The Truth About Guns

Kel-Tec extensively used 3D printing to prototype their new RMR-30 carbine, a .22 Magnum that uses the same magazines as the PMR-30 pistol. The carbine has a retractable stock, a 16-inch barrel, and uses a straight blowback action, instead of the delayed blowback of the PMR-30 pistol. The RMR30 required a redesign of almost the entire firearm, even though the magazines are interchangeable . . .

Here is a view of the RMR-30 lower receiver alongside a PMR-30 pistol.

We have one source for this story: calgunlaws.com. “In perhaps one of the more shocking discoveries at the 2014 SHOT Show, Ruger spokesperson Kevin Reid revealed that Ruger was going to let it’s entire California Semiautomatic pistol roster ‘…drop off…’ the CA Department of Justice Approved Handgun List . . . Ruger has already let some 60+ semiautomatic pistols drop off the approved handgun roster with the rest shortly to follow.” TTAG main man Dan’s on the case. We’ll post a statement here in a few hours.

The SIG/Sauer catalog continues to expand, now with this new carbon fiber-enhanced M400 and its piston-driven 516 counterpart (not shown.) The free-floating handguard and A2-length fixed buttstock are both fashioned from the cool shiny black stuff . . .

Yes, $2100 is real money, but street pricing should bring this down to the ‘maybe someday’ price category. Which isn’t bad for a SIG, after all.

You can instantly tell that the carbon fiber M400 is lighter than a standard AR, but exactly how much lightness does that carbon fiber (and your extra dollars) buy you?

Good question: the product tag doesn’t say. The SIG rep didn&#8217

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (a wholly owned subsidiary of Mayors Against Illegal Guns) has published an open letter to the Presidents of ABC, CBS, CNN and Fox News. The missive (after the jump) calls on Manhattan’s media mavens to refer to “mass shooters” as “the killer who shall not be named” or some such thing. It also demands that they refrain from publishing photos that “glamorize” or “aggrandize the shooter.” Oh, that’s what they want to call killers like Adam Lanza, James Holmes and Seung-Hui Cho. But what if the mass ki

According to timeanddate.com, it was -7 degrees Fahrenheit on January 6 in Columbus, Ohio. Add in the wind chill factor and you might even say it was colder than a witch’s mammary. Luckily, that didn’t daunt muzzle loading Buckeye Staters dead set on reducing Ohio’s deer population by sixteen thousand-plus animals (one at a time). For those who believe in the PETA principle, ohioinsurance.org reports “20,683 deer-vehicle crashes reported in Ohio during 2012, down from the 2011 figure

It’s been more than three years since I first reviewed Kel Tec’s diminutive and now somewhat infamous PF-9. My review from November of 2010 was quite favorable, and the PF-9 was my carry gun for the next year. It was a promising little gun once it got broken in, but things started to go wrong after less than six months. I don’t know if my experience is typical, but this gun has completely lost my trust.

As you’ll recall, the PF-9 functioned great with factory ammo but had problems digesting my standard-pressure handloads. There was evidence of light primer strikes, and it took a new firing pin and a lot of elbow grease to solve this problem. I honed the firing pin channel with fine-grit emery cloth wrapped around a cotton swab, and this eventually solved the problem. Mostly.

But his particular malfunction proba

I’d first like to welcome Colt Competition to the Republic of Texas. They made the move just after all of the anti-gun legislation started flying, and it looks like they’re settling in well. The company is producing a new rifle called the CRP20SS, which is designed for the law enforcement market rather than the competition market — a first step for an otherwise single-minded competition based company — yet still available to the public. The gun features a 20 inch barrel, tuneable gas system, and modular rail sections to give you rails when you need them and flat tube when you don’t. They said something about pricing but I just plumb forgot — the older similar model is $1,899.

“It’s unfortunate that hundreds of guns purchased in the weeks before Maryland’s stricter firearms regulations went into effect last year ended up in the hands of people who should never have been allowed to own them,” baltimoresun.com opines. Wait. What? Is the Sun saying that the Free State’s statists should have prevented a significant percentage of Marylanders from exercising their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms in the run-up to Maryland’s post-Newtown civilian disarmament regulations? Yup. Whyzzat? Start with this . . .

“The hijacking of our movement by these radical extremists causes me to fear for the future of the right I have spent my adult life fighting to defend . . . When we engage in noisy, extremist rhetoric rejecting all firearms regulation whatsoever, or refuse to acknowledge the plain fact that constitutionally validated regulations and statutes already exist, we risk alienating the American mainstream. And if we lose that mainstream, we will lose this war.” Dick Metcalf, Target: Me [via

Nick and I spotted this rare beast in the wild today at Media Day At The Range, but the headline says it all. We came, we saw, we walked away empty-handed . . .

We were definitely up to the challenge, however. Nick and I both took shots with an absolutely gorgeous (and brutal) Sako .416 Rigby, and a few rounds through a bipod-mounted, gas-operated .50 BMG with a recoil-reducing QDL suppressor would have been a quiet walk in the park by comparison.

But alas, Barrett wasn’t offering any free shots when we were there, and we had places to go and guns to shoot.

Maybe next year.

For ages, STI has dominated the competition handgun market. If you wanted an accurate and quick handgun, they were really the only game in town. Now Dan Wesson (distributed by CZ, or owned by by CZ, I can’t remember which) has come out with a competition grade 9mm handgun in their Elite Series Chaos 9mm. The double-stacked handgun feels pretty great — crisp trigger, smooth operation, and great sights — but the MSRP is right around $4,300. Pretty steep, but then again there are people with that kind of cash to throw around.

Well, I can honestly say I was glad I walked all the way to the end of the range yesterday, because the reps from Lancer were showcasing their new 7.62 x 51 L30 modern sporting rifle. And there was no line to shoot them. Bonus! I gotta say, I love me some carbon fiber: I once dropped a grand on a Dunhill carbon fiber fountain pen, so I was positively salivating over these beautiful precision rifles . . .

These rifles are available in five configurations: Heavy Metal, Designated Marksman, Long Range Tactical, Modern Battle Rifle, and Hunter. They feature ambidextrous bolt releases and oversized magazine release buttons.  They are designed to be used

Guns aren’t death rays, even with solid center-mass hits. A Houston homeowner is alive and safe after defending his home against a crazed robber Saturday night, because he kept shooting until the threat was neutralized . . .

From KHOU-Houston:

According to the Houston Police Department, the suspect smashed in the front window of the home, located in the 3300 block of Dennis near Sampson, with a piece of concrete. The incident happened just before 11 p.m.

Investigators said the homeowner heard the noise and grabbed his gun. He then saw the suspect at his front door.

The homeowner shot one time through the window, hitting the suspect in the stomach, police said. The suspect tried to get up and come after the homeowner, who then shot him a second time. The suspect was hit in the hand with the second shot.

The En

OK, stickers and hats are pretty typical items for swag here at the SHOT Show. But the ever-thoughtful folks at Knight’s Armament are going the extra mile and providing select SHOT Show attendees with PPDs. What, pray tell, is a PPD, you ask? . . .

Well, the KAC Personal Protection Device (“PPD”), is just the thing you need “when your life is on the line” here in Vegas. I can just hear someone shouting, “Cover me, I’m going in!” The tactical colors are a nice touch, but sadly  the “Magnum” versions are still in R&D. 

CNN is reporting that two people have been wounded in a school shooting in New Mexico. The 12 year old who committed the crime walked into school, whipped out a shotgun, and wounded two people before a staff member confronted him and stopped him. According to a terrified pre-teen witness that Piers Morgan was pumping for information the shooter had been bullied at school. No additional information was available at the time, but as a recent Washington Post article points out mass shootings are on the decline. Piers Morgan isn’t having any of it, and is currently interviewing a law enforcement officer who is flatly disputing Piers’ opinion that gun control is the only solution. One would think that the LEO would be the subject matter expert in this case, but obviously Piers’ years of experience in law enforcement is superior. Oh, wait…

This is not a hypothetical question. A mass shooting at a Portland, Oregon strip club ‘gentlemen’s club’ was brought to a screeching, bleeding halt by that supposedly nonexistent liberal bugaboo, the Good Guy With A Gun . . .

From KGW-TV:

Owners of a SE Portland strip club said a man who shot and wounded three people there Saturday night was denied entry because of belligerent behavior and racist comments, and returned about half an hour later armed with a gun and wearing a scary Halloween mask

The shooting happened just before 9 p.m. Saturday, when the gunman walked into the Mystic Gentleman’s Club at Southeast Stark Street and Southeast 99th Avenue and opened fire, said Sgt. Pete Simpson with Portland police.

The shooter hit three people, p

“I really love your blog,” the fresh-faced lad at the F4 Tactical booth said as if TTAG was a beloved pet. “I read it all the time in Afghanistan. Especially just after Newtown.” Oh great. What am I supposed to say? “I wouldn’t put that canister of pepper spray on my AR on a bet?” I bet you wouldn’t, either. So I slinked back to the Press Room and wrote it here. [Click here to watch the video.]

Like most things made in Germany, the Merkel RX Helix is an engineering marvel. The Merkel is the newest straight pull bolt action rifle on the market. What sets it apart from the crowd is the fact that the action uses cams to reduce the length of travel.  As an example, for a .300 Win Mag you only need to pull the hangle back 2.5 inches to get the bolt to move 4.5 inches.   I was really impressed how smooth and effortless it was to chamber and extract a round from the rifle. This is undoubtedly the fastest bolt action rifle I have ever handled, and second place finisher is not really close . . .

Another great feature of the Merkel is that you change barrels, calibers etc. without tools i

Featuring OSS Silencer’s new cans, the MR556SD and MR762SD will be shipping from the factory suprpessed and ready to go. Except you can’t buy one, because they’re LEO/MIL only. I suppose you could buy the relevant “civilian” versions of the guns and the cans and make one yourself… but why?

“A federal judge Tuesday granted the city the six months Mayor Rahm Emanuel said it needs to figure out where to allow gun shops in Chicago,” suntimes.com reports. “U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang said his decision balances the needs of the city to craft regulations with the public’s Second Amendment rights.” ‘Cause it’s really, really hard to figure out how to regulate private business selling legal products to legal buyers, legally. “After Tuesday’s brief hearing, [City attorney Andrew] Worseck told reporters he’s confident six months will be sufficient for the city to come up with rules regulating the sale of guns within Chicago.” What was that about a r