There has been a huge growth in the number of registered suppressors in the USA. From 2014 to 2015, the number of NFA-registered suppressors rose from 571,150 to 792,282. That’s a 39% increase in just one year! It’s remarkable that there are nearly 800,000 suppressors now registered in the USA. These stats are based on data published in the latest Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) Firearms Commerce Report.
According to Knox Williams, president of the American Suppressor Association, “The suppressor market grew more [from 2014-2015] than it did in the previous two years combined. This unprecedented growth is in large part due to educational initiatives, and the passage of 11 pro-suppressor laws and regulations last year.” (Source: Guns.com.)
We expect suppressors (also known as “cans”, “silencers” or “sound moderators”) to become even more popular in the years to come. This trend will continue: “As more target shooters and hunters realize the many benefits suppressors provide, their popularity across the United States will continue to increase,” said NSSF Senior Vice president and General Counsel Larry Keane.
Texas Leads the Way in Suppressor Ownership
Currently, 41 states permit ownership of Federally-registered suppressors. While suppressor ownership rates are increasing in all those 41 states, forty percent (40%) of all registered suppressors are found in five key states: Texas (130,769), Georgia (59,942), Florida (50,422), Utah (50,291) and Oklahoma (27,874).
Looking for a good job in the firearms industry? The NSSF has you covered. The NSSF Jobs Site site offers up-to-date job listings, powerful search features, and a mobile-friendly interface. It’s easy to upload your Resumé, and the Job Alert feature can send you new listings via email as soon as they post. Visit jobs.nssf.org for current employment opportunities in the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry.
Welcome to the wacky world of Municipal Anti-Gun Ordinances. San Francisco and Los Angeles have city-specific magazine bans and gun storage requirements, and now it appears that Seattle may target gun owners with new “sin taxes” on firearms and ammunition.
$25 Per Gun and Five Cents Per Round
The Seattle City Council will soon vote on a new local law that will add a $25.00 surcharge to every new gun purchase. In addition, the proposed Seattle City Ordinance will add a $0.05 (five cent) fee to each and every centerfire round sold in Seattle. Rimfire .22LR rounds will be taxed $0.02 per round.
The stated purpose for the new Gun and Ammo Tax is to raise money to combat crime, according to Seattle City Council President Tim Burgess, author of the Gun Tax ordinance. Burgess told local KING-5 TV reporters that this is essentially a “Sin Tax” on guns and ammo: “We’ve been working on this for several years. Sure, I wish we would have done this 20 years ago, but we know what the problem is. We tax cigarettes and alcohol and even wood-burning stoves for public health purposes. Why not guns and ammunition?”
While supporters of the Gun and Ammo Tax, including Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, claim the new city tax would raise over $300,000 to fight crime, in reality this measure is more about getting rid of guns that it is about making Seattle safe. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has opposed the Seattle Gun and Ammo Tax, stating: “[This ordinance] will have no effect on decreasing gun violence. It is designed to place a huge burden on legitimate firearms retailers and law-abiding gun owners. Additionally, the proposed ordinance is a gross violation of Washington’s firearms preemption statute.”
Daniel Xu, writing in OutdoorHub.com notes that gun buyers already pay Excise Taxes with each purchase: “However, unlike the [Federal] Pittman-Robertson Excise Tax, which retains funds for conservation and habitat-protection efforts, the funds collected by the ordinance will go entirely back into the city for ‘gun violence research and prevention programs’. City leaders have yet to specify… how the funds will be spent.”
For many spotting chores, this small $260.00 Minox MD50 16-30x50mm may be all you really need.
Many readers have asked: “Can you recommend an affordable, quality, very compact spotting scope for viewing mirage or hunting?” These folks want a handy, general purpose optic — they aren’t trying to resolve 6mm bullet holes at 600 yards and beyond. For that kind of long-range viewing, you’ll need a premium ($2000+) high-magnification spotting scope (or better yet, a target cam system). However, for other tasks (such as viewing mirage, wind flags, or game animals), you can save your pennies and go with something smaller, lighter, and WAY less expensive — such as the Minox MD 50.
If you are looking for an ultra-small, medium-magnification spotting scope that is light, bright, affordable, and easy to use, we recommend the Minox MD 50 16-30x50mm spotter. To be honest, this is a steal. We don’t know of any pint-sized spotting scope that offers better performance at anywhere near the price (currently $259.00 on Amazon.com).
This small optic is easy to mount (even on very small tripods). It has a reasonably wide field of view, and is surprisingly bright and sharp considering the sub-$300.00 price. We prefer the angled model (for viewing mirage and flags while shooting prone), but there is also a straight (non-angled) version for the same price (currently $259.00 on Amazon.com).
Mind you, this little Minox MD 50 will certainly NOT replace a high-end Kowa or Swarovski spotting scope, but it may be all you need to see mirage, wind flags, and shot markers. Moreover, this little unit is ideal for use with pistols or airguns inside 50 meters. In fact this is the spotter we use when shooting pistols because it’s compact enough to fit inside a small range bag.
We’re not alone in our praise for the little Minox MD 50. The OpticsThoughts Blog reviewed five (5) different ultra-compact spotters from Leupold, Minox, Nikon, and Vortex, which ranged in price from $300 to $700.* Though the little Minox was the least expensive optic in the test, the reviewer concluded it was the best value by far:
MD50 16-30×50mm (OpticsThoughts.com Review)
This is easily the champ in the “bang for the buck” contest. Form factor-wise, it looks like a scaled-down, full-size spotter with a proper “foot” for a tripod mount. It has a very solid feel, owing to it being short and moderately heavy.
Optically, the spotter is very good for what it costs. It is a bit cheaper than the Leupold and outperforms it in most ways, while being more compact: FOV is wider, low light performance is better and overall image quality is better from 15X up to 22X or so. At higher magnifications, eye-relief gets a little short and Leupold is easier to use. However, the FOV advantage carries over across all magnifications. The focus ring is on the body of the spotter and the large diameter offers a fair amount of adjustment precision. [T]he focusing mechanism … is quite good.
In some areas of the country (California in particular), hunters are now forbidden to use bullets that contain lead. If you need a lead-free projectile for your deer rifle, consider Nosler’s E-Tip projectile. This has plenty of penetrating power and retained energy while complying with laws requiring “unleaded” ammunition. An “expansion chamber” behind the green polymer tip helps ensure reliable expansion with 95% weight retention. The video below shows a .30 Caliber 180gr lead-free E-Tip power through TWO 12-inch blocks of Ballistics Gel at 100 yards. This was fired from a .308 Winchester.
Watch 180gr eTip Penetration and Expansion in Ballistic Gelatin:
Nosler claims the E-Tip bullet has advantages over other solid copper hunting bullets: “Unlike the competitor’s one-piece designs, Nosler E-Tip bullets will not blow the petals off at extreme velocities nor will the low end expansion ever be questioned, as the minimum impact velocity is set at 1800 fps for standard calibers.” One hunter, posting on Facebook, gave the E-Tip high marks: “I have had the opportunity to take a pig with a 130 gr E-Tip from my .270 and they work flawlessly. My son took two pigs with his .300 Win Mag and 165gr E-Tips and they worked flawlessly as well.”
This video illustrates the design and construction of the Nosler eTip Bullet:
If you want to know the “real-world” Ballistic Coefficients (BCs) of popular match and hunting bullets, confirmed by actual field testing, turn to the folks at Applied Ballistics. Since 2009, Applied Ballistics has conducted extensive live-fire testing of all major brands of rifle bullets. This has produced the most extensive and accurate collection of performance data on modern rifle bullets even compiled.
Bryan Litz and his team at Applied Ballistics have spent countless hours shooting hundreds of different projectiles over multiple chronographs to determine the bullets’ true drag characteristics, and G1 and G7 BC values. And now the data set is even better. Applied Ballistics just announced that it has expanded the list of tested bullets to 533, up from 400 in 2014.
The new Data Library will be supplied to all Applied Ballistics software applications. In addition, the data will appear in an updated, Second Edition of the Ballistic Performance of Rifle Bullets book, which is slated for release in 2015. The electronic version of the Applied Ballistics bullet library includes full custom drag models for each bullet. A custom drag model is a unique drag profile for a bullet, which is a more accurate model of drag than G1 or G7 referenced BCs.
The Bullet Data Library now has 533 bullet models, all with custom drag models. This expanded library, which now extends to .50 Caliber, is currently available in electronic form in the Applied Ballistics Kestrel. The digital library is also in place supporting the AB Analytics desktop software, as well as the Applied Ballistics Mobile App for Android, with the iOS App coming soon. Over the next few weeks, updates to the Applied Ballistics mobile software will be pushed out to all users automatically. To get the latest bullet library for your Kestrel device, visit the Kestrel Software Support Page.
Bryan Litz explains why bullet field testing is important:
Calculating firing solutions for long range shooting is often the weak link in the accuracy chain. Historically, one of the biggest uncertainties has been modeling the drag of the bullet itself. Traditionally this means having an accurate Ballistic Coefficient (BC). Recent years have seen a substantial improvement in the accuracy of BCs published by Applied Ballistics, and the use of G7 BCs.
In 2013, accurate drag modeling took another quantum leap when Applied Ballistics began measuring the custom drag profiles of individual bullets, and included these custom drag models in Applied Ballistics software libraries for the AB Mobile App, AB Analytics desktop software, and the AB Kestrel.
At SHOT Show 2015 Bullets.com President Shiraz Balolia signed a contract with Norma to produce a large quantity of ultra-high-quality .284 Winchester and 6mm Dasher brass. The .284 Win brass is now in the USA and it is very good indeed. Now .284 Win and .284 Shehane shooters have a true premium product, without having to neck-up 6.5-284 brass. In addition, special enhanced quality-control measures were employed by Norma (as a condition of the Bullets.com contract) to ensure this brass is very uniform and very long-lasting. Expect the primer pockets to stay tight for a long time, even with stout loads.
This custom-made .284 Winchester Brass from Norma is double-drawn for body consistency and the heads are double-stamped for longer primer pocket life. This “special run” brass, created exclusively for Bullets.com, is produced to extremely high tolerances from high-grade raw materials.
Bullets.com President Shiraz Balolia (left) and Norma Managing Director Paul-Erik Toivo sign contract for ultra-high-grade Norma brass.
Check it out on our website: http://bit.ly/1KpiVh2
A very special M1 Garand is going up for auction this September. President John F. Kennedy’s M1 Garand rifle, obtained from the CMP in 1959, will be auctioned by the Rock Island Auction Company (RIAC) as part of RIAC’s September Premiere Auction. RIAC believes JFK’s Garand will fetch from $50,000 to $100,000 at auction.
President Kennedy obtained the M1 Garand in 1959 while he was serving as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. “Since this rifle was issued to Senator Kennedy in 1959, well before he was elected to the Office of the President of the United States, this rifle could very well have accompanied him directly into the White House,” RIAC stated.
The auction house included a thank-you letter from JFK himself: “Colonel John K. Lee, Jr. has told me of the time and care which you took to accuratize [sic] and test fire the National Match M1 rifle, which I recently purchased. I do want to express my appreciation for your interest and attention in this matter and I am looking forward with pleasure to having an opportunity to use the rifle.”
The rifle is in like-new condition: “Excellent overall with 99% of the original hand polished and blued finish still remaining with just some minor wear on the right side receiver rail, from the limited test firing it has seen. The stock and handguard set are all in mint condition with 99% of the original hand rubbed finish/sealer with no handling marks or dings, with just visible cartouches.”
Writing for OutdoorHub.com, Daniel Xu says this rifle had a special history: “At the time the DCM, the predecessor of today’s Civilian Marksmanship Program, issued rifles based on a lottery system, selling a few hundred to a few thousand firearms annually. According to the RIAC, Kennedy’s rifle came from the Erie Ordnance Depot in Port Clinton and was actually a rifle made late in the M1 Garand’s production lifetime. The Type 1 National Match M1 Garand then received a VIP treatment from a gunsmith attached to an Army marksmanship unit, Master Sergeant Raymond E. Parkinson. Parkison adjusted the trigger, added a glass-bedding compound to the recoil shoulders of the stock, and blued many of the metal parts.”
McMillan Stocks has released an updated version of its .50-Cal benchrest stock. The new Super 50 BR features an extended-length “wheelbase” with machined aluminum lower surfaces for stiffness and improved tracking. In the video below, Kelly McMillan reviews the features of the new Super 50 BR:
The notable features of the new Super 50 benchrest stock are machined aluminum shoes on the bottom of the forearm and buttstock. These are machined true to each other for perfect alignment in the bags. The removable forearm shoe is available in either a 3.5” or 5” width. This is significant. Kelly McMillan explains: “You’ll be able to shoot this same stock in different classes just by changing the forearm shoe, and that’s something you can do in a match if you want.”
Engineered to be Super-Strong with Minimal Flex
With the interlocking design of the foreand (with 90° blocks that interlock with the aluminum shoe), this is a very rigid stock. In fact, Kelly says: “We’ve molded several 90° angles [into the fiberglass section] that actually increases the stiffness in addition to the stiffness that the aluminum offers. We think this is probably the stiffest fore-end on any stock that we’ve ever made.”
This Super 50 BR stock is approximately 44” long and has a forearm about 20.75” long from the front of the action. And if that’s not long enough, the forward “shoe” can be machined up to 6″ longer to extend the “wheelbase” even further. This stock has a minimum weight of about 9 pounds in Light Gun configuration and a max weight of about 18 pounds (for the stock itself) as a Heavy Gun stock. The Super 50 BR is an ambidextrous design that may be inletted and used both right and left-handed.
Victor Betzold had a Camp Perry experience for the ages. At the 2015 CMP Games, Betzold won the Garand Match, won the M1 Carbine Match (setting a new Record), and took the 3-Gun Aggregate for the second year in a row. Now that’s an impressive performance. Betzhold is no stranger to shooting – beginning in junior high and firing well into college, then taking his love for guns into the Army. After the years went on and work and family became higher priorities, he fell away from the sport he loved. But now that he’s retired at age 60, he’s had time to practice again – practice that has certainly paid off.
During his remarkable showing at the National Games Matches, Betzold won the Carbine Match with a score of 375-6X, setting a new National Record in the process. In the National Garand Match, Betzold fired a score of 290-7X to become the overall winner of a field of 1213 competitors.
“It feels great,” he said. “I’ve been working at this for a long time.” The 60-year-old Betzold was also the top senior for both the Garand Match and the Carbine Match.
With his outstanding performances in the Garand and Springfield Matches, as well as an exceptional seventh-place finish in the Vintage Military Match, Betzold claimed the 3-Gun Aggregate title for the second year in a row — with a combined score of 865-19X.
Bryan Litz explains why bullet field testing is important:
