Viewpoints

…Palm Beach Post (FL) editorial writer Jac Wilder VerSteeg thumped a hornet's nest and got dozens of angry gun-owner responses with his Nov. 15 article, 'Muzzle all that gun paranoia.'

November 21, 2008--Found this while going down the rabbit hole looking for news to post on GunReports.com. I thought the GR community might like to see what the National Shooting Sports Foundation is doing to combat the misnamed 'assault weapons' push. --Admin.

This from 2nd Amendment scholar and lawyer Dave Kopel, writing on UCLA Professor Eugene Volokhs's legal-discussion site, 'The Volokh Conspiracy':

The Second Amendment Foundation believes that the nomination of Eric Holder for the post of attorney general of the United States sends an “alarming signal” to gun owners about how the Barack Obama administration will view individual gun rights.

Last month’s editorial commented on the likelihood that Barack H. Obama would become president of the United States. That likelihood has become certitude. He’ll be sworn in on January 20, 2009—a little over a month from now. That fact has affected the gun market in a way I’ve seen only once before—the day after 9-11. We are seeing what I can only describe as panic buying for civilian self-defense rifles, in particular, semiautomatic AR-15s, AK-47s, SKSes, FALs, and so on. Kevin Winkle, owner of Winkle’s Great Guns and one of Gun Tests’ federal firearms license dealers, wrote me to say, 'I called the nation’s largest gun distributor today, and they were completely sold out of every brand of AR-15 and AK-47 style rifles, magazines and ammunition. They did not know when more would arrive or what the price would be.

Last month’s editorial commented on the likelihood that Barack H. Obama would become president of the United States. That likelihood has become certitude. He’ll be sworn in on January 20, 2009—a little over a month from now. That fact has affected the gun market in a way I’ve seen only once before—the day after 9-11. We are seeing what I can only describe as panic buying for civilian self-defense rifles, in particular, semiautomatic AR-15s, AK-47s, SKSes, FALs, and so on. Kevin Winkle, owner of Winkle’s Great Guns and one of Gun Tests’ federal firearms license dealers, wrote me to say, 'I called the nation’s largest gun distributor today, and they were completely sold out of every brand of AR-15 and AK-47 style rifles, magazines and ammunition. They did not know when more would arrive or what the price would be.

The Prismatic is a little different from other 1X scopes, especially those with holographic or red dot reticles. It has a lot of potential as a tactical sight, but possibly more so as a hunting scope. Here are some characteristics. First, it is not for long relief. You have to get 'inside the scope' so that the reticle can be used to 'graph' the field of view. The reticle has two shapes for coarse target acquisition and one for fine point of aim/impact. The circle and the crosshairs cover a large area. There is, however, a tiny dot at the center of the crosshairs that I was able to use with success across a rimfire silhouette course. The illumination option is ideal for hunting at dawn or dusk. I prefer using the lowest setting necessary. The reticle can be set to click on and off at a desired degree of illumination, and if you have it blazing away, the reticle can be too distracting for a fine point of aim. In bright daylight I preferred not to use the illumination. Perhaps if the central dot was larger and its illumination could be isolated from the remainder of the reticle the Prismatic could be used like a traditional red dot scope. I also found that there was more adjustment in terms of windage and elevation available than on most 1X scopes. Mounting options were simple and effective.

The Prismatic is a little different from other 1X scopes, especially those with holographic or red dot reticles. It has a lot of potential as a tactical sight, but possibly more so as a hunting scope. Here are some characteristics. First, it is not for long relief. You have to get 'inside the scope' so that the reticle can be used to 'graph' the field of view. The reticle has two shapes for coarse target acquisition and one for fine point of aim/impact. The circle and the crosshairs cover a large area. There is, however, a tiny dot at the center of the crosshairs that I was able to use with success across a rimfire silhouette course. The illumination option is ideal for hunting at dawn or dusk. I prefer using the lowest setting necessary. The reticle can be set to click on and off at a desired degree of illumination, and if you have it blazing away, the reticle can be too distracting for a fine point of aim. In bright daylight I preferred not to use the illumination. Perhaps if the central dot was larger and its illumination could be isolated from the remainder of the reticle the Prismatic could be used like a traditional red dot scope. I also found that there was more adjustment in terms of windage and elevation available than on most 1X scopes. Mounting options were simple and effective.

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- The New Jersey Assembly is poised to vote on a new gun control measure that could criminalize ownership of the very guns that secured this nation's independence, and outlaw possession of expensive safari-class hunting rifles, according to the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).

As firearm sales continue to increase this year, at a rate of 10 percent over the same period last year and 15 percent in October alone, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) -- the trade association for the firearms industry -- is pointing to gun-owner concerns about an Obama Administration as reason for the boom.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 -- The following is from an Op-Ed article by Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, that was published in The Washington Times:In speech after speech, Barack Obama has claimed he would 'uphold the Second Amendment.' Mr. Obama, of course, is a polished speaker who says 'words matter.' But records matter more. And while Mr. Obama is short on experience on most issues, he's long on anti-gun votes and even longer on rhetoric. ...

Here's a brief synopsis of what the president-elect's www.Change.gov website says the Obama/Biden transition team is working on: