Gun & Prepping News #81

Some links that may be of interest:

• The Associated Press has suggested gun control for muzzle loading muskets. They apparently were upset at learning that such items are not "firearms" for purposes of federal gun laws. As I've noted many times, the biggest fear of the modern "liberal" is that somewhere, someone is doing something fun and wholesome without government permission. 
• This past week I linked to a video where the author cautioned against painting your optics if you were likely to change optics; but just in case you want to anyway: "Scope Painting: Rattlecan Those Optics!"--Breach Bang Clear.
• "Glock Gen 6: Upgrades & Optic Problems"--Recoil Magazine.  A concerning problem which the author describes with the optic system:

    The wheels came off not on the range, but at the workbench. Doing a final series of inspections and cleaning to see how the Gen 6 is faring after 1,000 rounds of fire, the optic twisted noticeably in my hand. Witness marks on the screws appeared unmoved, and checking the torque, it was still at 18 inch-pounds. I removed the optic and remounted it just in case to check. After torquing it again, the optic feels solid.

    A quick range trip to throw a couple hundred down in practice, and the optic can now shift again. Witness marks were maintained, torque was maintained, but the optic again can shift. Both times the screws were installed using thread locker, both times they were properly torqued, both times they were witness marked. 

    Losing zero is bad enough, but losing zero with almost no external sign is much, much worse. At least with MOS, you knew when it failed because your optic went flying. 

• "Maintenance Musings for the Wheelgunner"--American Fighting Revolver.  Some tips on lubricating a revolver. An excerpt:

Some things need grease, some need oil. For instance the lock work in a S&W revolver need a thin film of oil. I don't care for grease because of its tendency to collect debris and keep it stuck to the parts, eventually this sludge becomes a hindrance to your pretty trigger job. I prefer light non petroleum base oils for internals of a revolver.  My preferred brand and flavor is from my pal Mick Schuch's company Gunfighter Gun Oil I am not a paid endorser of the company, Mick is a friend and makes a fantastic product. If you go back in the Maintenance Monday archives I do several disassembly videos and after a good cleaning I apply Gunfighter Oil to the pivoting part etc. The stuff works absolutely great and doesn't get fouled up too bad even with a heavier firing schedule. Gunfighter oil is the only thing I ran on the last few Stoner pattern rifles I carried for business as well and it made clean up easy and I honestly cannot recall a stoppage from my rifles after I started using it. 

• "Singer M1911A1: The Rarest WW2 1911"--Forgotten Weapons. Only 500 were made. Singer had other military contracts of higher importance, so, according to the article, it forsook further 1911 production and the tooling was sold to Remington Rand and then went to Ithaca. 
• "Fudd Friday: Guns For Small Game Hunting In 2026"--The Firearm Blog.  By small game, the author means "ruffed grouse, jackrabbits, squirrels, snowshoe hares, raccoons and most other animals around this size". He then goes over shotguns and rifles suitable for hunting small game. One of the rifles he mentions is the Savage Mark II F, writing:

    This is one of the most accurate-for-your-money .22LR rifles ever made, embarrassing big-buck competitors at rimfire precision matches across the continent as long as the shooter can find the ammo the rifle likes. MSRP for the AccuTrigger model starts at $299, but Wal-Mart sells the non-AccuTrigger model for $179 in the U.S., and that gun will fill the pot just fine. The Savage Mark II is made in their Lakefield plant in Canada; it’s a design that goes back for many decades, and it’s also available in .17 HM2 and the new .21 Sharp.

    But the .22LR version is the one I’ve personally owned in the past and found very accurate. I once earned the eternal respect of my neighbor by head-shotting a cormorant (legal in my region) in his fish pond on a very windy day; the old guy thought I was a real Deadeye Dick after that, although it was simply a combination of dumb luck, plus a rifle that shot far better than its price tag would imply. It did the same thing every time I took it rabbit hunting, too, as long as there were rabbits around to hunt. The magazines were a bit janky, the rifle felt a bit crude in the hand, but it was excellent value for the money and I’d recommend it to anyone.

• "277 Fury vs .308"--The Shooter's Log.  Comparing ballistics of the two using 130, 150, and 155 grain projectiles. As expected because of the high BC bullet used by the .277, it has a flatter trajectory and better retained energy at distance. But it comes at a cost of greater recoil compared to the .308. This ballistic comparison comes with an important caveat:

The 308 may be loaded with substantially heavier bullets than the 277. Such bullets are characteristically more resistant to wind drift, and conserve higher percentages of their velocity and momentum downrange. In other words, the 308 may offer arguably superior ballistic performance when it is loaded with a bullet [weight] that the 277 cannot have. 

•  "Picking the Best M1 Garand Ammo"--The Shooter's Log. The first consideration is getting ammo that is safe for use in the M1 Garand. The M1 was designed for chamber pressures of 50,000 PSI, but many modern hunting loads are 60,000 PSI which, if used in the M1, could damage the operating rod and/or receiver. The author lists some commercial ammo specifically made for the M1 Garand and potentially offering great accuracy. He also relates using his M1 Garand for a hog hunt:

    Recently on a South Texas hog hunt I put my M1 Garand to the test in the field. If you have ever been around feral hog’s, you know these animals can be tough and resilient. While the 30-06 cartridge is more than adequate of course for taking hog’s, good shot placement is a must.

    I selected the Underwood 168-grain HPBT for a try out on these hog’s that are in fact, built like a tank. The Underwood delivered sub-MOA accuracy out of my rifle at 100 yards while pushing a hollow point bullet rather than the traditional FMJ for the M1 Garand. Interestingly, both the 150-grain Hornady FMJ, and the 150-grain Sellier & Bellot FMJ provided the best groups overall in my rifle.

    Sitting an elevated stand late one evening near a water hole and a food source, it didn’t take long for a hog to show up. Guessing the range was somewhere between 80 to 100 yards, I quickly aligned the front sight in the rear aperture with a sight picture on the hogs’ vitals. Pressing the trigger the hog was down before I could recover from recoil. Watching the pig, that looked to be a boar, he kicked once or twice then was still.

    The boar weighed around 125 pounds and with decent cutters. A good tryout for the ammo and helped the ranch eliminate one more of these feral critters that most landowners do not want on their property and tend to be a real nuisance. 

•  "Ayoob: How to Discreetly Carry Larger Handguns"--Armory Life. After discussion and illustrating specific types of carry or holsters, including a tip for the ladies, Ayoob offers the following general tips:

    There are going to be fashion sacrifices. Skin-tight clothing and concealed handguns simply don’t play well together. To conceal a full-size handgun, you want the concealing garment (un-tucked polo shirt, jacket, whatever) to be about one size larger than perfect fit without the gun. That gives you enough fabric drape for better concealment. The Fashion Police will probably only give you a warning instead of dragging you into Fashion Court, but no one is likely to look at you and scream “OMG, they’ve got a gun!”

    If you carry on the hip, don’t reach for high shelves in public with the hand on the holster side. That tends to pull up the concealing garment and reveal the pistol. Use the other arm. Bending over at the waist causes “printing” of holstered guns at hip or small of back, so pretend you’re a back patient and kneel or bend the knees to prevent the printing. 

• And how to discreetly carry eight (8) AR magazines. Not an article, but a product--the "Heat Rig" from Kommando Store--inspired by the setup used by Val Kilmer's character in the movie Heat. Anonymous Conservative linked to this recently and it looks interesting. 
• "Mountain Man Medical’s Chest Seal Trainer"--Swift Silent Deadly.  This product is intended for people that teach first-aid or trauma care because it has little use outside that market. Basically, it is a no-stick silicon baking pad with the bones of the torso and lungs printed on it. The idea is that you can use it to train on the proper application of chest seals without getting the gum on an expensive training mannequin, and the no-stick part makes it possible to re-use chest seals for training, cutting down on costs.  
• "Sopakco MRE’s: Survival On A Budget"--The Truth About Guns. Sopakco is one of the Department of War authorized MRE manufacturers and, according to the author, the best reputed of the "big three". The author goes over his considerable use of MREs in the military, the general contents of MREs, and reviews the "chicken chunks" MRE. He sums it all up:

    Ordering from Sopakco gets you a case of MREs for $113.40, or $9.58 per meal. So not only is this more food (and healthier) than a Big Mac meal, it’s cheaper as well. Shopping around online has found me Sopakco MRE cases for even cheaper than the MSRP. Cheap enough I’ve started buying a case a month to stock up for hunting season, emergency meals in the vehicle, and to try and replace the MRE’s my kids are constantly ravaging.

    Sopakco Sure-Pak MRE’s are the real deal, and a good deal at that.

• "Condiments and Seasoning to Stockpile"--True Prepper.  A list of each with tips on storage; and some comments about shelf life. I would recommend against long term storage of the little disposable packets, at least for ketchup or salsa, as they do not have a long shelf life. Something I learned from experience. 
• "Prepping Your Automobile For Those Long Trips"--Gat Daily. Basically, make sure that you have a spare tire and the jack and other tools to change a flat tire; and a few tools to make simple repairs. The author also recommends jumper cables or a portable jump starter, and a roll of paper towels. Finally, he recommends making sure that someone knows where you were going and when you were expected to arrive (or return home).

I'm old enough to remember when prepping a car for a long trip meant checking the spark plugs, checking the tire pressure, checking all the fluid levels (and maybe even an oil change), as well as checking the hoses and belts--you didn't just fill up the tank and go. A couple items I found useful at one time when I was regularly making trips through areas thick with bugs was to carry a soft plastic scrub pad and water so I could wash the bugs off the windshield when they became too much for the wipers to handle.  

•  "How to Identify Chemical Attacks by Symptom"--True Prepper. Going over the symptoms and signs of nerve agents, blister agents, choking agents, riot control agents, and blood agents (which must be breathed or swallowed--per the article, "They are named blood agents because they stop cells from using oxygen, causing victims’ blood to be bright red."). 
• "CS Tear Gas In Hong Kong And Elsewhere: Assessing The Hazards"--Bellingcat.  A deep dive into CS gas, how hot the canisters burn, how it works, and other considerations. CS grenades can be used to cause fires (e.g., the Waco siege) and the gas can decompose into other gases, including Hydrogen Cyanide, when heated.