Viewpoints

It should come as no surprise to U.S. gunowners that much-ballyhooed gun-control efforts in Canada have failed to control crime since a new gun-registration program was started. Also, the registration programs costs have gone beyond the $1-billion mark, or more than 500 times what was originally earmarked.

As a measure of registrations failure, the Canadian government recently admitted it could not identify a single violent crime that had been solved through registration. But rather than scrapping the measure, some Canadian politicians may want to travel southward into the United States and impose the scheme here! This radical solution advocates going across the border to the U.S. and a...

Accidental gun deaths do claim childrens lives, but they are much rarer than you might think. During 2000 there were 37 accidental gun deaths for children under 10 in the U.S. In 1999 there were 31, and only six of these cases actually involved a child firing the gun. From 1995 to 1999, the entire United States saw only between five and nine cases a year where a child under ten either accidentally shot themselves or another child.

With more than 90 million adults owning a gun and almost 40 million children under 10, it is hard to think of almost any other potentially dangerous products kept in American homes that have as few accidental deaths associated with them. Over 1,260 children und...

This issue was just so packed with gun and other equipment reviews, I ran out of space for Short Shots. Herewith, then, is an abridged version for this month:

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GUN COMPANIES WELCOME. The legislature in Oklahoma has passed an invitation for gun makers to open manufacturing facilities in what The Daily Oklahoman calls this gun friendly state. An editorial describes the joint resolution from the Senate this way: The resolution notes that firearm manufacturers have plants in places that are hostile to gun ownership. Why not move here? Lawmakers have asked the Commerce Department to develop incentives to attract weapons makers. Murray State College, the resolution says...

New York Times Reporting?
Re Two .338 Winchester Magnums Vs. Remingtons .338 Ultra Mag, March 2004:

Your .338 article reminded me of something I might find in the New York Times on the tenth page: Well hidden from the casual reader, yet possibly of some interest to a certain cadre of subscribers. The evaluation of the Ruger and the Winchester were good. I noticed a certain rough spot in a .25-06 Model 70 I purchased a couple years ago, in the same spot you mentioned as the bolt was pushed closed.

I wonder, though, if you had wanted a better looking firearm, why didnt you just purchase one with the walnut stock and bluing, as it would have compared favorably with the R...

OF AWARDS, GUNS, AND COOL CARS
At Gun Tests, theres only one award that ultimately makes a lot of difference to us, and thats your subscription. If you or a friend subscribe, and later renew, because you like our special brand of call-it-like-we-see-it product reviews, then weve done our job.

Still, I occasionally enter Gun Tests work in contests, mainly to get what I call a fresh read on the execution of the material. Having other professionals backstop our work can show me holes in what we do, and perhaps show me how to make the magazine better.

In March, I attended the Texas Outdoor Writers Association (TOWA) annual meeting in the friendly southwest Texas town of Uva...

Cookie Vs. Back Pocket
Re Is Pocket Carry Safe? Getting A Hold on Pocket Holsters, March 2004.

Thats Grahams Back Pocket at $40, not the Cookie at $35. I have one for My Walther TPH and its outstanding.

-E. Tobiassen
Haverhill, MA

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Grahams Cookies
Re Is Pocket Carry Safe? Getting A Hold on Pocket Holsters, March 2004:

Thanks very much for the article. It is generating lots of interest at this end. The holster you reference is actually called the Back Pocket. The Cookie is a front pocket holster similar to the Rosen holster in the article.

I am a one-man shop, and I tend to work some pretty long hours. I do not have a...

Seven states now ban certain types of semi-automatic guns, and there has been a federal ban on certain semi-automatic guns since 1994. Gun-control advocates ominously predict that eliminating the ban will result in a surge in police killings or, as Sen. Carl Levin claims, a rise in gun crimes.

Yet, despite the rhetoric, there is not a single academic study showing that these bans have reduced violent crime. Even research funded by the Justice Department under the Clinton administration concluded merely that the bans impact on gun violence has been uncertain.

The 1994 federal assault-weapons ban applied to semi-automatics that fire one bullet per pull of the trigger. Rebuilding semi-...

Praise for the .17 HMR
Re Anschutz, Ruger, Marlin & Savage: .17 HMRs Meet Head-to-Head, April 2003:

I have especially enjoyed your testing of .17 HMR long guns. I have a Ruger 77/17 with a 3x9 Bushnell scope that will print consistent 1/2 inch or smaller five-shot groups at 50 yards and was surprised to see there was no drop at 100 yards. I recently went with a friend to his lease to help him with their constantly growing hog problem. I took the .17 along to see if it would perform on something bigger than jackrabbits and coyotes. I took a 60- to 70-pound boar at about 105 yards with a Remington .17 round, about an inch high from being right between the eyes. He kicked two...

Ohio Licensing Begins April 9
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has signed legislation giving law-abiding and mentally competent Ohioans the right to carry concealed handguns.

The law will take effect April 9. Work already has started on the application forms and other material that county sheriffs will need to process applications and issue licenses.

Still, it could be as long as 60 days after the bill takes effect before Ohioans can start applying for licenses. When licenses do become available, sheriffs should brace themselves for a flurry of applications, if recent experience in Michigan is any guide.

Michigan revised its concealed-carry law in 2001, and the state received 62,902...

FIREARMS EXPERT CONVICTED. An antique weapons expert was convicted in December for his role in conspiring to inflate the prices of two historic pistols that he and another man sold to a wealthy collector, prosecutors said.

Michael Zomber, of Franklin, Tenn., was found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Goldman. He faces up to five years in prison under sentencing guidelines.

Zomber and Richard Ellis, a respected expert on Colt pistols, deceived a Pennyslvania collector, James Murphy, into thinking that he was in a bidding war for two pistols once owned by Texas Rangers Capt. Samuel H. Walker, prosecutors said. The guns, a pair...

Kel-Tec Sub2000 Lessons
Re December 2003, Guns and Gear of the Year:

I had filed my experience with the Kel-Tec Sub2000 in the lessons learned file and tried to forget about it, but then you went and proclaimed it a gun of the year! I wonder whether your experience is not representative of this gun, or mine was. While anybody who has high standards and buys a cheap plastic gun should expect to be disappointed, I thought I knew what to expect from your review.

My experience with the Sub2000 was dramatically different than yours. With the exception of the trigger, it appeared to have been made well. The main action was as tight as you mentioned, and all of the parts see...

GOOD ECONOMIC NEWS ON THE WAY?
Three different news bits supplied by the National Shooting Sports Foundation points to 2004 being a strong year for firearms activity. To wit:

• When the Justice Department audited National Instant Check System purchases during an 80-day period last year to ascertain how many potential firearm purchases were made by women, it found that roughly 12 percent of gun buyers are women. Translated into unit sales, that means females purchased about 1 million of the estimated 8 million long guns and handguns expected to be sold in 2003.That number comes directly from the question about the gender of the buyer on the BATF Form 4473.

• To...