Oooh boy. I gotta watch the state legislature closer. WRAL just dropped this gem of an article talking about a bill I hadn’t heard of in the NC House that passed out of committee today. It would allow handguns to be kept locked up in the car while on college campuses (better than what we have now) and legalize restaurant carry. The article gives the first quote to Paul Valone, President of GRNC, probably meant …

When a free market is in a sufficiently inefficient state for a sufficiently long period of time, people work to establish systems that allow the market to function better. It doesn’t happen overnight, but if someone notices widgets selling for half the price in China than in the US, he’ll buy there and sell here. That sort of thing. We’re seeing it now with websites and ammunition. The inefficient market (retailers who haven’t raised prices …

On the Reason blog, a look at the actual text of the “compromise” to not require a background check for personal sales: [T]he bill requires that all sales at gun shows be handled by federally licensed dealers, who are required to conduct background checks no matter where they sell firearms … The bill imposes the same requirement on all sales “pursuant to an advertisement, posting, display or other listing on the Internet or in a publication by …

I know, I know, concealed carry permits, or Concealed Handgun Permits as North Carolina calls them, are for the most dedicated shooters, the people who want to be armed 24/7 (except anywhere alcohol is sold and consumed, or anywhere that charges admission, or …) but bear with me! I’m not saying it’s for everyone, but for completely new shooters looking for an entry in to the hobby, I think it could make some sense. But …

I got an email today from a lifelong family friend who I’ve recently been introducing to shooting, in part sparked by his confessed ignorance about guns, their operation and role in society. I’ve managed to get him and his wife hooked, but received an email today scheduling another shooting trip, and lamenting, in part: I have to admit I’m feeling a bit frustrated by the fact that we seem to have chosen the worst possible …

One thing I learned during my time among the 1911s is that the thumb safety on a gun is not something that is used before and after shooting, flicked on during the draw and put back on when holstering. The right and proper role of a thumb safety is as a part of the way the gun is gripped. On modern 1911s, which is to say ones with larger thumb safeties as compared to the old …

As happens occasionally, someone recently asked me a question to which I didn’t have answer. The question, as I recall, was “Now that you’ve decided you don’t like your 1911, are you going to sell it?” I had to take a moment and unpack the question because it boggled my mind in two ways. The first was the idea of “not liking” my 1911. My 1911 is a stainless Springfield TRP which is, it must …

Ranked in importance somewhere below the Four Rules, but still a part of the orthodoxy of shooting, is the “tap, rack, bang” malfunction clearance drill. You’ve probably heard of it, either reading about it, or being taught it or, as a competition shooter, living it. Well, today I’m here to tell you that it’s not just important to follow, but it’s important to follow the whole thing. But there are only three parts, how hard can …

With the upcoming all star season of Top Shot still a month or two away it’s interesting where the show’s winners and contestants keep popping up. Iain Harrison is busier than a one legged man at an ass kicking contest, among other things working for Crimson Trace, hosting Outdoor Channel’s Rapid Fire, and trying to bail out RECOIL magazine as Editor. I assume he also had some hand in the Crimson Trace Midnight 3-Gun Invitational, …