Gun Schtuff – Page 24

2nd Preliminary Report on the Tisas .45 Commander.

Having some spare time available, I decided to drill down on the pistol’s feeding problem.

I think I’ve got it fixed.

I first tried relieving the notch that engages the cartridge rim, but even after that, the pistol still didn’t want to reliably feed, so I dived into my spare parts and compared the factory extractor to a mil issue one.

As you can see in the picture:

The end of the factory extractor on the right is noticeably thicker in diameter, so I swapped in the issue one and voilà, the feeding problem is no more.

AK and I are going to burn some gunpowder this weekend, so we’ll confirm that the reliability problem has been solved, and go from there for possible sight adjustment for the ammo the pistol likes best.

Texas Supreme Court dismissed lawsuit against gun store brought by families of the victims in church shooting

The Texas Supreme Court ruled the families of victims killed during a mass shooting cannot sue the gun store where the suspect purchased the weapon he used.

The lawsuit was brought in 2019, nearly two years after Devin Kelley gunned down 25 people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, before killing himself after a chase. It was the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history.

Family members of the victims filed a lawsuit against Academy Sports & Outdoors, a sporting goods chain, where Kelley had purchased the AR-556 semi-automatic rifle, ammunition, and high-capacity magazine used in the shooting. The lawsuit argued the store wrongfully sold him the gun because he presented an ID from Colorado, where it’s illegal to sell high-capacity magazines.

After two lower courts declined to dismiss the case, Academy Sports appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled the lawsuit couldn’t go forward due to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which protects gun retailers and makers when their products are used to commit crimes.

The court also said the sale was legal despite Kelley’s Colorado ID. The US Gun Control Act required the retailer to comply with Colorado laws, but the court said it only applies to firearms, not the magazine.

Families of the victims are also suing the US Air Force. Kelley was convicted of domestic violence in a military court while serving in the Air Force. The Air Force later admitted it failed to divulge the conviction to the proper FBI crime database, which would have prevented Kelley from purchasing the weapon.

The Air Force said at the time it launched a review into how the records were handled.

SIXTH CIRCUITS GRANTS DOJ EN BANC REHEARING IN GOA’S BUMP STOCK CASE

The United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted an en banc rehearing of Gun Owners of America VS. Garland.

The Gun Owners of America (GOA) backed lawsuit deals with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) banning bump stocks through changing the definition of a machine gun. Most bump stock cases primarily focus on the Second Amendment issue. This case’s primary focus is the ATF’s use of Chevron Difference to create new laws through regulation instead of going through Congress. The courts seem keener on tackling Chevron Deference than taking on Second Amendment issues.

Chevron Deference dates to 1984. In Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc, the United States Supreme Court set a legal test to determine whether to grant deference to a government agency’s interpretation of a statute. The test consists of two parts. The first is “whether the agency’s answer is based on a permissible construction of the statute.” The second is that Congress has not dealt with the exact issue in question.

GOA’s counsel argues Chevron Deference can be applied only to administrative law. They further state that since the definition of a machine gun is criminal law, that distinction means that the ATF cannot use Chevron Deference to redefine a machine to include bump stocks. A three-judge panel agreed with GOA’s reasoning and ordered the district court to enact an injunction against the ATF’s arbitrary ban of the item.

Because the court granted the Department of Justice (DOJ) an en banc rehearing of the case, the panel’s decision is vacated, which means the District Court will not issue an injunction against the bump stock ban until the full bench hears arguments from both GOA’s lawyers and the Government lawyers. For all intents and purposes, it is like the three-judge panel’s decision never happened.

The decision to grant an en banc rehearing was not a total surprise, with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the government in Aposhian v. Barr. That case was another case dealing with the bump stock ban. A three-judge panel ruled the ATF had the right to apply Chevron Deference to the definition of a machine gun. Counsel for Aposhian asked for an en banc review, but by a vote of 6-5, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the plaintiffs an en banc rehearing.

Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) doubled down on their commitment to fighting back against the ATF using rulemaking to ban certain items. GOF is GOA’s legal non-profit. The two groups also plan to fight back against the ATF’s attempts to restrict the sale of unfinished frames and receivers and the changing of the classification of pistol stabilizing devices. The ATF is trying to use rulemaking to push a de facto ban on items that Joe Biden does not like.

“Today, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a brilliantly written opinion on bump stocks,” GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt told AmmoLand News. “But the fight is not over. Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation are committed to combating the lawless ATF at every turn in GOA v. Garland. And as the battle continues, GOA will continue to champion the common-sense decision from the appellate panel that a bump stock is not a machine gun.”

The court has not set a new date for oral arguments but did ask both parties to file briefs as soon as possible.

Paul crankin the 9mm Tippmann Gatling Gun at at the Whittington Center,

WE ATTEMPTED THE ATF PISTOL BRACE TEST, AND IT DIDN’T GO WELL

Winchester 9mm 115 gr Ammunition Recall

Olin Winchester, LLC is recalling the following lots of 9mm Luger 115 grain Full Metal Jacket and 115 grain Jacketed Hollow Point pistol ammunition.

Symbols: Q4172, RED9, USA9JHP, USA9MMVP, USA9W, WW9B

Lot Numbers:
SC03LD44, SC03LD45, SC03LD46, SC03LD47
SC13LD1, SC13LD6, SC13LD18, SC13LD44, SC13LD45, SC13LD46, SC13LD47
SC52LD44, SC52LD45, SC52LD46, SC52LD47
SC62LD44, SC62LD45, SC62LD46, SC62LD47
SC72LD44, SC72LD45, SC72LD46, SC72LD47
SC92LD44, SC92LD45, SC92LD46, SC92LD47
SD10LD1, SD10LD3, SD10LD6, SC10LD12, SD10LD18, SD10LD46, SD10LD47
SD50LD1, SD50LD3, SD50LD6, SD50LD11, SD50LD12, SD50LD18, SD50LD46, SD50LD47
SD60LD1, SD60LD3, SD60LD6, SD60LD11, SD60LD12, SD60LD18
SD70LD1, SD70LD3, SD70LD6, SD70LD11, SD70LD12, SD70LD18
SD80LD1, SD80LD3, SD80LD6, SD80LD11, SD80LD12, SD80LD18

Winchester has determined the above lots of 9mm Luger 115 FMJ and JHP ammunition may contain propellant that does not properly ignite and burn when the cartridge is fired. Ammunition containing propellant that does not properly ignite and burn may result in a bullet remaining in the barrel (i.e., a bullet-in-bore obstruction). Firing a subsequent bullet into the bore obstruction could cause firearm damage, rendering the firearm inoperable and subjecting the shooter and bystanders to a risk of serious personal injury.

DO NOT USE WINCHESTER® 9MM LUGER 115 FMJ / JHP OF THE ABOVE SYMBOLS THAT HAS ANY OF THE ABOVE LOT NUMBERS.

To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the Symbol and Lot Number. If it is any of the above Symbols and Lot Numbers, immediately discontinue use and contact Winchester toll-free at 844-653-8358 for free UPS pick-up of the recalled ammunition. Upon receipt of your recalled ammunition, Winchester will ship replacement ammunition directly to you or issue you a reimbursement check.

This notice applies only to the above 9mm Luger 115 FMJ and JHP Symbols with the above Lot Numbers. Other Symbols or Lot Numbers are not subject to this recall.

If you have any questions concerning this 9mm Luger 115 FMJ / JHP pistol ammunition recall please call toll-free 844-653-8358, write to Winchester (600 Powder Mill Road, East Alton, IL 62024 Attn: 9mm Luger Recall), or visit our website at www.winchester.com.

Smith & Wesson Shatters $1 Billion Sales Barrier for the First Time.

Smith & Wesson sales for a 12-month period exceeded $1 billion for the first time in company history, according to figures released last week in the firm’s “Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Results” report. Part of the profit is going to employees, who rose above the pandemic’s variety of challenges and raw material slowdowns to make the record possible.

“And earlier today, we announced to our employees that this year, we will be distributing over $14 million to eligible employees, which will be 15 percent of each employee’s annual wages,” Mark Smith, Smith & Wesson president and CEO said during a June 17 earnings call with investors and stock analysts.

“In addition, the company achieved a very significant milestone in fiscal 2021, surpassing $1 billion in sales for the first time in our 169-year history. As I said, this would not have been possible without all of our employees. And so, in recognition of this milestone, we will also be awarding every employee who is not eligible for our management bonus program a special bonus of $1,200 for a full-time employee and $600 for temporary workers, prorated for the month of service during the fiscal year and to be paid next Thursday, June 24.”

The company’s official fiscal year 2021 ended April 30, 2021, and, according to the report net sales for the period came in at $1.1 billion. That represents an increase of 100 percent when compared to the same period the previous reporting year—when net sales came in at $529.6 million.

“The results of the past year, in spite of the unthinkable challenges that we faced as a nation and as a company, are a tremendous testament to the resolve of our dedicated employees, the power of the Smith & Wesson brand, and the strength of the partnerships we have with our customers,” Smith said.

“Our employees more than doubled the prior year sales, passed a milestone of $1 billion in revenue, and by every financial and operating metric, have delivered the most successful year in the 169-year history of the company. But most importantly, we have set a rock-solid foundation for the long-term success of the company, with astounding market share growth.”

Intervenor Motion Filed in New York NRA Case

A motion filed Thursday in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, Commercial Division, seeks a court order to allow intervention on behalf of members of the National Rifle Association in the case against the association initiated by Attorney General Letitia James.

The motion, filed by NRA Board of Directors candidate by petition, Frank Tait, and member Mario Aguirre, president of Brock’s Gap Training Center, seeks to ensure that the membership is not held accountable for the actions of association officers and “to protect their rights as individuals and as NRA members under the U.S. and New York constitutions as well as applicable New York statutes.” If ultimately successful, this will preserve the NRA’s existence and install new leadership through an idea presented as speculation last August in this column.

“The NRA operated successfully for over 100 years prior to Wayne LaPierre and his associates gaining control of it and will continue to do so once they are removed,” the proposed intervenors argue. “Wayne LaPierre and those aligned with him are not the NRA. The current LaPierre-controlled Board of Directors is not the NRA. The LaPierre-controlled executive leadership is not the NRA. The rank-and-file membership across our fifty states is the true NRA.

“These people used the NRA to serve only their own ends, and neither the extent of their wrongs, the number of faithless individuals involved, nor the period of time over which these wrongs were perpetrated can change the fact that these were wrongs perpetrated against the NRA and its membership, who placed their resources and trust in these individuals as fiduciaries that were duty-bound to put the members’ interests ahead of their own. This they did not do,” they allege in the filing.

There are numerous other filings related to this motion, available on the New York State Unified Court System website, beginning with Document # 243 and going through at this writing to Document # 260. In particular, reader attention is called to Document #248, the “Proposed Answer,” quoted above, and especially Document #244, the Memorandum of Law legal arguments, embedded below.

AmmoLand Shooting Sports News will follow proceedings in this development which has the potential to reshape and redirect the New York case and give the NRA and its members a new path forward.

1st preliminary report on the Tisas, .45 ACP

It’s been heard that the best reason to buy a new handgun is because you’ve found a holster in the chest of drawers that you don’t currently have a gun for.

That being close to the case, and being in the market for a Commander sized 1911, I was at the one of the gun stores in the local flying area and espied one of the current versions with the full steel frame by the Trabzon Silah (TİSAŞ) c0mpany, imported from Turkey.

Well, the gun looked good. The fit and finish were excellent, but of course, the proof is in the shooting, which I managed to do last week, during the Shootist’s Holiday at the NRA Whittington Center just south of Raton, New Mexico.

I am currently underwhelmed, but final judgement will be held in abeyance until I determine what may be necessary to fix the problems I had with the gun,

First, it wouldn’t reliably feed Black Hills Ammunition’s standard 230 gr hardball fmj ammo in any of the several different magazines, which included twin sets of; Check-Mate military issue, Metalform stainless round follower, Triple K round follower and even Wilson-Rogers.
Each time, the round would feed halfway into the chamber, then hang up and tie up the gun, necessitating pulling the magazine out and cycling the slide to clear the jam. I didn’t attempt to fire a group for record.

Trying CCI’s Lawman brand of same load however did work and at 50 feet on the Sight-In Range, holding 6 O’clock with elbows rested on heavy concrete benchrest table, I could keep the shots in the black of the target, but the group size was rather disappointing.

(click on all pictures for a larger version.)

I think I’ll do some comparison measurements of the cases of the different brands and see if the rim thickness might be the cause but in any case, it looks like I’ve got a bit of extractor tuning and maybe feed ramp polishing ahead of me.

Remington factory was similarly underwhelming but this was older ammo back when nickeled brass was being used.

However, I did find one bright spot when I tried one of Dad’s reloads of the same Remington 185 grain jhp loaded with 7.5 grains of 700X.

This group came in under 3 inches and with a little sight adjustment would be perfectly satisfactory.

Pvt. Martin Teahan’s M1 Found 72 Years after D-Day

East Brunswick, NJ USA – -(Ammoland.com)- If I were to report the facts, I would tell you Private Martin Teahan of HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), died on June 6, 1944, near a church in Picauville, Normandy.

While scouting a position, he was shot in the leg, captured, and then killed by a German soldier who thought he was reaching for a weapon.

A few weeks after D-Day, a French farmer in the area found a rifle with the name M. Teahan engraved on the butt of the rifle. No one knew what the farmer did with the rifle for 72 years, until it was discovered this February by a French Army Paratrooper Commander named Colonel Patrick Collet.

Those are the facts, but the story associated with the rifle tugs on something much deeper for me.

You see, Private Martin was my Uncle “Matty.” A poor Irish Immigrant, who’s stories of his bravery resonated with me as I grew up in the same rough Irish neighborhood in the South Bronx. Five days prior to the discovery of the rifle, I visited my roots for the first time since childhood. I stood in grand St Jerome’s Church, and thought of my Uncle Matty as I looked at his name, engraved in the cool stone of the somber building.

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I’m taking my copy of the one on the left to Raton. We’ll see what we’ve got.

How a $500 1911 Stacks Up Against a $5000 1911
Does all that money just buy bells and whistles, or is there really something to dropping a few bills on a 1911?

Two model 1911 handguns on a concrete slab.

The 1911 is often considered a real man’s gun or the pistol of a professional. Prices range from less than $500 to beyond $5000, and that’s before gold inlays, engraving, or genuine ivory grips are added in. Nighthawk’s Turnbull VIP 1911 retails for $7999. Wilson Combat’s more practical X-Tac Supergrade Professional starts at $4795. And Springfield Armory’s Ultimate Carry Handgun will cost you $3395.

But there’s another end of the spectrum. Springfield also offers more than 50 other 1911 models with prices as low as $640. And SDS Imports offers Turkish-made 1911s starting at only $409. How can one type of firearm go from being that cheap to having prices equivalent to the cost of a good used pickup truck? It’s all about what’s going on under the hood.

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Nevada: Gov. Sisolak Signs Gun Ban Bill

[Monday] Governor Steve Sisolak signed Assembly Bill 286 into law. AB 286 essentially bans home-building firearms for personal use by prohibiting private individuals from possessing certain unregulated components commonly used by hobbyists to make their own firearms. Existing law already bans prohibited persons, such as felons, from possessing any firearm, whether home-built or commercially produced. Rather than seek ways to enforce existing laws, Gov. Sisolak and anti-gun lawmakers prefer to continue harassing law-abiding citizens by attacking Second Amendment rights.

AB 286 also bans possession of existing, legal, firearms without serial numbers, such as home-built firearms, but it does exempt pre-1969 firearms. This exemption covers firearms made before federal law required licensed manufacturers and importers to place serial numbers on their commercially produced or imported firearms.

Biden Admin’s Proposed Gun Rule Would Turn Millions Into Felons

A legal cloud descended over many American gun owners on Monday.

A new rule proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) at the request of President Joe Biden would make most firearms with stabilizing pistol braces illegal. Owners would have to register, turn in, or disassemble the guns to avoid federal felony charges. One government estimate found as many as 40 million guns could be affected.

“It will be the largest gun registration, destruction, and confiscation scheme in American history,” Alex Bosco, who invented the stabilizing brace and founded the biggest manufacturer of them, told The Reload.

The rule outlines a complex point system the agency wants to create to judge when a gun with a stabilizing brace should be classified as a pistol and when it should be classified as a short-barrel rifle requiring registration under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). The proposal aims to reconcile the ATF’s decade-long track record of approving the braces on a case-by-case basis. That process was often criticized by members of the gun industry and gun-rights movement as arbitrary and contradictory.

But gun advocates said the new system is worse than the old. While the system gives objective measures for the weight or length of the guns affected, opponents pointed to the seemingly random criteria used to determine which braces are legal and which aren’t. They said factors like whether the gun can be easily fired with one hand or whether an attached brace is adjustable in length have no basis in the statute, which sets the line between pistols and short-barreled rifles at whether the gun is “designed and intended” to be pressed against the shooter’s shoulder.

“Today’s proposed rulemaking on pistol-braced firearms represents a gross abuse of executive authority,” said Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America, in a statement.

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Because of the increase in crime.

Gun sales up 66 percent in California during pandemic

Gun purchases in California skyrocketed since March 2020 — a 66 percent increase from the previous 14 months, according to a report from thetrace.org, a journalism nonprofit.

California residents purchased approximately 920,000 handguns between March 2020 and April 2021, according to estimates from the organization, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Gun sales have been on the rise in California for years, according to the Sacramento Bee, which can mainly attributed to an increase in long gun purchases following mass shootings or before new gun control measures have gone into effect.

During the pandemic, however, handgun sales outpaced that of long guns, the Sacramento Bee noted.

An additional 365,000 handguns were sold during the pandemic lockdowns compared to the previous 14 months, according to the newspaper, while long gun sales only increased by 183,000 over the same time frame.

Of California’s 12 highest months for handgun sales since 2000, eight were during the pandemic, the newspaper reported.

The easing of coronavirus restrictions in California, however, has shepherded a decrease in the surge of handguns.

About 48,500 handguns were sold in California in April, which was a drop from the 65,100 sold in April 2020, according to the Sacramento Bee.

In April 2019, Californians purchased around 41,200 handguns.

Seventy percent of people who purchased a gun during the pandemic said they did so due to concerns about crime, according to a February survey conducted by researchers at Harvard University and Northeastern University.

Additionally, about one-fifth of Americans who bought guns last year were first-time buyers, according to preliminary data from Northeastern University and the Harvard Injury Control Research Center reported by The New York Times last week.

The data also illustrated increases in the overall number of gun buyers and the total number of gun owners in the U.S.

GUN & AMMO IMPORTS UP, SHOTGUN IMPORTS JUMP 396%

The latest figures from the U.S. International Trade Commission show a big jump when comparing February 2021 with the same month in 2020.

The data, compiled and released by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, illustrate what a difference a year makes when it comes to the import of commercial sporting arms and ammunition.

Handguns doubled from pre-COVID February 2020 figures of 204,600 units to the more recent 434,204 seen in February 2021, a bump of 112.2 percent.

NSSF Trade Report — The number of imported handguns for February 2021 represents a record when stacked against the same month for the past several years. (Chart: NSSF)

Meanwhile, rifles were up 71.7 percent from 36,765 to 63,136 units.

When it comes to rifle and handgun cartridges, there was a 27.1 percent growth from 167.7 million to 213.1 million units. Shotgun shells likewise saw a 63.6 percent jump from 2020 to 2021, rising to 16.9 million units as compared to last year’s 10.3 million.

Speaking of shotguns, the largest increase noted is in that category of firearm, with 47,468 units imported in February 2020 versus 235,628 this year, a 396.4 percent increase.

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Stiffen Up: Taking a Look at the FACTR Stiffy

The pistol stabilizing brace has become so ubiquitous in American homes that the idea of banning them might look good on paper, but would be demonstrably impossible in execution.

No plan survives first… you know the thing. And for what they are, braces also serve as a testament of use, for no regularly used one has stiff, straight flaps. All across the country and on instagram feeds world-wide, the hallmark of dedication often looks like a softened brace. To support all the hard work they go through, the FACTR Stiffy brings new blood into a well-used system.

Factr Stiffy

As of the time of writing, the FACTR stiffy comes in 3 different options: SBA3, SBA4, and SBPDW/Maxim Defense PDW/CQB. Each Stiffy is meant to sit in the brace when not being used, and is for storage purposes only. Brace specific, they do not fit in many other models, so double check before ordering.

Designed to add longevity to the Brace, the FACTR Stiffy gives it support during storage.

The FACTR Stiffy is compatible with the Wise Men Company Split Fix. For those using the OEM strap, it should be tightened to better flatten out what bends and ridges have been accrued from prior use. Priced at $25, the small investment goes a long way.

Tucking a sling under the strap helps both silence the QD swivel stud, and keep the sling contained.

Every Nerf Gun Could Be Turned Into “80% Or Greater Receiver” Under New ATF Rule

A Twitter user who appears well rounded with 3D-printing technology tweeted Saturday about the consequences if every “Nerf gun/foam dart gun were to suddenly become an 80% receiver.”

Twitter user “00MEAT” said while the Biden administration is going after ghost guns and unserialized weapons. There could be a “list of consequences if every Nerf gun/foam dart gun were to suddenly become an 80% receiver, and if the ATF were to suddenly consider 80% receivers as firearms. I’ll just let you imagine what the below image is.”

00MEAT continued: “I mean, think of the children, does the ATF really want to go after every kid once they have an 80% sbr?”

With some fiddling around with basic computer-aided drafting software, 00MEAT was able to create the “Nerf .22 adapter,” which could theoretically “make every foam dart gun everywhere into an 80% receiver.”

They even built a Nerf .22 adapter and attached it to the child’s play weapon that can easily be bought at Walmart or Amazon.

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Self Defense Essentials and the Combat Triad
When it comes to personal protection your mindset is more important than the gun and ammo you carry

Imagine you’re new to firearms and want to be armed for self-defense. You’re probably wondering which gun to buy, what type of holster you need, and what kind of ammunition would be best. Some will argue the gun is the most important element because it must work every time. Others will insist the holster matters most because if you’re uncomfortable carrying, you won’t carry. And then there are those who maintain that ammunition is paramount because ultimately, it’s the bullet that does all the work. Without question, all these items are important and can contribute to your survival, but what is most important?

The Combat Triad

Former Marine Jeff Cooper founded what is now known as Gunsite Academy in Paulden, Arizona, in 1976. It is the oldest and largest civilian firearms training school in the world. In an effort to codify the basics of using a firearm to survive a lethal confrontation, Cooper established what he called the Combat Triad. This triangle of guidance consists of mindset, gun handling, and marksmanship. Though the three sides of the triangle are considered equilateral, the base or foundation of the Triad is mindset, for without the combat mindset, your skills and abilities with weaponry and tactics are of little value.

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