A Roundup Of Firearms Related News/Articles

 Just some stuff I've come across recently:

• "A History of Carry: 40 Years Armed"--Dave Spaulding, Guns & Ammo. Spaulding discusses the firearms he has daily carried over his life beginning with the revolver he first used when he started training as a law enforcement officer in 1976, through the changes to the handguns over his law enforcement career, and his switch to Glocks after retirement. He discusses some of the things he liked and didn't like about particular handguns and accessories (e.g., holsters).
• "The Quest for The Low Bore Axis – Magnum Edition – The Wildebeest from Down Under"--The Firearm Blog. Australian engineer Bernard Besselink has come up with a design for a semi-auto pistol that has the barrel below the recoil mechanism and breachblock. The article goes over the basics of the design and operation (including linking to a couple videos). Because the design needed a powerful cartridge--at least in its early design iterations--Besselink designed it to use .357 Magnum. He is using a Desert Eagle magazine. It is a very science-fiction looking weapon.
• "With One Week Remaining, 99.4% of Illinois Gun Owners Have Said ‘No Thanks’ To Gun Registration"--The Truth About Guns. It may have something to do with a leak where state officials admitted in private that they intended to use the registry to seize firearms after the next mass shooting:

    Why are so few Illinois citizens complying? Aside from the fundamental 2A conflicts, there’s also the leak from the Governor’s inner circle to “close the existing owner loophole” as reported by Guns Save Life.

So what is next?  Following a mass-casualty incident, especially if it happens in the Land of Lincoln, the Governor will announce a plan to “close the existing owner loophole.” Their words, not ours.

Governor Pritzker will back legislation to call for those who have registered guns and accessories to surrender those registered items to the police after 90 days or so.  Failure to do so would result in felony charges.

By mandating the surrender of those registered items, they can determine who has complied and who has not. Those who have not can expect ISP-led “firearm compliance teams” to knock on their doors.

• "The Fatal Funnel: Dealing with Doors" by Richard Nance, Handguns Magazine. Self-explanatory, I think.
• "Combat Medic: The Life-Saving Work That Starts Once You’re Shot" by Jon Wayne Taylor, The Truth About Guns. If you think this article is just about applying a tourniquet, you'd be wrong. The author begins:

    The best medicine on any battlefield is fire superiority. That simple mantra, or some version of it, is written in just about every tactical medical manual and tactical combat casualty care course ever taught. And for good reason.

    If you’re unfortunate enough to be shot, the most important thing is to ensure that you aren’t shot again. That means limiting your attacker’s ability to continue firing and limiting his mobility are your primary concerns.  The best way to do that is by returning effective fire.

Yes, it talks about first aid and tourniquets, but also the need to return fire, call for help, etc. Read the whole thing.

•  "That's a Hit! Caldwell's Flash Bang Hit Indicator"--Guns & Ammo. This is a devise that attaches to the back of a steel target (using hook and loop fasteners) just slightly sticking out on one side to reveal a line of bright LEDs. When the target is struck, the LEDs light up indicating a hit. This is particularly helpful when using weaker ammo that might not solidly ring the steel or if the steel is so far off that the sound is no longer audible.
• "Seattle homeowner exchanges gunfire would-be burglars amid string of neighborhood robberies"--New York Post. The article reports on certain burglaries believed to be by the same criminals, including one where the burglars were unsuccessful in breaking down the door initially, left, and returned later with sledge hammers at which time the homeowner was ready for them and exchanged some shots, using a rifle. Here is the money quote:

Seattle police said the robberies share a similar set of circumstances to a series of robberies that happened earlier this year, in which all of the victims were of Asian descent and the suspects were all black males. 

• "Ruger ReadyDot Pistol Sight: Fiber-Optic Big Dot"--Handguns Magazine. Ruger has decided to enter the optics market for handgun reflex sights. The difference here is that Ruger decided to make it as rugged and dependable as possible. Thus, it uses a fiber optic to collect the light--there are no electronics--and it is not adjustable. The dot is 15 MOA which is quite large, but probably acceptable for a handgun. The article indicates that "[i]t weighs just 0.25 ounce and measures 1.6 inches long and 0.95 inch wide. It’s just 0.75 inch tall from the top of the rounded window to the base of the optic, making it one of the smallest and lightest red dots on the market today." It also uses the Shield RMSc footprint. Although it won't work in complete darkness, the author's testing showed that it still worked in very dim lighting where he could no longer read a newspaper headline or see the numbers on the face of his watch. Price, by itself, is supposed to be $100.
• "Losing Count: The Empty Case for 'High‐​Capacity' Magazine Restrictions"--Cato Institute. A lengthy, detailed analysis. From the lede:

    There are three main problems with these bans. First, the term “high‐​capacity” is used by legislatures to describe standard, common equipment rather than magazines that stretch a weapon’s capacity beyond its intended design. Second, discussions of the issue are replete with fundamental misconceptions about firearm magazines and their place under the Second Amendment. In fact, some courts have held that magazines have no constitutional protection at all, contravening precedent indicating that the right to keep and bear arms protects all bearable arms in common use, including their magazines and ammunition, regardless of the arms in existence at the time of the Founding. Magazines are not mere accessories, but essential components of modern firearms.

    Third, there is little evidence that high‐​capacity magazine restrictions have any positive effects on public safety. To support these laws, states point to horrific crimes involving large‐​capacity magazines. But the connection between the crime and the magazine is conjectural at best, while the prohibitions against such magazines have disrupted the lives of many otherwise law‐​abiding gun owners — and all without any evidence of improvements in public safety. In some courts, it seems that merely uttering the phrase “gun violence” suffices to justify any exercise of state power. These policies are ineffective, dangerous, and unconstitutional.