Gun & Prepping News #70

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

• "Concealed Carry Corner: Can Carry Guns Be Outdated?"--The Firearm Blog.  An excerpt:

The hard truth about many older carry guns is the fact that they are almost all still extremely capable and good options. Of course, there will be better options that are more efficient with a higher round count and smaller overall size, but the older models can still be extremely effective. The two models that are still some of my favorites that many people have stopped carrying are the original Glock 43 and Glock 26. These two are still really useful and the overall size of the original Glock 43 is fantastic for smaller pocket carry where the slightly larger frame of the Glock 43X is better on a belt set up to me.

• "KelTec Announces the KP50 and MP50: 50 Rounds of 5.7"--The Firearm Blog. This appears to be an updated designs over the original P50 that moves the magazine to the bottom of the weapon making it easier to switch magazines, and also offering a pistol grip. 

The original P50 was a proof of concept that happened to be commercially available. The KP50 is the finished product. Bottom-loading drop-free magazines, a proper trigger group, AR-style controls, and a real accessory mounting system. Everything that was awkward about the P50 has been addressed. 

• No. "Is the .380 Auto Obsolete?"--Firearms News.  The article isn't really about whether the round obsolete but how it can be made better. The author notes that there are three strategies: (i) use a lighter, faster bullet that will increase the odds of penetration; (ii) stick with something about the same speed and weight as Browning's original design; or (iii) use a heavier bullet with deeper penetration. Each as its own advantages and disadvantages. But here are the author's thoughts on a defensive load:

    While I am not normally one to advocate the carrying and usage of full metal jacket ammunition for personal protection, in this caliber FMJ provides peace of mind knowing you will get consistent penetration deep enough to reach vital organs. While the initial wound cavity might not be as drastic as a JHP, it has consistent performance from start to finish. The reason I choose a flat point over the more traditional round nose FMJ is due to the added and wider frontal area. This flat nose acts much like a 148-grain Mid-Range Hollow Base Wad Cutter from a .38 Special, producing a more pronounced wound cavity than that of a round nose, with penetration that leans less on the side of over penetration. Another advantage to the flat point is it is less likely to deflect off of bone or other tougher mediums, and will be less likely to push its way around vital organs (more likely with a round nose).

    While I and some others prefer to carry FMJ ammunition for the added penetration, the best performing .380 Auto JHP load is, in my opinion, hands down the Hornady XTP 90-grain JHP. This controlled expansion JHP design is the only one I have tested that will consistently provide enough penetration to meet the FBI protocol depths. Due to this it is the .380 Auto JHP load I recommend for self-defense. With an impressive advertised velocity of 1,000 feet per second, my chronograph results came in 4.9% lower through the Walther PPK/s, averaging 951 feet per second. While expansion is considered "minimal" at .40-.44 of an inch, the disruption to tissue due to this expansion places it above FMJ in terms of terminal performance. Penetration averages 13.5 to 14.5 inches which exceeds the FBI 12-inch minimum. It is also a great choice for those who may worry about over-penetration with FMJ loads.

You can get a sense of this dynamic between either good expansion or good penetration, but not both, by looking at the Lucky Gunner gel tests of the .380. The ShootingTheBull410 YouTube channel did a series of videos on trying to find a good .380 round for micro sized pistols, testing them in calibrated ballistic gel with a denim clothing barrier. His "wrap up" video setting out his conclusions can be found here. The top rounds he found were any of the loads using Hornady XTP bullets and the Federal Hydra-Shok. (As a side note, his videos can also be found on the Internet Archive and downloaded).

• "BCA Announces the .380ACP BC-102"--The Truth About Guns. It seems that .380 is regaining popularity as a defensive round. From the article-cum-press release:

    Bear Creek Arms (BCA ) just announced a new pistol, this time chambered in .380ACP.

    The BC-102 will be available as a complete handgun, or the barrel and slide will be offered separately as a conversion for existing 9mm guns. 

[snip]

    The new BC-102 is BCA’s Glock 19 Gen 3 clone, but chambered for .380ACP. The pistol features a 15 round magazine capacity and a barrel made of 416R stainless steel with a stainless steel finish.  

• "Smith & Wesson Releases Model 940-3 J-Frame Revolver"--Ammo Land. A snub-nosed revolver using 9mm. The barrel is slightly longer (2.17-inch) than a .38 snub nose (1.9-inch) and it is heavier than the aluminum frame .38 Specials (23 ounces versus 14.4. ounces)--probably reflecting the higher pressures at which 9mm functions. It also has real sights. And, of course, it uses moon-clips. When I first got serious about shooting, .38 Special ammo was just as common to find as 9mm. But, at least in my area, the gun stores generally carry very little of it or .357 anymore. 
• ".41 Magnum – The ‘Do-It-All’ Caliber"--Guns Magazine. This sort of fills the same niche as .40 S&W and 10mm fill in the semi-auto pistol market. It can be downloaded to be an effective self-defense round and loaded up to almost .44 Magnum performance (but with less recoil) for hunting or a woods gun. 
• "The .338 Winchester Magnum Is a Cartridge That No Longer Makes Sense"--Outdoor Life. This seems like sacrilege. I have a book on hunting brown bear and polar bear that is adamant that the .338 is the smallest acceptable rifle cartridge for such game. But that book is probably 3 decades old at this point and times (and bullets and cartridge offerings) have changed. The author if this piece is an Alaskan guide that had relied on the .338 when trying to track down wounded bear, but now uses a .30-06 "loaded with 175-grain Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos bullets which are fracturing copper hollow points. I can tell you from experience, those will shoot through a moose and leave a massive wound channel when fired from a .308. If I feel the need for more, I’ll step up to the .375 Ruger." The author isn't suggesting that you ditch your .338 rifle if you are already invested in the caliber, but that if you are just starting into rifles for larger and/or more dangerous game there are other cartridges that can do just as well or better with less recoil and/or greater terminal performance.  

• "NSWC Crane’s New Drone Killer Cartridge (DKC) Technology"--The Firearm Blog.  A couple new multi-projectile rounds intended to shoot down drones. "The primary advantage of the DKC technology over shotgun ammunition is its greater range. Additionally, this ammunition is designed to be used in standard-issue firearms with no modifications, so there is no need to have a separate dedicated anti-drone weapon or attachments." 
• "Suppressors and Hearing Safety: What Decibels Actually Tell Us"--The Truth About Guns. The author notes that "140 dB is the commonly accepted threshold where unprotected ears enter real risk territory for acoustic trauma when it comes to single gunshots. To put it simply, this means that if the noise you’re hearing is at 140 dB or greater, then you are actively doing damage to your hearing." Unsuppressed guns, according to the article, routinely exceed 160 dB at the muzzle and 140 to 150 dB at the user's ears. But because "the best suppressors meant for a 5.56 AR-15 on a standard 16-inch barrel measure around 138 dB peak at the ear," you will still want to use hearing protection even when using a suppressor. 

It’s not quite the same for rimfire guns with suppressors. Silencer Shop’s quietest suppressor guide shows .22 LR cans regularly hitting 110 to 125 dB at the ear with the right host and subsonic ammo. That’s well under the impulse threshold, but in reality is still pretty loud: in the realm of a jackhammer or passing ambulance than a gunshot. No surprise there: .22 LR starts from a lower pressure baseline, and suppressors can capture nearly every bit of muzzle blast. Those numbers make extended plinking sessions genuinely pleasant without uncomfortable muffs or plugs. 

• "The Ideal Buffer Setup for a 10.5″ Unsuppressed AR Pistol"--The Truth About Guns.  I know that I had linked to this article in a post this last week, but I thought these comments from the author to be apropos to the subject of silencers:

 The industry today is flooded with suppressors, and it’s becoming increasingly rare to see an unsuppressed AR out on the range.

There are, however, those of us who choose to remain unsuppressed; whether it’s the NFA red tape, the cost of a can, or simply the fact that a suppressed AR-15 still isn’t hearing safe. You’re still going to reach for your ear pro regardless, so why bother?

• "Preppers: Choose Your Weapons"--Shooters Log. Some thoughts on weapons for a battery of survival/prepping firearms and why we need them. As to what, the author writes:

We need a rifle, shotgun, .22 rifle, a scoped rifle, and big and small handguns. The rifle is likely going to be the AR-15. I think some compromise may be in order and a versatile scoped rifle such as the M1A may take the place of the AR and the scoped rifle—unless you live out west and need to hunt the mountains. The .22 small game rifle must be chosen. 

The rifle he recommends is the AR15, although he notes that an M1A with a scope could pull double duty as the defensive rifle and scoped rifle.  As to the why:

    Not long ago in my home county, a man and woman, both about 60, were murdered in their own home in a vicious, edged weapon attack. A young man they had befriended was killed as well. The monsters responsible traveled three states to the south and murdered again before being caught.

    The neighborhood was good and a place many of us would like to live, nestled in the mountains. The POS involved was staying at his mother’s house across the way and chose a likely victim. Many such convicts are filled with hate and intense self-loathing. They will kill at some point; it depends on the trigger.

    The worst possible combination in a human being is being mean and stupid, and we see no end to these traits among criminals. In my own neighborhood, I enjoy a good relationship with my neighbors to the north, south, and east. I have a buffer to one side that is a lot at present.

    We had a doper in a rental house—that didn’t last long. We had a drunken no good—who a pastor befriended—take his car and crash it. A pastor that lives beside him gave a fellow a ride to what was supposed to be his mom’s house and it turned out to be a drug den.

• And from a slightly different perspective: "Three Weapons Every Prepper Needs"--Prepping to Survive. The author explains:

    The new post-TEOTWAWKI world will find many people looking for food through the traditional techniques of hunting and gathering. Hunting is far easier if you have the right weapon and ammunition for the game you’re attempting to capture.

    At a minimum, there are three key weapons that every prepper should own. These weapons are not the extent of the prepper’s arsenal, just the bare minimum required to allow the widest variety of hunting options.

The weapons he recommends are: a .22 LR rifle, 12 gauge shotgun, and a .30-30 rifle.

• "Lifeboat Supplies"--Blue Collar Prepping. A list of items required to be carried on a lifeboat. But even if you don't need all the items for bugging out (or bugging in), it is yet another list to check to see if you have your bases covered. 
• "Understanding the Difference: Prepping Vs Hoarding"--SHTF School. Brief synopsis from the article:

... Prepping involves proactive preparation for potential disasters or emergencies, focusing on being self-sufficient and prepared to take care of oneself and others. Hoarding, on the other hand, is a reactionary response to perceived shortages, prioritizing self-interest and often causing harm to others. Preppers emphasize community and working together, while hoarders only care about themselves. Organization and practicality are important for preppers, who prioritize essential items with a specific purpose in mind. Hoarders, on the other hand, tend to accumulate valuable items without a specific purpose or usefulness. Preppers keep their stockpiles organized and out of sight, only checking on them periodically, whereas hoarders are constantly surrounded by their items and do not prioritize organization. Prepper stockpiles are not valuable or rare items, and preppers are not attached to their stockpiles but rather to the practical use they provide. In contrast, hoarders are emotionally attached to their hoards. Overall, prepping and hoarding are two distinct practices with differing intents and outcomes.

• "Best Jumper Cable Gauge (Size Chart) – What Gauge Do You Need?"--Modern Survival Blog. Not just the gauge, but also discusses how long a cable. Be careful of the ones that come in the cheap car emergency kits because they are often the smaller gauge cables only appropriate for small engines.
• "Is Manganese Steel Good for Swords?"--ZGT Steel.  The basic answer is "no". I've seen some adds for swords and knives for preppers made of manganese steel. This type of steel is very tough--it can withstand a lot of pounding for instance--but it is too soft to hold an edge, making it more suitable as a decorative item (a "wall hanger") than a real sword or knife. 
• "Thoughts on Traveling to Mexico"--Active Response Training. Greg Ellifritz writes:

    The cartels are responsible for bringing over 90% of the heroin and fentanyl smuggled into the USA.  They also bring in significant quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana.  In Mexico, the cartels often work extortion and kidnapping schemes against both Mexicans and foreigners alike.  Many cartels are also engaged in protection rackets extorting money from local businesses. 

    Most of the locals don’t like the cartels, but tolerate their operations because the cartels provide lots of jobs and occasionally fund infrastructure projects (building hospitals, schools, and roads) in the place of an impoverished government. 

    Since we are mentioning the government, we also need to note that the cartels have completely infiltrated all levels of the Mexican government including the politicians, judiciary, law enforcement, and the military.

The last paragraph is important. The massive corruption that we have seen in Minnesota and is being revealed in other states should tell us that U.S. is in a similar position--criminal organizations have completely infiltrated all levels of our government, including the politicians, judiciary, and so on. That is why in the aftermath of the 2020 election various investigative agencies and courts not only ignored allegations and reports of voting malfeasance, but worked to shut down anyone attempting to investigate the matter; and it is only now that we are starting to see the reveals of fake ballots, miscounting, voting machines being hacked from foreign countries, etc. It was all to protect this criminal enterprise. 

• Related: "Model City: Portland’s Journey From Symbol of Chic to Shabby"--Real Clear Politics. An excerpt (bold added):

    Early last year, for example, Eager reported on his Substack, Oregon Roundup, about a man named Kevin Daniel Sanabria-Ojeda, whom authorities say is a member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Agua criminal syndicate and who was arrested for attempted murder. According to Eager, Sanabria-Ojeda, along with an accomplice who remains at large, “kidnapped Maria Guadalupe Hernandez Velasquez outside her Seattle home, drilled into her hands with a power drill to force her to provide them her PIN for her debit card, robbed her of gold and cash, shot and wounded her and left her for dead in rural Washington.”

    Somehow Velasquez survived the ordeal and police traced the two criminals to a house in a Portland suburb that police reports describe as a drug den, with “residents possibly using drugs in the back yard, large numbers of people coming and going at night, possibly entire vans full of people, and people being dazed or drugged… and on a few occasions groups of young women or girls being present at the address.” 

    That house was also listed as the address of Uplifting Journey LLC, an addiction recovery provider that received $2.3 million in state Medicaid funds between April of 2024 and March of 2025. Eager has further documented that owners of Uplifting Journey, Julius Maximo and Espoir Ntezeyombi, have multiple ties to three men indicted in Arizona for setting up a $60 million Medicare fraud ring that was laundering money by sending it to Rwanda. One of the leaders of the Arizona fraud even co-signed the lease on another dubious residence owned by Uplifting Journey in the Portland suburb of Gresham.