Subscriber Only

States must improve the NICS database by submitting any and all records establishing an individual is a prohibited person, such as mental health records showing someone is an "adjudicated mental defective" or involuntarily committed to a mental institute, as well as official government records showing someone is the subject of a domestic violence protective order, a drug addict, or subject to another prohibited category. The existing background check system must be fixed, otherwise we'll just have more incomplete and inaccurate checks.

A pair of Democrats and Republicans introduced a new bill that would subject bump-fire stocks and other devices to the same regulations as machine guns and other highly regulated firearms. The bill, named the Closing the Bump-Stock Loophole Act, would add "a reciprocating stock, or any other device which is designed to accelerate substantially the rate of fire of a semiautomatic weapon" to the purview of the National Firearms Act, which currently regulates machine guns, short-barreled rifles or shotguns, silencers, and other firearms. The bill does not define what a "reciprocating stock" is or set a standard for what constitutes a substantial increase to the rate of fire of a semiautomatic weapon.

The call for stricter gun control in this environment is inevitable and has already begun. These discussions will go on for some time. But for now, Gun Tests magazine chooses to focus on the immediate and the practical. First, as we all know, guns are a fact of life in this country, and to "ban" them will never work. But we do need to have a good-faith conversation amongst ourselves about the essence of gun control. Live by the simple rules passed down from parents to children to grandchildren. Remind yourselves of the responsibilities we share and we cherish.

A day before Harvey crashed into Corpus Christi, I happened to see an 22-minute video of Edwin Walker, a gun-law attorney for the Walker & Taylor law firm here in Houston, talking about what to do with your guns in the event of an emergency like the one I'm in as I write this.

When we first tested the Glock 43 Subcompact Slimline G43 two years ago (August 2015), it earned a B+ in our evaluation when it was paired with the Walther CCP head to head. In that evaluation, we noticed that the slide was narrow and nicely beveled. Glock did not simply stick a Glock 19 slide on a slim frame. The locked-breech operating system and trigger action are preserved. Anyone owning a Glock of any size or frame will be able to use this handgun in the same manner because the action is identical to all other Glock pistols. The sights were standard Glock, with a white outline rear and white dot forward, the same as the test gun this round. They proved adequate for combat firing and were reasonably good for accuracy work at 15 yards. We also noted then that there is a shelf under the slide on the frame that protects the slide lock from a finger contacting the slide lock during recoil.

In a dissent to the decision to deny the hearing (certiorari), Justices Thomas and Gorsuch said, "We should have granted certiorari in this case. The approach taken by the en banc court is indefensible, and the petition raises important questions that this Court should address. I see no reason to await another case. The en banc court's decision to limit its review to whether the Second Amendment protects the right to concealed carry — as opposed to the more general right to public carry—was untenable. Most fundamentally, it was not justified by the terms of the complaint, which called into question the State's regulatory scheme as a whole."

In March 2015, more than 200 members of Congress wrote to former ATF director Todd Jones expressing their "serious concern" that the proposal might violate the Second Amendment by restricting ammunition that had been primarily used for "sporting purposes." The letter asserted the ATF's move "does not comport with the letter or spirit of the law and will interfere with Second Amendment rights by disrupting the market for ammunition that law abiding Americans use for sporting and other legitimate purposes."

Another consideration for new shooters is the ability to mount both a red-dot sight and a laser light on the handgun. (Not necessarily in tandem.) The laser may be defense related, or it may be used in training to help gauge the shooter's success in mastering the trigger. A red dot that bounces all over the wall when the trigger isn't pressed properly is a great aid in marksmanship training.

Federal legislation to protect travelers who are transporting firearms interstate for lawful purposes has been filed. H.R. 358 deals specifically with transporting unloaded firearms, rather than for carry en route. It would strengthen the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) intended to protect the right of law-abiding gun owners to transport firearms throughout the nation. FOPA's safe transport provisions guarantee the right of a law-abiding person to transport an unloaded firearm between two locations where he or she may legally possess it, regardless of state or local laws along the route of travel that would otherwise prohibit such conduct.

It is not a long leap to guess that the pistol's modularity was the reason it got the Army's nod. We said, "From this core, the user can change the grip frame size and color, slide assemblies, and even change to a limited number of chamberings. (The 9mm, 40 S&W, and 357 SIG calibers are interchangeable. The 45 ACP barrel assembly is not.) The grip options are reasonably priced at $47 from the SIG Store. Complete caliber-conversion kits are a pricier at $400.

One of the characteristics we were looking for was portability, so in this case a five-round magazine would have been more in line with our desires. Yet the lure of high capacity definitely has its appeal. No matter how short the magazine, the release was simply too easy to activate. The lever was larger than it needed to be, and it appeared in a vulnerable position. In addition, the detent provided by the operating spring was weak. At the bench (never mind walking through the woods), all we had to do is push the rifle forward on the sandbag and the lever would drop the magazine on contact. No matter what your opinion is on detachable box magazines (such as they get in the way, they can hold more ammo, the riflecan be reloaded faster, or they're just too easy to lose), the Howa's magazine release needed to be more secure.

So now it's on to President-Elect Donald J. Trump. I previously ran his 2nd Amendment platform in these pages, and on that narrow plank, it was easy to vote for him over Mrs. Clinton. Her reckoning ran deep. Trump's win was shocking to watch as Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania went red one after another. To see the vaunted "Blue Wall" of core Democrat states come tumbling down as election night wore into morning was to witness history being made. I personally believe these states went Republican in some part because they have strong gun cultures, and Democrat politicians came out for gun confiscations and accessories regulations and bans, and on a national basis, it bit them again. The Senate stayed in Republican hands. The House stayed in Republican hands. And the presidency went to a Republican candidate who was very pro-2A. Control of more state governments went Republican, too.