Spec Ops Brand Gear

Last week around Wednesday or Thursday I sent an email to Spec Ops gear telling them about my Youtube channel, and the articles I've written for AR Guns & Hunting magazine, and told them there are a couple of their products I'm interested in trying and reviewing for my Youtube channel.  So, Friday morning I hop on my computer to check emails, and there was a reply.  Whenever I see reply's to gear queries I always get a bit giddy, because usually if they reply it's because they are interested in you reviewing their stuff.  

So, I click on the message, and it's from the Director of Marketing.  He starts with telling me he's checking out my videos and has read my articles.  Then he tells me they're starting a new website, and how would I like to be a guest blogger?  IN EXCHANGE FOR GEAR.  Woooohooooo!  Do you ever feel like you've struck gold.  I love Spec Ops gear -- it's great stuff.  Durable, looks great, tough as nails, works great, and priced well -- so the average Lcpl Grunt can afford it.  They make practical, well thought out stuff.

This is a marriage made in heaven.  Robb's writing + outstanding gear.  It doesn't get any better than this.

SOG Knives

You know I'm a big fan of the Gunny. I'm also a big fan of SOG knives. So it only fitting that they come together:

It also just so happens, the gents at SOG were so kind as to send me a couple of their awesome knives: The Trident Desert Cam, and the Aegis Digi-Cam.  Both have the SAT (SOG Assisted Technology), which means they open fast.  I'm in the process of using them for EDC, to get a better feel, so I can do my youtube review.  So far, I'm REALLY liking them.  They're sharper than Condi Rice and built like brick poop-house.

M1895 7.62 Nagant Revolver

I've owned this thing for almost a year now, and just shot it for the first time last week.  The gun cost me $79, and the only place around here that carries ammo for it had it for $49 per box -- that's almost as much as the gun!.  That's almost $1 per round.  The gun shows had boxes for $35, but that's still too much.  I ended up finding ammo for it, as I've previously posted, for $21 per box.  THAT'S much better!  It shot pretty nice -- it was pretty accurate at 15 yards.  The recoil on it felt like I was shooting my Ruger MkIII .22, but it did have much more muzzle blast.

As you cock the hammer, the cylinder moves up to press against the barrel, and the way the cartridge is, the case forms a tight seal with the barrel, so all the gas goes out the front of the barrel, which explains the muzzle blast.  This makes it the only revolver in the world that can be silenced with a suppressor.  It also makes it REALLY easy to clean!

The Nagant was designed by a Belgian, adopted by the Russian military in the 1895 and carried until, I believe, WWII.  At that time it was mostly phased out by the Tokarev semi-auto.  You'll recognize the name Nagant, as it was developed by the same guy, Leon Nagant, who co-developed the Mosin-Nagant rifle that was the issue rifle for the Russian and Soviet Armies for the first half of the 20th century.

Ruger LC9: First Shots Down Range

I got in the Ruger LC9 today.  What a sweet little gun.  I put 150 rounds down range and not one hiccup.  I'll tell you though, if you're looking for a sweet shooting handgun that you can spend all day at the range shooting, the LC9 is NOT the gun for you.  It is not a beginner's gun, not your wife's first gun, and it is not a gun you buy to get your kid into shooting.  It's got some feisty-ness to it.  It's a self-defense gun, plain and simple, and is not "smooth shooting."  I fired 150 rounds in about 10 minutes, and my hand and forearm were ringing.

I love it, though.  I can't wait to take it out more.  I Shot Winchester USA, UMC, and Wolf ammo out of it.

The 2 day pointless "cool off period" wait

The LC9 came in today from Ruger for me to test and do a review on.  So, I had to fill out all the paperwork, and now wait 48 hours.  Just so I have a couple of days to "cool off" and not go out and shoot someone.  WTF is the point?  I can understand if someone is a first time gun buyer.  HOWEVER, I am not, I have quite a few firearms in my safe.  If I REALLY wanted to go out and shoot someone, I would grab one of those, NOT go to Cabela's to buy a new one.  So what's the point?  Just another stupid handgun law that means nothing and does nothing but make bureaucrats feel good about themselves.  What a pointless waist.  Sorry for the rant

WROL/SHTF: Choosing the Right Self-Defense Weapon

I've become interested in the WROL (Without Rule Of Law) and SHTF (S%!t Hits The Fan) topics, and there's quite a bit on the internet.  For those that don't know, someone who takes an active and serious role in preparing for such catastrophes -- be it man made or natural disaster -- are called "preppers."  I'm learning that a prepper has taken things a bit further than someone who is a survivalist.  I'm not sure, but I think the term "prepper" is fairly new. It's a pretty interesting world, and I've been watching a lot of Youtube videos on the topic.  I've always been someone who mentally prepares for something like that happening, and I know I have most of the gear/food stores/ammo to survive, but a prepper takes it a step further and actually stages the gear for easy/quick access.

One of the topics, and the topic that I want to touch on, is the choice in firearms to choose as your WROL/SHTF weapon.  Of course, you have the guys who are all about the AK, and "It's the best weapon ever because you can do anything to it, and it will work, and the 7.62x39 Soviet round is the best as a man stopper"  And those that have the big revolvers in .357 because that's the most reliable handgun, in a great caliber.  And of course you see a lot of guys who choose 1911s, and Glocks in .40 S&W.

I agree that the AK is the best choice if you're looking for something indestructible, and the revolver is the most reliable choice.  And I'm certainly not going to argue the effectiveness of any of the above mentioned rounds.  HOWEVER (draws long breath), I am going to argue that those choices are a bit misguided.  In my humble opinion, you shouldn't choose your weapon by brand or model, but by caliber.  Of course, if you don't own a lot of guns, you have no choice to use what you have.  But, if you do have a choice, your order of importance in picking out a weapon should be, 1. caliber, 2. reliability/durability.

In choosing calibers, there's really only a few choices.  In handguns, the number one choice is 9mm.  In rifles, .223/5.56.  If you want a high powered rifle, .308/7.62.  You could argue until your blue in the face about the effectiveness of these caliber choices, but it doesn't matter.  Is the 9mm the most effective pistol round?  No.  Is the .223/5.56 the most effective rifle round? No.  But I will tell you this: a handgun that you have in 9mm, with ammo, is more effective than a .40 S&W Glock without ammo.  And no matter how many thousands of rounds you can store up before WROL/SHTF, depending on the circumstances, you do not know how long WROL/SHTF will last, and you will eventually run out of ammo, or become permanently separated from your ammo.  So you will have to scavenge.  And since 9mm and 5.56 are our military standards, as well as the standards of the entire Western world, you will always be able to find those rounds.  If you lived in Russia, the 7.62x39 would be the best choice, but you don't, so it's not.

Sure, the chances of WROL/SHTF lasting more than a few weeks, or months is low -- like New Orleans after Katrina, but if you're a prepper, you need to prare for WCS (Worst-Case Scenario).  I would say, probably worst case scenario is Somalia.  A complete and utter collapse of government -- a true anarchy.  Or perhaps Rwanda-type situations are even worse, when there is genocide.  My point is that in those situations, especially Somalia, there has been WROL for over a decade.  Even if you had 10,000 rounds, in that amount of time, you would have either ran out, or perhaps been separated from your ammo.  So, you definitely need a caliber that you can readily scrounge up.  And the 9mm and 5.56 you'll be able to find on or near any military base.  You'll also find it on bodies of military personal that you stumble upon, or even in abandoned military vehicles.

For handguns, I would say seconds are the .40 S&W, and the .45 ACP.  A majority of law enforcement agencies/departments use the .40, some use the .45 (and also the .45 was our previous military standard -- and it's the most popular handgun cartridge in our country -- so there's a lot of that around.)

In sum, while there are better choices for self-defense, there is no better choice for availability.  As the saying goes, Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.  And in talking about WROL/SHTF that could potentially last for an extended period of time, resupply will be crucial.

Slow Day

Not a lot going on in the realm of shooting.  For my birthday, my wife got me four 1-hour sessions at a local indoor range, so I'm looking forward to using those.  For the most part I don't mind the cold weather when I'm shooting, but the last week was brutal with -15 degree days and such.  That's a little too cold.  I've actually been wanting to take her shooting, so that might be a great opportunity to take her and she can be indoors and warm.

Otherwise, I'm trying to patiently wait for the Ruger LC9 to get here.  It shipped Wed, so I'm thinking Mon or Tue it should be here.  I'm looking forward to givin' 'er a whirl.

Later