Commentary (73)
It looks like the approval of Form 1's to manufacture SBRs in WA was very short-lived. It appears that the ATF is using a loophole in the RCW because the RCW doesn't explicitly say "manufacture" although "acquire" and "possession" are ok. No word if an FFL can build it and transfer it.
Rcw 9.41.190
(2) It is not unlawful for a person to possess, transport, acquire, or transfer a short-barreled rifle that is legally registered and possessed, transported, acquired, or transferred in accordance with federal law.
Does no one wear a good leather 'gun belt' any more?
Written by reg mathuszWhen a first got my CCW license I quickly learned the value of a good belt that can sustain the weight of a pistol. After destroying several cheap belts a broke down and bought a Galco SB5 1.5" belt. That was 25 years ago or so, if my waist hadn't um increased over the years I would still have it. The one I currently wear is over 10 years old.
I have tried other belts like the Wilderness 5-stitch and BladeTech/Looper leather belt with kydex insert but it is not the same.
And why do I bring this up? I recently bought two kydex IWB holsters and neither had clips that can accommodate such a thick belt. Only one (BladeTech) had a solution (rubber clips instead of kydex loops) which they provided for free! I was surprised that they had not encountered this before - the clips were a legacy style. NOTE: I am talking about the thickness of the leather and not the belt size and not width like 1.25" vs 1.5".
It is interesting to note that I have not had this problem with any hybrid holster. I will do reviews of the holsters shortly.
I like the minimalist size and thinness of the all kydex. So I am wondering what kind of belt are you wearing?
People keep asking about the 2015 Smith Instructor Program. I just received an email from them today that said to check back in 30-60 days.
2015 BladeTech Instructor Discounts via Packinginpink & Smith Discount update
Written by reg mathuszI just saw this on the NRA Instructor site! I can't believe that I have not recently asked BladeTech before.
And if you are wondering, it is not just pink items :)
https://packinginpink.wufoo.com/forms/z7x4m1/
Also got an email back from Smith. Theirs is not ready yet. They said to check back mid-March. Quite a few ppl had emailed asking me to check.
Hi!
Thanks to Bobbie for providing our first instructor price list! It is now available in the link above!
Black Friday is for everyone (a new Walther PPX)
Written by reg mathuszI have been pondering getting another 9mm since I am a couple fewer now. The Walther PPX had been a contender and when I saw a local ad for Coastal Supply black friday ad listing them for $299 and mail in extra mag, holster and mag pouch I knew I had to look - I was going to be up anyway doing some shopping with the girlfriend.
Coastal has only had firearms for about 3 months but they do it well. It was a pleasant experience despite it being paper based. Their black friday gun prices were good. I didn't really compare their normal prices, that is for a non-black Friday day.
Going to the gf's store first really worked well. I missed the early rush. A risk since they had run out of several black friday Guns. Luckily Not the PPX though.
What immediately sold me was the trigger. It has a bobbed hammer but it is pre-cocked like a striker and the result is a very crisp smooth trigger without take up. Clean like an XD or a Steyr but no slack. It also feels more like a traditional pull, definitely not a striker but like a light double-action revolver cocking the hammer from yester-year (not today's lawyer-inspired triggers).
Anyway, just took it home so not a lot of experience with it yet, but here is an obligatory pic:
Please take a moment to honor and remember those who have fought and fallen to preserve freedom and the Union. 
This NY tribute light will be on all THU night.
Please remember those fallen and #NeverForget
Article says that law enforcement adoption of 40S&W is a conspiracy? WTF?
Written by reg mathuszI don't usually criticize other gun bloggers, but I feel that I must when I see something posted that I think is just wrong. The article is titled: "Why Many Agencies are Switching to the 9mm." This set my expectations too high. Maybe I am just grumpy today or just tired of the endless caliber wars/stopping power debates on the internet. Or maybe it is because he calls law enforcement adoption of the 40S&W a conspiracy (read on!)
This article which is actually an opinion piece on why he carries 9mm and feels justified because some law enforcement have switched back to 9mm. For the record, a lot of LE never stopped. I would be surprised if 9mm isn't the #2 carried LE round. Here is the link to the article I am quoting: http://www.usacarry.com/why-agencies-switching-9mm/?utm_source=USA+Carry&utm_campaign=0282c2f3fb-Why+Many+Agencies+are+Switching+to+the+9mm&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2bd92c16fa-0282c2f3fb-47605009.
With the title "Why Many Agencies are Switching to the 9mm" I was expecting an article about the possible shift in law enforcement to 9mm. I have been predicting it for a while due to ammo availability and cost. If you were looking for facts or figures - there aren't any. The law enforcement references are anecdotal at best:
The fact is, law enforcement in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and Colorado are just a few of the places switching.
That doesn't really help. That doesn't look like "many" to me. Is there actually a shift. We will never know from this because that's as specific as he gets.
Not quoted, but I do absolutely agree with the logic he gives: more capacity, lower recoil, less expensive ammo. And of course I agree with shot placement being king.
After that he loses me:
I’ve been carrying 9mm for years and have had plenty of “macho” folks comment to me that I carry a “weaker” round. However, my so-called “weaker” round is a 124-grain Speer Gold Dot, which I’m confident will stop any threat I may encounter. So if you’ve been thinking of switching to a 9mm, don’t let others talk you out of it and realize that many law enforcement agencies are now “seeing the light” and coming back to the 9mm too.
Uh, what? I don't care what you carry or what other people think about what you carry. Why do YOU care? Caliber-wars are silly. What happened to this being about law enforcement?? The last sentence is a vague tie-in that I guess we are to presume that if its good enough for some non-identified law enforcement agencies ("many") that it must be good enough for us? Or perhaps vice versa - since I carry it, 9mm is good enough for LEAs? Well, if it makes the author feel better I think he has chosen a very good round.
The article gets even weirder:
"In fact, the only reason that the police switched from 9mm to .40 in the first place was because of the Assault Weapons ban of 1994. The 1994 law banned the production of high capacity magazines, however, you could still sell “pre-ban” magazines. So the gun manufacturers went to police departments and offered big incentives to upgrade to the .40 so they could get the departments to turn in the high capacity 9mm magazines that they could resell for a huge profit.
Really? The "ONLY" reason? Wow.
The company known as "S&W" (a registered trademark which I am not affiliated with) and Winchester designed the 40S&W in 1990. The 40S&W was actually predated by several 40-caliber rounds that didn't meet with commercial success. My favorite is the .41AE (Action Express) designed by Evan Whildin of Action Arms Ltd (former importers of Uzi) back in 1986! And even before that (in the 70s) there was the 40G&A. I guess according to the author that all these folks were psychic to the Assault Weapons Ban that would happen, much later, in 1994.
Anyway, not to get into the "stopping power" debate, let's just say there were other reasons for the 40S&W and its adoption.
A quick one (reason 1), which is not conducive to the author's entire argument, is the famous "Miami FBI Shootout" and its famous "that-should-have-been-fatal" shot. That incident caused the FBI to reevaluate and drop the 9mm as the agency adopted round.
That event ended up giving us the mighty 10mm as the FBI and other agencies official round. Since the FBI 10mm was downloaded anyway folks figured that they could squeeze it into a smaller package and the 40S&W was born. HEY...that's two reasons that the .40S&W came to be! (reason 2)
I am not going to even comment on the magazine statements. Pure conjecture at best. But, if you count it, it makes reason 3! :)
But, for reason #4 the 40 was adopted so rapidly by law enforcement (and my personal belief) is timing. High-capacity semi's were coming of age (and reliable) and revolvers for law enforcement had been on its way out since the mid to late 80's. This spawned the great 9 vs 45 aka light vs fast aka capacity caliber wars. The 40S&W was right smack in the middle - capacity, bullet weight, bullet diameter, and fit into (modified) smaller 9mm framed pistols unlike the 10mm and 45ACP which are built on larger platforms. A superb compromise and a round that works! What you will not find is anyone saying that the 40 is ineffective and that they are switching back to 9mm.
To cement his point the author concludes:
In other words, it wasn’t because the .40 was a miraculous new round, it’s because gun manufacturers wanted to make money and so they made the police departments an offer they couldn’t resist.
Maybe I am too sensitive but to me that reads like he is insulting the firearms industry by claiming a conspiracy, and basically calling law enforcement gullible. You know that law enforcement were exempt from the magazine ban right? They could have kept the 9mm. Manufacturers could have just replaced all their mags with LE stamped ones. No, no, no, it probably was easier, quicker, and cheaper to make entirely new mags for them. Whatever.
My take on this whole 9mm vs 40 vs 45 debate? Simple...
Bullet technology has advanced by leaps and bounds in the last 10 years. Gone are the days of the "picky" auto-loader that wouldn't feed HydraShoks (well, mostly gone)!
With equal quality bullets defensive rounds are pretty much equal. The bulk of ballistic data (take your pick of sources: shootings, cadaver analysis, ballistic gel tests) indicates that 9mm, 40S&W, 357Sig, and 45ACP ALL perform very closely. So, carry what you want! Just don't skimp on the ammo, if you can find it. And goodness, don't care what other people think! Just practice as much as you can. A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .45, or that 10mm you left at home.
Of course, we are talking about the best defensive ammo. What happens if you only have hardball? As they say in the car motor world: There ain't no replacement for displacement! LOL
More...
Swiss man with psychiatric problems & no registered guns, guns down 3 women
Written by reg mathuszBig News Network.com Friday 4th January, 2013
GENEVA - A gunman shot dead three women and left two men injured before police shot him in the chest after the shooting in southern Switzerland, officials said about the incident that triggered nationwide debate on gun culture.
The suspect was said to be a 33-year-old unemployed man living on disability payments. The police is still not clear about the motive behind the shooting.
The gunman had fired about 20 shots Wednesday night in the village of Daillon.
Three women were killed and two men were wounded, officials said.
Armed with a Swiss military rifle and a handgun, the suspect opened fire from his apartment and pursued people in the street
He even threatened to shoot the officers who wanted to stop him.
He was arrested and taken to the hospital with serious wounds.
"We have no words to express ourselves after an event like this," said Christophe Germanier, head of the Conthey District.
Prosecutor Catherine Seppey said the suspect was treated for psychiatric problems in the past.
The three dead women were said to be 32, 54 and 79 years old. All of them had received at least two bullets, police said.Officials said it was unclear how the suspect obtained the two guns that were confiscated. Gun records show he owned no licensed weapons.
The shooting sparked off a debate about gun regulation in Switzerland, one of the richest countries in the world and with one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world.
There are said to be at least 2.3 million weapons among a Swiss population of less than 8 million.
Gun clubs and hunting are popular in the country.
Swiss men required to do national service often take their army rifles, now semi-automatic assault rifles, home with them, to be ready in case there is an exterior invasion.
Assault Weapons - Issues - United States Senator Dianne Feinstein
Written by reg mathuszHere is what Feinstein proposes. Basically, if it isnt completely banned requires NFA registration of anything that can take a magazine. Even that 1911 has 10+ shot mags available!
This includes a new background check, fingerprints, local LEA approval and registration!
Don't forget the $200 tax stamp per item!
http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons
Katie Pavlich - Mass Murder Prevented by Off-Duty Cop
Written by reg mathuszthis is why we ccw. did you know that in Canada even off duty cops cannot carry a firearm? http://m.townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/12/18/mass-murder-prevented-by-offduty-cop-n1469380
12 year old girl repels/injures intruder during home burglary!
Written by reg mathusz12 year old girl repels/injures intruder during home burglary
Just consider if that was your 12 year old daughter, home alone, and an intruder breaks in. This intruder not only physically broke in but went to get her from the closet where she was hiding!
So much for the "guns don't save lives" rhetoric and gives new meaning to the saying "police are only minutes away when seconds count."
Kendra St. Clair, 12, was at home alone in Oklahoma, when loud banging began on the door to her family's home. Soon, the glass shattered and an intruder had entered.
"I was scared and I didn't know what to do next," Kendra told ABC News.
Petrified, she called her mom Debra.
"I said Kendra get the gun and go get in my closet now. And call 911."
The young 6th grader followed her mom's orders to the tee.
The 911 tapes tell the story as it unfolded.
Kendra: "I'm at my house. I'm in my closet. And I ran away from (inaudible) someone's trying to get into my house and I do not know who they are." Dispatcher: "Ok I have a deputy en route, I want you to stay on the phone with me. Ok?" Kendra: "Ok. Please. I think they are in the house."
Kendra had taken shelter in a closet, clutching her mother's .40 caliber glock gun while she listened to the intruder make his way around her home.
Kendra: "Please help me. Please." Dispatcher: "Alright, alright. I understand. Do you still have your mom's gun there?" Kendra: "Yes I do. I have it in my hand."
Her fear intensified to sheer terror, when she saw the knob of the closet door beginning to turn.
At that point, that for the first time in her life, Kendra fired a gun.
Police said the bullet traveled straight through the closet door and struck 32-year-old Stacey Jones in the shoulder, scaring him out of the house.
They arrested him a few blocks away and charged Jones with first degree burglary.
"When I had the gun, I didn't think I was actually going to have to shoot somebody," the 6th grader recalled. "I think it's going to change me a whole lot, knowing that I can hold my head up high and nothing can hurt me anymore."
Her mother Debra agrees.
"I think that she did something that most grown-ups wouldn't be able to do in a frightening situation. I think she handled herself amazingly."
Jones was treated at the hospital and released into the custody of authorities. Police said he has not yet entered a plea but that bond has been set for $250,000.
