Author: Jay Andrew

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Brass, Barrels, and Bureaucracy #22

First off, happy Fourth of July! We’re a few days late, but a few days is nothing compared to 250 years, right? I hope everyone returned to work from the long weekend with all their fingers attached and their eyebrows unsinged.

We freely admit that we use AI to help generate photo’s that help to make the content more interesting to look at. regardless of how you feel about AI, it is quite remarkable how far we have come that these sorts of images can be generated and look entirely plausible that is becomes a game to find the things that are wrong.

It has been a few months since I last had the opportunity to put one of these together. It has not been for lack of desire, but rather a lack of time. My weekdays have been consumed by a commute, while my weekends have been spent doing contract design work for a client. On top of that, there have been several significant events in both Marc’s life and my own.

First, Marc’s family lost their home in a devastating house fire. Thankfully, he and his family escaped unharmed, but they lost virtually everything except the clothes on their backs. They are now beginning the long process of rebuilding their home and putting life back together. We continue to keep them in our prayers.

On a more positive note, my wife and I purchased our first home in rural Vermont, situated on nearly eight acres. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity and equally grateful to have completed what I believe was my twenty-third move since 2008. The property is both rural enough and large enough that we will finally be able to set up a few dedicated areas for shooting and product testing. It also gives us the opportunity to do a bit of homesteading, something I have always wanted to pursue.

Unfortunately, while doing yard work shortly after the move, I lifted a rock and managed to tear my left distal biceps tendon.

The injury required surgery and comes with roughly a ten-week recovery period. Fortunately, I retained the use of both arms, but my dominant left arm is currently confined to a splint that severely limits my mobility. Case in point, I am typing this newsletter one-handed, which is every bit as slow as it sounds.

The move also means rebuilding my workshop from scratch. Benches, presses, tooling, and equipment all need to be unpacked, organized, and set back up. With the injury slowing things down, that project is looking more and more like a fall and winter endeavor.

Despite all of that, the firearms industry certainly has not slowed down over the past few months. There has been no shortage of new products, legislative developments, and court cases worth discussing. So, with one good arm and plenty to catch up on, let’s get into it.

Website Updates

There are no major website updates to report at this time.

We have several articles that were in progress but were put on hold as we worked through a long commute, a move, and the other life events mentioned above. I plan to revisit those projects and get them published over the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, the house fire also destroyed inventory we had been setting aside for a future web store. As a result, that project is now on indefinite hold while Marc and his family focus on rebuilding and getting back on their feet. In the meantime, we will be taking some time to evaluate what direction we would like to take things moving forward.

Time at the Bench

Reloading is Like Packing

My time at the bench over the last few months has consisted mostly of packing it all up.

You never truly realize how many reloading widgets, gadgets, tools, and half-finished projects you own until you have to put every single one of them into a box. Somewhere along the way, I apparently accumulated an impressive collection of odds and ends that seemed important enough to keep but not important enough to actually use.

One thing I discovered is just how many lot-end bullets I have accumulated over the years. Every caliber seems to have a small container with one or two lonely stragglers rattling around in the bottom. Not enough to work up a load, not enough to justify keeping, yet somehow not enough to throw away either.

At this point, they mostly serve as reminders of load developments long finished, rifles long sold, and projects that seemed incredibly important at the time. Like many things in a reloading room, they tell a story, even if they no longer serve much practical purpose.

My HK Pistol Obsession

In the meantime, I have continued fanning the flames of my desire for more HK pistols, specifically my appreciation for the Mark 23, USP, and their descendants.

At the moment, I own a VP40, VP9, HK45CT, and of course a Mark 23. However, I’d like to expand the collection. The USP series remains high on the list, and I would also like to spend some time exploring the P30  line.

I recently picked up a copy of AGI’s Armorer’s Course for USP pistols so I can study the platform in greater depth. As an engineer, that is often where ideas begin. You study a design long enough and eventually you start wondering, “What if I changed this?” or “What happens if I try that?” Who knows where that process may lead.

I am somewhat surprised by the lack of gunsmithing literature dedicated to HK pistols. At the same time, many of the people most familiar with these firearms encountered them through military or law enforcement service rather than through recreational shooting or competition.

Then again, that is part of what attracts me to them. They are built like tanks, fit my hands well, and I have always found them to be excellent shooters.

I believe everyone should have a firearm, or perhaps a family of firearms, that they know intimately, shoot well, and genuinely enjoy. For me, the HK pistols developed over the last three decades have become that niche.

Industry and Legislative News

It has been a happening place over the last few months here’s a few highlights.

Virgina

Several new gun control laws are slated to take effect on July 1st. Among them is a sweeping new ban on so-called “assault weapons.” The package includes many of the measures we have become accustomed to seeing from Democratic lawmakers: universal background checks, magazine capacity restrictions, bans on certain firearm features, and additional regulations surrounding the manufacture of homemade firearms. In short, supporters were successful in advancing virtually their entire legislative agenda.

If anyone has looked at a map recently, it is hard not to notice the growing political divide across the country. We often joke about living in “free America” or “occupied America,” but behind the humor lies a genuine concern about what the nation may look like ten or twenty years from now.

In states where these restrictive gun laws have been enacted, numerous lawsuits have been filed challenging their constitutionality. Many gun owners believe that even if the United States Supreme Court ultimately strikes down assault weapon bans or rules that detachable magazines are protected components of an arm under the Second Amendment, some states may be reluctant to fully comply with those decisions.

Whether those concerns prove justified remains to be seen. The Supreme Court does not possess a direct enforcement arm of its own and has historically relied upon the executive branch, lower courts, and the broader legal system to ensure compliance with its rulings.

In the current political environment, I worry that we may be moving toward a future in which states increasingly pursue conflicting legal and political paths. If that trend continues, the divisions we see today may become even more pronounced, leaving us a more fragmented country than the one we know today.

As a last-minute update, some of Virginia’s new firearms restrictions have been temporarily blocked after lawsuits brought by Gun Owners of America and other plaintiffs resulted in a preliminary injunction preventing portions of the legislation from taking effect. The ruling is already being appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, and the legal landscape remains highly fluid. At the moment, Virginia firearm owners are left navigating considerable uncertainty while the courts determine the laws’ ultimate fate.

3D Printers and Ghostly Firearms

New York State has passed legislation that would require manufacturers of 3D printers to incorporate software safeguards intended to prevent users from manufacturing, or “printing,” firearms. (This is pending a committee feasibility review, so best case this dies a silent death.)

3d Printers have come a long way in the last two decades, but even the best consumer grade printers use plastic which is not a great for making a functional firearm.

At first glance, this sounds simple enough. In practice, however, it places the burden on 3D printer manufacturers and software developers to determine the design intent behind the objects their customers are creating. Presumably, such a system would rely on some combination of pattern recognition and artificial intelligence to identify design features associated with firearms and prevent those parts from being produced.

The problem is that many mechanical devices share characteristics with firearms without actually being firearms. Springs, housings, brackets, rails, receivers, and countless other components may have similarities in geometry or function. The distinctions are often nuanced, context-dependent, and not easily identified by software.

Furthermore, consumer-grade 3D printing is limited to a relatively narrow range of materials, most commonly plastics. While hobbyists have pushed the boundaries of what is possible with 3D-printed AR-15 lowers, Glock-pattern frames, and similar projects, producing a durable and reliable firearm typically requires the integration of traditionally manufactured metal components. What emerges often looks quite different from what most people picture when they think of a firearm.

The printers and manufacturing equipment capable of producing fully functional firearm components from metal are generally far beyond the reach of the average hobbyist. Industrial additive manufacturing systems remain extraordinarily expensive and are primarily used in commercial and industrial settings.

Desktop CNC such as this unit from Ghost Gunner, are comparably priced to a high end 3D Printer and can produce fully functional firearm receivers.

More importantly, there is a broader question that should be asked whenever new legislation is proposed: Will the law meaningfully reduce criminal misuse while minimizing burdens on law-abiding citizens and legitimate uses of the technology?

Existing laws already regulate the manufacture and sale of firearms, prohibit possession by certain individuals, and criminalize the use of firearms in the commission of crimes regardless of how those firearms were made. Any proposal seeking to impose new restrictions should be supported by clear evidence demonstrating that the expected benefits outweigh the costs and unintended consequences.

Good public policy should be driven by data, analysis, and measurable outcomes rather than assumptions about what a technology might someday enable.

Unfortunately, many modern policy debates appear to be driven more by emotion, perception, and political expediency than by objective analysis. Legislators are often under pressure to demonstrate that they are “doing something” about a problem, even when the effectiveness of the proposed solution remains uncertain. In those situations, individual liberties can become secondary considerations rather than primary ones, and that should concern citizens regardless of their political affiliation.

Trump Slump 2.0

Sadly, we are seeing many smaller firearms companies, and a few larger ones, struggling financially. It is a difficult time to operate in an industry that depends heavily on discretionary spending.

During President Trump’s first term, what many referred to as the “Trump Slump” was really the bursting of a bubble. The firearms industry experienced nearly eight years of exceptional growth during the Obama administration.

The popularity of the AR-15 platform was in full swing, driven in part by the expiration of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban in 2004 and the widely publicized possibility that similar restrictions could return. We also saw the continued expansion of concealed carry as more states adopted permissive carry laws. Manufacturers introduced numerous successful products and, for a time, it seemed that everything that could be produced would sell.

Large portions of the industry were also preparing for a Hillary Clinton victory in 2016. Retailers, distributors, and manufacturers stocked up on firearms and ammunition in anticipation of a post-election buying surge that never materialized. When Trump won, demand declined sharply and inventories swelled. What had been a reliable source of growth suddenly became a burden. Companies of all sizes, from small machine shops to industry giants such as Remington, found themselves in financial trouble. The industry that emerged a few years later looked very different from the one that entered 2016.

Today we appear to be entering another transformative period, although for very different reasons.

The COVID years provided a lifeline to an industry that had spent much of the previous four years fighting declining demand. Between stimulus payments, reduced travel and entertainment spending, and unprecedented social and political uncertainty, consumers had both the money and the motivation to spend. Firearms, ammunition, and related products benefited tremendously.

From 2020 through 2022, the combination of increased disposable income and renewed concerns over future firearms restrictions fueled a significant surge in sales. Many companies interpreted that growth as a return to the long-term expansion experienced during the Obama years and invested accordingly.

However, the environment began to change. Supply chain disruptions, inflation, rising interest rates, and global instability placed increasing pressure on both businesses and consumers. By the time President Trump returned to office in 2025, the economic landscape was very different than it had been a decade earlier. Consumers found themselves facing higher housing costs, food costs, transportation costs, and debt payments, all of which reduced the amount of money available for hobbies and recreational purchases.

At the same time, manufacturers faced rising costs of their own. Material prices increased, supply chains became less predictable, tariffs affected sourcing decisions, and key industrial inputs became more expensive. Copper, steel, aluminum, and tungsten carbide all experienced pricing pressures that directly impacted the cost of producing firearms, ammunition, tooling, and components.

Fundamentally, this is a different challenge than what we saw during Trump Slump 1.0, but the result is similar. Companies that expanded during the COVID boom are now attempting to adjust to a market that is growing far more slowly than many anticipated.

We hear about the larger companies because their struggles make headlines, but for every well-known company facing difficulties there are likely several smaller businesses quietly fighting the same battle.

Here is a short list of companies that have recently announced layoffs, entered receivership, sought bankruptcy protection, undergone financial restructuring, or otherwise reported significant financial challenges. The circumstances surrounding each company are different, and inclusion on this list does not necessarily indicate bankruptcy or impending closure.

  • Aero Precision
  • Stag Arms
  • Ballistic Advantage
  • VG6 Precision
  • Sturm & Ruger
  • Sugarbush Armory
  • Big Rock Sports
  • Umbrella Armory
  • Watchtower Firearms
  • SCCY Industries
  • Atlanta Arms

Whether this downturn ultimately resembles the post-2016 correction or becomes something more severe remains to be seen. The firearms industry has always been cyclical, experiencing periods of rapid growth followed by painful contractions. The companies that survive are typically those with manageable debt, diversified product lines, and the ability to adapt when market conditions change.

What concerns me is not that a few companies are struggling. Every industry has winners and losers. What concerns me is the growing number of companies across different segments of the firearms market that are reporting layoffs, restructuring debt, seeking bankruptcy protection, or closing their doors altogether. Manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and ammunition companies all appear on that list.

Perhaps this is simply another correction. Perhaps it is the beginning of a broader consolidation within the industry. Time will tell. Either way, the market that exists today is very different from the one many companies planned for during the height of the COVID-era boom.

Firearms and Pot (United States v. Hemani)

On June 18, 2026, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in United States v. Hemani, finding in favor of Ali Hemani. The Court held that the federal government’s prosecution of Hemani under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(3), which prohibits firearm possession by unlawful users of controlled substances, was inconsistent with the Second Amendment. Specifically, the Court found that the government could not automatically disarm and prosecute an individual solely because he was an unlawful user of a controlled substance without demonstrating that such a restriction was consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

This is a significant victory for individual liberty, particularly for individuals who use substances such as marijuana that may be legal under state law while remaining illegal under federal law. Importantly, the Court’s reasoning is not limited solely to marijuana. While the ruling specifically addresses the federal government’s interpretation and enforcement of 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(3), it continues the Court’s broader effort to evaluate firearms restrictions through the historical-tradition framework established in Bruen.

The Court was careful to note that its decision was narrow. It did not address prohibitions on firearm possession by addicts, persons who are presently intoxicated, convicted felons, or other categories listed elsewhere within 18 U.S.C. §922(g). Nevertheless, the decision raises important questions about the extent to which the government may deprive individuals of their Second Amendment rights based solely upon membership in a particular class or category of persons rather than based upon individualized evidence of dangerousness.

For reference, the relevant categories identified in 18 U.S.C. §922(g) are listed below:

Of particular interest was Justice Thomas’s concurring opinion. While agreeing with the Court’s ruling, Justice Thomas questioned whether Congress’s use of the Commerce Clause to support many federal firearms prohibitions has become overly expansive. He suggested that courts should revisit whether Congress possesses the constitutional authority to regulate the mere possession of a firearm based solely upon the fact that the firearm crossed state lines at some point in the past.

Whether future courts will extend Hemani’s reasoning to other portions of §922(g) remains to be seen. However, it is not difficult to imagine future challenges involving non-violent felons under §922(g)(1), individuals dishonorably discharged from military service under §922(g)(6), or other categories where the government seeks to deprive individuals of their Second Amendment rights without individualized findings of dangerousness. The Supreme Court did not decide those questions in Hemani, but the debate surrounding them is unlikely to end here.

Florida and the Age of Majority

There is a growing national divide over the age of majority, that point at which society recognizes an individual as an adult.

For most purposes, that age is 18. Once you have completed eighteen trips around the sun, congratulations: you can vote, join the military, sign legally binding contracts, and get married. Under certain circumstances, you can even be legally emancipated before reaching adulthood. Yet despite all of that, society still treats you as an adult in some situations and a child in others. You have entered the world of what I can only describe as “adult with training wheels.”

Yet there are still a number of things that remain off limits until age 21. You cannot purchase alcohol, buy cigarettes in many jurisdictions, or purchase a handgun from a federally licensed dealer. In some states, you cannot purchase certain firearms at all until age 21. In others, you cannot obtain a concealed carry permit or legally carry a handgun in public until reaching that age.

In Florida, that may soon change.

In the case of Jaylen Tyrus Eubanks v. State of Florida, a three-judge panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Mr. Eubanks and struck down Florida’s prohibition on concealed carry by otherwise law-abiding adults between the ages of 18 and 20. The court concluded that individuals in that age group are part of “the people” protected by the Second Amendment and that Florida failed to demonstrate a historical tradition supporting such a restriction.

The court relied heavily on prior Supreme Court decisions, including District of Columbia v. Heller, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, and United States v. Rahimi. In doing so, the court continued the now familiar post-Bruen analysis, requiring governments to justify firearm restrictions through historical tradition rather than modern policy arguments.

Frankly, I believe we need to decide what the age of majority actually is.

Having a tiered system where individuals spend three years as “adult-lite,” trusted with some of the most significant responsibilities in society while simultaneously being denied other rights and responsibilities, strikes me as intellectually inconsistent.

I am not arguing that the age of majority must remain 18, nor am I arguing that it should be raised to 21. Rather, I believe we should collectively decide where that threshold exists and apply it consistently. Once an individual crosses that line, they should receive both the full benefits and the full consequences of adulthood.

Anything else creates a system where adulthood becomes less a clearly defined legal status and more a collection of exceptions, carve-outs, and political compromises.

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenges to “So-Called” Assault Weapon Bans

Just as I was preparing to publish this update, the announcement came down. I debated whether to include it here or wait until the next edition, but ultimately decided it was too significant to ignore. This is almost certainly a story we will revisit as oral arguments are heard and the case progresses over the coming months.

The Supreme Court has announced that it will hear two cases challenging the constitutionality of assault weapon bans. The Court’s eventual decision is likely to shape the future of firearm law in the United States for years to come. A ruling in favor of the challengers could establish important constitutional precedent that would invite additional legal challenges to similar laws nationwide. Conversely, if the bans are upheld, legislatures that have been reluctant to pursue similar restrictions may view the decision as judicial support for doing so at the state and possibly federal level.

Nothing about this case should be viewed as predetermined. If recent rulings are any indication, the Court’s conservative majority does not always vote as a unified bloc, and predicting outcomes has become increasingly difficult. We may gain insight into the Justices’ thinking during oral arguments this fall, but court watchers will undoubtedly begin speculating long before the opinions are released, likely in June 2027.

It is difficult to overstate how closely the firearms industry will be watching this case. Whatever the outcome, the decision has the potential to become one of the most consequential Second Amendment rulings in decades.

New Guns and Gear

Federal PEAK 6.5mm Creedmoor

Federal has released a new load for the 6.5 Creedmoor that makes use of its proprietary PEAK case technology. They claim it delivers performance approaching that of the 6.5 PRC from your standard 6.5 Creedmoor rifle. They accomplish this by increasing chamber pressure to approximately 80,000 psi. This is made possible largely through the use of a steel alloy case rather than traditional brass. The marketing push is clear: Federal sees this as a game changer. I remain skeptical.

Given how sensitive large companies like Federal are to liability, this is a surprising move. By putting this ammunition on the market, they are effectively betting that any rifle chambered and proofed for 6.5 Creedmoor can safely handle substantially higher operating pressures. This represents a departure from the industry’s normal philosophy, where companies typically go out of their way to prevent higher-pressure cartridges from being chambered in firearms that were not originally designed for them. Think of the relationship between the .38 Special and .357 Magnum, or the .44 Special and .44 Magnum. It seems Federal is placing much of that responsibility on firearm manufacturers to determine whether their rifles are suitable for these increased pressures. It’s a bold strategy.

Setting aside the liability aspect, I am not entirely sold on the utility of such a cartridge. It brings me back to the question of, “How much gun is too much?” Hunters have long been sold on the appeal of magnum cartridges. The .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, .300 PRC, .300 Norma Magnum, and countless others all promise greater velocity and energy. But has the widespread adoption of cartridges like the 7mm Remington Magnum actually resulted in meaningfully more successful harvests than something like the 7mm-08? I am not convinced it has. At some point, additional performance offers diminishing returns while the tradeoffs continue to grow.

PEAK ammunition is positioned as a premium offering for the 6.5 Creedmoor. Higher operating pressures inevitably mean increased bolt thrust, greater stress on locking lugs, accelerated throat erosion, louder muzzle blast, and increased recoil, particularly in lightweight mountain rifles. None of those are free. I also question how many shooters will actually feed their rifles a steady diet of this ammunition given its premium price. More likely, it will be reserved for hunting while conventional 6.5 Creedmoor loads handle the bulk of practice and range time.

Whether PEAK ultimately proves successful will depend on whether shooters believe the additional velocity justifies the increased cost and wear. There is certainly room for innovation in ammunition design, and Federal deserves credit for pursuing a different approach. Personally, I remain unconvinced that pushing a standard 6.5 Creedmoor rifle to well beyond traditional magnum pressures is a better solution than simply choosing a cartridge that was designed to deliver that level of performance from the outset.

H&K VP9CC

Heckler & Koch has released a new compact concealed carry pistol based on the successful VP9 platform. It is nice to see HK incorporate an optics-ready slide, and they have also equipped the pistol with tall sights that are suitable for co-witnessing with a red dot. The grip has been slimmed down, many of the sharper edges have been rounded off, and the overall package is aimed squarely at the concealed carry market. The pistol can also be purchased with a Vortex Defender optic already installed from the factory. Magazine capacity is respectable for this class of handgun at 10+1, while an extended magazine increases capacity to 12+1.

The VP9CC also gives HK a modern competitor to pistols like the Glock 43X, SIG P365 XL, and Springfield Hellcat Pro. For years, HK’s concealed carry lineup relied primarily on the P2000SK and P30SK. The VP9CC finally gives the company a purpose-built slimline striker-fired pistol that aligns with current market trends.

Also of note is that HK has officially marked the P2000 series of pistols as discontinued. That isn’t particularly surprising. The P2000, P2000SK, P30, P30SK, and P30L all occupied similar portions of HK’s lineup, and with the introduction of the CC9 earlier in 2026, there were simply too many models serving similar roles. Something had to give.

I own both a VP9 and a VP40. They shoot well and fit my hands exceptionally well. I am also a big fan of HK’s paddle-style magazine release, so I was disappointed to see the CC9 adopt a traditional push-button magazine release instead. My preference is still for a hammer-fired pistol over a striker-fired pistol. I simply prefer a traditional DA/SA trigger system, though that’s probably because it’s what I’ve spent most of my shooting career using. I’ve been eyeballing either a P30SK or a P2000SK as my next carry gun, but with the P2000 series now discontinued, I think that decision may have been made for me.

If you’re interested in checking out the VP9CC, the MSRP is $1,049 for the standard model and $1,399 for the version equipped with a Vortex Defender optic.

Ed Brown 1776 Commemorative 1911

The 1911 pistol is synonymous with America, and it is great to see a manufacturer like Ed Brown put together a pistol that captures the essence of the 1911 while celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. I think they got it exactly right. While many companies pull out all the stops with elaborate engravings, custom finishes, and gold inlays, Ed Brown’s simple yet tasteful additions underscore the 1911’s true heart: a pistol designed for utility, chambered in its original chambering of .45 ACP.

Being an Ed Brown 1911, the pistol certainly doesn’t come cheap. It requires a $500 deposit, and the final price comes to $3,420. Personally, I’d take two of these over just about any modern 2011 on the market. Sometimes less flash and a little more history is exactly what a commemorative pistol ought to be.

H&R T48

I have a weakness for classic steel-and-wood rifles. The M1 Garand, the M14, the Lee-Enfield, even a modern sporting rifle wearing a set of WOOX furniture. So when I saw that Palmetto State Armory was producing a reproduction T48, or what most of the world simply knows as the FN FAL, I immediately bowed my head and accepted that medical bills are apparently going to be my financial future.

The T48 competed in the U.S. service rifle trials alongside the T44, which eventually became the M14. The AR-10 also participated in the testing, although it never advanced as far in the selection process. Ironically, while the United States chose the M14 before quickly pivoting to the M16 only a few years later, the FN FAL went on to become one of the most successful battle rifles in history. Adopted by dozens of nations, it earned the nickname “The Right Arm of the Free World,” despite never serving as the standard rifle of the U.S. military.

Palmetto State Armory acquired the Harrington & Richardson (H&R) brand during the Remington Outdoor Company bankruptcy proceedings. It has been great to watch them breathe new life into a historic American firearms manufacturer by producing faithful reproductions of several iconic firearms.

Deals to be Had

We are forgoing the Deals to Be Had section in this issue of Brass, Barrels, and Bureaucracy so we can focus our efforts on producing original content.

We are also considering a new direction for this section. Rather than simply highlighting discounts, we would like to use it to showcase American-made brands and products that align with our values: well-made products offered at an honest price.

If your company fits that description, we would be interested in working with you to help bring greater awareness to your products and your brand.

That is all we have this week.

If you have questions, comments, or ideas, we’d love to hear from you.

Jay – jay@theballisticassistant.com

Marc – Marc@theballisticassistant.com

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Brass, Barrels, and Bureaucracy #21

We are about a month late getting this update out, and that is completely on me. Life has been busier than usual. Over the last few months I have been working through a job change, which fortunately worked out in my favor, but it has not come without some sacrifice. Unfortunately, the new three-hour-per-day commute is taking a significant bite out of my time.

There is another move in my future, if my count is right, this will be number 23 since 2008, so we are taking our time to make sure this one sticks a little longer than average.

That is a long way of saying we are moving a bit slower right now when it comes to getting new content on the site. The good news is that there is plenty in the pipeline. Winter has been snowy and cold, the exact opposite of what our woolly bear caterpillar predicted back in November.

However, it looks like we are finally turning the corner. Warmer weather is in the forecast, along with plenty of rain. The snow is receding, and I am already dreaming about the day I can get the motorcycle back out. That will make those long commutes a little more enjoyable.

Website Updates

We have pushed several new articles to the website over the last month, and we have also been working on refreshing some of our older content. You will start seeing new author bios at the end of articles, along with blocks explaining what the website is about and how you can support the work we are doing here.

Marc has also published a few articles about things that caught his eye at the 2026 SHOT Show. You can check them out below:

“Just in Case”: Cold War Precision Meets SHOT Show 2026 Cool
You Can’t Put the NFA Cat Back in the Bag
SHOT Show 2026: The Excitement, the Noise, and Remembering What Really Matters

A buddy of mine recently asked why two or three different load data sources often show different data for the same cartridge and bullet combination. It was a good question and one that deserved a deeper explanation, so I decided to dig into it. The result is the article below:

Why Published Load Data Doesn’t Always Agree

Time at the Bench

RCBS Trim Pro-2

Due to the job change and getting settled into a new routine, my time at the reloading bench has been limited. A few weeks ago, however, I was able to spend some time with an RCBS Trim Pro-2 powered case trimmer while trimming straight-wall cases for a project I have been working on. I took the opportunity to photograph the process and record the results.

Over the years I have used several different trimmers, and I have owned the manually driven RCBS Trim Pro-2 for quite a while. It was my first bench-mounted lathe-type trimmer. These types of trimmers are very versatile. Unlike the popular drill-mounted trimmers that use the shoulder datum as the locating reference, these use the base of the cartridge as the reference point.

In theory, this makes them less prone to variation caused by inconsistent shoulder setback. It is also about the only practical way to trim straight-wall cases.

This is not a perfect apples-to-apples comparison with some of the SRT-style trimmers I have been reviewing recently, since those tests were conducted with bottleneck cases. Even so, I think the results still provide a useful point of comparison.

416 Ruger Load Development

Marc has also been spending some time working with the .416 Ruger. I will not spoil the surprise completely, but he has been developing loads and setting up a new rifle to replace an older .416 Rigby. He has several articles planned that will cover that project in more detail.

Industry and Legislative News

Vermont Gun Control Push

There is little doubt that these pushes are not “grass roots” they are outside organizations pushing State politicians to pass laws that their own constituents usually oppose. It is antithetical to how politicians should behave.

Vermont legislators have introduced several new gun control bills this session. At least one of those bills, House Bill 406, a proposed semi-automatic “assault weapon” ban, appears nearly every legislative session. While it has once again been introduced and is certainly a concern, it currently does not appear to have the support needed to pass.

However, another proposal may have more immediate implications. Senate Bill S.160 seeks to outlaw devices that increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic firearm. The wording of the bill is vague, defining the prohibited accessory simply as a “device that increases the rate of fire.”

While the bill is clearly targeting Force Reset Triggers (FRTs), bump stocks, and similar devices that have been ruled not to meet the federal definition of a machine gun, the language is broad enough that other items could potentially be caught up in it. In theory, even light competition triggers could fall under scrutiny. After all, it does not take much practice to “bump fire” a semi-automatic firearm—even with a heavy factory trigger.

Forced Reset Triggers, such as this Partisan Triggers Disruptor, are at risk of being banned in the State of Vermont with the new legislation proposed.

The proposed penalty is a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to one year in jail. The offense would also be classified as a felony, which would carry the additional consequence of permanently stripping the individual of their firearm rights and other civil rights.

There is no grandfather clause for existing devices and no compensation for devices that would be required to be surrendered. In my opinion, that raises serious constitutional concerns regarding the taking of lawfully owned property without compensation. And we are not just talking about $500 FRT triggers, this could also affect legally owned machine guns worth $25,000 or more.

Unfortunately, Democrats currently control both legislative chambers and could override a veto from the Republican governor if they have the votes. It remains unclear how this will ultimately shake out, but the bill is currently in committee. If you wish to oppose it, now would be the time to contact your legislators.

Pot, Firearms, and the Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments in United States v. Daniels, a case concerning the constitutionality of depriving firearm rights from individuals who regularly use marijuana.

As anyone who has filled out ATF Form 4473 during a firearms transfer knows, it is a felony to falsely state that you do not use illegal drugs—including marijuana—even if marijuana is legal in the state where you live. Under current federal law, marijuana remains a controlled substance, and firearm ownership by users is prohibited.

In several cases, federal authorities have pursued charges against individuals based on this conflict between federal law and state legalization, resulting in the loss of firearm rights.

This is largely a problem created by the federal government itself. Federal authorities have allowed states to legalize marijuana without aggressively enforcing federal prohibition, despite marijuana still being classified as a controlled substance. The result is a legal conflict between federal law and state law that has left ordinary citizens caught in the middle.

This issue ultimately goes beyond the question of whether marijuana should be legal. At its core, the case raises a broader question: under what circumstances should individuals lose their Second Amendment rights?

Personally, I believe we are far too quick to strip people of their rights. There are so many laws on the books today that the only thing separating a criminal from a citizen is often whether they have been caught.

New Guns and Gear

Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0

The design team went all out on this one. This is a great looking pistol.

When I turned 21, I started looking for my first handgun. I did a fair amount of research and eventually landed on the Smith & Wesson M&P series. At the time, .40 S&W was still widely advertised as the “one-shot man stopper,” supposedly combining raw power with a couple of extra rounds of capacity compared to larger calibers.

A few years later I bought my first H&K Mark 23. I enjoyed shooting that pistol so much that I eventually sold my M&P and picked up a few more H&K pistols instead. Still, since it was my first handgun, the M&P series has always held a bit of a special place for me.

So when Smith & Wesson announced an all-steel grip version of the M&P at the 2026 SHOT Show, it immediately caught my attention.

I am completely on board with the industry’s rediscovery of all-metal frame pistols that aren’t a 2011 or 1911DS with a price tag that suggests you may need a second mortgage to afford one.

Steel-frame firearms in 9×19mm can be a lot of fun to shoot. The extra weight of the grip does a great job reducing muzzle flip. Yes, they are heavier, and you will probably want a sturdier belt if you plan to carry one, but at the end of the day many shooters will find they can shoot these guns better than their polymer-frame counterparts simply because of the recoil reduction.

They are also more expensive. Expect to pay north of $800 depending on configuration. That said, I suspect they will be worth the price. I am looking forward to getting an opportunity to run one through its paces.

After years of polymer dominance, it seems like manufacturers are finally remembering that a little extra steel can make a pistol far more enjoyable to shoot.

Deals of the Week

It’s no secret that the firearms industry is a little slow right now. People’s wallets are thin, and this industry ultimately runs on discretionary spending.

The upside to that slowdown is that retailers have been running some genuinely strong promotions. We have been seeing some fantastic deals on everything from firearm parts to reloading components.

If you have been thinking about picking something up, now may be a good time to buy.

That’s all we have for this week!

Jay & Marc

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Brass, Barrels and Bureaucracy #20

This has been an odd winter for New England. It came on strong, with snowstorms and single-digit temperatures arriving early in November. That was followed by a brief stretch of seasonably normal weather in the 30s and 40s before we were plunged back into the cold once again. As the winter has progressed, this pattern has continued, alternating between relatively warm and cold periods even as we moved into the third week of the new year.

Then came this weekend. We, along with roughly half the rest of the country, were hit with a real doozy of a snowstorm. When the flurries finally stopped, we had accumulated about 15 inches of fine, powdery snow. The deep cold means salt is largely ineffective, so the roads remain snow-covered rather than the usual wet, greasy mess.

It’s the most snow the kids have seen in their short lives. Unfortunately, convincing them to go outside and actually experience winter has proven more difficult than expected. I remember being a kid on days like this, happily entertained all day sledding hillsides, building snow forts, and getting into general winter mischief. This generation, it seems, has a much shorter patience window.

SHOT Show 2026 wrapped up as this was being written, and there were no shortage of new product announcements, several of which we’ll get to later in this update. I’m also always anxious to see which new cartridges are added to the SAAMI catalog. For me, that’s the real highlight, and it only happens twice a year, once at SHOT Show and once again in June.

While Marc and I didn’t attend SHOT Show this year, I still somehow managed to catch the full SHOT Show crud: head cold, pink eye, and a lingering cough that refuses to go away. Apparently, this stuff is contagious even at a distance.

Website Updates

A Deep Dive Into 6.8x51mm

We’ve published our deep dive into the 6.8×51mm cartridge, also known as the .277 SIG Fury. This article has been a long time coming, quietly stewing in the back of our minds as we’ve watched the cartridge move from announcement to adoption as a general service round.

Our approach was to step back and look at the last 100 years of military service cartridges, placing the shift to 6.8×51mm into that broader historical context. From there, we examine the cartridge itself, how it performs against existing general service cartridges, where it shows clear advantages, and where it may fall short. You can read the article here. It’s a deeper dive than normal, so expect it to take a little longer than a single bathroom break to read through.

6.8×51mm Explained: Why the U.S. Military Is Moving Beyond 5.56×45

At the end of the day, we do believe the industry will continue moving toward higher service pressures. Traditional brass case design has historically limited service pressures to around 65,000 psi, but newer case designs and alternative materials have begun to push beyond that ceiling. Pressures approaching and, in some cases, exceeding 80,000 psi are now achievable in military and commercial ammunition, fundamentally changing the level of performance a modern service or sporting cartridge can deliver. As brass becomes more expensive relative to alternative case materials, cost pressures may further accelerate this shift. And, of course, novelty will always be a powerful motivator for manufacturers looking to market bleeding-edge performance, barrel life be damned.

This won’t happen overnight, but don’t be surprised to see this trend emerge more clearly over the next decade. In many ways, it’s comparable to the transition from black powder to smokeless powder in terms of performance potential. Does that mean everyone needs to trade in their .30-06 for a 7mm Backcountry? No, I don’t think so.

Smith and Wesson Night Guard

Marc and I have been watching SHOT Show 2026 from afar. While it’s obviously not as fun as being there in person and handling the firearms ourselves, we’ve still enjoyed following the steady stream of new product announcements—and experiencing the full range of excitement, indifference, and eye-rolling that always comes with them.

One announcement that genuinely caught Marc’s attention was the re-release of the Night Guard series of revolvers from Smith & Wesson. He was excited enough about it to put together a quick write-up outlining what the Night Guard is, where it came from, and why it’s a revolver that’s worth a closer look. That article is now live on the site.

The Night Guard Returns: Two Long-Awaited Revolvers and a Caliber Choice Worth Talking About

You’ll find it in a newly renamed section of the website. What was previously called Jay’s Commentary has been rebranded as The Holdover. The purpose remains the same: it’s a home for articles and observations that don’t neatly fit into a single category—discussions on firearms, the industry, and related topics that we think are worth talking about, even if they don’t slot cleanly elsewhere.

Time At The Bench

Time at the bench has been a little different lately. Not so much at the workbench, but at my computer bench, studying and trying to understand the VZ-58. Marc probably rolls his eyes every time I mention it, but this little rifle completely captured my attention. I’ve taken it apart, measured it, modeled the components, 3D-printed parts, and checked fits and function. I’ve taken it far enough that it’s starting to resemble a borderline obsession.

Not 100% right, yet, but we are working through it. Should have a good complete model in a couple of weeks.

What started all of this was an attempt to troubleshoot the poor trigger in my rifle. I was able to improve it somewhat, and while the trigger now breaks reliably, there’s still a significant amount of creep. I wanted to understand why, and what could be done about it. That question sent me down the rabbit hole and left me with a solid appreciation for the Czech engineers who devised what I can only describe as one of the simplest semi-automatic actions I’ve ever studied.

For example, the locking block drops by roughly a quarter inch, and that’s all that locks the action. It’s forced downward by the bolt carrier as the carrier moves into battery, and that same carrier uses a wedge to lift the locking block during rearward motion. The result is a very smooth and efficient lock and unlock cycle that seems almost magical—until you take the time to study it.

Plenty of sear engagement comes with plenty of creep.

The design also produces one of the worst triggers known to man, so there’s that. Fortunately, it’s fixable. It’ll never be a benchrest trigger, but it can absolutely be improved to the point where it’s no longer the complete travesty the VZ-58 is known for. I’m working on that article now as I continue to refine what produces the best results on my rifle.

Industry News

HPA and SHORT Act

This went into effect starting Jan 1st, 2026. Companies pretty much everywhere have  been running sales on Short Barrel Rifles, Short Barreled Shot Guns and Suppressors since well before then. This is a victory that a lot of us didn’t think was going to happen, so it’s nice to be surprised. I have not yet taken advantage of the new $0 tax stamp, but I am hoping to soon.

Virgina and Gun Control

The irony of sic semper tyrannis appearing on the Virginia state flag is hard to ignore. “Thus always to tyrants” is a reminder that oppressive power has historically been met with resistance—something the Commonwealth’s legislators and executive branch would do well to remember.

Last year, the Democratic Party gained control of all three branches of government in the Commonwealth of Virginia. They are not wasting the moment. During the current session, lawmakers have introduced roughly 25 gun control bills in the House and Senate. Some of the more notable proposals include:

House Bill 217 would effectively ban what it defines as an “assault firearm,” a category broad enough to include most modern semi-automatic rifles and many commonly owned firearms. While the bill does provide a grandfather clause for firearms manufactured prior to July 1, 2026, the definition itself is lengthy and expansive.

Senate Bill 27 and House Bill 21 target the firearms industry directly by attempting to define “responsible conduct,” including restrictions on where, how, and to whom firearms may be marketed.

House Bill 40 seeks to criminalize the home manufacture of firearms, commonly referred to as “ghost guns,” even when built for personal use.

House Bill 700 would impose a mandatory five-day waiting period on firearm purchases.

Senate Bill 38 and House Bill 93 expand the definition of a prohibited person to include individuals who reside with someone deemed prohibited. Under this framework, a law-abiding gun owner could lose their rights solely based on the actions or status of a roommate or household member.

House Bill 217 also includes a provision requiring dealers to collect a $500 tax on each suppressor sold in the state. If enacted, this provision would take effect on July 1, 2026.

House Bill 919 proposes an additional 11 percent tax on all firearms and ammunition, with proceeds directed to a newly created “Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund.”

It’s easy to dismiss developments in Virginia as “not my state, not my problem,” but that mindset misses the bigger picture. States like Virginia serve as testing grounds for legislation. Bills that survive committee review, floor votes, and legal challenges are refined and reintroduced elsewhere, including at the federal level. If not word-for-word, then in forms that are more restrictive, more efficient, and legally hardened through prior challenges.

What’s most frustrating is the sheer breadth of legislation being proposed. The volume alone makes it likely that some of these bills will pass. Even when court challenges follow, and they almost certainly will, it can take years for the legal system to resolve them. In the meantime, millions of dollars will be spent by both sides fighting these battles in court. That’s money that could have gone toward youth firearm safety programs, mental health initiatives, or other efforts that might actually move the needle on reducing firearm-related deaths.

DOJ and NFA

The Department of Justice is currently defending the registration and tax stamp requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns under the National Firearms Act. This has angered a large portion of the firearms industry, with many arguing that the administration should direct the DOJ to abandon its defense of these provisions and advocate for their repeal.

I think that approach does the industry a disservice. While it’s an effective way to generate headlines and fundraising dollars, it’s also strategically fragile. In this case, process matters more than outcome. Administrative decisions are inherently temporary, subject to reversal every four years when presidential administrations change.

The courts are the proper avenue for challenging the remaining provisions of the NFA, particularly given the lack of legislative appetite to address the issue in the near term. It is the DOJ’s role to defend laws enacted through the legislative process, and allowing that process to play out in court is essential. A court ruling striking down these provisions as unconstitutional would create binding precedent, preventing future administrations from simply reinstating the same rules through executive action or agency rulemaking. If the courts ultimately uphold the law, the status quo remains, and any change must come through Congress where it belongs.

The courts are not a shortcut around the legislative process. Judicial rulings may feel expedient, but they are inherently fragile, subject to reversal by a different judge, a different panel, or a different court entirely.

By contrast, if the DOJ were to refuse to defend the law, the issue may never be fully resolved on the merits. That risks leaving the underlying constitutional questions unanswered and opens the door for a future administration to reinstate the same rules with little resistance. A durable victory requires a judicial decision, not a temporary political retreat.

I realize this is an unpopular opinion. It isn’t the clean or easy path that many people want. But it’s important to understand why these processes exist, why there is a right way and a wrong way to pursue change, and how attempts to circumvent them can lead to unintended consequences down the road. Our constitutional republic only functions when its rules and processes are respected by all participants. It is the erosion of those processes, by parties on both sides of the aisle, that has fractured the foundation of the republic itself.

New Products

As mentioned earlier, it’s SHOT Show 2026, and new product announcements are coming hard and fast. As with every SHOT Show, there’s no shortage of things that look new, cool, innovative, and supposedly game changing, only to be quietly forgotten a few years later. (Looking at you, 30 Super Carry.) We’ll highlight a few products that caught our attention, but it’ll be interesting to see which of these actually stick in the market and which fade away once the initial buzz wears off.

25 RPM Weatherby

Weatherby announced the new 25 RPM Weatherby a few weeks ahead of SHOT Show. It’s a .25-caliber cartridge, measuring .257, which places it squarely between the .243 (6mm) and .264 (6.5mm) bore diameters. Weatherby is positioning it as a high-performance quarter-bore, designed to outperform existing options such as the .257 Roberts, .25-06, and 25 Creedmoor.

The cartridge achieves this by combining a chamber design with sufficient freebore to accommodate long, high-BC bullets, paired with a fast 1:7.5 twist rate to stabilize them. It’s also a magnum-class cartridge, with an advertised case capacity of approximately 72.5 grains of water.

So what is the cartridge designed to do?

.473 Bolt Face, same as a .308 / .30-06 and 6.5 Creedmoor

According to Weatherby, the 25 RPM is intended as a long-range hunting cartridge capable of maintaining lethal energy at distances out to 700 yards. Weatherby defines that threshold as retaining more than 1,200 foot-pounds of energy. Personally, I find it frustrating that the industry continues to market ethical game harvests at distances well beyond 300 yards. I’ve spent enough time shooting with a wide range of hunters, and enough time analyzing real-world results to know that most struggle to make consistent, ethical shots past that range. That reality, however, isn’t what sells new rifles or new cartridges.

While Weatherby does a good job comparing this cartridge to other quarter bore options on the market, it would be interesting to see how it stacks up against its 6mm and 6.5mm cousins. Both in terms of down range performance, but also in terms of barrel life?

Barrett MRAD Covert

My wife loves things like Comic-Con and following various TV and superhero fandoms. The rest of my family tends to gravitate toward sports and racing. They have their teams, wear the hats, and buy into the whole ritual. If I had to be lumped into a similar category, I’d admit I’m a fan of Barrett and HK. Those are the two companies that really capture my attention.

So it’s no surprise that I was a little giddy when Barrett announced the MRAD Covert. It’s a takedown version of the MRAD, chambered in either 6.5 Creedmoor or .308 Winchester, and it packs down into a briefcase-sized package. It retains the same fire controls as the standard MRAD, just in a far more compact configuration.

As someone who owns an MRAD in .338 Lapua and would very much like that same rifle in .308 Winchester, I’m probably more excited about this than I should be—especially considering I can’t justify mortgaging the house to buy one. The Covert uses the same swappable barrel system as the rest of the MRAD lineup, allowing a longer barrel to be installed if desired.

Around here in New England, though, a 17-inch barrel is more than adequate for the ranges we typically have access to. I’ve also been spending a lot of time behind rifles with 16-inch barrels and have come to appreciate just how handy they are. Once you’re in position, overall length matters less, but while moving, the shorter configuration really shines. They do bark—especially in .308 Winchester or 6.5 Creedmoor—so running a suppressor adds some length back into the equation.

I like the concept of a rifle that packs away neatly into something easier to transport and less likely to scream “I’m moving a rifle.” Keeping it within the MRAD ecosystem is a major plus for me. MSRP is reportedly $7,000. I’ll quietly add it to the top of my Father’s Day wish list.

RCBS Match Master

My first reaction to this announcement was, “Boy, Henderson Precision is going to be pissed.” Then I read a little further and realized RCBS actually partnered with Henderson to bring this trimmer to market. That’s a refreshing change of pace in an industry where copying one another is often the norm rather than the exception.

This is a power trimmer designed to process a lot of brass, quickly. I’ve seen the Henderson trimmer in action, and you can chew through a bucket of .223 in no time flat. Unlike the Giraud trimmer, this design does not reference the case shoulder. Instead, it references the base of the case to establish trim length. That approach eliminates much of the variation in case length that can come from small differences in shoulder angle or shoulder diameter.

Another advantage of this design is that it allows straight-wall cases to be trimmed as well. While that’s not always a concern, cases can stretch unevenly, particularly when fired in semi-automatic firearms. I ran into this issue frequently when loading .30 Carbine, where uneven case growth made consistent trimming more difficult with shoulder-referenced systems.

The trimmer uses a three-way cutting head that trims to length while simultaneously chamfering and deburring the case mouth. In my experience, three-way heads can be somewhat finicky to adjust, and they tend to be less forgiving if the case mouths aren’t perfectly round. It’ll be interesting to see whether this design proves more tolerant in real-world use.

RCBS has listed an MSRP of $775, which likely puts street pricing closer to $699.99. From what’s been released so far, it appears the unit includes everything needed to trim .22- through .30-caliber cartridges in terms of pilots. It also ships with a collet that accommodates the common .378, .473, and .532-inch case head diameters. That covers the .223 Remington family, the .308 and .30-06 family of cases, and the .300 Winchester Magnum family as well.

The RCBS Match Master Case Trimmer can be found on sale at Optics Planet

HM Defense .50 MAX and Annular Chamber

Every year at SHOT Show there are all kinds of booths with folks trying to sell their latest invention. Statistically it would seem no matter how good the idea might seem at the time, only a few will go on to be market successes. HM Defense has two new products that caught my eye and fall squarely into “we will see” category.

50 MAX Cartridge

I enjoy big-bore rifles as much as the next guy. I can’t afford to shoot them very often, but I can certainly appreciate the urge to go bigger. The .50 MAX takes that idea seriously. It’s roughly 0.480 inches longer than the traditional .50 BMG, which allows significantly more powder capacity.

The cartridge is manufactured from 7075-T6 aluminum bar stock by HM Defense, a point they’re quick to emphasize. Compared to a traditional brass case, the aluminum construction is substantially lighter and, at least in theory, cheaper to produce at scale.

From a materials standpoint, 7075-T6 aluminum has properties that could allow for higher operating pressures than conventional brass cases. That means the .50 MAX isn’t necessarily just a capacity-driven improvement. In theory, service pressures could exceed the traditional 65,000 psi ceiling. That said, I was unable to find published data indicating what pressure levels the ammunition is actually loaded to, so that aspect remains speculative for now.

For context, a typical .50 BMG firing a 750–800 grain projectile goes transonic at roughly 1,800 yards. If the .50 MAX can meaningfully push that transition point out toward 2,200 yards, it would represent a real extension of effective range rather than a marginal gain.

There’s also a practical consideration for military use. If the intent is to pair this cartridge with a sniper team, the reduced weight of aluminum-cased ammunition could allow teams to carry more rounds for the same load. The real question, however, is whether this cartridge offers enough advantage to justify its existence beyond the novelty factor. Does it meaningfully improve battlefield capability, or is it one of those technically interesting ideas that struggles to survive the realities of large-scale logistics and standardization?

HM Defense Peak Pressure Reservoir and Booster System

HM Defense also unveiled a new, patent-pending concept they’re calling the Peak Pressure Reservoir and Booster System. The design incorporates annular cavities machined into the throat and at various points along the barrel. According to HM Defense, these cavities provide additional volume for expanding gases, altering the pressure curve during firing.

In the case of the annular cavity located in the throat, the intent is to control peak pressure by allowing gas to expand into this added volume as the bullet unseats. In theory, this would flatten the pressure curve and allow a cartridge to be loaded hotter without exceeding peak pressure limits.

Additional annular cavities are machined into the bore farther down the barrel. The stated goal here is to provide extra volume for powder to continue burning without increasing barrel length. Unburned powder exiting the muzzle represents wasted energy, so the concept of providing more space for combustion makes sense in theory. If effective, this approach could reduce muzzle blast, lower muzzle gas temperatures, and mitigate the resulting sound and flash.

That said, the more I looked into this system, the more skeptical I became. Several issues stand out immediately.

First is the logistical challenge. If cartridges are loaded hotter to take advantage of this pressure-relief system, those same cartridges cannot safely be fired in a conventional barrel. That implies the need for a dedicated cartridge or strict ammunition segregation, both of which complicate real-world adoption, particularly in military or institutional settings.

Second is fouling and maintenance. Each of these annular cavities introduces additional surfaces that will trap carbon, copper, and fouling. They’re also likely to catch bore patches, snag cleaning cloths, and be especially hard on bristled bore brushes. Over time, buildup in these grooves could become a maintenance headache, particularly for users accustomed to conventional barrel designs.

Finally, there’s the question of practical return on investment. What does this system actually deliver in terms of performance? Are we seeing muzzle velocity gains of 5 percent? 10 percent? More? Are there unintended consequences for accuracy? Could the system introduce a first-round “pop” as trapped oxygen is consumed, similar to what’s observed in suppressors?

None of these questions are meant to disparage the idea itself. I genuinely appreciate seeing companies think outside the box and challenge conventional assumptions. At this point, though, there simply isn’t enough publicly available data to suggest this is a technology poised for widespread adoption. Without clear, measurable gains that outweigh the added cost, complexity, and maintenance burden, it remains an interesting concept rather than a proven solution.

Deals of the Week

Faxon Firearms: If you haven’t checked out their clearance page lately, it might be worth a look, they have some good deals on rifle an pistol barrels. I am eyeballing that 9in 338 ARC AR-15in Pistol Build Barrel, would make for a good SBR Build.

Brownells: Reloading components and supply sale. They are advertising up to 50% off, on select items. Worth a gander, you never know what you might find.

Optics Planet: They have a diverse set of reloading gear and components on sale. For example they are running a 40% off of the Redding National Match reloading die set. That’s a really good price on an excellent set of dies, it’s worth checking out.

That’s all we have this week.

-Jay-

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Brass, Barrels and Bureaucracy #19

So far this winter has been colder and snowier than expected, though only by New England standards. The last few weeks have felt more like January, with single-digit temperatures and actual snowfall making an appearance. Still, in keeping with tradition, we were treated to a brief stretch of 50-degree weather and rain just days before the holiday break. Enough to make the kids and my wife worry we might miss out on that idyllic white Christmas. Thankfully, Father Winter cooperated, and we were rewarded with about three inches of snow.

AI really struggles when it comes to generating images of rounds, rifles and other small details. However it’s still far better graphic design then either Marc or I can do. So we will roll with it.

As always, the holiday season has been busy, maybe more than usual. You can probably blame that on my kids getting older. There’s a certain cruelty in how it works. As your kids grow up, life seems to move faster. As you get older, all you want is for it to slow down.

When it comes to the holidays, I tend to prefer quiet reflection over the pomp and circumstance that comes with family gatherings and holiday parties. The older I get, the more I find myself enduring the holiday spirit rather than flourishing in it. Maybe that makes me a bit of a Scrooge. Either way, productivity has taken a back seat more than I’d care to admit.

Website Updates

No new updates in the last few weeks. However both Marc and I have been working on several different projects for 2026 and we wanted to take the moment to thank everyone who has taken the time to read, recommend, and subscribe to the site. We have had quite the uptick in the last few months, and we have seen articles shoot to the top of the Google search. All of this is driven by the traffic of folks reading, sharing and recommending content to their buddies.

We have also gotten some really good emails voicing support for our content and often times followed up with some questions that made us really think. We are humbled by the support, and are grateful for the questions.

The successful 2025 is fueling some new projects for 2026 that we will be announcing soon.

Time at the Bench

Derraco Engineering Ugly SRT Trimmer

A little bit quirky to set up but so far I have been pleased with the results.

I’ve been working on a couple of projects over the last few weeks, the first being continued testing of case trimmers. The Derraco Engineering Ugly SRT case trimmer is currently mounted on my drill press, and I’ve been trimming 7.62×39mm brass with it.

This is a fairly affordable case trimmer, though it does have a few quirks. Overall, the performance has been solid and I’m satisfied with the results so far. It may not be perfect, but it gets the job done consistently, which ultimately matters more than polish.

VZ-58 Trigger Job

Not my work bench, but strangely dystopian enough that the rifle fits in. Feels like the type of work bench you might find in western Europe.

I’ve also been spending time on my VZ-58 rifle. It’s been several years since I last worked on this build in any meaningful way. I left off the series while trying to get the rifle sighted in, but the trigger was so abysmal that shooting a respectable group was a struggle. Between the trigger issues and life getting in the way, the project ended up on the back burner.

That said, it was never completely forgotten. Every time I picked up the rifle, usually just to move it from one side of the gun cabinet to the other, I was reminded how light and compact it is for what it offers. In many ways, it competes with my AR builds as one of the lightest and handiest rifles I own. There are a few 1950s Soviet-era ergonomics and design choices I would change, but overall I’ve been impressed with the rifle’s form factor.

That realization was enough motivation to revisit the trigger. The topic came up with a coworker, and we took a closer look at it together. The problem became apparent almost immediately. The trigger is a two-stage design with a short first stage and a long, creeping second stage. That second stage rotates the sear until it releases the linear hammer.

The blue sharpies is worn where the sear makes contact. There is about 1/16 of an inch of sear engagement which results in a long creeping trigger pull. For reference, a 1911 has a typical sear engagement of under .020.

In my case, the total trigger travel was borderline too short. The trigger would bottom out at the end of the second stage before completing a clean release. While the sear would eventually let go, it was unpredictable and often required an exaggerated pull to make it happen.

We milled off about .010 which cleaned up the edge, I am tempted to add a 45 degree edge break. By removing .010 we gave enough room for the sear to consistently release the linear hammer before it bottoms out in travel. We still have a huge amount of sear engagement which still results in a long creeping second stage.

To address this, we removed approximately 0.010 inches from the bottom of the linear hammer on the mill. This solved the issue of the trigger running out of travel and made the break far more predictable. There are still additional issues that need to be addressed before I’d consider it a truly livable trigger, but this single change made a significant improvement in both feel and consistency.

Industry News

HPA and SHORT Act News

It’s been a while since we’ve had an update here, and there have been some meaningful developments. Most notably, the $0 tax stamp goes into effect at the start of the new year. While registration and ATF approval are still required, the elimination of the $200 tax removes a significant financial barrier.

I expect this change to drive a noticeable increase in both short-barreled rifle and suppressor sales, likely starting in Q1 and extending through much of 2026. Suppressors, in particular, are well-positioned to benefit. They’re high-margin products, and that helps explain why so many manufacturers have entered the suppressor market over the past two decades as ownership has become more mainstream.

As a result, I expect to see increased marketing efforts around suppressors moving forward. In contrast, while SBRs and SBSs now face less regulatory friction due to the $0 tax stamp, I don’t anticipate the same level of growth or marketing push. Outside of niche applications and the “cool factor,” they simply don’t offer the same broad utility that suppressors do. That’s my current assessment, though time will tell.

HPA and SHORT Act Developments in the Courts

Building on that topic, there has been some movement in the courts over challenges to the remaining NFA rules for items covered by the HPA and SHORT Act. One of the main cases involved is Brown v. ATF. So far, no court has thrown out the NFA rules, but things are not the same as they were before these new laws passed.

The main argument in the case is simple: the NFA was originally allowed because it was a tax law. Now that the tax has been reduced to zero, the people challenging the law argue that the government no longer has a good reason to keep the registration system. In plain terms, if there’s no tax, they say the government shouldn’t be able to keep enforcing tax-related rules.

So far, courts have not agreed with that argument, but they also have not fully rejected it. Instead, judges are focusing on basic questions first, like who is allowed to sue and whether the ATF still has authority after Congress changed the law. The case is still ongoing, and appeals are expected. This issue is not settled yet, and it will likely take a long time before there is a final answer.

FN has retired commercial sales of the SCAR

The FN SCAR was designed to replace the M4, but ultimately saw limited use and was never widely adopted by the US Military. As many have pointed out, the stock bares resemblance to an Ugg Boot, and once you see it, it’s hard to “unsee it”.

The FN SCAR has come to the end of its run, at least for the general consumer. This family of rifles was FN’s attempt to create a modern replacement for the more than 50-year-old AR-15 design. While the SCAR has seen limited adoption with modern militaries, it never achieved the widespread acceptance a next-generation weapon system needs to truly thrive. FN has indicated the platform will remain available for military and law-enforcement sales, but civilian buyers should no longer expect to see new SCAR rifles on the shelves of local gun stores.

The FN SCAR now joins a long list of proposed AR successors that ultimately failed to move the needle. Notable examples include the Remington ACR and the Robinson Armament XCR. Despite innovative features, these designs struggled to offer a compelling enough advantage over the AR platform to justify their added cost, weight, and logistical complexity. In my own experience, the SCAR felt bulky and heavier than necessary, and I never found a convincing argument for it over a well-sorted AR. In that context, it becomes clear why so many proposed replacements failed to see broad adoption.

The Sig Sauer M7 rifle chambered in the hot 6.8x51mm is designed to provide battle rifle type performance from a carbine length system. Is it just me or does Sig Sauer seem to be getting a lot of military contracts?

The most credible challenger to the AR’s long-standing dominance now appears to be the SIG Sauer M7. That said, the M7 is not without controversy. Its adoption of the 6.8×51mm cartridge represents a significant departure from modern intermediate-caliber doctrine, operating at substantially higher pressures than most contemporary service ammunition. The M7 program signals a return to a battle-rifle philosophy, emphasizing range and penetration at the cost of increased weight and recoil, and marks a shift away from the lighter, intermediate platforms that have dominated military small-arms development for the past half-century.

Recently, Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons released a video outlining his concerns with the M7 program and why its adoption may ultimately prove short-lived. It’s a thoughtful critique and well worth watching for anyone interested in where military small-arms development may be headed. You can see the video in the below link.

NOE Bullet Moulds is Back Up and Going

We mentioned back in September that Al Nelson, of NOE Bullet Moulds in Provo, Utah had announced the company was closing its doors. The sudden news led to plenty of speculation about what prompted the decision, and many in the casting community were understandably disappointed. NOE has long offered one of the largest selections of bullet moulds in the industry, and their quality has consistently been first rate.

We’re pleased to report that Al has since announced NOE will continue operations, with new moulds expected to begin shipping in 2026.

New Products

With SHOT Show 2026 only a few weeks out, everyone is looking forward to seeing what is going to be announced. We are sure to see new additions to the SAAMI Catalog, new firearms, maybe a new cartridge or two, and if we’re lucky some new reloading gear. This time of year is always a bit slow for new product announcements but here’s a few we managed to dig up.

Ammolyitcs CAP-Lite

This is a project a mutual friend of ours at Ammolytics has been working on. He, along with others, has observed that changes in humidity can significantly impact powder performance, in some cases resulting in velocity swings of 200 fps or more. This is a well-known issue in the ammunition industry. Large manufacturers routinely acclimate their powder before loading to improve batch-to-batch consistency.

Handloaders, however, don’t have that luxury. Many of us deal with seasonal humidity swings ranging from 90% in the summer to 25% or less in the winter. These changes can affect powder moisture content, which in turn can influence burn rate, pressure, and velocity. Ammunition loaded during the dry winter months can produce higher pressures and velocities than ammunition loaded during more humid summer conditions.

The goal of this tool is simple: regulate the humidity inside a powder jug. The included two-way humidity packs maintain the internal environment at approximately 32% relative humidity. They absorb excess moisture when conditions are too humid and release moisture when the air becomes too dry, helping keep the powder in a more consistent state year-round.

We think it’s a clever and practical solution to a real problem many handloaders face, and we wanted to pass the word along. You can check it out here.

Barnes and Seirra TrueData Ballistic Calculator

Barnes Bullets and Sierra Bullets have released a new ballistic calculator that uses Doppler radar data collected by their teams to more accurately model bullet flight. This approach differs from traditional ballistic calculators that rely on a single G1 or G7 ballistic coefficient, which is only an approximation and changes as bullet velocity decreases.

By using the full drag curve generated from Doppler radar measurements for a specific bullet, the calculator can produce a more accurate trajectory solution across the entire flight path. In theory, this allows for more precise elevation and windage predictions than what most conventional ballistic calculators on the market can provide.

I’ve downloaded the app on my iPhone and spent some time exploring it. I plan to take it to the range during my next session to compare its elevation and windage solutions against Ballistic AE, which I’ve been using for years, and see how closely the results line up.

Deals of the Week

I hope most everyone has gotten their Christmas shopping done by now and if you haven’t, well, you still have time to kick off the New Year right.

Brownell’s – Brownell’s continues to have primers on sale, and it’s the cheapest I have seen CCI primers in awhile. I doubt we will ever see CCI primers below $40/1000. I suspect $60 per brick is around the new normal. I hope I am wrong. They are also having a great sale on various reloading tools. It’s worth checking out.

Palmetto State Armory – PSA is running several Christmas sales on their build kits. Some as much as 50% off. If you’re looking at your next AR build, this may be a great place to pick up a pre bundled build kit.

Faxon Firearms – Faxon is continuing their holiday sales through January, including a sale on suppressors. If you’re looking to take advantage of the $0 NFA tax that begins Jan, 1st here’s a good place to start.

Optics Planet – Optics Planet has a good selection of reloading components and tooling on their “Blazing Deals” and “Clearance” pages. I’ve enabled the filters, so you should see everything that pops up there. It’s a gamble, but I have snagged a few deals by checking back frequently.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Jay

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Brass, Barrels and Bureaucracy #18

It has been a wet fall here in New England. We’ve had more rainy and snowy days this past month than fair ones. It’s not unusual, but it’s enough to be notable. Temperatures have hovered around 38 to 40 degrees during the day and dropped below freezing at night, which has been fortunate for us. Our refrigerator has decided it no longer wishes to behave and started tripping the breaker, so all of our important cold storage has been moved into the freezer or into a cooler on the back porch.

It has been an unusually stressful time for myself and my family. Dealing back injuries, stress at work, and just the normal day to day of life has been taking it’s toll. We had a small Thanksgiving, just my wife and my kids, which was perfect. Low stress, and lots of left over turkey. I hope everyone has had a great start to their holiday season.

Website Updates

As I mentioned previously, I’ve been working through several trimmer reviews. The drill-mounted trimmers have really taken over as the preferred option for a lot of reloaders. I’ve long used hand-lathe style trimmers—the RCBS and now the L.E. Wilson—but my shoulder and patience aren’t up to trimming large amounts of brass anymore, especially for the cartridges I load in volume.

The rebuilt drill press has been working well. I’ve churned through quite a bit of .30-06 and .303 British brass using the Tri-Way trimmer and the Frankford Arsenal Universal Trimmer. They’re similar in concept but very different in execution. You can read my reviews of both trimmers at the link below.

Giraud Tri-Way Trimmer Review
Frankford Arsenal Universal Precision Case Trimmer

Marc has been working on his own product review, doing a bit of light gunsmithing on his Smith & Wesson PD321. If you shoot cast bullets through a revolver on the regular, you may want to read about his experience opening up the cylinder.

The Small Revolver Detail Most Shooters Never Think About — But Should

Time at the Bench

Trimming brass is a chore. It’s about as exciting as watching grass grow or paint dry. When I’m caught up on my reloading, I try to stay ahead on brass prep so trimming happens in small batches. Right now, I’ve still got plenty of work ahead of me before I’m caught up.

Over the next week or two, I’ll be testing out two more trimmers—one for .300 Blackout and another for 7.62×39. I still haven’t found “the one” trimmer I can call my favorite, so I’m holding out hope one of these might finally check all the boxes.

Industry and Legislative News

Sig Sauer and the P320

A few months ago, we discussed the reported “non-commanded” discharge that led to the death of an airman on a Colorado Air Force installation. Early reporting made it sound like yet another example of the P320 or M18 discharging without a trigger pull. We now know that this incident was the result of a negligent discharge. By his own statement, the airman pointed the pistol at the victim, and when the gun fired, he and another airman concocted a story to cover it up.

It’s a tragedy, and it clearly stems from at least one person not following basic firearm safety rules. I felt it would be unfair to criticize Sig Sauer for the P320’s issues and then ignore the follow-up when this incident turned out not to be mechanical. That said, this does not completely absolve the P320 platform, as there are multiple lawsuits alleging true non-commanded discharges. But in this case, the pistol was not the problem.

New Jersey and the Sig P320

Adding more fuel to the P320 fire, New Jersey is suing Sig Sauer for alleged violations of the Firearms Industry Public Safety Law and the Consumer Fraud Act. The lawsuit, filed by both the Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement Office and the Division of Consumer Affairs, claims the P320 has an unusual propensity to discharge unintentionally.

The complaint cites the U.S. Army’s 2016–2017 evaluation of the P320, in which the Army required an external safety for the M17/M18. Anyone familiar with military procurement knows the military has long favored external safeties. The request wasn’t necessarily evidence of a defect—just standard operating preference.

To me, this lawsuit reads as New Jersey harassing a gun manufacturer. While there may indeed be legitimate concerns surrounding the P320 given previous incidents and claims, I doubt the New Jersey AG’s approach is driven by public safety. It looks more like political pandering to gun-control activists and their base.

Legal Challenges to Magazine Restrictions

Several challenges to magazine restrictions recently had hearings. Colorado, Rhode Island, and Oregon all have pending cases questioning the constitutionality of their bans. While we’ve seen small wins here and there, no Circuit Court has yet ruled to overturn an existing magazine law. The more cases that move through the courts, the greater the chance one eventually lands before the Supreme Court, which is the long-term goal. Magazine capacity is a fundamental characteristic of a firearm, and a Supreme Court ruling could finally cement that.

Court Challenges to ATF’s FFL Requirements

Multiple lawsuits are challenging the ATF’s new definition of what it means to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms. This Biden-era redefinition is extremely broad. According to the ATF, if you sell a firearm with the intent to make money—even once—you may be treated as a dealer who requires an FFL and a 4473.

The problem lies in how “intent to make money” is interpreted. If I sell a rifle for $150 and the book value is $130, does that count as intent? What if I paid $300 years ago, so technically I lost money? What if the rifle was gifted to me, so I’m “making” the full $150? Under the rule, there’s no quantity threshold, so even one sale could theoretically be prosecuted.

Judges hearing these cases have generally indicated that the rule is overbroad and likely violates due process by shifting the burden of proof to the individual. It’s very possible we will see an injunction forcing ATF to rewrite the rule.

Glock V Pistols

Glock has tried and spectacularly failed at making their pistols “non-machine guns”. It took the internet less then a week to figure out how to turn the new Glock V pistol into a machine gun via a new variant of the Glock switch. I have to admit this made me smile in ways I didn’t think was possible.

Glock took a very minimalist approach in trying to make the existing “Glock” switch not work with the newer generation of Glocks. This is obviously was to try and keep the new generation of Glocks as functionally compatible with the myriads of parts accessories that work with all previous generations of Glocks. Unfortunately this also means it was easily defeated and Glock is back to square one, while the California law is undoubtedly going to apply. Afterall the law never says what “easily convertible” actually means.

New Products (Rumored Edition)

This is a slow season for product announcements. Hunting seasons are winding down, the holidays are here, and we’re only weeks away from the 2026 SHOT Show. Rumors are flying, but verified information is limited. So lets look at a few new product rumors.

Holosun

Several leaks suggest Holosun will unveil a new solar-powered, closed-emitter pistol optic at SHOT. It will compete directly with the Aimpoint ACRO, Trijicon RCR, Vortex Defender ST, and others. Holosun makes excellent emitters, but yes—they are a Chinese manufacturer, and no, they aren’t designed to HALO jump from 60,000 feet into the Karbala Gap. The good news for Holosun is I’m not built for that either, so we’re probably still a good match.

Aero Precision

Distributors are reporting that Aero Precision is expanding its suppressor line, with the new models expected to be unveiled at SHOT Show 2026. Aero has long been known for AR-15s, AR-10s, and component manufacturing, and suppressors are still a relatively new venture for them. Their current lineup includes a .30-caliber can and a .22LR can, and the rumor mill suggests they’re preparing to broaden that portfolio with additional calibers and configurations.

With the expected changes to the NFA taking effect at the start of the new year, I suspect Aero won’t be the only company jumping into the suppressor market. We’re likely to see a wave of manufacturers releasing their first cans or expanding existing offerings. It’s entirely possible that by mid-2026 the suppressor market will be one of the most saturated segments in the firearms industry.

Ruger – New Redhawk/GP100 Hybird Platform

There has been chatter that Ruger is planning to revamp or possibly replace the GP100 lineup. This double-action revolver has been on my personal bucket list for years, so I’m very curious to see where Ruger takes it. The current rumor suggests a significant update to the lockwork, bringing it closer in design to the Redhawk system. Other details making the rounds include an optics-ready top strap and new 10mm and 9mm variants designed to run on moon clips.

If these rumors are true, Ruger may finally be modernizing one of their most iconic revolvers while still keeping the GP100’s reputation for tank-like durability intact.

Deals of the Week

As most folks know, it is 4th quarter and retailers every where are trying to end the year with a strong finish. This is combined with what has been a pretty slow sales year industry wide. A combination of people wages not keeping up with the increase in price of every day items, and perhaps a softer demand for firearms and accessories due to a decrease in legislative pressure.
That provides a perfect storm for consumers that can afford to take advantage of a “soft market”. Retailers are offering “daily door busters” or “lightening” sales which have fantastically discounted prices and products that last sometimes for under a day. If you have the extra cash on hand, it is not a bad idea to check Optics Planet, Brownell’s, Palmetto State Armory and others on a frequent basis.

Brownells is running several sales. Including a sale on CCI Primers which is some of the cheapest primers I have seen in a long time. The down side, the Free Hazmat promotion is over.

Palmetto State Armory is having a pretty decent sale on assembled AR-15 Lowers. $99 for a completely assembled lower with a carbine buffer and adjustable stock.

The Battalion is offering Free HAZMAT shipping on most of their Vihtavuori powders

That’s what we have for this week.

Jay

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Brass, Barrels, and Bureaucracy #17

We got our first snow, about 3in overnight. Having snow on the ground prior to Thanksgiving in New England is not unheard of, but as of the last decade it has become an increasingly rare event. I remember growing up getting at least a snow flurry or two in October prior to Halloween.

The kids were excited as it was just the right type of snow to roll up into a snowman. Coincidently enough, it’s also the perfect snow for a snowball, and that’s how the fight started. This year has certainly flown by and it’s hard to believe we are creeping up on Thanksgiving.

Website Updates

Affiliate Additions

We’ve been working hard on developing our affiliate program, and there’s now a dedicated page listing all of our affiliates. This progress is possible in part because of you. To qualify for these programs, a website needs consistent traffic and a solid subscriber base. So Marc and I are genuinely humbled and thankful for all your support.

For those who don’t know, an affiliate program is one of the ways a website can earn revenue. We discuss or review products and services and include links to those items in our articles. When a reader clicks one of those links and makes a purchase from our affiliate, we earn a small commission.

This commission comes at no extra cost to you, and every bit we earn goes right back into running the website. It pays for brass, bullets, powder, and new reloading tools for us to test and write about. We’re simple guys: we don’t like sites cluttered with banners or pop-ups, and we don’t send out constant promo emails. You won’t see that here. If you like our content, the next time you’re planning a purchase, check out our affiliates. Click through from our Affiliate Page, and you’ll help support what we do.

Quality Excel Sheet

We have also been testing a new Quality Control Sheet. This was in response to one of our subscribers asking for the charts we listed on a  write up I did several years ago in regards to performing quality checks on cast bullets. Unfortunately those charts were generated using Minitab which is a very handy program that I like to use for doing that type of work. However I worked on putting together a spreadsheet that mimics some of the Quality Reporting that Minitab can do.

If you are interested in testing out this sheet, check out the “Into the Rabbit Hole” page. Here is where you’ll be able to download a .ZIP file with the sheet. The sheet does contain a macro, this macro is used to refresh all of the sheets once you have entered your data. Your computer may flag it, that is normal. If you would prefer, I can email it directly to you.  

Time at the Bench

This week we have spent a lot of time at the bench, testing case trimmers on the newly (mostly) finished drill press. To be frank, I was anxious to get to testing and once I had the VFD and Tachometer working like I wanted, said “Good enough”.

We have finished testing the Giraud Tri-Way case trimmer. I am finishing up editing the post for that. I have also started testing the Frankford Arsenal Universal Case Trimmer.

Frankly, this is the stuff both Marc and I love to do. See what works, what doesn’t and then share that will everyone else. We do our best to be unbiased about it, and we are looking forward to publishing the write ups on these over the course of the next few weeks.

Industry and Legislative News

Ruger the New Glock?

Ruger and Magpul teamed up in 2024 to roll out the RXM 9mm. It’s a partnership that makes perfect sense: one company known for turning polymer into art, the other for cranking out dependable guns at scale. The result is a builder’s dream. A Glock-pattern pistol that plays nice with a ton of aftermarket parts. Triggers, recoil assemblies, barrels, even holsters drop right in. Unfortunately, so can a Glock Switch, and that’s where the wheels come off.

A few weeks back, Glock announced it was halting production of its current generation pistols and will be manufacturing a new generation solely circumvent the “Glock switch” problem. Whether that’s corporate caution or political surrender depends on how charitable you’re feeling, but the move puts a target on everyone else in the Glock-pattern market. The latest example: the Connecticut Attorney General sending a letter to Sturm Ruger, warning that the RXM might violate the state’s Firearms Industry Responsibility Act. That law requires manufacturers to have “reasonable controls” in place to prevent the sale of guns that can be easily converted into something illegal.

The problem is nobody can tell you what “reasonable” actually means. That’s by design. It’s the same kind of vague language that lets regulators argue anything they want. By that logic, an AR-15 could be labeled illegal just because you can slap on a short barrel and make it a non-registered SBR in half an hour. The parts are legal. The finished configuration isn’t. That’s the legal gray zone gun-control groups love to live in.

This is the new frontier of gun control, regulation by design. Groups like Everytown are pushing for manufacturers to be held responsible not for what a gun is, but for what it could be. California led the charge with its new law effectively banning striker-fired pistols built around Glock’s cruciform trigger bar. Glock blinked and said it would redesign future models to comply. Now the pressure’s rolling downhill toward every company making Glock-pattern guns.

Ruger hasn’t said what it plans to do, but I hope they fight it. Gaston Glock’s original design from the early ’80s has stood the test of time with minimal changes. That’s engineering done right. And there are millions of Glocks, and just as many clones, already out there. You can stop new production, but the problem doesn’t disappear. If history is any guide, the next step will be an attempt to reclassify pistols that can accept illegal switches as machine guns under the NFA.

That’s the endgame here: if a gun might be converted, the bureaucrats want it gone. The industry has a choice. Roll over, or push back and let the courts decide how far “reasonable control” can stretch before it snaps.

“A Right delayed is a Right denied”

With the recent government shutdown in the rearview mirror, lobbyists for the firearms industry have been working with members of the House to insulate gun owners and manufacturers from the political circus that comes with a shutdown. The core function of NICS is considered an essential service, but if you get a “Delay” response or need to appeal a decision, you’re usually out of luck.

Processing for NFA items—suppressors, SBRs, and similar paperwork—also isn’t deemed essential, so expect things to slide from a crawl to a standstill while politicians bicker. Import permits, new FFL applications, and other auxiliary ATF functions can also be suspended.

The proposed H.R. 5874 (Firearm Access During Shutdowns Act) would classify most, if not all, of these services as essential and require them to stay operational during any future government shutdown. Honestly, that’s the right move. We can argue all day about the federal government’s role in our Rights, but if it insists on being the gatekeeper, then it either does its job—or the gate stays open by default.

New Guns and Gear

RCBS Match Master Powder Funnel Kit

At this point pretty much ever major reloading tool brand has an “all-metal” funnel kit on the market. Frankford Arsenal has their Aluminum Powder Funnel Set, Lyman offers the Brass Smith Pro Aluminum Powder Funnel, and Hornady sells the Premium Powder Funnel Set. You can trace the origin of this concept back to Saturn Funnels, which made caliber-specific funnels featuring an aluminum-spun top attached to a brass insert. This lowered the center of gravity, allowing the funnel to sit snugly on the case.

Saturn Powder Funnel

Regardless of who came up with the idea, I’m a fan. If you haven’t added one to your bench, it’s worth considering. The funnel sits on the case in perfect balance, so you’re free to dribble in powder without worrying about the whole setup tipping over.

At this point, the RCBS model has been on the market for about a year, and I’ll admit, I wrote most of this before realizing that. Still, if you haven’t had a chance to mess with one of the many improved funnel sets, it’s worth checking out.

Deals of the Week

If you are looking to order powder or primers now it is about a good of a time as you’re going to get. Brownell’s is offering 0$ Hazmat on all powders and primers.  Unfortunately, it looks like most of the Australian ADI powders (H1000, Trailboss, ect) and most if not all the Bofors powders (Reloder 16, 33, 26 ect) are still hard to come by. I just look at it as an opportunity to try a new load.

If you have been wanting to try some Nosler bullets or brass, then it’s worth keeping an eye on their factory second listings. I have always had good luck with factory seconds when it comes to ammunition and reloading components. For the most part, I can’t figure out why they are seconds, but having worked in the industry long enough I know that usually is weight, aesthetics, or some of the characteristic that don’t meet the quality standards, but for 99% of us work just fine.

That is all we have this week.

If you have questions, comments, or ideas, we’d love to hear from you.

Jay – jay@theballisticassistant.com

Marc – Marc@theballisticassistant.com

Affiliate Disclosure: If you’d like to support this website, please use our affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you purchase something after clicking one of our links at no additional cost to you. Your support helps us keep creating honest reviews and technical content.

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Brass, Barrels, and Bureaucracy #16

This past week has been wet. New England is not known for its hot and balmy falls, October generally is a cold and dreary month. That’s great when you enjoy indoor activities. If I didn’t have about a dozen projects going on all at once, then I might be able to enjoy some of this weather.

Speaking of weather, I came across a woolly bear caterpillar with the largest brown stripe I think I have ever seen on one. If you subscribe to that folklore we may be in for a pretty mild winter.

I was always fascinated by these little guys when I was a kid. Still catches my eye when I see one.

Most people are in some form of hunting season. We wish everyone the best of luck, whether you have a rifle tag, or a primitive weapon tag, hopefully everyone returns home safe, and fills their freezers.

Website Updates

Marc was doing a bit of browsing on YouTube when he watched a feller have a squib load. If you’ve been reloading for any length of time, you have probably experienced at least one squib. We’ll it got him to thinking and he put together an article about Squibs, Misfires and Hangfires (oh my!).

When “Click” Isn’t Safe: Why Dud Rounds Deserve Respect

It’s worth a read if you have a few minutes to kill.

Time at the Bench

I managed to knock out some full-length sizing with that Wilson 338 Lapua Magnum full length sizing die. It’s hard to rant and rave about how great a size die is. About all I can really say is that I did not stick a case, everything felt smooth going in, and smooth coming out. I am a little irked by not having a sizing button in the die, only because my case mouths will not always come out perfectly round as I am used to seeing. (You can use these dies in conjunction with a sizing mandrel, and I might, just to alleviate that itch.)

L.E Wilson Expanding Mandrel Die

Is it a function issue? No, I doubt very much it is, the cases will be passed through a flaring die prior to bullet seating, and if the flaring die doesn’t round out the case mouth seating a bullet will. Will it cost me a .25 MOA at 1000 yards? Maybe, but I’ll probably never know, a range that provides beyond 600 yards is exceedingly rare in the Northeast.

Back to the die, it’s a nice die, the craftsman ship shows, and honestly, I would hold it up to other dies that cost a few times more than this one did. I am just not convinced a $400 German Tribel die is going to give me $400 better ammunition.

I have also been spending an inordinate amount of time getting this drill press ready for testing of case trimmers. Belts are in place and tensioned, and I have turned it on and tested the VFD, and measured runout at the chuck, about .002 on the dial, which I am very pleased with.

I am working on hooking up the tachometer, wiring in a small control panel for lights, a forward/reverse switch, and potentiometer for speed control.  Once I have all of that finished, I am probably going to start testing trimmers. It might not be the prettiest wiring job I have ever done, but its enough to get things up and running so I can focus more on handloads.

 Industry and Legislative News

Death Rattles of the 40 S&W

40 Smith and Wesson was championed by many to be the “perfect man stopper” but that has all seemed to go by the wayside, and the cartridge is dying a slow death.

Glock is apparently ending its support for the 40 S&W in new production guns. They have not come out to state that directly, but dealers have been reporting that the new 2026 dealer lists for 2026 are strangely absent of .40 cal guns. They are also paring back on some of the other caliber offerings such as 10mm.

To be honest, I don’t think anyone who has been following the firearms industry for the last ten years is surprised at the news.  In my opinion, what really killed off 40 S&W was the sunset of the 1994 Clinton Assault Weapons ban. This allowed manufacturers to start selling to the public magazines with 10+ round capacities. At which point, any argument over “stopping power” fell to the wayside, as the philosophy became, “quantity over quality”.

This coupled with the vast improvement of bullet design over the last two decades has resulted in a night and day difference when it comes to terminal ballistics. The energy differences between 9×19, 40 S&W and 45 ACP on paper have become a statistical curiosity that do not translate to the real world.  

As police budgets have tightened, and seeing that officers generally shoot better with 9x19mm, that is clearly winning the day.  Glock and others have seen a sharp decline in sales of 40 S&W and likewise have decided it was time to let it share the fate of 357 Sig, and 45 GAP.  As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think 45 ACP is going to be too far behind.

ATF Removing the Notify CLEO Requirements for Form 1 NFA Items

Form 1 is used when you intend to manufacture an NFA item. Assembling a Short Barrel Rifle or machining your own suppressor are Form 1 activities. Just purchasing something that is already registered goes on a Form 4. 

By removing the requirement to notify Chief Law Enforcement Officer, removes one more bureaucratic step for making an SBR. In my opinion, the only person who needs to know what you have is you, so this is a welcome step.

It’s only a few months before we see the requirement for the $200 tax stamp officially be dropped from the requirements. I can only imagine what kind of boon that is going to be for NFA sales.

Government Shutdown and NFA Wait Times

If you’re waiting for the paperwork for your NFA Item, you may need to wait longer thanks to the government shutdown. We are going on 37 days now, and there does not appear to be an end in sight. I do not think there is much value in trying to dissect who is right and who is wrong. It’s just one of those things we have come to expect with the current political environment.

New Guns and Gear

7mm Backcountry Load Data

If you’re a ballistics nerd like me, you’ve likely been curious about the secret sauce recipe that Federal has been using in their 7mm Backcountry. This is a new cartridge with a service pressure of 80,000psi. That’s 15,000psi over what we currently think of when we think of a magnum cartridge.

You can view the load data here

They do this by using a steel case, rather than traditional brass cases. The ammo listings I have seen range from $2.55 to $3.50 a round, which is about what you pay for 300 Win Mag. I have heard mixed things about reloading for this case. With some die makers struggling to make dies that will reliably size the case, and others saying it’s not worth the trouble. If you have direct reloading experience with this cartridge we’d love to hear from you.

Deals of the Week

We are trying something new. We get emails with sales and coupon codes, and we are working with different affiliates to try and help fund our reloading adventures so we can share them with you.  So, we are going to try sharing some of what out there and, if you click on the links and purchase something, we get a little kick back. Does not cost you anything, and it helps us out quite a bit.

This week there are a couple of good deals going on over at Optics Planet.  Starting November 7th, 2025 they are running a promo code in remembrance of Veteran’s Day. Use code THANKU to get 13%  off for qualifying items.

They are also running a few sales on optics that are a decent buy if you’re looking to add an optic to the mix.

Sig Sauer Romeo 1×24 Reflex Sight

This is your basic budget red dot pistol sight. It is mounted on any pistol or optic plate that uses the RMSc pattern. It comes with a 3 MOA dot, and runs off of the CR1632 lithium coin batteries. This is probably the cheapest USA-made open emitter optic that you’re going to find. With that said this is probably not an optic I would trust my life to on a carry gun, but the price is right to go on a range toy.

Optics Planet is running a sale on these, regular price $239.99, sale price $112.99.

Vortex Strike Eagles

Low Powered Variable Optic (LPVO) scopes have become popular for those guys looking for a bit more “zoom” then you can get with a red dot sight, but do not want the troubles that you get with a scope that rivals the Hubble telescope in magnification.  Typically, the eye box on the LPVO is more forgiving, giving you both a longer eye relief as well as not needing to be directly inline with the optic to get a good sight picture.

Optic Planet has two good sales running on these. Both of these scopes are 30mm tube and are second focal plane, which for their intended use, is fine in my book.

These scopes really are popular with guys running AR’s, and work great when paired with 300 Blackout,  338 Spectre,  458 SOCOM, or even a pistol caliber carbine.

Vortex Strike Eagle 1×8 24mm Rifle Scope (MSRP $499.99, Sale $295.10)

Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6 24mm Rifle Scope (MSRP $499.99, sale $231.83)

That is all we have this week.

If you have questions, comments, or ideas, we’d love to hear from you.

Jay – jay@theballisticassistant.com

Marc – Marc@theballisticassistant.com

If you’d like to support this website, please use the affiliate links. We get a small commission whenever you purchase something through a link regardless of if it is the product that was linked or not. This is at no additional cost to you. 

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Brass, Barrels, and Bureaucracy #15

We’ve missed a few weeks of updates. Not completely intentional, but not without reason. There’s been quite a bit going on in the background as we try to get a few projects off the ground. That, coupled with a week-long trip down to Atlanta, Georgia, with family to catch the IMSA races, threw the routine off.

All good hobbies turn money into noise, racing is near the top of that list.

That was a hoot and a half. Now we’re back home and trying to settle into something resembling normal again. The fall foliage has long passed its peak, and we’ve officially rounded the corner into “stick season”. That awkward stretch when the trees are bare but there’s still no snow to make it look justified.

Website Updates

We didn’t go live with any new updates, though I have a few new articles I’m finishing proofreading on. Expect to see those posts in the next week or so.

Time at the Bench

I keep finding new casualties from the past few moves. Things that went missing somewhere between basements, garages, and workbenches. This time it was a .338 Lapua Magnum die set and its shell holder. That one stung. The frustrating part is that I only realized I was missing the shell holder after I’d already bought a replacement die. I replaced the RCBS Die with an LE Wilson Bushing Full Length Sizing Die.

I have been wanting to try a LE Wilson sizing die since they were announced. I’ll give my review later, but so far I think it’s definitely meets the level of quality I have come to expect from LE Wilson Products.

Reloading wasn’t a total loss, though. I made progress on annealing a batch of .300 Blackout brass fresh out of the tumbler, and a few new case trimmers arrived for the upcoming Case Trimmer Showdown. Everything I got was dedicated to a specific cartridge, except for the Franklin Arsenal Trimmer, which is suppose to do pretty much everything. I am excited to see if it will do 338 Spectre

On of our subscribers said I need to give the Frankford Arsenal trimmer a fair shake, so I’m going to along with a few others including what might be billed as the premium “Tri-Way Trimmer by Giraud Tool Company

On top of that, I finally got the drill press wired and the motor turning under its own power—a slow-burn project I’ve been meaning to wrap up so I can actually use it for the trimmer testing.

VFD is wired in, and I confirmed it’s working. It’s now about wiring everything else in, and keeping my son from stealing the RPM sensor for the Tachometer

Lastly, I ended up breaking down and purchasing a new tumbler. It was a hotly debated topic which one to get. Keep in mind I’d had Berry’s 400 tumbler for the better part of 15 years, and it served me well. At the same time, that little nagging voice in my head said, “If a $70 tumbler is good, what am I missing with a $200 one?” That voice won, and I now have a Dillon CV-750. I’ll do a full write-up later, but the initial impression is that I can see where the extra cost went. Everything is thicker, and the motor is a proper enclosed unit, not a repurposed bathroom fan.

I’ve only run one load through it so far, so I can’t comment yet on whether the tougher build translates to better cleaning performance.

Industry and Legislative News

The big story everyone’s probably tired of hearing is California’s latest crusade—banning certain Glock models because their design allegedly allows easy conversion into full-auto weapons with a so-called “Glock switch.”

All eyes were on Glock to see how they’d respond, and we didn’t have to wait long. They blinked. Glock announced its halting production on nearly all current pistols and will release a new series that removes the design feature that allows a Glock Switch to function.

From a business standpoint, Glock’s about-face makes sense. Fighting the state would mean years of legal battles and millions lost in sales. Still, it’s hard not to roll your eyes at yet another California overreach. Hopefully, the courts see through this one.

Some folks are criticizing Glock for throwing in the towel, but honestly, I couldn’t care less. Big gun companies, Glock, SIG, HK, Colt, Ruger, etc., aren’t going to stand on principle when faced with a choice between profit and loss. A few smaller manufacturers might still fight that fight, but once you’ve got a boardroom and shareholders in the mix, principles usually come second to the bottom line.

The question on everyone’s mind is whether Glock “V” this turns into a “New Coke and Classic Coke” situation. I’ll call it a win, if the new fire control group produces a Glock trigger that actually feels good from the factory.

State Department to Loosen Restrictions on Exporting Firearms

While most of us care more about loosening import restrictions, it’s worth noting this change. The Biden Administration imposed several export rules that restricted firearm sales not only to “high-risk” countries but even to U.S. allies. The restrictions covered sporting shotguns and optics. These rules were more of a cudgel to U.S. manufacturers than a meaningful tool to curb crime or misuse abroad.

En Banc Review of New Jersey’s Assault Weapons Ban

The full panel of judges is reviewing New Jersey’s Assault Weapons Ban. Regardless of outcome, this will likely go to the Supreme Court. From a gun rights perspective, a win here would (1) strike down an unconstitutional law and (2) create a circuit split, increasing the odds that SCOTUS takes the case.

The Bruen decision hasn’t moved the needle as much as expected; some appellate courts have ignored it entirely. Even a loss could still push the case onto the Supreme Court’s docket as a chance to remind lower courts that Bruen wasn’t optional.

Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38)

The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025 has cleared committee but hasn’t yet been put up for a full House vote. I’m not overly confident it’ll pass without near-unanimous Republican support, and even then, it faces an uphill climb in the Senate. Still, this is the furthest such legislation has advanced, and with midterms next year, it’s not impossible to imagine progress before the end of Trump’s term.

New Guns and Gear

Hornady’s New Product Announcements
Hornady dropped several new product announcements for 2025, and a few caught our attention.

Versa-Prime Bench Priming Tool


A few years ago, Marc was eyeing a bench priming unit that looked suspiciously similar—probably the Primal Rights Competition Primer Seater. I thought $700 for a bench primer was nuts, but it stayed on our short list. Looks like Hornady thought so too. It is worth noting that Lyman has it’s own take on this that might be worth a look.

Details are scarce beyond the marketing materials, but it looks solid in theory. We’ll reserve judgment until it hits stores, and if we can get one, we’ll put it through a full shakedown.

Hornady 12th Edition Reloading Manual


For those of us who still enjoy a “dead tree” reloading manual, Hornady’s 12th Edition is on the way. It’s a solid reference for anyone loading Hornady bullets, or plays with any of the Hornady family of cartridges like the ARC, Creedmoor, and PRC.

QuickLOAD October 2025 Update


For those of us who use QuickLOAD the forth update of the year is out. This update focuses on Nosler, Sierra, and Hornady bullet files. I’m still waiting on new double-base propellants to show up in the powder file, so I’ll probably skip this one and see what we get next year.

That’s all for this week.

If you have questions, comments, or ideas, we’d love to hear from you.
Jay – jay@theballisticassistant.com
Marc – marc@theballisticassistant.com

If you’d like to support the website, please use our affiliate links. We earn a small commission whenever you make a purchase through one—at no additional cost to you.

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Brass, Barrels, and Bureaucracy #14

This week is the official full week of fall, and we’ve already had our first frost warning. Last we had a few days that spiked up into the high seventies/low eighties, but the evenings have all been cool. This is my favorite time of year. Perfect weather and if it was like this year-round, I would have little reason to complain.

We had some successes this week. The 3D SLA printer I’ve been working on has finally come to life. I put enough warranty parts in it that I feel like it’s about 50% a new machine. Any Cubic was surprisingly good to work with and when I ran into an issue they would send a new part, no questions asked. I’ve spent the rest of the week dialing in resins and printing off both prototypes and figurines for the kids.

At the end of the day it is a cheap SLA printer, I did not have high hopes, but now that it’s working prototyping has moved along much faster.

As you might have noticed, we skipped a week. This was not intentional, to be honest, the week got away from me a bit and I was not able to get all of the editing and formatting done.

Website Updates

Last post we posted a question asked by a subscriber, as a reminder here is the question.

Jay
I’m reloading for a 505 Gibbs with Hornady 525 both solids and softs.
I settled on 142 gr H1000 for 2150fps.

I have two questions one seems to turn the way I understand physics on its head.
First the simpler one would a faster powder loaded to same 2150 fps kick less? This 11.5lb gun kicks the snot out of me now.

The more interesting question is how can a .458 caliber 500 gr bullet be propelled at the same 2150 fps with roughly half the powder charge and half the recoil as the larger caliber similar weighted projectile?
Thanks

Mark B.

Here is my answer.

Good Evening Mark,

Thanks for subscribing, and thanks for the question.

For your first question, yes, in theory, a faster powder can reduce recoil. Powder weight counts as part of the mass being ejected from the barrel, so less powder means less ejecta. If you achieve the same velocity with a smaller charge of faster powder, recoil energy on paper will be slightly lower. The trick is that “felt recoil” isn’t just math. Recoil has an impulse curve: a short, sharp impulse can feel harsher than a longer, slower push, even if the energy is identical. That’s why one load may be technically lighter on recoil but still feel worse at the shoulder.

For your second question, the difference comes down to case design and pressure. The .505 Gibbs is a very large, low-pressure cartridge. It isn’t standardized by SAAMI, but CIP lists its maximum average pressure at about 39,000 psi. By comparison, the .458 Winchester Magnum runs at 53,000 psi, and the .458 Lott at 62,000 psi. Those higher pressures make the .458 cartridges more efficient; I.E you can drive the same 500 gr bullet to 2,150 fps with much less powder.

Powder charge directly affects recoil because the gases are part of what the rifle reacts against. In recoil calculations, the bullet mass is added to about 1.5 times the powder charge to get the “effective ejecta mass.” That means your Gibbs load with a 500–525 gr bullet and 120–150 gr of powder reacts like launching a 620–650 gr bullet. By contrast, a .458 with the same bullet weight and only 70–80 gr of powder behaves more like 570–580 gr. The Gibbs hits harder at both ends not because it’s more powerful, but because it’s burning almost twice the powder at lower efficiency.

I had to think a little bit on that second question, on the face of it, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me either until I did a little digging. I learned a little tonight about the 505 Gibbs, not a cartridge I have had much experience with.

Thanks,

Jay

What do you think, did we get it right? Did we leave anything out? How would you have responded?

Time at the Bench

338 Spectre Primed

Majority of my time was spent priming 338 Spectre brass. I had hoped to get a little further along than I have gotten but, my plan is to prime everything I’ve got so I can focus on loading. Nothing groundbreakingly exciting about this, it is just one of the many menial tasks that must be done.

I also spent a good amount of time trying to clean and organize my bench. Things just kind of got carried away. Lots of little projects combined with little time and I have found myself a little messier than usual. When this happens I always find a random primer, or a random screw, or something and I am immediately like “Jeesh I hope that wasn’t important.” I’ve got a few projects coming up and I wanted to read to go.

Industry and Legislative News

Normally this would fall into our “New Guns and Gear” section but this has become an “Interesting New Release” into a huge flub on Franklin Armory’s part. Sometimes bold actions do not always turn out how we might expect. To understand this we need to roll back time into another one of Franklin Armory’s releases, the Reformation.

Franklin Armory Reformation

For those who can remember the Reformation was an attempt to skirt the NFA laws regarding Short Barrel Rifles by offering a firearm that was not classified as a rifle and could not be classified as a shotgun. This made it classified simply as a “Firearm”, meaning it was not subject to either the $200 tax stamp for Short Barrel Shotguns or for Short Barrel Rifles.

I applaud Franklin Armory for pushing the NFA boundary, even if it is will a gun that is less then effective at distances beyond 50 yards.

The way they did this was to manufacture a barrel with straight grooves that imparted no twist on the projectile whatsoever. Obviously, there were issues, the twist imparts a spin on the bullet which prevents the bullet from tumbling and keeps it from wandering all over the range.  So, to counter these issues Franklin Armory has what can only be described as a Nerf-Football-style projectile. The drag stabilized concept is not as ludicrous as might seem, smooth bore cannons shooting fin stabilized projectiles have been the staple of the M1 Abrams design for nearly a quarter century.

If you have one, I’d love to add it to my collection

The Reformation hit the market in 2018 under this premise. However, the ATF did what the ATF commonly does and decided to reverse their classification in 2019 and determined that it was indeed a Short-Barrel Shot Gun (SBS). This ended up tying up the legality of the Reformation for some time. So, let’s now fast forward to 2025, the ATF decided to backtrack again, this time under the likely direction of the Department of Justice under Pam Bondi.

ATF Backtracks on Reformation

In a letter dated August 29, 2025 the ATF again decided that the Reformation was not classified as a rifle or a shotgun, but simply as a firearm, and thus could be sold to the public without the burden of NFA restrictions.

The letter went on to address the Antithesis firearm, another submission to the ATF’s Technology Division, which under its letter’s description, was designed to fire (This is important) “Antithesis is a type of firearm that utilizes a 14.5-inch rifled barrel to fire .410 bore shotshells and slugs, in addition to .45 Colt cartridges”. At the time ATF had classified it as a Short Barrel Rifle but was also rescinding this decision.

Under this letter dated August 29, 2025 the ATF was basically green lighting Franklin Arsenal to sell the Reformation which was introduced in 2018, and a new gun the Antithesis which, to my knowledge, had not been released. Classifying both as a “Firearm” for the purposes of the NFA. Thus neither required the NFA restrictions.

Where Franklin Armory went wrong.

The Antithesis launched on September 19th, 2025. I got texts and messages from friends, and it was a big to do. Folks were excited to see what looked like an SBR being offered as a “Firearm”. There was not one model being offered in .410/45 Colt, rather their offerings were in 5.56x45MM and 300 Blackout. My immediate question was “How are they getting around the SBR requirement?”

The answer was surprisingly novel; they had developed a shot shell that could be loaded into a 223 Rem/5.56 NATO case and fired. Each payload had essentially what was 3 balls of buck shot partially encased in a sabot or polymer shell. Duplex and Triplex loads are not new, they have been played with before, but I don’t think anyone has claim that loading a rifle with “buckshot” load was effectively turning it into a shotgun.  This was Franklin Armories attempt to push what the ATF considered a “Firearm” and you can see how they got there from the decision that a rifle that could fire both a .410 Shotshell and a 45 Colt, was a firearm and not a “rifle” or a “shotgun”.

Neat, but is it $10/projectile neat?

The ATF was quick to shut that down. Not even three days into it and Franklin Armory yanked pretty much everything to do with the Antithesis from their website. Issued an apology letter and a full refund for all those who bought the rifle.

My Takeaway

I think this is a clear attempt by Franklin Armory to pull a bait-and-switch on the ATF. So, it’s hard for me to get upset over this. You do not magically develop a “shotshell” that can be loaded into a rifle cartridge overnight. The looks of it, there was some serious R&D that went into it, including what is likely injection molding costs and what not. However, it was pretty darn clear it was a ploy. The list price for the projectiles was $40/10. This is not loaded ammo, this is just the payload, and it tells you tips and tricks on how to load it.

So what Franklin Armory did was challenge the NFA’s firearm definition with what was probably a legitimate product, an AR that could shoot both 45 Colt and .410 shotshells. Get the “Firearm” classification and then in effect say, “Here’s an AR in .223 Rem that shoots both regular 223 Rem and these special shells that shoot multiple rounds like a shotgun, thus it’s identical to the .410/45 Colt example that you ruled on an said was ok”. There is little doubt that Franklin Arsenal was also counting on recent change in administration and the legislation zeroing out the NFA Tax to be on their side.

The ATF called their bluff, and I can only assume it was called hard, as quickly as Franklin Armory yanked everything. What most people don’t realize is the gamble that Franklin Arsenal made and then lost. They wanted to be ahead of the market with a non-NFA SBR. They designed a whole product line around it, paid for marketing, and obviously put some R&D money behind it. They would have set a precedent in the market, in order to have a legitimate Non NFA “SBR” it had to be able to shoot shotgun like shells. “Wink, Wink, Nod, Nod”

Every Tom, Dick and Jerry who put together ARs would have quickly pointed at that and said “Same Rule applied to us” and launched their own lines. This would have continued to pound nails into the NFA coffin. Which many of us knew on seeing the launch of the Antithesis, including the ATF. Which is why I am sure the ATF quickly squashed it.

Is there someone who is right or someone who is wrong? Is there a reason to be outraged here?

No, not really. In my opinion, Franklin Arsenal attempted to pull bait and switch over on the ATF banking on the Administration’s friendly attitude towards the 2A Community, the recent passage of the revisions to the NFA Tax, to carry them through. A gamble which clearly pushed the line too much. (They pulled out all the stops offering the guns fully kitted with binary triggers and angled fore-grips). We have a long history of doing this, pushing the line of what is legal, trigger cranks, forced reset triggers, bump stocks, binary triggers, angled for grips, arm braces, solvent traps, 80% Lowers, this list goes on and on. Sometimes we get away with it, but usually someone gets burned. Whether it is the company that produces them, or the unwitting consumer that buys them.

Which is why I have played the game “wait and see” with all of these products. The last thing I want to do is dump money on a $500 trigger and then get a letter a few months, or years later after the ATF has changed it’s mind and have to forfeit my property. Yes you can argue illegal confiscation, but at the end of the day, giving up $500 is far cheaper then the lawyer and years of legal fees to keep what is, at the end of the day, a gimmick.

Editor’s Note and ATF follow up

When I originally wrote this, the ATF had not publicly come out and offered their side of the story. On September 25, 2025 they published this letter which pretty much confirmed what I suspected. The original authorization was for a .410/.45 Colt rifle, and that was what had been submitted. Franklin Armory took that and ran with it, and while they submitted the new version to the ATF, they did not wait for the ATF to make a ruling on whether it was legal.

New Guns and Gear

So, for new releases that have not pushed the legal boundaries,

Area 419 Zero Press Gen 2

Area 419 has released the 2nd Generation of its ZERO reloading press.  They have updated the linkage, added a few creature comforts like a ball detent to the primer tray smoothing out the stroke, and small tweaks to ergonomics.  The ZERO press’s claim to fame is a lock-up so consistent that you can expect the position of the turret to repeat within .0005in. It’s a beast of a press at 70+lbs, so there is no doubt you’re getting $1400 worth of precision machined aluminum.

Both Marc and I have opinions over the ZERO press, neither of us are big fans. Mainly because no one has yet to demonstrate the incremental gain you would get from spending $500 on a Redding T7, or spending (in this case) $1400 on a ZERO Gen 2 press. By incremental gain, we mean, when you develop a load on a Redding T7 press and it shoots a group size of 1.54 inches at 100 yards, does the ZERO press shrink that 1.54-inch group down to 0.54 inches, or only to 1.44 inches?  This is not to knock on the quality of the press; it is a very sturdy and well-built machine that will last a lifetime. It is a press that looks great on Instagram, in the background of YouTube Videos and will impress all your friends when they see it.

Rossi RS22 Pistol

Rossi announced a pistol configuration for their 22LR Semi-automatic action. This is the same basic action of their RS22 Rifle released a few years ago. I am not sure there is a lot to comment on here, but if we see the NFA get completely wiped off the books I think this becomes a cheap and affordable  SBR Host.  MSRP on this is $199

Rideout Arsenal – Dragon

Rideout Arsenal, a new company, has a new gun that is on preorder for $5,200. Their claim to fame here is an ultralow bore axis. For those who are not familiar with the concept, the lower the bore axis the less muzzle flip you tend to experience. This is due to the bore being more in line with your wrist, a higher bore axis acts as a lever and will push your wrist back and up. The gun is an all-metal frame, 5in barrel, and it is set up to be optic-ready. The package will ship with a Trijicon SRO optic. Reportedly it uses Springfield Armory Echelon Magazines.

This one just made my head turn. We see stuff like this from time to time in the gun industry. A radical new take on something and you always ask yourself if it’s going to be something or if it will die on the vine. When Glock came out with their “Tupperware” Glock 17 design few were aware of the explosion it would kick off.  On the flip side of that there are many, many examples of radical designs not paying off, only the most recent is the Hudson H9.  With the price tag this high, expectations for performance will be equally high. If it fails to meet them, it will likely end up a boutique curiosity just like my beloved chimera the MK36 by Overmatch Precision Arms.

I think everyone has that one gun, that they wish they could have bought. This is one of mine, for not other reason then its a marriage of the old and the new.

If you have questions, comments, or ideas, we’d love to hear from you.

Jay – jay@theballisticassistant.com

Marc – Marc@theballisticassistant.com

If you’d like to support this website, please use the affiliate links. We get a small commission whenever you purchase something through a link regardless of if it is the product that was linked or not. This is at no additional cost to you. 

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Brass, Barrels, and Bureaucracy #13

I know the equinox is around the corner, but the trees are already turning. With how dry New England has been, I doubt we’ll see much vibrant foliage this year, which probably means fewer leaf peepers, and that’s fine by me.

To folks who haven’t seen it before, I suppose it is still cool, but it’s not as bold and vibrant as it can be. It’s just been too dry of a summer.

Recent political events have left many of us feeling buried. I’ll admit, I’m worn out. This is one of those moments you will remember exactly where you were when you first heard the news. It is a tragedy any way you slice it, and my heart goes out to Charlie Kirk’s family. While it is of no consolation, they caught the suspect and charged him with aggravated murder. Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty.

It has also made me reassess my everyday carry. For years I kept a firearm in my backpack, mostly because of workplaces that did not allow firearms on the property. It worked, but I recognize it was far from ideal. Now I have returned to carrying on the hip, which forced me to reevaluate both gear and wardrobe. At thirty, with my metabolism in the rearview, I have found OWB much more comfortable than IWB.

I have been very happy with this holster produced by Craft Holsters. Very comfortable if you like Out Side the Waistband Carry

After Aurora, I decided that a Ruger LCP was not enough for daily carry, and I needed to move toward a compact. This led me to the CZ-2075 RAMI-P and eventually to my current HK 45CT. I am making similar changes again. A button-down shirt over a T-shirt conceals well enough here in rural Vermont. I carry my HK in a Craft Holster OWB thumb-break leather holster on a Bigfoot Gun Belt. It is bulkier than I would like, but I enjoy shooting that pistol, which is a criterion for me when choosing a carry gun. I have also been considering an HK P2000SK, which would keep the fire controls similar to the larger HK pistols while slimming everything down.

Bigfoot Gunbelts is another company that made a really good product but has gone out of business. I am in the market for a new belt, not due to wearing out my old one, but rather a waist that has unfortunately outgrown it’s current belt.

My kids recently learned that both my wife and I carry. When my son saw my holstered pistol for the first time, it sparked a conversation about why I carry and why it is not something to mention in public. It was not a talk I expected to have so soon, but it turned out to be necessary.

Like many of you, I am uneasy about where this country is headed. Nothing we could have done would have changed the outcome of recent events, but they serve as a reminder that the world is unpredictable. The best thing we can do is stay trained, stay equipped, and keep our families prepared.

Website Updates

Nothing new on the website this week, we have been chipping away on a few projects to stay tuned.

We did have a new subscriber ask a really good question, that I think everyone will enjoy. It’s one of those questions that can really make you think. I used to have a “Mail Bag” section but to be honest, I didn’t have a lot to put into it and I wasn’t sure if it was just cluttering up the webpage, so I moved it to the archive.

Anyway here’s the question.

Jay
I’m reloading for a 505 Gibbs with Hornady 525 both solids and softs.
I settled on 142 gr H1000 for 2150fps.

I have two questions one seems to turn the way I understand physics on its head.
First the simpler one would a faster powder loaded to same 2150 fps kick less? This 11.5lb gun kicks the snot out of me now.

The more interesting question is how can a .458 caliber 500 gr bullet be propelled at the same 2150 fps with roughly half the powder charge and half the recoil as the larger caliber similar weighted projectile?
Thanks

Mark B.

I’ve already provided an answer, but what would your answer be?  I’ll post my response next week, and if anyone else has a question lay it on us. Marc and I would love to take a shot at it.

Time at the Bench

Finally some 338 Spectre

I am working on 338 Spectre, finally circling back around to that cartridge. Looking at developing a few test loads. 300gr Sierra Matchkings, Barnes 225gr TTSX (minus the tip), some Hornady 225gr SST, and I think I have a few other random 338 Bullets I might work a load up in.

I still need to mount an optic on the rifle, and figure out the range situation here in Vermont, but at least I’ll have the ammo loaded and that’s half the battle. I am queuing up to have a bunch of loads that need testing.

40 S&W Missing Barrel

So about 18 months ago I bought an H&K VP40 with the intent to use it as a host platform to do some tinkering with 357 Sig. Yes, I really like my H&K pistols, no I don’t consider it a “problem”. I bought a threaded 357 Sig barrel from Rim Country Manufacturing, and I have proceeded to do nothing with it besides installing the new barrel in the gun. At which point I decided I needed to put the old 40 S&W barrel for that gun in a place that must have only made sense to me at that moment in time. Two moves, later and I cannot for the life of me figure out where I put it. So, I am now sitting on a bunch of 40 S&W ammo I have loaded, and I don’t have a gun to test it in.

I’ve bought a few HK related parts from Rim Country Manufacturing. Have always had a good experience and I’ll likely pick up the replacement .40 S&W barrel from them. Bonus, it’s a standard thread, no metric weirdness.

There is a bittersweet side to this: I get to have an excuse to buy a new barrel. I’ll pick up a 40 S&W barrel, either made by H&K or from an after-market manufacturer like RCM. It’ll be threaded so if I ever decide to pick up a .40-cal suppressor, I’ll have something to put on. In my sleuthing of looking for a replacement barrel I came across the fact you can purchase a conversion barrel that will take your H&K VP40 and effectively turn it into a 9mm. No new recoil spring, no new mags, just a new barrel.

A VP40 to 9mm Conversation Barrel is a VP40 barrel that has the outside dimensions of a VP40 barrel but has a 9mm bore and chamber. A VP9 barrel has a slimmer profile and will not work in a VP40 Slide.

The VP40 slide is beefier than the VP9 slide, so it may result in a softer shooting 9mm? I don’t know. Either way, that is now on my “to buy list”.   Sometimes losing a barrel leads you down unexpected paths.

Lights for Everywhere

This has been a fantastic addition to my 550, only issue I have had if if I am using standard lock rings on the die, sometimes they are a bit too thick for the light to slide in.

I have discovered the joy of having more light on the bench. It started with a lighting kit for my Dillion 550 press and now has moved to two different adjustable lamps at both benches and even has moved to a small ring light around the quill on my drill press. I do not know if it’s just that I have gotten older and my eyes appreciate having things lit up like a Christmas tree.

I’ve clamped one of these to a shelf that sits above my bench. I can position it so I have the light right where I want it, and if I need to pull it down to get a closer view it’s right there. Not a bad deal for $50.

LED Desk lamps really make a difference, and they don’t act like light heaters, like the old incandescent, or halogen bulbs. For checking to see how high the powder charge is, or for just inspecting cases, I have found that a well-lit work bench really does make it a bit more enjoyable to reload.

Industry and Legislative News

NOE Closing Shop

Credit goes to Mark K. to bring this to my attention. (As a side note, I have an abundance of Mark’s who subscribe or who contribute in some way to this site, I would like to thank all of them but also recognize the statistical anomaly for what it is.)

For those who are not familiar with NOE, they are, or rather were, an awesome bullet mold making company located in Provo, Utah.  They had probably the largest selection of bullet molds, and configurations of molds of any bullet mold maker out there. They also took suggestions from hobby guys like me, and their minimum run quantity was low. If you could get ten people on board purchasing a mold they would likely run it. It is how myself and one other guy go the cast bullet mold for the 300gr 338 Mold designed specifically for the 338 Spectre into production.

315gr 338 Cal mold for the 338 Spectre, the bullet I helped design, and NOE brought to life. That’s almost 10yrs ago

They have announced they are closing up shop and they are blowing out the rest of the inventory. I don’t have any insight on why they are closing their doors, if it was a retirement of Al Nelson, or if they are the victim of the poor economy. Either way we are losing a great company that really made some fantastic products for the casting and reloading hobby. NOE’s closing is only the latest casualty of what is presently endemic in the industry.

Industry Slowing

To put it bluntly, the industry continues to slow. Year over year revenue is down 9.6% on average across all shooting related companies and product lines, with firearms being down 11.5%. This is also born out in NICS data which has shown a marked decline.  For most of us this is not news, we have been feeling the effects of it if not being direct contributors to the decline.

I know I have bought less hobby related things this year than I have in years past and that is not because I am any less engaged. We just have less room in the budget to spend. Rising housing and food costs, rising energy costs, without appreciable increases in pay, and honestly the cost of powder and bullets has gone up. Primers have come down in price some but nowhere near what they were pre-COVID.

A few more companies have recently closed shop. SSCY Industries, makers of affordable subcompact pistols, closed in May. Anderson Manufacturing closed its doors early this summer. The Fiocchi of America is now fully owned by the Czechoslovak Group (CSG). CSG and Vista Outdoors are now consolidated under the Kinetic Group.

You got to hand it to them, they really pulled out all the stops on the engraving. Very nice, a bit over the top for my taste though.

Ruger has recently gone through a restructuring and the headcount at Ruger has dropped by about 5%.

These are normal responses to a soft market. Companies that are unable to weather the storm close up shop or get bought out. Larger companies look to cut costs, sometimes that means cutting workforce, as unfortunate as that is, and other companies are looking to diversify their product offerings. Trying to find niches of the market segment that might be seeing growth.  I.E the double stack 1911 market.

I would not read too much into it, other than a soft market means there will be change. While some might be referring this as the Trump slump 2.0, I don’t think it’s near as bad. Plus, on the bright side it may force the market to be more competitive, I may be optimistic, but I’d really love to see primers drop below $50 a brick of 1000. I need some large pistol primers.

Open Carry is Now Legal in Florida

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down Florida’s ban on open carrying of firearms. I think the surprise, for many of us, is that it was not already legal. Either way it looks like the state’s Attorney General is not going to appeal this ruling, saying “It is now the law of the land”.

If you choose to open carry in Florida or anywhere else, please do so in a dignified manner and professional manner, that does not paint everyone else as complete dufus.

New Jersey Upheld “Sensitive Places” Restrictions

In the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel ruled that the New Jersey Legislature can define so called “sensitive places” and prohibit open and concealed carry within those places. As anyone who carries regularly knows, these “sensitive places” are almost always areas where it ends up being very inconvenient for those who choose to carry.

You want to pick up the mail at the post office? That’s felony to carry inside a post office.

You need to drop by an see your relative in a nursing home, or in a hospital. That’s a sensitive area, you can’t carry it there.

Libraries, Museums, parks, beaches, zoos, the list goes on. These all end up being “no carry zones”. So, you are left with 2 choices, obey the law and leave the firearm in a vehicle. Or break the law and carry regardless. Concealed is concealed right? That is a very personal decision, and I do not advocate for either.  The point is, lawmakers are finding any excuse they can to make lives difficult for those who wish to exercise their constitutional right to self-defense. This court ruling upheld the lawmakers’ intent to do that.

New Guns and Gear

MDT Timber Core – Rifle Stock

I am a sucker for a traditional looking wood and metal gun. I like the WOOX stocks, I like some of the wooden stocks and grips you can find on AR’s, and this MDT stock caught my eye.  It’s maybe a little less traditional in style, more akin to a mashup of their chassis and traditional wood stock, but I can get behind it. It offers many of the same features you might get in a chassis gun, v-block bedding, free floated barrel, and a bottom metal that works with magazines.

I have at least one bolt action rifle that I might consider refinishing and using a stock like this on. That is a someday project.

Steyr ATd and ATc Pistols

Steyr has announced a new line of pistols the ATd which is focused on self-defense and the ATc which is focused on competition.  I have to admit the competition guns are handsome looking. They are hammer fired which is a departure from the norm with Steyr. A lot of people have speculated these are a rebranding of Slovenija arms maker AREX. I see the similarities and both companies are now owned by Czech Republic’s RSBC Investment Group.

Steyr has an import facility in Alabama so it would make sense if AREX guns are imported that they come in under the Steyr name which is a more recognized brand in the US Market. The MSRP is said to start around $1,170, and I am sure they will go up steeply for some of the competition models. Specs are about what you’d expect for a 9mm. 18rnd magazines, DA/SA trigger, and optics ready. They do advertise that the system is easy to tune, and that there is some modularity of parts. It is also noteworthy that it is an all-metal frame.

An all-metal frame gun in 9mm is usually a recipe for a good time at the range.  

If you have questions, comments, or ideas, we’d love to hear from you.

Jay – jay@theballisticassistant.com

Marc – Marc@theballisticassistant.com

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