The Gun Blogs

A meet and greet is planned Aug 9th at 10 am at Randy's restaurant at 10016 E. Marginal way so. Seattle Located at the south end of Boeing field on Marginal way. It is open to all interested parties. I need strong leaders to help spearhead this new project and a first for Seattle. Come have breakfast and discuss the future of this group. Any questions or for further information just call me at 207-722-5398 or e-mail me at redboneshadow@yahoo.com

With the mayor of Seattle trying to ban all guns on city property, I am starting a gun rights/concealed carry group here in Seattle. Looking for people who want to stand up for their rights. I plan on doing trips to different ranges as a group, Council meetings, fund raisers and other activities as a group to show that we are not the same as criminals. Not limited to Seattle but surrounding areas as well. There is no organized group here and if we don't stand up for our rights they will take them away. Anyone interested in joining me let me know. Redboneshadow@yahoo.com

You can help send your favorite gun blogger to summer camp at Blackwater USA with world class shooter and instructor Todd Jarrett... and have a chance to win a invitation for yourself as well. Para USA, along with Blackwater, USA is sponsoring a weekend of first class instruction at the most exclusive training facility in the United States.

To learn more, and to vote for "A Keyboard and a .45", go here.

http://www.para-usa.com/new/special/blogger_contest06-08.php

Why can't Memphis do this?

If you live in Delano, you could make $200 for giving up your handgun.

$200? Geez Louise. Two derringers and an old Iver Johnson could net me $600! I could get another Service Grade CMP Garand with that money!

Oh, and remember, folks:

We're hoping that if we at least get one gun off the street that maybe it'll make a difference,” said Cmdr. Raul Alvizo from the Delano Police Department.

It will make a difference, Commander. For the children. Just one child, even.

Here is a list of Campus Leaders for SCCC. Here's a sample:

Tennessee

East Tennessee State University - Jay Adkins
Tennessee Technological University - Andrew Hicks
Tennessee University - Serpent Lucas
Vanderbilt University - Reed Williams

Good luck to these and all the other students who are sticking up for their rights to safety and self defense.

East Tennessee State University campus leader Jay Adkins reports that ETSU has conceded to allow students to carry empty holsters on campus during the Empty Holster Protest.

Info Here

UPDATE - Got a better link. Go thee hence, and read thereon.

This should be interesting:

Empty Holster Protests Coming to a College Campus Near You

Organized by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), a nation-wide "empty holster" protest is planned for the week of October 22-26.

Details here
.

Click on the banner at the top of that page for even more info.

Looks like some schools are already threatening disciplinary action for any students who participate. FIRE better get ready.

The day KdT conducts The Great Varmint Rifle Giveaway.

Wish me luck.

UPDATE: Dangit, I didn't win.

I guess I can hope John from Atlanta is on safari for the next thirty days, or something....

This months E-Postal match is a shoot and reload drill. Fire a double tap, reload, next target, repeat. Check it out.

Reload Drill

Well, another shooting at a school. When are people going to learn? Now, everybody's going to be yelling more gun controll and we need better gun laws. ever woundered how a single person can walk into a room and blow away 30 people? What do you think would have happened if he walked into class and shot the teacher and then turned and looked at the class only to see most of the class was pointing a gun at him just before they blew him away. IF YOU WANT MORE GUN CONTROLL, HAVE EVERYONE BUY A GUN AND KEEP IT ON THEM AT ALL.I think the good people who go by the law far out numbers the bad people. Then it would be just a matter of time before all the bad guys are done in. I do know this, You would never hear of anyone killing 30 + people. I know that after they shot one person, SOMEBODY is going to shoot them. Think about it? Woodzman

By woodzman

I'd like to say at the outset that this is not an indictment of any victim's actions at Virginia Tech. Something like this should never happen, and I doubt anyone would know how'd they react when put in a similar situation.

I've already heard the cries of "America's gun culture" as the cause of this. As Nylar so ably points out below, anti-gunners are going to use this incident to advance their agenda of disarmament.

There is a cultural factor to all this. It concerns fight or flight; the most primal reaction to confrontation. Very few at VT managed to do either. Only a handful of people jumped out of windows to avoid being shot. So far, only one has been pointed out as trying to fight back by holding a classroom door closed.

How did this instinct not kick in when those folks knew there was a shooter on the floor? Because they've been taught since early childhood not to resist an attacker. Don't fight back, just give them what they want and they'll go away. Same thing for running away; you might provoke your attacker - don't do it.

Looks like we've managed to do what intellectuals have been wanting for years: we've overcome our most base instincts. We've risen above the animals. Fight or flight is a thing of the past, and we've become a bovine herd. Hooray for smart people!

One problem: there's a substantial segment of our population who haven't done away with their most base instincts. They've harnessed them, embraced them, and have no reservations using them to get what they want. They are predators in every sense of the word. They identify the weak and pounce. If the prey runs or fights, the predator simply employs their own fight or flight instinct. Many times they go off in search of an easier target. Predators don't want to work hard.

There are 60-80 million gun owners in America, depending on who you listen to. There are over 300 million Americans total. That means 20-27% of America owns a gun. Does this mean 73-80% of Americans have lost the will to fight or flee? Once all the facts are in, do the math and see for yourself.

Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.

- Thomas Sowell

UPDATE: Looks like I'm not the only one thinking this way.
(via Alphie)

For those who might be curious about what the NRA annual meeting is like, Sebastian and I will be covering it live this weekend. I know, it seems like a little personal blog promotion, but I figure we won't have time to cross post. Why? Because there are literally acres of guns and gear here.

I like to shoot a little of everything, but when it comes to handling and buying guns, the cowboy in me comes out, and my gut reaction is always to head towards revolvers. Blame it on Clint Eastwood or Robert Conrad, but I just can't help but get excited over the prospect of handling hundreds of revolvers, as I did at SHOT Show.

I could write for hours about the colossal number of individual revolvers I saw at the show, and still barely scratch the surface of what was there. Besides, much of what was on display was the same stuff you could go into a local gun store and purchase. Which is not to say that they were bad or boring, but I'd rather focus on what was new, and what caught my eye.

First, and likely my favorite at the show (a favorite of all the Kallini Brothers, I believe), is The Ruger New Vaquero. A beautiful gun in its own right, it handled flawlessly. A clean trigger pull, smooth cylinder rotation, and tight hammer combine with the case-hardened bluing to make on amazing handgun. And it is newly available in .357 Magnum, as well as the original .45 Colt. Truly a gun worth owning.

Second, Taurus has introduced their .410/.45 revolver in a new longer cylinder "Judge" model, capable of loading .410 3-inch Magnum shells, which just makes me want this even more. My first firearm purchase (and still my carry piece) is a Taurus CIA revolver, and I love it. The Judge showed similar quality in manufacture, with the potential for a whole lot more fun at the range.

Third, North American Arms introduced a whole line of Black Widow, Mini-Master, and Holster Grip revolvers that were just really, really fun to play with. A Derringer style revolver that shoots .22 Magnum, but with a four inch barrel and overall eight inch length? It was hilarious, and actually incredibly comfortable to hold and dry fire. The entire line was well-made, and the price makes them easy to pick up, either singly or in sets. I never thought that I would be a fan of such small, relatively "useless" revolvers (from a practical sense), but NAA has made a line of Revolvers that just seem too fun to pass up. Add to the unique charm the fact that NAA supports these guns with custom holsters, cases, grips, and other merchandise, and you've got some very cool potential gifts for people as well.

Those were definitely my top three finds at SHOT Show. Some others that deserve mention are:

Magnum Research - Matching the obscene glory of the Desert Eagle, Magnum has released a line of revolvers that are chambered in .45/70 and .30/30, which must be so much fun to shoot. I don't know if I want one, but it would make a great pairing to a Desert Eagle .50 if you happen to own one already.

Smith & Wesson - S&W has their Performance Center Revolvers, which are excellent, excellent firearms. But I'll be covering that in a future post, since I am now the owner of one since Christmas, and I want to include pictures and range report.

And two final ones I need to mention separately, because I actually missed these while at the show. I may be kicking myself now, but next year I will make up for it.

Benelli was apparently featuring A. Uberti revolvers, since I am looking at all of them in the product catalog I picked up from Benelli's booth. These are some fantastic looking revolvers, and could potentially sway me from my desire to own the Ruger New Vaquero. I would definitely want to handle them first, but they are worth looking at if you have any love for classic firearms.

And finally, STI, whom Chris covered in more detail in his 1911 post. While mainly a 1911 company, they do have one revolver, The Texican, which we all missed because we were too busy drooling over the rest of their line, and talking to their reps. If this revolver is as well made as their 1911s were, then this one will definitely end up on my "guns-to-buy" list, which has just gotten much longer in the past two weeks.

Honestly, I wish I could do justice to all the companies that were at SHOT Show, and to all of the individual products they had on display, but that could be a blog in itself. Suffice it to say, I was impressed by even more than what I am posting here, and next year I'll be sure to get even more information to share.

Cross-posted at The Kallini Brothers

There are quite a few products from the show that are worth a mention, but that I can't find enough words for to devote individual posts to, so here's a bunch of them at once...

Miguel Caballero, High Security Fashion. Fine armored clothing. Really nice stuff, and the ones we tried on weren't too heavy or otherwise uncomfortable.

E-Z Pull trigger assist. A drop-in part that gives you a smoother, cleaner trigger pull. Played with the demo model, made a noticeable difference. Good deal if you can't afford a gunsmith to do a trigger job on your firearm of choice.

SOG Knives' new line of multitools. Got to handle a few at the SOG booth and the sales rep was happy to demo their features. They seem sturdy, they cut through pennies easily, the quick-open feature for in-handle tools was neat, and it's also a good idea that they're covering up the gears in this year's models to prevent them from pinching fingers. I've been a fan of SOG since the early 90s... I own their Tech, Government, Pentagon (fixed and folder) and Tigershark, and I'll be all too glad to grab one of their new multitools this year.

Cold Steel. They've always had good knives, but what impressed me were their larger weapons - swords, spears, maces, and so on. The free DVD with their weaponry being tested on big chunks o' dead animals is fun to watch. Residents of the US can get a similar testing DVD for free on their site (Canadians pay $5 S&H, others $15).

Mountain House. Dehydrated camp food, add hot water and serve. I wish I'd had this stuff when I was camping more often. The samples I tried at the show were the best camp food I'd ever eaten, bar none. Their re-hydrated chicken breasts beat some I've been served in restaurants. The beef stroganoff and chili mac were also quite good. I wouldn't go camping without this stuff now.

5.11 Tactical's boot line is impressive. I've been wearing Magnums since high school, but I might be willing to give 5.11 a try at some point.

In-home shooting practice? Cool concept. Doesn't work with too many types of firearms at the moment, and it's not terribly cheap... But I like it.

Cross-posted at The Kallini Brothers

When I spotted Wild West Guns' booth, I immediately made a beeline for them. I'd written (very briefly) about these guys before, and I had to see if they had the Copilot on display, as it had become quite the object of affection for me, despite having never seen one in person. And lo and behold, they did.

And I want one more than ever now.

Chambered for .457 Wild West Magnum/.45-70, or .50 Alaskan, this is a pretty butch lever-action. And that action is as smooth as butter. I made a point of handling every lever-action I could at the show for comparison, and nothing came close to the Copilot. The trigger was impressive as well, with a light (but not too light) pull, and a nice clean break. Added to the good sights and the overall great looks (the one I handled was the take-down version in stainless steel with black kevlar), and I can't see why anyone wouldn't want this baby.

Now that I have an AR, this may be next on my list of desired rifles, bumping down the BAR Lightweight Stalker in .30-06.

Cross-posted at The Kallini Brothers

One of the more interesting firearm accessories at the SHOT show that I got to toy with was a prototype for Cammenga's new Easymag (their press release on it found here).

The blurb on their site sums it up fairly well:

CAMMENGA is leading the development of next-generation firearm magazines with the CAMMENGA EASYMAG series. The innovative design of the EASYMAG allows a shooter to slide back the front section of the magazine and simply drop in OR dump out the ammunition. Anti-friction NiB plated components provide optimal feeding performance and long lasting reliability. The EASYMAG also features a unique tip-proof follower designed by CAMMENGA. The CAMMENGA EASYMAG eliminates the problems associated with one-by-one loading and unloading.

There's also a video there that demonstrates the mechanism in action.

I have to say, the thing looks promising. Definitely makes loading and unloading a magazine a much quicker process, and it'd certainly make cleaning a magazine much easier.

I suppose the key issue, though, is whether it's equally, or more, reliable than current mag designs, since that pretty much trumps all other concerns, and whether the price they'll eventually be selling at will seem reasonable to the market for the features it offers.

Definitely something I'll be keeping an eye on, especially now that I'm an owner of one of those eeeeeeeeevil black rifles myself (an AR-15 specifically), since Christmas.

Cross-posted at The Kallini Brothers

Of all the firearms and firearm-related merchandise on display at SHOT Show this year, nothing impressed me to the same extent as the products on display from JP Enterprises, Inc. With all of the makers of AR-15s on the market, it can be difficult to distinguish between companies. After all, how many manufacturers are there that make... well... black rifles?

To say that all other AR-15 manufacturers produce identical products would be a gross and inaccurate generalization, and likely one that would destroy any credibility I could offer. However, despite my love of the platform and eager enthusiasm to inspect any new part or accessory that accompanies it, you can only see so many new models of BUIS or railed forends. On the other hand, there are still manufacturers out there that are capable of producing items which instill in me the same speechless adoration and glee that I felt when I built my very first AR. These are people that create products which are both unique and brilliant, with quality so high that not only is it demonstrated in the field, but it is glaringly obvious even upon simply handling the item.

As the title would imply, I'm speaking of products offered by JP Enterprises, Inc. Two specific products of theirs strike me as being so phenomenal that they deserve special praise. First and foremost is the JP CTR-02 Rifle, which is without a doubt the single finest AR platform rifle that I have ever been blessed enough to lay my hands on.

Simply looking at the rifle, there are a great deal of features that stand out, most obvious of which are the milled upper and lower receivers, made of 7075 T6 aircraft-grade aluminum. Aside from their stunning appearance, these cleanly machined receivers have a few noteworthy features. The upper receiver features a rail which accommodates most optics, but also a canted rail on the side of the receiver to permit the mounting of a secondary optic, to be dialed in for a different range than the primary optic - a particularly useful feature for competition. In addition, there's the absence of a common feature on most ARs - the bolt assist. As the JP LMOS (Low Mass Operating System) does not permit functioning of a bolt assist, it was left off of the upper receiver. Aside from the cosmetics of the receiver pair, considerable as they are, the CTR-02 has an array of great finishes. The two I held were of standard satin black finish and also of an olive green presentation grade finish which looked fantastic.

Putting aside visual appeal entirely, there were three things that stood out to me the most when I handled these rifles. First off, I have never felt a better balance on an AR platform rifle. Referring primarily to this setup, which is, as far as I can tell, the exact rifle I was holding at the show, the balance was beautiful. Because most of my competition shooting experience is derived from hours spent playing with a Walther KK200, a highly barrel-heavy smallbore rifle, I've become used to that sort of weight distribution. This rifle, however, reminded me of how nice it can be to have the weight balance brought back considerably, which I can only imagine would be improved even more so by the addition of a loaded magazine to the mag well.

Secondly, as most avid AR fans are aware, JP Enterprises makes a fantastic single stage competition trigger, in both a modular and separate component set-up. It is, without a doubt, the single finest single stage trigger that I have ever felt. The 3-pound trigger pull was perfect, with a crisp, clean break, no unnecessary travel and no detectable grittiness or unwanted friction at any point.

Finally, the most noteworthy feature of this rifle is the uncompromised smoothness felt when running the action. It has been a very long time since a firearm has rendered me speechless. Deaf, yes, but speechless? Not so often. JP's LMOS, when combined when their milled upper and lower receivers, creates an action like no other. It's light, with a pull that is comfortable, and, compared to any of my AR platform rifles, just fun. But even more amazing was the aforementioned smoothness. To accurately describe it in words would require the addition of multiple more "O"s to the word "smooth." Mangling proper spelling aside, it felt as though the entire action was on ball bearings. Just like their trigger, it lacked any hint of grittiness that has been present in absolutely every other AR I have ever held.

As my brothers can attest, I can wax on about this rifle for hours, repeating myself in a parrot-like fashion with a glazed-over look in my eyes. However, no matter what I say about the CTR-02, its results say more than I'm capable of. This is especially true when the results are a world record.

Cross-posted at The Kallini Brothers

Anyone who knows me at all knows that 1911s would be my prime concern at a show like this. As the proud owner of a Paul Liebenberg custom from Pistol Dynamics, a Class A Limited from Ed Brown, and a Springfield GI with a Kimber drop-in slide conversion to .22 LR, I'm a pretty firm believer in the platform, from entry-level, to high-end custom. And the SHOT Show didn't disappoint in regards to offering me any number of pistols to drool over.

When it came to entry-level 1911s, I played with every single one I could get my hands on. As the show went on, I built a list in my head of the very best in the category based on every criterion I could think of without being able to actually fire them. Primarily, this was feel, slide fit, trigger, sight picture, and general aesthetics. With these in mind, I was able to come up with three companies who were clear winners:

1) STI's Spartan (MSRP $660)
2) Taurus' PT 1911 (MSRP $617)
3) Springfield's Mil-Spec (MSRP $750)

I will qualify this list by saying that if you absolutely hate firing pin/Series 80 safeties, then Springfield will probably bump up to number 2, despite the price difference. However, aside from that, the Taurus was more impressive in every category other than general aesthetics (again, without being able to actually fire them). If you don't care about the extra safety, then Springfield remains in 3rd place, and distant at that.

The true standout here, however, was the STI Spartan. I'd known about STI for years, of course, but most of what I'd heard had been in regard to their raceguns, and I'd never actually had the chance to handle one, since I'd never seen one at the local gun stores, and nobody I knew owned one. The rep at their table was only too happy to hand us model after model to play with, however. The Spartan felt like it should have cost at least twice what it actually did. The slide was smooth and perfectly fit, the trigger was crisp and clean, the adjustable fiber-optic sights on it gave a beautiful picture, and it just plain felt good in the hand. About the only quibble I could dredge up was that if you wanted a carry pistol, you might be leery of the fact that it comes only with adjustable rear sights rather than fixed, but that won't keep me from recommending it to friends as the clear winner in the entry-level 1911 category from this point forward, with 2 and 3 recommended depending on their feelings regarding firing pin safeties and fixed sights.

In the next higher price category, ($900-$1200), I felt that the clear winners were the STI and Dan Wesson 1911s, followed by Springfield's Loaded line. STI and Wesson trump in general feel and trigger pull. I like the fact that Wesson offers a bobtail mainspring housing and the Razorback in 10mm for devotees of that cartridge. I especially liked STI's LS, which I include in this category despite its lower price ($789 MSRP) because it's meant as a secondary backup weapon (and thus I wouldn't classify it as an "entry-level" gun). It comes in 9mm and .40, and is the slimmest, smallest 1911 I've ever seen.

Beyond that price range, I didn't bother rating the guns, and instead just felt like a kid in a candy store perusing all the semi- and full custom 1911s available. Ed Brown was there, as was Les Baer (I remain of the opinion that their Monolith is just plain one of the meanest-looking 1911s around... That full-length dustcover makes it look like a solid block of hurt), and Caspian was there so I could drool over their Damascus steel slides, which I swear I will get a custom 1911 with some day. STI, of course, remained impressive with their guns in this range as well.

There are two booths for custom 1911 smiths that I'd like to single out for attention, though.

First is Uselton Arms, Inc. I'd never heard of these folks before, and sadly, their web site doesn't really do them justice. I wasn't particularly fond of their custom skin grips, which were a bit too "busy" for my taste, but aside from that, I liked what I saw and felt. The folks at the booth were knowledgeable and had no problem letting us handle the guns they had on display. I got a list of their line, and the options they offer.

Of course, the fact that they offer Caspian's damascus slides as a standard option on their guns was a big plus for me, too.

The other booth I was excited about was Louder Than Words', which isn't too surprising since they're composed of some of the finest custom 1911 gunsmiths in the world. Ned Christiansen was manning the booth when we stopped by, and even though I was mostly tongue tied and therefore didn't manage to ask any particularly intelligent questions, he was happy to talk to us and let us look at the guns on display (Which, yes, I was nervous about... With your own guns it's different, but it's easy to get paranoid about handling someone else's $3000-$5000+ pistol, no matter how glad they are to let you hold it, dry fire it, etc. I was terrified I'd leave even a tiny scratch on one of them).

I was particularly interested in the guns of Ned's that were there, and I finally got to hold one that had his conamyd work done to it, after years of just seeing pictures online. They felt remarkably good in the hand, and are definitely functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. Mr. Christiansen is now one more gunsmith on my 1911 "wish list"... Not only is he a great guy, but he truly is a master craftsman.

And that's pretty much my experience with the 1911s at the SHOT show. Really, the only overall drawback I can think of was the frustration of getting to handle all these fine guns without having the opportunity to actually do any shooting with them...

Cross-posted at The Kallini Brothers

Early on the first day, we discovered that R. Lee Ermey was attending the show, and would be doing signings at the Glock booth on the first three days. We were determined to take advantage of the opportunity, and though we didn't get to him on the first day, we managed to get in line for him late Friday afternoon.

There were a couple Marines sergeants (my lousy running may have kept me out of the Corps, but I still remember most of what I picked up regarding rank insignia) in their blues in front of us while we were at the tail end of the line, and once someone informed Ermey of this, they got bumped straight to the front, which was great to see.

As we waited, we determined that despite being fans of his, we would do our best not to bother Ermey with questions, and just get in and out with our autographs, since by the time we reached him he'd have been signing for 8 hours. It turned out not to be an issue, however, because when we got to the front of the line, Ermey didn't show any sign of being even remotely fatigued, and he was the one who engaged us in conversation. He was glad to sign autographs for our friends who couldn't attend, asked us how we were enjoying the show, what we all did, and told us we oughta check out the Vegas SHOT show next year since it's basically the same thing, but with dancing women (sold), and so on. He was a great guy, only too happy to talk to his fans, and a real class act.

I may not be a huge Glock supporter (some people shoot their pistols well, but I don't happen to be one of those folks), but the Ermey signed Glock poster was by far the coolest thing I walked away from the show with.

Now I need to remind myself to set the Tivo for Mail Call again, as I've fallen behind on watching it lately...

Cross-posted (With a picture of the poster) at The Kallini Brothers

The Kallini Brothers went to SHOT Show ... And it was impressive.

It was a four day event, and it took us three days just to get through the entire show floor. Even then, that was only because we just skimmed the outdoor clothing section (which probably had some excellent things in it, but it was the most "expendable" of sections for us based on our interests). If we'd managed our time better, and had been able to attend on the fourth day, we'd have been able to catch that as well, but we know better should we get the opportunity to attend next year's show in Vegas.

None of us had a media pass, so photos were out, but we have quite a few things to talk about. The colossal amount of swag and promotional material we all walked away with makes it pretty easy to remember everything we saw, and we're going to do our best to cover it all in a series of posts this week, with each Kallini Brother covering his particular areas of interest (I'll be all over the 1911s).

I'm going to take some time today to relax and sort through everything I brought back with me from the show, so I'll start posting some (hopefully) interesting stuff once I'm done with that. Hopefully the other Kallini Brothers are doing the same thing, and we can make this a week of SHOT show posts.

Cross-posted (with some minor editing) at The Kallini Brothers