Viewpoints

Gun manufacturing volume rose slightly from 2005 to 2006, BATFE records show. The ATF’s latest Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report (AFMER) provides valuable insight into the performance of individual companies and the type of firearms they produce. ATF embargoes the data for one year, so 2006 is the latest data available. Total firearms production in 2006 increased 3.3 percent, following a 4-percent uptick in 2005. Pistol and rifle production increased the most in 2006, while shotguns posted a slight increase, and revolvers a 14-percent decline. In 2006, Remington Arms Co. outpaced other U.S. firearm manufacturers by slightly more than 175,000 firearms to top the Gun Tests list of the Top 5 U.S. Manufacturers. This is the sixth straight year Remington has achieved the number-one ranking, making only long guns. With 603,279 firearms, Remington led Mossberg (425,761), Smith & Wesson (408,095), Sturm, Ruger (403,272), and Savage (122,438) in total manufacturing.

Gun manufacturing volume rose slightly from 2005 to 2006, BATFE records show. The ATF’s latest Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report (AFMER) provides valuable insight into the performance of individual companies and the type of firearms they produce. ATF embargoes the data for one year, so 2006 is the latest data available. Total firearms production in 2006 increased 3.3 percent, following a 4-percent uptick in 2005. Pistol and rifle production increased the most in 2006, while shotguns posted a slight increase, and revolvers a 14-percent decline. In 2006, Remington Arms Co. outpaced other U.S. firearm manufacturers by slightly more than 175,000 firearms to top the Gun Tests list of the Top 5 U.S. Manufacturers. This is the sixth straight year Remington has achieved the number-one ranking, making only long guns. With 603,279 firearms, Remington led Mossberg (425,761), Smith & Wesson (408,095), Sturm, Ruger (403,272), and Savage (122,438) in total manufacturing.

WASHINGTON -- As Moses, Charlton Heston thunderously rallied his people with the Ten Commandments in hand. The tablet of his political life was carved with something else - the Second Amendment.Heston was not just the public face of the gun-rights movement but a good deal of the fire in its belly during a transformational time in the decades-old debate. He lived to see Democrats running away from a cause they once embraced, scared…

The often fierce debate over the Second Amendment has centered on whether it was intended to protect the rights of all Americans to own guns, or only those who are members of state militia groups. The poll makes it clear which side Americans come down on. Gun owners (roughly one-third of the U.S. adult population) are nearly universal in endorsing the view that the Second Amendment guarantees their right to own guns. Non-owners are less likely to view the amendment this way, but a majority still do.

There is a specific reason why, two years ago, I selected a Beretta U22 over all of the other .22 pistols on the market. I’m left-handed, and the Beretta had an ambidextrous safety. I once had a Ruger MK1 target, and it did shoot beautifully, but it’s right-hand-only lever made it difficult for me to carry as a field gun. Your article was all too similar to other gun magazine articles—not one mention of the Beretta’s south-paw user friendliness and not a single reference to the other guns’ omission of an ambidextrous safety. You do the same thing when you review a bolt-action. You don’t tell the reader if the rifle is offered in a left-hand variant. 17% of us care about that.

There is a specific reason why, two years ago, I selected a Beretta U22 over all of the other .22 pistols on the market. I’m left-handed, and the Beretta had an ambidextrous safety. I once had a Ruger MK1 target, and it did shoot beautifully, but it’s right-hand-only lever made it difficult for me to carry as a field gun. Your article was all too similar to other gun magazine articles—not one mention of the Beretta’s south-paw user friendliness and not a single reference to the other guns’ omission of an ambidextrous safety. You do the same thing when you review a bolt-action. You don’t tell the reader if the rifle is offered in a left-hand variant. 17% of us care about that.

Here are some different views of the Heller arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court:

I got an interesting note from Gun Tests reader Bob Snyder on January 5. The header on the mail said, 'Archives are GREAT!' Then Bob went on to write, 'Your new ‘Archives’ are great. Thank you for this wonderful addition. Would it be possible to index the Archives by make and model; to show the table of contents for each issue; or to provide the annual category, product name, and page-by-page indices? This would make the Archives even better—and they are already great.' What Bob stumbled onto is the largest reorganization and improvement of the Gun-Tests.com website we’ve ever done. The entire job is designed to make your online experience faster, broader, and deeper.

I got an interesting note from Gun Tests reader Bob Snyder on January 5. The header on the mail said, 'Archives are GREAT!' Then Bob went on to write, 'Your new ‘Archives’ are great. Thank you for this wonderful addition. Would it be possible to index the Archives by make and model; to show the table of contents for each issue; or to provide the annual category, product name, and page-by-page indices? This would make the Archives even better—and they are already great.' What Bob stumbled onto is the largest reorganization and improvement of the Gun-Tests.com website we’ve ever done. The entire job is designed to make your online experience faster, broader, and deeper.

A very long time ago I wanted a pistol. It was to be my first, and I had enough knowledge to realize it needed to be a .22 handgun. I knew I would need to shoot it a lot to learn all about handgun shooting, and nothing was cheaper to shoot than a .22 LR. Happily I had a friend, Len Ireland, who knew a bit about shooting. On the day I was to buy my first handgun, Len went with me to the firearms-sales shop of Williams Gun Sight Co. in Davison, Michigan. I really wanted a Beretta Minx with 4-inch barrel. It looked neat, and was small enough to be somewhat portable. However, Len suggested I buy a Ruger Standard. I couldn’t imagine why he wanted me to have that big pistol, and said as much. He showed me. At the time, you could try any of Williams’ guns out on their own range, right behind the store, before you bought them. Accordingly, Len and I took both the tiny Beretta and the big 6-inch Ruger out to the range, and proceeded to punch holes in targets.

A very long time ago I wanted a pistol. It was to be my first, and I had enough knowledge to realize it needed to be a .22 handgun. I knew I would need to shoot it a lot to learn all about handgun shooting, and nothing was cheaper to shoot than a .22 LR. Happily I had a friend, Len Ireland, who knew a bit about shooting. On the day I was to buy my first handgun, Len went with me to the firearms-sales shop of Williams Gun Sight Co. in Davison, Michigan. I really wanted a Beretta Minx with 4-inch barrel. It looked neat, and was small enough to be somewhat portable. However, Len suggested I buy a Ruger Standard. I couldn’t imagine why he wanted me to have that big pistol, and said as much. He showed me. At the time, you could try any of Williams’ guns out on their own range, right behind the store, before you bought them. Accordingly, Len and I took both the tiny Beretta and the big 6-inch Ruger out to the range, and proceeded to punch holes in targets.

While I really enjoy your magazine, I believe you missed a bet when you failed to include the S&W 1911 pistol in your testing. Late last year, I purchased my SW1911 complete with the under-rail, which allowed me to attach a night light (or perhaps later a laser sight). At the local outdoor range and at a distance of 25 yards, I am consistently able to put eight rounds of MagTech 230-grain roundnose bullets within a 10-inch circle. Admittedly, these results are not achieved in the same 'timed' rapid-action manner as your testing, but I am extremely pleased with the results. I used a self-defense stance with arms out straight and elbows 'locked' and level with my master eye (which happens to be my left even though I’m right-handed).