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American Gunsmith Editors
248 indexed articles · 2003–2024
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Articles by American Gunsmith Editors
So Long, Spitz
I’m not usually one to gloat over another man’s misfortunes. I mean, we all make mistakes. I’m making an exception, however, in the case of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. You remember, I’m sure, his well-publicized exit from the governor’s mansion…
Safari Club Boosts HHP’s Conservation Efforts
The Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF) has announced that it will contribute $250,000 to the Hunting Heritage Partnership (HHP), a program of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). The donation increases annual grant money available by 50 percent, from $500,000 to $750,000…
Supreme Court to Rule on 2nd Amendment
Just before this issue went to press, the U. S. Supreme Court announced its decision to take up the case of the District of Columbia v. Heller. As you may already know, the plaintiffs in this case have challenged the ban on…
Getting the Story Straight
As an editor, I’ve spent the last 25 years or so trying’s uccessfully most of the time’t o ensure that my writers have their facts and figures straight. But, when I read a magazine or newspaper article, I’m well aware of the…
Ahnold, We Thought We Knew Ye
If you recall, last month I reported on the California Senate’s passage of a bill requiring “microstamping” on firearms sold in California. Microstamping is a patented single-source process by which a firearm’s make, model, and serial number are laser-engraved on the tip…
California Senate Passes Microstamping
In one of the most recent legislative examples of “don’t confuse me with the facts,” the California Senate passed AB 1471 just before this issue went to press. This bill would require that firearms sold in California include a patented, sole-sourced technology…
Gunsmithing: A “Living” Art
Maybe you saw the same thing: An unsigned AP newswire story titled “Gunsmith Numbers Declining in What May Bea ”Dying Art” ran in Sunday papers across the country a few weeks ago. Dying art!? Get out of town, AP. The article compared…
OSHA Bureaucrats Threaten to Regulate The Firearms Industry Out of Business
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)“the government agency charged with assuring the safety and health of America’s workforce’is proposing a rule that would affect the manufacturing, transportation, and storage of small-arms ammunition, primers, and smokeless propellants. According to the National Shooting Sport…
A “Good” Gun-Control Law?
Earlier this year, after Seung Hui Cho went on his rampage at Virginia Tech, I wanted to write about’no, I wanted to scream about’t he need to keep guns out of the hands of these nutjobs and about my frustration at the…
Anti-Gunners: Sneaky, But Not Stupid
Lately, the anti-gunners have been lining up behind “microstamping,” a process patented by New Hampshire-based ID Dynamics. Does the Brady Bunch like this technology because it would help to put criminals behind bars? No, they like it because it would drastically increase…
Firearm-Related Accidents at Record Lows
Anew report from the National Safety Council shows that accidental firearm-related fatalities continue to decline significantly, even as firearm ownership rises in the U. S. The declining trends reported by the National Safety Council are also supported by research available from the…
NSSF: Giuliani No Friend to Gun Owners
With all the hats being thrown into the ring for the upcoming presidential election, it’s important for those of us in the firearms industry to know where the candidates stand on “our issue.” That issue prompted Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice…
Comeback Continues at S&W
It was just a few years ago, it seems, that the future of legendary arms maker Smith & Wesson looked anything but certain. But since early 2004, when James Joseph Minder stepped down as chairman amidst controversy over his past, the news…
Paris Theodore, Innovative Gunsmith and Firearms Inventor, Dead at 63
An inventor of state-of-the-art firearms, innovative holsters, and original shooting techniques used by government agencies and police departments, Paris Theodore passed away shortly before this issue went to press. Theodore was born in New York City in 1943. His father, John, was…
More Legislation from the Bench
Just as we went to press, an Indiana judge ruled that the city of Gary’s frivolous lawsuit could proceed in spite of the new federal law that prohibits such suits. Named in the suit are 16 firearm manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson,…
Marksmanship Is Front-Page News Again
Not since the golden age of marksmanship in the Victorian era has a shooting-sports event commanded the front page of daily newspapers. During the latter part of the 19th Century, articles about the shooting matches at the National Rifle Association’s range in…
Tech Topics
In this feature, we examine new tools and tooling, tips and techniques, and news items of interest to the gunsmithing community. Going to Home School On Checkering
California Assembly Defeats Microstamping/Bullet Serialization Bill
Legislation before the California Assembly (AB 352) that would have required microstamping of firearms and bullet serialization of all ammunition was defeated just prior to this issue going to press. AB 352 would have mandated the use of unreliable, patented, solesourced technology…
House Passes “Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act”
” Law-abiding gun owners won another major victory today when the U. S. House of Representatives voted to pass H. R. 5013, the NRAbacked “Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act.” Shortly before we went to press, the bill passed with abroad bipartisan margin…
Gun Sales Rise As Crime and Accident Rates Fall
New statistics show that firearm and ammunition sales are on the rise, coinciding with steady downward trends in gun crime, suicide and accident rates, in the U. S. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the shooting, hunting, and…
NRA-Beeman Tour a Leader in Diversity
At a time when popular competitive sports such as auto racing, archery, golf, and swimming, are looking to diversify their participant base, one shooting-sports tour has quietly emerged as a world leader. The NRA-Beeman Grand Prix Championship for marksmen with disabilities, which…
Hearings Spotlight Need for BATFE Reform
Just before this issue went to press, hearings were held by the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, focused on enforcement abuses by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Opinions were also aired about anew…
Image Is Key To Firearm Industry’s Future
Image is everything. And some observers believe the firearm industry has some work to do to build customers for the future. Surveys show a majority of today’s Americans support hunting, shooting, and Second Amendment freedoms. But our society is changing, warns business-growth…
Tech Topics
In this feature, we examine new tools and tooling, tips and techniques, and news items of interest to the gunsmithing community. Solder-Free Front Sights for Large-Frame Revolvers