Archive for the 'Guns' Category

The data are held for a year; 2021 was the last full year for which data has been released. 2021 represents a 19 percent year-over-year increase from 2020.

The latest statistics from federal regulators point to a big jump in production for the most recent year available.

The current Annual Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report, released by the ATF late last month, covers the 2021 calendar year. The finalized AFMER is purposely a year behind to protect industry secrets and to allow for all of the data to be compiled. The total figures for 2021 amounted to 13,129,493 firearms of all types– pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles, and miscellaneous.

The data from the source includes the top 10 pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotgun companies and a catchall miscellaneous category. Ruger may be the top overall firearms manufacturer in the US that year and is the top rifle manufacturer. Surprising is Maverick Arms of Eagle Pass, TX, owned by Mossberg. I would be interested to know what folks who own or have shot a Maverick think of them.

The M1 Carbine is a fine weapon for its intended purpose.  However, the classic legacy models are very expensive.  They’re treated as collectibles regardless of how many are in circulation. If you don’t mind having a new production model … well, they’re not any cheaper than the collectibles are. Those guns have maintained their value for many decades.

At Outdoor Life.

At close range (i.e., < about 350 – 400 yards), .308 packs a slightly bigger punch than 6.5 Creedmoor, but not by much.  I’ve known this for a long time.

The real advantages of the 6.5 Creedmoor are (a) distances longer than that, and (b) less recoil thus the ability to stay on target with your scope, and (c) the longer profile of the 6.5, meaning that it minimizes free bore and thus avoids bullet deformation, and has less drag.

This video – while somewhat chaotic at times – shows essentially the same thing.

To me this comes down to intended use and personal preference.

Since Caleb is demonstrating gunsmithing techniques, I suspect this video will be demonetized by the communists at Googletube very soon.

But I found it interesting.  I would have instinctively taken a torquing pass approach to those screws without having to be told so, just like the torquing passes you take for an engine head.

Modularity, interchangeability of parts, and accessorization is a big market with lots of dud entries. Shooting endurance while maintaining accuracy is probably how to find what works. That can be an expensive proposition. Word of mouth can be good, but there are also a lot of bad products that have good marketing. Noticeably absent is the Ruger 10/22, which probably has the most after-market parts and accessories of any weapon platform.

Number one on the list is the AR15.

The easiest mention in our list of modular weapons is the AR-15. Ever since the sunset of the Assault Weapons Ban in 2004, the AR-15 has dominated the market. There seem to be hundreds of companies pumping AR-15s at all price points and in all configurations. Alongside their popularity, an entire industry of accessories and parts has sprung to life. This allows shooters to build the rifle they want from parts and pieces. Users can swap out each and every part of their rifle if they so choose.

The modularity of the AR-15 also makes changing calibers easy. You can swap an upper and change calibers with ease. You can take a Multi-Cal lower and use anything from 5.56 to 9mm, and even .410 shotgun shells. Swapping calibers takes no real work, and at most, you might have to switch out buffers when you swap uppers.

Beyond that level of modularity, you can get pretty crazy with your AR-15 modifications. This year at SHOT, a company displayed a bullpup conversion kit to turn your favorite AR-15 into a bullpup platform. It’s an interesting concept and surprisingly well done. The AR-15 certainly takes the top slot as the most modular weapon on the market.

This is one of his older videos and is interesting in that the rounds show similar results. With nearly the same weight in selected ammo, they have comparable velocities. Shooting the cinder blocks, it appears the .40 may even have a slight edge, but concealed carry isn’t for shooting cinder blocks. Watching Mr. Harrell shoot the blocks was a good reminder not to point your weapon at anything you’re not willing to destroy. There are a variety of examinations conducted. One thing is for certain; he’s a pretty good shot.

From the comments:

“The guys at Vortex recommend not using loctite on scope bases and rings. They say that loctite acts like a lubricant on the threads and can potentially make you over-torque the screws.”

“PURPLE!!! Purple people!! Purple is for the smaller screws, like you see in firearms. Read the instructions. The blue is rated for certain sizes, as is the purple. So few know purple exist. It will save you many a headache. READ the instructions.”

And finally, this one.

“A vortex customer service representative recommended that I use clear nail polish as threadlocker and I’ve never looked back never had a problem. Handles vibration and heat like nothing and breaks loose with not much torque when actually trying to remove something.”

Nail polish is an interesting take.  I wouldn’t have thought of that.  Any takers here?

Meet Fletcher Rifle Works’ 11/22: The Easily Disassembled Ruger 10/22!

“For over 50 years, the Ruger 10/22 has been one of the most popular rimfire rifles in the world. While a pleasure to shoot, anyone with a 10/22 knows they are a nightmare to disassemble and clean.”

(Photo: Dave Luu/Guns.com)

The article could be more extensive. Interesting design. I’ll have to examine one closely to see whether it’s worth buying. Ease of disassembly is undoubtedly an issue with the Ruger 10/22, but the original has a significant number of upgrades and modification parts and kits. With this Fletcher, you could lose substantial flexibility in changing the weapon to your needs.

More pics at the link.

Mike does a very good job of the review in this video.

I was hoping that it was a hammer fired gun.  It is.  I wouldn’t have been even a little bit interested if it was a striker fired gun.

I also very much like the operating system, and the narrowness of the frame.  It’s narrowness means that it would be easy and comfortable to conceal for IWB carry at the 3:00 position (my preferred position).  I don’t appendix carry.

Finally, I like the price point.  So this gun meets all of my criteria.  But I will have to say that that gap he’s talking about between the slide and frame is similar to the M&P design.  I’ve never picked up an M&P that didn’t have that same gap.  Apparently, the S&W engineers prefer that design for some reason.  Maybe someone who knows about this will weigh in.

I may have to look into this model.

Outdoor Life.

Holosun is known for making reliable, affordable red dots, and their new line of red dots is designed for use after dark. There’s a digital night vision model and two thermal models (standard and high definition).

They optics have a small footprint, a little larger than their AEMS, and are affordable compared to competitive offerings. The night vision optics will be about $1,000, and offer a 1024×768 resolution digital night vision sensor with up to 60 fps. They’ll also have features like 8x digital zoom, video recording, and are powered by two 18350 rechargeable batteries.

The DRS-TH Pro is the high-definition thermal red dot, and it will have a 384×288 resolution with white hot, black hot, highlight, outline and fusion display. The high-definition thermal will be around $2,300. For comparison, Steiner makes a thermal red dot that will set you back $7,500. The bad news is that these new optics aren’t available yet and you likely won’t be able to buy one until the end of the year.

They’re taking a smart approach to the product.  They are overlaying the thermal image over their red dot.  This will be effective for not only night hunting of game like hogs, but for home defense as well.

For $1000.  I see it coming now.  Lawsuits brought by Trijicon and Steiner and whomever else wants to join.  “We thought of it first and wanted to patent it but they beat us to it, we don’t want that product to be legal in the U.S.”

For companies that jack their prices up out of reach to the ordinary citizen and go whoring after military and LE contracts, this is the first reaction.  It all pays for their boats and college for their children, don’t you know.

On the other hand, companies like Holosun keep building products people want for a reasonable price.

New @holosunoptics Thermal (DMS-TH) spotted today. Check out how it overlays! You can have the thermal off and simply use it as a red dot sight, or turn on and have the thermal overlay the live image. Estimated launch late 2023. #shotshow2023 #thermal pic.twitter.com/vY8LagGBc8

— Top Shot Dustin (@TopShotDustin) January 19, 2023