“What are you doing? You’re gonna have a malfunction if you rest the magazine on the deck!” I wish I had a running count of how many times I heard that as a Marine. If I was running a range with a rifle instead of a machine gun, I liked to dig that magazine into the dirt. I used it as a stabilizing point for my rifle. Over and over, I heard the same variation of the popular urban myth that using a rifle magazine as a monopod will cause malfunctions.
To this day, it seems that this myth lives on. I see it in comment sections of the articles every so often. I’m surprised it’s had this kind of staying power. It was a myth still commonly spread throughout the military as of 2013, so why not?
The Magazine Monopod Myth
The magazine sticking out of your AR just naturally begs to be rested on the ground. It can be used to provide further stabilization to your shooting position. Resting the magazine on the deck turns it into a monopod. It’s a great way to squeeze out a little more stability from your gun. The myth states that doing so will cause your rifle to malfunction.
In reality, that’s not true. At least not in 2022, and since the Johnson administration. I’ve been doing it since the rifle range at boot camp. Coincidentally that’s where I first got yelled at for it. At the time, I took the PMI’s advice as gold. As I spent more time in the Marine Corps, I started to figure out that my rifle won’t malfunction when I rested the magazine on the deck.
Oddly enough, no one ever yelled at me when I rested my magazine on the windowsill of a building. I’m not the only one with this experience. Throughout the world of shooters, you’ll see a number of pro shooters, 3-gunners, and more who dig that magazine into the dirt for all the extra support possible.
There is a company called Mag-Pod that replaces the base plate of your PMAG with a little foot to make the practice even easier. I have one around here somewhere, and I’ll be the first to tell you they work fairly well.
Where the Myth Came From
If the Johnson administration was any kind of hint, this myth originates in Vietnam. Although, to be completely fair, this myth wasn’t a myth then. The first generation of M16 magazines would malfunction when used as a monopod. This was likely quite frightful for a Soldier fighting in the jungles, and the myth became part of the great mythos of the M16 and, therefore, the AR 15.
Luckily, we live in an age where the AR 15 magazine has evolved significantly. Unless you are using an extremely low-quality magazine, resting it on the ground isn’t going to be an issue. If you are already using that bad of a magazine, you likely have other issues to deal with. So slam those mags into the dirt, turn them into monopods and let it rip.
After two years of generalized chaos, and an uptick in violent crime including murder rates, leading back to 2018, 2022 is on track to see a noticeable and welcome decline in murders for the first time in those 4 years. There are plenty of speculations as to why, though the waning effects of the Covid response are high on the list. Those who weren’t up in arms over police use of force were equally upset over state and federal institutions regulating daily life, and erosion of faith and trust in institutions is a seemingly relevant point in the discussion on why people were apparently more lawless on the balance after 2020.
Public announcements by police that they were unable or unwilling to pursue many non-violent crimes is another angle with some weight to it. Whatever the cause, (likely some combination of the above and more) the numbers paint a picture of a relatively large spike in violence, particularly murder rates, which rose above 6 per 100,000 residents for the first time since the late 1990’s. Still below the early 90’s peak of 9 per 100,000, it is a welcome sign that 2022 is so far on pace to see a decline. Much was made of the murder rate increase in the media, with many furiously drawing links between the phenomenon and the much more massive spike in gun sales.
2020 was a record-setting year for NICS (National Instant Check System) background checks for gun purchases at 21 million, and, one must assume, equally large spikes in person-to-person sales that do not require the crown’s permission, which was an easy target for gun control proponents. In a world where something as complicated as crime rates can be boiled down to a single factor, this makes some sense, but that world is not the one we live in. Illustrating this perfectly are the NICS stats for the following 2 years. Gun sales continue to spike with over 38 million in 2021, and 2022 is on track for a slightly lower 31 million amidst efforts to enact a new “assault weapons” ban. Seeing these trends occur concurrently with the ongoing drop in murder rates, puts paid to the simplistic concept that “more guns=more crime”.
Tim over at MAC posted this video last week and it got my mind a churning.
One of the neatest and most useless features on a rifle is the “quick change” barrel.
The video Tim did is on take down rifles specifically, AR’s that come apart and stow. There’s even a military rifle with this exact feature set, the GAU-5A ASDW, for a reason. It stows small in a space where space is at a premium.
So why didn’t they take off in other circles?
Well, space isn’t at a premium for most of us. We aren’t strapped into a seat with all the likely survival equipment we need strapped to it too.
Hell don’t even have a serious space limit in a compact vehicle.
So if we don’t have the space limit, we have no need to stow the rifle in an awkward space saving configuration. It’s a neat trick a rifle can do, but we have zero need of it.
Like the ACR and a few rifles that featured the SUPER quick change barrels, done in seconds, especially where such features added weight and complexity, they were of zero value. It was a parlor trick that did nothing to add to what the rifle could realistically do and didn’t make it do its job better.
You aren’t going to swap an 11″ barrel with an 18″ to go into ‘Sniper Mode’ mid-contact with a hostile force. (Yep, I remember those ad days)
You make that choice before you step off based on mission profile, terrain, enemy activity, etc.
‘Quick Change’ has value at the maintenance and armorer level, it makes our jobs immensely easier by limiting the time and tools needed to change a rifle’s configuration or swap out worn parts. In the same vein, take down rifles have value in truly space limited stowage settings.
But again, no value is added to the typical user. Even the typical high volume user. The conventional fully assembled rifle has more value than the disassemblable one, as those extra stow focused pieces add complexity on parts that aren’t instead focused on accuracy and reliability. You’re giving them an extra job to do and nobody outside rando just-for-the-helluvait collectors “need” it.
So take down died in AR’s because nobody needs it. It was like making the driver seat in a vehicle stow-n-go. Cool trick, don’t need it. Now if the AR had evolved natively as a take down firearm that it might be different. But that evolution would make little sense either as it was never a requirement that US Forces needed out of the rifle. Also, the AR kinda had it already in a way, with the upper and lower. If necessary the M16 could’ve been given a case, probably about 26 inches long, that could store the upper and lower parallel. No such need arose. The niche of a fixed wing fighter pilot survival SBR is just that, niche. Cool, but niche.
GAU-5A ASDW via modernfirearms.net
Now let’s look at the GAU-5A, because I want to.
If GAU sounds familiar, it’s probably due to the several cannon that are also acronymed GAU. Gun, Automatic Unit (as best I can tell), has several units but the most famous is the A-10’s 30mm monster, the Avenger.
The GAU-5A is much less shock and awe, the 12.5″ barreled AR was designed to be stowable and effective to 200 meters. Plenty of barrel to do that.
People may wonder, why not something like a LAW Folder?
Well,
GAU-5A taken apart
Two things.
First is again stowage, removing the barrel allows for both halves to be very similar in length, where a folding stock assembly would only shorten the overall length a few inches. This way leaves both pieces around 14 inches in length and able to be strapped very securely into a small storage space. removing upper and lower would result in the same issue as a folding stock, longer pieces.
Remarkably ‘fits under seat’ sized now, isn’t it.
Second, some quick assembly required. The barrel attachment and fold into place grip are designed to be very easy to do in the field after the pilot has touched down. The Cry Havoc QRB keeps assembly at roughly the complexity of separating the upper and lower halves but creating a more evenly stowable package.
That takes us back to where the takedown AR era met no significant market headway. Nobody needed the AR to be storable in a nice squared off balanced package, except the Air Force’s fixed wing fighter pilots. Even helicopter crews could bring conventional M4’s without too much issue, some even have detachable support weapons like M240’s on hand. The Aircrew Self Defense Weapon is a best off in worst case solution. The pilot can role with an M4 peer instead of a 9mm sidearm and can be resupplied by any friendly force with 5.56, probably loaded in magazines too, in case the pilot has to be part of his or her own rescue squad shooting it out in contact.
Meanwhile, we comfortably 1st world ensconced folks merely need a case that is convenient to haul what we want where we want it. Even our ‘Bag Gun‘ systems are made with an eye on them remaining fully functional upon being grabbed. This is not a concern in the GAU-5A design as stowage is, again, a far more poignant priority.
I wouldn’t mind adding a GAU-5A clone to inventory, I think it would be cool. Midwest Industries even did a run of them awhile back, if I recall correctly. But it would be the most complicated AR in my collection and would almost certainly take a back seat to the more grab-n-go rifles, all of which are portable enough for my wants and needs.
Features need to solve actual problems, not contrived ones. Then the solutions needs to be geared towards the people who solve the problem. This is why the quick change barrels on things like the SCAR or LMT rifles are excellent features but the quick change on the AUG was omitted in the F90 series that Lithgow Arms ran. Also why the best and lightest versions of ACR omitted the quick change barrel. The quick change was at the maintainer level, where a bench and a few minutes with tools yields the desired result with proper checks and ready to be re-zeroed and sent back to work.
All the way back to the AR/M16 we can trace this, as swapping uppers is an easy thing to do, uppers stay zeroed even. But it is a readily available feature very rarely utilized because it isn’t as useful as we pretend it is.
Do I have one lower receiver and four different specialized uppers?
Of course not!
I have five AR-15’s, like a normal person.
The ability to swap/disassemble, in practical real world settings for most of us, is not a savings at all. It’s just work we don’t want to do.
A look at the Faxon Firearms Sentinel AR10 Chambered in 8.6 Blackout.
It’s all in the name…Sentinel. A Sentinel is a guard whose job it is to stand and keep watch. The Faxon Firearms Sentinel chambered in 8.6 Blackout will do just that…keep watch…overwatch that is.
The AR-15, no doubt, is America’s favorite rifle. But even America’s rifle has its limitations. The primary limitation is that it cannot handle long-action cartridges such as the 8.6 BLK.
The standard 5.56 NATO cartridge loses a lot of velocity and power at distance. To get over that hurdle, but still have the same feel of an AR-15, you’re looking at an AR10.
The AR10 has the same look and feel as the AR-15. But you can now shoot longer action cartridges such as the 8.6 BLK, 308 WIN, and 6.5 Creedmoor.
The Sentinel 8.6 BLK, part of Faxon’s Summit Line of firearms, boasts a billet aluminum receiver set, G3 Aluminum Streamline M-LOK Handguard, new 8.6 BLK MuzzLok Muzzle Device, and the impressive 1:3 twist Big Gunner Profile Barrel. The Faxon Sentinel is also backed by Faxon’s Lifetime Guarantee.
Faxon Sentinel 16″ 8.6 Blackout AR-10 Rifle with a scope.
Weight and Dimensions
Weight: 9.33 lbs
Length: 36″
Depth: 7.5″
Width: 2″
The Faxon Sentinel AR10 rifle and AR10 pistol configurations are the best of the best in their particular niches and are perfect if you find yourself needing to hit something further out with some devastating kinetic energy.
Over the weekend, if you had typed “PHLster” into the Bing search engine, you would have seen what’s pictured in the photo above. The top result is, what appears to be PHLster’s landing page, with subheadings dedicated to the various products and information PHLster offers. However if you were to click, or simply look somewhat closer, you’d notice that this is not a link to PHLster’s site, but a slick, if subversive marketing ploy.
The top result is in fact a link to WeThePeople Holsters; a popular, if lower tier, maker of decidedly okay holsters whose primary feature is that they come in nearly any make/model of handgun, and are comparatively affordable. Options abound, so long as you’re looking for patriotic prints, rather than quality steel belt clips, wings, wedges, or any physical upgrade to the typical mass-produced kydex offerings beyond cosmetics. For 3x the price of the base model, you can get an even bigger model that you can turn into a sidecar with an included mag carrier. The hardware is still kydex, though along with the notoriously terrible FOMI clips, you get a pair of tuckable kydex clips that will probably have the same problems with plasticity (bending without returning to their original shape) that the FOMI has.
I’m a warm-blooded creature, so I’m not a lawyer, and while this doesn’t seem to be illegal it’s certainly a significant step away from any marketing best-practices I’ve ever been made aware of. Using SEO to generate search engine hits with a competitor’s keywords isn’t really uncommon, let alone actionable, but using a competitor’s brand name to generate a misleading link that a reasonable person might believe is actually that competitor’s site is… well, I suppose we’ll find out what it is, but for now let’s go with “Misleading, possibly unethical, and definitely subversive marketing”.
I’ve never used a WeThePeople holster, mainly for the lack of ergonomics, comfort or concealment-focused shapes or structures, the fact that I’d have to buy DCC clips or something else to replace the godawful FOMI, and the general “Top of the line for 2010” vibe their products generate in me and those I train with. Their products never inspired me to want to save $20-40 over a much higher-end product from Dark Star, Henry Holsters, PHLster, or others who have led the field in the last several years, but I can 100% understand where the appeal lies for many. It’s cheap, it’s got prime shipping available, and there’s one that fits your gun no matter how oddball or derp it happens to be.
I can’t make a financial call like that for you, or anyone else, but I will point out misleading and borderline unethical marketing practices when they’re brought to my attention, and suggest you leaven your enthusiasm for the cheaper end of the scale when such things present themselves. Good people can certainly make bad decisions, and how they handle this situation if it truly rises to the level of public scrutiny, will inform a lot of how I and others will feel about the situation. Regardless of this particular instance, keep your eyes peeled and make sure you’re actually getting what you’re looking for, especially when it comes to equipment that you’re betting your life on, because subversive marketing practices are generally just the tip of the iceberg.
I imagine the feeling of bolt locking to the rear amid a gunfight is one of the more terrifying things that could happen. Suddenly going from bang to out of ammo doesn’t sound appealing. This is why we practice the emergency reload and also why we try to avoid the emergency reload where much as possible.
When the bolt on a AR-15 locks to the rear, you have two ways to send it home. Work the charging handle or hit the bolt release. The charging handle is slow and requires a lot of moving, so the bolt release works best when speed is an issue. That sounds simple, but this is the gun world. We like making simple things complicated. This brings us to the subject of today’s article, do you slap the bolt release or thumb press it?
It seems like a simple question, and ultimately, the right answer is, does it really matter? If you can rapidly reload and get back into the fight, no one cares about how you send the bolt home. Yet, it’s become one of those dumb gun debates that seem to permeate the industry. Most of the time, the answer is to use what works and that can be applied here. However, this is one of the times where one method might be a slight bit better than another.
The Reload – Push vs. Slap
When I grew up on the AR, we slapped that bolt release like it owed us money. Blame it on the state of tactical firearms training in 2008 and the fact that I played Counter-Strike a bit too much. The doctrine of the Marine Corps was to toss the magazine in and slap the hell out of the bolt release. It worked, and that was just how we did things. I did so many reload drills that I still want to slap that bolt release instinctively.
That being said, is the slap better than just pushing the ping pong paddle and calling it a reload? Some people like to talk about fine motor skills and how you won’t be able to use them in a gunfight. This ignores that basically, everything you do is a fine motor skill, including pulling the trigger. While I don’t buy the fine motor skill excuse, I will say it takes a little more technique to work a proper push button bolt release.
If I had to train a massive class of 18 to 20-year-old fresh Marines how to reload, I might teach them the slap too. It’s easy, quick, and provides a simple, tactile method to get the gun back into action. Put mag in, slap the paddle, and keep shooting. It doesn’t require much instruction or time to master.
With that said, the push-button style is more accurate and reliable. The slap method opens you up to miss, especially when the fat part of your palm misses and the arch of your hand lands right over the paddle. A proper push-the-paddle method ensures total accuracy.
Pushing the Paddle
The technique I’ve been taught and found to work best was the use of proper hand positioning on the magazine as I reloaded. When I grip the magazine, I keep my thumb facing upwards and towards the ammunition. I keep my thumb here, and as the magazine makes its way into the magazine well, my thumb finds the release, and I hit it.
Getting the hand positioning down and being able to quickly find the bolt release takes a little practice, but only a little. More practice than just learning to slap the hell out of the bolt release, but to me, it’s well worth the time it takes to learn the technique.
Rocking and Rolling
Ultimately it’s not likely to matter precisely how you reload so much as that you do reload. If you can do it quickly and easily, then that’s goal one accomplished. I do think that the push method is the better method, but that’s just me. Alternatively, you could get a PDQ bolt release and call it a day.
Anyone who has even a passing interest in armed self-defense has likely heard an instructor, gun counter prophet, friend, lawyer, or even a cop speak on the subject of “What do I say after a shooting?” . They usually recommend never to speak to police immediately following a use of force incident. Their reasoning likely revolves around real world evidence, or reasonable conjecture surrounding the fallibility of the human memory, especially on the way downhill from an adrenaline dump. Greg from Active Response Training goes into detail on it in the link above, but the jist of it is that it is indeed the best course of action, until it’s not.
Supporting evidence suggests that your composure, recall, physical function and general state of mind are going to be unusually altered by the experience of having shot, or at least shot at, someone who you genuinely believed was attempting to end you. This is a chemical/hormonal response that you have no control over, and cannot “power through” or otherwise intentionally defuse. As explained in excruciating detail here, a perceived threat to life produces the same stress response in all mammals.
The first stage of which is relevant to our discussion, which breaks down mainly to the adrenal gland dropping a massive load of Glucocorticoid hormones (GCs) into your blood, where they can get into every part of you. “Circulating GCs act on a variety of tissues to mobilize energy stores, induce lipolysis and proteolysis, potentiate vasoconstriction driven by the ANS, suppress reproduction, and alter stress-related behaviors, to allow homeostasis”. This means that you
-Start cannibalizing any stored fat and protein, as well as available sugar, for immediate energy -Crank your blood pressure to ensure constant oxygen supply to any cells that will be needed for fighting or flighting -Kill the lights in the baby factory -Get twitchy and stop processing information the same way.
What we mean by that last one is that normally, information about the outside world gets sent to your neocortex “the thinking brain”, which processes it and decides what to do about it. After which it passes it along to the amygdala “the emotional brain”, which decides how you feel about it. The amygdala might make you go “awww” or “WTF” depending on the particular input. Under the influence of GC’s, your amygdala and neocortex get the data at the same time, and being the emotional one, the amygdala will kick the neocortex out of the decision-making process entirely if it decides you’re about to get shot.
This means that you can make extraordinarily fast decisions, and react much faster than usual, but that’s mainly because you aren’t actually thinking: You’re doing whatever the totality of your life experience and training suggests to your emotional brain that you should do. For added fun, the neocortex is also responsible for cognition, spatial reasoning, sensory perception, and language. So until the full cycle of keep-me-alive-drugs has passed through you, which can take up to half an hour, you’re basically high, and should consider yourself impaired when it comes to making a decision about what to say to who during that time.
Now, with all that said, if there is a critical component to the articulable threat to your life, it may be worth the risk of relaying it to the officers on-scene. Has the environment changed dramatically somehow that might make your decision seem unreasonable? Maybe an accomplice rolled his buddy over before taking the gun and running, making it look like you shot an unarmed person in the back? Certainly that would be likely to come out in court, but who wants to go to court? That might be an unlikely scenario, but so is getting into a gunfight in the first place.
Most importantly, if the first time you’re wondering whether you should hold your tongue is in the moment, while you’re flying high on your brain’s own Peruvian marching powder, you’re going to be worse off for it. Think about these things now, talk about them with friends, train with qualified instructors, and read great write-ups from experienced people like Greg. If you do that, when you find yourself stoned on survival and faced with making the choice to talk without representation, you’ll have an advantage in making the right call.
[Ed: This was first published July 19 in SCOPE-NY’s‘Briefings’ as“New York — New York Laws.”These provisions are surely unconstitutional but that’s beside the point to New York’s all Democrat government.]
In three 2nd Amendment cases (D.C. v Heller, McDonald v Chicago, NYSRPA v Bruen) the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has repeatedly stated that the purpose of the 2nd Amendment is self-defense.
In her abyss of wisdom, unelected Governor Kathy Hochul disagreed with SCOTUS and the constitutionally protected right of self-defense, so she called an emergency session of the NY legislature to pass quickly-developed, poorly thought-out laws under a “Finding of Necessity” – which is only supposed to be used for true emergencies.
Actually, these laws are only poorly thought out if you believe their purpose was to protect NY citizens. If you believe their purpose was to destroy the 2nd Amendment, then they were smart…UNconstitutional…but smart.
New York’s legislature and its governor declared war on self-defense and the U.S. Constitution. Do Hochul and her Democrat counterparts care that much of the laws passed violate the three SCOTUS decisions referenced? They will care only if it costs them victory in the next election. That is the only action to punish Hochul and her friends that believers in the U.S. Constitution have available. Sue the Democrat leadership or Hochul and New York State defends them on the taxpayers’ dime. If Hochul and company lose, NY State pays the damages and Hochul and company continue in office.
Since they are effectively immunized from any retaliation except by the vote, Hochul and company are free to fight to neuter-the-2nd-Amendment . They are attacking on many fronts under their newly passed laws.
Make the financial cost of a gun too expensive for most people:
The new laws require 16 hours of training including 2 hours of live firewith proficiency standards. Estimates vary but figure on $400 for the training plus ammunition. Already a concealed carry permit holder? You will also have to complete this course.
Most will probably have to take time off from work to fulfill these bureaucratic’ requirements.
The requirements to be a trainer have yet to be established but – let’s go out on a limb and say that – NRA instructors need not apply.
“No person shall store or otherwise leave a rifle, shotgun, or firearm out of his or her immediate possession or control inside a vehicle without first removing the ammunition from and securely locking such rifle, shotgun, or firearm in an appropriate safe storage depository out of sight from outside of the vehicle.”
If you leave your gun in your car, it must be in a safe storage container and out of sight. Costs start at $150 and go up.
You must use a “safe storage depository” with a key, keypad, or some other locking mechanism. Retrieve the gun in a timely fashion in an emergency? Not likely.
Keep the stored gun out of sight? What if the gun is a rifle or shotgun? Not so easy and maybe impossible.
Microstamping will be required, even though it is ineffective and easily defeated by criminals. But it will add to the cost of the gun
Note: there are numerous other proposed laws to add to the cost of owning a firearm such as an $800 yearly liability insurance premium and a 1,000% tax on firearm sales! So much for self-defense being practiced by the poor.
Make the licensing process so bureaucratic that applicants will not try:
Licensing now requires an in-person interview with the licensing officer. Who is the licensing officer? Sheriff? Judge? Licensing clerk? NY State Trooper? Whoever it is, expect that they will work nights and weekends to make things easy for the applicant. (Sarcasm intended.)
“Four (4) character references who can attest to the applicant’s good moral character and that such applicant has not engaged in any acts, or made any statements that suggest they are likely to engage in conduct that would result in harm to themselves or others.”
Who will be willing to attest (not saying “to the best of their knowledge”) about every act or statement you may have made? And if you should happen to commit a crime at some later date, can these people be sued by the victim?
Recertify every 3 years instead of the current 5 years.
A list of all social media accounts for the last three years and “…such other information requested by the licensing officer that is reasonably necessary”. An anti-2A interviewer would never dream of jumping into an opening like “…such other information” in order to legally harass you. (Sarcasm again intended.)
A misdemeanor driving while intoxicated conviction within the last 5 years may not cost you your driver’s license but it will cost you your firearms permit. Apparently, Hochul believes it is better to run over people than shoot them.
A license is now required to purchase or take possession of a semi-automatic rifle and you must be 21 years of age. However, if you are not 21, you can still vote, have an abortion and decide to change your gender.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
Drive retailers out of business so fewer legal places exists to buy a firearm in NY while driving up prices in gun stores that remain open:
“…firearms, rifles and shotguns shall be secured, other than during business hours, in a locked fireproof safe or vault on the dealer’s business premises or in a secured and locked area on the dealer’s business premises.”
The dealer must remove dozens of firearms from display and store them in some secure area every night and then put them back on display in the morning. (Will this encourage retailers to stay open 24/7/365 as a cheaper alternative?)
“…ammunition shall be stored separately from firearms, rifles and shotguns and out of reach of customers.”
Another separate nightly secured storage area for ammo? During store hours, add another clerk to wait on customers who formerly waited on themselves.
“The dealer’s business premises shall be secured by a security alarm system that is installed and maintained by a security alarm operator properly licensed pursuant to article six-D of this chapter.”
Add several thousand per year extra costs for this but…a windfall profit for security system operators. (Is it possible there was some greasing-of-palms to get this included? Nah. Never in New York. [Sarcasm intended again.])
And after the firearms dealers invest thousands to meet these requirements, NYS will now start inspecting their paperwork along with BATFE. Dealers can lose their license over a minor paperwork error or a clerk’s unintended mistake. Thousands of dollars and a business at risk over a minor paperwork error.
“The Gun Writer” reports that in the years before the Biden-Harris administration took over the White House, the ATF usually revoked an average of 40 Federal Firearm Licenses per year. But, in the 18 months since Joe Biden declared war on “rogue gun dealers,” the ATF has revoked 273 FFLs.
Free speech used to include the right to be silent.
Per NYS: A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in a restricted location when such person possesses a firearm, rifle, or shotgun and enters into or remains on or in private property where such person knows or reasonably should know that the owner or lessee of such property has not permitted such possession by clear and conspicuous signage indicating that the carrying of firearms, rifles, or shotguns on their property is permitted or has otherwise given express consent.
All private property in New York is now a gun free zone. Private property owners must now affirmatively declare firearms are welcome in order to NOT be a gun free zone. Firearm possession on that private property is a class E felony. The NYSRPA decision specifically addressed this and Hochul and company just spit in SCOTUS’ eye and dared them to do something.
This put non gun retailers in the middle of something not of their choosing, when they only want to sell their product. If a retailer posts a pro-2A sign, they may anger the anti-2A element. Not post a sign, and gun owners may be angry.
The Gun Clubs will now have to post a sign that guns are welcome or members have committed a crime by bringing a gun to the gun club.
Also included is a long list of areas that are specifically labelled gun free zones. For instance, the NY City subway system is filled with crime, including violent assaults. But everyone, including the elderly and women, will just have to take the beating and then testify later in court – if they dare and are still alive
Have any of these geniuses in Albany noted that shootings happen in gun free zones?
You are a felon and don’t know it:
An old business saying is, “Don’t think of it as a problem, think of it as an opportunity.”
Violate most of these new laws and you become a criminal, probably a class E felon. The “opportunity” to become a felon might discourage one from getting a firearm, since there are now so many “opportunities”.
I am a left handed pistol shooter who also enjoys shooting and carrying certain firearms that happen to lack decent holster availability. It’s even more challenging as a left handed AIWB holster choices are also more constraining than right handed ones.
Enter the PHLster Floodlight.
I’ve put a decent amount of 9mm ammo through a couple of Brigadier slide topped Beretta 92 handguns I have owned for some time now. I got my first one, a 92G-SD from the 2014 production run, within the year they became available. I used my Beretta 92G-SD to start shooting more seriously when I decided I wanted more out of life than merely turning money into noise vis-a-vis my actual shooting skills.
The problem with Brigadier slides on Beretta 92s is that they have a slightly thicker overall width since their whole purpose is having a beefier and more robust slide. (They do, at least, have with dovetails cut for front and rear sights)! Holster selection for these pistols has always been somewhat of a challenge as most Beretta 92 holsters are designed around the standard with FS/G/D/Vertec aka “normal” slide. Frankly, during this time I started carrying Glocks out of sheer practicality and the fact that holster selection is more manageable for left handed shooters.
I am aware that there are a few decent made to order Beretta 92 Brig thickness left handed AIWB holsters available. (Shoutout to JMCK)! But between the heat, humidity, and the fact that they weigh less, I have been quite happy just carrying full size 9mm Glocks. And I still do especially as I don’t want to rust up any of my nice pizza guns.
Due to past employment involving driving thousands of miles of roads and highways across the American West, where it gets pitch black and desolate after sundown, I impulse bought a Surefire X300-U 1000 lumen weapon light to take with me on the road. I also ordered the PHLster Floodlight holster as I now needed a light bearing holster and my interest was piqued when I learned these were universal. I was not sure what to expect at the time but I loved, on principle, that this holster was designed to be fully ambidextrous from the start.
Companions of the road Just add lawyers
The PHLster Floodlight is a fully ambidextrous universal light bearing AIWB holster; it is designed to “grab” the weapon light affixed to a pistol’s accessory rail directly. It never touches the pistol. Versions for various weapon lights such as Streamlight TLRs, Surefire X-300Us, or Modlite PL350s are available. Its construction allows it to accommodate virtually any traditionally designed handgun. I think I’ve even seen someone use a Floodlight with their USP 45 on social media.
Remember the part where I said I had a job that involved driving basically all of the Western Eleven? It wasn’t before long that the Floodlight rode with me throughout all of these trips and I really came to appreciate not only how comfortable it was (since it is a relatively large holster), but also how concealable it truly can be in spite of its size. According to my personal experience concerning appendix carry, I think this particular holster carries very flat against the body. I have worn it for hours on end to the point where it came to feel like an extension of my body.
The longest I had carried with it continuously was about 32 hours—until I was able to stop sleeping in the truck and find lodging in a hotel room in eastern Idaho. I wasn’t only driving while carrying either, as I’ve also done a decent amount of physical labor while wearing it. It will easily stay in place which is one of the biggest concerns of any good concealment holster. I was initially worried about how “loose” it felt when reholstering a pistol because I am used to very “clicky” holsters. However, between the end-user rubber spacers and the bungee cord system it has, it has never caused me issues and there is obviously enough friction acting upon the body of the weapon light. It just took some getting used to not expecting the “click.”
As with other similar holsters that utilize hardware fasteners, it is important to tighten them down and inspect all hardware for looseness or rust. I have always carried mine with the soft loops it shipped with, but many carriers like to use DCC clips or other means of connecting their belt. Because of who PHLster are as a company, if you visit their website, they provide ample documentation and instructions for their products.
A selfie I took the day I wore my Floodlight for the first time. I was carrying a Glock 34.
Here’s the real sales pitch for the Floodlight as far as I am concerned: this holster is not only fully ambidextrous, but if you already have a compatible weapon light, that light can be your “key” to carry any pistol with an accessory rail by also saving you the money since you won’t need to buy an extra holster. Sometimes if I am out shooting with friends and I want to try their pistol, I’ll just pop the Surefire light on it and then holster it in my Floodlight. I can see what it feels like to shoot and draw that gun from the holster which is honestly pretty cool. And I won’t lie that perhaps I am enthusiastic about it to the extent I am because the Floodlight becomes even more convenient when you are left handed and enjoy shooting and carrying less mainstream handguns. I am saying this as someone who has had to adapt their wrong handedness to firearms since day one.
And back to the Beretta Brig issue I had—since I literally do everything with this holster, from EDC to going to USPSA matches (more so that AIWB and WMLs are now allowed), I just pass weapon lights and pistols around and holster up as needed. Guns like my 92-GSD, Brigadier Tactical, or 92X Performance all have accessory rails, so naturally I shoot my stages while relying on the Floodlight to get me through the match day. I understand that I will not have the competitive advantage shooting from concealment and with concealment gear as opposed to a properly set up gaming rig, but that is not the fault of the holster. In short, while carrying with it “hard”, and playing with it “hard” I have found that this truly is a modern solution to this modern problem of mine.
You gotta love modern solutions!
Since the time I purchased my holster, PHLster has also released an outside the waistband belt holster version of the Floodlight. I want to clarify that my thoughts are solely regarding the original appendix concealment Floodlight as I haven’t had a chance to try the latter.
Editor’s Note: I have the OWB Floodlight and it rocks too.
The only ‘problem’ I stumbled across was with a P320 (a very tall pistol) and using an X300U-A. The A model’s use a rear tensioner that tightens and tilts the light body against the pistol’s rail, the B models using a more normal lateral clamp to the light rail and keep the light. With the A model on the P320 the angle that I had induced to keep the light tight was too great to allow holstering/unholstering. I didn’t catch the problem at first and instead set the tension in the OWB Floodlight to almost nothing, while running the P320 decided it was escape time and I left it in the grass between two VTAC barricades. After that little problem I dug into why, discovered the angle/tensioner issue combined with the 320’s slide height/size, bought a B model X300U instead, and it’s back to working as designed.
A models will work in the OWB Floodlight on other pistols, like the above mentioned 92’s, because they have shorter slide heights. If you have a P320, get a B model.
The Marine Corps is full of a bunch of dudes who love gear. I’ve never seen bigger, often impractical knives mounted to gear than a boot infantryman. When we deployed to Afghanistan, there was seemingly at least one Gerber Gator Jr per platoon, if not more. Have been the hottest selling item at the Seven Day Store. Everyone had them, and believe it or not; they proved to be incredibly handy.
As Marines, our institutional knowledge was all about fighting in urban environments in vehicle-borne patrols. In Afghanistan, we rode the shoelace express and lived in what was essentially the 1800s with machine guns and IEDs.
In the cold months, we made fires, and oftentimes we cooked over those same fires. Tree lines hid Taliban fighters, so we’d often clear the brush in these tree lines to deny the enemy concealment.
If we didn’t have those Gerber Gator Jrs, life would have been a fair bit tougher. I can only imagine mounting bayonets to clear brush. After that deployment, I was a believer, and when I saw a Gerber Gator Jr sale at my local Academy, I snagged it for old time’s sake.
Breaking the Gerber Gator Jr.
I didn’t carry a Gerber Gator Jr. or any machete. In fact, all I carried was a pocket knife. In my defense, I was already hauling around a belt-fed machine gun, and more ammo than all the riflemen in my squad put together. Weight was the last thing I needed, but we all took turns wielding the machetes when it came time to work. Picking up the Gerber Gator Jr. was a bit of a flashback to simpler times.
The Gerber Gator comes in the standard size, and the Jr. The Jr features a daily short 10-inch blade with an overall length of 18.75 inches and a weight of 14.3 ounces. The blade is stout, with a big rounded belly of a blade you’d expect from a machete. It’s not too heavy, and the handle is fairly large for the short blade. At the end of the blade sits an integrated handguard that is a natural extension of the grip itself.
The Gator, in the name, most likely refers to the massive saw sitting across the back of the blade. The saw blade is almost the exact same length as the rest of the blade and packs a serious bite to it. It’s a sharp saw.
Chopping Away With the Gerber Gator
I live in Northwest Florida, and it’s basically a jungle out here. It’s a constant battle to fight against the jungle that’s always encroaching on whatever bit of property you have. Summer means I’ve been hustling, trying to keep the jungle down on both my property and the property I recently purchased.
With the Gerber Gator in hand, I’ve chopped, split, and cut my way through weeds, often at knee height. I’ve sliced through the small oak saplings, vines, and more to win my fight against nature or to at least come to a draw. The Gerber Gator absolutely chews through materials that are both thick and thin. The blade is impressively capable, and even light slices deal serious damage to both the thin and thick brush.
The handle is nice and comfy with a soft grip that’s highly textured and easy to grip. It stays put even when my hands are nearly dripping with sweat. The thick and soft nature of the handle prevents it from causing blisters or hot spots even during the longest day of work.
The saw blade on the back of the Gerber Gator really digs into thicker materials and cuts through them fairly quickly. I had some trees getting a bit long in the tooth, and after climbing a ladder, I was able to cut through four branches between two and three inches thick without much difficulty. Admittedly a gas-powered pole saw made faster work of the rest of the limbs, but the Gerber Gator was as good as I remembered it.
Small Size Big Bite
The Gerber Gator Jr. is paint sized machete that borders on just being a big knife. However, the little Gator packs a big bit. The small size was a big reason why the little guy was so popular with Marines in 2009. It could be strapped to your flak and pack and not take up much room.
The Gerber Gator Jr. is a pint-sized powerhouse that chops, slices, and cuts through your typical yard debris. If I had to go to the Colombian jungle to fight a Predator, I’d take a Gerber Gator with me.
I have always been fascinated by firearms; their history, the way they work, and the way they look. During my middle school years, I remember the first laptop my mother gifted for my 8th grade school year. This was right around the time Web 2.0 was starting to get traction and we were seeing more sophisticated websites and front-end DOM features, but for me this was my first time getting to know the Internet on a personal level.
With the intense level of curiosity that I still possess, that laptop truly felt like a window into the greater world. I certainly made no haste in using my access to the Internet to satisfy my rampant and natural curiosity about firearms. I remember back in those days when I literally knew nothing about the topic, that any informative video on the then up-and-coming YouTube website or any article evoked a feeling that a bespectacled scholar would probably experience upon finally seeing some long lost manuscript that held the glue to the theory of his life’s work.
Mr. Maxim Popenker holding an AS Val suppressed assault rifle chambered in 9x39mm Soviet. image credit: modernfirearms.net
In those days in particular, I fondly remember the website “worldguns.ru” which is now called www.modernfirearms.net. This website is curated by Maxim Popenker and in those days it truly felt like a treasured personal encyclopedic collection of information. Through Mr. Popenker’s work I was able to establish my foundational knowledge of actual firearms that existed in the real world, especially with regards to XXth century designs. What I especially enjoyed about Mr. Popenker’s website is that he not only covered his bases with regards to Western firearms, but at the time it felt like his site was the only place for information about esoteric or lesser known Soviet and Russian designs beyond the AKM assault rifle or PK machine gun. Being exposed to prototypical weapons such as the Korobov TKB-022PM experimental bullpup assault rifle or all of those carbines chambered for 9x39mm cartridges (like the AS Val or the 9A-91) felt like seeing that strange marine life that lives in the deep darkness of the greatest depths of the ocean—where things just work differently.
Soviet bullpup rifle prototype by German Korobov. This is a TKB-022PM chambered in 7.62x39mm Soviet. Its bakelite shell design makes it very distinctive amongst any experimental rifles of the 20th century. image credit: modernfirearms.net
Admittedly I have not visited Mr. Popenker’s website as often as I used to, but it’s nice to see that the website is still up and active and has grown since those halcyon days of my first forays into firearms discovery.
I’ll go ahead and give you guys the bottom line up front, and most dumb debates come down to a simple answer. Use what works. There are right ways and wrong ways, to be sure. When there are multiple right ways, it typically comes down to what the situation requires. Engage the six inches between your ears. When it comes to ready positions, the two that are dominant are high ready and low ready. These are also high port and low port/entry ready. It all boils down the place the gun points when your moving, not shooting.
Both are valid, and can both can be used effectively. Some situations allow one to clearly make sense over another, but it’s tough to say one is objectively better than the other. Today we are going to dive into the world of the ready positions debate and dissect the two. Sometimes this debate comes down to an almost Army vs. Navy thing.
The Army prefers the low position, while SEAL teams have always been high port fans. As a Marine, I guess I got to experience a bit of both. There was plenty of training with both positions. A Staff NCO once said something to the effect of “Low port on helicopters and high port on boats, boys.” The Marine Corps, at least the east coast Marines, preferred to be positionally agnostic.
Low Ready/Alert/Entry Ready Points
The a low ready, or Marines often called it ‘Alert’ too, has a number of strengths, and for an infantryman, the first will be comfort. It takes a lot less effort to hold the weapon in a low position or something close to a low ready for a 10-klick patrol.
In an open patrol status, the low ready also helps prevent flagging as you cross uneven terrain. If someone climbs a hill or wall in front of you, they aren’t going to put themselves in front of your muzzle. When the weapon sits in the low port, a shooter has a full field of view and doesn’t have their weapon obscuring part of their FOV.
We’re talking about every variation of the muzzle down positions here, but whatever names you’ve heard them.
Your rifle is less likely to snag or bounce off something slightly above you in the low ready. As a tall dude, I can barely avoid smashing my head in short doorways. I doubt I’ll always be conscious of how high my muzzle is, especially in a wooded environment where the ceiling changes every step.
High Ready Points
High-ready makes a lot of sense in several contexts, CQB especially. When clearing rooms, a high ready position makes a lot of sense. In a stack, it’s a lot easier to keep your weapon from pointing at your buddy if it’s up and away instead of awkwardly downward angled away from his feet, your feet, and all the other feet close together.
When you come into a room, it’s easy to bounce from high ready to ready with a quick movement. There is no need to sweep an entire gun upwards and against gravity. A high position allows you to drop the gun into a shooting position that is pointing at the general lethal area of an opponent IE their head and chest, very easily.
In a close-quarters fight, it’s easy to bring the gun down for a quick muzzle strike to dissuade a grab. It’s also easier to run with a rifle in a high position without flagging another person.
It’s easier to move in general with the muzzle high and the stock trapped under arm. It also allows you to use your support hand for all the things you might need it for from turning a doorknob to grabbing onto someone.
Be Positionally Agnostic
There are plenty of situations where a high ready and low ready can be used interchangeably. Other situations dictate how the situation is unfolding. For example, what if you are dealing with stairs? If you are going up, then high ready is the way to go. If you are going downstairs, then low ready makes sense.
I would avoid getting too wrapped up in which position is ultimately better. Figure out which position works best for whatever situation is ahead of you. The best way to learn is to obviously train and always keep an open mind.
Institutions have a tendency to hamstring a single position without much context, unfortunately. Be aware of this also that just because _______ organization made you always use low ready so your muzzle would never be higher than the berm, that was an administrative call for safety and not a tactic.
A collection of popular, dirt cheap, barely functional 3D printed guns were turned into a Houston gun buyback over the weekend. Reports differ on what was offered for each gun, but between $50-150 was offered, depending on whether the agency running the event deemed them “functional” or not.
Whatever the price tag per unit, the manufacturer with a box of extruded filament and balls of solid brass, walked away with thousands of dollars of Houston police budget, and likely an impressive sense of satisfaction. Rarely has anyone so thoroughly warped the intention of pointless anti-gun showmanship as this man.
We all have probably heard of people doing this to some extent in the past. A decade ago, a group put the word out for broken, non-functional guns, and even BB guns nobody in their community wanted, drove to Chicago, and exchanged them for cash at the “Don’t Kill A Dream, Save A Life” event. What made that story extra spicy was that the funds extracted from Chicago PD were then turned around to buy new, functional guns for an NRA shooting camp for children.
Whether it’s BB guns or barely functional plastic “guns”, this seems to be a theme that’s catching on, likely to the chagrin of those organizing such clown shows. This of course, is really just the consequences of the poorly thought out and executed concept that is the “buyback”. Even the name doesn’t make sense, as you can’t buy “back” something you never owned in the first place. If you have the means to take advantage of this “loophole” you might want to get moving on that before regulators and police agencies catch on and close up this “loophole”, though how they’ll manage that without acknowledging that how the ATF classifies guns… we can’t imagine.
About the International Precision Rifle Federation (IPRF)
https://www.precisionrifle.org/
Most Recent Press Release:
FOR RELEASE ON FRIDAY THE 29th OF JANUARY 2021
[Dublin, Ireland – 27 January 2021]
The International Precision Rifle Federation (IPRF) was established to create a nationally constituted world precision rifle sport body with the aim of building uniform, international rules and regulations to lay a level playing field for internationally recognised Precision Rifle competition.
The IPRF is excited to announce the inaugural Precision Rifle World Championships to be held in Europe from 14 to 17 July 2022. (date has changed) This event will see the world’s leading precision rifle athletes from more than 12 countries competing against each other in what will ultimately become the pinnacle of precision rifle competition worldwide…..
The Championship format will incorporate a team and an individual event with four different divisions – Open, Limited, Factory and Classic. The Open Division is further split into five sub-categories – Men’s Open, Ladies’ Open, Junior Open (18yo and under), Senior Open (55yo and over) and MilLEO Open (Individuals on Active Military or Law Enforcement duty). This brings up to 32 athletes from each country to compete for team and individual championships.
Currently the IPRF is constituted by 12 nations (Australia, Canada, Czech, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Namibia, Norway, South African, Spain, Sweden, United States), who have all committed to establishing a national democratically constituted sports association within each of their countries to continue to develop the sport of precision rifle. Many more countries are expected to join in the months leading up to the Precision Rifle World Championships.
“You only have to look at IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation) and its growth from a fledgling organisation in the late 70’s to the dominant international organisation it is today with more than 100 regions. It’s exciting to be at the start of a world precision rifle federation that we hope will follow the same path.” says Grant Anderson Vice-Chairman of PRS South Africa. “
The International Precision Rifle (IPRF) was founded in late 2019 and aims to unify the sport of precision rifle worldwide and set international standards for competition enabling a level playing field at Regional and World Championship levels. Scott Satterlee is the organisation’s first president and was elected to this position at the organisation’s first meeting in Ireland. Scott needs little introduction and is well known among precision shooters and is a leading competitor in both NRL and PRS competition in the US. Scott is backed up by vice-president Rob Ramsden (RSA), secretary Tiff Dew (GBR), treasurer Michael Ward (IRE) and 2 representatives from each of the affiliated national precision rifle association“
To Qualify
Each country has their own association that will represent their country within the IPRF. The United States Precision Rifle Association takes on the job of allowing shooters to submit an application to represent our Nation. From there, the USPRA looks at that applicants prior match finishes and decides on who makes the team. Here is the list that show the specific matches that can count for finishes.
The division slots available this year for the United States are Open, Open Ladies, Open Senior, Open Mil/LEO, Limited, and Factory. Worth it to note, this year not all match slots were filled, such as Senior Open, Ladies, Factory and Mil/LE open.
This years list of competitors consist of names that most of us know if you compete in the precision rifle world such as Rusty Ulmer, Allison Zane, Morgun King, etc.
Thank you Riflemans Path for sharing so many photos and updates of the team.
Ultimate Ballistics gives us a full list of competitors, their results/rankings, and what they’re running for weapon and cartridge. The fact that you can go onto a website and see what the BEST IN THE WORLD are running for cartridges is a pretty cool thing. Maybe it can make the decision a little easier when it comes to 6dasher, 6br, 6mm, etc..
A few competitors within the competition showing their squad number, country, division, maker of firearm, and cartridge. https://competitions.ultimateballistics.com/competitions/9/competitors
The numbers for competitors competing in the precision rifle world championship in France ended around up being around 24 countries and 250 participants.
Final Standings for Team USA
USA won it all...and HERE is how that trophy arrived..ghillie suit and all by the French.
Not only did we win 1st in almost every division, we took 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on.
CONGRATULATIONS TEAM USA!!!!! Austin Bushman, World Champion in Open Payton Grimes, World Champion in Ladies Open Coulter Mariott, World Champion in Limited Rusty Ulmer, World Champion in Senior
Aridus Industries, the Pennsylvania based manufacturer best known for its aftermarket shotgun accessories, recently started shipping a new charging handle for the Beretta 1301 semi automatic shotgun.
A close-up shot of the new 1301 Charging Handle. image credit: Aridus Industries FB page
The new charging handle features a concave design intended to meld with the fingers of the shooter’s hand that manipulates the shotgun’s action. Instead of the typical knurling texture as found on similar cylindrical shaped charging handles, Aridus has opted to mill their handle with a very unique geometric oval shaped pattern which also intersects at various points to create a textured pattern. Furthermore, Aridus’ 1301 Charging Handle is also designed with the original “tail hook” on the stem. Not only is the tail hook a part of the original Beretta specifications for 1301 or A400 shotgun charging handles, but this structure also serves to keep the bolt together with the bolt carrier. The 1301 Charging Handle retails for $80 and while the first batch already sold out, more are on the way.
After speaking to Adam Roth, the founder and owner of Aridus Industries, he explained that he conceived this charging handle concept some time ago. He added that there were several designs for Beretta shotgun charging handles on the market, but nothing like his idea was available. Due to recent investment on a specialized lathe, he was finally able to execute on his ambition. This late allows him to manufacture these charging handles in house exactly the way he envisioned them. In addition to this new lathe, Aridus has been busy boosting their productivity with a trio of Haas CNC mills. The new lathe and CNC mills (along with the small team and the workshop they now sit in)—are all fairly recent augmentations to Aridus’ capabilities. It wasn’t that long ago that Aridus’ entire operation was based off a single consumer grade mini mill housed in a garage run by one man.
