#Handguns

In the summer of this year we reported about the class action lawsuit that Taurus lost, and was filed by a sheriff in Iowa over some defective conditions of their semi automatic line of handguns. The payout was over millions of dollars. However a video has recently been surfacing of several Taurus handguns in this infamous drop test, and the results don’t look very good. All three of the pistols in the video show significant results in their slides and triggers as a result of being dropped. Some of them the triggers are shown being pushed all the way to the rear, while another has the entire slide racked back enough to extract the round in the chamber. Now the video is in slow motion, so I would be curious as to how similar this would happen with other polymer handguns such as Glocks, M&Ps, and XDs. The biggest difference would be with the trigger bar in all these handguns that I think would prevent the kinds of trigger push that we see in the Taurus video. Either way, I don’t know if this video was used as evidence or involved in the courtroom drama in the summer, but it is certainly a testimony to understanding the drop tests and current Taurus handguns.

Earlier on TFB we reported about Oregon Trail Defense’s ALS “Nub” Mod for the Safariland line of Level 3 retention holsters. Essentially it is an aluminum part that is installed on the actuating lever that allows release of the handgun from the holster in a much faster and reliable way than the original small piece. Now Oregon Trail Defense seems to be successful with their initial product, enough so to release a new one for the SLS holsters, with the retaining hood that covers the rear portion of the slide of the handgun. It has “backwards compatibility” so this version can be installed on ALS holsters, but I don’t think ALS Nubs can be installed on SLS holsters because of the space limitations with the hood that would prevent it from fully closing. The parts are still aluminum, with a polymer part that should be coming out in the near future. It is currently retailing for $33.50 and has already been released to the public, ready for ordering. From what I’ve seen so far, this small operation has already come out with several product announcements and doesn’t seem to be slowing down, excellent work for a company that must be only a couple of people in operation, I hope they continue down this path. And the owner is a prior Marine so I’m somewhat biased…

Dustin Ellermann recently conducted a simple test in which he shot various firearms of varying calibers through a chronograph with and without suppressors on each, in order to test their velocity. The overall findings are that, yes suppressors will increase the velocity of a round, with the exception of the .223 in his specific test, mostly with an average of by 18 Feet Per Second (excluding .223). I’m no ballistics guru by any means, but I would just be curious as to what the chronograph is calibrated to and how accurate it is. Because those figures are pretty minute in the overall scheme of velocity, so in the end, does this really matter when it comes to point of impact? I do know, working with 7.62 M40A5s and M110 SASSs in a Marine sniper platoon, that it was common knowledge that two factors would raise the point of impact- a suppressor mounted, or higher temperatures in the weather from previous shooting. So if we started shooting on a cold morning, and continued shooting throughout the day when it would get hotter, our point of impacts would rise. However, these changes weren’t evident until ranges of perhaps 400 yards and beyond. So that makes a large difference with precision rifles out past 400, but most shooting in general is done at probably 300 and in, of firearms of all calibers. So whether or not this will affect your shot at 150 meters while deer hunting, it probably won’t. Either way, good tidbit of knowledge.

In a recent article on Guns.com shows an outlined plan for Colt Defense to get itself out of the current financial quagmire that it finds itself in these days. And no, it doesn’t involve a Native American Casino company as was proposed earlier this year in an attempt to save the company. The current plan is to completely restructure the financial landscape of the company in addition to consolidating debt, both of which I have neither the financial education or knowledge to explain in eloquent terms. The important part is that the plan was approved by a federal judge, but still has to be voted on by the stock holders. However I think the most important part is that it doesn’t include firing any of the 700 employees that Colt currently employs, always a good thing for the job market. Personally I feel that Colt has more often than not, been a reactive firearms company as opposed to the more proactive firearms companies in coming out with new designs and adapting to the market. By this I’m referring to such companies as Winchester, Remington, Ruger, and other large companies that have constantly changed their designs and introduced new ones. Whereas Colt has largely depended on their government contracts and their production of previous successful designs to keep them afloat. In addition to all Colt AR parts being Mil Spec to begin with, because they are the original. We reported on this plan in September this year, but the difference now is that the plan was approved by a judge.

A company called Veri-Fire, LLC based out of San Antonio, Texas has designed and is selling a device that fits on the trigger guard of a handgun, and is essentially a high tech biometric trigger lock. Instead of a key unlocking it, your finger unlocks it. It was designed by two former Airmen who were prior Security Force guys. Release date is November 16th, MSRP is $299, but if you purchase one before that date, it will be $199, in addition to another reserve price of $159, which I’m not quite clear about the difference between those two last prices. It also appears to be rail mounted, wherein you access the biometric lock, and the cover slides forward, allowing use of the trigger. I don’t know how this translates to handguns that don’t have rails, or if a shooter wants to have a light on their handgun, which is a very valid reason for a home defense gun. It also appears to have a manual override but doesn’t explain how that works.

A project called SALT- A Safe Gun for a Safe Home has been started on Indiegogo already has over $12,500 raised in just 17 hours. Essentially it is a project aimed at introducing a non lethal solution into a home defense scenario, so no matter who breaks into your house (or while concealed carrying), there is no way you’ll be able to kill the aggressor. The inventors of this product believe that a compressed packet of salt and whatever other magical mixture is included, has the ability to halt and temporarily incapacitate an aggressive intruder or attacker, possibly with the intent on not only stealing, but also physically harming and/or killing the intruder.

Thankfully, the shooting industry will never have as much drama and nonsense floating around as Hollywood does. Regardless, a recent drama that has ensued is one where James Yeager pretty much called out Instructor Zero for not being professional enough, Zero responded in kind on Youtube with his own video, and then Yeager responded with an apology. The two should be at SHOT this year, so that will be interesting to see if anything ensues out of it.

If you or anyone you know of, live in South Carolina and have experienced a firearms theft, it might be worth a shot to contact the authorities in Pageland, South Carolina with the description and serial number of the firearm. A man was recently caught with a warehouse of between 7,000 to 10,000 stolen firearms amid a number of other stolen artifacts as well. They mostly seem to be hunting rifles and shotguns. The guy also apparently used a system of thieves to build up this massive stockpile. What on earth was this guy waiting for? A chance to arm an entire regiment for the economic meltdown? Police are going to start going through all the firearms on Monday in an effort to return them to their rightful owners.

Meprolight from the Mako Group has come out with a new handgun front and rear sighting system that consists of strips of tritium that line up with each other to almost form a sort of “cross hair” in addition to a center front sight dot, when everything is aligned. The design comes from the R4E Evolution that came out last year. Their video announcement of the product is pretty well done. From Meprolight-

So a strapping young lad that goes by the username of MyDifferentUserName on Youtube, has over the years come out with over a hundred different LEGO 1:1 scale reproductions that have controls that function, but don’t actually propel a LEGO projectile or similar object like some other LEGO 1:1 scale productions. LEGO creations are nothing new on the Youtube or internet scene, but I don’t think anyone has made them to just the sheer quantity of this guy. Another interesting tidbit is the guy lives in the U.S. and has videos of going out and shooting “real steel” to borrow a phrase from the airsoft world. A certain amount of firearms replication occurs in places where it is harder or impossible to get ahold of actual firearms and thus people settle for their own creations, such as the .22 rifles in deactivated machine guns that we featured earlier, or the wooden replicas made by a teacher in the U.K. Regardless, this guy has everything from Lee Enfields, SCARs, Mini-guns, revolvers, the LSAT, break open shotguns, and much more, over 100 different firearms. Most of his inspiration seems to come from video games such as Counter-Strike, and Battlefield. But a few are historically inspired such as the Lee Enfield No.1. I can absolutely empathize with him on this point, because I myself built cardboard replicas of video game firearms when I was in elementary school, starting with models from video games, and later branching off into historical small arms. What I like about his videos that differentiate them from other LEGO firearm videos is that he goes in depth with each one, touching on history, operation, form and function.

SilencerCo is really pushing up their ad campaign of “Fight the Noise” through a redesign of their website, and a partnering with Nitro Circus  in new video they just released on Youtube. I have to admit, their mouth taping and slogans of “We, the Suppressed” are a tad bit catchy. I will knock them immensely for the complete lack of eye protection in this video, hearing protection, alright I got it, suppressors. But no eye protection at all.

Obviously I’m not asking the reader if they are a dummy. The topic of this article is about Dummies, Snap Caps, and other assorted types of simulated non firing ammunition. Dummies are an extremely important tool when used correctly. Unfortunately I don’t think they have the presence that they should in the shooting world of today, both for instructing purposes and functional. 

Angel Armor out of Fort Collins, Colorado has released some new ballistic protection called the Ally One Level IIIA. It seems to be shaped in the size of a rectangle. Not sure if it is meant to be worn in a vest, or just carried in some sort of bag. From the press release-

I don’t think there is a single shooting event/competition, civilian or military, where it is declared in the safety brief, that everyone present is a range officer and has the right to call out an unsafe act or situation, on behalf of the whole group. Often times we listen to this and nod our heads in understanding, but how many of us have actually called out an unsafe act? Whether you have or not, this is an excellent video of a range officer doing the right thing.

Tavors, SA80s, FAMASs, AUGs, QBZ 95s. Whether for better or worse, the majority of bullpup weapon systems in the world are manufactured and in use by countries and militaries outside of the United States. Sure there was the Bushmaster M17S way back when, and now we have Keltec’s shotguns and rifles, in addition to the ever lofty Desert Tech MDR that’ll probably enter the civilian market in a dream while we sleep at night. These American designs haven’t experienced too much success in the U.S, market, apart from the Keltec KSG. Whether or not an American design does go to the forefront of bullpup popularity time can only tell. However for now, I’d like to introduce two designs that I saw at Bullpup 2015 which if not really original, just refreshing from everyone else. It was a good change of pace to see people coming out with their own ideas of what a bullpup should be.