Downrange: 04/03
BIG GUN, BIG NEWS. Smith & Wesson caused quite a stir when it unveiled its Model 500 five-shot revolver chambered for the new Smith & Wesson .500 Magnum cartridge. Anti-gun groups denounced the handgun as too powerful; it fires a round producing about three times the muzzle energy of a .44 magnum. Orlando-based TV crews scrambled to get pictures of it on the network feeds, even though area law-enforcement officials told them the 4.5-pound hunting firearm, introduced at the February SHOT Show, was hardly the sort of thing criminals would tote around. Then, Illinois Congressman Danny Davis made the curious observation that no one hunts deer with a handgun.
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GUN TES...
Firing Line: 04/03
Mikes Truck Gun
Re February 2003, Mikes Ultimate Truck Gun:
The article on Mikes Truck Gun caught my eye. About 15 years ago Marlin made a rifle exclusively for K-Mart called the 30TK. It is almost identical. It had an 18-inch barrel, two-thirds length magazine tube, straight stock and lever and permanently attached sling swivels. Came with a camo sling. I purchased one, put a Williams peep on and have used it since. Very handy indeed.
-Robert Kellner
@hotmail.com
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Sig-Mauser M2 .45 Auto
Re February 2003, 9mm Carbines: We Would Buy Kel-Tecs Sub 2000":
Okay, so you didnt like my 9m Leinad Cobray; and you did like the Kel-Tec Sub 20...
Downrange: 03/03
FINGERPRINTING GUNS NOT SO EASY. In a report to Californias legislature, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer acknowledges his Department of Justice finds technical limitations and a poor success rate in its attempts to expand ballistic imaging technology, designed to identify individual firearms found at crime scenes, into a database encompassing non-crime firearms.
The California Department of Justices own Bureau of Forensic Services used fewer than 800 semi-automatic handguns to test the system, and its experts discovered failure rates as high as 62.5 percent in attempts to match cartridge components with the handguns that fired them. Each year, according to the attorney gen...
Firing Line: 03/03
Sub Problems
Re February 2003, 9mm Carbines: Kel-Tecs Sub Rifle 2000 Is Affordable, Reliable and Totally Trick:
I read your article regarding the Sub 2000. I have to admit that it is an interesting gun, but I did have problems with mine. I shot it at the range with both Cor-Bon 9mm HP +P and Winchester WinClean. I had multiple failures to feed. The rounds would cock at a 45-degree angle (the bottom lip of the chamber would then take a bite out of the side of the round) or it would jam the bottom edge of the bullet straight into the bottom lip of the chamber and cram the bullet further into the cartridge. It did this with both types of ammo in the supplied magazine, Beret...
Downrange: 02/03
THE NUTTY NINTH CIRCUIT: For better or worse, it seems that the issue of individual gun rights might be headed for a Supreme Court showdown.
The reason: Before Christmas, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made a reasoned, if mistaken, argument that put the California court at odds with the Fifth Circuit, which held last year in U.S. v. Emerson that the Second Amendment does, in fact, protect an individuals right to firearms.
The Ninth Circuits decision came in a case called Silveira v. Lockyer, which pitted nine plaintiffs against the state of California, which a decade ago banned assault weapons. But the law made an exception for individuals who owned such weapons...
Firing Line: 02/03
Intimidation Factor
Re December 2002, Entry-Type AR-15s-Is One of These Rifles For You?:
Id like to highlight your comment about the Mini-14 being less intimidating than AR-15s. I own a Mini-14, and out here in California, where you cant buy AR-styles exactly because they are more intimidating and imposing, the Mini-14 is a great choice if you want to avoid the possibility of your neighbors branding you the guy with the assault rifle. Though a Mini-14 out of the box might not be the most accurate weapon in this class, its reliable, breaks down into a handful of large parts with no tools for quick cleaning, and the fit and finish are outstanding. Its a pure joy to own...
Downrange: 01/03
TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS? If you had wondered if Smith & Wesson could recover from its troubles and travails, perhaps an advance look at one of the companys 2003 product introductions might suggest the company is returning to good health:
The SW99 line will be expanded with the addition of a full-size .45 ACP pistol and two compacts. The .45 ACP SW99 pistol will feature a 4.25-inch barrel, 9 + 1 capacity, and weigh 25.6 ounces. The compacts will be available in a 9mm and .40 S&W version. All these SW99s will feature interchangeable backstraps, interchangeable front sights and adjustable rear sights. From our perspective, the most interesting of these guns will be the SW1911, a 191...
Downrange: 12/02
NATIONAL AMMO DAY. A grass-roots activist who coined the idea for National Ammo Day says hes hopeful about the results of what he calls a BUYcott.
Kim du Tuit is a self-employed database management consultant living near Dallas, and he had the idea that hunters and shooters nationwide should pick up an extra 100 rounds of ammunition last month on November 19. He says he had nothing to gain from the idea, except that he wanted to send a message to people trying to infringe on his rights by encouraging an increase in the sales of ammunition on that day.
On his website, Mr. Du Tuit wrote, There are an estimated 75 million gun owners in the United States of America. If each gun...
Firing Line: 12/02
Glock Test Correction
Re October 2002, Compact Polymer .40 S&Ws: Glock, Springfield, and H&K:You folks have the best gun magazine available. I really enjoy reading your opinions, which are not formed by high-paying advertisers.
In your test of compact polymer .40s, you incorrectly stated that the Glock has no chamber-loaded indicator. I refer you to your close-up picture of the Glock extractor printed on page 4, which shows the loaded chamber indicator on the Glock.I am a police officer and have carried a Glock on my hip every day for several years now. Get yourself a Glock, and lose that nickel-plated sissy pistol.
-Tom Martin
Murray, UT
T...
Downrange: 11/02
BATF TO JUSTICE?
Its long been debated that all or part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, well known by its acronym BATF, should be moved from the Treasury Department to the Justice Department. Those discussions have been renewed as part of the Bush administrations overall realigning of the federal governments law-enforcement operations. Over the years, various administrations have considered reassigning ATF to other agencies. Much of the debate has historically focused on how best to handle the Bureaus two branches: its criminal law-enforcement arm, responsible for enforcing the nations firearms and explosives laws, and its regulatory division responsible for...
Firing Line: 11/02
CZ-52 Pistol
Re September 2002, Pistol Showdown: CZ and Tokarevs Match Up In Bargain Test:
I liked your article on the CZ-52, 7.62x25 pistol. I couldnt agree more. A tech at Sierra put me onto the CZ-52 several years ago. I thought you might be interested in a little-known item.
Before these pistols left the factory way back when, they were test fired for accuracy. Those found to be very accurate were given a single (small) punch mark on the site rib. Less accurate pistols were given two punch marks. There were some given three punches, and the least accurate but still acceptable for military use was given four punches. Its very difficult to see these indentations unl...
Downrange: 10/02
ROSS CARTER UPDATE
After spending 50 days in the Burn Unit of St. Johns Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, Ross Carter and Diane Hammond have returned home to Harrison, Arkansas, with continuing treatment on an outpatient basis. Carter is a well-respected gunsmith we consult on a regular basis.
One of the ways in which money is being raised to help Carter and Hammond get back on their feet is by donation of custom guns by renowned gunsmiths for raffle. One such gun was a Kimber Gold Match tuned by Richard Heinie. This is a special-edition model that was originally donated for raffle at the first Factory Gun Nationals run by Dick Metcalf of PASA Park. The raffle winner, Rog...
