Massad Ayoob's Blog, page 5

APPENDIX CARRY

A few years ago at the pistol match held in conjunction with Tom and Lynn Givens’ Rangemaster Tactical Conference, I was midway through the final shoot-off and had beaten all my opponents…until I came up against Spencer Keepers. After the start signal, my pistol was just coming up on target when I heard Spencer fire. […]

IN THE MATTER OF MUTUAL COMBAT

Mutual combat – “Let’s you and me fight!” – is generally against the law. For a very long time in American law and longer than that in the English Common Law from which our own derives, the rule in mutual combat has been the one who ends up horizontal goes in the meat wagon and […]

GOOD GUN CHEAP

Ruger has earned a reputation for reasonably priced, rugged, high value for the dollar firearms since the company was founded in 1949. The tradition continues with their new RXM, something of a clone of the hugely popular 9mm Glock 19 pistol. Here’s my assessment of it, from the issue of GUNS magazine now on the […]

HEAR, HEAR

Our old friend and 2A champion Dave Workman calls for reciprocity of concealed carry nationwide. I join him emphatically in that call.  Our marriage licenses and drivers’ licenses are recognized across all state lines – why not our right to protect ourselves and our families?

THE BEST SYSTEM IS STILL NOT PERFECT

Having spent most of my adult life working in the criminal justice system – variously as arresting officer, police prosecutor, expert witness often working for the defense – I find truth in the common saying that “The United States has the best justice system in the world but it’s still not perfect.”In support of that […]

REVOLVER CLASS

Does that photo above, which mimics the common police pose from the past of officers holding up their open service revolvers for inspection, bring anyone back to the old days? I hope so, because that’s why we posed it that way. Nostalgia is a thing. The efficient use of the double-action, swing-out cylinder revolver seems […]

MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE IN CONNECTICUT SELF-DEFENSE CASE

A clear-cut case of self-defense in Connecticut has resulted in a conviction for manslaughter. Having been extremely familiar with this case and reviewing the evidence, I am absolutely certain the verdict was a profound miscarriage of justice. Read about it here and read the link therein. I have recommended the best appellate lawyer for the case and […]

THE DANGER FROM BULLETS FALLING FROM THE SKY

I’ve been through half a dozen major homicide investigation and officer-involved shooting investigation courses and several shorter ones. In many of those, forensic pathologists showed us pictures of corpses made dead by bullets that “fell from the sky.”  Some cultures, including some subcultures in the US unfortunately, shoot joyously into the air in what is […]

SEVENTY YEARS AGO THIS YEAR…

From my monthly column in GUNS magazine.

RECONSIDERING POWERING DOWN

Remembering my recently deceased friend John Taffin I was reminded how over the years, he shot the hell out of super-powerful handguns like the .500 Linebaugh and hot-loaded .44 Magnum, and wound up with injured hands and wrists. In his writing, he warned the rest of us about it, and set an example by publicly […]