There are a lot of misperceptions about shotguns – perhaps more so than exist about rifles or pistols.  We addressed this topic before – see our article ‘Correcting Some Misinformation About Shotguns‘ for some helpful information about what they can and can’t do. We got into the middle of a conversation about shotguns yesterday.   A client was considering buying a shotgun, and another person was advising them about shotguns.  Unfortunately, the advice wasn’t very accurate.  […]

One of the concepts popularized by the revolutionary Glock 17 pistol when it was first released in 1982 was that the pistol had no separate dedicated safety lever.  Perhaps because of this, Glock made – and still does make – a big thing of its three different safety devices built into its pistols, which basically mean that if the trigger isn’t pulled, the gun won’t shoot. Not quite so proudly stated is that if the […]

One thing is for sure.  If you have a revolver, you’re going to be doing a lot of reloading. On the range, it doesn’t matter so much, and indeed, depending on the practice drills you are doing, it is generally a good thing to have a break after every half-dozen shots or so anyway.  Regular breaks, whether for reloading, or checking your target, or whatever else, help to keep you unstressed and fresh. But if […]

One of the issues we must consider when choosing whether or not it is necessary and appropriate to use deadly force is the possibility not just of a criminal charge being filed against us, but also the possibility of a civil suit being brought by the person we shot (or their estate if we ended up killing them). Both issues have plenty of downside associated with them. Criminal Liability An unlawful killing charge could see […]

There are two distinctive things about firearms and the people who profess to know lots about them. The first thing is there’s a terrible amount of misinformation and misunderstanding out there – no doubt exacerbated by what we see in the movies (people thrown backwards a considerable distance after getting hit by a pistol bullet, and ‘six shooter’ revolvers that seem to never need reloading, for just two examples). The second thing is that some […]

Utah has become famous for its concealed weapons permits.  Easy to obtain, and universally accepted throughout the rest of the country, right? Actually, wrong.  Getting a non-resident Utah permit requires a minimum four hours of instruction, and once you have secured one, it is valid for five years and accepted in 30 states (plus UT itself). Because the Utah licensing authorities limit who can teach UT qualifying classes, the classes tend to be more expensive. […]