Attorney General Eric Holder, defendant in the case.
Montana –– (Ammoland.com)- Today is a big day for the Montana Firearms Freedom Act.
In the litigation to validate the principles of the MFFA, the Montana Shooting Sports Association, the Second Amendment Foundation and I are all Plaintiffs. The U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is the principal Defendant, thus the case caption of MSSA v. Holder.
The first hurdle in this lawsuit is the pending U.S. Motion to Dismiss. The feds argue that the lawsuit should be dismissed immediately – should not go to trial – because Plaintiffs lack “standing,” because the U.S. is sovereign and may not be sued (”jurisdiction”), and because of merit (they say we’ll lose so why waste time discussing the issue).
This Motion to Dismiss was expected, and is pretty standard, boilerplate legal maneuvering. Still, we must respond and respond well. If we lose on the Motion to Dismiss, we will have to appeal that dismissal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. We’d rather move on directly to trial in the lawsuit on the merits of the MFFA arguments than get sidetracked with an appeal over dismissal. Read more
Be sure to check out the Gun Digest 1944-2009 3-DVD Set. includes all of the previous 63 editions of the Gun Digest annual, from 1944 to 2009. Nearly all of these editions are out of print and are very rare and difficult to find. Buy Now
The dust jacket of the 1955 Bonanza edition, the one most familiar to collectors.
Firearm Curiosa by Lewis Winant
Some of my books are sentimental favorites, volumes I cut my teeth on when I was a kid: Pistols: A Modern Encyclopedia by Henry Stebbins. A History of the Colt Revolver by Haven and Belden. The Gun and Its Development by Greener. But of all my gun books, the one that brings a smile to my face more quickly than any other is Firearms Curiosa by Lewis Winant. Though out of print, this book is an affordable classic, well worth the time it takes to track down a copy.
If you’ve ever read my columns, you’re aware that I’m fascinated by oddball firearms. Perhaps you are, too. If so, Winant’s Firearms Curiosa is a must-have.
Lewis Winant was one of those gentlemen collectors who flourished during what we might call the Golden Age of Gun Collecting. This period ran roughly from 1946 and 1960, when many firearms that had been “liberated” from European and Asian collections began filtering out into the American consumer market. As fellow Gun Digest the Magazine columnist Phillip Peterson can tell you, hundreds of thousands of collectible firearms made the long trek across the Atlantic after World War II, and they weren’t all Lugers and P-38s. It was a time when men like Robert Abels, Herb Glass, Joseph Kindig, Jr., George R. Numrich, Jr., and James Serven really came into their own.
Gun collecting had existed as a hobby before World War II (the greatest of these organizations, the Ohio Gun Collectors Association, was founded in 1937), but it was the second world war that pumped new life into the hobby, both in the form of vintage guns as well as gun-conscious hobbyists, many of whom had just returned from service abroad.
As far as we know, Lewis Winant’s first book was Pepperbox Firearms, the first American book-length treatment of the subject. It was published in 1952 by Greenberg Publishing of New York City (not to be confused with today’s Greenberg Publishing Company, which specializes in literature about toy trains). I have read this book, though I don’t currently own a copy of it, and as I recall it contains everything you might care to know about pepperboxes, and likely a good deal more than you’d care to know.
Bonanza Books of New York published Firearms Curiosa in 1955, and it remains the best-known of Winant’s books. The book was simultaneously published in a limited first edition of 1,000 hand-numbered copies by Greenberg, and the blurb copy of the dust jacket of my copy (copy #902) gives little doubt that it’s the kind of book that appeals to me: “[This book deals with] pistols in knives and canes; pistols in flashlights, purses, ploughs, whips, bicycle handlebars, stirrups, keys, pipes, belts, sundials, and other contrivances. In addition, there are other types classified as oddities, such as squeezers, knuckledusters, alarm and trap.
The dust jacket of the 1955 Greenberg limited edition bears this illustration of an automatic dog-mounted fowling piece.
There are combination weapons, turret, chain and harmonica pistols, guns using superposed loads and other variations from the norm. These remarkable firearms come from more than fifty collections. Some of the most interesting rarities have never before been illustrated in any publication, and their existence is unknown to most collectors.”
You’ve just got to love the illustration on the dust jacket of my copy of Firearms Curiosa. It shows an actual patent application archived in the Smithsonian Institution. The patent is titled “NEW AND INGENIOUS READY-ACTING DOG-TAIL AND GUN-BARREL ATTACHMENT FOR SPORTING PURPOSES,” and the picture shows a fowling piece that is attached to the back of a pointer and automatically fires when the dog goes on point. That’s my kind of gun! That’s my kind of book!
Winant’s choice of cover illustration for this edition is whimsical, but the book’s content isn’t. The contents, in order, are Combination Weapons; Miniature Firearms; Two-Barrel Revolvers; Two-Cylinder Revolvers; Squeezers and Knuckledusters; Alarm and Trap Guns; Knife Pistols and Cane Guns; Other Disguised Guns; Superposed Loads; Turret and Chain Guns; and Miscellaneous.
Winant writes in a casual, extremely readable style that’s neither stuffy nor overly professorial. More than 300 black and white photos augment the text, which deals not only with one-of-a-kind museum pieces but with mass-produced items such as the WWII-vintage Liberator single-shot .45 made by GM’s Guide Lamp division.
I eat this stuff up. I doubt that I’d ever have a use for an armored vest with 19 pistol barrels sticking out of it, a 24-shot revolver, or a pistol that’s actually a functional tobacco pipe (hmmmmm. . .) — but if I did, I’d know where to find out about it: in the 281 pages of this little book.
Firearms Curiosa has been reprinted numerous times, and a quick search of Amazon (www.amazon.com), AuctionArms (www.auctionarms.com), Gunbroker (www.gunbroker.com), or Ray Riling Arms Books (www.rayrilingarmsbooks.com) will certainly fetch you a copy in your price range. On Amazon, I found the 1996 Odysseus Editions reprint for as little as $10 a copy, while on the Ray Riling site I found, for $100, what has to be the rarest of the rare: an autographed, inscribed copy of the Arco first edition published in London in 1956. All editions of Firearms Curiosa that I have seen are hardcovers; I doubt that a paperback edition was ever printed.
In 1959, Lewis Winant hit the big time, as far as publishing is concerned, with his classic Early Percussion Firearms: A History of Early Percussion Firearms Ignition — from Forsyth to Winchester .44/40. (I hope Winant got paid separately for the title; it must have been a day’s work in itself.) This book was published by the high-profile firm of William Morrow and is now available in used-original and reprint form from some of the above-mentioned merchants from between $10 and $75.
The Antique and Collectible Firearms and Militaria Headquarters at www.oldguns.net has this to say about Firearms Curiosa: “This is a great book for the collector who is tired of looking at ads for greasy surplus rifles and beginning to wonder if there was something really interesting in the gun field to justify another trip to a museum, or gun show, or auction or website. Really cool stuff!” (If you’ve never visited oldguns.net, my advice is: do. It’s worth it.)
I might note that if you’re ever passing through northern Indiana, you might want to pay a visit to the LaPorte County Historical Society Museum (www.laportecountyhistory.org). This museum houses the William A. Jones Collection of Antique Weapons, which contains nearly 1,000 of just the sort of guns that Winant deals with in Firearms Curiosa. For $5 you can see volley guns, trap guns, squeezer pistols, pepperboxes, cane guns, and many other freaky firearms that’ll make you look twice and shake your head.
If you do a lot of bathroom reading, hunt down a copy of Firearms Curiosa. You might never come out.
Dan Shideler was a senior editor for Gun Digest Books from 2004 until 2011, best known for his entertaining prose and knowledge and insight into firearms history, trends and pricing. He served as editor of two of the industry’s most respected annuals: Standard Catalog of Firearms and Gun Digest. Dan passed away in April 2011, leaving a void in the world of firearms literature that may never be filled.
Authorities said people with guns in holsters on their hips visited State Street March 28, and went into Fair Trade Coffee House. Authorities said Fair Trade owner Lorie Henn contacted police the next day.
“She wasn’t completely comfortable having these people in her coffee shop,” Madison police spokesperson Joel DeSpain said.
DeSpain said an assistant city attorney was consulted and Henn was told she could post a sign to prohibit guns in her business if she wanted to head off any repeat visit by gun-toting customers. When contacted by 27 News, Henn declined comment.
Sources told 27 News at least one person openly carrying a gun was also in the grocery store Trader Joe’s on Monroe Street Mar. 28. Grocery store managers declined comment.
John Pierce of the Virginia-based, gun rights advocacy group OpenCarry.org said the people who openly carried firearms Mar. 28 are affiliated with his group and are board members of Wisconsin Carry Inc.
Pierce said group members were holding a meeting in Madison that day. Read more
Check out the Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry. Author Massad Ayoob also covers the expansive accessories market, and provides real-life practicalities for each accessory. He also educates you about concealed carry laws, and how they pertain to you. This is essential information for anyone considering concealed carry. Order Now
The legislation, approved by the House 36-19 without discussion, would make it legal for most U.S. citizens 21 or older to carry a concealed weapon in Arizona without the permit now required. Currently, carrying a hidden firearm without a permit is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
Sen. Russell Pearce, a Mesa Republican who sponsored the measure, said last week that he added changes requested by Gov. Jan Brewer‘s office, an indication that she is likely to sign it. The governor can sign or veto the measure, or allow it to become law without action.
If the legislation is enacted, Arizona would join Alaska and Vermont in not requiring permits to carry concealed weapons. Forty-five other states require permits for hidden guns, and two states — Illinois and Wisconsin — prohibit them altogether.
Supporters say gun restrictions only affect people who want to follow the rules because criminals will carry hidden guns regardless of the law. Nearly all adults can carry a weapon openly in Arizona, and they shouldn’t face additional restrictions when they want to hide the weapon, supporters argue.
“What’s dangerous is when they’re in criminals’ hands, not citizens’ hands,” said Rep. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, a bill sponsor. Read more
Be sure to check out the The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery, 6th Edition by Massad Ayoob. In addition to the tactical aspects of self-defense, Ayoob also covers practical information about selecting a used handgun and the legal aspects of self-defense with a firearm. Learn more
Joining a nationwide effort to challenge Washington’s authority, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter today made his state the seventh to exempt guns made and kept in the state from any federal regulations.
The movement began in Montana, where a court case was filed seeking affirmation that the state – and not bureaucrats in the nation’s capital – has the right to manage in-state issues and actions.
Idaho’s legislation cites the Second, Ninth and 10th Amendments as justification for its exemption, as well as the Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
“The Tenth Amendment … guarantees to the states and their people all powers not granted to the federal government elsewhere in the Constitution and reserves to the state and people of Idaho certain powers as they were understood at the time that Idaho was admitted to statehood in 1890,” the law says. Read more
Whether you’re a professional gunsmith or just an interested amateur, you’ll find everything you need to know about keeping your AR perking in Gunsmithing: The AR-15. Written by master gunsmith and noted AR-15 expert Patrick Sweeney, Gunsmithing: The AR-15 is your one-volume guide to repairing, maintaining and modifying America’s favorite rifle. Learn more
Lawyers for Dick Heller, a name party in the earlier case, filed a notice Thursday that they will continue fighting in this follow-up case.
They are appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reverse a March 26 decision by U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina. That ruling upheld new restrictions the D.C. Council passed in the wake of the 2008 decision. For example, all handguns must be submitted to D.C. police for a ballistics identification process.
Stephen Halbrook, a lawyer for Heller, said a week ago that an appeal of Urbina’s decision was likely because, he said, the judge was overly deferential toward the city. Read more
Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday signed legislation which overrules any local ordinance which is more restrictive than those approved by the Legislature.
And even in situations where the rules are the same, cities and counties could not have a penalty more severe than permitted by lawmakers.
Most immediately the law, which takes effect later this summer, would overrule regulations that some cities have against people having handguns in city parks.
Instead, that would leave only state laws which spell out how far from a building someone must be to fire a weapon.
Separately, Brewer has penned her approval to legislation to exempt any weapons or ammunition manufactured and sold in Arizona from federal firearms laws. Read more
Standard Catalog of Military Firearms, the companion reference to the Standard Catalog of Firearms, provides you with details for more than 2,000 models of arms manufactured between 1870 and today. Click here to learn more
The Rocky Mountain Gun Owners group is planning a Feb. 1 news conference at which Alderden is expected to declare he will not jail anyone caught violating the proposed policy.
Without elaborating, Alderden on Monday confirmed his position to the Coloradoan.
CSU is one of the sole public universities that permits people to carry concealed weapons on its campuses.
The CSU Board of Governors next month will consider a ban on all weapons on campus. That ban would extend to people who have concealed weapons permits but also would apply to pellet guns and Tasers.
CSU System board members argue that banning weapons, concealed or otherwise, from the Fort Collins and Pueblo campuses will improve safety by reducing the number of guns on campus. Weapons are already prohibited in residence halls.
RMGO spokesman Ray Hickman said CSU has failed to show any real evidence that banning guns improves safety. Read more
Author Massad Ayoob also covers the expansive accessories market, and provides real-life practicalities for each accessory. He also educates you about concealed carry laws, and how they pertain to you. This is essential information for anyone considering concealed carry. Click here to order the Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry.
In the small world category, I recently reconnected with a kid I knew in grade school. Well, neither of us are kids any longer and perhaps it was something in the old neighborhood, but we both ended up along similar paths. But his path was west. Jim, we’ll call him Jim because, well, that’s his name, went to work for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and ended up in dignitary protection and CT work. Now he’s helping others learn those skills.
High Threat Solutions is a tactics training company based in Los Angeles, California. The group is available to travel throughout the U.S. and overseas. The instructors at High Threat Solutions are certified to teach Active Shooter Response, Firearms, Dignitary Protection, Defensive Tactics, Diversionary Devices, multiple terrorism courses and Basic Academy courses. They are experienced instructors having trained law enforcement and military units from around the world. The three core instructors have a combined 88 years of experience in law enforcement and military special operations including custody, patrol, undercover, narcotics, vice, auto theft, SWAT and counter-terrorism. The two current monthly scheduled classes are Introduction to Dignitary Protection and Off-Duty and Plainclothes Survival. Other classes are available upon request.
The largest Gun Show ever held in New York State will be staged April 16-17, 2011, at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY. Over 800 exhibits and displays will be provided by our collectors and dealers from all over the United States and Canada.
Featured will be displays and sales tables of U.S. military arms, Colt Revolvers, high grade double barreled shotguns, Remingtons, muskets, Smith & Wesson, Kentucky rifles, gun parts & accessories, Indian items, Frontier & Western paraphernalia, Sharps, Springfields, Winchesters swords, bowie knives, powder horns, civilian and military weapons from all nations, custom-made and factory knives, military relics and equipment from before the Revolutionary War to present.
Cash or barter. Haggling for the very best deal possible is both expected and accepted. Old and unwanted guns gladly purchased by our collectors.
Admission is only $6.00 per day, children with parents FREE. $5.00 per day for senior citizens.
For more information contact:
Sandy Ackerman Klinger 346 Paul Street Endicott, NY 13760 (607) 748-1010 2:00pm – 6:00pm
Completed, the pair of ARs sits happily on mother-in-law’s kitchen table. Note the eye catching contrast of the FailZero treated receiver with the rest of the black rifle. The author is all about good looks.
Installing the fire control is easy. Stick the safety/selector in from the left side and turn the receiver upside down on the vise block. Drop the detent in its hole. Place the selector detent spring into the small hole on the top of the pistol grip, hold it there with the tip of your finger and put the pistol grip onto the receiver, then hold it while you fiddle one handed with the grip screw.
I can’t figure why everybody insists on using a stainless steel flathead screw here, instead of an alloy socket head. Must be “mil-spec.” Take your guide tool (firing pin with tip cut off) and use it as a slave/guide pin for the hammer and trigger. Install the trigger first, without the disconnector. Drop the trigger in and insert the guide tool in from the left and all the way through. Push the trigger pin in from the right, all the way through.
Do the same for the hammer; and you may have to gently tap the hammer pin in. Then push the trigger pin a little more than halfway out and insert the disconnector into its slot in the trigger, hold it with the guide tool, and push the pin back all the way back through. This little guide tool will save you many number 10 frustrations.
The economy rifle, complete with favored accessories – MagPul Pmags, shooting glasses, Surefire Sonic Defender earplugs, and OTIS Tactical cleaning kit. All that is now needed is a pony and tactical mane comber.
Test the function by cocking, “firing” and recocking again without releasing the trigger. The hammer should be retained by the disconnector and should reset with an audible clack when the trigger is released. Do this multiple times. The hammer should not fall upon trigger release, though that may happen when the disconnector gets worn after extensive use. The safety should engage and prevent trigger pull beyond a little take up. The take up should reset upon trigger release. If this all works, slap the upper onto the lower, and repeat the fire control test while cycling the bolt. If it’s still okay, you are done. For best results apply a dab of grease to the sear/hammer surfaces, the slots in the takedown and pivot pins and selector.
Shameless Promotion
The go-to carbine was finished off with a DPMS detachable rear sight that was in my pack rat box. There is now before my eyes a basic, quality utility carbine. Add a PMag and it’s heaven on earth. This is now my house gun.
We haven’t really covered the hunting rifle, since it was my intent to get constructive descriptive only on the run of the mill assembly, which the hunting rifle really was not.
With the wife’s permission, an 18-inch 6.5 Grendel CTR upper, black barrel, with scope mount and two 10-round mags, were ordered from JP Enterprises. I then promptly tore it apart and sent some of it off to FailZero (www.failzero.com). These dudes apply an electro-less Nickel-Boron-Nitride plating, called EXO Technology, to the receiver, charging handle, hammer, and bolt carrier group. It is billed as a lubrication-free coating, and after hundreds of hand cyclings and dozens of actual shots, seems to be just as advertised.
So far there hasn’t been any flaking or chipping, or malfs. While there does appear to be a slight polishing on the bearing surfaces, that is actually a bonus, operating even more smoothly. Furthermore, it has a nice “Leupold silver” color that really looks fine on the black rifle. I figured that a deer rifle used in below freezing weather might just benefit from a lube-free nature, since many common gun oils don’t hold up so well in those conditions, and can freeze or gum up, counteracting their very purpose.
6.5 Grendel vs. .223 Remington. As can be seen the Grendel uses a significantly fatter cartridge, with a much longer bullet. Grendel mags are black stainless steel, while the .223 on the right stands before the vaunted Pmag.
FailZero also offers kits of their own, one of which includes bolt carrier assembly, hammer, upper, and charging handle, in bare or black. I suspect that it would also be of great use in a talc-dusty environment like where our servicemen are shooting bad people. There are also a couple of fascinating (really) scientific papers describing the process linked to their website, explaining its superiority to hard chrome or other electro-less platings currently on the market.
Finishing off the hunting rifle was a Rock River Arms Match trigger (also from my pack rat box), a Badger Ordnance Gen II Tactical latch and ACE ARFX skeleton stock from Brownells, and my trusty, much used Zeiss Conquest 3-9×40 beat up test scope.
The RRA trigger is a nice set. It is smooth and crisp. As with the economy rifle, a dab of grease was slapped on the sear/hammer interface, and disconnector/hammer interface. There are some folks out there who say that is a bad idea, and can cause malfunctions. But it’s my experience that if a gun’s fire control malfunctions (fires on release, fails to disconnect, doubles, etc) it will do so whether there is any grease there or not. Greasing this used fire control set made it slicker than snot on an August afternoon.
The Gen II tactical latch is extended longer than a standard latch, but not nearly as protrusive as the original tac latch. Both are rather appealing, but since this rifle was going to be carried in the woods, your esteemed author didn’t really want a huge latch digging a new navel in his torso. The Gen II latch is just large enough to be obscenely useful, but not so big to be a nuisance.
The ARFX stock, another one of my favorites, is a lightweight, low profile stock. The best part about it is the foam covering the buffer tube, making the -10 degree cheek-weld a rapturous delight.
Conclusion
I’m happy with the set up; it shoots well under an inch at 100 yards, factory and reloads. The ballistics of the 6.5 Grendel cartridge are impressive and can be examined at the website of Alexander Arms (www.alexanderarms.com), the originators of the cartridge.
It shoots very flat, most bullets having very high ballistic coefficients. Even out of short barrels, it still retains enough velocity in 100- to 123-grain bullets to be supersonic past 1000 yards. Yet it is light recoiling, and the available bullet selection for reloading is large enough to waste some few hours tinkering with loads. It stands a chance of becoming my chosen all-around pick, for practicing long-distance stuff, to mid range steel, to close range Bambi carnage.
Value describes all the ingredients in these two recipes, value in thrift and in largess. The greater value is in building rifles with your own two hands, to the design that only you can perfectly derive, for the purposes only you can conceive, on those two hundred dollar chunks of machined aluminum that you bought for a rainy day.
This article appeared in the March 15, 2010 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine. Click here to load up on your subscription.
A change is coming to Gun Digest the Magazine. Starting with the May 10 issue, Gun Digest the Magazine will be published in standard magazine size.
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Gun Digest the Magazine will now be published as a standard-sized magazine, starting with the May 10, 2010 issue. The new size provides readers an even cleaner format.
Strikemark based in beautiful Virginia Beach, VA.; home of the Brass Bell Steakhouse & Lounge, a.k.a. the mother ship for many of my buds, is a living and breathing example of what can happen when creative people are allowed to combine imagination with perspiration. This is a young company that started out designing and manufacturing reactive steel targets because they had the vision to see that shooting paper is not the way to train.
Today, they’ve expanded to some interesting niche products that can be summarized as mounting technologies for a variety of digital cameras.
Increasingly more people and/or organizations are integrating video capture technologies with a weapon system to help them meet increasing legal requirements, in the case of law enforcement, or for the military to enhance command and control capabilities.
Strikemark recognized that need and has developed an assortment of mounting solutions for some specific technologies like Go Pro and Contour.
Recently, they’ve also introduced a Digital Camera Picatinny Rail Mount that allows the operator to mount a generic digital point and shoot camera to your weapon’s Pictainny rail system.
The mount slides over the desired rail and can be tightened down on the rail system using a hex nut.
The camera is then attached to the Strikemark mount, using any one of five holes provided, then secured to the mount using a ¼ x 20 bolt and wingnut. The Strikemark mount is compatible with virtually all compact digital cameras with a ¼ x 20 tripod attachment point.
It’s a great little doodad that for $34.95 will let you capture the moment!
Gun Digest is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. Readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews and practical how-to instructions. Subscriptions are the First Amendment way to stand up for your Second Amendment rights. Click here to begin your subscription to Gun Digest.
Inside This Issue
• Yes, you can own “machine guns” and silencers, but you have to be prepared to deal with the bureaucracy. Dave Morelli shows how.
• Editor Kevin Michalowski believes fewer guns is not the solution. Click here to read his "Editor’s Shot" column.
• Rifles: Navy Arms
• Shotguns: Merkel
• Handguns: Norinco, etc.
• NRA Update: NRA recognizes “Top Gun”
• Field Gun Review: The Gun on the Bottom of the Basket
• Precision Marksmanship: Reloading for Precision Pt. II
• Gunsmithing: Indispensable Tools Pt. 1
• Performance Handloading: Loads for the Military Bring-Backs
HARLINGEN, Texas – Authorities say the man found dead on the side of the road in Harlingen was shot because he was threatening a homeowner, and the homeowner fought back.
It all started around 9:30 Thursday night on Rabb Road in La Feria. Authorities say 31-year-old Francisco Antonio Moreno, Roman Cardoza and another man approached a La Feria homeowner.
The men allegedly forced the homeowner and his son out of their car and demanded they be let inside the house. They used a gun, knives and baseball bat to threaten the homeowner. The sheriff says the homeowner refused, wrestled the gun away and shot in self-defense. Read more
Calderon, who has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers and police to fight drug cartels, told Fareed Zakaria’s “GPS” program on CNN that there was resistance in Washington to Mexico’s demands that sales of such weapons be stopped.
“They (U.S. officials) say that they are facing strong opposition and there is powerful lobbies in the Congress in order to change that situation,” Calderon said in a pre-taped interview in Mexico City.
Click here to order the Gun Digest book of the AR-15.
The Mexican leader added that solving the cross-border gun trafficking problem was critical to his bid to crack down on the drug-related violence that has killed 4,600 people in the past two years.
Mexico says 90 percent of the weapons used by drug gangs are bought in the United States, often legally. Mexican officials also want to see the U.S. Congress reinstate a ban on the sale of assault weapons that expired in 2004.
U.S. gun rights groups generally oppose such a restriction. Read more
Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 of the best concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
Be sure to check out the Gun Digest 1944-2009 3-DVD Set. includes all of the previous 63 editions of the Gun Digest annual, from 1944 to 2009. Nearly all of these editions are out of print and are very rare and difficult to find. Buy Now
