The American Tomahawk Company doesn’t just do tomahawks and axes. They also make knives. One of their latest is about to drop, and it’s a slick one. The Scout Knife will be available in mid-August, so let’s take a look at what’s coming.
ATC Scout Knife
ATC’s Scout knife is inspired by the classic American Bowie. It shares the up-swept, clip-point blade but is in a lot handier size. It’s designed to be a camp utility knife, but wouldn’t be out of place strapped to your plate carrier either. The Scout is right around nine and a half inches overall and weighs just under 10 ounces. It’s big enough for camp prep and splitting kindling but not so big that it can’t be used for finer tasks. ATC says it’ll work for food prep and making fuzz sticks, too.
The Scout knife has a 4 3/4 inch blade made from Nitro V stainless steel. It has a Rockwell hardness rating of 59-60, which should lead to excellent edge retention. The blade is a stout 3/16-inch thick to take the abuse a camp or field knife might encounter. It has a matte, tumbled finish that’s low-key and easy to maintain.
The handles on the Scout knife are made from black G10. They feature vertical texturing for a positive grip without being overly aggressive. According to ATC they’ll work in wet or dry conditions, and with or without gloves. The Scout ships with an ambidextrous kydex sheath that can be set up in a variety of carry methods.
I haven’t gotten this one in hand yet, but it’s the size and style that I typically prefer for a field knife. Knowing ATC’s build quality I’m sure the Scout knife is going to be solid performer. As always, it’s backed by ATC’s “post croak” warranty that covers the lifetime of the tool, not just the person using it.
I’m a fan of historical weapons and a fan of weird weapons. Occasionally, there is a cross roads of historical and weird. Actually, that happens a lot. Weird guns rarely make it past the prototype stage, and that happened more than a time or two with a little company called Interdynamics AB. This Swedish company wasn’t shy about making weird and interesting firearms. Unsurprisingly the one gun that succeeded was a fairly standard one, and it only succeeded on the civilian market.
Who is Interdynamics AB
Interdynamics AB was a Swedish company that manufactured firearms from the late 1970s to seemingly the mid-1980s. Sadly, there isn’t much information about the company while it resided in Sweden. After it moved to the United States, things got a little lively, and the history became a little clearer.
One thing we do know is that George Kellgren worked as an engineer with Interdynamics AB while living in Sweden. George Kellgren is famously the owner of KelTec. Two of Interdynamics AB’s rifles were super weird, which makes sense. KelTec famously makes some of the weirdest guns on the market.
George Kellgren’s role in the development of the MKR and MKS assault rifles remains a mystery. However, given his current work with KelTec, it’s hard not to speculate that he had a significant influence on their design. We do know that he played a key role in the creation of their most successful firearm, the MP-9, and was instrumental in the company’s move to the United States.
The Interdynamic MKS
Interdynamic AB’s first weird rifle prototype was the MKS. It was created in 1979, as intermediate cartridges were becoming all the rage. The MKS utilized the 5.56 caliber round with a fairly conventional gas-operated design. Most sources list the rounds per minute as between 700 and 1,000. It’s tough to say if it’s variable or just poorly calculated.
Things got weird because it seemed like someone looked at the Uzi, said that’s a great idea, and took some cues from that. Mainly, they used the detachable magazine as the pistol grip. I’m sure everyone reading this has held an AR magazine and realized it’s not quite ergonomic to use as a grip. The end goal was to create a very small rifle, which they seemed to have accomplished.
The rifle also featured a folding stock. It folded to the side, and overall, it was extremely compact. Of all the ideas out there, this was certainly one of them. The rifle was tested in the Philippines according to the Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms but was found to be uncomfortable—not much of a surprise. The weapon faded away, but Interdynamics wasn’t done with assault rifles.
The Interdynamics MKR
Interdynamics learned some lessons from the MKS when they began developing the MKR. Namely, they learned that you can make a short rifle without using the magazine as a pistol grip. The MKR was a more traditional bullpup, which feels odd to type as bullpups are anything but traditional.
The MKR came in two models, the normal of the two being the 5.56 model, which used a gas-operated design. The 5.56 variant used an early production polymer nylon magazine made by GAPCO. The second model used a super high-velocity 4.5x25mm round that fed from a rear-mounted, crescent-shaped magazine that held 50 cartridges. The 4.5 round was a rimfire cartridge with a solid copper bullet. The 4.5 model used direct blowback operation.
The MKR featured a top-mounted charging handle, a lever-style safety, and roughly AR-height sights. The MKR series didn’t exist outside of a few prototypes, and I won’t lie; I want Kellgren to bring back the crescent-shaped magazines with a 5.7x28mm option. I don’t think we’ll see that, but a man can dream.
The MP-9
The Swiss produced the Carl Gustaf M/45 for years, and it was an amazing submachine gun—one of the true greats. However, it was dated, and the Swiss wanted to replace it. George Kellgren designed the MP-9 for Interdynamics, and they entered it into the contest. The gun didn’t succeed in Sweden and didn’t replace the M/45.
The MP-9 featured a direct blowback system and open bolt operation. That’s standard and arguably even dated in 1983. However, the gun did make use of a polymer frame design which was new for the era. While we love polymer frames these days, they weren’t the standard in the early 80s. The weapon featured a sliding wire stock, a ventilated handguard, and a forward grip.
While the gun didn’t succeed in Sweden, it came to America. Kellgren started the American arm of Interdynamics and partnered with an American partner. The company produced the KG-9, which evolved into the infamous TEC-9.
The End of Interdynamics AB
There doesn’t seem to be much mention of Interdynamics AB on the internet these days. Kellgren sold the company to an American partner and started Grendel and, eventually, KelTec. Interdynamics and its wacky designs faded away, and we never saw another attempt to create a bullpup rifle with its magazine as its pistol grip.
When it comes to EDC gear, a pocket flashlight is a must as far as I’m concerned. Sure, a cell phone might have a flashlight app or setting, but an actual flashlight beats that six ways to Sunday. Think about it, how many times have you left the house and realized you forgot to charge your phone? Would you want to rely on that minimal charge in a power outage? The light from a flashlight is much more focused than that from a cell phone, too.
Streamlight Wedge
I’ve been a fan of Streamlight for a long time. They’ve never let me down. The Wedge first came on the scene a few years back, and it immediately garnered a lot of attention. It has a thin, compact design that’s perfect for deep-pocket carry. It has two illumination modes: 300 lumens for everyday use and a 1,000-lumen momentary THRO® (Temporarily Heightened Regulated Output) mode. The control is a simple rotating thumb switch on the side of the light.
New Colors
The Wedge was originally only available in black and coyote tan. I chose the latter, and while boring, it served me well. Recently, Streamlight decided to up their razzle-dazzle game and added red, purple, and blue colorways to the Wedge lineup. I went with blue because, well, I’m admittedly a sucker for blue gear. One reason is that blue doesn’t blend in with anything you’ll find on the ground in the outdoors. If I drop the Wedge, I’ll be able to find it easily.
The red and purple are quite striking as well, and any of these new colors will add some pop to the EDC loadout.
Streamlight Wedge Specs
The Wedge is 5.46 inches long and 1.0 inch high and it has a body made from anodized aluminum. It tips the scales at a modest 3.3 ounces. The light is IPX7-rated for waterproof operation up to one meter and is also impact-resistance tested for the same one meter.
A USB-C cord is included for charging the 1500 mAh lithium battery. At a full charge, the Streamlight Wedge has about a 3-hour runtime. Considering that most of us use a flashlight for just a few minutes at a time, this charge lasts longer than you might think.
A reversible pocket clip means you can carry it concealed on either side of your body. It’s slim and flat, and it rides somewhat similar to an OTF knife in your pocket.
I’ve owned a ton of different pocket flashlights over the years, with all sorts of bells and whistles. The Streamlight Wedge is truly a favorite. It’s simple and easy to operate, even under stress. It carries comfortably, it’s dependable, and it just plain works. With the new colors that are available, now it looks as great as it functions.
The Rugged Suppressors Alaskan 360 is a versatile multi-caliber suppressor that was created and rated to handle everything from the small 9mm Luger pistol caliber to the gargantuan .338 Lapua Magnum extreme long-range rifle cartridge. This means that with the right adapter and barrel mounts, the Rugged Suppressors Alaskan 360 can be used with a handgun, a sub gun, a PCC (pistol caliber carbine), and a bolt action precision or hunting rifle. As long as the diameter of the projectile you’re shooting is a fit, the Rugged Suppressors Alaskan 360 is good to go! Besides that, the Alaskan 360 suppressor is built from Grade 5 Titanium and is extremely lightweight for its size.
From Our Friends At Athlon Outdoors
“It goes from 9mm all the way up to .338 Lapua,” said Travis Taylor, Rugged Suppressors. “You can run it on your MP5 all day long, and then swap it over to your bolt gun and you’re good to go.”
The Alaskan 360 utilizes the Rugged Universal Mount (R.U.M.). The system delivers modularity, accommodating all Rugged rifle mounts, along with several industry standard variants. The Rugged mount utilizes a dual taper locking system, providing a concentric lockup, protecting threads from carbon build up, according to Rugged. Built from US Grade 5 Titanium, the full system, with can, tips the scales at a mere 11.8 ounces.
Rugged Suppressors Alaskan 360 Specifications
Rugged Suppressors Alaskan 360 Specifications:
Caliber: Rifle, up to .338 Lapua; Pistol or Subgun, up to 9mm (.35 caliber diameter)
The FN FAL, aka the right arm of the free world, aka the gun America should have picked over the M14, is one of the world’s most popular battle rifles. The FAL series served most of the Western democracies in the world and serves to this day with a variety of nations without the budget to acquire F35s. From the beginning, there have been a number of oddballs, from prototypes to war-fighting fielded FALs. Let’s examine some of these historically atypical FALs.
FN Universal Carbine
The FN Universal Carbine was the very first FAL. It was 1947, and the idea of the assault rifle was a hot commodity. The first caliber the FAL chambered was the 7.92x33mm Kurz round. This same round was famously designed for the STG 44. It’s worth noting it doesn’t seem like FN ever intended to chamber the gun in 7.92x33mm Kurz.
(Gun Wiki)
FN used the cartridge to make a functioning gun while waiting for the new NATO cartridge to rear its head. The concept of an assault rifle existed, but the Western forces were looking at full-powered rifle rounds. FN is a Belgian company, but the original Universal Carbine was produced in the U.K.
Belgian engineers who fled from the Nazi occupation worked at TSAF Enfield and built the weapon there. At first glance, it’s an uncanny valley version of the FAL, but you can see the gun’s origins clear as day.
The FAL .280 Experimental Automatic Carbine, Short Model
Another experimental prototype took the FAL and converted it to a bullpup. The British really loved this idea of bullpup rifles and experimented with them a ton before settling on the standard FAL. The bullpup variant looks almost nothing like a FAL. There is some resemblance in the receiver, but not much.
(Gun Wiki)
The engineers experimented with the British .280 caliber round. The Brits were throwing a lot of weight behind the cartridge. It is a 7x43mm round that’s a bit of a mutt. It’s not quite a full-powered rifle round and not quite an intermediate caliber. The Brits pushed hard for this round and experimented with it in a number of designs.
The FAL .280 Experimental Automatic Carbine Short Model was found to be unreliable and uncomfortable to shoot. Thus, the idea of a bullpup FAL was killed. However, the Brits still worked on developing the EM series of .280 caliber bullpups.
FN FAL SALVO Model
Speaking of the EM series, the EM designer Stefan Kenneth Janson came to America and worked for Olin-Winchester. In the 1950s, the US Military worked on Project SALVO, which aimed to provide a weapon that could fire multiple projectiles to increase hit probability. The SALVO series incorporated numerous ideas, including weapons with multiple barrels.
(armeiro)
Stefan Janson developed a twin-barreled FN FAL rifle for the contest while working for Olin-Winchester. He grafted two FALs together. The guns had a custom-built receiver, and they shared a single gas system. Each barrel had its own magazine, and the gun held forty rounds total.
The SALVO FAL fired the 5.56 T56 Duplex Cartridges. These cartridges held two projectiles per case. One projectile weighed 35 grains, and the other weighed 41 grains. With two barrels firing duplex rounds, the weapon fired four rounds per trigger pull. The downside was intense recoil, which sidelined the gun.
Israeli FALO
For a very long time, the Israeli forces carried a hodgepodge of different firearms. This includes a mix of battle rifles from World War II and handguns from everywhere. It was a logistical nightmare. To standardize their weapons, they adopted the FN FAL and the Uzi. They ordered two FAL variants: a standard model and a heavy-barrel model.
The Heavy barrel model, known as the FALO, was utilized as a squad automatic support weapon. Outside of the heavy barrel, the gun featured a perforated metal sleeve around the barrel, a heat shield inside the wooden handguard, and a folding bipod. The gun integrated into the squad well, and it was noted to be efficient because of its ability to share magazines with the rest of the squad.
Israeli forces built their tactics around the support weapon. It proved to be fairly effective during the Suez Crisis. The FALO served until the early 1970s when Israelis moved away from the battle rifle and into the assault rifle. They remained in service with reserve forces and are likely still bouncing around some Israeli police armory.
The FN FAL – Beyond Successful
The FN FAL is the western AK. It’s spread far and wide amongst a wide variety of different countries. The FAL still functions quite well, even on modern battlefields. There are a lot worse guns to carry. Its success and widespread use guarantee that a few weird and atypical options will rear their ugly head.
Over the years, the Army has launched a lot of different programs. In a post-World War II world, the Army didn’t even have a strict, focused method of moving forward. While the M-14 trapped us to tradition, there were parts of the Army doing all sorts of experiments with flechettes, proprietary .22 caliber M1 Carbines, and Project Salvo.
Old weapons development programs tickle my tism just right, and I find myself pouring over old reports and trying to work through poorly scanned PDFs to get little nuggets of ancient information. One running theme I discovered that lasted from the 1950s up into the 1990s was the idea of multi-projectile weapons. These guns fired one cartridge but multiple projectiles per trigger pull.
That sounds a lot like shotguns, but Project Salvo aimed to provide multiple projectiles to rifles and machine guns. Project Salvo was an Army program that officially lasted from 1952 to 1960. However, some of their findings and ideas kicked around a lot longer than that.
Project Salvo – 1952-1960
Project Salvo experimented with various multi-projectile weapons. The program’s goal was to improve a soldier’s hit probability per trigger pull. The project explored three different avenues for multi-projectile weapons.
Single Barrel – Multi-Projectiles
One experiment utilized special duplex ammo. These cartridges featured one case but two projectiles. They were rifled through rifles and machine guns. The M198 Duplex round was a 7.62 NATO cartridge that looked fairly normal—inside the case sat another .30 Caliber projectile. This was seen as a simple, affordable option that would work with established weapons. These were designed to increase hit probability within 300 yards.
Project Salvo also developed a .22 Duplex cartridge and a .30 Cal Triplex cartridge. The M198 went the furthest in testing.
International Cartridge Collectors
The SAWS project tested duplex cartridges and found them unreliable. They created excessive chamber pressures and developed pierced primers. The same SAWS test found that at longer ranges, there might be an increase in shots on a target, but it was a small increase. At ranges up to 163 meters, there was no difference in hit potential. Duplex did have good results from 45 to 320 meters with aimed fire while the test forces were in the defense. Duplex rounds landed more rounds on target than standard ammo.
In testing against 5.56 caliber weapons with standard ammo, the 5.56 still beat the Duplex rounds. It turns out that aimed fire with less recoil was more effective than throwing two .30 rounds at a target. Automatic fire with standard ammo was also proven to be more effective.
Multi Barrel Weapons
Project Salvo also experimented with multiple-barrel weapons that fired in salvos. America wasn’t alone in this experiment, and the Soviets tried some multi-barreled weapons. For this portion of Project Salvo Springfield Armory and Winchester-Olin, weapons with multiple barrels were developed that fired multiple rounds per trigger pull.
Springfield Armory developed a three-barreled bullpup rifle that fed from a fairly complicated magazine. This volley-fired assault rifle chambered .22 caliber projectiles and used a complicated feeding system so that all three barrels would be fed from a single magazine.
Olin-Winchester produced a twin-barreled FAL converted to a duplex 5.56 cartridge. Stefan Janson, the man behind the British EM-2, designed this weapon. The rifles shared a single gas system. The rifle effectively fired four rounds per trigger pull with the twin barrels and duplex cartridges.
Both riddles had excessive recoil and were very clunky and tough to field for an individual soldier. The guns were impractical as a whole and remained in the 50s.
AAI Flechettes
AAI began developing a flechette-based shotgun shell before Project Salvo and received funding from the Navy. The Army added funding and invited AAI to join Project Salvo with their 12 gauge flechette shotgun shell.
This 12-gauge shotgun shell held 32 flechettes. These were very lightweight flechettes but showed promise. According to Project Salvo, a flechette can penetrate a steel helmet at 500 yards. The downside was that the flechettes spread rapidly and inconsistently, creating a massive spread.
Flechette shotgun shells were used in Vietnam in limited numbers. They were found to be inefficient and less effective than standard buckshot.
The flechette idea was kept. This led to a 5.6x53mm XM110 round, which loaded a single flechette. The Army created a Winchester Model 70 to chamber the round. It was very efficient, within 400 yards, with minimal recoil.
Experiments with flechette ammo would continue long after Project Salvo ended. The last one ended in the 1990s.
The End of Project Salvo
Project Salvo ended in 1960. Like most of the projects of this era, a lot of the research went nowhere. The most we got out of Project Salvo was some flechette artillery rounds. The ideas were a little off the wall, but we only say that now, with lots of experience and hindsight. The end of Project Salvo essentially concluded that the military should adopt the AR-15/M16 in 5.56 to increase hit probability. Funny how that worked out.
Armament Systems and Procedures, more commonly known as ASP, has a new line of police duty knives out. Aptly called the PDK, for Police Duty Knife, these knives are designed for police officers. The duty knives will complement the ASP handcuffs and batons that many police officers already carry.
The ASP Police Duty Knife
ASP’s Police Duty Knife series was designed by its in-house product designers in conjunction with knife engineering and manufacturing experts. Those folks designed the PDK with input from active law enforcement officers. They wanted to make a tool that was tough, practical, and affordable to the average street cop.
Materials and Construction
The PDK knives use a 3.5-inch drop point blade of AUS-8 stainless steel. AUS-8 has a good balance of edge retention and ease of re-sharpening. It’s also very corrosion-resistant and affordable. There are certainly a lot of newer wonder steels out there, but you’ll pay a heck of a lot more for them. AUS-8 has been around for a long time and works well. Blades are available in either a black PVD or stonewashed finish.
The PDKs open using a back flipper, assisted opening mechanism. There’s also a thumb groove in the blade if you prefer to open your knife that way. Both methods offer ambidextrous use. The PDK is held open by means of a liner lock. The scales of the PDK are made from textured G-10 scales. You can get either a flat or grooved profile handle in either of the blade finishes. ASP adds its signature Shark Fin™ jimping to the back of the blade for additional control during use.
The Police Duty Knife has an ambidextrous deep carry pocket clip set up for tip-up carry. A unique feature of the PDK is that the clip is not held on by a small Torx screw like most clips. It uses a quick-release pocket clip system that’s engaged by using the double lock pin on a handcuff key. This system eliminates having to worry about tiny screws and extra tools, especially since every cop has a handcuff key on them.
Some final aesthetic touches are the Thin Blue Line tribute spacer in the spine of the knife and a die-struck ASP Eagle medallion mounted over the pivot pin on the right side of the handle.
Price and Availability
I had a chance to check out the Police Duty Knife prototypes at the SHOT Show earlier this year. They’re a good-looking tool and feel good in the hand. The action was fast and smooth, and the lock-up was tight. The ASP Police Duty Knife has an MSRP of $90.00, which is even a little less than they estimated back in January. Better still, ASP has them currently listed at $79.00.
While these knives are geared toward law enforcement, they’d make a nice EDC knife for anyone wanting a solid utility folder.
Sometimes, I stumbled across stuff that’s a good buy for gun guys and gals but doesn’t exactly rate an entire review. It’s simply not interesting enough, but I still like to share the good stuff I find out there. I recently purchased a set of target stands for my new range and have been quite impressed with their design. They come from a company called Highwild, which seems to be an importer of mostly target goods out of China. Their products primarily sell on Amazon and can be easily regulated to cheap junk. However, they proved to be a solid buy.
The Highwild Target Stands
I’ve been using these target stands a lot lately. They’ve made running drills much more interesting and made it a lot easier to position targets for said drills. In the past, I’ve buried furring strips, built target stands from PVC, used large cardboard boxes, and a lot of silly, improvised methods of standing up targets. I got sick of that and finally went shopping for target stands.
I picked up this set of adjustable target stands for less than 50 dollars shipped. I’m no affiliate, so I won’t spam a link, but it’s easy enough to find with a search. The pair of adjustable target stands retail for 47 dollars or so at the time of this writing. While the products are Chinese-made, they aren’t shipped from China, so you don’t have to wait around three months for them to arrive.
Target stands are simple. They hold the target. The Highwild Target Stands do that without any problems. The target stands are made from powder-coated steel and feature an adjustable base. It can adjust from eight to 24 inches to accommodate a ton of different target sizes. I was primarily interested in running them wide and mounting man-sized targets to them.
Adjust It
At the base, the target stand slides apart, and a simple screw can lock the target stands at one setting. The stands have three slots for furring strips. Furring strips are thin pieces of wood that are typically cheap and easily available at any hardware store that sells wood. They drop right into the slots on the target stand, and you can easily attach cardboard to the furring strips. Slap your targets on the cardboard, and you’re ready to rock and roll.
The bottom of the stands are quite wide and do well on uneven terrain. They don’t fall over with normal use, and convincing them otherwise takes a ton of wind. Even if it’s windy, there are four slots for stakes, which are even included. With the target stands staked down, I think the target backer will rip before the stands fall.
The powder-coated steel has had no rust problems. I live in coastal Florida, and it’s raining quite a bit. The rain often sinks the stands into the dirt. Yet, the Highwild Target Stands haven’t rusted. I’m sure they will eventually, but they’re doing great in the first month of humid coastal Florida conditions.
Worth It
Target stands have one job: hold a target up. They excel at their one task. They are also adaptable for different targets, lightweight, easy to adjust, and stable. For the price point, I expected a lot less. If you have a home range, I think the Highwild Target Stands will serve you well.
Galco’s Revenger Belt Holster is now available for 2 1/2-inch S&W K Frames. The Revenger is a top-of-the-line holster from Galco’s Masterbilt series of best-quality, premier-grade holsters with a design exclusively for wheelguns.
The Galco Revenger was previously only available for 3-inch barrel Colt Python, Ruger GP-100, and Smith & Wesson L frames. A Python is shown in the pics, but the new ones will fit 2 1/2-inch S&W Model 19s and 66s. It should also work with 2-inch K frames like the Model 10 or Model 15.
The Galco Revenger
The Galco Revengers are constructed of top-grade, fully-lined premium steerhide. They’re available in either black or tan finishes. Like all of the Masterbilt series, they’re hand-molded for both secure retention as well as beautiful appearance. The Revenger holsters have a smooth leather lining and a molded in sight rail that protects the finish on your gun. It also makes for a smooth draw and reholstering. It has a near-neutral (vertical) cant for a fast draw. The Revenger has metal-reinforced tunnel-style belt loops that work with belts up to 1 1/2 inches wide.
I had a chance to work with the Galco Speedmaster earlier this year, and it’s an excellent holster. The Revenger is a step up from the Speedmaster, which is truly impressive. They look good enough to show off your favorite barbecue gun, but are practical enough for everyday carry.
They have an MSRP of $259.00. While not inexpensive, it’s very competitive compared to many custom makers, and you’re getting the same level of quality that you’d see in other handmade holsters.
Features:
Lined, premium steerhide construction Hand-molded by master craftsmen Reinforced mouth and belt tunnel Near-neutral cant Fits belts up to 1 1/2″ Black or tan MSRP: $259.00
I’m not a knife guy, but I can most certainly enjoy a nice knife. I also like automatic knives. I love the idea of the switchblade. Maybe it’s the fact that they face some silly laws, much like guns, that makes me appreciate them. The fact that automatic knives are banned so widely when most non-auto knives are just as fast is downright silly. Benchmade has been a big advocate of the automatic knife and has recently released the Shootout.
The Shootout – Break It Down
The Infidel has long been the company’s flagship automatic knife, and I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon. However, the Shootout approaches the automatic knife world with a more practical perspective. Unlike the Infidel, the Shootout isn’t a dagger but a single-sided blade with a polymer handle. The automatic design features a double-action mechanism, making it a versatile tool. We get a reversible pocket clip and a lanyard loop, adding to its practicality.
The Shootout has a 3.51-inch blade and an 8.22-inch overall length. Impressively, it weighs only 2.8 ounces—just under half the Infidel. The swap to a polymer handle makes a big difference. The Shootout uses a carbon-reinforced nylon polymer designed for strength and rigidity.
The blade features a bit of a soft nato design. It doesn’t have the same sharp corners as most tanto designs. The blade features a PVD-coated finish to resist corrosion. The Shootout comes in numerous colors, and I went with purple to engage my inner Mace Windu. Offering multiple colors outside the typical black/FDE/olive rainbow is clever. If you aim to market this as a practical EDC tool, don’t get stuck with the tactical idea.
The Blade
The Shootout features a 3.51-inch blade made from CPM-CruWear. CruWear is a tool steel that’s not specialized but premium steel. It’s an excellent general all-around option for a high-end EDC option. It holds an edge very well, is a tough steel that resists damage, and is not hard to sharpen. The only downside is rust resistance. Even then, it’s not going to rust up quickly. The PVD-Coat will certainly help.
I can’t say I love a Tanto blade for EDC use. I’m a big clip-point guy. If that makes me a vanilla knife owner, then so be it. I find the clip point better suited for what I use a knife for. I don’t see myself needing the extra penetration power of the tanto to open Amazon boxes. The soft tanto with the hard corner still gives us a decent belly for leading cuts.
It certainly slices very easily. I’ve cut open boxes, cut through tape, cut up a bottle to turn it into an ad-hoc dog water bowl, and done those basic everyday tasks a knife gets called in for. I haven’t had a chance to test it with skinning game, but bow season isn’t that far away.
The Shootout provides a nice, long, thin blade. It’s not front-heavy by any means. It’s well-balanced and easy to work with. It’s not a heavy-duty survival knife, but it falls right into the realm of an excellent EDC knife.
Getting a Grip
The Shootout’s grip is quite nice. It feels super thin, and at first, I was a bit doubtful. How can it be so thin but hold up? So far, it hasn’t given me a problem. I haven’t tried to break it, but I have dropped it. It’s banged off my car door while in my pocket and has generally not been treated well. I’m not capable of careful handling of anything. The handle does not flex or bend. It feels like it should flex when gripped hard or twisted, but it does neither.
Benchmade heavily textured the grip with a scale-like design. As you get closer to the blade, we get into a sandpaper-like texture. It exists to prevent that last slip of the hand. In Florida, in July, that’s a nice touch. After just an hour outside I look like I dipped in the pool because I’m awash in sweat. Hands included. So, having an aggressive texture prevents my hand from slipping while using the knife.
I recently had to shave down a furring strip at the range to fit into a target holder. Sadly, the strip didn’t come right. I trimmed that corner while sweat pooled below my head, and my hand never slipped on the handle.
The trigger to activate the blade sits on the side. It’s metal with a texture to it. When pressed upward, the blade flies into action. That nub then becomes a built-in thumb nub to apply pressure to the blade. It’s a nice touch and creates some excellent ergonomics. It also retracts the blade when pressed downward. We get a satisfying schwick with each action.
Getting In a Shootout
Like most high-end automatic knives, the Shootout carries quite the price tag. It’s 300 dollars. That’s a good bit of change for a pocket knife. The automatic function is cool, but modern knives open pretty quickly and can be done with one hand. The Shootout is perfect if you want an auto knife with EDC traits. If you want an affordable, high-quality knife it can only give you the high-quality part.
Guys seem to conflate compassion & kindness with weakness as if somehow being suitably battle-hardened means that you must be an abrasive asshole. I’m fortunate enough to know some very dangerous people with some very impressive resumes. Yet, they have not lost the ability to be a good person.
The interesting thing that I’ve noted about virtually all of these people is that they all seem to have the capacity for incredible kindness and compassion.
They know who they are and what they can do and have nothing to prove to anyone.
Especially online there’s a lot of tough talk, discourtesy, and marginalizing of others.
I happen to have enough people in my circle who serve as good influences and positive role models—examples of what “right” can look like.
That’s not to say they’re perfect—far from it. But despite everything they’ve seen and endured, they still manage to be intentionally kind to others.
I guess this is one of those “don’t talk about it, be about it” things.
Old guns used to be affordable, but man, that’s not the case now. Lots of cool old guns skyrocketed in price. Owning old guns isn’t as affordable as it used to be, but I want to catalog some of the more affordable old guns. I previously covered the S&W M1903; today, we are moving to automatics with the Astra 600. Spanish pistols are often underrated, and guns from Astra and Star are sturdy, well-made, and often affordable.
The Astra 600 is technically a World War II pistol, but only a few saw service in World War II. Most Astra 600s are affordable, but if you have one proof marked and issued, the cost rises substantially. Most of the Astra 600s are affordable, and most of the issued ones are not. The Astra 600 series isn’t commonly found outside of rinky dink gunshops, but when located, I paid a mere 300 dollars for my Astra 600.
The Astra 600 – An Odd History
The Spanish might have been ‘neutral’ in World War II, but they were famously friendly with the Nazis. The Spanish were happy to produce and sell guns to the Nazis, and that’s how the Astra 600 came to be. The Astra 600 is an evolution of the Astra 400. It’s shortened a bit, and instead of chambering the 9mm Largo, it was rechambered to the German-approved 9mm Parabellum.
The Germans placed an order in 1943, and the Spanish produced them and sent a batch for testing the same year. The Astra 600 was approved, and it was known as the 600/43. The Germans ordered 50,000 of the guns, and 10,450 were delivered. The supply lines between Spain and France were gone once the Germans were shaken off the French border.
The Astra 600s that were produced went into storage. Some were sold to countries like Turkey, Portugal, Chile, and Costa Rica. In 1951, the Spanish could sell the remaining pistols to West Germany. They stayed there until the 1960s when Interarms bought them all and exported the guns to the United States.
This creates the difference between the Nazi-issued models, which fetch a much higher price than the other non-Nazi-issued guns.
What’s an Astra 600 – Diving Inside
The Astra 600 looks neat. It’s a weird shape with a circular design, a bit like a space gun. The Astra 600 is, oddly enough, a fairly simple and old-school gun. It uses a direct blowback system that does it no favors. The Astra 600’s simple blowback system uses a super stiff spring to help keep the breech closed until the projectile leaves the barrel.
While the gun appears to be a European-style striker-fired design, in reality, they hid a hammer in there. It’s a single-action design. The gun uses a simple 8-round box magazine of a single-stack design. It also comes with very simple sights and controls.
The magazine release sits on the left side of the grip and near the bottom of the magazine. It’s easy to use for a bottom-mounted release. It naturally encourages you to retain the magazine upon reloading, and a pinch method allows you to pull the mag from the gun.
In the 1940s, they were big fans of varied safety devices. The Astra 600 has not one, not two, but three safety devices. We have a manual safety system, which is easy to use. We also have a magazine release.
Lord forbid you train shooters to clear the chamber when they remove the magazine. Finally, we have a grip safety. Astra designed the safety to rotate from safe to fire as the slide cycles. I’m sure the idea is that the gun is carried with an empty chamber, and when you rack the slide, it’s time to fight.
To The Range
Oh boy, aren’t straight blowback pistols fun? The bigger the caliber, the snappier they get, and the Astra 600 is one snappy beast. Firing 9mm through a direct blowback gun with nothing more than a stiff recoil spring isn’t going to produce a soft shooting gun. The Astra 600 doesn’t beat you up, but it’s snappy enough.
The single-action trigger isn’t the best. It’s certainly no M1911, and it’s not even a Hi-Power. It’s stiff and surprisingly long for a single-action-only trigger. The pistol grip is a straightish design that looks awkward but feels fairly nice. It feels like I should blade my body, fully extend my right arm, and leave my left arm out of the equation.
The Astra 600 delivers surprisingly decent accuracy. The sights are tiny, but if you can see them enough to use them, the gun can be a real tack driver. It has a fixed barrel, which helps with accuracy but likely not enough to matter. It seems like the design just aids in accurate shooting.
The little gun is reliable, and I only ran some tame 115-grain FMJs through it. I won’t try to use high-powered stuff through an older gun. It just seems sacrilege to risk breaking the gun to shoot hot stuff. Instead, I keep it to the basic, soft stuff and it has no problems there.
Affordable, Old, and Cool
The Astra 600 provides shooters with an affordable old gun that still shoots an affordable cartridge. It’s certainly an interesting-looking gun, and it has some odd quirks, but it’s fun to shoot and a great conversation starter. The Astra 60 is a kind of mil-surp gun in a cheap and easy-to-find caliber.
Microprism sights have been picking up in popularity. The etched reticle still works even if your batteries don’t, and they tend to work better for folks with astigmatism. Swampfox Optics just released its latest, the Raider 1×20 Micro Prism.
Swampfox Optics
Colorado-based Swampfox Optics has been focused on delivering a quality offering at an affordable price since 2018. The company offers some great features and rugged designs at prices that will let you mount them on all of your guns. I’ve been running a variety of Swampfox red dots and scopes on pistols, ARs, and shotguns for a number of years now.
The company has a great first responder program, too. As a matter of fact, I was first introduced to the brand by one of the SWAT guys at my old police department.
The Raider 1×20 Micro Prism
The Raider 1×20 Micro Prism is Swampfox’s latest optic. It’s designed as a CQB optic that still retains long-range capability. The Micro Prism uses an etched reticle with a Bullet Rise Compensation (BRC) designed for shot barrel 5.56mm platforms. It has a 50- to 200-yard zero point, as well as markings for 5, 10, and 15 yards that account for height over bore issues common at close range. A 6 MOA dot version is also available.
The Raider is available with red or green illumination and a black-etched reticle. It has ten illumination settings and is powered by a single CR2032 battery. The Raider has a 30,000-hour battery life, which is extended by an auto shut-off after 225 seconds of inactivity. Even when turned off, the black-etched reticle is visible. Any movement activates the Shake N’ Wake auto on/off feature.
The Raider uses a common T-2 footprint for mounting and comes with both a low-profile 1.1″ mount and a medium 1.6″ mount. It also includes titanium mounting screws. The Raider has a die-cast zinc alloy body, capable of withstanding impacts and up to 1200 G’s of force without loss of function. The chassis has IPX7 waterproofing, and the lens has Anti-fog, hydrophobic, anti-scratch coatings.
Swampfox optics are covered by a Limited Lifetime Warranty against manufacturing and material defects. The LED has a 10-year warranty, and all other aspects of the sight have lifetime coverage. The MSRP on the Raider 1×20 Micro Prism is $279.00.
Rambo is a weird series of movies. The first film, First Blood, can be seen as a completely separate movie from the four sequels that followed. The film is more of a drama about an elite special ops soldier dealing with PTSD and a brutal small-town police force. The movie deals with themes of Vietnam veterans returning to society and dealing with a country they felt left them behind.
It’s legitimately a great film that was followed by four action-packed sequels that seemingly miss the point of the first film. However, this article isn’t an analysis of the films but rather a fascinating heist that occurred during the film. I was cruising the trivia of the film on IMBD (nerd alert) and read a brief snipper mentioning a truck carrying 50 firearms was stolen.
After that, I dived into the story and was frustrated by how hard it was to find information on the heist of Rambo’s firearms. The trivia portion isn’t entirely correct, but a heist did occur, and from what I can find, not all of the guns were recovered.
The Great Rambo Robbery
They filmed Rambo in Canada, and due to the country’s laws, they were required to import the firearms used in the movie from the United States. If you’ve seen the film, you know the movie is full of M16s, shotguns, revolvers, and M60 machine guns. The firearms were stored in a locked armory truck.
According to the New York Times, the truck’s side doors were padlocked, and the rear door had a combination lock. Once we climbed into the truck, the live fire weapons were stored in a locked wooden case, while replica guns were not additionally secured.
Members of the Canadian Army supposedly guarded the set and storage location of the firearms. These soldiers were also extras in the film. According to the unit public relations worker, four armed guards were always there to protect the firearms.
In January 1982, the heist was on. The next morning, the theft was reported. Officially, 47 guns were stolen. However, the New York Times reported that someone close to the production claimed nearly 100 guns were swiped. With 47 being the official number, the attached price tag was 50,000 dollars.
To top it all off, there were no signs of forced entry. The guns were there, and then they weren’t.
The Guns
The stolen guns include 14 M16s, three Remington shotguns, two S&W 44 Magnums, 11 Colt AR-15s, and two M-60 Machine Guns. Later articles also mention two ‘Belgian’ weapons. I looked through Rambo’s IMFDB and didn’t see any Belgian designs. I’d expect the FAL. There was an HK93A2; maybe the newspaper confused the weapon with a Belgian-produced gun. Who knows?
The newspapers reported that they were blank-firing guns but would easily convert to standard firearms. In reality, these are real guns from the start, but they have an internal plug to allow them to cycle blanks. Removing the plug would make it safe to fire actual rounds again.
That’s a massive amount of guns stolen, but the heist wasn’t pulled off without a hitch. Three men were located connected to the theft. The men are Richard Gallant, Douglas Burgess, and John Krahn, and reports label them members of the Candian militia.
When I hear militia, I think of a non-military civilian group. Militia groups in the United States tend to be a bit spicy, and I had no idea Canadian militia groups existed in Canada. I researched extensively to find details of a Canadian militia but came up short-handed.
Little did I know that the Canadian militia referred to the reserve troops of the Canadian Military. All three men were members of the British Columbia Regiment. The court released Krahn without bail, charged Burgess with a $1,000 bail bond, and held Gallant in custody. Perhaps Gallant was the mastermind?
The court recovered 15 of the 47 weapons, including both M60 machine guns. What happened to the other 32 guns? I’m not sure. I can’t find any more information on the case.
My Theory
Don’t call me a conspiracy theorist, but it is a funny coincidence that members of the Canadian Military guarded the set, and the theft occurred while four armed guards were near. Is it possible for the three members of the B.C. Regiment to have been the armed guards? Or perhaps had been or knew of the set’s security? Could it have been an inside job?
Honestly, I wish I had more information. There are so many unanswered questions. I tried to find court records using a public information portal, looked over social media, and searched newspaper archives, but I ended up empty-handed. It’s a fascinating little tid bit and a great story, but the ending leaves too many unanswered questions.
