The Truth About Guns

Marc Cocker of the guardian.co.uk‘s Country Diary [above] finds modern day pheasant hunting most disagreeable. “The perpetual fusillade of guns from across the other side of the Yare sounded like the Somme. One wonders if that audible violence, which is surely peculiar to the killing inflicted by industrial societies, also measures our alienation from the natural landscape? One thinks, by contrast, of the silence and stealth that must always have surrounded hunters from the Paleolithic until the middle ages.” One forgets the fact that much of the hu

By Regina Slater

I’ve never really been a big “gun enthusiast,” never really thought I needed a gun to protect myself. I stay away from “could be disastrous” situations, I’m very situationally aware of my surroundings and I’d like to think that my lifestyle keeps me off the criminal target list. All of that took a swift 180 degree turn on a cool summer night while I sat watching a less-than-exciting movie with my lazy but loyal dogs . . .

It was like any ordinary night, I had been home from work for only about 3-4 hours and my stomach begged me to ravage the fridge. I turned on the kitchen light and from my kitchen window I can see the rest of the neighborhood is sound asleep, or so it seemed. I barely opened my fridge when there was a stern knock at my front door. The dogs went crazy and as I walked closer to the door I heard from the other side “Las Vegas Police, Open the

“I guess one take-away is that the victims of this crime should have had loaded guns on their laps, while they played cards, watched TV, or had a heart-to-heart with their friends. Yeah, and maybe they should just forget about doing anything with friends and just keep their eyes peeled and their fingers on triggers, waiting for an attacker. I think this response comes from feeling powerless in this world, and personally, this desperate way of living does not sound empowering to me.” - Brandon Jaeger, More Guns Don’t Make Us More Powerful Citizens [via athensnews.com]

Remember, we live in a land governed by our Constitution, and only our Supreme Court has the final say on exactly what the individual parts of the Constitution mean. It doesn’t matter what any of us thinks as an individual, or if we do or don’t agree with a court ruling. Any law, as interpreted by this highest court in the land, is a law we must all obey. The only way the Constitution can be legally altered is via amendment. Therefore, if individuals or groups don’t agree with any segment of the Constitution, they should either accept it or try to change it via an amendment. — from Gun control: Watch out for that first step at blueridgenow.com

BELLEVUE, WA – Attorneys for Glock, Inc. have filed an amicus curiae brief supporting the Second Amendment Foundation’s case in California, Pena v. Lindley, a lawsuit challenging the state handgun roster requirements that include microstamp

It can’t be easy being a TSA agent. Not when you have to enforce stupid rules written by stupid people for stupid reasons. Take the recent example encountered by Phyllis May who was flying home from St. Louis with one of her sock monkey creations, Rooster Monkburn. As nationalreview.com relays, “Agents said that it posed a threat because it could be confused for a real gun, according to local reports. ’[The agent] said ‘this is a gun,’ said Phyllis May, recounting the experience to fly back to her home in Washington state. ‘I said no, it’s not a gun it’s a prop for my monkey.’” Silly Phyllis. Bet you we don’t have to tell you her explanation didn’t cut much ice w

With this afternoon’s vote, the U.S. Senate approved a 10 year extension of the Undetectable Firearms Act as-is, with no added regulations. Senator Chuck Schumer had proposed making it a felony to print any gun related part and wanted to make the manufacture of a plastic magazine by any “unlicensed” manufacturer illegal, but those proposals were blocked. . .

From politico:

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) attempted to pass an amended version of the House bill to close what he described as a dangerous loophole that allows plastic guns to be easily smuggled through metal detectors.

“Technology has advanced so not only are these guns real but they can be made so that the law that exists and expires tonight can be evaded,” Schumer said. “I haven’t heard one s

It’s not the most flattering picture in the world but I reckon George Zimmerman’s girlfriend is a looker. She provides yet more anecdotal evidence validating my theory about beautiful woman. Specifically, that the only way the crazy gene can survive (i.e. reproduce) is to shelter within a physically appealing package. The crazier the woman, the more beautiful she’s likely to be. And vice versa. “George Zimmerman’s girlfriend is asking a judge to lift an order that blocks her from seeing him and says she wants charges against him dropped,” cnn.com reports. “In a court document obtained by CNN Monday, Samantha Scheibe says she wants a

In the gun grabbers’ world, correlation equals causation—especially when you can create the evaluative criteria. That’s all I’ve got to say about that. Oh and Connecticut antis are delighted that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has ranked The Constitution State the state with the second strictest gun laws (after California) in the U.S. “Ron Pinciaro, executive director Connecticut Against Gun Violence, praised the scorecard,” ctnewsjunkie.com reports. “We have always ranked high on the scorecard, usually fourth or fifth, but

What color is the sky in a world where self-awareness and all sense of irony are totally absent? It’s hard to say with any certainty, but you can probably ask Rabbi Joel Mosbacher who apparently dwells quite happily in just such a place. He and other New York and New Jersey men of the cloth are about to fly to Europe on a mission. As nydailynews.com reports, “The clergy members are seeking meetings with Austria’s Glock, Germany’s SIG Sauer and Italy’s Berretta, which dominate gun sales to police departments and government agencies in the U.S. Glock alone claims 60% of the handgun sales to U.S. police departments.” Shockingly, none of the manufacturers have agreed to talk to them . . .

The New York Daily News has an ignorant anti-gun stance. Not that that’s news. Their bias was most dramatically illustrated by their embarrassingly erroneous cover story ’Same Gun, Different Slay’ on the Navy Yard shooting (the Navy Yard killer used a shotgun, not an AR-15). So it’s really no surprise that they’ve latched onto the sin

In the video above Kay Jay Dubs demonstrates her core competency: .22 caliber rifle. Since filming this trick shot with her trusty Anschutz, Kirsten’s applied her mad marksmanship skillz to a range of firearms in a number of calibers, from TrackingPoint’s XS-2 (.300 Win Mag) to Underground Tactical’s full-auto AR (5.56) to a SAIGA 12 and a bad ass Benelli M4. Watching Kirsten grok a gun is an amazing experience. She adjusts her grip, breathing, stance and focus; locks it all in and . . . she’s gone. It’s a skill set anyone can learn but few can master, and masters make look easy. Note: it isn’t.

The limerickleader.ie tells the tale of two [unnamed] men living in Limerick, Ireland who’d spent seven years in the Army Reserve. Both men are target shooters. When the men applied for licenses for their guns—an MKE .223 semiautomatic rifle and a Heckler and Koch SL8–Chief Supt David Sheahan denied their requests. “In a letter explaining his refusal to one of the applicants in February 2012, Chief Supt Sheahan said he regarded the MKE .223 semiautomatic rifle to be ‘military in style’ and there was no requirement in target shooting competitions to have such a high-powered gun . . . It was not disputed by the state that both men were of excellent character

My daughter’s principal approached me in the hallway the other day. I’d just finished running my part of the Wednesday Book Club, but the principal knew me from lunchroom duty. That’s where I hand out napkins, open recalcitrant containers, give bathroom passes, enforce discipline and mess with their heads (in a nice way). As part of that duty I wear an apron around my waist. Despite covering my outside-the-waistband holster with a shirt, the whole rig occasionally rides up and exposes part of the Kydex shell. I always pull it down and vow to take off my empty holster before entering the school. One kid noticed it and remarked on it once. Apparently he wasn’t the only one . . .

“One of the parents asked me to talk to you,” the principal said. “She wanted to know if you carry a gun in the school.”

“No I don’t, ” I replied, a little taken aback but unapologetic. “I observe

JP Enterprises is the gold standard when it comes to competition rifles. Take a look at the gun rack at a pro series 3-gun competition and you’ll see what I mean — if a competitor isn’t using a gun made by their sponsor, there’s a 90% chance they’re shooting a JP rifle. The reason is pretty obvious, since John Paul puts a TON of time and effort into making them “perfect” rifles, and having played around with some of his designs I completely agree about their quality. So when I heard that JP was putting out a 9mm AR-15 carbine, I was all over it . . .

We here at TTAG have covered our share of 9mm carbines in the past, and in general we’ve been pretty disappointed. For example, the JR Carbine that Tyler reviewed had so much pote

An Ohio man is hospitalized and facing criminal charges after calling 911 to report that he’d been shot. He neglected to tell 911 that he’d been shot while breaking into a house, but luckily the homeowner had already called the police himself to report the shooting. This case illustrates the critical importance of being the first party to call 911 after a DGU . . .

Police say 21 year-old Randy Estrada called 911 early last Thursday morning and told Toledo police that he’d been shot in the leg while walking on the sidewalk. He didn’t mention anything about a burglary, but the police already knew. Homeowner Antione Garrett had just called 911 himself to report that he’d fired multiple shots at an intruder breaking into his home on a nearby street.

EMTs picked up Estrada and took him to the hospital while police investigated the sho

Honey-toned Lock and Load Radio host Bill Frady writes:

I have just taken the time to view the No More Silence video agitprop that is coming from Moms Demand Action and Mayors Against Illegal Guns. It’s a perfect illustration if you ask me. Legs walking toward an un protected school with a sinister duffel bag swinging. Beautiful children and pensive adults re-living the 24/7 onslaught of “news” that was the coverage of that horrible attack on Sandy Hook. Everyone totally defenseless. Legs climb stairs, bag is discarded, door swings shut, time is up . . .

Unfortunately, as long as the insanity of the gun free zone persists, history will repeat itself. We will witness anoth

“18 percent of the physicians surveyed stated that they always recommend that handguns be removed from their patients’ homes.” Periodic Survey #25 Guns and Children [via aap.org]

“After a nearly yearlong effort to sell its gun business, Cerberus Capital Management LP is close to bringing on a minority investor and lender to the weapons maker to let some of its investors sell out, a person familiar with the matter said.” As wsj.com points out, Steven A. Feinberg’s minions have been looking to punt, indeed promising to punt The Freedom Group (TFG) for almost a year, after it was revealed that Newtown spree killer Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15 for his murderous spree. Spurred on by The California State Teachers Retirement System’s decision to 

CHARLESTON, West Virginia --(Ammoland.com)- West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey today announced that West Virginia and 25 other states and one territory have filed an amicus, or friend of the court, brief with the U.S. Supreme Court opposing a federal government attempt to prosecute legal gun owners who wish to sell a weapon to another person who can legally own and purchase firearms. “Our Office is proud to lead a bipartisan group of 27 states and territories in this brief to oppose the U.S. Department of Justice’s attempt to unilaterally create a federal restriction on firearm sales between law-abiding citizens,” Attorney G