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Tennessee Senate Fails to Approve Bill to Close Handgun-Carry Records

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It was a reversal for the gun lobby, which has been successful this year in winning approval of several bills to expand the places where permit holders are legally allowed to carry their sidearms, including parks and places where alcohol is served. The bill had passed the House 83-12 in May.

Although the bill is technically not dead, the legislature is struggling to adjourn its 2009 session today and Minority Leader Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, said it will take a two-thirds vote of the 33-member Senate to resurrect it. Although it received a favorable 14-13 vote, it takes 17 votes, a majority, to pass legislation.

The bill’s sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said that although it could potentially be resurrected before lawmakers go home for the year, it would be heavily amended.

“It’s possible, but I am bothered by the fact that there are apparently political campaigns and candidates that want to use the database for their purposes. I find that as offensive as data mining for gun control purposes,” Norris said after the vote.

“There is some incentive to get those records closed to a reasonable degree. The senators in the chamber (Wednesday night) were split on what they thought was reasonable and a number of them obviously took a walk. I presented it as the Senate sponsor and did the best I could.”

Gun-carry licensees mounted a huge effort this year to close the records that have been open since the state created handgun-carry permits 12 years ago. The push came after The Commercial Appeal posted a searchable database of permit holders on its Web site last November.

Opponents of the bill — led by Kyle, Sens. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, Joe Haynes, D-Nashville, and Douglas Henry, D-Nashville — sought a compromise and argued that closing public records would set a bad precedent. Read more

Source: commercialappeal.com

 

Ted Kennedy Bill to Dump Your Gun Info Into Massive Federal Database

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At long last, Teddy Kennedy has partially revealed the health care system he wants to foist on the whole country — and it isn't pretty.

It won't be pretty for your pocket book… OR FOR YOUR GUN RIGHTS!

But first, let us explain what TeddyCare is all about.

At the center of the plan is what's called a “universal mandate.” What this means is that you — and virtually everyone in the country — will have to buy as much health insurance as the government demands, and that insurance plan will actually have to be approved by the government.

If you work for a small business, the business will buy the insurance on your behalf. But you may be saddled with an enormous part of the cost. And, if the employer's contribution is too large, you will be fired.

If you fail to buy TeddyCare, as the government orders you to do, the IRS will fine you, garnish your wages, put a lien on your house, and, ultimately, put you in prison.

How much will you have to spend on your TeddyCare insurance? Teddy's not saying.

The portion of your paycheck that will have to be forked over to Teddy's latest social experiment will be revealed ONLY AFTER THE MASSIVE HEALTH CARE BILL IS SIGNED INTO LAW.

This should set off alarm bells in your brain, because, for instance, the average family policy is currently $12,700.  “So,” proclaims Teddy, “everyone's going to get a subsidy to pay for this.”  There's going to be a “chicken in every pot,” and no one's going to have to pay for it. Read more

Source: gunowners.org

Ammunition and Components

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The steady introduction of new calibers and high-techloads is fueling the firearms industry. One has to look no further than Hornady to sense the pace of the ammunition market. This year Hornady is introducing four completely new cartridges – the 308 Marlin Express, 30 T/C, 375 Ruger and 460 Bushmaster. It is also bringing into production two great classics – the 450/400 N.E. 3″ and the 9.3 x 74R. Remington, which has controlled the 17-caliber centerfire market with its swift 17 Remington for years, decided it was time to rev up the market and created the appealing 17 Remington Fireball along with five bolt-action rifles to shoot it in. The heavy end of the handgun market keeps boiling with a number of new loads for the 460 S&W and 500 S&W, including Hornady's 500-grain FP-XTP for 500 S&W shooters who like a bit of kick to their loads. Over in scattergun territory, the accent is still on the development of dense shot including Winchester's Extended Range High Density, Remington's Wingmaster HD and Federal's Black Cloud FS Steel. It's been a busy year!

A-Square Company

A-Square has aggressively tamed a number of excellent wildcats by domesticating them through the SAAMI protocols. Two of the successful cartridges, the 6.5-06 A-Square and the 338-06 A-Square, will be joined this year by the 416 Taylor A-Square. Developed by Robert Chatfield Taylor in the 1970s by necking down the 458 Win. Magnum case to .416, the compact and highly efficient 416 Taylor is capable of churning up 2400 fps with a 400-grain bullet. Move over 416 Rigby and 416 Remington, the Taylor A-Square runs on less powder and doesn't require a magnum length action to equal your classic ballistics. It's good to see that the 416 Taylor has now been standardized and is available loaded with A-Square's unique “Triad” of big game bullets. www.a-squarecompany.com

Ballistic Products

Ballistic Products new “HITS” program is changing the way shotshell reloaders optimize their choice of components around a specific game species or shooting game. Standing for “Hull Integrated Technology System,” the HITS program provides the reloader with a bundle of the best components, except for powder and shot, plus reloading instructions to assemble the finest pheasant, waterfowl, sporting clays and 20-gauge shotshells. There's also a new multi-purpose 16-gauge field wad available this year. Designated the “Multi-Metal 16,” it can handle lead, steel and Hevi-Shot loadings. www.ballisticproducts.com

Barnes Bullets

Featuring a copper-tin core, Barnes' Varmint Grenade .224? bullet promises explosive performance.
Featuring a copper-tin core, Barnes' Varmint Grenade .224 bullet promises explosive performance.

Celebrating their 75th anniversary, Barnes is introducing no less than 41 new bullet designs this year. Noteworthy as well is that the Barnes bullets are being factory loaded today by Black Hills, Cor-Bon, Federal, Norma and Weatherby.

Brand new to the Barnes family is the “Varmint Grenade” – a 36-grain HP in .224, featuring a highly frangible, copper-tincore. It's a “green” bullet, accurate and designed for explosive expansion of game and a minimum of ricochets. The line of Maximum-Range X-Bullets (MRX) introduced last year, featuring tungsten-alloy cores and polymer tips in the familiar TripleShock platform, has been expanded to cover every popular caliber from 270 through 338. Barnes' line of solids has been completely redesigned with multi-grooved shanks that reduce pressure, minimize fouling and enhance accuracy. The new “Banded Solid” line has been expanded to cover every popular caliber from 224 through 600, and this includes some classic big game calibers such as the 9.3mm, 450/400, 404 Jeffrey, 470 Nitro, 505 Gibbs and 500 Nitro. The 30/30 gets a new high performance bullet this year, a flat-nose, 150grain Triple Shock. Finally, look for a variety of new XPB pistol bullets including new weights and designs for the 357, 357 Sig, 40 S&W, 44 Spl. and 45 GAP. www.barnesbullets.com

 

Barnes' Triple-Shock X Bullet is so effective, it's being factory loaded by Federal, Black Hills and Weatherby.

Berger Bullets

In an interesting turn of events, Berger is pitching its Match Grade Very Low Drag (VLD) line as perfectly suitable for hunting big game. Berger's tests, which are available on a free DVD from the company, show that the sharp nose of a VLD bullet penetrates at least 2 inches of initial tissue and then expands rapidly in the vital area. Added to the lineup this year are a 120-grain/6.5mmMatch BT and a 130-grain/6.5mmMatch VLD. www.bergerbullets.com

Bismuth

Working with Berger, Bismuth has developed and is loading a 175grain/30-caliber VLD match grade bullet with a pure Bismuth, non-toxic core in the 308 Win., 30-'06, 300 Win. Mag. and 300 WSM. Test results show exceptionally fine accuracy and rapid fragmentation. Bismuth continues to offer a complete line of shotshells and Bismuth component shot for handloaders. Bismuth is the only non-toxic shot that is suitable for pre-steel shot shotgun barrels, be they breech or muzzleloaders. www.bismuth-notox.com

Black Hills

With S&W returning the Model 1917 to its line, a lot of shooters will be searching for 45 Auto Rim ammunition. It's hard to find, but not at Black Hills. Their new 45 Auto Rim loading features a hard-cast 255-grain SWC at an honest 750 fps. The hottest new varmint load this year is Black Hills' 223 “Varmint Grenade.” Built around Barnes' new copper particle-cored 36-grain bullet, the Varmint Grenade is running at 3750 fps and is said to be “humanely devastating” on small critters. Long known for their custom match ammunition, Black Hills is loading a 123-grain/6.5mm Sierra MatchKing in the 6.5 Grendel cartridge for Les Baer, who is reporting .5 MOA accuracy from his custom AR-15s. Similarly, they have developed a long-range tactical match load for the 260 Rem. cartridge, featuring a 139-grain Lapua Scenar bullet at 2770 fps. The tactical match 260 Rem. load will be marketed exclusively through G.A. Precision rifles. Finally, their premium line of hunting ammunition, Black Hills Gold, is being expanded with Hornady SST bullets added to the 243 Win., 270 Win. and 7mm Rem. Mag. Great people – great ammo. www.black-hills.com

45 Auto Rim has been in short supply, but no longer. Black Hills is bringing it back.
45 Auto Rim has been in short supply, but no longer. Black Hills is bringing it back.

Brenneke USA

The 16-gauge continues to creep up in popularity, and why not. A 16-gauge built on a 20-gauge frame is a delight to shoot and carry. Well, Brenneke has upgraded their 1 oz/16-gauge slug with a new wad system that is capable of 2.5 groups at 50 yards. Velocity is right up there at 1600 fps. Over the past year, Brenneke commissioned ballistics expert Tom Burczynski to run a series of comparative tests on all brands of shotguns slugs. Interestingly, the Brenneke 12-gauge Heavy Field Short Magnum out-penetrated the competition by a long margin and ranked second in terms of accuracy and muzzle energy. See the test results at www.brennekeusa.com

DKG has emerged as a great resource if you're looking for NobelSport or Centurion shotshells. Manufactured in Italy, both lines feature some interesting variations like NobelSport's 20-gauge steel trap load and 12-gauge sporting clays spreader load.

Under the Centurion banner, one will find a unique 12-gauge buckshot load featuring one 0.650 round ball and six #1 buck and a .410 shell stuffed with five #00 buck. See the whole lines at www.dkgtrading.com

Extreme Shock

Extreme Shock ammunition is designed to fragment and dump all its energy within the target. With a technology based on bullets having Tungsten powder cores, the lines now cover personal defense and aircraft safe handgun rounds, short and long range 5.56mm tactical rounds, subsonic, door-breaching and even a 675-grain 50 BMG load. See them all at www.extremeshockusa.com

Federal

Federal's 12 and 20-gauge sabot slug loads feature a spitzer-tipped Barnes Expander.
Federal's 12 and 20-gauge sabot slug loads feature a spitzer-tipped Barnes Expander.

Waterfowl beware! The new Black Cloud FS Steel cartridge is described as “Dropping Ducks Like Rain.” Basically, a combination of Federal's proven Flitecontrol wad and a steel shot pellet that features a cutting edge around its circumference, Black Cloud FS is a new step-up in steel shot lethality. Twelve and twenty gauge slugs also have been given a facelift by the addition of a streamlined polymer spitzer tip to Federal's Barnes Expander sabot slug. The factory standard is 2 inches at 100 yards – no exceptions. Speaking of Barnes, the 7mm/140-grain Triple Shock X-Bullet has been added to the 7mm-08, 280 Rem. and 7mm Rem. Mag. under the Premium Vital-Shok label. Also new under the same label are a 150-grain Nosler AccuBond in the 30-'06 and a 165-grain AccuBond in the 308 Win. The popularity of the 460 S&W keeps growing so Federal has once again teamed up with Barnes to load a 275-grain Expander in that big bore handgun caliber. www.federalpremium.com

Fiocchi

Break out those Broomhandles! Fiocchi is reintroducing the 7.63Mauser cartridge in a full-power loading sporting an 88-grain FMJ bullet at 1425 fps. www.fiocchiusa.com

Hastings

Famous for their slug gun barrels and sabot slug ammunition, Hastings is introducing a 20-gauge case stuffed with a 350-grain Laser Accurate Slug at 2000 fps. It's the ultimate 20-gauge magnum but suitable only for single-shot shotguns at the moment. www.hastingsammunition.com

Hodgdon

Having taken over the distribution of Winchester canister powders, Hodgdon is releasing two classic Winchester shotshell powders: WAALite – the same powder used by Winchester to create the Feather Light AA12FL shell; and SuperHandicap – useful for duplicating Winchester's clays-crushing SuperHandicap 12-gauge loading that tough competitors call the “silver bullet.”There's a new short cut powder this year, IMR 4007 SSC. “SSC” stands for “Super Short Cut” and the burning rate of the new powder falls between IMR 4064 and IMR 4350. The new IMR 4007 SSC is turning in outstanding velocities and accuracy in the short magnums as well as in the 22-250, 220 Swift, 243 Win. and the classic 30-'06. Be sure to buy the new Hodgdon Reloading Manual that now includes thousands of proven recipes for IMR and Winchester, as well as the traditional Hodgdon powders. www.hodgdon.com

Hornady

After last year's introduction of the “LeverEvolution” family of cartridges, we expected Hornady to take a breather. Not so, this year Hornady is producing four completely new cartridges, the 375 Ruger, 308 Marlin Express, 30 T/C and 450 Bushmaster as well as bringing into production two great classics, the 450/400 Nitro Express 3? and the 9.3?74R. The 375 Ruger is based on a 30-'06-length case and loaded with a 270-grain SP and 300-grain SP or FMJ, it is capable of duplicating 375 H&H performance in a 20-inch barrel. The 308 Marlin Express features a 160 grain spitzer bullet with a high B.C. rating of .400 that leaves the muzzle of Marlin's new XLR lever action at 2600 fps. If you like Marlin lever actions, you'll like this new cartridge.

Hornady's puts some muscle in the AR-15 with the new 450 Bushmaster.
Hornady's puts some muscle in the AR-15 with the new 450 Bushmaster.

The 30 T/C is a short-action case designed specifically for T/C's forward-looking ICON bolt-action rifle. Producing 3000 fps with a 150-grain bullet and 2850 fps with a 165-grain pill, Hornady claims the new case uses less powder than the 308 or 30-'06, exceeds the factory velocities of those classic 30s in a 20-inch barrel, and produces noticeably less recoil. Designed to take your Bushmaster AR-15 big-game hunting, the 450 Bushmaster will produce over 2000 fps with a .425-caliber/250-grain SST bullet. The overall length of the new cartridge matches the 223 Rem. at 2.250 inches. Just change your uppers and go hunting. www.hornady.com

Huntington

This is the handloader's emporium for bullets, cases and RCBS tooling and parts. Buzz Huntington does an exceptional job of rounding up the hardest-to-get components and will go to any length to find them. Need lead bullets for the 310 Martini, newly drawn cases for the 577 Snider, or samples of the 600 and 700 Nitro Express cases or bullets. Huntington keeps them in stock. I enjoy shooting the oddball and obsolete cartridges, and I haven't been able to stump Buzz yet.

Huntington's catalog is as educational a reference as you will find in the trade. www.huntingtons.com

Kent Cartridge

“Speed Kills,” states their catalog, and Kent has the shotshells to prove it. New this year under their “Faststeel” waterfowl label is a 12-gauge/3?? shell packing 1? oz of BB, 1, 2 and 3s at 1625 fps. That's fast! Then there's a new 12-gauge/2?? upland lead load featuring 1 oz of 4, 5 and 6s at 1460 fps. Look to Kent for speed. It kills. www.kentgamebore.com

Lightfield

Famous for their exceptionally accurate and lethal shotgun slugs, Lightfield has capitalized on its experience with plastic sabots and projectile design to develop a new 50-caliber muzzleloading round. Named the “Alpha Gold 300,” it consists of a pure lead 300-grain boattail hollowpoint bullet wrapped in a gold-colored sabot. The hollow point is serrated to generate controlled expansion upon impact and a bullet seater is provided in each blister pack to ensure the soft spitzer point is not deformed when loading. The plastic sabot is formulated to take both blackpowder and smokeless pressures. It's a good looking round and early reports from the field indicate it's exceptionally lethal. Also new this year are several new sabot shotgun slugs and a full range of non-lethal law enforcement and wildlife control loads. Most important may be Lightfield's well-written instructional guides on benchresting and sighting in a slug gun, and analyzing recovered muzzleloading sabots to fine-tune your load. www.lightfieldslugs.com and www.lightfieldlesslethal.com

Midway

Do you have a vintage 12-gauge side-by-side that would be pleasant and safe to shoot with a low-pressure shell? Midway has the shell. Loaded by Federal to Midway's specifications, the 12-gauge/2 1/2 shell shot at 1200 fps. The chamber pressure is a mild 5,000 pounds and recoil is equally as light. The shell would be a great practice round in any 12-gauge gun and is ideal for recoil-sensitiveshooters. Available by the case, see it at www.midway-usa.com.

Norma

Norma fields its “African PH” series of big game ammunition. Featuring FMJ and SP Woodleigh bullets, the new cartridge family includes the 375 H&H, 404 Jeffery, 416 Rigby and Rem. Mag., 450 Rigby, 458 Lott, 470 NE, 500 NE and 505 Gibbs. The “African PH” catalog, featuring stories on a number of past and present professional hunters, is a great read and well worth ordering. In another interesting development, Norma will be bringing out a new 6mm competition cartridge designed by David Tubb. Called the “6XC,” the case is based on an improved 22-250 design with minimum case taper and a 30-degree shoulder. The 6XC will be factory loaded with a moly-coated 105-grain Berger bullet loaded to approximately 3000 fps. Norma is considering introducing the 6XC as a hunting cartridge as well, noting its superiority over the 243 Win. www.norma.cc

Nosler

Expanding its highly successful AccuBond line, Nosler is introducing four new bullets: a 130-grain/6.5mm, 130-grain/270, 225-grain/35 and a 250-grain/9.3mm. There's a new 32-grain/20 caliber Ballistic Tip varmint pill and a new 140-grain/6.5mm HPBT target bullet in the line. Nosler continues to expand its brand of custom brass and is cataloguing the 260 Rem., 280 Ackley Improved, 300 H&H and 300 SAUM this year. www.nosler.com

Polywad

Always a fertile center for shotshell innovations, Polywad is introducing the “Gram Crak-R Shell,” a buffered shot load, wrapped in a high-sided craft paper shot cup. The results in the 28-gauge and .410 are amazing. With the 28-gauge shell, I was taking doves out to 50 yards this past season while the .410 Crak-R performs more like a 28-gauge. The secret is in the buffer and in the environmentally friendly shotcup that holds the shot together, producing a short shot string and a tight shot pattern with a minimum of aberrant pellets. www.polywad.com

Remington

Remington's traditional Core-Lokt bullet just got better with the addition of a bonded core.
Remington's traditional Core-Lokt bullet just got better with the addition of a bonded core.

Having opened the 17-caliber door years ago with their sensational 17 Remington, Big Green has done it again. Necking down the cute-looking 221 Fireball, they're introducing the 17 Remington Fireball with a 20-grain AccuTip-V at 4000 fps in no less than four different model rifles. Another ballistic break-through this year is Wingmaster HD waterfowl, turkey and predator loads. Utilizing their proprietary tungsten-bronze-ironalloy with a pellet density of 12 gm/cc, the new shot is perfectly spherical and offers optimum pattern densities in gauges from 10 through 20. The predator loading in the 3″ and 3 1/2/12 gauge is based on “T” shot at 1300-1350 fps – should be deadly on coyotes at extended ranges. Working with the concept of stair-stepping loads, Remington is offering three different power level loads for the 300 Rem. Ultra Mag. Power Level 1 tames the 300 RUM to 30-'06 level performance; Level 2 to 300 Win. performance; and Level 3 brings out the full power level we buy the 300 RUM for in the first place. Remington states that the point-of-impact of all three power levels is within 2 inches at 200 yards, making scope adjustments unnecessary. In the shotshell slug department, there is a new ManagedRecoil addition featuring a 1 oz./12 ga. Copper Solid Sabot Slug at a mild 1200 fps. Look for Remington Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded component bullets this year in calibers 243 through 338. www.remington.com

Schroeder Bullets

For uncommon custom diameter bullets and brass, always check out Schroeder.

This year he is adding formed brass for the 204 Ruger Rimmed, 223 Rimmed, 222 Mag. Rimmed, 17357 Maximum, 5.7x28mm Rimmed, 30 Herrett, and 7×61 S&H. New custom bullets include a 60-grain HP in .234 diameter and 225-grain and 250-grain spire points in .356 diameter. If you own a 5mm Rem. Mag. rifle, Schroeder offers a simple and inexpensive conversion to 5mm centerfire. (619) 423-3523

Sierra Bullets

Meeting the demand for 6.5mm match bullets, Sierra has added a 123-grain HPBT MatchKing to its existing line-up of superb 6.5mm competition projectiles. www.sierrabullets.com

SSK

SSK is the place to look for high-tech specialty bullets.

SSK is the place to look for high-tech specialty bullets.

 

JD Jones and David Frickie have teamed up to produce a series of unique bullets turned from brass or copper. There are a variety of styles in 6.5mm, 6.8mm, 338, 375, 416, 458, 500, 510, 13mm, 14.5mm, 62 and 95 caliber. If you have a self-designed bullet in mind, Jones and Frickie will get it into CNC production for a modest cost of $300. Working with Michael McCourry, SSK now offers a completely new line of custom 50, 416 and 458 caliber cartridges based on WSM and Rem. Ultra Mag. brass, including a 50-caliber Alaskan cartridge that is giving outstanding performance in the Win. Model 71 and Marlin 1895. Dies, bullets, brass and custom gunsmithing are available through SSK. www.sskindustries.com

Speer

Speer's continued production of “Special Purpose Rifle Bullets” is a blessing shooters should not overlook. In spite of what must be a very limited demand, the “Special Purpose” line includes properly cannelured bullets for the 218 Bee, 25-20, 730 Waters, 30 Carbine and 32-20. Stock up! www.speer-bullets.com

Swift

If you're a 25-caliber shooter, there's a great new bullet in the Scirocco line. It's a streamlined 100-grain boattail spitzer with a high BC of .429. www.swiftbullet.com

Weatherby

Weatherby was the first major company to integrate Nosler Partition bullets into their entire line. They continue to search out and load premium, high-tech component bullets. This year, Barnes Triple-Shock X-Bullet and Nosler's AccuBond bullet are being added across the Weatherby family of high-performance cartridges that already sport the Nosler Partition, Nosler Ballistic Tip and Hornady Interlock bullets. www.weatherby.com

Winchester

Weatherby's focus on premium bullets now includes the Barnes' Triple Shock.

Weatherby's focus on premium bullets now includes the Barnes' Triple Shock.

 

Winchester's top-of-the-line ammunition family, the Supreme Elite line, includes a number of firsts this year. The 243 Win and the 243 WSSM have been tipped off with Winchester's finest controlled expansion, bonded core bullet, the 95-grain/XP3. The popular 270 Win. and 270 WSM are also being upgraded with a 130-grain XP3 bullet. Respective velocities are 3050 fps and 3275 fps. Designed for rifled shotgun bores, there's a striking new XP3/12-gauge shotgun slug featuring a sharp polymer tip, controlled expansion jacket, and a refined sabot. The combination is said to be highly accurate and very flat shooting. As we go to print, the shell's velocity has not been announced. Predator hunters will like the Supreme Elite Xtended Range High Density Coyote 3 1/2 12-gauge load featuring 1 1/2 oz of Hi-Density B size pellets. Lots of knockdown power with minimum pelt damage. The 3?/20-gauge is getting some additional octane this year with the introduction of an Xtended Range turkey load packing 1 oz of #5 shot at 1225 fps. Finally, the premium line features a 3 1/2 12-gauge Xtended Range waterfowl load, loaded with 1 oz of #6 Hi Density shot. The old 30-30 gets a facelift with a new 150-grain, slightly pointed, Ballistic Silvertip ripping out at 2390 fps. If the full-power 500 S&W seems a bit much for extended target sessions, Winchester has a new reduced recoil load consisting of a 350-grain bullet at 1400 fps. Delivering only ? the recoil of the full-power cartridge, big-bore handgunners should love it. Speaking of reduced recoil, there's a new line of WinLite Low Recoil shotgun ammunition covering target, buckshot and slug applications. Finally, honoring the late John Wayne on what would be his 100th birthday, Winchester is issuing a limited edition collector's set of ammunition in 44-40, 45 Colt and 30-30 calibers, featuring special headstamps and commemorative packaging. www.winchester.com

Woodleigh

Constructed with pure lead, bonded cores, the Woodleigh line of premium big-game bullets is being expanded this year with an ultra heavy, 240-grain protected point, Weldcore bullet for the 30-?06, 200 and 220-grain PP bullets for the 325 Win., a 400-grain FN for the 500 S&W, and a 450-grain RN in .510? diameter for the 500 Nitro. See the whole line. www.woodleighbullets.com.au

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Order the Gun Digest Annual Book, 2009
To order the 2009 Gun Digest Annual Book, Click Here

Gun Rights Groups Plan State-By-State Revolt

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Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, is one of the leaders of a new grassroots movement that's seeking to invoke the principle of states' rights — including states' own authority to regulate firearms — to thwart what he and his allies view as an increasingly overreaching federal government.

Politicians in Washington have “assumed power that many of us believe was not authorized under the limits of the Constitution,” Marbut said in an interview with CBSNews.com last week.

This modern-day federalist revolt began with a Montana state law recently signed by Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. It says that firearms, ammunition, and accessories manufactured entirely inside Montana are not subject to federal regulation, including background checks for buyers and record-keeping requirements for sellers. They would remain subject to state regulation.

The law, which does not permit the manufacture of certain large-caliber weapons or machine guns, takes effect on October 1, 2009.

Montana is hardly alone: the Tennessee legislature has approved a nearly-identical bill, and others are pending in Texas, Alaska, Minnesota, and South Carolina. About 10 other states, including Florida and Arizona, are reportedly considering similar measures, and a Colorado state legislator has publicly pledged to follow suit. Read more

Source: cbsnews.com

23 AGs Tell Holder “No” on Semi-Auto Ban

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A list of those attorneys general is included below, and surprisingly, it does not include Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.

This is a remarkable letter, made public by the National Rifle Association. It follows three months after 65 House Democrats sent a similar letter to Holder, admonishing him for remarks made earlier this year suggesting that the Obama administration would like to see the ban renewed. That March 17 letter took issue with Holder, and others, who at the time were using the drug cartel wars in Mexico as an excuse to push for renewal of the ban, which expired in September 2004 after having accomplished pretty much nothing.

As the states’ top law enforcement officials, we share the Obama Administration’s commitment to reducing illegal drugs and violent crime within the United States. We also share your deep concern about drug cartel violence in Mexico. However, we do not believe that restricting law abiding Americans’ access to certain semi-automatic firearms will resolve any of these problems.

McKenna is not generally thought of as an anti-gunner. His office did, after all, advise Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels – poised to be elected president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Monday – that his blustery promise to ban legally-carried handguns from Seattle city property by executive order would be illegal. Nickels has some other problems as he heads into another campaign for re-election (the guy has never held a job in the private sector), and it will be interesting to watch whether he tries to bully people with his new national status, or make good use of his new position to address such pressing needs nationally as municipal infrastructure at times of economic downturn, public transportation, and urban decay.

It is not “bullying” in which the pro-gun attorneys general are engaging with Holder, but frank conversation about a subject that should be dead and buried. All 23 of these chief law enforcement officers concur that “additional gun control laws are unnecessary” and that the individual right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment “should not be encroached upon without sound justification – and a clear law enforcement purpose.”

Because fully automatic machine guns have already been banned, we do not believe that further restricting law-abiding Americans’ access to certain semiautomatic firearms serves any real law enforcement purpose.
The only logical purpose of reinstating the ban, expanding it as proponents desire and making it permanent would be to strip American citizens of their legally held property and make it seem acceptable. Once the gun prohibition lobby can sell the notion that banning a specific type of firearm is okay, they will wait a while and then move to ban another specific type of firearm, all under the guise of public safety.
As with the case of the letter from the 65 Democrat congress members in March, this letter did not get any news coverage, at least not yet. You can rest assured that if 23 attorneys general had signed a letter calling upon the Obama administration to push for renewal of the ban, it would have occupied all of the Sunday morning news/talk programs. Read more

Source: Seattle Gun Rights Examiner

Pocket Knife Ban Models Gun Control Formula

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“They” may never really ‘come for you’, but when something is legal today and arbitrarily made illegal tomorrow, you’ve been had and didn’t even know it.

The process comes when someone introduces a concept and master prosecuting bodies or assigned agencies get the last word in how it all shakes out. The agencies may post that they are taking comments, but once they get ahold of it, they never let go and soon the concept of carrying a pocket knife with you will be illegal.

It’s a societal mistake to regulate and then to come after anything, and I’ll say why. When anti-gun activists try to mock gun ownership and gun owner apprehension about soft tyranny of the type we are seeing today, they like to carp out loud about how anyone is going to stop the Army when they come for us. ..almost as if they are gleefully looking forward to it. (Did you ever get the idea that some in this country are actually looking forward to a Police State?)

First, it probably won’t happen that way. There won’t likely be any confrontations between citizens and their own troops. It will be more subtle, such as coming to arrest violators of things which aren’t illegal at this time, but are becoming illegal. The pocket knives are the latest example. Soon, it will be what you eat or refuse to eat, or refuse in the way of a microchip or vaccine. Officials loathe independence. It means you don’t have to listen to them on issues where they have no such authority.

Rather than shoot-outs with troops, the result will be more that of officers to come a-calling while neighbors watch because they cannot relate to your situation of too many parking tickets, or refusing that chip, or refusing that diet, or anything, and they’ll mutter that he probably brought it all on himself, since they heard him complain about too much government.

You see, the agencies charged with deciding ultimately decide against the will of the people. Instead of taking No for an answer, they invite comments, but will still not reject the idea as an interference with our liberty. This is soft tyranny. They’re going to get their way instead of our getting our way.

Soft tyranny. Read more

Source: LA Gun Rights Examiner

Oregon: Concealed Carry Records Controversy Continues

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As KGW News reported, “The divisive issue has pitted gun owners and sheriffs against reporters and the courts. Supporters claim publishing the records puts those carrying handguns in jeopardy.”

Oregon sheriffs have strongly opposed giving out such private information to the media. In fact, “Earlier in the year, sheriffs from across Oregon sent letters to handgun permit holders, warning of media attempts to publish their names,” KGW News noted. “The Medford Mail Tribune sued Jackson County last year to force release of every concealed handgun permit holder on the books. A judge agreed and demanded the list be given to the newspaper. That verdict was appealed and is now under consideration by the state appellate court.”

Arkansas AG: No Semi-Auo Ban

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President Barack Obama said in April that the ban “made sense” but that he wouldn't push to reinstate it because it would be difficult to pass in Congress.

McDaniel said in a news release that he shared Obama's desire to reduce crime. Read More

Source: nwanews.com

 

Museum Shooting Exploited by Gun Banners

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They said it highlights the need for lawmakers to reconsider efforts to ease the District's tough gun laws and allowing firearms into national parks.

D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray said the shooting underscored the need for strict gun laws in the nation's capital.

“It's all the more reason why, though, District of Columbia gun legislation should be not used as a bargaining chip by those in Congress who would use our city for political gain while compromising safety, particularly when it involves our right to a vote,” said Mr. Gray, at-large Democrat.

House Democratic leaders this week shelved indefinitely a long-sought bill to grant the District a voting member in Congress because they couldn't defeat a Republican amendment to scale back the city's gun restrictions.

“Congress should think very hard about their responsibilities for public safety before weakening gun laws in our nation's capital, and should rethink their decision to allow more guns in our national public areas,” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

“It is dangerous to force more guns into places that American families expect to be gun-free and safe,” he said. Read more »

Source: washingtontimes.com

 

Chicagoans Packing Heat Despite Handgun Ban

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Gun rights versus gun control; both sides are bringing their message front and center. Hundreds sang and prayed for peace Wednesday night at an anti-gun rally in Rogers Park. The Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. read the names of 36 Chicago Public School students killed just this year. And in a powerful symbol of the lives lost, youngsters laid down on the sidewalk.

CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports that now the battle over guns moves to Washington.

Mayor Daley and the National Rifle Association are headed to the U.S. Supreme Court for a showdown over Chicago's ban on handguns. There are powerful, compelling arguments on both sides. CBS 2 talked to a shop owner who said that if he had obeyed the city's ban, he'd be dead.

“We were actually broken into, you know, during the day,” he said.

He owns a small business on the South Side. He doesn't want us to reveal his identity. Although it's illegal in Chicago, he often packs a .25 caliber pistol. He claims it saved his life twice, most notably when a robber hit him from behind with a hammer.

“As he reached to hit me again, I drew my pistol,” he said. “He saw the pistol, and I shot and missed him totally 'cause I was half-knocked. He took off running.”

Chicago police who responded did what officers often do in the city's toughest neighborhoods. They pretended that the victim had not broken the law by defending himself with an illegal handgun. Read more »

Source: cbs2chicago.com

Gun Digest Concealed Carry Forum »

Complete History of the CZ-75 and Its Early Clones

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The almost-mythical Czech CZ-75 spawned copies and near copies, which makes it the first Super-Nine.
The almost-mythical Czech CZ-75 spawned copies and near copies, which makes it the first Super-Nine.

FIREARMS STORIES ARE generally pretty straightforward — test an item, report on the results. Not so the '70s Wunderkind, the 9mm that turned so many heads eastward, the CZ-75. The Iron Curtain and the trade barriers which protected us from it or it from us have almost disappeared; factories marketing copies and clones have arisen, prospered, and also disappeared; and while the form and function of the original pistol have become supremely well-known in the United States, this only happened because the duplicates got very good, and because reporters and analysts simply refused to give up.

It usually takes about a half-century for a firearms tale to become so tangled and ebullient; but the CZ-75 is not yet twenty years old, boasts almost as many progeny as a hyperhormonal rabbit, and still isn't common here, but it's getting that way.

The CZ-75 and/or TZ-75 are stripped according to the time-honored Browning method, a la Hi-Power.
The CZ-75 and/or TZ-75 are stripped according to the time-honored Browning method, a la Hi-Power.

If the history of the CZ-75 and its brethren seems odd and tangled, so are its roots in the Czech arms industry. For seventy years or so, Brno-marked arms produced at Ceska Zbrojovkaat Strakonica have been universally recognized as high-quality bargains.

Many of their designs have been adopted by well-established arms industries elsewhere. The British Bren began life in Czechoslovakia; likewise the British Besa. Germany, the Soviet Union, most of Eastern Europe and much of Latin America as recently as the 1950s used Czech Mausers and Czech cannon. The tendency continued whether the Czech factory was in capitalist or communist hands, Czech or German, Soviet or Czech reformist control.

From time to time, authorities in Europe and elsewhere have complained it was very difficult to sell their nationally produced firearms output when a better-made Czech product was available, despite tariffs and barriers, for about half the price. In France and Germany, from the '30s until quite recently, Czech shotguns and hunting rifles accounted for a very high percentage of products available and sold. Even now, the CZ-75 is sold in Europe quite cheaply.

Read More: CZ's Flagship – The Venerable CZ-75

This preamble is necessary because there are still some in the U.S. who describe the CZ-75 as what it is not. It has elements derived from evolved components of more ancient and/or far inferior handguns, but the slide/frame interface and most of the rest of the pistol's functional details come from the Petter-Neuhausen patents of the late 1930s.

The trigger combines beefed-up Radom geometry with a much more sophisticated base hinge spun off a Walther original. If anything in the CZ-75 seems ordinary in the 1990s, the observer should page through a GUN DIGEST from the early 1970s looking for an all-steel, double-action fifteen-shot handgun.

For the CZ-75 was and remains the original “Super-Nine,” and European pistolsmiths who've been working with the gun for more than fifteen years still believe it's the one with the most potential for truly precise shooting in the real or simulated combat arenas.

All of which is amazing, after all this time and after the fact that nearly every firearms firm in the world with the capacity to do so has produced and sold at least one gun either inspired by or is a direct copy of the Czech original. This kind of market impact is precisely what was intended by the gun's designers; for the CZ-75 was conceived, designed and sold with virtually no domestic civilian or military market. The guns have seen military use worldwide, but virtually always as an individual's private purchase. And they sell to this day in that most personal and competitive market.

In 1988, the TZ-75 from Tanfoglio in hard chrome had a lot of advantages.
In 1988, the TZ-75 from Tanfoglio in hard chrome had a lot of advantages.

I said the real market history of the pistol was tangled and confused. It is, in fact, so tangled that, by the time this sees ink, much will have changed. This is only the story of the earliest days of CZ-75, and its early clones and stepchildren.

I had to wait only ten days to get my first CZ-75 from P.I.M.C. back in 1986, but I was terribly impatient anyway because I had been waiting, in real terms, eleven long years. Tariffs, import restrictions on “Communist Bloc” products, a crazy quilt of erratic importers and undelivered product, and lots of promises had preceded my order and kept the pistol from me. Enticing ads for the gun in Deutsches Waffen Journal and the Swiss Waffen Digest- for less than half the wholesale price I paid, mind you — had held my attention.

At one point, I had even made elaborate arrangements with a German firm to acquire a Peter F. Stahl-modified custom gun, a deal which fell apart, congealed again, fell apart again, and finally, became real in early 1991, when I took delivery of the gun and owned it for two days, total. A fellow shooter decided he couldn't live without it and, like many who wind up with CZ-75s, gobbled it up with a few too many dollars before I even got a chance to properly photograph it.

By then, of course, I had too much time and money in the pistol, and no matter what it did for me, it couldn't possibly have satisfied me.

The same was essentially true of that first 1986 baked-enamel gun. By the time it actually showed up, praise and promises had me anticipating some sort of model of perfection which would do more or less everything, including assist me in leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

I'd heard the double-action pull was smooth, slick, and truly useful; and it was, at what my weights told me was about 14 pounds, through it felt lighter. Butter smooth and predictable, I eventually slicked it a bit more with careful stone and fitting work, once the gun was broken in. I had heard the CZ-75 was beautifully made.

This was mostly true, though the barrel fit was very average. To say, however, I hate paint finishes on handguns is something of an understatement; phosphated underneath, the baked-on look is my least favorite finish, ranking somewhere after rust. The magazines were crudely scratched with the pistol's serial number. Sights were decent, but nothing special.

This mixture of parts – the TZ-75’s slide and CZ-75’s frame — fired and worked rather well. The TZ-75 is a clone, not a copy.
This mixture of parts – the TZ-75’s slide and CZ-75’s frame — fired and worked rather well. The TZ-75 is a clone, not a copy.

That pistol was one of a batch imported by and marked “Bauska.” The finish is sometimes referred to as “military gloss”.and if I'd had a surefire way to cleanly strip it off without damaging anything, I'd have been down to the phosphate more or less instantly. It's too hard, therefore brittle, and chips badly.

The single-action trigger broke neatly at 41/2 pounds, preceded by the gentle “takeup” – calling it “creep” suggests more tension than there really is – so common on today's semi-autos. Despite excellent overall conformance to the gun's specifications, the long wait and the opportunity to handle so many slick and graceful 9mm guns since the mid-'70s had me in a mindset to be at least slightly dissatisfied no matter what.

I sat down with the instructions and test target to do some studying. Part of the reason European guns function so well is their detailed testing and proofing. One of the tougher requirements in the Czech factory is the final approval, which requires a signature and the test target, also requiring a signature. Comrade Bobcik did mine. What I, for a long time, thought was six rounds on paper was in fact ten. Very disturbing, however, was the fact that there were two very tight groups — one dead-center and tiny, another 21/2 inches away, tight, at about 1 o'clock — and a single bullet hole, fully 51/4 inches from center at 4 o'clock, completely out of the black on the 25-meter test target. Two groups and a flyer. Ah, well, I thought, probably strange ammo or bad shooting. At the time, I hadn't even a single inkle that the pistol would replicate that pattern as long as the original barrel remained in place. Later fiddling with a Tanfoglio barrel partially exorcised the demon, but fitting a tight match barrel eventually did the job. But it was aggravating.

Detailed study of the gun's innards and bore with high magnification equipment showed a lot of very atypical attention to detail and some unusual processes used in the gun's fabrication, part of which I'm still pondering. The bore was exceptionally bright, its finish approximating a #8 R.M.S. finish. The slide and frame appear to be extremely high-quality investment casting, though the exporter, Merkuria, claims all parts are forged.

Some of the internal machining of the slide and especially the frame left no “tracks” even under very high magnification, and so the amount of machine-induced stress in the metal's crystalline structure proved to be very low. Some extremely gentle process or treatment is used on these parts, which may be worked hot or cold, or manipulated electronically or robotically; none of the machinists I talked to could really provide much insight, though the one who said, half jokingly, “maybe it's a laser” may have been closer than he knew.

I did some measuring and checking on the barrel, and at least in this gun, it's configured more like an American tube than a typical European unit. Six grooves, right twist, roughly one turn in 10 inches (probably four per meter). But the hood and muzzle fit were well-executed, clean, loose. This is done on many semi-automatics today because manufacturers know that nothing irritates consumers more than unreliable equipment, and nothing causes more fouling/dirt malfunctions than excessively tight fit on a semi-auto.

But I keep my guns well-lubricated with MDS/graphite greases and cleaner than my plates or silverware, I do not shoot in pigpens, and I demand accuracy, even at the cost of some reliability. The barrel leade cut ahead of the smooth chamber appeared to have a sharper step than I am accustomed to seeing in European semi-automatics, and I suspected this could cause problems with some fatter-nosed hollowpoints.

Determined to leave the gun in a factory-stock condition for initial testing, I still went ahead with some steps I execute with all semi-automatics. My good friend and pistol-smith John Student taught me to check everything, prevent “unexplained” problems as I work, gently polishing and closely studying parts. I merely detail polished the mainspring, recoil spring, firing pin and firing pin spring with gentle touches of 600-grit emery cloth and, afterward, pumice and oil and a silicone cloth. One removes virtually no functioning metal in these processes.

Ejection ports on TZ-75 and CZ-75 are very similar, as are the extractors. The CZ-75 is shown on top here.
Ejection ports on TZ-75 and CZ-75 are very similar, as are the extractors. The CZ-75 is shown on top here.

I then packed the mainspring and firing pin with heavy grease and reassembled. Contrary to advice from some smiths, modern MDS greases remain viable at very low temperatures and do not migrate all over your pistol, holster and clothing, as oil does; and the lubricity of modern greases is superb, preventing corrosion in areas one cannot reach without tearing the gun apart.

The general takedown procedure is simple, and the trigger assembly is much easier to deal with than the Hi-Power or Model 1911 because it's semi-modular. There is no magazine disconnector/safety. There is nothing in this pistol of fragile design, and there are no sheet metal stirrups in the trigger mechanism.

The safety and slide stop on the CZ-75 and most of the current generation of clones are located on the same plane at the pistol's left. The newer CZ-85 is ambidextrous, and I've seen a European 30-caliber (7.65mm) pistol equipped with smooth, handsome wood grips and gracefully extended controls. Who knows what the future might hold?

In several thousand rounds of firing, no “regular” jams of any sort have been encountered with the CZ-75. With the original barrel, some failures to fully chamber were encountered with jacketed hollow-points conflicting slightly with the leade.

Also digested by the CZ-75 were vast quantities of surplus ammunition. And herein lies a wonderful tale. Most European ammo for 9mm is at or slightly above the old SAAMI 9mm specification, and virtually all American ammo well below the so-called “redline.” NATO specifications for the cartridge are very hot by U.S. civilian standards, normal to soft by European specifications, so I hoard Greco, Norma, Lapua and Fiocchi 9mm loads. When I could still afford Lugers, I was pleased to take a superb Artillery Model for minimal money from an owner who, though advised properly, refused to shoot either European ammo or “warmish” handloads, and who was therefore convinced his gun just didn't work. Didn't work? I put 5000 rounds through it without a single malfunction. The CZ-75, especially with the Geco and Fiocchi loads, was more than accurate enough to save anyone's life; the groups thus made were essentially miniatures of Comrade Bobcik's work.

Later, with the match barrel fitted, the flyers totally disappeared. And the pistol, across a padded rest or from a Ransom rest, began to perform brilliantly. Groups of just 1 inch at 25 yards were about maximum, and with carefully controlled handloads, Geco, Fiocchi, Norma, and Federal Match, groups became ragged bullet holes. The key to this is simple, and it was about what I had expected thousands of rounds earlier: slide/frame interface on my specimen – and on all the Czech 75s I've examined – is near perfect. Only “service” barrel fit retards performance.

The “Bobcik Syndrome” was solved by the installation of $160 worth of barrel. But I'd rather it hadn't been necessary. Proof that it would be was early on, for installing the Tanfoglio-produced barrel from my TZ-75 alleviated the flyers. And the Stahl-prepared match pistol shot about the same from day one.

Here is the Bobcik Syndrome — two groups and a flier — out of the box.
Here is the Bobcik Syndrome — two groups and a flier — out of the box.

Looking back, I was displeased with the CZ-75 early on mainly because, in the 1980s, I had handled and tested the big-magazine Astras and Stars, Steyrs and Llamas, Bernardellis, Berettas, the Walther P-88, every one of which either aped the Czech gun or was inspired by it. And, of course, I paid over twice what the CZ sells for in Europe.

It has proven durable and, at long last, accurate. The CZ-75 contains not a single part or system not adapted from another firearm, but it's not really a copy of anything.

Known in the '50s and '60s for a set of competent but rather boring pocket semi-automatics, Fratelli Tanfoglio then made new inroads in manufacturing firearms clones and have found the horses to market their output. From F.I.E. and ExCam's early efforts to current output from a half-dozen firms, virtually all the CZ-75 clones use Tanfoglio-produced parts and are often Tanfoglio-produced and finished guns.

I've done most of my testing of CZ-75 clones with guns from the defunct F.I.E. line. European American Armory of Florida marketed many of the same models under the Witness name, and their literature showed guns in 9mm, 41 AE, 40 S&W and 45. Springfield's P9 came in many versions; it, too, had Tanfoglio parts, though in an American-finished and assembled configuration. The Action Arms AT-84 and AT-88 employ Tanfoglio parts, but were Swiss-assembled and finished. It's all part of the CZ-75 story.

Why clone guns? Historically, there have always been several reasons. Often, the original is too expensive. Sometimes – especially so in the CZ-75's case – the original is hard to get for political/competitive reasons. Sometimes, desirable options aren't available on the original. Tanfoglio got into this market smart and early. Some of those early blued guns were misfitted and displayed odd metallurgical anomalies which led to early failures. The hard-chromed pistols, however, quickly established an excellent reputation, for the hard, flexible “crust” of their finish concealed mediocre materials. By late '86, the guns were vastly improved, and by '88, the high-mounted firing pin safety had been replaced by a unit similar to the Czech original, target and compensated versions were on the market and, as nearly as anyone could tell, the F.I.E. TZ series and ExCam's TA pistols were prospering and proliferating.

All the Tanfoglio guns sport better sights than the Czech originals. Prices were much lower. Finish options and combinations could teach anybody a lesson. The Millett-style sights on the match gun are, simply put, wonderful. And the internal manufacturing techniques are as sophisticated as the Czech guns. The externals are at least as well done. Slide/frame interface is not quite as good, but is easily adjusted in a press.

In shooting all the variants, including a couple of custom guns, some interesting information developed. A TA90C purchased after ExCam ceased to exist shot better than any of the other stock pistols, including the big match gun. It was largely a case of better-than-average frame/slide fit and a barrel that happened to be very tight. Another gun of the same model wouldn't shoot close to that particular example.

Most stock guns delivered 3- to 31/2-inch groups with most factory loads at 25 yards, but the little TA90C, carefully rested and shot with Federal Match or careful handloads, cut group size in half. All the Czech-built and Czech-inspired pistols handle and balance well, owing to the dished out tang area of the back-strap, but the Tanfoglios run a little deeper and feel a bit better. Among all the Italian and Czech pistols – and for that matter, later with the AT-84 – there were no malfunctions at all.

I preferred the high-set firing pin safety, mostly because I'm accustomed to the Walther P-38, but I seem to be the only person on the planet who does. That may account for the fact that all the recent pistols have returned to the original's frame-mounted conventional safety.

Variations on a selling theme included both bigger and smaller TZ-75s.
Variations on a selling theme included both bigger and smaller TZ-75s.

Double action on most guns evinced a 17- to 20-pound pull, which I was able to modify gradually to a smooth 9 to 12 pounds on two specimens which particularly irritated me. I am finally beginning to use the double action properly, by the way, and now that I'm accustomed to the varying pulls, the “grip readjustment” which is supposed to cause round one and two to land in different places just doesn't happen. The recurved combat trigger guard is one of those which can actually be used without drawing blood, unlike many that are beautifully covered with razor-sharp checkering. Single action on all guns was very like the CZ-75.

Almost all Tanfoglio guns use a recoil guide rod similar to those used by custom pistolsmiths, projecting through a hole in the slide. Whether these actually do much of anything is moot, but they generally make operations smooth and are easy to strip. Unfortunately, it is not easy to replace grips on any of the guns in this whole family from standard items.

All the Tanfoglio-produced and finished guns have netted me good performance at very reasonable prices. And the eight years of continuous improvement is indeed an impressive record.

Tanfoglio is, of course, neither the beginning nor the end of the CZ-75 story. Even the Chinese are producing a CZ-75 clone, Norinco's China Sports NZ-75. John Slough Armorers in England produce a pistol called the SpitFire which appears from photos to be a clone or near clone. But the best CZ-75 clone I've handled and tested so far came from Action Arms, the late, lamented AT-84.

Just the words “made in Switzerland” can pole-vault the price of almost anything into the low stratosphere. SIG knows this, which is why their recent service pistols are actually built by Sauer in Germany. But the Swiss also have high internal industrial standards, and they fancy their machine-tool quality.

Swiss firearms have been rather strange for a long time. The Schmidt-Rubin straight-pull rifles, even the recent StG-57, are oddly configured and unusually built, but incredibly accurate. The SIG-Neuhausen P-210s specifications don't outdazzle any 9mms of the '30s or '40s, let alone the '90s, but none will outshoot it. Their guns seem to be designed for a system where cleaning weapons is almost an obsession and where everyone is essentially a well-informed technocrat. My pistol sold for a little more than the CZ-75. It was money well spent.

General fit, finish and machine work were exceptional. I began to get the feeling that AT-84 was a seriously excellent pistol, or that mine was a specially prepared ringer, so I ran up to Mandall's in Scottsdale, Arizona, the only store I know that stocks several of most anything, and was able to confirm by measurement and eyeball that they're all beautifully made.

The trim AT-84 – and all the rest – fit a Beretta Model 92 holster just fine.
The trim AT-84 – and all the rest – fit a Beretta Model 92 holster just fine.

I tested for roundness, uniformity of fit, left-right symmetry, and parallelism of major surfaces on slide and frame and their relationship to each other. Everything was close to perfect. In fact, I did not adjust the trigger or polish the springs on this gun, as I am inclined to do on others; that work was pretty much already done. It was so well-fitted I began to wonder if it might malfunction without dirt or heat.

I needn't have worried. There were no malfunctions of any kind in 2500 rounds. After my most recent tear-down, even my 20x viewing glass could find no galling or abrasion in the slide/frame interface. Barrel fit was the tightest of all these pistols, which may account for the tiny down-range groups. The first ammo shot was RIO-CBC and cheap Egyptian surplus, and both gave tiny groups shooting very casually. So the theory of good fit equalling good accuracy is borne out.

My nephew greatly admired this pistol, and he wound up with it. Otherwise, I'd probably never have found out that all these pistols fit easily into leather for the Government Model and/or Beretta 92, for Bob immediately ordered an expensive Lawrence (G&G) shoulder holster, and what arrived, from the imprinted codes, was a very nice rig set up for the 92F.

And it worked and fit well, though as I advised my nephew only phoney-baloney movie detectives actually ever really use shoulder holsters, especially under their clothes. However, after only a few months' instruction, he figured out how to get it on, after which he, too, used only the companion belt holster, also from Lawrence.

For a while, and almost by default, Springfield Armory was in a position to ship more CZ-75 clones and variants than anyone else. However, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade allows the government to lift politically motivated trade barriers and/or to extend to any nation the MFN (most favored nation) status which largely eliminates tariffs and duties on products from the country specified. Which is another way of saying that the CZ-75 in its original Czech form is here and so is the CZ-85.

Editor's Note: This article is from the 1997 Gun Digest book.

U.S. Customs Seeks to Prohibit Assisted Opening Knives

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Assisted opening knives could be reclassified as illegal switchblades if a measure proposed by United States Customs and Border Protection (Customs) becomes law.

On May 21, Customs proposed a revision of what constitutes a switchblade (click here to read the proposal). This new interpretation would deem assisted opening knives, as well as those featuring one-hand operation, illegal per the U.S. Switchblade Act of 1958.

Specifically, Customs seeks “revocation of four ruling letters and revocation of treatment relating to the admissibility of certain knives with spring-assisted opening mechanisms.” Those four ruling letters do not classify assisted openers as switchblades.

The current federal definition of a switchblade is any knife that opens automatically using gravity, inertia or hand pressure to a button or device on the handle. Assisted openers and one-hand operation knives rely on studs, grooves or other devices attached to the blade to open. These blades must be manipulated by hand to open.

If enacted, the Customs proposal would effect the 35.6 million people who own one-hand operation knives, according to the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI). Furthermore, Knife Rights indicates roughly 80 percent of all knives sold in the United States use one-hand operation. The knife industry as a whole employs 24,000 people and contributes an estimated $8 billion annually to the economy, according to Knife Rights.

Both knife advocacy groups are voicing opposition to the measure.

“The [Federal Switchblade] Act is very clear that a switchblade must have an activating button on the handle,” a post on Knife Rights's Web site states. “Without a button, it is not a switchblade and this has been upheld by numerous cases on many levels over the years. CBP's convoluted reasoning in their proposal to reach back beyond the law and to expand their regulatory purview by rationalizing ‘intent' as justification for this new interpretation is a stretch, at best, and illegitimate at worst.”

AKTI filed for an extension of the 30-day minimum public comment period required of Customs. That period ends June 21. AKTI is also drafting an official response to the proposal.

Action

Comments regarding the Customs proposal can be sent to the following address:

19  CFR  Part 177
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Office of International Trade, Regulations and Rulings
Attention: Intellectual Property and Restricted Merchandise Branch
Mint Annex,   799 Ninth St. N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20229

Comments will be accepted only through traditional mail until June 21, unless the extension filed by AKTI is approved. Click here for a sample letter from Knife Rights.

History

This is not the first time Customs sought to restrict assisted opening knives. In 2000, Customs seized 80,000 Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) knives. Over a 16-day period, CRKT lost roughly $1 million in sales due to the seizure, according to AKTI. Customs eventually released the knives back to CRKT.

Obama Move Would Eliminate 8 of 10 Pocketknives

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The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency is proposing a new definition that could be used to eliminate 8 of 10 legal pocketknives in the United States right now, according to activists who are gearing up to fight the plan.

The federal bureaucracy is accepting comments – written only – that must be received by June 21 before its planned changes could become final, but Doug Ritter of KnifeRights.org, said the implications of the decision would be far-reaching, since many state and federal agencies depend on the agency's definitions to determine what is legal in the United States.

For a long time, those switchblades that have long stiletto blades that are spring-ejected powerfully from the side or end of the handle have been illegal in the United States, but now a review by the agency of its own approval in 2008 of a particular type of knife for import is raising serious alarms.

Ritter said the effect of the proposed change would be that the new design in knives, many of which contain a tiny spring to help the user pull open the blade and lock it into position, would be classified alongside those true weapons where the user just presses a button and the blade is ejected. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency is proposing a new definition that could be used to eliminate 8 of 10 legal pocketknives in the United States right now, according to activists who are gearing up to fight the plan.

The federal bureaucracy is accepting comments – written only – that must be received by June 21 before its planned changes could become final, but Doug Ritter of KnifeRights.org, said the implications of the decision would be far-reaching, since many state and federal agencies depend on the agency's definitions to determine what is legal in the United States.

For a long time, those switchblades that have long stiletto blades that are spring-ejected powerfully from the side or end of the handle have been illegal in the United States, but now a review by the agency of its own approval in 2008 of a particular type of knife for import is raising serious alarms.

Ritter said the effect of the proposed change would be that the new design in knives, many of which contain a tiny spring to help the user pull open the blade and lock it into position, would be classified alongside those true weapons where the user just presses a button and the blade is ejected.

They are saying that any knife that you can open quickly or any knife that you can open with one hand is therefore a switchblade,” Ritter told WND.

On his organization's website there are suggested letters for consumers to reproduce and dispatch to both the Customs agency as well as their members of Congress over the issue. Read more

Source: Worldnetdaily.com

 

Gun Digest the Magazine June 22, 2009

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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

• Editor Kevin Michalowski talks gun rights and the media in his “Editor's Shot” column. Click here to read it.

• New airguns for 2009

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State Senate Passes Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act

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Senate Bill 1610, known as the “Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act,” sponsored by Senator Mae Beavers, “takes a step in the right direction to restore to the states control of intra-state commerce and the regulation of firearms manufactured and sold within Tennessee,” she said.

“Be it the federal government mandating changes in order for states to receive federal funds or the federal government telling us how to regulate commerce contained completely within this state – enough is enough,” urged Judiciary Chairman Beavers. “Our founders fought too hard to ensure states’ sovereignty and I am sick and tired of activist federal officials and judges sticking their noses where they don’t belong.”

The Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act asserts that if a firearm and/or ammunition is made totally within the state of Tennessee, and stamped ‘Made in Tennessee,' then the federal government has no jurisdiction over that item in any fashion so long as it remains in state and outside of interstate commerce. All state regulations applying to the possession of firearms in Tennessee would still be applicable and must be complied with.

“This legislation is being proposed to prevent a federal attempt to legislate beyond the Constitutional limits of Congress.

“The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that which has been delegated by the people to the federal government, and also that which is absolutely necessary to advancing those powers specifically enumerated in the Constitution of the United States. Read more

Source: thechattanoogan.com

Gaddy College of Self-Defense

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Often, people make the mistake of thinking they can just have a loaded pistol on a nightstand and a rifle standing in the corner and they’re good to go. Not true.

Individuals must be mentally prepared as well as proficient in the use of their firearms. You owe it to yourself to seek additional, specialized training to develop a mindset of preparedness and preservation. That’s where a top-notch instructor comes into play. You should seek a mentor who will teach you the mental preparation aspects of self-defense as well as the act of mastering your firearm(s).

A one-on-one session, or a session with a small group of people, is invaluable for receiving personal insight and understanding where you are in terms of vigilance. Gaddy ran our small group through a series of drills over two days, and he schooled his trainees to think about and deal with various real-life scenarios and potential weaknesses.

We practiced shooting behind barriers, shooting without using the sights, and using our weak hands, and these are all things that a lot of folks don’t think about often enough. We also rehearsed the act of picking out friendly vs. enemy targets under pressure. We created ways to raise our heartbeat (running sprints) before shooting to try and simulate the adrenaline rush that someone in the act of self-defense will experience.

Perhaps some of the most valuable guidance you can procure from a solid instructor comes during an informal question-and-answer period that allows you pick an experienced mind. It is often difficult to get top-flight training that is not loaded with politically correct talking points and government licensing propaganda.

I’ve been fed this nonsense before. Michael Gaddy didn’t waste our time with such phooey. The right to defend oneself is a natural right and thus it does not come from the permission of any government or licensing body. Gaddy reflects the sort of philosophy that you’d expect from a popular and relentless freedom activist.

In addition, a person who is truly pro-liberty will not waste your time telling you to email your congressman. Due to the fact that there is currently no support for gun control legislation in Congress, the president of the United States is pushing an international treaty that will bypass Congress and can be ratified with Senate approval.

This treaty seeks to disarm Americans. The regime in power is desperate to commence absolute gun control and will do so in any manner possible. Now is the time to prepare to resist any such maneuver. Read more

Source: lewrockwell.com

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