By David E. Petzal

As the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson once observed, societies can keep people in check only up to a point. When more people than the cops can handle get cheesed off about something it can cause the dissolution of a large and well established police state (the U.S.S.R.), at least three revolutions (American, French, and Russian) and issue-based insurrections too numerous to count. Did anyone drive 55 mph when Jimmy Carter told us to? Did anyone pass up a drink during Prohibition? Did anyone foreswear the reefer because Nancy Reagan told us to just say no?

Now, we may be on the verge of a new era when firearms laws may be collapsing under the weight of consumer demand. In Maine, the state police are so buried under concealed-carry applications (and Maine is not a pain in the ass about this) that it can take 150 days to receive your permit. In Maryland, during the first four months of 2013, the state police had received more than 57,000 applications for guns—more than had come in during 2008 to 2011. The backlog currently stands at 26,547.

By David E. Petzal

During the taping of this season’s Gun Nuts (which promises to be bigger than Ben Hur) the question came up whether a deformed lead tip can cause a bullet to fly awry. Several times in the past, when shooting a group, I had shot a slug with a deformed tip and seen no indication of this at all. But before I went on camera I decided to check.

By David E. Petzal

About 35 years ago, I bought a trigger pull scale so I could measure trigger pulls. Back then, you could use weights on a rod to do the job, or you could get a spring-style scale with the weights engraved on a brass tube. There was a hook connected to the spring, and you put that on the trigger and pulled carefully until you heard the firing pin fall, and you tried to read where the indicator was at the instant you heard the click.

The scale was by no means perfect. You had to develop a touch with it so you could see what it read at the crucial instant, and every few years you had to polish the thing so you could read it. But it worked.

By Phil Bourjaily

It’s less than three months until dove season and now is the time to start practicing.

There are a few people who don’t need much practice. They are the lucky ones who shoot so much during each season that they can fish or golf all summer, then pick right up where they left off when the season starts again. Most of us don’t fall into that category. I certainly don’t—so instead of fishing or playing golf, I shoot low-gun skeet.