Milwaukee Sheriff releases PSA: "You have a duty to protect yourself."

Image via Gary Porter/AP/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke has released a radio PSA in Wisconsin telling citizens to arm themselves in case the police do not arrive on time.

In the PSA, Clarke is quoted as saying:

"I'm Sheriff David Clarke, and I want to talk to you about something personal...your safety. It's no longer a spectator sport; I need you in the game, but are you ready? With officers laid-off and furloughed, simply calling 9-1-1 and waiting is no longer your best option. You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back; but are you prepared? Consider taking a certified safety course in handling a firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there. You have a duty to protect yourself and your family. We're partners now. Can I count on you?"

This announcement has sparked quite a controversy, while tensions are already very high given recent events. Some critics on the anti-gun side claim that it is "irresponsible" and that Clarke is merely acting as a mouthpiece for the gun lobby. However, in many cases, what Clarke says in the PSA is a fact: When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

3D printing could nullify magazine bans.

You may have heard of the latest advances in the field of 3D printing. If not, here is the basic rundown: 3D printers are machines that function like a CNC machine for milling metal or wood. However, instead of milling out the object from a solid piece of material, 3D printers form the object from scratch by melting plastic, and "printing" a 3D object. By printing separate parts, one can produce entire assemblies of parts.

There has been increased interest in 3D printing in the firearm community, especially because of one organization known as Defense Distributed, or the Wiki Weapon project. The ultimate goal of this project is to produce a fully functioning AR-15 rifle from 3D printed parts. Defense Distributed has already succeeded in producing a functioning AR lower, but the component broke after several shots, due to the weak plastic it was constructed from. While current hobbyist printers are restricted to plastics, we can assume that as this technology matures, we will begin to see printers capable of constructing significantly stronger plastic parts, or even printing metal parts.

While the printed AR may have been failure (if you want to look at it that way), the Wiki Weapon project has successfully produced a completely printed 30-round AR magazine, which survived a full unload of its ammunition.

If this technology further matures and becomes more and more affordable, magazine and gun bans may become completely useless. Defense Distributed used a very expensive high-quality printer to produce the AR mag, but they are currently working on a design that can be produced on cheaper hobbyist/in-home printers.

Citations:
http://hackaday.com/2013/01/15/print-your-own-30-round-ar15-magazine/

Chiappa Triple-Barrel Shotguns

The Chiappa Triple Threat on display at SHOT.

Chiappa is an import company known for its "unusual" firearms, such as their unique and unconventional Rhino revolvers. At SHOT Show this year, they didn't fail to impress, with the introduction of the new Triple Crown and Triple Threat shotguns.

While they are certainly not the first to attempt to improve upon the traditional break-action shotgun by adding additional barrels, they are the first mainstream company to do so, and their triple-barrel 12-gauge is the first to receive major attention in the gun community.

The new Triple Crown and Triple Threat are produced by Akkar Silah Sanayi Ltd. of Turkey. The Triple Crown is a a full-length sporting gun with a standard stock, and the Triple Threat is designed for self-defense, and is equipped with either a standalone pistol grip or a full-length stock that can transform into a pistol grip. Both shotguns can accept Rem choke tubes, and come with five choke tubes.

Once again, Chiappa completely rethinks a tried-and-true concept like the revolver or break shotgun, and improves upon it. I am looking forward to hearing more about this shotgun.