Birthplace of the Second Amendment 1765: Review: Guns new for fall 2014

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Review: Guns new for fall 2014

By Richard L. Johnson - 10/27/2013
As the 2014 SHOT Show draws near, several gun manufacturers are jumping out ahead of the others with new gun announcements. The guns run the gamut from the modern to the traditional, aiming to meet the desires of a broad range of gun owners. Here are four guns that were recently introduced.

Ruger Red Label Shotgun

After being pulled from production several years back, an updated Ruger Red Label shotgun is on the market. The over and under shotgun is chambered in 12 gauge (3� shells), but I would expect to see a 20 gauge offering later if the market responds well to the gun.

The guns all feature American walnut stocks with a polished stainless steel receiver and blued barrels. A Pachmayr buttpad is standard. There are no exposed pins or screws in the receiver, giving it a very attractive look.

The single mechanical trigger does not need to be recocked before firing the second barrel. Ruger offers the Red Label with three barrel length options: 43�, 45� and 47�. A brass bead front sight tops each barrel. Weights range from 7.5 to 7.9 pounds.
Included with the shotgun is a padded case, five Briley chokes and a Briley choke tube wrench. The chokes can be used with steel shot. MSRP is $1,399.

MasterPiece Arms MPAR 556 Pistol

About a year ago, MasterPiece Arms announced the MPAR 556 rifle, a piston-driven, AR-style gun chambered for the 5.56 NATO. Fast forward to today, and the company is introducing a pistol version of the gun called the MPAR 556 Pistol.

Like the rifle, the pistol is chambered for the 5.56 NATO, and uses standard M-4/AR-15 magazines, including the popular Magpul Pmags. The pistol has an 11� barrel, and it is threaded for the use of a sound suppressor or flash hider.

Since the gun uses a short stroke piston, instead of gas impingement, there is no need for a buffer tube sticking from the rear of the receiver. This makes the pistol a much more compact package than many other AR-type pistols.

The entire length of the pistol is topped with a Picatinny rail. This is helpful, as the folding iron sights shown on the company�s site are not standard, and you would need to add your own sights or optic.

The MPAR 556 pistol has a non-reciprocating charging handle on the left side of the pistol. The suggested retail price is $899, and the gun will ship with a 30-round magazine and an angled fore-grip. Many people might say the angled fore-grip turns the pistol into an �any other weapon� for the purposes of the National Firearms Act. However, MasterPiece Arms states they have an ATF letter on file stating the gun is classified as a pistol.

UZI PRO Pistol

Many people know the iconic UZI submachine gun (SMG) that has been used by special forces, the Secret Service and many other elite military and police units around the world. IWI US, the American subsidiary of Israel Weapon Industries, is now importing a modern version of the UZI SMG called the UZI PRO.

The UZI PRO is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for 9mm. The PRO has a cold-hammer forged 4.5� barrel and a polymer grip. The guns are blowback operated, and fire from a closed bolt. Unloaded, the guns weigh 3.66 pounds.

A full-length Picatinny rail is located on top of the pistol. A second, shorter rail is located under the barrel, and allows for the addition of a white light or laser. The cocking handle is located on the left side of the pistol.

MSRP is $1,099, and the gun ships with two magazines: a 20-round mag and a 25-round mag.

DoubleTap Tactical Pocket Pistols in .40 S&W, .45 Colt, .410 Bore

While the .45 ACP and 9mm versions of the Tactical Pocket Pistol from DoubleTap has been shipping for several months, the company is now introducing two new guns chambered for other popular calibers. The first new gun is in .40 S&W, while the second is in .45 Colt/.410 shotshell.

These two guns are identical to the original, save the calibers. Barrel conversions will be available for shooters who want to convert an older gun to one of the new calibers. Pricing ranges from $499 � $799 depending on gun construction (aluminum or titantium) and barrel design (ported or non-ported.)

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It All Started Here . . .

Frontier Mercersburg in 1765 was the "birthplace" of the right we now refer to as "the Second Amendment", or, "the right to bear arms". It was here that individuals for the first time, some would say divinely, embraced the link between "Life and Liberty". . . and struck the first blow for Freedom.

Historically the right to bear arms goes back even before our founding as a nation to the Glorious Revolution of 1689 when William III agreed to the English Bill of Rights. If one can look at revolution like a volcanic eruption in nature, you understand that often from the destruction come the seeds of new human values and beliefs. In this case the independence of the human spirit, the right to know God for oneself, and to trust your conscience was hard won in this revolution of the human soul.

One crucible begets the necessity for another and on the frontier in America the right to defend ones religious beliefs was becoming the right to participate in the decisions of government that impact my "self". Freedom of the soul was becoming freedom of the heart and mind. Smith's Rebellion began as an act they justified under the rubric of defending oneself because government had failed in its obligation to protect Life, Liberty and Property. This was the first assertion of this principle aimed directly at British Military Authority as well as the incompetent government of John Penn - anywhere in the colonies.

In the end, Smith's Rebellion was the first armed resistance against British Military Rule leading up to the American Revolution. It was the first American triumph over the best military force in the world. It was the first time upon defending oneself that Americans had proclaimed we can rule ourselves.

It would be ten years before the battles at Lexington and Concord.

...Let Them Take Arms

The "Right to Bear Arms" . . .or 2nd Amendment is one of the most discussed and contentious of all the amendments of the Bill of Rights. It is, in fact, the only amendment that contains not only the seeds but the actual instruments of the revolution itself. Further, it gives real affirmation to Thomas Jefferson's quote . . .
"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ... And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."

It is for this reason, if no other, that the Government and its functionaries vociferously assail and obfuscate the text of this simple assertion. More, it is for this reason, and in the face of the perennial onslaught that its defense and affirmation is essential to the survival of the republic.

Frontier Mercersburg & The Justice William Smith House

The frontier town of Mercersburg, PA. in the 1760's, although typical of many settlements along the Appalachian Mountains played a pivotal role in the creation of what was to become the "Bill of Rights".

Frontiersmen like James Smith and the Black Boys, many of whom were inhabitants of the Mercersburg environs, were early participants in a series of conflicts with the British government that established principles the eventually lead to the inclusion of the "right to bear arms" in the Bill of Rights.

Much of the focus, centers on the domicile (and likely place of business) of Justice William Smith.

Birthplace of the Second Amendment 1765

Pages

Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution - Bill of Rights

Preservation and Proposition

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Review: Guns new for fall 2014

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