Rail Mounted Environmental Illuminator – REIN

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October 5, 2020

Cloud Defensive has finally released the REIN, and it looks to be exactly what we were hoping to see from the team that brought us the nigh indestructible OWL.

The REIN and 3rd Gen LCS (Light Control System)

The OWL was a logical culmination of what a ” Durable Top Mounted Rifle Light” should be. It personifies that concept but within that personification it was also limited in its scope. It can basically serve as a stand alone light for a carbine with no plans for other ancillary equipment. It can be used left or right side mounted with the switch centralized on a top rail.

It is also massive.

The large size, premium price, and less than stellar compatibility with lasers and IR illuminators kept the OWLs niche narrower.

The REIN looks to fix that and open up the Cloud Defensive light coverage into the lanes occupied by the Modlite and Surefire Pro units. Competition breeds innovation, and the incremental improvements that look to be within the REIN make that look promising.

Since all the modern units are going towards 18350 and 18650 cells for power, commonality is made easy. When my rechargeable cells can run any of these lights and the on market mounts can support them it makes selecting and trying all of them an easy choice.

I’m still looking to add more lights to my quarantine collection and the REIN and REIN Micro look highly promising

Shelves Are Still Ghost Towns in October

By

Keith Finch

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October 5, 2020

As we move closer to closing out 2020, this most interesting time as the old proverb goes, we see that demand has not slackened in most respects. Now with demand probably won’t influence your deer season since most of those calibers aren’t defensive and their prices and availability have kept pace with their expected volume.

But anything remotely close to a ‘fighting’ gun is gone and will probably stay “gone” for the foreseeable future, at least through the Holidays kicking off this month and probably spring 2021.

Does this mean you won’t get the extra awesome wizzbang thing that you want? No, and I’ll explain why.

Ammunition

Ammo is probably the simplest and yet scariest of the prospects right now. Demand is high for everything but nothing quite so high as ammunition right now. Backlogs of orders for rounds are approaching two years. Now, that isn’t the scary part as full year orders from large volume users and retailers is nothing new but their is usually some slop and production breathing room to crank out ammo to the unclaimed market regularly.

There is no such ‘unclaimed’ ammunition pile from manufacturers anymore. They are booked day in and day out. They after components, especially primers, and many have noticed that normal sources for small items in loading have dried up. Everything is going into new production ammunition.

Not surprising given the combination pandemic/riot ‘awakening’ and the upwards 12-13 million new gun owners out there and perhaps 40 million guns that have changed hands new and used. This is a guesstament, of course, from conversations I have had among the learned folks and off the NICS and NSSF data. Basically for every NICS applicable transfer there are one to three that don’t touch NICS, and with commercial on the shelf availability hit hard the ‘friend with a spare’ availability becomes the only option.

As I’ve been that option, and all the owners were new owners, my estimate seems plausible. Of course that is sample size ‘me and a few friends’ so, could be off. Speaking of new guns though.

Availability is… Buy it now if you want it.

Make no mistake, new guns are flowing just as fast as ammunition. I’ve built an AR during this but I am lucky I wasn’t picky about parts. My order of an MCX Virtus rifle (in January) was also fulfilled recently.

We are looking very much at a Beggars can’t be Choosers market where waiting for the exact item(s) you want are going to be long waits. Having broader criteria like “a duty or compact 9mm of reputable quality” will result in much quicker availability than waiting for the OD Green G45 MOS.

I checked an online distributor this morning to see what I could order and the handgun selection listed… 6 of 2500 items. And those were all slow moving oddballs. Semi-auto rifles were 6 of 905, all higher priced hunting models or .22 competitive models.

Gone are the days of quick searches pulling together exact makes and models, fairly simple availability of limited editions, and picking and choosing our idealist parts lists. We have to search in broad terms, hunt online auctions, and accept that we aren’t going to find the extra most bestest lowest price on demand.

If you need it quickly, make a list

Have more than once acceptable option on your list for defensive rifles, handguns, and shotguns. Multiple brands with a range of feature sets will be easier to find.

Want a 14.5? Be willing to accept a 16″ too or vice versa. Want M-LOK? Be open to a freefloat quadrail as well. Speaking of that, if its a non-freefloat made of quality components it’ll beat a shoddy component freefloat.

Wait lists and “Notify Me’s” are your friend. So is patience. Those systems are not perfect and if a retailer gets 100 units with 1,000 people waiting, demand beats supply by quite a bit. Work with your retailers and they will work with you.

Good luck folks!

The $10 Birchwood Casey 3D Targets

By

Travis Pike

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October 5, 2020

[Editor’s Note: Price and availability subject to change. Prices were as of purchase. Stuff is pricey right now if they aren’t $10 anymore, such is life]

I scroll through Amazon randomly sometimes. Amazon acts as an anti-gun company, but seemingly sells everything from targets to full auto Glock switches. With two day shipping, they’ve become a favorite when I want little things like targets, QD sling points, batteries, Snap Caps, etc. One day I landed on a three-pack of 3D Targets from Birchwood Casey. For ten bucks, you got three torso targets. I hit one click and never looked back.

Ten bucks for three 3D Targets seemed to be a fantastic deal. These specific models are Torso/Head targets, they encompass the vital organs to include the heart and lungs. The targets are made from something listed as “recycled material.” It’s more paper-like than polymer but is thick and seems very durable. I wouldn’t leave it in the rain and expect it to last, though.

The target is also heavier than paper and won’t blow around in a light wind. At the top above the head is a tab that makes it easy to mount with nothing more than a nail. I used three staples and blew part of a pole apart. Well worth the fun I had with these targets.

3D Targets and Angles

I’ve never trained with 3D Targets beyond those fun little plinking targets in the shape of balls, cans, and bottles. Using 3D Targets was a different experience. There is always something to be said about using a realistic target in your training applications. These 3D Targets present a totally different angle than most training solutions.

I keep saying 3D targets, and I understand these are more like 2.5D, but as far as defensive shooting goes, they fill the role, and for the price, I won’t argue semantics. They open up different angles of fire and allow you to engage at angles not available with standard targets. The additional 30 to 45-degree angles open it up to new training situations.

The targets allow for realistic engagements of enemies behind cover, for longer range precision shooting, and even for extremely close quarter’s shooting. A 3D target offers an affordable opportunity for a new angle on your training. It adds a different layer of realism.

For long-range shooting, it creates a silhouette in a realistic manner that doesn’t require the paper to be a particular shade or color to be easy to see. It also offers a recordable means to measure groups that steel simply can’t do. You can see the outline of a target and not just a printed piece of paper. For close quarter’s shooting, the muzzle blast doesn’t destroy the target and provides you realistic angles for hits and misses.

The Birchwood Casey Targets

3D Targets are pretty sweet, and various companies make them provide you with realistic training at multiple angles. The Birchwood Casey models are easily the most affordable, but does that mean they are the worst? Price often affects quality.

That being said, these targets are perfectly suitable for most people. They wouldn’t survive an experience with a facility that hosts classes weekly, but for a day or a few drills training at an individuals level, they are perfect. Will they absorb 2,500 rounds and keep ticking? Probably not, but they can seemingly absorb hundreds of rounds without issue. However, at three bucks and some change for each target, it seems more than capable.

When shooting at moderate ranges with an optic, you can easily spot your hits. The big black hole is the tan paper target makes it quite clear where your hits are and where they aren’t. The target could ‘technically’ be patched up with a little tan duct tape if you really want to preserve your targets as long as possible, or just to cover hits for precision shooting purposes. Tan pasters may work too angles might fight that.

For close-range shooting, their ability to take a blow from the hand and, as previously mentioned, not explode from muzzle blast is a nice touch. Heck, you can incorporate some extreme close quarter’s knife stuff should you so choose. The target could be stabbed and cut at and presents realistic angles for that as well.

For the Money

Are there better options? Sure. Are their better options at this price point? Nope. The Birchwood Casey 3D Targets offer the best bang for your buck. They come in a three-pack so you can perform box drills, Dozier drills, the 1 to 5 drill, and of course, the famous El Presidente drill. You can do so with a realistic target that only highlights the vital zones.

I’m always interested in affordable training solutions, and the Birchwood Casey 3D Targets seem to be an affordable, robust, and valuable training tool to add to your range bag.

[Editor’s Note: For even more realism to target picture, these can be hung from a frame and then a shirt thrown over them.

One of the artificialities in square range training is the fact that we can see hits and get feedback from paper instantly (distance and optic dependent). There is a time and place when that data matters, yes, but there is value to be gained in having a clean realistic sight picture on target that doesn’t instantly show hits, groups, or give auditory feedback. Your training can focus on addressing the target with what you believe is your best sight picture for various distances and then feedback can be addressed after the drill is complete.]

Gunfighting: with Mike and Garrett

By

Keith Finch

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October 2, 2020

Kagwerk’s Garrett (Founder) and Mike go over “How to win a gunfight” and some of the thought processes involved in being set up to win a gunfight. Should you be so negatively fortunate to find one on accident or positively fortunate to find the one you were looking for because bad guys need dirt naps and that’s your job, either way.

Q: Is a DGU a ‘Gunfight’? A: Maybe

Contrary to “Common Wisdom” many defensive firearm uses are not gunfights, they are shootings, and many more aren’t even that.

Keith, what is the difference? Inquiring minds wish to know.

In a ‘defensive shooting’, rounds go one way. You to the threat before the threat could get to you.

In a ‘defensive gun use’ with no rounds fired, the use of lethal force (and yes, it was legally speaking a use of lethal force) worked at the ‘implied’ level. The ‘implied’ level is the transferred knowledge from you, the defender, to the assailant that you can kill or seriously injure them if they continue their attack. The ‘implied’ and not ‘implemented’ (shots fired) level are the majority of DGUs, survival instincts being strong in the human mind.

Emergency preparedness isn’t about the most likely scenarios though, it is about the so titled “worst case” scenarios

The EMT doesn’t practice cleaning scrapes and putting on adhesive bandages over small cuts for car crashes, they practice for head injuries, spinal injuries, broken bones, and severed appendages. They need to be able to react to the more unlikely but vastly higher risk of death scenarios.

Gunfighting, especially as a civilian, is the same mental and logistical preparation. We train for the gunfight, rounds going both directions (and yes you might get hurt or killed), because that training covers both the defensive shooting and the non-firing defensive gun use. Those are ‘better case’ scenarios of a gunfight. Best case obviously being one doesn’t occur at all and you go about your Friday.

Garrett and Mike cover:

Stress Inoculation
- Being used to working in a high stakes or dangerous environment enough that you can still think and problem solve
Resilience
- Realizing that being injured or that new problems becoming entangled in your current problem does not relieve you of the need to solve them
- Deciding ahead of time, consciously, that you will continue to work through them is a key point
“Never in a fair fight”
- Whether it is you at advantage or you behind the power curve you need to be able to react to both.
- Know as much as you can as early as you can: Situational Awareness
Ability, Opportunity, Jeopardy
- The three Universal Statues of Shoot/No Shoot
- Ability: Can this person or group harm (kill, maim/great bodily injury, rape/sexual assault) me?
- Opportunity: Is the person or group in a position to immediately harm me?
- Jeopardy: Do I believe, and can I reasonably articulate why I believe to impartial observers, that this person or group was in the act of harming me?
  - Defending Others: Can I articulate my actions on another’s behalf with enough knowledge of the situation to reasonably prove Ability, Opportunity, and Jeopardy from the person’s perspective I acted on behalf of
- Domestic Self Defense Law, Use of Force Law, and Foreign Theater/Mission Rules of Engagement and Rules of War
Training
- Cardio
- Be proficient with your emergency equipment
  - Medical Gear
  - Handgun
  - Rifle
- Be honest enough in your assessments to know where you need work and brave enough to go work on them, it could literally save lives
Asset or Liability
- Which are you?

Happy Friday, All. We made it.

Durable over Decibel

By

Keith Finch

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October 2, 2020

Alright GAT,

Let’s talk cans. Silencer, suppresser, gun muffler, the thing formerly known as “solvent trap”.

Those mysterious and yet very simple safety devices that can tame the thunder and flash of a gunshot to a more reasonable level.

I finally pulled the trigger on a personal one after many moons of borrowing the ones around me and I want to take you through the thought process.

Silencers are like Weapon Mounted Lights…

Yes. We played the exact same game with weapon lights that we have with silencers. The game of numbers.

More lumens better! More decibel reduction better!!

Except, just like lights, that is not the whole story. Is that decibel reduction “dry” or “wet”? Is it first shot or purged (the can is full of shot gases mostly, not air)? Does it shift point of impact? Is it high volume/full-auto rated or meant for single shot in the woods? Is it ‘flow through’? Can it be used after being submerged, if so how? Does it have barrel length requirements?

And that most important of questions that ties to everything you buy

What do you need it to do?

Remember, equipment like this is specialist. Pick its job, then go shopping. If your job is the quietest possible first shot, hunters, the silencer will be able to utilize certain constructions and materials and probably be a design not concerned with working on a gas system.

If its designed to tame muzzle blast on a machinegun or repeating rifle that’s a whole different set of physical requirements to deal with heat, pressure, gas systems, etc. Often these cans aren’t built for the best (meaning highest number under the tested conditions) Db reduction, they’re built for durable consistent Db reduction.

For anyone looking to suppress a fighting gun, this is you can type.

You’re looking at a possible rapid rate of fire through a probably gas operated action that you need to take the edge off of because you’re most likely in your house. Alternatively it is possible to be in or around a vehicle needing this. You might also just be kind to your neighbors on the firing line if you run a muzzle break. You might be running a shoot house/CQB/entry type course of training. There are a myriad applications for these that still boil down to, “make it a little less *boom*”

Pick a Durable ‘Do-It-All’ .30 Cal

Why .30? Because just like Franks Red Hot you can put it on everything.

You can lower the bore diameter (caliber) of what you’re shooting, because smaller objects go through larger holes, but you cannot do the opposite and shoot a 6mm, 6.5mm, 6.8mm, or 7.62mm through a 5.56mm.
You are not going to miss those theoretical notional decibels of the caliber specific can.

Remember that a listed Db reduction rating or NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) is under controlled circumstances, usually outdoors in moderately nice weather. It’s also measured at a certain distance and position and.. and.. and.. and, kind of like the listed velocity and “drop” printed for a round on a box of ammo, its just a guideline and any number of factors will change it.

Keep in mind that this silencer’s job is much more blunt than you’re giving it credit for. It needs to blunt the blast. Noise and flash need to be reduced to a level that doesn’t disrupt you and yours and the can needs to do it over and over again while not breaking down.

It’s a durable boom tube that needs to not be too heavy or awkward at the end of the barrel. Simple. So stop complicating it unless you need to.

When you need to complicate it

Specialty silencer selection for either a specific purpose (large bore bolt gun, rimfire, etc.) or permanent/dedicated attachment.

This post dedicated to getting people unglued from ‘Decibels’ just as with ‘Lumens’ on lights. There is more to it.

That said, if you guessed I grabbed a SOCOM762 Mini2 DE… correct. You get an internet cookie.

SIG AIR and Evike Manufacturing Group Announce Exclusive Collaboration Agreement

By

Keith Finch

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October 1, 2020

NEWINGTON, N.H., (October 1, 2020) – SIG SAUER, Inc. is pleased to announce that its SIG AIR Division has officially joined forces with Evike Manufacturing Group (EMG) for future product development, and continued product distribution of SIG AIR airgun and airsoft products in the U.S. through Evike.com.

“This exciting collaboration between SIG AIR and EMG is a result of the increasing popularity and demand we are seeing in the marketplace for SIG AIR airguns and airsoft products,” said Tom Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Commercial Sales, SIG SAUER, Inc. “This new partnership with EMG will allow us to increase our product development capabilities allowing us to bring more SIG AIR products to consumers worldwide.”

The SIG AIR product line includes a series of traditional CO2 pellet and BB rifles and pistols, that are designed to imitate the look, weight, balance, and handling characteristics of their traditional firearms counterparts. Additionally, SIG AIR offers a line of training products with the PROFORCE line of airsoft pistols, rifles, and accessories. Designed and developed from the ground up to deliver a realistic training experience that allows the user access to achieve a new level of performance potential.

“The team at Evike.com and EMG are excited for the opportunity to join forces with SIG AIR to create new products, expand the SIG AIR product line, and provide a new dealer experience for SIG AIR products,” added Evike Chang, CEO of Evike.com and President of EMG, Inc. “We are completely aligned with the SIG SAUER brand to bring the best-in-class airgun and airsoft experience to the SIG AIR product line.”

For more information about SIG AIR products visit sigsauer.com.

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 eight locations. For more information about the company and product line visit: sigsauer.com.

Airsoft Training and Gaming

Airsoft makes training and events, that would otherwise be impossibly expensive, accessible while being able to gateway into live fire shooting sports and training. It is economical, safe, and translates well. For Force on Force it is arguably the best option on low budgets as simunitions run up the budget. Sure, you get more *bang* for your bucks (literally) but you get far fewer reps and we know that reps make the money.

It’s Force on Force DryFirePlus and I wish we could have run more of this in MOUT instead of Empty M16’s and shouting “bang”.

Rx for Firearms Freedom, GRPC 2020: Young on Firearms Research

By

DRGO

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October 1, 2020

[Ed: This is the second of the talks that the DRGO leadership team gave September 20 online for the Second Amendment Foundation’s 35th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference. In my talk below, I added a couple of things for which there was not enough time on video, as well as the pertinent references. See each of our talks on the DRGO YouTube channel or at 2:17:23 here. The entire schedule of talks is here, divided into 4 parts on the SAF channel.]

Hi. I’m Dr. Robert Young, Executive Editor for Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership.

Evaluating so-called “public health research” on guns is our primary task. Typical career anti-gun academics work from unstated prejudice that guns are bad and so reducing gun ownership is desirable. They pick and choose their data, emphasizing factors that tend their way rather than objectively examining changes over time. Their statistical analyses are skewed toward methods that support their preferred outcome, that guns are responsible for violence. As a result, they make a lot of mistakes but keep getting a pass for them.

For example:

https://drgo.us/and-the-beat-goes-on/ (CDC through Wintemute below)

In January, the CDC claimed that “school homicides” “skyrocketed from 2009 to 2018. They implied that these represent the “mass school shootings” we all fear, but they included any shooting death on or even near a school property. This exaggeration netted 21 events per year. But by the FBI’s standard “mass shooting” definition, there were just 30 episodes in schools with 90 total victims during all 10 years—3 per year, 3 victims each on average. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6803a1.htm?s_cid=mm6803a1_w
In February, Pediatrics asserted that increased handgun ownership over 3 decades caused increased child deaths by gunshot—“skyrocketing” during the 3^rd decade in 1 to 4 year-olds from .36 to .64 per 100,000. There were 80 such deaths in 2017; if this held, the baseline would be 46, but that difference is just too small in our population to infer a meaningful trend. The truth: they cherry-picked their study years—these deaths have been declining consistently for decades. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/143/2/e20181171
Once in a blue moon, a well-designed study has unexpected results, such as work in February on California’s highly restrictive state background checks from 1991 through 2005. The authors had to acknowledge that these checks made NO difference in the incidence of gun-related homicide or suicide rates. https://www.sciencedirect.com/sc i ence/article/abs/pii/S1047279718306161

https://drgo.us/and-the-beat-goes-on-2/ (BUPH through Preventive Medicine below)

In March, Boston University School of Public Health published work showing that household gun ownership correlated with rates of firearm suicide by adolescents from 2005 through 2015. True, but it also correlated with ALL means of suicide by adolescents, and not with their rate of suicide attempts by any means—meaning that household gun ownership is irrelevant to suicidal behavior in adolescents. And correlation does not prove causation.

Also in March, another Boston University group claimed that more stringent gun laws reduced “mass shootings” from 1998 through 2015. Categorizing laws as simply restrictive versus permissive, as well as assuming they knew how many firearms people possess, mar this study. Even then they detected a difference of only .05 incidents per million people, or 1 event for every 20 million. Garbage in, garbage out. https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l542

April’s Preventive Medicine ran a study that came to the simplistic conclusion that access to guns correlates with “gun violence”. But “hostility” and “impulsivity” correlated even more strongly than mere “gun access” in presaging “violence”, which was defined as the mere thought of threatening someone, not doing anything. This was based on a one-time survey returned by 600-some high school students from 7 cities across the South—a tiny, self-reporting, unvalidated population.

In May, a study in the American Journal of Medicine compared lifetime death rates from “firearms, drug overdoses, and motor vehicle accidents.” And there’s the rub: firearms, unlike ODs and MVAs are not a cause of death. The results, respectively, .93%, 1.52% and .95%, showed that causes of death involving firearms are no more frequent than in accidents involving vehicles—so our focus should be on the ODs first. https://www.ammoland.com/2020/08/more-medical-propaganda-disguised-as-a-study-about-firearms-and-risk/

A criminology professor at Florida State University (Gary Kleck’s own school!) argued in July that household gun ownership and concealed carry laws increase rates of firearm homicide and mass shootings. But she too exaggerated what “mass shootings” are, and explained the careful planning of mass shooters as somehow related to the “impulsivity” she sees in all gun owners. Her data were faulty, with no objective controls or trend analysis. Her results really showed that there was no relationship between any of these.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07418825.2020.1789693 https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/another-misleading-study-on-gun-ownership-and-violence-chases-its-own-questionable-tail/

www.ammoland.com/2020/08/nra-ila-contrived-data-at-odds-with-lived-reality

[DRGO’s responses rarely get published in journals. I am on review panels for two of them, so once in a while we have input.] But, we can win, though our letters to editors rarely see print. Members publish research and I’m on review panels for two journals.

Dr. Cailinn Langmann of McMasters University is a DRGO expert. In June, he compared changes in Canadian firearm laws versus suicide and homicide rates there from 1991 to 2016. He evaluated trends in death rates before and after legislation in 1991, ‘94 and 2001 that progressively restricted gun rights. He also chose meaningful comparisons: areas with high numbers for existing suicides, unemployment, poverty, and Native population density. Each of these correlated with higher rates of homicide and suicide—but not gun ownership.

https://drgo.us/believe-it-or-not-gun-laws-change-nothing/ (DRGO summary)

[Langmann’s study is remindful of one by Dr. Mark Hamill, also a DRGO reviewer, from January 2019. I was privileged to review it and recommend journal publication. He demonstrated that the relative stringency of state concealed-carry laws makes no difference in rates of homicide or violent crime. It was extremely well-designed, meticulously gathering, categorizing and analyzing data, then identifying changes in trends of violence, resulting in highly reliable conclusions.]

https://drgo.us/concealed-carry-does-not-increase-violent-crime/ (DRGO summary)

Science is supposed to be clear, logical and objective. Unfortunately, it is as messy and ego-driven as any other human endeavor. Even though these studies really show that neither civilian gun ownership nor gun laws have anything to do with rates of suicide, homicide, mass shootings or other violence, these researchers misstate their own results and cannot give up their bias against guns.. DRGO will continue to draw a line in the sand against bad science in gun research and will promote the good. We’re having some influence, and hope that will grow. Thank you.

.

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

All DRGO articles by Robert B. Young, MD

ThiccP5?

By

Keith Finch

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October 1, 2020

SuperShortBoi AR types were all the rage at one recent time juncture. It was a race to make them shorter and shorter while keeping them running (enough) to still be fun guns.

What everyone shortly discovered with these shorties was… well. They came up short in several aspects.

This didn’t negate their fun factor, just practicality.

Mike covers the HK53 in the video.

I’m going to discuss shorty 5.56’s in general down below.

Velocity is King. Size is about movement.

The two reasons to reduce the overall length of a weapon are ease of transport and ease of use in confined spaces. Both are important considerations.

Your “enemy defeat” capability in a Low Mass High Velocity (LMHV) Projectile comes from its speed first. Speed is arguably the most potent factor in generating a desired kinetic effect on target since kinetic energy is velocity squared multiplied by half the mass.

.5(Mass)(Velocity)^2

In simplest terms, increasing a bullet’s speed by 10% is more beneficial than increasing its mass by 10%. Taking a projectile that is 100gr and traveling at 1,000 feet per second and making it go 1,100 feet per second gives you the same effect at the muzzle as making the projectile 121 grains (mass increased 21%).

This is an oversimplification since terminal ballistics are a complicated science, but that is how the raw kinetic energy works out.

It also works the same in reverse. Every foot per second you lose has a substantial effect on what the round ends up at the target with the ability to do. Unless you are shooting paper or steel you aren’t hitting the target just to hit it, you are firing to disrupt it and might being needing an immediate effect to save your life or someone’s life.

Going from about 3,100/fps out of an M16 with it’s 20″ barrel to about 2,300/fps out of the HK53, or any number of other popular personal defense/personal security detail type firearms, drops your energy at the muzzle by 45%.

This is not going to make it ineffective inside 50 yards, 100 yards, maybe even 150 yards, but it will bring that drastic decrease in effective terminal ballistics ‘line’ much closer to you behind the trigger. The range at which the 5.56 or 5.45, the two most prominent LMHV types, lose enough velocity to stop doing all the extra tissue disruptive things that they can do gets brought in closer with every bit of lost speed.

This will also influence the effect on armor and cover. Your ability to tackle intermediate mediums is also challenged by slowing down the rounds. At 2,900/fps that little car might not be great cover. But at 2,300/fps it might be a lot better. An AR500 steel armor plate can stop 2,300/fps all day (sorry AK47). It’s a lot more challenging a stop at 3,250/fps (M16+M193=what plate?)

Blinded by the light…

Muzzle blast is a thing. It becomes a much more uproarious thing the less barrel you give powder to burn in, especially when you drop out of the optimum powder burn zone for a give round.

That optimum zone will give you very consistent velocity increases and decreases for every inch of barrel gained or lost. 5.56×45 is generally happiest in about 12-20 inches of steel and 5.45 seems to be as well. You see sharp decreases as you go shorter and anemic increases as you start going too much longer. This is often subject to the powder too, but we’re talking commercially available generalizations.

We are EZ mode covering a complex series of physics equations.

All that extra powder that wants to burn nicely in that optimal zone is still going to burn, it is just going to do so in the open air and give you that spicy Hollywood special effects muzzle flash…

It turns out that is very distracting behind the trigger… and downright brutal to teammates or other people in close proximity. Now put that inside the confined space of a vehicle or a hall and you have yourself a legendarily rung bell.

Okay… it isn’t that, bad in my opinion, but it is far from pleasant. The little PSD LWRC I have that mimics the size and capability of the HK53 is louder than my SCAR17.

So you’re saying we should…

Be aware of what you are buying and why. Your compact little HK53 pistol has a lot going in the portability and ease of movement categories, no doubt about it. But it gave up effective range of increased terminal effects (if you need it for this particular firearm) and got noisier and more disruptive to yourself and those around you, be they friend or foe.

Are we done talking practically?

Yes.

Short guns are fun. Period.

Big and Dangerous Game with Intermediate Cartridges

By

BullShooters

-

September 30, 2020

Plenty of guys that perhaps have experience with firearms, but not hunting specifically, commonly ignore terminal ballistics. Terminal ballistics are what a bullet does, and does to its target, after it strikes it. Terminal ballistics is dictated by the cartridge’s bullet weight multiplied by its velocity to produce energy the raw kinetic energy and then factors the bullet’s construction in to dictate how the energy is delivered. I.E. if it penetrates well (into the vital body cavity) by holding together despite encountering tough mediums like bone.

In target shooting, terminal ballistics matters little. Paper or plastic are not that resilient and steel is just meant to be struck. In hunting, especially big game like tough wild boars, the cartridge and bullet chosen can spell the difference between dinner or a wounded animal (and possible injury to you).

In this video, Jeff Johnson tests several common cartridges and bullets (.300 Blackout subsonic & supersonic, .5.56, 9mm, and .243 Winchester) on a big wild boar to see what bullets would have killed the hog, and which would have wounded it. Although the autopsy may make you puke, the results may surprise you.

The 10 yard red dot zero

By

Caleb Giddings

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September 30, 2020

One of the downsides to the modern trend of adding optics to pistols is the need to zero those optics. It can be a long process of shooting a group, walking downrange, check the group, making adjustments, and starting again. But thanks to Modern Samurai Project, there is another way: the 10 yard red dot zero.

The 10 yard red dot zero is pretty simple, but it does require the shooter to be able to shoot 3 shots that all touch each other or almost touch each other at 10 yards. To zero your gun using this method, you’ll need a target with a small reference point, like a 2 inch circle or a 1 inch square. A 4 inch circle or a 3×5 card can work too, but are on the upper end of size you want to use.

One you get your target set for the 10 yard red dot zero, go to 10 yards and shoot a 3 shot group. Like we mentioned, the goal is to get all three shots to touch, or almost touch. I recommend shooting the group standing unsupported, because that’s how you’re actually going to use the pistol. Shooting off a rest can actually change your point of impact slightly. Once your group is dead center in the target area, you can move on to the next step.

The next step is confirmation. Opponents of the 10 yard red dot zero always bring up “but what about longer ranges” as if shooting at 25 yards wasn’t part of the process. It’s always part of the process. At 25 yards, shoot another 3 shot group unsupported, and your point of impact should be centered on the target. When I do this method these days, I’ll shoot my 10 yard groups at a 1 inch square, then my 25 yard group at a B8. This is easy if you have Langdon Tactical Targets which have all of those target areas on them.

When you’re at 25 yards, you shouldn’t need to adjust your sight further. If you got everything nailed at 10, you should be in business at 25 yards. If you want to make some minor tweaks and shoot one more group, this is the time to do it, but be careful. At 25 yards shooting unsupported your margin of error is a lot more, and it’s quite possible to start chasing your zero around. If your zero at 10 was good, and your hits at 25 are in the 10 ring on a B8, you’re good.

That’s it! The 10 yard red dot zero is a simple process that takes very few rounds and very little time. I just recently used it to zero the Modern Fighting Revolver, and I was able to get it duty ready in less than 10 rounds.

Ricky Bobby on the Trigger

By

Keith Finch

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September 29, 2020

MilSpecMojo broke the gunternet about a month ago when he and Mike (GarandThumb) posted a pistol video of him warping space time and making a magazine work in the wrong firearm.

But the topic today, among the other shenanigans, is Mojo is a crazy fast shooter. He’s sharing those “How to” secrets with the world!

The secret:

There is no secret.

It’s the same economy of motion stuff that most of us do not spend enough time on. Work the trigger and control the gun.

One of the biggest learning hurdles that shooters have to face is something I am starting to call “tiered unlearning”, where a technique that got you to your current level must now be disregarded to get to the next. For the RPG playing crowd, this is respecing your skills because you have more points to work with. Unfortunately “respecing” in real life requires as much practice as learning it originally did, not just hitting a reset button.

The trigger press, especially on a rifle, is a perfect example. We teach new shooters to pin the trigger rearward. This is helpful to them, it was helpful to me and still is, most of them are shooting slow fire strings and/or shooting at a challenging distance. We teach this to help them keep the rifle still, to pay attention to the shot and sight picture. We do this to limit the motion transfer and help them focus on the task(s) at hand. Single, well aimed, individual shots.

But when its time to unlock the inner Ricky Bobby, we have ingrained a speed bump. My pistol shooting especially is much slower because I am used to pinning the trigger and it is a hard habit to break. Recognizing and shoring up that I have the foundational control and fundamentals to keep the firearm still and where I want it to remain means that, where prior it had been a stability benefit, it is now doing nothing for me.

It is now interfering with the economy of motion. The unconscious pinning of the trigger until I get my next sight picture is wasting time, my trigger release and my flinch of years past are no longer moving the gun so my remedy of pinning the trigger no longer works in my favor.

And… we don’t do it when we try and shoot fast anyway. Nobody is pinning the trigger in a dirt flinging mag dump. The key is teaching ourselves to do so effectively and retain the accuracy and recoil controls. We can work our brains up to pay attention, but the key is working up the right habits.

Now lets go fast, Ricky Bobby!

Watch and learn.

Springfield Waypoint Unlocked for 2020

By

Keith Finch

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September 29, 2020

Well, these were unexpected. After the rather head scratching introduction of the “Delta 5” line from Daniel Defense I didn’t think another company would try their hand at bolt guns for a bit.

I was mistaken, and not unhappily so. The new Waypoints look… pretty good.

SEE THE WAY

Springfield Armory® is proud to introduce the Model 2020 family of bolt action hunting rifles. Precision manufactured in the USA, each Model 2020 is built to deliver the accuracy and performance expected from a custom grade rifle. The Model 2020 Waypoint features a premium carbon fiber stock and the option of a steel or carbon fiber barrel with an impressive .75 MOA accuracy guarantee. Learn more at springfield-armory.com

LESS TALK, MORE ACTION

Accuracy and performance begin with the all new Model 2020 action. Precision manufactured from premium materials, each Model 2020 action is the foundation for success and is designed to take advantage of today’s most advanced production techniques. Dual locking lugs on the fluted bolt run smoothly down EDM raceways for perfect, repeatable engagement while an optimized extraction cam provides robust, reliable extraction in any condition. Additionally, the bolt features dual cocking cams for ease of operation and toolless disassembly for maintenance.

CUSTOM FEATURES

Offering users a custom-grade firearm for thousands less than you would expect, the Model 2020’s receiver features top-tier features and refinements. Providing strength and repeatability is an integral machined recoil lug, and electrical discharge machining (EDM) of the bolt lug raceways ensures precision dimensions and smooth cycling. An enlarged ejection port, sliding extractor — for reliable operation in the most adverse conditions — and hybrid dual-plane feed ramp deliver reliable and repeatable performance.

All this is well and good but what Springfield Armory is doing is something Daniel Defense wasn’t able to energize on with their name and reputation, Springfield might pull it off.

The Delta 5 came off as a weird wannabe “sniper” rifle that confusingly contrasted with their DD5 line which was always trying for that M110 vibe. It was just far too close and no one could quiet figure out why DD had made this kinda pricey R700 thing… not the Remington was wowing anybody at the time.

Springfield seems to have taken a different path to a similar product and that makes all the difference sometimes

A. Springfield Armory doesn’t have a competing precision rifle, the legacy M1A series are a nostalgic category and that files differently. They aren’t pushing a premium tier SASS type rifle with the SAINT .308’s like the DD5 is against their Delta 5.

B. The 2020 Waypoint is clearly its own product. It is not trying to capitalize on how awesomely awesome the SAINT or EMP are and is instead just sliding into our DM’s like some kind of rugged mountain adventurer. And that works.

C. Camo is cool. Perhaps the most striking way Springfield has made this thing stand out is the least mechanically important, the ‘Evergreen’ and ‘Ridgeline’ camos. They feel like the look I want out of a bolt gun regardless of the mountain range. They feel custom, even if its just an assembly of well picked parts. The Delta 5 was black… yay.

D. The right balance of traditional aesthetic and modern features, QD sling points and AICS magazine compatibility, good. Traditional bolt action lines that forego the overt tactical “chassis” look and make us think of the M24/M40 as we knew it through GWOT and our capable deep nature hunting guns, also well done. Optics rail and carbon wrapped fluted stainless steel barrels, nice touch. The option to “opt out” of the superfluous features and save money, fantastic finish.

E. Nailing the “semi-custom” price range with a simple parts selection on their end. A few calibers, a pair of camos, a pair of stock types, a pair of barrel types. Logistically easy with a pick your rifle feel.

I’ll be honest, my gut reaction to this was WTF? Why!? Similar to the Delta 5. But having absorbed the 2020 Waypoint’s niche… I am in. And to give some credit back to Daniel Defense, I have that same cautious optimism for their revival of the Hudson H9.

Well done stepping into a new space, Springfield. Well done indeed. If they unbox and shoot as well as they look this will likely be a strong catalog addition.

“Tactical Trekking Pole”

By

Dr LateBloomer

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September 29, 2020

On one of my woods walks with my daughter this past month I realized that the way my knees are acting, maybe I should get a walking stick for stability. Not for standard strolls mind you, but for when going off-trail – navigating slopey stream banks, rocks, fallen logs, etc. I tore an ACL back in med school and never got it fixed. It’s been good for 20 years, but…

I didn’t want a heavy hickory quarter staff and I didn’t want to spend the coin on anything of wizard make. I just wanted a third point of contact on tricky terrain. When I did an Amazon search, I found this “Tactical Trekking Pole”.

Not only is this walking staff/trekking pole aluminum alloy and thus not heavy to tote around, it also unscrews into pieces for storage in its own case in my pack. The bonus is that it contains several “survival tools” inside the hollow pole sections. It’s not a Red Ryder but it does have a compass in the stock.

A compass in the stock but no “thing that tells time”.

The tools included were: a knife/saw/bottle opener, a whistle, a double-ended screwdriver, another bottle opener, another saw (or is it a fish scaler?), and an edged tool other than the knife. The included insert had slightly different tools pictured than this model. I’m not sure why. I noted that the tools are anchored with plastic not metal, so they may not stand up to heavy or repeated use, but we shall see. Also included were two different tips and a snow/mud break.

I’m not exactly sure what the pointy end piece is for.

A couple of the pole sections are empty – leading me to plan for what else I could stash in there – maybe some matches, maybe a few band-aids, some fishing line or duct tape – the possibilities are tantalizing.

The length of the pole as it arrived was a little short for me. This was a surprise, as I’m only 5’ 4” on a tall day. But I ordered an extension section which is about seven inches long, and that took care of it. Just be aware of that fact if you are a big guy and want one of these – you may want to order some extensions. Of course if you are THAT big a guy maybe the hickory staff is more your speed anyway.

Defense-wise, being aluminum, the pole is not much of a defensive weapon as is. It’s not a quarterstaff and I am not a Druid. But being lightweight does make it useful not only as a walking stick, but also as an anti-spider stick. This time of year when webs frequently cross narrow trails, having a lightweight tool to ward off the sticky traps can be inordinately handy. Last year I remember waving a branch around in front of me like a crazed orchestra conductor to fend off errant webs. No, this stick wouldn’t help me fight off Shelob, but I suppose you could put the knife tool on the end and use it as a spear in a pinch.

Apparently if you live in “other” countries though, instead of a knife attachment you get … a spork. On one hand a spork might be useful if I could figure out a way to jam a dehydrated meal down inside the pole, but from a weapons and survival perspective, I’d rather have the knife, thanks. I don’t think Shelob would be impressed by being threatened with a spork.

Granted, the knife isn’t the highest quality, but it did cut up an apple for me just fine. I usually carry a Buck folder in my pocket anyway, so the knife in the pole just makes number two for the whole “one is none” crowd.

Because in a survival situation you always need to be able to open your beer.

I couldn’t find where this was manufactured on Amazon when I ordered it, but in microscopic print on the box it says “Made in China”. *Sigh*. I’m trying harder to not buy stuff from Communist China these days, but sometimes it’s hard to tell until it arrives.

Nonetheless, after a couple test hikes and some tool trying, I’m pretty pleased overall with this purchase. It’s not the highest quality in the world, and yes, it’s gimmicky/cheesy, but if you only need to use the tools once and it gets you out of trouble – then it’s invaluable. For my purposes and the price, I am quite satisfied.

But remember – It’s a “Tactical Trekking Pole”, NOT an old lady cane, mkay? Just so we have that straight.

*Limps away with her beer, muttering about kids these days*

Firearm ‘Scaling’ is Complex

By

Keith Finch

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September 28, 2020

While there are examples where a specific firearm was scaled down or up to accommodate various calibers, what is often overlooked is just how complicated that process actually is.

Bloke on the Range takes on this topic in the video, specifically relating to the SA80/L85 development and the problems it faced compared to the EM-2 rifle which was selected and then dismissed by the MoD a few decades earlier. He takes on why they didn’t just “scale” the EM-2 down instead since the “EM-2 worked” is the common wisdom while “the SA80/L85 is junk” is the competing wisdom. In truth the current A2 and incoming A3 L85’s sound like they work well and probably far better than the EM-2 just as the current M4A1 is a superior firearm to the M1 and M14.

Short version… it is way more complicated than changing sizes because firearms are pressure sensitive machines. All the parts have to work at pressure and any given piece may not ‘scale’ and still do that. Changing calibers is, mechanically speaking, building a new firearm. This is why early “drop-in” solutions for so many systems worked like hot garbage. All the operating bits have to be made for the caliber, and that means differences. Springs, buffers, locking lugs, bolt face, extractors, ejectors, magazines, gas systems and/or delay locking mechanisms.

These things do not magically scale, they are purpose built. Mechanical concepts, like a short stroke piston or roller delay may still be viable, they may even work within dimensional limits without a change. But it must be considered from the basis of pressure and conceptually this makes ‘scaling’ less viable than building a “new firearm” with the desired features.

The SCOTUS 2A Question: Barrett

By

Keith Finch

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September 28, 2020

The Supreme Court of the United States has passed on major firearms cases, to the great disappointment of firearms owners and 2A advocates. Their lack of comment on the New York transportation restrictions, a flagrant violation of the right of their citizenry, showed a the court to be quiet literally ‘gun shy’. Since NY hurriedly changed the law the SCOTUS was given an easy out as to ‘not make waves’ in the space for firearms law.

We’ve seen hesitancy time and time again from the court to take up a case that could topple or cement major items of contention like magazine bans, assault weapon bans, and shall issue concealed carry.

So how would Barrett potentially change the mix? SCOTUS is nominally “conservative” at this time with a theoretical 5-4. However the Nine Justices are not monolithic thought blocks and have been known to vote ‘opposite’ depending upon the specific legal issue. Within the realm of the Second Amendment, only four Justices were reliably individualist (vs state) enough in their legal interpretations to make securing 2A rights back in locales that have taken them a possibility… and as you know it takes five.

From here I’ll let the MCRGO sum it up:

On Saturday, President Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill the seat on the United States Supreme Court vacated upon the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett presently serves as a Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. With Barrett’s confirmation by the U.S. Senate likely in the near future, many responsible gun owners are wondering how this new justice will impact them.

Judge Barrett applies the methodology of the late eminent Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she clerked after graduating first in her class from Notre Dame Law School. Consistent with the methodology employed by the late Scalia, her mentor, Barrett interprets the Constitution in strict accordance with its original meaning. Barrett is a firm Constitutional originalist and textualist and she has already demonstrated that in a Second Amendment case.

In Kanter v. Barr, Barrett dissented from the Seventh Circuit Court’s ruling upholding the law prohibiting convicted felons from possessing firearms. The plaintiffs had been convicted of mail fraud. The majority upheld the felony dispossession statutes as “substantially related to an important government interest in preventing gun violence.” In her dissent, Barrett argued that while the government has a legitimate interest in denying gun possession to felons convicted of violent crimes, there is no evidence that denying guns to non-violent felons promotes this interest, and argued that the law violated the Second Amendment.

The Supreme Court has now twice ruled, by narrow 5-4 majorities, that there is an individual right to self-defense. Democrats, however, steadfastly promise to overturn those decisions. They claim the Second Amendment only guarantees the government the right to own guns. The Supreme Court considered ten Second Amendment cases this year but ultimately declined to hear any of them. Four conservative justices support defending the individual right to self-defense but they likely feared that Chief Justice John Roberts would side with the liberal justices and declined to hear the cases. It has been a decade since the Supreme Court has heard any Second Amendment cases. During this period, lower courts controlled by liberals have approved even the most draconian state gun control regulations.

The Second Amendment is hanging in the balance. Even if Biden were to get elected on November 3 and enacts his promised restrictions on self-defense rights, Amy Coney Barrett’s expected Senate confirmation will create a solid court majority to rule them unconstitutional based on District of Columbia v. Heller an McDonald v. City of Chicago

In short, Amy Barrett looks good as a 2A Justice.

In truth, she looks like a solid Justice all around. Most of the attacks against her character seem to be shallow and personal in nature, or simply a way to attack the President, but this is a favored and easy political tactic. Criticism centers on her personal beliefs and seem to dismiss her actual job, being a judge. This has led to some surprising support from ideologically opposed individuals who recognize that a differing opinion does not make a bad Justice. In a time where nobody seems reasonable that is pleasant to see.

Obviously a Justice selection is a political statement. It is an obvious political weapon and it was one the President seems to have used intelligently, selecting a solid female judge (which deflects some of the typical liberal criticisms), but that plays very strongly to his base during a hostile, stressful, and atypical election season. Anyone Trump picked was going to be attacked by the opposition to try and help Biden’s odds. The two tactics are to either motivate their base to vote, because Trump = Bad and Trump’s Choices = Bad, or to try and bring swing voters into the Democrat camp by attacking the SCOTUS choice as a right-wing revolutionary extremist of some terrifying caliber.

It seems they’re trying both.

There may have been a time and place to not nominate a replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but in the current political climate Trump not doing so would have been of no benefit. It would have been a fruitless gesture to political groups who have already hoisted the ‘Orange Man Bad!’ banner.

The President is so vilified by the opposition that him giving the choice of Justice up would never be seen as a gracious enough move that brings moderate voters, the nation is too polarized and the parties are not amiable. Trump does not enjoy that relationship with the Democrats. He is generally portrayed as somewhere between Not-quite-SatanHitler and definitely-worse-than-MechaHitlerSatan.

Trump’s safest move was exactly what he did, bring forth a nomination that is foundationally sound for many moderates, and that plays to his base and does not betray their trust in him to bring the nomination. He was going to be criticized regardless so being criticized in the manner that makes his critics look the least credible, especially to political segments who matter for him, is the correct strategic decision.