Handguns

The firearms from the men and women of the Wild West are now on display at the National Rifle Association's National Firearms Museum. One of the main attractions is a firearm that may have belonged to Jesse James. The old, large-frame Smith & Wesson revolver arrived at the National Firearms Museum accompanied by a small, yellowed receipt that read, 'Received $39.00 from Mr. C.B. Parsons of Lexington, Kentucky for my son Jesse's [Jesse James] pistol, Smith…

The National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR) announced today that Milford Hills Hunt Club of Johnson Creek, Wis., has earned the association's Five Star Rating. The Five Star Rating is the association's highest honor and places the southeastern Wisconsin facility among the top shooting and recreational facilities in the country. Rick Patterson, executive director of NASR, said, 'To meet the criteria of a five star facility, a range must demonstrate excellence in all aspects of management and…

The Department of the Interior has proposed a rule change that would allow people to carry a concealed firearm in a national park or wildlife refuge. The new rule says park visitors would need a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and the state where the park is located must allow guns in its own parks. …

The M&P45s feature a 4.6-inch barrel with an overall length of 8.0 inches. The M&P45 comes standard with three interchangeable grips, a steel dovetail mount front sight and a steel Novak Lo-Mount carry rear sight. Tritium sights are also available. A universal Picatinny-style equipment rail has been incorporated for tactical lights and lasers. Our polymer pistol had an empty weight of 25.1 ounces.

The new frame-mounted ambidextrous thumb safety acts as a passive safety device, allowing the slide to be pulled toward the rear, clearing the firearm without disengaging the safety. Another feature is the lanyard attachment. All M&P45 pistols feature a Zytel polymer frame reinforced with a stainless-steel chassis and a hardened black Melonite-finished stainless-steel barrel and slide and a Dark Earth Brown grip. This is a silly name for a color—Sand would have been fine—but we overlooked it.

The New York Times has reported that a federal appeals court dismissed New York City's blanket lawsuit against the gun industry on Wednesday, ruling that a relatively new federal law protects gunmakers against third-party litigation. That law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, banned all third-party suits against the gun industry except for those in which a plaintiff could prove that gunmakers had violated other state…

U.S. Reps. Zack Space (D-Ohio) and Steve King (R-Iowa) have introduced the 'Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2007' (HR 4900), legislation which represents a major advance in protecting the rights of firearms dealers. HR 4900 is a bipartisan bill that will overhaul many of the administrative penalties for licensed firearms dealers, manufacturers and importers of firearms that currently treat simple paperwork mistakes as purposeful and willful violations of…

Gov. Sonny Perdue is considering signing a bill that would allow Georgians to carry concealed handguns onto trains and buses and into restaurants that serve alcohol. The bill passed Georgia's General Assembly on the last day of the 2007-08 session. Under the bill, Georgians would not be allowed to carry concealed guns to athletic events, churches, political rallies or bars, but they could carry them onto trains and buses and into state parks, historic sites…

The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA) has asked sportsmen to contact Meijer, a Michigan-based regional chain of retail superstores, and demand that it dissolve its partnership with the anti-hunting group, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), in an online pet photo contest. Meijer refused a U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA) request to abandon the partnership, said USSA senior vice president Rick Story. …

ANOKA, Minn. – Federal Premium has partnered with Ruger to introduce a new personal defense revolver cartridge designed to deliver 357 Magnum ballistics out of a 32-caliber diameter platform—and with 20-percent less recoil.

…During the week of April 21-25, 2008, thousands of college students will attend classes wearing empty holsters, in protest of state laws and school policies that disarm law-abiding citizens licensed to carry concealed handguns virtually everywhere else.

…Both candidates said they support and respect an individual's right to own guns, but the positions they endorsed -- an ‘assault weapons’ ban, expanded police access to federal gun-trace data, and keeping guns out of the ‘wrong hands’ -- are straight out of the gun-control play book.

Volokh's compilation of state constitutional guarantees of gun rights is interesting reading – particularly Pennsylvania’s very clear language dating from 1776 and 1790.