The Quote of the Day comes from the White House website that has been revamped with the change of administrations. The Trump Administration explicitly considers citizen self-defense as part of law enforcement.
Supporting law enforcement means supporting our citizens’ ability to protect themselves. We will uphold Americans’ Second Amendment rights at every level of our judicial system.
What a change a few days make.
Among the many things President Trump is known for include his use of social media and his use of his three oldest children as advisors. A number of weeks back I remember Mr. Trump telling 60 Minutes that he had 28 million followers of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
This got me to thinking about how we in the gun culture at the grassroots could use this to advance our Second Amendment rights. Mr. Trump owes us in the gun culture for our support throughout the general election campaign in return for his promises of supporting the Second Amendment. I’d wager, though I haven’t seen any hard statistics, that Mr. Trump’s pro-gun stance helped him eke out wins in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
My idea is to use social media and in particular Twitter and Instagram to communicate our grassroots message to Mr. Trump and his kids. For it to be effective, it has to go viral.
Simplicity is the key. While I have a whole list of things I want, picking 2-3 is more effective. It is also more readable in a picture which I have found out by experimentation. See the difference below. The first is my laundry list and the second is the top things I want.
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| Large List |
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| Highlighted List |
Shadows or not, I think the second picture is more effective as it shows that a person is standing behind it and has a limited list.
All you need to participate is a phone with a camera, a Twitter account, and/or an Instagram account. I would urge you to do both. The photo doesn’t need to look professional and indeed I think it is better if it didn’t. Post the picture with this hashtag – #2ASelfie.
Your post needs to include your selfie, the hashtag, and the following addresses:
For Twitter:
Forward this post to your friends and family who support the Second Amendment. Unlike the stuff that comes out of Bloomberg’s Everytown or the Brady Campaign, this really is a grassroots effort. Again, we need this to go viral. If it goes viral, it will have more of an impact than any Change.org petition.
The highlights of Jeff Quinn’s third day at the SHOT Show include the Sig Sauer P320 X version, Rob Pincus’ Avidity P10, and a unique barreled rifle from the Italian firm Sabatti. I will say I learned something about rifling as I had never heard of multi-radial rifling which sounds quite intriguing as it helps increase velocity and reduce bullet drop at longer ranges.
Yesterday was the last full day of the Obama Administration. It did not pass without a last parting shot by the anti-hunting, anti-shooting so-called environmentalists. US Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe issued a Director’s Order that will ban the use of traditional, lead-based ammunition on Federal lands within five years. Thus it gives groups like the Center for Biological Diversity and Project Gutpile a win that they could not achieve in the courts.
Here in western North Carolina, the few public outdoor ranges that we have are on National Forest land. Checking the prices of copper based .223 ammo versus traditional ammo, the cheapest I can find a box of 20 rounds is for about $17 for copper versus about $6 for Tula or $8,.50 for American Eagle. Forcing shooters to use non-lead ammunition will drive up the cost exponentially and drive people from the shooting sports for economic reasons.
The NSSF is crying foul on this move.
NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industries, condemned the decision by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe banning the use of traditional ammunition on Service lands in just five years.
The parting shot, Director’s Order 219 , was issued on the final full day of President Obama’s administration. The last-minute action revives an effort the administration undertook eight years ago to ban the use of traditional ammunition.
“This directive is irresponsible and driven not out of sound science but unchecked politics,” said Lawrence Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “The timing alone is suspect. This directive was published without dialogue with industry, sportsmen and conservationists. The next director should immediately rescind this, and instead create policy based upon scientific evidence of population impacts with regard to the use of traditional ammunition.”
The order requires several initiatives to go into effect immediately. Regional Directors are to work with state agencies to ban the use of traditional ammunition. It also ends the use of traditional ammunition on Federal land, including National Parks, tribal lands and national wildlife refuges in order to mirror policies in states where traditional ammunition is already restricted. The order “expeditiously” bans traditional ammunition “when available information indicates” that lead is harmful to wildlife, without requirement of a scientific threshold on which to base that action.
It also requires creation of a timeline to restrict traditional ammunition for dove and upland bird hunting.
Notice that last bit. They want to ban traditional ammo for dove hunting as well.
I hope this is one order that is rescinded after noon today when the Trump Administration takes office. I certainly hope so.
UPDATE: The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies which represents the fish and wildlife departments throughout the 50 states issued a very strong statement disagreeing with Director’s Order 219. They make the point that in the past any sort of move like this would have been a cooperative effort between state and federal wildlife agencies and that the states were caught by surprise by this order.
January 20, 2017
Statement from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Regarding U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director’s Order 219
The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies expresses utter dismay with the release of Director’s Order 219, Use of Non-Toxic Ammo and Fishing Tackle, by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) on January 19, 2017. Association President Nick Wiley states that “this action flies squarely in the face of a long and constructive tradition of states working in partnership with the Service to effectively manage fish and wildlife resources.” He adds, “the Association views this Order as a breach of trust and deeply disappointing given that it was a complete surprise and there was no current dialogue or input from state fish and wildlife agencies prior to issuance. It does a disservice to hunters and anglers, the firearms and angling industries, and the many professionals on staff with the USFWS who desire a trusting and transparent relationship with their state partners.” This is unacceptable federal overreach into the states’ authority to regulate the methods of take for sport fish as well as complete disregard for the states’ concurrent jurisdiction with the Service for the management of migratory birds. Further, the economic impacts of this action, which likely will be felt most by rural Americans, is likely to be hundreds of millions of dollars.” The Association looks forward to working with a new Administration in the redress of this poorly timed and executed decision.
A point I didn’t make yesterday with the original post is that this order also impacts anglers as it also includes the phase-out of fishing tackle that includes lead.
I want to emphasize that Dan Ashe’s Director’s Order 219 seeks to accomplish what court battles and petitions to the Environmental Protection Agency from 2010 through 2013 did not – the elimination of traditional ammo and fishing tackle. I foresee that this order will be reversed when Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) is finally confirmed as the Secretary of the Interior.
Just a day before a new administration takes office the US Army has finally decided who will be making their Modular Handgun System. It will be Sig Sauer.
From a DoD contract announcement released today:
Sig Sauer Inc., Newington, New Hampshire, was awarded a $580,217,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the Modular Handgun System including handgun, accessories and ammunition to replace the current M9 handgun. Bids were solicited via the Internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 19, 2027. Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-17-D-0016).
More on the contract win from Military.com:
Sig Sauer beat out Glock Inc., FN America and Beretta USA, the maker of the current M9 9mm service pistol, in the competition for the Modular Handgun System, or MHS, program.
“By maximizing full and open competition across our industry partners, we have optimized private sector advancements in handguns, ammunition and magazines, and the end result will ensure a decidedly superior weapon system for our warfighters,” Army Acquisition Executive Steffanie Easter said said in a press release.
The Army launched its long-awaited XM17 MHS competition in late August 2015 to replace its Cold War-era M9 9mm pistol. One of the major goals of the effort is to adopt a pistol chambered for a more potent round than the current 9mm. The U.S. military replaced the .45 caliber 1911 pistol with the M9 in 1985 and began using the 9mm NATO round at that time.
In the press release, the service didn’t offer any details about what caliber the new Sig Sauer pistol will be.
The MHS pistol is reportedly based upon the Sig P320 and both .40 S&W and 9mm were submitted for consideration by the Army. ArmyTimes reports that the first pistols could be fielded by the Army sometime later this year.
The procurement of these new handguns has been plagued by some controversy for taking so long.
The Wall Street Journal notes:
Gen. Mark Milley, the Army chief of staff, last year criticized the protracted buying process and said he would prefer to take a check to an outdoor retailer to expedite the process of replacing the pistols used for more than 30 years.
“We’re not figuring out the next lunar landing,”” Gen. Milley said at a defense conference last year. “You give me $17 million on a credit card, and I’ll call Cabela’s tonight, and I’ll outfit every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine with a pistol for $17 million. And I’ll get a discount on a bulk buy.”
The contest included the elimination last year of Smith & Wesson owner American Outdoor Brands Corp. and partner General Dynamics Corp., and the hundreds of pages of requirements for the contract became a focus for critics of the Pentagon’s acquisition system.
The big loser in this is obviously Beretta which held the Army contract for 30 years. Now that they don’t have the Army contract any longer, you have to wonder how soon they will be closing up things in Maryland and finishing the move of operations to Gallatin, TN.
The other loser is Glock but they will have their large law enforcement market to fall back upon. It was reported that the decision came down to Glock and Sig.
UPDATE: Sig released these pictures of the XM17 – the military’s version of the P320 – on Facebook today.
The release from Sig Sauer that accompanied the photo:
SIG SAUER, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Army has selected the SIG SAUER Model P320 to replace the M9 service pistol currently in use since the mid-1980’s. Released in 2014, the P320 is a polymer striker-fired pistol that has proven itself in both the United States and worldwide markets. The P320 is the first modular pistol with interchangeable grip modules that can also be adjusted in frame size and caliber by the operator. All pistols will be produced at the SIG SAUER facilities in New Hampshire.
The MHS Program provides for the delivery of both full size and compact P320’s, over a period of ten (10) years. All pistols will be configurable to receive silencers and will also include both standard and extended capacity magazines.
“I am tremendously proud of the Modular Handgun System Team,” said Army Acquisition Executive, Steffanie Easter in the release. “By maximizing full and open competition across our industry partners, we truly have optimized the private sector advancements in handguns, ammunition and magazines and the end result will ensure a decidedly superior weapon system for our warfighters.”
Ron Cohen, President and CEO of SIG SAUER, said “We are both humbled and proud that the P320 was selected by the U.S. Army as its weapon of choice. Securing this contract is a testimony to SIG SAUER employees and their commitment to innovation, quality and manufacturing the most reliable firearms in the world.”
UPDATE II: Two more comments on the XM17 from Michael Bane and John Farnam.
First from Michael on the implications for the civilian market.
The implications are pretty obvious. As with the Beretta M9, the Big Army contract, the most coveted handgun contract in the world, will launch the already successful 320 into the stratosphere. Validation by the U.S. military makes the gun an easy chose for a potential flood of other agencies. Over the years I have seen estimates of at least the same amount of sales to other Federal agencies, law enforcement and civilians clamoring to own the same gun the military uses. While the caliber was not announced, let me go out on a limb here and suggest that it will be 9mm. Why? I would say logistics…the huge military pipeline is already set up to provide 9mm ammunition worldwide, and changing to a different caliber would be a nightmare. I once had a very long and fruitful conversation on military logistics by one of the most knowledgeable men in the industry — Ron Cohen, the head of Sig Sauer. Funny, that.
The military contract will also open the floodgates of aftermarket parts to support the gun. That aftermarket will be increasingly driven by civilian and LEO acceptance of the 320 as a platform. Obviously, this is already underway with the relationship between Sig and GrayGuns. Bruce Gray, one of the greatest minds in the firearms world, has hammered out the 320 trigger, working essentially as an in-house R&D guy, and has a huge head start on aftermarket 320 parts. There will be lots of others!
Make sure to read his full post on this as it contains other nuggets of wisdom.
John Farnam has more information on the military version of the P320 or the XM17 along with some commentary about the changes in his Farnam’s Quips email.
Friends as (sic) SIG tell me these additional details about the pistol that will
ultimately be delivered to the Army:
Our military’s version of SIG’s 320 pistol will have a manual safety
lever. Of course, most troopers will never be allowed to even have a magazine
inserted into the pistol, much less carry the weapon with a round
chambered, so the manual safety lever will have little real function.
Two more “enhancements:”
The take-down lever will be “secured” in some way on the right side, so
that it cannot be removed at the field level which would allow complete
removal of the fire-control unit from the plastic frame.
The slide cover-plate at the back will be “secured” in a similar fashion,
and for the same reasons.
Army procurement people obviously do not want “end-users” (the ones who
may actually have to shoot someone) taking the gun apart any further than
field stripping.
I carried a SIG320 for most of last year. My copy has no manual safety,
as I have no interest in one and consider it a mostly useless and
unnecessary addition. If I were carrying a 320 with a manual safety, I’d leave it in
the “off” position. However, a manual safety that does not exist cannot
be inadvertently left in the “on” position, and that is why I like it gone!
Not everyone agrees, however.
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently what need not be done at
all”
Drucker
On the second day of the SHOT Show, Jeff Quinn of Gunblast.com interviews folks from Smith & Wesson, KelTec, Ruger, and a number of purveyors of cowboy action revolvers.
Jeff Quinn in this report on Day One of the SHOT Show starts off with a great interview of Ruger CEO Mike Fifer. The other highlights were a Colt representative talking about the reintroduced Colt Cobra and a discussion by Linda Powell of Mossberg’s new 590 Shockwave shotgun. This latter product is quite interesting in that it is a pistol-gripped 14″ shotgun that does not require a NFA tax stamp.
To read more about the Mossberg 590 Shockwave, go here. Ammoland.com does report that the shotgun is sold with this disclaimer:
Disclaimer: Although the Mossberg 590 Shockwave is classified as a “firearm” under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), and is not subject to the provisions of the National Firearms Act (NFA), state and local laws may be more restrictive. Even though, it is legal federally, the 590 Shockwave may be considered a “short-barreled” shotgun or “assault weapon” by certain state and local laws; and therefore illegal to possess. Please check with your local authorities concerning the legality of possessing a firearm of this configuration.
Checking North Carolina law, 14 NCGS § 14-288.8.(c)(3) classifies a shotgun as a “weapon of mass death and destruction” if it has “a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length or an overall length of less than 26 inches.” If you have a Federal tax stamp then possession of such a shotgun is permitted. As I read this – and I’m not a lawyer – the shotgun must be both greater than 26 inches overall in length and must have a barrel of 18 inches in length or greater. By using “or” instead of “and” in the description of such a prohibited shotgun the legislative intent is that both conditions must be met. This leads me to say that this is a law that needs changing as I’d like one of those shotguns!
UPDATE: Regarding North Carolina law and the legality of possessing the Mossberg Shockwave, I received this message on Facebook from fellow blogger Chris Maynard.
It is not a shotgun because it never had a stock, rather a pistol grip from the factory… If it was under 26″ in length, it would be an AOW… But over 26″ makes it a “firearm”… Per federal law…
So that should mean that it is not restricted by NC law supposing they follow the federal definition of “shotgun”
But the same statute also restricts ” Any type of weapon (other than a shotgun or a shotgun shell of a type particularly suitable for sporting purposes) which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter” so this gun should qualify under that.
One of the firearms that I had hoped to shoot at Industry Day at the Range was the new Ruger GP-100 in .44 Special. As events conspired to keep me from the SHOT Show, I am relying on my friend Rob Reed’s post about it at AllOutdoor.com.
I was able to put a few rounds through the gun and my initial impressions were favorable. The trigger was good in double-action and very good in single-action and the rubber grips absorbed the recoil of the standard pressure .44 Special rounds very well. Since it is based on the tank-like GP 100 I’m sure it will handle the hotter .44 Special loads that approach Magnum territory as well.
He also included this video of the Ruger representative going over the specs of the revolver.
You can read more about the specifications of this new revolver at Ruger’s website here.
If you subscribe to Guns Magazine, Massad Ayoob has a very complimentary review of this new revolver in this month’s issue (March 2017).
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided in favor of the Second Amendment again today. In a majority decision written by Judge Diane Sykes, the court found that the new zoning restrictions imposed by the City of Chicago on shooting ranges were unconstitutional. It also found that the city’s restriction that limited range use to those 18 years of age or older was unconstitutional.
Judge Ilana Rovner concurred on one of the zoning restrictions and dissented on another one of these restrictions and on the age restriction.
I am in the midst of reading the decision now. In the meantime, here is the response of the Second Amendment Foundation which brought the original and subsequent lawsuit on behalf of Rhonda Ezell and the other plaintiffs.
BELLEVUE, WA — A three-judge panel of the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today handed the Second Amendment Foundation a victory in its challenge of firearms regulations in the City of Chicago, striking down a zoning provision, reversing an earlier ruling that upheld “distancing” restrictions for gun ranges, and reversing an earlier ruling that upheld certain age restrictions.
Writing for the court, Judge Diane S. Sykes noted, “To justify these barriers, the City raised only speculative claims of harm to public health and safety. That’s not nearly enough to survive the heightened scrutiny that applies to burdens on Second Amendment rights.”
“We are delighted with the outcome of this lengthy case,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The extremes to which the city has gone in an attempt to narrow its compliance with the Supreme Court ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago can only be described as incredible stubbornness. In the 6½ years since the high court ruling in our McDonald case, the city has had ample opportunity to modify its regulations. Instead, Chicago has resisted reasonableness.
“We had already sued Chicago successfully to knock down its outright ban on gun ranges within the city,” he recalled. “Then they adopted new regulations that included the zoning, distancing and age restrictions that we contested in this legal action, known as ‘Ezell II.’
“The city tried to severely limit where shooting ranges could be located, and they failed,” he continued. “The city put up arguments about the potential for gun theft, fire hazards and airborne lead contamination, and they failed. Even the judge’s opinion today noted that the city had ‘produced no evidentiary support for these claims beyond the speculative testimony of three city officials.’ This nonsense has got to stop.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for citizens of Chicago who want to exercise their rights,” Gottlieb said, “and particularly for Rhonda Ezell, who has been steadfast in her resolve.”
Also on the panel with Judge Sykes were Judges Michael S. Kanne and Ilana D. Rovner.
As a side note, Judge Sykes is one of the jurists mentioned as a possible successor to Justice Antonin Scalia by President-elect Donald Trump. Given this decision and the earlier Ezell I decision, it is my hope that she be given the strongest consideration for this nomination.
Now that the Hearing Protection Act has been introduced in both the House and the Senate the wailing and gnashing of teeth is beginning to be heard from the gun prohibitionists. Just today I received the following in my email from the Space Cowboy aka Mr. Gabby Giffords aka Mark Kelly of the Americans for Responsible Solutions.
With Donald Trump set to take office in just three days, the gun lobby
and their allies in Congress have set their sights on a pair of bills
that will make our communities far less safe from gun violence.One of those bills would lift restrictions on the sale of firearm silencers.Now, I don’t want to give the impression that firearm silencers work
like you see them in the movies — where someone fires a gun and it
wouldn’t wake a person sleeping in the same room.But silencers do suppress sound and light when a weapon is
discharged, and that makes them attractive accessories for criminals who
want to conceal their crimes.Before Trump takes office, it’s important we lay down a marker on this issue.The gun lobby will tell you that this legislation is designed to
protect people’s hearing, but the truth is that it’s a massive financial
giveaway to the corporations who manufacture and sell firearm
silencers. The safety of our communities is more important than the
manufacturers’ bottom lines.Thank you for adding your name.Mark Kelly
Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC
You want to say, “Really, Mark? Is this the best you can come up with?” A suppressor suppresses sound and light and thus make them attractive accessories for criminals. Flash suppressors for rifles are legal in most states and do not require any license, permit, fee, or registration.
The same could be said for common items like bed pillows, oil filters, 2-liter Coke bottles, and potatoes. All of these common items could be used by thugs, murderers, and criminals to muffle the sound of the firearm and possibly reduce its flash.
Having reported on hundreds of defensive gun uses on the Polite Society Podcast I have yet to come across mention of a criminal having a suppressor in his or her possession while committing an assault, robbery, home invasion, or murder. Indeed, more often than not, these miscreants use the loud sound of a firearm discharge to attempt to cow their victims. They aren’t worried about the police because most times they anticipate being gone by the time the police arrive.
What Kelly is not saying is that treating silencers and suppressors like ordinary firearms still requires a NICS check as they are going to be transferred by FFLs. You would still have to fill out a Form 4473 and felons, drug abusers, those convicted of domestic violence, etc. would still be prohibited from purchasing and possessing a suppressor. While I might want a suppressor to be sold like replacement mufflers for a lawnmower at Ace Hardware, these bills are a good first step in an effort to reduce noise pollution and protect the hearing of hunters and shooters.
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