Some more tips and pointers for cut shells. The host makes clear that cut shells are not intended for use when you have slugs available to you, but are an improvised substitute.
VIDEO: "Cutshell Classroom: Cutshell Myths Laid to Rest"
Iraqveteran8888 (10 min.)
I've heard of these but never seen them in person or used them. It is a method to turn birdshot or buckshot loads into a type of slug. The only person I've heard that ever used these was a friend's father, who had been a police officer in California back in the 1970s and early '80s, who kept the first shell in his shotgun like this because his agency did not authorize slugs. I can't vouch for the ability of a shotgun to eject a shell modified like this.
VIDEO: "The lost art of Cut Shells"
Iraqveteran8888 (4 min.)
Some links that may be of interest:
If your only assessment is the state qual course and you do that 1-to-4 times a year, does that really make you qualified? It does check a box, but it’s a minimum standard. The scoring area is vastly larger than it should be, the time you’re allowed is too long and, on the whole, judgement and discretion are never evaluated.
So how would a different shooting course help?
It’s an attempt to measure basic needed skills with a time constraint as well as allowing the instructor to evaluate gun handling – a critical aspect of the job.
The 5x5 classifier can be downloaded as a pdf here. It doesn’t have to be the IDPA 5x5 classifier, that’s just an example.
The first trip saw use of the Ruger Mark IV Target; 5.5” bull barrel, metallic sights, the rear adjustable for elevation and windage. The gun has Hogue, Inc. “G-Mascus Green” G10 stocks in place of the factory stocks. Otherwise, there are no modifications.
The ammunition I selected, based on concerns about indoor ranges and lead ammunition, was CCI CLEAN-22. While it’s geared more to prevent barrel fouling and making a suppressor easier to clean, I reasoned that it could be a bit more healthy than uncoated lead projectiles.
I’m still careful to make use of hand cleaning wipes that are made to remove contamination of this sort.
Using a B-8 repair center for each segment, I’d shoot a pair of stages right-handed, replace the target and shoot a pair left-handed.
When trying to learn a physical skill like shooting, it’s good to work “mirror image” to get back to being a complete duffer and to iron out bad habits.
A revolver cylinder is a floppy thing when it isn’t locked into the frame. On a square range, with your feet planted and your hands working exactly as you command, it’s not much of a problem. But a defensive reload may happen while you’re moving, running, fighting or ‘merely’ trying to keep your balance on a loose, slippery or uneven surface. I can also guarantee you’ll be dealing with an adrenaline dump that might leave your hands shaking like a toy poodle on meth. Now you’ve got to line up a half-dozen fresh cartridges with a cylinder that is moving around at the end of your arm.
You might be able to get a finger into the cylinder opening to stabilize it — or you might not, because keeping a semblance of a firing grip makes it awkward. Worse, the cylinder could even relatch itself while you’re trying to get everything lined up.
This is also why the support-side reload was traditionally taught to police officers back in those days when we rode dinosaurs on patrol. It wasn’t because somebody decided it was the fashionable way to reload a revolver; instead, hard-won trial and error proved the technique provided a more stable platform for manipulating the gun under less-than-ideal circumstances.
The American SAAMI standard for .32 ACP specifies a maximum average pressure of 20,500 PSI. The European CIP standard is higher, at roughly 23,200 PSI. That doesn’t mean every European load is automatically hotter, but it does give European manufacturers more room to load the cartridge toward that higher pressure limit.
If you’re using a European pistol designed for European .32 ACP, it might malfunction with the weaker American stuff. With that said, my various European-designed surplus .32s haven’t had any problems with American-spec .32 ACP from Remington or Aguila.
There is another reason I like the European-loaded .32 ACP. It has a much more aggressive bevel near the rim and a deep groove for the extractor. The aggressive bevel acts more like a ramp, helping prevent rimlock and improving extraction.
... It’s designed to carry two handguns along with spare magazines and accessories. The case is 8.75 inches high, 11 inches long, and 3.5 inches deep, which makes it big enough for full sized service pistols. It’s still relatively compact though and would fit inside a patrol bag, ruck or larger range bag. The case is made from 1050D nylon and is fully padded to help protect your firearms during transport.
Each pistol has its own zippered compartment, and there are three elastic magazine loops on the outside of each compartment. 5.11 uses lockable YKK zippers that open on three sides so the case lays flat on the shooting bench, making it easy to get to your gear. Reinforced grab handles are provided for carry There’s also a name tape panel on the outside, although its a smooth strip so I don’t really know how that works. Maybe write on it with a paint pen? The double pistol case is available in gray or black and has an MSRP of only $40. It’s on sale for $30 on 5.11’s site at the time I’m writing this.
First, assess your situation. Who are you getting away from—and why? Is it an abusive ex, online harassment, a business rebrand, or you just need a hard reset? Rank the threat: capability, reach, motivation, resources, and timeline. If it’s criminal danger, consider involving an attorney and—where appropriate—law enforcement or a victims’ advocate group. If it’s reputational heat, you’re playing a different game. Hopefully you won’t have multiple governments and organized crime after you like I did but stay tuned for the full playbook either way. Step one is to identify the problem before you try to solve it.
Second, assess your resources and skills. Disappearing means transition, and transitions incur costs. Cash buys time. Skills buy options. Can you work with your hands? Build? Fix? Cook? Drive? Speak another language? The more value you can offer quietly and locally, the less you need to advertise yourself to survive. If money is tight, lean on skills. If skills are thin, learn fast.
He also has some warnings of how people mess this up, including:
Let’s talk about mistakes that get people burned. Breaking routine to chase fun in high-signal places. Oversharing because loneliness bites. Letting anger write checks your freedom can’t cash. Reconnecting with the same crowd that caused the problem. Slipping back into old usernames, old numbers, old patterns. The little compromises add up. Don’t feed the trail.
If everybody’s in one room with the door closed and that room has got as many blankets, jackets, coats, pets, and whatever else you have at home to keep y’all as warm as possible, you’re going to have a lot easier of a time trying to stay warm by comparison to trying to heat multiple rooms.
When it comes to sleeping, you don’t need to share a bed if you don’t want to, but if it’s not something you mind, why not? If you’re not into sharing a bed, drag extra mattresses or sofa cushions into your room of choice and have everyone sleep separately, but by being in the same room, you’re making sure none of your individual bodies’ heat production is going to waste – it’s helping to keep the room warm.
And if you don't have alternative heating methods, the author recommends that you go further and set up a tent in your "warm room" to further make it easier to keep an area warm. He also recommends staying in sub-zero rated sleeping bags and lining your tent with Mylar emergency blankets. He has some other tips, so be sure to read the whole thing.
I wrote in January about how, after moving out of L.A., where I lived for the first 30 years of my life, I've been able to see the city's decline more clearly whenever I go back for family visits or appointments every few months. I noted that "just as friends who haven’t seen your kids for a while recognize how much they’ve grown — much more than you, who are with them every day — whenever I drive into Los Angeles once every couple of months, the deterioration of the city is more evident. Many parts truly feel third-world."
In that article, I focused on L.A.'s homelessness crisis, which can be seen under freeway underpasses, in city parks, and even in reports of homeless people getting into strangers' cars to sleep. This is not only visually disturbing but also anxiety-inducing. You never know how dangerous a homeless person might be, whether high on meth or suffering from severe mental illness.
[snip]
Comedian Bridget Phetasy, who recently returned to Los Angeles after years away, described a similar sensation to the one I feel upon returning: "It's like when you see someone and they've, you know, lost a lot of weight and they don't see it because they see themself every day and you see them and you're like, whoa. Right. That's how it feels."
Phetasy used the word "unsettling" to describe "how much commercial real estate is empty." And she chose as an example a place where I spent many a happy day in both my childhood and young adulthood: Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade. The three pedestrian-only blocks were a favorite destination for so many in the '90s who wanted to catch a movie, grab dinner, shop, or watch street performers.
A California Post report earlier this year noted that the Promenade’s vacancy rate is now 25% and that the popularity of the destination began to decline because of the homelessness crisis, then fell further during COVID and the looting inspired by the “Summer of Love” following George Floyd’s death.
This is for those shooting clays or hunting birds, rabbits, etc. Obviously you need to aim a defensive shotgun.
VIDEO: "Quit Aiming Your Shotgun! | How to Shotgun 4"
Target Focused Life (6 min.)
Some links that may be of interest:
For me, the biggest argument against FliteControl is the same argument for FliteControl: the pattern is tight. When dealing with typical home defense ranges, every shotgun load is firing a fairly tight pattern due to the limited range. A standard shotgun pattern is tight enough that the likelihood of an errant pellet is quite low.
When we reduce the pattern to a hole slightly larger than a 12-gauge slug, we are losing out on a big benefit to throwing multiple pellets per trigger pull. The little bit of spread we are getting at home defense ranges can help us put pellets where it matters.
What I believe he is getting at is that you just don't need it for self defense inside the home because the distances are so short.
“The DEA in 2007 had 44 incidents in which shots were fired against criminals. The average engagement distance was 14.6 feet. The typical American sedan is 16 feet long, so we could just say, about a car length.
“In the case of our students who had to shoot in self-defense, the distances involved were:
Contact distance 4%
3-7 yards 91%
Beyond 7 yards 4%
“The 3 shootings beyond 7 yards were at 15,17 and 22 yards, so some work at that sort of distance is needed, but not a lot.
“So, we put the vast majority of our effort in class on fast, reliable vital zone hits at the 3,5, and 7 yard lines, with a heavy emphasis on 3-5 yards. Three yards could be classified as conversational distance” and is the zone in which we normally talk to strangers. Five yards is essentially one car length. 7 yards is across a large room. If you think in those terms, the reason 91% of our shootings took place at from 3 to 7 yards makes a lot of sense. Keep this in mind when structuring your practice sessions.”
If you want to be able to shoot at all well at 25 yards, you train at fifty yards. That’s the take from a bullseye shooter – at least one and likely many more. It’s also the take of Pat McNamara, a name familiar to those interested in the tactical/personal protection aspect of firearms.
While deep concealment is the most common, pocket carry shines in a backup-gun role. Many armed citizens and law enforcement officers have long relied on small revolvers or compact pistols carried in a pocket as a secondary firearm. This provides access to a weapon if the primary gun becomes unavailable or if one hand is occupied. Carrying a backup gun in the support-side pocket can create additional options during a defensive encounter. While not everyone needs a second firearm, pocket carry remains one of the most practical methods for those who choose to carry one.
For others, pocket carry may simply be the only realistic option. Physical limitations, work attire, body type, or daily activities may make traditional waistband carry difficult. The best carry method is often the one that a person can realistically maintain every day. The key is being honest about your situation. Carrying a smaller firearm in your pocket is far better than leaving a larger firearm at home. However, that decision should be made thoughtfully and not solely for convenience.
According to specs provided to Military.com, the system relies on passive sensing rather than radar, which helps keep the host platform’s signature low. Pointing accuracy is listed at less than one minute of angle.
In the M240 configuration, the cyclic rate is 850 rounds per minute, and the company has repeatedly highlighted a cost per kill measured in the low tens of dollars, driven largely by the price of the ammunition itself.
If your Sawyer Mini barely flows after months or years in storage, do not assume it is worn out. The hollow fibers may need to be fully re-wetted. Sediment or mineral deposits may also be blocking the small passageways.
The best first step is to run clean water through the filter in the normal direction. Then backflush it forcefully with the included syringe. A stubborn filter may need a warm-water soak or a separate white-vinegar soak.
This matters for anyone who keeps a water filter in an emergency kit. A filter that worked when stored may seem almost useless when you suddenly need it.
That is especially true when the kit has never been opened or tested since the day it was purchased.
The remainder of the article provides more detailed directions and explanations.
Louis Awerbuck passed away in 2014. Massad Ayoob wrote about him:
A master with pistol, revolver, and every kind of long gun, he was particularly noted for teaching the defensive use of the shotgun. His trademark was innovative shooting scenarios that duplicated real-world difficulties in which firearms had to be employed to protect the innocent. Awerbuck was one of the great trainers in his field, but more than that, he was a thinker. He understood better than most that in the word “gunfight,” the operative syllable was not “gun.”
The video below is a training video from Awerbuck on using a shotgun for combat including an overview of shotguns and shotgun ammunition, using a shotgun with sling, transition to a handgun, range drills, ready positions, dealing with multiple targets, and more.
VIDEO: "Louis Awerbuck - Combat Shotgun"
LASER BEARD (1 hr. 35 min.)
Some links that may be of interest:
Combat marksmanship (CMMS) is the ability to place lethal precision fire on a threat target in all environments under the stress of combat in order to reduce a threat to a point that it is no longer viable.
CMMS principles differ from those of marksmanship (MMS) because with the former, an enemy is either actively firing at you or has just been firing at you. In the latter, the Gunfighter has all the time to make a shot count. In CMMS, the Gunfighter has limited time to perceive a threat and then eliminate the threat. That time is literally the rest of their life.
He goes on to discuss topics of preparedness, mental rehearsal, determination, passion, and speed in order to achieve violence of action:
Violence of action is the execution of actions with surprisingly overwhelming force. It is a culmination of all the passion, determination and speed needed to realize victory. When faced with violence of action the assailant must reevaluate the situation. Violence of action also diminishes the bravado of the assailant and increases the bravery of the Gunfighter. Violence of action is the one aspect that criminals use to surprise victims and totally dominate the situation. By dominating the situation, they control the victim. The Gunfighter must use all the aspects of the combat mindset to be the one that dominates the situation, eliminates any threats with the appropriate level of force and be prepared to go to that level of force. Thereby controlling the situation and being victorious.
I recommend that most people wanting to be one-gun hunters focus on .30-caliber cartridges. Those can handle 180-grain to 200-grain bullets for black bears and big nondangerous game like elk and moose, where lighter, smaller-diameter bullets may be less effective.
However, he does recommend larger calibers for dangerous game (e.g., brown bear).
AR-10 rifles are a lot of things, but “lightweight” typically isn’t one of them. That is, until the Ruger SFAR was released. But since that rifle is being discontinued, and the guns were somewhat scarce as it is, I thought I’d try my hand at building a lightweight AR-10 and getting it even lighter, if possible. I wanted to stay within a reasonable budget, though. That said, I observed diminishing returns in weight versus cost—it could be lighter by shaving off a few ounces (maybe as much as half a pound depending on the optic you pick), but it would be ridiculously expensive.
The first part focuses on the lower receiver, while the future part 2 will focus on the upper (including optic) and part 3 will cover tuning the rifle. The author used a Nemo Arms receiver set that is made of "billet 7075-T6 aluminum, it’s skeletonized in some places and has lightening cuts in others, minimizing weight." When I built mine, I used a Roam lower receiver made of magnesium which is listed as having a weight of 7.3 ounces. (I also used a Roam upper).
Related:
Quick Answer: Yes, the AR-10 is an excellent hunting rifle. It is most effective for medium to large game like whitetail deer, feral hogs, and elk due to its semi-automatic action and chambering in powerful cartridges like .308 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor.
The weight race for AR platform receivers just shifted, and this is of interest for anyone who’s running & gunning a lot. 1791 Industries is introducing its LiteRaider line of ultra-lightweight uppers and lowers built from Metal Matrix Composite, a material engineered to sit 33 percent lighter than aluminum while matching the strength profile of 7075-T6. That's not a marketing-thin claim; it's built on an actual material science play, one that could reshape how builders approach the sub-eight-pound rifle conversation.
... Most of those ultralight rifles carry price tags north of $2,000, often $3,000 or more, before a scope ever touches the rail. The Howa Superlite in 6.5 Creedmoor breaks that pattern. At a street price that is typically under $1,000, you can easily build a complete rifle-and-optic package that comes in well under the price of other ultralight rifles. After putting rounds downrange from 100 yards out to 750 yards, it’s clear this mountain rifle backs up the affordable price tag with real performance.
But I don’t think most people using a shotgun defensively will ever need to reload. I’ve looked, and I can’t find a single example of a civilian defensive shotgun encounter that required a reload. Even John Correia of ASP hasn’t seen a civilian defensive encounter that required a reload across the entire spectrum of civilian defensive firearms use.
KelTec completely reworked its original P50 concept, replacing the awkward top-loading design with a drop-free magazine, machined receiver and far more practical controls. We put the new KP50 through a high-volume range session, with and without a suppressor, to find out whether the unusual 5.7x28mm pistol is more than a novelty.
The review is very detailed--much more than most firearms reviews. However, the conclusion is:
The KP50 is not for everyone, and KelTec clearly did not design it to be.
It is heavier and larger than a conventional handgun. It lacks a last-round bolt hold-open, and its unusual internal arrangement requires the shooter to learn a different manual of arms.
Ammunition cost will also discourage casual shooters from treating it like a rimfire plinker, no matter how mild the recoil feels. A 50-round box costs us $29, so it’s not ridiculously expensive but also not cheap like 22 LR.
Within those limitations, however, the KP50 is a remarkably successful redesign.
The new bottom-loading magazine corrects the original P50’s most awkward feature. The machined construction feels substantial. The folding brace, flat magazine orientation and uninterrupted top rail produce a compact package that is easy to configure and transport. Recoil is almost nonexistent, practical accuracy is excellent and the 9.6-inch barrel produces a meaningful increase in velocity compared with shorter 5.7mm pistols.
Most importantly, the KP50 is enjoyable to shoot.
That may sound like faint praise, but it is not. Firearms do not always need to imitate existing service weapons or satisfy a narrowly defined tactical requirement. There is still room in the market for a well-built, mechanically interesting gun that is accurate, reliable under reasonable conditions, and genuinely fun on the range.
The KP50 is strange, but it is not strange merely for the sake of attracting attention. Its unusual shape follows an unusual mechanical solution: fitting 50 or 100 rounds of 5.7x28mm into a compact firearm without hanging a large magazine underneath it.
KelTec took an intriguing but awkward concept and turned it into a much more mature platform. The KP50 remains unmistakably KelTec, but this time the unconventional engineering is paired with unexpectedly good execution.
It was in response to the demands of obstinate frontiersmen that the famous Kentucky model evolved. It hit its stride by about 1730 but underwent steady change for many years. Most rifles were built to the buyer’s specifications or according to the maker’s latest experiments, and the resulting new ideas were eagerly seized upon by competing smiths. For this reason, surviving examples show wide variations in detail.
No frontiersman wanted to carry a heavy weapon on his long treks in the wilderness. The weight was steadily reduced until the average Kentucky hunting rifle weighed between 9 and 10 pounds. (Those made for match shooting averaged about 19 pounds.) Similarly, using a large-caliber rifle meant that the lone pioneer had to carry a heavy load of bullets. So the caliber was reduced from the .65 and .70 common in Europe to about .45. The pound of lead that once yielded sixteen .70 bullets now gave forty-eight .45 balls — three times as many shots.
Simultaneously the front sight was enlarged and the trigger guard strengthened while it was stripped of its old bulk. But probably the most distinctive change came in the barrel, which on previous rifles had been uniformly short and heavy.
Now it was lengthened, ranging in the early Kentucky models from 51 to 77 inches, or up to more than triple the length of the average big-game rifle of today. This meant that less powder was needed than before, because it burned cleaner. In the opinion of several authorities, this long barrel which gave great accuracy at the same time that it deadened the noise of the firing was the main factor in the success of the Kentucky rifle.
Coupled with this was the novel “patch” method of loading invented by some unsung genius. Thanks largely to this discovery, rifles could be reloaded in one fourth the time it took before, and eventually backwoodsmen were getting off their second shot in less than half a minute after the first.
Health officials are tracking another outbreak of the 'explosive diarrhea' parasite as the disease runs rampant across the US.
The FDA said 72 people had been infected with cyclosporiasis, a disease transmitted by food or water contaminated with human feces, in a separate cluster than the one with thousands of suspected cases potentially linked to lettuce and Taco Bell.
... Another myth about prepping is that people think that that means that you have to have a whole room dedicated to stacks of toilet paper and rice and spaghetti sauce. Absolutely not. You just need to think carefully about how you live in order to learn how to manage your space.
In the living room in the corner, I had a white freezer, which looked absolutely ridiculous. So I applied wallpaper to it, and I think it looks really cute. The things that I keep in there are varied. I keep several different types of meat. I have some uncooked, and then I have some that are cooked and sliced and that I’ve cooked and ready to go, and I’ve packaged them. We have vegetables, we have pasta, and we have soup. We have pot pies and extra bottles of water because in the event of a blackout, our food will stay colder longer because we have the frozen bottles of water in there. If we get an injury and I need to place something cold on our leg or on our back, we could use that.
The rule of thumb is that harder alloy compositions last much longer but they don’t produce as many sparks from a typical strike. That’s because less material is physically being consumed.
Conversely, your softer alloy blends produce a much larger and more intense shower of sparks but they wear out much quicker due to greater consumption.
Some links that may be of interest:
The inability to get a rifle sighted in can come from several sources. Your rifle could have a problem. Or it just may not like the loads you’re feeding it. It could—(shocking thought!)—even be you, the shooter, that’s inconsistent. However, scope and scope mounting-system issues are frequently the culprit, and that’s what we’re here to explore in this article.
And:
Good bases and rings do hold quality scopes precisely in place. Not just for a while, but as hundreds, even thousands of shots create mini earthquakes.
However, some scopes just won’t hold zero, and some bases and rings just won’t hold tight. Usually, that’s because they’re either cheap (let’s call it what it is), or they’ve been improperly mounted. Either is extremely frustrating. Both must be resolved before the rifle can perform properly.
What causes scopes, scope rings, or bases to come loose? There are a variety of possibilities, but the most common ones are recoil—when a scope is mounted improperly—and vibration. As in, vibration in the belly of an airplane, or the rifle case mounted to your ATV, or behind the seat of your pickup.
Any person with knowledge and experience shooting precision rifles — or just shooting rifles precisely — knows that when a shot is fired, the barrel flexes and then returns to its original state in a fraction of a second. That’s called “barrel harmonics.” There are plenty of super slo-mo videos online that demonstrate this.
During a precision rifle course our instructor had us deliberately take shots with our bolt-action precision rifles and then stick them through a section of chainlink fence with the barrels purposely resting on the fence to see if our point of impact changed. Spoiler alert, the impacts were off dramatically. Our ½-size steel silhouette targets were around 200 yards away if memory serves.
He then tested the shift caused by mounting bayonets on an AR15 and an AK style rifle: specifically, a Springfield Armory SA-16 (a semi-auto clone of the M16A2) and a Century Arms BFT-556 (a 5.56mm AK 74 style rifle). With the bayonet mounted, the SA-16 went from a 0.68 inch 5-shot group at 25 meters to 2.3 inches; and the group printed about 3 inches above point of aim. The BFT-556 had a 2.36 inch group at 25 yards without the bayonet; and, according to the author, the group size showed only a 0.5 inch different with the bayonet mounted, and the group only moved 1.5 inches higher. The author concludes:
When we do our rifle ballistics math and extrapolate how a one-inch group at 100 yards translates to 2 inches at 200, etc., a 3-inch rise in impact between 25 and 50 yards translates to 6 inches of rise at 100 and a full 12 inches at 200. Being 12 inches off at 200 yards could definitely translate to missed targets.
To be fair, we wouldn’t likely fix bayonets if we knew we were engaging targets beyond 100 yards. The cold steel of a bayonet is intended for up close and personal work. In a close quarters battle environment like the jungle or a MOUT situation, we expect targets to easily be inside of 100 yards.
It’s safe to say that adding bayonets to fighting rifles negatively affects accuracy in longer distance shooting. However, for CQB situations, having a chunk of lethal steel affixed to the end of your barrel wouldn’t have such a negative effect on accuracy as to preclude its use. Just be sure to take it off — or take it into account — before engaging anything at greater distances.
The big difference between carrying in a regular car and a motorcycle is the fact that you're exposed to the outside world and elements while on a motorcycle, so there aren't many places to just outright hide your handgun. Not only do you have to worry about keeping your handgun concealed, but you also have to keep in mind that moving around and leaning on your bike can cause different strain on your holster than what's typically normal for carrying concealed. When going at highway speed, it's common for shirts to ride up in the wind without a heavier vest to keep things in place. It's important to think about where your handgun is positioned and if there's a chance of it being exposed at higher speeds when on the highway.
As we have laid out, you have 4 extremely general categories of pistols to choose from for CCW. So, if you’re choosing one of the extremes in a pocket pistol, how is it relevant in 2026? Maybe your occupation doesn’t allow for a pistol on your waist - not necessarily in a legal sense - but potentially because you are in a trade like carpentry, plumbing, etc., where your waist already has a toolbelt taking up all of the real estate around your waist. So, you need to resort to more creative methods of carry like your pocket.
He also explains:
The primary scenarios where a pocket pistol may be a good application for you would be formal attire, hot weather, or extenuating circumstances at your job. We have already painted the picture for your job. You might have a carpentry belt around your waist, work in an office where a hip-carried firearm could be accidentally brandished, or other instances that demand your pistol should reside in your pocket.
Another opportunity to pocket carry is while donning a suit and tie. Professional wear is often tight-fitting and doesn’t take into account the possibility for concealed carry. So, if you force it, it can be tremendously uncomfortable as well as open the door for scaring your co-workers or friends who have delicate sensibilities.
Finally, there are the oppressively hot times in the summer where you’re only wearing a thin T-shirt and shorts. This type of clothing gives you a cooling factor in hotter temps but doesn’t lend itself well to carrying a firearm.
Police officers, district attorneys, and sheriffs offer a different explanation for the teen takeovers: they are the consequence of a decades-long demonization of the criminal-justice system.
Asked how the Chicago Police Department would have responded to a stampede on the Magnificent Mile before that demonization took hold, a recently retired officer with over 30 years on the force replied: “We would have cleared the streets, arrested those breaking windows, looting stores, and assaulting passersby. We would have used pepper spray, fists, and batons to restore order—all of which we did during the Bulls riots [in 1992], the Democratic National Convention in 1996, NATO, and other localized disturbances that didn’t make the news.”
But then, he says, “the bottom fell out. Officers were cast as the enemy by eight years of Obama.” After the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, followed by those of Laquan McDonald in Chicago that same year and of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015, “we were cleaning spit off our windshields on a daily basis. We were physically attacked more during those years than at any other point in our careers.” Officers feared being sued for lawful tactics that make for bad optics.
The cops disengaged. “We drove by the dope sellers on the corner, asked no questions of the juveniles who were clearly up to no good, and ignored the cars running stop signs and weaving through traffic.” Better just to do your eight hours and go home.
Another retired Chicago cop recalls asking his commanders in 2010 when mobs were storming downtown: Can we make arrests? He was told: just hold the line and move them around. Even were the officers to engage, the chance that the average detained teen would face serious consequences was already low.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, officers had a protective attitude toward business; they took responsibility for the well-being of shopkeepers and their customers, says a Chicago sergeant still on the job. “It’s different now.”
And then, on May 25, 2020, George Floyd died while restrained by a Minneapolis officer. The country’s elites proclaimed that systemic racism had killed Floyd. Politicians and business leaders rushed to explain the ensuing firebombing of police cars and stations, the attempted murder of police officers, and the destruction of businesses as an understandable, even justifiable, reaction to police oppression.
The post-Floyd race-riot era is largely coterminous with the Covid era: lockdowns began in late March 2020, and the riots erupted at the end of May. That overlap has allowed policing skeptics to attribute the crime spike that began in 2020 to Covid rather than to de-policing and de-prosecution. Those same skeptics now apply the argument to teen takeovers as well.
The rest of the world again provides a useful benchmark. Other countries did not experience a comparable surge in crime beginning in 2020, just as they did not experience a wave of teen takeovers. The United States experienced both because police and prosecutors shied away further from imposing consequences on antisocial behavior.
The juvenile-justice system was similarly emasculated in the twenty-first century, for much the same reason as the adult system: to avoid disparate impact. The Obama administration sued school districts for disparities in school-discipline rates between black students and white students. Suspensions and expulsions plummeted. Rather than being punished, insubordinate pupils were directed to “peace circles” and other forms of restorative justice.
Outside the school bureaucracy, cities and states loosened their already-permissive rules for holding juveniles accountable for crimes. From 2008, when Barack Obama was first elected president, through 2021, the rate at which black male juveniles received final dispositions for violent offenses fell 67 percent, according to the National Center for Juvenile Justice. It is unlikely that this decline in adjudications reflected a 67 percent drop in violent crime among black juveniles, given victimization data and the reports of police officers. Instead, budding criminals were increasingly kept out of the juvenile system altogether, whether their misconduct occurred in schools or on the streets. Those who did enter the system encountered increasingly permissive rules.
"12 Gauge Buckshot Range Report" by Ben Adams, Appalachian Tactical Academy. A comparison between Federal Tactical 00 8-pellet Buck with Federal’s Flitecontrol wad and Remington Express Tac 12 00 8-pellet Buck, pattern tested at 5, 15, 25, and 35 yards. At 5 yards, the Remington had already opened up a lot more than the Federal, although both patterned within the A-zone on the target. At 15 yards, however, the Remington pattern was significantly larger than the Federal. At 25 yards, the Federal load's pattern was about the size of the Remington's at 15 yards, while the Remington had opened up enough that some pellets were no longer striking on the silhouette. At 35 yards, the Federal was still doing pretty well (1 pellet off the target), but the Remington pattern was so large that it was no longer going to be effective. 35 yards is far beyond any distance you would ever need to shoot in a home defense scenario (unless you lived in a mansion), but could be well short of a property line (or border of your curtilage). Just something to keep in mind. In any event, the author concludes:
The Federal load I tested is the clear winner over the Remington, but what does that actually mean for you as the end user? Don’t assume that the Federal load is automatically superior for your purposes. A 25+ yard shot just may not be a reality for your individual situation, so why stress about ensuring you have ammo to meet a situation that you are not going to experience?Both loads do just fine at distances of 15y and in, which accounts for the longest indoor shot 99% of Americans might have to take. Keep that in mind when choosing a load for your gun. With all that said, my preference is still going to be for the tighter-patterning load, all other things being equal. But what if all other things aren’t equal? Price and availability have to factor into your decision-making process as well.
The latter has certainly played into my selection of shotgun ammo. It was years after I first started hearing about the Federal Flitecontrol 8-pellet buckshot load before I ever came across it in any of the stores in this area, and supply has been very spotty. And when I check online, it seems to always be out of stock or on back order. Consequently, most of my supply is more standard 00 loadings.
A couple stories from earlier this week of the same incident where a dog shot a woman with a shotgun:
The New York Post article relates:
The pooch, its owner and a passenger pulled into Short Stop, a baseball-themed gas station and convenience store, in Scottsbluff just before noon — when the owner popped into the store.
The curious canine quickly started to rifle around in the back seat and came across a shotgun. Somehow, the pooch popped off several shots straight through the passenger side door, according to police reports obtained by KNOP.
The truck’s passenger who had lingered near the truck while waiting for the driver, watched in apparent bewilderment as the dog opened fire.
One shot soared across the gas station and reportedly struck a woman waiting at a nearby traffic light.
Scottsbluff police were originally told that someone had fired a BB gun, but realized the severity of situation when they found the shellshocked dog and a smoking shotgun.
The lone victim was shot in the arm and hospitalized with a non-life-threatening injury, the outlet reported.
The other article relates:
According to police, the dog moved across the truck and accidentally triggered the firearm, causing it to fire through the passenger-side door.
At that exact moment, a woman waiting at a nearby red light had her arm resting outside her car window. One shotgun pellet struck her upper arm, and she was taken to Regional West Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and reminded residents that transporting a loaded shotgun inside a vehicle is illegal in Nebraska.
The article from the Post seems to have exaggerated the situation, making it sound like several shots were fired whereas it was probably just the single shot described in the second article. Fortunately no one was seriously injured. But leaving a cocked weapon with a loaded chamber in the back of the vehicle is irresponsible, in my opinion. I've seen articles of similar incidents in the past where dogs have stepped on or dragged a shotgun or rifle causing it to discharge with tragic results. Although the article is silent on this point, it does not seem that the shotgun was in a case or scabbard of any sort, either, which might have prevented the incident.
Some links that may be of interest:
... A recent study of justifiable homicides by the FBI shows that nationwide, law-abiding armed citizens have been killing more violent criminals than the nation’s law enforcement community.
Why? Because the citizen is right there when the deadly attack on him or her takes place, and the waiting time for lawful armed response is essentially zero. Remember, homicide is justifiable only in situations of immediate, otherwise unavoidable danger of death or grave bodily harm…meaning that every dead criminal is potentially one or more innocent lives saved.
He also links to the study.
The course was a two-day introduction to practical shooting (IPSC basic course, which is mandatory in some countries), designed specifically for beginners. It covered the full spectrum of fundamental skills: basic accuracy drills, static reloads, emergency reloads, strong-hand-only shooting, weak-hand-only shooting, and shooting on the move. Exactly the kind of curriculum that puts a pistol through its paces in ways a static bench test never can.
Normally, such a course requires about 400-600 rounds to complete, depending on the maturity of the individual(s). Of the 1,200 rounds fired with this pistol, 900 were fired indoors using GECO's Lead Round Nose Copper-Plated 9mm Luger, 8.0g / 124gr.
The remaining 300 rounds or so were Hornady Critical Defense FTX 115gr, which we saved for a dedicated accuracy and V0 chronograph session at 25 meters. More on those results in a separate article, but the short version: accuracy was excellent and there were zero malfunctions with the Hornady ammunition.
Are these parts the best/most expensive/recommended by the guy you know at the range who’s always weighing in? Maybe. Maybe not. I’ve tested them in previous builds and have found them all to perform exactly as advertised/just how I like it, so that’s what I use. That’s not saying that less-expensive options should automatically be discarded; with the exception of the trigger, which is still far from the most expensive one out there, most of the parts chosen for this are decidedly middle-of-the-road but fully functional.
The .22 LR version of the Colt King Cobra came out in 2022. This is their one and only rimfire model, but they do offer it in five different barrel lengths. This one is the 3-inch model because, as we’ve already established in our last video, 3-inch revolvers are objectively the best. But if you’re one of the poor unenlightened souls who objected to that comment, you can also have it with a 2-inch, 4.25-inch, 6-inch, or even 8-inch barrel. That’s more barrel length options than any other .22 revolver on the market.
This is a King Cobra which means it’s built on the beefier magnum version of the Cobra frame. And the “Target” designation means it has an adjustable rear sight and a fiber optic front sight. They’ve also given the .22 model the vent rib cutouts on the barrel, which you do not see on the .357 version. With that and the full underlug, it kind of looks like a junior Python.
He thought it had the best trigger of any .22 revolver on the market and the accuracy was very good--at 25 yards his 5-shot groups averaged between 1.1 and 1.5 inches depending on the ammo used.
Placement determines how naturally and quickly you can access your magazines under stress. For right-handed shooters, your primary magazine pouch should be positioned on the support side furthest to your left, so your support hand can reach it without interfering with your firing grip or rifle position. From there, additional magazines are arranged sequentially toward the centerline. Number your magazines left to right, with Magazine 1 being your first reload source on the support side.
If you are running both a plate carrier and a battle belt, exhaust your battle belt magazines first before transitioning to the plate carrier. This keeps your heavier, body-mounted load intact longer and reduces fatigue from upper-body weight early in an engagement. On the plate carrier itself, the sequencing reverses: from a battle-belt start, it works inward from the furthest point on the support side, toward the centerline.
Consistent positioning also means your hands instinctively find the right pouch, even in low light or under cognitive load. A setup you can navigate without looking is one you can rely on in the field. If you are still dialing in your carrier fit before configuring pouches, start with our guide on how to wear a plate carrier. Correct plate height and cummerbund tension are the baseline; everything else is built around. According to U.S. Army doctrine on individual equipment, tactical performance under stress is directly tied to how well trained and predictable a soldier’s equipment layout is.
The decisions you make, on a day to day basis, have survival implications. Perhaps you’ve opted for an under-the-sink water filter, instead of a filtered pitcher. That’s great for now, but if you have to bug out, you won’t be taking your installed water filter with you. If you stay in your home, but city water no longer flows, the installed water filter will be of no value to you. That’s not to say you shouldn’t install a water filter, but if you have to choose between the two, a filtered pitcher is a better choice from a survival standpoint.
Super glue is one of the greatest inventions. It will bond almost anything. Army Medics and Navy Corpsman were the first to ever use it in the field, during the Vietnam War. They glued more patients back together than they sewed. Placing a standard interrupted suture for every stitch you make two new wounds – two new avenues of infection. Super glues eliminated that route of infection.
You can use super glue when you have a cut. Deep or shallow, it doesn’t matter – you need to protect it from infection. Sealing the wound is your best bet. Why should you worry about a tiny cut? In the SHTF world, more people will die of infection than major trauma. Why? Because no matter how much people like me preach about diet and washing hands, its human nature to find 5000 more important things to do when you’re trying to survive.
The author goes on to provide directions (including photos) and recommendations as to what glue to use and which to avoid.
Big Country Expat (BCE) apparently liked my recent post about bayonets for self defense (and a big thanks to him for the link). In his post--"AWOL Again, Shotguns and Bayonets, and a Crisis of the Spirit"--he delves into mounting bayonets on shotguns. As far as I know, Mossberg is the only company offering shotguns with bayonet mounts: the 590 Retrograde and the 590A1 Retrograde. However, BCE shows off a product from NcStar that provides a bayonet mount for other shotguns. Although the product description says it is for the Mossberg 500, BCE notes that it works with other shotguns and includes photographs of it on a tactical semi-auto shotgun with a Marine Corps bayonet.
I was especially interested in his photographs because I saw a video recently where the host was not able to get some of the bayonets with thicker handles like the M9 and Marine Corps model to fit on the bayonet mount on his Mossberg 590--apparently it was just a bit too tight--and was going to use the M7 because it had a thinner handle.
BCE also discusses the shotgun a bit--a semi-auto model that is inexpensive ($500 at Palmetto State Armory currently) that has done well in durability tests.
Go to his article and check it out.
Just some gun and prepping related links that I thought interesting or useful:
There’s no way around it: to properly mount a scope, you need equipment. One option is to pay a competent gunsmith to do it — money well spent if the gunsmith does it properly — or you can invest $400-700 in proper tools and own them for life. Even if you only mount a couple of scopes a year, it pencils out over time.
These are two very similar rifles intended for similar purposes--a do-it-all type rifle. Both are bolt actions with similar caliber options (both have models available in .308 and 5.56/.223, although Ruger offers some additional choices); threaded barrels; long scope rail systems that allow the mounting of a standard scope, a forward (scout) long eye relief scope; built in iron sights; 16-inch barrels; and available with 10-round magazines. The Franchi is slightly over 7 lbs. versus 6.5 lbs. for the Ruger. The Franchi is also several hundred dollars more, but has some other features that might make it worth the price difference.
When it comes to carrying a concealed handgun, less truly is more and if you carry more than the bare minimum, it's wasted energy in most cases. I’ve certainly been there where I was carrying two flashlights along with a small utility knife as well as a larger knife for self-defense on top of my main carry gun and extra magazines. I felt like my pants were a boat anchor and it just became a lot to the point where I wanted to leave the house without anything. The simple truth is, you need a small handgun to start out with basically nothing else besides a good holster.
One rifle started the week with a dismal 6.9-MOA average of five-shot, 100-yard groups using a highly regarded, 77-grain match 5.56 NATO load. A popular 70-grain defensive load was even worse. The carbine’s like-new, 1:7-inch-twist barrel came from a pedigreed rifle maker and seemed just right for the task. Shaving slightly more than 1 MOA off the student’s average-group size (through rifle accurization) sounds good by itself, but that still left him with a 5.2-MOA best group at 100 yards.
The rifle’s owner was ready to scrap the barrel, so I encouraged him to try a lighter-weight factory load that I sometimes use for accuracy testing: Hornady’s match-quality, 55-grain V-Max. His initial five-shot group printed less than 1 inch, and for the first time all week, this experienced rifleman was smiling. Another great V-Max group convinced him that the barrel wasn’t a lost cause. He used PMC 55-grain FMJ for the rest of his groups, which averaged a hair larger than 2 MOA at 100 yards.
Much like Tannerite, AZAO’s thermite grenades come with the relevant chemical mixture separated. Coming in a couple restaurant style ketchup squeeze bottles, the iron oxide and aluminum powder are mixed on the day of use, on site.
These are also not the same as military thermite grenades which also include thermate. But apparently those are planned to be offered in the future.
Urban mobility during unrest isn’t about fear. It’s about freedom. If you can move, you can adapt. If you’re trapped, options shrink fast.
Treat your city like a terrain map, not a convenience. Study it. Walk it. And build your own escape routes now—while you still can.
Some more tips and pointers for cut shells. The host makes clear that cut shells are not intended for use when you have slugs available to y...
