The Garden Gun – A Forgotten Firearm Genre

By

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July 26, 2023

What do you think when you hear the term garden gun? Probably not much, as they’ve been out of style for quite some time. In fact, they were never that in style in the United States. Garden Gun is one of those forgotten genres of firearms that sorted of faded away with European firearms culture. Their name comes from the British term for a yard as a garden and is typically designed to be useful home guns that would cause a ton of noise pollution or scare the neighbors.

Garden guns are not home defense firearms unless your home is being attacked by small pests. Garden guns were designed to provide immediate pest control to homeowners. While garden and yard are synonymous in many places now, they would not have been uncommon in an actual garden and still wouldn’t be today. While seeing a mouse amongst your flowers can be a fright, seeing mice chew through your vegetables is heartbreaking.

What’s a Garden Gun

Garden guns are smoothbore guns, and they have all the features to make them shotguns. In fact, some of the larger garden guns used the classic .410-bore shotgun shell. .410 is huge for a garden gun. With that in mind, the .410 loads used for garden guns were not as powerful or as densely loaded as modern .410. Calibers like 9mm Flobert were much more common. Cartridges as small as .22LR were used, but not as rifle projectiles. These .22LR garden guns would fire small bits of shot, often known as rat shot.

It bears mentioning you can shoot rat shot through rifled barrels, but it works much better through a smoothbore and has a longer effective range. That’s not saying much because garden guns aren’t really effective for anything beyond 15 yards or so. As far as guns go, they were fairly safe for suburban areas.

How They Work

Interestingly enough, garden guns rarely face the same kind of strict regulation other firearms do around the world. They are typically single-shot weapons and are too underpowered to work with semi-auto actions, and their limited effective range makes them much more of a tool than a weapon. That being said, a gun is a gun, and I’m not endorsing anything but strict safety standards.

The use of shot makes hitting small, often moving targets easy. At the same time, recoil was nil, so the little old lady who grows the world’s best tomatoes can easily handle a garden gun. Plus, most of these guns are fairly quiet. In my experience, .22LR Ratshot is hearing-safe. Although as always, take care to use proper PPE when discharging a firearm.

Outside of the garden, these guns were also used in barns and even under houses for pest removal. They were very low-powered and didn’t risk damaging the insides or underside of either. As a kid, I spent a lot of time killing rats in the family barn and in friend’s barns with a .22LR rifle loaded with rat shot. It was a ton of fun and a faithful rat terrier, and I killed dozens over the summer.

The End Of The Line

Garden guns have mostly fallen out of favor. We do have much easier ways to keep pests out. Farmers in rural areas typically just use whatever they have handy gun-wise. A standard 22LR with rat shot still works pretty dang well.

Although they are not completely gone. Henry made a dedicated, smoothbore .22LR garden gun some years back. It’s certainly an expensive option for a niche gun. Chiappa, at one point, included ammo with the gun since it’s not exactly common these days. The Garden gun isn’t totally dead, but it certainly isn’t a popular option these days.

It’s a unique and, at one time, very useful tool in a slightly uncommon role. The idea of my own grandmother tooling around blasting rodents in her garden with a 9mm Flobert brought a smile to my face.

Gold: Inflation-Beater?

By

Lars Smith

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July 25, 2023

Gold prices over time — Photo Credit: Gold.org

When looking for ways to safely and wisely invest your money, there are often two main suggestions: Real estate and the stock market. Real estate has the benefit of intrinsic physical value, as you can actually live, work, or at least store things inside it. You can also rent it out, and collect regular income, or wait for it to appreciate and sell for a profit. The stock market has a lower financial barrier to entry but can be a lot more complicated. Additionally, if you think real estate is a volatile and unpredictable market, stocks are subject to even more influences, and can shift with the wind in ways that make house prices look stable.

What about an option that not only has increased in value steadily since the mid-20th century, is easy to invest in, has a low financial barrier to entry, and doesn’t require a business degree to grasp? Gold –and other precious metals– remains an understood and broadly accepted currency across the world, as it has been for centuries. It has both fiat –in its historical role as a government endorsed currency– and practical –industrial and manufacturing applications– value giving it positive aspects of both money and durable goods.

Gold and other precious metals fluctuate in value of course, as anything does, but gold especially doesn’t follow the same patterns as the stock market. When stocks are down, gold’s physical and monetary value drives investment, which raises its price. During the recent social and political upheavals, gold stood strong while stocks and stock-based investment portfolios took a massive hit. During the first few months of the American pandemic response, the S&P 500 took a 23% nosedive, while gold saw a mere 0.1% dip. Gold prices historically fail to move with other investments, making it a reliably stabilizing factor in your financial future. It even beats Bitcoin as a bulwark against inflation according to Forbes

Do you want to get started investing in gold or other precious metals, either as your primary hedge against future financial volatility or the potential for societal disruption, as a way to control for rising interest rates and home prices, or falling stocks? One of the easiest ways to dip your toe into the water is an expert-curated, highly rated subscription service like Bullion Box. You can get into a monthly gold and other precious metal monthly subscription service at prices that fit most budgets.

If you’re simply curious, or don’t have a lot of disposable income, you can get started for only $59/mo with silver bars and rounds up to 1oz. Expanded monthly plans can be had from $125/mo for even more, rarer silver, or as much as $250-$500/mo for gold, platinum, and even rare collector’s pieces. Whatever your price range, there’s something available. Even if you’re not ready to jump into investing, check out their website for more information about precious metals, their value, and why it might be a good place to put your money in uncertain times.

The SOCP Fixed Blade – A Modern Dagger

By

Travis Pike

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July 25, 2023

I really love knives, but I don’t consider myself a knife guy. Knife guys are often weird, and while I’m weird, it’s not for knives. Most of my knife interest relates to historical fighting knives around the mid-1800s up until World War 2. This was a time when fighting knives were used fairly often, not commonly, but the melee struggle was certainly more likely. As a fan of these traditional fighting knives, I was drawn to the SOCP designs, which to me, represented the modern fighting knife.

The original SOCP was a small dagger designed for immediate defense in close quarters. It seemed to be the perfect modern defensive fighting knife for soldiers and Marines. Since then, the SOCP line has continued, and it’s expanded into today’s subject, the SOCP Fixed Blade. This is no micro-sized dagger but a full-on fighting knife. Before we go too deep, it might be smart to explain what SOCP means.

The SOCP Idea

SOCP is a martial arts system designed specifically for special operations personnel. The idea is to build a modern martial arts system that works around being in full kit and even being able to use that kit in the fight. It’s an acronym and stands for Special Operations Combatives Program.

It’s been adopted and taught to all special Forces groups, as well as the Rangers, MARSOC, PJs, and many more. It was created by martial artist Greg Thompson after 9/11. Greg is a highly accredited martial artist with an extensive background in various belts and championships. He’s also the designer of the SOCP daggers, including the SOCP Fixed Blade.

Enter the SOCP Fixed Blade

What drew me, as a historical knife nerd, to the fixed blade SOCP is the overall design. To me, it harkens back to the daggers of World War 2 and the Interwar period. In many ways, it reminds me of the Syke Fairbairn dagger, which was quite popular amongst commandos in World War 2 and influenced the Marine Raider Stiletto. It even gives off those EK Model 4 and Gerber Mk2 vibes. The historical fighting knife it mainly resembles is the M3 trench knife.

A dagger design that’s thin and lithe with a long blade meant to reach those valuable internal organs. The idea certainly hasn’t changed, but the implementation has. The SOCP Fixe Balde uses a rugged straight dagger design with just a slight gradual thinning to the blade. More traditional stilettos used a gradually sloping design towards the tip.

The SOCP Dagger’s straight design keeps the knife smaller and lighter while using modern steel to ensure its rugged design. Gone is a washer or leather-wrapped grip. In its place are G10 grip scales over a full tang, one-piece knife blade. The scales are heavily textured, as is the grip they cover. It’s quite modern all the way around but still uses what’s been proven to work over and over.

The included sheath is made from polymer and features a variety of mounting options. It can be lashed down, worn on the belt, flak, or whatever else you need to toss it on. The sheath even offers an active retention device that’s modern and easy to defeat with a single hand.

A Pure Fighting Knife

This is not a bushcraft or survival knife. It’s not even a KA-BAR designed to be both utilitarian and provide a decent fighting knife. It’s designed for modern fighting forces and for fighting, so there are sacrifices and design details we wouldn’t see on more utilitarian knives.

The grip is easy to criticize if you want something comfortable for long days accomplishing bushcraft tasks. The handle is rather thin and aggressively textured. It’s not comfy for working tasks. While it can accomplish some, it’s really for stabbing bad guys as they try to take your rifle. The grip reflects that.

The SOCP fixed blade is a dagger design and offers one full edge and one-half edge. At the rear of the half-edge, you have a thinner portion of the blade that likely adds another place to press in a close quarter’s fight. It really resembles the M3 in this regard. The blade is a hair over seven inches long.

The blade is made from CPM-3V, which is a tool steel. It’s rugged and very durable and is mainly known for its impact resistance. That seems critical if you’re tangling with an enemy soldier who might be wearing body armor and other hard surfaces the knife can contact. It won’t chip when it bounces off a bone.

No Expert Knife Fighter

I’m no knife expert, but I was an infantryman, so its light and thin design is appreciated. At 5.78 ounces, it won’t add much weight to your loadout. The thin nature of the knife means it won’t take up much room on your gear, and you’ll have plenty of room for everything else.

I think the term knife fighting often fills people with visions of action movie-fueled fantasy fights. Two guys square off and take swipes at each other until the hero wins. That’s not what I think really happens. This type of knife is an emergency tool for when a soldier or Marine gets into a melee. If some guy being searched at a checkpoint tries to grab your rifle, you use one hand to hold the gun and another to pull the knife and poke the guy until he lets your rifle go.

That’s what I imagine a knife fight looks like, a close-range, melee struggle where a gun isn’t immediately accessible. You use the knife until there is enough room to shoot them. In this situation, the SOCP Fixed blade offers a tough knife with a long blade that increases your reach and likelihood of hitting something important.

That’s where the SOCP Fixed blade shines.

Training With Bill Blowers

By

P.E. Fitch

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July 25, 2023

This past May, I took a weekend carbine class hosted by Templar Defense and taught by Bill Blowers. The venue was one stormy-ass shooting range in southeastern Texas. This was actually my first ever carbine class and my first time meeting and training with Bill. If you haven’t heard of Bill, you’ve probably seen his NRA B8 Targets pasted all over the Internet. Every target bears the name of his training company, Tap Rack Tactical. B8s make great targets for many reasons, and not surprisingly, that’s what we shot at the entire class. The 5.5 inch bull not only represents a good sized natural targeting area, but the rings are easy to score too. And that’s another thing, Bill makes you keep track of times and scores when shooting the various drills and tests.

Now, this post isn’t an AAR with a play by play of everything we did. My intention is to share my overall experiences, especially because I’d never been to a carbine class, much less one led by Bill. I’ll say this now, carbines aren’t exactly difficult to shoot. You get three points of contact to stabilize the weapon and minimal recoil. For many years this was part of my reasoning for putting off carbine training. That said, Bill was going to be in the area and if I was going to pay good money for such a class, I might as well go to the left-handed professional shooter’s course and get that sinister nuance out of him.

The Philosophy Of Blowers

Given my own experience taking other open enrollment courses, Mr. Blowers emphasizes scores and time standards a little more stringently than most. I appreciated the crystal clear reasoning for everything he did, as he took ample time to explain himself. He made many of his point to back his arguments through his myriad of personal stories relating to his former career as a SWAT cop in the Sea-Tac metro area. He is a hell of a storyteller which is a key skill for anyone in an education role. It’s probably because I’m from a declasé working-class background and have never had a salaried job, but I found his sense of humor entertaining. That said as a man of reason, I respect that he justifies his way of thinking in accordance to his real-life experience. Anytime an instructor explains the why something is always better than acting like they’re all that or they just “know better.”

My favorite thing about his instructorship was his lack of dogmatism. Oftentimes in class, he’d show us several ways to do things and encourage the group to play around with them and see what worked best. Bill repeatedly told us this throughout the entire weekend. The only expectation was meeting the time and accuracy standards for a given exercise or to keep doing the work towards meeting them. Ultimately, I deduced that Mr. Blowers is a first-principles shooter. In other words, no dogma, just do precisely what you need to in order to make good, accurate hits on target quickly.

Stuff I Learned

A nasty storm with plenty of heavy rain unfortunately befell us during that training weekend. And the lot of us got muddy, wet and nasty shooting in various positions, especially on TD-1. But that builds character, right? We spent a good portion of TD-1 checking zeros at various distances (10,25,50,75 and 100 yards). All of us got plenty of exercise walking up and down the rifle range with our carbines and gear. Mr. Blowers heavily emphasized having a no-bullshit zero on the carbine. Everything related to defensive carbine shooting builds off of this zero, especially the concept of height over bore. HOB is so critical that it merit its own article with more details and examples, frankly. Because iron sights, dots, scopes, etc sit fairly high from the centerline of the bore on ARs, shots do not align correctly at closer distances. Naturally one has to aim higher to offset the impact and hit the intended target. We spent a lot of time in class going over these impacts at various distances, because Mr. Blowers’ goal was for his students to deeply understand where and how their rifles need to be aimed. After all, everyone is accountable for every projectile they fire–regular Joe or SWAT cop.

We practiced common shooting positions and were able to see how they affected accuracy first-hand. We spent a lot of time burning reps on things like low-ready, high-ready, emergency reloads from different positions, etc. It was a great chance to finally put my LSA carbine with the ARIC through its paces. And the inclement weather which produced even more mud and dirt only made it more fun! We shot and had the chance to burn so many reps that even though the class ended on Sunday evening, my firing grip was sore until the following Wednesday. Practically speaking, I understand that shooting carbines isn’t that hard. But I was able to walk away with more nuanced understandings of their employment.

Law Tactical ARIC equipped 14.5-inch LSA Carbine topped with a NF 1-8 ATACR. The Muzzle Device is a Forward Controls Design 6315. Gen 5 Glock 17 with direct-mounted Steiner MPS RDS and Boresight Solutions AP Match Barrel.

Guns And Gear

Because I had never been to a carbine class, much less a “high end” one, I was actually very interested in what other guns and gear students brought. For context, Tap Rack Tactical classes are on the more expensive side. As a consequence, I couldn’t help but notice that most students were serious, and so was their gear. One of the things that surprised me the most was that 80% of carbines on the line were suppressed. SOLGW was also well-represented. Except for one student in particular who had an alternative weapon system, everyone had an AR. The student body as a whole had their AR carbines set up quite smartly. Tactical lights, modern M-LOK rails, Unity mounts, etc. Unfortunately, a gentleman who was shooting to my left had a 16″ carbine with a compensator. I’ll be honest that was not the most fun for me. Out of courtesy to others, maybe don’t bring an AR with a compensator to a class next time? 90% of the guns had red-dot sights. I didn’t see as many LPVOs as I would have expected. On the first day there were two more shooters besides me with an LPVO equipped rifle. By day-two, they both switched to ARs with red-dots and I was the only nerd with an LPVO on the line. (In fairness, I wanted to make the most of this class and have a chance to actually “use” the ATACR LPVO I have. And for what it’s worth, my backup rifle was topped with a zeroed Trijicon Accupower to boot. LPVO Gang!) I don’t regret sticking to an LPVO during this class. One of my goals as a “gun writer” is to increase my awareness and practical knowledge of these kinds of riflescopes.

I also learned some subtleties about running an AR with the ARIC. For example, low pressure .223 Remington spec rounds like PMC Bronze didn’t cycle reliably. You also want a bolt catch that gives you as much leverage as possible on your reloads. And for the love of God, make sure your mags are fully seated. Ammo-wise, stick to cartridges you have vetted or 5.56mm NATO pressure cartridges in general. I was shooting IMI 62-grain M855 Green-Tip with no problems.

In all, it was nice to shoot something else besides pistols for a change. I have a better appreciation for the nuances of carbines and what I can do with my own AR.

Springfield Armory’s 2020 Line. No, not a throwback year.

By

Keith Finch

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July 24, 2023

I continue to enjoy this year of odd calibers. While rimfire isn’t necessarily ‘odd’ by any stretch, the fact that it is getting a strong series of updated offerings is very fun to see.

Springfield is joining this lineup, and they didn’t even give it a funny name this time.

The Model 2020 Rimfire family offers shooters a refined rimfire rifle with all the quality and performance you’ve come to expect from Springfield Armory. Offered in both Classic wood-stocked and Target synthetic-stocked versions, the Model 2020 Rimfire carries an impressive accuracy guarantee and the heirloom quality of a firearm you will keep in your family for generations.

Outperforming other rifles in its class, the Model 2020 Rimfire action features dual cocking cams for lightning-fast, smooth cycling and a hard chrome bolt, ensuring flawless operation. The 60-degree bolt throw enhances speed and ease of use while the interrupted picatinny rail delivers a solid foundation for the optic of your choice.

Seeing rimfires continue to be offered in new models means shooting in an often overlooked semi-casual field will continue to flourish. We tend to undervalue our .22’s because they aren’t “serious” calibers in this day and age where defense is the primary motivator. But they are unmatched support.

The Pepperbox – An Early Repeater

By

Travis Pike

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July 24, 2023

Early repeating firearms are fascinating to me. Whenever someone says that the Founding Fathers could never picture a repeating weapon, I laugh. Ever since early firearms were created, we have looked for ways to make them more effective and efficient. One of the early methods that made its way to the modern world was the pepperbox.

The pepperbox is a multi-barreled gun that’s similar to a revolver. It features multiple barrels that often rotate around a firing device, although that’s generalized. Several designs used fixed barrels with rotating firing pins, although rotating barrels are more common. They differ from revolvers in the fact that each barrel is also a cylinder. The name comes from the gun’s multi-barrel look that often looks like the top of a pepper shaker.

What Is a Pepperbox

A pepperbox can be any type of firearm. There were rifle and shotgun variants, but the most common was a handgun. Multiple barrels got quite heavy, and extending them to long gun lengths would make quite the weapon. Pepperbox weapons differ from volley guns in that they only fire a single barrel at a time. Arguably the first pepperbox was a modified volley gun from the 15th century designed to fire a single barrel at a time.

The pepperbox picked up speed in the late 1700s and rode the coattails of two-barrel turnover pistols. If two barrels is good, then even more barrel is better, right? Gun makes like Nock, famed designed of the massive volley musket, designed several rotating barrel pistols as did gunmakers in Belgium.

The Impact of the Pepperbox

These early models were flintlock pistols and quite expensive due to the materials and rather complicated designs in an era of handmade guns. As firearms evolved, so did these spicy little guns. They became percussion cap pistols, and when the industrial revolution came about, they became much cheaper. They became fairly popular due to the firepower they offered.

There were several design variants of percussion cap guns. Some required the user to rotate the barrels manually and to cock the hammer. Others worked like a single-action revolvers, and the barrels rotated when the user cocked the hammer. Some fired from the top barrel, and others fired from the bottom barrel.

Most were designed for civilian self-defense and for close-range use. Most were smoothbore, even though they existed in eras where rifling was common. They also lacked sight because putting a sight on each barrel would be expensive, heavy, and makes carry awkward.

That’s a large part of why they remained unissued by most military forces. While some officers may privately purchase a pepper box, they were never widely issued. They remained an affordable multi-shot weapon for civilians to defend themselves.

The Decline of the Pepperbox

Once Samuel Colt and his Colt Paterson revolver came to life, the pepperbox was done for. The revolver was much lighter, could feature a sight, and actually took less material to make. They were the future, and revolvers were the first step toward the decline of the pepper box. Then metallic cartridges came out and really snuffed ‘em out like a smoker with a cigarette butt.

After that, the main appeal became affordability. Market demand and all being what it is, the price dropped, and they remained a popular budget option for repeating firepower. Although, I’m convinced nothing in the gun world stays dead forever.

The Modern Pepperbox

There are a few cartridge pepper box designs. Remington made the Zig Zag derringer in 1860 as a six-barrel rimfire cartridge pistol. We also have guns like the Shatuck Unique and alter the Mossberg Brownie, which featured four barrels and a rotating firing pin.

Fast forward, and Cobray produced a .45 Colt/.410 Pepperbox because, of course, they did. The COP derringer could also be considered a pepperbox. However, anything beyond novelties and replicas isn’t common these days.

The Pepper Box remains an interesting piece of firearm history, especially as a part of repeating firearms history. While seemingly unusual, they were popular for a time, and their production hastened the development of the revolver, which we still use to this day.

CWD Not Yet Found in Humans

By

Dr LateBloomer

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July 24, 2023

If you do any hunting of deer, elk, mulies, or moose in the United States you may have heard about today’s subject – Chronic Wasting Disease. I found out the other year that the family property that I hunt had been absorbed into a CWD monitoring area and that’s when I started educating myself. The expanding boundaries of the monitoring area has caused me all kinds of consternation which I’ll get into in a bit, but I saw a recent article which at least provided some reassuring news – there is as yet no evidence in surveillance populations of human beings being infected by CWD – by consuming meat or by any other exposure to infected game animals. This is excellent news for hunters.

Background

Chronic Wasting Disease (acronym CWD) is one of a collection of diseases caused by “prions” – abnormal proteins that are transmitted animal to animal (or person-to person) which cause a disease state of the central nervous system. More specifically it causes neurodegenerative disease that is inevitably fatal.

Prions are a “neither fish nor fowl” kind of thing. They aren’t actually alive, and they aren’t like viruses or bacteria. They are proteins that manage to reproduce themselves, and they are notoriously difficult to “kill”. Standard autoclaving procedures won’t do it, most chemical treatments won’t do it – they’re kind of scary that way.

There are prion diseases that affect humans and prion diseases that affect certain animal species. With few exceptions the diseases don’t seem to cross species, but research is ongoing, particularly with a prion disease that affects cattle – BSE or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or “Mad Cow Disease” – which appears to have some rare cases of human transmission.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a prion disease that affects ungulates – elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, sika deer, and moose.

History

CWD was first identified in the 1960’s in a captive deer population in the western US and was discovered in wild populations in 1981. Since then there has been continued spread despite ongoing control efforts.

Current research indicates that spread of CWD occurs among cervid populations via body fluids like saliva, feces, urine, and blood. The contact can be either direct or indirect as the prions apparently do not degrade in the environment for extended periods of time and can remain infectious for years. These proteins aren’t “alive” in the traditional sense, so they are often resistant to traditional means of disinfection.

Spread

As of July 2023, thirty-one US states and four Canadian provinces have been affected by CWD.

Also affected are reindeer and moose in some parts of Scandinavia and some imported deer in South Korea.

Control measures

Control measures vary by region/state and governing body. Where I hunt the state game commission has jurisdiction. It has implemented measures such as banning wildlife feeding and bait stations in affected and surveillance areas – even on private property. It has also banned the use of urine lures (Prions can be transmitted via urine). It has banned the removal of deer carcasses taken in a restricted area until neurological tissue has been removed. There are only a handful of “approved” butchers you can take the carcass to as well. There are also “head bins” for those who butcher their own deer so the state can test the brain tissue, and then notify you via online code if your deer was positive.

Finding Balance

All of these control measures are obviously important, but it’s a balancing act between taking precautions to control the spread of the disease and causing a drop-off in hunting, which is the single main herd population control method. Not to mention that hunting pours millions of dollars into conservation coffers every year.

But if as a crossbow hunter I can’t have a feeder and I can’t use lures ( except maybe apple scent spray?) then that reduces my chances of success. Even more-so on a property that is two hours away, which makes it difficult to scout, even with cameras. Then there is the separate issue of antler restrictions to contend with. It’s a huge pain in the patoot and it causes me a lot of discouragement in my hunting life. Yes I am fully aware that it’s called “hunting” and not necessarily “harvesting”, but there has to be occasional success in order to provide positive reinforcement. I have not yet had that on family property in the CWD zone.

I paid money to go on a guided women’s hunt elsewhere last year because I got so discouraged on my own property. I’m not sure I’ll even buy a license this year. I have to pay extra for an out-of-state license and I feel like I am throwing away a hundred-plus dollars to hunt on a property which doesn’t offer me much chance of success.

BUT – at least the good news this week is that they haven’t found any hunters eating deer meat or handling infected carcasses that have caught CWD in 20-30 years. So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

Gunday Brunch 110: Tessah of Armed and Styled

By

Keith Finch

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July 23, 2023

Today we’re joined by Tessah from the YouTube channel @armedandstyled2117 – she is a squared away educator teaching about self-defense and concealed carry

IWI ACE’d the AK.

By

Keith Finch

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July 22, 2023

I think I’ve written this before. I’ve certainly commented it before. But the best modern AK offering in the US comes out of IWI. A non-AK company making what is, technically, not an AK anymore.

The original Galil was named after Yisreal Galili who led its design. Galili was born Yisreal Balashnikov. That was a little too close to parody since the Galil is an adapted Finnish RK 62, which is itself an adapted AKM.

Calling a 2 degrees of separation service rifle from the Kalashnikov the Balashnikov could have undermined the good work the team did to bring a quality service weapon to IDF. Might have irritated the Soviet Union too, and despite that being his name sometimes that doesn’t matter.

Like the AR, the Galil hasn’t been left stagnant. The Galil ACE brought a 21st Century standard to the rifle and the ACE Gen II pushes that right to the limits again with a floated barrel and longer M-LOK handguard.

The ACE was, at one time, on the expensive end of AKs. The market has gone weird recently though and now its sitting solidly middle ground. Simply by virtue of its price remaining rather steady its value in the space has skyrocketed.

Markets are weird.

The modern ACE, especially in 5.56 NATO, is what you should look at if A.) You want a NATO caliber. B.) You, like all of us, are swimming in STANAG magazines. It still holds splendidly up in the comm-bloc calibers too, although the lack of bolt catch/release ergonomically slows it a small amount.

The ACE (I & II) is one of those first choice ‘alternative’ rifles that should actually be playing more in the first choice category. What’s an ‘alt’ rifle? One you buy when you don’t want another AR but you want the gun to be at that high performance envelope.

It’s ergonomics, especially on the two NATO variants, are nearly what modern day ambidextrous AR-15/18 and AR10/SR25 types are sporting.

Digging further, they’re reliable, accurate, thoughtfully designed muzzle to stock, and the 7.62 NATO variant weighs in only 6oz heavier than the FN SCAR 17s. Funny enough on that point, the 7.62 NATO is the lightest listed of the 4 ACE Gen II line.

They hold an ergonomic and ancillary edge over their AK progenitors too, able to be run a little faster thanks to improved controls and take and hold zero with optics. AK-12 we have at home is actually best AK-12.

Anyway, the video is Micah, who you probably recognize from Garand Thumbs channel as he works with Mike Jones there. Enjoy his shenanigans, give him a like and follow, and I’ll see you all tomorrow for Gunday Brunch.

Dallas Safari Club Announces Their New Convention Home, Atlanta

By

Keith Finch

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July 21, 2023

The Dallas Safari Club has resided in their titular town and hosted their January convention therein for 40 plus years. However after next year, 2024, Dallas has plans for the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. Those plans won’t be quick enough for 2025 so DSC needed a new spot.

They have picked it.

Atlanta, Georgia.

From DSC,

Dallas Safari Club (DSC) looks forward to hosting the upcoming 2024 DSC Convention and Sporting Expo in Dallas, TX, January 11-14, 2024. We are excited to again host the greatest exhibitor partners and attendees to our amazing Convention. The DSC Convention kicks off each year as the first major hunting and conservation show in North America. Inspired by true southern hospitality, we are proud to have delivered a world class event in Dallas for over 40 years.

The DSC Convention expects to bring together an estimated 40,000 individuals in total attendance, and approximately 900 exhibitor partners representing 72 different countries from around the globe, while spanning across 700,000-sq.-ft. of exhibit hall space inside the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center Dallas.

As we look beyond 2024, inevitable changes are in our future. The City of Dallas has announced a multi-year plan to demolish and rebuild the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, the site of our event for the last 14 years. While there is excitement about what will be a state-of-the-art facility here in Dallas, this massive project requires DSC to find a new home for our Convention for the years 2025-2029, until construction is complete.

After a comprehensive review 32 locations, spanning Texas and across the US, DSC is excited to announce that the 2025-2029 DSC Conventions will be held in Atlanta, GA at the Georgia World Congress Center. Our intense search and evaluation took into consideration convention center facilities, hotels, amenities, and international airport access, as well as regional outdoor lifestyle demographics. We are extremely confident that the Georgia World Congress Center will be the premier site to deliver successful DSC Conventions to come!

Dates for the DSC Conventions in Atlanta will not change from those previously published, and we are certain our exhibitor partners, attendees, and guests will continue to enjoy the southern hospitality, which is the hallmark of the DSC Convention. Atlanta representatives will be on hand at the 2024 Convention in Dallas to provide a wealth of information about the convention center, the city, and their commitment to delivering a world class experience.

In addition to the annual Conventions to be held in Atlanta, from 2025-2029, DSC is excited to announce that in 2025 we will begin hosting a second convention in Dallas each summer. Aligned with the DSC Foundation Gala, this Expo will feature many of our valued Exhibitor Partners, include evening events, and culminate with the annual DSC Foundation Gala on Saturday night.

While Dallas will always be home and we are very excited about the future of the new Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, DSC looks forward to the opportunity to take the greatest hunting and conservation show on the road for a few years. We look forward to seeing you in Dallas, TX, January 11-14, 2024, and encourage you to please make plans to join us in Atlanta beginning in 2025!

Atlanta is an excellent convention town, downtown has food, lodging, entertainment, and they host a revolving plethora of regular attendees. It’s an excellent choice for the show.

The AA-12 Was Always Dumb, But Awesome

By

Travis Pike

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July 21, 2023

If you grew up in the early 2000s and had an interest in guns, then you couldn’t escape the AA-12. The Atchisson AA-12 was a magazine-fed machine shotgun that promised to be game-changing. While it seemed to make its big premiere in 2005, the design dates back to 1972 when Maxwell Atchisson developed the original prototypes. The design we all know and love comes from modifications by Military Police Systems.

MPS purchased the patent and developed it for 18 years to finally come up with the modern AA-12. In the early 2000s, the gun was everywhere. That’s odd for a full auto-only shotgun that couldn’t be sold to the general public, yet, somehow, it became a pretty big piece of pop culture. Like most guns, it popped up in Call of Duty. FPS Russia did a hilarious video with the AA-12 where he dual-wielded a pair of them, not to mention Future Weapons, where the gun got an entire segment and a role in the Expendables.

The AA-12 was on fire! Then it just kind of faded away. It never received that big military contract, and it certainly wasn’t adopted by any police forces. Sol Invictus purchased the rights from MPS and have been trying to bring a semi-auto-only option to the market, but that seems to have stalled.

The truth is, the AA-12 is kind of dumb.

Why is the AA-12 Dumb?

The AA-12’s main selling point is that it’s fully automatic. Not only is it full auto, ut its full auto only. Admittedly a cycling rate of 300 rounds a minute makes it easy to fire single shots. Cool, but what’s the point? Full auto fire is designed to suppress targets.

No one is suppressing with a shotgun. The limited source of ammunition certainly isn’t helping. The AA-12 used 8-round box magazines, or 20 or 32-round drums, which are absolutely massive. That’s not enough to suppress a military target. Plus, it’s a shotgun. It doesn’t have the range to suppress a target.

What’s the point of the full auto capability at that point? In semi-auto, a shotgun can be used fast enough to fight at close quarters. Pointing and firing a shotgun in a full auto method isn’t really beneficial. If I use my imagination, it seems like the most useful a full auto shotgun can be is shooting at threats moving in the dark, but only as close range.

Even then, it doesn’t seem that useful. That’s a very small niche and doesn’t really do with the American principle of establishing positive identification before pulling the trigger. Shotgun pellets will be flying wildly around the area.

Not only that, but magazine-fed shotguns are ticky. Plastic shotgun ammunition will deform inside a box machine if left loaded. Deformed shells create feeding issues, and that’s not good in a combat-oriented firearm. Drums don’t deform shells but are bulky and have historically been quite finicky and difficult to use.

The AA-12s problem was that it didn’t have a purpose.

What Was Fascinating About It

The AA-12 used an API Blowback system that made it extremely light recoiling. FPS Russia famously fired an AA-12 with a single hand. API Blowback is an operating principle that actually fires the round before it is fully chambered. It’s a purposeful out-of-battery detonation. It’s commonly used in cannons and full auto grenade launchers like the Mk19.

This eliminates something like 80% of the felt recoil. That’s impressive because we all know shotguns aren’t exactly recoil-friendly firearms. Making a full auto shotgun that’s easy to handle and low recoiling is an impressive feat.

Additionally, the AA-12 came out, and there were numerous shells for it. Most famously, the FRAG-12 rounds offered an explosive slug round. These mini explosives were seen in Future Weapons and dramatically included in the film Expendables.

It’s also just kind of cool. A full auto shotgun is throwing waves of pellets with each magazine, and that makes it seem like a handheld Metal Storm. It looks cool, seems terrifying to face, and was reportedly reliable and well-made. It just lacked purpose.

Where the AA-12 Could Work

Honestly, if you eliminate the full-auto function, the AA-12 could succeed mostly because it could be sold to civilians like you and me. In the civilian realm, we have different concerns than the military, and using a box mag-fed, semi-auto shotgun isn’t a terrible idea for home defense, especially if the API Blowback system works in semi-auto.

Full-auto shotguns are just plain silly and seemingly weapons without purpose. However, the AA-12 could be a high quality, modern, box mag fed, semi-auto 12 gauge shotgun for defensive purposes.

Shotguns and Heat Shields in 2023

By

Travis Pike

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July 20, 2023

Shotgun and heat shields name a more iconic duo! Iconic as in mall ninja icon. People really like putting heat shields on shotguns and more power to you. It’s your gun, do what you want! However, today we are going to talk about heat shields and shotguns and why they are pretty useless these days. I think it’s worth mentioning no police force or modern military force rocks a heat shield on their shotgun and for a good reason.

So we are all clear, a heat shield is an accessory that’s placed on the barrel of a shotgun. It’s often metal, but polymer ones exist, and in the past, wood ones also existed. The idea is that it will protect your hand from any accidental burns when it brushes the barrel. Shotgun barrels tend to be getty pretty toasty, so it seems like a great idea, and it was way back when they were invented.

The Origin of the Heat Shield

The modern shotgun heat shield is a Winchester design and premiered during World War 1 on the trench variants of the Model 12 and Model 1897. Winchester even owned the patent, and that’s why the company’s live Stevens used wood heat shields on their trench guns. Was the heat shield mall ninja-like in World War 1?

No, not at all. It served a purpose there. This was an era where long guns were used in melee brawls. Bayonets and bayonet charges still occurred, and that might require some odd handling of the weapon. Touching a hot barrel certainly isn’t desirable, so the heat shield could help some if you went from emptying the gun to hand-to-hand fighting.

Also, take a peek at the service rifles of the era. The handguard extended nearly the full length of the barrel and over the top. These provided the same protection. This type of wood handguard wouldn’t work on a pump action shotgun. The heat shields were a rather poor imitation of a proper handguard, to be honest.

Why Are They Silly Now?

Most engagements with shotguns are at short range and rarely are more than a few shots fired. In defensive situations, the barrel never has a chance to get hot. I’d love to find any evidence of a home defense scenario where the defender emptied their repeating shotgun in defense of their home.

The same goes for police officers. If the shotgun leaves the cruiser, it’s rare that the officer is alone, and again rare they are going to fire so many rounds to warrant a heat shield. On top of all that, using your gun as a melee weapon is extremely unlikely in a self-defense scenario. It’s not like you have a bayonet on your shotgun.

Even military forces don’t use heat shields anymore. In the United States, the military shotgun is very niche, and even when used, you’re surrounded by squad mates with rifles and machine guns. You won’t be suppressing the enemy with your Benelli M1014. If you use a shotgun, it’s close, quick, and likely brutal. We also aren’t using bayonets, and I’m sure people will point to the few examples of bayonets used during the GWOT, but let’s be real here. It’s highly unlikely.

Also, modern soldiers and Marines are issued gloves, nice gloves, which means even if they accidentally touch the barrel, they are unlikely to notice.

It’s a Decoration

Heat shields are just decorations. I’m not hating on that fact. I own a Mossberg 590A1 Retrograde, and it has a heat shield, but it’s just a decoration for an old-school throwback of a shotgun. Your home defense shotgun doesn’t need a heat shield. I liken it to the battle-worn finishes that were all the rage a few years ago.

It looks neat but ultimately just adds useless weight to your weapon and separates you from a few dollars.

My Favorite Summertime Carry Guns

By

Travis Pike

-

July 20, 2023

So July is here. As a Floridian, I hate this time of year. It’s insufferably hot and humid, the weather changes on a dime, and the tourists are in full swing. I’ve recently accepted a few things about myself. First, I don’t mind mowing anymore. Second, New Balance shoes are pretty comfortable. Third, pocket pistols aren’t all that bad. I used to be a hardcore bigger is better. Give me a CZ P09, and let’s call it a day. As it gets hotter, I’ve come to accept lighter clothing and lighter guns. Today I figured I’d break down my favorite summertime carry guns.

While normally I’m a P365XL man, I’ve found that it can be even difficult to carry in light shirts and pants. Call it lazy, but if it’s just me, no wife, and no kiddos, then I don’t mind carrying a smaller, lighter, easier-to-hide handgun.

My Summertime Carry Guns

Keltec P32

A recent favorite of mine. This is the lightest sem-auto I have. At 6.6 ounces, it disappears into my pocket. The little gun holds seven rounds of .32 ACP, and I always commit to a +1 with it. The little .32 ACP isn’t much, but I can put rounds where I need to, and I’ve become selective with my ammunition and use 71-grain FMJs to ensure proper penetration.

It’s not much, but it’s light, flat, and easy to carry. This gun rides dirty with me the majority of the time.

Seecamp LWS 25

The Seecamp LWS 25 is for when things get tight. I have these uber comfortable 5.11 shorts that my wife refers to as my hoochie shorts. They aren’t for the faint of heart. They are super short, super small, and the pockets are shallow. The only gun I can carry while sporting these bad boys is the micro-sized LWS 25, which is the smallest semi-auto out there.

This gun works perfectly at water parks, summer rains, and pools. It’s stainless steel and fits into the pocket of my swim trunks. With that being said, I’m not swimming with the gun, but everyone gets a little wet at a water park. I also use 50-grain FMJs for max penetration, but admittedly 25 ACP doesn’t have excellent penetration.

Ruger LCP 2 (In 22LR)

The Ruger LCP 2 in 22LR is my summertime yard gun. When I’m mowing, picking up sticks, and cleaning up my ten acres, it’s always at hand. It’s perfect for wild dogs, snakes, and popping pests like mice without wasting pricey .25 ACP and .32 ACP rounds. The little LCP 2 has a ten-round magazine and is super reliable. The LCP 2 is easy to shoot, and the modern design ensures it can get dirty and gross and still work reliably.

It’s also light and small. It has real sights, so it’s easy to aim, especially when your prey is a mean cotton mouth with ill intent. If you’ve never pulled a drive-by on a zero-turn mower on a venomous, aggressive snake, then you haven’t lived.

Beretta 3032 Tomcat

My summertime, lightweight, micro-sized pistol that I like to show off is the Beretta Tomcat 3032. It’s the biggest, heaviest, and thickest of these guns, but it’s also the coolest. C’mon, look at this little fella. It’s so cool, and it’s touched off by the tip-up barrel design. The Tomcat is fun to shoot but not the best shooting option.

It bites the hand, has rough recoil, and doesn’t seem to be all that efficient in size. Still, it’s accurate, even with one of the heaviest double-action triggers I’ve ever handled. The Beretta 3032 Tomcat is my summertime BBQ gun, if you will. It’s more style than substance.

Summertime Carry Blues

It’s hot. Terribly hot. Humid, and if it’s not, then it’s raining. This made me choose a few alternatives to my normal carry guns and my normal carry philosophy. Sometimes it’s okay to cool it down, provided you’ve been realistic about the threats you potentially face. This is how I’ve focused on beating the what while packing some heat.

Hi Point JXP 10mm

By

V. Caldwell

-

July 19, 2023

A bit of force I required to rack the slide.

Two big things concerning this handgun- first, it is presently for sale at Cheaperthandirt.com for less than two hundred dollars. Second it is Hi Point’s first and only 10mm handgun. If you ask practically any retailer they will tell you that they sell more Hi Point firearms than most any other. No surprises there. And while it is easy enough to criticize a cheap pistol we don’t all have a budget for Glocks SIGs and Colts. The Hi Point is a projectile launcher and a cheap but somehow attractive one. Lets look at the JXP 10. The pistol features an extended and threaded barrel full-length accessory rail and even a red dot ready slide. The JXP 10 pistol and the 1095 carbine each use the same ten round magazine. There were few surprises with the JXP. This is a blowback operated 10mm handgun. The frame is polymer while the frame is a type of alloy. Not aluminum alloy but a non ferrous metal slide and a heavy slide. The pistol is striker fired the trigger is single action and the magazine is a single column. Take down disassembly and safety location are the same as any other Hi Point handgun. The threaded barrel follows the .578 x 28 TPI standard. The front sight is compatible with the Glock handgun allowing shooters to change the front out for tritium inserts if desired. I don’t think previous Hi Point pistols had this feature. A fully adjustable rear sight is a good touch.

The sights are a dual red painted dot rear sight and yellow outline front. To mount a red dot sight remove the rear sight. A short picatinny rail may be mounted. I didn’t explore this option but it seems a neat set up. I question the ability to accommodate a range of optics until we are certain of availability as concerns Hi Points adaptors. As it is you may mount an affordable red dot.

The Hi Point 10mm is a robust and heavy handgun.

The 10mm automatic cartridge offers real power in a handgun and may be quite accurate. The loads range from 135 grain hollow points that open quickly to hard cast 200 grain deep penetrating bullets. Hikers and campers who explore the outdoors are not gunny but realize that it is a very good idea to have effective protection against man and beast. The Hi Point is as exciting as a car jack. But if you need the car jack or the pistol either is good to have. The slide is a type of crinkle finish. The slide is massive to counter 10mm recoil and function in a blow back operated handgun. There are forward and rear cocking serrations. The grip panels have been redesigned for the 10mm pistol A balance of adhesion and abrasion is very good to have. An accessory rail is molded into the dust cover.

The Hi Point 10mm is no lightweight. The pistol weighs a full 49 ounces unloaded. Hi Point firearms are covered by a lifetime warranty. The pistol is similar to the .45 ACP Hi Point but much heavier. Trigger compression is six pounds average. It may break at 5.5 pounds or it may break at 6.5 pounds. This limits consistent application of the trigger. The single supplied magazines was difficult to load after the eighth round. I managed to load to full capacity with some effort. Most of the range evaluation was done with Fiocchi ammunition. Initial firing was done at 7 yards. Despite the blowback action and heavy slide recoil wasn’t more than a 1911 10mm, less than most 10mm polymer frame guns, all due to the heavy weight. A factor in recoil is the abrupt snap when the slide reaches the end of its travel. A Glock 10mm weighs 28 ounces for comparison. The slide requires some strength to rack. Most will need to bring the handgun in close to the chest and rack the slide to make ready.

The Hi Point pistol offers contrasting sights.

At 21 feet I cut a ragged hole in the target with several magazines. Moving to 10 yards results were much the same. Moving to a solid bench rest firing position I settled into the MTM Caseguard K Zone firing rest. Acclimating to the trigger is difficult. A five shot group of three inches was the best I was able to register at 15 yards, some were larger. I think that I would be able to deliver meaningful fire at 25 yards with practice in the pistol. At it is the pistol is ok for cabin or tent defense against animals or home defense. I stopped at 220 rounds over a period of several weeks. There were no stoppages of any type.

Moon Clip Depot and Moon Clips

By

Travis Pike

-

July 19, 2023

I’ll keep today’s article short and sweet. Sometimes I had this odd need for a specific accessory and found nothing but companies I’d never heard of providing that niche item. I can’t find reviews, can’t find videos, and I have no idea if the company is worth investing my hard-earned dinero into. My specific accessory this week was Moon Clips for an S&W M1917 revolver. Where to find them? In searching, I found a few options, but most seemed unnamed and sold cheaply on eBay. Moon Clip Depot came up a time or two, so I took a risk and ordered a three-pack of the M1917 moon clips. Were they worth my time?

The Trick With Moon Clips

I really like Moon Clip-ready revolvers, and of all the revolvers I own, three are chambered in automatic calibers. I like moon clips and use them often. I’ve learned that factory moon clips are the way to go. However, S&W isn’t exactly maintaining an accessory inventory of revolvers produced over a hundred years ago.

Bad moon clips are a real hassle. They bend too easily, rendering them useless, and they can even bind up your gun if you aren’t careful. When they bend or break, they become useless pieces of aluminum. I’m cautious about buying non-oem options. It’s really not that different from buying non-oem magazines. Moon Clip Depot offered three M1917 moon clips for less than 30 bucks, so I clicked buy and waited patiently.

Moon Clip Depot and Me

After just a few days, a small package arrived, and I had my moon clips. Moon CLip Depot ships fast! Inside was an envelope, and in that envelope sat a handy plastic case containing my moon clips. There were some stickers and even a pocket constitution. That is a good way to start. I loaded up my three moon clips with 45 ACP with relative ease.

They snapped in place, and I excitedly hit the range. The M1917 is one of my grail guns, and I’ve always wanted one. Hitting the range was an event I was excited to experience. Luckily the Moon Clip Depot moon clips didn’t let me down. They dropped right in with ease, the cylinder closed with a problem, and I blasted away.

Unloading them didn’t require a tool, but to be fair, a tool makes them last a lot longer and makes unloading them easier. It wasn’t difficult, but I carefully popped them out to preserve them. I used nothing but brass-cased ammo because steel cased tends to be difficult in revolvers.

Overall I’m impressed with the product Moon Clip Depot puts out. They work and have worked for a couple of hundred rounds. Unloading and loading are easy. They seem durable, fit this ancient gun well, and even come with a handy carrying container. Check them out here.