Is the conventional wisdom all wrong? . . . NSSF-Adjusted NICS Background Checks for March 2017 – “The March 2017 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,356,929 is an increase of 5.2 percent compared to the March 2016 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,289,670. For comparison, the unadjusted March 2017 FBI NICS figure of 2,422,749 reflects a 3.4 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,509,065 in March 2016. The first quarter 2017 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 3,693,502 is a decrease of 10.8 percent over the 4,139,791 figure for first quarter 2016.”
Sonic, Chili’s join restaurants with no-guns policy – “Two more restaurant chains are adding their names to the list of eateries that have adopted a no-guns policy. Sonic Drive-In and Chili’s Grill & Bar issued statements Friday asking patrons to leave their guns at home. USA Today reported Saturday that the announcements were prompted by recent demonstrations by open-carry activists who brought rifles and shotguns into Sonic, Chili’s and Chipotle Mexican Grill outlets in Texas.” Wonder if Chili’s will want to re-think this now.
SIG SAUER® Introduces SIG HT Hunting Ammunition in 308 Win – “SIG SAUER, Inc. is pleased to expand its SIG HT hunting line of premium-grade rifle ammunition with the addition of 308 Win. Featuring an all-copper bullet that delivers deep penetration and maximum terminal ballistic performance, SIG HT ammunition is supremely accurate and ideal for hunting numerous species of game. The 150gr 308 Win features a muzzle velocity of 2,900 fps and muzzle energy of 2,801 ft-lbs. This SIG HT 308 Win cartridge is excellent for mid-sized game such as deer, antelope, pigs and predators.”
On ‘Hollywood Weapons,’ Terry Schappert puts action stunts to the ultimate test – “Terry Schappert was basically born to host ‘Hollywood Weapons’ on the Outdoor Channel. As a former Green Beret with over 24 years of military experience, Schappert has an intimate knowledge of the weapons, explosives and war-time scenarios that most of us have only seen on the big screen — and now, he’s ready to show viewers where fact meets fiction. The show’s producer, acclaimed actor Joe Mantegna, describes ‘Hollwood Weapons‘ as ‘Mythbusters on steroids,’ and he’s not exaggerating. Each week, Schappert and his team recreate the most explosively over-the-top scenes from blockbuster films and TV, all to answer one question: Can that really be done?
It’s about safety . . . Underreported: How Gun Silencers Became a Health Issue – “Most people only know about silencers from what they see in the movies—a stealthy gun accessory that helps criminals more easily kill by suppressing the sound of the gunshot. But silencers, some say, is a misleading way to describe these firearm accessories. Why? Because they don’t actually silence the sound of a gunshot. In a brand new video series, ‘Underreported,’ The Daily Signal digs into the controversy surrounding silencers—or ‘suppressors,’ as gun advocates prefer to call them. We explore why firearm suppressors are so heavily regulated; speak with Sen. Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho who’s leading the charge to lift these regulations; and head to the National Rifle Association to see how they actually work.”
STI Introduces The Optic And Suppresor Ready H.O.S.T. Pistol – “The H.O.S.T. (holographic optic slide top) Pistol from STI was designed to be a serious platform for shooters using optics and/or suppressors. The H.O.S.T. Pistol has tall tritium fixed suppressor sights that are designed to co-witness with mounted optics, allowing shooters to see both the target and sights over the suppressor. The top of the slide is milled out to accept a micro red-dot optic. The pistol comes with a cover plate and adaptor plates for Leupold Delta Point, Vortex Viper and Trijicon RMR sights. (Sights not included)”
When seconds count, FOAD . . . Police tell Florida woman to ‘stop calling 911’ hours before her death – “Police told a Florida woman to ‘stop calling 911’ hours before she and her son were fatally shot last week, according to police body camera footage obtained by a local TV station. Sanford police were called twice on March 27 to mediate an altercation between Latina Verneta Herring, 35, and her boyfriend Allen Dion Cashe, 31, WESH-TV reported. Police first responded to the duo, who were fighting over keys at a Wawa gas station at 3:20 a.m., and 20 minutes later responded to a call at Herring’s house.”
Slow progress in a deep blue state . . . Gun owners reflect on three years with concealed carry – “Doug Williams was one of the first in the state to obtain a concealed carry instructor permit and taught his first class in January 2014, the month the program started. Since then, Williams, the owner and founder of Central Illinois Conceal Carry in Peoria, has held monthly classes and has trained about 1,000 people to exercise their constitutional right to carry a firearm. ‘I am not a gung-ho, in-your-face protester guy, but I am passionate about all our rights and having a firearm is exercising your God-given right,’ he said. Williams, 47, is one of nearly 224,000 statewide who have completed training and paid money to obtain a permit to carry a concealed handgun.”
You might think that after all the great guns he’s shot that Hickok45 might become jaded. That nothing would really make much of an impression on him any more. You might think that, but you’d be wrong.
“USA Today reported Saturday that the announcements were prompted by recent demonstrations by open-carry activists who brought rifles and shotguns into Sonic, Chili’s and Chipotle Mexican Grill outlets in Texas.”
More help from the “Good Idea Fairies” with Open Carry, thanks guys!
Unless they post it is the same old “we prefer that you don’t show up with guns but we aren’t going to say you can’t. In other words if we don’t know, we don’t care.
Yeh, whenever I go to Sonic I park at their drive up areas and eat in my truck. I am really concerned some millennial pizza face kid is going to see my concealed handgun.
yep, another victory, thanks guys.
Right? There’s a difference between being able to do a thing, and asking whether or not it is constructive to do it. You aren’t going to get people used to guns by throwing an AR over your shoulder and waltzing into a Chili’s. I mean, for crap’s sake…I’M for gun rights, and someone does that…I’m gonna have my hand on MY concealed gun wondering if these nuts are gonna open fire or not. It’s just not normal, and that action doesn’t do anything to normalize it. Just my opinion…good intentions aside. https://mattsamerica.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/why-progressives-should-love-the-2nd-amendment/
Alright, so riddle me this. If open carrying doesn’t help normalize open carrying… then what will?
Dress nice, not all tactical. Where nice slacks and a polo and open carry a handgun in a holster.
But no, we get keyboard commandos, in gear they have no idea how to use, with an AR, AK or God forbid a Mosin slung at front ready.
“someone does that…I’m gonna have my hand on MY concealed gun wondering if these nuts are gonna open fire or not.”
Seriously?
Because….why? All those spree shootings that start out with three or four guys, sometimes with some girls, sometimes with their kids, all wearing the same activist group t-shirts, laughing, smiling, posing for selfies, then sitting down to eat their meals? Yeah, THAT’S a spree shooter’s typical M.O…..
Good F’ing grief. Lunatic, hair trigger, ungrateful haters like you shouldn’t be allowed to own a firearm, let alone carry one. You’re apt to kill someone innocent with your “I’m super cool and everyone else is a moron” attitude.
Is a “typical spree shooter” a lone wolf gunman? Usually – yes. Always and every very time? No. Columbine and San Bernardino both involved two shooters – one of them a woman. The terrorist shootings in Brussels and Paris involved multiple shooters. If someone walks into a place with a long gun slung over his shoulder and he unslings it for ANY reason, even just to sit down, it’s not unlikely that he/she is going to get shot – and deservedly so.
You don’t walk into a place of business where you know that everybody is not on your side.
This past winter I declined to take off my coat while getting a haircut because I did not want to scare any of my barber’s customers away. She knew I was carrying and most likely none of the other people in the shop would have noticed or cared that I was armed. But if I saved one customer then I have created good will.
There only place where you normalize open carry with openly displayed long guns is at a peaceful demonstration otherwise keep it to pistols. Rifles signify offense to most people while handguns are viewed as defensive tools.
The restaurants aren’t banning concealed carry or car carry. They’re basically instituting don’t ask, don’t tell for firearms. In 1993, that same policy was considered a controversial non-victory, semi-defeat in the gay movement. Now it’s seen as having proven pivotal in changing publuc perceptions of the gay issue.
So let’s look at the scoreboard, shall we?
Open carry advocates in Texas open carried their way to getting open carry written into the law of the land. SCORE!
Open carry advocates in Texas helped get the most pro-gun governor in Texas history elected. SCORE!
A few restaurant chains (including Sonic, which is primarily drive-up and drive-through, and, thus, a moot point) try to thread the political needle by announcing a non-binding, irrelevant request. MEH!
Sounds like activists are ahead. The only losers are the sit-on-their-butt, do-nothing slacktavists who whine and cry in comment sections about how everyone else is screwing up.
STFU!!!
Open carry activists had zero impact on electing a Republican governor in tbe conservative version of California.
Open carry activists turned Texas into Minnesota. Whoop de do.
Sounds like Texas Open carry activists are taking credit for something that was happening anyway. Goals disallowed.
If I could afford a full auto Tommy g un I’d probably just retire and take my revolvers out to the range every day instead. But I wouldn’t mind borrowing one for an hour.
We won’t know for sure until the year is done, but right now the “Trump Slump” seems to be fake news pushed by the left and Trump haters of every stripe.
Sorry, leftists and NeverTrumpers, but wishing ain’t making it so.
As a gun store employee, there is somewhat of a slump, at least where i work. We don’t sell as many rifles as we used to, but our handgun sales have been fairly steady, if not increased.
It’s possible to keep selling the same number of guns and still be in a slump, if you have to slash prices on those guns to move them. Based on the prices I’ve seen recently, I think that’s what’s happening now. Guns are still selling, but at deep discounts (especially entry-and-mid-level ARs). It’s still a market slump if the retailers aren’t making as much money, even if the volume of sales is still high.
I mean, if you can pick up a S&W Shield for $250 (after S&W’s $75 rebate) or a Ruger AR-556 for $450, that’s a pretty good sign that the market is undergoing some uncomfortable adjustments to the current political reality. If retailers and manufacturers were holding prices at their October 2016 levels, I’d bet those NICS checks numbers would be very, very different.
Thanks much. I had not heard that S&W had a rebate program going on the Shield. Have the 45 on my to do list.
Wasn’t a story just published here about a very real slump among the AR/AK families being offset by rock bottom pricing and brisk handgun business?
Which of the two categories are you lumping RF, et al, into?
I do not consider S&P to be a nevertrumper…..
S&P downgrades Freedom Group on expected drop in gun sales
Declining firearm-background checks spurred S&P Global Ratings to downgrade Freedom Group, the firearms maker owned by Cerberus Capital Management. S&P lowered the corporate-credit rating for Freedom Group to CCC+ from B-, according to a March 30 note from analyst Jing Li. It also cut its rating on Freedom’s $575 million in loans due 2019 to CCC+…
I guess I’m gonna’ miss Hollywood Weapons (until it’s on YouTube). Just dropped most of Comcast cable today. We were greeted with signs stating “this is a SAFE SPACE” no guns allowed(LOL). Pretty rare in Hammond, Indiana…good on the Peoria guy. I’ll be joining the growing CC Illinois crowd.
I thought my gun buying after the election. Would subsode. Nope! Bought a VZ 70 last month and a 1916 Spanish Mauser in 7×57 for $124.
“Police told a Florida woman to ‘stop calling 911’ hours before she and her son were fatally shot last week…”
No, the story has been corrected. The police officer on scene told another person who was there to stop calling 9-11, as in, ‘stop calling 9-11 and tying up the line at this moment because we’re already here, you numbnuts.’
But the story in general highlights that cops are not privy to future crime knowledge like in Minority Report. They investigate crimes which are occurring or have occurred. While cops will often try and find a (legal) reason to lock up the ‘problem’ individual in a domestic disturbance like this, sometimes they can’t know who the problem is or they have no probable cause for arrest.
So one should find ways to protect one’s self. Will it always work? No, nothing ever does- sometimes people can wear their seatbelts, have airbags, and still get killed by a drunk driver. But you do what you can. In this case, I think we all know what might have helped.
I’m willing to bet the woman had plenty of opportunities to leave the violent bastard, but didn’t.
You can’t fix stupid.
Who eats at Chili’s and Sonic in the first place? Ugh.
Other than people who can screw up a cup of hot water, I’ve never understood the draw.
I’ve never understood the appeal of eating in your vehicle while you’re just sitting there. If you can’t build 400 measly square feet for a dining room, I’ll eat somewhere that can.
I’ve eaten at Chilli’s.
My review would be: “WOW! Are they proud of their food!”
It’s average fare, at best, at some pretty high prices.
Progressives SHOULD love the 2nd Amendment, if they were actually liberal in the classical sense of the word. But of course they are not. But seriously, liberals should be all for the 2nd Amendment: https://mattsamerica.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/why-progressives-should-love-the-2nd-amendment/
I had the opportunity to shoot a Thompson at an FBI range day for employees in Newport News, VA (it actually may have been in Maryland, now that I think about it, as it seems we had to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to get to the range) years ago. I had as much fun as Hickok. At the same shoot, I shot an H&K MP5 on full auto, and a number of pistols, revolvers and rifles, including a chance to shoot their standard sniper rifle of the time (late 90s). I wish I could remember what model rifle it was. A good day at the range, which included lunch and beer. The good old days…
We had a full auto Tommy in our small PD arsenal. Took it out every chance I got….would love to have one!
I got to shoot a Tommy gun when I was a senior in high school many winters ago. I ran for sheriff during the annual “County Government Day,” knowing full well the student sheriff got to shoot it. I was limited to semi-auto, but it was still great. This example had a full stock, and was very accurate. I was kicking a can around at about 50 yards.
I wonder if they still have County Government Day, and if the student sheriff gets to shoot the Tommy. Somehow I doubt it.
Amusingly, most Sonics are drive-ins. Some around here don’t even have an indoor dining room. How do they propose to keep someone from having a gun in their car?
Simple: they assume the ‘gun free zone’ sign will stop people from bringing guns onto their property. I travel a long way to drill every month and I may or may not have been desperate enough to eat that I broke their no guns rule once or twice.
There’s dine-in Sonics? What does that even look like?
There’s one near us. From the exterior, looks like a regular Sonic, with the drive in bays and drive through. All they did was extend the building over the normally exterior patio area and make it interior. The seating is your standard McDonalds/Whataburger – couple of tables and chairs in the middle, plastic booths on the edges. Where the building would normally stop are a couple of registers.
Wait…. Chili’s doesn’t allow guns anymore….
http://www.local10.com/news/crime/employee-fatally-shot-at-chilis-in-miami-gardens
Didn’t the shooter see the sign saying no Guns allowed?
Many, many, many years ago our local PD was transitioning to 9mm…and had a ton of .45 ammo. So, during an open house they let the public shoot 7 rounds at full auto in their Tommy Guns. I got to shoot it 5 or 6 times!!! Weeee
One of the teens hanging around with me talked the Sgt in to letting him shoot a full mag…15 rounds. The officer warned him the gun would kick up, to hold it down securely. But the teen let it walk up and put the last 2 or 3 rounds in the ceiling. No more full mags for anyone, durn it!
Adjusted for what?
No Trump slump for local gun prices here in Wisconsin.. they seem to have shot up in recent weeks at my local Gander Mountain. There’s supposedly a glut of ARs too but not locally.
I’ve had several armed encounters with criminals during the last two years, two home invasions and one arson attempt. Two 911 calls were ineffectual but my carry gun was not. No one got hurt because once the perps found out I had a gun, they ran like lightning from the scene. One 911 response was two and a half hours later, the other forty minutes, the third time, I didn’t even bother calling the cops at all.
The Sonic/Chili’s story is from May/June of 2014. Zombie news.