The Rough Parts of Going while Carrying
No matter whether you call it dropping a deuce, hanging 10, the call of nature, a trip to the water closet, or going code brown, everyone has to seriously relieve themselves at some point. Often this situation presents itself when you are out and about in a public venue. If you are armed this leads to the dilemma of what do you do to keep your firearm safe while you drop trou. Here are the options:
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
(Which one of these stalls would you pick? If you choose the one with the dead wall on the strong hand side that your firearm is on…good choice!)
The Suppressed ‘Shaft’ and ‘Threadcutter’ Rifles: One bad mother, shut your mouth
Thought historically tight-lipped about all things military, one thing the Russians have never kept secret is existence of their robust special operations, or spetsnaz, community, which they have fostered for many generations. These operators fielded the finest hardware found East of Berlin and, going back to the 1980s, the Soviets had an itch for a long-range suppressed rifle and scratched it with a Shaft and a Thread Cutter, so to speak.
Formed in the 1950s from lessons learned fighting the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany, the spetsnaz (a Russian acronym for special purpose) units were bad hombres and by the later Soviet era, spetsnaz troops (roughly the commie version of the special forces/ranger type units) were a huge part of the Motherland’s military machine. At the height of the Cold War, the Soviets had no less than 14 army and 2 naval brigades of these troops compared to the sole US Army Ranger regiment and five Special Forces groups.
These groups in general, by the nature of their role on the battlefield, have long sought out suppressed weapons and on both sides of the curtain, most got by with regular issue guns with fitted external suppressors. By the early 1980s, they wanted something better and that is where the VSS and AS came in.
Read the Rest in my column at GUNS.com
Another 5 Handguns You Have to Shoot Before You Die
Ever since the first single shot pistol was crafted centuries ago, people have just dug handguns. In the intervening half millennium, thousands of designs have come forth and a few have risen above all others. Last year Guns.com brought you eight to shoot before you die. Here are five more that just have to pass through your hands before you head to that great gun show in the sky.
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
Tour inside a 1960s Personal Fallout Shelter…complete with Tang
A South Florida family found an almost perfectly preserved fallout shelter in their backyard dating from the 1960s complete with Tang, a fallout meter, and Toilet paper. It’s nice to see that even with flawed fifty year old designs (the shelter had 1-2 feet of water inside it when opened), that they are still viable after a half century. Keep that in mind preppers!
The AR7 Air Force Survival Gun: For land, for air, for sea
Looking for a takedown rifle that packs away to the size of a loaf of bread, weighs in at under 3-pounds, and still provides enough firepower for small game? Well, get in line with the rest of the world because it would appear that with the cult success of the Henry survival rifle and the Chiappa Little Badger, nowadays, everybody’s looking for a versatile rifle they can shove in a backpack.
But with all the recent interest in prepper long guns, it’s important to remember that these rifles are not brand new designs by any stretch. The AR7, the Air Forces’ favorite backpack .22, has been around for over fifty years, looks almost identical to the newest survival rifle offerings and, unsurprisingly, is still going strong.
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
Cally ARNG Goes Head to Head with LA Riot…
A pretty good article written by a California National Guard Captain who experienced the sharp, woodland camo tip of the 1992 LA Riots is up over at Breitbart

From the article, “Flyers urging violence against law enforcement in service of the “insurrection” were commonplace during the riots. The flyers were written and printed by Communist organizations—which seemed ironic, given the fall of the Berlin Wall only two-and-a-half years before. Strangely enough, the El Salvadoran Communist guerrilla group FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) has an ongoing presence in Los Angeles, where they participate in the city’s annual May Day parade, carrying their red banners.
On May 3, with the military taking a lower profile, gang members began to show more defiance. Rumors were flying around that the military had no ammunition or wasn’t allowed to shoot. We were very concerned about what might happen the next night when Mayor Tom Bradley was expected to lift the nighttime curfew.
As fate would have it, a gang member wannabe tried to run over a team of Guardsmen at a checkpoint. On his third pass to try to kill the soldiers, they fired 10 rounds at the tires of the onrushing car. He pressed on towards the checkpoint. So, the soldiers shifted fire, killing him with two bullets to the head and one in the shoulder. The next morning, the gang members wouldn’t even look us in the eye as we made a limited number of patrols. They knew the Guard could shoot to kill.”
Read the rest here
New York Town Bans Gadsden Flag
Before this week, the quiet little city of New Rochelle, New York was perhaps known as the hometown of American Pie writer Don McLean and of 1960s “Catch me if you can” conman Frank Abagnale. Going further back, during the Revolutionary War, George Washington stopped in the town on his way to assume command of the Army. Patriot Thomas Paine considered the Father of the American Revolution because of the pamphlet “Common Sense” he penned, settled in New Rochelle after the War of Independence and was buried there.
This is even more shocking because the city council just banned the historic Gadsden Flag from being flown on city property.
Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk.com
Sunken USCGC Mohawk To Get Underwater Photo Gallery
Past Warship Wednesday subject Mohawk will be getting a diver-viewable photo gallery installed.
“In May, Austrian photographer Andreas Franke plans to hang a series of photographs on Mohawk Veterans Memorial Reef, thus creating a temporary art exhibit only accessible to divers. Helping on the project will be the Lee County Division of Marine Sciences and Joe Weatherby, founder of Reefmakers LLC, a Key West-based company that specializes in sinking ships as artificial reefs.
On July 2, 2012, county scientists and Reefmakers scuttled the 165-foot World War II Coast Guard cutter Mohawk 30 miles off Redfish Pass.”
The News Press also has a great interactive graphic of the Mohawk herself.
The Drexel Shooting Team of 1925
Today women are standing tall in the realm of the shooting sports, but nearly a hundred years ago they were rarely seen. This remarkable photo shows us that there were then as now those who were enamored with the sport and willing to give it a shot (pun intended)

Above we see the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry Female Rifle Team of 1925.
These well-equipped and stylish young women are armed with what appear to be (from left to right) a Springfield Armory 1922 NRA Target rifle with Lyman 48 Receiver sight, a Winchester Model 52 Target Rifle, another Model 52 with a wrapped stock, a Winchester 1885 Low Wall single shot, 1922 Springfield again, and finally in the great coat another Low wall. Any one of these pieces were known to hold sub-MOA groups if the user did their part.
Read the rest in my article on Firearms Talk.com








