I've watched this thing several times, and as far as I can tell that is a real .38 round in the revolver. And it did recoil, although not much, meaning that an actual bullet was fired. What I do find passing strange, though, is that the brain-damaged reporter did not even have a red mark on his side. Give me an effing break! A .38 Special at point-blank range and not a trace of where the bullet struck? Also, it seems that the clothing in question is designed to stop 9mm Parabellum, and piss-ant cartridges of that ilk. What if someone were to shoot point blank at your heart with a .45 ACP? Say "blunt force trauma." Say, "Ceramic plate, wish I had one."

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As the guy in this video points out, suppressors are legal, widely available even, in several European countries.

F&S contributor Tom McIntyre once told me about a trip to Scotland. After stalking all day, he went out with the gamekeeper at night “lamping” (what we call jacklighting) rabbits. As Tom described it, they crept around the edge of town in a Land Rover, shooting rabbits out of people’s front yards with a suppressed rifle. Rabbits are considered vermin in the U.K.

Having never seen anything like this back home, Tom finally asked the keeper: “Is this, you know, legal?”

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Editor’s Note: As part of our annual coverage from the SHOT show, the outdoor industry’s biggest convention, we always run a photo gallery of “Booth Babes,” those voluptuous women companies employ to get men to stop and take a closer look at their goods.  We always get a good chuckle out of this practice when we’re at the show (and we freely admit that sometimes we do stop to admire the view), so we started this gallery so readers could share in the fun. It’s become very popular, but it’s not without its critics. There are many smart and valid criticisms in the comments section of the gallery, but we thought they deserved a larger platform. After coming across a particularly compelling argument on the blog norcalcazadora.com, we asked the author, Holly A. Heyser, a female hunter and writer from Northern California, to start the discussion here.

I’ve got to start this by saying I’m not a prude, and I don’t hate men because they love looking at bodacious babes. I’ve even started watching “Manswers” on Spike with my boyfriend because, seriously, it’s pretty over-the-top funny.
 
But I had a real problem with F&S posting its 2010 SHOT Show Booth Babe Roundup on this website Wednesday. [ Read Full Post ]

While at the SCI Convention in Reno, I visited with gun builder D’Arcy Echols, and was allowed to grope one of his left-hand Legend rifles in .270. The Legend was on loan back to him, and here is its history from D’Arcy:

“The gal that owns this rifle has used it on mule deer in Colorado, elk and moose in Utah, and red stag, chamois, and tahr in New Zealand. This year a Yukon moose and grizzly hunt is on the calendar. She shoots factory Remington Safari Grade 140-grain Swift A-Frame ammo. To date nothing has gotten away to die a slow, lingering death. She has taken some ribbing from male hunters in camp for shooting such a minimal caliber but always seems to serve them up a plate of very dry crow to eat at the end of the hunt. She has no other rifle and no plans to acquire another. Beware of the one-gun gal.”

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Trijicon Company of Wixom, MI, has been noted for years for its red dot sights, and for its scopes with non-battery-required illuminated reticles. They make terrific sights and are nice people. Because the company was founded by a devout Christian, they have also, for many years, stamped references to New Testament verses on their scope tubes. This, it seems, is in violation of the U.S. Constitution, and is distressing to the American soldiers and Marines who use Trijicons, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, American senior commanders including General David Petraeus, and probably Osama Bin Laden, although he cannot be reached for comment

Under intense pressure from all of the preceding, Trijicon announced on January 21st that it will cease the practice, and will supply 100 kits to the military to remove the politically incorrect references. [ Read Full Post ]

Just when you think you've seen everything, something like this comes along. Anything I could add would be superfluous.

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I got know long-time Minnesota outdoor writer Jeff Murray about the same time he was diagnosed with systemic mastocytosis, a rare blood disease. I worked closely with Jeff as his editor on dozens of whitetail-related articles for F&S at a time when he was battling for his life. He never complained. His enthusiasm never wavered.
F&S extends its condolences to Jeff’s family.

Here is his obituary, from the Duluth News-Tribune.

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Greetings Gun Nuts. Though I never thought an occasion would arise that caused me to stray from my post at the Honest Angler blog and enter the realm of Mr. Petzal and Mr. Bourjaily, sometimes strange things happen. One actually happened today. I aimlessly wandered the SHOT Show floor with Phil Bourjaily, filming whenever something grabbed his attention. Here's a look at what we found, including some of the hottest new guns and gear, plus a booth babe that signs lingerie. I hope you enjoy the show, as Phil and I certainly had fun making it -- Joe Cermele

When I was a kid, I used to give my friends Wrist Rocket slingshots as birthday presents. My friends loved them, although looking back, I doubt their moms were equally thrilled.

So, it was a real treat to me to meet Mark Ellenburg at SHOT today. Ellenburg is the inventor the Wrist Rocket, which turns 55 years old this year. Ellenburg himself barely looks 55. He started inventing the Wrist Rocket when he was 12 years old, putting a wrist brace on a slingshot intended for throwing snowballs at his friend’s snow forts back in Norfork, Nebraska. Evidently playing with slingshots your whole life keeps you young.

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A guest post by Field & Stream Deputy Editor Jay Cassell

The day before the SHOT show doors open is the fun day, the day writers and editors get to go to area ranges and shoot all the new guns being offered by firearms manufacturers from across the planet. This year, I attended the annual Browning-Winchester event, held at the Desert Rifle and Pistol Sportsman’s Club 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas. Two guns in particular attracted my interest.

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