Gun & Prepping News #51

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

• Jon Low has a new Defensive Pistolcraft newsletter.  Lots of stuff there, but one thing that caught my attention in particular was an included email from Tim Larkin about violence being a tool. An excerpt:

     And after three decades of studying how violence really works . . .  After training both the heroes and witnessing the methods of monsters . . .  I've learned something that will disturb you.  The "bad guys" are better at violence than the "good guys."  Not because they're stronger.  Not because they're smarter.  But because they understand something our heroes have forgotten.  Violence isn't about technique.  It's not about style.  It's not about fighting "fair".  Violence is a tool.  And like any tool, it works best when you understand its true purpose.  A hammer isn't designed to be pretty.  It's designed to drive nails.  Violence isn't designed to be civilized.  It's designed to end threats.   

• "Surviving Disarming Attempts" by Massad Ayoob, Guns Magazine. Ayoob begins:

Old cops give young cops a warning: “Every time you’re in a fight, there’s a loaded gun present. Yours.”

He then goes on to describe some items that can help in a fight over the gun: a manual safety (the person grabbing your weapon may not know its there or how to disengage it), using a retention holster, and learning retention skills. As for retention holsters, Ayoob recommends the Rogers/Safariland SS-III/070 holster.

• "SPAS-12 History Value: Legacy and Rising Price"--The Truth About Guns.  This was an Italian shotgun developed for military or police which claim to fame was that it was a semi-auto that could also be operated like a pump-action. Cool idea, but it made it complicated and heavy. And it probably would have faded into obscurity except that it had a certain chic aura about it, reinforced by its popularity in movies, video games and with military contractors. The article delves into the weapon and it being banned from import after the Assault Weapon Ban went into effect, its impact on popular culture, and current values with the author noting that "[a]s of 2025, the SPAS-12 remains one of the hottest collectibles in the firearms market, with some pristine examples exceeding $10,000 at auction."
• "Which Doesn’t Belong and Why"--Tactical Wire. One of the main reasons cited for using factory ammunition over handloads is reliability, which itself is a product of the quality control undertaken by the manufacturer. But that doesn't guarantee that bad rounds (or even whole batches) don't get through. The author goes through some of the things he has seen with factory ammo including bullets seated too deeply or even backwards, cases that had no flash hole, bullets seated out of alignment mangling both the bullet and the case, and more. The author suggests:

    The point is, before you load up – particularly if it’s duty/carry ammo – visually inspect each round. A smart move is to remove the barrel from the pistol the ammo’s meant for (or the revolver’s cylinder) and drop each round into the chamber.  

    This checks easy fit. Upend the barrel/cylinder; does the round fall out? That’s also a good sign.

    If the rounds are loaded in those factory boxes with individual round trays, take that opportunity to check the case heads for dings, deformation – and check the primers to ensure they’re seated in the proper orientation and seated just below flush. 

• "Glock Switches: The Tiny Devices Turning Pistols into Machine Guns"--SOFREP.  An explanation of what they are and how they work. He links to a couple videos as well. And don't try buying one off the internet: they are illegal and federal agents have been running websites offering them for sale in order to catch law breakers.
  
• "Understanding Bullet Construction for Big-Bore Hunting"--Ammo Land. This is a very short article, the gist of which is that larger diameter, heavier bullets give an advantage to those hunting large and/or dangerous game by offering a large diameter even if the bullet doesn't expand (giving good energy transfer) coupled with the weight to ensure adequate penetration.
  
• "First Look: Galco Masterbilt Master Agent Holster"--Shooting Illustrated. This is a retro-styled holster with a single shoulder loop and a strap on the other side that goes direct to the belt. It is currently only offered for S&W snubby J-frame revolvers and similar sized Charter Arms revolvers.
• "War to the Knife, the Knife to the Hilt: The Anarchonomicon Guide To Knife Fighting in Modern Warfare"--Anarchonomicon. This is a very lengthy article. The first part discusses how the knife is still a widely used homicide weapon in many parts of the world (for instance, if you are murdered in England, it will most likely be with a knife). The second part of the article (and by far the longest) is essentially an argument on why unarmed self-defense against a knife is mostly fantasy--you will be cut or stabbed. The third part of the article uses some historical examples to show how deadly can be knife attacks. The fourth and fifth part of the article are more about the psychology behind using a knife and some techniques. 
• And on this same subject: "Tactical Training Scenario- Teen Knife 'Defense'"--Active Response Training. An analysis of a video making the rounds of the Internet of a fight at a school that ultimately resulting in one of the teens drawing and using a knife. 
• "Using pepper spray effectively"--Tactical Professor. The author discusses a class on OC spray he took including why he took the class:

I wanted to take the class because I am a firm believer in carrying what I call ‘Intermediate Force Options.’ Pepper spray is one of those weapons that give us a response to predatory behavior not requiring deadly force. As I state in all my classes “Lacking an intermediate force option while you are armed with a firearm implies that all you are willing to do to protect yourself is kill someone.” That’s not a position most reasonable people would be comfortable in taking, given a little bit of thought. 

• Another article for the hunters: "The Gutless vs. Gutting Method for Field Dressing a Deer"--Montana Knife Company. This is not so much a "how-to" article as a "pros versus cons". I hadn't heard of the gutless method, but the author briefly explains: "The gutless method is a way of breaking down an animal without removing the guts from the body cavity." The author isn't favorably disposed toward the gutless method, but admits it has its uses with large animals, giving an example of a moose that was so large he and his hunting buddy were not initially able to flip the animal over and so had to resort to the gutless method. 
• "Your smartphone apps are tracking you"--Behind the Black. We've probably all had the experience of talking about some product or issue with someone, only to suddenly have advertisements start popping up about that very thing. But this goes a bit beyond that. From the article:

Researchers have now found that though there is no evidence that big software companies like Facebook and Google are tracking your smartphone conversations, the data instead shows that the many apps you routinely install on your phone are spying on you quite extensively by periodically taking screenshots of things you look at and sending those images to third parties. 

The article the author cites notes: "Out of over 17,000 Android apps examined, more than 9,000 had potential permissions to take screenshots," and a number of those were caught doing exactly that.

• "The Sun Just Hit a Turning Point—Experts Warn It Could Trigger Decades of Solar Storms and Global Disruptions"--Daily Galaxy.  At the same time as the Earth's magnetic field is weakening:

A rarely observed solar pattern—known as the Centennial Gleissberg Cycle (CGC)—may have just “restarted,” according to scientists monitoring long-term solar trends. If confirmed, this transition could mark the beginning of decades of intensified solar activity, with potentially serious implications for satellites, astronauts, and space-based infrastructure on Earth.

• "Fire-Starting Kit Built For Blackouts, Breakdowns, And Bug-Outs"--Survival Life. The author begins:

    Fire plays a crucial role in meeting survival needs. Without it, nights turn freezing, food stays raw, and drinking water remains unsafe. However, a fire kit isn’t always as simple as striking a match to make a crackling flame appear. To make sure you’re ready to build a fire whenever it’s needed, having a fire-starting kit is a smart move.

    But what’s a fire-starting kit? It’s a compact, waterproof set of essentials designed to work in any weather. It should include at least three ignition tools, weatherproof tinder, and extra survival tools. This guide shows you how to build a fire-starting kit that won’t likely fail when you need it most.

 

The rest of the article goes into detail on assembling a kit, other tools that will be useful, and building a fire.

• "A Simplified Disaster Network" (Part 1) (Part 2)--Survival Blog. The author explains:

Having an operational computer network running in a post-SHTF world may seem frivolous to some people. But if you have any plans to use computers, tablets, or cell phones as part of your post-disaster operations, it can provide the capability for those devices to communicate, share data and synchronize their activities. It can also provide some support for important things like WiFi security cameras and WiFi sensor monitoring.

The author had previously authored a series of articles on how to set up a mobile WiFi/Ethernet network. But he had some people complain it was too complicated and whether there was a simpler alternative. These two articles offer that simpler alternative. The first article goes over hardware and configuration. The second article goes over synchronizing files and "packaging" of all of the equipment to make it portable, along with some odds and ends.

• "Getting Home by Rail"--Blue Collar Prepping. An article about using rail lines (both active and abandoned) to either bug out or to get home in the midst of a disaster, including links to maps showing them. He also goes over the pros and cons of walking the rails. 
• "Working My Way Up — Part 1: Living In A Storage Shed"--Self-Reliance. The author found herself in dire financial straits with nothing to her name but a small rural plot, a camper in which to live, and a small storage shed. With winter coming on and the camper being inadequate for the winter, she made the storage shed her living space. She describes what she did to make the shed more livable.