Americans Have Bought A Record 17 Million Guns So Far This Year

Wikipedia 

The Guardian: Americans have bought record 17m guns in year of unrest, analysis finds 

Sales surged in the spring amid coronavirus fears and climbed higher during protests for racial justice

 Americans have bought nearly 17m guns so far in 2020, more than in any other single year, according to estimates from a firearms analytics company. 

Gun sales across the United States first jumped in the spring, driven by fears about the coronavirus pandemic, and spiked even higher in the summer, during massive racial justice protests across the country, prompted by police killings of black Americans. 

“By August, we had exceeded last year’s total. By September, we exceeded the highest total ever,” said Jurgen Brauer, the chief economist of Small Arms Analytics, which produces widely cited estimates of US gun sales. 

The estimated number of guns sold in the US through the end of September 2020 is “not only more than last year, it’s more than any full year in the last 20 years we have records for”, Brauer said. 

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WNU Editor: If I was living in the U.S. I would be arming myself.

Growing Interest In .338 Caliber Machine Guns

Warzone/The Drive: Makers Of The Famous Minigun Give Us Our First Look At A .338 Magnum Gatling Gun

There is a growing interest in .338 caliber machine guns, which offer greater range than 7.62mm types, and this one would provide a high rate of fire.

Dillon Aero has revealed that it is working on a new Minigun-style machine gun chambered to fire .338 Norma Magnum ammunition. U.S. Special Operations Command is separately testing more traditional machine gun designs in this same caliber, which has previously been more commonly associated with sniper rifles.

The Arizona-based gunmaker posted a picture of the still-experimental prototype on its official Facebook page on Jan. 15, 2020. The company says it will show the gun publicly for the first time at the upcoming 2020 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, which opens next week. Dillon Aero is best known as one of the few remaining manufacturers of versions of the iconic 7.62mm Minigun machine gun, which General Electric first designed and built in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

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WNU Editor: US Special Forces like what these guns can offer .... US Special Operations Command just picked up a new lightweight machine gun (Business Insider)

Global Gun Deaths Reach 250,000 Annually

DW: Global gun deaths reach 250,000 annually, study finds

A study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that there are a quarter of a million gun deaths worldwide yearly. It says gun deaths are "a major public health problem for humanity."

About 250,000 gun deaths occur annually worldwide, almost two-thirds of which were homicides, according to a study published Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The results reveal "a major public health problem for humanity," a JAMA editorial accompanying the analysis said.

The study tallied gun deaths in 195 different countries and territories from 1990 to 2016. Researchers counted about 209,000 gun deaths in 1990 compared with 251,000 in 2016, of which 64 percent were homicides, 27 percent were suicides and 9 percent were accidental.

Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela and United States contributed to half of the deaths, according to the study.

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More News On The Journal Of The American Medical Association Reporting Global Gun Deaths Reaching 250,000 Annually

Worldwide gun deaths reach 250,000 yearly; US ranks high -- AP
Half of all gun deaths occur in just SIX countries - and they are all in North or South America -- Daily Mail
Gun-related homicides, suicides kill more people than war, study says -- CNN
In some countries, the odds of getting shot are 1 in a million. In the U.S., it's 1,000 times higher -- Los Angeles Times
There’s a new global ranking of gun deaths. Here’s where the U.S. stands -- PBS

The Most Deadliest Handgun In The World?

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Kyle Mizokami, National Interest: Kel-Tec PMR-30: Most Deadly Handgun on Planet Earth?

The PMR-30 is is light enough to be packed in and forgotten, then punch holes in soda cans in a friendly shooting contest. It is a reliable, low-recoil handgun whose large ammunition capacity can give the user the confidence he or she can live through an extended shooting engagement without reloading. Kel-Tec’s pistol can admirably fill a number of niches, from fun shooting to self defense, offering a little something for everyone.

The Kel-Tec PMR-30 is a rarity among handguns on the market today: a pistol with a magazine holding more than seventeen rounds. The PMR-30 actually holds thirty rounds and does so with some clever engineering that reduces it to a lightweight package attractive to casual shooters, backcountry shooters, or people interested in a firearm for home defense.

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WNU Editor: It looks lean and mean.

Hat tip Fred for this link.

The 5 Worst Guns Ever

Photo: Colt 2000 (Wikimedia)

National Interest: The 5 Worst Guns Ever (Colt Made the List, Twice)

Guns are tools meant to address life or death situations, so a poorly designed or manufactured gun often earns particular scorn. The gun world has long memories of particularly bad firearms, many of which sealed the fate of brave soldiers. The rapid pace of firearms development in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries meant that few if any mistakes were repeated, but the memories of these weapons—some with lethal consequences for the owner—linger go on. Here are five of the worst guns ever made.

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WNU Editor: I did try the Colt 2000 a few years ago at a gun range. The owner liked it, but I found that the aim sucks.

A Look At The Types Of Machine Guns That The U.S. Military Uses

United States Army personnel, including the son of John Moses Browning, fire an M1917 heavy machine gun. (U.S. Army photo)

We Are The Mighty: How to tell what type of machine gun you're looking at

For over a century, machine guns have had a major effect on ground combat. Their efficacy against infantry prompted the invention of the tank in World War I, for instance. They’ve changed the way wars are fought and have played a huge role in forging history.

That said, it’s important to keep in mind that not all machine guns are the same, and getting the nomenclature right is important. While this isn’t as hotly contested as the debate between “magazine” and “clip”, it can get touchy. We’re talking about some cool machine guns here, we want to make sure we’re using the right terms as we imagine letting loose on a range with them.

There are several types of machine guns. Let’s take a look:

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WNU Editor: You can add a new one to the list .... The Marines Are Fielding a New Assault Rifle (Popular Mechanics).

A Look At How Long A Suppressor Can Last If A Gun Is Continuously Fired

The Drive: This Is What a 700-Round Burst Out of a M249 SAW Does to a Suppressor

They are becoming more popular on battlefields overseas and here at home.

Suppressors are hot items these days, both in the military and the civilian world. But they can also get very hot during extended firing periods, and can even self destruct before the barrels they are attached to do the same.

The guys over at West Coast Armory put a little video together to show what a machine gun and a lot of ammo, 700 rounds of 5.56X45 to be exact, can do to one of these sounds suppressing weapon accouterments. The results are impressive, and although the suppressor basically disintegrated, failing around 350 rounds, it gave a good fight before doing so.

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WNU Editor: Suppressors are becoming more popular on battlefields overseas .... but I am surprised that they can last this long if the gun is continuously fired.

This Gun Fires One Million Rounds Per Minute

We Are The Mighty: The Metal Storm gun can fire at 1 million rounds per minute

The highest rate of fire for a machine gun in service is the M134 Minigun. The weapon was designed in the late 1960s for helicopters and armored vehicles. It fires 7.62 mm calibre rounds at a blistering rate of 6,000 rounds per minute, or 100 rounds per second — about ten times that of an ordinary machine gun, according to the Guinness World Records.

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WNU Editor: Wow .... that makes the A-10 gun "puny" in comparison. Speaking of the A-10 .... details on its gun can be seen in the video below.

US Gun Company To Make Pistols Using A 4.5-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite

Cabot Guns will fasion a pair of pistols, like the ones pictured here, from a 35-kilogram chunk of meteorite.

CNN: Gunmaker to forge $1 million pistols from a meteorite

High-end handgun maker Cabot Guns is making a pair of pistols from a meteorite.

Cabot Guns announced that its "extra-terrestrial pistols" will be forged from a meteorite as old as the Earth itself, and could sell for as much as $1 million at auction next year.

"It hasn't been done before and that's the kind of thing that drives me," said Cabot founder and president Rob BiaNchin in an email to CNNMoney. "I think it's fair to state many of the pistols we have constructed border on art."

"Meteor is rare, more so than terrestrial precious metals and I wanted to create a set of guns that were formed from a material that had intrinsic value," BiaNchin said.

Update: US Gun Company to Use 4.5-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite to Make Pistols (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: The ultimate Christmas gift for the one who wants a special handgun next year.

The U.S. Army Wants A New Hand Gun

After 30 years with the Beretta M9, the U.S. Army is looking for a new standard-issue sidearm.

U.S. Army Wants A New Gun -- CNN

After about 30 years of using the Beretta as the primary sidearm pistol for the U.S. military, the Pentagon is seeking a new gun contract.

For gun manufacturers, this kind of a contract is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

While the Beretta lasted three decades, the U.S. military's first semiautomatic standard-issue sidearm, the M1911 from Colt, lasted nearly 90 years. It was issued during the U.S. war in the Philippines through the World Wars to Vietnam and beyond.

No wonder manufacturers are already starting to line up. An Army spokesman told CNNMoney that a request for proposal for a new standard-issue sidearm is going out in January.

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Update: Beretta out as standard-issue Army sidearm, Pentagon taking bids for replacement -- UPI

My Comment: My money is on Smith & Wesson getting the contract. Their guns are light, and are easy to handle.

You Can Now Make A Metal Gun In Your Home

The $1,200 Machine That Lets Anyone Make a Metal Gun at Home -- Threat Level/Wired

When Cody Wilson revealed the world’s first fully 3-D printed gun last year, he showed that the “maker” movement has enabled anyone to create a working, lethal firearm with a click in the privacy of his or her garage. Now he’s moved on to a new form of digital DIY gunsmithing. And this time the results aren’t made of plastic.

Wilson’s latest radically libertarian project is a PC-connected milling machine he calls the Ghost Gunner. Like any computer-numerically-controlled (or CNC) mill, the one-foot-cubed black box uses a drill bit mounted on a head that moves in three dimensions to automatically carve digitally-modeled shapes into polymer, wood or aluminum. But this CNC mill, sold by Wilson’s organization known as Defense Distributed for $1,200, is designed to create one object in particular: the component of an AR-15 rifle known as its lower receiver.

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My Comment: This technology is only going to develop and expand with time.

Guns That Can Shoot Underwater

The Scuba Diving Spy's Weapon Of Choice: The Guns That Can Shoot Underwater -- Daily Mail

* Weapons were first developed in the 1970s - and their existence was kept secret for decades
* Fire metal darts rather than bullets, which have a very short range underwater
* Heckler & Koch P11 underwater pistol believed to be first underwater weapon

For any self respecting scuba assassin, they are the essential weapons.

From the Heckler & Koch P11 underwater pistol to the the Special Underwater Assault Rifle that can shoot darts, weapons makers have created a whole line of underwater weapons.

As normal guns and ammunition do not work underwater, they also have their own ammunition, with many firing darts rather than bullets.

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WNU Editor: Russia's "underwater Kalashnikov" is more impressive.

World's First Amphibious Assault Weapon

Underwater 'Kalashnikov': Russia Showcases First Ever Efficient Amphibious Assault Rifle -- RT

Russian arms manufacturers have unveiled a new technological marvel – the world’s first ever assault rifle capable of shooting standard size cartridges both underwater and on land. Russian Special Forces units will soon be armed with the new gun.

Designed by Russia's Tula Instrument Design Bureau the ‘ADS’ gun can shoot underwater using a special cartridge, which in size is suitable for the standard magazine case Kalashnikov assault rifle. To fire under water or on land, one only needs to replace the magazine of the 5.45 millimeter automatic rifle.

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More News On The World's First Amphibious Assault Weapon

This Russian Rifle Fires 800 Rounds Per Minute–Underwater -- Gizmodo
Russia's New Underwater Assault Rifle Can Shoot 800 Shots Per Minute -- Motherboard
Underwater Machine Gun: World's First Amphibious Assault Weapon Designed For Russian Special Forces -- Huffington Post

My Comment: According to its developers .... it has an effective underwater range of only 25 meters.

X-Ray Images Of Guns In Popular Movies

'Say hello to my little friend'... A memorable line uttered by Al Pacino, as Tony Montana (left), in 1983's Scarface

Say Hello To My Little X-Ray Friend! From Scarface's M16 To Bond's Walther PPK, See-Through Images Of Film Guns That Deglamorise Killing Machines -- Daily Mail

* British artist Nick Veasey X-rayed firearms - from Rambo's M60 to Derringer used to assassinate Abraham Lincoln
* Veasey unable to guarantee that weapons were exact models used in films as many have been handled so widely but they are all correct model
* Guns delivered to Veasey’s studio in Maidstone, Kent, by two handlers in an armoured van

From Tony 'Scarface' Montana's 'little friend' - the M16 rifle - to Dirty Harry's Magnum ('the most powerful handgun in the world'), guns and glamour have often gone hand in hand on the big screen.

But now the firearms have been cast in a new light, as these X-ray images show.

The intimate workings of some of cinema’s most iconic weapons, including James Bond's Walther PPK, have been revealed by British artist Nick Veasey in an attempt to 'deglamorise' guns - by reducing them to the status of scientific specimens.

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My Comment: Quite a collection of photos.

The 10 Guns That Defined America

The 10 Guns That Defined America: Posthumous Book By Ex-Navy SEAL Sniper Chris Kyle Reveals That Most Important Firearms In U.S. History -- Daily Mail

* Chris Kyle, who was murdered by a fellow veteran in February, was working on a book about the history of firearms in America before his death
* 'American Gun: The History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms' tracks weapons development in the United States from the Revolutionary War to modern day
* Kyle, a former member of Navy SEAL Team 3, is the deadliest sniper in U.S. history - recording 255 kills in Iraq

Chris Kyle knew guns in a way no modern American ever has.

As a Navy SEAL sniper, he recorded 255 kills on the battlefield during four deployments to Iraq.

His skill with a rifle is unmatched by any combat marksman since the Second World War. He was praised as America’s deadliest sniper ever. Iraqi insurgents loathed and feared him, putting an $80,00 bounty on his head and labeling him ‘the Devil of Ramadi.’

His experience as a highly decorated member of the elite SEALTeam Three also made him a student of firearms history.

After he retired from the military, he began researching the firearms that shaped American history.

His book new book - published posthumously - ‘American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms’ details the rifles and pistols wielded by soldiers, police officers, hunters, mobsters and outlaws that most influenced the culture of this nation.

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My Comment: This looks like an interesting read ... if gun history is your thing.

Disturbing Video Adverts For Automatic Aiming Gun

Weapons Company Releases Disturbing Video Game Style Advert For Automatic Aiming Gun -- The Telegraph

A US gun maker has released an animated video promoting an advanced rifle, which it claims will make long-range shooting "five times" more accurate.

The Precision Guided Firearm uses fighter-jet style technology and tablet computing to make it difficult to miss a target up to 1,200 yards.

Despite being the type of weapon one might expect to be used by the military, Texas based company TrackingPoint shows a father and son using it to hunt on their ranch.

In an animated promotional video resembling a video game, the men kill a wildcat with one shot as the son explains that his father, a war veteran, had always instructed him to "embrace technology when it gave me a real advantage."

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WNU Editor: Impressive tech .... and I now want to see a real video demonstration.

Update: Here is a real video demonstration. Warning .... live animals were used.

Inside A Connecticut Gun Factory (Photo Gallery)

A newly completed PTR-91 rifle. Robert Libetti/Business Insider

Step Inside The Connecticut Gun Factory That Is Leaving The State In Protest -- Business Insider

CEO Josh Fiorini and his gun manufacturing company PTR Industries, are right in the center of the national gun control debate.

PTR makes clones of the HK-91 semi-automatic rifle and is located in Bristol, CT. Bristol is about 45 minutes north of Newtown, where 20 children and six of their teachers were shot to death last December.

The debate grew more heated recently, when Connecticut passed the strictest gun control law in the nation on April 4th. As a response to that law, on April 9th, PTR announced its plan to leave Connecticut in an open letter to the state.

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My Comment: I always wanted to see the inside of a gun manufacturer .... this photo gallery gives a good insight on how guns are manufactured.

A List Of The Best Reporting On Guns In America

M Glasgow via Flickr

In The Wake Of Yesterday's Shooting Here's A List Of The Best Reporting On Guns In America -- Business Insider

Update: With today's shooting in Newtown, Conn., this article, first published July 24, 2012, unfortunately seems relevant again.

In the wake of last week's shooting in Aurora, Colo., we've taken a step back and laid out the best pieces we could find about guns. They're roughly organized by articles on rights, trafficking and regulation. And include your suggestions in comments.

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My Comment: Sobering reading on a Saturday night.

Did Da Vinci Invent The 'Machine Gun'?

Invention: The multi-barrelled machine gun was a weapon with remarkable firepower. Da Vinci sketched this rolling artillery battery around 1480

Triple-Barrelled Cannon Found In Croatian Fort Is 'Machine Gun' Forerunner Designed By Da Vinci -- The Daily Mail

When an ancient three-barrelled cannon was discovered by schoolchildren, museum officials would have known they had stumbled on a rare find.

But now, 40 years after the discovery of the unique weapon, they have learned just how important it is - the gun is a prototype designed by Leonardo Da Vinci himself.

The cannon was discovered in a Croatian fort, but only now has it been confirmed it was designed more than 500 years ago by the artist and inventor.

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My Comment: I am a history, so stories like this one are so cool.