The Truth About Guns

IL FOID [Firearm Owner's ID] Card Holders

Calendar year   Active FOID Cards

2010                   1,316,508

2011                    1,395,114

2012                    1,476,408

As of 09/06       1,633,039

For the average 3-gun competitor, things run pretty seamlessly at matches. You show up, you run through the stages with the help of the range officers and then, at some point, you see the final scores and go home loaded with prizes. But for those working the event, if you want to shoot in the match you need to do it during the “staff shoot” during the days preceding the competition. And while it’s the same basic outline, it’s a whole different beast . . .

The staff match is kinda like the beta test of the competition. The match staff is supposed to find any faults or flaws with the stage design and hammer out the final details before the competitors show up. As a result, the stages have a tendency to be a bit flawed.

It’s a massive pain in the ass for the staff since any major design changes that come out of it will trigger a re-shoot, and as we know re-shoots are a fickle mistress. But it’s a necessary evil and I’m fairly proud to say that thanks

“Spy thriller writer Tom Clancy, whose best-selling books became blockbuster films, has died, his publisher said Wednesday. He was 66.” CNN and the other news orgs are highlighting Clancy’s firearm-free thriller The Hunt for Red October. Most his 28 novels were far more gun-intensive—to say the least. [Click here for imfdb.org's database of films and video games based on Clancy's books.] The best-selling author’s

I like the TTAG two-star Kel-Tec PF9. It’s a sweet shooting little pistol. Except when it isn’t. And? And then you fix it or dump it. I reckon there’s a big problem in play here: a lot of people buy carry guns and then never shoot them. So if they’ve got a bad one—a firearm that doesn’t feed properly or doesn’t like certain ammo (cough Kimber SOLO cough)—they don’t know it’s unreliable. They rely on someone else’s opinion of whether or not a handgun is reliable. Which is unreliable. Of course, some guns are justifiably known for their reliability. Even then, a sensible armed self-defender should run a couple of hundred rounds (including at least 50 self-defense rounds) through the gun before holstering it. So . . . what’s the worst POS firearm you’ve ever owned?

By ST

You poor non-military gun owners must be frightfully confused regarding the Beretta M9/92FS handgun. On the one hand law enforcement and many civil gun owners all but love their examples. On the other, it’s the rare vet who echoes those sentiments, as many military members seen to all but run from the M9 and anything associated with Beretta. Stories of malfunctions, accidentally engaging safeties and weak stopping power associated with 9mm FMJ NATO seem to paint a less than flattering picture. Who’s right? Ironically enough, both parties . . .

I write this as just another prior service gun owner who just happened to be in a position to learn a thing or two about the maligned M9. Back when I was active duty I acquired my CCW permit as a bachelor enlisted member. That meant I legally had to store my carry pistol at the Air Force Base MP armory. So,when I left post and returned, I ha

Last week, I made the trip out to West Virginia for the FNH USA 3-Gun championship. I’ll have the full posts in a few days, but until then enjoy a few pictures of some of the snazzier looking competitors and gear . . .

“[Wisconsin] Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced Tuesday that permit number 200,000 was printed Monday at the Department of Justice’s secure processing center in downtown Madison,” jsonline.com reports. “Wisconsin became the 49th state to license people to carry concealed weapons in 2011 with the passage of Act 35. The law took effect Nov. 1 that year and Van Hollen announced extra staffing to handle the expected rush of applicants. Van Hollen said the DOJ continues to receive 500 to 1,000 applications a week. ‘The dedicated staff is able to process the majority of these applications in less than a week’” he said in a news release. As TTAG commentator CJD observes, “If Wisconsin has 4,000,000 adults,

“It’s unfortunate. I think people have been scared into feeling they have to buy guns now, and having another 100,000 guns in Maryland is not necessarily a good thing. But ultimately the law will make people safer.” – Maryland Senator Brian Frosh in In Maryland, gun buyers busy before new law kicks in [at washingtonpost.com]

Two men got into a scuffle inside a Tigard, OR movie theater recently, during which a nearby woman thought she heard the word “gun.” The woman, who has PTSD, shouted “gun,” starting a panic inside the theater and causing theatergoers to flee, and instigating a lockdown of businesses in the mall. Police responded, and say there was never a weapon. Tigard Police Department spokesman Jim Wolf said “This was a good dry run for a real theater shooting.” [h/t: Tom in Oregon] . . .

David B. asks: “Is the NICS system shut down for the shut down? It’s a federal agency, but doesn’t it fall under police jurisdiction and is technically funded?” The NSSF answered this yesterday in their weekly Bullet Points email: “In the event of a government shutdown on Tuesday, the FBI’s NICS Section would remain fully operational and maintain normal business

Aaron writes:

Caught this on camera this weekend and turned it into a still photo. There’s a 8 3/8″ Smith & Wesson 460XVR under that fireball. Fireball was created by a hand-rolled Hornady 230g Mag over some Hodgen H110 and a Magnum Rifle Primer. Just another reminder to use the correct grip when shooting revolvers!

In the video above, formerly NRA A-rated Senator Joe Manchin says he accepted money from anti-gun agitator and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in order to “offset the unfairness going on” and the “attacks we were enduring.” That makes almost as much sense as the West Virginia pol’s opening assertion that “the Constitution has to be done through legislation.” Maybe he’s being disingenuine [sic]. One thing’s for sure: the man who almost threw the Second Amendment under the bus, schmoozing colleagues to drum up support for “universal background checks” aboard his powerboat (shades of Monkey Business), is no friend of ours. [h/t DrVino]

“A scissor-wielding madman went on a bloody stabbing spree on the Upper West Side on Tuesday morning, randomly attacking at least five people, including a child in a stroller and his ballet dancer father, before cops carted him off, authorities said.” So shouts the New York Post. Gun grabbers look at the aftermath and say, “Thank God he didn’t have a gun or someone could have been killed. The law abiding People of the Gun look at this and say, “It’s a miracle someone wasn’t killed…if someone there had a gun, there might have been fewer victims.” The city, county and state of New York like things just as they are, with citizens reliant on police to deal with the bodies and the blood long afte

There’s nothing I love more than when I log into the WordPress stats system and see another spike in traffic. The only issue is when I know that the spike isn’t sustainable, such as the massive near-doubling of our traffic in the aftermath of Sandy Hook. I knew that the ride wouldn’t last, and as traffic slipped back to “normal” levels, it was slightly concerning. But in the last two quarters, I’ve happy to see our numbers continue the previous trend of steady growth. And we are indeed firmly back on track . .

Press release:

A.G. Schneiderman Announces Arrest of Federally Licensed Arms Dealer for Violating State and Local Gun Laws in Brooklyn

(New York, NY)  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrest of Hannibal Smith [not shown] for possessing assault weapons and other guns in violation of state and federal law in Brooklyn.  Smith was charged and arraigned, in Brooklyn Criminal Court today, on three counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a Class D Felony. He faces

“A licensed gun holder and gun enthusiast, Mr Haji was introduced to guns by his father, the Garissa senator who is also a former defence minister and long-serving provincial administrator,” nation.co.ke reports, which provides a written blow-by-blow account of his bravery at Kenya’s Westgate Mall. “He grew up shooting at the Athi River range and describes himself as ‘very good with pistols’. He had packed an SSK heavy blaster pistol with 14 rounds of ammunition. When he arrived at Westgate, sounds of gunfire and screams could be heard. He teamed up with a vigilante group of about 10 people from Parklands neighbourhood who had pistols, two-way radios and bulletproof vests.” Haji rescued dozens of people trapped in the mall. Because he could.

Alan Brooks writes:

Some of you may know of the stories and legends surrounding the famous “Wild West” gunfighter, lawman, and Army scout, William “Bat” Masterson. What you may not know is that in 1909 the Savage Arms Company convinced Mr. Masterson to write a guide to defensive gun use as part of a promo for their new “Savage Automatic” pistol. The pistol, while advanced for its time, was overshadowed by that other pistol that god gave to John Moses Brownin

I was in my LGS the other day when I happened to see Gun Digest’s Buyers Guide to Assault Weapons on the shelf.  That got my ire up pretty quickly, mainly because the term, “assault weapon” is meaningless. It’s like referring to my glass as a “drinking glass,” or my plate as an “eating plate.” The simple fact is that whatever you are using to attack another person with is an “assault weapon” of one sort or another. The term, “assault weapon” has been adopted and used by the anti-gun crowd to demonize a specific sub-set of semi-automatic firearms that are arguably less dangerous than many other rifles . . .

So, I was pretty annoyed when I saw a book published under the auspices of of a company that gets most of its revenue from 2A supporters use this inflammatory and inaccurate term. After all, we should be working to eliminate, not perpetuate this sort of thing.

Then I realized that this book was, in fact, not n