Article first appeared at Americas 1st Freedom. Since 2008, reports of gun sales figures have felt like temperature checks of the American public’s passion for freedom. Looking back at 2016, we see that the FBI’s numbers show the agency conducted 27.5 million gun-related background checks in 2016, which is about …

Article first appeared at Americas 1st Freedom. Last week’s attack at the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., airport has provided anti-gun activists another ill-advised opportunity to try to advance their cause in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy. Minutes after the first fragmented news from Ft. Lauderdale streamed across our social media …

Article first appeared at Americas 1st Freedom. The “permitless” carry train is once again leaving the station, with four additional states seeking to deregulate the lawful carry of concealed firearms for self-defense. Eleven states—Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming— already have such laws …

Article first appeared at Americas 1st Freedom. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for California gun owners, the drought and wildfires turn to rioting, earthquakes, mudslides and tsunamis. As a fitting finale to a year in which Sacramento passed seven new anti-gun laws on the day before …

Article first appeared at Americas 1st Freedom. Choosing a handgun is a subtle undertaking, at least the second time. This caveat acknowledges the simple fact that most first choices are at least partial mistakes, if not comparative disasters. There’s no mystery as to why. As a non-scientific poll recently conducted …

Article first appeared at Shooting Illustrated. A measure signed last week by Ohio Gov. John Kasich makes several important changes to the Buckeye State’s concealed carry law, including expanding the places where those with valid Concealed Handgun Licenses (CHL) may carry handguns for personal protection. Senate Bill 199 removes the …

Article first appeared at Shooting Illustrated. Many people who don’t have small children in the home have gotten into the practice of keeping a defensive firearm in a readily accessible gun safe somewhere in the house, immediately available in case of a home invasion or other violent crime. The key, …

Article first appeared at Shooting Illustrated. In 1966, a writer at the Palm Beach Post, in what is now a largely forgotten article, coined the term “comfort food” when they wrote “Adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called ‘comfort food’- food associated with the security …

Article first appeared at Shooting Illustrated. Statistics compiled by the FBI indicate that, during a self-defense situation where the victim’s gun must be fired, it takes an average of three rounds to survive the incident. That statistic is, no doubt, comforting to those who carry the ubiquitous five-shot .38 Special …

Article first appeared at Shooting Illustrated. A couple of years ago, I made a tremendous mistake as an editor. I chose to run the then-new Remington R51 on the cover based on a review of a pre-production sample by a trusted writer. My thinking was: “Remington has been around for …