I am publishing this update from a hotel room here in Alabama. I drove over last night avoiding most of the ice storms that hit eastern Texas. Did not avoid it all, but missed probably 80% of it. Even then I pulled one guy from a ditch and did a wellness check on another gal who spun into a guardrail. As someone who grew up in the northern climates, I really was quite shocked to see how bad the roads really got given how little precipitation was actually received. I guess I’ll stop complaining about snow removal, or sometimes the lack there of, in Vermont, New Hampshire, Utah…..
Anyhow while I am house hunting for the family, I suspect I’ll have a good deal of time in the evenings to get some work done on a the website. So be looking for updates, likely corrections, additions or completions of existing content that I have not had the time to get to. I’ll be sure to have those highlights next update. While I did not have the time this past week I’ll be getting a book review in this week.
In firearms news…
Since I hail from Utah, I do pay attention to what is going on in that state. It was good to see that the constitutional carry bill finally passed and was signed into law by Governor Cox. My understanding is that it will go into effect on May 5th, 2021. Utah will continue to offer a license, which will be of important to those traveling to states which recognize Utah’s permits. A full listing of States that recognize Utah’s Concealed Firearms Permit (CFP) can be found here.
Also, CZ Firearms is reportedly in the process of purchasing Colt. Time will tell if this is a good or bad thing for Colt, but Colt has turned things around. It was only a few years ago that there was serious talk this company might go completely under.
Sticking with the theme of acquisitions. Ammo, Inc the company that is probably most well known for tracers that are not half pyrotechnic, half bullet is buying Gun Broker. Again, time will tell if this is a over all good thing for Gun Broker, but I suspect it will be as Ammo, Inc seems to be doing well.
There are some rumors that one of the firearm manufacturers, I do not know which, may be building a new primer facility. To be fair, every time we see an ammo crunch a rumor like this seems to pop up. Having toured a facility that makes primers, I can attest it is no small feat. Here you are legitimately handling explosives that are sensitive, by design, to being crushed or shocked. The Remington Lonoke staff have a few stories of what can go wrong, and what the aftermath looks like. I do not see a new primer facility being built, and producing primers within the next two years. I suspect it will be towards the end of Q3 2023 or late 2024 before we see anything, assuming that this rumor pans out.
Lastly, I would be a bit amiss if I did not at least touch on what President Biden rolled out over the weekend. The “Guntube” channels, and the those who focus on firearm politics are likely to make quite a bit of noise about it. Some may feel it justified given the potential consequences, but at the end of the day, I think it does little to further our cause. I believe that amidst what seems to be unmitigated chaos, it is the calm and collected mind that has power. As we discuss with our neighbors, our friends, our country man, lets put an emphasis on discussion, not with the intent to change minds, but rather with the intent to foster conversation and an exchange of ideas. It is an art that we have lost as a civilization, and unless we make an effort to relearn it, we will always be at each others throats.
That is all I have for this week. As always if you are looking to get in touch, best way is to send me an email jay@theballisticassistant.com. You may check us out on Parler (Yes, they are back online now.) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
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The Ballistic Assistant