MS AG opinion
There is a new Mississippi AG’s opinion on municipalities regulating carry of guns.
Read it carefully. He’s crawfishing on some previous opinions. Most interesting is the notion that there are places he (and state law) says you can CCW with the enhanced permit, but cannot open carry, in spite of the state constitution’s prohibition of restrictions of your right to carry unconcealed.
Remember that his being wrong or being right, and your following or not following his opinion, provides no protection to you as an individual, should you somehow break a law, including an unconstitutional law.
http://www.ago.state.ms.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/C.Mitchell_Feb.3-2015-Municipal-Authority-Relating-to-Carrying-of-Weapons.pdf
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MSFOA
The Mississippi State Firearm Owners Association will hold its 2015 annual meeting on February 28, 2015, in the back room of Uncle Buck’s restaurant on the first floor of the Bass Pro Shops in Pearl, MS, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Come join us!
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Federal Legislation (see separate email for MS legislation)
US Reps. Don Young (R-AK) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) have introduced HR 697, The African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015, that would reverse the recent US Fish and Wildlife Service – imposed ban on elephant trophies legally taken by American hunters in Zimbabwe and roll back and further halt constraints on the import and export of lawfully possessed ivory products, including musical instruments, firearms, and museum pieces that include ivory parts.
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The Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act of 2015, was introduced in the US Senate by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). This legislation seeks to protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, shooting and fishing. This bill includes the following provisions:
Clarifies that ammunition, ammunition components, and fishing equipment are exempt from regulation by the EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Gives law-abiding gun owners more access to carry firearms on land managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Requires that 1.5% of the annual Land and Water Conservation Fund goes toward securing access for sportsmen to public lands that are currently either landlocked or otherwise significantly restricted.
Makes more funds available to state fish and wildlife agencies for the development of shooting ranges.
Allows bows to be transported across national park lands. Currently, only firearms can be legally transported, which poses a practical problem for bow hunters who want to legally hunt on Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management lands, but must cross National Park Service lands in order to do so.
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HR 225, The Firearm Safety Act of 2015, introduced by Rep. Robin L. Kelly (D-IL), would amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to remove the firearms exclusion from regulation by the anti-gun Consumer Product Safety Commission, thereby permitting the CPSC to issue “safety standards” for them.
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The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (interstate reciprocity of CCW licenses) has again been introduced in the US Senate by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). It would require that your CCW license function similar to your driver’s license in other states.
Concealed carry is allowed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, but to varying degrees. Most states require a permit.
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Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has introduced S. 477, which would de-fund Operation Choke Point, permanently. It would insure that the FDIC didn’t use “fees” to fund a program which could no longer go on with appropriated funds, and it would prohibit Eric Holder and the FDIC from reestablishing “Choke Point” under another name.
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Litigation
US District Court Judge Reed O’Connor of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Ft. Worth Division, has ruled that the federal Gun Control Act of 1968’s ban on the interstate sales of handguns by federal firearms dealers to buyers from other states violates the Second and Fifth amendments to the US Constitution. He also distinguished the ban from other firearms restrictions such as those that target specific people, such as felons or the mentally ill, and said that while the government demonstrated a compelling interest in preventing handgun crime, it failed to show how the transfer ban alleviates the problem of prohibited people acquiring handguns by crossing state lines. Significantly, the judge applied strict scrutiny in formulating his ruling.
The case, Mance v. Holder, was brought by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear arms, represented by Alan Gura, and three individuals, and was financially supported by CCRKBA’s sister organization, the Second Amendment Foundation.
The federal law prohibits a dealer from transferring a handgun, but not a rifle or shotgun, to an individual who does not live in the state in which the dealer’s business is located.
The government is expected to appeal to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Accordingly, the Court DECLARES that 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(3), 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(3), and 27 C.F.R. § 478.99(a) are UNCONSTITUTIONAL, and Defendants are ENJOINED from enforcing these provisions.”
“…the Court concludes that Defendants have not shown that the federal interstate handgun transfer ban is narrowly tailored to be the least restrictive means of achieving the Government’s goals under current law. The federal interstate handgun transfer ban is therefore unconstitutional on its face.
…The Court further finds, in the alternative, the federal interstate handgun transfer ban is unconstitutional when applied to the facts of this case.”
http://www.guns.com/2015/02/12/court-documents-in-the-case-of-mance-v-eric-h-holder-and-b-todd-jones/
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The NRA-affiliated New York State Rifle and Pistol Association sued New York City in 2013, arguing that laws limiting certain licensed handgun owners to carrying their unloaded weapons directly to or from their homes and shooting ranges infringed on their Second Amendment rights.
Senior US District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York, Robert Sweet, has ruled against the NYSRPA, saying “These regulations are reasonable and result from the substantial government interest in public safety,” and called the restrictions “a minimal, or at most, modest burden” on Second Amendment rights.
But the Second Amendment doesn’t say the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed except for reasonable regulations and modest burdens.
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Federal antics
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley held up the nomination of Department of Justice attorney Jeanne Davidson for Judge of the US Court of International Trade, citing recently unsealed documents in the case of retired agent Jay Dobyns against the ATF, in which that judge said the feds, led by the nominee, had committed “fraud on the court.”
http://www.examiner.com/article/grassley-puts-hold-on-judicial-nominee-involved-dobyns-case
Judge Allegra has ordered a Special Master to be appointed to the case. In October 2014, Allegra voided his previous August 2014 ruling in the case after new evidence of intimidation and alleged fraud by the government was discovered.
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Meanwhile in Savannah, GA, assistant federal prosecutor Cameron Ippolito from Savannah and ATF Special Agent Lou Valoze have been barred from court duties pending an investigation of whether their on-going extramarital affair has jeopardized prosecutions and convictions. The order, signed by the five US District Court judges for the Southern District of Georgia, directed that Ippolito and Valoze not “appear before the court in an official, professional capacity in any proceeding until further order.”
Apparently there are allegations that the pair colluded to provide potentially false or misleading information to a government agency to secure a visa for a government informant and to provide potentially false or misleading testimony (perjury?) at trial regarding benefits provided to that government informant.
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Also this week, US Attorney General Eric Holder, who was found to be in civil and criminal contempt for refusing to turn over Fast & Furious documents subpoenaed by Congress and ordered by the courts, said this week that the inability to enact new gun safety laws after the Sandy Hook school shooting ranks as “the single failure” of his tenure.
So his failure to violate the Constitution that he swore to defend is his biggest failure? What about his failure to tell the truth? What about his contempt censure? What about his failure to do his job? What about his dead federal agent and untold numbers of dead Mexicans? I suggest that his tenure is his and President Obama’s biggest failure.
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Disarmed Marines
http://news.yahoo.com/us-marines-handed-over-guns-leaving-yemen-204547431.html
Frankly, SecDef Chuck Hagel should be tried for treason for this one. The new Secretary, Dr. Ash (Ashton) Carter (just confirmed 93-5 by the Republican-controlled Senate), won’t be any better. And further, the Marines probably should have taken the plane by force.
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Friends
Noted gunsmith Dave Berryhill is fighting cancer.
https://www.gunsforacause.org/raffle/
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Enemies
“Cities need to get guns out of this group’s [male, minority and between the ages of 15 and 25] hands and keep them alive.” – Former New York City Mayor, founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, financial backer of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and current owner of Everytown for Gun Safety, Michael Bloomberg
So, Bloomie wants to take away black men’s guns?
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Domino’s Pizza prohibits their delivery drivers from keeping a gun with them for self-defense.
We now have a report that nationwide there have been at least eight Domino’s drivers attacked and shot since January 2012, and three of those drivers died from their wounds.
Maybe they need a sign.
http://www.ammoland.com/2015/02/dominos-gun-ban-update-at-least-8-drivers-shot-3-killed-since-start-of-2012/#axzz3RYgM9DcS
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“Jen the Archer” Cordaro, who teaches children how to hunt and fish, has raised the ire of the animal rights terrorists, who are sending her graphic online death threats, threats of murder of her first born child, and offers to skin her alive. Classy. I’m guessing it won’t be a fair fight, and that is a good thing.
https://www.facebook.com/JenTheArcher
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Some popular comments which gathered dozens of “Likes” on a Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Facebook page:
“Hope somebody blows your [redacted] head off punkass…preferably a toddler, you freak…”
“Drone the domestic terrorist.”
“For example… These are the ones you have to take out…”
“Put that whole bunch of morons on a farm and send in the National Guard. There’s anothe (sic) WAKO (sic) coming folks ……”
A group against violence, advocating heinous violence (to be committed by someone else) against peaceful, law-abiding Americans. The good news is that this group is presumably unarmed and therefore at a disadvantage. In other words, they are cowards.
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HSUS spending report
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Idiots
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s261x260/10959758_10205902605428642_344145283565861616_n.jpg?oh=a4d6cc1a09fd23ef1cf101cd5b8cc8ea&oe=55608366
We have a report that a bill reaffirming teachers’ rights to self-defense moving through the Texas legislature is causing panic among “the left-wing ninnies,” who are terrified that a teacher might use deadly force to stop a homicidal student.
Well, what do you think the cops will use when they arrive 22 dead bodies later? What will you think if one of those extra dead bodies used to be your own precious angel?
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I know, I know, we already reported this story. But this is the same story about a different dummy in a different state. Tuscaloosa police say 18-year-old Jesse Cook told investigators that he didn’t think the gun would fire when he pointed it at another man and pulled the trigger.
http://www.wtva.com/news/national/story/Man-tells-police-he-thought-gun-was-unloaded-it/-GIgY4rURkuFck6QJ8XPtQ.cspx
RULE #1: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
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Another exploding target fatality
Four people are facing charges after a mistake with Tannerite (a binary exploding target compound) and a old stove outside a Sequoyah County, OK, home resulted in the death of an 8-year-old boy.
Authorities said Brandon Martin, 22, placed two pounds of Tannerite inside the stove before shooting it with a rifle, causing a massive explosion and sending large pieces of the stove flying through the air, with one neighbor reporting the stove itself flew higher than the treetops.
The door of the stove came off and hit an 8-year-old boy in the head, killing him, while other pieces injured his stepfather. Apparently they are not related to Mr. Martin.
Martin was arrested, along with his parents, Fred and Mary Martin, and Paul Griffin, another man who was at the home during the incident. Brandon is charged with manslaughter, and the others are charged with obstructing an investigation, apparently for lying to the police.
From Tannerite’s instructions:
“Place ½ and 1 lb targets down range at least 100 yards before shooting. Place 2 lb targets 200 yards down range before shooting. (2 pound targets are sold to professionals only.)
Do not shoot targets larger than 1 pound unless it is required due to extreme long-range competition.
Never place these targets inside, on top of, or under any surface that could produce shrapnel or within another object.”
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Police training fatality update
We reported last year about the fatal shooting of a trooper at the Public Safety Training Campus, in Plymouth Township, PA.
Now PA State Police Corporal Richard Schroeter is under arrest in Montgomery County, charged in connection with the incident. Prosecutors say Cpl. Schroeter, 42, was conducting a firearms training session at the facility in late September, to transition the troopers to a new firearm. Shortly after the session began, prosecutors say, Schroeter was discussing trigger mechanics when he pulled the trigger on his “unloaded” duty-issued gun. The firearm discharged a live round, killing Trooper David Kedra.
A grand jury investigation resulted in five counts of reckless endangerment against Schroeter, and found there was not enough evidence to support an involuntary manslaughter charge, but that Schroeter did not follow necessary precautions and breached routine even though he is a highly qualified instructor.
(I was previously unaware that anyone used corporals as instructors.)
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Another police expert
Last August, a bullet accidentally fired from Florida International University (Miami) Police Sergeant Alberto Alfonso’s personal gun at his work desk went through the wall of his office, into the kitchen, through the refrigerator, into the Communications area, through another wall, ricocheted off a flat screen TV, and finally stopped in a hallway garbage can.
After the shot, the sergeant’s assistant chief responded and picked up the gun, asking him whether it was clear and safe. Sgt. Alfonso said yes, but when the Assistant Chief checked, he found another live round in the chamber.
This was the third known improper FIU gun discharge.
A fellow blogger opined that Alfonso must be a firearms instructor, as a mere beat cop could not have possibly hit so many things with a single bullet.
Sure enough, Sgt. Alfonso was given a written reprimand which reads in part, “Your failure to use due care is compounded by the fact that you are a FIUPD firearms instructor and a FIUPD field training supervisor.”
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A recap of the rules, from Farnam
THEIR rules:
1) All guns are always unloaded.
2) Unloaded guns are “safe.” When around “safe” guns, you can relax!
3) When handling “safe” guns, never be concerned with the direction in which they’re pointed. After all, they’re not really guns anymore, are they? There is no reason to even look!
4) When handling “safe” guns, have your finger constantly on the trigger, for good control.
OUR rules:
1) All guns are always loaded!
2) Do not allow your muzzle to point in unsafe directions.
3) Keep your finger(s) off the trigger, and in a strong, “register” position, until your sights are on-target, and you are in the process of intentionally firing.
4) Be sure of your target, as well as what is beyond it.
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Lyin’ Brian
Lamestream media talking head “Lyin’ Brian” Williams has been suspended from “NBC Nightly News” without pay for six months, due to an ongoing internal investigation into whether(?) Williams repeatedly “exaggerated” stories during his public appearances as managing editor of the “news” program as well as elsewhere.
Williams has now admitted to his “mistake in recalling the events” and apologized, but he had been denying the error for 12 years, right up until last week. His admission came only after he was confronted with evidence during a Stars and Stripes interview that he “embellished” events that occurred 12 years ago in 2003 while he was covering the war in Iraq. Subsequently, other questionable stories, including his reporting from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, have come under intense scrutiny. In 2004, a year after the Iraq incident, he was named managing editor of NBC News and anchor, and, as unconfirmed reports have it, recently got a five-year contract at $10 million a year.
$10 million a year for SAYING you got shot at. How much do our ACTUAL shot-at soldiers earn?
According to the Celebrity DBI – an index cited by the lamestream New York Times – Williams was the 23rd-most-trusted person in the country before his apology, but was ranked No. 835 after. Still Number 835 out of 300+ million people?
But according to the Jeff Pittman DBI – an index that gives no credit for being a celebrity, having a TV hairdo, or leaning so far to the left you can’t see the sky – Williams was ranked somewhere south of Pee Wee Herman, well below the 200,000,000 mark, both before and after the rest of the world found out he was a liar.
(Note that NBC news also faked the exploding gas tanks on GM pickups, and employed David Gregory to commit a gun felony on national TV.)
Here’s audio of Williams’ squirming during a Stars and Stripes interview about his “embellishments.”
http://www.stripes.com/news/us/in-his-words-brian-williams-interview-with-stars-and-stripes-1.328590
And they wonder why we don’t believe their gun reporting either.
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Doctors and gun schools
http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2015/02/05/rx-guns/
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Carjacking
If you are the target of an attempted carjacking and can simply mash down on the gas without killing any innocents, that’s probably the best idea. Here’s a video of a near-victim, followed by a victim. (Approximately 48 seconds into the video).
http://news.yahoo.com/cars-crumpled-woman-carjacked-wild-los-angeles-chase-082639090.html
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Terrorism
President Barack Obama is asking Congress to formally authorize war against Islamic State militants and says the group could threaten the US homeland if left unchecked. His proposal has no restrictions on where US forces could pursue the threat.
Two comments:
1) It’s about time.
2) Duh!
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Gun free zones
An armed robbery took place at the Fondren Post Office in Jackson, MS this week.
A woman apparently returned to her car from the P.O. when a man pointed a gun at her and took her purse. He jumped into the passenger seat of a black SUV and quickly left the scene. The woman was uninjured. She said the primary suspect was a young black male who was approximately 5’5″ and 160 lbs. We also have a report that police have identified two suspects, and one of them is a MS Dept. of Corrections employee.
It is not known if the postal inspectors and US Attorney will investigate and prosecute this crime. The alleged crime took place on federal property, which is a “gun free” zone, meaning that the hoods are free to use guns there. Note the sign on the P.O. door.
http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/jackson/woman-mugged-outside-fondren-post-office/31198138
(6 weeks into 2015, we have at least 8 homicides in Jackson so far. One appears to have been justifiable.)
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There was an attempted assassination last weekend at the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, PA, that left three people fighting for their lives. The alleged shooter, a 17-year-old with a juvenile record of gun violence, had chosen the Macy’s store at the mall to take out his target, knowing the mall to be a “gun free zone.”
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“As long as fathers have loved the daughters they sent off to college, there have always been concealed firearms on university campuses.” – Bob Owens
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About those gun-free zone signs…
We reported last week on Conoy Township, PA’s signs reading “Welcome to Conoy Twp. THIS IS NOT A GUN FREE ZONE.”
http://news.yahoo.com/town-best-most-welcoming-gun-free-zone-signs-153403342.html
But now we have a report that the anti-gunners vandalized several of the signs the next day after they went up.
And, the township is fielding requests from people who want to buy similar signs. Phone calls and emails have come in from elsewhere in PA and CA, TX, FL, MS, OH, ID, KY, and other states, as well as from pro-gun and 2nd Amendment organizations. The township will likely buy new signs from a private company and then resell them. Campaign-like yard signs and window stickers are also being planned. No prices or quantities have been determined.
Or, just get them direct from your sign company, with your own name on them.
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No-fly drone zones. Get your own.
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/hate-drones-this-new-website-lets-you-create-a-110632205119.html
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Fight back like a man, or a grandma
Ukranian Ekaterina Bilvik, a 68-year-old grandmother signed up for the military and recently made it through basic training with flying colors. Bilvik was inspired by memories of Nazi and Soviet occupation to take up arms against Putin’s forces, and her determination and combat skills impressed her fellow trainees, who gave her the nickname “The Punisher.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2918503/Granbo-Ukrainian-grandmother-68-signs-train-alongside-army-cadets-nickname-Punisher-passes-military-tests.html
Wow. Just wow. Now THAT is a magazine cover story.
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Hunting factoids
A 2006 study by the US Department of the Interior found that hunting, angling and wildlife watching was a $1.2 billion industry for Mississippi.
A study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week indicates that more than 10% of the land mammal species endemic to Australia have been wiped out by cats and foxes since European settlement.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/28065060/study-cats-foxes-behind-australias-alarming-extinctions
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You might be a redneck… if you have a “General Lee” AR-15
Yes I am one, and yes I want one.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10989037_788584671194848_3127856772141369666_n.jpg?oh=6ea4590890ad3e0ebf3eb8a6ccedf1c3&oe=5594FE2C&__gda__=1431011237_e860c0d8d05dc2af526d97ef786d4345
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Colt Milspec AR pin & spring reference
http://www.biggerhammer.net/ar15/pins.html
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High grade knife steels update
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Elmer Keith guns to be auctioned
A group of firearms and accessories from the Elmer Keith Estate Collection will be a featured component of James D. Julia’s March 15-17, 2015 firearms auction in Fairfield, ME. The Poulin Auction Co. will also be offering a selection of Elmer’s utility arms and ammunition from the Keith estate, in the days preceding the Julia sale. All items in the collection have remained in the possession of the Keith family since Elmer’s passing.
http://www.poulinantiques.com/auctions.asp?aID=64
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Products
Press release from Remington about Remington and Para 1911 pistols:
http://www.remington.com/pages/news-and-resources/press-releases/2015/corporate/remingtonannouncesparaintegration.aspx
TrackingPoint has announced its new generation of guided rifles that can track targets out to half a mile away at speed of up to 20 mph. Despite the new features these guns cost thousands of dollars less than the first crop of of their electronically-assisted rifles. The new BA series is a bolt-action lineup offered in .260 Rem., .308 Win. and .300 Win. Mag. The .30-caliber rifles are priced at $12,995 – about half the price of the original models and the .260 Rem. is $7,995.
Colt Canada’s Bullpup Frankengun
New Night Owl NO9 pistols, a polymer-framed, striker-fired 9mm pistol available in both right- and left-handed models, and reasonably priced.
Troy Industries’ new M7A1PDW stock for AR rifles looks pretty impressive. But it’s $500, so it should be impressive.
https://troyind.com/
Raven Concealment Systems’ (tactical) Modular Pocket Shield.
http://raven-concealment-systems1.mybigcommerce.com/moduloader-pocket-shield/
Drone Munitions, based out of Meridian, ID has “tactical drone defense ammunition,” to “shoot down an unauthorized drone infringing on the freedoms and rights to privacy of citizens.” The new product includes a “ferromagnetic ballistic payload 12 ga shotshell capable of drone defense,” and will be accompanied by “a full merchandizing line of apparel, accessories, and targets.” Yes, I checked the date and it was February, not April 1.
Walther Arms has introduced the HK G36 rifle, a .22 LR replica of the standard Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle, the standard service rifle of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces. Walther’s HK G36 has a folding stock, a Picatinny rail, an ambidextrous external safety, an 18″ barrel and an overall length of 37.8″. Magazines have a 20-round capacity. $599.
Wilson Combat’s new Urban Super Sniper AR-style rifle is designed for extreme accuracy. Based on the original SS-15 Super Sniper, the Urban version is shorter and more maneuverable. It has a mid-length gas system and weighs 7 lbs., 5 oz. The rifle is chambered in .223 Wylde (a “compromise” chamber sort of between SAAMI-spec. .223 Rem. and 5.56 NATO) and has an 18″ medium-heavy weight fluted 1:8″ barrel with a target crown. $2225.
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“You have enemies? Good. That means that you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” – Winston Churchill