They may be familiar to some, but not every gunsmith knows the ins and outs of drill bits. Here are the basics.

The graceful, light, and distinctive L.C. Smith Hammerless Double sidelock is a favorite of American shotgunners. Here’s how to fix its most common problems. If you own a Smith and want to make it suitable to shoot again, or if you are presented a Smith to repair, here’s what you need to know about the shotgun.

In June 2010, Kahr Arms purchased Minnesota-based firearms manufacturer, Magnum Research, Inc., maker of the Desert Eagle Pistol and BFR Revolvers in .44 Magnum, .45 LC/.410 or .45/70. Kahr Arms offers a selection of other niche-type firearms, such as the “Tommy Gun” and Auto-Ordnance line of M1 .30 caliber carbines. In this video, Gun Tests Contributing Editor Roger Eckstine shows off two of the company’s big-hole BFR wheelguns.

Beretta USA introduced the BU-9 Nano as its entry into the pocket 9mm pistol category last September. Initial shipments of the American-made pistol left the Accokeek, Maryland factory beginning in November 2011, with a suggested retail price of $475. In this video, Gun Tests’ Contributing Editor Roger Eckstine gets a detailed explanation of how easy the Nano is to break down for maintenance. The Nano's modularity provides for simple disassembly and easy cleaning. Safely disassemble the pistol by first engaging the striker deactivator, a patent pending safety mechanism that eliminates the need to pull the trigger prior to disassembly.

Gun Reports - News

Do Gun Rights Protect Against Tyranny?

(GunReports.com)--Warren Richey, staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor, authored a piece this week that began, "The U.S. Supreme Court is considering what could be a landmark decision on individual gun rights. An unspoken argument is that armed citizens would make any usurper think twice before subverting the Constitution."

His article continued, "More than 10,000 words were spoken during this week’s historic oral argument over gun rights at the US Supreme Court. But one potentially significant word was never uttered during the hour-long session: tyranny.

"Long a focus of debates between gun control advocates and gun rights supporters, the issue was not discussed by lawyers attacking Chicago’s ban on handguns or the lawyer for the city defending local gun regulations. No member of the court mentioned it either.

"But the idea is there, just below the surface of what analysts expect to become the high court’s second gun rights landmark decision in as many years.

To read the rest of the Christian Science Monitor item, click here.

Reader Comments

The Second Amendment was put there for a very good reason: the authors' awareness of the dark side of human nature. When a gang, party, ethnic group, government, what have you, gains the upper hand over fellow citizens tyranny and abuse are a possibility. Extreme examples in our lifetimes were Nazi Germany, Serbia, and Rwanda. The U.S. is an independent nation today only because an armed populace was able to resist a tyrannical government.

Comment by: CHARLES S | March 11, 2010

FROM ARTICLE: “The simple truth – born of experience – is that tyranny thrives best where government need not fear the wrath of an armed people.”

Said another way, "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty."

Comment by: RackEmPunk | March 11, 2010

I think the Vermont Constitution says it perfectly:

"That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State — and as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power".

This implies both self defense and defense of the state. Also it recommends "strict subordination" of the military which unfortunately isn't the case. Our military is not governed by civil power but instead it is a Foreign Policy tool wielded by Democrats and Republicans alike to enforce our governments' agenda at will and to justify ridiculously inflated defense budgets.

Just think what shape our country would be in if we weren't busy policing the world and wasting billions of dollars occupying countries.

Comment by: August | March 11, 2010

Defending the Constitution and the rights it gives us would not be an insurrection.

Comment by: Mister E | March 11, 2010

Charles - great point, and you bring out that tyranny can be a local matter such as in gangland.

August - I might be taking you out of context here (state vs. fed?), but our military is actually controlled by the civilian government. As you know, the Commander in Chief is a civilian. The service secretaries, civilians, are the titular heads of the services, not the 4 star flag officers that are Commandants or Chiefs. Our forces can deploy only in limited circumstances without prior congressional approval. Thus, our military is in fact subordinate to the civilian government, or Clausewitzian if you prefer.

I agree that we shouldn't be spending so much money on foreign shores.

Comment by: P V B | March 11, 2010

RackEm - you're on a roll today!

Comment by: P V B | March 11, 2010

Heh yeah I meant it more as a barb at our Federal Government rather than implying the military runs around deploying itself and starting trouble unchecked.

Comment by: August | March 11, 2010

Gotcha

Comment by: P V B | March 11, 2010

I believe the point of the military being run by civilians is not only to limit thier power in the form of checks and balances instituted into our government, but to also prevent a military coup detat. As far as us being involved in military actions around the globe. After WWII our President committed the U.S. to be the worlds policeman. Germany had invaded 3 countries before anyone really took notice and then became a run away train because they were not stopped soon enough. Fast forward to Iraq invading Kuwait. Should we have got involved or waited for Saddam to invade another couple of countries? It is better to learn from history than to keep repeating its mistakes?

Comment by: Robert J | March 12, 2010

I agree that RackEmPunk was on a roll with that "Said in another Way" bullet statement. I'm going to visit an embroidery shop and have a few t-shirts made up with that quote.

Comment by: Jeff W | March 12, 2010

Hold tight Jeff, with RackEm around, you might be able to open up a whole t-shirt shop!

Robert J - good point on Kuwait. Could you imagine Korea if we waited?

Comment by: P V B | March 12, 2010