The Halfbreed CCK-02 Tanto – A Modern Fighting Knife

By

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December 20, 2022

I’m not a knife guy. Well, I’m not one of those knife guys. I’m a man who can appreciate a good knife but isn’t going to wax poetically about folded steel katanas. With that in mind, I appreciate the idea of the fighting knife, both historic and modern. Modern fighting knives are very niche items and are more or less designed for extreme close-quarters combat and to create distance. That’s the purpose of the Halfbreed Blades CCK-02.

Halfbreed Blades is an Australian company that produces a variety of knives, including fixed and folders. This also included tomahawks and other fun things. Australia is the last level of real life, so I’m betting they appreciate a good knife. Admittedly Crocodile Dundee wouldn’t be quite so impressed with the CCK-02, but I sure am.

CCK-02 Specifications

The CCK-02 is a compact, fixed-blade knife with a 3.94-inch blade with an overall length of 7.79 inches. The blade .23 inches wide and .55 inches thick. It’s a big chunky boy. It weighs 6.45 ounces in total and features a retention finger hole at the back of the handle.

The blade features a tanto shape designed to capitalize on penetrating capability. Halfbreed blades added a Teflon finish to protect the blade, and a set of G10 inserts are attached to the grip.

The steel is a K110 D2. This is, unsurprisingly, an Australian steel. It’s an extremely high-quality steel that is tough and strong. It’s made to last and does a great job of resisting corrosion. The CCK-02 also capable of becoming razor sharp, and from the factory, it’s scary sharp.

Design and Purpose of the CCK-02

CCK stands for Compact Clearance Knife, and it falls into the same category as knives like the Benchmade SOCP and KA-BAR TBI. It’s designed for situations where you end up going hands-on unexpectedly. Maybe you’re a Marine at a checkpoint overseas, and someone lunges for your gun. This knife is close at hand and allows aid Marine to stab, slash and disconnect from the weapon grabber.

It creates clearance and space for your compatriots to aid you or for you to use a firearm. The CCK-02 is designed to be easily mounted to your belt or plate carrier and offers a rapid, easy-to-draw option for emergency melee combat.

In 2022 that’s the purpose of a bladed instrument. We aren’t clearing trenches and dealing with much hand-to-hand combat. We are shooting missiles at tanks that are under a bridge without damaging the bridge. Melee combat is rare and often a total surprise.

The CCK-02 is designed to be used in an ice pick grip, and the retention ring ensures a good and proper draw when entangled with somebody who needs stabbing. The big heavy blade with a tanto tip allows for deep penetration through wavy clothes or even light web gear. This isn’t the knife you use to open MREs but to open people.

The handle features a slight spur that identifies the side of the blade that is edged. Halfbreed calls this a live edge identifier, and it gives you tactile assurance of which side the blade sits on. The top of the ring features a slight concave to grant space for your thumb to help with downward force. Inside the ring is plenty of room to keep your finger from being jammed into the ring when you apply that downward force.

Sheath and Mounts

The Halfbreed CCK-02 comes with an injection-molded polymer sheath with two attachments. It comes with a MOLLE mount as well as a TEK LOK-style belt mount. The sheath offers passive retention that’s not exceptionally tight. I’d prefer the sheath to have a little more retention…but I’m not actually going to find myself at that checkpoint dealing with a local grabbing my rifle.

At least, I hope I’m not.

Slice and Dice

The Halfbreed CCK-02 is a cool knife that’s well-made, and as far as modern fighting knives go, it’s plenty practical. The Halfbreed Knives CCK-02 is not a cheap knife and certainly not practical for everyone. If you appreciate fighting knives like me, it’s one worth tossing in the collection.

XS Sights Introduces Lever Rails for Henry Big Boy Carbines

By

Keith Finch

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December 19, 2022

Fort Worth, Texas (December 19, 2022) – XS^® Sights is pleased to introduce new Lever Rails for Henry Big Boy carbines chambered in .357 Magnum (HN-6001R-N) and .44 Magnum (HN-6002R-N).

The XS Sights Lever Rails are machined from aircraft-grade aluminum and hard coat anodized to provide a lightweight mounting system that is tough enough for a lifetime of service. The rail bolts on to round barrel models of the Henry Big Boy – no gunsmithing required – for a quick, do-it-yourself upgrade. Machined to Mil-Std 1913 Picatinny specifications, the XS Lever Rail extends from the rear of the receiver to the front sight dovetail cut to allow mounting of any optic – red dot, scout scope, or low-powered variable optic (LPVO) – giving you the most versatile mounting platform available.

The XS Sights Lever Rails for the Henry Big Boy carbines are designed for carbines with steel receivers and round barrels. Due to differences in barrel contour, the rails and sights are caliber specific.

The XS Lever Rail will not fit carbines with brass receivers, and it will not fit carbines with octagonal barrels.

Retail Price: $72.00

For more information, visit www.xssights.com.

About XS Sights

XS Sights is known for making the fastest sights in any light. For more than 25 years, the XS team has created some of the most innovative sights on the market today for pistols, rifles and shotguns. Whether used for personal defense or hunting, these sights are designed and built to be the absolute best for their specific purpose. American Made. Texas Proud. 2A Strong.

Options for Women Sized Gloves, both for the Range and Winter

By

Anna Martinez

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December 19, 2022

Let’s face it, women are different than men. In more ways than just the size of their hands..ha.

Editor’s Note: I snort laughed too, its ok.

Women have smaller hands yet the firearm industry is still very behind on ensuring that each range glove that comes out also has smaller female sizing. Many times even the small size listed for men is still too big for us. Below are the options that I have found and used to cover these little trigger pullers.

Note: This may be a small list because I am only sharing the ones that I have personal experience with. I will not recommend something that I personally haven’t tried. Especially when it comes to handling firearms. Even so though, this short list shows how behind the industry is as well..

Daily Range Use

When buying PIG gloves I highly recommend following their sizing guide as they can get TIGHT. Which is good, but it needs to be comfortable. For the Women’s Glove I went with XS due to it being my main shooting glove and wanting it tight. For the Utility Glove I went with Small due to wanting more room and using it for work more so instead of shooting.

Both gloves feature a thumb and pointer finger material that is compatible with touch screen devices (and actually works) and has a bar tacked loop to hang the gloves off of your pants when not in use.

PIG (FDT) Charlie – Women’s Glove

Price: $44.95
Sizing: Xsmall, Small, Medium, Large, XLarge
Colors: Black, Coyote Brown, Carbon Grey, Multicam, Ranger Green, Multicam Black

PIG (FDT) Echo – Women’s Utility Glove

Price:$29.95
Sizing: Xsmall, Small, Medium, Large, XLarge
Colors: Black, Coyote Brown, Carbon Grey, Multicam, Ranger Green, Multicam Black

The only downside with both of these gloves are that they don’t come up the forearm and wrist much to protect from hot brass. That can be fixed with separate sleeves or long sleeved shirt though.

Forearms can be protected by throwing on separate sleeves which you can always keep in your pack.

Remember, FOLLOW THE SIZING GUIDE HERE BEFORE PURCHASING.

Winter

Women’s Arete II GORE-TEX Gloves

Price: $99.00
Size: Small, Medium, Large
Colors: Black, Red/Tan

These gloves are the best I’ve had when it comes to winter gloves. They come with a Merino liner that is easily to slip on and can be dawned separate of the main glove. They have shown to be waterproof and VERY warm. Coming from a company like Outdoor Research I expect nothing less. OR has a very full line of Women’s gloves specifically which made them a top contender.

Hand Muffs

When looking for warm shooting gloves I’d recommend instead looking for a hand muff. Instead of having big clunky gloves or freezing your hands by having to take them off every time you want to shoot, just dawn your normal shooting gloves and in between shooting iterations throw your hands into a muff.

Most muffs come with a belt that will attach to the waist. Many hunters use muffs, and more shooters are starting to jump on that train. It can be spun to be in the rear of you not to get in the way or the front if you are sitting and waiting. Many types of muffs also have a pocket in which you can throw hand warmers in, both the shake kind and battery.

If you’re sitting in a deer stand spin the muff to be in front. If walking around your backyard in slippers (me) or shooting a match, spin to your rear to keep it out of the way. It’ll keep your butt warm too.

Sitka Incinerator Muff

This muff is super soft and lightweight, but bigger than others on the market. I myself like the size because it keeps my butt warm when I spin it to my backside. I haven’t had to use handwarmers inside of it yet. It is on Amazon prime for the same price.

Price:$139.00
Size: One Size Fits All

The CDM Delta Wave – The Best Mossberg Safety

By

Travis Pike

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December 19, 2022

The Mossberg safety reigns supreme when it comes to shotgun safeties. The tang safety design is my absolute favorite, and it draws me to the Mossberg design. The standard Mossberg safety is pretty dang nice, but it could be better. Anyone who has put themselves against a timer and tried to perform has likely missed something. I have certainly missed the Mossberg safety when attempting to go fast, and to help prevent that, I’ve purchased a few Mossberg extended safeties to try out. The first is the CDM Delta Wave.

This is the one that caught my eye because it is absolutely massive! It’s huge and looks impossible to miss. The wave design is certainly much bigger than your standard Mossberg safety. It features a lot of ribbing and edges that promise to catch your thumb as you activate or deactivate your weapon’s safety.

Installing the CDM Delta Wave

The one thing I hate about the Mossberg safety is how hard it is to remove. They really don’t want you to swap the safety. It’s a hassle that often ends up destroying the screw holding the original in. That was the hardest part of the installation. Once I finally got that thing removed, the CDM Delta Wave dropped on without issue.

An Allen head bolt holds the safety in place, so installation is easy. The safety comes cut with two small pits to allow the user to position the safety in one of two different positions that vary just slightly to make the reach a little easier for you. I used the further position, and it was super easy to reach with my thumb with my stock.

The CDM Delta Wave In Action

Look at the two. I think it’s immediately clear that the CDM Delta Wave works. It’s huge! This massive thing is almost impossible to miss. Your thumb sits in the middle, and you have plenty of purchase to move the safety forward and backward with ease. The design is absolutely outstanding.

You can utilize the CDM Delta Wave safety from any forward or aft angle. You don’t have to keep your thumb positioned in the middle of the safety and can use the extremes of the safety. On occasion, my finger will sometime glance over the top of a stock Mossberg safety, but that doesn’t happen here.

It’s as if the safety doesn’t allow it. It appears to be near twice the width of the stock safety, so even when you are in a hurry, your thumb can find an edge to disable the safety. I ran a few timed drills, and even when moving as fast as I could, my thumb had no problems finding the safety and disabling it.

The action is tactile and audible in terms of feedback. That loud click is heard and felt, and you know if the gun is safe or on fire regardless of your situation.

Yay Or Nay

Of course, it’s pretty easy to see which route I’m going to take here. The CDM Delta Wave Mossberg safety is a brilliant piece of kit. It was a mere 15 bucks and worth every single cent. CDM has knocked it out of the park with this piece.

Gunday Brunch 81: Gifts for Gun Guys and Girls

By

David Reeder

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December 18, 2022

No really, Caleb is locked in a dungeon in Bainbridge, GA right now prepping Taurus for SHOT Show, and he’s also writing this description while high on cold meds.

The Call of Duty Red Dot

By

Travis Pike

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December 17, 2022

We all know the red dot I’m talking about, right? The generic, most common red dot to ever exist. “Made” by every crap tier red dot company and sold for a few bucks on Amazon. They’ve been labeled by Pinty, Feyachi, Tru Glo, and more. It’s the most generic dot out there, and I’ve always called it the Call of Duty red dot. It first popped up in the collective consciousness due to Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, the original one released in 2007.

According to legend, the creators of Call of Duty 4 used airsoft guns to model the guns in the game. Alongside that, they likely used airsoft optics, and this is quite popular in that field. It’s cheap and easily accessible. Hell, my local Walmart sells some version of this thing. It’s likely that’s how the optic got into our collective consciousness. I always assumed it was a generic red dot because that’s all it’s ever been to me.

Yet, I wondered if the red dot had an origin story. Where did the original come from? Was it always crap? I dived in to find out the origin of the Call of Duty red dot. It seems appropriate with the release of the latest Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

The Origins of the Call Of Duty Red Dot

Oddly enough, it was tough to find an official source. I didn’t know what to search for. Typing in ‘Call of Duty Red Dot’ reveals a ton of video game websites and YouTube videos on the game, not the actual optics. Believe it or not, I started looking about six months ago. It wasn’t until I was mindlessly scrolling through Reddit this summer that I stumbled across my answer.

There is a subreddit called PlebianAR. It’s where they mock ARs with poorly placed optics, crap-tier equipment, and guns that often don’t make sense. It’s not a nice place, but it can be entertaining and apparently educational. That’s where I found a post asking about the same question I had.

On PlebianAR, anything with this optic is automatically plebe, so it’s familiar to the users. It was in this post that someone pointed out that all these crappy, generic optics were a copy of an early red dot called an Ultradot Pan AV. Ultradot produced the original Call of Duty optic decades ago.

The Ultradot Answer

Ultradot is a Japanese company who have been producing red dots for 37 years or so. They still produce optics and are all very similar and simple. They aim at the competition and hunting market. The Call of Duty red dot was never intended for special ops use. However, it laid the blueprint for all the cheap clones to follow.

The large window with minimal support, the multi-reticle design, the integral mount, everything is there. Unlike the cheap clones, the Ultradot Pan AV is a reputable dot. It provides a clear lens and a bright and crisp red dot, and it will hold zero over heavy use. It’s clearly designed to provide a heads-up display with minimal vision blocking at the cost of durability. The optics were popular in the competition circle, and numerous champions used them, so that’s worth mentioning.

The Ultradot Pan AV is still produced and sold to this day, so if you want the OG Call of Duty optic and don’t want a piece of crap, well, here you go.

A Matter of Perspective Part 3

By

The Suited Shootist

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December 17, 2022

“Your micro isn’t everybody’s macro”

This is a favorite expression of friend and mentor Cecil Burch of Immediate Action Combatives.

Without putting words in his mouth, my understanding is that this comment is born out of people’s tendency to view things through the lens of their own experience and use that to determine viability and validity, whether that be a technique, piece of equipment, or lifestyle choice.

This is going to be a short series on my observations of that saying’s applicability in various segments of the gun world.

I will preface this by saying that these articles are not intended as any sort of hit piece or critique of any specific individual, merely my observations having spent time in various segments of the defensive space, as well as seeing how some ideas are received by folks outside of the self defense community.

My hope is to help bridge some perceived communications gaps that result in people talking past one another, to facilitate the transfer of the best possible information in the easiest possible manner.

GUN GUY MICRO ISN’T EVERYBODY’S MACRO:

There’s different flavors of “gun guy”. You hear a lot of epithets thrown around like “Fudd”, “Timmy”, “Gamer”, and the like, but I think that Prof. David Yamane quantifies it pretty well:

You’ve got Gun Culture 1.0 where people grew up with firearms as a part of daily life as much for sport or sustenance as defense against criminal violence.

Gun Culture 2.0 are the ones that may not have been the recipient of a .22 or .410 on their 6th birthday. Their childhood exposure to firearms may have been limited to non-existent. As adults they’ve felt compelled to pursue firearms as a means of protection.

The major thing that these two groups have in common, at least to some degree, is the acceptance of firearms ownership as logical, sensible, and relatively normal.

Especially given that gun ownership at large is vilified within certain segments of society, it’s not uncommon for gun owners/carriers to socialize and associate primarily with other gun owners. The challenge is that this creates a subculture that has definitions of “normal” and “acceptable” that don’t necessarily resonate with those outside their circle.

This, in and of itself, isn’t really a problem. After all, society is made up of lots of differing viewpoints. The challenge lies in the absolute incredulity that many gun owners/carriers have that people don’t see gun ownership as normal.

This issue is further compounded by the fact that all too often, when met with opposition, the 2A community likes to drape itself in this cloak of righteousness, and simply rebut critics with uncompelling talking points like “The Constitution is my carry permit” or “Shall not be infringed!”.

While they may be technically correct, they’re tactically ineffective. Zealotry, regardless of the actual position, does nothing but polarize the issue, and make the proponents seem unreasonable/unapproachable.

If someone’s having an interaction with a person that isn’t a staunch supporter of gun ownership, labeling them as a sheep or a coward does nothing to make the armed lifestyle more appealing or relatable.

While you’re likely never going to change the mind of someone who is adamantly anti-gun, the hardline ideologies will serve to alienate people who are otherwise gun-agnostic or possibly gun-curious.

If there’s an interaction with someone who’s managed to get this far in their life without being the victim of a violent crime, or otherwise experiencing something that would drive them to gun culture, trying to bully or shame them into ignoring the past 30+ years of their experience isn’t an effective way to build allies.

I don’t carry a gun out of fear, so why try and scare others into seeing things my way?

Missed Parts 1 & 2? Read them here and here.

GalPal Upland Hunt 2022

By

Dr LateBloomer

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December 16, 2022

The bird flushed seemingly 6 feet in front of my face before choosing a direction and altitude of escape. I was somewhat startled at the proximity and flinch/ducked to let the chukar get past me, before pivoting counterclockwise to the rear and shouldering my pawnshop Mossberg. The first shot of high brass 20 gauge number six pellet hit the mark and the bird faltered.

As it fell the dogs were already speeding toward their goal, so I raised the muzzle as I shucked the action. Hmm, really? Wait, What? The next shell from the magazine had somehow gotten spun around and jammed in the receiver. Despite the best efforts of three people, it was unrecoverable in the field and thus ended my GalPal Upland Hunt for 2022. Fortunately that turned out to be the last bird anyway as no more flushed on our last fifty yard sweep with the dogs.

That Saturday at On Point Outfitters was a gorgeous fall day with blue sky, sunshine, and temps in the mid to high fifties. We couldn’t have had a better day if we had bribed The Almighty for it. It was just wonderful! To top off the weather, my pal Mim and I had a field, guide, and dogs all to ourselves due to some cancellations for the event. The other four women in our group went with their guide to another part of the property, so it was just us two for all those birds. I had a little initial trepidation as I only brought that little pawnshop 20 gauge.

But I needn’t have feared. I was so thrilled and proud of the performance that Mim and I turned in. We were whacking birds left and right! I think we only let two get away all morning. It was quite the rewarding experience and our guide called us “dead-eyes” LOL.

The event that I’m speaking of is an annual group of “GalPals” hunt organized by Ann Marie Foster of Calibered Events. I’ve lost track of how many years we’ve been doing this – maybe seven? But it is always a great weekend. We stay in a rented cabin, play boardgames, drink wine, eat food that everyone brings, hang out, enjoy the outdoors — and hunt for pheasants and chukars. I took a year off for the C-disease because I was worried about exposing everyone else in the house if I was unknowingly incubating from office exposure. But other than that I look forward to this retreat every year.

The GalPals for 2022 with just some of our birds. The rest were already cleaned.

It is so important to me to have contact with other women hunters. The support (especially when starting later in life) is invaluable. My first bird hunt ever in my life was with Ann Marie about seven years ago, and I wouldn’t have done it at all if it wasn’t a group of only women – I was that intimidated. But that feeling quickly dissipated as I was warmly welcomed into a world of laughs, learning, support, and camaraderie.

But back to my gun problem…

Remember that I took this little gun to the Ladies Shotgun Salon in the summer? Well, after I enjoyed that experience so much with this gun, I decided to take the pawnshop Mossberg 500 20 gauge youth model along for actual hunt experience. It performed beautifully all morning – from the warm-ups on the wobble trap to downing several birds on our guided hunt. It isn’t my “primary” shotgun, but I’ve still put probably 1000 rounds through this gun since I bought it, and never had a problem until that day. So it had to be a a fluke of operator error – short stroking, rapid position change, or something.

The writer warming up on the Wobble Trap

All the way home I hoped the problem could be remedied, because this little gun has become my new favorite. Although I started out on 12 gauge some ten years ago and still enjoy it very much, I love how I’m not as sore at the end of the day with the 20 gauge. Plus, upland birds don’t require quite as much oomph as say geese or 3 gun.

I have to say that I’ve become a convert to the Mossberg 500. I have several shotguns – including a couple Benellis – but I find myself gravitating toward the ones with the safety on the tang. Push button safeties force me to feel around with my trigger finger and I don’t like it one bit. I hate the idea of using my trigger finger for anything except the trigger. To me, dedicated fingers are safer because they offer fewer opportunities for motor mistakes. The index finger is for the trigger and the thumb is for the safety and “Never the Twain Shall Meet”. This is what works for me, YMMV. On top of that, I’m becoming a shuck-shuck addict. It just “feels right”. Don’t ask me to explain that, because I can’t.

When I got home I texted the friend who helped me with the rifle build a few years ago. His garage is gunsmithing heaven and he got the shell out in two minutes flat. (Yay!) Malfunction solved. I’m virtually positive it was my rapidly raising the gun while shucking that caused the backward rotation of the shell. I’ll have to take it to the range and play around some more now. But I’m glad there didn’t seem to be anything permanently wrong, because this is a fun little gun.

Despite my malfunction, this experience was another illustration for me that the shooting sports don’t need to be out of reach for the average person who wants to try. You don’t need a fancy-schmancy shotgun. I had a blast and great success with a $200 pawnshop gun, my father’s old upland vest, and of course a circle of fun gal pals! Who could ask for more?

The Army’s Lever Action Bazooka

By

Travis Pike

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December 16, 2022

Lever Action Bazooka isn’t a term I ever thought I would need to write. If you’re like me, you picture something crossed between a bazooka and a Winchester. Sadly, that’s not what the M25 Lever Action Bazooka looks like. It’s a monstrous contraption that uses an unconventional lever action design. I first came across it thanks to Osprey Publishing’s book called Bazooka. The book doesn’t have much information, but the manual for the M25 is available online and provides a bit more insight.

The M25 Bazooka was designed to help increase the Army’s anti-tank capabilities. The original Bazooka utilized 2.36-inch rockets, and the Army wanted something bigger. They moved to 3.5-inch rockets with the M20 Super Bazooka. Alongside the M20, they developed the M25 as a magazine-fed, lever-action repeating rocket launcher.

The Lever Action Bazooka

Tanks are mean, vicious creatures, and they deserve to be knocked out. Infantry tank killers are force multipliers. Firing one rocket and then reloading was a bit of a slow process. Thus a repeating option would allow multiple hits on a single target or hits on multiple targets in quick succession. Shooting a rocket is an event filled with noise, flash, and even disruption of the ground around you into a big ball of dust.

If you miss or fail to land a good killing shot, your position is revealed, and you’ve likely gained the attention of both the tank and infantry forces. In other terms, you’re gonna have a bad time. A multishot, repeating rocket launcher allowed you to engage targets rapidly, and theoretically, if an A-gunner kept you loaded, you could keep hitting a target with rockets until it was done.

That was the idea at the time. The M25 and M20 shared numerous features, including the same sights, trigger, and barrel. They both broke down into smaller components for transport purposes and shared the same 3.5-inch rockets.

The M25 Lever Action Bazooka was a tripod-mounted weapon that used a three-round, hopper-type magazine. The users could mount the magazine or even feed the weapon individually. The shooter had an operating lever that levered forward and up and then rearward and down to feed rockets. Since the entirety of the rocket left the Bazooka, there was nothing to eject.

The M25 lever action bazooka seemed like a natural extension into modern, armored warfare. After World War 2 and in Korea, tank-busting weapons were in high demand.

So What Happened?

The M25 Lever Action Bazooka was a big weapon. Part of the original charm of the M1 rocket launcher was its man-portable weight. That allowed your average grunt to kill a tank without breaking too much of a sweat. The M25 weighed a hundred pounds in total. This took it out of the man-portable category and made it a true crew-served weapon. Factor in the weight of the ammo, and this gun was effectively stationary in terms of infantry use.

Maybe it didn’t work or never occurred to the Army, but it seems like the M25 would be perfectly mounted to a Jeep with a gunner. Now your jeep has an effective armor killer and need not fear tanks as much, although maybe they preferred recoilless rifles on their jeeps. Admittedly those were more powerful but not as rapidly firing as the M25.

Another issue was that the feeding mechanism was fragile and prone to breaking. Even the manual has sections advising against rough handling. If you ever wanted an example of the disconnect between engineers and users, it’s a manual telling infantryman to be gentle with a weapon.

Somewhere around 1,500 M25 lever action bazookas were made. It’s unknown if these were ever used in Korea. It is known they weren’t around for long and were discontinued quite quickly. It’s sad because how often do you get to type lever action bazooka?

Slamfire – The Bumpfire of Shotguns

By

Travis Pike

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December 15, 2022

As a shotgun nerd, one of the more annoying aspects of being a shotgun nerd is other shotgun fans. You know the types, the birdshot for home defense, and the sound of the pump will scare them off! Those types. If you are around those types and the talk of trench guns or classic shotguns like the Model 12 or Ithaca 37 comes up, the idea of slamfire gets tossed around.

The idea is that it’s a crazy effective feature on a shotgun. Whenever I talk about modern replicas of the 1897 or Ithaca 37, someone has to come in asking, “Does It sLaMfIrE?” Most of the time, no, but slamfire is pretty stupid. Yep, I said, it’s the bump fire of pump shotguns. Like bump fire, it can be fun, but also, like bump fire, it’s practically useless.

But Slamfire in the Trenches!

The Winchester M1897 gives this mythical reputation for trench warfare. Without a doubt, it was an effective weapon for close-quarters combat. Sure, the Kaiser also protested the use of shotguns, but near the end of the war, he was protesting everything he could. The Winchester M1897 was never issued in great numbers and wasn’t a weapon that changed the course of the war.

Was slamfire used in the trenches? Probably not. It’s not a very efficient mode of operation for aimed fire. If it was used, it wasn’t an effective technique by any means. Even the Army’s manual on the M1897 states that.

“CAUTION: During these operations, the finger should remain outside the trigger guard. Reciprocation of the slide handle should be full and smart to ensure extraction of the shell, cocking of the hammer, complete locking of the breech bolt, and blocking of the action slide. Slamming of the mechanism, however, should be avoided. When the gun is being fired as a repeater, all pressure should be removed from trigger while operating.”

Why Is Slamfire Useless

What’s a major downside of shotguns? Recoil. That’s a big reason why so many people really don’t like shotguns. They recoil quite a bit, and fully powered loads require recoil control. When you slamfire a shotgun, you are giving up an important part of that recoil control. The most effective way to mitigate shotgun recoil is to use the push/pull method.

You push forward on the pump and pull rearward on the stock. This stretches the gun for lack of a better term. When you slamfire, you can never establish a good firing position or proper recoil control. Much like firing a machine pistol, you’ll be inching upward with every shot and off target more and more.

The idea behind slamfire is the same as the idea that shotguns fire a wall of lead with every shot, so the more lead you get out, the better. In reality, it’s not really any faster than a shotgun with a disconnect. I own three shotguns that can slamfire, and they don’t outperform a modern pump action like a 590A1 because they can slamfire. They actually underperform when slam firing.

It’s a lot easier to put multiple shots on one or more targets, not slam firing than it is slam firing.

Dangerous Tactics

Would you ever bump fire for home defense? No, because it’s dangerous unreliable, and hard to control. Slamfire is the same. It’s silly and fun but not effective and dangerous when you have to account for every pellet you fire.

A Harris Bipod Mod That You Didn’t Know Existed

By

Anna Martinez

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December 15, 2022

The Problem

Bipods are often about tension. Tension in the legs ensuring that they don’t collapse under the weight of the gun. Tension in the locking of the legs ensuring that they stay tall. Then, tension in the cant of the bipod ensuring that the gun stays level. Currently in the S/Swivel Series of Harris bipods there is a plastic wheel in the rear of the bipod that adjusts the tension of the swivel. Meaning, if you turn it one way, it tightens it up allowing less movement, if you loosen it it allows the gun to cant freely to each side. While the wheel has ridges for finger grip, it isn’t really ergonomically friendly, especially on the clock. In comes the locking handle.

On the left, the new swivel locking lever after a dusty gas gun match. On the right, the old style wheel. This wheel now has a larger plastic wheel that you will see on the market. The lever is still the way to go though.

The Harris Swivel Bipod Locking Handle

Instead of a wheel, the locking handle is a normal L-shaped lever that allows you to simply push it to the left or the right to adjust tension. It is cheap and easy to install and will save the shooter a lot of time and frustration.

The cheapest I have found it is on Short Action Precision’s website for $15.00 however Harris Bipods offers it and Midway USA.

This is what my current Harris BRMS 6-9 Short Swivel Bipod looks like. Due to wanting a Harris on my precision gas gun that has an IWI ARCA rail, I took off the normal clamping style Harris lock and installed the Area 419 ARCA plate, and the Swivel Lock Lever.

Installation

Tools Needed: Ratchet with 1/4in socket and a 3mm allen.

The install is very simple. It is as easy as removing a nut and replacing with an a screw.

These are the parts that will be removed and reinstalled during the lever install. Some of these parts were also removed due to installing an Area 419 ARCA plate on my Harris BRMS 6-9 Short Swivel Bipod. This wheel is the newer style tensioning wheel.

Below is a video from Short Action Precision going over the install.

Note: The video below shows the nut instead of the wheel. They are the same installation instructions though between the plastic ridged wheel and nut.

Sen. Lamar: Memphis Not Ready

By

Lars Smith

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December 15, 2022

TN Sen London Lamar (D) stands in front of her office — Photo Credit: Sen London Lamar Twitter Account

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-politics/democratic-lawmaker-wants-to-roll-back-permitless-carry-in-davidson-shelby-counties/?utm_source=t.co&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=referral

Democrat Sen. London Lamar, pictured above, announced in late November that she was introducing a bill to reinstate handgun licensing requirements in Tennessee, but oddly, only for two particular counties. Describing these enumerated counties as “…hav(ing) demonstrated that they are not ready to handle the wide free range of guns, with so many of the crime challenges and the violent crime we have had in our cities…”, she proposes that eliminating permitless carry will have a positive impact on violent crime.

Firstly, lets dispense with the obvious issue with Sen. Lamar’s proposal: Permitless carry doesn’t facilitate violent crime. People who are willing to commit homicide were never dissuaded from doing so by a gun permitting scheme. If the prospect of a felony murder charge wasn’t enough to dissuade someone from their chosen task, something tells us that an additional lesser charge for carrying unlawfully wasn’t going to tip the scales. The sooner we dispense with this fantasy that laws (and by extension law enforcement) are proactive, rather than reactive, the sooner we can address issues from the reality in which we live.

Secondly, has it occurred to no one else that Davidson and Shelby counties are home not only to Memphis and Nashville, but the majority of the People Of Color in the state? Gun control’s history is liberally leavened with paternalist racism, but it’s rarely spelled out so clearly. Sen. Lamar likely has the best of intentions, but could do with some introspection before blatantly declaring that the black people of her home state aren’t responsibly enough to be capable of legal firearm ownership. There are plenty of ways to address violent crime in urban areas without a blanket statement in the form of legislation declaring their incapacity for living within the law, and they start with investing in the communities most affected by violence, and reducing the causative factors. Guns are the symptom end of the problem, and treating symptoms may make you feel better, but it fails to address the disease.

Rethinking Shotgun Side Saddles

By

Travis Pike

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December 14, 2022

Side saddles have always been those must-have add-ons for shotguns. You need a shotgun, a white light, a sling, and a side saddle, and that’s it. Why the side saddle? Well, because shotguns are relatively low-capacity weapons. Who doesn’t want a little spare ammo on their gun? With that in mind, let’s talk about how side saddles have changed.

The traditional side saddle is a polymer design that mounts to your gun via a set of receiver bolts. Often the same bolts that hold your gun together keep the side saddle pinned onto your gun. That’s how it used to be, but it’s changing for the better.

The Age of The Bolt-On Side Saddle Is Over

Bolt-on-side saddles are no longer the only option. I’d argue they are on the way out, to be completely fair. These bolt-on ammo caddies have their issues. Using the bolts that go through the receiver of your gun creates all sorts of problems that are often the inverse of each other.

First, if you tighten the bolts too much, you can cause reliability issues, especially in semi-autos. It’s less common in pump guns but still possible. The side saddle pulls too tight on the gun and creates binding and reliability issues.

On the flip side, if the side saddle is too loose, it wants to fall off and move around as you attempt to retrieve shells. Should the thing actually depart from your gun, the bolt that holds in your trigger group is now unsecured.

This means you have to get it just right and apply Loc-Tite. That’s not necessarily asking a lot, but why not avoid the issue altogether if possible? Modern side saddles have eliminated these problems and just streamlined everything.

The New Side Saddle

Side saddles in 2022 are not a polymer but made from textiles and fall into that soft goods category. Your modern side saddle is likely made with a hard backing and soft elastic loops to hold your shells. Esstac produced some of the first high-quality elastic side saddles.

Vang Comp now produces its own soft goods side saddle that has taken the crown as what’s often considered the best option.

Ares gear makes several options, including some two-shot options, and they teamed up with Raven Concealment to create the ModulLoader option. These are attached to your shotgun via elastic and are easy to detach and even reload if you have multiple cards.

It’s important to remember that most side saddles are disposable items. Even the polymer models will wear out and lose their grip eventually. The elastic cards do the same but are easier and cheaper to replace. These side saddles are lighter and won’t reduce reliability either. Plus, the user has more control over where they sit on the receiver.

The Other Option

If you want an option that isn’t a wear or consumable item, you have to turn to Aridus Industries and the Q-DC. The Quick Detach Carrier is an over-engineered metal side saddle that has a lot of the benefits of the elastic cards.

It is a two-piece system with a detachable set of rings for ‘reloading’ the side saddle. Aridus produces a universal model, as well as a bolt-on model for the 870 and Mossberg 500 series. The universal option is the superior choice and uses a very sticky back that allows it to attach to whatever shotgun you have on hand.

This setup is quite expensive, but it is the sports car of side saddles.

Do You Even Need One?

Do you need a side saddle on your shotgun? To be honest, probably not. It’s a shotgun, and in the typical home defense encounter, you aren’t likely to empty the weapon or need to reload. Even so, if you want one, get one. It’s small, affordable, and easy to toss onto your shotgun. It won’t be a detriment to your firearm by any means.

Shotguns shouldn’t be left in the 1990s, and their recent uptick in popularity has given us some truly awesome updates to the old thunder stick.

A Blast From The Past

By

The Suited Shootist

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December 14, 2022

Back when I worked at the gun shop in ‘09 I drafted a post on social media that I hoped would serve as a primer that I could direct people to when they had questions about what gun to buy.

Looking at it 13 years later it’s aged pretty well, especially compared to some of my other opinions about guns and self preservation.

I wanted to share it in its entirety, with the relevant updates and adjustments.

Let me know what you think:

“Because I have received so many questions about this topic over the past year, I figured it was time to put down some guidelines. Between having been a firearms enthusiast (ok, fine, gun nut) since about 13 years old, and having worked in one of the country’s largest gun stores for the past year, I figured this gives me at least a limited amount of experience that can be shared with those I hold dear.

THE GUN BUYING CRITERA:

(1) SIMPLICITY: You want all operations of the weapon to be simple. The reason for this is that, ~~when under stress, you will lose a lot of your fine motor skill~~ (I’ve since learned this is not an accurate statement. For more on this seek out John Hearne’s lecture on Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why) and will not be thinking as clearly as you normally would. I have heard tell that someone experiencing an adrenaline rush is as impaired as someone who is drunk. The easier the weapon is to manipulate and operate, the less you will have to think about during that “oh shit” scenario.

NOTE: This is my main reason for disliking manual safety catches on a defensive pistol. There have been numerous instances of professionals (cops, soldiers, contractors, etc) who have drawn their side arm and attempted to fire it, only to find that they had either a) neglected to remove the safety or b) accidentally re-activated it in the process of drawing the weapon. (I don’t have any sources to substantiate this) Remember this phrase kids: SAFETIES DONT MAKE YOU SAFER. (Still true. One of my biggest issues with manual/active safeties is that it creates an artificial external locus of control in novice users. I abhor the people that insist they need a safety on a handgun “because they have kids”)

(2) RELIABILTY: I figure this one is pretty self-explanatory. The sexiest looking or most comfortable firearm on the planet ain’t gonna do you any good if it’s constantly jamming on you or won’t consistently load rounds in the first place. Some would argue that this should be the most important criterion. I disagree for this reason: If the weapon is simple, it will be easy to correct a malfunction. ANY weapon, even the most reliable will jam or misfire eventually. So if it is a more complicated system, correcting that malfunction will take more time than you may have.

(3) EASE OF MAINTENANCE: People are naturally lazy. All weapons need to be maintained. You can see this Catch 22. The easier the firearm is to maintain, and the LESS routine maintenance it requires, the better it will perform for you in the long run. Routine maintenance usually entails field stripping the weapon, removing any carbon build up and lubricating the functional parts. Sounds easy, but some folks can’t spare the 30 minutes out of their day to do it (Guns run dirty, they don’t run dry. Routine maintenance is more about replacing springs, inspecting feed lips, and making sure screws haven’t backed out/vibrated loose)

(4) PARTS AVAILABILITY AND COST: Firearms are just like any other machine. Eventually parts are going to wear out and need to be replaced. The less expensive and more readily available these parts are, the more likely it is that your weapon will be in peak operating condition. More so, if the parts are easily replaced you won’t be scared to wear them out. I know that sounds strange, but follow me here. If you train routinely with a weapon, the parts will wear faster than if it only comes out once every couple of months just to go punch paper.

NOTE: There is a huge difference between learning how to shoot a gun and learning how to fight with a gun. The level of training that it takes to become effective with a firearm for personal defense is much more involved than just going to the range once a month and shooting at a bull’s-eye. ~~True weapons training wears out factory parts much quicker than casual sport shooting.~~ (Kinda true, kinda not. The mechanics of shooting don’t really change between bullseye and gunfighting, and the other aspects don’t really involve live fire, so they don’t really contribute to wear on the gun. I still maintain that it’s much more involved to become a well rounded defensive practitioner, but not because the mechanics of “gunfighting” are any more strenuous on the gun than competition. Plus the high volume of ammo that serious competitors go through also disproves the original statement)

(5) AMMUNITION PREFERENCE: Firearms have a personality. Not only that, but each INDIVIDUAL firearm has its own personality. For example, you can pick up one make and model pistol, and it will have a certain predilection for a particular type of ammo. You can then pull the exact SAME make and model pistol from a different production run and find that that same ammo may cause the weapon to jam routinely. While this is a bit of an exaggeration, the point is that some weapons are more particular about the kind of ammunition you feed it than others. (Yes “feed it”. It’s an industry term). The less of a “picky eater” your firearm is, the easier it will be for you to find ammo that works and you won’t be as hesitant to shoot your stockpile of that one special brand your weapon actually likes.

If you notice, nowhere in these criteria was COMFORT ever mentioned. I am currently a student of the school of “just shoot the fuckin’ thing!” The philosophy being that, if you are truly committed to becoming an effective defensive shooter, you will put enough time behind the trigger to master whatever platform is available. ALSO these people who say that they can shoot one type of handgun but not another are FULL OF SHIT! That’s like saying “When I get behind the wheel of a Ford I’m a great driver, but in a Chevy I’m all over the road”. You can either shoot or you can’t. The skills of a true marksman transcend any differences between models of firearms. (I was way off base with this one…mostly. There is a huge difference between a pistol being “comfortable” and being “ergonomic”. You need to be able to reach all the controls, and be able to build the appropriate structural support around the grip of the gun. Some guns fit certain people better than others. Additionally, as your skill develops you also develop preferences. I, for example, seem to shoot better with a rolling trigger instead of one that breaks from a hard wall. People are wired differently, they think and process information differently, and they interpret stimuli differently. As such, it makes sense to try and tailor the tool to the user as long as you’re not just trying to buy skill)

Now, all this being said, most of my inexperienced friends are sitting here, having read this saying “Well that’s great. All this is good information, if you already know the characteristics of the guns”. Which is true? I’m not going to end this by saying that everyone needs to go out and only buy one gun that I recommend, and if they don’t then we are no longer friends. The truth is that having me select a gun for you is a lot like having me pick out your underwear. It’s just too personal of a decision for anyone to make but you. I will, however, offer some friendly suggestions. Mind you, all of these recommendations are going to be for handguns that CAN be used for home defense, but is primarily geared towards concealed carry:

GUNS WORTH LOOKING IN TO:

-Glock ~~26 or~~ 19

-Smith & Wesson M&P 9c

–~~Kahr 9 Series~~ (Honestly I still like these guns, but they don’t really fit the aforementioned criteria. They’re somewhat ammo sensitive, not a lot of aftermarket support, and the recoil springs are very stiff.

–~~S&W Shield~~ (I still own one, but I really feel that it’s been subplanted by the 365 series)

– HK VP9

– ~~Sig 320~~ (Jury’s out on this one. I’m hearing enough mixed reviews to remove it from my recommendations out of an abundance of caution)

– There is currently a glut of quality 9mm handguns out there, and from the major manufacturers you’ve got a higher chance of picking a good one at random than ever before.

– KelTec P32

You will note that all of these guns are 9mm. 9mm IS a good defensive caliber. You’ll hear a lot of old school guys, cops and military trash on the 9mm round because it doesn’t have enough “knock down power” or “stopping power”. Well guess what…..shot placement is far more critical than the size of your bullet. A good 9mm hollow point will generate a ~~MASSIVE~~ sufficient wound cavity. Also, the recoil is much more manageable than other calibers. This Hollywood concept of a “one-shot-stop” is almost entirely a myth. You are more than likely going to have to fire more than once to stop the threat, so you might as well have a weapon that doesn’t kick so hard that it takes you several seconds to get back on target. Also, you’ll be able to carry more rounds with a 9mm vs. larger calibers. I’ve never met anyone who has had to use a firearm to protect themselves say after the fact “I wish I had less ammo”.

The last suggested pistol is a small pocket gun. (I can’t find what I originally recommended in that category, I suspect it was the Ruger LCP. The P32 has become my preferred pocket pistol for reasons I’ve discussed in several videos.) That is for those who really don’t want to change ANY of their habits but still carry a gun. I call these people LAZY. I would rather adjust my daily behavior slightly and be able to carry a larger gun that will more than likely do a more effective job of helping me defend myself, but again this is all a matter of opinion. (This was written when I worked and lived entirely in the gun space, and interacted almost exclusively with gun people. I realized this mentality is a luxury of those folks that don’t have to interact with the public at large, or work/live/socialize in conditions where being armed is somewhere between unusual and unacceptable) You have to find what works for you.

~~All in all I hope this was helpful. Any questions can either be messaged to me directly, but I would prefer they be posted as a comment where I can reply so that everyone can benefit.~~ Feel free to DM or email me directly on this, but obviously it’s not as applicable since it’s no longer on my Facebook wall.

Stay ~~safe~~ Dangerous!

I stole this from the late Dr. William Aprill. I don’t remember the exact story, but the summary is someone told him “stay safe” and his response was “if you can’t be safe, be dangerous!”

I appreciate the delineation. Being safe is a set of behaviors. Being dangerous is a set of capabilities.

Brace Rule, the 11th Hour

By

Keith Finch

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December 14, 2022

The ATF has been said to have sent the final rule on Pistol Stabilizing Braces to the White House for approval and we could see publication as early as later this week with likely a 60 day period before implementation.

The biggest question is, does the rule die again? We’ve seen this can kicked multiple times now, and the ATF are ‘doing their best’ to comply with the administrations obvious desire to put pistols onto the NFA while the rules clearly stating otherwise, because definitions are real things. The NFA is already absurd enough as it stands without dragging and blurring the lines still further over “pistols” with scores above or below a certain threshold to make the NFA items.

The evidence suggests the NFA should be amended to remove SBRs, not at a new category of not quite an SBR but our bureaucratic nonsense put us in this mess so were going to nonsense even harder to get ourselves… well… further into the mess.

This video from Armed Attorneys is a little old compared to the current information but the speculation remains, does this rule make itself a target or does it die again and get ‘redrafted due to inputs, suggested revisions, etc.’ so that the administration can claim they’re working diligently while in reality they are spinning their wheels.

I’d put decent odds on this going away. Not better than average odds, I’d still put those on this getting into print and starting off a lawsuit chain, but decent that it gets stuck in a cycle of revisions, updates, committees, approvals, and so forth all stating they’re totally working on it and making progress.