Viewpoints

I carried the Model 36 S&W for three decades as both an on- and off-duty gun. I bobbed the hammer early on and had an occasional failure to fire with some practice ammo. I had the department armorer advise me that bobbing the hammer reduced the weight of the hammer, thus reducing the strike force of the hammer, causing light strikes on older or less-sensitive-primer ammo. I had him replace my bobbed hammer with a factory replacement bobbed hammer, and the problem ended. He told me the factory replacement bobbed hammer was the same weight as the original-issue unbobbed hammer, therefore the impact energy to the primer was always sufficient to reliably ignite the rounds.

I carried the Model 36 S&W for three decades as both an on- and off-duty gun. I bobbed the hammer early on and had an occasional failure to fire with some practice ammo. I had the department armorer advise me that bobbing the hammer reduced the weight of the hammer, thus reducing the strike force of the hammer, causing light strikes on older or less-sensitive-primer ammo. I had him replace my bobbed hammer with a factory replacement bobbed hammer, and the problem ended. He told me the factory replacement bobbed hammer was the same weight as the original-issue unbobbed hammer, therefore the impact energy to the primer was always sufficient to reliably ignite the rounds.

(GunReports.com) -- The upcoming issue of Esquire magazine, due to subscribers in about two weeks and due on newsstands several days later, carries an exclusive adaptation from The Gun, an examination of the origins of the world's most abundant weapon - the Kalashnikov assault rifle - and the consequences of its spread.The Gun and the adaptation of the book in Esquire, entitled 'How They Were Betrayed,' are written by C.J. Chivers, a former Marine Corps infantry officer and now a senior writer for The New York Times, where he reports for the Foreign and Investigative desks. He is also a frequent contributor to Esquire. In 2009 he shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage in of combat in Afghanistan.

GunReports.com video from Crimson Trace: Conquering Low Light with Ken Hackathorn. Ken shows how the use of white light and laser sights can make you a better shooter in conditions most common in personal defense situations.

(GunReports.com) -- The South Korean government, in an effort to raise money for its military, wants to sell nearly a million antique M1 rifles that were used by U.S. soldiers in the Korean War to gun collectors in America.The Obama administration approved the sale of the American-made rifles last year. But it reversed course and banned the sale in March – a decision that went largely unnoticed at the time but that is now sparking opposition from gun rights advocates.

Following a strong grassroots campaign led by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition calling for a ban on the production and distribution of traditional ammunition. Steve Owens, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, issued the following statement recently: 'EPA today denied a petition submitted by several outside groups for the agency to implement a ban on the production and distribution of lead hunting ammunition.

Following a strong grassroots campaign led by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition calling for a ban on the production and distribution of traditional ammunition. Steve Owens, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, issued the following statement recently: 'EPA today denied a petition submitted by several outside groups for the agency to implement a ban on the production and distribution of lead hunting ammunition.

I would like to comment on red-dot optical sights for firearms. For my competitive shooting and hunting, I have always purchased top quality and the most expensive optics I could afford. I wanted to advise my fellow Gun Tests readers about my experience with a made-in-China clone of the excellent Burris FastFire red dot sight. The clones of the Burris FastFire optical sights actually work fairly well in use, but they have no on-off switch like the Burris FastFire unit. When you put the plastic protective cover on the sight, this is supposed to turn the unit off. But in my experience, the sights eat batteries like a fat boy eats a bag of potato chips.

I would like to comment on red-dot optical sights for firearms. For my competitive shooting and hunting, I have always purchased top quality and the most expensive optics I could afford. I wanted to advise my fellow Gun Tests readers about my experience with a made-in-China clone of the excellent Burris FastFire red dot sight. The clones of the Burris FastFire optical sights actually work fairly well in use, but they have no on-off switch like the Burris FastFire unit. When you put the plastic protective cover on the sight, this is supposed to turn the unit off. But in my experience, the sights eat batteries like a fat boy eats a bag of potato chips.

Check out several videos this week: Watch a Ruger stainless 44 Mag lose its barrel due to metal fatigue. Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA examines numerous gun stock blanks to illustrate what to look for when selecting a stock blank. From the NSSF, a quick run down of what to pack when you're heading out of town on that hunt of a lifetime.

At The Heritage Foundation website, Ted R. Bromund, Ph.D., and gun-rights lawyer David B. Kopel recently covered the U.N.’s chilling progress on the Small Arms 'Programme of Action,' or PoA. The fourth biennial meeting on the PoA took place June 14–18, 2010. In 2001, the United Nations created the 'Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.' The PoA is not a treaty. Rather, it is a mechanism for encouraging voluntary cooperation.

At The Heritage Foundation website, Ted R. Bromund, Ph.D., and gun-rights lawyer David B. Kopel recently covered the U.N.’s chilling progress on the Small Arms 'Programme of Action,' or PoA. The fourth biennial meeting on the PoA took place June 14–18, 2010. In 2001, the United Nations created the 'Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.' The PoA is not a treaty. Rather, it is a mechanism for encouraging voluntary cooperation.