California has seen its fair share of ups and downs when it comes to the availability of certain arms and even ammunition within the state for private citizens. Despite the struggles, companies like Rock River Arms are doing their best to get firearms that fit within the stringent guidelines of the state to their customers. The new Rock River California Compliant rifles are here to serve that purpose and come in a variety of configurations suitable for the modern-day rifleman.

Hello and welcome back to the TFB B-Side Podcast! This week I have on a special guest from a bit of a unique country – Northern Ireland. I’ll spare you the history lesson on how Northern Ireland came to be but suffice it to say, Northern Ireland has some pretty interesting gun laws and gun culture despite technically being a part of the United Kingdom which historically has had some pretty stringent gun laws when compared to the United States. Our guest Paul was generous enough to lend me some of his time so that we could share all of this information with you and hopefully perhaps bring some more Northern Irelanders into the sport!

Every community has its hot-button words. Words that when they pop up in a headline or, say, a patent, rational minds storm out the door; any willingness to ask clarifying questions in tow. In this community, two of those words are “Database” and “Government”. I witnessed some of this reactionary fervor start to simmer recently when someone was rummaging around on google patent search and turned up this filing from Geissele:

The recent burst of Hi-Power related stories just got a little weirder. Springfield Armory, whose new SA-35 has been covered here, filed a lawsuit against European American Armory Corporation, who recently announced they would be importing the Girsan MC P35 Hi-Power.

One of my favorite guns and gear retailers has made a move into the blockchain world. DSG Arms accepts cryptocurrency payments for products sold through their website. For those who are accustomed to cash and credit/debit cards for their firearms-related purchases, crypto payments offer a few unique benefits. For one, in the past,  banks and credit card companies have blocked firearms and ammunition purchases. A move towards Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency payments is a win for decentralized finance (DeFi) and a step towards regaining a little financial freedom.

Australia is an amazing country for many reasons. Aside from nearly every living thing in the island nation trying to kill you, it is also full of interesting people and firearms history. History nerds will no doubt know that firearms were a large part of Australian culture for many years up until the mid-90s when a devastating attack caused a severe reaction from the country’s government and almost overnight Australian firearms ownership was abruptly curtailed. Despite the incorrect assumption that Australian’s can’t own firearms, there happens to be a fairly vibrant and dedicated firearms community within the country and I recently had the opportunity to speak with one of our Patreon and Subscribe Star supporters ( known as Jobeeeeee on the TFB Discord Chat) about the joys, and hurdles of being a firearms owner in Australia. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that things may not be as bleak as it seems for our foreign friends and today I hope I can share that same sentiment with our listeners on the TFB B-Side Podcast.

Every year the ATF releases a statistical look on the firearms industry in the United States. Everything that comes in, goes out, gets made, and gets transferred is recorded for posterity. The 2021 Firearms Commerce In The United States report encompasses a wild time in American history. While some supply chains got crushed, the demand for firearms of all types skyrocketed. The data is comprehensive and is an interesting analytical look at the gun industry from the 50,000 foot view.

Today on the TFB B-Side podcast we answer some of the most important questions about what it’s like to be a gun guy in California. Can you find magazines with more than 10-rounds of capacity? Can you really not use a regular magazine release on your AR-15? Do people in California even like guns? Do the people that work in Hollywood actually like guns? One of our resident Californian experts and ex-pats of the state TFB Writer Nic L answers all this and more on today’s episode of the TFB B-Side podcast.

Our friends at Orchid Advisors are always keeping a watchful eye on any possible legislation that can change the way dealers, distributors, and manufacturers conduct business. In their latest installment, Orchid tracks some potential state and federal regulations that could impact our industry. As a reminder, TFB doesn’t delve into partisan politics, but any regulatory changes are important to shooters and business owners alike. The details can be found below.