The Truth About Guns

“Behind a black fence that blocks the view from outside, the school in Newtown, Conn., where 20 first graders and six employees were killed by a 20-year-old gunman in December, is being razed,” the nytimes.com reports, using passive construction to chronicle active demolition. Which is no surprise given the lay-down-and-roll-over non-reportage that the Gray Lady has applied to the police report on the Newtown massacre. Who cares what happens to the buil

Nick’s Team FNH USA co-competitor, Diana Liedorff preaches routine. Doing the same thing the same way – all the time. Everything from how you pack your range bag to where you put your empties. The idea being, eliminate the variables lets you concentrate on what you’re doing so you can git ‘er done faster and more accurately. But even if you’re not a top-level 3-gunner – or a competitor at all – that’s still good advice. Going through the same routines each and every time you shoot can make you smoother, improve your accuracy and even make you a safer on the range or in the field. What are your shooting habits?

By Cliff H.

When it comes to constitutional carry, I’m of the same belief as RF – the only correct reading of the Second Amendment means that the government has no authority to say who can or cannot carry arms, when, or where. Nor do they have the authority to require anyone to acquire a permit before exercising their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. But that’s a fight for another day. Right now we have to live with the reality of our eroded 2A rights and, in most places, jump through bureaucratic hoops in order to avoid having our freedoms further eroded by facing arrest and other unpleasant and expensive official reactions . . .

That being the case, I’ve obtained a concealed pistol license (CPL) from the state of Washington. RF is apparently in the process of getting his permit from Texas. Many of the readers of this site have done the same in their respective  jurisdictions. So now, technically (though

“Loosening firearm restrictions in school zones is realizing a proclaimed NRA dream, eliminating all gun-free zones. Guns in every corner of America helps the NRA’s donating partner (gun industry) get richer, and in schools attempts to recruit the next generation of customers.” - Shirley Clements, Letter to the Editor, fdlreporter.com

Over 100 Seattle businesses have now chosen to advertise that their patrons are unarmed under a voluntary program administered by Washington Ceasefire in which businesses can sign up and download signs like the one above to place in their windows. According to seattlepi.com, the restaurant Oddfellows on Capitol Hill was the first to put up the signs. You can find them and the other 100 or so businesses to avoid over at gunfreeseattle.org. A reminder: Though no-gun signs do not carry the weight of law in Washington, you can be asked to leave. You’re encouraged to find other places to do business whenever possible.

As a followup to the recent post on

We reported the Manchester [UK] police freak-out when they discovered a 3D printing machine capable of producing a Liberator pistol. Cody Wilson, the guy who unleashed the 3D printed gun upon the world, had a few words to say about that. It’s your basic Wilsonian puddle of consciousness impish insurrectionist fun re: Defense Distributed’s role in the post-Snowden world. Defense Distributed. Ohhhh. Now I get it. Man am I behind the curve.

As a former mental health professional I approve this message. By literally coming to grips with the firearm used against him by Seung-Hui Cho during the Virginia Tech massacre, Colin Goddard made an important leap of logic: the gun wasn’t responsible for the carnage. Goddard realized that a GLOCK is an inanimate object; the person who holds the gun determines its use or misuse. He forced himself to face the fact that if he’d had a GLOCK in that classroom on that fateful spring day he would been able to save innocent life. Or die trying. Holding the GLOCK, Goddard suddenly understood what Jews mean when they say “never again.” Goddard determined

Didn’t win the holster last week? Not a problem, you have another shot this week courtesy SHTF Gear. And they’ll even throw in one of their T-shirts, too. Make a funny and post it by midnight Sunday to be eligible. And if you want to collect the swag, be sure to enter a valid email address, too.

[photo h/t Billy W.]

By Dean Weingarten

The police Chief of Portland, Maine, Michael Sauschuck, isn’t a fan of the “bear arms” part of the Second Amendment, and he and other Portland officials are quite willing to work to chill its exercise.  There have been recent cases where constables have stopped people who are legally openly carrying guns in the Portland area. One from 2012 has become popular on YouTube, in which a well-read open carrier civilly schooled the police officer on the limitations of detainment under the Constitution and case law. In December of 201

“Police Chief James Craig was limited in what action he could have taken against a perceived carjacker because Detroit’s top cop isn’t certified as an officer,” detroitnews.com reports. You hurt your what? “A department spokesman said the chief drove away from the situation because no actual crime had been committed. Also, Craig is not certified as a police officer in Michigan, so he doesn’t have arrest powers beyond making a citizen’s arrest . . . Although

Yes, they’re the semi-auto Uzis, but that’s a good thing. It means you won’t have to go through all that ATF tax stamp rigamarole. All you need is the cash (or enough headroom on your credit card) to take one home. IWI’s street-legal version comes with 20- and 25-round mags and you can get on in any color you want as long as you want one in black. And if you need another reason, just think how much you’ll piss off Diane Feinstein by buying one. Press release after the jump . . .

Harrisburg, PA (October 2013) - 

The common criteria for a legal defensive gun use: the shooter is facing an imminent, credible threat of death or grievous bodily harm and imminence is imminent. That last bit is often ignored but vitally important. The attacker must be in the act of attacking. In this case, the Dallas, Texas officers knew Bobby Gerald Bennett was mentally unhinged. They knew he had a knife. He was within striking distance (their choice but still). The threat wa

The venerable Ruger Red Lable returns. Ruger hasn’t made the Red Label for about three years now, but now it’s back, rested and ready. Externally, it’s hard to see what’s changed, but in their press release (after the jump) Ruger claims a “refined” mechanism a more centered center of gravity and reduced recoil. It also comes with a set of five Briley chokes, so there’s that, too . . .

Southport, CT – Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) announces the launch of the newly redesigned Red Label over-and-under shotgun.

Known for years as a top choice of American hunters and clay shooters for its world-renowned rugged construction and handsome American styling – the Red Label returns.

The shotgun now features refined inner workings, a new center of gravity and reduced recoil. These new improvements deliver improved comfort and an enhanced s

TTAG has a lot of firearms industry types reading. Rest assured, we never sell your info to third parties. But we do talk about you to these for-profit gun guys. During a recent Inside Baseball chinwag I discussed our readers’ psychology with a man whose brand means over-priced military-born products—even though they [now] sell competitively-priced products specifically fashioned for the civilian market. “We have loads of market research,” he said. “But we still don’t know how gun buyers (that’s you!) decide to purchase a particular gun. How they move through all the information out there to the point where they’re actually ready to buy a new

“Nearly a year after the Newtown, Conn., school shootings spawned considerable U.S. debate about passing stricter gun control laws, almost half of Americans believe the laws covering the sale of firearms should be strengthened and half say they should stay the same or be less strict,” gallup.com asserts, summarizing data from its most recent gun control survey. Well, that’s their takeaway. Mine’s different. I mean who says no, I don’t want gun control laws strengthened when the nature of those changes are left unspecified? The good news: “Public support for stricter gun laws is down from 58% in the days after the December 2012 Newtown shootings.” Even

Early last year, Advanced Armament made a splash unveiling their Honey Badger PDW. It was a thing of beauty; a custom-designed .300 AAC Blackout rifle that’s no bigger than an MP5SD and with looks that could kill. But as the year wore on, the Honey Badger ran into some trouble. Now, with the unveiling of SIG SAUER’s MCX line, even Kevin Brittingham (the man who originally designed the Honey Badger) admits that his beloved creation has been bested by SIG’s engineers .

If you’re one of the many who’ve bought a DoubleTap Defense tactical pocket pistol and think shooting a couple of parabellums or .45s from a small package is the bee’s knees, you’re gonna love their latest. The St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Earth pistol innovator just announced the addition of two new calibers; .410/.45 Colt and .40 S&W. That broadens their caliber options to four in your choice of either titanium or aluminum. Press release after the jump . . .

ST. LOUIS, MO (October 2013)DoubleTap Defense, LLC, a firearms design and manufacturing company, announces the addition of new calibers for the patented DoubleTap™ Tactical Pocket P

by Alan Brooks

In what could turn out to be a major embarrassment for the Greater Manchester Police, a man arrested yesterday on suspicion of illegally manufacturing gun powder also had what police suspect to be 3D-printed components for a firearm… or not. According to the BBC, Manchester’s finest raided the home as part of a larger operation targeting organized crime and stumbled upon the mystery parts by accident. Manchester Police spokesman Detective Inspector Mossop had this to say . . .

“If what we have seized is proven to be viable components capable of constructing a genuine f