Trumped

• 2/14/25 New York Post:

“After Trump’s election victory in November, the US Army announced it shattered previous recruiting records when the service said it enlisted nearly 350 soldiers per day in December 2024, the most productive December in 15 years. The surge in recruitment comes after two consecutive years of missing recruitment targets.”

Get Real

• I see that a competing blog from which I obtain some of my reports advertises that they’re about “firearms, not politics.” Well sadly Mr. Fudd, if you don’t deal with politics there will be no legal firearms. Now go pull your share of the load.

NRA Board Election

• Ballots must be received by April 6. Historically only about 3+% of eligible members vote in NRA Board elections. Make sure you’re one of them.

Reminders:

• SIGN YOUR ENVELOPE.
• Vote only for reform candidates and not the old guard Bob Barr slate:
  • NRA Board Election 2025 Endorsements: Future of NRA is in Members’ Hands
  • Decision Time for NRA Members
  • Elect a New NRA!

• Mr. Charles Brown of Dayton, OH
• Mr. Paul Babaz of Atlanta, GA

Litigation

• Chief US District Court Judge Lance Walker has granted a preliminary injunction blocking Maine’s unconstitutional 72-hour waiting period law for firearm purchases, after an FBI NICS background check approval.
• The US District Court in North Dakota issued its opinion in FRAC v. Garland, the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition (“FRAC”)-Franklin Armory firearms classification-related lawsuit against ATF. In his ruling, Judge Daniel M. Traynor vacated the ATF’s prior misclassifications of Franklin Armory’s unique Reformation and Antithesis firearms because the ATF has been abusing its firearms technology classification powers. The opinion stated that “Franklin Armory presented a square peg, and ATF shoved it into a round hole. If Congress wanted ‘shotgun’ to be a catch-all category for anything that doesn’t fit ‘rifle,’ it could have done so. . . . . It is not for ATF to redefine the terms because it thinks Congress didn’t intend a certain outcome. Therefore, ATF exceeded its authority in defining ‘smoothbore’ as anything lacking ‘functional rifling.'” In response to ATF’s arguments, Judge Traynor retorted that “Administrative agencies need to remember they are in the executive branch and leave legislating to Congress.”
• The SAF, NRA, Gun Owners Action League (GOAL), Commonwealth Second Amendment, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and a private citizen, Mack Escher, have filed a lawsuit in US District Court challenging an unconstitutional Massachusetts statute which bans young adults in the 18-to-20 age group from acquiring, possessing, or carrying any semiautomatic firearm of any type or any handgun. The case is Escher v. Mason.
• US District Court Judge Jill Otake rejected a request from young Hawaiians, gun stores, and the SAF to block enforcement of the state’s ban on selling or transferring guns to those under 21. She ruled the plaintiffs didn’t meet the high burden needed to win an early-stage injunction but cautioned that doesn’t necessarily mean they couldn’t get there eventually. The case is Pinales v. Lopez.
• A federal judge has upheld a landmark jury award in a product liability case against New Hampshire-based gunmaker Sig Sauer. The lawsuit involves a Georgia man who was shot without allegedly pulling the trigger of his own P320 pistol, a popular Sig Sauer model that is also at the center of dozens of other lawsuits claiming it has a design flaw that leaves it prone to unintentional discharges. In this case, the judge wrote that “the parties agree that something caused the trigger to pull; however, they dispute what caused the trigger to pull.” Call me simple, but it seems to be a bit excessive to blame the manufacturer for making a trigger that works when it’s pulled.
• Last week, Arizona Superior Court Judge Greg Sakall ruled that Pima County, Arizona, can’t fine residents $1,000 for failing to report lost or stolen guns within 48 hours and ordered a permanent injunction against the county’s ordinance. He sided with gun-rights plaintiffs who argued the measure violated a state preemption law designed to prevent localities from implementing their own gun restrictions. He also allowed plaintiffs to seek lawyer fees from the county.
• Grassroots judicial report.
• A convicted robber in Georgia was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting a machine gun at state troopers. Apparently no time for being a felon in possession or for possessing an unregistered machine gun. Stupid.

Enemies

• US Rep. and former Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia (D-CA), last week called on the Democratic Party to “bring actual weapons” in the “fight for democracy.” The actual statement is “And what I think is really important and what the American public want (sic) is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy, (sic) for the future of this country.” OK big boy, let’s dance. Yes, I’m calling you out.
• ATF. Still, again and always.
• We have a report that owners of forced reset triggers that the ATF seized have started receiving letters from the Bureau with instructions on reclaiming their triggers. Owners who want their triggers back can email the ATF at [email protected] to arrange the return of their stolen property. No word on criminal prosecutions of the thieves.
• We first reported the case of Navy sailor Patrick Tate Adamiak’s illegal machine gun conviction back in 2022 and erroneously classified it under our “Only Ones” heading. My apologies for that. Then last month we revealed that the ATF provided false testimony and the assistant US attorney prosecutor also flat-out lied in court to gain the illicit conviction in a kangaroo court known as the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, with head kangaroo Judge Andrea Allen. (We note that attorneys are not sworn to tell the truth during court proceedings, so they are apparently free to lie.) Now we have more.

“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” – H.L. Mencken

The Only Ones

• We have an unconfirmed report that an unidentified female US Secret Service special agent trainee negligently shot herself in the leg while holstering her weapon last week at the Secret Service’s Rowley Training Center in South Laurel, Maryland. Sources reported that she was airlifted to a Baltimore hospital emergency room with the extent of her injuries unknown.
• City of St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery is under investigation by the FBI after illegally taking a former deputy’s legal personal firearm, and other irregularities. I am unfamiliar with cities having both a city sheriff and a city police department.

DGUs

• An armed Decatur (IL) 22-year-old mom with a baby on her hip was shot and wounded as she defended her family by opening fire on home invaders, driving them off and wounding one of them, police report. The woman suffered a gunshot wound to her left forearm and another gunshot wound to her right hip where she was holding her infant daughter. Three armed home invaders had forced their way into the home with the intention of burglarizing it. They had been confronted by the mom, who warned them she was armed and told them to get out, which is when the intruders fired upon her. She fired back, wounding one. All three were caught and charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery involving the discharge of firearms and home invasion involving the discharge of guns.
• Also from Decatur, IL.
• A 14-year-old Kentucky boy acted in self-defense early last Saturday morning when he shot and killed two armed adult male intruders attempting to steal firearms from a home in Clay County. Two for two. Reload and make ready. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Legislature is considering a bill to criminalize parents making guns available to responsible 14-year-olds in their own homes.
• The Armed Citizen:
  • American Rifleman – February 17, 2025
  • America’s 1st Freedom – February 14, 2025

Tactics & Stuff

• There’s no such thing as a miss. Every fired round hits something.
• Self-Defense and the Law: When Is It Time to Talk with the Prosecutor? Ayoob. Always good.
• The law is in our hands. Farnam.
• Why not simply quit your dance, turn around – and shoot the cause of the problem?
• Interesting Defensive Shotgun Ammo Test Results.
• Carrying and Using the LDK Knife.
• Pocket gun roundup.
• 9 “HillBilly” Cartridges That Are Still Alive In Appalachia. Just for fun. I admit to owning guns in only three of these chamberings, but the total number of those guns is way more than three. I could add a couple of other oddballs.
• Perhaps related, back in the day when full service gun shops had sales staff that sometimes were diligent about not letting you window shop unmolested, I would tell them I was interested in some specific odd gun or caliber that perhaps hadn’t been made in decades and I knew they likely wouldn’t have. For instance, a .348, .416, or 14 gauge, or a Remington Model 17, Bren Ten, or Remington Model 700 Etronx. That worked pretty well, but beware that once in a blue moon you may get “lucky” and buy one.
• Grave Guns and Coffin Torpedoes: Vintage Defenses Aimed to Foil Grave Robbers. (Not recommended in today’s litigious society.)

Hot ammo

• You’ve read about the new Federal 7mm Backcountry high performance steel-cased cartridge that achieves its level of performance by means of 80,000 psi pressure, which is in turn allowed by the use of the case made of a proprietary high tech steel alloy. The highest pressure that SAAMI currently allows for a brass rifle-cartridge case is 65,000 psi. It turns out that the development is not physically limited to new cartridges and guns, but could be utilized for existing chamberings in good quality firearms, with an attendant performance bump. So you could perhaps give your quality .30-06 some .300 Win. Mag. ballistics while staying within safe pressure boundaries for that ’06 load when using the new steel case. We’re waiting for developments on that front. I also wonder whether this technology might be safe and effective to improve performance for existing older/antiquated/obsolete cartridges and firearms which heretofore have never benefited from modern high pressure loadings. The question would seem to be how to stay SAAMI-compliant and safe while doing so.

Products

• Garmin Xero C1 Pro and the Caldwell Velociradar: A Comparison.
• Gun parts with an 80% weight reduction.
• Palmetto State Armory has the Rock Island 1911 GI .45 ACP 5″ 8 round Pistol marked down to $279.99 each.
• FALCO’s Premium Leather Multifit Holsters will be available in five pistol sizes and three revolver sizes, offering the convenience of a single, adaptable leather holster for multiple carry needs. $60, less 15% off until 2/25 with code UNIHOLSTER15. I did not find a multifit to fit either of my modern full size carry pistols, but they do have lots of fits in other holsters.
• Simply Rugged’s new Sidewinder revolver speedloader pouch is made of leather and Kydex and is worn horizontally above your belt for lower bulk and easier access. But the blamed thing costs $40 instead of $5.

What I’m reading.