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Why don't firearm manufacturers in the Northeast simply pick up and move considering all the oppressive gun laws passed there recently? Mark Keefe has the answer.
July 19, 2013
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I have heard from dozens of NRA members from all over the country about the conditions where they live and seek ammunition. It varies greatly. Some said they are not having trouble, while others said there isn’t a single round of .22 Long Rifle within 50 miles of where they live. Some called me a liar—or worse—some reported “scores” or long lines waiting for empty trucks. One guy told me his quest to find ammo is akin to hunting “Bigfoot”—and just about as successful.
May 20, 2013
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Often NRA members will suggest that if every one of us signed up just one new member, we could double NRA’s size overnight. How about signing up more than 16,000? And not just Annual members but Life members? In just seven weeks, from early February to the end of March, outdoor personality and nationally syndicated radio show host Tom Gresham signed up 16,630 NRA Life members.
April 08, 2013
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I am not talking about a 1980’s advertising campaign lamenting composition chicken in fast food. Guns are made out of (you guessed it) parts. Gun parts, to be precise—and a lack thereof is affecting the unmet surge in demand for semi-automatic AR-style rifles.
April 08, 2013
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In case you hadn’t noticed, we are in the midst of an ammunition, primer and propellant shortage. Stories are making both local and national news, and rumors abound on the Internet. I understand there have been large Federal contracts, but those cannot come close to explaining the increased demand for ammunition and components. There is more than a billion—that’s billion with a “B”—rounds of .22 Long Rifle produced in this country every year. One estimate puts it at closer to a billion and a half. The DHS has not bought a billion and a half rounds of .22 LR, so it cannot be pinned on them. Also, it is unlikely to me that Janet Napolitano is trying to corner the world market on Hodgdon Varget, even though it is one of my favorite go-to powders.
March 13, 2013
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I have received a slew of questions—many from first time AR-type rifle buyers—about the .223 Rem. and the 5.56x45 mm NATO cartridges. Can I shoot 5.56x45 mm NATO in my .223 and vice-versa? Are these the same cartridge?
March 04, 2013
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While you are at the NRA Annual Meetings in Houston, Texas, I encourage you to take a break from the show floor and attend two special events. Noted sniping authority Maj. John L. Plaster, U.S. Army (Ret.), and historian Martin K.A. Morgan are onboard for two American Rifleman Special Sessions of tremendous interest to NRA members. On Saturday, Plaster will be the speaker at “Civil War Sharpshooters,” discussing the sharpshooters and their arms from America’s bloodiest conflict 150 years ago. The author of the practical The Ultimate Sniper, Plaster is a fantastic and dynamic speaker and is also one of the leading historians on the subject and the author of The History of Sniping & Sharpshooting.
February 28, 2013
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Photo Courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard College Library
February 19, 2013
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On Saturday night, I was absently checking Facebook when I came across a post from my friend Philip Schreier, “This is very sad and disturbing. Chris was scheduled to visit the museum and tape some TV segment in the near future.” There was a link to an item reporting the death of former U.S. Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle. News accounts allege that Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield were murdered by a former Marine suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
February 04, 2013
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One of the firearms that has always fascinated me is the wheellock. If you have ever seen a Zippo lighter and a clock that has a key to wind, then you will understand the basic concept. The National Firearms Museum has a wheellock that is attributed to John Alden, which is called the “Mayflower Gun” because we are pretty sure that is how it got to North America. Sadly, the museum staff has no sense of humor about shooting national treasures, so we asked Dale Shinn to send us one of his excellent replicas, a Germanic, ornate wheellock pistol.
November 30, 2012
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Arsenal Firearms recently shook up the shooting world with the introduction of the “Second Century” pistol, the world’s first double-barreled M1911 pistol. The gun, made in Italy, is really two M1911s built on a common frame, with a shared slide assembly and a single wide hammer. It fires two synchronized rounds with every pull of the trigger—one from the right barrel and one from the left.
November 27, 2012
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The “Tommy Gun” is one of the most iconic firearms in American history. But what is it about the Thompson? Stephen Hunter, a bestselling novelist and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer for, of all things, the Washington Post, is a pretty serious and savvy gun guy, and he summed up much of the Thompson’s appeal in a March 22, 2004, article on the Exhibit at the National Firearms Museum.
September 21, 2012
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In 2010 Donald Trump, Jr., and his brother Eric Trump went on safari in Zimbabwe. Photos from the safari were obtained without permission and posted online. The hunt included elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and crocodile. The images drew the expected vitriol from anti-hunting extremists, such as PETA and other organizations that want to ban all hunting, regardless of where it is or who is doing it. In response to those attacks Don tweeted, “I’m a hunter, for that I make no apologies.”
March 27, 2012
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Q. I watch “American Rifleman Television” and hear Mark Keefe and Michael Parker pronounce the name “Garand” like “Ger-und” and in the same show someone else will pronounce it like I do, which is “Guh-rand.” What’s the deal? Are those two misspeaking every week?
March 05, 2012
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Two trends were apparent in the new firearm models at the recent 2012 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show: One was increased interest in .22 Long Rifle chambered guns reflected by a host of new variants; the other was a renewed surge of small (or smallish) guns that can be concealed on one’s person (not a new concept, obviously). I have addressed the former and it is now time to look at what some of the handguns covered elsewhere in the 2012 SHOT Blog really mean.
February 01, 2012
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