The Truth About Guns
EDC For CCW: Chris Reeve Sebenza (Full Review)
Chris Reeve makes some legendary knives and the Sebenza is his masterpiece. This amazing knife is sharp enough to shave with and tough enough to stand in harm’s way. But it’ll cost you almost the price of a brand-new GLOCK (which is obviously not shown here.) Tyler Kee kindly lent me his pride and joy and I’ve been testing and playing with it for far too long. Jump over to The Truth About Knives for the full review . . .
Civilian Disarmament Twisted Word Watch: “Rapid-Fire Assault Weapon”
“In most parts of Florida, you can buy a rapid-fire assault weapon at a private gun show without a criminal background check. But you do need one, complete with fingerprints, to help consumers sign up for health insurance,” William E. Gibson of sun-sentinel.com reports. To be fair, Gibson goes on to make the distinction between Americans exercising a Constitutionally protected right and entrusting personal health data to strangers sucking off the tit of political patronage. For our purposes, the appearance of the term “rapid-fire assault rifle” is more worrying. It’s a brazen attempt to [further] conflate semi-automatic rifles with fully-automatic machine guns. The People of the Gun may laugh, but this kind of Orwellian dou
Ammo Test: Cor-Bon .380 JHP
ShootingTheBull410′s been conducting extensive testing to find out if there’s any ammo out there that will turn a .380 micro-pistol into an effective personal defense weapon. So far he’s conducted 25 different tests in his “Ammo Quest”. Could this Cor-Bon entry be the one .380 round to rule them all? Find out by playing the video below, and check back next week when the final results of all the testing will be released right here on TTAG.
Gear Review: KG Industries Cleaners
It has been nearly six months since I received a care package in the mail from the fine folks at KG Coatings that contained a mixed bag of lubricants and solvents. Now that I’ve depleted my healthy stock of chemicals, it’s time to finally render judgement. All ratings below are subjective and based on a 5-star scale.
Passively Constructed Negligent Discharge of the Day: Pressure Drop Edition
“Man Dies After Gun Accidentally Fires in Clairemont,” nbcsandiego.com‘s headline proclaims, in that Steven King Christine kinda way. “San Diego police confiscated several firearms from a Clairemont home after a man’s gun accidentally fired and killed his best friend, officials said. Officers were investigating the shooting that took place around 1 a.m. Sunday at the home in the 4900-block of Gallatin Way in Northwest Clairemont. The gun owner was showing his friend a gun when the gun dropped to the ground and fired, shooting the friend in the chest according to San Diego police.” Did someone attempt to catch a falling gun, perchance? Or are we to believe that this particular gun mi
Update: Noam Bramson Loses Election in Westchester County, NY After Demonizing Gun Owners
A few weeks back we reported on Noam Bramson’s campaign in Westchester County to be elected to the position of county executive. Bramson is currently the mayor of New Rochelle (where I grew up), and was running to unseat the incumbent Republican Rob Astorino. Instead of sticking to issues like taxes and economic development, Bramson’s campaign decided that the best way to win the election would be to demonize gun owners through a series of television ads (such as the one above, still hosted on Bramson’s YouTube channel) and imply that his opponent was an uncaring and heartless bastard for allowing law abiding citizens to legally purchase firearms through dealers who require background checks. From the
Long-Term Gun Test Update: Arsenal SLR-106 (5.56mm AK)
It’s been almost 18 months since I put up my review of the SLR-106, Arsenal’s 5.56mm Bulgarian AK. I’ve been lucky enough to put another thousand-odd rounds through it since then, and it’s time for a long-term test update . . .
Reliability: Still Perfect, With The Right Magazines.
The Arsenal didn’t give me a single FTF during the initial 1,000 round testing. It’s given me a grand total of four malfunctions since then, (about one for each ten full magazines fired) and ALL of them came from the two non-Bulgarian magazines that I tried out last spring. I took a chance on a couple of U.S.-manufactured Pro-Mag magazines in the immediate aftermath of Sandy Hook when all things Circle 10 were sold out or priced out of reach.
The Pro Mags were only $12 each (and they were in stock) so I gambled that at least one of them might be reliable. In fact they both were, b
New From TacCon: 3MR Trigger System
Ever since I first bought an AR-15, I’ve wanted a fire selector switch that went “all the way to 11.” There’s something amazingly fun about firing as many small bits of lead as fast as mechanically possible and the grin it puts on people’s faces is astounding. Now, TacCon has come out with a trigger that (according to sources) when placed in the “3rd” mode, uses the force of the buffer slamming home to assist in resetting the trigger. Fast. It’s kind of like a bumpfire stock in that you’re still pulling the trigger for each round, but the gun is helping you out a bit. Each trigger ships with a letter from the ATF proclaiming its legality and, needless to say, we’ve asked to be put on the list for one. Stay tuned.
The Second Amendment and Yelling Fire in a Crowded Theatre
Every time there’s a discussion about gun laws in the United States, someone invariably brings up the old line about how you “can’t yell fire in a burning building” as the example of a reasonable restriction on rights. But where does that phrase come from? What does it mean? And what’s the appropriate parallel for gun rights in the United States? I’m no lawyer, but having read the applicable case law and possessing a modicum of common sense, I think I finally have a handle on this.
Let’s travel back in time for a moment to 1919. The United States has just stepped into the first World War, and with the high death tolls being experienced by all sides Uncle Sam is kicking the draft into high gear and hoovering up all the able-bodied men.
As with all wars there are war protesters, and the most vocal of these is Charles Schenck. While most protesters are content to scream from the sidelines,
Proposed “Trayvon’s Amendment” to Constitution: The Wish List of Gun Control Advocates
When I first saw this, I thought it was a troll — someone who knew enough about gun owners to get their blood boiling and have a good laugh. But the more I read, the more I’m not sure. I mean, it might still be someone trolling the gun owners, but this reads like a wish list of proposals that we’ve already heard from organizations like the Brady Campaign and Moms Demand Action, and fits in nicely with their agendas. And the guy that wrote it did an AMA on Reddit not too long ago and appeared to genuinely want this to happen. Anyway, read it for yourself and see what conclusion you come up with . . .
The 28th Amendment, as drafted, will implement a series of common sense gun laws and implement new revenue str
Quote of the Day: The New York State of Mind Edition
“You combine the high tax load along with the fairly restrictive and fairly anti-gun stance that the state has, it makes it difficult to do business selling a product that the state doesn’t like.” – Just Right Carbines GM Anthony Testa, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new gun-control law targets gun makers [at nydailynews.com]
Daily Digest: Misfires Edition
Anyone who’s come through an airport in the last decade is familiar with the sight of a bored looking TSA officer standing (well, let’s be honest, usually sitting on a stool) at the opening where the secure terminal area dumps out into the unsecure area for arriving flights. It’s the furthest into the airport you can go when you’re waiting for a friend or a loved one to arrive. That TSA officer’s sole job is to tell ignorant people who try to go the wrong way that they can’t do that. Apparently that isn’t secure enough for Syracuse Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, NY, as . . .
they’ve become the first airport in the country to install new automated exit portals as part of a $60 million dollar renovation. The justification for installing the pods is that they replace police or security guards who would normally stand at the exit, therefore saving money. “We need to be vigilant and maintai
Austin TX City Council to Ban Fast Food Restaurants Near Kids. And Yes This Is About Guns . . .
“The Austin, Texas, city council will meet next Thursday to consider a resolution that could eventually ban ’fast-food food restaurants from locating near areas that children frequent,’” reason.com reports. And not without reason. The report, I mean. The idea that another city council reckons it can regulate the restaurant trade to influence children’s diets is worthy of note—especially when the politicians proposing the putrid paternalism ply their perfidious plebianism in the right-thinking Lone Star State. Of course, we
Random Thoughts About Armed Insurrection
The Second Amendment bars local, state and federal governments from passing any law that seeks to control the keeping or bearing of guns. It bars Rhode Island’s “blue card” provision, which forces citizens to take a written test and pay a fee to purchase a handgun. It bars Texas’ Concealed Handgun License which mandates an approved course, a test and a fee for residents who want to carry a gun. It bars New York’s SAFE Act, which makes it a crime for citizens to load their handgun with more than seven rounds (unless they’re shooting at an approved shooting range). It bars New Jersey’s gun registration laws, which require all citizens to register all guns with the state government. Does supporting the Second Amendment, which bars gun control, make me an insurrectionist? Well one thing is for sure
Incendiary Image of the Day: Of Course It’s On a Prius Edition
Regardless of the precise definition—30 rounds. 11 rounds, 8 rounds—I get why the gun control advocates would call an ammunition magazine an “assault clip.” It sounds scary. And I understand the reference to kids. Let’s call it pathological pathos. But the multi-colored peace sign? That’s just funny. Gerald Holtom designed the original peace sign in 1958 for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, whose motto was “ban the bomb.” The stickers appeared on plenty a Volkswagen Beetle; the Toyota Prius is the Bug’s latter day in
Yale Study Self Defense Tip: Avoid Criminals Doing Criminal Activities
A new study from Yale University wanted to take a relational look at the crime rate in Chicago. In other words, instead of using a pure statistical and geographical approach, they investigated the relationship between various murder victims, and they found that there was a massive spike in the murder rate among those who associated with other victims. This pretty much reinforced what we already knew — that murders in Chicago are mainly gang related, and that the best advice to staying alive is avoiding stupid people doing stupid things (like drug dealing). But it’s nice to see a study backing up that common sense conclusion.
BREAKING: Virginia Legislator Stabbed, Son Shot in Home
There’s a breaking story out of Virginia that is shaping up to be the worst kind of defensive gun use. Virginia state senator Creigh Deeds was found severely stabbed last night in his head and torso at his Virginia home last night, and the body of his son was found shot to death nearby. According to the police, they are not seeking any other suspects. In other words, either the father shot the son to save his own life, or the son committed suicide after attempting to kill his dad. From CNN:
His son withdrew from The College of William & Mary last month after being enrolled off-and-on since 2007, according to a statement from the school. The Richmond Time
Audio: Nick Leghorn Talking Guns with Kate Kruger
This was recorded about a month ago, but I finally caught up enough with my article queue that I have some time to post it. We had a lot of fun, and she’s invited me back for round two this coming Sunday at 2:30 PM Central time. I’ll post a link to the website to listen live closer to the appointed hour, and rest assured that it will be available on the TTAG Podcast once I get the audio back.
1,000 Yard Shot with a Rifle Made Out of a 2×4
To be fair, the actual RIFLE part was a Savage 110 in 300 Win Mag using the StraightJacket Barrel System. But the stock was made out of a chunk of wood and duct tape, with what looks like a Bushnell scope topping it off. Needless to say, if these guys can make a 1,000 yard shot using a stock that was made in about five minutes tops, then your complaints about your existing stock being “inaccurate” may be irrelevant.
FNS-40 Contest Entry: Gun Review – Browning Hi-Power
It’s John Moses Browning’s last design. A classic. And suprisingly, a firearm TTAG has not reviewed yet. It’s about time, I thought. The Browning Hi Power was actually designed during the Roaring 20′s as a contender to replace a large number of service pistols the French military had used in WWI, all of them chambered in 7.65mm (.32 ACP), and none with a magazine larger than nine rounds. Browning began work on the design not long after Armistice Day and filed for a patent in 1923. Like his then-recent FN M1922 and the original M1910 (the pistol used to kill Archduke Ferdinand to spark WWI) the Hi-Power prototype was striker fired, but featured a revolutionary double-stack magazine invented by Diedonne Saive, one of Fabrique Nationale Herstal’s lead Belgian designers . . .
Alas, Browning passed away in 1926 before his patent was even accepted in the US. The French, downsizing like every E