What are the best concealed carry revolver holsters? Simple: a holster that allows rapid access to the gun, provides excellent concealment, and retains the gun during any sort of physical activity. Today we’re looking at three different brands that all produce phenomenal holsters.
The idea that there is a best concealed carry revolver holster is requires us to accept that some people still carry revolvers for personal protection. While the most popular revolvers for concealed carry are definitely the Smith & Wesson J-frame and Ruger LCR, there are also still some people carrying medium framed revolvers like the Ruger GP100 or the Modern Fighting Revolver. Let’s look at two options for small guns first.
In my opinion, the best concealed carry revolver holster for J-frames or the Ruger LCR is the Dark Star Gear Apollo. The Apollo is lightweight, conceals easily, and comes standard with a DCC clip, so it can be used in sweatpants. Since these guns are really light, it’s the first holster that I’ve been able to use with running shorts or for beltless carry. It’s basically the perfect “I need to walk the dog” or “pop across the street to the shops” holster. I also like the Phlster City Special, which has a unique feature that aids with one handed reloading. The only reason I don’t recommend it over the Apollo is the City Special isn’t available for 3 inch guns.
Moving on to medium frame revolvers, I have found that one company is making the best concealed carry revolver holsters for bigger wheel guns. In August I drove from Miami to Sioux Falls, SD; then to Minneapolis, from there to Greenville, SC, and finally back to Miami. It was over 4,000 miles round trip, and I did it all with a 10mm Ruger GP100 Wiley Clapp carried AIWB in a JM Custom Kydex holster. I have never gotten a freebie from JM Custom, but I like their revolver holsters so much that when I was time to custom craft a holster for the modern fighting revolver, they were my first call. The final product for the MFR holster is an AIWB Wing Claw 2.0 with paired spring steel clips. The gun and holster together are a bit of a crew served option, JMCK makes it work.
The truth is that some holsters are better than others, and when you’re looking for the best concealed carry revolver holster, you can’t afford to compromise. That’s why I recommend Dark Star Gear or Phlster for small guns, and JM Custom Kydex for medium framed guns. They’re not cheap, but they’re awesome.
The Rigger is a limited edition, precision-engineered cutting tool constructed of premium materials and featuring signature Magpul form and function. This first-ever Limited Edition Frame Lock was designed by the team at Magpul and is an expression of Magpul’s design ethos and commitment to quality and innovation. The modified Wharncliffe blade is forged from Crucible Particle Metallurgy (CPM) S35VN stainless steel, considered to be one of the finest blade steels in the world, and one of the first designed specifically for knife blades. This CPM stainless steel construction provides improved strength and wear resistance which means the blade holds its edge longer than lesser steels, reducing the need for frequent sharpening.
The jimped blade flipper deploys and locks the modified Wharncliffe blade open with an audible click. A precision-machined frame lock can also be engaged, preventing accidental blade closure, even in the harshest of environments and during demanding use. A flick of the thumb disengages the SLF, allowing quick, controlled blade closure, with or without gloves.
The modified Wharncliffe blade edge has a distinct distal taper and slight belly that enhance ease of sharpening, maintenance, and overall utility. The primary grind / bevel decreases weight while maintaining blade strength and rigidity. The straight unsharpened back curves slightly and has an abrupt downward edge near the tip, creating an aggressive point for piercing and detailed work.
The titanium pocket clip features a hollow pocket clip screw for lanyards and can be removed or reversed with a slotted screwdriver for easy disassembly and cleaning. At 7.59 inches open and 4.52 inches closed, it’s an ideal size for everyday carry, yet large enough to handle demanding field tasks. The Rigger also comes with a custom high strength, injection-molded, weather-resistant polymer case that’s internally lined with soft foam.
Features
Blade Design: Modified Wharncliffe with Tapered Dual Bevel Grind
Secondary Locking Feature
Blade Material: CPM S35VN
Titanium Frame: 6Al4V
Limited Edition: Individually Serialized
Custom high strength, injection-molded, soft foam lined, weather resistant case
Titanium Pocket Clip: 6Al4V
Lanyard Hole
Primary Frame Lock
Jimping along blade spine and the flipper for increased grip during use
It is always a delight when your Original Content (OC for the OG’s) does what is supposed to do and is spread by the masses to enjoy. Memes are the ultimate expression of this impulse of enjoyment, sharing a point using cultural and thematic references to entertain and inform.
And so when I ate lunch today and clicked on ATF vs ARM BRACES I was delighted that my Among Us meme was.. Among Us.
Moreover it was shared and reposted and shown in all its entertainment glory. Mighty fine memery at its finest and mightiest.
Ironically perhaps, Travis has a post today covering gun industry IP theft for things like knock-off arm braces, holsters, and unLAWful folder copies. Memes are different, a reward unto themselves. I’ve seen people get the Big Mad for a meme not being credited and in certain instances it is a dick move not to credit. But a memes primary purpose is to spread like a vir.. CO..1.. 9… never mind, you know what I mean.. a meme is to be enjoyed.
It is so. So much so that it made it into Gun Meme Review! Huzzah!! Also this one has like one billion ad breaks, readers. YouTube went a little crazy.
There is only one higher honorific to memery, and that is for someone to share your own meme with you and not knowing you were its creator. Then you smile and enjoy the moment, an organic expression of your creativity that brightened someone’s day. That is the path to true memlightenment. Blessed are you all who have achieved memlightment.
Intellectual Property theft and frauds in the gun world are nothing new. Go to Wish and type in ACOG and let me know what you find. Heck, you used to be able to buy 80% lowers on Wish if you looked for gun wall art. There are lots and lots of industrious overseas fraudsters cranking out garbage tier goods with name-brand looks. That’s normal IP Theft we are all used to seeing. There is a new breed of IP Theft in the gun world, and thats the form of stolen advertisements and internet-based videos.
The time and effort to create ads and distribute them as part of a marketing campaign is very real and is not cheap. The same can be said for content creators taking hours of their time to create content with the hopes of making just a little jingle-jangle back. From an investment standpoint, advertising and creative materials’ theft is no different from plain old theft.
Advertising IP Theft
What’s fascinating is that companies selling a product are using advertising from different companies to sell their product. The product these devious companies are selling is not the product being advertised or even necessarily a rip off of it. Our first example is from a company called Dinosaurized, and they make belly bands. The concept of a belly band as a holster isn’t new or owned by one company. However, Dinosaurized has been stealing advertisements from Crossbreed.
Crossbreeds Belly Band Holster
This company takes Crossbreed’s belly band advertisements, adds a new watermark, and passes it off as their own. Their belly band is quite a bit different than Crossbreed’s high-quality option, but somehow they don’t see the issue when customers receive a cheaply made nylon holster when a modular Crossbreed was advertised.
Dinosaurized Holsters Belly Band, bit of a difference huh?
I spoke with Jenn Jacques of Crossbreed Holsters. She’s a personal friend, and I’ve worked for her at the Crossbreed blog. With that being said, this article is purely my idea and my writing and opinion. Jenn confirmed my suspicions that Dinosaurized was stealing their advertising. They had their legal team sending cease and desist letters at a firing rate comparable to an M240B. This IP Theft is not something that can be ignored by these companies, and I certainly can’t blame them. Those letters seem to have worked as the Crossbreed advertisements have been removed at the time of this writing.
Content Creation Theft
Jenn pointed me to Jackie Billings, editor at Guns.com, another company whose creative content had been stolen. Dinosaurized was using a short portion of a video Jackie produced as part of a video on carrying while exercising. She was also utilizing a Crossbreed Bellyband. The clip is insanely short, but if you pause it just right, you can still see the original Guns.com watermark.
In that same video are numerous clips of people shooting and drawing from bellybands, but I can’t confirm if this is IP Theft of content or not. I hate the term content creator, but as someone who’s had work stolen, it’s rather annoying.
Here is Jacki’s actual video.
Who Are They?
Dinosaurized advertises themselves as an American company run by three veterans. Their website posts a picture of three soldiers.
A reverse image search reveals the picture comes from a national selfie day post from the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade from 2019.
Perhaps this picture is the owners of the Dinosaurized, but I doubt a Colonel, Warrant officer, and SNCO would be involved in this type of company.
The rest of the pictures on the “About Us” page are taken from other articles and websites. Nothing seems to be an original photo on that page, so I doubt the photo’s authenticity. The FB page listed the contact information as Vietnam for a short period, but that was quickly changed. Their Facebook page lists a Teegroup LLC as the owner.
The only information I can find about Teegroup LLC is a Vietnamese Facebook page leading me to believe this is a Vietnamese owned company posing as an American based and owned company. Their Belly band costs 39.99 and looks identical to the dozens of 7 to 10 dollar Bellybands on Wish. The gear on their website all appears to be items from Wish.
That’s Not All Folks
They are far from the only company to utilize this kind of IP Theft. Another is a company called Gearsoo. Their Facebook campaign has been focused on its Ultimate Shoulder holster.
The advertisements they use are stolen directly from Alien Gear’s advertisements and videos. Heck, even on the website, they use a still image of the Alien Gears model and shoulder holster.
The holster they advertise…
Once you click the add you find an overpriced nylon rig.
The Holster they actually sell
They also claim to be American made since 1995. I’m pressing D to doubt.
I am the LAW!
The LAW Folder is another piece of gear that’s been a constant victim of IP Theft. Again this is normal on websites like Wish. Still, recently a Facebook page has been not only advertising fake LAW Folders but stealing LAW’s promotional materials and advertisements with a hefty removal of any LAW watermarks.
The good news is maybe LAW laid down the law and shut the page down because I can longer find it. Hopefully, this is a small win in the IP Theft arena.
The big lesson to learn here is that if something is too good to be true, it likely is. If a company comes out of nowhere has advertising featuring no audio other than loud techno with tons of clips of people supposedly using their product, it’s likely stolen material. This is a new form of IP Theft that directly affects consumers.
Ripped Off
It’s easy for overseas shops to set up a website and Facebook page, steal advertising and make a small fortune selling Wish-based nylon crap and as long as people are buying it, and that’s unlikely to change. However, the story needs to get out there. If I can prevent one person from buying a Dinosaurized belly band, a Gearsoo shoulder holster, or a fake LAW, then I’ll call it a win.
I’d say trust but verify, but you might be better off no trusting and still verifying and then doing it again. Flashy advertising and stolen clips, photos, and even blog posts need to be addressed, but the best way to stick it to them is to report, comment on their social media calling them out, and most of all, don’t buy their junk.
One relatively minor point struck me as especially important:
“. . . [V]ery few actual regulations effectively eliminate the right of individual Americans to keep or bear arms for the purpose of self-defense. Instead, gun control laws almost always restrict who may keep or bear arms, or what the kinds of arms civilians may have, or where they may take their weapons, or how they may lose their rights. . . When he was on the D.C. Circuit, Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion in which he extended an historical analysis to much less drastic regulations, including bans on certain semi-automatic rifles and on large-capacity ammunition magazines. The historical record is far too sparse to provide meaningful guidance about the constitutionality of most modern regulations.” [emphases supplied]
It has long struck me as odd that the debate over the Second Amendment has mostly ignored the right to bear arms for self defense, specifically in case of confrontation. Mostly, it strives to narrow the “who” and “where” aspects. The historical record of controlling the “who” is a sorry recounting of race-based bans on native Americans and blacks. The NY Sullivan Act was justified on the grounds of barring foreigners (Italians, Jews, Eastern Europeans and others deemed undesirable) from carrying guns.
So why is there such an obsession with suitcase nuclear bombs being carried in Times Square? Scary looking “assault weapons”? “Large capacity” magazines? Let alone Michael Bloomberg’s statement: “You just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place.” The debate has become completely diverted from its historical roots of “who” and “where” to “what”. What gives?
Let’s focus just on the “who” and “where” facets of the right to arms, avoiding the “what kinds of arms” and “how they may lose their rights” issues.
An immigrant woman, one Melanija Knavs, moved to New York City in 1996 to pursue a career she began in Milan and Paris. She became a permanent resident in 2001, thereupon joining the class “the People” whose “right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Let’s imagine that she might have applied at One Police Plaza for a permit to keep and carry a double-barreled flint-lock black powder pistol in NYC. Ignoring the question of whether the Sullivan Act is constitutional, would she have been granted such a permit? Possibly, to keep in her humble apartment, but certainly not to carry it on 5th Avenue. Why not?
As a Green Card holder, she became eligible in the Spring of 2001 to exercise the right of the people to keep and bear arms. That September, the streets of NYC were devastated by the World Trade Center attack. Until then, few people in America comprehended the risk of attack from a heretofore unknown quarter. That made our modern circumstances not terribly different from the American frontier in 1792 when the right to arms was ratified by the founding generation.
In our hypothetical study of Ms. Knavs, we are avoiding the “what kind of arms” issue. A black powder, muzzle-loading, flint lock handgun was a commonplace weapon for self defense in the era of ratification of the Second Amendment. It’s successor today would be a pistol or revolver. But Ms. Knavs would not have been granted a permit to carry a flintlock in NYC for self-defense any more than one of its modern descendants.
Our question is simply one of “who” and “where”. Who? A Green Card holder. Where? The streets of a dangerous city. On what grounds should she be denied the right to bear arms on her journey between home and work in NYC? Today, in at least 16 states, she would need no permit at all. In an additional two dozen states, she would cheerfully be granted a permit upon application. What makes this “where”, NYC, so special? Are there other such “special places” in America?
As fate would have it, Ms. Knavs later took up temporary residence in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. It is now a ”Shall-issue” jurisdiction for keeping handguns in the home and carrying them on the streets. Nevertheless, had Ms. Knavs applied to keep her flintlock pistol in her home she would have been denied; alas for Ms. Knavs, she lives in public housing. Nevertheless, she could certainly could have been issued a permit to carry it if she had applied as a D.C. non-resident from her now legal domicile in Florida! Why should she be able to hold a permit to carry on the streets of D.C., but not to keep a gun in her District residence?
Of course, having moved her legal residence to Florida, Ms. Knavs is no longer eligible for any permit in NYC, even though she maintains a second residence there. By simply changing her domicile (e.g., by re-registering to vote in NYC) she would today certainly be issued a permit to keep a firearm at home. With her connections now, she might get the normally unobtainable NYC carry permit. Why today, when not in 2001? NYC law on issuing permits has not changed in these past 19 years.
Which of Ms Knavs’ other Constitutional rights have been so inconsistently respected as her right to keep and bear her flintlock? After becoming a U.S. citizen in 2006, she became eligible to vote in her precinct of domicile. Did her rights to speak, worship, or to refuse to quarter troops in her home change? To be free from unreasonable search and seizure? Trial by jury with benefit of council? Her meriting the means of individual self-defense has not changed, for better or for worse, 2001.
Ms. Knavs has come to no harm from the complications of living in jurisdictions that arbitrarily deny her Second Amendment rights. And she is extremely well-protected now. But such complexities resulted in a trying ordeal for Ms. Jamie Caetano.
A homeless, battered single mother, Ms. Caetano was arrested, prosecuted and convicted for arming herself with a non-lethal stun gun, which she successfully used to ward off a public attack by her ex-. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld her conviction, adding insult to injury by taunting that she would have avoided adjudication by legally carrying a firearm instead. (That court didn’t identify which Massachusetts municipality would have approved an application for a carry permit from a homeless woman.)
Ms. Caetano’s right to keep and bear the stun gun for self-defense was finally upheld only by the U.S. Supreme Court. The opinion was unanimous, joined by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a champion of women’s rights.
In the current political torrent of accusations of inequity, discrimination and privilege, how can the Second Amendment be so easily ignored when it is so arbitrarily and unequally applied?
.
.
—‘MarkPA’ is trained in economics, a life-long gun owner, NRA Instructor and Massad Ayoob graduate. He is inspired by our inalienable rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and holds that having the means to defend oneself and one’s community is vital to securing them.
The engineers (or perhaps necromancers, it is spooky season) over at Sig Custom Works have returned another favorite line to life.
The Nightmare Series of Olde had an iconic dark finish with a touch of contrast from nickel and some functional internal upgrades that made for a smooth shooting and smoother looking finished product. They were sharp looking pistols and they ran. One of the most iconic was the Fastback Nightmare .45 ACP 1911, easily one of the most popular SIG SKU’s
Well. The Nightmare is back just in tome for trick or treating and since many locations have forbidden the exchange of sweets because of exposure to the virus, why not a nice shiny new piece instead of cavity inducing sweats? (I’m still getting several bags of Reese’s Pumpkins though, I’m an adult and you cannot stop me.)
The team at SIG Custom Works has reimagined three of the most iconic SIG pistols giving them the infamous blacked out Nightmare treatment. The new Nightmare Series features a blacked out Custom Works engraved slide and blacked out frame with nickel plated contrasting controls giving them the distinct Nightmare look. The Sig Sauer Nightmare Series are also the first SIG pistols to fitted with a Hogue Classic Contour SL G-10 Grip. The Nightmare Series P226 and P229 are chambered in 9mm with the P220 chambered in 45ACP, each is equipped with X-Ray 3 day/night sights and 3 magazines. The Custom Works Nightmare Series comes packaged in a premium Custom Works Negrini pistol case complete with a SIG Custom Works challenge coin and a certified custom certificate. The new Nightmare Series from SIG Custom Works. The Nightmare is back.
The Nightmare expands into the P226, P229, and P220. They added X-Ray3 night sights and Hogue G10 grip panels to the classic aesthetic, modernizing the function for carriers.
As a fan of the flagship Sig models this will be a fantastic series to get hands on. If I can justify it to my checkbook after the Scorpion AXG (and candy…)
(Ann Arbor, MI – October 15, 2020) Since EOTECH® became an independent business this past August, the new team has been shedding its old Corporate skin by fixing the lame structures and dogmas of the past. The latest course corrections reflect a vastly improved sales team structure, both internally and externally, that reinforces EOTECH’s renewed commitment to delivering the best products and service solutions all over the world.
No longer will this great company follow senseless internal rules or processes just because “that’s the way it’s always been done.” The New EOTECH is laser-focused on doing what’s right, moving fast, and providing superior service. To facilitate that, there is now a new sheriff in town. Effective October 1st, Mark Cockman, long time industry veteran, has assumed the role of Vice President of U.S. Commercial and Law Enforcement Sales, reporting to Ed Schoppman. Mark’s mission will be to streamline sales processes, deliver solutions to our industry partners, provide proactive service to the Law Enforcement community, and bring new and better sales programs to the marketplace.
Mark was a certified Utah Peace Officer from 1989-2016 working for Salt Lake County Sheriff from 1989-2001. He served equal time in patrol, investigations, and special operations. After leaving he remained active as a reserve officer until 2016 (serving with Salt Lake County Constable and Summit County Sheriff’s Office). Mark has worked in sales teams for ProForce, Remington, Aimpoint, L3 and EOTECH since 2001. Mark has taught many courses over his career with a wide variety of manufacturers. He holds a BS in Political Science and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Utah.
EOTECH has also recently completed a restructuring of its Manufacturers Sales Representatives (Rep Agencies) to provide better service to its resellers. U.S. territories are now covered by these Rep Agencies:
Odle Sales (www.odlesales.com) -Commercial resellers and State/Local Law Enforcement agencies/distributors in = Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska.
Commercial only resellers, excluding Law Enforcement, in =West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida.
Ahern Group (www.aherngroupllc.com) -Commercial resellers and State/Local Law Enforcement agencies/distributors in = Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma.
Thomas F. Gowen & Sons (www.tfgowen.com) -Commercial resellers and State/Local Law Enforcement agencies/distributors in = Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut.
Simpson Sales Company (www.simpsonsalesco.com) -State/Local Law Enforcement agencies/distributors only in = West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida.
Transwestern Sales -Commercial resellers and State/Local Law Enforcement agencies/distributors in = California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii.
About EOTECH® Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, EOTECH designs, manufactures and markets electro-optical products, Vudu rifle optics, thermal devices, and night vision systems. Due to its advanced technology, EOTECH Holographic Weapon Sights (HWS) are among the fastest and most intuitive sighting systems on the planet. This is exactly why you’ll find them on the weapons of America’s most elite law enforcement professionals and special operations warriors. You’ll immediately see the advantage the instant you engage a target. www.eotechinc.com
Remington is dead. Long live Remington. The company that couldn’t has finally been unleashed from the painful grip of Freedom Group. Remington is a legendary company that’s been alive and kicking for 204 years, and somehow Freedom Group found a way to mismanage a company into bankruptcy. As you all know, Remington and the firearms companies in their universe have been sold off. I’m not here to report on that; I’m here to say why it happened and why it’s not that bad.
Why It Happened
This is the pop-psychology version of what happened. I’m not equipped to dive through bankruptcy proceedings and tell you about the dimes and pennies attached to the bankruptcy. What I can tell you is the reason Remington failed in a time where gun sales have been pretty solid. Admittedly the four years after Trump saw some declining sales, but the eight years leading up to 2016 were a time of great fortune.
Where did Remington fail? How did Freedom Group kill not only Remington but DPMS and Marlin too? Well, simply put, Freedom Group failed at its core product, producing guns. When you say Remington, I think three things, the 870, then 700, and Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele. Remington began to fail at producing the 870 and 700, and Remington Steele has yet to get a Blu Ray release.
The Failure of Remington
Remington 870 shotguns and 700 Rifles began showing up with terrible quality control. The guns would rust if you looked at them too hard. That was only the beginning. As a shotgun nerd, I paid attention to the 870s as their actions became grittier and sloppier. The Remington 700 line of rifles got hit with a massive lawsuit regarding their unsafe trigger design. Gun stores got sick of shipping guns back and surely tired of customer complaints. My local gun store stopped carrying Remington products completely.
Marlin was the victim of corporate penny pinching and quickly saw similar faults in their line of firearms. You can find plenty of Marlin rifles with split stocks and misaligned sights. DPMS and Bushmaster began racing to the bottom of the AR tiers by trying to produce the cheapest AR possible. They quickly ruined their reputation with AR guys and gals. Heck, my own Remington 9mm 1911 came with a 45 ACP extractor that needed to be shipped back and repaired for reliable function. They produced guns like the RP9 that no one cared about, the disastrous R51 release, and let’s not forget the 870 DM series.
They failed to focus on making their core products good enough to support their experiments. When you have a product people love and trust, and then you ruin that legacy product, why would anyone want your new products?
The Remington Split
Remington and its facility were sold to an investment group called Roundhill Group. Not much is known about the Roundhill group, but it’s tough to go lower than Freedom Group. I, and most of the industry, are cautiously waiting to see what Roundhill will do. The rest of the Remington group has been divided and split across the industry. There is some good news, some potentially bad news, and then parts of it that I don’t care about. Let’s dive into the split we have an idea about.
The Good News
The best news is that Marlin was bought by Ruger. Ruger makes great long guns, unimaginative, but well made and reliable. The No. 1 series is pretty freaking sweet, and say what you will about the Mini 14, but the gun works. Ruger is a great company to take over Marlin and hopefully restore some greatness to the name.
Franklin Armory has purchased Bushmaster, and that’s also some good news. Franklin Armory is an outside the box manufacturer who loves to do odd and interesting things. They also develop and produce good products in the normal AR 15 world. Maybe Bushmaster will become Franklin Armory’s budget line, or maybe they’ll revive the brand. Maybe they’ll just make 80 lowers, who knows.
Sierra Bullets bought Barnes, and that’s good to see. Barnes was good ammo, and Sierra Bullets makes good ammo, so it will likely be a good match.
An equity firm known as JJE Capital Holdings purchased a lot of the smaller Remington Group brands to include H&R, DPMS, AAC, Stormlake, and Parker. JJE Capital Holdings already owns PSA and Lead Star Arms, so the gun industry is nothing new to them. The chance we’ll see finely-tuned double shotguns with Parker on the receiver is low, but not impossible. AAC had a history of making good stuff, but we’ll see what they do under new leadership, and the same goes for H&R. Maybe DPMS can make a comeback as well.
Dump the Oracle!
The Potential Bad News
This is speculation, and it’s not bad news yet, but Vista purchased Remington ammunition. Vista is a massive company that owns lots of ammo companies to include Speer, Federal, CCI, Estate, Blazer, and American Eagle. They produce a lot of ammunition, and the purchase of Remington means there is less competition on the block.
I like my guns and gear companies to have some healthy competition because it breeds innovation and lower prices. That being said, Vista makes good ammo already, so I doubt they’ll ruin the Remington brand of ammo.
News I Don’t Care About
Sportsman’s Warehouse purchased Tapco. That’s neat, but not something on my radar. It’d be cool if Tapco could be made into a Magpul like company that produces quality products at low prices, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
The destruction of Freedom Group and the dissolution of the Remington brand were inevitable. The good news is that it’s all mostly good news. I’m hoping we can see a revival of Remington, and of Bushmaster, and AAC, and of course Marlin and all the other brands. These are American companies that represent American jobs. Roundhill Group I have one request, make Wingmasters great again.
When I was in high school we spoke simply of “gun control”. Congress passed “An Act to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for better control of the interstate traffic in firearms”, more simply called the “Gun Control Act of 1968”. Somewhere along the debate, the rhetoric changed. The phrase “common sense” was added to qualify gun control. No longer would we speak of gun control for the sake of control; advocates modified their stance to argue solely for those measures which they could characterize as “common sense”.
Very well, I’m all for common sense. But many of us advocates for responsible gun ownership remain uncertain how this modifying phrase “common sense” changed the substance of the debate. Perhaps we would be better able to progress toward our common goal if we could understand what advocates mean when they speak of “common sense” gun control laws. To this end, I respectfully offer the thesis:
The phrase “common sense” used to qualify gun control means nothing.
For “common sense gun control” to be logically distinguished from simple “gun control” there must be a difference. Is there? Conventional wisdom is that there are over 20,000 gun control laws on the books of municipal, state and federal governments. One refutation of my thesis could be in the form of a list of those laws—repealed, current or proposed—which fail the “common sense” qualification; e.g., 19,999 gun control laws pass the common sense test except X, which defies common sense. I doubt that gun control advocates would provide a list of candidates for gun control laws that defy common sense.
In U.S. constitutional law the lowest standard for review is referred to as the “rational basis test”. If the law is “rationally related” to a “legitimate” government interest, whether real or hypothetical, it passes this standard. SCOTUS found that the District of Columbia’s law, banning from the home the most preferred firearm, would fail constitutional muster under any standard of scrutiny. Would advocates of common sense gun control concede that that DC law failed the “common sense” standard?
The DC v Heller opinion was a mere 5 to 4 holding. So, let’s consider another. Ms. Jamie Caetano, a homeless single mother, was convicted of defying Massachusetts absolute ban on stun guns. SCOTUS, in a unanimous opinion, reversed her conviction. Would advocates of common sense gun control concede that the MA law failed the “common sense” standard?
If advocates for “common sense” gun control can offer no example of a law which fails to meet their “common sense” qualification then I can rest my case. That phrase means nothing. If the “common sense” standard advocates would offer examples that meet or fail their standard “common sense” then we might be able to discern the reasons.
For example, suppose that the standard is that SCOTUS must explicitly rule on a specific set of facts under a specific law. Under that criteria, we can say that only absolute bans on stun guns or handguns inside the home fail the “common sense” test. Would it then follow that every law will pass the “common sense” standard unless and until SCOTUS rules otherwise? Complicating liberal theology, this would imply there are ordinarily no “penumbras and emanations” in US Constitutional law.
How would that rationale apply to the countless unenumerated rights generally acknowledged by Americans?
There is “no right to yell ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater”, we have heard. There is no SCOTUS ruling upholding the right of citizens to attend the theater unmuzzled There is no right to undermine Congress’ authority to conscript men for military service through intemperate advocacy of draft-card burning. So, could a municipality require theater-goers to wear muzzles? May Congress pass a law forbidding carrying of matches or lighters in public places? Obviously, no.
Yet speech is one thing. Keeping and bearing of arms is quite another by its legal treatment. Why is the right to arms evaluated so differently from other enumerated rights speech, press, religion, assembly, quartering, searches, seizures, warrants and so forth. All enumerated rights—save those for arms—must meet intermediate or strict scrutiny. Arms alone are subject to the special “common sense” test.
It might be that exploring the phrase “common sense gun control” could establish some common understanding, however miniscule, that some rights to arms must be respected even by gun control advocates. We might learn what we all mean as “common sense” while becoming clearer on what we would continue to regard as nonsense.
I strongly suspect that there is no such thing as “common sense gun control” as distinct from gun control for the sake of control itself.
.
.
—‘MarkPA’ is trained in economics, a life-long gun owner, NRA Instructor and Massad Ayoob graduate. He is inspired by our inalienable rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and holds that having the means to defend oneself and one’s community is vital to securing them.
The newest video from Textron industries and available at Tactical Rifleman features a lot of fluff and very little new stuff about their NGSW submission.
Beretta’s social media has also ramped a few newer images of their submission into the public sphere too. Beretta’s partner is General Dynamics
Beretta Facebook
Both Textron and General Dynamics are not known for small arms, they’re known for larger projects like vehicles, drones, and crew served systems. But their partners like Beretta, H&K, and Winchester (who is also the contract winner to run Lake City ammunition) are all known names.
For those unfamiliar, the NGSW is a program seeking to modernize the military small arms selection centered around departing from 5.56×45 and 7.62×51 NATO rounds. These rounds have pretty much hit their developmental limits and the platforms that run them are exceptional. The generation of M4/M4A1 rifles, SCARs, M110’s, M110A1’s, M240’s and so forth are all good systems.
The Army, Marines, and SOCOM, are looking at a performance leap going forward.
That requires new ammunition, and the Army picked 6.8mm. Three very different rounds have emerged from the three contenders, each tackling the requirement for fast, accurate, light, and penetrative in a unique way. Given projectile weights similar to M80 ball, the 6.8mm offers superior ballistics for extended range and the new EPR ‘A1’ projectile designs for defeat capabilities.
Sig kept it most conventional with a modified hybrid-brass case. It utilizes a stainless steel base for strength and allows a thinner and more capacious case in dimensions similar to a 7.62×51. It achieves the designated weight requirements with the thinner case walls and base material.
General Dynamics, Beretta, Winchester, and True Velocity have delivered a polymer case round in a long barreled bullpup. We’ve been being promised polymer case rounds for a long time but have yet to see it penetrate the commercial or DoD spaces beyond a concept.
But let’s take a look at the Textron ammunition, rifle, and automatic rifle specifically.
Telescoped Ammunition
The video showcases live fire of the combined system, minus the new fire control prototypes from Vortex and Leupold. The current systems look much more like conventional weapon than the earlier 40 watt plasma rifle looking things. The new M-LOK bedecked and adjustable stock items look far more familiar and with controls in small arms familiar locations.
The rifle seems to feature controls similar to the ACR/XCR when it comes to magazine and bolt lock and the automatic rifle is ‘SAW’esk.
Personally, a few items still concern me with the Textron designs. Those concerns center on the viability and easy of stoppage clearance. Unlike the SIG and GD submissions, which have directly transferable manual of arms from current day systems, the Textron does not appear to have direct chamber access. The shape of the ammunition also seems concerning from a feed geometry point of view, however the footage shows it clearly works when it works.. but we do not have footage of clearance procedures. We don’t know anything about what to do if it stops working, we assume cycle the action in some manner but we don’t know. We haven’t seen one go down hard.
The ejection port location is also on the handguard… which seems problematic in its own right as it is a prime location to cause a FTE type stoppage. The automatic rifle has it placed in a less precarious position but the rifle’s seems like a prime spot for interference with the shooters hand. I’m far too unfamiliar with the Textron internals, although they seem complex, in order to gauge the likeliness that a problem occurs. The system seems viable while it is working but we haven’t seen it not working.
Released animation from the LSAT which has evolved into the Textron NGSW submission
The short Textron video features 3D animation of the feed system working with a hinging lever and I really want to know, especially on the rifle, how to get inside to move a stuck case. What happens if a case goes in at a bad angle at the system hands up? What are the internal corrective geometries that fix those problems for a soldier clearing the weapon?
I know how I would clear a bag stoppage on the SIG and GD/Beretta systems, a benefit to them being conventional. I even have an idea on the Textron belt-fed. I am not certain on the rifle, I just foresee
I still feel Sig is the best contender but we don’t have numbers yet on crucial items like durability nor do we have any early reliability numbers from the three systems. We don’t know if the Army, Marine, and SOCOM evaluation teams have found problems fielding them that weren’t encountered on the drawing board.
What we do know is Army is dumping a lot of dollars into 6.8mm tech. Is backwards compatibility with legacy 7.62 and 6.5 systems feasible? Likely, and that could mean we see a wildcard submission or strange change by Big Army. But I don’t think so, I feel we will actually see the another caliber change by 2022 and the DoD will begin scaling back 5.56 through the 2030’s.
It won’t vanish mind you, but it will be pushed into support roles, less critical spots, and training armories until it phases out. 5.56 will also maintain its domestic presence as a highly viable personal defense round, a role the new 6.8mm is not likely to be a champion of because of the programs focus on extended ranges, armor defeat, and intermediate barrier defeat. Translating that to civilian applicable bullet composition and it will probably be a fantastic large/dangerous game round but overkill for clearing your kitchen.
XTech Tactical is proud to announce the Speedmag quick loading AR-15 magazine. Designed to make sore thumbs a thing of the past, the Speedmag adds more convince to your recreational shooting.
Proudly designed and produced entirely in the United States, the Speedmag uses a proprietary polymer used for its high resistance to deformation should a magazine be left loaded.
The proprietary follower used in the Speedmag makes loading your magazine as simple as pulling the follower collar down several inches and dropping the rounds into the magazine. Simple, easy, and quick to load magazines ensure that your time on the range is more focused on shooting and less focused on loading.
At an MSRP of $24.95, the Speedmag is affordable for all users and offers a 3-year manufacturer’s warranty. Like all XTech Tactical products, significant testing was performed with many different rifle types and the magazine is incredibly durable.
The Speedmag is compatible with all Mil-Spec AR-15 style rifles and accepts any caliber that fits in regular mil-spec magazines like .223 Remington, 5.56 NATO and .300 AAC.
“The Speedmag is a bit different from our other magazines in that it is designed for the recreational shooter to spend less time loading, more time shooting. Our team took everything we have learned from building the finest AK magazines on the planet and applied those lessons to the new Speedmag. We are proud to offer a magazine that makes range time even more enjoyable.” said Jeremy Deadman, Director of Sales and Marketing for XTech Tactical.
NEWINGTON, N.H., (October 13, 2020) – SIG SAUER, Inc., a leading New Hampshire manufacturer, is pleased to announce an expansion of its New Hampshire operations to the city of Rochester, New Hampshire.
Ron Cohen, President & CEO, SIG SAUER, Inc. began, “we are incredibly excited about completing the acquisition of a new facility in Rochester which gives SIG the much-needed flexibility to expand our manufacturing operations in the region and grow our workforce.”
SIG SAUER is poised to acquire a multi-building campus in Rochester, to relocate its Dover operation and expand overall New Hampshire operations, located within Crossroads Industrial Park situated on 35+ acres with up to 210,000 sq./ft. of space. This expansion is spurred by the need for additional manufacturing space and SIG SAUER’s continued market growth.
“The expansion of SIG SAUER’s New Hampshire operation is exciting and welcome news as our economy continues to grow,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “We pride ourselves on working hand-in-hand with our partners in the private sector to expand economic opportunity for working families across the Granite State – and this partnership between the State of New Hampshire, City of Rochester, and SIG SAUER does just that.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome SIG SAUER to Rochester. The new location will provide great job opportunities to our state’s workforce and offer advanced manufacturing capabilities to the region,” added Mayor Caroline McCarley, City of Rochester, NH. “I also admire their commitment to work with our high school students in the Richard W. Creteau Regional Technology Center to gain skills that can be transferred into a wide variety of career paths.
The expansion of SIG SAUER operations in New Hampshire is a result of a collaboration with the city of Rochester and the state of New Hampshire, including the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority.
“This partnership with SIG SAUER provides an exciting opportunity for the City of Rochester and will bring in 300 new, high-quality jobs to the city,” said James Key-Wallace, executive director of the BFA. “We were pleased to work closely with the state of New Hampshire and the city of Rochester to make this happen. Our collaborative approach shows New Hampshire is committed to growing our businesses here in the state and is always looking at creative opportunities. We want Granite State companies to know they can count on us for innovative solutions when they are ready to expand their operations.”
SIG SAUER’s world headquarters is located at Pease International Tradeport in Newington, New Hampshire and the company operates six additional locations across the state of New Hampshire, in addition to operations in Arkansas and Oregon.
About SIG SAUER, Inc. SIG SAUER, Inc. is a leading provider and manufacturer of firearms, electro-optics, ammunition, airguns, suppressors, and training. For over 250 years SIG SAUER, Inc. has evolved, and thrived, by blending American ingenuity, German engineering, and Swiss precision. Today, SIG SAUER is synonymous with industry-leading quality and innovation which has made it the brand of choice amongst the U.S. Military, the global defense community, law enforcement, competitive shooters, hunters, and responsible citizens. Additionally, SIG SAUER is the premier provider of elite firearms instruction and tactical training at the SIG SAUER Academy. Headquartered in Newington, New Hampshire, SIG SAUER has over 2,000 employees across nine locations. For more information about the company and product line visit: sigsauer.com.
[Ed: This talk by Dr. Brodale is the fifth that the DRGO leadership team prepared for the Second Amendment Foundation’s 35th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference. However, we couldn’t deliver it there because it was considered to diverge from the single issue of gun rights. But the physicians of DRGO are as united in the fight for people’s lives and freedoms in health as for their RKBA. See this one, with our four GRPC talks, on the DRGO YouTube channel or at 2:17:23 here. The entire schedule of all GRPC sessions is here, divided into 4 parts on the SAF channel].
.
Hello, GRPC 2020. I’m Dr. Sean Brodale, with Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership. I’m a family practice certified doctor of osteopathic medicine working full-time in the ER. I’m also the medical director of a rural emergency department.
I want you to know, we are at war. We are at war with an enemy we fight every day, but one that was never before seen. We are at war with an enemy so small that it takes an electron scanning microscope to see it—but we see its effects all around us. We are at war with an enemy that appeared so powerful, the world closed its doors. Populations were ordered to stay inside, and many industries nearly ceased production.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, abbreviated SARS-CoV-2, is the virus that causes COVID-19. It is the smallest enemy that we and the world have fought on such a large scale for over 100 years, since the 1919 Spanish flu.
We’ve had epidemics and wars, and men and women have died in great numbers. Nothing has brought the world to its knees like this has today. No country or people go unaffected. Many who are affected go unnoticed. We cannot see this enemy. We need to take precautions to avoid this enemy until we know how to fight it effectively.
If we come into contact with this enemy, we do not know for sure what effect it will have on us. We may walk away unscathed, have minor short-lived injuries, be critically injured and survive, or we may die. After we encounter this enemy, we may unknowingly assist him in his campaign by spreading his forces among those we love and associate with.
I think we can use principles common in the RKBA community to help fight this war.
Let’s start with situational awareness: Avoid those who you know are sick. When you go out in public, avoid close contact with others, because you do not know who may be spreading this enemy.
Personal preparation: Update your EDC by keeping yourself healthy. Get plenty of vitamins, especially vitiamin C, zinc, vitamin D, and others that help your immune system work well.
Drink plenty of water: Half a gallon to a full gallon of water a day is a good place to start.
Get plenty of rest: If you’re off your normal work schedule, don’t let your sleep schedule get off as well. Good sleep hygiene will help your body fight this war.
And protect other civilians: This includes wearing a mask when you go out. This is as much to protect others from what you don’t know you have, though it can help protect you too.
I know the use of masks has been controversial, but so is carrying guns. As the saying goes, I would rather carry a gun every day and not need it, than not carry it and need it. Right? A mask will not stop this enemy completely, that’s true. It will reduce your exposure to COVID and your exposure of someone else. Even if it only does a little bit, that little bit, done by everyone, will make a big difference.
Your mask is a new addition to your EDC—it’s your open carry, no matter what else you’re carrying. By not wearing a mask, you’re only giving the left ammunition. Every new case of COVID, every new death attributed to COVID, is another round in the automatic weapons of the Left. You can be assured that any reasons they have to restrict our rights will be automatic. If they get that foothold, than our very personal freedoms will be threatened. We cannot stand for that for even a second.
Last, help the fighting forces. Don’t go to the doctor unless you have to. If you think you need to be seen, call first. Most illnesses and minor injuries will heal themselves. But if you’re concerned, please call and discuss this with your primary care providers first. They should be able to direct you. If you think you have COVID-19, again, ask your doctor. We may eventually agree on a treatment but for now, stay at home unless you have shortness of breath, chest pain or otherwise need to be hospitalized.
Right now, as health care providers who hold our rights in high regard, specifically the right to keep and bear arms, we see many of our rights being infringed upon. We see government officials taking broad steps to limit our movement, our ways to make a living, our ability to associate with others, and even our ability to keep and bear arms.
There is much we can do to fight back against overreach of government control. Together, we can fight this virus and the anti-freedom politicians exploiting it.
Stay safe, and stay healthy!
.
.
— Dr. Sean Brodale is a family practitioner in Iowa. He is pursuing the right to carry in hospitals for eligible medical personnel. At DRGO he is involved in membership and public engagement projects.
Now that the gardening season is heading into the fall home stretch (at least in my growing zone), I figured I’d write an update on how things went. I was very pleased – tickled in fact – with with my yields, and it was all much less work than I had originally feared.
Cabbage
My spring container cabbage (though small heads) grew enough to can three pints of pickled cabbage/cole slaw. This is not a huge volume, but it’s more than I’ve ever grown before and it was my first attempt at growing cabbage outdoors. I admit I probably could have let the heads go longer, but I was impatient. (My lifelong character flaw) I was however very pleased with the experiment and tried planting more.
My first cabbage harvest.
Hoping for a fall harvest, I restarted some cabbage in the window, which I transplanted outside in early August. Although they are surviving, the fall cabbage leaves are full of worm holes and didn’t do well in the late summer heat. I probably should have waited another few weeks. These are cool weather crops which are finally getting happier as the weather is moderating. Next year I will not start them until at least 2-3 weeks later in the season. This is another reason that I have a garden journal – to make notes about this stuff for next year. I’m hoping that the first frost will take care of the cabbage worms and the heads can continue on unmolested, since cabbage doesn’t mind the frost. Fingers crossed.
Carrots
About mid-June I did some test-pulls of carrots from the plastic tub I started the seeds in back in March. It worked! I was so pleased! My indoor carrot efforts had been disappointing, so this container carrot victory was cause for celebration! I dehydrated several trays of these carrots for winter recipes and almost immediately started a second planting.
Tub-grown carrots. I win!
The “containers” part is important because as I have noted previously, my yard is composed of clay and shale – there is no deep soil in which to grow carrots in my ground. Tubs and raised beds are my only real option. So I plotted what to do next.
For the second planting I started carrot seeds in a cardboard box wrapped in a black plastic bag. I didn’t want to buy another tub, so why not experiment? I had to be careful of the drainage and not over-water, but they did okay over all.
An additional experiment with these carrots was a trial of covering the seeds with a layer of single-ply toilet paper to keep them in place while they germinated. Carrot seeds wash around easily and can get all clumped up if you don’t do something to stabilize them. The TP worked well so I’ll be doing that every time now.
This second planting is growing well and I even decided to try a third planting in the containers where the zucchini used to be. (More on the zucchini in a bit) Remember we talked about crop rotation and succession planting previously? Carrots are reportedly light feeders and cold tolerant, so they should do okay after the Zukes without heavy recomposting. I planted mixed variety carrot seeds in those patio containers on Labor Day weekend with the toilet paper method. If we have a mild fall, I may have a carrot harvest again in late November. We shall see …
Onions
Onions this year were originally just an afterthought. I bought a bag of 100 sets for a few bucks on a whim and just put them randomly in tubs wherever there was room for them as a companion planting. Gardening friends assured me that they didn’t need to be planted “just” in the spring – that I could harvest and plant pretty much whenever I wanted as long as I didn’t need huge fully mature onions for my recipes.
Onions freshly pulled from the garden for soup.
This turned out to be a great decision, especially because there was a nationwide onion recall in the summer due to salmonella contamination. I pulled onions from my own tubs instead and didn’t give the recall a second thought. This is yet another argument for growing your own. Homegrown crops don’t get recalled for Hep A or Listeria or Salmonella contamination.
I’ll be planting many more onions next year now that I know how easy they are.
Three Sisters Experiment
The three sisters plot went bonkers and was a great success. It honestly looked like a jungle in that raised bed during high summer. The plus to that was that there was almost no room for weeds!
This ancient form of companion planting was an interesting exercise. It provided intensive use of a smallish 4 x 6-foot space and I plan to double my efforts next year. I’ll be composting this bed aggressively over the winter to refresh the soil and will be starting a new bed as well for next year.
First Sister – Corn
I got a harvest of about fifteen ears of corn from this plot. I knew there wouldn’t be a lot, but it was an experiment. We ate a few and I froze a few. It was a small plot so I did a good bit of hand pollinating to ensure a yield. What was interesting is that this corn was a multicolored variety, but it didn’t start turning colors until the kernels were quite mature. I have no idea how that works. I’ll have to read more about it this winter.
Corn with only a few splotches of color developing.
Next year I definitely want at least one more raised bed with a second planting of corn about two weeks after the first. It was an interesting learning experience and I want to try for more. Maybe next year I’ll try an early variety in one bed and a late variety in the other so they don’t cross-pollinate.
Second Sister – Green beans
The second sister – Blue Lake stringless pole green beans – have been wildly successful. They are slowing down now that it’s October, but I am still harvesting by the handful almost daily. We are eating some, and I am dehydrating some and freezing others and they aren’t done yet. They grew well on the string trellis as well as climbing the corn. This is another keeper for next year.
Green beans ready to blanch.
These beans were really a “cover the seed and walk away” kind of deal. There was almost no work involved, so it should not be a huge burden to double my planting next year – or maybe I’ll try some shell beans (maybe black beans?) in the other plot. But the bottom line is, I was happy – I ended with at least twelve quarts of green beans over the season – the bees were happy, and even the hummingbirds came to sip at the blossoms, so what’s not to like?
Third Sister – Squash
The third sister – butternut squash – has just finished. I ended up with seven squash scattered around the periphery of the raised bed, one of which was huge by butternut standards. That one didn’t look like it would keep well, so it was the first in the pot for squash soup last weekend. I am just tickled with how well this turned out and how easy it was. The bees were equally ecstatic over the bright orange blossoms, and I was delighted to keep those pollinators happy. Butternuts reportedly keep well in a cool dry place for up to six months, so these will be going on the basement racks for winter safe-keeping.
Bees gorging on a squash blossom.
Tomatoes
Roma tomatoes grown in plastic storage tubs were quite a success in my Pandemic Garden. There was a frost warning a few days ago, so I pulled off all of the rest of my green tomatoes to put an end to the season. They are now ripening in cardboard boxes in the kitchen.
I ended up with close to 30 pounds worth of these beauties for the season. That might not sound like a lot to you, but for eight plants in four tubs, this method produced plenty enough for this small household. Especially considering the deer damage early in the season. I am very pleased.
I froze most of my harvest as I picked it in anticipation of making and canning pasta sauce on an upcoming long weekend, so my work here is not yet done. The green ones that don’t ripen will end up as green tomato salsa verde!
Jalapeños
Although I’m not a huge hot pepper fan I did want to grow just a couple plants for berry pepper jelly etc. Due to unplanned circumstances I ended up with SIX plants surviving instead! That’s a lot more hot peppers than I knew what to do with!
After I had what peppers I needed frozen and dehydrated, I gave some away to friends. Then I mailed some dehydrated ones to my son. Then I brought three separate bags-full to my office staff, and finally gave some away to the neighbors. Whew!
These plants were prolific to say the least. They thrived in the patio containers I planted them in. But next year I only want TWO plants. The rest of the space I want to fill with green chilies, and colorful sweet peppers instead. That’s the plan at least. We’ll see how that goes.
Zucchini
Just like last year I got a great yield from my container zucchini plants. We ate some, I dehydrated a bunch for the winter, made zucchini-ranch chips with some, and made zucchini bread for the freezer with still more.
Dehydrated Zukes for winter use.
The difference from last year is that I had an infestation of squash bugs this year – Yuck. I picked off as many as I could find and tossed them in a can of soapy water. I also trimmed off the parts of the leaves with egg masses on and burned them (Die, foul pestilence!).
But the critters eventually got ahead of me and I had to resort to insecticidal soap. I still had a good yield of zucchini, but next year I may treat with the soap spray prophylactically to keep them from getting ahead of me again. After the last two zukes came off, I pulled up the plants and burned them to get rid of the last of the squash bugs and keep them away from the butternuts in the raised bed.
Pests
In addition to previously mentioned squash bugs, I had a few more pests to deal with, the biggest of which were the deer.
After a hopeful first month or two with the low mesh fencing that I threw together in May, the deer started getting wise and pressing against and bending over the somewhat stretchy fencing to get at my bush beans and tomatoes.
As much as I wanted to do all this gardening on the cheap, I ended up spending 300 dollars on additional fencing, plus some solar motion detecting spotlights. I didn’t think the HOA (let alone the game commission) would approve of motion activated mini-guns though.
I tried not to think about how much produce I could have just purchased for that money. But I consoled myself with the thought that this was a long term investment, that the fencing should hold up for several years and so my costs would be spread out over time. Plus with the lights there was the home security angle against two-legged incursions to think about too. The fencing actually worked well so that was a relief. I didn’t want all my blood, sweat, and tears to end up as nothing but deer poop in the grass.
The lights were less effective though. The other morning I woke up thinking it was dawn – but it was really just the motion lights shining through my window. I looked out, and sure enough, there were the four-hooved intruders. They were so bold that the lights didn’t bother them. It took me yelling out the window at them before they dispersed. (Why, oh why am I not allowed to use my crossbow???) But at least the fence did its job and kept them away from my food crops. The bird feeder however, was another matter.
Remember the hornworms? Well, I never did find any more of them (thank goodness), but they didn’t survive the bug house either. There was a big swarm of ants near the bug house a few days after that post and I think the ants ate the hornworms. Oh well. At least I didn’t have an actual infestation -it was just the two of them.
Additional garden pests I dealt with through the summer included ants, stink bugs, and cabbage worms. But there were also helpful predators as well. Due to my bird feeder in the vicinity, there were plenty of winged bug-eaters on hand to pick through the garden, and also a praying mantis on patrol. I did not have to resort to pesticides in the main garden thank goodness. Nature took care of most of the problem for me.
So that’s the story. My 2020 Pandemic Garden was a tremendous success and I’m very proud of myself for being such a novice outdoor gardener. It was a great experiment and learning experience. Building and tending this garden gave me many hours of enjoyment in addition to filling my belly and training me for the REAL APOCALYPSE tm. Through the course of these last several months I started thinking of my little garden as a friend, so I penned these few corny lines.
At first you were just a fantasy – a vision in my head of what I wanted. But suddenly there you were – you were real. I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into you – supporting, encouraging, and tending to you. In return you nourished me and gave me hope in time of great frustration and despair. So many hours we spent together. So many moments that you gave me peace.
But the time has come to say goodbye. They say some relationships are only for a season, and that is true of this one. I have to cut you off now – for your own good. You need time to recover your strength. But I will always remember the times we had together, and I’ll remember what you taught me. I am a better person for having had you in my life.
Sleep well, little garden patch. I’ll see you in the Spring.
Sig and IWI both dropped incredibly cool releases recently and while I tried for both… I failed.
I only managed an order for the SIG Scorpion AXG P320, which are luckily not number limited just time frame. The IWI Galil ACE in 5.45×39 (an ammo that you can occasionally find and earthbound prices) however were all gone by the time I hit the interwebz and sent my purchase requests.
Now, that means I missed the ACE… but I, as you may recall, am a FFL/SOT. You all have the open market of places like GunBroker where I am certain several will float around. A few dealers probably snagged them too although the largest I knew, Copper Custom, is out of stock.
Rumor is that they sold out in less than 180 minutes from announcement or about 1 gun per 20 seconds. If you know the speed of a 4473 that is impressive (not that any have been 4473’d out yet, most are probably on the brown trucks of happiness)
But I did manage the AXG!
Considering I have plenty of rifles and no 5.45 ammo in my stash but my last P320 (the excellent XCompact variant) was borrowed to play model, I was in greater need of the AXG.
