The M14 has received a fair share of criticism in the online gun community in the last few years. Some of that coming from this very source. I and many have pointed out that the M14 was a misplaced rifle for its time. The US Service Rifle was already obsolescent when it was fielded, ignoring many of the hard learned lessons of ground troops for the sake of US Military institutional inertia.
The current production Springfield M1A is the descendant of the M14. It’s a popular rifle while also being maligned. The M14’s short service history did the M1A no favors but it developed a legendary cult reputation. Every alleged Vietnam Veteran I came across also allegedly threw their M16 into the woods in order to get an M14 instead. Little mention of the M14’s own problems, like warping stocks and uncontrollable full-auto fire, make it into the cookie cutter narrative. I suspect the majority were lying.
Well I am of the opinion that the M1A’s overly hyped reputation, due to nostalgia and it being gobbled up for GWOT, had a pendulum backswing that pushed too far the other direction. It went from the golden boy US battle rifle that it never really was to literally the worst thing ever which it also is not.
The M1A is what it is and does what it does as well as it does. Watch the 9-Hole review video, it clears the course with iron sights in 24 rounds, pretty good. InRange is doing a series right now where the M1A shows up too and it does respectably.
So the answer, as usual, is that the M1A really sits somewhere in the middle when it comes to .308 battle rifles. I still want a National Match, like the one shot in the video, just because. It doesn’t have to be the best to be fun to own.
Sootch00: Sportsman's Box Denali Gear Test & Review
The Sportsmans Box is a monthly Subscription, bringing you premium items for the Field & Stream. There are 3 different tiers and you can receive a box monthly or quarterly. We' check out the Denali and test out the items.
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Sootch00 Review The Bronc Box - Ultimate Foot Locker!
GetZone Exclusive Gun Stock Reviews: Introduction to the Girsan MC28SA-T Pistol
In this episode we take a first look at the Girsan MC28SA-T Pistol. This is a great entry level Striker Fired Semi Automatic Pistol with options for Red Dot Sights or Iron Sights. This is the first in a series of Videos featuring the Girsan Pistols, Incuding Sighting In, Accuracy, Reliability and even Upgrades. Stay tuned for more on this pistol.
Thank you for watching Gun Stock Reviews. Please visit our website at www.gunstockreviews.com for more exclusive content. Please visit our Patreon Page at www.patreon.com/GunStockReviews your contributions would be greatly appreciated and would help us grow our selections and frequency in our videos.
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Had, it appears, is the operative word. Reports on the innovative Desert Tech bullpup have shown that the cycling issues and gas system problems on the early rifles, well documented by early users, seem to have been taken care of by the team at DT. Desert Tech is known for their incredibly built bullpup bolt action rifles and the problems with the MDR couldn’t stand if they wanted their reputation to survive and, most importantly, satisfied customers.
The MDR, for those wondering, is the Micro Dynamic Rifle and was built for “future defense needs” as a concept.
Image via Desert Tech
A highly configurable ambidextrous combat rifle usable in 7.62x51mm/.308 Win base case configurations, which does open up several future calibers like 6.5 Creedmoor and .260, as well as 5.56x45mm and its derivatives like .300 BLK.
Heavy emphasis was placed on the rifle’s ambidexterity. From front to back, starting at the charging handle, the controls are meant for left and right handed shooters ease of use. The charging handle can be used to lock the bolt back HK roller-lock style and is non-reciprocating.
The magazine release and safety are also ambidextrous and placed to be familiar to AR rifle users. An additional magazine release is placed behind the pistol grip on the MDR at the front of the magazine well, similar to the original Tavor SAR. This magazine release is disabled in the 5.56 configuration due to the necessary conversion parts, but in .308 it provides a third point of control. The bolt release is positioned behind the magazine well to use with the shooters thumb easily from either side.
The ejection is the final, and probably most important, ambidextrous feature on the rifle. The ejectors are tied to the port covers and depending on which side you place the covers determines the ejection of the rifle. They also forward ejects spent cases making switching shoulders much less of a problem when compared against most bullpup designs, especially the older services rifles out of Europe.
On this July 9th the U.S. Secret Service released a report on mass attacks. Here are the key findings, followed by my analysis:
One-third of the attackers who terrorized schools, houses of worship or businesses nationwide last year had a history of serious domestic violence, two-thirds had mental health issues, and nearly all had made threatening or concerning communications that worried others before they struck.
Most attackers were male, ranging in age from 15 to 64. The domestic violence history often included serious violence. While 67% had mental health issues, only 44% had a diagnosis or known treatment for the issue.
As for motive, more than half of the attackers had a grievance against a spouse or family member, or a personal or workplace dispute. Also, 22% had no known motive. In nearly half the cases, the attacker apparently selected the target in advance.
From the Associated Press on the PBS News Hour July 19, 2019:
“Lina Alathari [head of the Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center] and her colleagues want communities to be aware of concerning behavior and these trends so officials have something to look out for. We want the community to know that prevention is everyone’s responsibility, not just law enforcement. The Secret Service is tasked with researching, training, and sharing information on the prevention of targeted violence, using the agency’s knowledge gleaned from years of watching possible targets that may or may not be out to assassinate the president. Alathari said her team is working on a new report on school shootings and how to prevent them, and investigating attacks to try to figure out why someone didn’t follow through.”
For decades I have been tracking mass murders; thus, I am not surprised by these findings. These are my observations.
First is the disturbing fact that 67% of attackers had a mental illness, but only 44% had previously been diagnosed. Almost none of us with mental illnesses commit violence, but the fact that most mass killers do is striking. But committing psychiatrically ill people to treatment is difficult under our evolved civil rights standards and the mental health system does not currently have the resources to treat everyone who needs it.
Second, whenever I hear of a mass shooting, such as the one that took place at a Chicago hospital November 18 last year or at a plant in Aurora, Illinois this February 15, I immediately suspect a relationship dispute (Chicago) or a workplace dispute (Aurora). And almost invariably, the security at the sites of such shootings proved to be inadequate.
Third, there are warning signs leading up to such shootings that are frequently known to many people, but are not communicated to authorities. The mounting pressure to install “red flag laws” in every state is a misbegotten response to this problem. All the laws necessary to report concerns and for authorities to act are on the books already.
I know: I am a retired licensed clinical social worker, and carried out the Civil Detention Laws of Illinois and Missouri for 9 years. As such, I was able to hospitalize persons involuntarily for a 96-hour period, if they met the criteria of having a mental illness, and being at imminent risk of harming self or others.
Fourth, even when they are communicated, there is too often a breakdown in communication between various systems, i.e., law enforcement, mental health, schools, etc., and therefore in their responses. (Ref: the Parkland shooting.)
All these factors must be addressed if we are to reduce the prevalence of mass shooting attacks in our country. The most serious mental illness tend to strike in adolescence or the early twenties. These are the ages in which alienated, isolated young men are at the highest risk of committing violence anyway.
You’ll notice I did not suggest any new restrictions on firearms. Most mass shooters obtain their weapons through family or by passing background checks and buying them in the marketplace. The few who don’t, didn’t need to bother. Neither category of murderers would be the least bit impeded by universal background checks, the panacea offered by fools and anti-gun politicos.
It’s a paradox. There are no easy answers—yet the answers are already available for those to use who are more serious about intervening to protect the public than about looking “correct” themselves.
.
.
— Warren Lind is a retired licensed clinical social worker and former security officer who writes extensively about crime, survival, and self-defense. He is a member of too many pro-2A organizations to list.
Springfield Armory Introduces the New XD-S Mod.2 Pistol in 9mm
From Springfield Armory’s acclaimed line of XD-S Mod.2® comes their newest, most concealable offering yet. The XD-S Mod.2® in 9mm is a less than one-inch wide pinnacle of reliability. 25K rounds without a stoppage and an integral grip safety for total peace of mind when carrying.
The XD-S Mod.2® ships with two stainless steel magazines: a 7-round mag with a pinkie rest and additional flush floor plate for carry and one 9-round extended magazine – perfect for home defense. An 8-round extended magazine is also available for purchase.
Available in models with Tritium, Fiber Optic, and Viridian Laser.
XD-S MOD.2® 9MM W/ TRITIUM - XDSG9339BT
Caliber 9mm
MSRP $586
Barrel 3.3" Hammer Forged Steel, Melonite®
Sights Ameriglo Pro-Glo Tritium Front / Tactical Rack Rear
Frame Black Polymer w/ Enhanced Grip Texture
Slide Steel, Melonite®
Recoil System Dual Captive Recoil Spring w/ Full Length Guide Rod
Length 6.3"
Height 4.3" - 4.85" w/ Extended Magazine
Width .975"
Magazines (1) 7-Round w/ Pinkie Extension, (1) 9-Round Extended & (1) Flush Plate
Weight 21.5 oz w/ Flush Magazine - 22.5 oz w/ Extended Magazine
XD-S MOD.2® 9MM W/ FIBER OPTIC - XDSG9339B
Caliber 9mm
MSRP $524
Barrel 3.3" Hammer Forged Steel, Melonite®
Sights Fiber Optic Front, Tactical Rack Rear
Frame Black Polymer w/ Enhanced Grip Texture
Slide Steel, Melonite®
Recoil System Dual Captive Recoil Spring w/ Full Length Guide Rod
Length 6.3"
Height 4.3" - 4.85" w/ Extended Magazine
Width .975"
Magazines (1) 7-Round w/ Pinkie Extension, (1) 9-Round Extended & (1) Flush Plate
Weight 21.5 oz w/ Flush Magazine - 22.5 oz w/ Extended Magazine
XD-S MOD.2® 9MM W/ VIRIDIAN LASER - XDSG9339BVR
Caliber 9mm
MSRP $555
Barrel 3.3" Hammer Forged Steel, Melonite®
Sights Fiber Optic Front / Tactical Rack Rear / Viridian Red Laser
Frame Black Polymer w/ Enhanced Grip Texture
Slide Steel, Melonite®
Recoil System Dual Captive Recoil Spring w/ Full Length Guide Rod
Length 6.3"
Height 4.3" - 4.85" w/ Extended Magazine
Width .975"
Magazines (1) 7-Round w/ Pinkie Extension, (1) 9-Round Extended & (1) Flush Plate
Weight 21.5 oz w/ Flush Magazine - 22.5 oz w/ Extended Magazine
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From Springfield Armory’s acclaimed line of XD-S Mod.2® comes their newest, most concealable offering yet. The XD-S Mod.2® in 9mm is a less than one-inch wide pinnacle of reliability. 25K rounds without a stoppage and an integral grip safety for total peace of mind when carrying.
The XD-S Mod.2® ships with two stainless steel magazines: a 7-round mag with a pinkie rest and additional flush floor plate for carry and one 9-round extended magazine – perfect for home defense. An 8-round extended magazine is also available for purchase.
Available in models with Tritium, Fiber Optic, and Viridian Laser.
XD-S MOD.2® 9MM W/ TRITIUM – XDSG9339BT
Caliber 9mm
MSRP $586
Barrel 3.3″ Hammer Forged Steel, Melonite®
Sights Ameriglo Pro-Glo Tritium Front / Tactical Rack Rear
Frame Black Polymer w/ Enhanced Grip Texture
Slide Steel, Melonite®
Recoil System Dual Captive Recoil Spring w/ Full Length Guide Rod
Springfield Armory is offering incredible deals on their Defenders Series XD’s, both the 9mm 4” Service Model and the 9mm 3” Sub-Compact. This limited-time sales event is designed to encourage new shooters to purchase their first firearm, and to drive customers looking for a good value to invest in the Springfield Armory brand. You’ll also receive a Defenders Series Certificate and an invitation to join The Defenders, an online community of enthusiasts who will receive exclusive offers, giveaways, and discounts.
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Springfield Armory is offering incredible deals on their Defenders Series XD’s, both the 9mm 4” Service Model and the 9mm 3” Sub-Compact. This limited-time sales event is designed to encourage new shooters to purchase their first firearm, and to drive customers looking for a good value to invest in the Springfield Armory brand. You’ll also receive a Defenders Series Certificate and an invitation to join The Defenders, an online community of enthusiasts who will receive exclusive offers, giveaways, and discounts.
A Self-Defense Precision Rifle (SDPR) should have a number of qualities, the highest of which is pinpoint accuracy at realistic ranges (max distance you can ID a threat). As a survivalist, I consider a realistic range for a self-defense rifle to be a good deal less than what one would suppose the operational ranges of a military sniper would be.
Requirements
My standard for a precision rifle is 1 Minute of Angle (MOA is approximately 1 inch at 100 yards, e.g. 200 yards = 2 inches) groups at any realistic range. Beyond precision, attributes of a SDPR would be reliability, durable design, and comfortably ergonomic. All of these features are embodied in the Springfield Armory Loaded M1A, and at a reasonable price.
The Rifles
I have owned a 7.62×51 NATO caliber Loaded M1A for the last 14 years. It now has had 1260 rounds through its stainless, medium weight, National Match barrel. It consistently produced one half MOA groups with Match ammo.
I was sent a 6.5 Creedmoor Loaded M1A for a comparison shoot. Except for the caliber, the Archangel stock/Springfield scope mount the 6.5CM came with, and the Sightron 6.5-20x scope I put on the 6.5CM for the shoot, both rifles are the same. I was sent a couple hundred rounds of 7.62N and 6.5CM Norma Match ammo for this comparison. The 7.62N is the 168gr Match bullet, and the 6.5CM uses the 130gr Match bullet.
I’ve been wanting some quick access storage for a long gun for several years. I wanted secure bedroom storage for a shotgun or AR, and obviously neither of those fit into my biometric pistol safe. Frustrating. Though my children are grown and gone now, my day job as a pediatrician makes me acutely aware of the need for secure storage for firearms in the home. Grandchildren may show up eventually and I want to be prepared.
Up to this point I have been “making do” with a long gun case secured to the under -bed frame with a combination cable lock. Secure, but not so quick-access. After watching the safe storage products slowly evolving at SHOT Show for the past few years, I finally pulled the trigger on what I wanted. I ordered a SecureIt Fast Box 47
The Fastbox 47 is a light weight keypad combination safe designed to be flat mounted under-bed, or in a vertical mount (as in a closet), or even vehicle mounted. I wanted to do a bed mount because I didn’t want to put any holes in my walls. I own my own home, but I hate wall holes. This can be an issue for apartment dwellers and other renters as well.
The Fast Box has a four-button combination keypad, which is what I wanted for middle-of-the-night access. I didn’t want to be fumbling around for a key in the dark, or have to turn on a light and blind myself.
Besides mounting hardware and leveling feet, the safe also comes with a thin neoprene pad to keep your flat stored gun(s) from scraping around on a metal surface. The vertical mounting hardware is sold separately.
The mounting holes are pre-drilled allowing for a variety of options and there are also ventilation holes to help keep your stored guns from accumulating moisture.
Installing the Fast Box 47
Preparing for installation was initially semi-traumatic, but only because it forced me to confront the reality of how long it had been since I last vacuumed under the bed. There was an entire evolving civilization of dust bunny culture under there. I hated to destroy all of their hard work, and briefly considered tolerance and coexistence, but then bowed to inevitable dominance of humanity. I got out the vacuum and cleared the place out – after a dose of antihistamine of course.
I admit that housekeeping isn’t my strong suit. I’m usually much too involved in things like medicine and guns to notice the dust when I fall into bed exhausted at night. And I’m much too weird about people touching my stuff to allow a cleaning lady into my house. Bottom line – if you want to come to visit you need to give me at least two weeks’ notice, mkay? Even then no guarantees.
But getting back to the Fast Box. This thing is very sturdily built. When it arrived I managed to pull it up into the house from the porch and drag it into the living room to unbox it, but then I had to push it upstairs from behind because it was too heavy for me to carry. I read the directions, got it open, installed the battery and programmed my own security code. So far so good.
But then I discovered a major problem – I didn’t have the right kind of bed frame. Mine was heavy wood, not skinny metal. And the mounting brackets and screws were designed for the skinny metal kind. *sigh* I know I should have thought about this before hand, but how many of you know right off the top of your head what kind of bedframe you have?
I have the wrong kind of bedframe for this hardware.
Installation video
I’m still trying to figure out a different bracket configuration that I can jury rig from the hardware store. I’m sure it’s do-able, I just have to think about it. Work has been crazy, so it might be a little while til I can get this figured out. In the meantime the Fast Box 47 is still in use in my bedroom, even if it isn’t bolted down. It can still fend off curious little fingers and nosy houseguests, and it would take some effort to remove it from the bedroom.
The unit is quite roomy. It easily holds my rebuilt “tactical” Mossberg 500 AND my Aero Precision AR pistol with additional space for a couple boxes of shells and a couple 30 round magazines. There is even a little additional space where I might be able to fit my Gen3 Glock 19 in a holster if I organize carefully.
The shotgun and AR pistol fit inside easily
I’m not really “planning” on needing that much firepower in a home invasion scenario, but better to have and not need, as they say. Besides, my main safe is getting a little crowded anyway, and this decentralizes things a little.
I realize that having a crowded safe isn’t really a bad thing. It just means that I may need to invest in more SecureIt products in which to store my expanding “family”. Fast Boxes can be bolted together, so that is an additional selling point, and incentive for me.
Would you guess there’s a gun safe under there?
If you have gun storage challenges like I do, check out SecureIt for a variety of “decentralized” safe storage options, including the Fast Box 47.
At just 7.8 lbs the all new SAINT Victor .308 hits like a ton of bricks without the weight of a traditional AR-10. Purpose built to offer serious power in a quick handling configuration the SAINT Victor in .308 features a 16” lightweight barrel, M-Lok free float hand guard and included flip-up sights.
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At just 7.8 lbs the all new SAINT Victor .308 hits like a ton of bricks without the weight of a traditional AR-10. Purpose built to offer serious power in a quick handling configuration the SAINT Victor in .308 features a 16” lightweight barrel, M-Lok free float hand guard and included flip-up sights.
It’s a new kind of Gear Up! No more waiting for products in the mail – now you select an Instant Gear Up firearm from a list of qualifying models, contact your retailer, ask for “Springfield Instant Gear Up”, and pick up your new gun and free gear at the same time! It’s up to a $230 value FREE!
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It’s a new kind of Gear Up! No more waiting for products in the mail – now you select an Instant Gear Up firearm from a list of qualifying models, contact your retailer, ask for “Springfield Instant Gear Up”, and pick up your new gun and free gear at the same time! It’s up to a $230 value FREE!
Image Credit - Derplist and wherever they meme mined it from
The legislature in the Ohio is currently considering two very different ends of the spectrum when it comes to gun laws. On the one end a bill was introduced, H.B. 316, that would allow family members, roommates, and LEOs to flag someone temporarily (for 180 days) and have their firearms confiscated and be prevented from purchasing any new ones. On the other end HB 174 and 178 would make Ohio a constitutional carry state for residents over 21 years of age and remove the duty to inform clause and a provision to revoke conviction under that clause.
So ultimately the legislative landscape isn’t all bad. Texas recently passed a myriad of pro self defense measures that threw the mainstream media into an apoplexy. They couldn’t fathom why increasing the ease with which law abiding citizens could protect themselves and shoot back in a situation like El Paso might drastically curb the casualties caused in a future incident?
“But Keith, you dunce, that’s what all the gun control is for! ERPO’s and UBC’s and bans will solve this violence problem.”
Uh huh. And I own a suspension bridge spanning the peninsulas of Michigan I can sell your for a steal of a deal.
No! Everything about the structure of every red flag law I have currently read has had a weak mirky standard of proof for the issuance of an ERPO. The language sounds alright on the surface. But digging into the order everything is stacked against the person served with the order. And I am at a loss to define how someone so dangerous they cannot be trusted with weaponry cannot either be committed for their health into a facility or charged with a crime that would result in their ineligibility.
ERPOs add this murky dark middle ground where it doesn’t have to be a criminally threatening act or a high enough risk situation for committal but it is somehow grounds to violate the person’s constitutional rights. The Red Flag is ripe for abuse by hostile persons within family and domestic circumstances whose relationships have soured. Most “due process” seems to consist of one hearing the party must make on short notice (unless it was issued Ex Parte) and then the “flagged” individual gets one hearing opportunity every 6 month period to restore their civil rights.
“To the subject of this protection order: This order is valid until the date and time noted above. You are required to surrender all firearms in your custody, control, or possession. You may not have in your custody or control, purchase, possess, receive, or attempt to purchase or receive, a firearm while this order is in effect. You must immediately surrender to the (insert name of local law enforcement agency) all firearms in your custody, control, or possession and any license to carry a concealed handgun issued to you under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code immediately. A hearing will be held on the date and at the time noted above to determine if an extreme risk protection order should be issued. Failure to appear at that hearing may result in a court making an order against you that is valid for one hundred eighty days . You may seek the advice of an attorney as to any matter connected with this order.”
What recourse are the accused given?
(B)(1) No person shall do either of the following: (a) File a petition for an extreme risk protection order under section 2923.26 of the Revised Code alleging that the respondent poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to self or others by having in the respondent’s custody or control, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm if the person knows the allegation is false; (b) File an application for an ex parte extreme risk protection order under section 2923.27 of the Revised Code alleging that the respondent poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to self or others in the near future by having custody or control of a firearm or the ability to purchase, possess, or receive a firearm if the person knows the allegation is false. (2) An individual injured in person or property by a violation of division (B)(1)(a) or (b) of this section has, and may recover full damages in, a civil action under section 2307.60 of the Revised Code. A civil action described in this division is in addition to, and does not preclude, any possible criminal prosecution of the person who violates division (B)(1) (a) or (b) of this section. (3) Whoever violates division (B)(1) (a) or (b) of this H. B. No. 316 Page 67 As Introduced section is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.
So if it is proven that the person who filed the order did so falsely, which pretty much means they have to admit they did so maliciously and so long as they don’t admit it (and their lawyer will absolutely keep telling them not to admit that) they get hit with a 5th degree felony. That’s 6-12 months incarceration time. Meanwhile a person slapped with the order will be shackled with every violation a firearm prohibition somes with for any violation of the order. Which is still not a criminal conviction or medical commitment that would require forfeiture.
Oh and…
Except as provided in this section, sections 2923.26 to 2923.30 of the Revised Code do not impose criminal or civil liability on any person or entity for acts or omissions related to obtaining an extreme risk protection order or ex parte extreme risk protection order including for reporting, declining to report, investigating, declining to investigate, filing, or declining to file a petition under those sections. [emphasis added]
So again, unless said individual who filed the order makes the legal mistake of admitting they filed maliciously and falsely, they are immune from prosecution for misuse of the order. There isn’t going to be effort expended to independently verify an ERPO is not being maliciously applied.
On Constitutional Carry
On the positive side, 174 and 178 are looking to allowing carry of any deadly weapon, not just a handgun as the law states now, under the current rules of concealed carry. Unless it is otherwise prohibited by law it would also be lawful to carry a weapon without a license for anyone 21 years of age or over.
Additionally the duty to notify requirement for persons stopped by officers would be struck from the law. Convictions for failing to notify would also have a path to be overturned and penalties struck from the public record. Ultimately the goal is to bring less frivolous pressure against lawful gun owners in their more rudimentary interactions with Law Enforcement.
Obviously if an officer were to ask if behoves you to answer the “are you carrying today/tonight?” question but, like “Duty to Retreat” laws it removes a sometimes testy provision.
To continue my commentary on building a deeper pantry, allow me to present:
Why you should consider purchasing and using a home dehydrator.
Do you regularly cook for only one or two people?
Do fresh vegetables rot half-used in your refrigerator?
Do half-bags of frozen veggies get freezer-burned before you can finish them?
Do you buy a lot of beef jerky and fruit snacks?
Do you camp or backpack frequently?
Do you want to build a deeper pantry of shelf-stable food?
Most of these reasons fit me perfectly, so about two years ago I invested in a budget-level dehydrator. I chose a Nesco brand model. There are higher end brands, but I didn’t want to spend a lot to get started.
My dehydrator
Dehydration is one of the world’s oldest preservation methods. Many foods don’t even require electricity to dehydrate. I regularly just hang mint and other herbs to dry on the top of my refrigerator. But other foods can spoil or draw insects before they dry enough to be safe for storage. Thus, I bought an electric dehydrator.
I began with making my own beef jerky. Then I progressed to fruit leather (think fruit roll-ups). Then I advanced to dehydrating apple slices for snacks. (I took jerky and dried apples on the plane to SHOT Show). This year I decided to try dehydrating vegetables for longer-term storage.
To help me in that regard, I bought two books – The Ultimate Dehydrator Cookbook and The Dehydrator Bible. There are loads of other choices, but these are the two I went with to get started. These books have been full of good advice on not only the dehydrating process itself, but also on storage suggestions and cooking suggestions.
The books also cover choices such as Mylar vs jars, Desiccant packs vs oxygen absorbers, and accessories like a vacuum sealer and attachment for jars.
I haven’t invested in the the vacuum sealer yet. I decided to just go with jars I already had for now, and ordered some desiccant packs online. I’m not really looking to store for decades yet – merely a year or so to get started. Plus, double bagging and adding a third layer of Mylar seems like such wasteful packaging to me for my current needs. Besides, I’m in my mid-fifties. In twenty years I could be dead and not need 20 year-old green beans anyway.
So, with a couple years of experience under my belt, I can tell you some of the top reasons that I love dehydrating.
Less Bother than Canning
Canning low acid vegetables requires a pressure canner, which I haven’t delved into yet. Plus, my small efforts at gardening have not yet produced the volumes required to make that kind of canning practical. If I’m going to all that trouble and mess, three jars is not really worth the effort.
With dehydrating though, I can prep and set it up after work and let it do its thing overnight unattended with the batch often done by breakfast. So much less mess and bother than canning.
Shelf Stable
No freezer. No refrigerator. No electricity. Short term to long term storage depending on how you package it.
Space-saving
To give you an idea how much space dehydrated goods save – Two pounds of farmer’s market green beans, blanched and dehydrated, occupied the space of one half of an old spaghetti sauce jar in my cupboard.
Five pounds of frozen peas and carrots after dehydration fit into two old jelly jars with a desiccant pack each. That’s a lot of freezer space freed up. Multiply that by how many vegetable varieties I like to keep on hand, and pretty soon I’ve saved a small chest freezer worth of space. Not to mention how many commercial cans that would save on my shelf.
Five bags of peas and carrots “before”.Five bags of peas and carrots “After”.
Avoids Waste
I usually cook for just myself. I hate buying things like potatoes in onesies or twosies. They’re cheaper by the bag. But I have a hard time using up an entire bag of red potatoes by myself before they start sprouting and going bad. If I slice or shred and dehydrate those potatoes though, they keep long-term in jars in my cupboard, just waiting to be turned into scalloped potatoes or hashbrowns whenever I feel like it.
It’s the same way with buying a whole head of cabbage. I can use maybe half a head for a recipe, and then the rest sits in the refrigerator. But if I slice/shred and dehydrate cabbage, then it’s always on my shelf, ready for coleslaw or soup or fried rice or cabbage and noodles. Nothing slowly growing mold cultures in my fridge. That’s a definite plus.
My window grown cabbage “Before”,My window grown cabbage “After”.
Is your garden producing more than you can eat? Dehydrate that zucchini for later casseroles, soups, breads, etc. No more sneaking a bag of extra zukes into your friends’ cars in the church parking lot just to get rid of it.
Freezer Drawbacks
Why not just freeze the stuff you might ask? Freezer “space” is my first answer. I have a side-by-side unit with limited room. Freezer burn is my second answer. If you don’t use that stuff up within a few months, you end up with a frosted over block of inedible yuck. Power outage is my third answer. If you have an extended power loss due to weather, it can take a week or more to get things restored if you don’t have a generator. Meanwhile the “frozen” food supply that you can’t eat within three days or so goes to rot. My jars of dehydrated veggies sit happily in my cupboard and aren’t bothered by power outages.
Types of Foods
You can easily dehydrate most store bought frozen veggies. In fact, it’s often easier than starting from fresh. Commercially frozen vegetables have already been blanched, so you don’t have to do that yourself. Just open the bag, dump them on your dehydrator trays, set the temp and go. The same goes for frozen fruit slices, although fresh works well too.
Though it sounds counter-intuitive, you can also dehydrate rice and pasta. The cooking and then re-drying process makes the end product rehydrate faster and easier, which is a plus if you are planning for camping or backpacking food. You add boiling water, but you don’t need the extended boil as with uncooked rice or pasta. That saves stove fuel.
You can even dehydrate meats to a certain extent. Though sometimes there are texture issues. I’ve not tried that yet beyond beef jerky. You can dehydrate cooked burger apparently, but you have to rinse it extensively to get rid of the fat to make it more storable. (Fat makes dehydrated foods go rancid very quickly.) Some people dislike the pebbly texture of dehydrated burger, but if you are backpacking or survival storing, texture can be a secondary consideration. In fairness, some people dislike the texture and flavor of home canned burger as well. It’s all in one’s individual tastes.
I’ve seen a website where a guy even talked about dehydrating sliced shrimp pieces to add to rice dishes. And lunch meat ham too. [link] That would certainly break up the chicken and beef monotony if you were eating dehydrated foods for an extended period.
Some people even make their own “instant soup” mixes and powders. I haven’t tried that yet either, but may do so in the future just as an experiment.
The only “bad” experience I’ve had so far has been with fresh blueberries. And it wasn’t even bad per se. They just took for-freaking-EVER to dry. I did all the tricks – freezing first, poking holes in the skins, etc and it still took like three and a half DAYS. High water content and a thick waxy skin has disadvantages. I may try cutting them in half next time. They taste good in oatmeal and cereal though. I want to try them in muffins next.
Pretty much the only foods that are not recommended for home dehydration are dairy and eggs. There are safety considerations for both that make it better and easier to just buy commercially powdered eggs, cheese powder, butter powder and dry milk powder. They are readily available if you want to add them to your shelf supply. Amazon has a wide selection.
Rehydrating
The main issue with using dehydrated foods is the rehydration that is necessary. But it’s actually quite easy.
I make lots of soups for work lunches, so rehydrating for that is virtually zero effort. You just have to remember to add more broth than usual because the veggies will suck up the juice, rather than releasing juice into the broth. Or you can rehydrate separately and then add to your soup when you are ready.
The title page photo veggies after soaking in hot broth for thirty minutes.
For other dishes you can rehydrate in cold water or broth in the fridge overnight, or add a little boiling water and let sit for a half hour or so, depending on what you are making and how big the pieces are. It’s really not any more bother than the forethought required in having to defrost something you had in the freezer.
Have I convinced you yet? I admit that I was a bit skeptical at first, but I am a convert now. My budget dehydrator has paid for itself several times over in savings on jerky, dried fruit snacks, and commercial storage foods. I’ve heard of people who have two or more dehydrators running several batches at once. I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet, but I’m having such a good time that I’m certainly not ruling it out! If you are thinking about getting into prepping, or even just want to build a deeper pantry, a home dehydrator is a good investment.
The early 2010s were a wild time. There seemed to be a bit of an obsession with releasing new rifles that weren’t AR 15s and I kind of miss it. We had the SCAR 16 and 17 models, the Remington ACR, and the SIG 556 series. One of the SIG rifles I was immediately fascinated by was the SIG 556R and it wasn’t until several years later I was finally able to find one.
The SIG 556R wasn’t a standard STANAG pattern 5.56 rifle. Instead, it was a 7.62 x 39mm rifle designed around AK 47 magazines. This was one of the first AK alternatives that utilized AK pattern magazines. The SIG 556R looked to be the most modular rifle in the heavy hitting 7.62x39mm round. It was more modern than the classic Kalashnikov and had the potential to be an interesting military rifle.
What’s the Point?
Plenty of Middle Eastern, South American, and former Soviet Bloc countries are fielding the Kalashnikov. They have millions of AK rounds and tons of AK mags. When they want a new rifle, SIG had an off the shelf option that offered modern modularity.
The SIG 556R rifle offers a built-in optic’s rail, heavy use of polymer to reduce weight, a more modern ambi safety, the ability to mount a multitude of rail systems, as well as an adjustable stock. The stock also folds and is much more comfortable to use than most AK folding stocks.
The weapon’s upper and lower can be separated almost identical to an AR 15 and it would be easy to attach different uppers for different uses including short barreled variants. Also, the gun sports a much longer sight radius than an AK, and it’s easy to attach sights that can cowitness with an optic.
The point seemed to be to create a rifle that functioned like a standard Western Rifle, with AK mags and ammo. It’s more modular, more customizable, and overall a much more modern rifle.
Why Did I want a SIG 556R
Something about its odd design spoke to me and I wanted one. Oh, I also had about 3k AK rounds and about 50 AK mags at the time. So, I wanted one the same reason a foreign army wanted one. Unfortunately, before I got my hands on one SIG killed the 556 series, and the Gen 1 556Rs in particular had a bad reputation.
This is what lead me to purchasing one at a ridiculously low price. It was apparently plagued by problems of all types. I purchased it, promptly contacted SIG about fixing it, and paid for a shipping tag. It took a few weeks, but they fixed the problem and shipped it with no further charges. After that my SIG 556R ran like a champ and continues to do so.
Mine is a Gen 1.5 model apparently, with Gen 2 models and later SIG 556xi models fixing the apparent reliability problems. Mine is also equipped with a Troy quad rail system which adds about three pounds to the gun. The rifle weighs 7 pounds unloaded so it’s not a heavy beast by any means.
The rail system makes it front heavy and unbalanced though. I wish I had standard handguards to swap out with to be honest.
Inside the SIG 556R
The SIG 556R is a piston driven rifle that utilizes a long stroke operating system. This means there is no need for a buffer system, so the rifle can and does have a folding stock. The rifle has a two-position gas adjustment system. The idea is if you shoot so much cheap ‘commie’ ammo through this gun it becomes too dirty to cycle, so you swap to the next position and keep going. Never something I had to use, but I appreciate the effort.
The 556R uses very AK like controls. There charging handle is firmly planted on the right side of the rifle. The SIG 556XI model would introduce a left-handed option later on. The magazine release is an AK paddle style as well. The safety is a much more modern ambidextrous model with a very short 45 degree throw.
The stock is adjustable and has what feels like 4 collapsing positions. It’s hard to gauge because the stock doesn’t want to move and when it finally does it jumps wildly. This is certainly an issue, especially when I’m spoiled rotten on AR stocks that slide and move with absolute ease. The stock also does fold which is nice but doesn’t lock closed when I’m using the Troy rail.
Hitting the Range
The SIG 556R is a slick and fun shooting rifle. The trigger is nothing to write home about and is somewhat heavy and spongy. It works though. I’ve ran much better triggers, especially in AR style rifles. Recoil is very soft and muzzle rise is minimal. The recoil feels less than a standard AK and is certainly more comfortable.
The 556R is controllable as well, with very little muzzle rise. It comes equipped with a birdcage flash suppressor which does its job well. The stock is made from polymer and is robust and comfortable to shoot with. The stock provides a decent cheek weld that allows for comfortable shooting.
At 100 yards I can create 2-inch groups with steel-cased standard 7.62x39mm ammunition. With Hornady brass-cased goodness I can get down to about 1.5 inches. It’s not an MOA gun, but it’s closer than most AKs are.
After SIG fixed the gun it’s run 100% of the time with any ammo and mag combo I choose to shoot with. I’ve run Tapco, Korean, Magpul, Romanian, and Chinese magazines in the gun and they all work and function without issue. The Magpul magazines are slightly tight with the magazine release, but not bad enough to make running the gun difficult.
The gun runs like any other AK platform. There is no bolt hold open and you have to rock to remove the AK magazines. This makes reloading slower than an AR-style rifle. You can do the Call of Duty reload. Technically it’s a speed reload where you use your fresh magazine to release the old magazine and then reload. It’s a legitimate technique, but I first saw it in Call of Duty.
Hit the Ground Running
The SIG 556R rifle still features a lot of the AK’s weaknesses which does place it ergonomically below certain modern rifles. However, the gun excels past the AK in numerous ways, including ergonomics, recoil, controllability, as well as modularity.
The Adjustable Gas Piston
The SIG 556 rifles have unfortunately been killed off by SIG, and I don’t think they ever really got a chance to grow and expand. That being said they do have a cult following. That has produced a few aftermarket upgrades. This includes stock adapters to allow the gun to utilize AR stocks, as well as MPX stocks, and ACR stocks. Sampson produced a railed forend, but I believe it’s discontinued, as is Troy’s. I’m debating between an MPX adapter or a M4 style stock adapter.
I still enjoy the rifle, it’s a fun gun to shoot. It’s even more fun when I get a little tired of the same old same old. The SIG 556R is a unique weapon, and I wish the American market embraced them a bit more. However, we got what we got, so I’ll enjoy that while I can.
Following the El Paso and Dayton shootings this weekend, we heard from President Trump that it’s time to establish “strong background checks” and support “red flag laws” such as Senator Lindsey Graham believes can be enacted by bipartisan majorities soon in Congress.
DRGO has studied these topics for years, as have many other Second Amendment advocates. (You can see what we think about red flag laws here, and what a good background check approach would be here. )
These laws raise huge red flags in themselves to anyone who cares for civil rights and freedoms.
Background checks are too often inaccurate with too many false positives. Making them universal would be a necessary and probably irrevocable step toward facilitating universal gun registration. That, of course, would enable gun confiscation from legal gun owners if government decided to do so.
“Red Flag Laws” (or “Gun Violence Restraining Orders”, or “Emergency Risk Protective Orders”) are perhaps well-intended in the hope of preventing harm to people who might hurt themselves or others. There are reports in the media that such laws have probably prevented some suicides, and possibly some homicides—data that we so far haven’t seen. However, we do know of one death already in Maryland during an unexpected confrontation with police serving the order.
Should Congress and the President settle on a federal law promoting red flag laws, at least that is all they could do. Presumptively, the federal government can’t require all jurisdictions to intervene identically in cases of potential risk and confiscation of weapons. It can, as Graham’s bill provides, encourage states to pass these laws and provide grants funding their expenses. Yet this is another slippery slope of federal government control to be wary of.
At least 12 states plus the District of Columbia now have laws enabling gun confiscation when a judge finds that a subject might be dangerous. New Hampshire, where they claim to “Live Free or Die”, is currently a battleground for another, where DRGO is assisting the pro-rights side. None of these laws is fair or, likely, constitutional in design or application.
You’ll find a summary of DRGO’s opposition to these laws here, which links to our detailed Position Statement on Firearm Confiscation due to Dangerousness. As you can see in our Position Statement, the constitutional issues involve violations of the Fourth (“unreasonable search and seizure”), Sixth (“rights of the accused”), Fifth and Fourteenth (“right to due process”) amendments. We aren’t lawyers, but our Founders wrote so that laymen can understand.
Let’s think about what good laws allowing confiscation for very particular reasons might look like. (Hint: it’s all about due process and relevant interventions.)
Due process must be the cornerstone of any intrusion by government into any individual’s rights to freedom and property. This is the overarching requirement for legally sound confiscation of anyone’s property, which must include the presumption of innocence.
RFLs currently in place and in development allow a wide assortment of complainants to ask authorities (beginning with law enforcement and/or a court) to seize the subject’s property with no warning to the subject until the police arrive to serve the order. (These are called ex parte hearings, in which the subject is not to be present, and may not even be notified of the proceeding.) It is claimed that the right in 2 weeks or a month, then in another year or so, for the subject to appeal the order and demonstrate his safety and responsibility makes this fair. Not at all.
Only notice given to the individual of the complaint, followed by a court proceeding in which a prosecutor bears the burden of proving risk, would constitute due process, up front and as the events play out.
Unlike for most applicants for restraining orders against a feared individual, there are only minor penalties applicable for false reporting of dangerousness with firearms. We know there are many harassing restraining order requests; one reason is that penalties for false claimants are rarely or severely handed down.
An order to avoid a certain individual is one thing; an order for one’s home to be invaded and one’s property to be seized is a far greater imposition. Harsh penalties for demonstrably false reports have to be included and used, or this will become an even more favored means of retaliation in relationships. This should be no barrier to seriously concerned reporters.
When firearms are confiscated, other dangerous weapons also should be. This is why the focus on firearms only may leave the individual or others even more vulnerable. (Not that other firearms or weapons couldn’t be obtained by a seriously motivated person.) When they are, these laws must mandate careful guardianship of what can be many, expensive firearms that are damaged when stored in inclement conditions (for example, the many firearms confiscated from New Orleans citizens during and after Hurricane Katrina).
They don’t. Neither do they provide for the immediate return of wrongly seized firearms (or within any time frame). They must.
More comfortable options for what may be temporary loss of one’s weapons should be built in to these laws. When responsible family or friends are available to hold an individual’s firearm collection, this is far preferable to seeing them disappear into the bowels of a law enforcement headquarters. Obviously, strong penalties should the helper dispose, divert or return the weapons without legal sanction should be in place.
Last but not least, as important overall as our insistence on due process from beginning to end, gun (or general weapons) confiscation is no panacea. It is not even the most important intervention.
There are only two reasons confiscating weapons should ever be necessary: someone has criminal intent, or someone is influenced by a mental illness (and both may occur together).
Criminal intent has to be handled through our criminal justice system; mental illness has to be handled in our mental health system. Most current and proposed RFLs don’t require, let alone provide the means for, intervening in these ways, which misses the whole point of taking action based on well-founded suspicion that a person could do real harm.
It is vital that anyone subject to seizure of firearms be treated either as a criminal or for his psychiatric problem, in order for RFLs actually to promote individual and public safety. Generally speaking, laws already exist that can be exercised for these purposes. Where they don’t, they are greater priorities to add than a narrowly focused RFL alone.
Let me give an example of how this sort of legal process should work. In New York state, in order to retain even a psychotic, threatening patient more than a couple of weeks for treatment in a hospital (or to administer necessary treatment that would relieve the patient’s delusional fears), a strict legal process must be followed.
Several physicians/psychiatrists must apply for a hearing at which they must present evidence supporting the conclusion that the patient requires treatment to continue in hospital. The patient has no cost representation by an attorney working for a New York state agency that exists for this purpose. The case is argued, and the hearing office decides.
If RFLs were constructed to preserve individual rights, they would work that way. After what might have to be an emergency intervention, the subject would necessarily have the opportunity to get it canceled, with legal representation at no cost. The subject would be considered innocent unless demonstrated to require further intervention.
The “prosecution”, as it were, would have to prove to the court’s satisfaction that the individual presents a danger, and that managing that danger requires gun confiscation. And the outcome would have involve proper criminal and/or psychiatric intervention if indicated.
These are the reasons we in the liberty lobby continue to fight against RFLs as they exist in reality and in the minds of those who believe “something must be done”, seemingly always via increased government dominance of individuals. These are the reasons these laws violate not just the Second Amendment, but multiple others.
DRGO would love to see fair and constitutional laws that establish appropriate, useful interventions for potentially dangerous individuals. We are not optimistic that we’ll see them.
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— 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.