Things To Come

Our gun Guy Reports In
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Insider

By now you’ve seen the news Ruger has a factory custom shop building 1911s and 10/22s retailing for roughly half of what a similar gun would cost from a “custom” builder. They don’t work on customer guns but there are undoubtedly other special projects in the works.

I’ve also been playing Road Warrior lately; just returned from a visit to the EOTech factory where they’ve completely revamped the production management team and drastically bumped up quality control.

Heading to the East Coast I visited the Standard Manufacturing Company and played with their new Single Action Army that’s more “Colt” than many Colts — very sweet! Also stopped by the Savage Arms factory to meet CEO Al Kasper and see how they make their guns. It was a great visit but if you find a torn piece of red-striped necktie packed in your Savage rifle box, it probably belongs to a certain editor who got too close to a CNC machine.

Brownells

Kudos To Brownells

We’re a big fan of Brownells and their latest charitable act will help ensure school kids in North Dakota stay safe.

Brownells learned the School Resource Officers in Bismark, North Dakota were looking to outfit their force with AR-15 rifles. The forward-thinking school cops from the frigid North recognize having a rifle on hand can save lives if evil chooses to visit any of the city’s schools.

The fine folks from Grinnell, Iowa heard the pleas and decided to outfit the out-of-state school cops. The donation was valued at nearly $9,000.

I’m sure a few people got their undergarments in a bunch when they heard of school police being outfitted with “those evil black guns,” but who cares what a few clamheads think? Speaking as a retired cop and parent, an armed, trained and motivated person within the school is the quickest way to stop one of these horrible attacks or at least significantly lower the death count.

As a society, when we show a profound will and desire to quickly blast more school shooters right in the face, the problem will decrease!

Daisy Red Rider

The new “adult” 1938ARR Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun.

 Is This Cool Or What?

We all had one, or desperately wanted one: the “Official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time.”
That line was famously uttered by Ralphie in the movie A Christmas Story to describe his personal equalizer and faithful sidekick, the one-and-only Red Ryder BB Gun. Of course, real Daisy collectors all know the Red Ryder never really had a compass nor sundial, at least until the movie became popular. Author Gene Shepherd probably got the Red Ryder confused with the Daisy “Buck Jones” model that did!

Regardless, you and your so-called “grown-up” buddies can now have a whole passel of Rootin’ Tootin’ adventure following the release by Daisy Outdoor Products of the limited-issue, adult-sized 1938ARR Red Ryder.

Available in two kits, the larger gun comes with a Rocket Shot Target Launcher, safety glasses and tube of BBs. In case you don’t already own a regular-sized Red Ryder and plan on taking your pint-sized shooting compadre along, the other kit includes a 1938ARR plus a second, regular-sized Red Ryder Model 1938. It also comes with a target launcher, shooting glasses and tube of BBs so you and The Milk Mustache Kid can keep those varmints and desperadoes at bay.

Just be home by dinner time — and don’t put anybody’s eye out!

drone

Anti-Drone Ammo will probably be one of the next great frontiers of ammunition design.

Drone Blaster

Wanna take down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that’s up to no good? You can with a new type of commercial ammunition: anti-drone rounds.

The first we’ve seen is the Skynet Drone Defense shell in three-round packages for around 20 bucks. It’s designed to quickly and easily bring down small commercial UAVs doing bad things.

The round is a 2 3/4” 12-gauge shell featuring five lead projectiles attached together using high-strength cordage. When fired, the projectile and cord form a five-foot basket destroying or at least entangling the drone, bringing it to the ground.

Military and law enforcement users have had access to the round but they are now finding their way on the civilian market. With the predicted explosion of drone usage, we imagine this category of ammunition will become both crowded and quite interesting in the near future.

insider hunting

Get Rid Of Yer Tail

Now that hunting season is coming to a close, what are you going to do with all those squirrel tails?

As a hardcore, dyed-in-the-wool tree-rat hunter myself, I’ve probably tossed away bushels of tails leftover from the field dressing process through the years. I’ve even still got several salted away in my barn, back from the time when I swore I’d use them to tie fishing lures in off-season during these rotten Midwestern winters.

I just found out I could have been making a killing while making a killing: Mepps Lure Company buys squirrel tails.

It turns out squirrel tail hair makes the best dressing on treble hooks. Unfortunately, they’re somewhat hard to come by since there are very few commercial squirrel ranches in operation (Hollywood excepted). To fulfill their production needs, Mepps started a program over 50 years ago to purchase the tails from hunters.

You’re not going to get rich and they don’t advocate killing squirrels merely to sell tails, but if you’re bagging squirrels on a regular basis, it might put a few bucks in your pocket to recycle a little tail.

insider

Gripe Of The Month

You already know anti-2A stuff gets my goat; the leftist media, opportunistic politicians and all those “activitists” who don’t have the foggiest understanding of the stuff they’re protesting. But you know what’s even worse? When you whitewash history because it isn’t convenient!

As previously explained, I recently returned from a whirlwind tour of the Connecticut River valley area around Hartford, Connecticut. Even as a “gun guy” I was shocked and amazed at how many firearms-related businesses are still in the area. When you throw in the history of Colt, Gatling, Winchester and all the others who changed U.S. and world history from the side of a non-descript river, you have a state that is to guns like Kentucky is to Bourbon and Florida is to giant money-grubbing mice.

But in Connecticut? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip, in regard to the gun business. Sure, there are a few signs and museum displays but speaking as a Midwesterner and frequent southern visitor, I know tourism officials in those areas would wear themselves out promoting such a rich historical and cultural heritage if it were located within their own state. Shame, shame!

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