Leider's Exit Leaves ATF's 34-Rule Package Without Its Architect

This week's field chatter came from buyers sizing up what they carry and what they look through. The High Road's "Is there a reason to own full size pistols anymore?" reached 161 replies and 2,572 views by Sunday morning, and 65 different members posted in it since Oct. 25 by Glassing's own count of authors on the public pages, the most of any thread checked this week. The opening post says "the proliferation of the .380 micro pistols and P365 type 9mms cannot be denied," and one reply put the sales point plainly: "the reality is more people are buying the smaller pistol and not the larger one." Owners still defending 1911s and Glock 17-size guns argued shootability, while those who carry concealed every day kept choosing the smaller gun.

Smith & Wesson's reissued Model 1917 Classic and Model 22 Classic revolvers drew their own crowd on the same board, with 93 replies and 1,374 views from 43 posters in four days by the same count. Early replies ran "I'm on board for both!!!" and reloaders welcomed the Model 22's .45 ACP and .45 Colt chambering as "Two new calibers to reload and cast for." The pushback was about compromise, not interest, with one poster saying a dual-cartridge revolver carries "too many compromises" and another saying he is "more of a Colt guy in general."

On AfricaHunting, a thread that opened with a chatbot's claim that Meopta's top glass comes close to Swarovski turned into a test of what hunters can actually see. "My eyes aren't good enough to pick the difference between even mid range and top range meopta let alone any grade swaro," one poster wrote, adding that his MeoPro 3.5-10x44 "does everything I need without the high price range." Others questioned AI answers and reviewers who might be paid.

Read together, the threads show buyers sorting what they will pay for: the gun they carry every day, the revolver with a story they already know, and glass good enough for their own eyes. Forum talk is not sales data, but for makers setting 2027 lines and dealers building holiday cases, it is a clear read on where the extra dollar stops.