The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 1 day 20 hours ago
Daily Digest: You Can’t Take It With You Edition
The location of the next big political battle with implications for gun rights is Virginia, where the money is flowing fast and furious. Soon-to-be ex-mayor Michael Bloomberg is backing Terry McAuliffe, dumping a reported $1.1 million into the last two weeks of the gubernatorial race against the $500,000 the NRA has spent supporting Ken Cuccinelli (left). The other race of concern is for Attorney General, with Bloomberg-backed Mark Herring squaring off against NRA backed Mark D. Obenshain (right). McAuliffe is reportedly the favorite for the governor’s chair, so the people of the gun cannot afford to sit this one out. Get out, get involved, and get people riled up. . .
With the recent passage of the lead ammo ban in California, tnoutdoors9 did a test of the 223 Barnes VOR-TX 55 gr TSX (Copper). The petal sep
Rock Island Auctions: The Springfield Trapdoor Rifle
Rare Early Springfield Armory Model 1873 Trapdoor Rifle with Rare Metcalfe Device
By Dan Thorngren
In terms of American military long arms very little attention is given to a predecessor of the much heralded M1903 and M1 Garand, the Springfield Trapdoor. The Springfield Trapdoor was produced for over 20 years and would experience many changes throughout its life. The rifle would take its place in history just after the Civil War, despite the justifiable hesitation of many military personnel who were all too aware about the superiority of repeaters and magazine fed rifles. It would kill buffalo by the thousands as America expanded westward and would also play a role in the wars against the Native Americans. Militarily it represents the watershed transition for U.S. forces from the musket to the rifle. Today we find out a little bit more of this rifle, its origins, the question of
Intro to Force-On-Force Training, Part 1: Technology
A common adage is that if you train as you will fight, you will fight as you have trained. For many people (including police officers, particularly in smaller jurisdictions), training is largely limited to the traditional square range where you stand at a line, point a gun at a static target and pull the trigger. While this sort of training is better than nothing, the problem is that if you find yourself in a real life and death situation, your body will experience a massive adrenaline dump, your fine motor skills will go out the window and much of what you’ve learned will be forgotten in the heat of the moment. Square range training is fine for competition and weapon familiarization, but if your aim is to train for a real life encounter with an armed attacker, square range training has serious limitations . . .
The next step up on the training continuum is the “tactical” style of training. The tactical model tends to be more dynamic – sometimes you
This Is What Happens to a Disarmed Populace: Michoacan is a Failed State Edition
The U.S. media continues to ignore the terrible fate of Mexico’s disarmed, disenfranchised and terrorized population. The story of the attempts of civilians to arm themselves and their success when they do are buried—along with Mexican journalists. Please read this article—republished with permission from borderlandbeat.com—through to the last sentence.
Miguel Patino Velazquez bishop Apatzingán accused Michoacan of being a “fai
Chino, CA Police Officer Injures Three in Grade School Negligent Discharge
In the grand tradition of DEA agent Lee Paige (above), a Chino, California police officer injured three students when he negligently discharged his firearm during a, um, safety demonstration at Newman Elementary School this morning. As latimes.com tells it, “The students — whose ages were not immediately known — suffered what were believed to be minor injuries and were taken to an area hospital as a precaution, said Tamrin Olden, crime prevention supervisor for the Chino Police Department…. ’We’re still sorting out the extent of the injuries and how it happened,’ Olden said.” . . .
We can only hope that like Paige’s performance, the un-named Chino copper’s demonstration was memorialized on video for your eternal viewing pleasure. There
DC Police Raid Home, Arrest Man for Possession of Single Shotgun Shell and Spent Cartridge
To say that anit-gun paranoia is out of hand in some of our large cities is an understatement. That’s particularly so in Washington, D.C., where one would expect that the local officials would have actually read the Constitution (since it’s showcased right there in the city), the levels to which the police are willing to go to persecute gun owners is simply astounding. Today’s shining example of the idiocy of D.C.’s gun laws and the danger they pose to the American people comes to us via Emily Miller at washingtontimes.com. . .
Mark Witaschek, a successful financial adviser with no criminal record, is facing two years in prison for possession of unregistered ammunition after D.C. police raided his house looking
What’s Missing from Montana’s Ursine Advice for Hunters?
“With big game rifle season to open Saturday, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) reminds hunters that bears are still out and active throughout the fall.” And so FWP offer the following advice for hunters who may encounter Grizzly bear-shaped predators.:
- Always carry bear spray, have it within easy reach and know how to use it.
- If you are going to be alone in bear country, let someone know your plans.
- Watch for fresh bear sign.
- After making a kill, get the carcass out of the area as quickly as possible.
- When field dressing the carcass, keep your can of bear spray within easy reach.
- Use special precautions if y
Hunting Coyotes After Midnight
Tyler’s mom thought that there might be some critters taking advantage of her pond late at night. The thing was practically overflowing thanks to the recent rains and attracting all sorts of nocturnal visitors. She wanted to find out if a local group of coyotes were using her pond for a clubhouse and I needed an excuse to try out some night vision monoculars that Optics Planet had sent my way. After asking around for a couple other goodies from some of our favorite gear suppliers, I marched out of the warm farmhouse into the cold and dark Texas night to investigate . . .
We as humans are engineered for daylight hunting. That’s what we’ve evolved to do; go hunt and gather during the day and then crawl into a tree and sleep all night. So when we venture into the darkness, we’re entering an environment for which we weren’t designed to operate. We don’t have the natural night vision required to get the job done,
The Best Thing About Long-Range Rifle Shooting Is . . .
The time gap between pulling the trigger and the ping of steel. (I was shooting .338 Lapua from an AI chassis. Guess the yardage.) I love that pause! Stretch it out to 1000 yards and you can make a cup of instant coffee while you wait. Hey I said instant. What do you like best about long range shooting?
Attorney General Eric Holder: I Heart Police Militarization
Just before the head of Interpol told the world that arming citizens is the best way to protect against terrorist attacks on “soft targets” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder assured cops attending the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference that they’re The Man when it comes to spree killings. “In order to prevent additional casualties, it is often patrol officers — not necessarily SWAT teams — who serve as the tip of the spear in responding to these incidents,” he said. “That’s why all law enforcement officers must have the best equipment and most up-to-date training to confront these si
Gear Review: JP Enterprises Silent Captured Buffer Spring for the AR-15
The buffer system on an AR-15 can be noisy. Which is kind of expected, since it’s a giant spring that sproings back and forth right next to your ear every time the gun goes bang. In normal guns this isn’t a problem, but when you’re running something whisper quiet (like a 300 AAC Blackout rifle) it becomes very noticeable. Thankfully, John Paul at JP Enterprises has a solution for that very problem: the silent captured buffer spring . . .
First, let’s outline the problem a little more clearly. This video was s
ATF Redacts Parts of Fast Furious Whistleblower Book
There’s been a fair amount of controversy surrounding ATF Agent John Dodson’s new book The Unarmed Truth: My Fight to Blow the Whistle and Expose Fast and Furious. Initially, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (And Really Big Fires) blocked the book, claiming it would hurt morale and “have a detremental [sic] effect on our relationships with [the Drug Enforcement Administration] and FBI.” They retreated from that position and blocked publi
Open Carry on the March
By Dean Weingarten
I have come to expect the New York Times to denigrate America’s gun culture and the Second Amendment at every opportunity. It’s interesting that they fail to note in their coverage of the Alamo protest that Texas is one of only six states that have banned the open carry of handguns. This small and shrinking minority of states (Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi recently changed their laws to recognize the constitutional right of open carry), which consists of California, Texas, Illin
Quote of the Day: Why Didn’t We Think of That?
“Ask yourself: If (the Nairobi mall siege happened in) Denver, Col., if that was Texas, would those guys have been able to spend hours, days, shooting people randomly? What I’m saying is it makes police around the world question their views on gun control. It makes citizens question their views on gun control. You have to ask yourself, ‘Is an armed citizenry more necessary now than it was in the past with an evolving threat of terrorism?’ This is something that has to be discussed.” - Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble, After Westgate, Interpol Chief Ponders ‘Armed Citizenry’ [at abcnews.go.com]
Daily Digest: Boop! Edition
A routine traffic stop in Hempstead, NY of a car that turned out to be driven by a bail-jumper turned into a police chase on Friday. When officers lit up their lights and siren, Oralus C. Sebea reached over and opened the passenger door and pushed his passenger, an unidentified female, out of the car. He then led cops on a merry chase while discarding a silver revolver out the passenger window, along with a box containing “a large amount of ammunition” and KG-99 handgun. (That’s the closed bolt semi-automatic version of a TEC-9.) When he was eventually captured, an “M1 Carbine assault rifle was also found on the drivers’ side floor of the vehicle,” according to news
Nevada School Shooting – Why Do We Have to Keep Learning the Same Lessons?
The details on the Nevada School Shooting yesterday have started to emerge. Unfortunately, the story is all too familiar. A 13-year-old showed up at school with his parent’s gun and opened fire on fellow students wounding two of them. A teacher, Michael Landsberry, who is a former Marine and served two tours in Afghanistan (but who was unarmed) attempted to intervene and was killed for his trouble. The adolescent shooter then turned the gun on himself. Unfortunately for the gun control community, this event lacked some of their favorite elements; no “assault weapon”, no children killed (yet, other than the shooter who saved the state some tax dollars by dousing his own lights) and it remains to be seen whether or not a “large capacity clip” was used . . .
The murderer (yes, let’s use the proper word here) was described
FL Woman Arrested For Squirt Gun “Assault”
Giovanna Borge told Port St. Lucie police that her boyfriend “said something to her she did not like.” tcpalm.com takes it from there. “Borge said she then grabbed a water pistol, squirting her boyfriend with water. The boyfriend, she said, then dumped a container of water on her and hit her with a pillow. She wound up in the tub in the bathroom after ‘mutual shoving.’ Meanwhile, the boyfriend said Borge started screaming at him and squirted him with the water gun after which the two made mad passionate love.” Just kidding. Domestic violence is a serious business even when it involves pillows and a squirt gun. An
Just Arrived: Winchester Long Beard XR Turkey Loads
Well look what the big brown truck just dropped off. Winchester announced their new LongBeard XR shotgun food a few weeks back, just in time for turkey season. It’s biggest claim to fame is that thing in the photo. No, that’s not a #6 Jell-O mold. That’s Winchy’s new Shot-Lok brainstorm that encapsulates the pellets in a nice, tight little package. They say it keeps the shot from deforming when the gun goes bang, resulting in tighter groups. In fact, they claim twice the pellets in a 10″ circle out to 60 yards. Just one problem . . .
They kindly sent me three boxes, one each of numbers 4, 5 and 6 in standard 12 ga
BREAKING: NV School Shooter Got Gun From Home
“The 12-year-old student who opened fire on a Nevada middle school campus, wounding two classmates and killing a teacher before he turned the gun on himself, got the weapon from his home,” ktar.com reports. “Washoe County School District police said they are still working to determine how the boy obtained the 9mm semi-automatic Ruger handgun used in the Monday morning spree at Sparks Middle School. The boy’s parents are cooperating with authorities and could face charges in the case, police said.” Once again, as in the Sandy Hook Spree killing, gun control advocates are waving the bloody shirt and bemoaning “easy access” to guns rather than, say, calling for an education campaign for parents on safe gun storage and/or recognizing signs of men
Incendiary Image of the Day: German Guns, German Beer Edition
Heckler & Koch pistols and German beer. What’s wrong with that? Nothing unless you drink the beer and shoot the pistols. And maybe not even then, depending on the amount of beer and your weight and alcohol tolerance and safety protocols and who am I kidding? There’s no way a gun blog can recommend, condone or promote drinking and shooting. You’d think the same rule would apply to Heckler & Koch. But, as we all know, the Germans have a different sense of humor than the rest of us. H&K fanboy Marc Santos provided the pic posted on the gunmaker’s Facebook page. And there it is. So . . . das ist ein witz, yah? FWIW, it’s