GunMapUSA — Articles https://gunmapusa.com/articles/ Reporting and opinion on Second Amendment law, home building, and the research behind gun policy. en-us The CMP Is Selling 100,000 M14s. The Real Story Is How the Receivers Stopped Being Machineguns https://gunmapusa.com/articles/cmp-m14-surplus-shotguns-whats-coming/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/cmp-m14-surplus-shotguns-whats-coming/ Over 100,000 M14s under $2,000, plus 438 trench guns. The legal mechanism that made the rifles saleable has not been explained by anyone. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Cobra Economics: Why Gun Buybacks Fail by Design https://gunmapusa.com/articles/cobra-economics/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/cobra-economics/ The Delhi cobra bounty created cobra farms. A buyback rewards the cheapest qualifying gun — and the research says the events change nothing. GunMapUSA policy Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Constitutional Carry at 18 or 21: The Real Age Floors of Permitless Carry https://gunmapusa.com/articles/constitutional-carry-ages/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/constitutional-carry-ages/ The 29 permitless-concealed-carry states disagree about the age floor: 13 set it at 18, 13 at 21, two at 19, and Vermont’s state-law floor is 16. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Three Tiers of 'Constitutional Carry' — and the Map Everyone Gets Wrong https://gunmapusa.com/articles/constitutional-carry-three-tiers/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/constitutional-carry-three-tiers/ Twenty-nine jurisdictions allow permitless concealed carry; eleven more allow open carry only without a permit — the distinction most maps blur. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Home-Build Rules by State: Seven Restrict, Nine Require Serialization https://gunmapusa.com/articles/home-build-serialization-by-state/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/home-build-serialization-by-state/ A dated map of state home-build restrictions, serialization requirements, penalties, and exceptions across 51 jurisdictions. GunMapUSA building Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Fourteen Days to Six Months: How Long States May Legally Make You Wait for a Carry Permit https://gunmapusa.com/articles/how-long-can-states-make-you-wait/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/how-long-can-states-make-you-wait/ Statutory processing deadlines run from 14 days in New Hampshire to six months in New York, and four states attach a real remedy when the clock runs out. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT South Carolina's Statute Orders a Reciprocity List. Nothing Has Been Published. https://gunmapusa.com/articles/south-carolina-cant-say/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/south-carolina-cant-say/ S.C. Code § 23-31-215(N) orders SLED to publish which states' permits South Carolina honors — and SLED's own site still promises a list that is not there. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The $20 Permit That Isn't: Why 'Best Value' Carry Rankings Are Built on a Lie https://gunmapusa.com/articles/the-20-dollar-permit-that-isnt/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/the-20-dollar-permit-that-isnt/ Thirty states issue carry permits to non-residents, but most issue tiers — so rankings built on one fee, one term and one recognition count are false. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Tim Hoffman Gave a Trigger Design Away for Free. He's Being Sued for It. https://gunmapusa.com/articles/tim-hoffman-super-safety/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/tim-hoffman-super-safety/ A patent suit that started in Tennessee has put an open-source designer against a corporate plaintiff — with the ATF intervening on the company's side. GunMapUSA profile Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Twenty-One States Require Carry Training and Never Say How Much https://gunmapusa.com/articles/training-requirements-without-hours/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/training-requirements-without-hours/ Forty-one jurisdictions require carry training, but only 20 set an hour count; others use rounds, scores, or open-ended standards. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Vermont Is the Freest State to Carry, and the Worst to Carry From https://gunmapusa.com/articles/vermont-carry-paradox/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/vermont-carry-paradox/ Vermont issues no carry permit, so its constitutional-carry right does not produce a travel document; its 2025 law also requires serialization. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT What a Carry Permit Really Costs https://gunmapusa.com/articles/what-a-carry-permit-really-costs/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/what-a-carry-permit-really-costs/ Published fees omit training, fingerprints, and local charges; California shows how a $93 state fee can become a high-cost county scenario. GunMapUSA policy Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT What Gun Buybacks Actually Collect https://gunmapusa.com/articles/what-gun-buybacks-collect/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/what-gun-buybacks-collect/ Houston took in 2,064 firearms across two events, including 99 that were 3D-printed or toys; Utica took 177 ghost guns out of 296. The record is the argument. GunMapUSA policy Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Second Amendment Wars Are Being Fought in Three Circuit Courts https://gunmapusa.com/articles/where-the-2a-wars-are-fought/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/where-the-2a-wars-are-fought/ Of 148 tracked firearms cases, 46 sit in just three circuits — and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear exactly two cases, both about rifles. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Who Funds the Pro-Gun Side? The 990 Filings Say It's Not Who You Think https://gunmapusa.com/articles/who-funds-the-pro-gun-side/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/who-funds-the-pro-gun-side/ SAF files roughly $9 million a year in revenue; the NRA Foundation filed $42.5 million in 2024, much from gaming — a different money story than the anti-gun funders. GunMapUSA research Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Who May Train You? Instructor Verification Is Fragmented https://gunmapusa.com/articles/who-may-train-you/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/who-may-train-you/ Carry-instructor verification ranges from searchable rosters to local approvals and on-request lists; four states show the fragmentation. GunMapUSA law Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Modern Supreme Court's Major Firearms Cases, Explained https://gunmapusa.com/articles/supreme-court-second-amendment-cases/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/supreme-court-second-amendment-cases/ A dated guide to major modern Supreme Court firearms cases, from Heller through the 2026 rifle-ban question. GunMapUSA law Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Suppressors Off the Shelf, SBRs Still on a Form 4: What the NFA Ruling Actually Lets You Do https://gunmapusa.com/articles/nfa-stay-expires-who-is-covered/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/nfa-stay-expires-who-is-covered/ The stay lapsed and the DOJ will not appeal. Covered buyers can take a suppressor home today; short-barreled rifles still need a Form 4. GunMapUSA law Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT What Six Foundations' Filings Show About Gun-Policy Funding https://gunmapusa.com/articles/who-funds-gun-research/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/who-funds-gun-research/ A six-foundation, 2021–2023 Form 990-PF sample showing what grant filings can—and cannot—say about gun-policy funding. GunMapUSA research Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT California Lets Carry Permits Expire Mid-Renewal https://gunmapusa.com/articles/california-ccw-renewal-gaps/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/california-ccw-renewal-gaps/ California can let a timely renewal lapse before issuing the new card. The 120-day deadline does not automatically extend an expiring license. GunMapUSA law Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Carry Reciprocity Is Not Mutual, and the Gap Is Enormous https://gunmapusa.com/articles/reciprocity-is-not-mutual/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/reciprocity-is-not-mutual/ A 50-jurisdiction matrix finds 370 asymmetric recognition pairs; whether a permit works depends on the direction of travel. GunMapUSA law Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Americans Have Always Built Their Own Guns https://gunmapusa.com/articles/history-of-homemade-firearms/ https://gunmapusa.com/articles/history-of-homemade-firearms/ Home-built firearms are not a loophole or a modern invention. They are how the country armed itself, and they were unremarkable for most of its history. GunMapUSA history Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT