LearnAboutGuns.com 

The question of which gun cleaning solvent, protectant, and lubricant to use is one that comes rather often.  This article addresses my thoughts and recommendations insofar as gun solvents/oils/protectants are concerned: Read the rest of this article »

Joe Biden, the running mate of Barack Obama, is one of the most anti gun rights politicians in Government: Read the rest of this article »

As I’ve previously mentioned, crime in England has skyrocketed since their passage of strict gun control laws.  The criminals still shoot innocent citizens, and gun smugglers bring illegal guns into the UK just as illegal drugs are imported.  The criminals who are willing to commit violent crimes such as murder are just as willing to violate a relatively minor gun control law.  Tired of seeing law abiding citizens at the mercy of criminals, Graham Showell decided to do something: Read the rest of this article »

The video clip below shows how quickly a magazine can be reloaded, even by those who are relatively new to firearms (such as these cadets). Further proof that the “assault weapons” bans are ineffective and simply another way to whittle down the Second Amendment. Read the rest of this article »

I’ve seen that some people, most of whom have never fired a gun, are opposed to parents teaching their children to fire guns.  I disagree, and feel that children who are interested in firearms should be taught to shoot under responsible adult supervision, once they are mature enough to do so safely. Read the rest of this article »

As Press Democrat reports, depressed Iraq war veteran Corporal Matthew Jensen called 911 for help.  The police arrived and eventually took him to the Veteran’s Administration for treatment.  However, the officers discovered a deactivated 1940’s-era SKS rifle on floor, which Matthew had taken from a dead Iraqi sniper and brought back as a gift for his father.  The rifle’s firing pin and mechanism had been removed, rending it inoperable, however the California state prosecutor decided to charge Matthew with a felony violation of California’s “assault weapon” ban law: Read the rest of this article »

This video clip demonstrates the steps to disassemble and reassemble your AK-47, for cleaning. Read the rest of this article »

Proper cleaning is important to keep all firearms functioning reliably, however it seems to be especially important for the AR-15. This video clip demonstrates the steps to disassemble and reassemble your AR-15, for cleaning. Read the rest of this article »

As the Indy Star reports, a Franklin, IN man took his bolt action, .22LR caliber rifle and confronted a burglar. The burglar wrestled the gun away from the home owner, James Duncan, and shot him in the shoulder. Mr. Duncan survived, and there are important lessons to be learned here: Read the rest of this article »

I’ve seen increasing talk about the “benefits” of making gun manufacturers liable for criminals that misuse their guns, and thought it would be a good topic for an article

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Purchasing a gun now is a prudent choice, given the fact that when you actually need the gun, it will be too late to buy it. I am not speaking of the world ending or other unlikely events (no, I don’t believe society will collapse any time soon) but rather about events that can and do happen, when it helps to have a gun: Read the rest of this article »

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has declared the Second Amendment protects the right of an individual to keep and bear arms, striking down the (failed) District of Columbia handgun ban. This article discusses what exactly the court held, and what that means for American gun owners: Read the rest of this article »

The pros and cons of pistol caliber carbines, which are rifles that have a relatively short barrel and are chambered for pistol cartridges, are discussed below: Read the rest of this article »

Everyone is welcome at the 6th Annual ISRA Range Open House!
Just west of Kankakee, IL on Saturday, June 21st 2008 - 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM
FREE PARKING! FREE ADMISSION! RAIN or SHINE! Read the rest of this article »

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is proposing several anti-gun rights laws as the answer to gang violence. These laws won’t affect gang members, who are already willing to break the laws against selling drugs, committing murder, and being felons who unlawfully possess guns. Read the rest of this article »

Gun control laws, especially the bans on so called “assault weapons“, tend to be highly technical in nature.  Such laws include arbitrary limitations on the length of barrels, the number of round a magazine can store, cosmetic features of the gun, etc.  This leaves the average law abiding citizen unaware that they might be violating the law, until they are  arrested.  Worse yet, some laws are rather vague, leaving even the most diligent and well educated citizen unable to determine if they are in violation.  Given the severe penalties in place for having a handgun magazine that holds one round to many, or a rifle barrel that is a half an inch too short, these laws are some of the most unjust currently on the books.  Below are some examples: Read the rest of this article »

In response to my articles on selecting a gun for home defense, taking a friend shooting for the first time, and facts about recoil, I have been asked how one can get used to the recoil generated by more powerful guns. Getting used to recoil is not too challenging, as this article explains. Read the rest of this article »

The Streamlight TLR-2 is a combination tactical light and laser, which mounts on the accessory rails of handguns, shotguns, and rifles. My review of this well built tactical accessory is below: Read the rest of this article »

I have previously discussed how the bans on so called “assault weapons” only ban cosmetic and safety features of guns that are not true military style guns anyway, while not reducing crime or even being rationally related to crime.  Now I’ll address the fact that criminals simply don’t tend to use these so called “assault weapons”, which makes banning them even more pointless. Read the rest of this article »

Chicago Alderman Richard Mell owns a variety of shotguns, rifles, and pistols, but forgot to re-register them, which makes the handguns permanently illegal and unregisterable under Chicago law.  Since he wants to keep his handguns, he is proposing a 1 month registration amnesty period.  The catch?  It would only apply to people who happened to have failed to re-register in the same time frame as him.  Chicago’s Mayor Daley endorses this plan, which is designed to benefit an influential alderman, while the vast majority of Chicago’s law abiding citizens will be left without the ability to keep a handgun to defend themselves. Read the rest of this article »

Shooting is a great sport for everyone.  I say that not just because it is fun, but because it does not have to have the same physical requirements as many other sports.  This allows a lot of people to participate and excel at shooting, even if they could not do the same in other sports.  Shooting is also great for the most physically fit among us, who are seeking a new challenge. Read the rest of this article »

Pump action shotguns and rifles are well suited to home defense, due to their reliability. An added benefit of pump action is that it makes storing the firearm in a relatively safe yet ready to use fashion easier. While this practice is likely obvious to those experienced with pump action firearms, it may not be as obvious for those more familiar with other action types, or those new to firearms. This article describes how to store a pump action firearm in a safe yet ready to use manner. Read the rest of this article »

The Remington 7600 is a pump action rifle, available in a variety of calibers. Its action is similar to that of the Remington 870 series shotgun, making this rifle easy to transition to for those familiar with pump action shotguns. The pump action nature of this rifle also exempts it from some of the more stringent gun bans, which is (sadly) something that must be considered by some law abiding gun owners these days. My review of the Remington 7600 is below. Read the rest of this article »

The Ruger 10/22 is a great gun for target practice. It is inexpensive but of high quality, and the ammunition it fires, .22 long rifle (.22LR), is just a few cents per cartridge. My review of the Ruger 10/22 is below. Read the rest of this article »

Guns ownership and sporting use is a special hobby like no other.  And I’m not only speaking about the unique fun and physics that go along with responsible firearms use -  Whether you are interested in hunting, target practice, or collecting, firearms as a hobby require something that almost no other hobby requires: Read the rest of this article »

Lawfully purchasing a gun online requires only a little bit more work than purchasing most other items online, and this extra effort can be worth the price savings.  Other times, the exact firearm that the buyer wants might not be available locally, especially when the gun in question is no longer in production, or is a high demand item that is in short supply.  This article describes the relatively simple process of legally purchasing a gun online. Read the rest of this article »

In response to the shootings of over 30 people in a 48 hour period, Chicago’s Mayor Daley will arm the police with M4 Carbines.  These machine guns’ rate of fire is upwards of 700 round per minute in 3 round bursts. Read the rest of this article »

There are a few basics of safe gun handling that everyone should know and abide by before they even consider touching a gun, much less firing one.  Safely exercising our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms requires that we be responsible, for our own safety and for the safety of those around us. Read the rest of this article »

Selecting the right ammunition for home defense use is vital to effectively stopping an attacker and reducing the risk of injury to innocent bystanders. This article addresses recommendations for shotgun, handgun, and rifle ammunition. If you’re unsure as to what type of gun to get for home defense, see this article. Read the rest of this article »

Anti gun politicians and special interest groups have tried to argue that the Second Amendment should be limited to protecting guns with a “sporting purpose”. In other words, the anti gun groups believe that law abiding citizens should only be able to own guns designed for hunting or target practice, rather than self defense Read the rest of this article »

The federal government had an “assault weapons” ban from 1994 until 2004, and many state and local governments have enacted or considered enacted their own “assault weapon” bans. These bans make illegal many safety and utility features of guns, while not serving to prevent crime Read the rest of this article »

Gun terms defined: Read the rest of this article »

Many people purchase their first gun for home defense, and the question of which type of gun to pick is a common one. The three basic choices are a handgun, shotgun, or rifle. Of the three, I would recommend a Read the rest of this article »

Below are links to various national and state rifle associations and pro-gun groups Read the rest of this article »

I am relatively new to firearms and had trouble locating a gun store and range near my home, which is in the Chicagoland area Read the rest of this article »

I believe that firearms rights are a gender equality issue as well, and bans on firearms (especially handgun bans) are discriminatory against women. Allow me to explain why Read the rest of this article »

There are a variety of ways that we can all do our part to protect gun rights. I have listed a few of these ways below Read the rest of this article »

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Welcome! This site is dedicated to preserving the individual right of law abiding citizens of Illinois and the United States as a whole to possess firearms for self defense as well as sporting purposes. I created this site after recognizing the growing threat to our right to keep and bear arms, and hope to both dispel the myths surrounding guns and “gun crime“, as well as to provide useful information to those who already support firearms rights.

I also hope to persuade those who don’t currently support gun rights, through the use of polite and well reasoned arguments, including information about why I have a gun. I firmly believe that polite debate, which focuses on the issues and facts rather than on personal attacks and hyperbole, is what we as a society need when it comes to issues such as gun rights.

Information that may be helpful to people who are new to guns is available here too. This includes information on selecting a firearm for home defense, selecting the ammunition for home defense, firearms maintenance, legally purchasing a gun online, safe and responsible gun storage, reviews of various guns and accessories, etc.

I also have taken a few moments to address myths about gun stores and their customers for those in my demographic (African American).

Another goal of this site is to encourage my fellow firearms rights supporters to do their part to protect gun rights. This includes joining the NRA, the ISRA, and taking further action to help safeguard and expand our gun rights. Without the involvement of gun owners in the political process, the anti gun groups will succeed at taking away our gun rights.

Those who have a gun related question that is not already addressed by this site are encouraged to contact me, and I will likely be willing to write an article addressing the question. I’ve tried to write articles addressing many of the questions I can think of, however I’m certain there are many areas I have yet to address. Since the goal of this site is to “learn about guns,” feel free to ask away.

The Gun related book store and DVD store contains the books and DVDs which I recommend.

Finally, the discussion forum is a place to discuss and debate gun rights, self defense, various firearms, and related issues.

Main Categories:

Contact the Author - If you have any questions, concerns, suggestions for this site, or would like to have a polite and civil debate about firearms rights, I can be reached by email.

Gun and Accessory Reviews - Reviews of various firearms and accessories.

Gun-Related News - Regularly updated gun-related current events. Includes legislation, events that have taken place, and commentary.

Help Protect Our Gun Rights - You can participate in the political process to protect our 2nd amendment rights.

How-To Guides and Other Info - Getting started with responsible and lawful gun ownership in Illinois, along with technical information about guns, cleaning guns, etc.

Links - Links to other relevant sites.

Pro Gun Rights Articles - Articles discussing general firearms related issues, from a pro-firearms perspective.

Video Clips - Firearms related video clips.

Legally Buying Guns Online - Lawfully purchasing a gun online requires only a little bit more work than purchasing most other items online. The extra effort can easily be worth the price savings and wider selection. This article describes the relatively simple process of legally purchasing a gun online.

Gun Related Books & DVDs - Recommended gun related books and DVDs.

In recent years, the Cook County, Illinois commissioners have ramped up their efforts to prevent law abiding citizens from possessing firearms Read the rest of this article »