Viewpoints

YET ANOTHER WAY TO BAN GUNS

Some Florida businesses are getting around state carry laws, as well as Constitutional principles, by trying to ban guns in cars.

In Florida, some businesses are banning firearms in their parking lots. Some are even searching private vehicles that park in parking lots that are open to the public. These gun-ban policies are discrimination against people who chose to exercise a constitutional right and take responsibility for their own safety.

A Florida House measure, HB 129, would prohibit employers from having a policy to prohibit firearms in vehicles on the employers property. It would be a third-degree felony for the employer to have such a p...

Of Mausers, Pocket .380s, and So On
The April issue of Gun Tests was great (OK, so were all the previous ones), and I found several articles of particular interest.

Messy Old Mausers: I would be totally discouraged from buying one of the $99 rifles you reviewed, not wishing to acquire an expertise in cosmoline removal; however, I have seen Mitchells Mausers (www.MitchellSales.com) advertise new Mausers for $299 (collectors grade).

The extra cost might be a good trade-off against the work you did to get yours to the point of testing. According to Mitchells, these were manufactured in Serbia during WWII on German too...

NRA SUES MAYOR RAY NAGIN

The National Rifle Association has filed a motion for contempt against the City of New Orleans, the mayor and the acting chief of police for failure to comply with a temporary restraining order, handed down September 12, 2005, ordering an end to all illegal gun confiscations.

Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president, said, …Ray Nagin thinks hes above the law, and thats just wrong.

Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist said, During a federally declared emergency, [Nagin] abused his power and abandoned the very people he was sworn to protect. He took away the victims freedom and their basic means of self-defense during an ill-fated and peril...

Buy Lotts Bias Against Guns

"The Bias Against Guns, Why Almost Everything Youve Heard about Gun Control Is Wrong," is a follow-up book to "More Guns, Less Crime," the ground-breaking work by economist John R. Lott Jr.

"Bias" examines the inaccurate coverage of guns, the role of firearms in self-defense and countering terrorism, and the impact of gun-control laws such as waiting periods and regulations on gun shows. Lott, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, writes in Bias that guns receive tremendous attention from media and government.

And he asks rhetorically if these institutions do a good job of informing people about the costs and benefits o...

Re: Taurus, AWA, and Beretta Rifles Meet at the Not-Quite OK Corral
March 2006
I was tickled pink when todays mail brought the March issue of GT, with the positive review of the Taurus Thunderbolt. Ive lusted for one in .357 Magnum since I first ran across it on the Taurus website, but hadnt seen a review of it and wondered whether it was any good. So your positive review was most welcome. I cant wait until my dealer can get one in.

Ray Shaw
Merriam, KS

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Re: Budget .45 Colt Cowboy Guns: Heritage Comes Up Shooting
February 2006
I am a very satisfied owner of a Cabela Millennium and a Taurus Gaucho, both in .45 LC, so I was surprise...

A SIRENS SONG
Apparently, Democrats have lost on the gun-control issue so often that theyre considering changing their public stance on the issue. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is suggesting that the party take a more regional approach on gun-control legislation. In rural states in the West, for instance, Democrats could view gun-control laws as state issues, rather than promoting national gun controls that have been losers for the party since 1996. That would allow Western and Southern Democrats to finesse the issue and avoid riling red-state voters who want to protect their Second Amendment rights.

Voters in blue states or in blue areas of red states wo...

Re Budget .45 Colt Cowboy Guns: Heritage Comes Up Shooting
February 2006
I just read your article comparing the Heritage Rough Rider to the Taurus Gaucho. I dont understand how the same ammo fired through the same length barrel can produce significant differences in velocity. Can you explain that?

I recently purchased a Gaucho with case-hardened finish, and I like it a lot. I find it shoots very close to point of aim (less than 1 inch high), though I did not use a sandbag rest as you did. The fit and finish is excellent, and the light trigger pull feels like my S&W 686. I think your Dont Buy rating was a bit harsh for a very nice cowboy gun. I would like to find a Rou...

Gun and Knife for a Good Cause
Sportsmen, collectors and others who appreciate craftsmanship and unique history have a chance to own a one-of-a-kind Ruger No. 1 single-shot rifle and an original Ross Tyser RavenFork Hunter-Skinner package that includes a matched set of hunting knives in Thunderforged Damascus. Both gun and knife will be sold to the highest bidder on www.Gunbroker.com.

[IMGCAP(1)]The items are currently up for auction, and bidding will conclude during the 2006 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, Feb. 12, at noon, PST. All auction proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Wonders of Wildlife (WOW), the ne...

Re Waiting on Rita, Part II
November 2005:
Todd, personally I think your choices are about as good as it gets under the circumstances. The 10/22s advantages are numerous and convincing. If you wanted a slight variation on the theme, I think you could say what one handgun and one long gun? One answer is exactly what you went with; another would be a .38 Special/.357 Magnum instead of 1911 .45 ACP could be a personal alternate choice. The other answer to the same question is a .22 LR handgun and something else, such as the 12 gauge, AR, Mini or whatever) for the long one.

Derek M.

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Can I take two? :) Springfield Armory TRP Operator w/light rail and Surefire...

What We Do, And Why
The overwhelming tone of reader mail we get is gratitude for telling it like it is. As youll see when you read about concealable, but pricey, .45 ACPs from Para Ordnance and Springfield Armory, hopped-up 1911 pistols and replacement barrels, and lever-action and autoloading carbines suitable for self-defense, hardnosed critiques are our exclusive franchise. You wont read critical buy-this, dont-buy-that comparisons of firearms products anywhere else.

Were glad this approach is unique, but its always surprising to many shooters. If you go onto any shooting range anywhere in this country (or the world, I suppose), youll hear frank discussions of firea...

Re Waiting on Rita,
November 2005:
We live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so the threat of a disaster - earthquake, terrorist, etc. - is fairly real. Your question probably will get different responses from different areas. My wife and I are quite proficient with our weapons. Our house guns are a Les Baer P-II 5-inch 1911 for me and a Glock M21 .45 for her, as well as a Mossberg shotgun tricked out with extra shells and a light.

Which to take with only one permitted? We would take the Glock .45 and 5,000 rounds of ammunition and at least six extra mags. Inside 75 yards a miscreant is in real trouble with either of us and the Glock. Plus, the Glock is easy to take down...

WAITING ON RITA, PART II

Last months column, Waiting on Rita, has generated some very interesting mail so far - and the November 2005 issue has only been out a couple of days. If youll recall, I asked Gun Tests readers what guns they would pack if they could only take one (or one per car, as I did). Heres a sampling of what Ive received so far:

Steve Ashman writes, That was a hard question, how to limit myself to one gun in an evacuation. I would take my Ruger Mini-14 with a see-through-mount 4X scope, all the 20- and 30-round mags I had, and a 1000-round brick of Salt Lake surplus 5.56mm. The reason would be reliability of the Mini-14. I have put many thousands of rou...