Firing Line: 08/04
Confused? Dont Be
Re Firing Line:
Im confused. You give the Kel-Tec Sub 2000 a good report, and then a writer to Firing Line says his specimen is a hunk of junk. You report lousy accuracy with the Remington 700 Titanium, yet a writer to said column reports excellent accuracy and thinks it is a great gun. You give good marks to the AWA Peacekeeper, and then one of your readers reports all the problems with his and a snotty factory to boot. Apparently, all your reports in Gun Tests should be taken with several grains of salt, since everything seems to depend upon which sample of a particular firearm is the subject of evaluation.
-Bill Heubaum
We report...
How Canadas Failed Gun Laws May Affect You
As a measure of registrations failure, the Canadian government recently admitted it could not identify a single violent crime that had been solved through registration. But rather than scrapping the measure, some Canadian politicians may want to travel southward into the United States and impose the scheme here! This radical solution advocates going across the border to the U.S. and a...
Downrange 07/04: Kids and Guns
With more than 90 million adults owning a gun and almost 40 million children under 10, it is hard to think of almost any other potentially dangerous products kept in American homes that have as few accidental deaths associated with them. Over 1,260 children und...
Downrange: 06/04
----------
GUN COMPANIES WELCOME. The legislature in Oklahoma has passed an invitation for gun makers to open manufacturing facilities in what The Daily Oklahoman calls this gun friendly state. An editorial describes the joint resolution from the Senate this way: The resolution notes that firearm manufacturers have plants in places that are hostile to gun ownership. Why not move here? Lawmakers have asked the Commerce Department to develop incentives to attract weapons makers. Murray State College, the resolution says...
Firing Line: 06/04
New York Times Reporting?
Re Two .338 Winchester Magnums Vs. Remingtons .338 Ultra Mag, March 2004:
Your .338 article reminded me of something I might find in the New York Times on the tenth page: Well hidden from the casual reader, yet possibly of some interest to a certain cadre of subscribers. The evaluation of the Ruger and the Winchester were good. I noticed a certain rough spot in a .25-06 Model 70 I purchased a couple years ago, in the same spot you mentioned as the bolt was pushed closed.
I wonder, though, if you had wanted a better looking firearm, why didnt you just purchase one with the walnut stock and bluing, as it would have compared favorably with the R...
Downrange: 05/04
At Gun Tests, theres only one award that ultimately makes a lot of difference to us, and thats your subscription. If you or a friend subscribe, and later renew, because you like our special brand of call-it-like-we-see-it product reviews, then weve done our job.
Still, I occasionally enter Gun Tests work in contests, mainly to get what I call a fresh read on the execution of the material. Having other professionals backstop our work can show me holes in what we do, and perhaps show me how to make the magazine better.
In March, I attended the Texas Outdoor Writers Association (TOWA) annual meeting in the friendly southwest Texas town of Uva...
Firing Line: 05/04
Cookie Vs. Back Pocket
Re Is Pocket Carry Safe? Getting A Hold on Pocket Holsters, March 2004.
Thats Grahams Back Pocket at $40, not the Cookie at $35. I have one for My Walther TPH and its outstanding.
-E. Tobiassen
Haverhill, MA
----------
Grahams Cookies
Re Is Pocket Carry Safe? Getting A Hold on Pocket Holsters, March 2004:
Thanks very much for the article. It is generating lots of interest at this end. The holster you reference is actually called the Back Pocket. The Cookie is a front pocket holster similar to the Rosen holster in the article.
I am a one-man shop, and I tend to work some pretty long hours. I do not have a...
Downrange 04/04: The Assault Weapons Ban
Yet, despite the rhetoric, there is not a single academic study showing that these bans have reduced violent crime. Even research funded by the Justice Department under the Clinton administration concluded merely that the bans impact on gun violence has been uncertain.
The 1994 federal assault-weapons ban applied to semi-automatics that fire one bullet per pull of the trigger. Rebuilding semi-...
Firing Line: 04/04
Praise for the .17 HMR
Re Anschutz, Ruger, Marlin & Savage: .17 HMRs Meet Head-to-Head, April 2003:
I have especially enjoyed your testing of .17 HMR long guns. I have a Ruger 77/17 with a 3x9 Bushnell scope that will print consistent 1/2 inch or smaller five-shot groups at 50 yards and was surprised to see there was no drop at 100 yards. I recently went with a friend to his lease to help him with their constantly growing hog problem. I took the .17 along to see if it would perform on something bigger than jackrabbits and coyotes. I took a 60- to 70-pound boar at about 105 yards with a Remington .17 round, about an inch high from being right between the eyes. He kicked two...
Downrange: 03/04
Ohio Licensing Begins April 9
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has signed legislation giving law-abiding and mentally competent Ohioans the right to carry concealed handguns.
The law will take effect April 9. Work already has started on the application forms and other material that county sheriffs will need to process applications and issue licenses.
Still, it could be as long as 60 days after the bill takes effect before Ohioans can start applying for licenses. When licenses do become available, sheriffs should brace themselves for a flurry of applications, if recent experience in Michigan is any guide.
Michigan revised its concealed-carry law in 2001, and the state received 62,902...
Downrange: 02/04
Michael Zomber, of Franklin, Tenn., was found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Goldman. He faces up to five years in prison under sentencing guidelines.
Zomber and Richard Ellis, a respected expert on Colt pistols, deceived a Pennyslvania collector, James Murphy, into thinking that he was in a bidding war for two pistols once owned by Texas Rangers Capt. Samuel H. Walker, prosecutors said. The guns, a pair...
Firing Line: 02/04
Kel-Tec Sub2000 Lessons
Re December 2003, Guns and Gear of the Year:
I had filed my experience with the Kel-Tec Sub2000 in the lessons learned file and tried to forget about it, but then you went and proclaimed it a gun of the year! I wonder whether your experience is not representative of this gun, or mine was. While anybody who has high standards and buys a cheap plastic gun should expect to be disappointed, I thought I knew what to expect from your review.
My experience with the Sub2000 was dramatically different than yours. With the exception of the trigger, it appeared to have been made well. The main action was as tight as you mentioned, and all of the parts see...