New Bombs & Bants Podcast (Streamed 2/23/2022)

 

VIDEO: "Bombs & Bants Live!" (52 min.)

We had some sound issues, so go to 3:15 to start listening.

New "Bombs & Bants" Podcast (Streamed 2/16/2022)

 

VIDEO: Bombs & Bants podcast for 2/16/2022 (41 min.)

POTD: Hashima Island

 

Hashima Island is a popular place for photographs of modern ruins, and was even used in the James Bond film, Skyfall. This photograph, however, shows a different perspective of it than is typical. (Source: "15 eerie abandoned cities around the world that are real-life ghost towns"--Independent).

Paper: "Is Atlantis related to the green Sahara?"

     In his journal article, "Is Atlantis related to the green Sahara?," published in the International Journal of Hydrology, Hong-Quan Zhang makes the argument that the greening of the Sahara between approximately 12,000 B.C. and 5500 B.C. could explain the myths of Atlantis. During the green Sahara period, there were vast river systems and several large lakes (called megalakes and as large or larger than our Great Lakes) in or bordering the Sahara region. 

This map shows what North Africa was believed to have looked like during the Sahara greening period, with the author having marked what he postulates would have been the rough boundaries of the Atlantian empire as related by Plato. 

    He postulates that an Atlantian civilization could have formed around one of these inland lakes, connected to the Mediterranean by a river or outlet. And, in fact, he seems to have located what appears to be a circular structure that is perhaps the source of the description of Atlantis having circular harbors around it. This is the not the circular structure known as the Eye of the Sahara, which has also been suggested as a possible location of Atlantis. Rather, this structure which seems to be a smaller version of the Eye, is located almost on the Tunisian-Algerian border at 33°49’45”N, 7°43’50”E. 

    I've noted before that we live in strange time when what where previously considered conspiracy theories have been proven to be true. And I don't know think many people, including archeologists and anthropologists, have quite grasped how much the discovery of Göbekli Tepe has upended our long held beliefs about pre-Bronze Age history. I know that if I had suggested in my college archeology class that humans 10,000 years prior had been able to erect large, elaborately carved monuments, I would have been laughed out of class.

The Docent's Memo (Feb. 14, 2022)

 

VIDEO: "Why does a civilian need a SPR? (GPR vs SPR)"--Brass Facts (18 min.)

Besides explaining what is an SPR and why or how a civilian would use such a rifle, I would also note the effectiveness of the coloring of the presenter's rifle and clothing in the Utah desert, even with snow cover. 

Firearms/Self-Defense/Shooting:

• Jon Low (Defensive Pistolcraft) published a new roundup of articles and commentary last week. Lots of good stuff, as always. But a couple things that in particular caught my attention. First, I appreciated his comments about our role as private citizens in armed forced encounters; our goals and tactics are different from that of the police or the military. Jon explains:

* Avoidance, Deterrence, Escape *     As a civilian, these are your goals.  

---

     You are not military.  So, you don't have to destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver.  You don't have to close with the enemy to destroy the enemy with close combat.  

     You are not police.  So, you don't have to engage in the first place.  You don't have to pursue.  You don't have to arrest.  You don't have to restrain. Which means you don't have to protect the suspect.  You are not responsible for medical aid for the suspect.  (The Nashville Police Chief has instructed his officers, "No proactive policing."  You can respond to calls, but don't initiate anything.  For those of us who used to be cops, this is the most bat shit crazy policy.)

     You are not a vigilante.  

---

     You are not military.  So, you don't have to obey the Geneva Convention.  You may use hollow point bullets.  You don't have to obey the Hague Convention.  You are not required to take and care for prisoners.  In the Marine Corps, we were taught to "Never take prisoners."  Because you don't have the personnel to guard them and take care of them. 

 

     You are not police.  So, you don't have to give any warning.  It is effectively impossible to talk and shoot at the same time.  So, while you're saying, "Halt!  Military Police." the bad guy will be shooting, stabbing, and kicking you.  

     You always have to look at the bright side.  

It matches up with a topic that I've been mulling around in my head of the difference between a prepper in a SHTF situation from that of the military, the police, and even the general defensive shooter. 

    Jon also links to an article by Dave Spaulding in the Range Master news letter entitled "Reloading: Significant or unnecessary?" The gist of the article is that Spaulding thinks that there is a time and place to practice reloads, but it isn't in the middle of a drill teaching some other skill or even during live shooting; instead, practice it while dry firing. Spaulding also notes that should you run out of ammo in an actual fight, you will need to reload quickly. In this regard, he doesn't think that the method you use to release the slide is important. "You have no idea how much I do not give a shit how you release the slide!" he writes. "As long as you get it done as quickly as possible, that’s all I care about." Jon disagrees on that point, writing:

    Well, actually, one should give a shit as to how the student releases the slide after a reload.  Because there are two possibilities:  the slide is forward or the slide is locked back.  We should teach and use a technique that works in both cases.  If the technique does not work in both cases, it is WRONG.  Racking the slide is correct.  

     Well, if you bring your pistol and magazine up into your field of view, you can look the magazine into the magazine well while keeping threats in view.   

 Jon also mentions that he purchased a pistol with tritium night sights. He offers some thoughts about using night sights or illuminated sights:

     The pistol had very bright tritium sights, color white.  One dot in the front and two on the rear.  While I had casually used such nights sights before, now that I owned a set, I thought I had better put in some deliberate practice.  

     The practical necessary application of such sights is in an environment that is dark.  You have positively identified your target, but the target is not lit.  So, you cannot silhouette your iron sights.  For whatever reason (tactical or because the flashlight is broken or lost in action), you cannot use your flashlight.  

     If you can't use your flashlight, you can't afford a muzzle flash.  Yes, there are many types of ammunition that drastically minimize muzzle flash.  You can use a flash supressor.  If you're using a sound suppressor, you probably won't have the muzzle flash problem.  If you're concerned about noise, you need to use subsonic ammo.  Because the super sonic crack is loud, especially at night in the quiet of the field, away from urban noises (or inside a quiet building).  

     Shooting at enemy combatants in the dark without lighting them up is generally not within the scope of civilian self defense.  This is a pretty offensive, as opposed to defensive, technique.  

     If you're thinking about using a red dot sight in such situations, look at your red dot sight from the front in a dark room.  You will notice that there are a lot of angles from which you can see the red dot.  Which means the enemy can see the red dot.  If you're wearing glasses / goggles, the enemy can see the reflection of the red dot off your eye protection.  (Hey, the glow of a lit cigarette was enough for GySgt. Carlos Hathcock.  And I'm sure for many others.)  

     If you've got enough light to positively identify your target (your tactical flashlight is on him), you've got enough light to silhouette your sights.  Using the Harries technique, you'll never see your glowing tritium sights.  If you're holding your flashlight at your cheek or crown of your head, the back of your pistol is lit up, and you definitely won't see your glowing sights.  

     If the target is not lit up, can you positively identify your target?   

Anyway, a lot more there so be sure to check it out. 

• Weekend Knowledge Dump from Active Response Training. Links to articles and videos on: security strategies when using Lyft, Uber, or the like; night vision setups for rifles; a couple articles on weapon mounted lights; how to survive a dog attack; Wilderness Medical Society guidelines on treating anaphylaxis; advise on purchasing and using a portable generator; and a lot more. 

    In regard to the article on anaphylaxis, there are few key points that I took from the paper. First, although there isn't good data on the number of incidents of anaphylactic attacks, it does appear that the numbers are increasing, with the majority associated with food allergies. Second, "Epinephrine is the essential, primary treatment that should be given once anaphylaxis has been diagnosed (1A). If possible, separating the patient from the inciting allergen is prudent, but vomiting should not be induced to eliminate a food-based allergen (1C)." But, third, the epinephrine needs to be injected (e.g., an epi-pen) because "[a]lthough they are widely available, over-the-counter, metered-dose inhalers of epinephrine have not been found to be a practical or effective treatment for anaphylaxis." My wife has a prescription for an epi-pen. As the article indicates, "[f]or disaster or austere conditions, multiple reports suggest that acceptable epinephrine potency is retained as long as 24 mo beyond the expiration date." So, my plan is to include my wife's old epi-pen in my IFAK when she replaces the one that she carries with her.

• "Is It Better to Go Factory or Build a One-Off AR-15?"--The New Rifleman. If I were to sum up this article in one sentence, it would be: "Your home built AR-15 will be a POS that will get you killed." I'm probably biased because I've built a few AR style rifles. But I don't agree with an almost blanket rejection of a home build. Anyone with some mechanical ability and is willing to put in the effort to research and learn about ARs and how they operate should be able to assemble a reliable AR. Also, the author's underlying assumption is that anyone assembling their AR rather than buying a factory gun (or at least a complete upper) is doing it solely to save money and will buy the cheapest parts available. 

    I think that the better way to address the question of whether to go factory or build a one-off AR-15 is to discuss the issue on its merits rather than assume that someone building their own AR is an idiot that is going to mess it up. 

 

    So, what are the reasons to buy an AR?

1. Resale value. It is axiomatic that a stranger to your AR will be willing to pay more for a factory gun than for one that has been pieced together. This isn't to say that the factory model is better than the home built rifle, but that we have more faith in the factory built rifle over the home built rifle assembled by someone we don't know. So, if you think that you will be reselling the rifle at some point or view it as an investment, go with a factory rifle from a quality brand. On top of which, certain brands (e.g., Colt) seem to have a certain cachet that brings higher prices.
2. Instant gratification. If you just want to have a rifle to shoot, now(!), then a factory rifle is the way to go.
3. You have to. My thought on this might be for the person that works for an agency that allows you to purchase your own rifle but requires certain models or brands. This may also apply to someone in a prepper group where the group has agreed upon a particular brand and model of rifle.
4. The factory rifle is (more or less) set up exactly how you want it. Most of the people I know that build their own rifles enjoy tinkering and the "hunt" of tracking down parts. If you don't fall into that category, don't want to have to make upgrades to your rifle, and can find what you want, you are probably better off just purchasing the rifle.

So why might you want to build your own AR?

1. You want to. As I noted above, some people enjoy the thrill of the "hunt" for the various parts, tinkering with the gun, learning how ARs work, and so on. Unless you are trying to do a build with an 80% receiver, a home build pretty much comes down to matching and assembling parts. 
2. Saving the costs of upgrades. If you can find a stock rifle that works for you, great! But I know people that have bought a stock rifle from a reputable manufacturer and then proceeded to make significant upgrades: a different stock, a different pistol grip, a better trigger, a different or better handguard. By that point, you might have been better off building the rifle yourself rather than paying for the inferior parts from the factory and then paying again to get the upgraded parts. 
3. Saving money over a high-end rifle. I have to agree with the New Rifleman that if you are simply trying to save money over a bare bones stock factory rifle, you probably won't be able to do so. As he observed, manufacturers--especially large manufacturers--can purchase parts in bulk at far lower prices than you could get paying retail. But he is only half right. Just because a manufacturer can purchase the parts for a lower cost doesn't mean that the savings is passed on to you. If a particular configuration is popular, manufacturers and retailers may very well charge a premium for the firearm. I noticed this several years ago when I built my .300 Blackout pistol. Typical prices for something similar to what I built were running $1500 or more. I was able to build something just as good or better using quality parts for about half of that.
4. Nobody makes what you want. I ran into that with my AR308 build. Because I wanted something of a specific configuration and weight to be a modern scout rifle, what I wanted was not on the market. And lightweight rifles, overall, are very expensive--far more than what I was willing pay. 
5. Spreading the costs out over time. And this brings me to a final point, which is the sticker shock on some rifles. By building your own rifle, even if you are basically copying an available rifle, you can buy the parts here and there as the become available or go on sale, and spread the costs over a period of many months. 

• Guns Magazine has a three part article by John Taffin on the subject of big bore belly guns. (Part I) (Part II) (Part III). By "belly guns," Taffin means a short barreled revolver with a barrel length of less than 4-inches, and most of the models he discusses have barrels of 2.5 or 3 inches. By big bore, Taffin states in his article that he means anything more powerful than .38 Special (in order to include revolvers in .357 Magnum), but most of the revolvers he discusses are in .44 Special or .44 Long Colt, or larger/more powerful. The first part is mostly history of how revolvers with cut down barrels came into being and, finally, became factory offerings. I found this interesting:

The Mormon gunfighter and peace officer, Porter Rockwell, may have been one of the early proponents of Big Bore Belly Guns as he often cut back the barrels of Dragoons and 1860 Army .44s to make them easier to conceal and faster to reach if needed.

 

    Part II brings us into the modern era, starting with the Fitz Special and moving into production models and the dearth of .44 Special as the century progressed, with only the Charter Arms Bulldogs still being offered in that caliber.

    Part III catches us up to to the current period, noting some modern .44 Special revolvers, and then discussing the big, short barreled magnums favored by some going into the woods. Taffin concludes:

    All this brings us down to the task of actually choosing a Big Bore Belly Gun from all the many options. I could certainly get by with any of the single- or double-action sixguns discussed. However, what would be my best choices?

    We actually have two categories to consider. One is a sixgun that would be used primarily for self-defense while traveling in civilization, while the other would be for utilization far from the beaten path where it might be needed against tough, nasty four-legged critters that bite, scratch, gore or stomp. For the first category from the used gun list, I would go with a .357 Magnum 2-1/2″ S&W Model 19/66. It is easy to conceal, very portable, sufficiently powerful with a large list of ammunition options. Looking at the new gun market, my choice would be the relatively new 3″ version of the Ruger .357 Magnum GP100. The Ruger GP has been offered for several decades in 4″ and 6″ versions and has proven itself to be utterly reliable and virtually indestructible.

    For traveling foothills, forests and mountains, I would go with something larger depending upon just where my feet would take me. There are larger cartridges offered than the .454. However, in my golden years this is the upper end of my ability to handle a sixgun well. This leaves me with the choice of the Ruger Alaskan 2-3/4″ chambered in .454 and fitted with rubber finger grooved grips that I find absolutely necessary for handling the power of the cartridge in this relatively-small sixgun. This same gun has also been offered in the easier-handling .44 Magnum.

    Life is full of trade-offs. For me, the longer barrels are much easier to shoot. However, the shorter barrels are much easier to pack and definitely quicker into action. As in so many cases, we pay our money and we take our choice — and choice is highly subjective.

• A must read in light of the ATF's assembly of a database of gun sales: "Democrats Pushing Gun Registry as Precursor to Gun Ban" by John R. Lott Jr, Real Clear Politics. Lott warnes:

    Federal law explicitly prohibits the creation of a federal firearm registry, but the Biden administration is making one anyway. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has collected nearly one billion firearm purchase records. The government has now created a searchable digital database containing 866 million of these transactions, including some 54 million made in 2021 alone.

    This massive data collection effort encompasses information on all guns sold by licensed gun dealers, and on all legal gun transfers in states with so-called universal background checks. So, federal officials will have the name of everyone who legally obtained a gun. Now, President Biden wants to make universal background checks nationwide so he can have an even more complete registration list.

    According to a Rasmussen Reports survey, Democrats support the idea by a 2-1 ratio, while Republicans oppose it by a similar margin. Two-thirds of Republicans believe the policy will lead to gun confiscation, and even 40% of Democrats believe the same. Confiscating legally owned firearms, it seems, is not merely a right-wing conspiracy theory.

    Similarly, a recent Gallup poll shows that 40% of Democrats want a complete ban on civilian ownership of handguns. Countries such as Canada, the U.K., and Australia aren't the only ones to use registration to ban and confiscate guns. California, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. have also used registration to know who legally owned different types of guns before banning them.

And don't drink the Kool-Aid that such a database will be used to solve a crime. Lott goes on to note that Hawaii, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Canada's Royal Mounted Police have all, in one way or another, admitted that gun registration is useless--as in didn't solve a single murder or shooting. 

VIDEO: "5 Mistakes Beginner Backpackers Make"--Backpacking Adventures (7 min.)

Prepping/Survival:

• "DIY Rain Barrel Instructions With Pictures (Cheap and Easy)"--Primal Survival. I like the idea of having two spigots for each barrel: a drain spigot near the bottom and a spigot somewhat higher that will deliver the clear water.
• "Are There Any New Survival Products That Are Actually Worth It"--The Weapons Blog. A review of survival kits/packs from Everlit, Kosin, and the  PrepStore Elite Emergency Pack. From the article:

    Unless you’ve been prepping for some time, one thing to note is that emergencies rarely give you the time to gather all you’ll need to survive if the condition lasts for months at a time. That’s why the emergency backpack kit from Everlit is a popular and best overall survival kit at just under eighty dollars.  

    This kit features twenty-three different accessory items recommended and tested by veterans packed into a 900D 42L tactical backpack that supports at least three days of roughing it before it’s time to restock while having room to store some extra clothes. The 2L hydration bladder holds two liters of potable water, and the backpack itself handles MOLLE equipment add-ons if necessary.

• Better prepare for high prices and/or shortages of chicken products: "Chicken producers warn about fast-spreading bird flu spreading across US"--New York Post. The article relates:

    US poultry producers are tightening safety measures for their flocks as disease experts warn that wild birds are likely spreading a highly lethal form of avian flu across the country.

    Indiana on Wednesday reported highly pathogenic bird flu on a commercial turkey farm, leading China, South Korea and Mexico to ban poultry imports from the state. The outbreak put the US industry on edge at a time that labor shortages are fueling food inflation.

    The disease is already widespread in Europe and affecting Africa, Asia and Canada, but the outbreak in Indiana, which is on a migratory bird pathway, particularly rattled U.S. producers. A devastating US bird-flu outbreak in 2015 killed nearly 50 million birds, mostly turkeys and egg-laying chickens in the Midwest.

 

VIDEO: "Tucker: Lawmakers are panicking over this"--Fox News (12 min.)

News & Headlines:

• Don't make the blacks angry: "Shocking moment man is brutally beaten and stomped by a gang in Harlem then left unconscious in the middle of the road - where he is run over by passing car, as crime spikes in NYC"--Daily Mail. More at the New York Post. According to the video, the unidentified victim got into an argument with a man and woman. Two men apparently attacked and chased the victim into the street. The video shows three black men standing over the victim, who is lying in a crosswalk, stomping directly down on his head and neck, and kicking him in the side. This type of attack--particularly the stomping on the head/neck--is use of lethal force. After the three attackers leave the body, the man was then struck by a car causing even greater head injuries. According to the Post, "Police have said that the gang ran the mans [sic] head over with a car after his [sic] was beaten unconscious." It is difficult to ascertain the race of the victim, but on the video, you can see a gap between his coat/shirt and pants showing light colored skin which suggests he was white or Hispanic. 
• Laws on the use of force have become so restrictive that security guards are essentially useless: "Video captures the moment SHOPPERS and clerks try to stop brazen thieves looting swanky Louis Vuitton store in New York while mall security look on and do nothing"--Daily Mail. In a more civilized time, a person could use lethal force to stop the commission of a felony or stop a criminal fleeing when he or she had committed a felony.
• "Why was Bob Saget's death ruled an accident? Head injury was so severe it was like he'd been hit with a BASEBALL BAT, says doctor as autopsy report reveals 'major trauma' which 'could NOT be caused by a slip and fall'"--Daily Mail. Interesting. When Saget's death was first reported, we were told he had died in his sleep and there were no visible signs of trauma.
• Karma: "US-born Chinese figure skater Zhu Yi falls AGAIN and breaks down in tears at Olympics... a day after being branded a 'disgrace' by her countrymen for finishing last after giving up American citizenship to compete for Beijing"--Daily Mail. Zhu, born Beverly Zu, decided to compete for China in Olympics and changed her name and US citizenship. She "finished with the lowest score of the event at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium yesterday after she failed to land a jump and fell on the opening combination, and botched another jump later in her short program."
• "Despite their popularity, a new study has revealed that face masks could be making it more difficult for children to recognise faces – and in turn could affect their ability to make friends."--Daily Mail.
• O Canada:
• "Ottawa mayor declares state of emergency over 'totally out of control' Freedom Convoy protests as police seize supplies and threaten to ARREST anyone bringing gas to refuel the nearly 1,000 vehicles"--Daily Mail. 
• "Ottawa police decree is illegal, Justice Centre warns."
• "Heavily Armed Tactical Police Units Move In and Confiscate Fuel from Ottawa Freedom Protest Truckers"--The Last Refuge.
• "Ottawa Police Seize All Fuel and Propane Tanks From Freedom Convoy Trucks, Cut Off Supply Route For Protesters"--Gateway Pundit. 
• "Ottawa Police Threaten Immediate Arrest of Protesters, as U.S.-Canada Border Nearly Shut Down" by Rick Moran, PJ Media.  
• "'This is far from over': Freedom Convoy truckers 'hold the line' and continue to block access from Canadian side of Ambassador Bridge after cops cleared them away earlier. Protesters march in Ottawa and NY Gov. prepares for Niagara Falls disruption"--Daily Mail.
• "Police Arrest Protesters who Remained at US-Canada Bridge"--Breitbart. 

I think this observation from The Last Refuge should be kept in mind for any future spicy times in the United States:  

 

    Let this serve as yet another example of how police units will respond to carry out the orders of government officials regardless of what laws, limits or duties ordinary citizens may project upon them.

    When told to load YOU into the cattle cars, or fire upon any resistance effort, every single police officer will follow orders; and they will execute those orders with extreme prejudice, without distinction for constitutional limitations.  In the era of COVID compliance, all police officers are jackboot security agents of the authoritarian state.  Conduct your affairs accordingly.

But, moving on, anyone with two brain cells to rub together will have noticed the difference between how the leftist politicians (who claims to represent the working class) reacted to the truckers protest versus how they reacted to BLM and Antifa. Basically, instead of giving them room to protest, the truckers have been the victim of government interference, harassment and, now, arrest.  Why? Glenn Reynolds explains in a New York Post op-ed:

    So we’re finally seeing a genuine, bottom-up, working-class revolution. In Canada, and increasingly in the United States, truckers and others are refusing to follow government orders, telling the powerful that, in a popular lefty formulation, if there’s no justice, there’s no peace.

    Naturally, the left hates it.

    For more than a century, lefties have talked about such a revolt. But if you really paid attention, the actual role of the working class in their working-class revolution was not to call the shots — it was to do what it was told by the “intellectual vanguard” of the left.

    A working-class revolution led by the working class is the left’s worst nightmare because the working class doesn’t want what the left wants. The working class wants jobs, a stable economy, safe streets, low inflation, schools that teach things and a conservative, non-adventurous foreign policy that won’t get a lot of working-class people killed. It’s not excited about gender fluidity, critical race theory, “modern monetary theory,” foreign adventures and defunding police.

And the truckers want back their freedom. This is antithetical to the political left because the left is, at heart, autocratic. Even some of those on the left recognize this. For instance, in Spiked we read:

 Once working-class protests were often organised by leftists or even Communists, but many of today’s working-class radical movements take on a different, more populist and distinctly anti-statist character. One can question the positions adopted by protesters, particularly on vaccines, but also recognise that the new wave of working-class unrest, whether in Canada or among the gilets jaunes in France, reflects a deep-seated frustration with diktats issued from above by an increasingly authoritarian state.

"Generally," the author continues, "these movements are not embraced but are largely met with disdain and even horror by gentry progressives and their media allies." And they are met with disdain and horror because "[t]hese protests in the US, Australia and Europe are not led by Marxist intellectuals in quest of a new world order, but by those seeking to restore an increasingly threatened world, where individual workers still possess some power and small independent artisans or merchants can support a middle-class lifestyle."

    Thus, in New Zealand, whose prime minister is the living embodiment of "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," it is reported that the government began using increasingly aggressive tactics in an attempt to disperse its own truckers protest.

They turned on the lawn sprinklers to soak all of the protesters and their belongings. When that measure seemingly failed to impress the protesters, they broke out an old tactic intended to drive them away. They set up huge speakers and began blasting the camp with pro-vaccine advertisements and loud, blaring music, including some old hits by Barry Manilow and the “Macarena.”

Lest you laugh and think that this is harmless, the article explains:

If the tactic of blaring music at people in an effort to disrupt their sleep cycles and force them into compliance sounds familiar, you’ve probably spent some time studying your history. It’s the same tactic that the United States Army used against drug cartel kingpin Manuel Noriega in 1989 when he was holed up in the Vatican embassy in Panama City. They blasted the building with heavy metal music for days until he finally surrendered.

 I would add that it was also used against the men, women and children at the Waco compound before the ATF finally burned them to death.

• More: "General Strike!"--Gates of Vienna.  A comparison between the trucker protests and the General Strike of 1926 in Britain. 
• After doing such a bang-up job investigating bat viruses and gain-of-function in Wuhan China, EcoHealth Alliance has now received a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contract worth $4,675,023 to perform the same type of work in Liberia. Now I have to wonder how long it will be until some super strain of Ebola might spread across the globe. Also another example of how the well-connected do not seem to face consequences for screwing up or covering up.
• Evil: "Vermont Plans To Enshrine Legal Abortions Right Up To Birth"--The Federalist. 

VIDEO: "Multiculturalism is a 'Sickness'"--Paul Joseph Watson (11 min.)

A recently declassified U.S. intelligence report reveals that China's military and intelligence leaders view the United State's multiculturalism as a strategic weakness.

Commentary & Analysis:

• "Sic Semper Tyrannis" by Michael Walsh, The Pipeline. Walsh dives into an analysis of the uselessness of lockdowns and how it illustrates the failures of the ruling elites:

    And so we near the end of the Great Pandemic Hoax of 2019-22, an unprecedented and breathtaking power grab by governments around the world to seize powers far beyond their constitutional allotments and to transform a relatively minor flu virus — however originated and for what ill purposes — into a weapon of mass economic and emotional destruction whose effects will be felt for years and decades to come. It has been a textbook example of tyranny.

    Consider it a warning shot, though, because while Covid may finally have been exposed for the non-apocalyptic event it always was, such tyranny is only the beginning until we put a stop to it. Put a stop to extra-legal "emergency" measures that are transparently and insultingly fraudulent, and which are invoked in the name of the "greater good." Put a stop to the notion of judicially sanctioned "protected classes" in a formerly classless society. Put to stop the notion of a "New Normal" of privation, deviancy, and spiritual and material penury imposed by Leftists as they continue their centuries-old task of undermining every tenet of Western Civilization in the name of "equity" — in a world in which equality is aspirational at best and equity is impossible.

    And, once and for all, put paid to the notion that "when you've got your health you've got everything,"  the motto of a nation of neurotic hypochondriacs that is fundamentally at odds with every principle of the moral and socially productive life. For under this seemingly anodyne contention lies a wealth of mischief, chief among them the idea that your fellow citizens pose an existential threat to you by their refusal to conform, and thus can and should be restricted, incarcerated, or even killed as the need arises. And all in the name of Socialism, whether National or international.

As we've seen via a recent study by the Johns Hopkin University (a study of studies, really), the lockdowns imposed by states, countries, and municipalities everywhere in the name of "mitigating" the spread of an illness with a 99 percent survival rate in the name of public health were completely ineffective.

    Far better to have done nothing at all; instead, families were separated, the elderly (those most at risk from the respirational difficulties caused by the likely Chinese-manufactured bioweapon) died alone and often in squalor; weddings and funerals were canceled or held "virtually"; businesses were shuttered and driven into bankruptcy; more than two years of schooling were ripped away from forcibly masked children; and colleges and universities continued their descent into mere parental-money shakedown rackets by offering education-by-Zoom as they continued with their main mission of gobbling up real estate to take it off the tax rolls and fatten their endowments.

    And the only people held responsible for this sanctioned crime wave were... you.

Read the whole thing. 

• Thank goodness that we have Israel to remind us that nations do not have friends, they only have interests. Global Research has run an article with the title "Israel Will not Support Washington against Russia and China: Israel Confirms its 'Neutrality in the New Cold War'." This is what we get by lavishing billions of dollars on Israel's defense every year. The money quote from the article is this: "Israel pragmatically balances between the US and Russia, and if anything, it’s tilted a lot closer towards the latter in recent years since Moscow has done more to ensure Tel Aviv’s regional security concerns than Washington has through the Kremlin’s 'passive facilitation' of its literally hundreds of anti-Iranian bombing operations in Syria and other related measures." 

    It shouldn't surprise anyone familiar with the history of Israel's relations with the U.S. On June 8, 1967, Israeli forces attached the U.S.S. Liberty severely damaging the ship, killing 34, and wounding 171. Israel suffered no consequences as a result. Israel constantly spies and steals technology from the U.S., with the Jonathan Pollard affair being the most public example of this. Pollard sold military secrets to Israel while working as a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy in the 1980s. This is still probably the largest intelligence breach in U.S. history. Pollard was arrested en route to the Israeli embassy and jailed for 30 years. Upon his release, he was unapologetic for betraying his country in favor of his tribe, and was given a heroes welcome when he arrived in Israel.

Related:

• "Israeli Spies in the US"--Middle East Research and Information Project (1986).

The Pollard affair took Washington and Tel Aviv by surprise. Wolf Blitzer, Washington correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, in a book published just several weeks before Pollard’s arrest, wrote that there is no real fear in the US government that American Jews are leaking information to the Mossad, the Israeli equivalent of the CIA. “Experienced US intelligence officials readily acknowledge that the degree of cooperation between the CIA and the Mossad is already so close that the two organizations do not really have to spy on each other. Despite infractions on both sides,” Blitzer explained, “US and Israeli intelligence organizations have maintained a discreet arrangement since the 1950s, banning covert operations against each other.”

• "Israel's Economic Espionage in the United States" by Duncan L. Clarke, Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Summer, 1998), pp. 20-35. Relating that Israel has regularly carried out an aggressive campaign economic espionage against the United States since 1948 (i.e., since its inception). 
• "How Israel Spies on US Citizens"--The Nation (2018).

    An investigative documentary by Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera scheduled for broadcast earlier this year was expected to cause a sensation. Its four 50-minute episodes centered on the young and personable James Anthony Kleinfeld, British, Jewish, an Oxford graduate who speaks six languages, including Dutch and Yiddish, and is well-informed about Middle East conflicts—seemingly a natural fit for a Western foreign ministry or a major think tank.

    The documentary showed Kleinfeld being enthusiastically recruited for his skills by The Israel Project (TIP), which defends Israel’s image in the media, and associating with senior members of organizations that support Israel unconditionally, especially the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), the powerful US lobbying group. For five months, he mixed with them at cocktail parties, congresses, and conventions, and on training courses. He won their trust and they opened up to him, abandoning doublespeak and official lines. How, he asked, did they go about influencing the US Congress? “Congressmen don’t do anything unless you pressure them, and the only way to do that is with money.” How did they counter Palestinian-rights activists on university campuses? “With the anti-Israel people, what’s most effective, what we found at least in the last year, is you do the opposition research, put up some anonymous website, and then put up targeted Facebook ads.”

    Kleinfeld’s contacts told him they were spying on US citizens with the help of Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs, founded in 2006, which reports directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One official said: “We are a different government working on foreign soil, [so] we have to be very, very cautious.” And indeed some of the things they do could be subject to prosecution under US law.

Unfortunately, the documentary was never broadcast as part of a broad push by Arab states to strengthen U.S. support. 

• "Israel Won't Stop Spying on the U.S."--Newsweek (2014). From the article:

    ... Now U.S. intelligence officials are saying—albeit very quietly, behind closed doors on Capitol Hill—that our Israeli "friends" have gone too far with their spying operations here.

    According to classified briefings on legislation that would lower visa restrictions on Israeli citizens, Jerusalem's efforts to steal U.S. secrets under the cover of trade missions and joint defense technology contracts have "crossed red lines."

    Israel's espionage activities in America are unrivaled and unseemly, counterspies have told members of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees, going far beyond activities by other close allies, such as Germany, France, the U.K. and Japan. A congressional staffer familiar with a briefing last January called the testimony "very sobering…alarming…even terrifying." Another staffer called it "damaging."

    The Jewish state's primary target: America's industrial and technical secrets.

    "No other country close to the United States continues to cross the line on espionage like the Israelis do," said a former congressional staffer who attended another classified briefing in late 2013, one of several in recent months given by officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department, the FBI and the National Counterintelligence Directorate.

 

    The intelligence agencies didn't go into specifics, the former aide said, but cited "industrial espionage—folks coming over here on trade missions or with Israeli companies working in collaboration with American companies, [or] intelligence operatives being run directly by the government, which I assume meant out of the [Israeli] Embassy."

• "Israel accused of planting mysterious spy devices near the White House"--Politico (2019). Israel had planted "stingray" devices around the White House to intercept cell phone communications.

There seems to be a misconception among many Christians, particularly Evangelical Christians, that the Jews are still the chosen people of God and, for that reason, should be given a pass when they engage in conduct injurious to the United States. That is not accurate. Christ stated that "the first shall be last and the last shall be first," clear reference that the gospel was taken first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, but in the last days, the gospel would be provided first to the Gentiles and then, as described in more detail on Revelation, the Jews last. The Jews are not completely forsaken, but they are the prodigal son who wasted his inheritance, while the followers of Christ are the dutiful son. In fact, when Ezekiel describes God's defense of Israel when Gog attacks them, Ezekiel makes clear that the provision of a defense has nothing to do with Israel's worthiness, but is simply to preserve God's reputation and honor.

VIDEO: "Solar Storm Strikes Down SpaceX Starlink Satellites"--Suspicious Observers (4 min.)

And Now For Something Completely Different: 

• "Geologists ‘closely monitoring’ rising magma under Oregon volcanic region"--KRQE. An excerpt:

    ... In a USGS Hazard Notification statement Monday, Cascades Volcano Observatory announced their scientists have tracked an increased rate of ground uplift in the Three Sisters volcanic region found in the southwest corner of Oregon. 

    Using satellite radar images and GPS units, USGS scientists have tracked an increased rate of uplift for a 12-mile diameter region, 3 miles west of the South Sister volcano. According to USGS, the data suggests the ground rose 0.9 inches (2.2 cm) from June 2020 to August 2021.

* * *

    “From 1995 to 2020, the area rose approximately 12 inches (30 centimeters) at its center,” USGS stated in a recent release. “Although the current uplift rate is slower than the maximum rate of about 2 inches per year measured in 1999-2000, it is distinctly faster than the rate observed for several years before 2020.”

    Despite the excitement, USGS and Burns have said that the public is not in any immediate danger. The volcano status is currently listed as “green,” and there is no sign of an imminent eruption.

• "Calorie restriction rewires metabolism, immunity for longer health span"--Medical Xpress. They observed this a long time ago after the Biosphere 2 experiment where a group volunteered to be sequestered in the lab for months. Because of problems with the agriculture, the group had to go on a restricted diet for most the experiment, but came out with much healthier digestive systems than when going into the experiment.
• "Opinion: When It Comes To The USAF And UAP, The Tide May Finally Be Turning" by Robert Powell, The Debrief. Powell begins by noting that the Air Force has not been as serious as the Navy concerning unidentified aerial phenomena. But, he continues:

    Perhaps the tide may be turning though, since the Air Force is beginning to display serious concern on this issue, as relayed to their men and women in the service.

    One day after Chris’s article appeared, an Air Force officer contacted me regarding UAPs. The timing was purely coincidental; it was in response to my inquiry regarding a UAP event that supposedly occurred in late 2021 and involved the USS Kearsarge. During our conversation, the officer described a briefing he had attended in May 2021 preceding a planned exercise.

    During the briefing, he and the other personnel observed a slide presentation that explained what to do if they encountered a UAP. They were clearly instructed to complete the Air Force reporting form, which has drawn-shapes of several different types of UAP they could encounter (plasma-like balls, tic-tacs, disks, etc.). It also featured specific questions, such as whether the UAP interfered with their radar operation. This was all new, the officer pointed out, something that would not have occurred 18 months ago. He found the stigma associated with this subject in the Air Force had significantly changed.

    The discussion then turned to the increased amount of UAP activity reported over the last few years. Two years ago, when first hearing Ryan Graves state they were seeing these objects on a daily basis, he thought Ryan was probably exaggerating. After what he’s seen and heard since then, the officer no longer holds that opinion, and now believes UAP activity encountered in U.S. airspace is actually quite high.

It was quite high over European and Pacific theaters during WWII as well.

• Related: "New infrared image shows 'swarm' of flashing 'Tic-Tac shaped' UFOs chasing four US Navy destroyers off California coast at 70mph"--Daily Mail.

Bombs & Bants (Streamed 2/9/2022)

 

VIDEO: "Bombs & Bants" (52 min.)

Covering a lot of current event topics including the trucker strike in Canada and the Left's growing unease over the Right co-opting the Left's tactics.

Why .380 ACP Sucks for Moose Hunting

I came across a Daily Mail article today that recounted the experience of novice Iditarod musher whose dog team was attacked by a moose while they were out practicing. She tried to scare it off, but as it continued to stomp on some of her dogs, she finally resorted to her pistol, which she emptied into the moose with no effect. Eventually a friend arrived on scene with a rifle and killed the moose with one shot.

    I don't know what make or model of pistol she had, but she described it as a .380! I'm sure in her naivety she was thinking more of minimizing the weight and bulk of the firearm rather than its effectiveness. She also only intended for the firearm to deter or scare off an animal. Fortunately, none of the dogs were seriously injured. The article does report, though, that "She has since upgraded to a larger caliber firearm after [the .380] didn't stop the moose."

    The sad part is that the .380 didn't even injure the moose enough to make it angry (or angrier). So, the lesson from this is that although the .380 may be acceptable for self-defense against two-legged critters, you should not expect a 1-shot (or 7 or 8-shot) drop when hunting moose.

Near Far Drill

The YouTube Channel "Modern Tactical Shooter" recently released a video on what the presenter called the "Near Far Drill." Basically, the drill uses 4 targets, two of which are closer together as well as closer to the shooter. The other two are set slightly farther back and spaced apart far enough so that they are obscured from the shooter's view unless the shooter moves farther left or right, respectively. It seems a good drill to introduce you to movement to acquire a target, and it is a timed drill so there is a bit of pressure/stress on the shooter.

    The video demonstrating the drill is below. If you like something that you can print out, the author has copies of this drill (and others) that you can save and print later on his Facebook page.

VIDEO: "Near Far Drill. Forced rifle manipulation exercise." (8 min.)

Planet Ebook and The Creative Archive

    I've just barely finished a couple books on the collapse of Roman/Classical Civilization in the early 7th Century AD following the violent spread of Islam throughout the Near East and most of the the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The Islamic invasion and predations caused a three century "dark age" throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Near and Middle East where there is virtually no activities that left archeological evidence (this is has inspired a theory that the 7th, 8th, and 9th Centuries were "made up" and never occurred). This dark age was not just physical destruction of communities and trade, but also a destruction of books and libraries, and the end of trade in papyrus that was used as "paper" at that time throughout Europe and other Mediterranean areas. As much as anything else, this resulted in the loss of the Roman/Classical Civilization with its widespread literacy and helped usher in the period of feudalism. 

    It must be presumed that any disaster sufficient to destroy or seriously disrupt civilization could result in a similar loss of libraries and centers of learning on a national level, and certainly disruption of elementary and secondary education at the local and state level. Yet I have only seen at most one or two books on prepping that have discussed preparing to educate your children and to set aside books that important to preserving our culture. I believe it was Alexis de Tocqueville who related that in the early American Republic there was not to be found a home, high or low, that did not have a Bible, something written by Shakespeare, and a newspaper or similar. And, in fact, the shared love of Shakespeare by both the "masses" and the "elites" was a feature of American civilization until the flood of foreign migration in the post-Civil War era.

    We are not in so dire a predicament of losing our civilizational knowledge today. Libraries, both great and small, are widespread across the continent; and the average person can likewise afford personal libraries greater than all but the wealthiest individuals could afford in prior centuries. If electronic devices can be preserved, then a person can easily put together a collection of books ranging from kindergarten level to college and professional texts and treatises, reference books related to the trades, engineering, medicine, manufacturing, etc. 

    But educating future generations is more than just assembling a bunch of how-to books. Even the Arab invaders of the 7th Century saw the value in keeping alive knowledge concerning science, medicine, and other technical subjects. What they destroyed were the religious, philosophical, and cultural and literary works of the ages. For instance, although parts of the collection of the Library of Alexandria had been victim to fires, mobs, and armies before, the Library met its final end on the orders of the Second Muslim Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab (634 – 644 AD). Although some historians consider the account apocryphal, an early account of the destruction related (footnotes omitted; brackets in original):

    "We are told that the Arab emir, ‘Amr ibn al-‘Āṣ, consulted ibn al-Khattab on what to do with the books in the Library of Alexandria. Ibn al-Khattab’s answer came quick to him:

    “As for the books you mention, if there is in it what complies with the Book of God [Q’uran], then it is already there and is not needed and if what is in these books contradict the Book of God there is no need for it. And you can then proceed in destroying them.”

    ‘Amr ibn al-‘Āṣ then ordered that the books should be dispersed in the public baths and to burn them in the bath’s heaters. Al-Qifti adds: “And I was told that at that time several public baths used [the books] for heating, bringing some fame to new public baths which later on were forgotten afterwards and it is said that they had enough heating for six months. One who listens to what has happened can only be amazed!”

    So, with the importance of preserving cultural and literary works in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to come across a web-site called Planet Ebook that has a collection of what are generally considered some of the great cultural and literary works of Western Civilization (at least, those that are no longer under copyright). Books by Mark Twain, James Joyce, Nicolo Machiavelli, Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, and more. Each book, moreover, is available in PDF, epub, and mobi formats so you can be sure to get one that is compatible with one of your electronic book readers. And, of course, I have listed other resources for locating books in my ebook resource page.

    Another source I came across recently was a site called The Creative Archive that has collected together ebook versions of the classic Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Three Investigator books. The books are offered in PDF, but they don't have page numbering, header or footers, so they should easily be converted to epub and mobi files. I know these are not classics of American literature but they do inculcate many Western values through fun and interesting stories for tweens and early teens. 

Marcus Wynne's Obituary

 Jon Low came across what appears to Marcus' obituary (link here) posted by the funeral home. You can sign the guest book and there is provision for making a donation to the family.

Some Thoughts On The 10mm And Energy

Peter Grant, over at Bayou Renaissance Man, has an interesting article on the topic of "Renewed interest in the 10mm Auto as an optimum defensive round." He has a good look at the current and probable future of the evolving criminal threats that private citizens face, and I suggest that you read his article before continuing with my post. I only fault him in one regard: he expresses a common misconception about energy and bullet effectiveness in discussing why the 10mm may be an optimal defensive round. 

    Before I delve into Grant's article, just a little history on the 10mm as a defensive cartridge. After the 1986 FBI shootout in Miami which resulted in two agents being killed and five injured, the FBI drew the lesson that bullet penetration was suboptimal with the firearms it used and so it created standards still used to this day to judge the effectiveness of bullets. These standards drive bullet design to this day, mixing penetration against various materials as well as both maximum and minimum penetration in ballistic gelatin. 

    Because bullet technology was not what it was today, the FBI's quest for a better duty weapon necessarily resulted in it turning to a more powerful round that would be able to ensure both expansion and penetration. That initially was the 10mm, but when the 10mm was found to have too much recoil for its agents, the FBI necessarily started using a down-loaded round; which, in turn, prompted Smith & Wesson to develop the 40 S&W which is, essentially, a shortened 10mm.

    For purposes of my discussion, the key part of the FBI standard is that when shot into ballistic gelatin, penetration was to be no more than 18-inches in order to avoid over penetration--the bullet passing completely through a person. Consequently, hollow-point bullets for police duty use or civilian defense are engineered to open up (mushroom) which acts similar to a drag chute and slows the bullet limiting its penetration. (It also creates a larger wound channel). 

    So, with that in mind, and turning to Grant's article, he makes the common mistake of equating handgun "power" with effectiveness. He writes concerning the 10mm:

    There are those who'll argue that more accurate shot placement would allow the smaller round to perform just as well as a larger one.  That's fine in theory, but when you've got a moving target (the perpetrator) closing on you rapidly, possibly with a weapon in his hand, and you're moving to avoid his attack, and your stress and adrenaline levels are off the charts . . . it's a whole world away from shooting slowly, calmly and without stress on the square range at paper targets that don't move and aren't threatening you.  Some (very few) shooters can perform as well under such extreme stress as they do during training.  Most of us can't.  We should expect to be less accurate - which places more of a burden on the rounds we're shooting to do the best job they can when they hit whatever they hit.

    I know many shooters blindly trust the "official" figures, charts and data, which claim that a quality 9mm hollowpoint will deliver as much expansion, penetration and energy as a bigger round.  They're right, on paper.  However, real life doesn't take place on paper, and drug-addled criminals can and will make a mockery of what "the book" says should happen when they're shot.  I discussed this issue in an article some years ago:

Bullet and cartridge effectiveness for self-defense

    If you didn't read that article at the time, I strongly suggest that you click over there and read it now.  In particular, read the whole thing, not just the beginning.  There's a lot of "meat" in there, and it's all important.  In brief, size (projectile cross-section, bullet weight and overall expansion potential) does matter;  and bigger bores have benefited from the same technological advances that have improved the 9mm.  They've all gotten better than they were.

    In brief, due to the possible need to repel multiple assailants, cartridge capacity is important.  While the 9mm is champion in that regard right now, the 10mm (and its smaller cousin, the .40 S&W) is pretty close on its heels, and all of them usually outperform the venerable .45 ACP.  (For example, comparing full-size models, the 9mm Glock 17 holds 17+1 rounds;  the 10mm Glock 20 and the .40 S&W Glock 22 both hold 15+1 ;  and the .45 ACP Glock 21 holds 13+1.)

    On the other hand, there's the need to hit a potentially hopped-up assailant as hard as possible, to make him cease his attack on you.  The 9mm is no slouch, but it hits less hard than the .40 or .45 - and the 10mm outperforms all of them, if a full-power round is used.

    To understand why the Power = Deadliness equation is not accurate you must remember that, absent the bullet striking and destroying something essential like the heart or the brain, incapacitation of a living target is due to shock either due to hydrostatic shock or the loss of blood, itself largely dependent on the size of the wound channel (both diameter and depth). Unfortunately, no single factor--bullet mass, velocity, energy, momentum, cross section density, bore diameter--can tell you how effective a bullet will be at putting down a living target.

    Because of the properties of the water in living tissue, hydrostatic shock is largely a function of velocity. Turning to Ballistic Studies, a great source of information on terminal ballistics on game animals, it notes that "[h]ydrostatic shock, in bore sizes from .243” up to .338”, begins to lesson at impact velocities below 2600fps and most modern high velocity sporting cartridges including the magnums gradually lose shocking power beyond 300 to 350 yards," although with larger calibers, "hydrostatic shock can occur on our medium game species at velocities as low as 2200fps." (Interestingly, the effects of hydrostatic shock can also decline if the velocity is over 3150 fps). 

    Like most every cartridge, the muzzle velocity of 10mm is well below even 2200 fps. Ballistics 101 has compiled the muzzle velocity of numerous commercial loads of 10mm. You will note that the typical muzzle velocities of the most widely distributed commercial ammunition is between 1000 and 1250 fps. Some of the more boutique manufacturers like Buffalo Bore, Cor Bon, Double Tap, etc., offer selections with muzzle velocities in excess of 1400 fps with one as high as 1600 fps. Even these are still well below the minimum necessary for producing hydrostatic shock. And, I would add, largely within the same velocity ranges as 9mm loadings.

    So we are left with the size of the wound channel, which as I noted is going to be a mix of the depth and width of the wound channel. Lucky Gunner has tested the 10mm in ballistic gelatin, and you can see the results here. Per FBI protocol, you can see that most of the defensive ammunition remained in the 12 to 18 inch penetration depth, with the bullets expansion in the range of .61 inches up to .81 inches. Compared with 9mm, the penetration for defensive ammunition is about the same, but as you expect from a smaller bullet, the expanded diameters are slightly smaller overall. Nevertheless, the newer and better quality defensive rounds such as HST and HST +P loads were up in the same range of expanded diameter. 

    So, even though 10mm is more "powerful" than 9mm, at least when looking at kinetic energy, the tests do not show that the 10mm is going appreciably more effective than the 9mm when using common police duty or civilian defensive loads. This is better illustrated by comparing the 9mm versus the .357 Sig which, notwithstanding its name, still uses the same .355 diameter bullets as the 9mm. The .357 Sig uses a larger case than the 9mm, but necked down to accept the .355 bullet. The purpose was to provide greater powder capacity and, therefore, greater energy--in other words, a more powerful round. But due to the constraints of the FBI protocol to avoid overpenetration, it doesn't actually appear to be more effective than 9mm in either tests or on the street. Chris Baker of Lucky Gunner actually discusses this in a video and article entitled ".357 Sig: What’s the Point of this Cartridge?" He relates, in part:

    Any time we test a new caliber, I like to do some background research on it. So a couple of weeks ago, I was reading an article published back in the Fall of 2000 by Dr. Gary Roberts, who is probably the most well-known wound ballistics researcher active today. He was sharing the results of a .357 Sig gelatin test he performed at the California Highway Patrol Academy range. This was printed in the Wound Ballistics Review, which was a scientific journal intended for hardcore ballistics nerds, so it tends to be pretty dry and technical most of the time. But at the end of this one article, Dr. Roberts breaks into editorial mode and he says,

    “Compared to a 9mm, the .357 Sig has a decreased magazine capacity, more recoil, as well as greater muzzle blast and flash, yet at best it offers no gain in bullet penetration and expansion characteristics. What is the point of this cartridge?”

    The 10mm offers slightly larger expansion--but still less than .1 inches--and the depth of the wound channel is pretty much the same. But if you were to compare the 10mm versus the .40 S&W, you would again be asking what is the point of the 10mm over the .40 S&W. 

    The reason the 10mm started seeing a resurgence was not because of defensive reasons, but in the realm of hunting and defense against wild predators. In that case, the bullet designs are not limited due to overpenetration. In fact, against a large animal such as a bear, the heavy hide, bones, and dense muscle mass calls for something with good penetration. This is where the 10mm really shines over lesser cartridges like the 9mm, .40 S&W, or even standard .45 ACP, because instead of all that extra energy being wasted, it will be converted to work: i.e., driving the bullet deeply into the body of the target. 

    Now, I will note that my discussion falls into the realm of "on paper" or "in theory" that Grant complains isn't a substitute for experience on the street, and he cites an officer that carries a 10mm as a backup to his duty 9mm, and uses the 10mm as his primary against drug crazed offenders. I can't speak to what the actual on the street statistics would show--I don't have that data. But I would note the following from Greg Ellifritz's study on the effectiveness of cartridges:

Something else to look at here is the question of how fast can the rounds be fired out of each gun. The .38 SPL probably has the slowest rate of fire (long double action revolver trigger pulls and stout recoil in small revolvers) and the fewest rounds fired to get an incapacitation (1.87). Conversely the 9mm can probably be fired fastest of the common calibers and it had the most rounds fired to get an incapacitation (2.45). The .40 (2.36) and the .45 (2.08) split the difference. It is my personal belief that there really isn't much difference between each of these calibers. It is only the fact that some guns can be fired faster than others that causes the perceived difference in stopping power. If a person takes an average of 5 seconds to stop after being hit, the defender who shoots a lighter recoiling gun can get more hits in that time period. It could be that fewer rounds would have stopped the attacker (given enough time) but the ability to fire more quickly resulted in more hits being put onto the attacker. It may not have anything to do with the stopping power of the round.

So, a 10mm may seem better to the cop on the street at stopping someone because it took less shots, but that in turn might only be because of the 10mm having such recoil that the officer was not able to shoot as fast with the 9mm giving the appearance of the 10mm being more effective because of the lower round count. 

    That does leave us with the question of what about the extra energy had by the 10mm? Is it just wasted, turning to heat rather than work? In soft tissue, I would say yes. But although I don't have the results of penetration tests against barriers, some of the testing I've seen in YouTube videos does seem to show that the 10mm is better for breaking down hard barriers such as cinder blocks and, perhaps, by extension, bone.