Some Firearms Related Articles

VIDEO: "HDR 50 vs Ballistic Dummy"--Airgun Alley Miami (18 min.)

The producer of this video tested various projectiles, including some specialty projectiles, from a .50 caliber CO2 pistol against one of the realistic ballistic heads/skulls. Even though he was testing the projectiles at only 20 feet, most of the projectiles simply bounced off the ballistic gel, a few caused lacerations, and only one produced a slight chip on the faux bone underneath. He did test some arrow projectiles at the end of the video which had good penetration of the soft ballistic gel at the throat, but he didn't strike any areas with "bone" so it is not clear if it would have penetrated. The basic take away is that air pistols shouldn't be used for self-defense, and would probably just make a determined attacker more angry.

• "Federal Judge Blocks California Handgun Restrictions"--The Reload. A federal judge has struck down California's Unsafe Handgun Act (UHA). The UHA, passed in 2001, barred the sale of any new pistol models that did not incorporate certain safety features, which is why Californians have essentially been stuck with old pistol designs and is the only reason that Glock still produces Gen 3 pistols. I fully expect California to appeal the decision, so don't expect new pistol designs to be flooding into California anytime soon.
• Speaking of government trying to overturn court rulings on firearms: "Justice Department asks Supreme Court to overturn domestic violence gun ruling"--Fox News. The DoJ is seeking to have a 5th Circuit decision overturned which decision held that people under domestic violence restraining orders retain their constitutional right to own firearms.
• "11th Circuit Upholds Ban on Sale to 18-20 Year-Olds, En Banc Vote Likely"--Ammo Land. This suit involves a 2018 Florida law prohibiting 18 to 20 years olds from purchasing firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers. Since 18 to 20 year olds are already prohibited under federal law from purchasing handguns, this law effectively was intended to prohibit the purchase of rifles and shotguns. The article notes that "[j]ust hours after the decision of the three-judge panel was published, an order was issued in the case, withholding the issuance of the mandate," which "means a judge on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals is calling for a poll of the judges on the Eleventh Circuit to see if they are willing to accept the decision of the three-judge panel." The article also mentions that the Florida legislature is considering a bill that would repeal the ban.
• "EXCLUSIVE: ATF Gains Financial Information on Potential Gun Buyers for Warrantless Tracking, Documents Show"--The Epoch Times. Basically, the ATF was monitoring firearm purchases and flagging purchasers that the agency deemed too poor to afford to purchase firearms and requesting that the FBI initiated NICS checks and notifying the ATF every time those purchased purchased a firearm. "ATF headquarters will not disclose how it acquired the other suspects’ incomes, employment information, and past gun purchases found in the FOIA forms," the article reports. The examples given were people with either no income or very low income purchasing more than 10 (sometimes many more) in a short period of time, suggesting that they were acting as straw purchasers. The article also mentions a person that was not an FFL that was tracked purchasing a large number of firearms over a short period of time off Gun Broker and then quickly reselling them, and another that had bought a quantity of lower receivers which raised concerns that the purchaser was building AR15s and selling them. The problem is that the ATF is obviously dredging up a significant amount of data about a lot of people in order to get a mere handful of leads.
• "Biden on gun control: 'Do something, do something big'"--AP. An article from last week about Biden having "signed an executive order aimed at stiffening background checks to buy guns, promoting more secure firearms storage and ensuring law enforcement agencies get more out of a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer."
• "Republicans Helped Biden Implement ‘Backdoor’ Universal Background Checks, Gun Advocates Say"--The Daily Caller. 

Biden directed Attorney General Merrick Garland expand background checks Tuesday after Republicans added language to the BSCA that revised the definition of who is “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms, according to Second Amendment advocate Gun Owners Of America (GOA). The BSCA, voted for by 15 Republicans, mimicked Obama administration language that sought to restrict gun show and online firearm sales, while requiring federal firearm licenses (FFL) for all gun sales, requirements that assist the administration in tracking the movement of firearms.

And:

    Before the BSCA, the definition of someone who “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms was limited to wholesalers, retailers, firearm repair and pawnbrokers. The definition, in place for 53 years, was used to regulate commercial gun sales and not law-abiding private transfers and sales of firearms, according to GOA.

    Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, through a compromise with Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, added a clarification in the BSCA, saying the definition of “engaged in the business” would expand to anyone who earned a profit through the sale of a firearm, according to GOA. Clarifying the definition of a FLL [sic] was a key portion of the legislation.

• The process is the punishment: "Case dropped against couple after gun pulled on Black family"--AP. Even though the charges were dropped, it was at the eve of the trial, which means that the family probably has some impressive legal bills:

    Criminal charges have been dropped against a white couple charged in 2020 after one of them was captured on video pulling a handgun on a Black woman and her daughters outside a Michigan restaurant.

    The trial had been set to start Monday for Eric Wuestenberg and Jillian Wuestenberg, but Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Mary Ellen Brennan dismissed the case after the alleged victims did not show up to provide witness testimony, The Oakland Press reported.

    The Wuestenbergs were each charged with one count of felonious assault for the July 1, 2020, incident in the parking lot of a Chipotle restaurant in Orion Township, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.

    David Williams, Oakland County’s chief assistant prosecutor, noted that the charges were dismissed Monday without prejudice, “meaning that our office can reissue charges in this matter if and when those witnesses become available.” He declined further comment.

    Takelia Hill, who is Black, told The Detroit News in 2020 that the incident happened after a white woman later identified as Jillian Wuestenberg bumped into Hill’s teenage daughter as they were entering the restaurant and Wuestenberg was leaving with a carry-out order.

    The Oakland Press reported that the Pontiac woman was visiting the restaurant with two daughters when the incident began. A three-minute cellphone video posted online documents part of the ensuing confrontation in the restaurant's parking lot.

    Jillian Wuestenberg can be seen outside her vehicle shouting, “Get the (expletive) away! Get away!” while pointing a handgun at the person who’s recording. She eventually gets back into her vehicle, which her husband drives away.

    The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said both parties called police on each other and that the Wuestenbergs drove away and waited for deputies to arrive. The couple was arrested shortly afterward.

    Following his arrest, Eric Wuestenberg lost his job at Oakland University where he was coordinator of veterans support services. His attorney, Dean Greenblatt, said the Wuestenbergs have lived “with clouds over their head for three years.”

    “Nothing can bring their jobs back, their lives back, their reputations back,” Greenblatt said.

    Jillian Wuestenberg’s attorney, Terry Johnson, said the dismissal of the charges was long overdue.

    “On behalf of my client, we’re excited it only took 32 months for the Oakland County Prosecutor to finally drop the charges. My client’s life, unfortunately, will never be the same,” Johnson said.

• "Here's how progressive lawyers are using public nuisance lawsuits to outlaw guns"--Fox News. 

    A consumer protection group is warning Republican governors against attempts by left-leaning lawyers to use public nuisance lawsuits as a backdoor way to outlaw guns.

    The Alliance For Consumers (AFC), a nonprofit organization aimed at "ensuring consumer protection efforts, class action lawsuits, and attorney general enforcement actions benefit consumers," sent a letter to all GOP governors Friday saying that since the many state legislatures have recently flipped to a Republican majority, they should be on the lookout for progressive activists attacking gun rights through these legal actions.

    "With victories through the legislative process becoming harder to achieve, the progressive left is increasingly looking to an alliance of activists, officials, and trial lawyers to weaponize the judicial system against conservatives and impose key policy priorities by way of public nuisance lawsuits," AFC president O.H. Skinner wrote.

    "Under the guise of compensation for injuries to the overall public interest, these lawsuits open the door to courts imposing sweeping policy solutions outside the traditional governmental processes or otherwise reshaping the economy through massive money transfers," Skinner added.

    Public nuisance laws vary from state to state. Historically, they have been used to protect consumers and the public against things like polluted waterways or hazardous public spaces.

    However, Skinner said "activists have found a way to use the court system as a weapon to force companies and consumers to comply with a progressive worldview without legislative oversight or public scrutiny."

    "If you hear someone say, ‘We should bring a nuisance case,' that is a Trojan horse to accomplish something that you probably don't agree with." Skinner said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

• "Report: Officers with AR-15s Were Scared to Confront Uvalde Shooter"--Breitbart. The headline is incomplete. The report found that officers armed with AR15s (and probably some actual-to-goodness full auto M4s) were afraid to confront the Uvalde shooter because he--a single individual--had an AR15.
• "Eight Great Compact Guns for Small-Statured Shooters"--Guns and Ammo. A look at youth or "compact" models of rifles and shotguns suitable for shorter women or youths. Frankly, even some of you that are of average height might prefer a shorter length of pull. I know that I typically prefer something a bit shorter than normal for my height (I'm 5' 11"). The one firearm I own where the stock was fitted to me according to standard guidelines for my height and arm length is actually too long to comfortably shoot when wearing a winter coat and, so, basically unusable to me for hunting in the Idaho mountains in late fall.
• "A Case For Lever Actions: Old West Nostalgia And Modern Age Shooting"--Skillset Magazine. A look at the modern (or "tactical") lever action rifle.
• "The Last 5 Lever-Action Cartridges Left Standing"--Field & Stream. These "traditional" cartridges, according to Richard Mann, are: 30-30 Winchester, 357 Magnum, 360 Buckhammer, 44 Magnum, and the 45-70 Government. Considering that the 360 Buckhammer was only just introduced this year, I don't consider it to a "traditional" cartridge and it certainly hasn't been out long enough to determine if it should be considered "still standing". Also, what about .22 LR and .22 Magnum--probably more lever actions sold in those calibers than any of the other calibers--or .17 HMR. And .44-40 has made a comeback. Also, Henry makes their Long Ranger lever action rifle which is available in .223 Rem/5.56 NATO, .243 Win, .308 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor; and Browning offers their BLR in a whole slew of calibers generally associated with bolt-action rifles, including, but not limited to, .243, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, .270 Win., .308, and .30-06. 
• "TFB Review: The Shooters Box 577/450 Chamber Adapter"--The Firearm Blog. Some of you may remember that about 20 years or so ago, Nepal sold the contents of an armory of weapons dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s that included large numbers of Martini-Henry rifles, like those used in the British colonial wars at the end of the Victorian period. Being a fan of movies like Zulu, I was interested in picking up one of the rougher specimens to fix up so it could be shot (at the time, I couldn't have afforded anything better). But what held me back was the ammunition costs. You see, the Martini-Henry is chambered in an obsolete black-powder cartridge designated the 577/450. If you could find commercial loads--and that was a big if since it was only sporadically manufactured--they typically ran about $10/round (and remember that this was approximately 20 years ago). You could try reloading your own, but even this was problematic because no one made brass for the cartridge. The work around was to get a set of reloading dies (which were available at the time) and find brass shells for 24-gauge shotguns and reform them for the Martini-Henry. If you didn't have the molds and ability to cast your own bullets, you could use bullets intended for the .45-70, but you would have to paper-wrap the base of the bullets in order to get a good gas seal and ensure that the bullet engaged the rifling. The Shooters Box has now introduced a 577/450 Chamber Adapter designed, depending on the model, to accept either .45 Colt or .45 ACP cartridges, making it easier and more affordable to shoot an old Martini-Henry rifle, even if each adapter is running between $50 and $70. Of course, you still have the issue of the bullets being not quite the right diameter for good accuracy, but its better than nothing.
• "Can-May-Must-Should in One Incident"--Tactical Professor. An analysis of an incident involving an armed third party who intervened in a road rage incident between two other drivers. The first driver apparently became enraged at the actions of the driver behind him (the second driver), exited his vehicle, displaying a firearm. The armed third party tried to deescalate the situation, but the first driver turned on him and approached him with the drawn firearm. Fearing for his life, the armed third party shot and killed the first driver. At the time of the article, the police had declined to press charges against the armed third party. Although the third part was able to draw his firearm and shoot without the first driver (who already had a firearm in hand) shooting first, it could have been a very different outcome.
• "The Secrets of Verbal Deescalation"--Shooting Illustrated. From the article:

    When we are dealing with an upset neighbor or the other guy in a traffic accident, we may not resolve anything by getting angry. In fact, that usually is not the way to resolve these problems. We may well be better off using a calming, diplomatic approach. We can do this without surrendering our position if we’ll just give it some thought. And, if they still choose to resort to violence, at least we tried. Remember, you can prepare to defend yourself while you still have a smile on your face and a calm voice.

    Even when faced with a potentially deadly situation, we need to consider the words that we are using. I laugh when I hear someone say, “Put your hands up!” You have just told the attacker to move and now you have to decide if he is moving to comply or moving to go for a weapon to continue the attack. It is far better to command him to not move.

    Also, it is important to use a command voice, even if you doubt that you are really in command of the situation. The command voice is loud and authoritative. It should also deliver a brief, clear command.

    In our defensive classes, this is one of the things we find many students have trouble with—using the command voice. Too often, they are scared and sound scared. Well, anyone in their right mind is a little bit scared when faced with a threat, but you shouldn’t act like it. Instead, you want to act and sound in such a way that the crook thinks this might be the worst mistake he’s ever made.

    It is also important to consider our use of voice when communicating with a partner during a dangerous situation. When things get dangerous and scary, we go into flight mode, and one of the things that happens is that our eardrums often tighten up, impairing our hearing. In the middle of a gunfight, it is probably a mistake to say, “My gun is empty and I need to reload it.” It is far better to shout out, “Loading!” And your partner replies, “Covering!” By doing so, he or she lets us know they heard us and will try to handle things until we get back in the fight.

• "Skill Set: Will You Make The Shot?"--Tactical Wire. In addition to know that you can accurately take a shot, it is important to know whether you will pull the trigger. An excerpt:

    We use pistols to defend against a violent attack, human or otherwise, and train and practice accordingly. However, we all know that shooting cardboard, or even a “life-like” representation of a human is a far cry from actually using violence – in this case lethal force – against another person. This is true for the military, too, which has invested enormous energy to get soldiers acclimated to firing on the enemy – as opposed to aiming high over their heads as is common.

    I’ve met more than a few gun owners who admit they’re not sure if they would shoot someone in defense. As an owner of a “defensive” pistol, you must acknowledge that at some point you may be forced to use it against another person. You shoot to stop the threat – the goal isn’t “killing” - but this act may very well end their life.

    Not only must you be ready to use lethal force, you’re required to react and make that decision to fire in a timely fashion. Most defensive situations only last a few seconds. There’s no time for an internal debate over the morals of using lethal force. “If I don’t shoot now,” you ask yourself, “is the threat going to seriously injure or kill me – or someone I am responsible for?” Chances are, you must make this decision in less time than it takes to ask that question out loud.

    There are plenty of written works on the use of lethal force, the required mindset and the decision-making process. I would start with Jeff Cooper’s writings. After studying these, it’s time to start asking yourself the hard questions. Then, you practice accordingly, working through shoot/no-shoot scenarios that require you to make quick decisions. Force-on-force training is the best method, and gets you used to interacting with others under stress. It helps prepare one to firing on other people.

• "Skill Set: J Frame Revolver"--Tactical Wire. I suspect that most firearms instructors, let alone most gun owners, view the revolver as being obsolete for defensive purposes. Nevertheless, as the author point out:

Although the “J” frame design is decades old, it’s still one of the most popular handguns -- and for good reason. These small-frame short-barrel revolvers are reliable, as are all revolvers, but they’re also easily concealed. They work especially well for pocket carry, as long as you have a pocket holster. This is ideal concealment when you can’t conceal or carry a large frame pistol. They’re very common in the south, when summer wear is often a t-shirt and shorts. “J” frames are ideal for “back-up” pistols, again due to their size and ease of carry. A “J” frame in a well-designed ankle holster is easy to carry, comfortable, and in some cases, depending on your body position, might turn into your primary pistol.

He then goes over some of the other pluses and minuses to the platform.

• "The Colt Officers Model Match .22" by Steven Tracy, RevolverGuy. As Tracy observes:

Every RevolverGuy needs a .22 caliber revolver. Rimfire ammo is much less expensive than any centerfire cartridge and the result is the same for practice or target shooting. .22s are a great way to train and gain experience that transfers directly over to centerfire shooting. Plus, plinking with .22s can be incredibly fun and they’re excellent choices to introduce new shooters to firearms.

Plus, as the author has found out, having retired to a cabin in rural Tennessee, he has more time and opportunities to shoot recreationally and:

Copperhead and cottonmouth snakes keep me on my toes. They’re not common, but I’ve had to dispatch several over the last three years. Beavers cause our lake’s drainage to dam up and they take down way too many of our trees. Armadillos dig up the acreage and make it look like it was bombarded by hundreds of tiny explosive missiles. Lots of game animals abound that a long barrel .22 would be a perfect match to take…squirrels, bunnies, and bobcats when in season.

The article is mostly his recollections of some .22 revolvers he owned in the past and his experience with a recently purchased Cold Officers Model Match, which model came out in 1953 and ran until 1969. 

• For those that can't handle the recoil of a .44 Magnum: "Gun Review: Smith & Wesson Model 610 N-Frame 10mm Revolver"--The Truth About Guns. Okay, I was being a bit facetious. The goal is to practice, and if you can't practice because of the recoil or shock, you are better off going to a less powerful cartridge. The author notes:

    The 10mm is a respectable cartridge in terms of power, but it’s a bit of a compromise round. More than enough for most civilian self-defense encounters, it’s a just adequate cartridge for handgun hunting.

    The opposite is also true. The 10mm is plenty for any self-defense encounter against bipedal antagonists. In the hands of a competent hunter, it’s enough to take deer, black bear, and pigs at short ranges.

To be honest, though, if I were to have to step down to a 10mm in power in a revolver, I think I would go with a .357 Magnum instead. But I can see someone already invested in the 10mm in a semi-auto just sticking to the same caliber in a backcountry revolver, even if using heavier bullets. 

• "Fix It Sticks: The Works — The Last Toolkit You'll Need for the Range"--The Mag Life. A review of what appears to be comprehensive and fairly complete tool and cleaning kit for the range. Pretty much everything you would need for most simply repairs other than a vise.
• "Hoptic USA: Optic Solution for Lever-Action Rifles"--The Mag Life. The author reviews a red dot mounting system for Henry and Marlin lever-action rifles.
• On the other hand: "Does Every Gun Need an Optic?"--The Mag Life. My eyesight is such that the answer is pretty much "yes" when it comes to rifles. The article goes over the transition from iron sights to optics (particularly red dot sights) and discusses why it is still important to be able to use iron sights.
• "How to Choose a Concealed Carry Gun"--Hunting Mark. The author discusses factors to consider such as the size or dimensions of the firearm, capacity (or carrying extra magazines), the effectiveness of the round it uses, ease of use (including comparing the revolver to the semi-auto), carry position and holster, and other accessories.
• "Does Birdshot Overpenetrate?"--Shooting Illustrated. The relevant part:

    Recently I tested an average, 1-ounce, No. 8 load against an insulated, sheetrock wall using cylinder choke. Here’s what I found:

    At 20 yards, No. 8 shot did not penetrate both sides of the wall. At 10 yards it penetrated the wall and went on to strike a cardboard mannequin wearing a T-shirt. The pellets only made slight indentations in the cardboard, indicating it would likely not cause severe harm to a human. At 5 yards it penetrated both sides of the wall and the cardboard mannequin. Now, unless your last name is Bezos, you’re unlikely to have a 20-yard stretch in your house; 5 yards is far more common for a defensive distance in the home. Knowing this, do you still think birdshot won’t pose a danger?

    The conclusion here is that in a 1-ounce load of No. 8 birdshot, after about 7 yards when it starts to spread and behave less like a solid mass, each individual pellet rapidly loses energy. Think about a typical home, though—most don’t have that kind of distance inside. Also, it can be extrapolated that heavier, No. 7.5 pellets penetrate slightly more than No. 8s, No. 6 pellets penetrate slightly more than 7.5s and so forth. (It’s a myth that smaller pellets will penetrate more than larger pellets going the same velocity; it would be true if these pellets were pushed by an outside force such as someone using a stick to push them through the target, rather than via their own momentum.)

    Anecdotally, I can tell you this: I’ve been peppered several times with No. 8 shot at approximately 60 yards while bird hunting, and though it stung, it did not break my sleeve-covered skin. But, I have shot turkeys with No. 6 shot at 60 yards on several occasions, where it penetrated their skin and skulls, quickly killing them. Mathematically, at 20 yards a No. 8 pellet launched at 1,300 fps has 1.7 ft.-lbs. of energy, while the No. 6 shot has 3.7 ft.-lbs.—more than double the energy. That’s big. 

• "TFB Armorer’s Bench: Installing XS Sights on The Magpul MBUS"--The Firearm Blog. I think for most AR owners, the MBUS is an inexpensive backup should our optic fail, but after the initial purchase, installation and zeroing, I suspect that most of us pretty much forget about them. However, if you want to make sure you can use your MBUS in all conditions, the author explains how to install tritium night sights from XS Sights.
• Just put the rifle down and walk away until you have regained your senses: "SKS: The Poor Man’s AK"--The Mag Life. As the author points out, "[t]he problem is the SKS is not an AK-47 and shouldn’t be made into one." But he nevertheless examines why someone might go down the money pit rabbit hole and try to do it anyway. An excerpt:

So where did the term “poor man’s AK” come from? Back in the day, an AK-47 was cheaper than now, but an SKS was dirt cheap. When I was little, you could buy an SKS for under $200 at local gun stores. When they were on sale, you could even get them for under $100. Because the demand for the AK-47 was growing, production went up, but the market was already flooded with SKS rifles. Now everyone wanted the new AK and not the SKS, so the price went down.

The author is a young'un. When I bought my SKS, it was $70 and came with the sling, cleaning kit, and an ammo vest.

Because the AK was harder to get ahold of and cost more, people began buying the SKS rifle and converting as much of it as they could to make it look like an AK. I say “look” like one because you can’t turn an SKS into an AK-47. Companies make conversion kits that allow the SKS to use detachable 30-round mags and you can buy synthetic stocks that have pistol grips like the AK. With these conversions, the SKS does look a little more like an AK. The cost of this setup was cheaper than an AK-47 and thus, a poor man’s AK. But again, it was never an AK because they are not made to the same specs, and therefore, don’t perform the same.

     After I came into a second SKS (I left my first one alone), I sorta, kinda, decided to do the "let's make it into a modern rifle" since the rifle wasn't in its original configuration anyway. 

    I installed a stock with a pistol grip and collapsible butt stock. It wasn't too bad of a stock, but it also wasn't really all that better than the original either (although, being plastic, it probably would handle wet weather better). 

    The original owner had removed the rear sight and put on a cheap peep sight. I upgraded this to a much better quality sight from Tech Sights. 

    Someone had given me a 20-round replacement magazine made of steel, but I never got around to installing it. I purchased a 30-rounder that was supposed to be removable so you could switch them out like regular magazines, but you still had a long doo-dad hanging off the front of it, and because the walls had to be cut low on the front and back to allow for feeding, the top round could easily be knocked loose. And, besides, the magazine wasn't that easy to fit into place. So the original magazine went back into place. Fortunately, I had only purchased the one to play around with so I wasn't out too much money. 

    The bayonet was also missing and I toyed with getting a bipod attachment but never found one that seemed to be any good. 

    The end result, however, was a rifle that I never quite liked as much as the one I had purchased and kept in original condition. I eventually put the original wood stock back on the second rifle and got rid of it. I've owned and shot AKs, but the modified SKS was never as good or fun to shoot. I much prefer just leaving it in the original configuration (which also preserves its value better).