The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 1 month 22 hours ago
Question of the Day: What’s the Worst Gun Store You’ve Ever Visited?
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) publication SHOT Business runs a regular feature called Undercover Shopper. In the latest edition, Undercover guy went looking for “a good hog gun at stores near Birmingham, Alabama. I asked about models that chambered substantial rounds, were durable, and had compact barrels and iron sights—or were at least drilled for a scope. Not too much to ask, right?” The rhetorical question foreshadows phenomenal fail (e.g. “After a lengthy wait, I walked toward an idle clerk who reluctantly asked if I needed assistance.”) What’s the worst gun store you’ve ever visited? Name na
Silencer Shop: The ATF Is Blaming Us for Their Crappy Website
Mark from Austin’s Silencer Shop is a downright pleasant fellow. Talking to him yesterday afternoon after our story posted about the rumored ATF cease and desist letter that’s coming down the pike, he sounded calm, cool, and collected. But one thing that did seem to concern him was how, as he sees it, the ATF is trying to use his shop as a scapegoat . . .
The eForms system that the ATF put in place was supposed to solve the NFA paperwork processing problem. Instead of submitting forms on dead trees that needed staff at the ATF to transcribe them into digital records, the individual gun shops themselves could do that and save a ton of wait time. By slicing out that time-consuming step they could finally start to make a dent in the pile of pending applications, and maybe even get to a point where the 10-month wait for approved cou
For Anti-Gunners, Statistics Are Poor Ammo for OpEd Pieces
Columnist Shawn Vestal of the Spokane, Washington Spokesman-Review is horrified by the idea that the natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil and Constitutional right to own and carry the weapon of your choice is soon going to apply (in a rather limited fashion) to college and university campuses in Idaho. Furthermore, he seems to believe that if he piles up enough distortions, twisted and irrelevant facts and outright lies, he will get people to agree with him; at least that is what I assume he’s doing with the piles of distortions, twisted and irrelevant facts and outright lies he presents in Statistics are poor ammo in Idaho debate about guns.
He starts out:
Idaho’s legislators and governor should – but most probably w
Quote of the Day: Run That By Me Again Edition
“We’re not trying to take guns away. We don’t want our police facing more powerful weapons than they have.” – Bloomfield New Jersey Mayor Michael Venezia quoted in Anti-gun violence group visits Bloomfield [via northjersey.com]
Daily Digest: Safety Third Edition
This is why we can’t have nice things. One man is dead and three others seriously injured (defined as “losing arms and legs” in the article) after an explosion of some old ammunition in Vítkov, North Moravia in the Czech Republic on Saturday. They were “manipulating an unknown item they had allegedly found on the Libavá former military grounds.” The object was believed to be a fully-functioning S5 unguided rocket, which is usually launched from aircraft and helicopters from pods of 4-32 rockets. S5 rockets are 2.2 inches in diameter, about three feet long, and weigh about 11 pounds. After the three injured folks were transported, police found a damaged car at the scene but no other explosives, and did not yet have details of exactly what occurred to cause the big bada-boom. Read on . . .
Tell me again how universa
DGU Of The Day: Loss Prevention Injection Edition
An armed customer wasn’t quick enough to prevent alleged transient junkie Joshua Silva, above, from sticking a Home Depot loss prevention employee in the hand with a dirty needle, but the un-named Samaritan didn’t even have to fire a shot to stop the attack.
From the Detroit Free Press:
Roseville Police Chief James Berlin said that Silva claimed he is addicted to heroin, but it is not believed he was on the drug at the time of the assault.
Berlin said Silva began to fight with store loss prevention officers in the parking lot when they tried to apprehend him for stuffing a $179 battery-powered drill under his coat. Silva pulled a concealed syringe from his jacket and used it as a weapon, swinging it around in a slashing motion, police said.
OMG! Liberal Gun Owners! OMG!
ABC News recently published an article that wasn’t inherently hostile to the Second Amendment, and most amazingly, to gun owners. And yes, that’s news. What’s the catch, you ask? The topic was liberal gun owners, and ABC took pains to point out that they are not members of the NRA. “Gun owner and Second Amendment advocate Marlene Hoeber isn’t your typical member of the National Rifle Association. In fact, she isn’t a member of the NRA at all.” . . .
The Oakland, Calif., laboratory equipment mechanic regularly visits firing ranges, where, along with other members of her gun club, she shoots a variety of weapons. ‘Guns a
AL Rep. Congressional Candidate Will Brook Shoots a Bunch of Paper. Big Whoop.
While it’s good to see a politician exercising his natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms in the pubic eye, it behooves voters in Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District to remember that West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin did the exact same thing in a campaign ad – and then attempted to usher in universal gun registration as part of the post-Newtown push for civilian disarmament. That is all. Well that and Bill’s handgun stance sucks. And he should have known that Tannerite was required.
CA Senate Leader to Yee: Resign or be Suspended
“Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said he was shocked and sickened by the allegations brought against a member of his caucus Wednesday, saying Sen. Leland Yee has until Friday to resign from office or face certain suspension.” Looks like California’s legislators have as much regard for the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” as they do for Second Amendment rights . . .
But when you’ve shined as bright a spotlight on the corrupt nature of Golden State politics — and damaged the cause of rolling back gun rights — as Yee has, the fierce moral urge
BREAKING: DC Resident Mark Witaschek Found Guilty of Attempting to Possess Illegal Ammo
“After two years of sheer and complete legal lunacy, businessman and recreational hunter Mark Witaschek has been found guilty in the District for attempting to possess illegal ammunition without having a gun registered in DC,” commdiginews.com reports. “The biggest problem with the verdict, aside from the fact that the trial was held at all, is that the ammunition in question is for antique replica muzzle loading weapons which are not required to be registered in the Nation’s Capital.” Emily Miller at
GRNC Objects to ATF’s Proposed Expansion of “Mental Health Institution” Definition
March 26, 2014
Mr. George M. Fodor
Room 6.N-S23, Enforcement Programs and Services
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
U.S. Department of Justice
99 New York Avenue, NE
Washington, DC, 20226
Re: Docket No. ATF 51P
GRNC comment on proposed redefinition of “committed to a mental institution”
Dear Mr. Fodor:
Grass Roots North Carolina (GRNC) was created in 1994 as an independent, all-volunteer, 501(c)(4) not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving constitutional freedoms. Many of the organization’s projects are devoted to defending the individual right to keep and bear arms. GRNC submits this comment on the ATF’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the redefinition of the statutory phrase “committed to a mental institution” in the Gun Control Act of 1968[1] (GCA). GRNC opposes the proposal, and offers
ATF to Halt NFA Batch Processing, Re-Design eForms System
A few days ago we reported on the assertion by the ATF and a couple of FFL holders that one of the reasons the ATF’s new NFA paperwork processing system is almost completely unusable at times is that Austin’s Silencer Shop is killing it by automating the uploading all of their paperwork in a very short time frame. The Silencer Shop disagreed, saying that they have timed their activities to have the least impact possible on the rickety system and actually free up resources for other FFL/SOTs to do their business. The ATF, however, still seems dead-set on putting the kibosh on batch processing, and is about to break out the rulers and start smacking some wrists . . .
Housekeeping: Where To Go If You Can’t Get Enough TTAG
For the first four years of this website, TTAG’s Facebook page was a red-headed stepchild. We programmed WordPress to automatically post on Facebook whenever we pressed play on the main site. And…that’s it. At this year’s SHOT Show I ran into a red-headed social media manager named Celby Richoux. Ms. Richoux recommend we manually post on Facebook and hire her for more tips. Unfortunately, she fell off our radar. Fortunately, we followed her advice . . .
In less than three months our Facebook likes have soared from 5k to today’s 67,559. More than that, we’ve discovered the joys of Bookin’. Specifically, posting material that would otherwise end-up on the cutting room floor.
So if you c
Choosing a Competition Rifle: SCAR 16S versus PWS Mk114
If you had asked me a couple years back what platform was the best for 3-gun competitions, there wouldn’t have been a moment’s hesitation from me — the AR-15 uber alles. But after spending a year with Team FNH USA and running the SCAR 16S exclusively in competitions, I’m starting to question that analysis. With that rifle, I’ve posted better scores and faster times than I’ve ever been able to before, and as this season is starting up I find myself facing a very important question: do I keep running the SCAR, or switch back to an AR-15? . . .
After my stint with Team FNH USA ended, a bunch of readers asked me that very question. And at the time I still hadn’t made a decision. They asked that when I do finally figure it out, I write up an article about how I decided, one way or the other. So for those who are curiou
Random Thoughts About Gun Control Advocates’ Hate
Gun lovers love liberty. Well, unless they work for the ATF. See what I did there? I took a shot (so to speak) at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (and Really Big Fires) without calling them a name. OK, sure, I’ve called them “goons” before. A few times. But there’s a difference between the take-no-prisoners rhetoric deployed against gun control advocates by TTAG’s writers and the buckets of bile thrown at pro-gun folk by people who support civilian disarmament. Just lately, I’ve noticed it getting worse . . .
I’m not referring to the image above. That’s bog standard stuff for gun-hating editorial cartoonists; artists who can no more make a living without malicious mischaracterization than a firearms trainer can without mnemonic acronyms. (FWIW) I’m talking about people like Shannon Watts, whose Moth
“The ink is barely dry on the Illinois concealed carry law…”
TTAG reader Curtis P. Newport writes:
The ink is barely dry on the Illinois concealed carry law, which makes it a Class B misdemeanor (up to $150 fine & 6 months in jail) for carrying into any of the twenty or so “prohibited areas.” [Click here to read HB3669 in its current form.] A bill introduced by State Rep. Deborah Conroy would make carrying onto a prohibited area a felony. Slip up once, someone sees the gun
Quote of the Day: I’m Not Lara Croft Edition
“’I don’t want to be made out to be some tomb raider,’ said Ros, 37 and a single mom of three. ‘I am a woman who would like to have an opportunity to protect herself.’” Carrying gun to Wells Fargo got branch manager fired [at marketwatch.com]
Daily Digest: Lost & Found Edition
A Missouri man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after telling police he was gathering weapons for a mass shooting at a movie theatre or Walmart. His mom called police back in November 2012 and said her son had purchased weapons like those used in the theatre in Colorado. Blaec Lammers told police that he’d bought two AR-15s and 400 rounds of ammunition, and planned to use it to shoot up a movie theatre in Bolivar, MO. He also said he was worried about running out of ammunition, so he planned to go to a Walmart in Bolivar where he could stock up on ammo and shoot people there. He was convicted on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Missouri law allows the charges . . .