Innholdsfortegnelse for Volume 77, Issue 17 i Firearms News

Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC. An avid hunter, shooter and political observer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for the past 20 years. A lawsuit challenging Florida’s law banning rifle and shotgun purchases by adults 18 to 20 years of age is set to be heard by the full 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. On March 9, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court had upheld Florida’s under-21 gun purchase ban. But on July 16, the court vacated that decision and announced that it would take up the legal battle en banc, meaning the full court will soon hear arguments concerning the law. The case, National Rifle Association v. Bondi, challenges the…

I know, not a scintillating headline. And I have to confess, when I got the assignment, I was thinking, “I already own a couple of rack-feet of Bravo rifles and pistols, what could Paul and the crew at BCM have done lately that will make this anything other than just another day at the range?” Boy, how wrong I was. The afternoon the RECCE-16 MK2 showed up and as I’m pulling it out of the box, I’m already noticing things that are different. Oh, and a brief aside here for our readers: if you get a new in the box Bravo Company rifle, be prepared to do some serious de-oiling. This carbine was practically swimming in oil, inside of its plastic bag wrapper. That bodes well for long-term storage, or…

Unlike many of my contemporaries, I have been building, repairing and customizing AR-15 type rifles for several decades. I think I have a pretty good feel for what tools are needed and those that are mainly luxuries. Some tools fit more into the realm of the professional builder, and some are mainly geared toward home hobbyists. I will try to point out the differences. Many tools/fixtures designed for AR-15s are simply holding devices designed to hold the upper or lower receivers rigidly in a vise while the build commences (yes, you need a good vise). So, we’ll start with those. Lower Receiver Holding Devices Forty-, or even thirty-years ago, there were very few AR-15 tools available commercially. You could get a G.I.-type-barrel wrench back then, which also had features to…

When the judge in VanDerStok v. Garland issued a summary judgment earlier this month in favor of the plaintiffs, effectively striking down the Biden Administration’s so-called “ghost gun” rule that redefined some gun parts as firearms, the Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) was particularly gratified. MSLF, a Denver-based, non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to restoring the rights in the Constitution, focusing on Second Amendment, natural resources and energy, and equal protection litigation, represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the federal government, and the victory was a major one for both the group’s clients and the rule of law. Brian Abbas, director of MSLF’s Center to Keep and Bear Arms, said his firm’s clients were directly affected by the sweeping Biden Administration rule, so a court challenge was necessary…

Advances in fighting rifles, their ammunition, optics and accessories seem to come in spurts. Periods of stagnation are followed by periods of great advancements. Technology, materials and manufacturing steadily improve as do methods and techniques for employment. Typically, progress is slow during peacetime but moves at a rapid rate during times of war. One of the most modern designs recently adopted by the US military is SIG Sauer’s XM7 6.8x51mm rifle. This interesting new design was developed for the US Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon Program as a replacement for their legacy 5.56x45mm M4A1 carbine. A member of SIG Sauer’s MCX Spear family, both the XM7 and its 6.8x51mm cartridge are raising eyebrows. This is due to its features, caliber, and what many perceive is a return to the “battle…

The FN15 Guardian aims for a coveted space amidst today’s pantheon of modern sporting rifles. Offering a lithe chassis and unimpeachable FN quality in a lightweight rifle with an MSRP less than a grand, the FN15 Guardian is designed for the shooter who is serious about his craft but doesn’t get just insane about it. These guys build most of the Free World’s machineguns. They know how to make quality firearms. It is obvious pawing over the Guardian that the FN mob did it up right. The materials and technical details are top-flight, creating a utilitarian rifle that will perform right out of the box. You could spend more or you could spend less. However, it would be tough to beat the Guardian’s capabilities for the money. Current Events I’ll…

For Oregon’s lawful gun owners, things have gone from bad to worse. The same week a district court ruled the state’s sweeping gun-ban imposed by last fall’s ballot initiative to be constitutional, Democrat Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed into law a ban on home-built firearms. The measure, House Bill 2005, goes above and beyond federal law in prohibiting possession of existing homebuilt firearms and the raw materials for making them. The legislation was the brainchild of Oregon State Sen. James Manning, who noted recently: “After years of work, my colleagues and I also took action on ghost guns with House Bill 2005. Ghost guns are unserialized and undetectable, making them the gun of choice for gun traffickers, violent criminals, and people legally prohibited from buying firearms.” Kotek’s signing of the…

Rock River Arms has introduced a new line of AR rifles, the Operator DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle). There are two versions chambered in 5.56 NATO, and four in .308 (7.62x51 NATO). Later on in this article, I want to explore exactly what a “designated marksman” is, and what kind of rifle they might use, but here, I will quickly say that it is a military term which indicates a skilled shooter using an accurized or enhanced rifle that can bridge the gap between a standard service rifle and a dedicated sniper rifle—which should give you a little clue as to what kind of rifles these are. Both the 5.56 and .308 versions are offered with 16- or 20-inch barrels, and I secured a sample of the 20-inch 5.56 Operator DMR…

I love learning about new companies. It usually means someone has introduced something new or revolutionary, or they’ve figured out a way to do something better or more efficiently. Davidson Defense is the perfect example of figuring out how to do something better and more efficiently. Not to be confused with Davidson’s Gallery of Guns, Davidson Defense has actually been around for a number of years, specializing primarily in parts kits along with practically any part you can think of for many different firearms. The company was founded by Garth Davidson, who got his start selling optics at trade shows. He created Davidson Defense for online firearms retail and grew it to include an entire host of brands which include Delta Team Tactical, MMC Armory, Mercury Precision and more. While…

AU.S. District Judge in Delaware has tossed out Hunter Biden’s plea agreement made on June 20, leaving prosecution of the president’s son for both tax evasion and lying on a firearms background check charges more likely. Under the plea deal, the younger Biden had agreed to plead guilty to two tax evasion charges and enter a Pretrial Diversion Agreement with respect to the firearm charges. Concerning the firearm crimes, Biden would have pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of possessing a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance instead of lying on a background check. However, on July 26, District Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Donald Trump appointee, said during a three-plus-hour hearing that she couldn’t accept the deal in its current…