Viewpoints

A California jurist and Gun Tests reader recently wrote me a short note that said, Enclosed please find a photocopy of United States Code Title 10, Section 311, which contains the definition of militia. Your readers concerned with Second Amendment issues may find this to be of interest.

It was. Heres what Title 10, Section 311 says:

Sec. 311. Militia: composition and classes
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of t...

We have discovered why you have so much trouble trying to reach the customer service departments of major computer companies and internet services. They're too busy giving lessons to the customer service departments of firearms manufacturers.

Does this sound familiar? Recorded Voice: Hello, thank you for calling (name of company goes here). This is our new menu. If you know the extension of the person you are calling, press number one. For customer service, press two. If you want a catalog, press three. For parts information, press four. For additional choices, press five. If you would like to hear this menu again, press six.

You press two. Recorded Voice: We're sorry, all our custome...

A group at the University of California, Davis calling itself The Violence Prevention Research Program and headed by an emergency-room physician mildly involved in the shooting sports is zeroing in on cheap autoloaders with a vengeance. Their targets are what they refer to as California's "Ring of Fire Companies": Sundance Industries, AMT, Phoenix Arms, Davis, Lorcin and Jennings/Bryco.

According to the program reports, these companies produce the vast majority of inexpensive handguns that are "disproportionately involved in violence and figure in thousands of firearms crimes a year."

Let's chill out the rhetoric a bit. Inexpensive handguns have been around since handguns were invente...

1911 Magazines
Thank you for a fine publication. After 25 years of the rest, your's is the only gun book I pay for besides American Rifleman.

Onward to my reason for this letter. Applause is in order for your December 1997 review of 1911-type pistol magazines. I definitely hope more reviews of this kind are in your magazine's future.

I, as well as many others, am relieved to know that I'm not the only one who has such variable results in my autopistols that is caused solely by faulty magazine design or execution. Even in the same make of magazines, some feed hollow point ammunition and some don't. One of my 1911 aftermarket magazines, a very well-built and smart-looking...

Smith & Wesson Model 457
In response to Mr. Lawrence S. Saval's comments on the Smith & Wesson Model 457 pistol (in the November 1997 issue). I own one and have shot several hundred rounds through it without any jams, stovepipes or failures to eject. It shoots a little low. As a matter of fact, it performs better than some of my more expensive pistols. To those of you who want a lightweight double action .45 ACP, buy a Smith & Wesson Model 457. I carry one every day in my business. I find it reliable, lightweight, snag-free and inexpensive in comparison to other pistols on the market. It's probably the most comfortable double action .45 ACP pistol to carry 8 hours a day.

Da...

We have upon us an election year. To ensure your continued ability to buy—and use—firearms, you owe it to yourself and your children to get out and vote. There are some tough contests coming up this year in some parts of the country, and they may come down to your ballot. I don’t know of any shooters who like politicians, but I know of no shooters who aren’t tied very closely to them, like it or not.

Another election, no less important, is also upon us. That is the NRA election. Whether you know it or not, there’s been some serious infighting (again) within the NRA. The current leadership has seen fit to give $200,000 worth of free advertising to their colleagues while using the same “pul...

Gun Tests subscriber, Lance A. Ito recently sent us a copy of a Washington Times editorial that is bound to give Charles Schumer, Josh Sugarman and the rest of the Brady Bunch a fit in their respective snits.

It related the downfall of a shotgun toting 17-year-old, Dervonne Marquise Moore, bent on cashing in at the expense of a Jacksonville, Florida, restaurant. According to the Times, as Mr. Moore allegedly ordered everyone to the floor and tried to force the waitress to open the cash register, 69-year-old Oscar Moore, no relation, pulled out his .22 Magnum revolver and shot him in the mid-section. Before the robber could change his order, a second patron, 81-year-old Robert Guerry, pul...

Until recently, Interarms distributed and serviced all Rossi firearms sold in the United States and Canada. According to some sources, the reason they no longer hold the contract was due to a total management change at Rossi. According to others, it was Rossi's serious debt and need for money. For whatever reason, the contract with Interarms was not renewed.

Around November of 1997, Rossi entered into negotiations and reached an agreement with Taurus of Brazil. Contrary to rumor, Taurus did not buy Rossi. The company continues as a manufacturer and marketer of long guns. What Taurus purchased was an undisclosed, but reportedly large, amount of Rossi's machinery to expand its South America...

Interarms Clarification
In your April, 1998 issue (Volume X, Number 4) on the last page titled ‘Firing Line,' it states that "Interarms imports but does not manufacture this Walther (the PPK/S).

As I told a Gun Tests representative on the telephone, Interarms is licensed by Walther to manufacture the PPK, PPK/S and TPH in the USA. These pistols are made for Interarms by an arms manufacturer in the United States per Walther specifications.

Roy Melcher
Director, Engineering & Technical Services
Interarms

Used Revolvers
This is to thank you for your article in the November, 1997 issue on buying a used revolver. While at a gun show recently,...

Walther PPK/S
For as long as I've been a subscriber, I have always been interested to know what Gun Tests thought of my personal choice of a firearm, the Walther PPK/S. Last month's (December 1997) comparison of .380 double action pistols finally answered that question. I have to admit I was more than a little disappointed in your remarks. The testers commented that the tang was insufficient to prevent slide bite and that "more often that not" the PPK/S, the current test weapon excluded, "either failed to feed or failed to eject." Unfortunately, I also have to admit that every word of it was true.

I purchased my Walther in September of 1996. As a shooter with small hands, t...

Beretta Tomcat
I have just read Downrange in the December 1997 issue and have subscribed to Gun Tests for several years. You deserve the highest marks available for objective testing. I, too, recently bought a new Beretta 3032 Tomcat after a year's wait. I was shocked to read that Beretta admits its Tomcat has a 1000-round service life. I purchased this gun (my first Beretta product) because of its size, caliber and manufacturer reputation. I shoot quite often and most certainly would not have bought it had I known its limitations.

This, however, is not my only problem with the gun. So far, I have put 150 rounds of ball and Silvertip ammunition through it. The ball feeds fi...

Are you doing everything you can to promote firearms safety? Penalty for non-compliance could be your right to bear arms.

Recent incidents where gun-toting youths shot, killed or injured their classmates leave us all shocked and bewildered. Nothing, ever, can justify the taking of innocent life and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

As tragic as these incidents are, random shootings also impact legitimate firearms ownership. It’s not too far a reach to suggest that a public groundswell of anger and grief over these senseless acts could have a negative impact on your second amendment freedoms. Could the revulsion we all feel over these crimes spark the...