In the wake of the ice and mud tests recently done by Garand Thumb, Brandon now reviews the memes that have rolled out there of.
Guns are almost feeling like Pokemon here with Ice being the weakness for some and Mud being the weakness of others. Good times.
Gun culture is a silly place. But it does not lack for entertainment value.
Take a moment to relax and enjoy. It is Wednesday!
On a serious note, both the ice and mud tests show the areas in the various rifles that need maintenance most critically under which conditions and that is genuinely good information.
All. Rifles. Fail. They are machines, and when exposed to certain conditions they are going to bind up. We have dust, we have mud, we have ice, we have various overly harsh environmental media to put into them to see where and what will stop them but no one test makes or breaks a rifle unless it can’t hold its own at all.
Short version: Most modern rifles or upgrades of the last 2-3 decades, and especially in the last decade, are solidly designed and if assembled with quality using quality parts will run very well. Even in poor environmental conditions if basic maintenance steps are taken.
Daniel Defense is known for their in house engineering and craftsmanship. Making most, if not all (dependent on weapon platform) of their parts in house they have full control over the development process. The Delta 5 Pro Bolt gun shows that time and energy was put to good use. With a Bolt Gun that has a proprietary action, hammer forged barrel, strong chassis, and 0.5 MOA guarantee, the Delta 5 Pro has been put through it’s paces both in the elements and on the competition range. It has been tested by top tier DoD units and was the official bolt gun of the Precision Rifle Series 2021 season.
Major Takeaways
Proprietary Designed Action
-Proprietary 3 lug bolt design. This allows a very tight but smooth lock up, (as I felt when I worked the action at shot show) and makes the action and barrel much easier to assemble and disassemble. When asked about environmentals and headspace during rain, dirt, other factors, no issues were seen when tested by top tier elements.
-Bolt handle screws off and is threaded to accept most aftermarket levers.
-60 degree throw and floating bolt head, what does bolt head mean? A floating bolt head in simplistic terms basically means that the bolt head is a seperate piece instead of machined into the body of the bolt. This allows Daniel Defense to one, machine it seperately ensuring very tight tolerances, and two, allows the bolt head to “float” and line up with the cartridge and chamber each time, bringing down the amount of failure to feeds.
-20 MOA scope base on action which allows you to get more use out of the scope as you go out to distance.
Pro Tip: The torque on the action screws is 65 inch pounds and ensure that you tighten the screw closest to the muzzle first.
Ordering a New Barrel/Installation
Daniel Defense makes barrel changes VERY easy. Due to hammer forging this barrel should last longer than others however when it does come time to throw another barrel one Daniel Defense will ship the barrel, rod, and wrench. This ensures that customers can do it all themselves. Remember, the barrel nut is their proprietary 3 lug system as well, which will work just as you’re used to with AR builds.
Chassis
-The option for a full length rail or skeletonized. This gives you the ability to have more “rail space” to mount things such as lasers or night vision or have a skeltonized rail and lose weight and open up space for a wider scope lens. Remember, Daniel Defense makes equipment for both operation driven customers and civilians which will drive the design and engineering.
-Area 419 ARCA rail with serrations. The serrations on the arca rail ensure that your bipod will stay put holding onto those scallops no matter the impact or pressure.
-PMAGS are said to run very well in this chassis which ensures reliability.
-Will accept any AR Style pistol grip.
-Adjustments. Comb/cheek adjust for both height and yaw. This is great for whether youre a lefty or righty and like the cheek peice to be tilted. The length of pull is also adjustable for both tilt and length. Both adjustments can lock in place.
-Interchangeable thumb rest for right side or left.
Overall Performance
Daniel Defense makes equipment to be used in the elements and run hard. Full disclosure, after talking to DD and hearing that top specialty units have run the Delta 5 Pro over 10k rounds with only one minor extractor issue (which seemed to be an ammo issue more than bolt) it is easy to go into matches or your next hunt with confidence.
Okay guys, I buy a lot of military surplus. A lot of the gear out there is junk. Ripped up, beat up, old smelly garbage. Every now and then we come across something that is a diamond in the rough. Today, that shiny gem is the British Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) camouflage.
Essentially, MTP is a poor man’s Multicam (Mom: “We have Multicam at home!”). It looks a little different. It costs significantly less. But most importantly, it works really well.
Effectiveness
One of my biggest driving factors when I buy any camouflage gear is the effectiveness of the pattern. You can give me the most durable, comfortable, and cost effective gear but if you can’t use it to hide, frankly it is useless for its intended purpose.
The British MTP pattern has been proving it’s effectiveness in warzones with the UK since 2010. Since then, a host of other nations have also picked up the pattern. Instead of reinventing the wheel in terms of testing, I’ll leave you with a youtube review by Brent0331, a Marine Corp veteran who reviews some of the most popular (and unpopular) camo patterns and gear around the globe.
MTP in the wild. Image courtesy of Wikipedia, a trusted source for all knowledge. Okay, maybe not THAT trusted, but you get my point.
Cost
Gear in this pattern is cheap. I recently purchased a British MTP combat shirt and basic pants for around $50 combined. There are backpacks, rucksacks, magazine pouches, and vests all in this pattern and all for very reasonable prices. Ebay is a good source but watch out for those high shipping prices. There are also U.S. based sources such as Coleman’s and Sportsman’s Guide.
I really like the cost of the MTP wet weather gear. I recently purchased a rain jacket and pants in MTP for around $70 combined cost. If you were to purchase this in another pattern, let’s say Multicam or the U.S. Army’s OCP, you would be spending several hundred dollars for equal quality.
Quality
Frankly, this is high quality equipment. There isn’t much else to say about it. Many troops across the globe use it and trust their lives to it. I am guilty of buying some crappy low tier military surplus equipment; you can buy British surplus with confidence. It will last.
I am currently testing a set of British MTP pants and combat shirt. In the short term, these are comfortable, light weight, and match up really well with the Multicam gear I already own. As I use this gear more in the field, I may do a full review, but in the meantime many others have tested the durability on Youtube.
Final Thoughts
To put it simply, I would highly recommend the British MTP pattern for anybody looking for high quality gear that will blend in to a wide range of environments. The equipment is high quality for military surplus, cost effective, and available in most of the developed world. Best of all, you can mix and match with Multicam or OCP gear without looking like a weirdo.
Mix and Match, my friends. You, and most importantly your wallet, will be happy with your decision.
If you had an unlimited budget for time and money building the ultimate AR-15 or AR-10 rifle wouldn’t be a problem. You could just grab a huge supply of awesome pre-configured upper receiver conversions and Plug and Play to your heart’s content.
The problem is, most people don’t want to have 20 different receiver conversion kits, and most people don’t have the budget or the time to figure out such a wide-ranging addition to their firearms collection.
The purpose of this article is to get you thinking about whether you want to buy three different upper receiver conversions to do three distinctly different things, or whether you want to look at where you can harmonize between the upper receiver conversions or components to really hybridize your rifle platform.
What Are Your Goals for Your New AR-15 Build?
Everybody’s got a new goal with a rifle. What’s yours? If you’re the type that likes to have a dedicated rifle for everything you want to do, now’s the time to quit reading this article. This article is more about finding unique ways to save a little bit of money.
But it isn’t so much about the money, rather, it’s about the ability to move between real-world use case scenarios while using the same basic platform so you can keep the continuity and feel of your rifle platform while accomplishing the goals you might have, which cross different profiles within the use case spectrum.
If you’re not already aware of the variability and customizability of the hardware for the AR platform, rest assured, there are a plethora of options and there’s a lot you can do with this rifle.
In fact, you’re likely to be able to do more with the AR-15 if you have the right component parts than any other single platform on the market. And it will do many things quite well.
While the AR-15 is very good at doing a lot of different things, it does tend to resemble the jack-of-all-trades, rather than a gun that can do everything extremely well. You’re not going to shoot benchrest style ¼ minute of angle groups at 400 yards unless you want to budget for it. But you’ll be able to look good at 250 yards.
So, keep the concepts in perspective and understand that while you can compete favorably with the mainstream when it comes to building a rifle that can compete with the best in the field, the AR-15 is more about being utilitarian than it is about being the specialist.
The One Gun Concept
The idea of a single gun being able to do everything you need it to do across the entire spectrum of sporting uses is just now starting to be breached, thanks to the robust marketplace and the standardized fitment of the AR-15.
In fact, it’s hard to find any other rifle that can even come close to competing with the AR-15 between different classes of activities.
And yet, in full transparency, it’s hard sometimes to justify using the AR platform as a true “one gun” concept. That shouldn’t discount the value that comes from the AR platform, though.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a bolt action that you’re going to be able to use for home defense no matter how hard your video gaming buddies try to use sniper rifles for CQB on their gaming consoles.
So, when it comes to the idea of a “one gun” concept, you’re as close as you’re ever going to get when you’re basing your firearm on the AR platform.
And with that introduction let’s talk about some core ideologies that can help you achieve what you want to with the AR platform.
Three Different Build Styles That Make Sense for A Lot of Shooters
Three different build styles make sense for most mainstream shooters who want to make a gun on the AR platform. These three core build styles lay the groundwork for several other sub-segments.
But because it’s important to understand where the framework lies, we’ll be highlighting these core structures and ideas rather than trying to get too hyper-focused on what you can accomplish when you go down the rabbit hole.
Defense Centric
Right in the sweet spot for the AR platform is a defensive-centric setup. Made as a battlefield implement rather than a target shooting tool, most of the development of the AR platform over the last 40 years has been based around the idea of using the firearm in a military and law enforcement capacity.
The AR lends itself quite well to this specific use case, and while many of the other strategic build styles may take more of the marketing budget, most of the hardware on the market can at least slot into the defensive build style.
Specifically, you’re going to want to have a look at component parts and if you’re using a conversion style upper in a complete build form factor. You’re going to want to minimize overall barrel length and bulk to ensure that you can move around in a CQB scenario and be able to pivot quickly to address defensive threats.
Additionally, having the right kinds of loads and a barrel and components that are optimized for those loads, which generally prioritize larger grain weights and larger diameter bullets can make a big difference with how stopping power translates to the threat.
[Editor’s note: I generally loathe the term stopping power, but in rifles it’s a more apt term. Rifle wounding characteristics make it a realistic concept to talk about as good rounds can produce desired effects in very few shots.]
Prioritizing strategic add-ons and accessory concepts that minimize heft and bulk, while offering real-world, real-time benefits is also quite important. Think suppressor and flashlight, rather than drum mags and lasers.
Hunting Centric
Depending on the type of game you’ll be going after, the hunting-centric setup could be built in any number of ways. The obvious benefit of the AR-15 when it comes to hunting is that almost all calibers made on the AR-15 can make sense up to about 400 lbs. for animals.
That goes from the .223 Remington all the way up until you need to transition platforms to the larger .308 style AR. This also includes some of the cool newer rounds that can help you dispatch animals well into the 600-yard range.
When we’re talking about the AR-10/308 platform, the .308, as well as the 6.5 Creedmoor both, offer interesting options with the Creedmoor pushing the capabilities of the rifle well into the thousand-yard spectrum.
Let’s not get it too twisted, however. Having a cartridge that’s capable of accuracy at 1000 yards plus is not the same thing as building an AR that can shoot accurately at 1000 yards plus. It’s certainly within the realm of possibility, but not necessarily meant to be, for all budgets.
A hunting-centric build is going to prioritize longer barrels, more stability, and an optimized load to twist rate, as well as prioritizing heavier-duty or larger optics. The stability of the optic mount will also be important.
Long-Range Target Shooting
For long-range target shooting, weight bulk and mass really don’t have to be factored in unless you desire them to be.
This allows you to go extreme to improve your overall heft, stability, and long-range precision by utilizing components that can function on a more of an “optimization” concept, than a “vast increase in accuracy” concept.
After three or four core component parts are added to a rifle platform the amount of accuracy that can be derived from new additions starts to become more incremental and less volumetric.
Using A Caliber or A Cartridge as A Focal Point
Many of the decisions you make regarding how you build your AR-15 or AR-10, especially if you’re using upper receiver conversion kits, will be based on caliber or cartridge. Picking your caliber/cartridge first can take a lot of the guesswork and difficulty out of optimization over the long term.
This is especially true if you have a high-quality lower receiver build that you can instantly plug and play with a high-quality upper receiver conversion kit.
This is also important if you need to make big gains early on and don’t have an already existing set of components to choose from. For example, utilizing the AR-10/308AR platform, and then deciding on the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge as your focal point already puts you in the range of 750 + yards.
If you’re looking to do long-range extreme precision target shooting (at least as much as the AR platform will let you), this is going to get you more than half of the way there.
Is There Crossover Between Calibers?
Similarly, if you’re looking for something that can hunt moderate and large game and allows you to do a significant amount of depredation, while still giving you some advantage in a home defense scenario. Choosing something like the 6.8 SPC might make a lot of sense.
Though some considerations picking a single caliber can’t address on its own. One glaring example might be choosing the 6.8 SPC expecting it not to go through multiple walls if you miss your primary defensive target.
Having this concern with the second hit capability can be challenging to overcome. Similarly, if one were to pick the .300 Blackout with a subsonic load, it almost instantly mitigates most of the threat that comes from second hit probability, especially if you hit your primary target.
GTI, Government Training Institute
These are similarly sized cartridges and grain weights, and yet they behave very differently in CQB.
You could always stay in the mainstream and utilize the .223/5.56 build that many AR15’s come out of the factory with. It’s been a solid setup for decades, in a variety of use cases.
Defensive Builds – Calibers and Cartridges to Consider
If it’s purely a CQB-type residential defensive weapon, few cartridges make more sense than the .300 Blackout, especially with the use of a suppressor. If you have access to a suppressor and you want to minimize second target hit probabilities, very few cartridges make more sense than a subsonic .300 Blackout for a CQB defensive build.
Otherwise, the 6.8 SPC, as well as a 6.5 Grendel, and the 223/5.56, are excellent choices for home defense.
Hunting Builds – Calibers and Cartridges to Consider
When looking to build a hunting-centric AR, several rounds make a lot of sense. Namely, the .223/5.56; the 300 Blackout in both supersonic and subsonic loads; the .300 Ham’r; the 6.5 Grendel, and the 6.8 SPC, with an honorable mention going to the 350 Legend. All of these are done easily on the AR-15 platform.
If you already know you want to be on the 308 AR platform, 6.5 Creedmoor makes an excellent option, with the 308 Winchester being an excellent choice as well, considering the massive amount of adoption across the market and the variety of loads available.
There are some caveats to the listed cartridges when it comes to hunting efficacy.
The .350 Legend is a straight-walled cartridge, which is an excellent choice in certain states where Straight walled cartridges are required for hunting certain game.
However, because of the bulk of the projectile and the way the cartridge is designed, it is limited in its overall effective range when taking large animals.
At the extreme, the 350 Legend should not be used beyond 250 to 275 yards if you need to cleanly dispatch a very large animal. At anything under that range, it makes a lot of sense if you’re already adopting the cartridge.
Can 300 Blackout Be Good for Hunting and Home Defense?
The 300 Blackout, as cool a cartridge as it is in subsonic loads for CQB and Home Defense, subsonic loads are generally not going to be the best in the field as you probably have an operating range of up to about 175 yards, and even then, that might be pushing it for some use cases.
On small and moderately sized deer and where a suppressor makes a lot of sense, it’s hard to go wrong with a subsonic load in the 300 Blackout at short range. But understand the limits of the ballistics.
When you get into the supersonic rounds, there are better offerings, but this gives you a single upper that can switch between home defense purposes and hunting purposes quite well if it fits in that tight range of carryover
The .223 and the 5.56 are going to max out at about 400 lbs. of game animal, and to about 275 yards when it comes to ballistic efficiency. That may not be a problem for hunting, depending on what game you’re after.
Is 300 Ham’r a Valid Option?
The .300 Ham’r, as interesting and promising as it may be, still only has a single supplier of ammunition and the demand far outweighs the supply given the recent supply chain issues.
Even though it’s SAAMI spec at this point, you’re going to need to wait sometime before you see the mainstream adoption of the round.
What About The Other .30 Caliber Rounds?
The 6.8 is roughly equivalent to the .308 Winchester with a smaller form factor – great for hunting, depending on what you’re trying to stalk.
Where it might not shine, is that a lot of the round configurations and off-the-shelf ammunition builds are geared towards law enforcement, military, and defensive uses.
With regards to the 6.5 Grendel, if you don’t need to reach past 550 yards or so, the 6.5 Grendel competes relatively well with the 6.5 Creedmoor in a much smaller form factor.
For hunters that want substantially similar performance in the early part of the distance range, the 6.5 Grendel might make a lot of sense.
Target Shooting Builds – Calibers and Cartridges to Consider
The most obvious cartridge here is on the AR-10/308 AR platform, and that is the 6.5 Creedmoor. It’s so far ahead of the rest of the competitors if what you want to do is excel at target shooting on an AR rifle, that it’s hard to have any other calibers in the discussion.
That said if you must build on an AR-15 there are some interesting cartridges and calibers that might make sense so long as you’re not trying to get into the extreme precision shooting ranges that reach Beyond 650 yd.
A couple calibers that come to mind are the 224 Valkyrie, and the 6.5 Grendel. However, an honorable mention could be made for the 223 Wylde, which will squeeze a little bit of extra accuracy out of bulk 5.56 and 223 Remington ammo while still giving you a lot of options for general use.
There’s always going to be some specialty cartridge you can choose to optimize around, but the above offer some mainstream options with a lot of support already intact.
Conclusion
The sky really is the limit with the AR15, and even with the AR-10/308AR. Where these guns shine is in the variability of use cases and the carryover between different builds that can optimize on one end and maintain performance on another.
While certain calibers, cartridges, or components might favor a specific style of build, more often than not, that Venn Diagram that shows the carryover in the middle, is likely to have a very synergistic center overlay when it comes to the AR platform.
It’s one of those fun nonsense tests that turn money into noise… and shrapnel.
Theory: Since a .50 BMG and a 12 gauge bolt face are compatible, should you be able to rebarrel a 12 gauge with a .50 BMG Barrel and it should be workable.
Practice: Well… hit play and enjoy.
Physics are an uncaring and merciless force and .50 BMG is one of our ultimate projections of physics in action. .50 absolutely wrecks things that more mundane rounds merely strike. The destruction on display firing this is spectacular and I am here for it.
The short version is you have to structurally support the round being set off. The 12 gauge AK frames cannot. It is a more energetic failure than polymer AR frames cracking near the buffer tube and rear takedown pin, but it is the same type of failure as there is not enough material, or enough of the correct material, to support the stress being put into the part.
Not to be outdone by ‘The Hellion‘ (which I ordered. What? You thought a mildly cringey name would stop me? Not a chance.) The General Dynamics, True Velocity, and Beretta team of titans has named their publicly releasing NGSW Submission. It is, The Genesis, and not the XM277. The Hellion was the VHS-2, this things working name was XM277 (RM277) last I knew, and they both got ‘name’ names.
Because apparently marketing teams think numbers are so last decade. At least it doesn’t have an overabundance of X’s used in an eXtreme manner instead of the military correct eXperimental designate. So there is that.
Anyway, True Velocity made the announcement by email. They are doing the advanced polycased ammunition, which I really want to work as advertised because that would be super cool to lower costs and make mainstream, and their email reads thus,
True Velocity is excited to announce the most advanced rifle ever created, “The Genesis”. To reserve your place in line sign up with your email. There will be limited production so act quickly. You will be receiving more information soon regarding the commercial version of the Next Generation platform “The Genesis”.
My biggest problem with this rifle continues to be nothing on the actual rifle. I hate the potato of a silencer they designed. I hate it, it looks goofy. Is that a dumb complaint? Yep, especially if it works well. But I still don’t like it.
I am also a little sketchy on the control scheme. There are a lot of levers around the index finger. It may make all the sense in the world, I may get my hands on this thing and declare it alrighty and sensible. But not having hands on it and an explanation of the manual of arms, especially coming off both M4/AR and X95 manual of arms which I know and approve of, I am puzzling this one out still.
One of my most immediate concerns isn’t actually those controls, it is the charging handle locations.
Why?
The X95.
If you’ll harken back to the original Tavor SAR, the charging handle was in a very similar forward position. However, on the X95 revision the pulled it back to a more central location for a number of reasons. Among those was it being a little too far forward and finding that the more central location fit more users, This is already a long rifle at 29″ (for a bullpup) and rifles like the X95, SCAR, G36, etc. have charging handles nicely placed at the midpoint of the rifle for the shorter armed.
So that’s it. That is my critique of The Genesis thus far.
I would like to see an explanation on the controls and see the charging handle move rearward to a more central locations, about 2/3’s forward instead of at the muzzle.
Study after study has confirmed that, with most things being otherwise equal as far as skill and familiarity, modern optics make for better shooters. Period.
Both the Army and Marine Corps of the United States and armed forces worldwide saw significant qualification score increases by adding modern (at the time) ACOG and dot optics. They’ve both since transitioned to adding LPVO optics, even the Airforce is adding 1-6’s to their M4’s.
Optics matter. Optics allow shooters to get more out of their rifle. Optics simplify the shot process.
A skilled shooter can shoot without them, we have for centuries at this point. But a skilled shooter can equally make use of the advantages optics bring. Making the shot process easier helps the novice and the expert alike. Most people cannot take advantage of the maximum effective range of their rifles until and unless they can effectively see targets that far.
Shooting 500 yards on the USMC qualification range, with irons, is all well and good. But that is a known (and large) target with a good backdrop (black on white). The hardest part of the longer distance shots is making certain you shoot at your lane’s target and not the one to the left or right of your lane. It can be done with irons.
Optics, however, especially magnified optics give you more data on the target and a greater ability to discriminate positioning for your shot. It won’t improve your ability to complete the shot but it will give you a closer look at the information you need to do that. The same concept applies forward to the NGSW-FC optic Vortex won. It makes it easier to complete the shot by giving you more of the information you need, but the fundamentals are unchanged.
92X Centurion and a Dark Star Gear to carry it. Superb.
From MCRGO,
In 2022, Michigan’s responsible gun owners have an opportunity to elect a House, Senate, and Governor who all support adding Michigan to the growing list of constitutional carry states. The term “constitutional carry” popularly means the ability to carry concealed outside the home without a license. Permitless concealed carry is a more accurate description as no license is needed to open carry in Michigan (with restrictions). At this point in time, 21 states have some form of constitutional concealed carry.
A common objection by opponents during state debates about constitutional carry is that it will lead to an increase in violent crime. Some anti-gun law enforcement organizations have also claimed it will increase killings of police. Lawmakers have good reason to be skeptical of these arguments. Similar claims were also made back when shall-issue concealed carry was adopted. Opponents warned of “blood in the streets.” Instead, crime rates fell.
So with 21 states already having adopted a form of constitutional carry, what have the numbers shown? The answer is that murder rates have dropped in a statistically significant way. Overall rates of violent crime have dropped but not considerably. Killings of police have also dropped slightly as have firearms specific homicides.
Thank you to the Crime Prevention Research Center for its original research on this issue. The CPRC study released two weeks ago on this topic can be found HERE. MCRGO encourages donations to CPRC’s academic work in support of legal gun ownership through their site HERE.
On this very first episode where all three of the boys are together, we sort of talk about bullpups. We also talk about camouflage, Caleb being old, and Jack having the heart of a 22 year old.
And we discuss bullpups (some of the time) this episode and go from of OICW program of the 90’s with its 20mm airburst grenade launcher bullpup weighing in at 18lbs to the fact that Springfield Armory changed people’s minds on them overnight by simply importing the VHS-2.
If Springfield Armory does it, it must be good. (I’ve got one on order, we will see.)
I must admit I am personally intrigued by the VHS-2. It’s like a G36 saw the FAMAS and thought it could benefit from some French culture. It may well be right.
The X95 continues to remain our most revered and respected Bullpup. The AUG gets a nod due to its classic Die Hard nature (and unique clearance method). We wonder at how the Beretta and General Dynamics team XM277 may in fact make it to the NGSW win even though the promo material makes the rifle look so enormous they had to have their demo creative team bulk up in the fullest of full armor to put it in scale.
All in all, bullpups are not the ‘dying breed’ they were speculated to be a short few years ago. There are still some very odd and poor examples of the type, but we have several good modern examples.
I’ll be seeing if the VHS-2 (Hellion) is among them.
The newest addition to the PDP comes ready for a can or a compensator, match adjustable sites, a magwell ready for competition, and still red dot ready. There’s a lot to like.
From Walther,
We are proud to introduce the new PDP PRO SD!
The new PDP PRO SD (Shalldämpfer) models share all the features and innovations that the firearms community loved and embraced about the original Walther PDP models but with a series of premium factory direct upgrades.
The new Walther PDP PRO SD models are available in the following configurations:
Whether challenged with a developing or active threat, what force options are available to you that can directly impact a clear and present danger? For example, proactive measures such as conflict avoidance can be utilized to counter a developing threat. In contrast, an active threat warrants reactive measures such as non-ballistic weapons and ballistic weapons.
The First Force Option: Conflict Avoidance
The most recommended proactive measure is conflict avoidance. A problem resolution option which is considered a non-physical skill or ‘soft skill.’ As such, it doesn’t require the usage of the human body. No usage of the human body means no introduction to the potential for physical injury or worse. Plus, it does not require any physical skills or training.
In terms of managing a developing or potential threat and in the words of renowned military strategist of antiquity Sun Tzu “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” In modern terminology, if the problem can be solved non-physically, there’s no chance of incurring personal injury. Why incur an injury when there’s no need? Given the choice of proactive or reactive measures, altogether diverting a physical altercation affords you the benefit of injury avoidance.
Forewarned is forearmed. If you can hear it, see it, and smell it coming, you have gained the tactical advantage of early warning, eliminating the element of surprise and exposing the potential threat.
Applying Situational Awareness
The first step to non-physical conflict avoidance is simply applying your situational awareness (SA) to your immediate environment. SA is the currency that buys you both time and additional options to help solve the tactical problem. Hopefully, without using force options.
An example of applying this proactive measure is when driving in your vehicle to your target destination. Perform a cursory visual scan before you park and exit the vehicle. Is the parking structure on fire? Is there a gunfight in progress? A higher likelihood event might be spotting a ‘peaceful protest’ forming or in progress or a car accident.
Your optimal conflict resolution option is to apply your SA. If you identify a potential threat indicator or an anomaly that doesn’t look right, or doesn’t seem right, or doesn’t feel right, then it’s probably not right.
It’s not rocket surgery to pull your head out of your cell phone for a few seconds when entering a new environment. Do a quick perimeter scan when approaching or departing a structure. While on foot or in a vehicle, remain aware of anomalies, and heed your intuitive hits.
Solving the tactical problem with a soft skill such as applying good SA or de-escalation eliminates the introduction of injury, defuses a potential threat, and places you ahead of the action-reaction power curve.
The Second Force Option: Non-ballistic Weapons
Failing proactive measures, you are relegated to reactive measures. Reactive measures include physical or hard skills requiring physical effort. Reactive measures engage the human body by using personal, conventional, or improvised weapons. These introduce the potential for physical injury.
If you do not have access or cannot access a firearm, the next best choice out of all of your force options is to get something in your hands. This can equalize the situation by defending yourself and those with you.
The application of non-ballistic weapons is to reach for a weapon of opportunity. Such an improvised weapon falls under one of three categories: edged weapons, impact weapons, or flexible weapons.
Using Improvisation
An improvised-edged weapon can be anything with a sharp edge or tip. Something such as a kitchen/ steak knife, pair of scissors, broken piece of glass, a jagged or sharp chunk of metal, or an ice pick and the like.
An improvised impact weapon can be many things. Something along the lines of an umbrella, rock, hammer, rolled up magazine, tree branch, frying pan, rolling pin, toilet plunger handle, coffee pot (filled with scalding hot coffee), a broomstick, and the like.
The primary form of execution in the United States before the advent of the electric chair in 1938 was hanging. “He shall hang by the neck until dead.”
The rope is a flexible weapon along with a handkerchief, t-shirt, belt, purse strap, trash can liner, piece of 550 cord, and the like. Anything that can be readily applied to the human neck. They can be used as a garrote for strangulation, choking, or breaking C1 – C4 vertebrae. All of which are considered non-ballistic force options to stop an active threat.
In any modern operational environment, non-ballistic weapons can be found readily available both indoors and outdoors.
The Final Force Option: Ballistic Weapons
In addition to non-ballistic weapons, there is a remaining force option in reaction to an active threat commonly referred to as ballistic weapons. Ballistic, being the use of a firearm to stop the threat.
Firearms are tools designed to keep people safe in the event of a clear and present danger to life or limb by an active threat. Therefore, if you choose to own a firearm, it is incumbent upon a gun owner to include training in judgment, gun safety, gun handling, and marksmanship.
Gun owners often overlook judgment training. Yet, the decision to deploy your firearm in self-defense, especially in today’s tremendously litigious and ‘politically correct’ society, is essential. Making such a decision is based on many factors – especially the single most unavoidable and contributing factor: time.
Even if you are applying good SA, when you notice someone at a shopping mall running straight toward you wielding a machete intent on chopping off your head, are you in front of or behind the action-reaction power curve? Yes, behind, so you need to catch up.
To support your judgment of a shoot or no-shoot scenario, you must consider those around you. Among other contributing factors (such as time). For example, do you have a good enough backstop? Do you have the technical skill to make the shot? Such decisions expend precious seconds in the middle of a dynamic and deadly active threat scenario.
You are offered multiple threat management options given a limited amount of time to solve the tactical problem. One is a proactive measure or threat avoidance option by applying your situational awareness. The others are reactive measures or force options: applying non-ballistic or ballistic weapons to mitigate or neutralize an active threat.
About the Author
Steve Tarani is a former full-time CIA protective programs employee, small arms and defensive tactics subject matter expert. Tarani served on POTUS 45 pre-election executive protection detail. He is the lead instructor for NRA’s non-ballistic weapons training program offered nationally. Tarani is also a DoD and FLETC-certified federal firearms instructor who has been on staff at Gunsite Academy (AZ) as a Rangemaster for over twenty years. Formerly sworn, he is also a former federal contractor and service provider for the US Defense Intelligence Community, US Naval Special Operations Command, and other government agencies. Tarani additionally serves on the National Sheriffs’ Association Committee for School Safety and Security. In addition to his teaching and consultation, he writes for a number of publications, including The Mag Life, the official online publication of GunMag Warehouse.
Firearms formerly known as pistols with their much less dangerous and totally way less concealable rifle counterpart. [/sarc]
The word is getting around in certain circles of the gunternet sphere. The ATF has made their decision, it is said, that braced firearms are going to be scored per the rule 2021R-08 on a form 4999.
I’ll give you the short version. You have an SBR. Nothing about the criteria listed on the 4999 is designed to make however you are, probably, using any braced pistol style of firearm an SBR. Most of the most common, most aesthetic, and most comfortable brace designs will add somewhere between 2 and 6 points to the allowable total of 4 making it a “Stock” in effect.
We’ve known they were after this determination since SIG first brought the brace fully to the forefront of AR pistol designs. It was a delightful time where we honored the letter of the law but got we wanted too. Unfortunately it sounds like it is coming to an end.
NOTE: I have not seen any official ATF letterhead giving a date or the final terms.
This does not make braces illegal, which is a very clever way to not repeat the disaster that the bumpstock ban kicked off, it makes braces into stocks by use. It scores the brace itself, its attachment to the firearm, and then the other attachments on the firearm, to determine whether or not it is a stock… and therefore the former pistol is now an SBR.
The link above (and here) has the 4999 score sheet. Remember, you cannot break 4 points in any category and some of them are a little… vague still.
What my XCR scored for reference.
Most people running a carbine pistol type of any sort are almost certainly in violation using any of the common… well… anythings. There is no practical way someone is running a non-violating pistol, unless they messed up by the numbers on every pick of every accessory.
They can’t make them illegal to shoulder. Making braces illegal is a disaster. So they have settled on putting together individual pistols in an SBR like way being the problem.
You can click-thru if you’d like, but I’ll summarize and discuss here.
New Mexico State Senator Cliff Pirtle introduced a bill that would require up to date safety certifications for anyone on a film crew that will be around firearms and ammunition. Cast and crew who will be handling or around the firearms must have or take a safety course.
Considering how much we require this for other professional safety considerations it makes sense.
We literally have OSHA, an entire administrative organization dedicated to occupational safety. This is the type of gun control rule that has some professional legs to stand on. It is circumstantial and is not tied to an individual right to possess or not possess a firearm. It is directly tied to a workplace environment where firearms are being handled in a manner that will almost certainly result in them being pointed at other people. It’s the movies.
With the risk factor high, somewhere close to live fire training and in certain aspects riskier than live fire training, having a standard for safety in the workplace is an argument I am willing to entertain.
Why?
Again, we do it for everything else. We do it for forklifts, outsized vehicles, special lifting equipment, assembly machines, and even just watching for slip and fall hazards in the workspace. None of these are tied to owning, just operating professionally. With that in mind, having a professional educational safety requirement is right in line with work safety practices nationwide.
With the fact that firearms are a lesser known and a taboo subject, having a professional standard becomes even more important as general knowledge will be very hit and miss and the quality of that knowledge will be equally suspect. That is a side effect of putting the negative connotations upon firearms.
Want proof?
We did it for sex and recreational substance use too, and those clearly have zero problems associated with making them absurdly negative connotatively. Right?
Here is what it comes down to. Because of the workplace nature of this safety bill, it makes sense. The only hurdle (and it isn’t much of one, Firearm Safety isn’t astrophysics) is in designing an appropriate handling course or picking them from available ones. Perhaps scaling them to coincide with the level of handling expected by the cast or crew member once the basics are satisfied.
Shows like Strike Back and movie productions like Extraction and John Wick put heavy emphasis on safety and training, it shows in the end product. Making this a standard, instead of a quality ‘best practice’ that can be eschewed if budgets look a little budgety, is worth considering.
During our journey as adults and responsible gun owners, most of us have developed a home defense plan of some kind. For some it is as simple as knowing where our defense tools are located, for others there is considerably more planning involved.
In my youth my plan was pretty simple, a shotgun or pistol in the bedroom was enough. As I began my journey into fatherhood, I wanted to put more thought into defending my family. Over the span of several months, I began to build a family conscious home defense loadout: something I, and my wife, can grab when things go bump in the night.
Short and fat wins the race
My primary self defense tool for this loadout is centered around a .300 AAC Blackout AR-15. I am not going to get into the internals, this was mostly a spare parts build, but there are some key features I looked for in a self defense firearm. When it comes to close quarters fighting, I wanted to build as short of a package as possible. To do this, I decided to run a .300 AAC Blackout build with a 5 inch barrel. Also, I believe that a Weapon Mounted Light is crucial to any home defense tool.
Two Banger Bag
I have always been told that when things go bump in the night, you won’t have time to strap on your plate carrier, battle belt and night vision. You will be fighting with your weapon, probably in your underwear, maybe even a pair of slippers if you have the time. I wanted to run a bag system that would be quick and easy to grab and go; something that I could leave next to my gun until I need it.
To fill this role, I chose the Two Banger Bag from 5.11 Tactical. I really like this system. It gives the user something that is very quick to don and has enough storage for the essentials. The bag has two built in magazine pouches, a zippered pouch that can hold an additional two magazines, and a third zippered pouch. For a more in-depth review, check out this YouTube video review.
Doc would be proud…
My time in the military has taught me the importance of carrying a medical kit with you. Because of this, I decided to fill the two zippered pouches on this bag with various medical supplies. I tossed in a few bandages, two tourniquets, gauze, and a few other items I have found useful in the past. My intention with this medical kit was to keep things simple. I also threw in a MOLLE flashlight pouch and a Surefire handheld with some spare batteries.
Afterthoughts
I really like this set up for a home defense loadout. The two banger bag leaves something to be desired as a chest rig. The bag doesn’t fit perfect, it wants to bounce around when making quick movements, but that is a trade off that I am willing to accept in place of how easy this thing is to don and doff. I haven’t found a bag you can put on quicker that also keeps your stuff where you want it. Overall, I would recommend this loadout to anyone. Add what you need. Subtract what you don’t. Keep it light and fight on friends.
