Stock Options for AR-15s

In two days, Teddy O’Reilly will marry his college sweetheart, but tonight he’s going shooting.

A bachelor party should be a smashed-up cocktail of testosterone and adrenaline. As the best man, I’m in charge of the night. A week ago, I called Fred Harris Jr. at Deerfield Pistol and Archery Center in southern Wisconsin, a half-hour drive from the wedding site in Madison. For $175, our bachelor-party group will have the place to itself for two hours, including guns, targets and earmuffs. Ammo is extra.

When Fred was hired at Deerfield four years ago, he started promoting the range as a venue for private events. Shooting ranges love bachelor parties.

“We get at least a bachelor party a day, and on a busy weekend, we’ll see 10 bachelor parties on a Saturday,” says Mike Heck, range manager at The Gun Store, a Las Vegas, Nev., shooting range that fires off 100,000 rounds a week. “The vast majority of our clientele are people with little to no experience, and that’s increased over the last 10 years.”

Introductions

The drive from Madison to Deerfield is green and calm, the fields lined with young corn stalks and small herds of cows clustered near barns. I ride with Teddy’s father-in-law to be, Jim Lynes, who tells me about teaching his daughter Kristen (the bride) to shoot using the family’s double-barreled .45-caliber muzzleloader.

The three cars carrying the bachelor party pull up to the Deerfield shooting range, and we go inside, excited and talking loud. We walk toward a short, square man with a shaved head standing behind a glass case. This is Fred, the range’s firearms instructor; 32 years old with a gun on his hip.

“Who’s the guy that’s about to make the worst mistake of his life?” Fred asks.

Teddy raises his hand, and we all laugh.

Fred’s a character. He paid to have one of his guns painted pink, because, “I like to go to a range and outshoot people with a pink gun.”

There are 11 of us; two of Teddy’s new in-laws, one of his brothers, and eight guys from his high-school and college running teams. Eamon O’Reilly, Teddy’s older brother, is a Navy surgeon with two children and a constant smirk. Simon Bairu, who Teddy ran with at the University of Wisconsin, won the NCAA cross-country championship two consecutive years.

Fred leads us into a nearby room, which is empty except for a folding table, a few chairs and law-enforcement patches from across the country hanging in a long line high on the wall. Scott Whiting, who owns the range, is a police officer in a nearby town, and he traded for most of the patches at law-enforcement training events. The range now sports patches from as far away as Italy and Israel, and a Marine who uses the range even contributed a patch from an Iraqi police department (the words are in Arabic).

We’ll be shooting five guns, one for each lane in the range downstairs. There’s a Bushmaster AR-15 9 mm carbine, Smith and Wesson M+P .40 caliber, Glock Model 17 9 mm, Taurus Model 85 .38 special and Taurus Model PT 1911 .45 ACP.

Our cheerful band won’t win any marksmanship prizes. When Fred asks who has never shot a gun before, almost half of us raise our hands, and when he holds up the AR-15 somebody says, “I’m not shooting that thing.” He demonstrates the principals with an unloaded Glock, curling his thumbs around the butt “like you’re bumping a volleyball.” He tells us to keep our thumbs “high on the tang,” and discusses what he calls the self-induced evolution.

“If you cross your thumbs, the slide will come back and take a chunk of your knuckles off, and you’ll evolve to never do that again,” he says.

Finished with the basics of loading and safety (“Leave with the same amount of holes you came in with”), Fred leads us through a hall decorated with signed photographs of Brett Favre and then down a steep flight of stairs. Everyone makes nervous jokes about Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction. Now we’re in the small observation room, directly adjacent to the actual range, with only a soundproofed door for separation. Fred takes five of us at a time through the door to finish our tutorial and take a few practice shots.

Fire in the Hole!

The range is the width and height of a one-car garage, but 60 feet long, with stalls similar to those that flank a urinal. Each of the lanes has a narrow counter at waist level on which to set the guns when you’re not shooting. There’s a similar surface running the length of the wall behind the stalls, where we stack ammunition and targets.

After we take a few shots apiece, Fred leaves us alone with the guns and goes back upstairs. The serious shooting begins. I load one of the Glocks with four of five bullets and let loose. Wow. Shooting a gun for the first time is exhilarating and scary, like riding a skateboard down a steep hill. I was writing when Fred explained the thumb situation, and I don’t think I’m doing it right. Even though I only sent the target out to the 10-foot mark, I’m not causing the silhouette much harm. The closest I get is creasing its shoulder on my last shot.

I move one lane to my right and try the .38 Special, a pretty all-black revolver made by Forjas Taurus, a 67 year-old Brazilian company. I like this little guy. If I were going to have one gun, just for tomcatting around town, this would definitely be it. At first, I have some trouble. For some reason, nothing happens when I pull the trigger. I keep trying, and I can see the cylinder spinning away, but there’s no sound except the small click-click-click of the hammer hitting the shells.

Ah, the shells. The previous shooter left his empties in the gun. I flip the cylinder out and let the shiny empty shells fall around my feet, and I slide in five bullets. Game time. I raise the gun toward the target, one-handed this time, and squeeze off five shots. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, click, click, click. I keep pulling the trigger after the five; I like seeing the cylinder spin. Man. This is definitely my favorite gun.

I set the .38 down and watch the others shoot. None of us are very good, and unless the target is close, the silhouettes come back in about the same condition in which they went out. Everybody’s grinning like crazy men, though.

We shoot for an hour before the plastic bags of bullets empty out. Fred sent us downstairs with 200 rounds of 9 mm and 100 rounds each of the .38-, .40- and .45-caliber ammunition. Two guys jog back upstairs, and Fred sends them back down with another 500 rounds.

“The average person will shoot 50 rounds an hour,” Fred says, so we’re not too far below par in that department, at least.

“Look at Simon going downtown!” yells Bobby Lockhart, a track coach at the University of Oklahoma, as Simon sends his target out the full 60 feet and blasts away. “When I go back in there, I’m going all out, way downtown. I gotta try!”

Everybody’s covered in powder residue at this point, and I have black marks on my shirt from where I held a magazine as I filled it with bullets.

“Women dig that scent,” says Ben Porter as he sniffs his shirt.

Jim walks back into the observation deck nursing an injured hand.

“I wrapped my thumb around and took a chunk of my thumb off,” he says. “I evolved. Only have to do that once.”

Someone points out the first-aid kit bolted to the wall and observes that we’re lucky to have a doctor with us. Eamon is in his fifth year of residency at the Navy Medical Center in San Diego and says he’ll be going to Iraq when he graduates.

“Since I’m a surgeon, we didn’t do any weapons training,” he says. “I’m not going to be carrying a gun in Iraq.”

We shoot for just more than two hours, a lot longer than most groups at other ranges. The range manager at Las Vegas’ The Gun Store said most of their customers finish up in “35 to 40 minutes from beginning to end. The lines at Disney Land are much longer, I assure you.” That makes sense to me. When you’re not used to it, two hours shooting can feel like a long time.

Teddy, the husband to be, has the best time of all. He shoots with his left arm tucked behind his back, like he’s dueling in 17th century England. I’ve known Teddy for 10 years, since our skateboarding junior-high days, and I think this is the happiest I’ve ever seen him.

When we were growing up in Alaska, Teddy was one of the fastest runners in the state, and the Anchorage Daily News dubbed him “The Professor” for running races in his wire-rimmed glasses. He’s also a huge World War II buff. While I wheezed and struggled to keep up as we trained on icy back roads, Teddy would describe the differences between German and Russian tanks to me in a calm, measured voice.

Teddy would love the options at Las Vegas’ The Gun Store, especially the World War II Package. For $99.95, a historically inclined shooter can fire a Thompson machine gun, German MP-40 and German 9 mm handgun. For those more interested in current events, the $109.95 Coalition Package lets you shoot the same weapons used by our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan: an M-16 rifle, a Beretta 92 and the belt-fed M249 SAW. Both packages include targets, some ammunition and even a t-shirt.

After 1,000 rounds, we’re all done. Fred comes back downstairs and directs us in sweeping up the mess. Targets go in the trash, and we use long push brooms to mound the shells into piles. I walk back toward the sloped wall of rubber pellets that serves as the range’s backdrop and pick up a few bullets. Some are still in their copper jackets and still shaped like they were when they came out of the gun, but most are smashed and twisted into what looks like stepped-on Skittles.

“Once a year, we take all the lead out,” Fred says, “usually about 20,000 pounds of lead.” The range gets about a buck a pound selling the metal to a company that reloads it back into new ammunition.

Training Complete

We walk back upstairs, and Fred tells me I’m lucky I caught him during the slow season. A month earlier, and the range wouldn’t have been available for rent. Cold weather forces shooters inside, but the June warmth releases them.

Upstairs, Fred hands me the bill: $407. Geez, ammo’s expensive. I call out, “$40 each, guys,” and everybody hands over creased 20s. I toss in $45, bum two singles and spread the cash out in five stacks for Fred.

“Still have time to change your mind,” he says to Teddy.

“That wouldn’t be a good idea, now that the father-in-law is trained in firearms,” Jim says with a laugh.

— Josh Saul is a free-lance writer from New York.

Serious Delays in Receiving Illinois Firearm Identity Cards

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January 27, 2009

Recently, the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) received dozens of phone calls from firearm owners who are waiting a month or more to have applications for Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) cards processed by the Illinois State Police.

According to ISRA, “Under Illinois law, persons wishing to purchase or possess firearms and/or ammunition must hold a valid FOID card. To obtain a FOID card, one must complete an official application form and submit the form along with a recent photo and the required fee to the Illinois State Police for processing. Once issued, a FOID card is valid for 10 years. Upon expiration, the application process must be repeated. Persons who possess firearms or ammunition without holding a valid FOID card are subject to arrest and felony prosecution.”

Illinois law requires that, within 30 days of the application date, the State Police must either issue a FOID or provide written notification as to why an application was turned down. “ISRA representatives were told by State Police officials that inadequate staffing and funding were to blame for the slowdown in application processing. Those same officials were unable to say when, if ever, the situation would improve.”

“This is a very serious situation,” said ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. “By failing to process FOID renewals in a timely manner, the Illinois State Police are, in effect, denying the applicant’s right to own firearms. Without a valid FOID, an otherwise law-abiding citizen cannot hunt, go to the target range, or even continue to own their lawfully-acquired firearms.”

Gun Review: Nighthawk Tactical Global Response Pistol

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January 27, 2009

For some shooters there is nothing quite like the feel of a 1911. It seems to be the quintessential pistol. And when you need a pistol, you need a good pistol. One you can bet your life on. The Global Response Pistol from Nighthawk Tactical is just such a pistol.

Even though this unit is the base model of the Nighthawk Tactical line, and as such carries the lowest price tag, it is still built with the same high-quality materials including a forges frame and slide and top-of-the-line internal components.

From the aggressively textured grips to the low-profile combat sights, this is one fine firearm. It is currently available in 9mm, 10mm, .40S&W and .45ACP.

For more information about this and other Nighthawk products check out www.nighthawktactical.com and get your hands on one of the finest 1911 pistols you’ll ever own.

AR-15 Crisis: Demand Outpaces Supply on Tactical Guns

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January 23, 2009

At the 2009 SHOT Show — held January 14-19 in Orlando, Florida — the most common topic of conversation was the strength of the AR-15 market. And strength is an understatement.

AR-15s, parts, accessories, magazines and even .223 and 5.56 NATO are selling at rates never before seen. Distributors are selling guns as fast as they can get them in the door.

Manufacturers of all of these products are taking so many orders the production backlogs are in some cases being measured in months. But for those with the foresight to have planned these are the best of times. It seems everyone wants an AR-15 and lots of people want two or more. Now is the time to buy. Supplies continue to dwindle and prices are sure to go up.

But what good is an AR-15 if you don’t know how to use it, maintain it and outfit it properly? The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 (Vols. 1 and 2) will answer that question. When you buy this two-book set — discounted at $42 for BOTH volumes (that’s 25% OFF) — you’ll have everything you need to know about the most popular gun in the world.

Author and gunsmith Patrick Sweeney turns the AR-15 inside out, showing you how every component works and teaching you how to make major and minor modifications to customize your rifle.

Read Dan Shideler’s advice on collecting AR-15s Here

Take advantage of this special 2 AR-15 book offer — Volumes I & II of Gun Digest’s Book of the AR-15 — for just $42 (25% Off!).

Hands On! The Best Gun Cleaning Kit

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January 21, 2009

The Otis gun cleaning system is simply the best gun cleaning kit in the world. now Otis is offering something for the most popular calibers and weapons in the world. The 85211 tool set is designed to clean and maintain law enforcement pistols and sub guns 9MM through .45 caliber, .223 Cal./5.56MM & .308 Cal./7.62MM rifles. The Otis patch savers give you 360-degree coverage in your 12-gauge shotgun bores.

This weapons maintenance system provides you the necessary tools to completely break down and clean some of the most critical parts of your firearm. The Memory-Flex® cleaning rods, solid brass slotted tips, 100 percent cotton cleaning patches, bore brushes and the all-in-one cleaner, lubricant and preservative allow you to quickly clean the receiver, chamber, neck and bore.

Also with these components, you can easily strip the copper, carbon and other residue from in the barrel. The brass obstruction removers are used to knock out bore obstructions and stuck cases. The components from the brass scraper tool set are specifically designed to clean the hard to reach areas of your firearm. The brass scraper helps to clean carbon deposits from flat surfaces such as the bolt face and rails.

The handy picks are engineered to clean the locking lugs, while the pin punch can be used to remove pins from any firearm held together with a pin system. The end brush is used to remove carbon and to lubricate the slides. The male and female rod handles can attach to any of the brass scraper components to increase their length.

Everything is neatly packed in an 11-ounce pocket-sized soft pack case.

To get your hands on a this great Otis cleaning system check out www.otisgun.com.

California Gun Show Case Goes To Appeals Court

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January 20, 2009

Gun show promoters Russell and Sallie Nordyke, of Willows, California, operate the gun show company TS Trade Shows. They began presenting gun shows at California’s Alameda County fair in 1991. But in 1999, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed a bill banning firearm possession on county property—which effectively nixed the Nordyke’s gun shows, too.

Recently, the Nordyke’s were in court, asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn past rulings which upheld the county’s no guns position.

As CBS5, in San Francisco reported, “The Nordykes sued the county in federal court in San Francisco in 1999…The case has already been to the California Supreme Court, which ruled in 2002 that the county measure was not pre-empted by state law…In 2003, the 9th Circuit said the ban didn’t violate the Second Amendment, because, according to the court, the amendment protected only a collective state right and not an individual right to bear arms.”

But that last ruling came before last year’s Heller case, “in which the U.S. Supreme Court said…that the Second Amendment applies to individuals. The ruling…struck down a Washington, D.C., ban on handgun possession. The Nordykes say the Heller decision means the Alameda County law should also be overturned.”

Said the Nordyke’s attorney Donald Kilmer, “We are asking to be allowed to hold the traditionally law-abiding gun shows held in the country fair for 10 years.”

Wyoming Bill Would Notify Gun Owners of Rights

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January 12, 2009

Editor’s Note: This article was originally posted with the headline “Wyoming Bill Would Limit Gun Rights.” The headline has been changed to reflect the nature of the article. Gun Digest apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.

Wyoming lawmakers will consider a bill that could have some major implications for state gun owners and their gun rights. According to the Casper Star-Tribune, “A bill drafted for the upcoming legislative session would require judges to inform defendants that a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction would cost them their gun rights. The bill would also classify misdemeanor domestic violence as a serious offense requiring defendants to have lawyers.”

The bill’s main sponsor is State Senator Cale Case (R-Lander), who told the Star-Tribune, “To be honest, I think there might be some push-back from the courts to this idea that you can have a lawyer assigned for misdemeanor case, because they don’t normally do that.”

Case has heard from constituents, more than once, who were unaware that their right to own firearms was forfeited with a guilty plea in a misdemeanor domestic violence case, thanks to a 1996 federal law.

“They don’t know that [a conviction means the loss of their gun rights] when they commit the crime, I’ll tell you that,” Case said. “But usually they learn about it as they go through the process. It seems like a minor thing to ask, that they be informed.”

Hands On! 24-7 Pants Built for Everyday Use

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January 7, 2009

Tru-Spec 24-7 Series pants will make you believe in the benefits of quality gear. I’ve been wearing a pair (in the regular clothing rotation) for several months now and have come up with only one complaint. That’s pretty darned good.

The 24-7 series pants are built tough, yet comfortable, with solid seams, reinforced areas and pockets that, with one exception, are second to none. My only complaint with the pants is the hook-and-loop closure on the back pockets. It works so well, that sometimes it’s tough to get stuff back into the pocket once you take it out. I would prefer a tough button closure on those back pockets. But if that’s all I have to complain about I might just as well shut up.

The rest of the pockets on the Tru-Spec 24-7 pants are put together thoughtfully and designed with ease of use and maximum storage in mind. And the slider waist-band means you can bend and stretch without bulky elastic on the sides.

•    Unique Pocket Design and Configuration Allows For A Completely Casual Appearance While Providing Secure Storage For All Of Your Duty Requirements
•    Comfort Fit Slider Waistband Construction Which Eliminates The Need For Gathered Elastic Or Adjustable Side Tabs That Accommodates Either Paddle Style Or Inside-the-pants Holster
•    Extra Deep Front Pockets
•    Customized Tru-Spec Original Prym Snap
•    2-Knife/Accessory Pockets
•    2-Cargo Pockets With Hook & Loop Closure and Bellowed Side Gussets
•    2-Internal Magazine Compartments In Both Cargo Pockets
•    Cell Phone/Magazine Pocket
•    Engineered Dimensional Fit
•    Double Reinforced Knee With Built In Knee Pad Pockets

To get your hands on a pair of Tru-Spec 24-7 pants, check out www.atlanco.com.

Brady Sues To Stop Concealed Carry In National Parks

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January 7, 2009

Just before 2008 ended, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sued the Bush administration over a new policy that will permit concealed carry in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges, for approved license holders in states allowing carry. In public statements, Brady president Paul Helmke tried to argue, erroneously, that the recent Department of Interior (DOI) rule change would somehow give a green light to criminals and other bad guys to shoot up our parks and park visitors.

“The Bush administration’s last-minute gift to the gun lobby, allowing concealed semiautomatic weapons in national parks, jeopardizes the safety of park visitors in violation of federal law,” said Helmke, in the Associated Press. “We should not be making it easier for dangerous people to carry concealed firearms in our parks.”

As the Washington Times reported, “Along with filing the lawsuit, the Brady Center is seeking a temporary injunction from U.S. District Court in the District [of Columbia] to stop the regulations from taking hold. The lawsuit claims the DOI violated federal law by failing to conduct an environmental review before imposing the new regulations. It also accuses the DOI of violating the National Park Service Organic Act and the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act by making the parks and refuges less safe for wildlife and people.”

The Times added that the rule change, “was supported by 51 senators from both parties and Reps. Nick J. Rahall II, West Virginia Democrat, and Don Young, Alaska Republican, the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House Natural Resources Committee.”

Skin Deep: You Can’t Judge a Gun By Its Profile

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Jerry Ahern

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January 7, 2009

A Gun Digest Web Exclusive

Photos by Sharon Ahern

The old saying goes, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” But, many people judge guns that way. The practice probably got started with the Western movies of the 1930s and 1940s and television Westerns of the 1950s. The good guys very frequently had special guns, often nickel or silver plated with mother-of-pearl, ivory or stag (make much of that read “plastic”) grips. The bad guys had black guns with black grips. And, as we all know, very much of the time, the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats.

(Left) Ahern, wearing a Woolrich Tactical Elite Algerian Field Jacket, with the Century International Arms WASR Romanian AK-47.

It was the same with detective and cop stories. The good guys mostly carried revolvers and the bad guys frequently carried automatics. In the classic gangster pictures of the 1930s, bad guys used submachineguns more frequently than did the “G-Men.”

All this conditioned us to judging guns by their looks and imparting a guilt by association thing to a gun because of the way it looks. As human beings, of course, we’re constantly dealing with judging people by their looks – It’s wrong but we all do it. As we become more and more enlightened, we’re finding ourselves better able to realize that looks mean very little and it’s character that counts. When it comes to guns, however, prejudice runs rampant, and especially among many of those who – rightfully – preach tolerance and understanding in other aspects of life. Many of those people are horribly bigoted when it comes to guns in general and, in specific, guns that can be used for self-defense, home defense and defense of the nation.

(Left) Danny Akers, Ahern’s son-in-law, an avid hunter and superior rifleman, with the “nice” looking Ruger Mini-14, Danny also wearing a Woolrich Algerian Field Jacket.

Assigning “good” and “bad” labels, en masse, to individuals or groups of individuals is among the penultimate examples of faulty logic; but, to label inanimate objects as intrinsically virtuous or evil is colossally stupid. With that stupidity in mind, it is easy to understand why many Democrats and some others in The United States Congress on September 13, 1994, passed “The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994,” more commonly known as “That Idiotic Clinton Administration Assault Weapons and Magazine Capacity Ban of 1994.” William Jefferson Clinton signed the legislation into law the same day it was passed. What a surprise, that!

(Right) Jerry Ahern, wearing a black leather jacket and black clothes, ready for something “no-good” with his all-black folding stock foreign rifle with its wickedly long looking magazine.

Right after the historic – some would say “catastrophic” – 2008 General Election, the Obama website posted some of Obama’s goals for his tenure in office, among these to restore the Assault Weapons Silliness and make it permanent. How Obama and his minions can say they respect the Second Amendment Rights of Americans and still want to attack lawful gun ownership can be explained easily – it’s called “Speaking Out of Both Sides of The Mouth..”
In 2007, actually, legislation was introduced to reinstate and expand the Assault Weapons Silliness, which had sunsetted on September 13, 2004 – as House Bill H.R. 1022 (which is only coincidentally and ironically the model designation of one of America’s finest .22 rifles), sponsored by Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D.N.Y.).

When queried about some technical specifications in the Assault Weapons Silliness, she revealed her lack of firearms knowledge by being unable to identify a “barrel shroud,” one of a list of features that, according to Congress, turned a pistol into an assault weapon. In fairness to Representative McCarthy, her husband was one of six people killed, her son one of 19 people injured on a commuter train when a man opened fire at random on unarmed passengers.

(Left) Danny and Jerry side by side, Mr.. “Sportsman” and Mr. “Sinister.”

Otherwise exhibiting an eclectic, non-stereotypical voting record, Representative McCarthy’s passion for firearms legislation is easily understood. She has suffered traumatic loss and likely knows nothing much about firearms. Blaming the instrument used by a killer, rather than blaming mindless laws which intentionally disarm the law-abiding, making them perfect victims for madmen who will find a weapon – no matter what – to fulfill their evil desires to take life, is not a position logically arrived at. Had any one or two of the victims been able to get to a weapon, the killer might have been brought down. Representative McCarthy actually switched political affiliations in order to run against an incumbent Republican, who wanted to repeal the ban. Emotions run deep when it comes to gun control efforts, and logic is almost always the first victim.

The principal pain caused by the Assault Weapons Silliness was the magazine capacity limitation. Classic guns, like Browning High Powers, all the so-called “Wonder-Nines” and their .40 S&W counterparts, AR-15s and any other firearm that had a magazine capacity greater than 10 rounds had to be sold with a magazine modified to hold no more than 10 rounds. This was, of course, stupid, since most gunfights don’t involve anywhere close to 10 rounds fired by one participant. As a result, “Hi-Cap” magazines, as they came to be called, were like gold coins; weapons which were basically trashed by the new law – like the HK-91, for example – shot up in value and soon became as scarce as logical thinking at the Democratic Convention.

(Right) Mandatory long gun shot leaning against picturesque tree.

For a decade, these awful conditions persisted. 2004 saw the sunset provision of the 1994 law kick in and normal magazines were once again available. I remember seeing AK-47 30- round magazines selling for $10 each. I could, at last, get the proper magazines for my SIG 229s. Reason reigned once again!

With Obama and Biden coming into power with a strongly Democratic Congress to back them up, the question of attacks on the civil liberties of firearms owners is, once again, at issue. There are no “good” guns or “bad” guns, and magazine capacity has no bearing on how a firearm will be used. Indeed, FBI statistics consistently point out that the most commonly used firearm in crime is not an assault weapon at all, nor a high-capacity semi-automatic pistol. It is a short-barreled revolver! Should we ban short-barreled revolvers, then? Of course not! That would be crazy.

What got me thinking about this article was that I recently acquired a Century International Arms semi-auto AK-47. A gently used Romanian firearm fitted with a U.S.-made Tapco folding stock, it is all black (except where some finish is worn off) and has a long, 30-round magazine that could look very menacing to someone who didn’t know any better. AK-47s are used by terrorists and revolutionaries, of course, but they’re also used by lots of good guys, including some of our own troops operating in the Middle East – they’ve been found to be sometimes better in house-to-house operations than the M-4, throwing a more powerful round out of a conveniently short platform. Lots of Americans here at home keep AK-47s for home defense or survival use.

(Left) Flat shot with Ruger Mini-14 and Century International Arms WASR AK-47.

On the other side of the “looks” issue, I own a currently still-stock Ruger Mini-14. The metal is a dull stainless steel. The stock isn’t black, nor does it fold. It’s a very pretty piece of hardwood, in a warm, beckoning brown color, not too dissimilar to the color of our beloved family member, Honey The Wonder Dog. Although larger capacity magazines are available, my Mini-14 is currently sporting a five-round magazine. Its five-round magazine seats flush in the receiver, doesn’t hang down “menacingly” at all.

The Ruger Mini-14 is a sporting rifle, the product of an American company, patterned after an American military rifle – the M-14 — which was used against the evil Commies. The AK-47 was designed by a Communist – Mikhail Kalashnikov, who turned 89 on November 10, 2008 and happens to be one of the world’s greatest living arms designers – and shows up under questionable circumstances on the evening news.

The AK-47 magazine in Ahern’s right hand, the Ruger magazine in Ahern’s left.

The color of the gun – just like the color of someone’s skin – makes no difference, except perhaps when it comes to rust-resistance. It’s what’s underneath the color that counts, whether guns or people. Both the AK and the Ruger are fine firearms. The color of the stock, and whether or not it folds or is rigid, is merely a matter of preference and convenience. Years ago, I owned a Mini-14 with a factory folding stock. A thirty-round magazine can be seriously detrimental when someone is trying to stay low and shoot at the same time. The Ruger’s flush seated five-rounder is ideal for firing from a prone position. The AK-47 fires the 7.62x39mm Russian; but, the Ruger Mini-14 can be had as the Ruger Mini Thirty, which is also chambered in that Russian caliber — as opposed to the nice American .223 Remington caliber, which is, of course, the civilian version of the original 5.56X45mm NATO (you shouldn’t fire current higher chamber pressure NATO standard ammo in weapons chambered for the lower chamber pressure .223 Remington).

“Beauty,” we are told, “is in the eye of the beholder.” So is ugliness. The anti-gun forces who wish to disarm America for a wide range of reasons, ranging from naiveté to the sincere and misguided to the horribly insidious, will always see our guns as ugly and evil. Support the NRA and the Second Amendment Foundation. Support, work for and donate to pro-gun candidates and causes. Fight prejudice.

Where to find them:
Century International Arms
236 Bryce Boulevard
Fairfax, VT 05450
800-270-2767
www.centuryarms.com
Sturm-Ruger
1 lacey Place
Southport, CT 06890
203-259-7843
www.ruger.com

Get the Shooter’s Eye with New Wiley X Reign

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December 29, 2008

Good glasses are a must for any shooter and Wiley X makes some of the best.

The stylish new Wiley X Reign provides superior visual acuity, enhanced eye comfort and rugged protection to help you rule the range, or any outdoor activity — whether you’re into shooting, hiking, cycling, hunting, climbing or fishing.

Made by a company known for advanced vision protection used by combat troops, special warfare operators and law enforcement agencies worldwide, these glasses far exceed ANSI Z87.1 and ANSI Z80.3 safety and optical standards.

The Wiley X Reign’s lightweight, rugged and durable frame is matched with the company’s proprietary High Velocity Protection (HVP) Selenite™ polycarbonate lenses for serious protection and distortion-free vision under the most challenging conditions. Whatever Mother Nature dishes out — harsh sunlight, reflected glare, blowing dust, flying bugs, you name it — these rugged glasses reduce eyestrain while providing optimum protection, so you can always perform your best.

The attractive wrap-around frame is designed to provide full coverage and clear peripheral vision, while protecting eyes from harmful UVA/UVB rays and distracting glare. Wiley X offers the new Reign in a choice of frame/lens combinations including gloss black frames with polarized silver flash lenses and matte black frames with smoke lenses, ensuring just the right look and just the right performance for every outdoor sports enthusiast.

In the Street Series tradition, the Wiley X Reign combines serious protection and optical performance with a highly developed sense of fashion. These stylish glasses can go from the pistol range to the patrol car to the without missing a beat — making them the perfect choice for anyone with an active lifestyle.

If you want to get your hands on a pair of the new Wiley X Reign glasses, check them out online: www.wileyx.com.

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Chicago Wins a Round in Handgun Ban Lawsuit

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December 22, 2008

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has suffered a setback in its attempt to end the City of Chicago’s ban on handguns. But the fight is far from over.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Washington, D.C., handgun ban in Heller v District of Columbia. That handgun ban was very similar to the one currently in force in Chicago. So soon after the Supreme Court’s decision, “The National Rifle Association then challenged Chicago’s ban,” the Chicago Tribune reported, by filing a lawsuit in Illinois.

Recently, though, “U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur rejected the gun rights group’s effort to extend the D.C. ruling to Chicago and Oak Park. Shadur concluded this month that the Supreme Court decision did not give him the authority to take such action.”

“The NRA immediately appealed Shadur’s decision, and [NRA] attorney Stephen Halbrook said the group is confident it will prevail in a higher court.”

L.A. Clenches Down on Gun Control

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L.A. Times

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December 22, 2008

Source: Los Angeles Times

Source: Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles City Council approved a package of gun control laws [Dec. 17], placing new requirements on ammunition sellers and banning the sale of military-style ammunition in the hopes of further reducing the city’s gun and gang violence.

The measures ban the sale of .50-caliber ammunition, capable of penetrating a car’s engine, and would require the city’s ammunition vendors to be licensed, to sell ammunition face-to-face instead of over the Internet and require gun dealers to report a full accounting of their inventory twice a year to the Police Department.

The council passed laws prohibiting the installation of secret compartments for guns in cars and allowing the city to permanently seize vehicles used by certain gang members during a crime, which was proposed by City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo.

The council also approved an ordinance that would allow landlords to evict tenants who are convicted of illegally possessing weapons or ammunition within 1,000 feet of the rental property.

A lawyer for the National Rifle Assn. said his client probably would file suit to block some of the measures.

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who helped develop the ordinances with Councilman Jack Weiss and other members, praised the package at a news conference before the vote.

“We use this to stop a vehicle,” Bratton said, holding up a .50-caliber bullet longer and thicker than a finger. “Unless you are out trying to kill Godzilla, and I think the last time we saw Godzilla was in the 1950s, there is no need for this type of weapon” unless it is in the hands of the military or law enforcement, he said.

Villaraigosa dismissed questions about whether the ammunition restrictions would have a practical effect since buyers could simply purchase the bullets over the Internet or in cities where the laws do not apply.

“Part of what we’re doing here is leading the way,” Villaraigosa said, stating that the measures are another tool to fight gun violence and that he hoped other cities and President-elect Barack Obama’s administration would follow suit. “This is the most far-reaching effort of any big city in the country. . . . This isn’t about symbolism; it’s about results.”

The council approved the measures unanimously.

But C.D. Michel, a Long Beach attorney who represents the National Rifle Assn. and the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., said his clients were likely to sue over the new laws governing ammunition sales and vendors because they either conflict with or are duplicated by state law.

Michel, the law partner of city attorney candidate Carmen A. Trutanich, also questioned the effectiveness of the ammunition measures, noting that there are only a handful of gun vendors left in the city and buyers could go elsewhere.

“A lot of these don’t really do what the sound bite would portray them as doing,” said Michel, who accused Weiss of pushing the measures to get publicity for his own campaign for city attorney. “It’s about trying to look like you’re doing something when you’re not really doing anything. . . . My clients will just just challenge the ones that are illegal in court.”

Weiss, who introduced four of the ordinances and is chairman of the city’s public safety committee, addressed the possibility of legal challenges by the NRA at the news conference.

“I think the message from everyone up here to the NRA is pretty simple: Make our day. We will fight you in court. We will win,” Weiss said.

Weiss has criticized Trutanich’s associations with the NRA, which is likely to be an issue in the city attorney’s race.

After several council members received a letter from Michel on the letterhead of the Trutanich-Michel firm challenging several proposed gun and ammunition ordinances, Weiss called on his opponent to “fire the NRA as a client or quit the race for city attorney.”

Weiss’ campaign also circulated a news article to reporters in which Trutanich refers to the NRA as his client.

But when Weiss raised the issue in early December, Trutanich released a statement stating that the NRA is not his client, he is not a member of the organization and he disagrees with many of the NRA’s positions.

His campaign manager said he was misquoted when he referred to the NRA as a client in the August news article.

Hands On! Magpul PMAGs Really Work

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December 22, 2008

Get them while you can! Most places are sold out, but if you can find any of the Magpul, PMAGs, buy them now. They are the best on the market and who knows what the future will bring.

Here at GDTM, we have tested PMAGS inside and out from Wisconsin to Iraq and they have never failed. Everyone we have talked to raves about them. They work. They are tough as hell and they work.

Oh yeah, I said that. Did I tell you that they work? Always. Every time.

The PMAG™ (Polymer MAGazine) is a lightweight 5.56 NATO, M-16 compatible magazine. It features a pop-off storage/dust cover that alleviates pressure from the magazine feed lips, allowing for long-term storage of loaded magazines without risk of feed lip creep that often causes malfunction in standard aluminum magazines. PMAG™ utilizes a resilient stainless steel spring for corrosion resistance.

And they work every time.

They retail for about $15 so get your hands on them right now.

Check out www.magpul.com sooner rather than later.

Seattle Mayor Admitted State Law Forbids Gun Ban

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December 18, 2008