The Truth About Guns

“There are other countries in the world prone to natural disaster, but what distinguishes the Philippines, and has made the delivery of aid even more problematic after Typhoon Haiyan, is the prevalence of guns,” Alex Spillius asserts at telegraph.co.uk. Really? “Whatever the causes of the pervasive gun culture and high murder rate, the reports of armed looting that emerged two or three days after Haiyan struck surprised no one. Even if some reports were exaggerated, the Philippines’ reputation for poor law and order preceded it.” Hmmm. “Even if some reports were exaggerated.” That kind of waffli

Last week I showed you one of the most impressive and savage bullets, the Lehigh Defense Maximum Expansion round from a Taurus Judge. It performed amazingly well, but it raised a very valid question — how would that massive hollowpoint cavity handle four layers of heavy denim? All it took was a quick trip to the range, a leftover gel block and a pull of the trigger to give us the answer.

When members of Open Carry Texas rallied in front of a meeting of four—count ‘em four—members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, MDA had a hissy fit. With the help of a misleading photograph (exposed first here), the mainstream media went big on the story. Forbes proclaimed Texas Gun Bullies Use Semi-Automatics To Terrorize Mothers Against Guns-NRA Remains Silent. 40 Armed Members Of ‘Open Carry Texas’ Try To Intimidate 4 Unarmed Women Of ‘Moms Demand Action’

It isn’t often that you see a new firearms manufacturer come into the scene and even rarer that they start with the kind of bang that Black Rain Ordinance has been enjoying. Going from an unknown manufacturer to being a featured firearm in Cheaper Than Dirt’s catalog in less than four years is an accomplishment, but that speed also means that there haven’t been many opportunities to review their guns. We asked BRO to provide a rifle to test at the SHOT Show… back in 2012. And we asked yet again in 2013. But it was only when I was squadded with one of their guys at the Fallen Brethren match that they finally shipped us out a rifle. And man, was it ever worth the wait . . .

There are a TON of AR-15 “manufacturers,” but not many of them a

It’s amazing how a potential felony charge can focus the bureaucratic mind. Gonzaga U. students Erik Fagan and Dan McIntosh had their guns confiscated in a midnight raid by university police after a recent defensive gun use. They say they were unaware that they were violating school policy by keeping their legally owned firearms in their off-campus university-owned apartment. When Gonzaga’s rent-a-cops weren’t cooperative when the two tried to retrieve their heaters, the young scholars reported the guns as stolen to the Spokane PD. Now, khq.com reports that the GLOCK

Actually, it’s worse than that. Turns out the Obamacare stats for “enrollees” includes people who abandoned a policy in their shopping cart. Whereas people who endure the 4473 paperwork that proceeds a NICS check are ALL going to buy a gun. That said, in direct contravention of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, most states require a NICS check for citizens seeking to exercise their natural and civil right to bear arms. How many of them carry a firearm on a daily basis? Not so many. Maybe  . . . ten percent? Still, I bet Obama’s Boyz would settle for that kind of conversion ratio.

As I said in my review, the Barnes 110 grain offering in 300 AAC Blackout is about as perfect as you can get for hunting. But Barnes isn’t happy with mere perfection, and they’re looking to expand their lineup in 300 BLK by adding a 120 grain flavor in addition to the existing 110. They claim it will have a better profile for improved long-range accuracy, and hopefully we’ll be able to get some here shortly to put that claim to the test. Make the jump for their presser . . .

Mona, UT – As the industry’s leading supplier of 300 AAC Blackout ammunition and bullets for reloaders, Barnes Bullets, LLC (“Barnes”) is proud to announce a new 120 grain offering in addition to the current 110 grain TAC-TX™ in VOR-TX™ Ammunition and component lines. The new products will be made available in February, 2014.

Featu

“I don’t want to own a gun. But I have evolved on my stance on guns over the last year and I think many can. I don’t want to be a sitting duck if other people have guns and they’re not going away. I wonder, should I be armed myself if everyone else on the block is armed and I’m the only one?” – Don Lemon, Anthony Bourdain and Don Lemon’s Refreshingly Honest CNN Debate Over Gun Rights [via mediaite.com]

Mayor Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns took a decent hit last week when nearly two dozen members of the coalition lost their bids for reelection, while another 69 members chose to retire and not seek reelection. According to townhall.com, many of the mayors who chose to retire were from cities in New York and Connecticut, where harsher gun control laws have been implemented since last year. You can find the full list of defeated mayors at the link above.

If you’re a Twitter-person, and you go forth to do battle for the 2A, the other Shannon Watts would like you to ensure you’re tweeting the right person. The twitter handle of the founder of Moms Demand Action is @shannonrwatts (note the ‘r’), NOT @shannonwatts (no ‘r’).

I get an ins

Australia, home to some of the world’s most draconian gun control laws. Also home to “gun crime.” While no amount of evidence [of gun control's failure to control crime] will deter the civilian disarmament industry complex from its unstated statist goals, it’s worth noting that bad guys in The Land Down Under don’t seem to have any trouble acquiring firearms. And training those guns on each other, those they wish to intimidate and, on occasion, innocent passersby. Here’s a list of recent gu

I was sitting in a tree stand a couple days ago waiting to murder some hogs that had injured someone in the area when a whole mess of deer wandered by and started playing. They looked so delicious and I still had tags left on my license…but I didn’t take the shot. The reason? I own a hatchback, not a pickup truck. I mean, as illustrated in the image above, it’s entirely possible to fit two bucks into the trunk of a standard saloon car (I regularly evaluate trunk space based on the number of bodies it will hold anyway), but I’d hate to be the guy that has to clean it out afterward. Pickup trucks make the trip to the deer processor much easier and cleanup is a snap. And you won’t give the motorists behind you nightmares.

“Our goal isn’t just to fight new legislation, but to also begin the fight to turn back laws already on the books that we believe infringe on our Constitutionally protected rights,” MAC writes at thebangswitch.com. “Laws like the Hughes Amendment that has been ignored by other pro-gun groups.” Other than that one example and promises to be faster, tougher and shinier than “other gun rights organizations,” it’s unclear where Armed Citizens United will differ from the NRA, GOA, SAF, etc. When the ACU comes out for the abolishment of all background checks and restoration of felons’ rights you can color me impressed. Meanwhile, MAC’s working with ”fellow Patriot” and YouTuber Don Sootch and 

“A study set for publication in the December issue of Pediatrics confirms what some of Hollywood’s sharpest critics have suspected,” nytimes.com reports. “The level of gun violence in the top-selling PG-13 movies has been rising, and it now exceeds that in the most popular R-rated films.” So G now stands for “gun-related gore-fest”? “Violent encounters with guns occur, on average, more than twice an hour in the best sellers in both ratings categories, according to researchers.” Here it comes . . . “In announcing the study, its authors called for changes to the ratings system, which, according to some of its critics, is tougher on sex than on violence.” Which is wrong because . . .

Who doesn’t want a suppressed shotgun for home defense duty? Why would anyone risk permanent hearing loss and tactically-inadvisable muzzle flash blindness during a defensive gun use if they didn’t have to? Because money; this superb Iron Goat Guns “reflex design” suppressor will run you a grand, plus gun. Because weight; unless you commission a credit card-melting titanium version, the Mossberg 500′s six-pound snout makes the 12 gauge a tad nose heavy. Because paperwork; the ATF is currently in a race to see what’s faster: continental drift or a processed NFA application. Because pump action; I’m not so sure I’d trust the action to cycle on a semi, especially if we’re talking home defense. Other than that, my Benelli Super Nova’s about to get a nose job. Eventually.

If you’ve been reading TTAG for very long, you probably read the winning entries from Jessica J. and Ryan in our inaugural content contest earlier this year. Jessica and Ryan proved something we’ve known around here for a long time —  there’s all kinds of talent out there among the Armed Intelligentsia. And for submitting the best of a very good lot, they each took home a brand spanking new FNS-9 pistol courtesy FNH USA. So given the success of the first effort, we figured why not go back to the well again? The rules re

DATE: November 9, 2013
TO: USF & NRA Member and Friends
FROM: Marion P. Hammer
USF Executive Director
NRA Past President

We were shocked and didn’t want to believe it — but It’s true.

The Leon County Board of Commissioners is actually asking gun dealers to help them implement a gun control ordinance!

Earlier, we relaxed a little because Commissioners started telling us there was no action going on with regard to a proposed “Gun Show Loophole” ordinance. Some even suggested that they were only going to receive our comments for a discussion at the January Commission meeting . . .

We were also told there was really no “proposed ordinance,” merely an upcoming discussion about whether or not to pursue an ordinance.

Turns out, that doesn’t quite ring true. There is something going on. And frankly, I call it aggressive actio

SHWAT’s ammoland.com press release offers readers a chance to sign-up for a $25 membership that automatically enters them into a series of drawings for rifles, ammo, training classes and the like. While the lawyers amongst us might scratch their heads on that one there’s no mistaking SHWAT’s main mission: making money. Sorry. Killing hogs. SHWAT = Special Hog Weapons and Tactics. While the pedants amongst us might scratch our heads and wonder what makes hogs so “special” and what kind of weapons and tactics they use (tusks and aggression?) SHWAT’s all about hog killing. As you’d hope . . .

There are millions of feral hogs in southern America. They swarm in large packs, h

The National Shootings Sports Foundation’s Project ChildSafe knocked-up a ten question quiz on hunting safety for young ‘uns looking to murder Bambi’s mother. Safely. Q5 is about as surprising as Audi’s Q5, although answer b) has a certain Germanic quality to it. And I’m thinking d) and e) are roughly the same, excepting the possibility of a big ass bear disemboweling a hunter causing him or her to drop their firearm. Anyway, have you ever been injured during a hunt? Do tell.

When Winchester announced their new Long Beard XR turkey loads a couple of months back, they made a very specific claim about their latest galliform gouging shells. Thanks to their new Shot-Lok pellet packing idea, they claimed that their shot stays rounder coming out of a smoothbore than standard loose-packed loads. But they didn’t stop there. They also claimed that because of Shot-lok, Long Beard “offers the tightest patterns and longest shot capability of any lead turkey load in history—with twice the pellets in a 10” circle out to 60 yards compared to traditional lead loads.” I’m no ammo reviewer. I’ll leave blending batches of ballistic gelatin, examining shot deformation and measuring penetration distances to experts like Shooting the Bull. But when it comes to an easily verifiable cl

I guess I’m internet famous now. Or at least visible enough that Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action has blocked me on Twitter along with the other writers of TTAG. Which I guess is all well and good since I wasn’t interested in opening a dialogue with her anyway. Or so she thinks. Not true! I’d really like to talk with her. Unlike some of our writers, readers, and commenters . . .

I’m genuinely interested in understanding what makes Moms Demanding Action tick. I’d like to know more which is why I try to follow an equal number of pro-gun & anti-gun Twitter feeds. RF, our boy Leghorn and a militia of TTAG tipsters do the same.

Truth be told, I could be wrong on the