The Truth About Guns

John Filippidis thought he was prepared for his Christmas roadtrip. He knew he’d be passing through some states in the northeast that didn’t value his Second Amendment rights as much as his home state of Florida—that is to say, “at all”—so he left his EDC, a Kel-Tec .380, at home in the safe. But he was mistaken. Traveling down I-95 on New Year’s Eve eve with his wife and three teenage daughters (God help him), he had an encounter with law enforcement that he never could have imagined. . .

Now, first let me say that we received more than a dozen emails about this story (Dave was first, go Dave!), but I was holding off because there is only one source and one story (as told to The Tampa Trib)

As Nick mentioned, Greg Jordan was the big winner in last night’s FNH USA 3-Gun Nation Rumble on the Range, AKA the annual 3-gun championship finals. This morning, in the Leupold booth, Sales VP Kevin Trepa presented Greg with the spoils of victory. Word among the assembled press and onlookers was that Greg already has all that newfound cash earmarked for two cases of .22LR and a venti decaf mochachino, but he was so mobbed with well-wishers we were unable to confirm that at press time.

The standard breaching shotgun is the Master Key, a tiny Remington 870 shotgun modified by Knight’s Armament Company to fit on the front end of an AR-15 or M-16 rifle. It works, but it’s heavy and racking the action requires you to take your hand off the shotgun. Crye Precision think they have a solution that would let the door kicker fire multiple rounds into a door while still having a finger on the trigger of the rifle . . .

The shotgun has a rota

IWI’s Tavor SAR rifle won our Reader’s Choice award for Best Rifle of 2013, and they’ll be receiving the award later today. But for now, enjoy this cutaway model that shows all of the operating parts.

Yesterday, we reported that Ruger had decided to let all of its semi-automatic handguns slip off the California Department of Justice Approved Handgun List. Dan the Man finally caught up with a Ruger rep, who confirmed the story and provided a more complete explanation. “California law requires micro-stamping technology that does not exist,” Mark Gurney said. “We cannot meet the new requirement. Even though our handguns haven’t changed in any other way, they will fall off the Approved list.” Which is currently being challenged in court. Watch this space. Meanwhile, make the jump for a

TTAG Managing Editor Dan Zimmerman is shown here presenting Mossberg’s Linda Powell with TTAG’s Reader’s Choice Award for Best Shotgun Of 2013. Their new FLEX system lets you swap out just about everything on a Mossberg 500 shotgun (save the magazine tube) instantly, without tools. In a year where not much else changed in the world of shotguns, the FLEX system is gathering steam to change just about everything. Well done, Mossberg; keep it up.

Last night, Greg Jordan won the $50,000 top prize from the 3-Gun Nation shoot off. It’s the event that the 3-Gun Nation shooters have been working towards all year, and we were on the scene to watch the night unfold. And man, were there some interesting moments . . .

Early in the night, Dianna Liedorff (formerly of Team FNH USA and now shooting for Hornady) was competing against Lena Miculek for the $25,000 women’s division championship spot. She had beaten out Lena’s mother Kay

“A New York mom vacationing in South Florida was expecting a healthy dose of sun, surf and fun,” sun-sentinel.com reports. “Imagine her surprise when her daughter unzipped a bag in their rental Nissan Rogue and found a rifle — a big rifle. Looking just like the ones real soldiers use.” What’s worse than surprised? “Horrified, she immediately called E-Z Rent-A-Car and then drove to the nearest police station. And there would be one more surprise: Th

How’s that “compromise” thing working out for New York gun owners? Press release:

Today, on the first anniversary of enactment of the historic NY Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act (NY SAFE Act), Leah Gunn Barrett, Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV), Assemblymembers Michelle Schimel and Brian Kavanagh, Co-Chairs of State Legislators Against Illegal Guns-NY (SLAIGNY), and other legislators (below) released a comprehensive state legislative agenda for 2014. The legislation proposed for the new session that began on January 8th is designed to build upon the NY SAFE Act, which was sponsored by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Co-Leader Jeffrey Klein and signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, and to maintain New York’s role as a national leader on sensible gun safety laws . . .

The N

“I would rather go to the Seahawks game compared to watching this thing sit in my gun cabinet.” – Seahawks fan Josh Blodgett referring to a lightly used Benelli shotgun he owns, Seahawks fans willing to barter guns, pot, pinball for tickets [at komonews.com]

Why a 10mm 1911-style handgun? “It was our most requested caliber,” STI’s CEO Tim Dillon told me in a cozy curtained corner of their otherwise frenetic SHOT Show booth. And lo it did come to pass: an 8+1 capacity, 10mm handgun with a 5″ slide that weighs slightly less than a SMART car. And costs more than a month’s lease payment ($1514). Available in four months.

When I think of Mauser, I think of vintage K-98s: I own 20 or so. But these days, Mauser Jagdwaffer GmbH is producing hunting rifles, and they’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And since these modern Mausers haven’t really been on my radar, I figured I’d visit with their reps and get the lowdown on their flagship M03 Modular system . . .

The thing that impressed me the most about the Mauser 03 was how modular the system really is.  You can change out the barrel in a matter of seconds with the provided tool: only two screws

For ages silencer companies have been marketing themselves as “tactical” accessories, using images of soldiers with their silencers to evoke that thought in the public’s mind that their products are tough and “military grade.” SilencerCo had been on the same track, but starting this year it seems like they’re re-branding themselves. Their PR material has a distinctively “hunting” feel, from the color choice to the method of binding and the font choice. They’ve also done a complete rewrite on their website, from white-on-black to an attractive sepia and gray scheme. And the new cans they have to show off this year are both designed with hunting in mind.

The cans in question (branded as “Harvester” silencers) are similar in construction, except that one is sligh

Are you a dedicated clays shooter who doesn’t happen to have over ten grand laying around for a new P-gun? You’re in luck! Perazzi feels your pain and wants to make things (well, a little) easier on you. Enter the MXS, Perazzi’s “affordable” option. You can get yours with fixed or interchangeable chokes, a standard or adjustable stock and blued or nickel finish receiver.

It probably won’t surprise you that they didn’t lug a bunch of their high-line shotties out the Media Day to let just any schlub stroll up and manhandle them. Which means I didn’t get a chance to

Battlefields are confusing. Or so I’m told, at least. And Colt has a solution, called SWORD, that tries to integrate all of the parts of battle space management in one system. There are multiple components — rifle mounts, networked drones, and even iPads — that can tell soldiers which target to shoot, when to do it, give them a picture of the guy, and even tell them if they’re not aiming on target.

It’s pretty cool, but nowhere near ready for prime time. Nevertheless, this nerd is had a good time testing it out.

You could subtitle this year’s announcements from Ruger as “variations on a theme.” Cribbing off their success with the American Rifle in .30-06, Ruger is expanding the line to include an “All Weather” version in stainless steel and additional calibers such as .243 Win, .22-250, .308 Win and many more.

Also thrown into the mix are a new line of rimfire American Rifle entries. The guns will be in .22LR, .22WMR and .17HMR, and all have the same interchangeable parts to give you the proper length of pull and cheek rest position.

Mikhail’s venerable Avtomat was designed in the days when ‘optics’ meant ‘eyeballs.’ Like most of the weapons of the Great Patriotic War, the AK is stubbornly resistant to scope mounting. GG&G’s new quick-detach scope mount puts an Aimpoint-style optic so low over the dust cover that it actually co-witnesses with the AK’s iron sights . . .

It’s a little too low to be a ‘lower 1/4′ co-witness, but you’ll still have access to the iron sights if your battery dies or your red dot gets washed out in bright daylight.

MSRP is about $160, not including the scope. Vendor’s website here.

It’s a well known fact that I’m a certified 300 BLK fanboy. I think it’s the bee’s knees, so I was happy when Trijicon came out with their 300 BLK version of the iconic ACOG scope. Apparently our readers felt the same way, and far and away voted Trijicon’s new ACOG as the best new optic of 2013. Trijicon VP Tom Munson seemed pleased as punch when he accepted the award on the company’s behalf and we’ll get right on testing their new VCOG. If it’s as impressive as the 300 BLK ACOG, we could be back again with another plaque next year.

“A Danish woman was held at knife point, beaten and gang-raped in the centre of New Delhi’s backpacker district after she asked a group of young men for directions back to her hotel,” telegraph.co.uk reports. Needless to say, the UK paper makes no mention of armed self-defense. But they do offer solutions (such as they are) to India’s increasingly visible problem of rape . . .

“Women’s rights campaigners said despite the widespread protests provoked by the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old Delhi student just over a year ago, police are still

The market for quiet .22LR guns is booming. With silencers becoming more and more commonplace, it’s quickly becoming a race to see who can make their gun run the quietest. Gemtech has two new rimfire silencers that look pretty awesome that they’re showing off at SHOT Show, one of them being threaded onto a 10/22 rifle.

The standalone rimfire silencer has a solid baffle stack that is tapered at the ends to allow the core to slide free even when the thing is packed with unburnt powder and lead. According to the