Premium ARs
14 July 12 I’ve written recently about utility ARs, most of which currently retail at 1k to 1.5k. Windham, and a few others (Palmetto, Del-Ton) come in below $800.00. I don’t have personal experience with all, but Windham’s version seems very acceptable. Friends tell me the other two mentioned above are acceptable also. I like […]
Blown Primers, Revisited
14 July 12 At an Urban Rifle Course in CO last week, one of my Instructors brought a Doublestar AR, which ran fine until the second day. Ammunition was WW White-Box. During a live-fire drill, the rifle’s bolt-carrier stuck in its retracted position, within the buffer-tube. No amount of coaxing persuaded it to resume normal […]
Windham Weaponry
13 July 12 Windham Weaponry: I don’t endorse products, but I do recommend some. Since I have no financial connection with any gun company, nor any ammunition company, I’m free to say terrible things about any of them! Of all companies currently manufacturing utility ARs, or at least putting them together under their name, I’ve […]
DHS “study”
5 July 12 “True literature… is created, not by diligent and trustworthy officials, but by madmen, hermits, heretics, dreamers, rebels, and skeptics” Zamyatin A curious “study,” funded by DHS, now labels all Americans who are “suspicious of centralized federal authority,” or “reverent of individual liberty” as terrorists! It is not surprising that such government-funded “studies,” […]
From a friend in the System
2 July 12 From a friend in the System: “The only real purpose of ‘Fast and Furious,’ now altogether discredited, was to fraudulently vilify honest American gun-owners and retailers, with, of course, all-too-enthusiastic cheerleading on the part of the Administration’s media lackeys. Leftist politicians dependably single-out for punishment constituencies who do not support them politically. […]
Fearful “Protectors?”
1 July 12 Armed, US Border Patrol Agents are now being ordered by Janet N at DHS, and by proxy BHO himself, when encountering “active shooters,” to: “… run away and hide” “… call law enforcement” Since there is no such thing as organized, political terrorism in Janet’s world, only “workplace violence,” even police are […]
Excellent comments on Urban Rifle training
26 June 12 Excellent comments on Urban Rifle training, from a recent student: “Competent, attentive instructors are essential. Critiques from instructors must be delivered immediately, politely, but with concern. When your instructor fails to notice misplaced fingers, poorly run triggers, and sloppiness in gun-handling, you’re not getting your money’s worth. It’s a simple fact that, […]
Comments from a friend and long-time LEO in a neighboring state
25 June 12 Comments from a friend and long-time LEO in a neighboring state: “With regard to your previous Quip, we are assuredly seeing the trend here. Our local gun-shop looks as if it is going out of business, because display cases are mostly bare. During ‘normal’ times, there are at least sixty handguns on […]
Comments from left-handers
22 June 12 Comments from left-handers: “Let me say to lefties what you, being right-handed, may not. As a left-handed person, I must comment that ‘left-handed’ versions of nearly anything are patently ridiculous. This is especially true with guns. Lefties must learn to use all tools that are, or will likely be, available to them. […]
When the “cure” is worse than the “disease”
22 June 12 When the “cure” is worse than the “disease:” Over the last two days, we conducted an Urban Rifle Course at the famous Cor-Bon Academy in Sturgis, SD. A student brought a Stag Arms “left-handed” gas-piston AR. Unfortunately, it is only partially left-handed. It is, in fact, a mixture of left-handed and right-handed […]
More comments on AR parts/accessories, from an AR Armorer
18 June 12 More comments on AR parts/accessories, from an AR Armorer: “Beware! There are a lot of crap AR parts out there. Most top-tier manufacturers don’t themselves make every part that goes into rifles they sell. They have to buy parts from vendors, and, as noted, the parts-market is a minefield right now! Even […]
AR “Battery Assist” Device
18 June 12 Magpul, and several other companies, are currently marketing a “Battery Assist” Device for ARs. It is an aftermarket add-on that is touted to make reloading the AR faster and easier than is the case with the rifle in its original configuration. It is a small appliance that attaches to the rifle’s bolt-lock […]
“You’re Expendable?”
14 June 12 “You’re Expendable?” Comments on women’s security planning, from a colleague: “As you noted in your last Quip, many of our female students, and some males too, envision their roles in this life, and within their family, as strictly supportive and non-assertive. Many thus find what we’re teaching to be in conflict with […]
Deliberately shooting to “wound,” or ‘disable,” rather than “kill”
12 June 12 Deliberately shooting to “wound,” or ‘disable,” rather than “kill” Reasonable idea? At a Defensive Pistol Class last weekend, one of my students, a lovely young wife, pregnant with her first child, asked about the idea of using her pistol to “wound” a home-invasion suspect, rather than shoot him in a way that […]
Ominous trends
11 June 12 We conducted a Defensive Handgun Course last weekend here in CO. We worked with a group of students, most of whom were buying pistols and simultaneously applying for CCW permits, for the first time. We had XD/M’s, along with Glocks, and one S&W SD9/VE. S&W’s “V-Series” is a price-point pistol, half-way between […]
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6 June 12 “Editorial content? That’s the stuff we cram between ads!” Roy Thompson, British Journalist On yesterday’s recall election in WI, from a friend in Madison, WI: “Hilarious watching TV news last night! Local stations preempted network shows to present all the ‘drama’ of the recall. Editorial boards here are, of course, made up […]
RIP Paul Gomez
4 June 12 I liked Paul Gomez the instant I met him! Extremely knowledgeable in our Art, and extremely willing to share everything he knew. I spent time with Paul at the NTI and a number of other venues. He was a genuinely good person, and, when he talked, I listened! Paul died Sunday, in […]
“Absolutism, tempered by assassination”
4 June 12 “Absolutism, tempered by assassination” Description of Russian Tzarist governance, by Ernst Von Munster, German Diplomat Russia’s czars, along with their inheritors, Soviet “premiers,” were fascinated with the idea of precipitous, international stunts. They all dearly loved to surprise everyone, in the process of keeping allies and enemies alike, off-balance. Cost in human […]
“Cold War”
2 June 12 As he, for the last time, retired from Washington DC to his estate in South Carolina, trusted advisor to President Franklin D Roosevelt, Bernard Baruch, was distressed and desponding. With the new President, Harry S Truman, he had lost the trusted stature he, for decades, had enjoyed under his former boss. The […]
From a friend in Seattle, WA
31 May 12 From a friend in Seattle, WA: “The City of Seattle is in the midst of a significant upswing in gun-related homicides and serious injuries. We had only three by this time last year. Twenty so far this year! Five yesterday. Single suspect. Three locations. Ended with suspect committing suicide. In the midst […]
Gun industry legends Dave Spaulding, Massad Ayoob, Mike Boyle, and John Farnam join Fernando Coelho to dive deep into the history of the gun industry, shedding light on how firearms and firearms training have transformed over the decades. They discuss the dramatic shift from traditional print reviews to the digital age of internet forums, social media influencers, and YouTube personalities of the industry.
