Viewpoints

I am generally a disciplined gun buyer—you don’t see the range of guns that comes through this office without having some restraint, else you’d be living in a tent with gun safes all around to block the wind. But this year, I have a powerful craving that might only be satisfied with the acquisition of new blued steel. For that, I blame my cohorts, whose names appear at the right. Each Gun Tests writer has his own thing, and it is their collective knowledge and enthusiasm that threatens my wallet this year. As I redacted the material in the Guns of the Year ‘07 feature that begins opposite, I got re-interested in guns whose specs I’d reviewed before—largely because I could trust what I was reading as the informed opinion of someone who knew more about a given gun than I did.

Fear about guns seems greatest among those who know the least about them. Children face greater dangers from common household items than from guns. In 2004, the overwhelming number of children under 10 who died-more than 1,400 children-were killed by cars. More than 90 drowned in bathtubs. Perspective: In 2003, 28 children under 10 died from accidental gunshot wounds.… Weird product news of the day: Savage Sports Corporation has purchased the Eugene, Oregon-based BowTech company. Other Savage subsidiaries: Savage Arms (centerfire rifles), Savage Range Systems/PortaTarget (shooting ranges), Stevens (budget firearms), and Fox (high-end shotguns). Savage is the largest rifle manufacturer in the U.S.…

In early September, the District of Columbia formally asked the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of Parker v. District of Columbia. The case is now officially called District of Columbia v. Heller. History: On March 9, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in Parker v. District of Columbia that D.C.s prohibition on the possession of a handgun, and keeping any gun assembled and loaded in the home (the condition required for self-defense), are unconstitutional. The court agreed that the Second Amendment protects a pre-existing right of individuals to possess handguns.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it will significantly revise a recent proposal for new "explosives safety" regulations that caused serious concern among gun owners. The proposed rules included restrictions that would shut down most gun shops, sporting goods stores, and ammunition dealers. After continued publicity and after dozens of members of Congress complained about the rules impact, OSHA decided to go back to the drawing board.

I liked your article regarding the CDL versus BDL, but it is too bad you could not find an "actual" BDL in the .350 Rem. Mag. The rifle you used appears to be a Remington Model 700 Classic. Although the BDL and the Classic are basically the same thing as far as the action, barrel, and sights go, the stock design and finish are different. I realize it is easier to call the Classic "a BDL without the fore-end cap," than it is to explain that you could not find an "actual" BDL in very good condition in a caliber that would have worked for the specific test you ran. Also, the explanation of the differences, no matter how slight they are, may have wasted print space. Nonetheless, good article

Your test on the North American Arms .22 Magnum Black Widow missed two major points. They tend to be carried, and they offer a big advantage in the defense department with the CCI ratshot shells. These are not kill-or-be-killed firearms. They are "stay away from me and/or leave me alone or you are in for a bunch of hurt" guns. I learned this and bought my Black Widow when an old man told me about a 300-pound bully that had him against the wall with his feet off the ground over a reserved space at the flea market. The old guy said he had his NAA mini-revolver in his hand and poked the bully in the stomach and cocked the gun.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed new rules that would have a dramatic effect on the storage and transportation of ammunition and handloading components such as primers or black and smokeless powder. The proposed rule indiscriminately treats ammunition, powder, and primers as "explosives." It could wreck the gun business

I purchased three Springfield Armory XP subcompacts in 9mm & .40 S&W on 10/27/06 from a local shop In Phoenix. To date one of the 9mms has arrived. I waited four weeks for the other two. I called Springfield Armory this morning and talked to a young lady in customer service. Her response was that these pistols popularity has far exceeded their manufacturing capacity, and that I would just have to be patient! When that answer did not satisfy me, she actually took the time to check her production schedule, and told me that they would be producing the .40 calibers soon, and she would try to get some to our local dealer, who happens to be one of their priority dealers because of their volume.

Since Remington Arms Company was acquired by Cerberus Capital Management for $118 million in cash and assuming Remingtons $252 million of accumulated debt, Remington executives were rightly worried that changes were coming. Cerberus is known for bringing in its own management teams to run the companies it has acquired

Among the more shameful items resulting from the Virginia Tech shootings was the political haymaking that anti-gun politicians and gun-control groups tried to create. I thought the NRAs stance of "no comment for now" was the right and reasonable way to proceed, out of respect for the families and loved ones.

After thinking it over, I really do think that that the old Gun Tests firearms grading system was much better. Though I enjoy reading each issue cover-to-cover, the old system was much more "to the point" and simpler to understand than the current letter-based grades. I plan on sticking around either way, but do give some thought to going back to the other set of firearm grades "Our Pick, Best Buy, Conditional Buy," et cetera.

Ted Szabo, the president of Para-Ordnance Mfg. Inc., passed away on March 28, 2007, at the age of 60. Szabo founded the company in 1985 with his friend, Thanos Polyzos. Their first offering, introduced in 1987, was an all-plastic, selective-fire paint ball gun called the Model 85 "Dye Marking Tactical Machine Pistol." In full-auto mode, this pistol fired at a rate of 1,200 rounds per minute, and was designed as a close-quarters-combat training device for law enforcement and military personnel.