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Win Some Guns

February 12, 2015 by 4 Comments

Aaron at the Weapon-Blog.com has released his monthly compilation of contests. It has some interesting guns this month.

In the handgun category, a CZ Scorpion EVO 3 is on the table. I had a chance to handle it at the SHOT Show. Despite it being a PDW without the stock, it still was easy to handle. It cries out for a SIG brace to be used as a shoulder stock but ATF has said that is a no-no.

In the long gun categories, there are also some interesting guns. There is a Beretta ARX 160, an Arsenal ATI STG-44, and a whole slew of ARs including ones from both Daniel Defense and Aero Precision. There are also a couple of Mossberg shotguns on the table.

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A Part Of GCA’68 Found Unconstitutional

February 12, 2015 by 1 Comment

A Federal judge in Ft. Worthy yesterday said that the ban on the interstate sale of handguns was unconstitutional. By interstate, I mean where the purchaser both buys and takes possession of his or her handgun in a non-resident state. The Gun Control Act of 1968 allowed the interstate sale of long guns but expressly forbid it for handgun. This is a big win for gun rights. It is also a win for Alan Gura as well as the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

From CCRKBA on the win:

CCRKBA WINS SAF-FUNDED CASE ON INTERSTATE HANDGUN TRANSFER BAN

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today won a major federal court ruling in a case involving interstate handgun transfers in which the judge applied strict scrutiny to determine whether a ban on such transfers meets constitutional muster.

The case, which was financially supported by the Second Amendment Foundation, is known as Mance v. Holder. It involves plaintiffs residing in the District of Columbia and Texas, and could have far-reaching ramifications, according to CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.

“Our lawsuit strikes at the heart of a debate that has been ongoing for several years, since the creation of the National Instant Check System (NICS),” Gottlieb said. “With the advent of the NICS system, it makes no sense to perpetuate a ban on interstate transfers of handguns.”

Indeed, in his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, writes, “(T)he Court finds that the federal interstate handgun transfer ban burdens conduct that falls within the scope of the Second Amendment.”

The judge later added, “By failing to provide specific information to demonstrate the reasonable fit between this ban and illegal sales and lack of notice in light of the Brady Act amendments to the 1968 Gun Control Act, the ban is not substantially related to address safety concerns. Thus, even under intermediate scrutiny, the federal interstate handgun transfer ban is unconstitutional on its face.”

CCRKBA and the individual plaintiffs are represented by Virginia attorney Alan Gura and Texas attorney William B. “Bill” Mateja of Fish & Richardson in Dallas.

“It is bizarre and irrational to destroy the national market for an item that Americans have a fundamental right to purchase,” Gura observed. “Americans would never tolerate a ban on the interstate sale of books or contraceptives. And Americans are free to buy rifles and shotguns outside their state of residence, so long as the dealers respect the laws of the buyer’s home state. We’re gratified that the Court agreed that handguns should be treated no differently.”

From Sebastian at Shall Not Be Questioned:

I’m sure it will take a while for FFLs to get updated on this, but unless the government appeals the ruling, and the decision is stayed or reversed, the 11th of February will go down as the day we won Interstate sales of handguns through FFLs. This is a great win for us, and one which I would like to congratulate and thank Mr. Gura and his plaintiffs.

Sebastian has more on the case here.

Attorney Dave Hardy at Arms and the Law has this to say about the reach of the ruling:

UPDATE: it’s not clear to me how the ruling applies geographically. Clearly it applies in the Northern District of Texas. But it orders the Attorney General (any by extension anyone working under him) to stop enforcing the requirement, so may apply anywhere: if he enforced it in Maine or in Washington, he’d have violated the injunction, and could be held in contempt by the Texas court. Citizens’ Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms was an organizational plaintiff (the court cites to it without the first word in its name), suing on behalf of its members, so the ruling would protect, at the very least, its members.

The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Fredric Russell Mance, Jr aka Rick Mance is a fellow gun blogger and blogs at Traction Control. His response is summed up in his headline: Heh. He also has links to other posts about the decision.

I have not had a chance to read the full decision yet as I was podcasting last night. I hope to have another post up after I read through the decision. In the meantime, you can find the opinion and order from US District Court Judge Reed O’Connor here.

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ATK, Formerly Alliant Techsystems, Is No More

February 11, 2015 by
ATK, or Alliant Techsystems as it was formerly known, is no more. In its place are two new companies: Orbital ATK and Vista Outdoor. When ATK merged with Orbital Sciences Corporation, the sporting group  of ATK was spun off into Vista Outdoor while the defense contracting component remained in the new combined organization at the close of business yesterday.
If the first day of trading is any indication, shareholders have placed their bets with the sporting group or Vista Outdoor (VSTO). It was up $1.91 at the close while Orbital ATK (OA) was down $1.90.
Vista Outdoor stable of brands includes everything from Federal Premium and Savage Arms to Bolle and Serengetti sunglasses. For reloaders it includes well-known names such as RCBS, CCI, Alliant Powder, Speer Bullets, and Federal. 
Mark DeYoung, former CEO of ATK, cast his lot with Vista Outdoor instead of the defense component. The new company is headquartered in Clearfield, Utah which is halfway between Salt Lake City and Ogden. Vista Outdoor has 5,800 employees.
They released this video profiling Vista Outdoors yesterday.

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The Firearms Policy Coalition Adds Alan Normandy To Its Board

February 10, 2015 by

The Firearms Policy Coalition added Alan Normandy to it Board of Directors yesterday. Mr. Normandy is the CEO of Battle Comp Enterprises and is, in addition, a retired law enforcement officer.

From the release:

Firearms Policy Coalition announced today that E. Alan Normandy has been elected to its board of directors.

In addition to being the founder and CEO of Battle Comp Enterprises, a company that designs and produces firearm components for military, law enforcement, and civilian shooters, Normandy is a retired police lieutenant and 29-year police force veteran. He also serves as a firearms instructor, gunsmith, court-certified firearms expert, and a consultant for firearms industry manufacturers and the entertainment industry.

“As Firearms Policy Coalition sharpens its focus on improving the methods and outcomes of Second Amendment civil rights advocacy, we welcome Alan Normandy and his leadership to our board,” said Brandon Combs, the group’s chairman and CEO.

Combs continued, “Alan’s vision for the future and deeply-held convictions will have an immediate impact on our organization and our fight to advance the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms. We are simply delighted that Alan is joining our leadership team.”

“I am humbled and honored to have been elected to serve the members and supporters of Firearms Policy Coalition, the public, and our Constitution,” commented Normandy. “It is exciting to join such a committed group of Second Amendment advocates and I look forward to helping FPC defeat gun control wherever it may surface. I’m ready to get to work.”

Battle Comp makes a full line of muzzle breaks and recoil compensators at their plant in Prescott, Arizona.

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Remington Makes It Official

February 10, 2015 by

Rumors started on Saturday that Remington Outdoor Company was going to fold the Para-USA label into the Remington label.

From the blog of a Raleigh, NC gun store called Carolina Gunrunners which broke the news early:

We have just gotten news that Para will no longer make pistols after the first quarter of 2015. If you currently own a Para 1911 they will continue to honor the warranty. The plan is to focus on one 1911 brand, and that will be the Remington 1911. We will start seeing new Remington 1911’s but they will look more like a Para. The new Remington 1911’s will be available in various sizes from 3 and ½” barreled compacts to full size double stacked frames. The new Remington 1911’s will be announced as they begin to approach manufacturing readiness. Until then, they will not be making any announcements about the change.

Remington had already announced that they were closing the suburban Charlotte facility that housed Para and moving it to their new facility in Huntsville, Alabama.

I think Remington has been telegraphing the end of Para-USA over the last year. You saw a lot of $100 rebates plus amazingly low prices on the Para-USA 1911s. I think this was an effort to clear out inventory before the rebranding. Then at the SHOT Show, I saw Para’s pro-shooter Travis Tomasie wearing Remington colors along with Gabby Franco.

Yesterday, Remington Outdoor Company made it official in an amazingly frank press release. They admitted that they botched the Marlin relocation and the introduction of the Remington R51 pistol. I doubt there is anyone out there that would disagree with them on this. That is why my one and only Marlin lever action was built in 1962 and not 2014.

The press release continued:

In 2012, with a goal of expanding its handgun line, ROC acquired Para USA (“Para”), a company that specialized in the production of competition, high capacity, and double action 1911-style pistols. Following Remington’s acquisition, Para, which had been experiencing quality control issues, saw a steep decline in warranty claims.

In 2014, ROC announced its new, world-class firearms center of excellence in Huntsville, Alabama. Here, Remington is integrating product development, engineering, production, and quality control – a first in Remington’s 200-year history. The integration of modern sporting rifles, suppressors, and Remington pistols commenced immediately, and Para is scheduled to move to Huntsville next month.

I remember speaking with a Para USA engineer at the NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis in 2012. This was soon after the Freedom Group acquired Para. He made the point that Remington engineers had started working with Para to tighten up quality and tolerances in their products. He told me that before then they just didn’t have access to this level of expertise.

Remington says that they will be keeping their own R1 line of 1911s along with “popular Para products, characteristics, and names such as the ‘Warthog'”. I take this to mean that you will see a rationalization of the two lines with duplicate products dropped and the best selling of the Para products retained. I do wonder if they will continue with the LDA or light double action line of pistols.That is one of the things that made Para-Ordnance and Para USA distinctive.

I do have one Para 1911 in my collection. It is a Officer-sized model called the CCO with a the LDA trigger. It is from the Para-Ordnance days and is roll-marked “Ft. Lauderdale, FL”. It is a fairly accurate pistol but it does have its ammo preferences. I have had no problem feeding it .45 ball but give it any hollow-point ammo and it just stops. I haven’t tried it with stuff like CorBon PowRBall but I really don’t consider it my carry gun so why bother.

Remington says that they will continue to honor Para’s lifetime warranty and continue providing warranty service.

I hope this goes well for both Remington and Para. Remington has a sullied reputation for handguns given the R51 while Para had a reputation for innovation but was plagued by quality issues. Given that the R51 was in actuality made by Para, I guess their quality issues carried forward on that as well. Still, a new plant with new machinery and improved engineering (and proper testing) should put both of these brands back on the road to success. Here’s hoping that “should” becomes “will”.

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There Will Always Be An Exception

February 10, 2015 by 1 Comment

Holders of concealed carry permits have been shown to be more law-abiding than law enforcement officers over the years. That hasn’t stopped groups like the Violence Policy Center from doing everything in their power to portray permit holders as killers and wild cowboys with itchy trigger fingers.

Just as a bad cop is an exception to the norm, so too is a concealed carry holder that commits murder. Unfortunately, we in North Carolina now have one of those exceptions. A 62-year old man who held a NC Concealed Handgun Permit killed one person, wounded another, and killed the wounded woman’s unborn child. He then killed himself. The murder-suicide reportedly stemmed from a business dispute according to local papers.

Sean Sorrentino has much more detail and commentary on the incident. I’d suggest going there to learn more about this story.

All I can say is that it is a sad thing all around but that it is an exceptional one. And being exceptional, it is not reflective on concealed carry holders nor concealed carry in general. Even the Chicago Tribune concedes this point noting that it has been a quiet first year after Illinois finally got shall-issue concealed carry.

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Instagram Picture Of The Day

February 9, 2015 by 5 Comments

I found this on Instagram today. It comes from Freedom Hill Gear.  If you have small kids or have been around them recently, you know that they love the movie Frozen and know all the lyrics to “Let It Go”. It hasn’t reached the level of fingernails on a blackboard for me…yet. But for those it has, this picture is for you.

It also works if you need someone to blame for all the snow you are having to shovel.

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Well, That Didn’t Take Long

February 8, 2015 by 5 Comments

When it comes to dancing in the blood of victims and using their tragedy for her own purpose, Shannon Watts has few equals. Like a vulture attracted to carrion, she is attracted to any shooting that she can twist for her own purposes.

Yesterday, in Douglasville, Georgia, a disturbed man shot his ex-wife and children before killing himself. He reportedly killed five including himself and wounded two others. The earliest reports that I can find of this very sad tragedy was about 4:25pm.

So how long did Shannon wait until racing to Twitter to make light of this tragedy in her efforts to push gun control? How about 329 minutes or just under 5 1/2 hours. Blood takes from one to two hours to dry after being exposed to air. Thus, the blood had barely dried before she took to Twitter.

The mom and children killed are just props for Shannon. That’s sad, it’s pathetic, and it’s repugnant. However, that is just par for the course for Shannon Watts, Mike Bloomberg, and the rest of the gun prohibitionists in Everytown Moms for Illegal Mayors.

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When I Use The Term “Booth Babe”, This Is What I Think Of

February 7, 2015 by 2 Comments

On Monday I did a post about the growing maturity of gun  industry marketers and the absence of booth babes. By the comments, it seems to have been well received by the women of the gun culture.

As I mentioned in the post, the last time I was to the SHOT Show was in 1996 while working for a local knife company. I also mentioned that the company’s booth not only featured our knives but the owner’s girlfriend. She was actually really a nice person and quite smart. I never really got what she saw in my boss who was an incompetent boor who loved to show her off.

It took some searching but I found a CD-ROM with back issues of Blade Magazine.  I was searching for an advertisement from the now defunct Paragon Cutlery that might feature “Miss Paragon”. I was in luck and found the one shown below where they were pushing the X-9 Parabow.

While Kelly didn’t wear the outfit shown below, she did wear a skintight minidress with spike heels. Those body-hugging minidresses were not nearly as common then as they seem to be now.

So now you understand what I feared I would see at the SHOT Show. That I didn’t was a pleasant surprise.