Articles by Herschel Smith

Source.

I’m the only gun owning liberal in my general friend/acquaintance group and the proposal to drop the $200 stamp for cans has some of them seriously worked up about how Republicans are making mass shootings easier this way, making quietly killing someone more affordable, etc. The usual.

It doesn’t seem to get through that they’re pretty much never used in crimes and that if that was your goal, you’d be far better off just 3D printing/garage building a cheap illegal one. Seriously. There are well over a million cans in this country and they’re involved in like 40+ crimes a year. And I’m not even sure that’s limited to legal ones.

There’s so much bad shit in this bill, but removing a tax on things that are seen as nothing more than safety devices in other countries is not one of them and the fixation on it is really frustrating.

I guess it just reminds me how effectively a huge number of left leaning voters have been lied to about guns and how they work (as well as gun owners, for that matter) and it’s hard to know how to start undoing that damage. How do I effectively explain that I just wanna giggle when my gun goes whump instead of boom sometimes when that thing is clearly built to spec for kid killing?

Here’s the first thing you do. You explain to them that suppressors are safety equipment, as important as any other safety equipment such as hard hats or safety glasses. And if you need to, you cite the relevant parts of the federal code where OSHA is concerned about hearing loss. You explain to them that this has to do with the proper function of the human body.

Next, you don’t use words like giggle. You insist that “shall not be infringed means shall not be infringed.” Period.

Finally, you get yourself a new set of friends. Your friends are controllers and you shouldn’t be around them.

That’s the headline from Washington Post.

When Robert Leider became chief counsel at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in March, agency employees briefed him about a controversial device known as a “forced reset trigger,” according to people familiar with the discussions. The device allows semiautomatic weapons to fire more rapidly, and ATF had classified them as machine guns, effectively making them illegal.

That classification was challenged in court, with gun owners and manufacturers represented by legal teams that included David Warrington, who has since become President Donald Trump’s White House counsel. Now the Trump administration was considering reversing the Biden-era classification.

In a bid to explain the classification, ATF workers took Leider to a shooting range to see how the triggers operate, according to people familiar with the outing, who like others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retribution. At the end of the process, Leider, an Antonin Scalia Law School professor and gun rights attorney, agreed: The devices were dangerous, and the classification as machine guns should stand, the people said.

But Leider’s opinion did not prevail. After tense conversations between Leider and powerful Justice Department officials, including Emil Bove, principal associate deputy attorney general, the department announced late Friday that it was settling the litigation, clearing the way for the items to be sold and used.

Under the terms of the settlement, “forced reset triggers” will remain legal so long as their manufacturer refrains from developing similar devices for pistols and enforces its patents to stop copycats, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.

“This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right,” Bondi said. “And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety.”

It’s funny how the WaPo titled this missive. “Pro gun lawyer.” Pro gun indeed.

We should be able to own machine guns without having to go through the trouble of using FRTs. I think the author and I have a different definition of pro gun. That he graduated from the Antonin Scalia school of law is irrelevant to me.

Here is Tom Grieve explaining the details of the settlement.

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I sent this note to S&W support.

I’m just wondering for the hundredth time if y’all are going to come out with a lever gun in 460 or 500 S&W magnum? I would be happy to do a review of it without any cost to you (I would purchase the gun outright).

This is the first time I have ever gotten a response to my many notes.

Thank you for contacting Smith & Wesson.

I would be glad to relay your interest to our Marketing & Product Development department for review.

If you have any other questions please feel free to contact us at 1-800-331-0852

Thank you and Have a Great Day!

Regards,

Daniel

Back to Daniel (and I tried to locate the email for the S&W CEO, perhaps I got it right), I responded this.

Daniel,

Thank you for the offer to forward my request. This is the first time in all of my inquiries that I have actually gotten a response.

I would love to talk to your folks about a walnut lever action rifle in 500 S&W magnum. I’m certain that the S&W engineers can handle the development, and I’m also certain that the Performance Center would take an interest in such a project.

As I said, I would be happy not only to buy the rifle outright, but also do a review of it.

Your engineers might say that the cartridge I am requesting (500 S&W magnum) is a high pressure cartridge and as such might have “sticky extraction” issues, but Rossi has proven that they can handle the .454 Casull and Big Horn Armory can certainly make rifles chambered in 500 S&W magnum. They do so every day.

Frankly, it should bother you more than a little that Big Horn Armory is the only manufacturer that makes a rifle chambered in your very own cartridge (500 S&W magnum). Shouldn’t S&W make a rifle chambered in that round too?

Herschel Smith, PE

We’ll see if this becomes a chance to get a lever gun in S&W 500 magnum. I have my doubts.

Big Country Expat observes the following about Crye Precision.

Me and Lil Country went ‘all in’ so to speak on the equipment back in 2004/2005 as contractors.
After all, we wanted to stay alive amiright?

It (Crye) was, according to our SF and SEAL contacts ‘the best of the best of the best’
So, of course we bought into it…………plus we had the $$$ that Crye costs.

More the fool sez I

Bro………..
Within 4 months we sought NEW gear as the CC (CryeCrap) as we’d found it was worthless

The stuff fell apart… stitching sucked… it rotted away… Our plate carriers wore out… plates falling out…it was shit… it fell apart under summer and heat related (i.e. HEAVY sweat related times) I ended up with (and you’re going to laugh your ass off) with a fucking airsoft level plate carrier that I paid what? Like $200 for as opposed to the $600 plus for the utterly worthless CryeCrap we’d bought. That Airsoft ‘crap’ lasted for 4 years, and NEVER let me down… in fact THAT gear is now the WIFE’S gear as she’s NOT supposed to be ‘first line defense/offense’ but have gear I know I cant trust…

The f*cking airsoft ‘grade’ plate carrier outperformed the Crye gear for two f’n years
After that experience, I never want to hear from ANY guntoober or gear reviewer who has not had to use the gear they’re reviewing online EVER. It’s waaaaaaaaaaaaay different when you depend on your gear keeping you alive donchaknow?
And as another thing? My primary backpack?
The same Condor 3 day, and I’ve had it since 2007. I STILL use it
This’s a IRL experience with “CryeCrap”

And Joe observes this.

condor makes some good stuff and they have an “elite” line and it’s just as good as any of those top brand names…they have a battle/range belt with a real cobra buckle that was cheap 2 years ago…it’s now almost $100 but still worth it in my opinion…only draw back is velcro is backwards so you can’t use another brand under belt…but overall, they make decent/good stuff…

Something about Crye Precision turned me off when I looked at them years ago.

I embedded a video about Condor 3-Day Assault Packs in that video (good advertising for Condor) and also stumbled across this video (funny how YT does that isn’t it?).

This is so much advertising for Condor they should send me a 3-Day Assault Pack for review.

First up, SilencerCo’s view of the hearing protection act. I like it when people honestly answer questions.

Fully support the HPA

— SilencerCo (@silencerco) May 16, 2025

Second, David asks why anyone would care about this because he sees it as unlikely that it will ever make it to the president’s desk. That may be true, but if nothing else, I want to call out traitors for who they are and try my best to prevent them from claiming success if all they do is decrease the tax stamp fee. And if they want me to grovel for crumbs that fall from the master’s table, I’ll throw the crumbs back in their face.

On that front, it looks like maybe we’ve been successful. I send X posts out virtually every day reminding members of the ways and means committee that they need to pass the HPA in full.

Because Friday’s vote failed to pass the bill through the House, the budget committee will reconvene on Sunday to hash out a bill that will most likely pass. Hopes are high due to the outpouring from the gun community that Section 2 of the HPA will be included. This change would mean that suppressors would be removed from the NFA. Those at AmmoLand News have spoken to in the House are confident that the HPA will be included in the new text. The SHORT Act also has a shot of being included, but that is far from certain.

As for Silencer Central’s view, I think it’s abundantly clear where they stand.

This is a very direct and honest review. Reed doesn’t like the quality and Crye Precision let him down with their customer service. By the way, I trust Reid’s views.

I noted in the comments that Condor got good reviews of their plate carriers. I had also saw a review of the Condor 3-Day Assault Pack some years ago. I thought I’d post it here for those who may be in the market. Let me know if you have either one of these Condor products and what you think of them.

Source.

The U.S. Supreme Court sided against the Trump administration on Friday in a case involving the use of the Alien Enemies Act, a centuries-old wartime law used to deport certain illegal immigrants quickly. The administration had argued that the law allowed for the expedited removal of individuals deemed national security threats, particularly Venezuelan nationals allegedly tied to violent criminal groups. However, the Supreme Court blocked the administration’s efforts.

[ … ]

“Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster,” the ruling read, despite dissents from Justices Thomas and Alito. “But it is not optimal for this Court, far removed from the circumstances on the ground, to determine in the first instance the precise process necessary to satisfy the Constitution in this case. We remand the case to the Fifth Circuit for that purpose.”

You didn’t meet constitutional muster. But we don’t know what is necessary to meet constitutional muster. So, somebody else has to figure that out.

Good Lord. What good are they except to block the administration and enable the deep state?

Silencer Central has spent an enormous about of money lobby on behalf of keeping suppressors as NFA items. The members of the house ways and means committee is trying as hard as they can to keep from allowing you to purchase suppressors without telling the FedGod and filling out paperwork.

They all hate you and a burning hatred.

@RepJasonSmith @RepDavidKustoff @Silencercentral

I predict that unless the full hearing protection act is passed, Rep Smith and Rep Kustoff will hear about it soon enough at election time. I also predict that Silencer Central goes bankrupt for lobbying against the act.

— CaptainsJournal (@BrutusMaximus50) May 16, 2025

They want us to grovel for crumbs that fall from the master's table like slaves. Silencer Cental has spent an enormous amount of money lobbying them to keep suppressors in the NFA. It's an unrighteous governing and business model. Presumably, Silencer Central sent the…

— CaptainsJournal (@BrutusMaximus50) May 16, 2025

Presumably Silencer Central sent them on junkets and sent their families out for nice dinners. All in order to infringe on the 2A.

— CaptainsJournal (@BrutusMaximus50) May 15, 2025

Presumably Silencer Central sent them on junkets and sent their families out for nice dinners. All in order to infringe on the 2A.

— CaptainsJournal (@BrutusMaximus50) May 15, 2025

To all the democrat congresscritters who oppose the hearing protection act, I say, "Blow it out of your ass." And I'm ashamed of the republicans who won't say that to you as well.

Democrats Become Unhinged Over Hearing Protection Act https://t.co/Gzy5GSlQYh via @YouTube

— CaptainsJournal (@BrutusMaximus50) May 14, 2025

Grim’s Hall (via a reader).

Here in North Carolina, though up in Ashe County, deputies accidentally killed a motorcycle rider by triggering his airbag safety vest. They were unreasonably aggressive, pulling a gun on him and physically dragging him off the bike without bothering to disconnect the safety vest. If you don’t know how these work, they are connected to the bike so that if you come off of it the ripcord causes the airbags to expand. These things exert pretty serious force (as you can see from that link), which can cause problems for breathing — especially if you are also being choked out by a deputy sheriff. An autopsy ruled Mast’s death a homicide and found the cause of death was “compression asphyxia of the torso and neck.”

First of all let’s get past the issue that most cops are overly aggressive and paranoid idiots and probably started the whole downward spiral of this terrible event.

This is also why I don’t like cops touching another man’s gun. The gun might be striker fired. It might be hammer fired. It might have a safety. It might not. It might be in half-cocked position. It might not be. It might have a round in the chamber. It might not. It might have a modified (light) trigger. It might not. It might have other modifications of which the cop is unaware.

Only a stupid department run by imbeciles would have a procedure where a cop touches and pulls another man’s gun off of him for reasons of “officer safety.” I cannot imagine something more unsafe.

David Kustoff is a gun controller and statist. He wants to throw some crumbs your way and hope you’re satisfied.

Suppressors are hearing protection. They're as important as safety glasses or hard hats. But you want us to tell the FedGov about our firearms by registering suppressors. I cannot find words to express how repulsed I am at you.

— CaptainsJournal (@BrutusMaximus50) May 13, 2025