The Truth About Guns

You obviously liked Mossberg’s FLEX modular shotgun. So much so, you selected it for one of last year’s Readers Choice awards as best new scattergun. And we really liked the FLEX-equipped .22LR Plinksters we saw at the SHOT Show. I wondered how long it would be before they hit the shelves. Because a lot of SHOT Show debutantes (*cough* Arsenal Strike One *cough*) take a long time to really come out and dance. Not these rifles, though. They’re already here . . .

Mossberg calls them the FLEX-22 (shown here) and the FLEX-22 Youth (at the t

“I’m convinced there’s a lot more of us than there are of them.” Protester Brian Druschel, quoted in Gun-rights advocates rally at Maryland capitol, vowing continued fight against tough new law [via washingtonpost.com]

(Indianapolis, IN) Feb. 6, 2014 – “We are pleased the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs rejected an NRA-backed measure today that would have allowed concealed, loaded guns to be carried in post offices. Moms from across the country came out in full force to oppose this dangerous amendment – making calls, tweeting and sending emails – and we are happy to see our political leaders heard us loud and clear. Forcing gun lobby priorities onto unrelated bills – with little debate and less concern for public safety – has been a tried and true tactic for the NRA. We’re encouraged that the Senators rejected the most extreme measure today, and we hope that the Senators will continue to work to improve public  safety.”

Citing technology issues, the head of the New York State Police said he has no idea when the ammunition background checks mandated by the SAFE Act will begin across the state. Superintendent Joseph D’Amico said they have been unable to find a system that would work to perform the checks without possibly inconveniencing either the customer or the retailer. The ammo check facet of the law was supposed to go into effect on January 15th, and they have to find their own system, because federal law prohibits using the NICS system for ammunition purchases. He also spoke on the 7-round magazine limit. . .

“Did you know that 35% of the new customers entering the shooting sports are women?” a SHOT Show seminar asked. “Women shooters are the single fastest growing category in our industry not to mention that women are highly involved in purchasing decisions for the household.” Increasingly, the question for women is not “if” or “when” but “how”? Which also involves “what”? A small gun, usually. (Hence much of the excitement surrounding the new GLOCK brand GLOCK 42). I’m one of those who believes that you should carry the largest gun you can comfortably carry. So here’s a solution for women who agree: the Can Can Concealment holster

“Minneapolis police were called to Sonnenberg’s home after he called 911 to report a man had come to his door seeking refuge from people who had been chasing him with a bat,” myfoxtwincities.com reports. ”Charging documents state Sonnenberg allowed Parker into his home and locked the door behind him. Both were in the kitchen when Sonnenberg called 911 at about 11:46 p.m.” Yes I know: stop right there. Why would you let a strange man into your house at 11:46pm? Especially one who claims he’s in the middle of a violent conf

Ammoland.com‘s Fredy Riehl writes:

We have been flooded with questions from our readers as to what the license plate message “2NRA294″ followed by the words, “compromise scares us too” meant in the recent Audi Superbowl commercial “Doberhuahua”? [Click here to view.] Well after contacting everyone we could find at Audi USA, from Vice President & Chief Communications Officer, Joe Jacuzzi on-down, we finally received a call back from a Mrs James in Audi Customer service to tell us that the prominently featured license plate with 2NRA294 on it “means nothing and was chosen at random”. Hmm? Totally at random? Ok, then why

I’ve been on a science kick recently. Specifically, I’ve been conducting socio-economic experiments on prospective gun owners and customers. This interest started when I read the book Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely and applied it to some key business concepts and I’ve been documenting what’s worked and what hasn’t in terms of business strategy. One thing that I’ve been researching in a heuristic, pragmatic sense is retail pricing . . .

Lets’s start with a few basics. Pricing is more art than science in my experience. We see things priced differently all the time, whether it’s HDTV’s, charcoal grills or even guns and ammo. This is a function of several different factors. The most simple to understand is seasonality

As soon as I posted the video of my weekend excursion with HeliBacon, the comments flowed in fast and furious. “Disgusting” one said. “Your a f***ing pussy. Hunt like a real man,” commented another. Another individual stated that my actions have angered an alien race which he worships and that they will similarly hunt me from spaceships with lasers for my crimes. While some of this is the standard response from those who disagree with hunting in any form, the addition of a helicopter and machine guns seemed to tip the scales for some people. So while I have some time, I figured it would be worthwhile to discuss the ethics of hogs, helos, and hunting . . .

The main premise of modern hunting is conservation. When we as a species moved from a hunter-gatherer based subsistence to an agricultural arrangement, we voluntarily took ourselves out of the food chain f

Rick Perry is a gun guy. Famously, the Texas Governor shot and killed a coyote with a Ruger LCP during an early morning jog. More recently, Perry has thrown his support behind the Texas International Firearms Festival, a two-day gun show at Liberty Hill on November 8 and 9. Oh, and he keeps an FN FiveseveN as his bedside gun. But Perry’s not been able to move the needle on open carry in the Lone Star State. His assumptive replacement, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, has declared his intention to make it s

In what seems like eons ago, a package arrived from Streamlight with a TLR-1 Game Spotter. Since then, I’ve mounted it on pistols and rifles. I’ve managed to drop it, beat it against hard objects, use it for hours at a time, and generally abuse it extensively. It has survived six months of hard use and come out on the other side still ticking. Oh and it’s still running on the original batteries! The Game Spotter is an insanely bright weapons-mounted light that claims to throw a beam of green light some 300 meters or so. They also say that green light preserves night vision and aids in spotting game . . .

The prevailing science says that red or green is probably best for preserving night vision, but green (they say) is better for picking out detail at night which is important for after-dusk game hunting. Having put various varmints under red,

Christopher Chase was an aspiring cop killer. We know this because, according to abqjournal.com, he had ‘cop killer’ tattooed across his knuckles. Wait, that’s nine letters. How…never mind. Chase apparently wanted to go out in a blaze of glory last October when he told “witnesses in southeast Albuquerque to call police and tell them he was ‘waiting for them,’” hoping to ambush the peace officers as they arrived. Before the whole thing was over, Chase shot four Albuquerque police officers (none fatally) before eventually taking eight rounds himself and rapidly assuming ambient temperature. The Albuquerque PD just released a sometimes-chaotic composite of video from the pursuit, highlighted by lapel cam shots of one officer shooting his AR through his own windshield as he drove.

I moved to Texas to escape Rhode Island’s anti-gun (and anti-freedom) culture. The Ocean State’s gun laws aren’t that bad – in comparison to neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut. And New Jersey. And New York. Not to mention Maryland. I’m under no illusions about The Lone Star state’s gun laws. Rhode Island, for example, “allows” open carry. Texas does not. Yet. Arizona is a Constitutional Carry state. Texas is not. But Texas is getting better while the aforementioned “slave states” are not. Where do you live and what’s it like for gun rights there? Are things getting better or worse? Oh, and click on the above map of Texas from tracetheguns.com (a wholly owned subsidiary of Mayors Against Illegal Guns) to see how the gun grabbers rate your state.

Some people think that any rifle can be improved by slapping an M4 buttstock on it. Got an AK? Slap an M4 stock on it! A 10/22? Slap an M4 stock on it! A converted semi-auto RPD? Slap an M4 stock on it! When it messed with the HK91, this M4 buttstock fetish went a little too far. The HK91 may be an obsolete, overweight, brass-chewing monster that kicks like a mule, but it has earned its place in history. It should be allowed to keep its dignity . . .

An M4 Stock? Really?

The fixed buffer tube of the AR platform has always been one of the weaknesses of Eugene Stoner’s versatile design because it can’t fold for storage or transport. It also makes that annoying ‘clunnnggg’ sound when you fire it with ear protection.

The collapsing M4 stock is an improvement over the original A2 fixed stock for most military purposes, but it

Georgia Wildlife posted the above video, offering the official explanation of the genesis and “success” of a $2m anti-bear poaching law enforcement effort called “Something Bruin.” Get it? While the initiative seems on the up-and-up, that’s not exactly how a large number of North Carolinians see it – especially the ones who were on the sharp end of the investigation. That list includes one Linda Crisp, who wrote about the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission’s and United States Forest Service’s tactics for thetribunepapers.com. It’s an eye-opening exposé . . .

In 2009, Arnold (undercover alias “Chad Ryan”), and Davey Webb (alias Davey Williams), a wildlife agent from Georgia, visited a gun shop in Bryson City, N.C. According to the shop owner, they stated that they wanted to get involved in bear hunting and asked for recommendations of hunting guides in the area. However,