Articles by Herschel Smith

I discussed this with friends today.  The source is here.

Mike does a good job of breaking it down.  I was just trying to recall the compliance rate with AR-15 registration when Connecticut tried this stunt.  As best as I recall it was < 10%.  This is different, i.e., declaring a SBR, but even worse because for those who comply, they can’t even carry the firearm across state lines without ATF approval.

I never got into the pistol brace scene, but there are a lot of them in circulation, many more than I suspect will be registered with the ATF as SBRs.

Ammoland.

According to UPS’ “How to Ship Firearms” webpage, nearly everything must have a serial number.

Any item that meets the definition of a firearm (including firearm mufflers or silencers) or a “frame” or “receiver” under federal law (including any partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frame or receiver as defined by 27 CFR § 478.12) must be identified and bear a serial number in satisfaction of the requirements for identifying such items under federal law, including 27 CFR § 478.92 and/or 27 CFR § 479.102, regardless of whether any such items are otherwise exempt from or not subject to identification requirements under applicable law.  This prohibition applies even before the effective date of 27 CFR § 478.12.

UPS does not accept Firearm Products for shipment domestically unless (1) such shipments are in full compliance with all federal, state, and local laws, including, without limitation, age restrictions; (2) such firearms, including any partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frame or receiver (as defined by 27 CFR § 478.12), have been identified and bear a serial number in a manner that complies with federal law; and (3) such firearm parts within a package cannot be assembled to form a firearm.

By far, the strictest document is the shipping agreement between UPS and a licensed firearm dealer.

Before making any Firearm Products Shipment under this Agreement, Shipper must submit to UPS, by email to customercompliance@ups.com complete, current and accurate licensing documentation of Shipper’s federal firearms license, as well as satisfactory completion of, and compliance with, any other applicable licensing requirements, including any applicable state requirements. Shipper may not tender Firearm Products Shipments to UPS unless and until UPS has confirmed receipt in writing of Shipper’s licensing documentation.

The agreement holds the dealer responsible for complying with all applicable laws, as well as developing their own “shipper compliance program.”

The compliance program must “include: (1) training for sales and marketing employees regarding lawful recipients, possessors, and purchasers of Firearm Products; (2) due diligence regarding customer licensure or authorization to receive, possess, and purchase Firearm Products under applicable federal, state, or local law; and (3) self-assessments of the Shipper Compliance Program to guarantee its effectiveness.”

That’s too bad.  That’s another option off the books.  Soon we’ll be limited to driving firearms where we intend for them to go.

I once gifted a revolver to someone in another state, and sent it to an FFL as per appropriate legal stipulations.  UPS won’t pick it up at your home, nor can you send it at a local office.  You have to go to a hub and declare it.

That’s all in the past now.  It all has to go through an FFL.  Only FFLs can ship through UPS.

Chalk another win for the anti-gun lobby and fear mongers.

I found this to be an informative video.  I still very much like the 6mm ARC round.  He does too, for its intended purpose (white tail, hogs, coyotes).

American Rifleman.

These five bullets cover most of the applications for which a .44 Mag. rifle can be used—from plinking to hunting. The projectiles are (l. to r.): Rim Rock’s 200-grain Cowboy RNFP; Hornady’s 200-grain XTP; Hornady’s 225-grain FTX; Northern Precision’s 250-grain Sabre Star and Speer’s 270-grain DeepCurl soft point.

The author goes on to outline some of the advantages and disadvantages of each bullet.

I’d like an educated take on what he says from experience hunting with this round.  Mainly I have .44 magnum from Buffalo Bore, choosing that since it tends to be some of the hottest round on the market (I haven’t tried Underwood, who has a monolithic round for sale).

I tend to think that a .44 magnum out of a lever action rifle would be lethal for eastern whitetail, bear, coyote, and about anything you could find east of the Mississippi.

What have readers taken with the venerable .44 magnum?

There aren’t many legitimate Southern Rock bands around anymore (Blackberry Smoke is about the only one left).  The old ones are gone: Marshall Tucker Band (all new players), Allman Brothers Band, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Grinderswitch, and so on.

Molly Hatchet was one of the greats of that era and that genre.  This is a great concert.  Blackberry Smoke plays in the same spirit these guys did.

"Do you realize the bullet out of an AR-15 travels 5 times as rapidly as a bullet shot out of any other gun."

🐂💩 pic.twitter.com/cTS1B84wtS

— Rob Doar (@robdoar) August 30, 2022

Hey, I want one of them things!!!!!!

Demented old fool, or perhaps just reading from the script put in front of him by his handlers who want to perpetuate fear among idiots who don’t know how to Google muzzle velocity of 5.56mm (3250 FPS with a 20″ barrel and 55 gr.) versus say, 300 Win Mag (3290 FPS with 150 gr.).

H/T: The Gun Feed.

UnHerd.

By 2003, the Bush administration was requesting $2 billion in annual budget for biodefence — a sum that, as the Los Angeles Times noted, exceeded the combined research budgets for breast cancer, lung cancer, stroke and tuberculosis. That year, Bush announced in his State of the Union address that he would propose a further $6 billion for the development and stockpiling of vaccines over the subsequent decade, in addition to baseline biodefence funding.

The money was essential, but transforming a core element of America’s national strategic defence was as much about restructuring the governmental and human aspects of biodefence as it was funding them. In the case of research-based bioweapons preparedness, Cheney’s masterstroke was to remove the fragmented biodefence research programmes from various departments, institutes and centres, and place them under the aegis of a single institute: the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), led then, as now, by Anthony Fauci.

A 2003 NIAID article detailed what this shift meant for the relatively obscure public health agency: “In 2003, NIAID was assigned lead responsibility… for civilian biodefence research with a focus on research and early development of medical countermeasures against terrorist threats from infections diseases and radiation exposures. NIAID later assumed responsibility for coordinating the NIH-wide effort to develop medical countermeasures against threats to the civilian population.” While the statement is laden with references to “civilian research”, it included a crucial caveat that explains much about its role right through the Covid-19 pandemic: “Because new potentially deadly pathogens, such as avian influenza, may be naturally occurring as well as deliberately introduced by terrorists, NIAID’s biodefence research is integrated into its larger emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases portfolio.”

In other words, as far as NIAID was concerned, there was no meaningful administrative distinction between biodefence and scientific research. With the stroke of Cheney’s pen, all United States biodefence efforts, classified or unclassified, were placed under the aegis of Anthony Fauci. So important was this new command structure that a representative from the office of Scooter Libby, Cheney’s powerful chief of staff, was physically placed in NIAID headquarters in Washington during the transition to function as “a kind of political commissar” from the vice president’s office. This gave Fauci unparalleled access to not just Cheney, but President Bush, to whom he had an open channel.

Fauci now had a virtual carte blanche to not merely approve but design and run the kind of research projects he sought — and could do so with no oversight structure above him. Biodefence projects that formerly would have fallen under the authority of military or intelligence agencies were now under his direct supervision.

It’s this that explains one of the most bewildering irregularities surrounding Anthony Fauci: his compensation. As widely reported, Fauci is the highest paid member of the federal government, out-earning the President, four-star generals, senators, and Super Court Justices. His salary roughly doubled that of his own (nominal) boss, until recently, NIH director Francis Collins. Fauci’s giant pay packet can be traced back to 2004, the year after NIAID was made the country’s top biodefence authority agency. According to a report by Forbes, that year NIH deputy director Raynard S. Kingston wrote a formal memo to the agency’s director, Elias Zerhouni “to request that the current retention allowance [amount redacted] for Dr. Anthony S. Fauci be converted… in order to appropriately compensate him for the level of his responsibly in his current position of Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), especially as it relates to his work on biodefence research activities.”

Bush and Cheney gave us the Patriot Act, the war in Iraq, and the broken war in Afghanistan.  Now we learn they gave us the wicked high priest of science, Anthony Fauci – and by extension, Covid and all of its destruction of the economy of the nation.  And Cheney of course gave us his horrible daughter.

Can anyone think of anything good Bush and Cheney did for America?

I’ll set up an entirely hypothetical situation for you.

A potential buyer sees a used rifle that is a classic and cannot be obtained new (it’s no longer made).  It’s noted by the gunsmith to be in good or very good condition with only customary wear marks on the receiver and stock.  The exception mentioned is that there is a “patch” of corrosion in the barrel near the muzzle.

Brownells has a video up from years ago dealing with rust, mainly relying on solvent and brushing, with more work to be done by a gunsmith with bluing afterwards if necessary.

The 1911 forum also has some home remedies like use of lemon juice and water (which it is claimed doesn’t hurt the bluing).

Readers are welcome to weigh in on remedies for rust.  The price is reasonable.  In this hypothetical situation, should the buyer beware of the “patch” of corrosion beyond a certain point?  The rifle is noted by the seller to be still good for hunting and target shooting, so they don’t think the gun has reached a point where this patch is a problem.

There were too many useful reviews of gear and guns to make into individual posts, so they’re all dropped into this one.

Outdoor Life has a review entitled The Best Gun Belts of 2022.

All Outdoor has a review of the Mystery Ranch Three Day Assault Pack.  They like it, and so do I (from a distance).  I saw a SpecOps guy wearing it while taking my family biking in Virginia one time and stopped him and asked him about it.  He saw me eyeballing him and I didn’t even finish the question before he gave me an answer.  He especially liked the 3-Zip design that lets you get into the pack for needful items without emptying the pack.  But at $385 it’s a bit pricey for me.

Outdoor Life has an article on how quarter of a million dollar shotguns are made if you’re rich and that’s your thing.

This guy is yet another satisfied customer and user of the Beretta 1301 combat shotgun.

Shooting Illustrated has a review of the CZ 600 Alpha hunting rifle.  We’ve discussed this many times before.  The polymer furniture makes it capable of being in the rain or taking a bump or bruise without showing the damage, but the Walnut stocks are so pretty.

TFB: Don’t buy Turkish made shotguns.

SOFREP has a review of the Franchi Affinity 3 field shotgun.  Is it me or do shotgun manufacturers seem to be dovetailing into the same sort of external design as the Beretta A400, Benelli and Browning Maximus 2?  No, it’s not just me.  While some things will never change (Beretta is gas operated while Benelli is inertial), the external features are trending towards the same sort of smooth lines, large controls, large charging handle, Camo pattern wrap or Cerekote, etc.

Readers can add in the comments or discuss guns or gear you’d like to see discussed or reviewed.

He was always a putz anyway. Who needs him?