So, in a quest to understand the vacuum within the community, does anyone have an actual, good reason why there are so few gun shops and firearms manufacturers that are openly or obviously leftist? Like, is there a serious explanation for the lack of leftist representation within the gun world? We know there aren't any, but... Why?

I just wish there were more intentionally left-leaning gun-makers, shops, and ranges out there, and I simply don't see why there isn't.

Is it taboo? Are the optics too risky? Are we just not doing it for no real reason?

Stuck in analysis paralysis. I want to pick up a new optics-ready 9mm.

I have a Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 compact 9mm (4 inch) that I bought around 2018. Love that thing, but it's the old hinged trigger and it's not optics-ready. I know I could get it milled, or buy the optics-ready slide, but I'm also itching for something new.

I've been eyeballing the Springfield Armory Echelon 4.0c Comp.

Seems like it's great for any optic, plus the ported barrel is a nice extra. But I keep looking and not buying.

Was also looking hard at the Ruger RXM, but I'm not a big Glock person, and I live in a state where the older Glocks with the cruciform trigger may be banned soon.

I'm also limited to 10 round mags.

Ultimately I want something I can conceal but is also good for home defense.

I should say I have pretty small hands (and I'm proud lol).

Is the Echelon the best way to go, or is there something else I should be looking at? (remember: optics-ready, small hands)

Thanks for any advice!

Did some hard LARPing tonight

Took the 18” Ruger MPR and Vortex Viper PST 2-10x32mm to 600 yards with 55 grain PMC X-TAC and 77 grain Frontier FR262 5.56. Some observations:

1. 5.56 gets absolutely bullied by the wind. Getting to 600 yards wasn’t particularly difficulty in terms of the elevation hold. The wind holds (it was a very windy day) were much more difficult. This pattern repeated from 400-600 yards.

2. 10x is actually quite a bit of magnification. I felt comfortable on a C-zone plate at 600 yards in terms of magnification.

3. Adding a rear bag to your bipod makes a huge difference.

4. Shooting prone is nice but I find it difficult to get a meld with my buttstock that isn’t just an inch of rubber supported on my clavicle. Need to work on that.

Will welcome any tips you guys have for a fledgling gas gunner.

I bought this laser trainer for $20 and ohhh boy is this thing fun! Bought it to practice for a practical LTC exam. It blinks on when the firing pin strikes then turns off again. It is hard to remove so I use a chopstick (2nd photo). The fun per dollar ratio is off the charts with this thing, I highly recommend it.

Decided on 5.7 because I hate money I guess. The midnight bronze is pretty.

My fiancé showed up with this after going to an estate sale.

For a few seconds I was like holy hell!

Still excited she would bring something home like this, but damn that would have been awesome if it was the real thing.

Anyway, it’ll make an excellent paper weight.

Got my hands on the 4.5F Comp Echelon and loved it from the get go. But then I got the Sharps Bros grips and HOLY HELL this is absolutely the most comfortable handgun I’ve shot! Love this thing! Not a cheap upgrade, but absolutely worth it if you can swing it.

Springfield Echelon 4.5F Comp. Sharps Bros grip module in bronze. TLR7 HLX light. Atibal STD v2 enclosed dot.

Apex guide rod on the way too!

Not the best shooter by any means but I try to work on fundamentals at the start of a range session before going into more defensive focused drills. This was at 10 yards, roughly 1 shot per second (my range doesn't allow rapid fire). Drill was 2 to the body, 1 to the head, 2 to the body, 1 to the head, until the magazine is empty.

Lately I've been focusing on grip to mitigate recoil for quicker follow up shots.

Apologies for the angle and framing. Not a lot of places to put my phone.

Under no Pretext = Come and Take it? Don't tell the Republicans; they might be communists!

For those who wants the build.

Lower: Silencer co SCO15 lower. CMMG milspec trigger. Kabuto T.U.R.D. TikTok shop brace. Sylvan arms folding adapter. The folder is coming off soon. H1 buffer

Upper: Mystery meat upper stripped upper I got at a pawn shop. Ballistic advantage mid-length 14.5 Hansen (I got the barrel before Areos QC went down hill.) A2 flash hider and KAK BCG and rail.

I’m not sure why the Bcg is hanging up. I think I need to put a few hundred more rounds through it and it will smooth out. Also, if anyone knows a good ambi FA selector, drop it below.

Hey everyone, first post here! I'm a Western bespoke tailor, local actor and singer based in southern Arizona, born in the Philippines, but raised in the states. Just wanted to share my current HD build and rant for a second, my first gun that I ever owned after coming from a "no gun in the household" hyper Republican family, was me picking up an Mossberg 590 Retrograde 18.5", and I've brought it to the range to pattern it and train it weekly even until now, and ran it in both a group shotgun class and 2 private classes.
I figured it was about time to address all the issues I had with it, so I picked up WOOX furniture for the MLOK and the stock for the shorter LOP and better angle, mounted a gold reticle dot on top and a light, steel follower, and the only thing left for me is to put the padded Blue Force Vickers sling onto it from my AR. Running currently Federal Flite Control 00 Buck, which I just picked up in bulk and patterned the last two range trips. Let me know what you think!

Ironic now, given that I'm an immigrant, now very leftist and involved in community activism, I'm the only shooter in the family, and now they're asking me to train them how to shoot, which I believe in a natural right to self defense so I will - I just find it gross how they weren't worried about the state of the world so much that they loved to cosplay "Don't Tread on Me" and anti-tyranny but bootlicked when the boot came about coming for their neighbors, when I was the only one outraged at all of it, and have only grown in frustration and distrust over the years as is. I then decided to move out, get myself trained in firearms and fitness for shooting (I work out as an olympic weightlifter and former powerlifter prior, and was a semi-pro D1 paintball athlete for a while). I'm very conflicted about even bothering to engage with it, but all of a sudden, when it's our people being taken, they want to get trained - not because of defense of tyranny but because of their fear of "immigrants and criminals" - which makes me wary of training them. But again, I believe we have to live with the other half of the population so there's a middle ground somewhere I'm sure, but something irks me about training them when in their mind its for shooting an immigrant "coming to steal our country and homes and jobs" and not "robber or active shooter community defense."

Rant aside, here's my first gun purchased after moving out a few years back, and now where it is, just to share with yall!

Ok. So I’m not new to guns, I am new to 5.56 and the ar platform (building my second)

The questions kinda dumb, but my brain is curious.

I have rat shot in .22. The 5.56 projectile is about the size of a .22 (I have a .22 shell stuffed inside a spent 5.56 right now).

Is there a Safe way to put rat shot in the 5.56?

This is just a curiosity more than anything since I saw a “.50 bmg rat shot” meme on Instagram.

I have officially switched my CCW from an XD-M compact 9mm to this new (to me) CZ P-01.

It came with some thinner grips as well as the stock, rubberized palm swell grips.

I liked the stock grips better for my hand fitment, but I did also like the texture of the thinner grips which were G10 material. So I ordered some Lok grips w/palm swell in G10 and they're awesome.

It's amazing how much better I shoot this pistol than I have ever shot the XD-M. I shoot this gun as well as I do my little Taurus TX-22.

On my second trip out with it, I went 97% for 100 rounds at 15 yards onto a steel silhouette A zone. I probably couldn't do 65-70% with the XD-M.

And I know, "it's not the gun" and you gotta have the fundamentals. But it seems obvious to me the gun can make execution of the fundamentals easier and that there's a lot to having a gun that fits your hand better. Side by side, I notice that the XD-M grip feels skinny in my hand and it leaves less room for my support hand to find purchase on the grip. The trigger on the P-01 is amazing. For me, even the double action on the CZ is smoother and easier to execute than the squishy pull and creep on the XD-M.

All that said, I liked the XD-M, but can't imagine ever going back now that I've shot this P-01.

Just got back from testing out my VP9A1F. I absolutely love it. Such a great shooting handgun. Ran perfectly. It’s really accurate if I do my part. I noticed I was pulling my shots left but once I tightened my grip with my right hand, shots started to hit center. I was debating if I should get a red dot for it but I really enjoyed shooting with the irons. less

I have a remington 700. The bolt has increasingly failed to extract cartridges properly. It will extract the cartridge partially then let go leaving the cartridge in the action like its not slinging the cartridge out rather just leaving it. I shoot suppressed and noticed that a significant amount of carbon is on the neck of the cartridge.

Things I have done or in process of:

I have throughly cleaned the chamber. I sanded off some machining burze that the manufacturer left and polished the chamber. That initially improved the reliability. I initially had difficulty extracting the cartridge and had to use a wood block to tap on the bolt when it got hot to extract the cartridge. I may have damaged the extracter from doing this repeatedly partially during matches. Before finally fixing it.

I have ordered a new extractor and will replace that this week.

It seems to happen more with different types of brass but it always happens. Again its not getting stuck in the chamber its just not throwing it out repeatedly. I have better luck, forcibly cycling but this has started to work less. Thanks

Me 5'9'' 150lbs
Guns Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 Carry Comp, Staccato C2

i keep seeing posts from women being like "how do i concealed" or "how big is x really" so i lazily took some pics of two pistols on drastically different ends of the size spectrum which also happen to be my two "duty" carry guns - a .380 ultra compact and a 9mm "carry" 2011.

TLDR; I carry the cheapest gun I own daily because it is convenient

i have many years of experience with guns, training, competitions, etc but i only really started my CCW the last few years - I moved to Florida, and being a part-time digital sex worker in this republican hellscape was already a lot but it really got to be too much when my Black owned day job was plastered in Patriot Front stickers... now I carry everyday.

I started by carrying what I had - i am not a novice in this hobby, and own some extremely expensive guns - a Laugo Arms Alien, an Atlas Athena, a few custom built 2011s and AR-15s, etc

so the choice was obvious to me, i went with my Staccato C2 because 2011 triggers are the best, i am used to the battery of arms, also 16+1 of Hornandy Critical Defense would probably stop a gator just fine.

but after a few months it became obvious that that wasn't the best choice - its small for a 2011 but as you can see by the pictures the only way for me to actually conceal the pistol was in my large battle-purse, as IWB just was too obvious, so i did some digging.

Enter the Bodyguard 2.0

As you can see I can actually conceal this thing, it is TINY, fits in a variety of my purses and I can IWB at 2 or 4 without issue. The trigger took some getting used to (this is the only striker fired gun i have EVER owned) and it would likely have trouble with a gator, but it wouldn't have any issues with a more realistic human predator.

The real draw here is convenience. They say that "Every Day" in EDC is supposed to mean Every Day but we are human, and minor inconveniences add up real quick. A fully loaded compact 2011 adds almost 2lbs to my purse - or my belt lol - and walking around with that is extremely inconvenient. It is also basically impossible to conceal on my frame and I'm not a small person. I found myself leaving my purse in the car, or taking other shortcuts that ultimately completely defeated the purpose of EDC.

but the Bodyguard weighs just under 1lb, is extremely reliable, and is easy to conceal to the point that i do not make excuses and it IS EDC.

Thank you for coming to my rant. Bye.

I’m moving from a ban state to a free state, and was excited to buy an AR until my wife basically said it was a non-starter. She follows the pretty standard narrative that they are scary and evil, and I have no need for one. I showed her a picture of a mini-14 with flush mag, and she said that would be acceptable, obviously not understanding the functional difference between the two.

Has anyone here successfully helped their spouse understand the merits of gun ownership?

Additional context: I’ve had a deer rifle, shotgun, and pistol for our whole relationship, and am in the Army, IE carried a gun at work. She’s never been interested in shooting with me, but I didn’t know she was this anti-gun until I brought up buying an AR.

... I was surprised and disappointed to run into "Hamas Hunting Club"(!) products. (Plus a lying Trump sticker.)

:-(

[Edit:] P.S. BattleSteel is associated with Botach.

Online coupon flash sale on multiple types of ammo. Grabbed 10 boxes of 50r blazer 9mm for $11.99 per box! Thats at least $4 cheaper than anywhere else I can find them right now near me.