A gun topic or two
The ATF is still trying to say that arm braces on things like rifle caliber pistols makes them short barreled rifles. Guess they can also say why a rifle which reduces muzzle velocity and accuracy makes the rifle more dangerous? Ah, wait, it’s more concealable… which actually accomplishes what? IF someone is bent on doing something nefarious, they’d bring a REALLY concealable handgun. Even a large one like a .44 Magnum is easier to conceal than an AR pistol. But no matter what, Bondi’s boys are still trying to enforce a Biden-administration flip-flop that made braces regulated.
In a blunt court filing from Monday, March 16, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) urged a federal judge to dismiss a high-profile challenge to its now-defunct pistol stabilizing brace rule, arguing the case has become completely moot. At the same time, the agency made clear it has no intention of abandoning enforcement against certain braced pistols under the National Firearms Act (NFA) and Gun Control Act (GCA). Ammoland.com
Pro-gun-administrations are so for only as long as they think it gets them votes, and they are not to be trusted.
The Army is looking for a smaller, lighter version of the 6.8mm M7 rifle (above). This XM8 looks to be shorter and better suited for CQB and a companion, not a replacement, for the M7.
The XM8 is about five inches shorter and roughly one pound lighter than the M7 and features a fixed buttstock, a Sig Sauer spokesperson confirmed to Task & Purpose.Stars and Stripes
This is starting to look like the early ’60s, when the M14 was considered too large and heavy despite being chambered in what became 7.62 NATO. It was based on the even longer and heavier-ammoed M-1 of WWII fame – first a marginally smaller round with close to the same capability, then to an even smaller round so soldiers could carry more. After decades of what many describe as marginal performance from the 5.56, we are going to almost-7.62 (both bullet diameter and cartridge size) 6.8mm rounds, and about 2/3 the round load-out per person. What’s next, yet another small caliber round based on the 6.8mm? Like Mr. Twain said, history may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
Just a quick note for those who may not have been following it – Beretta, the oldest continuously operating gun company in the world, has quietly bought up Ruger stock and is one of their largest shareholders. In a Ruger press release:
Beretta Sought to Buy Ruger Stock at a 15% Discount from Ruger in a Private Placement and to Obtain Disproportionate Board Representation and Voting Power that Would Give It Near-Veto Power Over Important Matters
Beretta’s Self-Serving Demands Included Appointing Its Own CEO to Ruger’s Board in Violation of U.S. Antitrust Laws
Trying to float what sounds like an aspiring hostile takeover of an armament company past government regulators – well, it’s ballsy. Stay tuned for updates.
And we’ll close with what looks like the best hope for cheap drone kills I have seen – High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical?dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS.) Most kills are made using explosive or kinetic energy weapons – but a swarm of CIWS bullets through almost anything and you’ll ruin its day. Place an explosive in close proximity – every bit as good. The issue is how close you have to get for bullets to work, or arranging for your explosive to be just at the right point that the target is within the blast radius – THAT gets expensive. So how about a laser-type weapon that can tag the target at a a distance? HELIOS. Integrated with the AEGIS system, it:
HELIOS is a 60-kilowatt class solid-state laser weapon designed to be integrated directly into a warship’s combat systems. Unlike conventional defensive weapons that rely on explosive interceptors, HELIOS fires a concentrated beam of electromagnetic energy that travels at the speed of light.
When focused on a target, the beam rapidly heats structural components or sensors until they fail.
The system operates in two distinct engagement modes. The first is a “soft-kill” function known as dazzling. In this mode the laser does not physically destroy the target but instead blinds optical sensors or guidance systems on drones and missiles, causing them to lose navigation capability and crash.
The second is a “hard-kill” mode that applies sustained heat to physically damage or destroy the airframe.
The system also contains advanced surveillance capabilities. Its sensor suite includes thermal imaging, night-vision optics and high-resolution tracking cameras that allow operators to identify and track aerial threats several miles away. These sensors can be used independently of the laser for reconnaissance and battle damage assessment. Guessing Headlights
Instead of trying to throw million dollar missiles at drones, shoot a coupla-buck laser shot. I know the eqquipment ain’t cheap, but if we save on all those expensive missiles – that’s gotta be a winner. Now if we could just get one mounted on a truck or a track somehow… LOTS more info in the linked article.
Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Army, Navy, Science and Technology
The US should never have cancelled the ABL program. While it wasn’t super effective against boost stage ICBMs it could have laid waste to a flight of drones easily.
In regard to pistol braces the ATF is trying to enforce the federal NFA laws on the books and how they define an SBR. These need to be changed to align with modern times but getting the other side to agree isn’t possible. Anyone mentions guns and they panic and run away screeching.
I still think a hand-cranked gatling gun firing .22 caliber frangible bullets in a wide swath would be a cheap, easily fielded solution with low risk of collateral damage.
While 22LR is cheaper than any centerfire, it’s also less reliable and shorter range. Letting the drone get inside of 100 meters is not conducive to hitting it much less the fact that it’s operated by a person with slower reflexes than a computer and far less accuracy.
I was thinking of an electrically driven, remotely controlled .22 Gatling for the front yard. Not a mini-minigun, I don’t need that kind of cyclic. Just a little something to go with the tannerite filled garden gnomes. I learned a lot from KoB.
The Ruger situation is well underway. it’s no longer a friendly attempt at taking it over, it’s an openly hostile takeover and Ruger is resisting as much as it can. Barretta is doing what it can to make Ruger look bad in the market by claiming it is making inferior products and not what is desired in the market. A truly false publicity campaign.
Now while letting a euro based company take over an American Arms maker can have benefits, think CZ owning and reviving Colt, it also puts that manufacturer at the mercy of the euro concept of both marketing and what to produce. Ruger produces products based on the market and feedback from customers. The euro manufacturers produce what they want and tell their market that’s what they can buy, take it or leave it.
Ruger is neither dropping in market value or suffering from mismanagement. It does not need to be rescued like Colt. It needs to remain a true American firearms company, end of story.
I wonder what this back-and-forth will do to my Ruger stock?
Agreed, Ruger is, and should continue to be, and American company. It’s not struggling like Colt, Remington, and some other companies were before they were sold off and became shells of their former selves.
I like Beretta. I’ve owned my 92F for going on 30 years and have a couple other Beretta pistols. I own a few Rugers as well, but got my first only six or so years ago.
The two companies’ firearms are quite different. Take two of the .380s I own as an example. The Beretta 80X Cheetah is a nice piece of hardware that wouldn’t look out of place if concealed under a tailored suit. It retails for $600-ish, though, and sits on the nightstand most of the time. I paid under $300 for my Ruger Security-380. It’s functional but plastic, has high-vis fiber optic sights, and has sat in the car for the past year. I dropped it once, wiped it off, and put it back in the hiding spot. I’d never do that with the Cheetah; that gets the new car treatment where I just want to polish it and keep it safe from nicks and dings.
True enough, Ruger is 1st in sales in American companies and their guns are very good quality.
A few of their rifles and pistols have a great following. The 10/22, Mark IV and LCP are probably their best selling guns and I own one or more of each. My kids first firearms were all 10/22s, which are almost as good and handy as an early Nylon 66. The Mark IV is probably the most cost effective target pistol on the market today. Slip a suppressor on the end of it and you have a great little pest control gun that won’t wake the neighbors, or in the case of zombies, won’t alert the other zombies.
“The ATF is still trying to say that arm braces on things like rifle caliber pistols makes them short barreled rifles”.
Let’s be honest about this. A pistol brace follows the letter of the law to create a short barrelled rifle. Any honest gun owner knows this and we take advantage of it. The ATF needs to leave it alone, that horse left the barn long ago. The same thing applies to short barrelled shotguns. You can buy one that meets legal requirements, but don’t you dare cut down your legally owned 870.
870’s are great, Brink’s used them but never in a gun fight, employee thinks he empties the gun using the catch barrel and takes the muzzle out and points it up and pulls the trigger. 9 buckshots go into the overhead vent duct. Viet Helo Pilot in truck has an A/D and buckshot goes through the truck’s ceiling. Took awhile that you didn’t hear the shot rolling around while turning the truck. Backup crew is called to back up another crew picking up Martins Dept. store in Brooklyn due to a tip that their would be a hold up so one of the backup crew members brings in the 870 and while waiting for the elevator the 870 holder has an A/D that goes into the ceiling and people ducking behind merchandise bins. Great gun but not great people holding the guns…
A long, long time ago I did see someone put a shell of 00 buck through the roof of Crown Vic from the inside.
It went though the roof and destroyed the light bar and after that the officer’s new name was “Shotgun”, as in; “let me grab my shotg..[boom], [stunned silence from the group]….”
Me; “I think he [bad guy] heard us”
Bad guy peeks out front door, sees Keystone Kops in front of his trailer and being HaF, walks out to see what is going on. Did make taking him into custody pretty easy. They patched the car up, fresh coat of paint, new light bar, good as new.
Eventually “Shotgun” moved on to a different line of work.
Shotguns are kind of an antique for police and security work.
Shotguns peaked around 1912 with the Winchester M12 when they still had the “slam gire” capability. Hold the trigger back, and every time you pump it (vigorously) it fires. 5 buckshot rounds in under 2 seconds.
Re buying the short shotgun- if it is manufactured with a pistol grip and can’t mount a stock, it’s legal to be short. If it started life with a stock, the 18″ barrel/26″ OAL rule applies.
I have an old model 12 that slam fires beautifully. Grampa bought it at an auction (along with a Remingon bolt action 22 that I still have) in 1935. I think he paid $40 for the pair.
I remember 3 different officers at my department who discharged their 870 through the roof of the patrol cars. Also, one who was standing outside a hardware store waiting for the owner to show up so we could do a property check. He racked his shotgun, with was the Mossberg 500, and promptly fired the double ought buck shell through the over hang at the front door. Nobody could convince him that holding the trigger down as you rack his shotgun would cause it to fire, until then.
The way to avoid that is to keep your booger hook off the bang switch when you rack the slide.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.