It’s lunch time at the LuckyGunner.com Blogger Shoot, here outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. This is being held at the same time as Bullet Fest 2011, and in addition to about 60 gun bloggers and podcasters, ther are World War II re-enactors, Civil War re-enactors, and a whole bunch of other shooters, whole families who’ve come out to enjoy the day.

Obviously, the highlight of the day is all the free ammo I can shoot. And it’s better than that – Ammo Girls. They bring a menu by, and I pick what I want, and in a few minutes, it’s delivered.

So far I’ve shot my Glock 17, Glock 21, SKS, and Mosin Nagant, and the AR-15 i borrowed to bring. I’ve also shot an M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, and a Mauser. In my sights are a bunch of other guns, including a full auto Glock 18.

Lunch included a really nice ceremony honoring current and past military personnel, including two who are here with the Wounded Warrior project.

Tonight I hope to upload some video and photos, if I can get a connection.

Thanks again to the great people at LuckyGunner.com for their hospitality and free ammo!

As just about everyone knows, Monday, May 30, is observed as Memorial Day here in the United States. It is a solemn day to remember those who fought and died to give us the freedoms we enjoy.

In that vein, on Saturday and Monday my friends at Creekside Firing Range near Cartersville, GA, will be hosting several gun matches, with the proceeds going to support a family of a fallen warrior.

I will be shooting the Steel Challenge match and live tweeting it. Depending on how my weekend goes with the AR I borrowed from my buddy, I may shoot the Tactical Rifle Match as well.

If you live in the area and have the morning free, please come out and enjoy the freedom that our fallen warriors died for. I’ll be he one wearing the Blogger Shoot tee shirt, so please say hello.

I spent yesterday running a ton of errands that I would have done this weekend, if I were around. That’s because I spent the rest of the day packing and getting ready for the LuckyGunner.com Blogger Shoot in Knoxville.

I am very excited to be going, since this is my first such event, and my fist event as a gun blogger. There should be power and WiFi, so I plan to live blog the event here and on Twitter as much as I can. I will also try to upload pictures and video, but that will depend on what I can get our netbook to do conectivity-wise. In any case, Monday you can expect plenty, as I will be back at home.

I want to say I am constantly surprised by the inaccurate information that a lot of people have about gun laws, gun ownership, and guns in general. The truth is, I stopped being surprised about it years ago. Now, I just fight the urge to make a smart-ass comment, in favor of a calm five minutes of education.

Case in point. I recently found out that a family member owns an interesting pistol that he inherited from his father, and I offered to check it out, clean it, and take him to the range so we could shoot it.

“Oh, no, we can’t do that, it isn’t registered.”

So, I took a few minutes to educate about gun registration. Only six states require registration of firearms, and Georgia isn’t one of them.

“Well, what about when you buy a new gun, don’t they register it then?”

No, when you buy a new gun from a licensed dealer, you are required to fill out a BATFE form 4473 and have your background checked. But the gun isn’t being registered.

“Okay. But I can’t go shoot it, I don’t have a license.”

In Georgia, no license is required to shoot a gun, or to own a gun. As long as you are not going to carry it concealed and loaded, you are fine. You can even carry it concealed in your home or business, without a license, provided you would be allowed to get a license under the law, if you chose to apply. Since my family member is over 21, not a felon, or otherwise prohibited from owning a gun or getting a Georgia Weapons License,then he’s okay.

You would think this misinformation would be limited to novice gun owners. But that’s not so. I’m borrowing an AR-15 to take to the Blogger Shoot this weekend, and the owner told me I needed to be careful with it in public, since it had never been registered since he bought it years ago. I asked him what he meant, and it was clear he thought Georgia had registration, too.

Plus, he said, no background check had been run when he bought it. Very hush hush, he thought, out of the back of a guy’s trunk.

Turns out he bought it from an individual seller, not a dealer. No problem under the law, since he, too, is legally allowed to buy and own a gun. And individual sellers are not required to conduct any background checks.

Of course, the onus is still on the seller to know the buyer is legal. Did he give him a bill of sale? Yes. Did he copy down your Drivers License number? Yes. Smart fellow.

One of my goals with this blog is to stamp out misinformation and myth. But it’s also something I do every day.

For more information, check out your state firearms rights group for the laws in your area. A great source in Georgia is GeorgiaCarry.org, whose Gun Law FAQ is here.