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Born again Cynic! Related Topics

NRA Controversy Continues Organization Sues Its Own Fundraising Arm By Brent Wheat

The National Rifle Association has gone through a period of tremendous upheaval after the courts
found former NRA officials guilty of financial mismanagement. Now, the legal troubles continue as
the NRA is taking on it’s own fundraising arm in court.

For years, NRA members were told everything was hunky-dory, and most of us believed it.

Then came the fight between Oliver North and Wayne LaPierre, the “AckMack” troubles and finally the lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The allegations were explosive, but they are no longer just allegations after a jury weighed the evidence — Wayne LaPierre and other senior NRA officials were found liable for misconduct involving the organization’s finances.

Wayne LaPierre, former NRA CEO was ordered to pay back four million dollars to the NRA
and cannot serve as an NRA officer or director for 10 Years.

LaPierre was ordered to repay more than $4 million to the NRA and was later barred from serving as an NRA officer or director for 10 years. Recent appeals have upheld those penalties. Of course, the damage went far beyond the courtroom.

Troubles Ending?

The NRA spent years and tens of millions of dollars fighting legal battles while membership, revenue and most importantly, political influence, declined. Thankfully, reform-minded members eventually won key board elections and sought to move the organization beyond the LaPierre era. Many members assumed that was the end of the story.

It wasn’t.

Today, a new controversy is unfolding between the NRA and what was formerly known as the NRA Foundation.

The NRA filed suit against the foundation to prevent it from using the name or likeness of the NRA. On June 2, 2026, the NRA Foundation announced it would rebrand as the 1791 Foundation. Foundation President Tom King stated that the organization’s mission remains unchanged and the rebranding is intended to strengthen its ability to support firearms education, youth programs, law enforcement training, and other charitable initiatives. Critics, however, note that the ongoing dispute centers not only on the foundation’s charitable mission but also on its historic role as a supporting organization for the NRA. Whether the rebranding represents a change in identity, a change in mission, or simply a change in name is likely to remain a central point of disagreement.

Specifically, the NRA’s complaint asserts that foundation officials “sought to sever the relationship between the NRA and the Foundation by attempting to strip the NRA of its right to appoint the Foundation’s directors and seizing that power for themselves.” The foundation rejects those allegations and argues it is acting independently and in accordance with its charitable responsibilities. The dispute is now being fought in court. As many of the parties involved are famously litigious, I’ll refrain from asking more pointed questions until more facts are known.

Friends of NRA

Part of the confusion stems from the fact that many gun owners have long viewed the NRA and NRA Foundation as essentially the same organization. They are not. The NRA is the membership and advocacy organization (technically a 501(c)(4) organization) that conducts lobbying, political activity, training programs, competitions and member services. The NRA Foundation (a 501(c)(3) organization under tax code) was created as a separate charitable organization to raise tax-deductible donations for firearms education, youth programs, grants and related charitable purposes.

Most NRA members never paid much attention to the distinction because the two organizations worked closely together and shared a common mission. Historically, the NRA Foundation worked closely with the NRA and funded many NRA-related programs, while also making grants to youth shooting sports, clubs, law-enforcement training, conservation efforts, and other charitable initiatives.

According to recent reports, the 1791 Foundation controls roughly $160 million in net assets, while the NRA itself reported approximately $15.7 million in net assets. In other words, the charitable organization at the center of the current dispute controls the overwhelming majority of the financial resources involved. At its core, the legal battle centers on control of substantial charitable assets and how those resources will be used going forward.

The Question

Most members have neither the time nor the desire to read court filings, tax returns, and legal briefs. They simply want to know whether their money is advancing the Second Amendment or funding another round of gamesmanship, so we’ll attempt to answer the question at the center of this debate: If NRA members voted for reform, did reform follow the money?

The LaPierre era taught NRA members that problems can remain hidden for years behind familiar names and repeated assurances that everything is under control. The lesson wasn’t that some NRA leaders were corrupt; the lesson was that the members should pay attention and never stop asking questions.

In other words, the old advice to “Trust but verify” is still good advice, so those same important questions need to be asked today:

• Who controls the assets?

• Who controls the fundraising?

• Who controls the grants?

• Who decides where donor dollars ultimately go?

Most importantly, how much overlap exists between today’s 1791 Foundation leadership and the NRA leadership structure in the years leading up to the New York verdict?

Meet the New Boss

Several names associated with the current 1791 Foundation are familiar to longtime NRA observers. Among them are Tom King and former NRA President Charles Cotton, both prominent figures within NRA leadership during the LaPierre years.

Neither man’s involvement proves wrongdoing, and they have not been accused of misconduct in connection with the current dispute. However, these associations invite increased scrutiny from members who spent the last several years fighting for accountability and transparency.

Foundation leaders tell a very different story. In a recent editorial, 1791 Foundation Vice President Ronnie Barrett argued the dispute began after the foundation gained greater independence and increased scrutiny of NRA reimbursement requests.

According to Barrett, trustees concluded that too much donor money was being spent on overhead and administrative expenses and chose to direct more funds toward charitable programs instead. Barrett contends the lawsuit is not about abandoning the NRA’s mission but about a charitable foundation exercising independent judgment over donor funds.

Barrett’s editorial focuses extensively on donor stewardship, overhead costs and the foundation’s independence from the NRA. However, it did not touch on the number of prominent LaPierre-era NRA leaders who now hold key positions within the 1791 Foundation.

 

 

Readers will have to decide for themselves whether the dispute is primarily about stewardship, as Barrett argues, or whether it also reflects a struggle between competing factions within the broader firearms community. Either way, the continued prominence of several longtime NRA leaders ensures that questions about continuity and accountability are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

Reasonable people can disagree about the merits of the NRA’s lawsuit, and the courts will ultimately sort out the competing claims. In the meantime, donors — especially those who previously donated to the NRA Foundation — should be asking legitimate questions about spending, governance, transparency and financial stewardship.

Takeaway

Trust is earned, and the NRA learned that lesson at great cost. The 1791 Foundation should expect to have to earn that same trust.

For donors, the issue is not whether the organization calls itself the NRA Foundation, the 1791 Foundation or the Committee to Keep and Arm Bears. The issue is whether contributions are advancing the mission donors intended to support.

The firearms community has already paid a steep price for years of misplaced trust. Before writing the next check or attending a “Friends” banquet, members should make sure they know not only where the money is going but also who is controlling it once it gets there.

The courts will eventually decide who wins the lawsuit. Donors should decide who earns their trust.

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Gear & Stuff

When Your Gun Safe Goes Bad by Todd Woodard

When Your Gun Safe Goes Bad

Shooters store cartridges, firearms and other valuables in their gun safes, with the idea that the big metal boxes will give up the goods when asked. But what happens when your safe says, “No”?

I got my Liberty Lincoln L-15 Deluxe model gun safe back in 1995 because I was a new father who had guns and ammunition in the house and a couple of just-ambulatory children.

Anyone who has faced this problem probably worked through the process much like I did. The worst outcome wasn’t some bad guy getting in, though that would be plenty bad, of course. No, the worst outcome I could imagine was one of my kids getting a gun and ammo I left out and hurting themselves. So, secure storage was a requirement.

broken-gun-safe-9
The Liberty Lincoln safe before the drill out. The author used the magnetic strip at 10 o’clock to hold a light while he examined the wires in the electronic keypad.

I quickly realized that I needed a perfect system. Not pretty good, but foolproof. One way to do that would be to lock up the guns and ammo separately, and never allow both to be out unattended, ever.

Because the guns were much bulkier and took up much more room, the easier answer was to store cartridges in the safe, so that there were never loaded rounds available for guns I might temporarily store in my office for photography or administrative use.

Then, I could lock the gun actions individually outside the safe while I was on site and store them when I was away. So, I wound up putting a lot of ammo in the Lincoln over the years. Because of these safety features, we never had any issues or scares.

Well, great, right? The kids grew up with only the holes that God gave them, and as adults, they moved away. But, out of habit, I kept the same storage system until 2020. I had a chance to go deer hunting for the first time in years, so I went to the safe to get my pet 25-06 Remington loads and go to the range.

When I bought the safe, I chose a Sargent & Greenleaf electronic lock because it was much faster to open than a dial lock, and I was in and out of the safe a lot, so I appreciated the convenience. This time, however, I hit the combination, and the numbers beeped when I keyed them, but I didn’t hear the “wearnt-wearnt” of the locking bolt moving. Just a “wearnt” sound, and no movement.

broken-gun-safe-7
The balky Sargent & Greenleaf electronic lock that died during COVID. For the 25 years previously, entering a six-digit code on the keypad retracted a bolt, allowing the handle to turn and unlock the door bolts.

No worries. Probably just needed to change the batteries. Swapped them out with brand-new Duracells, and the keypad beeps sounded fine, but I still heard just a single “wearnt” sound after the combination. And the handle wouldn’t turn. Hmm.

broken-gun-safe-6
The back of the keypad face is at left, with the exterior mounting bracket for the electronic lock on the right. The old unlocking code is on the envelope, with some digits blurred out. Two 9-volt batteries powered the lock.

This had actually happened before when one of the four leads from the keypad to the lock mechanism had pulled loose, and needed to be reinserted. So, I popped off the keypad and checked the wires. All looked good.

Well, this was no bueno. I messed around for a couple of weeks trying to get the danged thing open to no avail. So, I eventually called a locksmith referred by the Liberty website, and that’s when the fun began.

The First Visit

The locksmith came up to my second-floor office. He was a contractor for the local dealer who had humped the safe up the stairs many years ago. We looked at the safe documentation I had, and I got more bad news.

I had the Deluxe L-15, which had a recessed 3/8-inch-thick hardened-steel door with triple relockers, 10 1-inch shielded bolts, and internal hinges. The sides and top were 10-gauge steel. The 24.5×60.5×20-inch box had 16 cubic feet of storage and weighed about 450 pounds unloaded. But with the ammo on its floor, it was much heavier than that.

A Diamalloy hardplate, heat-treated to achieve a much harder surface, sat between the interior door surface and the front of the lock body to, of course, resist drilling of the lock. The only good news was that the safe wasn’t bolted to the floor.

broken-gun-safe-4
Here are the basic implements needed to drill out a safe lock. Might as well buy your carbide-tipped drill bits by the dozen. Fun fact: The locksmith was insistent that he never be photographed or recorded on video. Reason: He does frequent law-enforcement work (with search warrants), entering into criminals’ gun, drug, and money safes, where firearms they shouldn’t own and cash they’ve acquired through bake sales and other methods are stored. It is an important life lesson to realize that people with tattoos on their faces don’t take kindly to having their stuff seized, and the guy who gets their safes open isn’t immune from retaliation.

The locksmith used the master code. It didn’t work.

He said, “The lock mechanism is dead. Happens with the electronics. Sometimes they just quit. And we can’t get replacements these days because the boards are sourced out of China.” There weren’t any in the U.S., and there was no prospect of any becoming available for years.

broken-gun-safe-2
The long stick with the loop on the end is used to exert extra leverage on the door handle. A chain can be hooked on the loop (arrow) and then wrapped around the base of the handle to turn the spindle.

He explained that when the correct code is entered into the lock keypad, the electronic circuit activates a solenoid or motor that retracts the bolt (“wearnt-wearnt”), allowing the locking bar inside the door to move the locking bolts when the handle is turned. Because the circuitry had died, that bolt was stuck in place.

Well, crap.

broken-gun-safe-14
Factory-suggested locations for the lock body didn’t pan out, so the locksmith began a grid search.

More common issues than a circuit-board failure are people forgetting their combinations, losing their keys, or damaging a mechanical lock, so being locked out wasn’t that uncommon. He said there were a couple of ways to get in.

broken-gun-safe-13
Several holes drilled through the door are apparent, with one designated by the arrow. The locksmith asked the author not to show how the lock body fits into the door locking mechanism because other safes have similar geometry, and revealing their design could make breaking into them easier for unauthorized users.

Grinding or torch-cutting a hole in the sides or back were two ways to get in, but both posed fire hazards, and the safe was in an upstairs carpeted office. Besides not wanting to burn the house down, I also ruled out grinding and cutting the safe open because of the sizable amount of handgun and rifle ammunition that was in there, along with several backup drives that couldn’t tolerate sparks or slag, and some guns and documents.

Fortunately, there was no gunpowder, primed cases, unboxed primers, or other hazardous chemicals that could go boom in an enclosed steel box.

broken-gun-safe-11
The lock mechanism. When you enter the device code, the wheels underneath the arm align, allowing the arm to retract the gold-colored bolt at the bottom. With the bolt out of the way, the handle can turn the spindle, retracting the door bolts. Part of the trick of drilling out the safe lock is bypassing the safe relocker (arrow). It provides an additional layer of protection, ensuring that even if the primary lock is compromised, the safe remains secure. These devices are designed to lock a safe automatically if an unauthorized attempt is made to tamper with or break into it. The locksmith kept the mechanical relocker from engaging during the drill out.

The locksmith also mentioned that the lock could be drilled out, basically a process of drilling to locate the lock inside the door and then driving the lock housing off the door with a punch. With the locking bolt moved, that would allow the door handle to retract the bolts in the door, et voilà.

broken-gun-safe-3
After nearly a dozen holes, the locksmith was able to drill into the lock body on the S&G mechanism. This shows the full length of the inside of the safe door with the lining off.

Conclusion

When your gun safe goes kaput, it can be a real pain in the keister. If my experience with a failed electronic keypad has you second-guessing a gun safe purchase, you might consider a good, old-fashioned combination lock type. Either way you decide to go, learn from my experience and avoid the pitfalls. The final tally for my little misadventure? All in for drilling and new lock: $1,100. The experience of watching the process? Priceless.

broken-gun-safe-12
Part of the Sargent & Greenleaf lock body that sat inside the door. Pray you never get to see this on your safe.
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All About Guns

Ruger Mark III Hunter-Target .22LR

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All About Guns Fieldcraft

5 Reasons Not To Carry A Gun In A Purse

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All About Guns

FN SCAR 16s Field Strip

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Art War

1807, Friedland by Ernest Meissonier

I wonder about how many boys over the years have joined the services because of this painting? Grumpy

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All About Guns

A Colt Third Model Dragoon Percussion Revolver, serial no. 12406

This Dragoon model revolver and its mate (presented to the Czar of Russia) are considered among Colt’s masterpieces. Apparently, they were created as part of a set of three pairs of gold-inlaid revolvers that Colt took with him to Europe in 1854.

That year saw the outbreak of the Crimean War, which pitted Russia against Turkey and her allies, Great Britain and France. Colt aggressively marketed arms to both sides.

In November 1854, he presented three gold-inlaid revolvers, one example from each pair, to Czar Nicholas I of Russia. Of these, the Third Model Dragoon serial number 12407 (now in The Hermitage, Saint Petersburg) is actually the mate to the Museum’s pistol, serial number 12406.

The gift clearly demonstrated the technical and artistic aspects of Colt’s product, while its patriotic motifs proudly proclaimed its American origin. The museum’s pistol features a portrait of George Washington and the Arms of the United States, while on the Czar’s pistol there are a view of America’s capitol building and a personification of American industry.

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All About Guns

What some real shock wave looks like

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Gear & Stuff

Because Everyone Needs a Boot Knife: SOG and Cold Steel By Tim Stetzer

While EDC knives are certainly tools, I think anyone who carries a gun also acknowledges that they’re a backup weapon as well. Especially in a weapons retention situation.

Even if you don’t carry a gun, if you carry a knife you’re probably cognizant of its defensive potential if needed. While there are a lot of knives out there that you can choose from, with a lot of good reasons why, let’s take a look at the humble boot knife and a couple of examples from SOG Knives and Cold Steel. 

What’s a Boot Knife

So how do we define a boot knife? Well, if you’re a kid of the 1980’s you know immediately what I mean by a boot knife. The style was epitomized by the classic Gerber MK I and was copied by myriad Japanese companies at the time.

Generally we’re talking about a double edged, fixed blade knife with a blade ranging from 3 to 5 inches or so. Handles at the time were typically cast aluminum, although you did see wood and stacked leather options as well.

They got the nickname boot knives because they typically had a sheath with a metal clip that allowed it to be tucked inside the waistband or, as the name implies, to the top of your boot. Boot knives didn’t originate in the 80’s but I feel like that’s when this particular style came into its own.

As far as usage goes, boot knives follow the basic dagger principle. While you certainly can slash with one, they’re really designed for stabbing.

Now, I’m never going to advise against getting training. If you can do it, you absolutely should. Anything you do, you’re going to do better with some training under your belt. With that said, if you’re trying to get someone off of you or away from your primary weapon, a good way to do that is to poke some holes in them. 

The boot knife is pretty well designed for poking holes. Being that its main purpose is poking, it honestly doesn’t need to be made of any kind of super steel. This isn’t a hunting knife, a bushcraft knife, or even an EDC utility knife. Yeah, you can open your Amazon boxes with it, but that doesn’t exactly require anything fancy either. Knife guys get obsessed about boutique super steels, but you honestly don’t need them for everything, and that helps keep costs down.

Old vs New

I had a Gerber MK I that I bought in the PX when I went into the Army, I also had a couple of the Japanese knock offs before that, and learned some lessons from those. First off, even the Gerber, which was the gold standard of boot knives, didn’t have anything fancy steel wise. They were made from 440C stainless steel, which was good, but not anything crazy. The Japanese ones were often made from 420HC. Not as good, but good enough for their intended use. I never really saw much difference between the two for what the knives were used for. 

If you try and look for an old Gerber MK I you’ll see they have quite the collectors market these days, and prices are well over $100 depending on condition. Even the Japanese knock offs from the era have a surprising following and will run $50 to $100 or more depending on model and condition. 

If you want a boot knife today though, there are still affordable options, just like those Japanese models were back in the 1980’s. Manufacturing is going to be mostly in China or Taiwan, but the prices are right for something that’s going to be mainly just carried around and only used in an emergency. Let’s take a look at some options I found from SOG and Cold Steel and see what you get for your money.

The Cold Steel Counter Tac I & II

Cold Steel is a brand that just about everyone is familiar with. They have a reputation for making rugged knives and their boot knives stay true to that. At first glance they follow the same basic double edge design as the old Gerber MK I but there are differences. 

They use an injection molded Kray-Ex handle over a full tang. The Kray-Ex has a rubber like feel that adds texture to give you a sure grip. Blades are made from AUS8A, which falls in between 420HC and 440C in properties. That’s plenty good for a boot knife. The Counter Tac has an interesting grind, being a double edged bevel on one side and a concave grind on the opposite. In theory this should enhance penetration. I’m not sure how much practical effect it has or not, but it certainly doesn’t detract from the knife’s capabilities. 

The Counter Tac’s comes with a Secure Ex sheath with a belt and boot clip that is durable and resistant to sweat or environmental conditions. Retention is molded in to the lip of the sheath. Cold Steel makes two sizes, the Counter Tac I and Counter Tac II.

The Counter Tac I features an overall length of 9.5 inches. It has a 5 inch spear point blade with a stonewash finish and a thickness of 5mm. The 4.5 inch durable Kray-Ex handle is symmetrical with a double guard and a lanyard hole at the butt. It weighs just 4.6 ounces. The knives are made in Taiwan and the MSRP is $79.99, although street prices tend to be under $50. 

The Counter Tac II is a good bit smaller with an overall length of 6.75 inches. It features a 3 3/8 inch spear point blade with a stonewashed finish and a thickness of 4mm. Same style grind as the Tac I. The 3 3/8 inch handle is made from Kray-Ex like its bigger brother. The Tac II is feathery at only 2.1 ounces. It comes with a Secure-Ex sheath with belt clip but also includes a chain that allows it to be carried as a neck knife. MSRP is $54.99 with street prices running $35- $40 with some shopping around. 

The SOG Nightshade

SOG’s Nightshade boot knife has an overall length of 9 inches. It features a 4.75 inch dagger style blade made from 420 stainless steel.

It has a flat double edge grind, and black finish. The 4.25-inch handle is injection molded black polymer. It doesn’t have the rubbery feel of Cold Steel’s Kray-Ex, but is well textured and grooved for a secure grip. It also has a brass lined lanyard hole at the butt.

Following the classic boot knife pattern its handle is symmetrical with a double guard. It’s a touch lighter than the Counter Tac I at 4.16 ounces. The Nightshade includes a nylon sheath with retention strap and belt loop. It’s made in China and has an MSRP of only $34.95 with some online prices running as low as $25. 

Handling and Performance

The Counter Tac 1 and the Nightshade handle pretty similarly. They’re about the same size and weight.

I prefer the tackier feel of the Kray-Ex handle and the wasp waisted handle design on the Counter Tac, but functionally they both work equally well. The knives are nimble in the hand and work well in a variety of grips thanks to the symmetrical handles. You don’t need to worry about edge orientation with a double edge dagger profile either.

The Counter Tac II is a lot smaller than the other two knives. I can still get a three and half finger grip on it though. The handle material and grip shape actually make it feel pretty secure despite being so compact. 

Testing of a dagger style blade is a lot different than testing a utility knife or a bushcraft knife. I did try various thrusts and stabs at stacked cardboard targets, both bare and covered in layers of old denim. The sharp tips penetrated easily and I could generally get full blade penetration with all three knives. Slashes with the tip were shallow but still would probably be rather nasty. I even did cut open some boxes and packages and yes, they do still work for that too!

When it comes to carry, the Cold Steel sheaths are by far the winners. The slim profile and clips allowed for a variety of carry methods. Inside the waistband was my preferred method, but they also clipped to my pack straps and MOLLE vest easily too. Plus, the Counter Tac II could be worn as a neck knife. The Nightshade’s traditional drop style sheath pretty much limited it to be carried on the belt. Not great for concealment for sure. I was able to zip tie it to my pack, which did work okay though.

Best Budget Backup?

So is a boot knife your best bet for a budget back up blade? I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it certainly is an option. All of the blades covered here have street prices around $50 or less so they’re pretty affordable too. They may not have the high end materials you see on other EDC blades, but they really don’t need them for what they’re intended to do. 

Of the three blades I give the nod to the Cold Steel Counter Tac 1 as being my overall pic for feel and handling, and the sheath. It’s the most expensive option though. The Counter Tac is definitely viable if you want something smaller. SOG’s Nightshade is the best deal, and is still a solid choice although personally I’d have to invest in a Kydex or aftermarket sheath to make carry practical. The traditional belt style drop loop sheath just doesn’t seem that practical for this style knife in my opinion. 

As with anything else, check your local laws before stuffing a boot knife in your belt (or your boot). Pay attention to any length restrictions you may have in your area, or rules against double edged blades.  

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The Green Machine

America’s Strangest Tank of WW2?