Gun & Prepping News #34

Just some gun and prepping related links that I thought interesting or useful:

• Jon Low has posted a new Defensive Pistolcraft newsletter.  Lots of good stuff collected there, but I found that comments from Jeff Gonzales on the importance of preparing and practicing to draw your firearm while seated in your vehicle to be useful. An excerpt:

    Many concealed carriers spend hours each week in their vehicles, yet often overlook the importance of training for deadly force encounters in that environment.  A solid starting point is dry fire practice from a seated position in a chair, focusing on safe draws and weapon handling in confined spaces.  As skills develop, training should move into the vehicle itself, incorporating challenges like seat belts and restricted movement. Pre-staging your cover garment behind the firearm’s grip and practicing seat belt release techniques can significantly improve draw speed and safety during a real-world encounter.   

•  "Suppressors for Home Defense: Good or Bad?"--The Truth About Guns. Brent Spicer discusses the pros and cons of using a suppressor on your home defense weapon. The primary benefit Spicer lists is protecting your hearing and, relatedly, being able to hear well enough to communicate. (I would like to see some tests in an actual house, though, rather than at an indoor shooting range; I suspect that with carpeting and all the furniture typical to an American home, much of the sound is absorbed rather than bounced back). The downside is the additional length and bulk. And, I would add, the cost and hassle of purchasing a suppressor and getting it approved by the government.
• "The RevUp Action Hammer"--Revolver Guy. I came across this 2022 article about a different hammer and spring design for S&W revolvers. The article describes the difference:

    In the traditional Smith & Wesson action, the weight of the trigger pull sharply increases as the trigger is drawn to the rear, until a peak is achieved, then levels off for a while. As the trigger pull continues, the weight of pull increases again for the second stage, then decreases a bit (like hitting a “speed bump” in the road), just before sear release.

    In this system, the trigger nears its peak weight of pull after moving only about 10% of its rearward travel distance, and peaks at around 60% of its rearward travel distance.

I checked and the company that produces the hammer and spring sets--RevUp Action--appears to still be in business. The hammer and spring sets are $265 and come in two models: those fitting the N-frame, and those fitting K and L-frames. All are listed as double-action only. Unfortunately, they are currently listed as out of stock. 

•  "Most Common AR-15 Malfunctions and Quick Fix Guide"--Ammo Land. The article looks at issues of failure to feed, failure to eject, and double feeds, and how to troubleshoot and correct these problems if they are recurrent. 
• "10mm GLOCK Stops Horrible Grizzly Bear Attack In New Mexico"--Concealed Nation. Discussion an incident from 2018.  
• "Savior Equipment Apollo Ear Protection – Review"--The Truth About Guns. The author was impressed with these, stating that they are "well-built and easily on par with the $300 Peltors I’ve been using." He also indicates that "[t]he Apollo ear protection headset has just as good of sound quality as the Peltor 500 and the original Howard Leight Impact Sport ...." Passive Sound Dampening is 24dB NRR. While it doesn't have Blu-Tooth connectivity and uses analog sound, this allows the price to be kept down: $49.99. 
• "New York Pushes to Criminalize Sharing 3D-Printed Gun Files Online"--The Truth About Guns. Per the article, the proposed bill would make it a Class A misdemeanor (punishable by jail of up to 1 year) to intentionally share CAD files for 3D-printed gun parts.
• "Rucking 101" (Part 1) (Part 2)--Mike Provest. Part 1 summarizes studies on how much weight the average foot soldier carries. Part 2 presents a training program to get into shape, and a maintenance program to keep that fitness.
• "Progressive Overload Is the Gym Secret You Need to Finally Hit Your Fitness Goals"--Self. The author explains:

This technique simply means working out in a way that slowly, but consistently, increases the “load” or stress to your body over time. This allows your body to continue to change in response: The work creates tiny tears in the muscle fibers, which, after they mend and recover, grow back stronger. The goal is to continually challenge your muscles in this way, so that they keep breaking down enough to be able to rebuild with even greater strength. The result: more effective workouts that keep your body getting stronger and better at your chosen activities.  

• "The Forgotten Medieval Habit of ‘Two Sleeps’"--BBC Future (via Get Pocket). Basically, before clocks and industrialization/urbanization, adults generally slept for two periods: going to bed between 9 and 11 pm, they would sleep for a few hours, waking between 11 pm and 1 am for a couple of hours depending on when they went to bed--time spent checking on animals, doing small work inside the home, reading, praying, writing letters, socializing, intimacy, etc.--before returning to bed and sleeping until dawn or slightly later. And although the article's title labels it a Medieval habit, there are references to it even back through the Classical period.
• "How to Jump-Start a Car"--The Drive (via Get Pocket). Detailed instructions (including safety precautions to protect you and your car's electronics) as well as an embedded video. 
• "A Good Trick to Get Rid of Garden Slugs"--David The Good.  Lay down an old board--as the board becomes damp, the slugs will congregate on the underside of board and when you flip it over, there will be the slugs which you can then deal with as you see fit. 
• "The Lovely White Mulberry"--David The Good.  He describes the fruit:

    The flavor is different from the standard black mulberry fruits as well. More like honey, or just plain white sugar.

    When dried, they are really delicious, with a honeyed currant flavor.