Gun & Prepping News #101

Some links that may be of interest: 

• "SAF Wants to Know Why ATF Thinks Rare Breed’s Patent Litigation Is Any Of Its Business"--Shooting News Weekly.  The ATF is trying to insert itself into a patent lawsuit between Rare Breed and competing forced reset trigger products. Presumably this is because the ATF knows that if it can help Rare Breed win its lawsuit, it will keep the prices high and supply low on forced reset triggers.
• "Gun Skills – Pieing a Room"--Shoot On. The author starts out by explaining:

    Knowing what’s going on inside a room is essential prior to entry, as pandemonium can ensue otherwise. Of course, what I’ve just stated is nearly impossible, especially in an unfamiliar environment; however, this doesn’t mean that we must rush straight in. There is a means of slowly revealing what is on the other side while mitigating our own exposure to danger. The process is called slicing the pie or simply pieing. It involves dividing the room of interest into angular sections based on your position to the door.

    Understanding the practice of pieing begins with learning the basic mechanics of a door by observing the hinges. Doors will swing toward this hardware. So, in most cases, it pays to be on the other side when opening them. Now, your starting position might change depending on the layout of the room you’re about to enter (if you know it), but for the sake of simplicity, let’s leave it there for now. 

The remainder of the article has instructions and tips for pieing a room and concludes with a couple drills you can run at an appropriate shooting range or favorite shooting area.

• "Tactical Intelligence: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Civilian Body Armor"--Bone Tactical. As an initial matter, the author notes the two basic reasons for your average citizen to own and use body armor: as part of a home defense plan or strategy; or civil unrest/SHTF. But in the latter case, he recommends something concealable and low-key, lest you become a target. He has other tips and advice, so be sure to read the whole thing. 
• "Faster, Accurate Shooting: Mastering Pistol Trigger Control"--Handguns Magazine.  An excerpt:

The first rule of trigger control is that pressure should be applied evenly to the front of the trigger. It’s vitally important that the trigger press is straight back because any uneven pressure will result in muzzle movement. This straight-back trigger press offers another advantage that few people consider: better recoil control. If I’m consistently pressing the trigger right to left, then the gun is moving in my hand. When the gun settles out of recoil the sights will be out of alignment. When you press straight back and the gun settles, the sight will be closer to centered (provided you have a solid grip and even pressure, but we’ll address this more later). 

And while he doesn't think it matters exactly where what part of the finger rests on the trigger, he comments:

What most certainly does matter is which joint flexes when firing the gun. There are three bones—known as phalanges—that compose each finger. The bones at the tip of the finger are known as distal phalanges, and they are attached to the medial (or middle) phalange. The finger bone closest to the hand is the proximal phalange. When firing, flexion primarily occurs at the joint between the proximal and medial phalange. This is the primary lever that you use when shooting, and this is the joint that you should flex each time you fire. Your knuckle joint should not move while firing. 

• "The AK-47: A History of Practical Design That Still Matters Today"--Ammo Land.  A brief history of the weapon, including its origin, production history, and impact. As the author observes: "The AK prioritizes reliability and ease of manufacturing over precision. It wasn’t designed to be perfect—it was designed to work, and to keep working under harsh conditions."
• On a related note: "Maintaining The AK Series Of Rifles: From The User To The Maintainer"--The Firearm Blog. This article covers the inspection of the rifle (including common wear and failure points), cleaning, and maintenance and replacement of components over time. For instance, the author relates that "AK barrels typically last 10-20k rounds" depending on use, and "it's recommended to replace all the springs at roughly 5-8k rounds."
• "Basic Defense Handgun: Taurus Model 82"--The Tactical Wire. Some people don't have the money to buy a Gucci priced revolver or defensive pistol, and don't have the time, money, and/or interest to put into a lot of training or practice. But they still need something basic for self-defense. That appears to be the niche for this weapon. The author relates:

    Like many, I’ve seen and read about Caleb Giddings’ extensive use of the most basic Taurus revolver. Described as a “security guard’s gun,” apparently a number of agencies, private and public, in South America make extensive use of the Model 82. 

    A fixed sight, four-inch 38 Special revolver, rated for +P ammunition, it’s analogous to the guns worn by US police and security since before WWII. 

    When last I took note of Caleb’s trek with the plain old 38, his gun had consumed around 13,000 rounds of ammunition. He shot it at matches where “modern” semi-autos and pistol-mounted optics covered the ground. He shot it at distance, with an enviable group, and shot it quickly in match prep and competition.

    And he’s carried it concealed more than just a little. 

    That’s confidence.  

He goes on to describe the pistol as well as the results of testing some ammunition through it. The firearm does appear to be regulated for 158-grain projectiles. Looking up the prices, it appears that the MSRP is about $540, but Sportsman's Warehouse was listing it for roughly $420. 

• CCI has released some new .22 LR options:
• "The Rimfire Report: What's Different About CCI's Golden Boy Ammo?"--The Firearm Blog.  This round uses a 36-grain projectile and is supposed to be optimized for feeding a lever action.
• "CCI’s New Hunter Series .22 LR Is Hitting Shelves"--The Truth About Guns. This comes in a standard super-sonic loading and a sub-sonic loading, both using a 40-grain lead flat-nose Small Game Bullet (SGB). The author points out: "A flat-nose solid lead projectile tends to retain its mass through soft tissue and bone rather than fragmenting the way a hollow point will — which is exactly the trade-off squirrel and rabbit hunters care about. You want the round to kill clean, but you don’t want to pick lead out of the meat or lose half the quarter to pulp." 
• "Manticore Arms Ripley Rail: The 1980’s Aliens Upgrade Your AR Needs"--Recoil Magazine. A product that allows you to mock up the M41A rifle used by the Colonial Marines in the movie Aliens using a short barrelled AR as the base weapon (sorry, no display showing the number of rounds remaining, though). 
• "Yes, Airsoft Guns Can Be a Useful Part Effective Firearm Training"--Shooting News Weekly. The author points out:

    Training is where you go and what you do to learn how and what to practice. Practice is what you do on your own to develop and maintain skill. In addition to learning how to press the trigger without disturbing the sights, there are many other things we learn in training; holster drills, moving and shooting, multiple target drills, etc.  

    For those whose only option is the local indoor range with severely restrictive rules, much of what you learned during training, things you want to practice, might be forbidden. This is when setting up your own airsoft practice range in a basement, garage, or backyard might be a legitimate idea.

    Also, some of us live on the opposite spectrum of the indoors-only range. I have lived in rural areas where the only ranges were outdoors and during the winter, blowing and drifting snow prevented access. When I lived in the northern part of the United States, I spent many January and February afternoons in my basement airsoft range getting in some valuable practice.  

• "Craig Boddington: How to Pick the Perfect Hunting Scope"--Rifleshooter Magazine. The author notes:

The vital zone of deer-sized animals isn’t small. Modern rifles that lack this level of accuracy are rare. So, you need the skill to hit that vital zone. Within 100 yards, with average vision and in decent light, this should be possible with open sights. Beyond that distance, and in the critical periods just before sunrise and after sunset, it’s your scope that enables you to properly see your animal, resolve your point of aim, and make the shot. 

The last sentence is probably the most critical one, so a scope with better glass but a lower power will be better than something with higher power that has poor quality glass. You also don't need too much power. The author reports good performance from his Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40mm. But, he adds, "a good quality 3-9X (or thereabouts) will do everything most of us need done. And that is about the maximum power you can have without parallax adjustment (which adds cost)." He likes the 32mm tubes over the 1-inch, but recommends against the 36mm which he believes are too big and heavy for hunting. 

• "The Budget Hunting Knives We Actually Use and Recommend"--Outdoor Life. Several knives ranging from $13 to $68. 
• "Undertsanding Elk Vocabulary is an Important Hunting Skill to Master"--Petersen's Hunting. Some of the calls discussed as those of the estrus cow, the calf call, and a couple bugle calls that the bulls will make.
• "Walker Razor Walkie Talkie Review: Real-World Range & Frequency List"--Modern Survival Blog. The ranges advertised for most walkie talkie radios are for ideal (and, frankly, unrealistic) conditions. The real-world ranges are generally much, much less. For instance, the Walker radios tested in this article had an advertised range of 2 to 3 miles, but the author's test put the good communication range as 300 feet, and essentially no communication beyond 1,300 feet. On the other hand, he purchased these specific radios because they integrated with the Razor electronic ear muffs and the real world ranges were sufficient for what he needed. 
• "Microprepping for People with Small Homes"--Urban Survival Site. The article begins:

    When most people picture an emergency stockpile, they imagine a basement lined with shelves, a spare bedroom packed floor to ceiling, or a garage full of five-gallon buckets. And if you've got that kind of room, great. But a lot of us don't. If you live in a small house or apartment, you might have nothing more than a single closet to work with.

    Here's the good news: it absolutely is. This is where microprepping comes in. Microprepping is all about squeezing a bunch of survival supplies into a tiny space by being organized, intentional, and clever about what you choose to store. Emergency supplies can take up a ton of room if you're careless, but if you plan well, you'd be surprised how much you can fit in one closet.

    In fact, you can put together a full 60 days of supplies for two adults in a single linen closet. We're talking food, water, health items, self defense, all of it. It just takes a bit of thought about what earns a spot on the shelf.

The article goes over 9 steps to putting together a "microprepping" stockpile, plus links to an video demonstrating how to transform that bathroom linen closet into your storage for preps.