Business – MILESFORTIS

The Year of the Can: The White Hot Silencer Business 20 Days In

When we spoke to suppressor makers late last month, projections varied, but all agreed that 2026 would be a significant growth year for the suppressor industry, now that the $200 tax stamp officially zeroed out at midnight on December 31, 2025.

But nobody could have expected the volume of eForms that would be submitted as we rang in the new year.

NSSF announced that the ATF reported processing over 150,000 eForms on January 1. The normal daily volume is roughly 2,500.

Welcome to the new normal.

Knox Williams, executive director of the American Suppressor Association (ASA), reported after meeting with ATF officials during SHOT Show here in Las Vegas that, to date, more than 260,000 eForms have been processed this January.

That figure includes all NFA forms, not just those covering suppressors. ASA hopes to obtain a further breakdown for its tracking of suppressor-specific transfers, but that data is not yet available.

However, we do have the final numbers for 2025. Last year, a total of 732,863 suppressors were transferred, falling short of the 746,380 transferred in 2024. That brings the total number of registered suppressors in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) to 5,776,685—up from 4,419,578 at the end of 2024.

The shortfall was obviously not due to a lack of consumer demand, but rather to buyers refusing to pay the tax when they knew purchases would be tax-free on January 1. That 150,000-plus eForm volume on day one proves the point.

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DeStefano flown to New York City, prepping for court hearings

by Lee Williams

Indie Guns owner Lawrence Michael DeStefano was picked up from Florida’s Orange County Jail by New York detectives this week after serving nearly 90 days in custody and flown to New York City aboard a private jet.

When they landed, the officers took a group photo and then rushed DeStefano to an NYPD precinct to be booked, and then to a quick court hearing in Queens. Afterward, he was taken to Rikers Island, a notorious 413-acre state prison located in the East River near the Bronx, where he remains incarcerated.

At the court hearing, a New York State prosecutor tried to portray him as an “evil gun runner,” DeStefano said, but the judge cut her off.

“The judge looked at her and said, ‘I have a 65-year-old man with no criminal record and you’re saying all these bad things about him.’ Then he turned to me and said, ‘You’ve got some real serious charges against you. If you’ve got somewhere to stay, I will let you out on bail,’” DeStefano said over a jail phone Friday morning. “This is going to be a fight and the gloves are off. I am going balls-to-the-wall on this. It’s going to get ugly.”

DeStefano’s court-appointed defense attorney was of little help. She showed up just seconds before the hearing began.

“She had no idea what was going on,” he said.

He will appear in court for a bail hearing in two weeks, DeStefano said.

“I need to figure out how to get a message to the gun community,” he said. “If I am out on bail, I could win this. I know what I need to do to win this. I need to do research, but they’re seizing it for evidence. They already deleted my Telegram account after they got my password,” he said.

Throughout the trip, the detectives were talking furiously with the New York State Attorney General’s Office about whether to issue a press release, DeStefano said.

“It was chaos. Everyone was on their phones. They decided to issue a press release,” he said. “You guys really think you’re doing a press release? You’re helping me. The gun culture is a tight-knit family.”

New York State Attorney General Letitia James issued a massive press release late Wednesday, titled, “Attorney General James and NYPD Commissioner Tisch Announce Indictment of Florida Man for Illegally Shipping Firearms and Ghost Guns to New York.”

It contains a link to a 42-page indictment that charges DeStefano with 71 felonies, which could see him jailed for a total of 521 years.

“Lawrence Destefano and his company Indie Guns are accused of flooding New York with illegal firearms, and we are determined to bring him to justice,” James said in the press release. “I will not tolerate illegal and dangerous weapons in our communities, and I thank our partners in law enforcement for their work to shut down this ghost gun supplier.”

Despite the allegation and the centuries behind bars DeStefano faces, the press release indicates that only a dozen actual firearms were recovered, along with “two ghost gun kits, 28 high-capacity magazines, and over 1,400 rounds of ammunition, which were mailed to locations in Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau County.”

The press release also mentions the default judgement James won in a civil suit against DeStefano, which he ignored.

“In March 2024, Attorney General James secured a $7.8 million judgment and court order against Indie Guns prohibiting it from selling firearms in New York,” the press release states.

The lengthy press release even includes quotes from NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel and USPIS Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward of the New York Division. All strongly supported James for “disrupting the dangerous illicit weapons pipeline,” and for “dismantling gun trafficking networks.”

DeStefano knows he will be severely outgunned in court.

“I am ready for the fight,” he said.

ATF Data Shows The Number of Guns in Americans’ Hands Now Tops Half a Billion.

NSSF, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, released the Firearm Production in the United States including the Firearm Import and Export Data 2025 Edition (reporting 2023 data) to its members. The report compiles the most up-to-date information based on data sourced from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF’s) Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Reports (AFMER).

The report is available free to members by logging into the NSSF Member Portal here.

Key findings for public release showed:

The estimated total number of firearms in civilian possession from 1990–2023 is 506.1 million, according to data in reports such as ATF Firearms Commerce in the United States, ATF AFMER and Congressional Research Service and including the collective ATF AFMER reports up to the 2023 edition.
Total domestic firearm production reported in the 2023 AFMER was 8,466,729 – a decrease of 15.4 percent from 2022 reported figures.
Data indicates that 32,091,000 Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) are in circulation since 1990.
Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) production decreased 46.2 percent from 2022 to 2023. This increased the estimated amount of MSRs produced (since 1990) by 4.5 percent from 30.7 million to 32 million.
In 2023, 13,574,653 total firearms were made available for the U.S. market, which includes firearms that were domestically produced plus those imported, minus exported firearms. Of those, 8,176,535 were handguns, 3,899,907 were rifles and 1,498,211 were shotguns.
From 1990 to 2023, 284.4 million firearms have been made available to the U.S. market.

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DOJ: Ban on mailing concealable firearms unconstitutional, can’t be enforced

A nearly 100-year-old federal ban on mailing handguns through the U.S. Postal Service is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced, according to an opinion released Thursday by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The 15-page opinion concluded that a 1927 law, which made it illegal to use the Postal Service to mail concealable firearms, such as pistols and revolvers, infringes on the Second Amendment.

“Section 1715 makes it difficult to travel with arms for lawful purposes, including self-defense, target shooting, and hunting,” wrote T. Elliot Gaiser, the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel.

“The statute also imposes significant barriers to shipping constitutionally protected firearms as articles of commerce, which interferes with citizens’ incidental rights to acquire and maintain arms,” the opinion continued.

Postal Service policy mandates that nonmailable firearms found in the mail stream “must be immediately reported to the United States Postal Inspection Service,” and investigations are then referred to the relevant U.S. attorney’s office for prosecution.

The agency categorizes “pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on a person,” including short-barreled shotguns and rifles, as handguns. It also notes there are no restrictions on mailing rifles and shotguns between licensed dealers, manufacturers and importers.

Major private carriers, including UPS and FedEx, also restrict the shipping of firearms to only licensed dealers, which the opinion argued effectively creates a “complete ban” for unlicensed people.

The opinion acknowledged some limitations, finding the law was only unconstitutional related to handguns but still applied to undetectable firearms, such as pen guns.

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And I helped!

Explosion of Silence: ATF Gets 150,000 eForm Submissions On First Day of Zero Dollar Tax Stamps.

Gun owners from all across the country—except, of course, for California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.—can celebrate the New Year with a bang! Or, at least a suppressed bang, that is.

After Congress passed, and President Donald Trump signed into law, the One Big, Beautiful Bill last summer, the extra $200 tax on firearm suppressors, short-barrel rifles and short-barrel shotguns is no more.

During the final few months of 2025, many suppressor companies were known to cover the tax for suppressor buyers if they chose to make their purchase ahead of January 1 and the numbers noticeably increased before the holidays.

But with the ringing in of the New Year, suppressor purchases skyrocketed as expected. All signs suggest 2026 will be the Year of the Suppressor.

Not A Typo

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives informed NSSF that on Thursday, January 1, 2026, alone, an unprecedented surge in e-Forms submissions were being processed. That total was approximately 150,000 e-Forms. For an eye-popping comparison, last year, ahead of the $200-to-$0 tax change, typical daily volume on e-Forms for suppressors, SBRs and SBSs would hover closer to around 2,500.

That’s not a typo. Americans are taking advantage of the tax reduction on National Firearms Act (NFA) items—including firearm suppressors, SBSs and SBRs—in a big, big way.

That data tracks with other data points NSSF has seen in recent years and all expectations are that growth in the number of Americans who own a suppressor will explode.

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NRA sues the NRA Foundation.

Synopsis:

NRA is suing its charitable arm (the Foundation), accusing the Foundation’s leadership of trying to do their own thing instead of benefiting the NRA, and diverting money intended for NRA programs into other things.

Specifically, there’s $160 million that the NRA says the Foundation promised donors would go to NRA education programs, but now the Foundation is trying to cut off funding and run its own competing programs.

Other accusations involve changing the bylaws improperly, making the Foundation’s trustees “self-perpetuating” (self-electing), and cutting the NRA out of any say in who the Foundation’s people are.

gov.uscourts.dcd.288159.1.0

On the local scene

Judge dismisses charges against captain, 2 supervisors involved in deadly Ride the Ducks sinking in 2018

GALENA, Mo. (KY3) – A Stone County judge dismissed charges against the captain and two supervisors involved in the July 2018 deadly Ride the Ducks sinking.

Judge Johnnie Cox ruled there was no probable cause in the case against Captain Kenneth Scott McKee and two supervisors, Curtis Lanham and Charles Baltzell. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office refiled the charges in April 2022.

The Ride the Ducks’ Stretch Duck 7 with 31 people on board capsized and sank in stormy weather on Table Rock Lake. Seventeen passengers, including nine from the same family and one crew member driving the boat, drowned that night. It became one of the deadliest boating accidents in United States history.

Investigators say the Ride the Ducks crew had plenty of warnings about the severe weather, but the boat still launched more than 20 minutes after a thunderstorm warning was issued for Table Rock Lake. The duck boat sank under high waves while winds around the area reached up to 70 miles per hour that day.

ATF Will Shut Down eForms After Christmas to Retool for Zero Dollar Tax Stamps

As you surely recall, one of the features of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that’s near and dear to the hearts of gun owners is the elimination of the $200 tax on suppressors, short-barrel rifles and short-barrel shotguns. No longer will you have to fork over a couple of Benjamins for the privilege of buying a can for your AR or pistol caliber carbine. And if you decide an 11-inch barrel suits your need in a rifle better than one that’s 16 inches or more (18+ inches for shotguns), you won’t have to send Uncle Sam any of your hard-earned dollars.

This welcome change will take effect on January 1.

That means, however, some system tweaks are needed for our friends in ATF’s NFA Division. To make the necessary upgrades to handle the law change, they’re going to shut the eForms system down for Form 1 and Form 4 submissions after Christmas to let their geeks get to work.

From ATF . . .

On December 26, the eForms system will be temporarily unavailable while we upgrade the system to permit reduction to tax rates for certain NFA firearms.

- The ATF eForm 1 and ATF eForm 4 will be made unavailable on the eForms platform with no new electronic submissions available until January 1.
- All ATF eForm 1 and ATF eForm 4 applications in a DRAFT status will be deleted from the eForms system.

All completed ATF eForm 1 and ATF eForm 4 applications submitted within eForms before December 26 will be processed before January 1.

This is necessary to implement statutory changes contained within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reduced the making and transfer tax for certain firearms to $0. Deletion of all DRAFT applications is necessary because of the field and formatting changes required on the new forms, available January 1. This will also allow ATF to add additional functionality to the Form 4, allowing both qualified licensees as well as other transferors to submit Form 4 applications through the eForms system.

If you’ve ever been through a system change or upgrade, you know that the process seldom goes to plan. Let’s hope ATF has its digital ducks in a row. As noted above, any eForm applications in draft status when the system goes down will be zapped, so act accordingly.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Blaming Firearm Retailers for Crime Guns is Bad Policy – and ATF’s Data Proves it

New Mexico lawmakers are publicizing a new national report from Everytown for Gun Safety to justify new burdensome and suffocating licensing, training and fee requirements onto already heavily regulated firearm retailers. Their claim is that “three out of four guns found at New Mexico crime scenes were originally sold by a firearm dealer,” and that in nearly 90 percent of cases, someone other than the original purchaser actually possessed the gun — which they frame as evidence of rampant straw purchasing and lax gun retailers.

It’s a textbook example of how gun control groups and sympathetic policymakers misuse firearm trace data and gun control advocacy “reports” to smear lawful businesses while doing nothing to confront the criminals.

Everytown’s report, “The Supply Side of Violence: How Gun Dealers Fuel Firearm Trafficking,” leans hard on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) trace data and recent trafficking assessments to argue for more state-level licensing schemes, higher fees, inspection mandates and expanded civil liability for licensed retailers. New Mexico’s proposal copies that script almost verbatim. But after a close examination of what the ATF and the Department of Justice (DOJ) actually say, and the federal laws already on the books, their case for targeting licensed retailers collapses.

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Mossberg Gets $11.5M+ Contract for Additional 590A1 Shotguns

O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a contract for approximately $11.6 million dollars to supply the U.S. Army with additional Mossberg® 590A1™ pump-action shotguns.

First adopted by multiple branches of the U.S. Military in 1987, the Mossberg 590® proved its reliability and durability by successfully completing the rigorous MIL-SPEC 3443E testing protocol, then company said in a press release. The Mossberg 590A1 also features a heavy-walled 18.5-inch barrel; metal trigger guard; metal safety selector switch; and parkerized finish. It is chambered for 3-inch magnums.

The 590A1 has an OAL of 39.5 inches, has a 13.87-inch length of pull, ghost ring sights and a 6+1 capacity.

Following its adoption, the U.S. Military requested a purpose-built variant capable of withstanding sustained, high-volume use in the most demanding environments. That requirement led directly to the development of the Mossberg 590A1 — a strengthened, mission-ready evolution of the original 590 platform.

“Mossberg is honored to receive an additional contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for the battle-proven 590A1 shotgun,” said John MacLellan, Mossberg’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “This award reflects our long commitment to supplying rugged, mission-capable firearms built to exacting standards — and reinforces our pledge to provide timely solutions that support the safety and effectiveness of U.S. service members.”

Mossberg 590A1 shotguns are based upon the time-tested Mossberg 500 pump-action platform, with non-binding twin action bars; positive steel-to-steel lock-up; and an anti-jam elevator for smooth, reliable operation; dual extractors; anodized aluminum receiver for added durability, and universally-recognized, ambidextrous top-tang mounted safety.

Gun Sales Background Checks Top 1.4 Million in November 2025

Looking at national background check data for November, Americans picked up well over a million firearms last month, yet again. While million-plus sales numbers have become the new normal in recent years, November’s figures reflect a nearly 7-percent decrease compared to the same time in 2024.

It’s worth keeping in mind that last November was part of a volatile election cycle with gun rights on the ballot. No doubt that drove many sales. For 2025, the NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System figure comes to a total of 1,408,230.

That’s a drop from November 2024, which saw NSSF-adjusted numbers set at 1,514,773 checks. The unadjusted numbers show an even stronger drop. Total unadjusted FBI NICS figures for November 2025 came to 2,005,667. You can compare that to the unadjusted FBI numbers for November 2024, which came to 2,509,368.

Overall, unadjusted checks reflect a 20.1-percent decrease year over year.

Still, November’s adjusted figures topped October’s numbers of 1,299,312, thanks in part to surging background checks during Black Friday week. That peak sales week saw some 530,156 checks for firearm sales, with Black Friday itself showing 165,183 checks.

Total gun sales were almost certainly higher than the NICS-marked background checks would suggest. Currently, 28 states have at least one pre-qualified permit that can serve as an alternative to background checks. Additionally, total NICS numbers cannot reflect all peer-to-peer sales, which do not require a background check in some states.

Regardless, if we hop into our time machine, it seems even this 2025 decline is still within the new normal of increased interest in gun ownership nationwide. Pre-COVID figures for November 2019, which were considered a big boom back then, came to just 1,105,335 checks.

That makes this November’s “slump” a whopping 27.4-percent increase over the old 2019 “boom.”

Black Friday 2025: Over 165,000 Background Checks for Gun Sales

More than 165,000 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background checks were conducted on Black Friday 2025.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported there were precisely 165,183 NICS checks conducted on Black Friday 2025 and a total of 530,156 conducted during the “the week leading up to, and including” Black Friday.

NICS checks are those conducted at retail for the sale of a firearm. The checks began in 1993 and are conducted by the FBI, which uses the information a would-be gun buyer provides on gun transfer Form 4473.

Once a would-be gun buyer passes the NICS check, he is able to buy a firearm.

It is important to remember that more than one gun can be transferred after a successful check is conducted on an individual, as the check is done on the person not the firearm(s). This means 165,183 checks could actually translate into 200,000+ or 300,000+ guns sold, or even more.

New York’s Assault on the NRA — and Free Speech — Gets a Court Bailout

In 2017, under the direction of then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, the state of New York launched a coordinated campaign to cripple the National Rifle Association (NRA) because of its defense of the Second Amendment and protected speech. New York’s Department of Financial Services contacted banks and insurance companies that did business with the NRA and delivered an unmistakable message: Continue associating with the NRA, and the state would investigate, cite, and regulate your business into oblivion. Coming from the state’s top financial regulator, the warning carried real weight – exactly as intended.

The strategy worked. Financial institutions and insurers quickly distanced themselves from the NRA, leaving the organization unable to secure even basic corporate services in the state. If that sounds like an obvious First Amendment violation, that’s because it is. More than 60 years ago, the Supreme Court made clear in Bantam Books v. Sullivan that government “threat[s] of invoking legal sanctions and other means of coercion” against third parties to suppress disfavored speech are flatly unconstitutional.

Because that rule remains as clear today as it was in 1963, the Supreme Court agreed with the ACLJ’s amicus brief and ruled unanimously for the NRA last term. Justice Sotomayor, writing for the Court, put it plainly: “A government official cannot coerce a private party to punish or suppress disfavored speech on her behalf.” When regulators use the power of their office to pressure private actors into isolating or punishing a speaker, they violate the First Amendment just as surely as if they had censored the speech directly.

This case sits squarely at the intersection of the First and Second Amendments. The NRA’s policy views related to the Second Amendment, its speech, its advocacy, and its expression are all protected by the First Amendment. A government that can strangle a gun-rights group through financial coercion can use the same tools to silence pro-life organizations, religious ministries, parental-rights groups, or anyone else who falls out of political favor. That is why the ACLJ fights not just for the substance of constitutional rights, but also against government efforts to punish those who speak about them.

That unanimous ruling should have ended the matter. It should have allowed the NRA’s lawsuit to proceed so a jury could determine the full extent of the constitutional violations. But the Second Circuit had other ideas. In defiance of both the Supreme Court’s clear command and the First Amendment itself, the court held that New York’s officials were entitled to qualified immunity – meaning the case had to be dismissed.

Qualified Immunity Was Never Meant to Shield Deliberate Speech Suppression

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Gun Owners of America Learns Gag Orders Makes Strange Bedfellows

Gun Owners of America has been challenging the Department of Justice over a troubling program where American gun buyers are seeing their purchases monitored by the ATF. There’s no due process involved at all, either. All it takes is for a law enforcement officer to say he suspects someone of not being an ideal citizen, and suddenly, they’ll get a notification whenever that person has a NICS check performed.

Just how bad are things? We don’t know.

It seems GOA knows, but they’re not talking. It’s not because they don’t want to. They’re not allowed to. They’re under a gag order that prevents them from telling what they know.

Unsurprisingly, others have an issue with that.

However, as this video from GOA tells us, what’s surprising is who is standing with them on this.

The fact that we’re being monitored for exercising our Second Amendment rights is far from new information. That doesn’t make it a good thing, only that it’s nothing new.

But for groups like Reuters, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Vox, NPR, and Politico, among others, to stand with gun owners and have a problem with the gag order is very, very new.

As noted in the video, many of these organizations are generally very hostile toward the Second Amendment and Second Amendment organizations like Gun Owners of America.

Yet this isn’t a gun issue. Not really.

Sure, the underlying surveillance is very much a relevant issue for gun rights supporters, but the fact that Gun Owners of America isn’t allowed to speak about information that was given to them, inadvertently, by the Biden Department of Justice, is troubling for anyone in the media. After all, we get information from a variety of sources. Not all of that information was intended for public consumption, which is often the point. It betrays troubling behavior by the government that’s hidden under various laws pertaining to classified material.

And the courts have traditionally understood that and sided with the free press on such things most of the time.

If GOA is unable to speak with material handed to them directly by the DOJ, even if it wasn’t intentional, then what about a reporter who finds out that the government is funding an illegal arms trafficking network via drug sales in our inner cities? Just to name one completely random and not at all historical example.

Will Reuters get slammed with a gag order because a source gives them information on how the CIA is arming cartels so they can fight a different cartel? Again, a hypothetical, though this one is actually one I pulled out of my fourth point of contact.

That’s what this stand is truly about, of course, and I get that. It’s even fair that they’d side with GOA over their personal interests above and beyond any potential intrinsic desire to stand for rights as a whole. They’re not suddenly going to be pro-gun. This is about them and only them. In fact, I doubt they give a damn about the monitoring effort at all.

But politics is said to make strange bedfellows. It seems so do gag orders.

Fired 7-Eleven clerk sparks debate over self-defense and company policy

Oklahoma City, Okla. — The firing of Stephanie Dilyard, a former 7-Eleven clerk in Oklahoma, has ignited widespread debate over self-defense rights and corporate policies.

Dilyard, 25, was terminated after using her personal firearm to shoot Kenneth Thompson, 59, who she claims attempted to strangle her when she refused a counterfeit bill.

Despite being protected under Oklahoma’s self-defense law, 7-Eleven cited a violation of company policy as the reason for her dismissal.

The incident has drawn significant public attention, with many criticizing 7-Eleven for prioritizing protocol over employee safety.

Attorney Noble McIntyre commented, “It’s unfortunate she didn’t shoot him twice,” highlighting the tension between self-defense rights and employment policies.

McIntyre noted that Oklahoma is an at-will employment state, allowing employers to terminate workers for almost any reason, provided it doesn’t violate public policy.

However, he emphasized that Oklahoma’s stand-your-ground law supports Dilyard’s right to defend herself.

Ed Blau, a criminal defense attorney, explained the company’s stance, stating, “7-Eleven as a corporation, they do not want all of their employees packing heat while working all over the country. That presents a tremendous liability risk for them.” Blau suggested that Dilyard might face challenges in pursuing a wrongful termination lawsuit, as the company’s policy was clear.

The case raises questions about the responsibility of employers to ensure the safety of their employees.

Blau noted, “If an employee of a convenience store such as 7-Eleven is injured or even killed while working and that store did not provide either adequate safety measures or security, that store could be held liable for putting their employee in an unsafe space.”

As the debate continues, Dilyard remains resolute, stating she would make the same decision again to ensure she returns home to her children.

The story has sparked a broader conversation about employee safety and corporate accountability, with many calling for 7-Eleven to reconsider its policies.

In Minnesota, Leftist Gun Owners Identify Problem with Dems

By Dave Workman

Buried deep in a feature about three left-tilting college guys who have started a company which builds speed loaders for AR-15 magazines is a revealing observation about Democrats and why there may never be a rational conversation about the Second Amendment.

The feature, published in the Minnesota Reformer, focuses on Sid Allen, his fledgling company MangaBerry West, and his colleagues Riley Dahlberg and Tarik Alduri. All three of these guys are still in their 20s. According to the story, “Allen is the president, and Dahlberg vice president, of the St. Cloud College Democrats even though they are left of the party establishment on most issues.”

But one has to read almost to the end to reach the red meat.

“Despite being in favor of higher taxes for more robust social services,” the story says, “which is at the core of Democratic identity, the MangaBerry West guys said they’ve been told by Democrats that they aren’t real Democrats because of their support for gun rights.”

At another point in the feature, Alduri was quoted observing, “I think it’s sad that we have gotten to this point where the left thinks that they’re not allowed to own guns in order to stay aligned Democratic Party.”

Minnesota is home to Gov. Tim Walz, a former “A”-rated politician who did such a 180-degree shift on guns he’s almost persona non grata at the National Rifle Association. It’s a state where extremist Democrat gun control measures are currently held in check by the virtually even split in the legislature between Democrats and Republicans.

This year has seen tragedies linked to guns. There was the murder of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. She served as House Speaker until January of this year and was a leader in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party (DFL), which is the state Democrat party.

Then came the attack at the Annunciation Catholic Church, which left two students dead and 21 others wounded.

As KMSP Fox9 News is reporting, Democrat state Sen. Judy Seeberger, who is reportedly a gun owner, is talking about gun control in the 2026 legislative session. She, along with others in her party, wants a ban on so-called “assault weapons.”

This is where MangaBerry’s Alduri acknowledged his understanding of capitalism and how the gun ban Democrats want would “be a massive hit to our business.” At some point, idealism invariably collides with reality.

Also, if court rulings ultimately undo many if not most restrictive gun control laws around the country because they violate the Second Amendment, it will mean Democrats, as described by the MangaBerry West crew, will have to acknowledge their prejudices and admit gun owners have rights, too.

Almost 1.3 Million Background Checks for Gun Sales in October

According to national background check data, Americans picked up over a million firearms last month, again.

October saw no less than 2,289,774 background checks logged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. That is on par with the 2,298,383 checks done in October 2024.

After the National Shooting Sports Foundation crunched the data to remove gun permit checks and rechecks, the adjusted figure for likely retail sales stood at 1,299,312, which remains on par with the October 2024 NSSF-adjusted NICS tally of 1,302,857.

It should be noted that last October was on the cusp of the 2024 general election cycle, putting Presidents Biden and Trump, along with a swath of congressional, state, and local candidates, on the ballot amid concerns over gun control and political violence.

Firearms industry experts told Guns.com that the data is telling.

“October’s figures of nearly 1.3 million background checks for the sale of a firearm at retail are an encouraging sign that America’s desire to exercise Second Amendment rights remains strong,” Mark Oliva, public affairs officer with the NSSF, told Guns.com via email. “Historically, firearms sales during the fall hunting seasons are robust, and October’s figures hold true to that trend. Firearm manufacturers continue to produce the high-quality tools that today’s gun buyers have come to expect, and these figures bear that out.”

Henry’s Lever Action Supreme Named Rifle of the Year.

Henry’s Lever Action Supreme Named Rifle of the Year

Henry Repeating Arms is no stranger to innovation, but their latest achievement has set a new industry benchmark. The company’s Lever Action Supreme Rifle (LASR) has been named 2025 Rifle of the Year by Guns & Ammo magazine, one of the most respected publications in the firearms world.

The award was announced as part of Guns & Ammo’s rigorous annual evaluation process, which includes field testing, performance analysis, in-store availability, and value assessments. Out of every rifle released in 2025, Henry’s LASR came out on top.

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Printer Panic: Everytown 3D Gun Summit Targets Technological Advancement

Recently, Everytown for Gun Safety hosted a 3D Printed Firearms Summit in New York City with the goal being to “build cross-sector collaboration and chart actionable strategies to stem the tide of 3D-printed firearm (3DPF) related violence.” The gathering of gloom is seemingly a leftover from the Biden-Harris administration, which convened similar confabs of gun control absolutists. One positive note is that these kinds of anti-gun “summits” must now be funded with Everytown’s own money rather than by taxpayers through Biden’s defunct White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Media hype ahead of the summit warned, “We’re at the start of a new public safety crisis and there is no time to waste,” and “3D-printed firearms are the new frontier in the fight against gun violence.” Everytown is apparently measuring this crisis by “recovery data from twenty U.S. cities submitted exclusively to Everytown” according to their Facebook post. Exclusive crime-related data given just to Everytown may raise its own kinds of red-flags to consider.

While 3D printing is a newer and developing technology, homemade firearms, or PMFs — privately made firearms — are not. Since the birth of our nation, citizens have enjoyed the right to create their own privately made firearms. A review of the basic facts on PMFs would have made for a helpful presentation at the summit.

As far as federal law is concerned, individuals can legally make firearms for personal use without a license as long as the person isn’t prohibited from possession of firearms, the firearm is detectable, and the firearm isn’t made or sold for profit. Firearms and related items that are illegal under federal and/or state law, however, are still illegal. Items that are already regulated by federal and/or state law are still regulated.

Firearms continue to be heavily regulated regardless of how they are manufactured. Articles referring to 3D printed firearms are a mishmash of terms interchanging 3D printed firearms with “ghost guns” and undetectable firearms. The National Firearms Act of 1934, the Gun Control Act of 1968, the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988, to name just a few, continue to govern firearms produced by 3D printing.

The mere absence of a serial number does not make a gun undetectable and if 3D printers were capable of producing undetectable firearms, such guns would already be illegal to manufacture and possess anywhere in the country.

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NRA announces restructuring of media department to prepare for ‘fights ahead’

EXCLUSIVE — The National Rifle Association is restructuring its media division and will streamline other parts of the organization.

The changes are aimed at “maximizing member dollars, streamlining operations, and investing in critical programs that best serve NRA members and ensure the long-term strength of the organization,” a press release from the NRA reads.

The NRA has more than 5 million members and is one of the top Second Amendment advocacy organizations in the United States.

“The NRA is listening and anticipating our members’ needs,” NRA President Bill Bachenberg told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “NRA 2.0 is re-focusing on its core missions of protecting our God-given Second Amendment rights, gun safety and training, supporting our Clubs & Associations and shooting competitions.”

Bachenberg became the NRA’s 69th president in May, replacing attorney Bob Barr. He suggested that the reorganization will make the NRA more efficient.

“We are flattening the organizational structure, redeploying staff, and exploiting technology to better manage the day-to-day activities of the Association,” Bachenberg said. “By knocking down the current vertical silos and creating cross-functional teams, there will be less duplication, stronger member services, and better communications.”

The organization will also “merge its Membership, Marketing and Advancement Divisions into a single department,” with “new data-driven techniques to increase revenue.”

Staff will be affected by the reorganization, according to the NRA.

“These necessary changes will, unfortunately, impact staff,” the release from the NRA reads. “The NRA’s leadership did not make these decisions lightly but must realign resources to ensure America’s largest and oldest gun rights organization remains strong and ready to address the fight ahead.”

NRA CEO Doug Hamlin said a “leaner NRA” is needed so that the organization can fend off its adversaries.

“The NRA has delivered on its promise to provide a pro-gun President, Congress, and Supreme Court for our members,” Hamlin said.

“These successes have not gone unnoticed by our adversaries, who are doubling down on election spending, lawfare, and new programs to push their radical gun-grabbing agenda,” he added. “To ensure we are prepared for the fights ahead, we must create a leaner NRA that focuses on stretching every member dollar to best protect your right to keep and bear arms.”