Viewpoints

I Would Like To See…
I am a long-time subscriber of your magazine and always appreciate your no-compromise reviews. I would like to see a Gun Tests comparison of new bargain-priced bolt rifles. I would suggest a shoot-out including the new Mossberg ATR 100 Series, the new Stevens Model 200 bolt gun from Savage, and the Remington 710. You might also include the Savage 11FXP3 package. Most all of these can be purchasedfor under $400, with scopes.

I would also hope to see an ammo test, focused on the best loads for 2-inch-barrel snubbies. I have always kept my S&W 442 loaded with the 125-grain Federal Nyclad load, which for years has been referred to as the Chiefs Special loa...

Meet NRAs New President
The face of the NRA has changed from Moses to that of a lawyer - a shift particularly appropriate for our times. Sandra S. Froman was sworn in as the gun groups president in April, taking the chair once held by Charlton Heston, probably the NRAs best-known president. But she takes over most recently for Kayne Robinson, who has served since 2003. Her term is expected to last two years.

Froman, 55, who earned a bachelors degree in economics from Stanford and a law degree from Harvard, is a business and employment litigator in Tucson. Shes been on the NRA board since 1992 and was encouraged to run for the board by Bob Corbin, former attorney gener...

CONCEALED CARRY NAMES
One of my favorite Texas legislators, State Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, R-Lampasas, doesnt think Texans should have to disclose that they are carrying a concealed handgun. So she introduced House Bill 318, which would prevent public disclosure of the names of people who hold concealed handgun licenses.

The bill passed the Texas House of Representatives in March by a 113-30 vote. The bill, similar to one passed by the House in 2003, deletes the requirement that the Texas Department of Public Safety must release the identity of a license holder to the public.

Hupp, whose family was murdered by a gunman in a Lubys restaurant in Killeen more than a dec...

Other Solutions
Re Getting Bores Clean: Copper Solvents Require Elbow Grease, February 2005:

I know that it is impossible for you to test every product on the market, but I do wish you had included two of what I consider to be well-known brands in your evaluation of copper solvents. One is Hoppes Bench Rest 9, and the other is Butchs Bore Shine. Both of these products are sold by Brownells. You even made reference to Hoppes No. 9 in your article (without regard to whether it was the old No. 9 Nitro-Solvent or the newer Bench Rest 9 Copper Solvent), but you did not give any evaluation of the Hoppes product. I have used both of the Hoppes products for many years a...

Gun News
Arizona legislators have come up with a plan to legalize loaded weapons in places that serve alcohol. Senate Bill 1363 breezed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-2 vote and appears headed toward a promising future in the full Senate and House.

Downside: Arizonans would have to avoid drinking an alcoholic beverage while carrying the loaded weapon. The measure would apply to restaurants, bars and nightclubs that served alcohol. The measure fell one vote short of passage last year.

The reasoning behind the measure? Law-abiding gun owners should be able to dine in restaurants without leaving their weapons at home or in the car, where they are useless for...

What Happened to Lower Cost?
As a pioneer subscriber to Gun Tests, I have always enjoyed the diversity of articles. The last few years, I have noticed a trend toward what I call the high buck handgun - a gun that does not always equate price to value.

Remember a number of years ago when you rated the Norinco as a better bargain, with a bit of gunsmithing, when compared to many of the high-buck 1911s on the market? Why not a review on the Rock Island $300 1911? Could that be a bargain?

These hold the budget articles, I believe, would even be of interest to those who wanted a reliable second plinker.

Also, what ever happened to the Kel-Tec 223 article that was listed...

Michael Moore is certainly no friend of gun owners, but this episode also shows him to be hypocrite. He actively campaigns against gun ownership, but he has retained an armed bodyguard - see entry under Rosie ODonnell.

But in this case, it wouldnt be Moore who would be put at risk. Bodyguard Patrick Burk was reportedly arrested at JFK International Airport when he declared a pistol in his baggage at the ticket counter, as required by law. New York authorities routinely arrest nonresident travelers who do not have a New...

Bullet-Testing Disagreements
Re Survivor Bullet Testing: .45 ACP 230-Grain Hollowpoints, October 2004:

I was greatly disappointed to see this article. It contained several glaring errors, and is far below the standards I have come to expect from your magazine.

My first problem with the article is the statement that water does an amazing job of generating the same results, vis-a-vis penetration and expansion, as 10-percent ordnance gelatin. While properly prepared and calibrated gelatin does do a good job reproducing tissue, water does not. Water, tissue, and gelatin have similar densities and will generate similar expansion results, but because water cannot support...

BE THANKFUL YOU DONT LIVE IN D.C.

Gun owners across the county often grouse about how difficult it for them to own firearms in certain jurisdictions - or impossible in others.Certainly, one of the worst gun-rights offenders is the District of Columbia. There, sportsmen are liable to be arrested and imprisoned, no questions asked, merely for owning a gun.

There are cases in which firemen responding to fires have found unloaded rifles or shotguns in private homes. The owners have been threatened with prosecution. There are other cases where homeowners have kept hidden firearms for protection against intruders, and when they used the weapons, they were prosecuted for more...

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Tactical Shotgun Choice
Re January 2005, 20-Gauge Youth Shotguns: Are They Effective For Self Defense?:

As a longtime subscriber, Ive learned to trust your advice, and I need some now. I recently attended a tactical shotgun course taught by two police instructors at our local club. I discovered that under stress, the shotgun that I thought was ideal as a home-defense weapon was not the gun I needed. I took the course with my Remington 870, and it was a disaster.

The gun performed flawlessly, but I did not. I repeatedly for...

The Lead Boogeyman
There were 20 million metric tons of lead bullets fired in the United States in the 20th century. Is that lead having an environmental impact? Not according to research done by Virginia Tech geological scientists.

Analyzing samples from a U.S. Forest Service firing range near Blacksburg, Virginia, Donald Rimstidt, a professor in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech, and other researchers found very little lead damage to the environment. This is a big issue for gun owners, who face opposition from environmentalists over lead deposits. There are 9,000 nonmilitary shooting ranges and a lot of military ones in the United States. Some 60,000 metric to...