By Dave Hurteau

From an NRA press release:

The National Rifle Association (NRA) and other plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, seeking to enjoin the City of Pittsburgh from enforcing a December 2008 ordinance that requires gun owners to report a lost or stolen firearm to police within 24 hours.

“Time and again we see local governments infringing upon the rights of law-abiding gun owners while ignoring the true source of crime – criminals,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. “The members of the Pittsburgh City Council and the Mayor enacted this ordinance with full awareness that their actions violate the laws of their own Commonwealth and the Pennsylvania Constitution.”

  [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal

I recently returned from the wilds of New Zealand, where things are done somewhat differently. For example, it is perfectly legal for shooters to own suppressed (silenced) firearms. In the USA, if you want to hang a can on the end of your barrel, you need a Class III license or else you go to prison.

This grim-looking fellow—normally he smiles a lot--was my guide. His name is David Blayney, and if he looks military it’s because he was a professional soldier for a number of years. David’s rifle started life as a Tikka, and was converted to a cartridge called the .338 Murmur (or as it’s known in some parts, the .338 BR). This is a 7mm Remington BR case necked up to .338 and loaded with 300-grain bullets loaded to about 1,000 fps. The speed of sound is 1,125 fps, so if the slugs are traveling at less than that, you avoid not only the muzzle blast, but the supersonic crack of a bullet breaking the sound barrier.

The conversion is relatively simple: Your gunsmith saws off the factory barrel to about 12 inches, threads the end, and screws on the silencer. The latter... [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau

It’s getting harder to be a hunter or shooter in California (see yesterday’s post on lead bans), and it looks like it could get tougher still.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:
Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, is backing a bill to require people who sell handgun ammunition to be licensed. It would also require sellers to conduct business face-to-face, bar Internet and mail-order sales, and require a thumbprint and other identifying information of people who buy ammo. [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau

From the Citizen-Times:

Felons who think their criminal past shouldn't keep them from having the right to hunt are getting some attention in the state's and nation's capitals.

A Western North Carolina business owner told state Rep. Phil Haire his convictions for breaking-and-entering and larceny, stemming from a decades-old theft of copper wire, keep him from hunting.

“Some folks make a mistake, and some folks get convicted of felonies, but you know, they can never outlive it as far as being able to own a firearm,” said Haire, a Sylva Democrat.

The owner's plight prompted Haire to push for allowing nonviolent felons with a 20-year clean record to hunt with shotguns and rifles.

Make sense to you? [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal

In compiling this list, I’ve given myself more latitude then usual—from the post- Lewis and Clark era into the early days of the 20th century. I would not want to neglect one of these men and have his shade come after me in the next life.

HUGH GLASS:  In 1823, while a member of a trapping expedition led by Andrew Henry, Hugh Glass was mauled by a sow grizzly. His back and scalp were torn apart and one leg was broken. Because they were in Indian country, and because it seemed obvious that Glass could not live, Henry detailed John Fitzgerald and the 17-year-old Jim Bridger to stay with Glass until he died, bury him, and then catch up with the main party.

When Glass survived for 4 days, Fitzgerald and Bridger decided that there was no sense in waiting longer and left, after taking Glass’ rifle, tomahawk, and knife. Eventually, Glass grew strong enough to crawl, and be began his journey to Fort Kiowa, 200 miles and 6 weeks away. He set his own leg and let maggots eat the rotting flesh on his back. He lived on roots... [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau

From The Spokesman-Review:

Judges in family law often face heated disputes between divorcing parents over issues such as visitation, getting kids to school or providing rides to soccer practice.
Try adding a shotgun to the fray.

Last week, Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza affirmed two previous decisions requiring a Spokane man to wait until his 9-year-old son turns 12 and completes a hunter safety course before he can give him access to a shotgun. . . .

The legal issue isn’t clear, said Brent Ferguson, chief firearms instructor for the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council. Washington state imposes no age limit for hunting or access to firearms.

Check out the full article and tell us your reaction? What would you do if you were in the father’s shoes? [ Read Full Post ]