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The Budget Buckshot Shootout

By
Travis Pike
-

As a shotgun nerd, I’m always experimenting with my thunderstick. I might have settled on Federal FliteControl for home defense, but I’m always looking for suitable alternatives. Relying on a single round for all your defensive needs can leave you in a logistics nightmare. Covid, elections, and fear drove gun and ammo sales through the roof! As such, I picked up a number of budget buckshot loads and have been doing a little experimentation.

Today we are going to evaluate seven different loads of 00 buckshot from a wide variety of companies. We are shooting them through a cylinder bore Benelli M4 at a range of 10 yards at a simple piece of paper target. Let’s get a good idea of what budget buckshot can do.

Olin Military Buckshot

The Classic Olin military buckshot often retails for well under a buck a round. Sadly, as of late, the ammo has been driven up in price. This nine pellet load comes in OD green with a plain cardboard box, and it reeks of military service. Projectiles are propelled at 1,325 feet per second and uses Grex buffering.

Olin delivered the widest spread of our budget buckshot loads and measures out to 8 inches at 10 yards. That’s far from fancy. I also noticed some inconsistent patterning. With the same POA, I had spreads that were never entirely consistent. Reliable function wasn’t an issue, and the shell features a lovely high brass design. In terms of recoil, the round isn’t unique or excessive.

Lambro Guard Budget Buckshot

I never even heard of this budget buckshot brand until Black Friday. I purchased 250 rounds of it for less than 150 dollars, making it the cheapest buckshot I’ve purchased since 2019. This Greek load is a standard nine pellet, 1325 FPS buckshot, with a rolled crimping. Rolled crimping with cheap buckshot is a nice touch that allows for more consistent performance.

Speaking of, a 4-inch spread at 10 yards provides a rather unusual pattern for such cheap ammunition. It also seems to be consistent with the majority of the pellets landing dead center. Occasionally one or two pellets may favor one side over the other, but not by a crazy amount. It’s solid ammo, and for the price, it’s unbeatable.

Fiocchi American Buckshot

I call this American buckshot because of the red, white, and blue box. I don’t know what else to call this simple, 1,325 FPS, nine pellet buckshot load. This laid remains less than a dollar even during the height of the Covid and election shelf emptying phenomenon. While the box claims to be a 1,325 FPS load, I actually doubt that.

Almost every load in this budget buckshot shootout is a nine pellet 1,325 FPS load. Yet this particular Fiocchi load recoils much softer than any other buckshot on this list. I went through an entire 25 round box to see if this was consistent, and yep, it was a lot lighter recoiling than any other load. Spread wise we got a 6.5-inch spread, and it consistently patterned a little more vertically than horizontally. The load is low brass, has a folded crimp, and lacks any buffering material.

Fiocchi Defense Dynamics Buckshot

Purpose-built defensive budget buckshot from Fiocchi seems promising. This eight pellet buckshot load promises a more consistent pattern by reducing flyers by using an eight pellet load instead of a nine pellet load. We also got a rolled crimp and high brass. Oddly Fiocchi went with a full-powered 1,325 FPS load instead of a reduced recoil load.

Performance and function proved perfectly fine without any failures. The pattern hit 6 inches consistently and patterned very consistently in a round pattern. It works well, and I think it would pattern a little tighter and have less recoil with a lower FPS. 1,200 FPS would be perfect!

Sellier and Bellot Buckshot

This budget buckshot load comes from across the pond, way across from the Czech republic. The S&B load steps back in time and doesn’t make use of a wad. Instead, you get one of the old cardboard disks. We do have a rolled crimp, and what just qualifies as a high brass load. Velocity isn’t printed on the box, but according to the website, it’s a 1,200 FPS load.

It certainly has light recoil, and for an unbuffered shot load without a wad, it doesn’t pattern as bad as I thought. My best pattern could also be called my worst. It’s a 5-inch pattern…but the flyer isn’t on the paper! Other patterns showed a typical pattern of 6 inches or so, and a horizontal pattern seems typical.

Monarch Buckshot

At the beginning of this whole Covid thing, I saw the writing on the wall and bought some buckshot from Academy. In fact, I grabbed 500 rounds of their nine pellet buckshot for training purposes. It’s a high brass, rolled crimp, nine pellet load with a velocity of 1,345 FPS. Not fancy, but it proved to be not too bad. A 4.5-inch pattern at 10 yards proved to be the best pattern, with most being closer to 5 inches. The pattern wasn’t always super consistent and did the old donut of death.

The Monarch Buckshot load proved impressive for being budget buckshot, but you can certainly feel a bit more recoil with this load. I’d actually not be surprised if it was faster than 1,345 FPS. It feeds reliably, and my main complaint is that the shells aren’t just like my training rounds. For the price and seeming wide availability, this might be the best when logistics are tough.

Federal XM127 00 Buckshot – The Best Budget Buckshot

I’m not sure what to call this load. It’s the black and white Federal bulk pack. I paid .49 cents per round pre-Covid. It’s a standard high brass, nine pellet load at 1,325 FPS with a folded crimp. Pattern wise, we got less than 4 inches at ten yards. The patterns were all tight to the center and came out to be right around 3.75 inches.

Federal makes good buckshot, even when it’s cheap buckshot! Performance was flawless, and if you can find it, this is the best load I tested. Sure, a lower FPS would be better, but the patterns tight and consistent.

Pattern Your Budget Buckshot!

Loads pattern differently between guns, chokes, and more. The same guns built on the same day from the same factory can pattern differently. Each load must be patterned with your specific gun at your range. Use this as just a simple guide for basic performance, but always confirm with your own gun. I’d advise Federal FliteControl for home defense, but it’s not always available. As such, you might have to turn to a budget buckshot load, and if so, you at least know what to expect.

Review: The Springfield Armory Emissary

By
V. Caldwell
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Springfield’s newest introductions have been exceptional firearms. The Hellcat high capacity 9mm is a compact powerhouse. The Ronin 1911 is an affordable old school pistol with good features, perhaps all we really need in a defensive 1911. The Springfield Emissary is Springfield’s newest. I am something of a gun crank and a 1911 fan.

The Emissary is a different pistol than the Ronin and it certainly doesn’t have the traditional 1911 appearance. The Emissary addresses issues with some of the upgraded 1911 handguns. There are no target features such as an adjustable rear sight or adjustable target type trigger. This is a capable and reliable personal defense and tactical handgun. In short it has my full endorsement. I am a shooter not a collector and this gun is made for shooters. 

The pistol is slightly more narrow than other 1911 handguns, a neat trick. The slide is a tri cut type with unobtrusive but effective forward cocking serrations. The front sight is a good mix of fluorescent material surrounding a tritium insert. The rear sight is a U Notch wedge type.

The U notch is very fast in rapid combat shooting. Long range accuracy is also quite good. The slide lock and magazine release are crisp and tight and work as designed. The slide lock safety indents sharply. I cannot tolerate a slide lock safety that doesn’t operate in a positive manner. It isn’t uncommon to find a mushy fit on 1911 handguns- and they are all not cheap guns either. The grip safety is a well designed beavertail that funnels the hand into a firing grip. Some of us allow the palm to cup and move from the grip safety especially with the thumbs forward grip. This safety is positive in operation. The grip safety releases its hold on the trigger about half way into compression. The slide is finished in a nice blue while the frame is stainless steel. The grips are G 10 and well designed with a good balance of adhesion and abrasion. The front strap features a different type of serration, a square type that offers and excellent hold on the front sweat. With the combination of G 10 grips and front strap treatment the pistol should never slip with cold, sweaty or wet hands. 

The pistol is supplied with two MecGar 8 round bumper pad magazines.  The trigger is a solid type with a slight indent in the center. Control is excellent. Trigger compression is just under five pounds. The pistol locks up firmly with locking lugs well fitted into the slide. The pistol uses a swinging link lockup in the traditional 1911 design. There is no barrel bushing, however. The Springfield Emissary uses a bull barrel. Full contact with the slide eliminates the barrel bushing’s role. This bull barrel offers excellent accuracy potential.

The pistol doesn’t use a positive firing pin block or drop safety. The Springfield uses a 9mm/.38 Super size firing pin and a heavy rating firing pin spring. This prevents the firing pin from running forward to the chambered cartridge and its primer if the pistol is dropped. There is also a light rail for mounting combat lights. I used the new Inforce Wild 2 combat light. With a startling 1000 lumens this light offers an excellent option for home defense and tactical use. (ordered from Cheaperthandirt.com) And finally- the Springfield Emissary 1911 .45 carries a lifetime warranty. 

The pistol checked out well but the proof is in the firing. I have burned up a lot of ammunition and made a sizeable pile of brass during the past few weeks. After all I was on a waiting list quite a while to obtain this pistol. I am not simply casually interested, the Emissary is a front line pistol. And front line qualified it is.

The pistol has been fired with a good mix of lead bullet handloads, FMJ, and hollow point loads. A good bit of my dwindling supply of Black Hills Ammunition 230 grain has been fired. The pistol clears leather and gets on target quickly. The combination of an excellent sight picture and a crisp trigger compression make for good practical accuracy. Hits in the 10 ring, quickly, are the rule to 7 yards with some shots straying to the 9 and 8 ring of the B 27 at 15 yards if I fire too quickly.

All manner of drills are aced with this pistol. As for bench rest accuracy, well, firing at small targets at known and unknown ranges is more interesting and more of a test of the handgun. Just the same the pistol will keep five rounds of Black Hills 230 grain FMJ or 230 grain JHP into 2.2 inches at a long 25 yards. I also used the Winchester USA Ready 230 grain FMJ with good results. I cannot find a load to break 2.0 inches. There have been no failures to feed, chamber, fire or eject. The Emissary is a good piece to ride with. 

Springfield Emissary 1911 Specs:

Caliber                                                                                  45 ACP

Barrel                                                                                    5 inch Match 

Sights                                                                                   U-notch rear, tritium front

Grips                                                                                     VZ Grips Thin-Line G10

Magazines                             Two eight round 

Weight 39.5 ounces 

Length                                                                                  8.4 inches

Height                                                                                   5.25 inches

MSRP                                                                                    $1279

The Other PDWs – Beyond HK and FN

By
Travis Pike
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Personal defense weapons fulfill a very niche role that makes it sit between a submachine gun and an assault rifle. The concept came out of the late 1980s in a quest to find a weapon for non-front line troops who didn’t need a rifle but needed something more than a handgun. As such, they developed a weapon that could easily reach out to 100 meters and up to 200 meters and penetrate soft armor. The P90 and later the MP7 came out of the personal defense weapon contest and are largely accepted as the most successful of PDWs.

They can’t be the only PDWs developed, right? Nope, you’d be right in assuming that more than one company produced personal defense weapons. While they didn’t see the same success as the P90 or MP7, they are worth mentioning. When I say PDW, I’m not talking about 5.56 and .300 Blackout caliber super short rifles. I’m specifically categorizing PDWs by the NATO definition.

The Colt Mars

It’s 1997. Pizza pockets are popping, Aqua’s Barbie Girl rules the airwaves, and Colt’s developing the MARS. MARS stands for Mini Assault Rifle System, and it’s arguably more PDW than an assault rifle. The round used is the new 5.56x30mm which offered greater energy potential than the 9mm and the 5.7x28mm.

The MARS could reach out to 300 meters with a 55 grain 5.56 round. It reaches 2,620 feet per second and hits with roughly 830 foot-pounds of energy.

While the 5.56 x 30mm sounds like a rifle or PDW round Colt used a magnum pistol type propellant to get those crazy high velocities.

The MARS looked and functioned like an M16 series rifle. It sported a short 10.5-inch barrel and used a flat-top upper receiver and proprietary magazine and lower receiver. Only three prototypes were created, and the program sadly faded away. Mostly because Colt thought it would harm M16 and M4 sales.

Knight’s Armament Company PDW

The Legendary Knight’s Armament COmpany began designing their own super short PDW-style weapon in the mid-2000s. The KAC PDW shared a timeline with Nu Metal and the beginning of the MCU but seemed to go more the Nu-Metal route in popularity. The KAC PDW utilized a proprietary 6x35mm cartridge that really rides the is it a PDW or is it an assault rifle caliber line.

The round could reach out to 300 meters and easily penetrate soft armor and could likely pierce harder armor with multiple hits, especially close range.

The round specifically benefited from short barrels and reached peak velocity in a short platform. Speaking of the KAC Personal Defense Weapons could have 10 or 8-inch barrels.

The weapon was very M4-like but lacked the receiver extension and featured a folding stock for superior compactness. The gas-operated, dual pistol system is interesting and allows the package to be very compact and handy.

QCW-05

Let’s head to the land of the rising sun, China. Chinese small arms range from direct copies of Soviet firearms to unique firearms. They embraced bullpup platforms in the early 2000s, and one such was the QCW-05. The Light Assault Weapon, Suppressed 05 brought the PDW to the Chinese military force. Perfect for trying to oppress the free people of Taiwan, who are very clearly a separate country from China.

The QCW-05 utilizes a new proprietary 5.8x21mm round that lacks the range and penetration of the 5.7 x 28mm. However, it can still penetrate a steel helmet at 100 yards and fits the role of personal defense weapons.

The bullpup layout keeps things super short, and the Chinese intended the weapon to utilize a suppressor when used.

The QCW-05 utilizes a 9.8-inch barrel and has an overall length of 19.7 inches. The 50 round magazines use a coffin-type design and try their best to imitate the capacity of the P90. There seems to be a specific subsonic round also designed for use inside 50 meters and for a much quieter weapon.

SAAB Bofors Dynamics CBJ-MS

The line of personal defense weapons with the longest name ever goes to the SAAB Bofors Dynamics CBJ-MS line of Swiss-made weapons. Henceforth I’m calling them the CBJ-MS. Most PDWs seem to have a space-age look to them, but the CBJ-MS looks more like a traditional SMG with MAC/Uzi stylings to it.

The CBJ-MS houses the magazine in the pistol grip, and the receiver is a big stamped steel design with a wire stock. The open bolt design is also decidedly old school, and the blowback operation isn’t fancy.

However, the 6.5x25mm round reportedly works extremely well out to 150 yards. Users only need to swap the barrel to convert the weapon to good old-fashioned 9mm as well.

The CBJ-MS provides a very small weapon, at only 14.3 inches. With the stock retracted, it’s tough to beat. It might not be fancy in an age of polymer, short gas stroke pistons, and helical magazines, but if it works, it works.

Modern Sub Machine Carbine

Modern Sub Machine Carbine is the only other acceptable name for personal defense weapons. It actually seemingly describes PDWs better than PDW. The MSMC came from India and used a unique layout. The MSMC utilizes a 5.56x30mm round that can reach out to 300 yards. Internally the weapon uses a long-stroke gas piston, and on the outside, it uses a quasi bullpup design.

The magazines sit in the pistol grip, and I imagine gripping the pistol grip is much like gripping a 2×4. The 5.56x30mm MINSAS round has an overall length of 1.654 inches, so it’s not quite compact.

Yet, the weapon is kept quite compact overall with a collapsible stock. The MSMC Provides plenty of room for modern accessories, including optics, lights, and suppressors.

The 12-inch barrel ensures the gun has plenty of oomph out to 300 meters and can easily punch right through soft armor. It’s an interesting design that keeps things small but capable. The Indian military and police forces make use of the weapon, but it doesn’t seem popular for export.

Personal Defense Weapons Around the World

If I had to guess, personal defense weapons will likely grow and evolve into something somewhat indistinguishable from carbines. The rounds may change slightly, and we may see rounds more like the 300 Blackout and less like the 5.7. These weapons will be ultra-short but capable out to 300 yards and hopefully easily suppressed. Maybe, they’ll go the opposite way like the CBJ-MS and be smaller but capable out to 150 to 200 yards. Either way, we’ll keep our eyes on the latest trends in SMGs, PDWs, and assault rifles.

Review: The Unit Solutions Unit 4

By
Keith Finch
-

I did it! I got to do a video review!

As an editor, the editor in fact, I actually don’t get to do these nearly as often as everyone assumes. I’m busy checking everyone else’s work and out and about 1,001 other tasks that go on behind a page to keep it running.

So when Unit Solutions sent me an awesome looking hard case and a box of shiny sealed ammunition packs, I was… excited doesn’t quite cover it, but it is the best if an underwhelming descriptor. I didn’t even care what was in the box. I was hands back on a genuine full blown T&E.

What was in the box?

The video gives the details. All of them.

But for those wanting a text breakdown, the Unit 4 is CO2 powered 8mm BB gas gun that can fire a marking or a non-marking airsoft consistency projectile to about 50 yards. It is select fire and uses many genuine AR-15 components in its construction.

The bolt carrier and magazine system are obviously designed to cycle based on the altered gas system and both the trigger and buffer are also tuned to work with the CO2 action. But several of the parts, and an even greater number of the parts functioning styles are completely comparable to the AR the Unit 4 is based upon. As many of the stock or off the shelf parts as were useable were kept in the design, contributing greatly to the authentic user experience with the system.

The single most visceral interaction was the felt recoil. The recoil impulse, despite the drastic change in mass and velocity of the projectile, feels incredibly authentic and that is one of the things lost during dry fire or using other substitute manipulations for getting reps on the gun is lack of recoil. The Unit 4 recoils, you get the authentic movement of the bolt carrier mass back and forth as part of the cycling experience.

As a non-firearm training tool, to run the mechanics of an AR rifle, it feels peerless. If at any point you require something that isn’t a firearm due to legal restrictions it fits the mold exquisitely. Additionally it covers down on the force-on-force aspects of training, where a safe to shoot (with basic PPE) maintaining both round counts and the feel of the shot mechanics. These are simply things that do not transfer from an AEG type airsoft gun and every factor that is different introduces greater artificiality into the scenario. Too much artificiality induces greater disconnect into the training, so every felt stimulus that you can maintain (and do so safely) is a value add.

The authenticity of the feel has a ‘cool factor’ all its own, but humans are tactile creatures and we learn and react very much based upon feel. Even if intellectually we know what and how things function, anti-lock brakes for example, it is the feel of them and the familiarity with them that allows us to respond appropriately. So feeling the Unit 4 recoil and the bolt mass lock back very much like the 5.56 gun will is a huge plus. Being able to load it authentically, run the controls authentically, even feel the trigger break properly all add direct tactile connections to the M4 and reduce the artificial disconnect. It’s a detail that I appreciate when they could have introduced highly functional shortcuts and workarounds to cost cut but drastically increase the disconnect.

Check them out!

Springfield introduces the 1911… yet again.

By
Keith Finch
-

You know on Spotify or YouTube Music when you have a huge playlist of songs but it still keeps on picking the same one a lot for some reason? Like it isn’t even a bad song, you don’t mind listening to it when it pops up, but it just seems to hit way more often than some of the other 167 songs in the list.

This seems to be the Springfield Armory product and product naming convention. Like, “Oh yeah, this one is a banger. But didn’t we just hear it like 4 tracks ago? This feels really familiar.”

Springfield Armory introduces… the ‘Operator‘ 1911, because that word hasn’t been beaten to death since 2004 or so.

It’s a 1911… in .45 ACP… With an ambi-safety… and nightsights… and a rail!

Did we mention VZ Grips? Nobody has done VZ Grips!

O P E R A T O R

For those that demand a no-nonsense approach to their defensive grade pistol, the Operator 1911 in .45 ACP stands ready to deliver. Featuring the duty-grade features serious shooters demand, the Operator 1911 builds on the century-plus of service behind the gun and the cartridge to deliver a cutting-edge, tactical-grade pistol. Tactical Rack rear/tritium front sights, G10 grips, ambi safety, two eight-round magazines with bumper pads, forward cocking serrations, and more combine to make the Operator 1911 from Springfield Armory a must-have tool for self-defense.

They’re just releasing stuff they have already and hoping we don’t notice between actually bringing new items like the SA-35 out. That’s what this is.

I’m sure it works, they’ve been doing 1911’s for more than 5 minutes now. But c’mon Springfield, this is your WHOLE thing. 1911’s and M1A’s, nobody expected what XD became when you… wait… That’s it! This is the XD play! Rebrand and relaunch!

Gotcha, Springfield. Carry on.

Cast Iron – For Home, Camping, and Bug-Out

By
Dr LateBloomer
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The past few years I’ve been working on learning how to use an old tool. This tool is one that generations of a our forebears before us have relied upon for durable cookware – whether over a campfire, on a cook stove, or with a newfangled electric range.

I’m talking about cast iron. I am a new convert to this old school tool, but I am gradually discovering the joys. And building up my forearms in the process.

I acquired a couple enamel coated Dutch ovens 3 or 4 years ago as I learned to bake round loaves of bread (including sourdough). But I’m still fairly new to the seasoning and care process of plain black cast iron cookware.

We had one antique cast iron pan in the house when I was growing up. it was my father’s and only he ever used it. Otherwise I learned to cook with stainless steel and teflon. Thus, my need to learn “now” how to use this old reliable cooking method.

Learning how to cook with cast iron isn’t really that hard, it’s just a little different.  A pan takes longer to heat up, but retains the heat and cooks more evenly once it does. I discovered this when learning to make and can homemade jam. A cast iron pot holds the heat and keeps the jelly and jam from cooling off too quickly while you are ladling it into jars to put in the canner. Homemade jam is a lot harder to pour it once it starts to gel. My jelly kettle was enameled cast iron, so I didn’t have to worry about clean up. But plain cast iron requires special care.

Seasoning cast iron

Besides its weight, bare black cast iron has one big drawback – it requires more care and attention to “seasoning” than modern cookware. But there are those who would argue that once a good season is accomplished that cast iron is very easy care and will last for generations.

Basically, “seasoning” involves building up a multilayered coating of polymerized oil on the surfaces of the iron. This not only serves as a barrier to moisture and rust, it also makes the cooking surfaces fairly non-stick. A well-seasoned cast iron pan is a treasure, and the fastest way to get written out of grandma’s will is to put such a pan in the dishwasher.

Cleaning cast iron

The enemy of well-seasoned cast iron is soaking in soap and water. Thus, it requires a bit of kitchen re-training to learn how to properly clean cast iron without ruining the season. Those of us who grew up with “squeaky clean” as the gold standard of dishwashing need to change our perspective. The trick with cast iron is to remove any stuck-on food without removing the polymerized oil protective finish. 

There are many opinions on how best to accomplish that task, and many videos on the internet. Likewise there are many YouTube videos on how best to properly season a new (or refurbished old) cast iron pan. Thus, I won’t go into that here, as I am still learning my own “best practices”. But I encourage you to do some searching and figure out which method and which seasoning (from flaxseed oil to bacon grease) works best for you.

Cast iron versatility

Granted, the weight of cast iron means that you can’t take it on a bug-out on foot. But a car bug-out is not out of the question, and sheltering-in-place is a perfect opportunity to use your ferrous treasures – because it doesn’t matter whether you use it on the house stove, a camp stove, on the grill, or over a backyard campfire. You can’t always say that about modern cookware. Thus, barring backpacking treks, cast iron can be your best choice for a wide variety of situations and heat sources.

Vintage vs New

Cast iron aficionados will tell you that there is nothing like the good old smooth antique and vintage cast iron pans. Since they are nearly indestructible, even rusted ugly old flea market finds are likely to clean up quite nicely with some TLC. But beware antique dealers and collectors because they usually know what they have and will charge you an arm and a leg. Estate sales and thrift shops might be your better bet. Or you can just buy new. Lodge is a “Made in America” company and has been in business for generations, but some of the imported brands seem to work just fine as well. I have two vintage/antique pieces in my kitchen but the rest are new.

A few of my acquisitions over the past couple years.

You can buy virtually any style of cast iron you can imagine. They come with lids, without lids, with legs, without legs, flat top, dome top, large, medium and small. And then there are the cute little options like corn shaped cornbread pans if you want to go wild.

Getting Started

But you don’t need to go wild to get started. One skillet and one Dutch oven with a single lid to fit both should serve almost all of your cooking needs in a “bare necessities” type situation. You can even buy them in camping sets for that purpose. With that outfit you should be able to stew, fry, sautéed, steam, and even bake bread or a pie. With cast iron you can also go from stovetop directly to oven without blinking. A couple of accessories that I would also recommend are a silicone handle cover and a chain mail scrubber.

Bread baked in the cover photo Dutch oven.

So far my own cast iron adventures have only taken place in a modern kitchen. I don’t have a fireplace in my home, but I would like to learn some hearth cooking techniques. So I’ll be lighting up the outdoor fire ring in the new year, watching YouTube videos, and seeing what I can accomplish. 

I’ll keep you posted.

Gunday Brunch 32: What’s in the Bag, Man?

By
David R
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Today the boys are taking a look in their range bags and talking about the non-gun gear that always goes with them to the range.

Springfield Ronin 1911 EMP

By
248 Shooter
-

Springfield SA-35

By
248 Shooter
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Virginia Lobby Day 2022

By
DRGO
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(from concealedpatriot.net)

As the January 17, 2022 Lobby Day approaches in Richmond, Virginia, there is pro-gun infighting about the lack of a “rally,” and that the Assembly office building, where the lobbying will occur, is now part of a “gun free” zone.  The great angst about these details is understandable considering what motivates those of us that take peaceful peoples’ unfettered access to firearms so seriously. 

Gun rights are an expression of our inalienable right to life, and “gun control,” conversely, is about taking away the right to life.  Once gun rights are understood that way, both our zeal and why we must act together to oppose an anti-life enemy becomes clear.

I’m indebted to two very different proponents of rights.  The first, Ayn Rand, understood and articulated rights better than anyone, including the Founders. 

Having escaped Soviet communist tyranny, she saw the value of rights in the Declaration of Independence, but she realized that it would be better to derive those rights, much like a geometric proof, by starting with the axiom that we have a right to life, and then carefully noticing how we survive as a species.  We lack animal instincts and talons and teeth, so we survive by applying our minds to our possessions to make our way in the world.

If our right to life means anything, it logically follows that we have the right to use property to defend ourselves, and gun rights are a consequence of that right.  Working backwards, anything that infringes on property, especially guns, is a direct infringement of our right to life. 

The second proponent helps fill in the gap left by Rand:  the modern problem with that articulation of rights is that the premise, a right to life, is not universally accepted.  I was amazed to learn that no less an ostensible authority on rights, Amnesty International, takes the following position in “An Introduction to Human Rights” (emphasis mind):

All other rights are relative and can be limited under certain circumstances-for example the freedom of expression, the right to liberty, the right to life…

How is it that people can look in the mirror, or into the eyes of those they love, and conclude that the right to life is “relative?” 

As my pastor often says, “The devil is a liar” and his influence is real.  Another Pastor, Douglas Wilson, in Rules for Reformers, wrote:

“If I am debating someone who wants to ban magazines with more than ten rounds, they want it to be about the magazines-whereas if I still have my wits about me, I should know that the debate is over whether or not the ATF rose from the dead in order to ascend into the heavenly realm, in order to give gifts to men… The real purpose of the law is to grow the power of the idol-state, and to shrink the power of those resisting it…

“Scripture tells us to do things with murderers that we simply refuse to do, and it never tells us to anything whatever with the murder weapons…[The Bible] does not say, however much we might like it to, ‘Because the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil, therefore remove all the weapons from the general populace, and accumulate them in the arsenals of an arrogant and overweening state.’”

When a former community organizer noticed the great affinity some of us have for our Bibles and guns, he was ironically closer to the truth about the connection between the two than he or his ilk could ever comprehend: both are about the right to life.  The more society distances itself from our Creator the more muddled its policies will become.

All of this brings us back to Lobby Day:  what should I say to my gun-grabbing “elected” officials?  There was a time when I’d want to fight about the Second Amendment, due process, and objective numerical data that proves that all gun control is nonsense.  I’m not retracting any of that nor am I dismissing anyone who pursues those lines of inquiry; everything should be thrown at the enemy and there’s a qualified advocate for each take on the matter. 

In a sense I’m agreeing with Brian Moran, the (hopefully) outgoing Virginia Secretary of Public Safety, who mocked us at Assembly hearings by saying “they think they are Constitutional scholars!”  Like the community organizer, he was so close to the truth, but his Harvard mouth couldn’t speak it:  you don’t need to be a Constitutional scholar to figure out gun rights. 

By shifting the focus away from distracting and irrelevant details, I’ll say “You want me dead in situations where that magazine could help me save my life.”  This gets right to the point and puts them on the defensive.  Instead of starting with their infringement, such as “You don’t have the right to take my magazine away,” or “I need that magazine to defend against multiple threats,” it starts and ends with “You want me dead.”  Notice the focus shifts from the details to the actual consequence of the infringement:  whether we live or die. 

Whether you are queued up at the Pocahontas Building to lobby your state delegate and senator, or part of any group outside of the Capitol Square, I pray you will have a safe and successful Lobby Day by finding the words and means of expression that work for you—and our legislators. 

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— Dennis Petrocelli, MD is a clinical and forensic psychiatrist who has practiced for nearly 20 years in Virginia. He took up shooting in 2019 for mind-body training and self-defense, and is in the fight for Virginians’ gun rights. He speaks for himself, not his employers. 

All DRGO articles by Dennis Petrocelli, MD

ATF eForms Technology Upgrade

By
Keith Finch
-

The ATF eForm upgrade is coming folks. FFL’s and eForm users (those who have done a Form 1 on their own mostly) probably got this notice already.

Per ATF,

This is a notice for federal firearms licensees (FFLs) and reminder for current eForms users about the upcoming launch of a new version of ATF eForms.

Outage period

In order to facilitate this upgrade, eForms will be offline during the following time frame:

Upgrade Start: Friday, December 17 at 9 p.m.

Tentative Finish: Tuesday, December 21 at 6 a.m.

You can continue to use the existing eForms until the upgrade starts at 9 p.m. tomorrow (Friday). During the upgrade time frame, eForms will be unavailable.

Previous submissions

If you are an existing eForms user, all your previous submissions will transfer to the new system. Please note, the PDFs of your forms may not be migrated over on the first day.

If your PDF is not available, please check your email as you would have received a copy from eForms at the time of submission and final approval.
 

Required steps after upgrade

New users
If you would like to register and start using eForms after the upgrade, please follow this step-by-step guide for new users after Dec. 21: [Click for instructions]

Existing users
If you are a current eForms user, please review the following guide but do not complete these steps until the upgrade is complete on Dec. 21: [Click for instructions]

Contact us

In our efforts to provide you continuous support through this transition, we have created five email mailboxes to help us assist you through this process:

It is our goal to have ATF personnel monitor these mailboxes to assist you with a response within 3 business days.

What this means?

Like I said in the post where I shared Ian’s video, faster purchases. Hopefully the total removal of the absurd wait times that span the better part of a year, or more, and shrinking those to just a few weeks. Streamlining both initial transfers and data corrections with the ATF to make this process less arduous than it has been.

Is it amending or removing the NFA?

No.

Would we like that?

Yep.

Is this still a positive direction for us to make gains?

Absolutely.

So go get you an SBR or Silencer. 2022, NFA stuff is going to be extra fun.

The Escalation Fallacy

By
Keith Finch
-

This is one that has been around for years,

“Well if they get AR-15’s, I want a bazooka!”

Or,

“If they can have semi-automatics, I want a tank!”

Or this absolute masterpiece,

“Where does the 2nd Amendment end, nukes?”

Escalation

Escalation is a real concern within criminal and law enforcement circles, however it isn’t the only factor that influences things like firearm selection. Cost and availability continue to be overwhelmingly the factors that drive firearms used in crime.

Acquisition by a hostile element, whether criminal or militant, of a technology that allows them an edge in capability is never a desirable thing, but when it comes to firearms tech specifically we continue to sit in a fairly level playing field of threat potential. Pistols are the convenient item, rifles and shotguns are the long items with more power. Poor decisions continue to lead to poor outcomes regardless of selection.

While it matters if SWAT is raiding a group armed with AKs or 9mms, it matters in a detail sense of final protective concerns. But the actual tactics used against the group are not going to shift overly much as they attempt to catch the group unawares and control whether any shots are fired at all. AKs are more dangerous on a shot for shot basis than a 9mm, but the factor that is really controlling the risk is whether shots are fired, not what those shots consist of. Any weapon in the hand of any threat is a problem.

A proficient man with a bolt action rifle or pump action shotgun is the same relative threat as someone with an AR-15, we have the numbers to substantiate that. But when we factor in items like cost and convenience AR’s become the popular choice in the same relative threat bracket.

Proper scaling of the threat, properly appreciating all the factors that make it a threat, and knowing the presence of firearms or not is much more influential than what firearms they are.

Exaggeration and Ignorance of Function

The meme is a comment on somebody wanting access to a rocket launcher to defend against somebody with an AR-15. It’s a power scale commentary that makes many assumptions, nearly all of them are in error. It fundamentally misunderstands what a rifle is for and what a rocket is for.

It assumes that a rocket is some kind of super weapon capable of incredible destruction on a scale a rifle is not instead of a niche weapon used to break vehicles or deal with an entrenched opponent who killing is an appropriate response. It ignores all the situational aspects of any and all threat parameters to use an absurd statement to drive home a point that is itself an error. It wants the super..er weapon to counter the super weapon they consider the AR.

In reality a person, or persons, armed with rockets could cause significant damage and several casualties. Especially if the rockets were used in the situations where the rockets are appropriate, on vehicles or enclosed targets. But each of those $2,000 dollar rocket shots killing or wounding a few people and causing damage could be, especially when it comes to death and injuries, accomplished by a rifle, a shotgun, or a handgun by an equally determined person or persons. An 8lb rocket launcher isn’t the packed explosive of Timothy McVeigh’s 2 and 1/4 ton bomb.

It boils down to a fundamental misunderstanding of everything involved in gauging the objective danger of a threat. It places all the ‘danger’ on the assumed subjective power factor of the weapon they consider scary, then overcompensates with an item they consider ridiculous and scary also but in a comparatively overpowered position they erroneously assume the rifle holds above a handgun.

By all means, man who is scared of an AR-15, buy a rocket launcher for self defense. The LAW costs about $2,000 and is a single round of ammunition (there is a $200 DD NFA Tax and wait period though so we have to revoke the NFA to make this practical). Also if you set it off wrong you could knock yourself stupid or die with overpressure and hurt others. Also it really isn’t a weapon easy to use on a person, or at ranges helpful toward justifying self defense since its minimum arming range is 10m, and it is designed for vehicles and structures not people. Also, if you miss, you are responsible for collateral and any deaths or injuries. Also, if you hit, you are responsible for collateral and any deaths or injuries.

You know, like people who would use an AR-15 for defense.

You could probably come up with scenarios where it would be justified to fire a rocket. Countering a vehicle drive-by assault perhaps, or the University of Texas at Austin clock tower massacre (assuming the area was clear enough) It would be an appropriate counter force, and designed for a vehicle or structure even. Missing, however, has very poor and costly consequences. Missing with a rifle is far safer. Hitting with a rifle is far safer.

Grounded Response

So when we take absurd assumptions out of the debate, a rocket would be an appropriate response in only a very rare scenario, where you could assure yourself you can make a shot. Missing would be dramatically destructive (even the military in a war zone takes care out for things that shouldn’t hit), and you are responsible for the shot.

Starting to realize that even if a rocket were a perfectly accessible thing to own it is absurdly impractical for the purported purpose of defense against someone with a rifle?

But you know what isn’t?

Your own rifle.

The Bill for Our Rights

By
DRGO
-
(from arkansasgopwing.blogspot.com)

[Ed: We have published this piece annually since 2015 for Bill of Rights Day each December 15. The  Bill’s Second Amendment is the reason for our being, in more ways than one.]

Today we all should be jubilantly celebrating the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, the original 10 amendments to the United States’ federal constitution. Remarkably, it slips by relatively unremarked. Yet our Bill of Rights may actually be the most significant of our republic’s founding documents.

The Declaration of Independence announced our nationhood. The Constitution defined our government. The Bill of Rights confirms our liberty as free people who are not subservient to our government.

There is a lot wrong today that the authors of the Bill of Rights anticipated and meant to preclude. But the Framers knew that natural and civil rights, including these broad and individual ones that were defined so early on, are actually not worth the parchment they’re inked on. They’re worth what each generation holds they mean regardless of original intent. That’s how they’ve often become too loosely interpreted.

There was strong agreement among the Founders about the importance of these principles to a civil, democratic society and in their belief that they were codifying rights that were mostly pre-existent and inherent to the dignity of human beings. The conflict between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over whether to formalize these was about the impact of leaving unstated other rights “retained by the people” or “reserved to the states”. There was no disagreement about the importance of any of the rights for which the colonists had fought and died for.

Federalists worried that documenting any rights implied disregard for those not enumerated. Anti-Federalists feared that not including these in the Constitution would eventually make it easier to ignore them. Over 200 years later, it appears the Anti-Federalists showed the greater foresight on this question.

The Second Amendment (in James Madison’s original draft, beginning with “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”) is our particular concern here at Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership. Not just to protect the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, but also because this individual right is so basic to all other rights of Americans. It is, in St. George Tucker’s words, our “palladium of liberty”. Just having this enumerated right for individuals to own and use weapons makes us unique among nations.

One reason Americans have always seen ourselves as exceptional is because of the individual obligation for self-responsibility that is required by minimizing dependence on government. We’ve been realists since the first boots trod the Atlantic coast, taught by the frontier experience that we have to take care of ourselves.

We discovered that people have the right “to the pursuit of Happiness”, not to be made happy. We learned that we have the right, and therefore the duty, to protect ourselves because there is no right to be free from harm. If we do not comprehend these core truths, we become dependent on government for happiness and protection— according to others’ standards, not our own.

As Americans moved westward, they outpaced the advance of existing government, an unusual pattern throughout the hemisphere. Sometimes alone, often in scattered clusters of neighboring settlers, they had to meet their own needs. They were guided in establishing their own local authorities by the same traditions we look to today to understand our relationship to government that now envelops us.

That historical ethic of self-reliance without a safety net is a recent enough phenomenon to continue influencing our psyches. That’s good because this world, and too often our own part of it, is an unpredictable and dangerous place.

Accepting the responsibility to care for oneself, one’s families and fellow citizens must be at the heart of any successful society. A hard-nosed, far-sighted understanding of that reality is central to American history, coupled with our optimism and generosity.

This is why DRGO speaks out on behalf of our fellow citizens. We oppose professional and cultural group-think that would have us ask more what our country can do for us, than what we can do for ourselves and our country.

DRGO vouches for the capacity of people to do the right things for themselves and each other, even with powerful tools like firearms. If we don’t, we’ll lose our history, our liberty, and each other.

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Robert B Young, MD

— DRGO Editor Robert B. Young, MD is a psychiatrist practicing in Pittsford, NY, an associate clinical professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

All DRGO articles by Robert B. Young, MD

Primer Actuated Blowback – John Garands Other Invention

By
Travis Pike
-

John Garand is mostly known for his famed M1 rifle design. However, he was a prolific designer that was often ahead of his time. He had been designing firearms for quite some time before he developed his namesake rifle. In fact, he developed more than just rifles, and he developed an early semi-automatic blowback system. In the early 1920s, John Garand developed a primer actuated blowback system that’s one of the more odd and rarely used systems of operation.

Specifically, Joh Garand wanted to produce a conversion to create a semi-automatic Springfield M1903. If you’re unfamiliar, the M1903 was a bolt action rifle. It served up into the early years of WW2 and would eventually be replaced by Garand’s M1 rifle.

In the 1920s, the idea to convert the M1903 made sense, and it would theoretically save the military money. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to develop a semi-auto conversion rather than build an entirely new firearm?

We need a specific system that can work inside the space offered by the bolt action design. Plus, gas systems weren’t very popular, and there was likely limited room to install one. So a simple blowback system was designed, and that system became the primer actuated blowback system.

What’s Primer Actuated Blowback?

Blowback systems utilize the inertia of a firing cartridge to drive the bolt rearward, which will attract and eject the round on its way rearward. A recoil spring or buffer of some type will drive the bolt forward, and it will pick up the next round and load it into the chamber. It’s pretty simple.

A primer actuated blowback system utilized a phenomenon that’s often undesirable, and it’s the effect of the primer blowing out of the rear of the cartridge. This can often cause malfunctions inside most guns. Primer actuated blowback systems actually use this phenomenon to unlock the breech and cycle the weapon.

This system allows rifles to use a locked-breech design, and the primer effectively unlocks the bolt and allows the blowback system to operate as a semi-auto rifle reliably. Garands system worked well with the US military’s .30-06 ammunition at the time. This older .30-06 ammo utilized a faster, hotter burning powder. The ammunition required uncrimped primers, though.

While the system worked and showed function as a proof of concept, however, the military soon turned to an improved progressive burning powder that utilized a slower pressure rise. This new ammunition rendered the primer actuated blowback system unreliable. Thus, John Garand decided to abandon the primer actuated blowback system and go with the famed gas system that ended up in the M1 Garand.

Did Primer Actuated Blowback Fade Away?

Primer Actuated blowback systems did fade away quite quickly. It was neat at the time, but better systems came to be, especially for rifles. Somehow the primer actuated blowback system stuck around and appeared here and there as necessary. For example, AAI used the system in the rifle they submitted for the SPIW system, but ultimately it went nowhere.

Later on, the Russians used the system in their own advanced carbine contest, specifically in the Postnikov APT prototype. Again, these systems never went mainstream and never made it beyond the prototype stage.

Where the primer actuated blowback did stick around was with spotting rifles for anti-tank weapons. For decades the Marine Corps utilized the Should-launched, Multipurpose Assault Weapon, aka the SMAW. Strapped to the side of the SMAW is a spotting rifle that replicates the rocket’s trajectory.

This oddball spotting rifle uses a necked-up 308 Winchester case that accepts a 9mm tracer projectile. Inside the round sits a 22 Hornet blank cartridge in the place of a primer. When the weapon fires the 22 hornet blank shoots out the back of the case and allows the rifle to unlock and cycle.

I asked a friend who was an 0351 and carried a SMAW in the Marine Corps how the spotting rifle worked. He looked sad for a moment as if a ton of stress piled onto him at once. “The damn thing never worked. It was basically a bolt action that jammed. It barely ever functioned as a semi-auto rifle. The SMAW was stupid.”

Not So Famous

While the M1 Garand was arguably ahead of its time, primer actuated blowback was never set to take off. With gas operation becoming a real possibility, the system was born too late to be effective. While fascinating, the primer actuated blowback never took off. However, it is pretty interesting to see the system and how it functions. It’s certainly a unique method of operation, but unique doesn’t always mean good.

TenPoint Nitro 505 Review (The Most Powerful X-Bow to Date?)

By
BullShooters
-

TenPoint has been leading the cutting edge of crossbow technology for a couple decades now, and its latest, new-for-2022 Nitro 505 is simply ridiculous. It shoots a 400-grain arrow at 505 FPS (509, actually) to deliver 230 ft.-lbs. kinetic energy!

However, what JJ wants to know is: With all that speed and limb-vibrating energy, is it accurate? Will it hold up?

Watch the video for JJ’s exclusive, first-review, completely honest review of one of the first commercially manufactured crossbows that breaks the 500 fps barrier. This think is darn-near like a rifle at 100 yards!

Is the video long? Yes, but if you are contemplating purchasing a $3,000-plus crossbow, a few extra minutes might be worth your time. If you want the best, this is it.

https://www.tenpointcrossbows.com/

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