Reading the text of the rule, it appears like this rule declares that all AR pistols are now considered to be SBRs and must be registered. If a firearm has the surface area to be fired from the shoulder, such as a firearm equipped with a nonadjustable buffer tube, then that will be considered an SBR, basically making every AR-15 pistol and SBR. Read the text for yourself: (pdf alert)
Whether the surface area that allows the weapon to be fired from the shoulder is created by a buffer tube, receiver extension, or any other accessory, component, or other rearward attachment that is necessary for the cycle of operations
ATF was doing a little illegal sneak and peek so they know whose dogs to shoot
ATF had one of their partner informants do it for them
A freelance SJW is planning on outing everyone
Criminals are just doing what they do
I am betting that the incident is either 2, above. Some lefty is going to anonymously notify the ATF that they have a list of lawbreaking owners of SBRs. Since the new rule outlawing unregistered pistol braces was published today, you have 120 days to register your (now) SBR or become a felon. Isn’t that a sweet little coincidence?
The miscreants got away with each user’s credit card number, expiration date, CCV code, cardholder name, address, phone number, and email address. If you have ever done business with SB tactical, you should consider all of that information as being compromised and in the possession of people who mean to steal your money, your life, or your freedom.
We know that the feds are now enlisting people in the private sector to do their unconstitutional dirty work. It can’t be too much longer before the informers are everywhere and people become vzyali.
On a side note, as of today I will no longer be in possession of a pistol brace equipped firearm. I am not registering shit.
How did they do that? Because of the overly broad wording of their new assault weapons ban (edited to clean up the text to make it more readable, but not change the wording):
(3) "Assault weapon" means:
(snip of irrelevant sections A and B)
(C) A semiautomatic rifle that can accept or can be modified to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following: (i) A folding, telescoping, or collapsible stock. (ii) Any grip of the weapon, including a pistol grip, a thumbhole stock, or any other stock, the use of which would allow an individual to grip the weapon, resulting in any finger on the trigger hand in addition to the trigger finger being directly below any portion of the action of the weapon when firing.
emphasis added
Now picture any semiauto rifle you can think of. Now tell me which one, if any, sees the pinkie finger of the trigger hand not being below the action of the rifle.
Thus, all semiauto rifles in Illinois are now legally defined as assault weapons and are thus illegal to possess, transfer, or own.
So I decided to take the new 1911 with me to range morning. I arrived at the range with my EDC pistol, the new 1911, 100 rounds of 9mm, and some CCI Blazer in .45ACP. I setup my lane, loaded a magazine with 5 rounds of .45, and squeezed off the first mag full of ammo when I felt a tap on the shoulder. It was the range officer telling me that only brass cased ammo is permitted at the range. But if I wanted to buy some .45 ammo, they had some for sale at $40 a box.
American Eagle at 80 cents per round? I can buy that elsewhere for 54 cents per round, and can buy PMC brass cased at 46 cents per round. No thanks. I don’t want to sound like an old man, but I remember when .45ACP was $8 a box, and that wasn’t all that long ago.
I had to switch to the 9mm and finish my shooting for the morning. After I was done, I asked the RSO why the ammo restriction. It’s because the range sells the used brass to a recycler, and they can’t sell steel or aluminum cases. So not only do they sell the ammo at nearly double the going rate, but they are selling the brass and making more money there.
I would love to find another gun range, but this one is only 20 minutes from my house, and there is only one other range within a half an hour’s drive. That second range is owned by a dishonest meatsack that I wouldn’t trust to sell me a stick of gum. So I can either suck it up and get fleeced by the brass recycling buttheads at the range 20 minutes away, or I can make the 40 minute drive to the third closest range and see if they are any better.
At any rate, I am going to have to order me some brass cased .45 and try to shoot the new 1911 some other time.
It looks like it was hardly ever fired. Wear is consistent with a pistol that had maybe a box of ammo put through it, then was put in a nightstand drawer and never fired again.
The match barrel has no wear on the bluing.
There is a 2mm scuff on the bluing near the top of the slide.
The bluing is warn around the top of the only factory magazine I have for it. The other magazine that shipped with the handgun is apparently missing.
The bluing is a bit warn on the outsides of both safety levers, and on the points at the front on both sides of the slide, as if the pistol spend a lot of time sitting in a drawer.
On the contact points of both sides of the grip safety, the bluing has rubbed off.
There is gunpowder residue on the feed ramp and the breech face. The bluing on the locking lugs is quite worn, but the lugs are in good shape.
Most of the bluing is still present on the face of the hammer.
The only thing that I can find wrong with it, is the tritium sights no longer glow, but that isn’t surprising since Para USA was absorbed by Remington in 2012, and the Para pistols were discontinued in 2015.
This thing is a boat anchor, I mean it is heavy, weighing in at 42.2 ounces with an empty magazine inserted. That makes it 10 percent heavier than a GI model. The guy wanted a good price, so I took it. I will get some new sights for it and then take it for a spin.
Two of them, the Ultra Carry and the Eclipse were decent for being range guns. They fed and shot FMJ reasonably well, but could be picky when it came to feeding HP ammo. I consulted people that I respect on the subject, and was given a lot of conflicting advice. They told me to break the pistol in for 500 rounds and that would fix it. It didn’t. I was accused of “limp wristing” by people who hadn’t even watched me shoot. I was told to change ammo, because some 1911s are finicky. I was told to lube them more, and was also told to lube them less. Other advice was change the springs, get more gunsmithing done, and tons of other things. At the time, I just couldn’t find a place for a handgun that cost a kilobuck but wouldn’t give me 100% reliability out of the box that is required for a carry piece and saw no point in pouring money into a gun in order to make it shoot reliably when there were so many guns that cost a fraction of a 1911 that worked fine right out of the box.
That was a decade ago. Now I have several dozen handguns and have sold several dozen more because they didn’t suit my needs. I am set for the handguns I need now I am buying handguns that I want. What I want is a handgun that looks sexy, and the 1911 does. Not in a tactical or badass way, but in a way that offers clean lines. I just like the way that they look. I also want it to be reasonably reliable, and I constantly hear from 1911 fanbois about how accurate and reliable their 1911 is, if you get the right gunsmith to work it over. So now I am assuming that the custom made 1911s from a top quality gunsmith with a reputation for making the best is gong to fit that bill.
So I want to try the Ed Brown. Still, spending 4 grand on a pistol only to have it not be what you want is a bit painful, so I am looking at trying out a cheaper version for now. I misspoke before, I am not looking at an Ultra Carry, I am looking at an Ultra CDP or a Pro CDP. I don’t like the Rapide. It looks like Kimber’s attempt to make the 1911 look like a Glock. All of the unreliability of a 1911, with the looks of a Glock. The worst of both worlds. To compound the problem, they even make them in 9mm.
Sure, the Ed Brown is expensive, but that is the benefit of having a job that pays well and a wife who is understanding of your odd, expensive hobbies. At least she knows my money is going to guns and geeky stuff and not to a mistress. Not only that, but I need to have a Bar B Que gun for the unlikely event that open carry is ever legalized in Florida.
I called the authorized Kimber dealers within 50 miles of my house (all four of them) and not one of them has Ultra Carry handguns in stock. I actually visited the one closest to my house, and the only 1911s they have are SDS Imports, Rock Island Armory, etc. They said that they can’t order any, they get what they get when they get them. The only two options they offered were buying something on Gunbroker, and having them do the transfer, or they would put my name on a waiting list. That option would be approximately a 14 month list.
The Kimber dealer about 25 miles away said the only Kimbers they had in stock were .380 ACP and 9mm.
It was a similar story with the .44 Revolver. The Smith and Wesson dealer said that the only thing they are reliably getting are M&P tactical Tupperware in 9mm. It seems that dealers are having trouble with parts supply keep up with demand, so they are concentrating on the most popular models.
Who knew that the most realistic and fastest items on the wish list would be the Ed Brown or the NFA weapons? That brings to mind a question: Is everyone or anyone else seeing the same sort of thing where you are? If so, is it a demand thing, a supply problem, or something else?
So many bloggers did a 2022 in review post that it was boring. That’s why I didn’t do one. Instead, I thought it would be more fun to do a 2023 prospectus post. List what I would like to accomplish this year.
My wife doesn’t like SCUBA diving, my son no longer dives with me, and I haven’t heard from my other dive buddy in years. As a result, I can count the number of times I have been diving in the past 5 years on one hand. I have about $10k in SCUBA gear that sits unused in storage. The vast majority of my fun money goes into shooting now, and that is a huge change from ten years ago. I think shooting is where most of my wish list is going to go.
I have enough guns that the wife complains and says I have so many that I don’t shoot most of them now. I will grant her that. I have a few favorites, and aside from project guns like the skirmish rifle, I only shoot my favorites. Still, it’s fun to buy something new or at least different. My in-laws think I am nuts for owning as many as I do. Compared to my gun shooting friends, I don’t think I have all that many guns. Owning a lot of guns is a relative term.
Starting in 2020, I began making my own guns from 80 percent lowers. That’s been taken from me as a hobby. If I am going to be a manufacturer, I might as well pay the SOT and start making machine guns. I would do that, but I don’t want my house getting inspected and raided by the assholes from ATF.
I own pump actions, semi-autos, break opens, lever actions, and revolvers. Shotguns, rifles, PDWs, rifle caliber handguns, and all sorts of other handguns. I don’t want any more long guns for the time being, simply because it’s more of a pain in the ass to shoot them than it is a handgun.
So a handgun it is. I currently have, or have had, handguns from Beretta, Glock, Smith and Wesson, Sig, Taurus, Ruger, and more. Been there, done that. There are two noticeable holes in my current collection: I would like to own a .44 caliber revolver. I have been thinking of buying a Smith and Wesson Model 629 in .44 Magnum. I already own a 629 686 in .357 Magnum, and it’s fun to shoot. Having one in .44 Magnum would also allow me to shoot .44 Special. So there is that.
The other thing I have been thinking about is a gun I already owned four examples of, and found them wanting. The 1911 didn’t work well for me when I had them before, but I confess that I am drawn to the 1911, purely because I find them to be aesthetically pleasing. They are just beautiful guns.
I want to give the 1911 platform another chance. Perhaps I just need a really good one. I am thinking that it would be cool to have a custom Ed Brown Kobra Carry. Sure, it’s a $3,700 handgun and I know that I was against buying them in the past, but I have every other handgun I want (except that .44). It’s a beautiful handgun, and Ed Brown has a stellar reputation. It’s just a hefty price tag.
The problem is that I don’t want to put down that kind of scratch until I can get a reliable 1911 for less and make sure that I am not wasting my money. So perhaps I can start with another Kimber. If so, I would try a Kimber Ultra CDP. They “only” cost around $1200 and would let me try out another 1911 without laying down two weeks’ pay to get it.
