All Outdoor

Commercial shrimpers usually trawl all night, clearing their nets and anchoring sometime in the morning.  For this reason some of the best sharking in the coastal South is had at dawn through mid-day.

Walther has two very different entries in the subcompact pistol category. PPS is a conventional short recoil pistol with a short reset trigger. CCP is a gas-retarded blowback pistol with fixed barrel and a long reset trigger that isn’t double action.While similar in size, weight and purpose, the two guns are about as difference in the manual of arms and feel as can be.

PS90 with stock unmagnified sight. The shooter is John Ervin of Brassfetcher ballistic testing.

I’ve been to two SHOT Shows now where I’ve spent some time on Range Day at the Tavor booth, and in both instances I got a few minutes of free, hands-on training from former IDF guys on how the Tavor is was designed to be gripped. I like this Israeli-style grip a lot, but interestingly enough I’ve been able to find only one YouTube video that demonstrates it.

I love really nice things and generally those things are not cheap, so the point of the article is not to brag, but to look at one of those really nice, beautifully executed firearms accessories… the Saddleback Leather Pistol Wrap. My belief is that if I buy the best I can afford, it will last at least one lifetime and deliver more enjoyment to me over the long term and potentially as an heirloom item.

The AR rifle platform is the most popular rifle format for prepping, survival, property protection, offensive/defensive shooting, and even general hunting. One of the secondary reasons the gun platform remains so prolific is the flexibility to customize the rifle to suit personal needs, interests, and features. The best part is that most of the add-ons can be done with simple tools by the rifle owner.

It’s summer and American sportsman are out and about in big numbers. With so many millions of people covering lakes and rivers, tidewaters and oceans, hills and dales, mountains and valleys, accidental encounters with beasts big and small are sure to occur.

Multi-caliber firearms are here. Some, like Faxon ARAK21 (above) have quick-change barrels in .223, 300Blk and 7.62×39. Others, like nearly every AR out there, have swappable uppers in an even wider variety of calibers. STANAG magazines, compatible or not, and with any caliber, fit all lowers.

I’m not hating on Larry Vickers, but I had to chuckle a little bit when I saw the news of the almost $4,000 Wilson Combat Vickers Elite 1911 over on TFB. I follow Vickers’ page on Facebook, and one of the posts he made that suck with me was something to the effect of, there is no 1911 vs. Glock debate anymore, really — just get a Glock, or similar polymer framed handgun, but probably a Glock. A handgun is a tool, so get one that just works and doesn’t require much care and feeding, at least, so goes the argument. (Note: For what it’s worth I personally don’t yet own a Glock, but I do own something comparable.)

Emergency Essentials recently posted a video in which they take to their food lab and crack open some government-issued MREs that are between 15 and 29 years old. The results are surprising… at least, they are to people who just read about MREs on the internet and haven’t actually been eating expired ones on camping trips for years.

The general unsuitability of the crossbow as a SHTF weapon has been a running theme on this site since it started. Like every other right-thinking person, we love and revere The Walking Dead‘s Daryl Dixon, but the only weapon choice of his that’s worth emulating is his knife: a Team Gemini Light Brigade from Busse Combat. The crossbow, not so much.

Because you can never learn too many cordage-related skills, Far North Bushcraft and Survival has a solid video on two common kinds of rope lashings: the tripod and the square.

As I was watching this I kept thinking, this guy reminds me of some actor. Then it hit me: he’s an older Martin Starr, most recently of Silicon Valley fame. Crazy.

From Facebook and the Primary & Secondary Shooters forum group comes as depressing a tale as you’re likely to read today. Forum member Matt James, came home to find his apartment broken into and many tens of thousands of guns and optics and accessories missing from his Liberty Revere 23.

Now here’s something you don’t see every day: a compact 12 gauge with an 8.5-inch barrel that doesn’t require a single page of NFA paperwork to buy. The GunsAmerica blog has a great writeup on the Black Aces DT, with a look at how and why this thing gets around the ATF’s short-barreled shotgun criteria:

Whoever invented Kydex® material for use in firearm holsters got it right. For those shooters interested in having a concealed weapon carry on their person, the issue always comes up about the best way to holster a CCW handgun. Holsters made of the Kydex material are among the best options available.

During my behind the scenes tour of the US Glock factory, I saw a lot of things and many things drifted through my mind. At that time I was one of only eleven editors invited to the unveiling of the secret release of the Glock G43. At that predictable and yawn-able moment of the G43 introduction, where we all exclaimed “good lord, finally”, my mind was thinking about a G29.  The G29 is in essence a G19 in 10mm and is Glock’s “compact 10mm” pistol. Though the G29 is actually about 1/4-inch shorter than the G19, and the reality is that the G29 is like a G19 9mm which has overindulged a bit at the pasta bar one to many times.

Rifle — check. Pistol — check. Multi-mode green laser and light combo on each — check. Unobstructed light pattern…yes, but only from the pistol laser. The barrel occludes part of the light beam, casting a shadow up — exactly the wrong direction for the weapon that’s usually pointed slightly low to avoid covering innocent people.

Yeah, I know, even the idea initially sounds ludicrous. So, while we’re at it, let’s make some more wild assumptions. Let’s say first of all that you have a secure secondary bug out location in mind and the means to set up some kind of overhead structure. Maybe you have a lake cabin, a camping trailer in the woods or a pre-designated site to set up a tent. When a SHTF hits, you at least have somewhere to go.

All outdoors people including hunters, campers, preppers, and all travelers in the wildernesses of America need a way to start a fire in the case of an emergency. I know, all you think you need is a butane cigarette lighter and a pile of leaves, but what if it is raining or windy? There are other options to be prepared to start a fire when needed just in case.

25ACP has been around for a 110 years. Some of its original competitors, like 5.5mm Velodog round, have long since become obsolete. Others, like 22LR, have become vastly more popular. 25ACP aka 6.35mm has soldiered on as a niche round, derided by most but still used by some. Considering its low power and the reputation for unimpressive terminal performance, what keeps it in production?