The first products of High Standard were not guns, but rather machinery and tools with which to make guns. That was in the 1920s, but by the early 30s, this old-time gunmaker offered a high quality .22 pistol.

I handle guns all the time and sometimes find my attitude becoming a little overly-familiar. Since I know that familiarity breeds contempt, I periodically take a look at the sign above my working desk and reflect on the wisdom thereon.

*When he was awakened by his home security system, NRA Endowment member Steve Bason prepared for the worst—he got his Benelli M1 12-ga. shotgun, while his wife, Beth, an NRA Life member, grabbed her Glock 9 mm pistol. "At first we figured it was just another false alarm," Bason told the editor of the "Armed Citizen." "Then a light came on in our barn and I thought, 'My goodness, this is real!'" Police say the couple cautiously approached the barn. They peered inside and found a man standing next to Bason's truck with the door open. "There was some yelling and we probably said some words that aren't fit for print," Bason recalled. The suspect quickly found himself staring down the barrels of two different guns and waited patiently for police. (The Express, Lock Haven, PA, 02/02/10)

We may be missing a bet with the new .327 Federal Magnum cartridge. It is being touted as a defense revolver round. OK, I'll concede that it whips up a fair amount of energy, but in my book, no cartridge that uses a 100-grain bullet is ever going to have enough smack 'em to stop fights.