December 30, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Creating Chaos? .300 AAC Gorilla 110gr Lehigh Controlled Chaos Gel Test"--AR15.com (6-1/2 min). The Lehigh round did pretty well--good expansion, but slightly too much penetration. Because it is copper bullet, Andrew thought it would be a good hunting round for those areas that ban lead. Down in the comments, someone asked Andrew what .300 Blackout rounds he would recommend over this particular one, and he replied "110gr TAC-TX and V-MAX, Sig 120gr HT."

• "Why We MISS IN FIGHTS but Not on the Range"--Warrior Poet Society. The author, in particular, is addressing the issue of shooting too low. His hypothesis is formed by watching video of his students' performance in a shoot-house. He writes:

      I have a theory on why we miss in fights but not on the range.

      When we are afraid and are presented with a threat, we REFUSE TO ALLOW anything to block our view of that threat. This means, your fear response refuses to allow your sights and gun to block any part of your view.

      I see students do this whether they are shooting iron sights, red dot sights, or even point shooting. The result is the same. Oftentimes, people are simply not using their sights because they do not want sights blocking any part of their field of view.

His recommendation? "The better response is to find out this nasty trick that fear plays on us and begin trying to combat this. Engage frequently in force-on-force and force-on-target training. Be accountable for your accuracy. Train with reputable instructors who know what to look for. Video everything and review your response." The author also has a video on this topic which is embedded in the article at the link.

• "When Misses Hit- A Look at Real World Backstop Issues"--Active Response Training. Greg Ellifritz notes that police are getting better in their shooting: the average hit rate has gone up to 35%. Nevertheless, that still leaves 65% of rounds fired going somewhere else, possibly an innocent bystander or fellow officer. The issue is how concerned a responder (or concealed carrier) should be concerned about this. That is, is it worth the time and effort to maneuver until you can find a safe backstop? Ellifritz argues that if you are being shot at, or if the gunman is shooting others, you don't have the time to try and find a safe shot because each time the gunman pulls a trigger, you risk being hit or having another bystander shot. Read the article and see what you think.
•  The Tactical Wire reports that Speer will begin to sell ammunition and reloading components online, including its Gold Dot line of ammunition. This means that you should have better access to calibers that are generally not available in your local gun store or online retailers.
• Rolling your own: "Airsoft pistol combined with .22lr conversion kit"--Impro Guns. The author reports:

The body of the weapon including the frame (receiver) and trigger mechanism is that of a common gas powered replica Colt 1911 6mm airsoft / .177 BB pistol which is manufactured in Taiwan. The ‘F’ within a pentagon mark present on the frame indicates a muzzle energy not exceeding 7.5 J (5.5 ft⋅lbf) usually added in accordance with German law. This appears to have been combined with a conventional .22lr slide which is branded with a Blue Line Solutions logo and made in Germany, likely by GSG (German Sports Guns). All parts required in this case are available as conversions kits from the likes of GSG and others which usually include the slide, barrel and magazine, ready to drop onto an unmodified full-bore 1911 pistol frame assembly to allow the use of smaller .22lr cartridges. 

• "Beyond Fight or Flight"--Schafer's Self-Defense Corner. The author notes that the idea that a person (or animal, for that matter) reacts to a threat by fight or flight is hogwash (his term). "There are actually 3 different responses an animal can give and a human is capable of at least 5. An animal will instinctively fight, run away, or freeze in fear and be killed. A human will either fight, run away, freeze, surrender, or comply." Fight and flight is well know, so the author discusses the remaining three responses. For instance, as to freeze, he writes:

        When a person gets attacked it is usually by surprise and they simply don’t know what to do. While those trained in self-protection will have a plan for when an attack occurs and will have rehearsed their response numerous times in a controlled environment, the average person will not have a clue of how to respond. First their mind will try to wrap itself around the situation; they will think things like: is this really happening? Am I really being attacked? Maybe this is a joke? Maybe there are cameras around and that Ashton Kutcher guy will jump out? Next their thoughts will progress to accepting the situation is happening but not knowing if they are in real danger; they will think thoughts like: is he really going to hurt me? Things like this don’t happen to me, they happen to people you see on the news. What is he going to do to do me? He can’t kill me because I have to give that presentation to the PTO next week. After that they will try to think of appropriate responses and debate with themselves whether they should resist.

         While they do all of this the attacker will have a frozen victim to do with what they see fit. Often an attacker will rob a victim and flee before their victim fully realizes what just happened. A criminal knows that if he attacks correctly his victim will most likely freeze rather than resist and that is what most criminals count on.

Read the whole thing.

• "What Lewis & Clark Took With Them on the Expedition"--Modern Survival Blog. Weapons for everyone, plenty of ammunition (powder and lead), parts for repairing their firearms. Also, a substantial quantity of goods to use for trading with Indian tribes. Interesting list, so check the whole thing out.
• "5 Great .357 Magnum Lever Action Rifles"--The Truth About Guns. If you are looking for a home defense carbine or rifle, but can't have a semi-auto, the author recommends a lever action in .357 Magnum. He lists 5 from the top lever-action manufacturers. I would also suggest taking a look at the Rossi 92 models which are based on the Winchester 1892 model. They may be a little rough, but are easy to work on and aftermarket parts are available to make them a bit better. If you get the round barreled versions, they are also tapped for attaching a scope mount (or red dot)--the tapped holes are underneath the rear sight. If you want a back up sight, you can get a peep sight that replaces the rear safety.  Check out Steve's Gunz. Also, although the author of the article indicates that these rifles generally don't have sling mounts, you can purchase slings that are designed to attach without using sling mounts. 
• Do you remember that scene in Aliens where the space marines are shooting wildly and you can see the ammunition counter counting down to zero? Well, now you can have the same experience. A company called RADETEC now offers several different models of magazine counters for certain models of handguns and rifles.
• "The Evolution Of The Rifle With Ballistic Performance Comparisons"--Ammo and Gun Collector. The author has an interesting infographic showing the evolution of military arms from flintlock up to modern examples, also listing the maximum rate of fire and the effective range. Some of the comments are critical of the effective range, but we have to keep in mind that "effective range" generally denotes "the distance that a typically trained soldier using an issue rifle and standard ammunition has a 50% hit probability on a man torso target."

"That Time a Guy Tried to Build a Utopia for Mice and it all Went to Hell"--Today I Found Out (8 min.). I remember learning about this experiment back when I was kid, and it was used to demonstrate how population density can lead to a break down in society. However, that appears to have been the wrong conclusion. First, as the video explains, the mice never reached a population density that was as great as the "arcology" could support, and there were no restrictions on food and the habitat was kept clean. Second, what appeared to have broken down over time was a social breakdown. Interestingly, the video explains that the researcher performed later experiments where the mice were given more meaning to their lives, which seemed to extend the time for the colony. What happened, however, was with the peace and plenty, the mouse society collapsed with mice refusing to reproduce (even as their population declined), and split into classes or groups which didn't associate with others, and some seeking to isolate themselves where they could concentrate on activities such as grooming. It has some interesting implications for today.

• Some good advice on living a happier life: "What does your ideal day look like?  Probably Rosie O’Donnell-Free?"--Wilder Wealthy and Wise. Key point:

However, if you live a life of Now, you realize something pretty cool – in almost every moment of your life, the past three seconds were okay, and the next three seconds are okay.  While you don’t have the ability to change your past, you have the ability to choose how you feel about today.  

Read the whole thing. 

• "More illnesses tied to police raid in the Falls: SHERIFF: Number of agents, officers who fell ill after Dec. 14 warrant execution climbs to 21"--Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. (H/t Anonymous Conservative). Per the article:

The vast majority of those who became indisposed were federal agents, Voutour said. One local individual, a sheriff's deputy, was hospitalized and released earlier this week. It appears the individuals who exhibited symptoms are those that had direct contact with the suspect or the apartment, the sheriff said.

Yeah, I've been in houses like that. I had to stop visiting a family in one of our wards (congregations) because I would get sick after every visit. I also have an in-law's house that I avoid for the same reason. 

• Anonymous Conservative had been wondering if the "mysterious polio like illness" was linked to illegals crossing the border to influence key elections, and now he has data that supports his hypothesis. He linked to this article the other day from the New York Post, "Researchers fear mysterious polio-like illness may spread in US." Key part from the article:

       Since the CDC first began researching the affliction in 2014, AFM has flared up in waves — infecting far more people in 2016 and 2018 than in 2015 and 2017.

       Some researchers are now worried the disease could return with force in 2020, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Coincidence? I don't know, but just something to keep in the back of your mind.

• Some inconvenient truths: "Curry’s sea-level rise study disputes climate-disaster predictions – In many cases, ‘half of the sea-level rise is really from land sinking’"--Watts Up With That. From the article:

       For years, climate prognosticators have warned that human-caused global warming is fueling catastrophic sea-level rise, but now climatologist Judith Curry is rocking their boat.

       In her latest paper, Ms. Curry found that the current rising sea levels are not abnormal, nor can they be pinned on human-caused climate change, arguing that the oceans have been on a “slow creep” for the last 150 years — before the post-1950 climb in carbon-dioxide emissions.

Curry also points out that sea-levels had been higher in some regions five to seven thousand years ago during the Holocene Climate Optimum. And while she agrees that some of the "rising" sea levels is human caused, its not due to CO2, but building on wetlands, resulting in the ground sinking. "If you look at Galveston and New Orleans, much more than half is caused by sinking. And this comes from geologic processes, it comes from landfills on wetlands.” She also cited groundwater withdrawal in the Chesapeake Bay area as a cause for sinking in that area. 

• Related:  Inuit complain that the number of polar bears are increasing and want to be allowed to hunt more of them.

• Signs of the times: "UK: Clergy Members Warn Anti-Christian Hate Crime on Rise"--Breitbart. From the article:

       “Anti-Christian sentiment” is on the rise in Britain, Church of England priests told a survey which has revealed that more than two thirds of members of the clergy have been verbally abused in the past two years.

        During the same period, one in ten CoE priests suffered physical violence, with the same proportion reporting they had noticed an increase in anti-Christian hate crime, according to the study commissioned by National Churchwatch.

• "The Strange and Twisted Tale of the Poco Handheld Computer"--IEEE Spectrum. There is an old poem about a housewife having to substitute one ingredient after another because she didn't have the ingredients called for in a recipe ... and then wondering why the recipe didn't turn out. This story is sort of like that. The developer started with the concept of building an HD video camera about the size of a credit card. But with different suppliers discontinuing products or going out of business all together, he had to substitute first one component and then another, and the video camera became a hand-held computer kit that can emulate old video game consoles or to teach simple programing. 
• Good: "Bacteria found in ancient Irish soil halts growth of superbugs—new hope for tackling antibiotic resistance"--Phys.org. 
• "Nazi Commando Otto Skorzeny Continued His Life of Intrigue After the War"--War is Boring. Skorzeny is the German commando that led the mission to rescue Mussolini. This article is about his post-War intrigues, primarily his plans and attempts to get support for a plan to rebuild a German army to fight the Soviets.
• "Speaking of Manners"--Taki's Magazine. The author laments the lack of simple good manners. An excerpt discussing the coarsening of speech:

       And another thing: Lack of talent breeds four-letter words. Show me a writer of a TV series with great talent and his show will have the minimum of four-letter words. In fact, people with talent do not need to use them. Lack of talent, however, guarantees nonstop filth. Expletives are also part of the culture of triumphant ignorance—the belief that to behave like a slob or a gangster is an indication of manly virility. To a certain sort of half-wit, obscenities are testosterone turned into the spoken word. I fear that it is a sign of the times.

       The fact is, obscenities have become smart—the symbol of a generation that disregards majority opinion, but thinks it clever. Yet not so long ago, I remember going to Yankee Stadium as a teenager and not hearing a single swear word in the crowded bleachers, and certainly none by the players. (Today no pro athlete is worth his salt unless he uses the f-word as an adverb, adjective, and verb.) Ditto for celebrities. They consider themselves cutting-edge when being boorish and using profanity. Yet no one from the mainstream media or those ghastly late-night-show hosts has had the courage to point out that those who use profanity nonstop display a woeful lack of imagination. F—ing this and f—ing that and using F as a verb and noun in the same sentence is the equivalent of a caveman’s grunt, nothing else. ...