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International Precision Rifle World Championship: USA leads the World

By
Anna Martinez
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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

Open

Austin Buschman – 1st

Morgun King – 2nd

Tate Streater – 3rd

Clay Blackketter – 4th

Gregory Bell – 5th

Austin Orgain – 8th

Ladies Open

Payton Grimes – 1st

Lauryl Arkenhead – 2nd

Allison Zane – 3rd

Limited

Coulter Mariott – 1st

Buck Holly – 2nd

Leon Weatherby – 3rd

Matt Partain – 4th

Senior Open

Rusty Ulmer – 1st

Paul Higley – 2nd

Final Results for TEAM USA. ultimateballistics

Aridus Industries’ New Beretta 1301 Charging Handle

By
P.E. Fitch
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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.

New York State Moves To Limit Body Armor to “Eligible Professions”

By
Lars Smith
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A patch on a tactical vest is seen during a gun rights rally outside of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia on January 17, 2022 (Photo by Bryan Dozier/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Except for police, NY state seems to think there’s only a narrow window of humanity who might want to own body armor in a country they keep trying to convince us is awash in crazed mass murderers with rifles. “Not only should you not be able to shoot back at the unstoppable horde of school/mall/movie theater killers, but you shouldn’t be allowed to passively protect yourself with body armor either!” is a hell of a message to push, but somehow, they persist.

So in light of the apparent waves of wild-eyed gunmen they keep shouting about, who should be allowed to protect their body with steel, ceramic, or even L210 plates? Well, naturally its those who are on the front line of this epidemic of Violence That Only Happens Here (except for everywhere else), right? Cashiers, church staff, teachers, the guy who pops popcorn at the theater, are all natural choices for the narrative they push. Well, in a word, no. While the list is still “under review”, the currently anointed few include process servers, building inspectors, journalists, and private investigators.

Private investigators makes some sense. It’s not like in the movies, but being investigated without knowing can really piss some people off. Similarly unlike the movies is Process servers. They don’t dress up as janitors and ambush people in real life, and violence is unusual in that profession from everything one can glean online, but it’s possible, sure. Building inspectors provoked some head-scratching though. I don’t think it’s ever come up, and the most dangerous thing about inspecting buildings has to be climbing around on top of, or under them. Journalists I can actually understand. Given how much people seem to hate them nowadays, it seems both prudent and wise to give them body armor.

So, to summarize, the supposed reason for all this restriction of freedom is the idea that people are getting shot in public places nonstop, (which is of course why we’re told we have to give up our guns) but the people most at risk from this inflated wave of violence can’t armor themselves either. Well, it seems they either forgot their own narrative, or they never believed it in the first place. We know which one we’re betting on.

Preserving Onions Brings a Tear to My Eye

By
Dr LateBloomer
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Remember when I talked about running out of onions last year? Well this year I tried some new things and planted more, and yeah well now I’m up to my eyeballs in onions!

The first thing I tried – growing “bunching onions” in the window – never really took off. I got a few spindly stalks but not enough to do more than chop a few greens into a recipe. I was disappointed, but soldiered on.

And by soldiering on I mean that I went crazy in the planting onions outside department. It was more of an accident or an insurance policy than actively TRYING to overwhelm myself with alliums, but here we are nonetheless.

Onion Seeds

I had never grown onions from seed before, I’d only grown from “sets” from the store. Trying to be more self-sufficient I decided to try seeds this year. The variety I chose – Walla Walla – is a sweet northern onion, but it has a rather long growing season so I started those seeds in several egg cartons in my window in fricken January. I’m not kidding, it’s right there in my garden journal. And by starting seeds, I mean I planted ALL the seeds. Every single seed in the packet went into my window. Because when you have the winter blahs and are desperate to see greenery, and know that some seeds never germinate, you way over-plant just in hopes of getting SOMEthing.

Hello my little green seedlings!

Fortunately I got lots of somethings. Those seeds apparently really like egg cartons because I had something like a 80% germination rate. I babied those little onions and they flourished in my window for two months. Onions are supposed to be very frost tolerant so I then transplanted the few dozen -odd seedlings outside into one of the survival/inflation garden raised beds on March 19th. 

Onion Sets

There’s frost-tolerant and then there’s really fricken brrrr. We had a pretty deep cold snap a few weeks later and my baby onions looked pretty droopy. I was worried. So when the local farm store chain advertised that they had onion sets in stock I scooted on over to have a look. They didn’t have sweet onion sets, but they had yellow and they had red. 

“Oooooh, I’ve never grown red onions before, that might be fun”, whispered my garden addiction to myself. So that is how I came to have not just one, not just two, but three different varieties of onions growing in my garden. Because naturally since I bought more, my original planting survived and did well. And so it went until July.

Harvest

You know it’s time to harvest the onions when their green tops droop over. Whereupon you are supposed to pull them up and lay them out to dry so that the tops turn brown. This allows the onion bulbs to seal over so to speak, and then and only then can you store them for a few months or all winter. It’s a bit of a process.

Drying in between rain storms

So naturally as soon as I started to pull onions to dry, the weather decided to be stormy off and on nearly every day for three weeks. Onions don’t “dry” in the rain (duh) so I had to bring as many as I could into the house. For almost a month I have had onions draped over every conceivable surface in my kitchen. I still had to leave some outside, but as I processed them I brought more indoors as I went.

Onions, onions, Everywhere!

Basement Storage

Some dried perfectly, got topped and tailed and are now hanging in my basement tied into old pantyhose. Yes, I am of the generation that wore pantyhose and yes I still have some in my drawer – get off my lawn and don’t judge. Some of the dry ones I put into saved plastic netting from my last few frozen turkeys. (I am not a hoarder.)

Dry and ready for storage.

Then there was the problem of the fact that some didn’t dry at ALL. Some were threatening to get soft and rotten because of the rain. Assuming my controlling mother attitude of “Oh no you DON’T!”, I marched those onions over to the cutting board and started chopping them for dehydrating before they went bad.

Dehydrating

Which was a good idea and frugal on my part, except for the fact that these yellow onions were a bit more pungent than the ones I dehydrated last year. Two dehydrator batches of several trays each, over the course of two and a half days made my house smell like a Philly Cheese Steak Shop – except stronger. Not only did my eyes water while I was chopping those rogue onions, It was pretty bad in the house for three days too. I could smell onions all day at work for two days as well, so it was undoubtedly in my clothes and up my nostrils. But I at least have three jars full of dehydrated onions for winter soups and cooking to show for my suffering.

This times three for shelf stable storage.

I could have put the dehydrator outside on the picnic table like I did for the jalapeños the other year, except the same rain that wasn’t allowing the onions to dry properly also impeded my use of an electric appliance outdoors on an uncovered deck. ARGH.

There are still a few onions left which aren’t drying well, so I’ll be using those up in canning some salsa this weekend. Whatever STILL isn’t dry might have to go into another dehydrator load. Next time I think I’ll try putting it all on a folding table in the garage.

Canning

I also have plans for some of the red ones to go into home pressure-canned French Onion Soup. This is a shelf stable and delicious way to preserve garden onions. You don’t have to eat it as soup, although I love it with salad croutons and melted cheese. Some people use it to cook their pot roast in or make Salisbury steak with. There are all kinds of possibilities if you are an onion lover like me.

There’s one last thing I want to experiment with. I have read that if you slice the onions (instead of chopping) and then blanch them before dehydrating (instead of doing them raw) that you end up with  crispy onion ring snacks to eat right out of the jar! I definitely NEED to try this.

Yeah I love onions. I am up to my eyeballs currently, but I’ve got plans for every single one of them. I suppose there are worse things to have your house smell of in exchange for a winter of yumminess. Just don’t stand too close or smell my clothes for a few more weeks, mkay?

5.11 A/T HD Boot – Beat the Heat

By
Travis Pike
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It’s hot y’all. Florida temperatures have hit over a hundred degrees for a few days in a row, and it can be downright miserable. At the same time, most of my outside work is in the summer. I’m a fan of jungle boots for such adventures, but I gave the new 5.11 Tactical A/T HD boot a try for the entire month of July. Jungle boots are fine, but the new 5.11 A/T HD boots are specifically made for the heat and do more than just add a couple of vents to the design. 

I asked and received the boots from 5.11 Tactical for review. I specifically went with the 8-inch tall, all-black models. They harken back to days gone of polishable boots, and these were days before I joined the military. I liked the look, and they met my agency’s requirements for boots. This includes the color, length, and specific specs, and the fact they were built to beat the heat was impressive enough to get me interested. 

The A/T HD Boot – What’s In A Name

The A/T in the name signifies they use 5.11’s new Atlas system. Atlas, aka the all-terrain load assistance system, is designed for those carrying a load. It’s a clever reference to Atlas, the guy who carried the world on his shoulders. I’ve used this system before and found it to be incredibly comfortable and great when carrying weight. 

HD stands for heat deflecting. 5.11 Tactical says that they use a heat-reflective Strobel sock that reflects heat from the ground. A Strobel sock, in case you didn’t know (because I didn’t), is the bottom part of the inside of the shoe. Additionally, 5.11 Tactical uses infrared refracting leather to drop the temperature inside the boot. Oh, and the tongue is also perforated to make the whole boot a little more breathable. 

With all this said, I took the boots on for the last month to see just how well they worked. Let’s see if the A/T HD Boots live up to their reputation. 

First Steps with the A/T HD Boots 

Like all boots, these things needed a good breaking in. While they were still new, I strapped them on and wore them around the house for most of the day. I did this for hours until my feet got sore, and I would take a break. The breaking-in took a couple of days on non-serious use before they stopped making my feet cramp. 

This month was also an interesting one for me. I took a vacation to the mountains and began an 8-week workout program designed for those looking to become Green Berets. This SFAS program has tons of hikes and is a perfect testing medium for these boots. On my first three-mile hike with 35 pounds, I admittedly got a little crampy but not bad enough to tap out. That 3-mile over-the-road hike really finished breaking them in. 

By the time I got to the 8-mile road march, this wasn’t an issue anymore. The Atlas system is fantastic for providing support, especially with weight on your back. Zero hot spots popped up and blisters weren’t an issue, and after the hike, I didn’t have sore ankles, calves, or more. I laced my boots down plenty tight, and the A/T HD boots provide wonderful ankle support. I hike on a dirt road, and it’s not exactly even ground. I’ve yet to roll an ankle, even when I zone out at about mile five and stop paying attention to the terrain. 

What About the Heat 

I paired the 5.11 Tactical A/T HD boots with some merino wool socks, and that was the ticket to comfy feet. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to how my feet felt. It wasn’t until I was a few days in that I realized, holy crap, my feet aren’t soaked with sweat, my socks aren’t saggy and gross, and I didn’t go through my cold feet cycle. 

My cold feet cycle is what happens when I work outside or hike and then come in and cool down. My sweat-soaked feet would then get cold because of central air conditioning rocks. I don’t feel the heat of the ground, and even when standing in full sunlight, I don’t have a problem with the boots getting hot and uncomfy. 

Everything Else About the A/T HD Boots 

While the boots are big with their 8-inch sides, they are fairly lightweight and won’t break you down. The tongue is super comfy, and there is nothing in the boots that pokes and prods like an errant seam. The traction is robust and digs into the ground to make anything slip-free and safe. Wet terrain, sand, dirt roads, and beyond won’t trip you up. 

Plus, I like the look of the boots. Looks matter when it comes to clothes, and these boots look good. They are professional and subdued, without any kind of craziness to them. The 5.11 Tactical logo is very small and subdued as well. I think the 5.11 Tactical A/T HD boots are my new summer love. 

AK Armorer Tips: Ensuring Your Recoil Rod is Seated

By
Anna Martinez
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With AK’s taking over the market, more classes being held, and Rifle Dynamics Red Oktober event coming up, it is critical to ensure that simple things are installed on your AK correctly. One of those main things being the recoil spring.

This issue was found during a standard inspection of a large batch of American Made (well..American assembled and partly American made if we want to be particular..) AK-47’s. The Company will not be named.

The Function

A standard recoil spring on an AK has a rear guide that fits into a slot on the rear trunnion. Once that rear guide is seated the hinged or free dust cover is meant to basically pop over the back of the rear guide and click into place. Thus making the recoil rod have two jobs, cycle the weapon and hold the dust cover in place.

The Issues

The recoil rod is constantly getting pushed during cycling and also during assembly and disassembly. Anytime there is friction burrs can be made. It is a very normal thing and can happen to any firearm. In this case, on the rear trunnion where the rear guide fits into burrs can sometimes be found. With how tight that trunnion is where the guide seats the burrs can be minimal and it could still cause two major issues.

First Issue

Burrs found in the rear trunnion slot can cause the rear guide to not fully seat to the back of slot. This can cause issues during cycling or even permanently damage your guide rod, such as bending it.

Shown from left to right. The first photo (with a red X) is showing the recoil spring rear guide not fully seated into the back of the trunnion due to small burrs. The second photo (with a green checkmark) is showing a properly fully seated rear guide.

Second Issue

An even more dangerous issue..remember that the recoil rod has two jobs, one to help cycle the gun and two to seat the dust cover. If the recoil rod does not fully seat to the rear the back of that will not have enough tension to allow the dust cover to be held in place. It acts almost like a button that is stuck in place. When installing the dust cover it will seem like it snaps into place however if you don’t see the back of the rod essentially “pop” out of the back of the dust cover the cover could not be held on by anything. During firing this can cause the dust cover to fly off.

From left to right..The first photo (with a red X) is showing the guide not fully seated and not “popped” into place thus nothing is holding the dust cover on. The second photo (with a green checkmark) is showing the guide fully seated into the rear trunnion and entirely holding onto the dust cover.

A sharp piece of metal flying through the air under pressure of gas expelled from a firearm. Fun.

The Fix

To fix these two possible issues all it takes is a skinny hand file. A few quick passes of the hand file inside the trunnion slot should remove the small burrs that are there. To verify, replace the spring and ensure it reaches all the way to the back of the trunnion. Install the dust cover. During racking and a functions check keep an eye on that rear guide now seated in the dust cover. If it “pops” into place during racking then obviously it wasn’t totally seated in the first place. Disassemble and take a few more passes with the hand file.

Note: Lube should still stay on just the bolt on AK’s so focus on removing the burrs and not immediately going to lube.

Seeing with your eye if the guide is seated in the trunnion takes time and honestly just takes a number of AK’s being in your hands and eye sight to start noticing when it’s not seating. You won’t notice the burrs with your eyes but you’ll notice the placement of the rod in the back of the dust cover.

New Shooters 101 – How To Start Your Shooting Adventure

By
Travis Pike
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This summer, my son has embraced shooting a little more. He’s shot before, but typically just for fun without anything beyond safety training. In teaching him to shoot, I realized that I’ve been taking my own experience and fundamentals for granted. I’ve forgotten that learning is like learning to walk and can be a slow, confusing process. So I decided to try to put together a little guide for both new shooters and those teaching new shooters. 

Where to Start With New Shooters 

It’s best to start at the boring basics. This should be short and user involved. The basics should be explained, but make it interactive. If you’re a new shooter, you must first learn the basic safety of firearms handling. Don’t just read the rules but absorb them and question the rules versus how you handle firearms. 

First, treat every weapon as if it’s loaded. This first rule is the core of all firearm safety rules. Treating a weapon as if it’s always loaded requires you to treat it with respect at all times, and if you follow the rest of the safety rules, you’ll do just that. 

Second, always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction. A safe direction is a direction you wouldn’t mind shooting in. So not at people, pets, and other living things. 

Third, keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire. This is fairly simple. The trigger is not a place to rest your finger. Straight and off the trigger is fairly clear and easy to do. This will prevent 100% of negligent discharges. 

Editor’s Note: Cooper’s Rules Work! All the time! Weird how that works. 

Those three rules are the most important for a new shooter to know. There are more, but for now, memorize those three. 

Next, learn how to load and unload your firearm. If it’s new, it has a manual worth reading. You’ll find a treasure trove of information there. Most important new shooters need to know how to clear a firearm. Clearing is unloading the firearm completely. 

Learn The Basics of Shooting 

If possible, take a basic gun safety and use class. The NRA’s basic courses are perfect for this information. The NRA’s firearm training division has several very basic classes that teach shooters the basics of pistols, shotguns, and rifles. These courses are hosted in person, and distance learning is also an option. 

Learn how your firearm functions. New shooters should learn the proper grip, proper sight picture, and the basics of trigger pull without their trigger pull affecting their grip or sight picture. These three basic things ensure a safe experience and lay the groundwork for more advanced training. 

These three small skills can be done without ammo and can be done with an airgun, a SIRT pistol, or just a dry firearm. Always follow gun safety rules during this practice and training. 

If you are going about this by yourself, Youtube is your best friend. Not all information is equal. As a new shooter finding good information can be difficult. With that in mind, there are a few channels with great information. Check Out: 

Sage Dynamics for Sight Picture and Handgun Trigger Control, Beretta For Proper Handgun Grip, and the NSSF and SIG-Sauer Academy for a wide variety of beginner-friendly subjects. These channels are all excellent sources of information. They aren’t the only source, but they do have a wide variety of experts and produce great information. 

Going Live 

When it’s time to start shooting, you can just plink away without any goals, but that’s not always beneficial. New shooters likely aren’t ready for doing 10-10-10 drills or failure drills. What exactly can they do to improve their skills and avoid wasting ammo? 

My son and I did the NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program. This program offers some very basic courses of fire to allow a shooter to have a goal when they start shooting. This program allows you to shoot very simple courses of fire with an accuracy standard and sometimes a time standard. 

The lowest levels of the quals are very simple and really allow new shooters to work on basic skills to become better shooters. My son practiced for the pistol qualification at the Pro-marksman level, and while simple, it forced him to learn a lot of the basics to pass the qual. 

The First Month 

The information in this article is something someone could do in the first month of owning a gun, and that’s a lot of time. These are things that can be done on weekends and in 15-minute increments at home. If you are a new shooter or are training a new shooter, start at the bottom and build those blocks to become a better, safer shooter. It’s not a race, and it should be fun. Everyone was a new shooter at one point, and as long as you prioritize safety, you’ll have a good time. 

Being new at something is the best because you can suck at it, and everyone wants to help you get better. Shooting is no different. 

Staying Fed Without Ruining Yourself: Prepping With Food Allergies/Intolerances

By
Lars Smith
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Photo Credit: Foodallergy.org

https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/food-allergy-emergency-and-disaster-preparedness

It seems like food allergies or intolerances are either much more common, or much more widely recognized and treated these days. Some people believe it’s a result of humanity being removed from the effects of natural selection. Others propose it’s a consequence how clean our environments are, leading an immune system accustomed to murdering novel pathogens 24/7 desperately searching for something to attack, and turning on us instead. Some even think it’s a result of gut permeability that may be linked to internal inflammation.

Whether this is a genuine increase in the number of people with dietary problems, better diagnostics, or something else, it is a fact of life that many people deal with daily. You may even have such a person in your friend/family group. If so, it makes the process of preparing for a disaster more complicated.

More common issues like nuts, gluten, eggs and dairy are relatively well-catered to nowadays though that certainly wasn’t always the case, but for whatever reason, many people now have issues with things like soy, corn, oats, spices, and even for some people, parsley. There are allergy/intolerance tests you can have done now with over 250 possible problem-foods. The symptoms of such an issue are often disparate and difficult to directly pin down to a particular food.

If you do have someone who you might wind up bugging out, or in with, in a possible disaster scenario, give the link a read and see if you’ve left anything out of your preps. Their suggestions are fairly simple, cover all the bases, and include things like personal care products that may need to be “special” to avoid provoking an immune response. Intolerances can make life awful, and allergies can kill, so it’s worth a second look if it’s something you need to consider for yourself or others.

Tired Of Hearing About The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine? Good News, Everyone!

By
Lars Smith
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Photo Credit: BBC via Getty Images

Just in time for the media’s attention span, a new/old conflict seems to be brimming on the horizon in Eastern Europe. Veterans of the last half of the 90’s will remember Kosovo and its conflicts well, but for the rest of us, NATO-KFOR (Kosovo Force)’s twitter feed dropped us a reminder of our involvement.

To be clear, if Serbia really were to attack Kosovo, under the terms of the peacekeeping mission NATO has been operating in Kosovo since 1999, KFOR says it would intervene. If this happened, it would pit the western military alliance directly against a long-time staunch ally of Russia. Even as Serbia has been looking more economically west of late, its cultural and political ties to Russia are not loosening. Oddly, the primary instigating factor right now seems to be license plates, if you can imagine. New rules in Kosovo would require residents replace Serbian-issued plates for new Kosovar ones. Serbia has yet to recognize Kosovo’s decade and a half old declaration of independence, and this reminder seems to have pushed some over the edge. There are no injuries as of this writing, but the situation is tense. Cooler heads seem to be prevailing for the moment, likely bolstered by NATO-KFOR’s summary declaration.

What exactly this would mean for NATO-Russia relations is unclear, but in an already hostile environment surrounding what amounts to a proxy war between Russia and the West, the list of options is not a happy one. Russia could decide that this is the last straw, and do all sorts of things that would ultimately harm itself as much as anyone else. They could also use negotiations surrounding Serbia as leverage to find a way to exit their current war of attrition in Ukraine while attempting to save face by coming to Serbia’s aid diplomatically. This might be the best possible option, but it’s at the top of a very short list of good ones.

If we’ve learned anything from the last 6mo of Ukrainian resistance, it’s that conventional warfare in the modern era isn’t likely to play out in real life the way it looks on paper. Whichever news source you believe regarding the Ukr/Rus conflict, it’s fair to say nobody expected it to last this long, and the Ukrainians have, in several arenas, seemingly made bricks without straw. From commercial drones carrying rifle grenades adapted into homemade aerial bombs with 3D printed fins and release mechanisms, to their rapid, effective implementation of lend-lease style weapon shipments they had no prior experience on, they’ve surprised just about everyone.

Serbia is no Russia, and Kosovo is certainly no Ukraine, but the Serbs have dragged us all into a meatgrinder once already in the last century or so. Lets hope they don’t stage an encore.

Gunday Brunch 64: There’s Never Been A Better Time for 5.56 Fans

By
Keith Finch
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We’re in a golden era of 5.56 rifles, and not just AR15s. Everything is good!*

*(almost… almost everything)

Seriously though, you have to go rather out of your way to ignore good advice and good buying habits completely to end up with a junk rifle these days. Will you get a better rifle by spending more? Usually, but even as you decide on a make/model or makes/models that you’re willing to pick up go hunt for a good price. I’m not saying quibble over $20 but there could be a $200 price swing between someone selling at or above MSRP and someone else who is comfortable moving them at MAP.

I found a screaming deal on a “used” unfired LWRCi M6-SPR. Deals exist if you can be patient and keep-a-lookout.

Snagged for $60 less than a new M6IC-DI, which generally cost around $500-$800 less than the piston guns.

Bumpstock Ban Stands For Now

By
Keith Finch
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From Reuters,

ATF beats back gun rights groups challenge to bump-stock ban

(Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 2019 federal rule banning so-called “bump stocks,” a rapid-fire gun attachment that was used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that guns equipped with bump stocks qualify as machine guns, which federal law almost entirely bans. The decision was a setback for the Sacramento, California-based non-profit Firearms Policy Coalition and other gun rights advocacy groups that had sued to challenge the rule.

We are continuing to see the spirit and letter of the law clash in this regard. Bumpstocks are not machineguns in any sense but legally. It makes no practical mechanical sense, but when has that ever stopped a law…

“We are disappointed but not surprised at the result,” said Erik Jaffe, who represents the gun rights groups. “We think the court made a number of factual and legal errors that we plan in pointing out in further appellate proceedings.”

Translation, the court has probably tossed this to the Supreme Court, or at least someone else, so they aren’t blamed for being the ones to bring the scary, go pew fast plastic back onto the market, with its use in the Mandalay Bay slaying and other negative associations. We’ve talked here before about the Las Vegas massacre and how the bumpstock did not significantly enable the horrific casualty count. That was largely the concert venue and attack location, where any rifle would have been devastating. A bolt action rifle under those circumstances could have perpetrated the worst massacre in US history.

A spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the federal agency that oversees gun regulation, declined to comment.

They know that as soon as an objective court not swayed by rhetoric, or events, or playing it safe for their district and passing the buck, takes up the case it falls apart. The entire determination is that a stock with no active mechanisms makes it too easy to shoot fast and that is too much like a machine gun.

Bump stocks allow a rifle’s stock — the part of the gun that rests against the user’s shoulder — to move on a spring. This means that, if a user pulls back continuously on the trigger, recoil will cause the gun to bounce against the user’s shoulder with each round, releasing and then pulling the trigger repeatedly in rapid succession.

And here we see blatantly inaccurate reporting on what a bumpstock is and how it works, perpetuating misinformation about them. Bumpstocks are not complex, just like brake pads aren’t complex. This is the equivalent of telling the public that brakes and brake pads actually reverse the direction of your wheels while you are breaking and that is how you slow down.

That isn’t how you slow down at all, but you do slow down so a casual reader could simply assume that the stated reason is why.

[NOTE: I did contact Reuter’s and the author responded that a correction would be made to the story. I do not know how the bumpstock was actually defended and described in deliberations. I will maintain the original text here because it was the forward facing text at the time of publication and the court decision.]

Former President Donald Trump had pledged to ban the devices soon after a gunman used them to shoot and kill 58 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas in October 2017.

In December 2018, the administration announced that a rule classifying bump stock-equipped guns as machine guns. A 1986 amendment to the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act banned nearly all sales of newly manufactured machine guns.

The gun rights groups sued the ATF in Washington, arguing that the agency lacked the authority to expand the definition of machine gun. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich denied their motion for a preliminary injunction and later granted the government summary judgment, finding the agency was entitled to deference in interpreting the definition of machine gun under federal law.

This is… concerning. Machinegun has a very concrete mechanically engineered definition. We aren’t asking how humid is “uncomfortable”, a question which has a subjective answer within a range. We are asking if a firearm is designed to and capable of firing, reloading, and firing again with a single deliberate manipulation of the trigger. That is yes or no.

On appeal, the groups argued that bump stock guns do not qualify as machine guns because the user has to keep pulling back as the gun recoils. The panel rejected that argument.

That isn’t how bumpstocks work and if this was the actual argument the layer failed in their description of the device’s basic function.

“By this logic, we would no longer characterize even the prototypical machine gun as a ‘machine gun,’ given the extent of rearward pressure on the trigger required to operate it,” Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins wrote. “That cannot be right.”

No. It isn’t right. Everyone is misunderstanding this and we have a silly decision because of it.

It is all there, right there, in how this device works. A bumpstock does not make a rifle automatic, it gives you a situationally specific mechanical advantage in how quickly you can manipulate the trigger, taking advantage of the recoil impulse which is always there and your supporting arm which is also always there.

A bumpstock is in no way required in order to ‘bump fire’ a firearm. The internal mechanisms to make a firearm automatic are absolutely required in order to make a firearm automatic, parts have to work in a specific order. To use a vehicle example again. An automatic firearm’s mechanism is like a set vehicle of brakes, they are specifically designed to stop a vehicle. You can also stop a vehicle by having it run out of momentum. A bumpstock is more akin to a navigation app that showed you where you could stop your vehicle without using your brakes, thus helping you do something you can do without the app. It is not a secret different method of braking, no brakes are involved at all.

This court ruling is essentially, “Yeah but you still stopped, so the United States Department of Transportation says that is braking.”

Put another way, the court is trying to tell me that the FAA says I can fly and I am therefore a plane, when what I actually did was skydive or even just jump up into the air. There justification for continuing to tell me that I am legally a plane is that I was in the air. Even though flight is a definable powered mechanical process, because I was in the air I was “flying” and am therefore a plane. That is the logic being used to say a bumpstock is a machinegun.

It’s stupid.

The Best Gun Ads – The Good, the Bad, and the Insane

By
Travis Pike
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Our lives have been taken over by ads these days. Often soulless and often intending to use some subtle form of manipulation to get us to open our wallets. While we might be sick of modern ads, there is some charm to the vintage ads of yesteryear, and to me, it’s especially true in regards to gun ads. Old gun ads are just great, sometimes insane, silly, and other times an awesome representation of the era. With that in mind, I put together a few of my favorites from yesteryear…and one modern one worth mentioning. 

Dupont “Old Stuff”

It was 1918, and the world was still at war. Admittedly the war would end that year, but there were plenty of men still in the trenches. Dupont American Industries had an ad in Outdoor Life at the time. This isn’t one of our traditional gun ads, but it’s still somewhat of a gun ad. DuPont produced gun powder, and they had a stake in people shooting. 

Their ad portrays an American wielding the famous Winchester 1897 Trench Shotgun. The ad mentions the man being a trapshooter and that hitting a grenade out of the air and dropping a charging ‘hun’ is just old stuff. The ad encouraged folks to learn to shoot, join gun clubs, and more. 

Thompson Desperado Ad

After World War I, poor General Thompson had a hard time moving Thompson SMGs. These guns would’ve been great in the trenches, but after World War I, there wasn’t a big demand for them. This was prior to the NFA, so Thompson and Auto-Ordnance advertised to the everyman. To the man who owned a farm, ranch, or plantation, someone who is far away from any police response and is clearly a threat to roaming gangs of desperados. 

Well, maybe, it’s doubtful, but why not. Large land owners were the only people who could likely afford the expensive Thompson SMG. The ad portrays a rancher gunning down a team of outlaws coming after his home! Auto-Ordnance’s description of the gun is long and interesting, calling it a machine gun and shoulder-fired rifle in pistol form. It’s one of my favorite gun ads because I want to buy a home defense SMG without the NFA. 

Savage and Influencer Marketing

I did an entire article on Savage using influencer marketing to sell their unique and innovative Savage M1907 pistol. They used gunfighters like Bat Masterson to advertise the pistol, and they published numerous ads in one of the first examples of influencer marketing in gun ads. The ad feature Bat, a quote from him about the gun, and then a few paragraphs describing it. 

I’m pretty sure modern advertising is more about the quick delivery, but Savage didn’t get that memo. It’s paragraphs long, but you get a good description of the gun and more. The ad mentions a booklet written by Bat, it’s called the Tenderfoot’s Turn, and you can find PDFs of it online. 

Choate Entry Weapon

Choate is fairly well known for its wide variety of shotgun accessories, stocks, magazine tubes, and more. In 1988 they were a smaller company and had a small, easy-to-miss ad on the back of a number of gun magazines. Gun ads tell a story, and this one is no different. At this time in the gun world, the shotgun was the police weapon of choice. 

Choate wasn’t selling guns, and they were selling you the means to build your own entry weapon. This includes a magazine extension, a heat shield, a forward pistol grip, and the coup de grace, a light mounted on the receiver called a Lite-Site. It’s a Mag-lite designed to be used as a sighting system that also has a velcro-mounted tape switch. This shotgun is the 1980s Mall Ninja’s dream. 

Uzi Killed It In the 1980s 

Uzi puts the plural in gun ads. I couldn’t pick just one because Uzi freaking killed it in the 1980s. Their ads were absolutely amazing, and if the ad companies received awards, IMI should dominate. A cute lady wielding Uzis while wearing Uzi merch? Yep, we got it! 

What about a cyber background that automatically makes you hear synth music? IMI has you covered. 

Not just once, but twice. Also, what happened to gun companies producing merch? All the ads back in the day often advertised shirts, hats, patches, etc., to go along with your purchase. Why’d we stop doing that? Also, IWI, bring back the retro yellow Uzi shirt as a limited run. Please! 

Glock Has an Arrogance To It 

Glock was sassy back in the day. These days they do the European stoicism in their advertising. Modern Glock ads are probably some of the better ads out there from the gun world. They display concealed carriers, police, and military users. Back in the day, they were a little arrogant. More Hans Gruber in their advertising. 

 

The thing is…they are kind of right. Who doesn’t produce a polymer frame striker-fired gun these days? Those companies are all trying to get those Glock-influenced dollarydoos. 

EAA Crazy Gun Lady Ad

Okay, so the article is all about the best gun ads, but I also want to include the most insane series of gun ads ever created. EAA released a series of ads with terrifying robotic women who have guns for legs. You’d think there would only be one, right? Well, nope, they’ve done it with a wide variety of their guns, from CZ clones to cowboy six shooters. If I have to see it, so do you. 

Good Gun Ads 

Gun companies have to be fairly careful with how they advertise today. No one wants to be too cringe or try hard, but they want to make an impression. Modern gun ads all look alike, and it’s sad. I wanna see more cuties with Uzis and fewer shades of blue, black, and grey. Let’s make gun ads great again. 

Cool Guns We Have Sold And Miss

By
P.E. Fitch
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Most gun owners, collectors, competitors, and shooters would probably agree that their bundle of experiences since the time they lined up the sights to fire their first ever shots through the present point of their firearms related experiences could be referred to as some type of “journey.” A little cliché? Probably. But chances are that many of these individuals have at stories about guns that got away—guns that they sold and later regret letting go of or they just miss.

Here’s one of mine: My PARA FAL Carbine

My PARA, a cobbled together 7.62mm NATO carbine, is also known as “the right arm of the free world.” This is a rifle that probably needs no introduction for most. It is certainly a quirky and interesting design (with its tilting bolt and the way it locks into the breach).

This gun was conceived from the mind of Dieudonne Saive, a Belgian designer who worked for FN and also happened to be one of John Moses Browning’s colleagues towards the end of Browning’s career. The FALs development was somewhat halted by the Second World War, but it came to fruition in the post war era during the Cold War and NATO years. Besides the United States with its M14s or M16s, and the German G3 wildcard shortly after the G1 (a FAL), it seems that any other serious fighting force during this time either wielded the FAL or a Kalashnikov.

My personal PARA FAL Carbine was put together from a combination of genuine military factory parts and American made aftermarket parts (mostly DSA). My upper receiver was an Argentine FMAP Type 3 that had a DSA sand cut bolt carrier and a para folding charging handle. It had an 18-inch barrel with an FN F2000 flash hider. A DSA Picatinny railed dust cover sat on top of this receiver. The dust cover held an ADM “low” 30mm scope mount through which an MRAD Vortex Viper PST 1-4x magnification LPVO was suspended. Being a PARA Carbine, this naturally had an FAL folding stock—mine was a unit produced by DSA.

Southern California canyons and gorges make for good spots to place steel on so you can tag them from across the way.

Sadly during the timeframe I owned this carbine, I hardly shoot it (maybe 150 rounds in totality?) However I got one good range trip out of it which I still remember to this day where I had the chance to ring steel out to 500 yards at one of the lest restrictive private ranges in southern California with the help of that Viper PST scope.

Though I certainly miss having such a cool rifle around, especially since the FAL’s heyday has come and gone, the truth is that I sold this rifle for a modest profit a few years back to be able to afford to move away from California for good.  We can call that a fair trade, especially since remaining California compliant was 80% of the reason I hardly used it.

Prepper Hillbillies – That Time Iraqveteran8888 Had a TV Show

By
Travis Pike
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Did you know Eric and Barry from Iraqveteran8888 had a TV show called Prepper Hillbillies on the Discover America channel? Neither did I until I stumbled across it on Amazon. Iraqveteran8888 is a juggernaut of a Youtube channel with 1900 videos and over 2.5 million subscribers. 

The channel was an OG of guntubers, and their famous series Gun Gripes was the partnership of two gun store employees named Eric and Barry. The series started in 2012, and that was about the same time I started watching gun guys on Youtube. The channel has evolved and grown, but Gun Gripes remains a popular part of the channel even after Barry’s tragic passing. 

Upon discovering the show, I bought the series on Amazon for eight bucks and cruised through the six episodes fairly quickly. Each is just over 20 minutes long, and I figured I could do a retrospective and review of the show. 

Prepper Hillbillies – The Setup 

The Iraqveteran8888 channel has always been a gun channel, but they have flirted with prepping and various subjects related to survival. The Prepper Hillbillies TV is predictably more about prepping and survival…kind of. 

Barry narrates the opening and describes the three characters. Eric has a military background and is a tech wizard. Barry is old school with roots that go back to Davey Crockett. Fred is described as a third-generation prepper. The premise of the show is that Eric, Barry, and a third man named Fred are a security company. 

Or like a prepping company. It’s not really clear. They meet with homeowners and help them improve their home’s security. Even though the homeowners are typically concerned with home security, the crew often puts a prepping spin on their consultations and installations. 

Guns are seen and shown, but the crew isn’t advising too much on guns. It’s a fairly simple premise. Each episode starts with the crew of Prepper Hillbillies meeting with the family at their home. They explain the problem, the crew looks around, and then start making some rather crazy plans to improve security. 

Prepper Hillbillies – Not Quite Reality 

Reality television has rarely displayed reality, and this show isn’t any different. The production seems somewhat amateur. This was 2014 and only two years into the Iraqveteran8888 channel. I wouldn’t be surprised if Eric and the crew helped produce the show. The crew listed on IMDB is very small. The producers listed both have a history of lower-end reality shows. 

It’s fairly typical and what you expect from a reality show of this era. It’s in that Preppers, Discovery Channel, History Channel style documentary. The guys do some work, have some confessional-style commentaries on what they are doing, and some zany contrived danger. 

The show obviously has some staged elements. Funny enough, the first ‘client’ is Chad, the current co-host of Iraqveteran8888. The guy’s ideas aren’t always practical. Eric’s contributions with motion sensors, cameras, and alarms often make sense. They reinforce doors and windows on occasion, but they also get zany. 

They install zip lines, spike strips, and tank traps on top of some other silly stuff. The contrived drama and danger often come from these security features. I’m almost positive that having a tank trap or spike strip sets you up for some kind of liability. 

Most of their advice is fairly standard. Have extra water, have food, have some basic preps, a go bag, etc. They also give some bad advice, like using tampons to stop bleeding from a gunshot wound. 

Being a Prepper Hillbilly

Barry has a natural charm and personality that makes him perfect for TV and made him perfect for Youtube. In the show, he’s fearless and natural on camera. People realized this, and he’s more or less the main feature of the show. The show makes me miss old Barry and his stories on gun gripes. 

Fred is supposed to be the crazy comedic character, and he does fine. It’s a little contrived, but the guy tries. Eric is the straight man who is the leader of this eccentric little gang. What’s odd is that the show doesn’t mention the Youtube channel. However, they do the very 2014 Youtube thing and use binary explosives to dig holes. 

The show has some charm to it. It is fun to watch and harkens back to classic reality TV. It’s worth a watch, but it won’t blow you away. To me, it was like bonus episodes of Iraqveteran8888 with Barry. His tragic passing is apparently the reason the show was canceled. 

It blows me away that this show completely escaped me. Still, if you can spare the eight bucks, give it a watch. It’s worth a few chuckles. 

The AK-12: PR and Propaganda Stunt.

By
Keith Finch
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Ladies and gentleman. The AK-12 was an unnecessary rifle. Ukraine has shown this in spades as the Russian forces pushed forward with slick rifles taking advantage of literally zero advantages the AK-12 allegedly gave them.

Our own YouTube detectives and deep divers have extensively tested the few domestic builds we have available and the results were decidedly… meh.

The AK-12 is mid, no cap, in the modern parlance of the kids these days. The Russians rebuilt a weapon they already had and they half-assed it.

Why?

Well let’s take a proper gander at propaganda.

Propaganda is a weapon – The weapon is propaganda

Being competent is only half the battle, deterrence and influence you can project comes from convincing others you are competent and the Russian military seems to have spent all their time on the convincing half.

From their super suit body armor that they probably built exactly one of and nobody actually wants to ear, then their extremely limited number of advanced fighters and tanks, to the actually fielded AK-12 with no modern optics on most of them. The idea was propaganda. Propaganda is marketing and that is something I do too.

The difference is simple, propaganda is marketing an idea. Usually from a state or large entity to other states, entities, and the individuals who make them up, including their own members. We do it in the US too, but we usually remember the top secret ingredient.

[TOP SECRET INGREDIENT: Be able to back your bullshit.]

Think about it like this. The US did a substantial, multi-tier, force wide upgrade to its small arms. Everything has optics, everyone has NVGs, and everyone is rocking an M4A1 or HK M27. We just announced or new even more betterer rifle and light machinegun too with the NGSW program.

Now what would a Russian regular be thinking about his reliable yet worn AK-74 under such circumstances? Hell, with about 30 seconds on YouTube he knows that the American AKs are even better than his is, and those are hobby weapons. Even the most rear echelon fobbit in the US Military has a modern rifle and modern optic suite. They look like they all mean business.

Big Russian think goes and gives them a modern AK to overmatch those M4A1’s. Want rails. Got rails. Want optics. Can have optics! …theoretically speaking of course.

I remember a time in ’08 when we had M16A4’s with nothing on them, so that isn’t unheard of here. But I believe by ’09 and definitely by ’10 we had ACOGs, PEQs, the whole kit. Even grip pods, which lost coolness fast but were cool in the moment.

The AK-12 I think was targeted propaganda mostly at their own troops, convincing them that the Russian state cared about a modern military machine and making sure the troops had the best equipment. It also captivated the world’s small arms circles, we always want to know more about the things we have limited access too. While modernizing the AK-74 would have been the best move, it would have looked like copying the Americans. The ‘new’ rifle was the pitch. Russian small arms weren’t copying or keeping up, they were innovating! The rifle is NEW, no matter how much it isn’t.

But Russia forgot the secret ingredient. They didn’t back their bullshit. It wouldn’t have mattered one bit if the AK-12 hadn’t actually been much better than an railed out AK-74, it just needed to run well and be a tightly put together rifle. It wouldn’t have mattered if the optics being fielded were all just a decent commercial grade red dot, but they needed those optics on all the rifles.

Instead we caught guys with dusted off WWII Mosins, like there would be some American Scout Sniper team that needed to dust off an old scoped M1903A4 because every MK22, M24 variant, M40 variant, MK13, and M110A1, and M110 were all gone. Embarrassing.

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