The Truth About Guns

“A new law meant to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill has so far stopped 55 attempted handgun sales and caused 65 concealed weapon permits to be revoked, the chief of [South Carolina's] State Law Enforcement Division said Friday.” The aforementioned officer Keel also told the AP that the new procedure caused SLED to deny 12 applications for concealed weapon permits. This after Keel’s minions entered

“To lawful gun owners – who I have great deal of respect for – we’re not hurting one of them. For sportsmen, we’re not hurting one. And if it prevents one child or one person from losing their life, we should do it.” N.J. Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), N.J. Democrats propose limiting capacity of gun magazines [via

The weather in the UK this winter has been devastating, with massive storms and deluges of rain causing widespread flooding across southern England. But in another potentially explosive effect, the storms have torn up the British coastline, in some places setting the beach back by 30-50 feet, or even more. In the process, unexploded ordnance from past conflicts has come to light. According to The Daily Mail, a 100lb Mk XIX Second World War British anti-submarine mine was found by surfers at Watwick Bay, Haverfordwest, while a rare First World War German mine surfaced on a beach near the popular Cornish resort of Newquay.

“The National Football League has implemented a new stadium policy that would ban off-duty police officers from carrying guns into games,” dfw.cbslocal.com reports. “According to the NFL memo, ‘off-duty officers who attempt to bring firearms into an NFL facility will be denied entry.’ But a Texas state law overrides the NFL policy. As long as officers attending the game check in at a specific gate and inform Security where they are sitting – they can have their gun.” So . . . Texas carry law trumps NFL gun ban policy. I wonder if there are any other states where the same is true, which have chosen to capitulate to the almighty dollar. I mean, NFL. I also wonder if any state has

Reader Richard A. writes:

The question of whether to allow guns on state-funded campuses has become quite the divisive issue here in Idaho. Thankfully for those of us who live in Eastern Idaho we have the Idaho State Journal to keep us informed of how dangerous firearms are, especially if they were allowed on campus. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, most of the media coverage concerning this law has portrayed this bill in a negative manner . . .

I was at a Q&A on Friday in which Governor Otter was in attendance. A “concerned” citizen asked the Governor if he was also concerned that this bill would cause home values in the surrounding area to drop like a rock. Governor Otter responded much more politely than I would have. He informed the oh-so-concerned citizen that the majority of Idaho

Last week, Philly cops arrested teenager Courtland Gilliam and his pal Daron Stinson for videotaped &

Scenario: your best friend loves to have the latest and greatest. Newest iPhone? Bought it – limited edition color, 64 gig model, of course. Aston Martin Cygnet? You think he’d cruise downtown Austin in a Car2Go? Please. So when your buddy said that he had first class plane tickets and an all-access SHOT Show pass, you weren’t surprised. His best friends work for regional distributors and he was able to purchase two of the hottest items there: a GLOCK 42 and a Remington R51. Problem is . . .

he didn’t clear the purchases with his wife who thinks he has “too many” guns. He also had some questionable expenses on his credit card from that Vegas trip. Something about a neighboring entertainment industry convention. His wife is and was, in the words of Stephen Foster, “

I’m toying with the idea of having “Never Again” tattooed on the inside of my right arm. (The Nazis tattooed my aunt’s arm in the same place.) There’s only one question keeping me from getting inked: why advertise? The same question occurs to me re: the gun tat above. I suppose the warning could help if a bad guy’s sneaking up behind you. In that case, the young lady above better hope deterrence is more important than operational security. I’m no tattoo connoisseur – yet – but that looks like a pretty good job: a faithfully rendered logo and elegantly inked lettering in reasonable proportion to each other. Kudos to sbratton, who

By ShootingTheBull410

This is the third part of a three-part series exploring the ballistic performance of the new GLOCK 42. In this segment, I’m comparing the performance of the G42 against a comparably-sized pocket 9mm pistol, the Kahr PM9. Why? Isn’t it a tad silly to compare a .380 against a 9mm? Yes, yes it is. The 9mm is and always has been a significantly more powerful cartridge. So much so, that I consider the .380′s main benefit to be the fact that it provides the opportunity for firearms to be made smaller, lighter, and more-concealable. Given that context . . .

I think a .380 definitely fills a good niche – it’s capable of delivering a decent hit, and the

Last year, Second Amendment supporters struggled to push an omnibus gun reform bill through the Georgia legislature.  There were conflicts between groups that claimed similar aims, the bill stalled and ran out of time in the senate. This year, a similar bill, HB 875, has sailed through the house committee and passed by a more than two to one margin. Here is a list of who voted for or against the bill. It has been assigned to the senate Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, the same committee it where it stalled last year . . .

HB 875 provides for a number of reforms.   A list compiled by the

I’m a polymer-framed 9 mm pistol kind of guy. Well, at least I fancy myself one. Truth be told, I haven’t shot enough of them to have the depth of experience to really qualify as a polymer pistol “guy.” But I’m working on it. And when Nick threw me the keys to his FNS 9 for an unspecified amount of time, it seemed like a good time to put another check on the list. Who knew that I’d find a new favorite polymer gun in the process? . . .

Some of the writers on here can just make a review flow flawlessly from one section to another. Me, I like to take the pilot’s approach: checklists. So let me outline some of the more important qualities I look for in a gun, and tell you how the FNS-9 fared in those categories.

“The Supreme Court refused on Monday, as it has done repeatedly in recent years, to reopen the issue of whether Second Amendment rights to have a gun extend beyond the home,” Lyle Denniston reports at scotusblog.com. “The Court, without comment, denied three new petitions — two filed by the National Rifle Association. The cases were Nos. 12-1401, 13-137, and 13-390.”

For the third year in a row, I’ve been tapped to represent TTAG at the Crimson Trace Midnight 3-Gun Match. The competition is designed to highlight some of the company’s light-emitting firearms-related products. Illuminating items such as Crimson trace’s lasers, Surefire’s flashlights, and FLIR’s thermal imaging stuff. It’s a great way to try out the new gear, and I’m really looking forward to see what this year’s stages look like. But there’s an added twist: a $2,500 check for the first place finish among the members of the media. Now, remind me: who currently holds that title? . . .

You might expect ex-CNN chat show host and notorious anti-gunner Piers Morgan to go quietly into that long good night, accepting his dismissal from CNN, keeping his mouth shut and scoring another gig that allows him to maintain his U.S. work visa. But no, the battling Brit is finishing as he started, spewing venom at Americans who seek to defend and extend their natural, civil and constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. In fact, Mr. Morgan seems bound and determined to test the limits of TTAG’s posting policy forbidding ad hominem attacks in the comment section. At this point, one wonders if Mr. Morgan has an armed security detail. Speaking of which, would you defend to the death his right to denigrate our Second Amendment rights? I would, but I’d have to be paid a rather significant sum, including a generous life insurance policy. Just sayin’ . . .

By Beetle

The turn of the century into the 1900s was an interesting time in firearm development.  The invention of smokeless powder and Hugo Borchardt’s first semi-automatic pistol caused the world’s armies to re-examine their sidearms. Switzerland and Germany adopted the Luger pistol.  We know that the United States choose John Moses Browning’s Colt 1911 pistol.  The Kingdom of Norway also conducted pistol trials during this time.  Their decision along with subsequent history leads us to today’s interesting and ironic story . . .

The Norwegian Military of Defense established the Permanent Rifle Commission in the 1880s to evaluate all types of small arms.  The commission tested all of the commercially available semi-automatic pistols of the time, including the C93 Borchardt, C96 Mauser, the Luger

By Cliff Heseltine

I recently received an e-mail blast from another gun blog that shall remain un-named. It’s one that loves to end their posts with the supposed bona fides of their writers, the idea being that you should just accept what they’ve written as gospel because of the credentials of the author. The subject of that post is not really relevant, but this wasn’t the first time I had read one of these “authoritative” sources and just wondered, WTF? The concept, as presented, just seemed full of logical holes or conceptual errors . . .

Just for the record, I have had military training, served 6½ years as a medic and spent a good deal of time reading about this subject. But I’m not a certified trainer, ex-Special Forces, law enforcement, nor an “operator” by any stretch. What I am is a reasonably intelligent person who tends to look at things “experts” profess and consider

“Today every citizen of Ukraine understands why our country has hundreds of thousands of policemen. Last illusions were crushed when riot police used rubber batons and boots at the Independence Square on peaceful citizens. After such actions we realize that it is not enough to only adopt the Gun Law. As of today Ukrainian Gun Owners Association will start to work on the preparation of amendments to the Constitution, which will provide an unconditional right for Ukrainian citizens to bear arms. People should have the right to bear arms, which will be put in written (sic) into the Constitution. Authorities should not and will not be stronger than its people! Armed people are treated with respect!” – Official statement, Ukrainian Gun Owners Association [h/t KW]

In Russia, rail rides you! This ‘Bizon-2′ subgun has a more extensive rail network than the entire United Kingdom. Never heard of the PP-19 Bizon before? You’re not alone . . .

The ‘Bison’ was first developed in the early 1990s from the Kalashnikov platform of the AKS-74. The PP-19 is a true Kalashnikov design, and not just a knockoff, since it was actually developed by Mikhail’s son Viktor Kalashnikov.

Unlike the AKS-74, the Bizon is a true subgun. It was originally chambered in 9×18 Makarov, and has also been offered in 9X19, .380 ACP (huh?) and 7.62 Tokarev.

This video shows perhaps its most interesting feature, a 64-round helical drum magazine reminiscent o

“There have been times when the CNN host Piers Morgan didn’t seem to like America very much,” David Carr at nytimes,com opines, “and American audiences have been more than willing to return the favor. Three years after taking over for Larry King, Mr. Morgan has seen the ratings for “Piers Morgan Live” hit some new lows, drawing a fraction of viewers compared with competitors at Fox News and MSNBC.” And so BOOM! He’s gone. From Piers Morgan Live anyway. “It’s been an unhappy collision between a British television personality who refuses to assimilate — the only football he cares about is round and his lectures on guns were rife with contempt — and a CNN audience that is intrinsically provincial. After all, the people who tune into a cable news network are, by their nature

UCLA Law Professor Adam Winkler is no friend of ours. Back in August 2011, I outed the so-called “centrist” in a blog about his article The Secret History of Gun Control. Adam’s back on our radar with his latimes.com editorial Want fewer guns on California streets? Open carry may be the answer. “San Diego will undoubtedly appeal the [Peruta] d