Gun & Prepping News #5

Just some articles that caught my attention for one reason or another:

• "Scout Rifle 2.0"--Shooting Illustrated. The author seems to take the stance that the purists who believe a scout rifle needs to religiously follow Cooper's requirements (although I would note that even those often changed) have too strict of an interpretation. Thus, he argues that lever action or semi-auto rifles, smaller or less powerful calibers, and different types of sights can still fulfill Cooper's basic concept of a light, handy, jack-of-all trades rifle. As the author mentions, "[m]any of the rifles that come through my custom gunsmithing business indicate that average rifle shooters are focused more on Scout-type performance than pure-Scout designs."
• "Tips On How To Duplicate 1950s-Era .30-06 M72 Match Load"--Shooting Sports. The author notes that "[t]he M72 Match load recipe is no secret; the U.S. Army technical manual of cartridge data TM 43-0001-27 lists it as 50 grains of IMR 4895 with neither the 173-grain bullet nor primer crimped in place." However, 173 grain bullets are not offered anymore. The author found that Sierra’s 175-grain MatchKing is a close approximation, albeit with a slightly reduced powder charge (he found that 46.5 grains worked best in his rifle). He also uses Hornady commercial brass rather than trying to source military brass. He shot this load out of an M1903 Springfield but he mentions that the original military load was suitable for the M1 Garand.
  
• "How to Quickly Zero Your Rifle and Save on Ammo"--The Truth About Guns. The author goes over bore sighting, the 25-yard method, the one-shot zero method, using a ballistic calculator, and more. 
• "Preppers Armory: Zeroing Red Dots"--Blue Collar Prepping. Tips on zeroing a red dot. My experience is that if it co-witnesses with the iron sights (and assuming the iron sights are correctly zeroed) I just adjust the red dot to sit in the correct position with the iron sights and then verify the zero.
  
• "Cutting Carbon"--Shooting Illustrated. Rimfire firearms can develop a ring of carbon in the barrel at about the location of the case mouth which can reduce accuracy. The article explains how to spot the carbon ring and remove it.
  
• "Not-A-Glock – A 100% DIY 3D Printed .22lr Pistol"--Impro Guns. Per the author, "The recently released ‘Not-a-Glock’ pistol is designed to be made in countries which restrict firearms ownership, particularly concealable pistols suitable for self-defense . Built and designed by a European, the build guide includes over 30 pages of detailed instructions on printing and assembly with the only metal components being easily acquired hardware store[.]" Apparently the download files are here.
  
• "9mm vs. .45 ACP: The Debate That Seems To Never End"--The Truth About Guns. The author brings up the abhorrent term "stopping power" but he is correct that the same revolution in bullet design that makes 9 mm the go-to for law enforcement has also benefited the .45 ACP. For preppers, however, the deciding factor might not be how well a relatively expensive hollow point defensive load works for self-defense, but how well cheap FMJ ammo (that you can afford to stockpile) will work. 
• "SIG Sauer MCX-Spear in .277 FURY: If the Rule You Followed Brought You to This, of What Use Was the Rule?"--RECOIL. The author questions the need of a heavy, bulky rifle capable of blowing through body armor at 300 yards in the modern battlefield where "the vast majority of casualties there are currently caused by artillery, mortars, and UAVs, rather than small arms." He adds:

    In scenarios where carbines are important — trench assaults, MOUT, and forests — then something lightweight, handy, and manageable is way more valuable than the ability to punch through body armor. If the first two rounds don’t drop a guy, dump the rest of the mag into his pelvis. Dudes we’ve worked with favor M4s, Bren 2s, and SCAR 16s in that order, and don’t see a compelling reason to change. In this world, 5.56 is adequate for the work they’re doing. But what would they know that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs doesn’t?

    Snipers, on the other hand, do indeed value the ability to crack plates. Recent advances in AP bullet technology give .308 the ability to penetrate Level IV armor at distance while still achieving decent accuracy from legacy platforms. But for field officers in the U.S. Army, that’s nowhere near as career-enhancing as selecting a new small arms system.

• "Pressing the Point of Meplat Bullets"--Guns & Ammo. How Hornady discovered that a slightly blunt tip on a bullet gave more consistent accuracy down range. Key part:

Looking at photos and comparing drag curves showed Hornady that the most consistent drag curves occurred when the shock wave that formed on the bullet’s nose wasn’t attached to it. The reason the old polymer tips yielded such consistent drag curves was the blunt nose provided enough resistance in flight to keep the shock wave from ever attaching directly to or touching the bullet’s nose. Bullets with sharp or very “pointy” noses had the lowest overall drag, but were also the most inconsistent because the shock wave attached directly to the bullet in flight. That attachment location varied ever so slightly from one bullet to the next, so the overall drag also varied between shots.

• "Five Foreign Guns Americans Can’t Get"--Guns America. Offerings that, for one reason or another, are not marketed in the United States. They are:

1. The Taurus PT57C. This is a pistol based off the Beretta 81 (not 92 as mentioned in the article) in .32 ACP and featuring a double-stack magazine. I assume that it is not sold in the U.S. simply because the .32 ACP is not a very popular cartridge here.
2. Norinco NP762. This is a Sig P226 clone, but chambered in 7.62 Tokarev. This would be an excellent combination, but Norinco firearms are prohibited from import.
3. MP-412 REX. This is a Russian top-break revolver chambered in .357 Magnum. Apparently only a very small number were ever produced.
   
4. Creapeiron Elysien. A very futuristic styled Czech firearm that, according to the article, borrows a lot from the CZ-75, including the DA/SA trigger. Interestingly, though, it uses a triangular shaped barrel, which is supposed to give better lockup. It is also very expensive.
   
5. Vigrand 007. Another futuristic styled designs that appears to incorporate features from the CZ-75, but uses a roller-delayed blowback design. Unfortunately, it also appears to be a concept pistol and not something intended for market.

• "Ruger P89 Review: Like a 9mm Mullet"--RECOIL. The P89 was an updated version of Ruger's P85, and its answer to the "wonder-9s" of the 1980s. I had one of these back in the day. It was a reliable gun and reasonably accurate. The problem I encountered was that despite being a fairly popular gun with the public (at least based on sales) there was very little aftermarket products for it that I could find. It had an interesting takedown, though. As best as I remember, to remove the slide you had to lock the slide back and remove the magazine. Then, through the ejection port, you had to push down on the ejector so that it rotated into the magazine well. That would allow you to then release the slide and remove it from the frame. When putting the whole thing back together, pushing a magazine into the mag well would flip the ejector back into place.
  
• "Straight Talk: Making a Point"--Shooting Illustrated. In this article, Sheriff Jim Wilson discusses how point shooting is still a viable technique for up-close encounters. As he notes, "When the crook is within 6 feet of you, with some sort of weapon already in his hand, you may not have time to make the draw, take a two-hand hold and look at your front sight. You’ll be lucky to just get your gun out and get a shot or two off." He is not suggesting that you forego the modern technique of pistol shooting, but "at the end of a session, set up a target, move in closely and work on developing your point-shooting skills."
• "5 Firearms To Have On Hand For A Natural Disaster"--The Firearm Blog. The firearms recommended are: (1) a concealed carry pistol (he recommends the Sig P365); (2) a "better handling larger pistol" (i.e., a duty pistol); (3) some type of .22 (he likes the Henry AR-7); (4) a hunting rifle or shotgun depending on your location/circumstances (his pick is a Mossberg Maverick 88); and (5) a fighting firearm (his choice here is an 8” 300 Blackout AR pattern firearm in a pistol format with a flashlight, red dot sight, magnifier, and pistol brace).
  
• "Number of push-ups experts say you should be able to do by age - how many can YOU manage?"--Daily Mail. Physical fitness can be important both for self-defense and prepping. The article, based on Mayo Clinic guidelines, gives the number of pushups for moderate fitness for both men and women at ages 25, 35, 45, 55, and 65. Interestingly, the gap between men and women shrinks with age.
  
• More: "Too Much Information About Pushups"--Chronicles of Rettek. How to do a basic pushup, how to make them harder or easier, muscular focus, preventing injuries, and getting started.
• Related: "What Is Calisthenics and Why Is the Bodyweight Workout so Great for Building Strength?"--Get Pocket. Discussing benefits of calisthenic as well as describing how to do some basic calisthenic exercises.
  
• "Saving Sourdough Starter Long-Term"--Blue Collar Prepping. This article is on how to save a sourdough starter if you have to stop using it for a period of time. As you may know, if you have a sourdough starter, you typically have to "feed" it to keep it alive and going. But the author describes how he was able to dry his starter and store it for long term.
  
• "How to Create a Family Emergency Binder"--Urban Survival Site. No matter how convenient it is to have important documents saved on a thumb drive or a smart phone, you might not have a working computer or phone to access that information after a disaster. Thus, the author recommends having "a sturdy pocketed three-ring binder or accordion file organizer kit that contains physical copies of the critical records and documents you might need during and after an emergency." He lists the documents to include and putting it together to protect the documents and make them easy to find.
• "Luxe Bidet 120 Follow-Up"--Blue Collar Prepping. Like me, the author invested in a bidet as a consequence of the toilet paper shortage during the Covid lockdowns. In this article, she does a follow up on her initial review--basically how things have gone and some things she likes and doesn't like about the set ups. I noticed that my family significantly cut back on the use of toilet paper after I installed the bidets on the toilets, and it also virtually eliminated toilet backups.
  
• "How to Set Up an Off-Grid Early Alert System"--The Organic Prepper. A review and set-up description of the Dakota Alert Driveway Alarm.
• "The Hen House Response Bag"--Primer Peak. Preppers like bug-out-bags, get-home bags, and even bags or load outs for home defense. The author of this piece suggests putting together something similar for those with livestock to deal with predators, and describes what he has in his.
• "Man Was Missing for a Month in National Park, but His Mom Never Lost Hope. Then He Was Found Alive"--People.  The story of Robert Schock, who went missing on July 31 (presumably 2024), after going out for a run with his dog in Washington's North Cascades National Park and wound up getting lost.