A belated Happy Father’s Day to everyone out there who may be reading this. This weekend was beautiful, rained for a moment early AM on Saturday but the rest of the day was perfect. We tried again to go fishing, and we saw bluegill swimming around in the shallows. The kids were very excited and determined that today was going to be the day. Alas, it was not. We had bites and nibbles, I hooked one, then lost it. That makes five weekends we have been skunked. Really think I might need to stick to reloading, this fishing business is giving me the run for my money.
Website Updates and New Stuff
Marc’s post, “Power of a Post-it Note” went live this week. This will be the first of (what we hope to be) many small but simple things that can be done at the bench to make reloading safer, and more enjoyable for everyone. If you haven’t seen it, you can find the article here.
Much of the recent work has been behind the scenes, so most people won’t notice or see anything appreciable change but there are things in the works. We will announce as we launch or as things are ready to go live.
Time At the Bench
I have spent a bunch of quality time with an L.E Wilson trimmer and trimming brass. As anyone who has spent any amount of time trimming brass by hand knows, it sucks. There’s just no two ways about it. There is a lot of reasons why the Worlds Finest Trimmer, the Giraud Trimmer, and the various versions and knock offs have become so popular. The aim is to get through it all as fast and as painless as possible.
One thing I have always found a little bit cumbersome, and by a little bit, I do mean just a smidge, is measuring the cartridge length before and after trimming. I feel like when I needed to measure brass I pulled it off the trimmer, knocked it out of the case holder, then had to give it a little wiggle as I closed the caliper jaws to get everything square and have confidence in the reading.
This got me looking for a “better” way. By better, really just looking for something that was a tad less cumbersome. I played around with a granite comparator stand, some gage blocks and a dial indicator and came up with something that works quite well. For me it is both faster and less awkward to make quick spot checks to make sure I am trimming the case back each time.
The basic set up is pictured above. I use a dial indicator, in this case a SPI indicator 0 to 1/4 travel. Screw on a 1in diameter foot, which can be purchased from McMaster, and gauge blocks which are stacked to equal my target trim length.
I zero the indicator on the gauge blocks and push them aside. It then becomes very easy to swipe a case under the foot and take a measurement. The reading is a comparative measurement to the gauge blocks and will let me know if I am .002 from the target trim length, if I am one or zero. You don’t need the gage blocks, you could trim a case to the length that you want, verified by a caliper check, and then zero off that.
I have found it to be a very quick and easy check and faster than checking with calipers.
Industry and Legislative News
Hearing Protection Act
40+ Firearm Advocacy groups have all signed on to a letter urging the delisting of Suppressors from the NFA. There looks to be strong Republican support, but there are some moderate republicans that have signaled they are not solid “yes” votes. Of course, every democrat is solidly against the notion with several prominent democrats outright lying that there is no valid legal use for suppressors.
We should expect to have news within the next week if the HPA will be included in Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill”. This is being passed through the Budget and Reconciliation process which only requires a majority support. Currently the Senate is made up of 52 Republicans, 51 is needed for its passage. So we can afford to lose one, with Vice President JD Vance available to break a 50–50 tie
ATF – Changing the Rules Again?
There has been a lot of scuttlebutt about the ATF possibly changing its rules when it comes to the “Pin and Weld” method of permanently attaching a muzzle device. When I first came across this, I am a firm believer in the Bongino rule.
“Wait 24 to 72 hours before believing any breaking news story.”
What Happened?
What we know is that the Gun Owners of America (GOA) filed a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) which exposed an internal incident occurring in 2021, where an ATF Firearms Tech branch agent, Eve E. Eisenbice, dismantled a pinned-and-welded muzzle device from an imported Beretta handgun using a vise and breaker bar. After breaking it, the agent deemed the installation “not permanent”.
The question has been raised as to whether this will elicit a policy change from the ATF.
Who Is Eve Eisenbice?
Eve E. Eisenbice is, to put it bluntly, a nut case. One that I hope this administration decides to fire as she has a history of making extreme or absurd legal claims. Among her past assertions
- Pillows and potatoes can function as suppressors (and are thus regulated as such provided that you intend to use them as such)
- Check Rests constitute a stock
- Metal Water bottles could be used to manufacture a firearm and thus could be considered a firearm.
- Threaded titanium tubes could be considered suppressors by virtue of their features
Why This Story Took Off
This isn’t the first time the ATF has been accused of pushing boundaries. Historically, they’ve leaned on Chevron Deference, a legal precedent that gave administrative agencies wide latitude in interpreting regulations, even beyond their statutory authority.
Chevron Deference was overturned on June 28, 2024, which weakens the ATF’s ability to impose sweeping rule changes without clear legislative backing.
So, does this mean the ATF won’t keep trying? Not likely. But it does mean they’re less likely to succeed when challenged in court.
Is a Policy Change Coming?
No formal policy change has been proposed. One rogue agent with a history of overreach destroyed a barrel (not a firearm under federal law) and claimed that somehow invalidated the entire concept of a permanent muzzle attachment.
If the ATF intended to act on this, they would’ve done so in 2022 when they had more leeway. That they didn’t suggests they viewed Eisenbice’s findings as fringe—and not legally defensible.
What’s Really Going On?
This story has been heavily sensationalized, especially by GOA and several YouTube channels, many of which have used it as a fundraising vehicle. That’s what bothers me more than anything.
The ATF is going to do what the ATF always does. But I expect more from those who represent our industry, namely more honesty, less fear-mongering.
Anderson Mfg Closing its Doors
The last bit of news: Anderson Manufacturing is closing down. disappointing, but not entirely surprising.
While best known for budget AR-15 lowers, Anderson had expanded into full rifle builds and even released a Glock-style pistol in recent years.
The industry is currently in what I’d call “Trump Slump 2.0.” It’s not as dramatic as the first one, but market conditions have tightened. The modern sporting rifle segment, ARs in particular, is especially competitive, with players like Palmetto State Armory dominating on price and marketing.
Companies like Anderson, Del-Ton, and others are either shutting down or scaling back. The powder shortage continues, and the broader economy isn’t helping when it comes to disposable income.
New Guns and Gear
There was not anything new that caught either myself or Marc’s eyes. So we’re going to skip this section this week.
We hope everyone has a good week and we’ll catch you next Monday.
Jay & Marc
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