recoil sensitive, you’re carry sensitive. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. The thing is, you still want to have a gun with you wherever you go. That means off-body carry, with the attendant compromises that go along with not having possession of your mohaska at all times. You’re not alone. Plenty of gun owners out there go that way. The problem is, fanny packs are, well, fanny packs. So if you’re a dood, that leaves you with some kind of turse . . .
Question of the Day: Who’s Got Lever Fever?
I watched The Rifleman as a kid. One-hundred-sixty-eight episodes and 120 dead bad guys later I had a permanent case of lever fever. The affliction flares up from time to time; I’m burning through ammo in my recently-arrived Big Horn Armory Model 89 S&W 500 lever gun. Grizzly Custom Guns will soon be sending me the custom-fitted heavily modified Marlin .357 I commissioned in 1979. A couple of years ago, lever guns were all the rage – including “cowboy tactical” models. Lately, I haven’t heard much about them. Maybe it’s because Marlin’s screwed the pooch. ["Please note: Newer 'MR prefix' Marlins will incur additional charges to correct issues from the fac
Non-Pro Tip: Measuring Group Size Better
A couple days ago RF posted a “Pro Tip” from Ammoland on measuring shot group size. I’m not a pro, but I took exception to some of the assertions in that write-up. After I did a little whining in the comments it was suggested that maybe this actually warranted a follow-up post. So… here she is. What was inaccurate in that Pro Tip piece and how can you measure your groups more easily, precisely, and quickly? Well first . . .
A Quick Primer:
Why measure center-to-center? Well, what we’re looking for is the largest spread between the precise points where the bullets impacted. We don’t want to count the diameter of the holes in that measurement, just the very center point of the holes. For instance, if you line up at 100 yards with your .50 BMG and you shoot 5 rounds precisely thr
Texas DPS Ditches S&W M&P Handguns Over Reliability Issues
Texas DPS started switching over to the new Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm handguns recently for their state troopers. The polymer framed striker-fired handguns are popular with police departments and competition shooters. The ability to carry more rounds per magazine (9mm vs. .357 SIG) in a lighter gun were among the stated reasons for the change. But it appears that the latest wave of recruits in training have experienced an “unacceptable” number of issues with the new gun, and the department is rolling back the changeover, moving back to their tried and true SIG SAUER P226 pistols in .357 SIG. As an owner of a P226, I can’t say I blame them. Here’s the word to the troops from the man himself, forwarded by a source close to TTAG . . .<
Federal Air Marshalls Director Resigns Over SIG Selling Scheme
“The director of the Federal Air Marshal Service [FAMS] is resigning after being investigated for his role in an alleged operation to acquire guns for officials’ personal use, FoxNews.com has learned. Director Robert Bray’s home was raided in December in connection with the ongoing probe. Law enforcement and congressional sources told FoxNews.com that Bray’s recently announced resignation, which is effective in June, is directly related to the investigation. Bray allegedly is among several officials who were obtaining weapons through this operation.” Here’s h
Quote of the Day: That’s Just Our Policy Edition
“If the soldiers at Fort Hood had been armed, it has been claimed by some, then first responders to the shooting would have been confused about who was the killer—with everyone in the same uniform and many with guns present. I don’t think there would have been much confusion: The bad guy would have been the one bleeding on the ground.” – Arthur Z. Berg in How to Stop a Would-Be Killer at a Military Base [at wsj.com]
LA County Sheriffs Shoot and Kill Hostage
“John Winkler, 30, was one of three men being held and attacked by a 27-year-old man with a knife at an apartment on Monday night,” reuters.com reports. “He and another man ran out of the apartment to get away, but sheriff’s deputies called to the scene thought he was the assailant and shot him, the Sheriff’s department said. Here’s how it went down, according to the County Sheriffs’ statement . . .
“The apartment door suddenly opened and a male victim came rushing out,” the department said. “He was covered
Self-Defense Tip: No Bear Spray, No Warning Shots, No Tying-Up Perps
Disclaimer: This feature Monday morning quarterbacks a defensive gun use (DGU). The advice offered here is presented with the full understanding that the fog of war is as thick as New Mexico Junior College student Annastasia [sic] Wood (who believes that gun-free zones are magically gun-free). As always, it’s the result that counts. But when it comes to protecting life and property with a firearm, there are good ideas (with a high likelihood of a positive outcome) and there are bad ideas (with a low probability of a successful conclusion). In other words, YMMV. So, “the incident happened in the 8000 block of E. South Riverway Avenue in Spokane Valley, Washington . . .
The homeowners told police they’d been burglarized several times in the last few days so they were pr
CT Republicans Backpedalling from MAIG, Gun Control
“Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton resigned Wednesday from Mayors Against Illegal Guns,” ctmirror.org reports, “an affiliation that has brought him grief from gun owners in the six-way race for the Republican nomination for governor.” Spin city baby. “”As a member of the Connecticut General Assembly, I was a strong supporter of the rights of law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen in Connecticut,” Boughton’s website proclaimed. “This remains my position today.” So why did the pro-assault weapon ban boy abandon MAIG? MAIG abandoned him! “It’s really become about Bloomberg instead of going after illegal guns. Mike Bloomberg
Mexican Militias Fight Government Disarmament
The American mainstream media has ignored the ongoing crisis in Mexico, as autodefensa groups struggle to stave off government disarmament. [borderlandbeat.com update after the jump.] president Pena Nieto’s sent troops into the Tierra Caliente to “convince” locals to surrender their weapons &#
TrackingPoint Unveils their AR-15 / AR-10 Rifle Features
TrackingPoint is best known for their precision rifles, which use a scope and trigger system that turns long range shooting into a point-and-click video game. They said when they started making the guns that the goal was to have a semi-automatic version as well, and it looks like that time has arrived. TP has just released a video showing off the features of their brand new AR-15 and AR-10 rifle platforms, chambered in 5.56 NATO, 7.62 NATO, and 300 BLK, and it looks pretty good.
The features seem to fall into three categories.
The first “mode” is the gun working like a standard carbine, with the trigger set like a normal AR-15 trigger and the sights fixed in place. I’m not sure how well that will work, with an LCD screen for a rifle scope and all. There has to be some lag in the system, a little bit of time between when the camera sees the image and when the final processed sight picture is displayed on the scope’s
This is Why a Beretta 692 Costs Over Four Grand
Well, it’s one of the reasons.
Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day: Davis County Sheriff’s Office
You gotta love “safe storage” laws. I don’t. I don’t like the government telling me how to store my firearms any more than I like them telling me how many guns I can buy or what features my gun may not have. If anything I like safe storage laws less. While probable cause requirements should protect me from a “surprise gun safety inspection,” tell that to gun owners in the UK, who are legally obliged to endure random police raids. I mean, inspections. Anyway, didn’t I read something about “shall not be infringed” in the Constitution? Besides, if anyone should be regularly indeed routinely inspected for improper or insufficient firearms storage it’s the our law enforcement agencies . . .
Andy Gonzales’ Thought Experiment on Guns
Over on TTAG’s faaast-growing Facebook page (thank you Celby Richoux) a commentator offered a “thought experiment” to counter Young Turks Host Cenk Ugur’s bizarre-o anti-gun “analogy.” “Let’s say HE is the one in this room,”
New From Arsenal: SAM7UF Rifle
Are you tired of those flimsy, side-folding AKs? Is a wobbly weapon getting you down at the range? Well worry no more, commie-gun connoisseurs. Arsenal’s out with an under folding (hence the UF in the name) stock that locks in place with four sturdy pins. You’ll finally be able to rock a rifle with a rock-solid mount. Or so Arsenal says. Press release after the jump . . .
LAS VEGAS, NV– Arsenal, Inc. is proud to announce the expansion of its SAM7 Family products. The SAM7UF rifle is the latest in the growing group of firearms to join the modern SAM family and incorporates the latest technologies, quality, and workmanship the American market has come to expect from Arsenal and SAM7 series.
The SAM7UF is a 7.62x39mm semi-automatic rifle, manufactured on Arsenal’s legendary hot-die forged and milled receiver and incorporates the modern under-folding buttstock. Loyal to its traditions, Arsenal has manufactured the SAM7UF rifle w
Question of the Day: Are Gun Games Too Violent or What?
My name is Robert Farago and I’m a video game addict. Back in the day, I’d smoke a joint (without inhaling), down a Diet Coke and hit the arcade. I’d play Battlezone or Bezerk until I ran out of quarters or the munchies enforced Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. When shoot-’em-ups migrated to consoles, it was bad. It’s one day at a time now. I fill my time by writing for TTAG, single-parenting a ten-year-old, mentoring a brace of Schnauzers and pressing NFW on a ten match.com profiles per day. OK, I fell off the gaming wagon for a few weeks a while back . . .
Incendiary Images of the Day: Nevada Rancher vs. BLM Confrontation Escalates
Or man in Utah, TTAG contributor and talk show host Bryan Hyde, gave us the latest intel on the Bundy Ranch vs. the Bureau of Land Management standoff. The Bundy family and its supporters are busy removing signs from the government lands that proclaim that the area is temporarily closed by order of the federal government. That is what you call an escalation. As is the caption on the image after the jump, provided by the Bundys. Meanwhile and at the same time, Bundy Ranch supporters had a major scuffle with the BLM over a dump truck exiting federal lands. Turns out the feds are removing fencing and other improvements the family made to government owned property. So the feds are doing the escalation thing, too. Both sides are armed. And if you don’t think this s*it’s getting real, check this out comment on the
Kirsten Joy Weiss Exclusive: What Farago Said
Kirsten Joy Weiss swears on a stack of bibles that she didn’t read my post Self-Defense Tip: Teach One Rule to Rule Them All. If she had she might not have made this video; the majority of comments underneath the post were far from completely supportive. Still, I stand by my assertion that muzzle direction is king. Obviously. And support Kirsten’s decision to spread the message. Again, obviously. But the most important aspect of this video is that it’s Kirsten Joy Weiss – not some OFWG – talking about gun safety in a fun, informative way. As an ambassador for shooters old and new, young and old, male and female, KJW is all that and a bag of chips (as the Brits say). So even if you don’t agree 100% with the One Rule rule, please share this video with firearms newbies. It can’t hurt. And it could save a life.
SIG SAUER Sues ATF For Calling Its Muzzle Brake a Silencer
Without a doubt, the SIG SAUER MPX rifle is one of the coolest things to be unveiled in the last couple years. It’s a pistol caliber carbine that has all of the same controls as an AR-15 and feels just ever-so-pleasant to hold. But while the gun itself is cool, one of the best things about it is that the civilian version has the same barrel length as the military and law enforcement versions, but with a gigantic muzzle brake out front to bring it up to the required 16″ in length. And not only is it a functional muzzle brake, SIG claims that you could buy a shroud for the brake later on a form 4 that slots over it to turn it into a silencer. Except there’s a problem . . .
The ATF didn’t like it. They saw it as a baffle stack, not a muzzle brake and as such classified
Quote of the Day: They Must Be Teaching Them Something Edition
“They say it’s a drug free and a gun free school, so why do they need guns?” – New Mexico Junior College student Annastasia Wood in College security guards armed with guns [at krqe.com]