Why do people continue to buy into all these myths about ammo? No, birdshot isn’t good for self defense, and no, shooting someone in the leg isn’t “safe.” Check out the full episode to hear Keith and Caleb debunk common myths about ammo, stopping power, and more!
It is with a heavy heart that I learned Scott passed…
From the Editor:
This morning I learned that Scott Smith, who began writing here with us in 2019, passed away on Tuesday June 15th…
Scott is an old friend of the industry, and a friend of some of us here at GAT Daily since 2006.
He was a former federal LEO who served on active duty in the Army in numerous positions and USAF Reserve Security Policeman. He was an active USPSA and three gun competition and is a charter life member of IDPA. Over the past twenty plus years he wrote for numerous publications and has graduated from many shooting schools including Gunsite, Sig Academy, Blackwater.
You could get all that from his bio here, or anywhere else his writing landed over these many years.
Scott welcomed people into the industry and I was happy to welcome him to GAT in 2019 at the enthusiastic recommendation of Dr. Latebloomer. She credits him with introducing her to firearms, and for that alone I could never thank him enough because of the fantastic work she does here.
I published his last piece for us on the 14th, believing I would see the next tool, gizmo, or gadget he had found to put digital ink towards in a few days. It was always there, reliable as the sunrise. About the time I thought I hadn’t heard from Scott in a minute there he was again like he read my mind, new work done and ready to run. But that sun won’t rise for us again.
Rest in peace, Scott.
-Keith Finch, Editor-in-Chief
5 reasons why I love the 1911
There’s something about shooting 1911s that reminds me how much I love the platform. No matter how many times I divest myself of them, sell them, I always seem to end up back with them. In fact, I’ve done some of the best shooting of my life with 1911s of various flavors.
The 1911 has a lot going for it, and here are five reasons why I just can’t seem to quit the platform.
1. Shootability
Right up front, here’s where it is for me. The 1911 platform lends itself to being easy to shoot. Regardless of the chambering, whether it’s .45, 9mm, .40 S&W, or .38 Super, 1911s just tend to be easy to shoot. Part of it’s the steel frame, part of it’s the (generally) light single action triggers, the fact that the grips give you tons of gun to hold on to; 1911s are just easy to shoot well.
2. Endless customization
One of the great things about being a 1911 armorer is that if there’s something about a 1911 I don’t like, I can probably find parts to make it into something I do like. Don’t like the sights? Change ’em! Don’t like the trigger pull? Change it! Hell, if you’re a proper crazy person like me you can even buy a part to disable the Series 80 safety that a lot of modern 1911s have.
3. So many flavors
So maybe a Government sized all steel .45 ACP 1911 isn’t your flavor. That’s fine, because you could get a Commander sized aluminum frame 1911 in 9mm instead! Or a double stack 6 inch gun in .40 S&W! While the 1911 tends to run the best in it’s intended format as a 5 inch .45 ACP, you have so many options when it comes to selecting your 1911 to the point where it’s easy to get decision paralysis. Do you want a Colt Defender in 9mm? Do you want a Springfield Operator? So many choices.
4. Pop culture and historical connections
Magnum P.I. World War II. Last Man Standing. SWAT. Jeff Cooper.
The list of famous movies, famous people, and historical events that the 1911 has been involved in goes on and on and on forever. Whether you’re a fan of the classic GI models used in World War II or Vietnam movies or modern 1911s like the ones used in SWAT or Battlefield Hardline, there is a fictional universe where you can watch your favorite 1911 play. That doesn’t even touch on the real, legitimate historical connection that the 1911 has to some of the most important military events of all time; or it’s connection to some of the founding fathers of modern pistol shooting. Let’s face it, the 1911 is as important to the development of the shooting sports as the Modern Technique itself.
5. John Moses Browning
Need I say more? Only the greatest firearms inventor of all time. JMB.
I really do love these guns, ever since I shot my first one years and years ago, and I continue to love it to do this day. I also hate it a little bit, but honestly you can’t love anything and not hate it a little at the same time. Why do you love it?
Springfield XD-S Mod.2 OSP
Springfield has made it easier than ever to carry a concealed pistol with a red dot. The XD-S Mod.2 OSP now has a factory milled slide that accepts the smallest, most popular micro red dots on the market. With magazine options of 7-rounds or 9-rounds, this firearm is the perfect EDC for your daily routine.
Smile… You’re on Camera, San Jose
San Jose adopts new gun control measures
As if Californians didn’t have enough nonsense to put up with, San Jose is now mandating video and audio recording of all firearm purchases to authenticate ‘legality’ …
San Jose will be one of the few cities in the nation to require gun shops to record firearm purchases after a unanimous late-night vote Tuesday.
There have been 30,000 such purchases in the U.S. in the past year according to the Giffords Law Center, though it is unclear how many happened in San Jose.
I don’t trust the Giffords Law Center, nor their pawn they are trying to hoist upon us with the ATF Director nominee, Chipman.
I wonder if they’ll point out how many people were prosecuted and convicted for straw purchasing, which is feloniously illegal, and the San Jose Spotlight fails to note that the language is ‘attempted’ straw purchases?
Probably not, NPR noted back in 2015 that prosecuting straw purchases is very low on the priority list for LEO’s. Like failing a background check and following up on the 4473 to see if someone feloniously lied and was attempting to purchase or if the record is erroneous, ‘straw purchase’ is usually an add on charge when they need someone to go away for longer since they were associated with another crime. They’ll hit someone hard if they supplied a terrorist, like in San Bernardino, if they can get the charge to stick. But this isn’t really a top priority for enforcement when there are more current crimes and other events needing officers’ immediate attention.
I tend to agree with that, I would much rather a cop be helping cordon off and rescue at an accident scene than plodding away checking upon on ‘Jon Smith’ who put his SSN in wrong on his 4473 for the 10th time in 6 months and had the NICS system give him a denial, or spelled it ‘Jon’ instead of ‘John’ because he just does that sometimes because he prefers ‘Jon’ … I’ve worked for several FFL’s, I am in no way joking.
“We know a significant number of crooks and gangs get firearms through straw purchasing,” said Mayor Sam Liccardo. “This set of ordinances is really focused on narrowing the flow of guns to those which are clearly legal, and hopefully doing something to deter the flow of guns that are unlawful to own.”
Gonna ask the hard question here, “How?”
Gun shops in San Jose will be required to video and audio record all purchases to ensure each purchase is legal. Buying a firearm from or inside a residence would be prohibited.
How is requiring the new ordinance of recorded transactions, making dealers shell out for audio/video setups, ‘ensuring each purchase is legal’ if they complete the 4473 and background check? How are you going to enforce not transfering a firearm inside of a residence?
Do you comprehend the ease with which someone who already does not care about the transfer rules will also ignore this one? I doubt they know it is a rule, and they certainly don’t care.
Employees and owners will be required to question potential buyers to ensure they’re not looking to start a straw purchase. The ordinance will also require shops to display suicide prevention posters and perform at least one inventory check each year.
These are already the rules and best practices… the 4473 Form already asks this question…
“For obvious reasons, this issue is very important to me,” said Sarah Huff Brancato, whose son Michael Munns was the first homicide in San Jose in 2020. She called in to support the proposal.
So important that you were handed a stack of feel-good policy nonsense and asked if you would support it based upon an emotive manipulation of your personal tragedy? How stunning and brave. *We’re from the government and we are here to help intensifies*
The proposal follows calls for stricter gun control measures after the May 26 mass shooting at a VTA light rail yard in downtown San Jose left 10 dead, including the gunman. Liccardo’s office, however, has been working on gun safety measures for more than a year.
The council approved an initial draft of the ordinance in 2019, but implementation paused due to the pandemic. Chicago already has similar laws in place, and San Francisco almost adopted similar rules in 2015, but its last gun shop closed before the city could do so.
There we see the ultimate goal of such policies. Run the gun shops out of business by making their business prohibitively expensive beyond any possibility of sustainable living.
It’s “amazing” to me that California, home to every good-idea-fairy piece of hot garbage gun policy in the country and the most rabid of anti-gunners (including one rather famous example convicted of arms trafficking), and yet account for so much of the gun violence in the nation. They’re currently the top state for ‘unsolved’ mass shootings and the second in the nation for mass shootings overall. While Texas ranks first, Houston accounts for nearly as many mass shootings as California has unsolved mass shootings (Houston: 8, California: 9), that seems to be a local problem with the Houstonian area.
[as of 6/16/21]
Councilmember Dev Davis felt conflicted about the new measure because she grew up around guns and worried it might alienate lawful gun owners.
“I feel like I’m in the middle of this issue, and it’s a tough place to be in the middle because the issue has gotten so polarized in the past decade and decade and a half,” Davis said.
Like Davis, Councilmember Raul Peralez grew up around guns and shot recreationally, but said he always believed in stricter gun control measures.
Ah, ye olde tried and true false appeal to the authority of someone who ‘grew up around guns’, a phrase that makes instructors and good shooters cringe since it has as much value to safe handling and informed opinions as staying at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
“In addition to that history, I have always welcomed a more restrictive gun industry. And I’ve felt that way since I was a child,” Peralez said. “It’s really baffled me as to how this particular industry has been, in essence, untouchable in many places throughout the country.”
How many ideas that you ‘held when you were a child’ turned out to be totally bunk, totally wrong, and an utter steaming pile of nonsense? This one is too. Untouchable? This industry fights for its life daily, it is repressed with hostile and malicious intent by all the normal advertising avenues that products like vehicles and alcohol can use, and each and every event that can possibly be leveraged to try and put a stake through the heart of the gun industry is leveraged for everything it is worth, logical or not, every time it is offered to the anti-gun industry.
Yes, it is an industry, one of victim exploitation.
Gun rights activists say these regulations will restrict law-abiding firearm owners of their rights and will run gun shops out of the city.
With cause, see San Francisco.
“These are small businesses. It’s already hard enough to do business in the gun retail market,” Brian Wang, owner of the San Jose-based gun safety school Monarch Defense, told San José Spotlight. “But now the city of San Jose is taking arbitrary control, arbitrary schemes just to make life hard on these gun stores. It’s very clear they’re trying to take the last couple of gun stores in the city and just kill them.”
We see nothing in the proposed rule of recording transactions that speaks to how this is supposed to help? We see nothing that is supposed to help gun stores, not even a tax credit or write off from the city for the equipment. Businesses just have to eat the cost because a group or morons on a council who aren’t in the business said so.
Now, I’m not saying video and audio surveillance isn’t useful. I know plenty of stores who put it into practice so that, if in connection to an investigation or needing to review for loss prevention it can be reviewed, it can be. But we are talking about all the private footage of a store being legally accessible with no cause to the authorities to ‘check legality’ of transactions that are already heavily regulated on the federal and state levels for legality. If the transactions aren’t conducted legally the business can have their license pulled if the offense warrants it.
What exactly is video supposed to support for legally complete 4473 transfers that the form already does not cover? Are you putting every single store under suspicion of being complicit in illegal transfers and fudging the paperwork? What proof do you have to level such an accusation against an entire industry? This violates the hell out of all sorts of privacy and business protections that other industries enjoy.
Imagine making every pharmacy put every single prescription transaction on audio and video for the review of the state to be certain that all the transfers are ‘legal’ and are not contributing to prescription drug abuse and addiction… oh wait, HIPAA. But the literal 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution should be violated to hell and back to ‘make sure it is legally done’ and all that jazz…
The VTA mass shooter, a 57-year-old employee, had three 9mm pistols and 32 high-capacity magazines, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities said the shooter fired 39 bullets. The magazines, which held more than 10 rounds, are illegal in California.
So none of your current crop of garbage.. I’m sorry, firearm safety laws, works so what is video supposed to do? Are you going to zoom in and see the ‘illegal’ magazines being transferred? Is that the plan? Why should we expect any better rate of enforcement or prosecution against prohibited individuals under the new rule than we have now?
Convenient for me that they point out how many pistols and magazines the shooter had while simultaneously making it obvious that the attack could have been completed exactly the same way with three California compliant pistols and one… count it, one spare magazine of legal capacity or ONE pistol with 4 CA compliant magazines.
The three guns were legally obtained and registered, according to FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig Fair.
Huh, so video wouldn’t have done anything. It wasn’t a straw purchase. Why the rule change again? We must extra make sure the legally obtained and registered pistols were extra legally obtained and registered just in case that somehow prevents one person from doing something horrific?
“Even preventing one of these straw purchases from happening would be a success,” said Councilmember David Cohen. “I’m excited we’re thinking of creative ideas here in San Jose. That we’re not scared or shying away from this debate. That we’re using the opportunity to try new things to make our communities safer.”
5 reasons why I hate the 1911
There’s something about shooting 1911s that reminds me how much I hate the platform. No matter how many times I divest myself of them, sell them, I always seem to end up back with them. In fact, I’ve done some of the worst shooting of my life with 1911s of various flavors.
The 1911 has a lot of problems, and here are five reasons why it sometimes just drives me completely insane.
1. Shootability
1911s are easy to shoot. Ridiculously so. In fact, the light triggers, solid ergonomics and relative ease of operation make them so easy to shoot that you can often hide poor fundamentals behind them. For example, if you struggle with managing your trigger, just tune that 1911 trigger down to 2.5 pounds! Trigger pull issues solved. Hiding skill deficiencies behind equipment impedes your growth as a shooter and can lead to failure at critical moments.
2. Endless customization
You know what’s awesome? Buying a used 1911 and having no idea what kind of amateur gunsmithing has gone into the gun. Did someone do a “trigger job” that broke through the surface hardening of the sear? Now your gun might go full auto and you’ll never know until it happens! Plus, parts from Manufacturer X might not fight guns from Company Y, which you also won’t know until after you’ve bought them and failed to install them.
3. So many flavors
This just drives me nuts. There are so many companies making guns called “1911” that the designation has become almost meaningless. It’s to the point that the likelihood of parts from one 1911 fitting another 1911 is pretty much slim and none, which means if you want to standardize on 1911s, you’ll need to also standardize on a manufacturer to make sure you can keep and adequate supply of spares on hand. Don’t even get me started on magazines; even the gold standard of 1911 mags don’t always work right with every gun!
4. Pop culture and historical connections
Oh my gosh, you’re always hearing 1911 fanboys go on and on about how “it was in WW2” or “it was in Vietnam” or “how awesome it looked in that one scene in SWAT where the guy’s gun has a clear stovepipe and the propmaster didn’t bother to fix it when the shot changes (seriously, that happened…twice – ed).” No one cares! Looking cool in movies has exactly diddly squat to do with whether a gun will work when you need it to, otherwise Kel-Tecs would be winning world championships and riding in cop holsters. It’s just a bunch of fanboys trying to justify their sad devotion to an ancient religion.
5. John Moses Browning
Yes, I get it. JMB was straight up prolific as an inventor, and also likely a super genius. But he’s no more significant a historical figure than Hiram Maxim or Sam Colt, and half the features on the 1911 weren’t even in his original design. The grip safety that people looooooooooooooooooooooove because it makes the gun sooper-extra-safe was put on at the insistence of the Army…for cavalry troopers! Cavalry!
I really do hate the 1911 platform, ever since I shot my first one years and years ago, and I continue to hate it to this day. I also love it a little bit, but honestly you can’t hate anything and not love it a little at the same time. Why do you hate the 1911?
Winchester Wildcat
There is no rifle more American and more friendly than the .22 rimfire rifle. The .22 will put meat on the table, train young shooters, and guard the ranch from pests and predators. The .22 has trained soldiers and more than once guarded the homestead from intruders. If there is any one rifle you should have it is a .22 caliber rifle. While single shots, lever action and pump action rifles are all good the .22 self loader is an efficient and worthwhile investment. Winchester introduced the Wildcat .22 a few years ago. They were hard to find to say the least. I don’t know if Winchester had teething problems or supply problems but I was able to obtain one through regular commercial channels early this year. The Wildcat is an interesting rifle well worth its modest price.
When I look over a rifle I like to consider sighting equipment first. The Wildcat features plenty of rail for mounting red dot sights or a rimfire scope. The rifle also features a well designed aperture rear sight. The front sight is the tear drop style, tapering to the slightly rain drop top. This sight is very easy to use well and makes for rapid sight acquisition. The rest of the rifle isn’t conventional at all. The stock is a composite but feels solid in the hand. There is mounting hardware to mount a laser forward if need be. If you run into a bobcat, feral dog or other nasty things around the campsite a laser or light will come in handy. The Wildcat like all .22 self loaders is blowback operated. The rifle, however, is striker fired. This makes for a rapid lock time. Winchester made a wise decision in designing the rifle to accommodate Ruger 10/22 magazines. This means extended magazines are readily available. The Winchester magazine is easily loaded. A special wheel on the magazine body is depressed to allow for easy loading. During the test and evaluation I used several Ruger X magazines with good to excellent results. While the magazine is easy to load the magazine release is an even more interesting model of engineering. There is a conventional magazine release but also a large release, with components on either side of the stock, that is pressed to release the magazine. There are quite a few human engineering drawbacks in other rifles neatly solved by the Wildcat. The bolt holds open on the last shot. The bolt release is well designed. The safety is a crossbolt, the barrel is eighteen inches long.
That is the bolt release just in front of the trigger guard. The magazine release is near the magazine and the serrated portion on the stock is another magazine release. 
The Winchester Wildcat is a wonder of construction. It is easily broken down into component parts.
The most interesting piece of engineering in this modular design is field stripping the rifle. Be certain the magazine is removed. Clear the chamber- then check again. There is a red knob visible in the rear of the receiver. Press this knob in with the forefinger. At the same time, with the other hand, pull the trigger guard downward. The main action then pulls out of the stock. The cocking handle folds out of the ways as field strip is accomplished. This system makes cleaning simple. The chamber may be easily cleaned from the rear of the rifle. Despite modern improvements in gun powder .22 Long Rifle ammunition is dirtier than most. Powder ash and even the lubricant found on the heel based bullet eventually cruds up an action. There is nothing easier to clean and maintain than the Wildcat save perhaps a single shot rifle. The package weighs four pounds unloaded. This is a neat little rifle that doesn’t become a burden hunting all day and stores easily in the truck.
The rifle accepts lights on its forward rail. 
Note the rifle’s easy to use aperture sights. The field stripping knob is visible in the rear of the receiver.
When firing the rifle I found a useful trigger action, not exactly crisp but useful enough for a .22 rimfire. According to the Lyman Electronic trigger gauge trigger compression is 6.5 pounds. The rifle is easy to use well as expected. I have fired a few over four hundred rounds of ammunition without a single failure to feed, chamber, fire or eject, no break in malfunctions. .22s usually choke due to ammunition problems. Only so much to be done with a heel based bullet and dirty powder. I recommend cleaning the rifle every two to three hundred rounds and running a light lube. As for accuracy the rifle will take a squirrel out of the top of the tallest tree around these parts. It is a joy to roll tin cans and pine combs. Most of the ammunition expended has been the CCI Mini Mag, with quite a few Stingers thrown in just in case. At 25 yards groups of two inches are average. This is an accurate iron sighted rifle. I suppose an optical sight would improve things but I just don’t think I will mount one on this rifle. It is light, friendly, and reliable, all we may ask.
Winchester Wildcat .22
Caliber .22 Long Rifle
Overall Length 36.25 in.
Length of pull 13.5 in.
Drop at comb 7/8 in.
Barrel length 18 in.
Weight Four pounds
Average retail $250
Damsel In Defense – Don’t Fall For It
Another day, another batch of self-defense junk on the market. Something about the self-defense space draws in scams, grifters, and cheap crappy products. I recently ran across a multi-level marketing scheme known as Damsel in Defense and couldn’t help but take a look. I live in a small town that MLMs ravage yearly. Lots of these totally not pyramid schemes come and go in a fad-like manner. Most are based around diet shakes and pills, but Damsel In Defense is focused on self-defense tools.
What’s an MLM?
Multi-level marketing businesses are not pyramid schemes, but only barely. MLMs have a product to sell, but you don’t make much money selling products. The real way to make money is through recruiting other sellers. These are not employees of Damsel in Defense but independent sellers. Every time you recruit a new person, you get a cut of their earnings, as do the big dogs at the top.
I’m not an expert in MLMs, but after seeing It Works, Herbalife, and the other dozen or so that everyone in my tiny town sells, I have an idea of how they work. As an ‘independent pro,’ you have to purchase a monthly amount of goods to remain an independent pro. You are forced to take inventory even if you aren’t selling it. With Damsel in Defense, you have to sell a certain amount to maintain your status as an independent pro.
What’s Wrong With Damsel In Defense?
It’s a free market, and I guess MLMs should be allowed to do their thing. However, there is a big difference between selling health shakes and selling gear you trust your life to in a defensive encounter. Damsel in Defense is selling subpar stun guns and pepper sprays and not taking a stance of properly training or informing their clientele.
Let’s talk about training first. I don’t expect companies to provide training in how to use their products. The problem I see with Damsel in Defense is the wide variety of videos created by their independent consultants that are attempting to train users. These people likely have good intentions but don’t have any clue what they are talking about. Their advice is downright silly often, and occasionally dangerous.
Besides that, the self-defense tools they are offering border on downright absurd sometimes. They sell kubatons, which are the peak of McDojo self-defense tools. A small metal rod designed for pressure point takedowns is stupid, especially if you’ve never taken any hand-to-hand fighting courses. I could write an entire article on kubatons, but instead, watch this video from hard2hurt.
They also sell pepper spray, which is tough to hate. The pepper spray they sell doesn’t appear to be any better or worse than anyone else’s, except it’s more expensive. It’s the stun guns Damsel In Distress sells that are really problematic.
The Stun Guns
First, they make claims about them without backing up their claims. Up until recently, they advertised how many volts the gun has, which means nothing when it comes to stun guns. Now they claim their stun guns are 18mA or 18 milliamps. So now, instead of using volts, they use current, which makes about the same amount of sense.
Milliamps matter, but not as much as you think. The X26 Taser, you know, the one trusted by LE and the military, has 2.1 milliamps. Charge is what matters with a stun gun when it comes to causing pain. Current is measured in micro coulombs with stun guns and are better indicators of “pain” via neuromuscular disruption.
If any independent testing of Damsel in Distress stun guns is undertaken, it is not portrayed in the literature. Organizations like Rassettica Testing Limited perform energy weapon testing independently, and their standards are utilized by the military and police forces to determine energy weapon effectiveness.
On top of that, a small Youtube channel called Fintech Repair undertook the task of repairing one of these Damsel in Defense stun guns. When they took it apart, they found what they described as a dangerous design with masking tape holding parts of it together. Watch the video to hear his expertise, but essentially he was shocked by the design. He even goes as far as to call it a fire hazard.
Also, these stun guns are expensive. They cost anywhere from three to four times more than a Sabre model.
With the Sabre model, not only are they cheaper, you know they are designed and tested independently for quality.
Parting Shots
Don’t purchase overpriced, potentially useless, and dangerous stun guns, overpriced pepper spray, or mcdojo tools like kubatons from a company that is just barely not a pyramid scheme. Look for reputable sources of self-defense tools with an established reputation in the self-defense community. Please put more importance on the tools you use to defend yourself. Keep the shady healthy smoothies for the MLMs, and stay away from Damsel in Defense.
Review: ‘The Right to Bear Arms’ by Stephen Halbrook
[Ed: This review, edited for DRGO, comes from The Arbalest Quarrel, another version of which was earlier published June 4 at Ammoland. We think this is an extremely important study this year in history, as the Supreme Court makes plans to consider the Right to Bear Arms during its fall session.]
Many Americans know Stephen Halbrook as a foremost legal expert on the Nation’s Second Amendment. It is a designation richly deserved, and his latest book, The Right to Bear Arms, couldn’t come at a more opportune and pressing time as the American people find themselves at a crossroads.
The central theme of Halbrook’s comprehensive, well-researched book is that the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution is the linchpin of a free Constitutional republic and to the continued sovereignty of the people over Government. It is in this frame of heightened acuity to the imminent danger facing the Nation and its people that Halbrook’s book, The Right to Bear Arms, takes on added importance.
The peril facing our Country is captured in the subtitle of the book. Halbrook poses the question: “A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class?” The question is salient, not rhetorical.
By posing the subtitle as a question Halbrook tells Americans they have a crucial choice to make today, just as the framers of the Constitution had theirs to make well over two centuries ago when, after a hard-fought war for independence from tyranny, they found themselves faced with an arduous task: hammering out the form of the Federal Government. Perceiving it as a “necessary evil,” they did not want the thing to turn into a rapacious tyrannical beast such as the one they had just fought gallantly and ferociously to defeat.
The framers of the Constitution realized that the protection of a free Republic and the sovereignty of the American people would require, at a minimum, a clear division of authority among three core functions of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. They provided for this in the Articles of the Constitution. But they knew that this separation of powers would only impede the inexorable tendency of the Government to devolve into tyranny.
The ultimate “fail-safe” against a powerful, centralized Government usurping sovereignty from the American people would require incorporating a “Right to Bear Arms” in the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights. The Antifederalists among the Constitution’s framers insisted on this even as the Federalists thought an explicit assertion of the Right to be unnecessary. Thankfully, the Antifederalists won the day.
Our explicit, emphatic Right of the People to Bear Arms was, at the time of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, unheard of in any other nation-state—and remains so to this day.
As governments of other nations constrain personal autonomy and hence liberty, and often succumb to tyranny, it is important that Americans continue to recognize the timeless importance of the Right to Bear Arms, for preservation of that Right is inextricably tied to the fate of the United States.
Halbrook’s book is well-researched, thorough, and yet markedly readable. It serves as an effective, eloquent, rejoinder to those elements in the Nation that demonstrate a desire to serve the interests of a privileged elite. Such an idea was anathema to the founders, and they diligently sought to avoid its dire ramifications. Their answer: The Right to Bear Arms. And Halbrook makes clear to whom the inviolate Right to Bear Arms belongs.
“The Second Amendment refers to ‘the right of the people.’ And who are “the people?” The term ‘people,’ was defined as ‘persons’ in general . . . and the people was defined as ‘the commonalty,’ as distinct from men of rank. . . .”
The Right to Bear Arms was never conceived by the framers of the Constitution as a thing accruing to the benefit of a privileged few.
Moreover, the framers of the U.S. Constitution understood the “Right to Bear Arms” to be a preexisting right of the commoner. The Second Amendment simply codifies this. Halbrook makes the point cogently:
“‘The right of the people’ is significant. The term ‘right’ expresses a preexisting right, not a new right invented for the Bill of Rights. To declare that ‘the right’ to do or be free of something shall not be abridged, infringed, or violated presupposes that the right already exits.”
But what is one to make of the dependent “militia” clause? Halbrook addresses this question too, and from a logical standpoint. Halbrook states:
“If keeping and bearing arms was a ‘right’ only of the militia when in actual service, the Framers certainly would have so stated. It would have been odd when guaranteeing ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms,’ had the Framers really meant ‘the right of the militia to keep and bear arms when authorized and activated by government.”
This explanation serves as a remonstration to remarks by retired Associate Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Stevens had first called for outright repeal of the Second Amendment, knowing well the plain meaning of it. Later, he suggested keeping the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights but modifying it, in his book, Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution.
Stevens suggested altering the Second Amendment to read, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms when serving in the militia shall not be infringed.”
The Framers would be aghast.
Much of Halbrook’s book details the history behind the Right and serves as an interesting backdrop to the imperative for it. The book makes a fascinating read that brings us to the present day with the seminal Heller and McDonald case holdings which Halbrook also addresses.
Now, over two hundred and thirty years after ratification of the Bill of Rights, we come to a fork in the road:
Either we secure the Right or we risk losing it for all time. There is no middle path and can be no compromise. For the American people it is now ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL.
Halbrook lays out clearly and cogently what is at stake for us. Thank you, Stephen Halbrook!
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–Roger Katz is CEO of Arbalest Quarrel, and an attorney licensed in Ohio & Arizona (formerly New York) focusing on federal and state firearms issues. He has worked in patent, intellectual property, criminal and securities law and has degrees in English, Philosophy, Public Administration & Education. He believes in the sanctity of the Bill of Rights.
All DRGO articles by Roger Katz
15 reasons no one takes you seriously about guns
Have you ever tried to share your opinion about a gun related subject but no one took you seriously? Well, it’s probably because you’re doing something that lowkey lets people know that you don’t know what you’re talking about, like one of these 15 things!
15. You think 410 revolver/shotguns is something more than a ridiculous novelty gun
At this point, jokes about these guns are too easy. It’s like the “Your Momma” joke of the gun industry, it requires no effort or forethought, but it’s also de rigueur when you’re writing one of these lists.
14. You have punisher skull logos on ANYTHING
Remember when the Punisher was cool? And he still sort of is, at least the Netflix series was pretty decent. But the Punisher skull logo has been ruined by overweight tactical weeaboos who sit around having fantasies about the breakdown of social order.
Side note: does anyone else think that the punisher skull logos with the blue line for law enforcement are REALLY weird? I am the biggest supporter of LEOs, but I feel like maybe associating yourself with an image that’s supposed to represent vigilante justice isn’t a good idea.
13. You have III% or Threeper patches/stickers on anything
Pretty much the same as the punisher skull, but worse. If you’re not familiar, III%ers are the overweight guys with “Terrorist Hunting Permit” patches, CCW badges, and yet somehow have never seen the inside of a MEPS. Weird.
See also : “I almost joined but…”
12. You have a super pimped out Glock with factory sights on it
Can you imagine how dumb someone must be to spend $500 bucks pimping out their Glock and yet they leave the godawful cheapo factory sights on it? I can’t.
11. You carry a .40/.45 because you believe that “stopping power” is real
Here are some real facts for you: handgun bullets all pretty much suck equally at stopping people, which is why we train to shoot threats multiple times. Your .40/45/357 doesn’t produce any better terminal ballistics than a 9mm. Sorry that the truth hurts.
10. You think that competition shooting creates training scars that will get you killed in a gunfight
If you can’t tell the difference between a gunfight and a shooting match you don’t have any business doing either.
9. You think that competition shooting is an acceptable substitute for defensive firearms training
If you can’t tell the difference between a gunfight and a shooting match you don’t have any business doing either.
8. You carry a meme-tier gun
In a world where we have the Beretta APX, Glock 19, S&W M&P 2.0, Sig P320, HK VP9, and Walther PDP, it’s clear we’re in the golden age of striker fired 9mm pistols. Don’t like striker fired? The Beretta 92 series has had a comeback, and the classic Sig P-series are still out there, along with the HK P30. The point is, there are so many great, well made guns…why would you carry something else?
7. You still shoot using a weaver stance
Weaver is old and busted and hasn’t been relevant in the shooting community in over 25 years. Why are you still clinging to this ancient religion? Jeff Cooper is dead, and if he wasn’t he’d be shooting modern iso.
6. You recommend birdshot for shotguns.
Just because your cousin’s uncle’s brother’s best friend dropped a home invader with a single round of birdshot (which probably didn’t actually happen) doesn’t mean it’s a good choice for home defense. Stop being dumb and use buckshot.
5. You spend time researching over-penetration of defensive rounds instead of practicing
You know what the best way to reduce risks of over-penetration is? HIT WHAT YOU’RE AIMING AT!
4. You think lights and lasers on home defense guns are dumb because they’ll give away your position
I am not worried about giving away my position, because DEVGRU isn’t breaking into my house at 2am. I am however worried about shooting someone who doesn’t need to be shot, such as the many tragic cases of people shooting their own family members because PID is for cowards, I guess. Get a light on your gun.
3. You think the SERPA is a good holster
How many people need to shoot themselves with a SERPA before all its defenders realize that any design that requires you to push a button with your trigger finger is dumb?
2. You think AIWB is dangerous
You know…I bet if you made a Venn Diagram of people who think the SERPA is acceptable and people who think that AIWB is dangerous, it’d be a perfect circle. A perfect circle made out of people who make bad choices.
1. You think YouTubers are a good source for information
Look, YouTube can be an excellent source of information…but it can also be a festering sewer full of fudds, wannabes, and has-beens. Being able to sift the good information from the bad is a skill all its own, but if the YouTuber you’re watching has said any of the stuff we just listed? Probably a clue to avoid them.
Part 2 of 5.11’s Father’s Day
The AMP family of packs is built to survive use of daily carry, trips to the range of use by all but the most serious of hikers or professional first responders. The only reason I say serious hikers and first responders may not like this pack is the lack of a waist belt to stabilize it. That said there are attachment points for a 1 ½” belt such as a TDU or Skyhawk could be threaded through to give you that extra stability.
5.11 constructs the AMP’s body from 500 denier nylon and the bottom from 1050 denier. This combination ensures that gear will not tear through the pack and that it will be highly stain and water resistant. To further increase the pack’s resistance to the weather, 5.11 laminates its proprietary TAC-LAM to the nylon. I stuck the AMP 32L out in our recent rains for an hour and there was no water on the inside.
To ensure you are comfortable carrying a load, there are close cell adjustable padded shoulder straps with a removable chest strap. They are contoured so they wrap around your shoulders. The neck area has a soft nylon wrap to keep the straps from wearing your neck raw.
The main pocket has two mesh zipper pockets to secure small items such as bug spray, personal first aid supplies, etc. On each side are open pockets that can carry a water bottle or items such as shooting sticks. Atop the outside of the body is a soft zipper pocket to carry glasses, camera, etc. You will find a low profile zipper pocket on each exterior side as well.
5.11’s biggest innovation on the AMP packs is the removable panel on the front of the pack. Each AMP pack ships with a Hex-Grid panel that allows you to attach various pouches to fit your needs. 5.11 has numerous replacement panels including a medical panel, admin panel and others. Under the attachment flap is on more pocket for frequent use items.
For my AMP24, I added the medical and admin panels. This way I could use the AMP24 for hiking or when being a tourist. Having easy access to a medical kit when out on the trails could save someone’s life or keep a cut from getting dust and grime in it. You never know what could happen or what you might need when you are out in the woods or up in the hills. Hopefully major hemmorage items will never be needed, but it is best to be prepared. Once you get away from trail heads a team of first responders could be hours away. I also pack a Sharpie, to mark the time on a tourniquet. This allows a paramedic to know how long the TQ has been on.
Odds are items from the boo boo kit of the first aid panel will get more use. I carry band aids, gauze, aspirin, anti-bacterial ointment etc. for those small problems. When hiking I also keep a couple unopened bottles of water in my pack too. Those are for washing an injury or to give to someone who may not have thought to carry enough water with them.
In the admin panel I carry the obvious; a note pad, pens, a boo boo first aid kit (you can still have an oops when sight seeing). This is also where I would carry my small digital camera just so it’s handy and I don’t have to look for it. The admin panel really is for whatever you use it for.
Another feature that sets the AMP family apart from other backpacks from 5.11 is the built-in thermo-molded semi-rigid frame. This frame ensures the pack does not collapse when opened to load or unload and keeps the load stable when moving. Additionally the center of the pack is recessed so it will not rub on your spine and to give airflow.
As you can see from these two articles, 5.11 is building gear not only for duty but for those who are active shooters and outdoors people. If you get your dad or grad the Coyote Union 6” WP or any of the AMP backpacks they will be ready for most any adventure.
BullShooters and the Ruger Max-9
The Max-9 is Big Red’s answer for the smoking-hot category that I call the “double-stack micro compact.” In essence, the category is the result of a quest for the ultimate carry gun. It was led by Sig Sauer with its 10+1 round P365, then joined by Springfield’s Hellcat, Smith and Wesson’s Shield Plus and most recently, Taurus’ Gx4. Others are in the works. These handguns typically weigh around 18.5 ounces and are 1-inch thick for comfortable all day carry, yet they hold 11 to 14 rounds of 9mm; they’re just large enough to provide the minimum amount of grip space for accurate shooting, deft manipulation and adequate recoil control. The Max-9 has all the features of these guns and then some–including excellent Night Sights–yet it costs about $100 less than some of the others.
Here playing is its full review.
Magpul Tejas Gun Belt – “El Original” Python: A Belt and an Education
Magpul has been a brand that has always cared about education and quality gear. They find clever ways to merge the two. The most recent being a reunion with Trapper Mike/Python Cowboy, or if you want to call him by his surname, Mike Kimmel.
Mike Kimmel is the owner of Martin County Trapping and Wildlife Rescue Invasive/Dangerous Species. He is currently helping conserve our lands within Florida on both ends of the sword, by rehabbing animals and also trapping those that harm their very ecosystem.
Magpul met with him in June of 2020 to learn about the ongoing issue of Burmese Pythons invading the Everglades and what he is doing to help. With Magpul being such a hands on company they may have got their own hands on the Pythons as well..
Now a year later Magpul reconnects to see how his work has been going.
“In these areas that we have been concentrating we are definitely starting to see our native wildlife rebound…I’ve noticed the average size of Pythons that we are catching are smaller…we have wiped out a lot of the bigger ones..-Mike Kimmel
Now Magpul brings you the Tejas gun belt..Python wrapped. The Magpul® Tejas Gun Belt – “El Original®” Python is made with the same Pythons that Mike hand caught, skinned, and tanned on his own. The company decided to help bring awareness to this issue, support Mike, and give their customers a pretty rad belt, all in the same card.
Specs
Price: $249.95
Sizes: 32-44
Thickness for pant loops and holsters: 1-1/2” wide and 1/4” thick
Color Options: Burmese..and Python.
Note: Belt Sizing from Magpul, DO NOT order your waist size or pants size! Lay an existing belt out flat and from where the belt folds at the point where the buckle is attached, measure to the hole that you typically use. Please remember when ordering to take into account any holster or accessory that may be worn. For in-between measurements use the next size up as our belts will not stretch over time. We size our belts from the fold at the buckle to the #5 hole (count the hole from the tip.)
Cali Note: This exotic product is NOT for sale in California and cannot be shipped outside of the USA.
Since humans are creatures of habit, let’s hit the commonly brought up comments.
Q. But the Price..
A. From Magpul, “It supports the fight against invasive species through both monetary support and awareness, it is an exceptionally high quality belt, and we’re only doing a very small number of them. It’s something we wanted to do after our content capture with Trapper Mike.If you want a less expensive option, we can ship you a regular El Original belt and a live python. Consider it an 80% python belt kit.”
To learn more about Mike and what Magpul has done to work with him and help our everglades, head over to Magpul Comms, a place that Magpul has put their time and effort in to help educate their customers.
To stay connected with Mike visit his website, instagram, and facebook.
And if you aren’t convinced about this actually being a problem..History Channel found it important enough to write up about it as well.
Gunday Brunch #6: The ATF is going for pistol braces… again
The ATF is at it again, and this time it’s pistol braces…again. After getting trounced by the comments in their first attempt to turn every braced pistol into an SBR, the ATF has introduced another proposed rule that would…basically turn every braced pistol into an SBR. Listen to Gunday Brunch for the breakdown!