The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 1 month 19 hours ago
BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Makes Hawaii a Shall-Issue State
The Peruta dominos continue to fall. In an earlier decision in Baker v Kealoha, a District Court refused to rule in favor of the plaintiff, Christopher Baker. Baker had moved for an injunction against various Hawaii state agencies that had denied him a carry license. As a Ninth Circuit panel summed up the District Court’s rationale, the District Court denied the motion because, “Baker was not likely to establish that Hawaii’s restrictions on carrying firearms in public were unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, and therefore, Baker was not likely to succeed on the merits.” But that was pre-Peruta . . .
Today, though, a Ninth Circuit panel has ruled that,
In light of our holding in Peruta, the district court made an error of law when it concluded that
My Second DGU Ever
During my heyday of competitive shooting and working undercover, I ran a bit paranoid. And I shot. A lot. I competed. A lot. Every week for years. I was also teaching survival skills and shooting skills at our state police academy. Fortunately, these teachings and feelings carried over to the wife, as our kids were now in grade school. Somewhere in there, she got her concealed carry license. Out of all the guns I (OK, we) had, she settled on a Makarov in 9X18 . . .
On this day, though, she and I were on our way to a funeral for a very good friend, Al Mar of Al Mar Knives. I was in a suit, she was in a black dress. As the situation negated the usual 50-pound purse, all she carried was something called a clutch (it didn’t resemble any clutches I
BREAKING: Obama Confirms Executive Order Covers Entire Russian Arms Manufacturing Sector
A few days ago, President Barack Obama issued an executive order allowing him to use the United States government agencies to restrict certain Russian assets in the US in retaliation for the annexation of Crimea. It was speculated by some gun publications that this executive order would only cover individual Russians and their companies, and leave the majority of Russia’s arms industry to operate as usual. In a speech today, Obama confirmed our interpretation that the executive order allows him broader powers. As whitehouse.gov details, this includes, “named officials of the Russian government, any individual or entity that operates in the Russian arms industry, and any designated individual or entity that acts on behalf of, or that provide
Stand Strong Connecticut
Send your STAND STRONG CONNECTICUT photo to guntruth@me.com. We’ll post them on our Facebook album [click here to view.] Please put STAND STRONG in the subject field of your email. You can click here to purchase a Stand Strong Connecticut t-shirt (half of profits go to Connecticut Carry).
Question of the Day: Do Your Non-Gun Friends Think You’re Nuts?
“You don’t need guns to protect your property,” Frankie Tierney writes in a comment underneath this YouTube video. “You don’t even need guns to protect yourself. There are literally hundreds of self protection weapons out there that doesnt kill. we can take known stuff like pepper spray and a stun gun. But we can also take stuff like a baseball bat. But In reality we only need a phone and our feets so we can get the f*ck away from danger and call the cops. Nothing material is worth risking your own or others life for.” Two words: Dr. Petit. Question: do you have friends who think this way? Do they think you’re nuts? [h/t mattdg91]
Hands-On with Arsenal Firearms’ New “Strike One” Handgun
Arsenal Firearms (not to be confused with Arsenal Inc, makers of the AK-style firearms imported into the US) is probably best known for their double-barreled 1911 they came out with a couple years ago. And while we’ve pretty much written that off as a gimmicky publicity stunt, they were back at IWA this year showing off their brand new Strike One handguns. And when I say “new,” I mean “new to the US market” . . .
The Strike One has been out since 2012, and it’s seen as the top choice for the next service handgun of the Russian armed forces. Heck, it’s even featured in that insane video Robert posted a couple days ago. And there’s
Statement from Polymer80.com
The following is a statement from Polymer80 on their decision to stop selling polymer 80% AR-15 receivers:
Valued Customers and supporters of Polymer80,
Some of you may have taken notice that we are no longer offering the G150 80% lower for sale on our site. We want to be clear that:
A. We were NOT shutdown in anyway by the ATF
B. We were NOT raided by the ATF
C. We have NOT even been contacted or directed by the ATF in any way, shape or form
D. We have done this VOLUNTARILY and PROACTIVELY
We currently do NOT have an active customer list nor do we have any inventory. We are going to proactively work directly with the Science and Technology Department at the ATF to quickly get a determination letter and move forward providing a fun, affordable and legal option for gun
USA Today: “Gun Absolutists” Are The Enemy
“For a sense of how extreme some gun-rights advocates have become — and why Congress won’t pass even modest firearms safety laws — consider what happened to history professor and longtime gun enthusiast Dick Metcalf,” USA Today’s Editorial Board opines, referring to an ancient event in Internet terms. “When he recently wrote in his Guns & Ammo column that the Second Amendment right to ‘keep and bear arms’ is not unlimited, Metcalf suddenly became the enemy.” Yes, well, yes. But not according to the McPaper. The real enemy is . . .
Gun-rights absolutists asse
Quote of the Day: A D-bag Walks Into a Bar Edition
“NO CONCEALED WEAPONS ALLOWED – If you are such a loser that you feel a need to carry a gun with you when you go out, I do not want your business. Douchebag.” – notice posted on the door of Backstreets Pub in Clemson, South Carolina [via Twitter]
Daily Digest: Let Me See Your War Face! Edition
Authorities have removed a “stockpile of military firearms” from the home of a recently deceased resident of Connecticut. The items removed included a “20mm anti-tank gun on skis, AR-15s, grenades, bombs, and a flamethrower,” which were cataloged by members of the state police Emergency Services Unit, the FBI, and a team of Air Force EOD techs from nearby Westover Air Force Base. [When I Googled "20mm anti-tank gun on skis," the Lahti L-39 (above) was three of the first five results.] The 59-year-old owner, George Laning, was discovered on March 8th by a friend, having died several days earlier of apparently natural causes. He was described as a reclusive man who lived with his elderly father until he died in 2005 at age 94. Since then, Laning had lived alone . . .
and apparently left no family behind. A
Self-Defense Tip: Speed Surprise and Violence of Action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nd8w_WyDnM
“Eric Wasson disarms an armed man trying to enter Johnny Baby’s bar on University Avenue in St. Paul,” the YouTube caption reveals. What else can I say? This is how you do it. [h/t TV]
Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day: Matt and Friend
Back in the day I spent some serious schmooze time with the developer of the FoMoCo’s Lincoln BPS (Bullet Protection Series). I learned that people intent on taking out a high-value target in an armored limo aren’t stupid. If the bad guys fire at the limo glass from a distance, they aim at the driver and/or the engine block using rifle rounds (not 9mm bullets). If they’re shooting up close, they’ll keep firing at the same spot until the protective material fails. Which it will. If the driver isn’t dead when the baddies breach the car’s armor, he will be in short order. All of which convinced me that, you have to be more than a little nuts to sit in the driver’s seat of an armored limo. To do so when someone’s shooting at you – when you have an option to be elsewhere – is beyond pointless. It’s reckless and irresponsible. Anyone who sees this video and buys an armored car from these guys gets what they deserve. Hopefully not, but there it is. [h/t DCP]
Ares Armor Makes Lemonade With “BATFE Inspected Quality” LPKs
The ATF’s jackbooted and illegal raid on Ares Armor has made headlines for days, but it doesn’t seem to have intimidated the National City, CA manufacturer one bit. Instead of bowing and scraping to the ATFE’s scofflaws with badges, they’re using the ATFE’s notoriety to help them move some of their (remaining) inventory.
Stock lower parts kits (LPKs) for AR rifles are as common as Ford F-150 trucks, but Ares is banking on the infamous raid to make their plane-Jane LPKs just a little more desirable.
Since the ATFE turned the Ares Armor offices upside down and ‘inspected’ everything in their illegal search for, well, something worth searching for, Ares is marketing these LPKs
Another Polymer 80% Lower Manufacturer Stops Taking Orders
Following the raid on EP Armory and Ares Armor, companies selling polymer 80% lower receivers across the country are reacting by halting new sales of their products and scrubbing their websites of all references to them. One such company is polymer80.com. They made their own 80% polymer lowers in competition with EP Armory and used a very similar process. Their videos and pictures are MIA from the website, but you can see one of their products in the “unboxing” video above. In the wake of the raid, they’ve completely ceased operations and are now in the process of getting the ATF’s blessing on their manufacturing methods before starting back up. Rumor has it that Ares Armor and Poloymer80 are in talks to start selling their lowers to the public once the letter comes through, replacing EP
U.S. Army Testing $25K Tracking Point Rifles
Back in January, the United States Army announced that it had procured six Tracking Point scopes for testing on their new .300 Winchester Magnum XM2010 sniper rifle platform. Cool? Oh yeah. Worthwhile? Hmmm…..
Kit Up! reported that these Tracking Point-equipped XM2010s cost between $22,000 and $27,000 each, and that the Army is playing with a half-dozen of them. Somewhere. Doing something.
“While we don’t know the depth to which the system will be tested, we can showcase the platform it is on, including our working in-house version,” Tracking Point officials said. “Our networked tracking scope and guided trigger are integrated with the XM 2010 enhanced sniper rifle for military testing purp
Moms Demand Action Claims “Victory” That Never Happened. Again
There’s a certain amount of schadenfreude that comes from seeing a mortal foe fail in such an amazingly public and obvious way. Slide Fire had a billboard in Chicago promoting their bumpfire stocks. The billboard is now gone. Moms Demand Action recently put the above image on their Facebook page, claiming credit. According to them, it was their pressure that brought about the billboard’s disappearance. However, thanks to a post on Facebook, we know the truth . . .
From Slide Fire Solutions:
We leased advertising space for the Chicago billboard to run for two months, and that time has come to an end. Removal of the billboard had nothing to do with negative pressure, but was
Video: Making a Modular Silencer
When I was strolling the aisles at IWA, I ran into quite a few companies manufacturing modular silencers — cans for which you could expand or reduce the length and effectiveness depending on what you wanted to do that day. It’s a nifty concept, and while I don’t see it being available in the US anytime soon, it’s still nifty to see how these things are made. Idar from Sonic Silencers sent me this video showing the whole process from start to finish — take a look!
Stand Strong Connecticut
Send your STAND STRONG CONNECTICUT photo to guntruth@me.com. We’ll post them on our Facebook album [click here to view.] Please put STAND STRONG in the subject field of your email. You can click here to purchase a Stand Strong Connecticut t-shirt (half of profits go to Connecticut Carry).
Gun Tattoo of the Day: Maine SWAT Team Called Out for Gun Tat
“Michael Smith went outside shirtless after being awakened Tuesday morning, yelling at tree removal workers to get off his property,” pressherald.com reports. “The workers thought they saw a gun in his waistband and called police.” As Norridgewock, Maine doesn’t have its own police department, some bright spark called out the Staties – who responded with a SWAT team. Make the jump for a snap of an “assault rifle” wielding cop taking-up position near Mr. Smith’s house, and a money shot quote from the man himself. The po-po didn’t file any charges because “[Maine State Police Trooper Scott] Duff sai
Question of the Day: Does the U.S. Government Want to Disarm Americans?
TTAG reader MP emailed us this letter without any explanation. No explanation needed. It’s a trap! Vets ask for their free gun locks, the VA notes their participation in the program. When a vet returns for psychological counseling, they Doc declares them PTSD. The authorities to confiscate their weapons. After all, if there is some kind of insurrection, the vets will be the government’s most formidable opponents. Or not. Maybe I/we are just being paranoid. I mean, does the U.S. government really want to disarm the citizenry? Are various federal agencies – the ATF, DOJ, NSA, etc. – all working in that direction? More to the point, are they doing so in any kind of coordinated way. Tin foil hats on boys! We’re goin’ in!