Free Republic

If there’s one topic that can cause a lot of heat in shooting circles, it’s whether or not you choose to carry with a round in the chamber. When you research this topic or bring it up, particularly around experienced shooters, you’ll find a lot of strong opinions like, “only an idiot would carry without a round in the chamber,” or my all-time-favorite, “you might as well carry a brick for as much good as an unloaded gun will do you.” And these experienced shooters have these strong opinions because there is ample evidence, and many examples, where not having...

A mob of brazen burglars stole dozens of weapons from a Tampa gun shop Tuesday morning, after breaking in by driving through the front of the store. Surveillance cameras inside Tampa Arms Co. recorded the crime at about 3 a.m. The video shows a truck driving into the front of the business and, moments later, a swarm of thieves -- wearing masks and dressed alike -- running into the store, stealing about 40 weapons and taking off. The crime took about 60 seconds. "It seemed to be well-calculated," said Richard Smith, the store's owner, adding he got a call notifying...

In the wake of the horrific Ohio State University knife incident that left 11 people injured and the suspect killed, an OSU student organization is taking matters into their own hands. Their right to self-defense, to be more specific. Buckeyes for Concealed Carry on Campus, a chapter of the national group, Students for Concealed Carry, posted a public statement on their Facebook page and created an online petition via Change.org asking the Ohio Senate body to revise HB 48. The law currently allows campus carry in Ohio, but delegates that decision to each individual school and reduces the penalty of...

Gen. David Petraeus may be on the short list to be our next secretary of state, but his affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, led to him being convicted of mishandling classified information; Broadwell had access to journals of Petraeus that contained sensitive material. I’m not so sure he’s the best pick to lead the State Department. Moreover, isn’t mishandling classified information exactly what we’re trying to avoid and what we slammed Clinton for? Well, another venture Gen. Petraeus is diving into is gun control policy (via CNN):

President elect Trump has promised to do away with Gun Free Zones. Because of multitudinous, overlapping, Federal, state, and local statutes, ordinances and regulations, President Trump will not be able to eliminate all Gun Free Zones immediately. He can, unilaterally, do away with enormous swaths of them from the oval office, with a pen and a phone. The key is to understand how these zones have been constructed.  The Federal zones consist of three large pieces and a multitude of smaller chunks. The three large pieces can be eliminated by executive order and findings from the executive branch. The...

TAMPA (FOX 13) - A mob of brazen burglars stole dozens of weapons from a Tampa gun shop Tuesday morning, after breaking in by driving through the front of the store. Surveillance cameras inside Tampa Arms Co. recorded the crime at about 3 a.m. The video shows a truck driving into the front of the business and, moments later, a swarm of thieves -- wearing masks and dressed alike -- running into the store, stealing about 40 weapons and taking off. "It seemed to be well-calculated," said Richard Smith, the store's owner, adding he got a call notifying him of...

Weapons legislation should be strengthened to fight against right-wing “extremists”, Germany’s Federal Justice Minister has told local media. Heiko Maas told state broadcaster ARD that the potential for violence among so-called “imperial citizens” has “risen markedly” and said Germans should have to sign a paper confirming commitment to the constitution in order to receive a weapons permit. It is claimed “Imperial citizens” are Germans from the “conspiracy theory scene” who believe the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany has not been “legitimised by the people” and have been described as similar in political beliefs to “Brexiteers” and people who...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A suspect who police say tried to carjack a man with two accomplices Monday night was in the hospital in critical but stable condition Tuesday after the driver of the car shot him. The driver acted in self defense and is not facing charges, according to Albuquerque police spokesman Fred Duran. Officers were called to the shooting, which was outside an apartment complex on the 3900 block of Montgomery NE near Montgomery and Carlisle, around 6:30 p.m. They learned that three men had tried to to carjack a couple in a parking lot. “The driver fired his...

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he still plans on reprimanding Democrats for their unprecedented gun control protest on the House floor in June. During the course of the 26-hour sit-in, led by civil rights activist Georgia Rep. John Lewis, Democrats violated a number of rules, including live-steaming video on social media and fundraising on the floor. Shortly after the event took place, McCarthy and House Speaker Paul Ryan met with the sergeant at arms to review the acts of misconduct and weigh what repercussions were appropriate. The California Republican said reports confirmed there was damage to furniture and mistreatment...

The heroic officer who engaged and stopped an armed assailant at Ohio State University has been identified as OSU police officer Alan Horujko.

German defense manufacturing company Heckler & Koch will stop providing arms to Turkey. “We only want to deliver to reliable countries, also not countries that are unequivocal democratic, not corrupt, and are part of NATO or close to NATO,” an anonymous employee of the organization told the German newspaper Die Welt. Turkey as a result was removed from the customer list. The change of strategy was justified by the fact that exporting permits to human rights violating countries is difficult or nearly impossible, and also to prevent negative headlines in the media. “The moral criticism of such exports can be...

ohn Kasich was the recipient of a tidal wave of Twitter hate Monday, as countless users blamed the Ohio governor for Monday’s horrific attack on Ohio State University’s campus.

Progressives used a brutal knife attack at Ohio State University (OSU) on Monday as an excuse to demand more gun control, even after authorities declared that they had no evidence the attacker even used a gun during his rampage. The attacker reportedly struck pedestrians with his vehicle and proceeded to stab several others, harming at least nine individuals, one of whom is in critical condition. Despite OSU’s initial tweets stating there was an active shooter on campus, authorities later said there was no evidence that the attacker used a gun during his attack. The victims are being treated for stab...

Washington (CNN)Retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, who has long resisted calls to run for political office, is teaming up with retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly to create a new group urging greater gun control. The two announced on Friday that they were launching Veterans Coalition for Common Sense to encourage elected leaders to "do more to prevent gun tragedies." The group will feature veterans from every branch of the military who are urging lawmakers to toughen gun laws, the organization said in a news release.

Gunsite, Az, at the Colt Media Event, Colt unveiled the finished version of their new M16A1 retro build named the Colt M16A1 Reissue. We were lucky to get a sneak peek of the Colt M16A1 Reissue back in May 2016 during the NRA Annual Meeting in Kentucky. The retro rifle is built from with original Colt furniture, new manufactured receiver set and new barrel. The Colt M16A1 Reissue should be available in early 2017, if not sooner. Please click here for the rest of the story.

Senator Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s VP candidate, is back in the news. Today he tweeted after the incident at Ohio State A Somali student ran into a group of fellow students with his car and then got out and stabbed a few more. The terrorist was killed by a campus police officer with a gun.

In the late 1980s, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force decided to replace its aging 7.62-by-51-millimeter Howa Type 64 battle rifles. The JGSDF selected a lighter, modern assault rifle — the Howa Type 89 — in 1989. It’s a solid weapon, but one with a few weird features. Its biggest problem, however, is that there aren’t enough copies of it in existence.

Two teenagers go into a gun store. One is white. The other is black, and a Muslim. The white teen is advising the black teen on what to buy. Is it a "Straw Purchase"? Several stores have been sued for millions of dollars because they legally sold a gun to someone who later committed a crime. Gun retailers have been exhorted to be careful in who they sell to. They have been told to exercise judgment. They have been told that when in doubt, refuse to sell. The Reese family in New Mexico, had their lives ruined, and spent...

On 21 March of 2016, the Supreme Court issued a remarkable and, apparently to the Court, non-controversial decision.  In the Caetano PER CURIAM decision (pdf), the Court held that: The Court has held that “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding,” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570, 582 (2008), and that this “Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States,” McDonald v.Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 750 (2010). While the decision, which was unanimous, has far...

Do not fool yourself about what the aftermath of a defensive shooting is going to be like. Some people have an image in their head that’s been put there by watching too much television and bad platitudes from elected officials and spokespersons for various groups. As with anything else, the reality is so much worse than the fantasy.For instance, most people don’t think it’s entirely possible that their defensive handgun will not only be confiscated by law enforcement, but never returned. It’s actually fairly common. Bear in mind that this isn’t legal advice and shouldn’t be taken as such, but...