Sig Elite Hunter Tipped

By

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September 30, 2019

It’s that time of year again and Sig Sauer has the ammunition to feed it, Elite Hunter Tipped. Around the nation, deer seasons and other medium and large game hunts are opening with the autumn. That means grab a box of ammo, confirm zerom and be ready to wander into the woods and fields.

SIG SAUER ELITE HUNTER TIPPED™ ammunition gives the serious sportsman unmatched, long range accuracy, with devastating on-target performance. Massive expansion delivers instant knockdown and terminal energy on small to medium game. -Sig Sauer

Sig has been doing great things with their ammunition line and the attention to detail is paying off. Their 77gr OTM is among my favorite home and social rounds, boasting incredible accuracy and consistency. Their EHT line is looking to capitalize on that attention to detail, but with a line of high ballistic coefficient polymer tipped rounds instead of soft points or open tipped match designs.

Specifics on the EHT Elite Hunter Tipped ammunition from Sig Sauer

Translucent yellow tip increases ballistic coefficient, improves terminal performance, and aids in consistent reliable chambering.
Exclusive jacket design delivers devastating on-game performance for small to medium game at extended ranges.
Concentric blackened jacket ensures reliable expansion.
Enhanced boat tail design provides superior flight characteristics over a wide range of velocities.
Custom formulated and precision loaded powders deliver consistent velocities regardless of atmospheric conditions.
Nickel plated cases aid in extraction while providing significant anti-corrosion qualities.
Industry leading primers are matched to proprietary powder blends to ensure dependable ignition.

We have some here in the testing chute and we’re not done with it yet. Preliminary results have it running in any semi-auto .308 that we have tried. That that covers 2 SCARs, 4 .308 AR-10’s, a M+M11, and a Tavor 7. Like the .308 Elite Copper Hunter before it the ammo has had no issues cycling and striking anything I’ve asked of it. I’ll have it haul home some food to the freezer come November.

Gun Control Doublespeak…

By

Keith Finch

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September 30, 2019

betogunskentstate — Image via The Daily Wire

It’s frustrating… truly truly frustrating trying to pin down the perspective of people looking to curb and influence violent crime. Gun control doublespeak spins my head. Say a thing, state a goal, and then implement an opposing policy.

Durham County DA criticizes felons with firearms report: ‘Not well researched’

Out of Durham County, North Carolina the DA is criticizing a report that stated they dropped 53% of their ‘Felon in possession’ firearms charges. Out of the 363 arrests listed (121 a year) the majority were voluntarily dropped.

Firearm by a felon is “a status” offense, not a gun crime, DA Satana Deberry said. “Just because somebody is a felon doesn’t mean they are a violent person. There are many felonies in which violence is not involved. That is a tenuous, at best, connection, and I don’t think it is true.”

But… but the Red Flags!?

I happen to agree with DA Deberry, possession is not a sole indicator. A ‘felon’ who has served their time and been released should have their rights like anyone else. But felons have all been permanently ‘naughty listed’ and failing the background check is the ultimate red flag… in theory. We know that failed background checks rarely result in arrests and those arrests rarely result in prosecutions.

So why are we using “status” charges if they’re so ineffective?

“When that charge is filed alone, the DA’s office considers whether a person is truly a danger to our community, which is not indicated by his or her status as a person with a prior felony conviction.”

So is or is not a felony a disqualifying factor for owning a firearm? Federally, it’s as illegal as it gets. But laws ineffectually enforced have no teeth. The ‘do as I say for this moment until it comes out this sucks and then we do something else’ method.

Beto and Kent State

No greater example of gun control doublespeak was given to us than that of Robert ‘Beto’ O’Rourke telling us we needed to ban guns and pass laws because of the Kent State massacre…

By… the government. The Ohio National Guard, the “Militia” that gun controllers place on the pedestal of people who should only have ‘these assault weapons’ killed four unarmed students.

I honestly don’t know if this is just a play on ignorance so deep that referencing a shooting happened is enough to advance the narrative… The only other conclusion is O’Rourke is that out of touch himself.

It’s a weird Monday, readers. I am baffled.

Red Flags for ERPOs & GVROs

By

DRGO

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September 30, 2019

(from alloutdoor.com)

[Ed: DRGO has returned from the 34^th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, hosted in Phoenix by the Second Amendment Foundation. On Sunday, Dr. Edeen discussed the problems with firearm confiscation orders. Watch DRGO here at about 1:00, with Dr. Edeen at 1:18. He reminds us that he is NOT an attorney.]

What are these laws and why are they so dangerous?

“Red Flag” laws are currently in effect in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Hawaii’s and Nevada’s Red Flag laws will take effect on January 1, 2020. Red Flag laws allow courts to issue orders to temporarily confiscate the firearms of individuals deemed to be a risk to themselves or others. Individual states differ as to who can request this.

In most states, family members and/or law enforcement can request the order from a state court judge to confiscate the firearms of the person who they believe to be at risk. The exact details vary from state to state. The hearing is ex parte, which means that the at-risk individual has no notice, no representation and no opportunity to rebut the claims of those who would have his firearms taken. In most cases, the only warning is the knock on the door when law enforcement comes to take his property.

The subject of the Red Flag order gets his day in court at some later date to plead his case. If the order becomes final, it can last for six months to a year before needing to be renewed. In New Jersey it is indefinite until the subject can convince a judge that he is no longer a danger.

Many Constitutional protections are turned upside down or violated by these laws. The most obvious are, of course:

— the Second Amendment: “[T]he right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

— the Fourth Amendment: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched , and the persons or things to be seized.”

— the Fifth Amendment: “Nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use , without just compensation.”

— the Fourteenth Amendment: “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due processes of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Your accuser has no obligation to prove your guilt. The order to deprive you of your Constitutional rights is given using completely unsubstantiated, arbitrary terms. You then have to stand before your government to prove your innocence.

These laws also have a chilling effect on the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, . . or the right of the people to peaceably assemble.” What you say on social media (e.g., “I support the Second Amendment”) or which organizations you belong to (e.g., National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation) in San Francisco can label you a terrorist and subject you to being Red Flagged and have your property confiscated. What crime did you commit? The exercise of Constitutionally protected rights.

Since these proceedings fall under civil rather than criminal law, your Sixth Amendment protections are bypassed. These include “the right to a public and speedy trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.”

The Seventh Amendment states: “In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court in the United States, than according to the rules of common law.” However, the civil proceeding against the individual by the state is regarding property worth far more than that $20 civil threshold. Why do firearm confiscations not permit trial by jury? A judge holds your rights in his sole hands.

The Eighth Amendment reads: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Is not having your property seized without trial or due process cruel and unusual? Is it not essentially an excessive fine to have to pay an attorney $10,000-20,000 to get your property back even though you committed no crime?

These laws turn “innocent until proven guilty” on its head. They allow unreasonable search and seizure, and void due process. They deny trial by jury and punish innocent persons before they are found guilty of a crime. The punishment (confiscation of property) happens without any criminal conviction or an adjudication of mental incompetence. The ex parte nature of the original hearing only presents one side of the argument. Is there a police investigation to confirm the claims of the person asking for the order prior to accepting the petition? Many Red Flag laws hold the complainant harmless from civil damages even when the claims are false. In some states the rules of evidence are waived.

These laws bypass important existing processes. They take away the firearms but do not address any other potential self-destructive or criminal behavior of the person subject to the ERPO.

There are civil commitment processes in place in every state for people to be evaluated by a mental health professional for a limited period of time. During the confinement, a psychiatric evaluation can be done in order to ascertain if they are truly a danger by reason of a mental illness. They can then be adjudicated as being a danger or not, with all due process. This has the added benefit of getting help for those who need it, while separating the person from all dangerous weapons.

If there is criminal intent, the person can be arrested and be charged with a crime. They can then be tried with all their Constitutional protections in place. In any event, due process is preserved.

Let’s look at the practicalities of the ERPO system. What judge is going to deny a petition claiming danger? The only risk they have is if deny it and then the person does something dangerous. Most judges are elected and seek re-election.

On the other hand, the accused now must shoulder a significant financial burden to prove his innocence. He would have to pay for his own mental health evaluation to try to to recover his property, rights and reputation? Let us not forget that many in the mental health professions are biased against firearms and the Second Amendment. It may be difficult to find someone to give a fair reckoning on your behalf. How do you prove a negative? Our judicial system should put the burden of proof on the state here too, not on the accused.

Red Flag laws can be used against women defending themselves against domestic abusers. They can be used in divorce and child custody litigation as leverage against their partners. They can discourage those who might need mental health treatment for depression or suicidal ideation from seeking help for fear of triggering a Red Flag report.

Who is responsible for preserving your property for the duration of an order? Police departments have been known to damage or destroy seized firearms. You might never get your property back. You will not be compensated for its value, and to add insult to injury you may be charged a storage fee too!

Red Flag laws deprive you of you Right to Keep and Bear Arms. They subject you to unreasonable search and seizure. They deprive you of due process of law and deprive you of your property without just compensation. They contravene your rights to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury of your peers and to confront your accusers, without even accusing you of a crime . You cannot call witnesses on your behalf or have counsel represent you until after your property and rights have already been violated.

It is cruel and unusual punishment to be forced to prove your innocence, costing tens of thousands of dollars to prove a negative. Of course, this abridges the privileges and immunities of the citizens it is used against. These laws have already deprived people of their life, liberty and property. In jurisdictions that abuse the rights of citizens, will we see Federal prosecutors charge those who violate citizens’ rights in these ways under 18 USC 241 (Conspiracy against rights) or 18 USC 242 (Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law). We are still waiting.

As an alternative, a writer named Ian Williamson has proposed a “Purple Flag Law”. When an accusation is made, instead of confiscating the person’s guns, the person is escorted to a facility where his state of mind can be evaluated. This addresses the critical concern, separating the person from the guns. If a person is dangerous, he doesn’t need guns to hurt or kill a lot of people. It keeps the firearms out of the hands of the state, since experience has proven that once they have been taken you are unlikely to get them back in good condition, if at all. And the person, unlike the guns, has the right of habeas corpus.

Second, if the accusation that leads to the evaluation turns out to be unfounded, the accuser gets a mandatory one year in prison, and is named in a mandatory civil lawsuit demanding $1 million in damages. That will deter bitter ex-spouses, disgruntled employees, spiteful neighbors or anyone else with an ax to grind from initiating a Red Flag petition as a form of harassment.

Finally, when an accusation is well-founded and a person turns out to be too dangerous to release, this framework has the crucial advantage of focusing attention where it belongs — on the person, not on the gun.

It is obvious to me that those who create Red Flag Laws are not really interested in public safety. They only want another means to confiscate firearms and to create more prohibited persons.

References:

Constitution of the United States of America
KrisAnn Hall, JD, You Tube video, The Truly Insidious Nature of Red Flag Laws
Tea Party Action Patriots. Say NO to “Red Flag” laws.
CBS News. What are “red flag” laws, and which states have implemented them? August 9, 2019.
DRGO on Firearm Confiscation due to dangerousness, March 13,2018, drgo.us

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—Dr. John Edeen is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in San Antonio, TX and is active in seeking the right to carry for qualified hospital staff. He is DRGO’s Membership Director.

All DRGO articles by John Edeen, MD

Heckler & Koch Wins Contract for the SA80A3, The Brit Bullpup Lives On

By

Keith Finch

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September 30, 2019

German-based firearms giant Heckler & Koch announced they have won a significant contract to upgrade SA80 5.56mm NATO rifles for the UK Ministry of Defence.

The current contract is valued at $18.6 million (£15 million pounds) and will build or upgrade the UK Arsenal of service rifles into SA80A3 variants. The British Army’s “Equip to Fight” Programme, an overhaul initiative designed to help modernize the UK fighting forces, has an optional two-year contract extension that could add another $62.2 million (£50 million pounds) to HK’s bank account, with the work split between the company’s facilities in Germany and the UK.

The SA80A3 upgrades involve a new foregrip, an improved upper receiver, and extra internal safety features. It also has the capability to use the HK AG36 40mm grenade launcher, dubbed the L123A2 in British Service. The rifles are going with a neutral earth color scheme which has shown better thermal performance and doesn’t contrast and stand out like solid black. HK’s variant of Keymod is being used on the handguards for ancillary equipment.

Heckler & Koch wins Contract to Upgrade British Military Rifles

British Army with the new HK-upgraded L85A3/SA80A3 (Photo: British Army)

The SA80 series Individual Weapon, a 5.56mm NATO bullpup designed by Enfield in the 1980s, was originally produced in England for the British armed forces in three variants– the L85 rifle, L86 light support weapon, and the .22LR L98A1 cadet rifle– with just under 372,000 of all types produced. After Enfield shuttered in 1988, production was moved to Royal Ordnance’s Nottingham Small Arms Facility until 2001, when that British factory closed its doors as well.

Since then, HK has been upgrading the SA80 in a series of generational improvements, first as the SA80A2 and now as the SA80A3, with work done at the former Nottingham works, now run by Heckler & Koch GB as NSAF Limited. The original SA80 rifles were riddled with problems and in the world of modern 5.56 small arms it may actually rank worse than the M16’s rough introduction. H&K saved the rifle and has since crafted it into a workhorse for the UK.

Personally I think it is still one of the more poorly executed designs still in service but H&K got it running.

More of note than their UK SA80 program, Heckler & Koch is having great success selling their HK416 series rifles to military forces worldwide, with the platform seeing adoption in Norway, France, U.S. SOCOM, and the U.S. Marines as the M27 (it still takes a bayonet). Further, the company has allied with Textron Systems and Olin-Winchester to develop an offering for the U.S.Army’s futuristic new Next Generation Squad Weapon program.

H&K and Sig Sauer are continuing to fight it out in the top seats for Military and LEO contracts for their weapons. Sig is going hard for full services (Guns, Ammo, Suppressors, Optics, Training Aids, FoF Airsoft, and Free WiFi) and it will be interesting to see how the 20’s look with weapons and tech emerging.

Emergency Oil Lamp

By

Dr LateBloomer

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September 29, 2019

In the case of an extended power outage, have you ever thought of what to do for a light source when you run out of flashlight batteries? Or to conserve the flashlight batteries you have?

Candles? Sure. Camping lanterns? Sure. But candles blow out in a breeze and lanterns require specialty fuel and mantles, don’t they? What if I told you that there was a type of emergency lamp you could build yourself out of stuff you probably already have at home, that would run on fuel you probably already have in your kitchen?

The answer goes all the way back to Biblical times. I’m talking about an olive oil lamp. Never heard of it? Neither had I before a couple years ago. But it’s probably one of the easiest and safest oil lamp options out there. And it has the history to prove it. Anybody remember the Parable of the Virgins in the Gospel of Matthew? The foolish girls didn’t bring any spare oil for their lamps. That was olive oil. If you go farther back, there is evidence for animal fat lamps even to 70,000 BC.

Why olive oil over something like canola (rapeseed) oil? The reading I’ve done says that other cooking oils will work, but olive oil tends to smoke less and smell better than burning other commonly available oils.

Other advantages to olive oil as fuel:

-It’s renewable and plant-based (if that’s important to you)

-It’s non-toxic and doesn’t require a hazmat unit to clean-up a spill.

-Olive Oil has a high flashpoint, making it an extremely safe fuel. If you tip over your olive oil lamp the oil will extinguish/smother the flame rather than setting the table on fire.

-It’s a dual purpose oil since you can cook with it too.

-The jar helps shield the flame from breezes, unlike candles, and the glass jar stays cool enough to carry around in your hand with you in the event of a power outage.

I stumbled upon this idea online a few years ago, made a few of them, and now I keep a jug of cheap olive oil in the cupboard for emergencies.

Supplies you will need:

-Mason/canning jar – though it’s not Pyrex, this type of glass is more heat-resistant and sturdier than commercial food jars.

-Coat hanger, or heavier-type copper wire

-Wick from braided thin strips of cotton muslin or flannel or use a commercial wick

-Needle nose pliers

-Wire cutters

-Olive oil

wire for emergency oil lamp preparation — Cut and twist the wire.

All you need to do is cut off a length of coat hanger or wire (I’ve used both) and use some elbow grease to wrap it into a cone with a broad base and tall handle extension. It doesn’t have to be pretty, and you don’t want the cone to be more than an inch or two tall. The oil won’t wick up very far since it’s not terribly volatile. The cone needs to be pinched a bit at the top in order to hold the wick in place. Bend it all to suit your jar height, add the wick, pour in some oil, let it soak for a few minutes, and light.

I have also found it handy to keep a pair of hemostats or long forceps nearby to adjust the wick when it burns down. You can order those online or they can be found at medical supply places or at gun shows in the random supplies bin.

A pretty jar throws pretty light patterns.

This is an easy evening project and you can use decorative jars if you want to be “crafty” or non-utilitarian. I have even steeped herbs in the olive oil first to give it a little fragrance. Nobody ever said that survival had to be ugly and boring.

The Past Year in Medical Firearms Research

By

DRGO

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September 29, 2019

commonfund.nih.gov

[Ed: DRGO has returned from the 34^th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, hosted in Phoenix by the Second Amendment Foundation. On Sunday, Dr. Brodale discussed medical research on gun violence during the past year.]

From the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics, “Gun violence and trauma surgery”: “Mass shootings account for less than 1 percent of all gun-related deaths in the US”. You would never know it the way they only react when there is a mass murder. Every murder is significant, yet they ignore the daily toll of murders from street gangs and the drug trade to make front page news over the less than one percent toll from mass murders.

They go on: “Advancing research on gun-related injury prevention is severely constrained by current governmental policies”. Is that really true? Many, many articles on “gun violence” have been published by medical researchers since last September. Here are a few of them:

— “Bolstering gun injury surveillance accuracy using capture–recapture methods“

— “Public opinion about the relationship between firearm availability and suicide: Results from a national survey“

— “Family firearm ownership and firearm-related mortality among young children”

— “Comprehensive background check policy and firearm background checks in three U.S. states”

— “The Dickey amendment on federal funding for research on gun violence: A legal dissection”

— “Firearms, alcohol and crime: Convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) and other alcohol-related crimes and risk for future criminal activity among authorised purchasers of handguns”

— “Analysis of the strength of legal firearms restrictions for perpetrators of domestic violence and their associations with intimate partner homicide”

— “California’s comprehensive background check and misdemeanor violence prohibition policies and firearm mortality”

— “State firearm laws and interstate transfer of guns in the USA”

— “Repeal of comprehensive background check policies and firearm homicide and suicide”

— “Redirecting the mental health and gun violence conversation from mass shootings to suicide”

— “Changes in U.S. mass shooting deaths associated with the 1994-2004 federal assault weapons ban: Analysis of open-source data”

— “Criminal use of assault weapons and high-capacity semiautomatic firearms: An updated examination of local and national sources”

— “Trends in firearm Injuries among children and teenagers in the United States”

— “Reducing gunshot victimization in high-risk social networks through direct and spillover effects”

— “Extreme Risk Protection Orders: An opportunity to improve gun violence prevention training”

Shall I go on? I’ll spare you, because the list goes on and on. I did a few searches on PubMed among its 30 million citations of biomedical literature. I searched for articles from the past year (September 2018-September 2019). This returned 135 articles just for “gun violence”; over 200 were about “firearm storage”, over 500 just for “firearm”. And there are many more regarding “mass shooting”, “gun control” and other topics.

Not all these articles are biased toward gun control or that all guns are bad, or ignore the person that is responsible for the criminal acts with those guns. It comes down to this—there is a lot of medical and public health research being done in the United States and the world about firearm related injury and death, most of which is slanted, even while researchers whine that they can’t find funding to do any gun violence research.

How about this one: “Holding Sweden hostage: Firearm-related violence”? No, this is not Sweden or New Sweden, Michigan. This is the Scandinavian country, Sweden. But firearm-related violence is not supposed to occur in developed countries outside the U.S. To quote our previous gun-grabbing President of the United States, “This just doesn’t happen in other countries”. Yes, it does and is increasing in Sweden, a country “with some of the worlds strictest gun laws” according to this article. Now, Sweden has never had as high a violent crime rate as Brazil or Mexico but there are many societal and cultural issues other than gun laws that affect violent crime rates. The point here is that firearm related violence still occurs and can increase for reasons unrelated to firearm laws.

Back in the U.S., how about this from two physicians at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans? “Let’s Join the Lane: The Role of Infectious Diseases Physicians in Preventing Gun Violence“. Although not a research article, it is another example of physicians getting in the wrong lane. They do their best to make a case for why their specialty should advocate for gun control. They go so far as to state that gun violence is an infectious disease issue because many spinal cord injuries are caused by firearms, that people with spinal cord injuries are at risk for pressure sores ,and these wounds are an infectious disease nightmare. Along with this incredible stretch in logic, they fail to see that the gun is not the problem. They need to keep within their scope of practice and expertise, and stay in their true infectious disease lane.

Dr. Stephen Hargarten and associates put forth some very interesting theories in their article “Gun Violence: A Biopsychosocial Disease“. I was hopeful about this article because, taken literally, a biopsychosocial mode could provide a useful perspective on firearm injury.

In the “bio” part (the physical biology) we can study the damage that is done by the bullet and the best ways to treat that (including infectious disease complications). The Stop the Bleed program and FASTER offer similar training. These train people to stop bleeding from trauma using direct pressure, clotting agents and tourniquets. Many of us carry these kits at all times, as I do.

“Psycho” refers to the psychological aspects of violence. There has been much research done about the psychology of violence. The question of “Who is high risk for violence?” is better understood for suicide than for homicide victims. “Red flag” laws presume that violence is predictable but it is a much more complex than lawmakers imagine.

“Social” (and cultural) causes are a growing area of research into the precipitants of violence. There is ongoing work to learn how to reduce the social pressure to initiate or respond with violence.

Unfortunately, Dr Hargarten et al don’t stay in any of these lanes. They begin in the right place but end up right back to gun control. For example they say “The disease model provides us with accuracy: the bullet and its kinetic energy shreds, tears and destroys cells, and damages organs, leading to death and disability”. Yes, but this is the last step in the chain. Then, “While the behavioral health issues that result in a person pulling a trigger and releasing the energy need to be better understood . . . the gun, which carries the bullets, becomes a necessary focus of intervention”. Despite acknowledging that the person who pulls the trigger needs to be better understood, they move directly to advocating intervention on the weapon. Hopeless.

An interesting study appeared by Laura H. Gunn in the Department of Health Sciences at UNC-Charlotte with associates from all over the world, including England and Columbia: “Online interest regarding violent attacks, gun control, and gun purchase: A causal analysis“. The title tells us something, too obviously. They studied internet searches on violent acts, gun control and gun purchases. According to the article “Google Trends, as a way to access internet search data, has become a widespread tool for health research”. It’s unclear how well Google can be trusted to give accurate information about gun-related searches, based on its demonetizing firearm related YouTube channels.

The article documents that, following mass murders, searches increase about the specific act (mass public murders), gun control and gun purchases. This is not rocket science, but there is an interesting twist in her results. It appears that interest in the act of violence fades quickly but that interest in gun control and firearm purchases fades more slowly. They concluded that the continued conversation on gun control in the media is what continued to fuel more searches for gun purchases. If anti-gunners get wind of this, you might think they would reduce their gun control rhetoric . But listening to the Democrat debates lately, it’s clear that they are not going to be quiet about gun control anytime soon.

But be not dismayed. There is positive medical research on firearms out there, like this one by Mark Hamill MD et al titled “State Level Firearm Concealed-Carry Legislation and Rates of Homicide and Other Violent Crime“. This was presented at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress in Boston in October 2018. They looked at concealed carry legislation and its effect on the rate of homicide and other violent crime over 30 years (1986-2015) while concealed carry laws were being liberalized in many states. This study actually looked at the data objectively, unlike so many other firearm researchers with obvious subjectively skewed results. Dr. Hamill and associates used a very simple model. They classified concealed carry in two complementary ways: 1) no carry, may carry, shall carry and unrestricted; and 2) restrictive (no carry and may carry) vs. non restrictive (shall carry and unrestricted). They did not find any increase in violent crime or homicide as concealed carry laws became less restrictive.

It is refreshing to see physicians doing objective research on firearms instead of demonstrating anti-gun bias from beginning to end. Here is another recent example of that bias.

I attended the Iowa State Trauma Conference in August and took in a lecture titled Active shooter in the healthcare setting. I expected the usual anti-gun blather and I was correct. Many of the statistics presented were either irrelevant or biased. During the lecture the author repeatedly mentioned how many firearms were confiscated from people when certain hospitals installed metal detectors at the entrances, without discriminating between legal and illegally carried guns. That wasn’t the worst of it though. Then she added that perhaps 20% of weapons got through the metal detectors. So I asked why, if even with metal detectors we cannot stop significant numbers of firearms getting into the facilities, shouldn’t people inside be armed anyway? She said that “we have found the the increase in the number of firearms is a risk factor for firearm injuries and the number of gun used to protect someone is much less than the number of people harmed with guns every year”. I brought up the fact that many researchers have found that the number of defensive gun uses is much higher than the harm done by criminals. Even the CDC’s own survey data (which they hid for 25 years), showed approximately 2.4 million defensive gun uses every year. That is many more than all of the gunshot harm, including suicides, every year. She said “we will just have to agree to disagree”. I had to agree with her there. She doesn’t want to consider research that doesn’t fit the party line. I think that we do need to look at it all.

So despite some good articles published by medical researchers this year, we still have a long road ahead with a lot of opposition from medical professionals. DRGO will continue to counter the biased pseudoscience put out by anti-gun medical professionals and stand up for our right to self-defense.

Other references:

Bolstering gun injury surveillance accuracy using capture–recapture methods. Post, L.A.. et al. J Behav Med (2019)

Conner A, Azrael D, Miller M. Public opinion about the relationship between firearm availability and suicide: Results from a national survey. Annals of internal medicine. 2018;168(2):153.

Kate C Prickett, Carmen Gutierrez, Soudeep Deb. Family firearm ownership and firearm-related mortality among young children: 1976–2016. Pediatrics. 2019;143(2):1

Castillo-Carniglia A, Kagawa RMC, Webster DW, Vernick JS, Cerdá M, Wintemute GJ. Comprehensive background check policy and firearm background checks in three US states. Injury Prevention. 2018;24(6):431-436

Rostron A. The dickey amendment on federal funding for research on gun violence: A legal dissection. American journal of public health. 2018;108(7):865-867

Wintemute GJ, Wright MA, Castillo-Carniglia A, Shev A, Cerdá M. Firearms, alcohol and crime: Convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) and other alcohol-related crimes and risk for future criminal activity among authorised purchasers of handguns. Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention. 2018;24(1):68-72

Zeoli AM, McCourt A, Buggs S, Frattaroli S, Lilley D, Webster DW. Analysis of the strength of legal firearms restrictions for perpetrators of domestic violence and their associations with intimate partner homicide. American journal of epidemiology. 2018;187(11):2365-2371

Castillo-Carniglia A, Kagawa RMC, Cerdá M, et al. California’s comprehensive background check and misdemeanor violence prohibition policies and firearm mortality. Annals of Epidemiology. 2019;30:50-56.

Collins T, Greenberg R, Siegel M, et al. State firearm laws and interstate transfer of guns in the USA, 2006–2016. J Urban Health. 2018;95(3):322-336. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29671188. doi: 10.1007/s11524-018-0251-9

Kagawa R, Castillo-Carniglia A, Vernick J, et al. Repeal of comprehensive background check policies and firearm homicide and suicide. Epidemiology. 2018;29(4):494-502.

Swanson JW. Redirecting the mental health and gun violence conversation from mass shootings to suicide. Psychiatric Services. 2018;69(12):1198-1199

DiMaggio C, Avraham J, Berry C, et al. Changes in US mass shooting deaths associated with the 1994-2004 federal assault weapons ban: Analysis of open-source data. The journal of trauma and acute care surgery. 2019;86(1):11-19.

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— Dr. Sean Brodale is a family practitioner in Iowa. He is pursuing the right to carry in hospitals for eligible medical personnel. At DRGO he is involved in membership and public engagement projects.

All DRGO articles by Sean Brodale, DO

The Taurus G2S – Far From Fancy

By

Travis Pike

-

September 28, 2019

As the title says the Taurus G2S is far from fancy. The gun snob in me wants to write it off, but the realist in me knows that is a fool’s errand. The Taurus pistols command a big part of the pistol market. They produce pistols that people can afford. I’ve had an overwhelmingly negative experience with more than a few Taurus guns. However, those were all revolvers, and each failed quite poorly. My first handgun ever was a Taurus PT111 New Millenium Edition and believe it or not I never had a poor experience with it.

I purchased the G2S simply to see where Taurus stood in their handgun production in 2019. Plus, at 180 bucks the G2S was priced just a bit above a flippin Hi Point. The difference being that the Taurus uses a more traditional Browning rotating barrel system that doesn’t require a massive slide to operate. The Taurus is a more traditional weapon, and much more refined than Hi Points, Cobras, and most budget brands.

The Taurus G2S – Breaking it Down

The G2S is a single stack variant of the G2C pistol. It comes in both 9mm and 40 S&W, and in a few different finish options. My G2S is very basic, it’s a 9mm model that is all black. The gun comes with two 7 round magazines in the 9mm variant and in 40 S&W it comes with 6 round magazines.

The G2S comes with a manual thumb safety and adjustable sights. The thumb safety is positioned is the best way you could. It’s placed in a position that’s easy to reach and quick to disengage. The sights are a three-dot design and the rear sight is fully adjustable for both windage and elevation. The sights are cross-compatible with older models of Taurus pistols, including the PT 111 series and the older 709 and 740 single stacks designs.

The grip is nicely textured and pretty standard for a single stack design. Taurus really loves their roll mark and it’s emblazoned onto the slide is nice big letters. A more subtle and stylish bull’s head is textured into the grip. Overall the G2S isn’t a fancy gun, it’s very basic and that’s okay.

G2S Ergonomics

As I mentioned before the ergonomics of the manual safety are great. It’s textured heavily and easy to put in both safe and fire position. Safe is up, fire is down. It’s standard and very functional. I’m not a huge fan of manual safeties on handguns, but this one is quite unobtrusive.

Fits the Desantis Inner Piece 2.0 perfectly

The trigger also features a Glock safety blade, which seems to be a bit much when combined with the manual safety. The grip feels a bit like a board. It’s thin and is more corners than soft angles. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s uncomfortable, but better grip designs exist.

The magazine release is placed predictably and is very easy to find. It actually sticks out a fair bit more than most compact handguns. It’s quite easy to find and engage. This is one of the few guns whose slide will lock to the rear in my paws.

Most small guns, including the P365 and Glock 43, positioned the slide lock right where my thumb sits. This prevents the slide from locking to the rear when the last shot is fired. This doesn’t happen while shooting the Taurus G2S. This is a nice change.

One thing that isn’t so nice is the slide bite I get from the gun. Within the first 50 rounds, it’s broken the skin. Not super fun.

The Trigger

The trigger is an interesting one. technically it’s a DA/SA striker-fired design. It does lack a manual method to decock the weapon though. Taurus calls it a single action with restrike capability. That’s an accurate statement. If the round fails to ignite you can pull the trigger again and it will restrike.

This time the trigger will be a much longer double-action mode. Most single-action triggers are light and short. This isn’t the case with the G2S. The single-action pull is just as long as the double-action, it just happens to be a bit lighter.

The trigger is very gritty and it jumps a bit as it travels. Maybe it will smooth out in a few thousand rounds. The trigger isn’t bad enough to affect the accuracy, but if you’re spoiled on good triggers you won’t love it.

Range Reliability

In my first few hundred rounds, I ran into two failures to extract with steel cased ammo. Also ran into a magazine issue where the follower failed to rise and feed the rounds to gun. The issue here was also with steel cased ammo. After this first range day, I deep cleaned both the gun and magazine and never had issues past that.

Another issue I had was a loose front sight. I was making groups the size of a shotgun pattern and couldn’t figure out where I was going wrong. That’s when I noticed the sight was jiggly. Luckily it was easy to tighten and I applied a little Loc Tite. After that, I no issues punching paper or ringing steel.

Final Thoughts

Overall this isn’t a bad gun by any means. It seemed to have a few hiccups in the beginning but has straightened itself out in further testing. It’s functional, but don’t expect anything innovative, special, or really notable about the gun. The 180 dollar price tag makes up for its few flaws. At this price, this might be the most bang for buck gun on the market. It’s not as fun to shoot as a Hi Point, but I can actually comfortably conceal it.

Anxiety and the Comfort Zone

By

Dr LateBloomer

-

September 28, 2019

Can I make a confession? I’m having a little anxiety about making a trip to a shotgun class. It’s going to be a bit outside my comfort zone.

I’m signed up for a Defensive Shotgun course with Rangemaster.

Though I’ve had lots of experience with my semiauto shotguns in 3-Gun and sporting clays, a pump gun for defensive use is a whole other animal. I’ve not spent much time with the pump gun that I rebuilt, and I’m worried that I might not have enough of my grip strength and upper body strength back after a bout with inflammatory arthritis this year. It’s improving on medication, and I’m getting function back, but … limitations are something I worry about. That experience has taken away some of my self-confidence.

The last thing I want to do is make an idiot of myself in class. I don’t want to look like some granny who is out of her depth. As a woman in the shooting sports, being judged to be “good enough” has always been in the front of my mind, and I always felt I needed to prove that I could keep up.

BUT – I’m putting these feelings out here on purpose. Lots of us go through this, but not so many are willing to admit it. I want to make it normal and okay to acknowledge the anxiety, but to then push through and come out the other side with more confidence and knowledge than one had to begin with.

On reflection, a little anxiety and discomfort isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. It can mean that one will be teachable – willing to learn more in order to lessen the discomfort. That’s the whole purpose of taking a class, isn’t it – to put oneself purposely into discomfort in order to “become” comfortable? That’s what learning is about, right?

A wise friend also pointed out that if I am worried about my potential limitations, then a class with experts would likely be the BEST place to find any work-arounds that I might need. Therefore I should be EXCITED about the class, and not worried. That was the exact thing I needed to hear. No wonder she’s a talented instructor!

I have never pretended to be an expert – only a learner. And that’s what I’m doing – learning.

So there is my confession. I feel better already with that off my chest. An After Action Report will be forthcoming. Wish me luck and learning!

Mass Shooters and the Victim Body Count

By

DRGO

-

September 27, 2019

(from janeaustenrunsmylife.wordpress.com)

[Ed: Dr. Faria first published this at GOPUSA.com August 28 and HaciendaPub.com August 31. It is minimally edited for DRGO.]

The mainstream media (MSM) have been sensationalizing mass shootings for the last three decades, reaching a crescendo in the last several months. They sensationalized gun violence as a way to put pressure on and force Congress to pass unconstitutional gun control laws that disarm the law-abiding citizen while doing nothing to stop criminals.

These laws range from attempting to ban assault weapons to passing so-called Red Flag laws — all of which as written circumvent the Second Amendment or violate the Due Process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. In countering the gun control propaganda and discussing mass shootings two points that are never cited by the MSM need to be brought forth and emphasized.

First, there is the fact that these deranged madmen perpetrating mass shootings must be taken down from the zenith of celebrity status in which the MSM has placed them and instead sink them into the nadir of the cesspool where they belong! “But how can we do this without describing the perpetrators?” whines the MSM. These deranged malcontents and criminals should not be celebrated with the epithet of a “heavily armed gunman with ‘assault weapons’ and clad in full military gear…” These are jingoistic appellations the criminals apparently enjoy in seeking celebrity status even in death.

Instead, the media should use the appellation, “malcontented monsters, who maim and kill defenseless and hapless victims, including women and children.” And when appropriate to such despicable description, it should be added, “the deranged madman cowardly shot himself when confronted by an armed citizen” (which has happened on several occasions), or “… was shot to death in a well-deserved hail of bullets by the valiant police.” Those are the proper epithets that should be used in describing these sanguinary freaks who perpetrate rampage shooting incidents.

The police or armed citizens who stop these deranged madmen should be described as the true heroes they are. It is they who should be celebrated and not the criminal perpetrators. The constitutional or concealed carry options and the beneficial use of weapons by law-abiding citizens should be encouraged rather than demonized!

The second issue that should be brought forth is the propagandizing and misuse of the victim body count. This is a favored sensationalizing tool that the MSM, supported by the gun grabbers, use continuously in their specious gun control arguments. Daily we are inundated with the “mounting” body count of mass shooting incidents and the number of victims killed in common crimes. Just last week a headline blared: “Gun violence in 2019: There have been 251 mass shootings in the U.S. in 216 days.” A previous report published by PBS claimed that “more than one mass shooting happens per day in the US.” Not to be outdone, The Washington Post has claimed, “in 2015 alone, there had been 294 mass shootings that killed or injured 1,464 people.” In each headline, some new statistical landmark seems to be reached to propagandize the last shooting as the worse to date!

As we have seen, the MSM and their anti-gun activist allies have deceptively tried to label any incident with two or more casualties as a mass shooting. As I pointed out in my forthcoming book, America, Guns, and Freedom: A Journey Into Politics and the Public Health & Gun Control Movements (2019), anti-gun public health officials have been torturing statistics until they confess, even attempting to lump murder-suicides as mass shootings. In my book I describe in detail the concerted effort of the public health establishment (PHE) to push for gun control, claiming that gun violence is a public health problem, rather than a criminological issue. As far as the PHE is concerned, gun availability and gun violence have reached the level of an epidemic and guns must be eradicated. They ignore the fact that civilian gun ownership is a constitutional right and that self-defense is an inherent God-granted, natural right that precedes government.

Be that as it may, the number of mass shootings represents a very small percentage of homicides, fewer than one percent. Moreover, the body count is misleading in discussing gun violence on a rational basis. That is unless both sides of the gun violence debate enter the equation. In 2012, for example, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) claimed in an article published in the Los Angeles Times, that good citizens killed only 259 criminals each year. To the VPC activists and the Los Angeles Times, the 259 figure of criminals killed by citizens was very small. They erroneously concluded that the beneficial shooting deaths “in comparison with the 1.2 million violent crimes committed that same year did not reflect much of a benefit in gun ownership.” They are dead wrong.

As I also discuss in my book, the figures cited for the criminal body count is wildly underestimated. The FBI Uniform Crime Report makes the assignation of “justifiable homicide” from the preliminary data of the reporting officer, and not from final determination; therefore, the number of “justifiable homicides” is under reported. They are classified as criminal homicides, when in reality up to 20 percent of the initially classified “homicides” are eventually judged correctly to be “justifiable homicides,” although they do not appear as such in the final report. The more correct figures are that between 600 to 1,500 criminals are killed by good citizens in self-defense (i.e., justifiable homicides) every year. Armed citizens kill at least twice, and as many as three times, the number of criminals as do police.

The good guys (the cops and lawful citizens) do not kill unnecessarily, as violent criminals are prone to do, but only when they absolutely have to protect themselves or their fellow citizens. Violent offenders, many of them repeat criminals, kill in the commission of crimes and to get away with whatever they intend to do with little regard for life or property. Some criminals kill for the sake of killing, but good guys do not. As I stated in my book, from data collected by criminologist Gary Kleck and summarized by Dr. Edgar Suter, a former director of a gun rights organization advocating integrity in science:

“The true measure of the protective benefits of guns are the lives saved, the injuries prevented, the medical costs saved, and the property protected—not the burglar or rapist body count. Since only 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent of defensive gun usage involves the death of the criminal, any study that counts criminal deaths as the only measure of the protective benefits of guns will expectedly underestimate the benefits of firearms by a factor of 500 to 1,000. The defensive uses of firearms by citizens amount up to 2 million to 2.5 million uses per year and dwarf the offensive gun uses by criminals. Between 25 and 75 lives are saved by a gun for every life lost to a gun.”

In conclusion, the real heroes in mass shooting incidents are the police and the armed citizens who intervene and help stop the deranged madmen involved in those tragic and barbaric incidents. These criminal malcontents blame fellow citizens and society for their own personal failures. The Democrats and their allies in the MSM must stop demonizing guns because the most efficient way to stop mass shooters is to eliminate gun-free zones, and instead have more law-abiding citizens carry firearms for self, family, and fellow citizen protection.

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— Miguel A. Faria, Jr., M.D. is a retired Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery and Adjunct Professor of Medical History at Mercer University School of Medicine. He is Associate Editor in Chief and World Affairs Editor of Surgical Neurology International. He served on the CDC’s Injury Research Grant Review Committee.

All DRGO articles by Miguel A. Faria, Jr., MD

Q5 Your Walther PPQ!

By

Keith Finch

-

September 27, 2019

Walther Introduces Q5 Match Upper Conversion Kit to Performance Accessory Line

FORT SMITH, AR – The rapid growth of popularity in the Walther Q5 Match series of pistols has led customers to continually ask for a conversion kit for the standard PPQ series. Walther is proud to announce the release of the Q5 Match conversion kit.

Showcasing Walther’s modern take on practical shooting, the Q5 Match series delivers extraordinary efficiency and adaptability, which garnered its immediate distinction in the industry. This platform allows you to maximize the accuracy, power, and speed necessary to dominate the competition completely!

A modern work of art in its own right, the slide is outfitted with features previously found only on custom handguns. It is ported and optic ready, with LPA sights as well as front and rear serrations. Walther’s superior accuracy is quickly realized when shooting thanks to the 5” barrel with polygonal rifling and stepped chamber.

This conversion kit works with any polymer PPQ 9mm (excluding Sub-Compact) and is ready to install. Includes slide, barrel, recoil assembly, all internal components, LPA rear sight, LPA fiber optic front sight, and a test target showing a 5-shot group at 25 meters.

About Walther

Walther is the performance leader in the firearms industry. Renowned throughout the world for its innovation since Carl Walther and his son, Fritz, created the first blow-back semi-automatic pistol in 1908. Today, the innovative spirit builds off the invention of the concealed carry gun with the PPK series by creating the PPQ, PPS and Q5 Match Steel Frame series. Military, Police, and other government security groups in every country of the world have relied on the high-quality craftsmanship and rugged durability of Walther products. Excellent service and superior quality will continue to be benchmarks of Walther’s success. In the future, Walther will continue its long tradition of technical expertise and innovation in the design and production of firearms.

Nov. 1st Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma

By

Keith Finch

-

September 27, 2019

The new law, as of Nov. 1st, will no longer require a person with a firearm to inform a police officer they are carrying a firearm unless they are asked. Gun owners will be able to choose between the Constitutional Carry/Permitless Carry or the current Conceal/Open Carry law.

Under the new rules passed this year, Oklahomans 21 years old and older will be able to carry firearms without a permit beginning Nov. 1. For those serving in the military, the age for permitless carry is 18 years and above, granting deference to the training service members receive and allowing them to protect themselves at home.

Does passing basic training at 18 make them handgun qualified or proficient? Not in the slightest, with a possible exception for MPs but even then most DoD personnel I know can’t shoot nearly as well as they think they can. This rule is about their proficiency. The law is about the right of self preservation. Denial of the right to carry a firearm in Oklahoma will be tied to the same prohibitions as owning one.

Federal background checks via 4473 forms will still apply to purchasing a firearm. Individuals with felonies, domestic violence convictions, and adjudicated mental illness are prohibited from carrying a firearm. The laws for possession and carry are now closely tied on their disqualifiers.

Photo from an Edmund Oklahoma meeting on the new permitless constitutional carry laws — More than 400 audience members listen to a presentation at the Edmond Downtown Community Center where Police Lt. Jeff Richardson explained the Constitutional Carry/Permitless Carry law that becomes effective Nov. 1 Photo from EdmundSun.com

The new law was vetoed in 2018 by then-Gov. Mary Fallin, but was signed into law this year by Gov. Kevin Stitt. Oklahoma has been trying to pass this one for awhile.

At a conference addressing the changes in Edmund the police gave information to the public on the changes.

“For most of us there’s not any big change,” said Lt. Jeff Richardson, a 22-year veteran of the Edmond Police Department. “For Edmond Police officers — do not present your weapon to an officer, just inform them where it is located,” he said. This is on request by the officers as duty to inform has changed to on request.

The firearms allowed to be carried won’t change much Nov. 1, but there are a few additions. Rifles with a barrel length of over 16 inches and shotguns with a barrel(s) over 18 inches may be carried, non-NFA, traditional, Title I firearms. Constitutional Carry/Permitless Carry only allows open carry firearms to be carried in a holster, scabbard, case or sling. Firearms cannot be taken to a university event or a sporting event, existing law prohibits this. Firearms cannot leave the interior of a vehicle when in a school parking lot, K-12.

“I Will Not Comply with the Assault Weapons Ban”

By

Dr LateBloomer

-

September 26, 2019

Those fighting words were uttered by a retired female cop yesterday and the country has sat up and noticed. If you caught this moment of the House Judiciary Committee Hearings on Wednesday, you heard everything that was really important.

Dianna Muller, a retired Tulsa Oklahoma police officer turned professional 3-Gun shooter laid it on the line during questioning. I listened to the testimony of all of the speakers, and she was one of only two pro-2A advocates on the panel. The rest of the panel was stacked with people intent on pulling heartstrings and spreading the usual erroneous information and outright lies about firearms in general, and the “AR-15” in particular.

You can see that part of the testimony here.

But you really should watch all of it [see link below] even if it makes you nauseated. Because we need to KNOW all of the lies that are being told about lawful gun owners and the firearms we possess.

These are the people who are making critical decisions about our rights. If you are one of the silent majority, you need to stop being silent. You need to pound your legislators unceasingly with the truth, with facts, and with your votes. Because you can be sure that the anti’s are already pounding them with lies and emotional appeals. Do you want to wake up one morning as an overnight felon?

The Loudest Sound in a Gunfight

By

The Armory Life

-

September 26, 2019

“It’s the loudest sound in a gunfight,” says Freddie Blish, Gunsite Instructor and respected firearms expert. What’s he talking about? When your gun goes click instead of bang. So, what can you do about it? Today, we’re out on the range with Freddie to answer that very question. He runs us through the four types of malfunctions you can face while running a semi-auto pistol — and how to fix them.

Yamil trains with Freddie Blish on clearing semi-auto pistol malfunctions.

From a Type 1 failure to fire/feed to a Type 2 failure to eject to a Type 3 failure to extract to a Type 4 obstruction to the slide, Freddie gives us life-saving details on how to clear our pistol and get it back into the fight.

A Type 3 malfunction, or failure to extract, where an empty case is stuck in the chamber and a live round has attempted to feed in behind it.

From learning how to induce the malfunctions on the range for training purposes to the life-saving drill of “tap, roll, rack,” the video above will get you all the info you need to start training for when that “loudest sound” might happen to you!

Watch the Full Video

The SureFire Optimized Bolt Carrier, It’s Here

By

Keith Finch

-

September 26, 2019

Surefire OBC Optimized Bolt Carrier Group

The SureFire OBC is designed to greatly increase the reliability of an M4/M16/AR variant during both unsuppressed and suppressed firing. The OBC comes as a package with the OBC bolt carrier group as well as buffer and buffer spring. This patented design makes numerous improvements to the standard Mil-Spec full-auto bolt carrier group starting with delayed unlocking of the bolt during the firing sequence. This delayed unlocking is a result of a lengthened cam pin slot and our neutrally balanced counterweight. This delay allows expanding gases more time to exit the bore, lowering chamber pressure by 15%, which not only reduces wear and tear on parts, but also reduces back-pressure gases exiting the ejection port.

The shortened gas carrier key in conjunction with shorter buffer allow a 60% increase in stroke. This increase in stroke gives the magazine more time to feed, which can be essential as gas ports erode and magazines become dirty from austere environments. This additional stroke also provides smoother and more reliable feeding due to increased inertia when the OBC picks up a round from the magazine.

The neutrally balanced counterweight works three times in the cycle of operation. First the counterweight delays unlocking, as mentioned before. Secondly, the counterweight keeps the carrier group to the rear for additional time, allowing more time for reliable feeding of ammunition from the magazine and nearly eliminating bolt-over-base malfunctions. Lastly, this counterweight improves carrier and barrel extension lock-up, nearly eliminating bolt bounce. The OBC also reduces felt recoil, allowing for better tracking of sights and more control of the weapon when firing. Coated with an advanced anti-friction coating, the OBC resists friction during use and makes cleaning easy. For the ultimate in reliability, choose the SureFire OBC.

Rob Leatham: How to Zero Your Pistol

By

The Armory Life

-

September 25, 2019

I just got my grubby little hands on a few of the Springfield Armory 1911 Range Officer (RO) Elite pistols. (Four to be exact.) And the one that grabbed my attention first was the Target Model. Probably not a big shock to those of you who know me as a competition shooter — this pistol was designed for someone just like me.

Testing Day

Any time I get a new gun, the first item on my to-do list is “zeroing.” Zeroing is the process where I test for point of impact on a target and, if needed, make changes to the sights to cause that position to coincide with where I actually see (or think I see) the sights on the target.

A properly zeroed pistol means there is no variation between where I aim the gun and where the bullets hit. Now, to be honest, the term “zero” means there is zero variation from sight to bullet impact. The reality, though, is there is seldom a time when I use a gun that is 100 percent “zeroed.” So for me, zeroed means “sighted in.”

Since this is kind of confusing, I’m going to document my zeroing-in process for your information and enjoyment. The RO Elite Target is fitted with my preferred fiber-optic front sight and a fully adjustable target rear sight — a perfect set up for quick and easy zeroing.

More Than Meets the Eye

Several factors come into play that affect zeroing a pistol:

Eyesight
Ammunition
Distance to Target
Shooter Preference and Skill

I’m pretty efficient at zeroing my guns, as I’ve been doing it for many decades. The more you do it, the better you’ll get, too. Just follow these easy steps:

Gun and Ammo Initial Check: I first test how well the gun shoots out of the box and which ammo is the best or most suitable. This can be done in many ways, but I usually shoot standing, slow-fire with a two-handed grip at 25 yards. (That’s 75 feet on Top Shot!)

I try a variety of bullet weights, brands, and loads and make my final choice of which to move forward with based on several factors, including accuracy and felt recoil.
I check to see if the grouping size is adequate for my intended need. Once I establish which load I will move forward with, I then work on point of impact (POI).

POI Versus Point-of-Aim Check: With the selected load, I use a very specific aiming point in the center of the target. A square piece of 3/4″ black tape works well, but sometimes I just use a full-size USPSA target and shoot at the “A” imprinted in the middle of the body zone or the center of the smaller “head” of the target. I shoot five-shot groups to see where the gun/ammo combination actually hits. When I establish whether it is dead on, high, low, left, or right, I start making basic adjustments to the rear sight.

How precisely I zero the pistol is based on the intended use of the gun. For many applications, it is at this point “close enough” and nothing further needs to be done. My competition guns however are a different story. I want them perfect.

Read on!