Gun Rights

The first question you have to ask is whether the intended recipient can legally own the firearm where he or she lives. With more than 20,000 different gun laws on the books, even the kinds of firearms that law-abiding citizens can own vary from place to place; for example, juveniles (under age 18), generally speaking, are precluded by law from possessing a handgun.

We compared two full-size 1911 handguns in the June 2013 issue to see which model offered the most bang for the buck. This Personal Defense test pitted two pistols of disparate price points to see if the less expensive model offered enough to consider it versus a fully equipped modern handgun. Tested were the Rock Island Armory Standard GI No. 51421 45 ACP, $410; and the Kimber Eclipse Target II 45 ACP, $1393. Here's an excerpt of that test.

In my years working on guns, I have seen a large number of totally botched bedding jobs. In fact, you would be shocked to see what people do to their guns' bedding to increase the accuracy of a rifle. But do you know how to spot the most common mistakes in bedding, thereby giving you a leg up in improving a gun's accuracy, or avoiding it altogether? Following are the most common problems shooters should watch for:

The Colt Trooper was made from 1953 to 1969. The Trooper Mark III superceded the Trooper and had a redesigned lock mechanism. It was manufactured from 1969 to 1983 in blue and nickel finish with 4-, 6-, and 8-inch barrel lengths. An owner's manual can be obtained by calling Colt at (800) 962-2658. The Trooper III in our test was made in 1974.

The Colt Trooper Mark III is for all practical purposes the working man's Python. Sound good? It features a serrated front sight pinned in place. The rear sight is fully adjustable, and it should be more durable than similar designs since the rear notch moves back and forth inside a protective frame. While adjustment for elevation is clockwise for down and counter-clockwise for up, the windage adjustment is reversed. Turn it to the right if you want the point of impact to move left, and turn left to bring the POI to the right.

Another feature is the direction in which the cylinder rotates. While other revolvers move counterclockwise, expecting a Colt to go bang requires the first round to be in the 11 o'clock position prior to cycling. Also, to release the cylinder one pulls rather than pushes on the latch.

The quantity of air-gun parts per gun is about the same or less than the number of parts in cartridge firearms. In fact, many air-gun parts look and function like their counterparts in firearms we're already familiar with. Here's an inside look at the Crosman 760 air rifle.

In about a month, gun owners in Texas and visitors to the state will feel the positive effects ofSB 473, a bill which Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott signed into law that extends protections for Class 3 devices, such as short-barreled rifles (SBRs), suppressors, and "any other weapons," as defined by the National Firearms Act. SB 473 will take effect on Sept. 1, 2015.

California has argued that a provision of California Penal Code section 26820 enacted in 1923 prevents the displaying of any "handgun or imitation handgun, or placard advertising the sale or transfer thereof" anywhere in or on their store that can be seen outside their store by passersby.

In a review of a recent court case, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has released its full opinion in the case of Trinity Wall Street v. Wal-Mart, and it's a victory for the giant retail chain's ability to sell the firearms it wishes to sell.

At issue was whether Wal-Mart improperly excluded from 2014 proxy materials the church's shareholder proposal to require the corporation's board of directors to have standard-capacity AR-style rifles removed from the…

Smaller guns have always had a certain appeal. In some cases it was just the aspect of miniaturization that captures our imagination. In other cases it was the reassurance of a highly concealable weapon. One niche of such guns were semi-auto .380s, which have long been popular sidearms because of their flat, short footprint and sufficient, if not outstanding, power. Even in the small world of 9mm Shorts there is a pecking order in terms of size, with the Beretta 84LS being one of the largest.

Savage has sold thousands of Model 110 rifles to hunters seeking an inexpensive rifle. Watch for several things when they need fixing.