Image courtesy Warrior Talk News.

There is an interesting post on Warrior Talk News about “The Combat Lever Action Rifle”.

Living in one of the most restrictive states in the US one is sometimes forced to get very creative to find effective defensive tools.
For those who are not familiar with California’s laws, centerfire autoloader rifles are highly restricted to the point where many police officers will err on the side of caution and take a rifle in for safe keeping if they are not sure whether or not it fall under California Assault Weapons Law.
That said, two years ago, I began looking at non-autoloading rifle platforms that will allow a quick rate of fire, handle fast and ambidextrous, have a good choice of effective calibers and hold a decent amount of ammunition. Gabriel Suarez’ work on the combat lever action rifle came to mind and I began researching this platform.

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B55YJuc7bbexNDIwZjU4MDktNThjMi00MWIzLWJmMGYtMjVhYjY0ZjdjY2Uy&hl=en

During the meeting, Mr. Clark was convinced to allow the current Supreme Court bound cases including Richards v. Prieto and Peruta v. San Diego to proceed toward a hopeful, successful conclusion, thus properly positioning California to gain Shall Issue Concealed Carry Status through the courts, instead of the ballot box.

Calguns vocally opposed the ballot measure, and it seems that Ignatius Piazza has listened.

Mini-14 MCS Upgrade Package courtesy Troy Industries.

Tapco Intrafuse Stock system courtesy Tapco.

Ruger Strikeforce Stock courtesy ATI.

SCAR Chassis courtesy Sage International.

The aftermarket has really come through with some interesting products for the Mini-14 in recent years. The magazine problem has been fixed by Tapco, and though there are many people having trouble finding the Gen II magazines online, it’s mostly because of product confusion.

TAPCO didn’t change their part number, packaging, or the UPC code on their Mini-14 magazines. The packaging doesn’t say “Gen 2″ anywhere and if you are buying these magazines online, there is no way to tell which ones you are going to get.

Credit: jerkingthetrigger.com.

FP-45 Liberator courtesy Wikipedia.

The Heizer Defense DoubleTap got me thinking about the FP-45 Liberator, a gun that I’ve always been fascinated by. The FP-45 Liberator was a cheap single-shot pistol made during World War II. It was intended to be distributed in mass quantities to arm resistance forces in occupied countries, and as a psychological weapon against enemy morale.

The FP-45 was a crude, single-shot pistol designed to be cheaply and quickly mass produced. The Liberator had just 23 largely stamped and turned steel parts that were cheap and easy to manufacture. It fired a .45 caliber pistol cartridge from an unrifled barrel. Due to the unrifled barrel, it was intended for very close ambush (1-4 m). Its maximum effective range was only about 25 feet (less than 8 m). At longer range, the bullet would begin to tumble and stray off course. Because of the low quality, it was nicknamed the “Woolworth gun.”

The Inland Guide Lamp Manufacturing Division of the General Motors Corporation designed the gun in Dayton, Ohio. One million units were produced in 6 months in Anderson, Indiana. It’s as American as apple pie.

The Liberator was shipped in a cardboard box with 10 rounds of .45 ACP ammunition, a wooden dowel to remove the empty cartridge case, and an instruction sheet in comic strip form showing how to load and fire the weapon. Extra rounds of ammunition could be stored in the pistol grip.

After production, the Army turned the Liberators over to the OSS. A crude and clumsy weapon, the Liberator was never intended for front line service. It was originally intended as an insurgency weapon to be mass dropped behind enemy lines to resistance fighters in occupied territory. A resistance fighter was to recover the weapon, sneak up on an Axis occupier, kill or incapacitate him, and retrieve his weapons.

The weapon was valued as much for its psychological warfare effect as its actual field performance. It was believed that if vast quantities of these weapons could be delivered into Axis occupied territory, it would have a devastating effect on the morale of occupying troops. The plan was to drop the weapon in such great quantities that occupying forces could never capture or recover all the weapons. It was hoped that the thought of thousands of these unrecovered weapons potentially in the hands of the citizens of occupied countries would have a deleterious effect on enemy morale.

The Liberator (like all firearms) is a literal symbol of freedom from tyranny and oppression. It represents individual liberty and armed resistance. It embodies the same American spirit as the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, originals are rare and quite pricy, but they are being reproduced.

Image courtesy Vintage Ordnance Company, LLC.

The Vintage Ordnance reproduction Liberator is very true to the original, with the largest deviation being the addition of a rifled barrel. The original delivered cost for the FP-45 was $2.40/unit (in 1942). The Vintage Ordnance Company reproduction FP-45 Liberator will cost you $500 alone, or $600 with authentic reproduction box, dowel, and instruction sheet. The blueprints are available online if you’d like to try to build one yourself.

Deer Gun courtesy Wikipedia.

The successor to the Liberator was the Deer Gun, a Vietnam-era single-shot pistol that fired a 9mm cartridge.

I’ve never been a big fan of Derringers. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to shoot one, but that’s mostly just because I’ve never shot one before (and because I like to shoot anything). I see no reasonable, practical point to a Derringer. Unless maybe if I had a license to carry and little to no real concealment method- something I can only imagine in my head (like trying to carry a gun in a Speedo- a strange hypothetical scenario). Then I would simply want the smallest possible firearm, regardless of practical ability, and even then I worry about exposed triggers and difficulty to shoot accurately. That being said, I don’t think anyone ever needs to rationalize or justify an unorthodox or impractical gun purchase.

The Heizer Defense DoubleTap is arguably just that- another answer to a question we never asked. Still, I see this gun as a more practical, logical evolution of the Derringer design (with a little bit of Liberator mixed in). And I think there are people that should take a second look at this. Most notably, I think this would make a great carry gun for athletes.

Athletic clothing, while great for mobility and comfort, fits too tightly to offer concealment for a firearm. This is where the DoubleTap shines. It fits in the rear jersey pocket of a cyclist, or even in a tire repair kit under the seat. It can be packed into a small Camelbak to take along on a hike. Put simply, it is perfect for carrying a firearm when you have every excuse not to carry one.

DoubleTap™ Specifications*:

Caliber:          .45 ACP, 9MM

Weight:          14 oz Titanium (empty), 12 oz Aluminum (empty)

Width:            .665 inches

Length:           5.5 inches

Height:           3.9 inches

Barrel:            3.0 inches

Frame:           Titanium or Aluminum

Aluminum: $499.00 (non-ported), $569.00 (ported)

Titanium: $729.00 (non-ported), $799.00 (ported)

Conversion Kits (Barrel Assembly and 2 HEIZER Loading Devices)

45 ACP or 9mm: $249.00 (non-ported), $319.00 (ported)

Image courtesy Armory Blog.

Heizer Defense takes your grandfather’s Derringer to the next level. It’s bigger than the typical Derringer, allowing for more control of the gun while firing. The trigger is guarded, increasing safety and peace of mind. The gun can be ordered with a ported barrel (optional) that reduces recoil and muzzle flip. It holds an additional two rounds in the grip compartment.