Free Republic

Open Carry activists in Washington and Oregon are currently debating a five-minute video of a police encounter in Klamath Falls involving a man carrying what appears to be an automatic weapon down the street, and a very cool-headed cop. They’re talking about it on Open Carry.org in the Washington section, and on Police One, a law enforcement forum. The debate got so heated on DefensiveCarry.com that the moderators locked the thread. The chat is still open at SeattleGuns, and The High Road. This is the second high-profile officer-activist video encounter that has gone viral in recent memory, the other one...

American civilians are buying as many AK47s from Russia's top armory as the Russian military and police. The surge in sales of Russian assault rifles and shotguns are fuelled by firearms enthusiasts who are paranoid about the weapons being banned in the United States. The semiautomatic weapons, fitted with high-capacity magazines, are manufactured at Izhevsk Machinebuilding Plant, Russia's primary small arms factory. They are built alongside the fully-automatic military versions that are used by armies, militias and terrorists around the world. In the United States, they have become immensely popular. Among hunters, recreational shooters and survivalists, they are known for...

I was having lunch with some of my students last week and all they wanted to talk about was the coming apocalypse. Not the book of Revelations, exactly – and not exclusively zombies. They were more interested in the all-too-pervasive feeling that *the shit*, as they say, is going to hit the fan. Fecal matter in ventilation systems, sure, but what does that mean? Zombies, they know, are just a metaphor. We have no idea what’s coming. The Zombie is just a mirror of sorts – we make the boogey man look us because we know – even if we...

Fairfax, Virginia - After safely stored away in his grandfather's closet for years, the Springfield rifle above almost found it's way to the scrap heap. Luckily Carl was there to save the day. And lucky for us, he brought it in to the National Firearms Museum's for inspection. "A few of my family members were go through my grandfather's closet and found this stuck inside some plastic wrap," Carl began. "Their first reaction was to give it to the local police department for disposal — to which I exclaimed,'Hold on a minute there.'" That's when Museum Director Jim Supica grabbed...

When disassembled, the pieces fit inside the impact-resistant, waterproof stock, which will float should it take a trip overboard. Assembly is as easy as attaching the receiver to the stock, inserting the barrel and screwing on the barrel nut. In just a few seconds, without the need for any tools, the Henry U.S. Survival AR-7 is ready for action.

Deer hunting has been a Pennsylvania tradition for many years, and each man and woman who goes afield has a favorite deer rifle. Hunting conditions and technology have affected choices, but there are those models and designs that stand head and shoulders over the others. I thought just for fun - and controversy - I would name what I think are the best deer rifles produced since 1900. I decided to concentrate on sporting designs and ignore rifles what were simply military designs used for deer hunting. A good example of those would be the 30-40 Krag. Before and after...

ROCHESTER, NY –-(Ammoland.com)- American Tactical Imports, a worldwide importer of firearms, is proud to introduce the GSG STG-44 to consumers at the Raahauges Shooting Sports Fair June 1-3 2012. The German Sport Guns .22LR STG-44 is the newest addition to the exciting line of GSG firearms. The demo was introduced at SHOT Show 2012, but now consumers will be able to see, handle and shoot the GSG STG-44 from ATI for the first time. The STG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44, literally “Storm Rifle”) was designed in 1944 in Nazi Germany and is considered by many historians to be the first modern...

For more than thirty years the Ordnance Department endeavored to obtain a satisfactory semi-automatic or self-loading rifle to replace the bolt action Springfield. These efforts were not confined to the development within the Department. Invitations were extended periodically to gun designers in this country and abroad to submit weapons for test, and tests were made of those received which showed any promise of meeting the specifications prescribed. During this period of thirty odd years many rifles were received and tested. Mechanisms embodying every known principle of operation were represented in the many types submitted. After many tests of various calibers,...

The California state assembly approved Anthony Portantino's bill that would make it illegal to openly carry unloaded shotguns and rifles on the streets. So, more gun control laws in California. Who here is surprised? Anyone? Anyone? An earlier bill spearheaded by Portantino banned the open carry of handguns. This new bill is just finishing what he started. There will be a few exceptions, of course: hunters and police will be able to carry weapons, and there will be select locations where the ban does not apply. For the most part, though, you won't be able to openly carry a gun...

Carrying unloaded rifles in public would be prohibited under hotly contested legislation that passed the Assembly on Thursday. Assembly Bill 1527 cleared the lower house, 44-28, with no Republican support. Proposed by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, the bill stems from the "open carry" movement in which gun-brandishing people protest against gun-control laws. The movement sparked headlines in 2009 for a rally outside an Arizona convention center where President Barack Obama was speaking. California cracked down on carrying unloaded handguns with a new law that took effect Jan. 1. Portantino's bill would expand that prohibition by targeting rifles. "Sooner...

BOTTINEAU It wouldn't be surprising if Jonathan Bartlett bleeds red, white and blue. The Bottineau resident has a deepening appreciation for this nation's founding fathers and early citizens and citizen soldiers. A few years ago, Bartlett was introduced to Project Appleseed, a combination heritage and marksmanship program conducted by the Revolutionary War Veterans Association. He was so captured by the experience that he continues to rise through the ranks of RWVA. "It was inspiring. It motivated me to be involved," said Bartlett. "Something really connected with the shooting aspect and the history of our founding. Our founders inspired our free...

The guys from Knight Rifles "Americas Muzzleloader" head out to the range with Dave Fricke of Millennium Manufacturing to shoot the largest center fire rifle ever made. Only 12 people have ever shot the .950 JDJ as a rifle. Produced by SSK Industries, only 3 were ever made this was the first and the lightest weighing in at 50 lbs.. 2400 grain bullet and 240 grains of powder.

I am looking to buy a rifle that would serve two purposes: primarily a long-distance shooter and secondarily a larger game taker downer :-) I like to shoot beyond 600 yards and I want a rifle to suit that purpose. From info I've gathered, I should get a larger-calibered rifle, with at least a 24" barrel. I would like to keep the rifle below 10lbs because I also want to hunt with it some day. I am interested in hunting elk and moose, eventually. So I am thinking of a .308.

So earlier this year, I came across a great deal, two late '60's Winchester model 94 30-30's, one was in decent shape and had an octagon barrel (unfortunately not the collectable one) and the other a total rust bucket I was just going to use for a wall piece. Paid $50 each for them, great deal! I got thinking last night that I should just do something crazy with the rust bucket it since it will never be a valuable rifle so I stripped the old blue off and started working on the pitted rust and it came to me....

<p>College tuition is a big challenge for most of us, but guns can help pay the freight. So can badminton, martial arts, bowling, barrel racing, and other rodeo and equestrian sports. Scholarship money for all of those college sports is available in a vast number of places, including the schools themselves. Visit collegescholarships.org for a flight of fancy and finance.</p>

MORGANTOWN, W.VA. - The No.3-ranked West Virginia rifle team defeated No. 12 Nebraska, 4667-4610, today at the NU Rifle Range, in Lincoln, Neb. The Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0 GARC) topped the Huskers (0-2, 0-1 GARC) in both guns, winning air rifle, 2354-2325, and smallbore, 2313-2285. Petra Zublasing Seniors Justin Pentz and Michael Kulbacki, junior Petra Zublasing, redshirt-freshman Thomas Kyanko and freshman Taylor Ciotola combined for the team’s scores. “Petra was the highlight, but there were a lot of good performances in there,” says coach Jon Hammond. “Overall it was a good, steady start to the season. Hopefully we will shoot higher...

Outdoor writer Jeffrey L. Frischkorn recently publicized discussions at the Ohio Division of Wildlife to open deer hunting to firearms other than certain handguns, shotguns and muzzle-loading rifles. From the article: As for the future of deer management in Ohio, that is a subject under review, said [Mike Tonkovich, the Ohio Division of Wildlife's deer management administrator]. The biologist is in the process of sending out a random survey of all licensed Ohio hunters. One of the questions being asked is whether hunters would support an antlerless-only muzzle-loading season in October. Also being explored is whether to liberalize the regulations...

Russia stops buying Kalashnikov The Russian army has said it will stop buying the country's famous Kalashnikov assault rifles until its designers come up with a genuinely new model. By Andrew Osborn, Moscow The current modification of the weapon – the AK-74 – was developed in the early 1970s and the defence ministry says its warehouses are "overflowing" with millions of the Soviet-era rifles, stocks of which are likely to last for a further twenty years. "The guns being offered to us are hardly any different from those in the warehouses," a defence ministry source told the daily Izvestia newspaper....

I need to choose a weapon for deer or bear hunting, typcial range is 200-400 yards. Also, what is a good scope set-up to get? A few of the Remingtons (308 and 30-06) come with peep sights as a package. Thank you in advance.

An open letter to ATF John R. Spencer, Chief Firearms Technology Branch Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Dear Chief Spencer, For some time, I’ve been hearing rumblings from sources in the firearms industry that your branch is going to classify .50 BMG upper conversions for AR-15 rifles as firearms, a departure from the past practice established by your office of considering them parts. I have since been informed this was confirmed by your office in a telephone conversation with a national firearms publication. Because this could have such profound and far-reaching effects, not only within the firearms industry,...