Litigation & Government

• Election fallout. Now would be a good time to make a donation to your favorite gun rights (not “sporting”) group.
• ATF Chief Counsel Robert Leider Resigns Amid Major Gun Rights Reforms.
• The ATF Lawyer You’ve Never Heard Of: William J. Ryan’s Paper Trail on Braces, Forced Reset Triggers and Gun Trusts
• A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on October 29th that the federal ban on firearm possession by people with certain mental-health adjudications does not violate the Second Amendment. The panel compared the federal statute barring anyone who has been adjudicated mentally defective to historical laws allowing authorities to confine people whose mental illness made them dangerous. It argued that the modern law was sufficiently similar because it served the same purpose of protecting public safety. The decision does not categorically approve disarming everyone with a mental-health diagnosis or resolve every application to persons who have recovered; it also explains that the means-end methodology of the circuit’s earlier Tyler decision no longer controls.
• After defeating Pennsylvania’s age-based carry restrictions in the Third Circuit, FPC and NRA return to federal court to challenge the Commonwealth’s ban on licensed carry by 18-to-20-year-old adults. FPC and NRA filed a new federal Second Amendment lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Maines v. Bethel, challenging Pennsylvania’s unconstitutional ban on lawful firearm carry in most public places by adults under 21.
• ATF monitored polling places during the election. Big Brother much? And apparently that is illegal.
• Law prevents ICE from midterm election polls
• SCOTUS Gun Watch 11/02/2026.
• Grassroots Judicial Report—November 4, 2026.

The Only Ones

• Heroic crack shot local cop sniper who saved Trump’s life erased from news by embarrassed feds: Family.
• More about Sgt. Zaliponi:
  • American Rifleman: 2025 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year
  • Top Cop: How an Armed American Saved President Trump’s Life
• Surface-to-air missiles installed at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. OK, I want my self-defense missiles…
• Video showing federal agent pointing handgun in face of bystander sparks outrage.
• Friendly fire isn’t.
• (Former ) Monongalia County (WV) Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Mounts blamed dog for his own negligent shooting of a neighbor.

NRA

• More on the NRA Board
• The NRA has filed a $200 million arbitration claim seeking past fees and damages from William Brewer, III and his law firm, Brewer Attorneys and Counselors. The Association says Brewer and his firm “inflicted catastrophic financial and reputational harm on the organization they were retained to protect” from their “negligent, conflicted, and self-interested professional representation” over a period of six years. What Brewer (and former NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre) did was bleed NRA dry to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
• The NRA has also updated the NRA App and the main webpage.

Enemies

• Antigunners Won’t Like What the Data Says About Their Favored “Violence Interrupter” Programs.

DGUs

• The audio of the October 15, 2026, 911 call during the shooting at Bend, Oregon’s Silver Rail Elementary has been released, and the dispatcher can be heard telling 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco not to “do anything.” Tell 911 what they should know. But remember they have no authority to order you to do or not do anything.
• More than 300 deputies responded, all too late.
• The Armed Citizen® Oct. 30, 2026
• The Armed Citizen® Nov. 2, 2026

Not a DGU

• Mother and daughter killed in suspected grizzly attack were ‘two peas in a pod,’ family says
• Meanwhile, the wildlife cops say they will kill the offending bear if they find it. Too late.

Tactics & Stuff

• Tactical tip: 99% of the time, your phone should NOT be in your hand.
• The 5 Worst Defensive Ammo Options On the Market.
• Carrying Pepper Spray.
• Ayoob: How to Shoot Micro Pistols Better.
• Using a Lever Gun for Self-Defense.
• Pick the Outcome, Not Just the Argument.
• Your Tactical Training Scenario- Tied Up During a Home Invasion.
• Bears. Don’t forget.
• Bear attacks surge in California wilderness as experts issue urgent warning

Industry News

• GEAR is a new program & event from Gun Owners of America for gun owners who are interested in overlanding, and overlanders who are interested in gun ownership. GEAR is built around overlanding: driving off-road to remote places, camping out under the stars, and having the skills and supplies to handle anything along the way, bringing together the shooting and overlanding communities for 3 days of range time, off roading, on-site camping, classes, and much, much more. On May 21st – 23rd, these two communities will meet at Merus Adventure, a private off-road park in the Texas Panhandle outside Amarillo. See the link for details.
• The October 2026 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System count of 1,402,422 is an increase of 7.9 percent compared to the October 2025 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,299,312. Now look for a sharp increase since the election.
• Obit. Robert K. Brown, USAR, (Ret.), publisher of Soldier of Fortune magazine, NRA BOD passed away peacefully on August 28, 2026. His wife Marie honored his wish for privacy until November 2nd, marking what would have been his 95th birthday.

Products

• Bass Pro has Garmin fenix 8 AMOLED Multisport GPS Smartwatches almost 50% off.
• Ammo that suppresses itself.
• Armscor .22 Short report.
• Ruger Brings Back the Mini-14 Retro Folding Stock.
• Derya Arms announced the TM22 Pump, a magazine-fed .22 LR pump-action rifle available in 18-inch (TM22.PUMP.18) and 20-inch (TM22.PUMP.20) barrel configurations. The rifle features a 1:16″ RH twist barrel threaded 1/2×28 for suppressors and muzzle devices, a top Picatinny rail, and a front bead sight. A classic-styled stock with adjustable cheek pad and basepads lets the shooter set length of pull and cheek weld. Unloaded weight is approximately 4.85 pounds. Derya already had some pump rifles in .22 and 9mm of which I was previously unaware.
• XTech Tactical’s new X-CATCH FX is an all-steel, extended magazine release for the Glock 43X and 48. It is the only steel release engineered to run both Glock polymer OEM 15-round and Shield Arms steel S15 magazines in the same pistol. Lifetime warranty. $40.

What I’m reading

• Cigars, Coffee, and Bullets

“‘Well regulated’ meant something that functioned properly. We know it didn’t open the door for gun control because the only gun laws the Founding Fathers wrote were laws that required people to have guns for militia service, so sod off with that nonsense.” — Tom Knighton

“There are no magic bullets. There are no manstopping calibers. There is no such thing as one-shot stopping power.” — Evan Marshall

“I can’t think of a more juvenile expectation than for an adult to think someone else is supposed to come save him and his, especially when the ‘Only Ones’ can’t get there in time, dither when they do, and have a prime directive to make it home at the end of their shift.” — David Codrea