Category: Gun Schtuff

Not really ‘news’ to anyone who’s been recently been to a gun store.
And the prices of what is available! Wheew-ee.
Reloading supplies still appear widely available…for now.

COVID hoarding hits ammunition supplies; ammo shortage continues to get worse

(KELO) — It’s an issue hunters and gun enthusiasts have run into many times before, but this year, an ammo shortage just continues to get worse.

“We try to sell ammo, but that’s been a challenge in 2020. It’s very, very hard to find ammo,” said South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance Executive Director Brian Phelps.

The gun range at the Alliance is now limiting ammo purchases when people come to use the range.

“We’ll limit them to one box of ammunition vs. the normal 300 to 500 rounds,” Phelps said.

That’s because replacing some of those rounds is nearly impossible right now.

“Our guys will sit online and work with our manufacturers, and as soon as they see ammo available, they’re hitting buy. It goes that quick once it’s available,” Phelps said.

Right now, there’s no end in sight to this tight market. Continue reading “”

Rifle vs. Shotgun for Defense in the Event of Civil Unrest

On an email discussion list the relative merits of shotguns vs. AR15s came up in the context of defensing yourself in a riot. Another member offered the opinion that Kyle Rittenhouse would been better served with a semiauto shotgun or even a side by side (SxS).

This is an edited version of my reply:

An AR15 or other semiauto rifle is an ideal choice for protecting oneself in a riot. As demonstrated by Kyle Rittenhouse, 5.56mm at close range is devastating, while offering light recoil and the ability to carry a lot of ammo while not weighing much.

A SxS shotgun is better than a sharp stick but when confronted with multiple attackers I don’t want to have to reload after only two shots. KR actually fired at 4 different individuals, all at bad breath range.

Something that needs to be noted is that these Antifa guys pressed the attack even after watching one of their buddies get killed. The old saw that a group of criminals will disperse after you drop one or two cannot be depended upon to be true when dealing with Antifa. IMHO, they need to be regarded more like determined insurgents than as criminals.

Also note the importance of a sling for weapon retention. One of the shootees, I think Pedo Dwarf, tried to pull KR’s rifle away from him before being shot. The sling prevented that. A bayonet might also be helpful for weapon retention. Continue reading “”

5 Steps to Improve Your Dry-Fire Routine.

Most of us are spending a lot of time indoors that would otherwise be excellent shooting weather or are unable to get to the range. Editor-in-Chief Mark Keefe asked if I would share some thoughts on dry fire to perhaps help shooters get some repetitions in while stay-at-home orders are in effect. I am happy to do so with the understanding that there are many ways to organize dry fire, and this is but one, albeit one that I find very helpful………….

Step 1: Feel and Observe.

The objective here is, perhaps surprisingly, not to break perfect shots but to learn and understand exactly how the trigger feels along its movement and to observe the baseline movement of the front sight as the trigger is manipulated. As long as the front sight stays within the notch of the rear sight, life is good, and the shooter needn’t concern himself with judging the quality of the break. The entire point is to identify the ‘parts’ of the trigger movement and to be able to learn to recognize the feel of each………

Step 2: Explore Inputs and Variables.

With the movement somewhat mapped in my mind, I now begin to see how I can keep the front sight more reliably centered through the break. I am still not “forcing” the shot with a “NOW!” approach but working through a checklist of inputs to explore the reaction in the sight alignment at the moment of release. At this point, I still largely defer judgment on the quality of my “shots” and am simply exploring and learning. I have three reliable “go-to” variables that I work through……….

Step 3: Get to the ‘Wall.’

This step translates the data gained in step one into practical knowledge. The shooter seeks to press through the take-up to “hold” at the initial resistance of the engagement stage with the sights aligned. With a single-action semi-automatic, this is a slight, simple movement. With most double- and single-actions it’s a longish, simple movement………..

Step 4: Combine Presentation with the Movement Stage.

When I have found the degree that I can sweep through the take-up, I then begin to dry fire, getting to that point as the pistol extends into final firing position from the holster or ready position. The goal is to be at the engagement stage of the trigger as the front sight settles fully into the notch on target. This assumes that the shooter has already made the firm decision to fire and is not presenting to assess a potential shot, in which case the finger would remain off of the trigger.

Step 5: ‘Steering’ the Trigger.

Steps three and four do not really apply to double-actions, whether revolvers or the first shot in double- and single-action handguns. This step applies as more to double-actions than it does to striker-fired pistols. Many shooters are somewhere on the spectrum between somewhat intimidated and downright afraid of the double-action trigger. This is a perfect time to address and overcome that.

In case you missed it:

2020 Gun Sales Have Likely Surpassed All of 2019.

The number of new guns purchased in 2020 likely passed the total for 2019 sometime this month. August volume won’t be available for at least another week, although after Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting (SAAF) Chief Economist Jurgen Brauer said in a press release earlier this month—after analyzing July’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) volume—“Our estimates suggest that the market for the first seven months of 2020 now has nearly matched that of the entire year of 2019.”

The FBI processed 3,639,224 NICS checks in July, the third highest on record. Only June and March of this year have experienced a heavier monthly volume in the entire history of the system. After subtracting administrative use, last month’s figure represents roughly 2 million firearm purchases. Continue reading “”

BLUF:
Each month since March, NSSF-adjusted NICS background checks have set a record as the strongest ever recorded for that month.

FIRST-TIME GUN BUYERS GROW TO NEARLY 5 MILLION IN 2020

NEWTOWN, Conn. – NSSF®, the trade association for the firearm industry, updated retail survey-based estimates and concluded that nearly 5 million Americans purchased a firearm for the very first time in 2020. NSSF surveyed firearm retailers which reported that 40 percent of sales were conducted to purchasers who have never previously owned a firearm.

NSSF tracks the background checks associated with the sale of a firearm based on the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System (NICS). NSSF-adjusted NICS checks for January through July 2020 is a record 12.1 million, which is up 71.7 percent from the 7.1 million NSSF-adjusted NICS January through July 2019. This equates to nearly 5 million first-time gun owners in the first seven months of 2020. Continue reading “”

“I live for this event. I really do,” Moner said. “There’s nothing like seeing a woman pull the trigger on a firearm for the very first time. It’s like a light just goes off in her. It’s a moment of enlightenment.”

Detroit Women Flock to Gun Training.

Tanisha Moner has had a gun pointed at her twice in her life. Once by two strangers who kidnapped, robbed, and sexually assaulted her when she was 17. And, again, by another robber as she worked a management shift at a restaurant.

The traumatic experiences left her scarred, afraid of guns, shuddering at the sound of a firework and popped balloon. That changed the day she decided to face her fears and showed up for a gun-carry class at a local range.

“Succumbing to your own fear is the only thing that can stop you from doing anything you want to do,” Moner told the Washington Free Beacon.

She said that first gun-safety training class years ago helped her overcome her fear and ignited a passion to help others overcome their own fears. Continue reading “”

WHY “LARGE CAPACITY MAGAZINES” ARE IMPORTANT

Massad Ayoob

We recently discussed here the Ninth Circuit’s decision that limiting private citizens to a magazine capacity of ten rounds was unconstitutional.

The Court referred to them as LCMs, Large Capacity Magazines. We gun people call them Standard Capacity Magazines since that’s what so many of the firearms in question – handguns, rifles, and even shotguns – were originally designed for.  It continues to amaze me that people whose critical thinking skills are otherwise intact can’t “get it” on this issue.

First, of course, is the utter stupidity of believing that criminals who are prepared to commit murder and face life in prison without possibility of parole, or even capital punishment, will somehow be deterred from breaking a magazine limit law. But let’s look at the common questions of “Why do private citizens need more than ten bullets to defend themselves? And if they do, why can’t they just reload, or carry more guns?”

For one thing, most home defense guns are stored in secure places and not carried on one’s person when at home.  A home invasion can happen in seconds. When you grab the gun, it’s unlikely you’ll have time to grab more ammunition: what’s in it at the start is probably all you’ll have until it’s over, one way or the other.  Do you want the two rounds in a Joe Biden Signature Model double barrel shotgun against three or more armed home invaders?

For another, violent criminals running on adrenaline and often drugs and alcohol can soak up bullet after bullet before they run out of blood or a lucky hit short-circuits their central nervous system.  More bad guys wear body armor today than in the time of John Dillinger: current news shows violent Antifas wearing it openly.  And surgical bullet placement for a single bullet in tense life-or-death circumstances is more the exception than the norm.

Magazine limits have a disproportionate, disparate impact against the elderly and the handicapped.  It’s hard enough for someone in a wheelchair to get to a gun at all, never mind packing spare magazines or extra guns. And how does the wheelchair-bound victim get to cover to reload in any case? I can testify from experience that arthritic hands slow you down, too. How much of a nightmare is it to run out of ammo when you’re trying to save your family from a home invader? This article will give you an example.

If your state has a magazine capacity limit, the recent Ninth Circuit decision cited above offers some hope for the future. If your state allows you to have standard capacity magazines, fight like hell to keep them when, as they eventually will, Prohibitionists attempt to prohibit them.

 

And the number one state with most NICS checks so far this year is…….

Dwarfing all other states, FBI data show Illinois had 4.6 million background checks for guns in first seven months

(The Center Square) – Illinois topped the list of all states for firearm background checks so far this year, and is already on pace to blow last year’s numbers out of the water. And reports persist of people waiting beyond the three-day waiting period to pick up the guns they’ve purchased.

There are also more than 143,000 Firearm Owner Identification, or FOID card, applicants still waiting for their cards to be processed by Illinois State Police.

A state Representative says this is tantamount to civil rights being infringed.

Monthly records from the FBI’s NICS Firearm Background Checks report show in the first seven months of the year, there have been nearly 4.6 million checks. That dwarfs every other state, with only Kentucky coming close with 2.2 million checks from January through July. Continue reading “”

If the ammo shortage a few years ago didn’t educate you……..

Ammo Shortage May Last Until 2021.

Vista Outdoor CEO Christopher Metz’s quarterly earnings call, which took place earlier this month, indicates the current ammunition shortage may continue at least until 2021—perhaps longer.

“July firearms background checks were another triple-digit month, and we have said many times that ammunition sales typically take multiple months to catch up,” Metz told investors on the conference call. The comment indicates it may be the end of the year before retailers are fully stocked again, assuming cartridge demand stabilizes.

Olin’s quarterly report, also issued earlier this month, endorses that observation. The company said its Winchester Ammunition division experienced a 17-percent increase in orders during the three-month period.

“We expect this elevated level of demand to continue at least until the end of the year,” Olin CEO John Fischer said during his earnings call. Continue reading “”

The Japanese Attempt To Copy The M1 Garand

The main U.S. service rifle during World War II, the M1 Garand, earned notoriety not only from the nation that produced it and the soldiers that used it, but from those who faced it as well. The Japanese were no exception to this, as they tested and evaluated captured M1 rifles themselves during the war. They even went so far as to adapt John Garand’s design in the final two years of the war. This is the story of Japan’s attempt to make their own semi-automatic rifle, and how they tried to copy the M1 to give their infantry a more even footing against the superior U.S. forces they faced.

Even as early as the 1930s, Japan was attempting to develop a semi-auto military rifle. Image: Institute of Military Technology

Continue reading “”

Why Suppressors Are the Future

When we run into an entrenched, bureaucratic problem, the easiest way out is to find someone who has been through the maze. Even better is to find someone who has made it his mission to guide you through the maze. When it comes to buying suppressors, Brandon L. Maddox, founder of Silencer Central, is such a sage.

Maddox is a pharmacist with an MBA who got into varmint hunting when he moved to South Dakota years ago. He found that using a suppressor upped his game, but he had trouble navigating the system to get one. He also wasn’t happy with the product that was then available to him. So he built Silencer Central.

I spoke with Maddox recently to question him on behalf of gun owners and hunters who aspire to acquire a suppressor. Continue reading “”

Daniel Defense DDM4 PDW Pistol (300 Blackout) – First Rounds

Daniel Defense DDM4-PDW

Daniel Defense has established itself as a major player in America’s booming gun manufacturer market, garnering a solid reputation as well as lucrative military contracts. All this was done in the span of only two decades, a relatively short time considering the age of other popular manufacturers. At the 2020 SHOT Show, Daniel Defense announced a new addition to their line-up, the DDM4-PDW. Designed as a compact variant of their DDM4 series of AR’s, the DDM4-PDW takes advantage of the short-barrel-friendly ballistics of the .300 AAC Blackout cartridge. Continue reading “”

Couldn’t be the riots, looting and such could it? nahhhhh.

Survey: Gun Control Support Down Double Digits from Last Year.

A Rasmussen Reports survey shows likely voter support for gun control has dropped double digits since this time last year.

According to the survey, 52 percent of likely voters support stricter gun control now versus the 64 percent who supported it a year ago, and the 56 percent who supported it in years prior to that.

Forty-seven percent of likely voters “say they or someone in their household now owns a gun,” and among those likely voters in gun-owning households 27 percent “say they or someone in their family has purchased one within the last six months.”

On July 1, Breitbart News reported that the first six months of 2020 witnessed 6 consecutive records for firearm background checks.

In other words, January 2020 set the record for the most background checks ever conducted in the month of January, February 2020 set the record for the most in February, March for the most in March, and so on all the way through June.

June 2020 not only set the record for background checks in the month of June, but the most background checks in a single month, period. FBI numbers showed 3,931,607 NICS checks conducted in June, which beat the previous single month record of 3,740,688 checks, set in March 2020.

AUGUST IS NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS MONTH

While many of us practice our Second Amendment right through regular shooting, hunting, reloading and other gun-related fun each month, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) established August as National Shooting Sports Month in 2016.

Originally created as a promotion for retailers and ranges to attract new customers during the traditional summer slump, it’s become a celebration among gun owners with an emphasis on introducing new shooters to the industry, teaching firearms safety and sharing a collective love of shooting sports. Continue reading “”

This is real a question? Of course they are.

The Concealed-Carry Revolver: Is It Still Relevant?

Examples of small-frame revolvers

 

For no really good reason, there seems to be an attitude among prospective handgun buyers that holds the revolver in low esteem. In a majority of jurisdictions, Americans are legally permitted to carry firearms for personal defense and have long gravitated to the small, light, short-barreled revolver to play this role.

But times have changed and continue to change as I hunt and peck my way through this story. Shooters look into hideout guns of a different sort, largely because we now have hideout guns of a different sort. The short, light, flat, powerful and reliable defensive semi-automatic pistol is now a practical reality. They’re selling a lot of them, and they are crowding out the wheelguns. Continue reading “”

Henry Issues Safety Warning and Recall Notice of Henry Single Shot Rifles and Shotguns

Henry H015

Henry announced that it is voluntarily recalling all H015-series Single Shot Rifles and Single Shot Shotguns manufactured prior to July 1, 2020.  Henry has recently discovered a potential safety issue wherein, under certain conditions, it is possible that some of these models may discharge without the trigger being pulled if the hammer is partially cocked and released. To prevent the possibility of death or serious personal injury, you should immediately stop using all H015-series Single Shot Rifles and Single Shot Shotguns and not load or fire them until they have been upgraded.

The safety issue leading to this voluntary recall was discovered internally while testing the existing fire control system for a trigger pull upgrade.  This is the first product safety recall in the company’s nearly 25-year history.  Although not every Henry H015-series firearm may be affected, Henry Repeating Arms is requesting that all Single Shot Rifles and Single Shot Shotguns be returned to be upgraded free of charge pursuant to this recall to prevent the possibility of the firearm discharging without the trigger being pulled.  All H015 owners should visit the Henry H015 Recall website at HenryUSA.com/recall, email recall@henryusa.com, or call 1-866-200-2354 (M-F, 9AM ET-5PM ET) to obtain additional information and begin the upgrade process.

Henry Repeating Arms will upgrade all returned Single Shot Rifles and Single Shot Shotguns in the order in which they are received.  Henry Repeating Arms is ready to begin performing the upgrade as the firearms are received.  Information on the current turnaround time for firearms returned to be upgraded will be provided at HenryUSA.com/recall.  Henry Repeating Arms will make every effort to minimize the amount of time required to upgrade and return your firearm.  As a sign of appreciation to its customers, Henry Repeating Arms will also perform an unrelated performance upgrade to improve the trigger pull on all firearms returned pursuant to this recall free of charge.