According to the infographic from the National Shooting Sports Foundation shown below, pretty damn big!
Many years ago I worked for a local knife company that had a small booth at the SHOT Show. As a result, I got to attend the 1996 SHOT Show held in Dallas, Texas. I was awed by the size of it all back then when it was just a shadow of what it has become. With luck and good scheduling, I plan to attend next year’s SHOT Show and I’m sure I’ll just be blown away by it all.
It is that time of month again. Aaron at Weapon-Blog has just posted his list of gun giveaways and contests.
In the long gun categories, I see not just a bunch of AR-15s but the new Ruger SR-762 and a Daniel Defense AR-15. You can add a Benelli M4 to that list.
Under handguns, Aaron has listed some interesting pistols including the Boberg XR9-S, a custom Springfield 1911, and a Springfield XDm 3.8 in 9mm.
You can find the whole list here.
If you get a chance, leave a comment thanking Aaron for putting these up on a monthly basis.
In an era where virtually everything is a crime, it is important to know the law. This is especially true with regard to knife laws which vary tremendously. They not only vary state to state but from municipality to municipality as there are few state preemption laws with regard to knifes.
The infographic below from Knifeup.com is a good start and presents the info in an easily understood form. I’d also suggest becoming a member of Knife Rights as they are taking the fight for knife rights to both the court house and the state house.
One example of how fast knife laws are changing is the info below on which states make automatic or switchblade knives illegal. It lists both Kansas and Missouri as prohibiting them. Thanks to Knife Rights, this was recently changed and they are now legal there.
Infographic removed due to inaccuracies.
If you’d still like to see it, go to KnifeUp.com. See comments below as to some of the inaccuracies. Alternatively, go to Liston’s website here.
H/T Liston Matthews of Good Hill Press
Dick Metcalf, formerly of Guns & Ammo magazine, was fired because he tried to argue that gun control was OK constitutionally because the Second Amendment includes the words “well-regulated”. In other words, Metcalf was fired for stupidity. I shed no tears over that.
Yesterday, the New York Times, no friend of gun rights or gun owners, decided that Mr. Metcalf would make a great poster boy to show how authoritarian and how close-minded we are. Moreover, it looks like Mr. Metcalf cooperated fully with the Time’s reporter.
This is a war. You do not give aid and comfort to the enemy. Mr. Metcalf did that with his G&A editorial and this is what he is doing now.
In the article that appeared online yesterday and on the front page of the print edition today, Metcalf said:
“I’ve been vanished, disappeared,” Mr. Metcalf, 67, said in an interview last month on his gun range here, about 100 miles north of St. Louis, surrounded by snow-blanketed fields and towering grain elevators. “Now you see him. Now you don’t.”
He is unsure of his next move, but fears he has become a pariah in the gun industry, to which, he said, he has devoted nearly his entire adult life.
While being the subject of front-page profile in the Times may impress his former colleagues at Yale and Cornell, it won’t help him within the gun culture. If anything, it completes his estrangement from those of us in the gun culture.
I don’t feel sorry for Mr. Metcalf. He has made his bed and now he has to sleep in it. Now if he’d just realize it.
Rumors have abounded on the Internet about the new Glock that will be officially released at the 2014 SHOT Show. Glock itself had teaser ads out in November about a smaller Glock pistol officially named the G42.
Just before Christmas, a post on BoomerShooter.com had two pictures of either a catalog page or an ad showing the G42 as being a single stack .380 ACP pistol. As Steve at the Firearm Blog said, they looked legit.
I guess they looked legit because they probably are legit if the video below released by Glock Inc USA is to be believed. I can’t see Glock releasing misleading info on a new pistol on their official YouTube page. The video features Chris Reese, Warranty Tech Supervisor, of Glock, Inc. North America describing the new G42.
There are a lot of single stack 6+1 .380 ACP pistols out there now ranging from the Ruger LCP to the Sig P238 and everything in between. I’m sure the Glock is a decent pistol and will have good sales but the market has moved on to the pocket or micro-nines.
It could be that Glock is going to release a single stack nine as both the G41 and G43 are supposed to be released as well. They could be using the rumor mill about the G42 as a red herring to make the introduction of a pocket 9mm more newsworthy. I don’t know and I’m guessing the only people who do know either work for Glock or have signed a really tight non-disclosure agreement.
UPDATE: SayUncle has a video up of the Glock 41 which is a long-slide .45 ACP pistol. You can see it here.
From today’s Wall Street Journal comes this weird little story about Walmart in China.
BEIJING— Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is recalling donkey meat sold at some of its China stores after government tests showed the meat contained the DNA of other animals.
The retailer will provide 50 yuan, or roughly $8.25, compensation to customers who bought the “Five Spice” donkey meat, and it is boosting its own DNA testing for meat products sold in its China stores, a spokeswoman said Thursday. Authorities in China’s eastern Shandong province said in late December that the retailer’s product contained fox meat.
The Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the donkey meat—which is commonly consumed in Chinese cuisine—is sold in only two stores in Jinan, the capital of Shandong. Wal-Mart is working with authorities to investigate the product and its manufacturing process, the spokeswoman said, adding that the retailer may take legal action against its supplier.
“Five Spice” donkey meat? Fox meat?
I don’t know what the fox says about this but I think I might go vegetarian the next time I go out for Chinese.
Magpul Industries has made it official. Their company’s new home will be in both Wyoming and Texas. Back in February, Magpul drew their line in the sand and said they would be leaving Colorado if House Bill 1224 which limited magazine size passed the State Legislature and was signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO). The Democrats passed the bill, Hickenlooper signed it, and Magpul is making good on their intention to move all their operations out of the state.
Magpul will be moving their manufacturing and distribution facilities to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Their company headquarters will be to one of three North Central Texas sites under consideration. Both the states of Wyoming and Texas have put together grant and tax relief packages to lure Magpul to their states. Moreover, both Gov. Matt Mead (R-WY) and Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) were involved in the pursuit of Magpul.
HiViz Sights moved to the Laramie area earlier this year. Alfred Manufacturing and Lawrence Tool & Molding, both of whom are suppliers to Magpul, had announced their intention to leave Colorado along with Magpul. I cannot find any news on whether they plan to move their facilities to Wyoming along with Magpul.
Magpul’s official announcement is below:
Magpul Industries announced today that it is relocating its operations to Wyoming and Texas.
The company is relocating manufacturing, distribution and shipping operations to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Magpul is leasing a 58,000 square foot manufacturing and distribution facility during the construction of a 100,000 square foot build-to-suit facility in the Cheyenne Business Parkway. The Wyoming relocation is being completed with support from Governor Matt Mead, the Wyoming Business Council and Cheyenne LEADS.
Magpul is moving its corporate headquarters to Texas. Three North Central Texas sites are under final consideration, and the transition to the Texas headquarters will begin as soon as the facility is selected. The Texas relocation is being accomplished with support from Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Economic Development Corporation.
“Magpul made the decision to relocate in March 2013 and has proceeded on an aggressive but deliberate path” says Doug Smith, Chief Operating Officer for Magpul Industries. “These dual moves will be carried out in a manner that ensures our operations and supply chain will not be interrupted and our loyal customers will not be affected.”
The company began a nationwide search for a new base of operations after legislation was enacted in Colorado that dramatically limits the sale of firearms accessories – the core of Magpul’s business. Magpul plans on initially transitioning 92% of its current workforce outside of Colorado within 12-16 months and will maintain only limited operations in Colorado.
“Moving operations to states that support our culture of individual liberties and personal responsibility is important,” says Richard Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive Officer for Magpul Industries. “This relocation will also improve business operations and logistics as we utilize the strengths of Texas and Wyoming in our expansion.”
In what only can be considered an extremely sad story, a Phoenix father murdered his son with an ax on New Year’s Eve.
The Phoenix police were called by the 13 year-old boy’s mother when the father failed to return the child to the mother after his visitation period. The parents are divorced.
From ABC 15 in Phoenix:
When officers arrived, (the father) told them his son was not home. Officers asked more questions and the suspect allowed officers into his home, Martos said.
When police entered the home, they found 13-year-old David Sherrill deceased with signs of trauma. (Phoenix PD Sgt. Steve) Martos said the victim had stab wounds and lacerations to several parts of his body.
When homicide detectives arrived, (the father) confessed to killing his son with an ax and told officials he was scared of his son. He told police he believed his son was a demon and was going to eat him.
There is no Coalition to Stop Ax Violence and I doubt we are going to see calls for universal background checks for ax purchases.
This tragic story illustrates two things.
First, the tool used to commit murder is irrelevant. Young David Sherrill is just as dead from an ax as he would have been from a firearm. The only difference is that this murder was, in my opinion, more brutal.
Second, as with rampage shootings, it is mental illness that is the real issue. A sane person doesn’t go on a rampage shooting and a sane person doesn’t murder his own son with an ax.
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