Monday always sneaks up faster than it should. It has been a very wet spring; we are on the fourth weekend straight of rain. No fishing this weekend, just rain. That’s fine, more time at the loading bench.
Website Updates and New Stuff
This week we are welcoming Marc as a contributor to the site. He and I worked closely together doing product development at a previous employer. He brings with him a wealth of wisdom when it comes to reloading (and life), much of it practical know how that it was done before the age of the internet.
To introduce Marc, we have updated the “About Us Page”
We are working on a landing page for him but expect to see practical tips and tricks in reloading that get lost in the internet noise. His first article can be found here.
How the Internet Almost Blew Up My Gun
I am working on a few things on the website, trying to get formatting and stuff to look right on Mobile. If you see some things that are off or just plain annoying on a mobile screen, I am working on trying to fix those.
Time at the Bench
As before, I have been working on getting caught up on my reloading. Sorting brass, depriming, cleaning, checking case length, annealing necks. It’s a chore; personally, I find it somewhat satisfying and a good way to unwind in the evening. This week it was about processing some 308 Win and 45 ACP.
My vibratory tumbler survived another week, though the motor stalled out once. It picked back up again a moment later, no magic smoke so we’ll let it ride.
I have got a few things in the mail, case holders for my L.E Wilson trimmer, and the Lee Ram Prime, for priming some of the tight primer pockets. For $20 bucks I think this little tool is well worth it.
Industry and Legislative News
Hearing Protection Act
There has been no meaningful movement on the Hearing Protection Act. It remains in the Senate, and right now there is quite a bit of drama going on over this bill. No so much regarding the Hearing Protection Act, but the amounts of taxes, spending, ect. That drama has been all over the news, so I do not think I need to touch on it here. However, I am, like many of you, waiting with bated breath to see if this thing survives.
Supreme Court Rulings
The Supreme Court tossed the lawsuit that had been brought by Mexico against 14 different gun companies. Essentially accusing them of making their arms easy to traffic and blaming them for the violence South of the Border. This whole case was a shame to begin with, something dreamed up by Gun Control Groups and politicians. The court ruled that the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” shielded the gun companies from this frivolous lawsuit.
Last week we were disappointed in the courts, this week we are applauding them. That seems to be the nature of things. Alan, one of our subscribers put a plug in for a good resource on the Supreme Court and other legal news. 4 Boxes Diner on YouTube, the host Mark Smith, is a constitutional attorney and really does a good job breaking things down.
Abolish the ATF?
There has been a bit of buzz about the possibility of the ATF being rolled up in the DEA while no formal plan has been submitted, the rumors seem to be an attempt to float the idea prior to a specific policy proposal. What a nightmare that will be. The DEA is probably the worst three letter agency when it comes to constitutional rights. They believe heavily in civil forfeiture and regularly abuse this power.
The last thing we need is the DEA to expand its jurisdiction to firearms. This would be my one critique of the “Abolish the ATF” movement. We can all agree that the ATF is an unconstitutional infringement on the 2A. However, we sometimes overlook that the government rarely gives up power, there will be something that fills the vacuum, and whatever that is may be, far worse than what we were dealing with.
Remember….
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”
— H. L. Mencken, A Little Book in C Major, 1916
In this light, maybe we are better off remembering the wisdom in old Irish proverb “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”
New Guns and Gear
Barrett Firearms
Personally, I have always really liked Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, the firearms company. They are a modern story of one man, Ronnie Barrett, with an idea that he took that and built a company around it. The cool part is that idea resulting in the Barrett M82/M107. They have been working on what can only be described as a love child between the M107 and the M203.
Figure 1:Barrett & MARS Inc. 30 mm Precision Grenadier System (PGS)
I vote this as the firearm most definitely going to be included in the next Call of Duty, if it hasn’t been already. It launches 30mm grenades which are programmable for air burst. Of course, designed to engage units which are behind cover, it also doubles as anti-drone as the rounds are programmable. This was a joint project between Barrett and Montana based MARS, Inc. The official news is that this beat out the FN submission in the xTech Soldier Lethality competition, which does not guarantee adoption, but it does look like it is headed in that direction.
This is not Barrett’s first time in the “larger than .50 Cal” In the early 2000’s I remember reading about the 25x59mm XM109 which was designed to be an large bore upper for the 107. It was a programmable grenade launcher. However, it never made its way past the prototype stage. No doubt much of the lessons learn in that were used in this most recent venture. Sometimes that’s how the development cycle goes.
Trigger Tech
Trigger Tech is releasing their new Glock Trigger this week (June 10th 2025). Called the ACE Trigger system, it is a little bit different than your typical drop in Glock Trigger. Trigger Tech has completely redesigned the trigger system to deliver a 1911 like trigger in a Glock.
It looks like it may retail for about $280 at your favorite dealer. Personally, I am a big fan of trigger tech, every time I have tried their triggers, they seem to be top notch. Sometimes it’s not about buying a new gun but making an existing gun better. An aftermarket trigger is a really good way to make your favorite gun feel like a whole different animal.
Personally, I am not a big fan of Glocks, so this trigger won’t help me much. Here’s hoping that expand this line for H&K VP Pistols. I’d really love to see a trigger for a VZ-58 (I am dreaming now). Regardless I have a couple of their triggers in a few AR’s, and I am very happy with them.
That’s what we have for this week.
We’d love to hear your thoughts or answer any questions you have,
Jay & Marc
jay@theballisticassistant
marc@theballisticassistant.
Great to see the updates again. I know life can be crazy at times. Also, great to hear that Marc has joined the group, look forward to seeing his contributions.
Thanks Brian!