Day: July 23, 2006


Eight Letters Re: Selecting a Martial Art and a Dojo

Hi Jim and Family, Many, many years ago I was an assistant martial arts instructor. I had studied several Chinese styles along with Japanese Kendo. I was making inquiries about instruction in my area for my daughter after being out of that area of study for over 30 years. The self defense instructor I was talking to said that for the best ‘out of the gate’ use of martial arts for practical street self defense was Ju-Jitsu, but to watch the style you want to learn. Basically the styles of Ju-Jitsu are quite similar but some are less suited for …


Letter Re: “Ed’s Red” Mix-It Yourself Firearms Bore Cleaning Solvent

Dear Jim, WD-40 is a poor lubricant and a lousy gun cleaning solvent. (“WD,” incidentally, means “water displacing.”) While it may have some utility in removing moisture, that’s about where it’s value ends. Aside from being a poor lubricant, it also tends to oxidize and gum in short order, making it a poor choice. Anyone interested in bore solvents should consider making a gallon of “Ed’s Red.” (C.E. “Ed” Harris was a chemist and technical editor for the NRA’s American Rifleman magazine. He devised a modern equivalent to the old Frankfort Arsenal Nitro-solvent Gun Cleaner No. 18. as detailed on …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I just noticed that WhataCountry.com (not one of our advertisers, but a very reputable firm that I’ve done biz with for 15 + years) currently has reconditioned AN/PVS-2 Starlight night vision scopes on sale for just $476 each. The PVS-2 is an older bulky design, but genuinely “bomb proof.” When you call, tell Yasha that Jim Rawles sent you.    o o o The inventory of unsold houses in Phoenix, Arizona is now at 50,000 and climbing. For comparison, in January of Aught Five, the inventory was only around 5,000. I predict that house prices in the English speaking world …