Archive for the 'Guns' Category

He does a good job in this video of answering the obvious questions concerning what happens in a shotgun when a Sabot slug is shot through a smooth bore barrel, what happens when a rifled slug is shot through a smooth barrel, and what happens when a rifled slug is shot through a rifled barrel.

I found the results less than impressive. I’m embedding another video below concerning the use of a rifled choke which are quite impressive.

Frankly I find this whole conversation a bit awkward and oddball. First, it seems to me that shotgun-only deer hunting states, by encouraging the use of a less than accurate weapon, are actually encouraging unethical shots and potential pain and suffering of the game animal. To me, that’s an awful outcome. I think the regulators in those states should grow up and do the right thing.

Then again, this also makes me wonder why someone would take a shotgun shooting slugs into the bush as personal defense against dangerous game. Why not just carry a 45-70? The bullets begin at over 300 grains and go up to 400 grains. Why would it be better to shot shotgun slugs than a round from a 45-70? The rifle will be more accurate.

Perhaps loyal readers like TheAlaskan who live the life of dangerous game defense can educate us. I respect his views.

First, the generalized video on different kinds of slugs from different shotguns.

Second, the video on use of the rifled choke. Once again, his results are extremely impressive.

Telling us what we all know to be true, but it’s a great reminder from someone who’s seen it.

Guns.com.

A Republican bill filed on Capitol Hill last week would deregulate suppressors as firearms under both the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act.

The Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing, or SHUSH, Act was introduced on Jan. 30 by U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, and has four co-sponsors, all from the GOP. The language of the five-page bill deletes all federal regulations– including taxes, fees, and registration requirements– of suppressors. Those who paid a transfer tax for such safety accessories in the two years before the bill’s enactment would get a refund.

“Despite what Hollywood may lead you to believe, silencers aren’t silent, and they aren’t just for secret agents,” said Lee in a statement. “They are a vital tool for hearing protection for countless marksmen and gun enthusiasts across America, and making them prohibitively difficult to obtain is an assault on the 2nd Amendment. The SHUSH Act eliminates federal regulation of silencers and treats them as the non-lethal accessory that they are.”

U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) will spearhead the bill in the House, where it will join a stack of suppressor reform legislation that includes the Hearing Protection Act. 

“Suppressors are a vital tool for responsible gun owners that protect hearing, enhance safety, and reduce firearm noise—but thanks to Hollywood and federal overreach, they’ve been unfairly vilified,” said Cloud. “Law-abiding Americans shouldn’t have to endure months of red tape and pay an additional tax just to access a safety accessory. The SHUSH Act puts an end to this unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, eliminates the federal tax, and prevents state overreach by treating suppressors like any other firearm accessory.”

More than 4 million suppressors are in circulation, a figure that has more than quadrupled in less than a decade.

According to a joint release from Cloud and Lee, the measure has the support of the National Association for Gun Rights, Gun Owners of America, the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The SHUSH Act in the Senate is filed as S.345 and has been referred to the Committee on Finance.

If I don’t get anything else out of this administration, I want suppressors removed from the NFA.

There is no excuse for not doing this bill and pushing it through quickly. There is no excuse for suppressors to have ever been in the NFA to begin with. This is about hearing protection, something OSHA claims to care about.

In fact, there is no excuse for the NFA.

This is an oldie from American Rifleman (via WiscoDave).

From the time I came to Vietnam in May 1967 to date, I have been on 82 patrols as an infantry unit com­mander and have been shot at on 38 separate occasions. From this experi­ence I have several observations which may interest readers of THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN, especially those who may be slated for combat duty in this area. The standard U.S. infantry rifle in Vietnam is the M16. There have been stories of men getting killed because their M16s jammed in battle. My ad­vice is to ignore these tales. I have carried at different times two M16s as well as two of the stubby little CAR-15s. The CAR-15 is simply an M16 with a short, carbine-length barrel and tele­scoping stock. With these four arms I have never experienced a jam in 18 months of combat. If given the same care as a .22 rimfire semi-automatic rifle, the M16 will not fail.

[ … ]

I have knocked out Communists at ranges from 50 feet to 750 meters and have yet to use full-automatic fire. There are two reasons why I stress semi-auto­matic fire. First of all, it is just waste­ful of ammunition. The average G.I. carries from 10 to 20 18-round maga­zines (21 rounds can be squeezed into the M16 magazine, but overfilling can cause jams. One can fire off 20 maga­zines of ammunition in from 5 to 10 minutes, but then there are likely to be problems.

You can read the rest at American Rifleman.

Of course the M-16 / M4 and AR-15 variants today are good rifles, the current suite of AR-15s even better (in most cases, assuming you don’t buy a “rack” or budget AR).

Here is another image that’s helpful.

All of the initial changes were made by the Army against the advice of Eugene Stoner, and all of the changes you see in the image above were made back to what Eugene Stoner had originally designed.

It remains today an awesome weapon. Personally, I don’t think the DoD should ever have gone with the new ceramic cartridge design. The only change that should have been considered is a re-barrel to 6 mm ARC. It is a awesome cartridge – I know from hunting with it.

John Moses Browing and Eugene Stoner are the greatest weapons designers America ever produced.

My goodness. We should all wish for such a collection as that one.

It’s their TRP, or Tactical Response Pistol, a 1911 model whether full size or commander. The 1911 Syndicate liked it when they reviewed it.

I do have one remark concerning model availability. They should give us a slide cut model for an optic. Otherwise, you have to remove the slide and send it out to be milled.

I’m not saying that all models should come that way, just that they should give us the choice of purchasing a model with a slide cut from the factory.

Then again, it doesn’t seem like any firearms manufacturer has ever listened to me when I write them or post remarks like this. S&W has summarily ignored my request for a lever gun shooting S&W500. They never even responded to my notes. I guess I’m not an “influencer.”

But I find these models to be very attractive, and you know how I like 1911s.

Boy this got the comments section lit up with complaints that they didn’t go far enough into the cartridge history, differences in loadings, etc. There’s a lot more information in the comments section.

First up is the old timer who takes the minimalist philosophy. He recommends paint thinner, or in other words, mineral spirits. Ernest Langdon also recommends mineral spirits to clean the Beretta 1301.

I do think he left out Copper as one of the things you want to remove. It makes the patches look green when they’re pulled out.

I think hot soapy water is a bit too far for me except for muzzle loaders.

Then there is the data-driven boys from Hornady, who have noted increases in back pressure from guns that weren’t properly cleaned. In the comments I’ve recommended that they release the data and math models, but I suspect they will consider it all proprietary.

First up, Mark Smith assesses the recent delay of the Snopes case.

Second, Mark assesses the potential picks to head the ATF. Personally, I would prefer to see the ATF completely eradicated. Its mere existence of prima facie unconstitutional. The existence of federal gun laws is prima facie unconstitutional. But if all we get out of this is an eradication of the “secret” gun registry and a prohibition on enforcement of laws by the ATF, then it’s very important who runs the FBI.

I would also suggest that it makes sense to send 90% of the employees of the FBI and ATF to the border to enforce border laws. As for those still trying to come across, send the Marine Corps to shoot them. If that sounds harsh, think of this as an invasion. What do you think Russi and China would do in such a case? They care about their borders, and we don’t. To most of the American elite, America is an idea, not a sovereign nation with borders.

This whole problem with the border could be solved in an instant. Stop traffic. All traffic, including trade. Allow no one to cross the border, not even for work. But you see, home builders, yard workers and house cleaners are needed for the elite, so that’s not going to happen. As is stands, they get the middle class to pay for medical care via socialized medicine while they get to pay lower wages than they otherwise would, and we bear the brunt of the deal.

Finally, Mark further assesses the inside baseball maneuvers in the SCOTUS on 2A cases.