Taurus TX22, by Pat Cascio

21

One firearm question that I’ve gotten over the years, more so than any other is: “What kind of a ‘gun’ should I get for survival?” Needless to say, this opens up quite a can of worms, and there is no one gun that can do it all, and there is no pat answer that I can give folks. In another life, I used to tell preppers or survivalists that the first gun they should get on a limited budget was a pump-action 12 Gauge shotgun. I’ve since changed my thinking on that, for a number of reasons. First off, the …


SIG-Sauer P365 9mm, by Pat Cascio

10

It is not often that a gun company will first build a magazine for a handgun, and then design the handgun around that magazine. However, that is exactly what SIG-Sauer did with their new 10+1 shot P365 9mm pistol. Many gun makers will build new handgun designs, and then slightly alter the magazine design it takes, from a very similar handgun. This is done on purpose, I believe, so gun owners have to go out and purchase more spare magazines for the newly-designed handgun, instead of being able to use magazines from a very similar handgun that the company makes, …


Ruger AR-556 Pistol, by Pat Cascio

6

One of the hottest trends going these days, are AR-15 pistols, since the BATF in their finite wisdom re-decided that an arm braced pistol can be shouldered from time to time. (Prior to this, if you shouldered an AR-type of pistol, with an arm brace on it, you were deemed to be “redesigning” it and breaking Federal law.) But if you actually strapped on an arm brace, it was nearly impossible to get the AR pistols up near your face, for a proper sight picture. So, many folks were tucking the arm brace under their arm and firing it that …


Kel-Tec CMR 30, by Pat Cascio

21

The debate seems to have no end, when it comes to rifles (and handguns) for the End Times, or a SHTF event. Everyone has an opinion on this subject, and we are all entitled to our opinions – and I don’t think there is a right or wrong opinion – it’s just that – an opinion. Not everyone wants an AR-15 type of rifle or carbine, nor does everyone want an AK-47 type of rifle. These are probably two of the most popular firearms when talk turns to defending oneself and their family, in a very bad situation, where there …


Cold Steel AD-10 Folder, by Pat Cascio

8

If you’re the least bit familiar with many of Cold Steel’s knives then you are aware of the Tri-Ad locking mechanism – that is one of the strongest, if not “the” strongest folding knife lock to be had. Many folks aren’t familiar with the name behind the Tri-Ad Lock. It was designed by custom knife maker Andrew Demko – who is very well-known in the cutlery field. Today, we’re looking at one of his newest folder designs, the AD-10, and it is one massive folder. I’m not ashamed to admit, I like big folding knives – not huge ones per …


Buck 110 Automatic Folder, by Pat Cascio

16

Iconic, is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: “…relating to, or having the characteristics of an icon…widely recognized and well-established an iconic brand name…widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence…” This pretty much describes the Buck Knives Model 110 folding hunting knife. Today, we’re taking a look at Buck’s newest addition, and this is a 110 that opens automatically, instead of manually. I wish I had a Dollar for every time I heard someone say “hey, that’s a Buck…” whenever they saw someone using a folding knife, with brass bolsters and a wooden handle scale. While it might have …


Rock Island Armory M200 Revolver, by Pat Cascio

17

The good ol’ fashioned revolver is not dead, not by a long shot. However, the majority of requests I still get from readers are for articles on semi-auto pistols. My local gun shop has just one display case that is devoted to revolvers – everything else is semi-auto handguns. I recently ran into one great deal on a little known revolver, from Rock Island Armory, and its called the M200. We’ll take a close look at it, in this review. I honestly never thought I’d reach the age where folks would start calling me an “old timer” – at least …


Cold Steel Crawford 1, by Pat Cascio

3

I’ve followed the career of custom knife maker Pat Crawford for many years. And about 20 years ago – maybe longer, his son, Wes joined his dad making custom knives – and their custom knives are always in great demand. Today, we’ll look at the Crawford 1, designed by Wes Crawford, and produced by Cold Steel, in a very affordable version of one of Crawford’s custom folders. Its nice to see a son following in his father’s footsteps, you don’t see this very often these days, for some reason. Another thing that is getting to be a rarity are custom …


CRKT Provoke Knife, by Pat Cascio

4

Just when I think I’ve seen it all in folding knives, someone throws me a curve ball. This time around, it is CRKT with their “Provoke” model by custom knife maker Joe Caswell. And, to be sure, this isn’t quite what most folks picture as a folding knife, when it comes down to it. As a knife designer myself, I’ve designed quite a few fixed blade knives over the years, and most were made for me, by custom knife makers. I now have one folding knife design, and I’m trying to tweak the design specs, and that is no easy …


Taurus PT1911, by Pat Cascio

11

I’m a huge fan of the 1911 style of handguns. I have been, just about all my life as a shooter. I’m a sucker for a well-made 1911, new or used, at a good price, too. Today, we’re checking out the disappointing Taurus PT1911, full-sized 1911 in .45 ACP.  Pictured is my test gun, with some upgraded grips. The following hyperbole is a snippet directly from the Taurus web site: “Destined to become the standard that all 1911 pistols are compared to, the Taurus 1911 offers you the most accurate and feature-laden model on the market today. Starting with our …


Zero Tolerance 0393 Folder, by Pat Cascio

17

“Zero Tolerance” is a bold name for any company. This is a knife company is actually a division of famed Kershaw Knives. Today we’re looking at their ZT0393 model folder. I don’t care who you are, or what you make, when you name your company “Zero Tolerance” the consumers expect nothing less than perfection in your products – all your products. That’s a tough claim to live up to. However, when we’re talking about knives, it is a very bold step to imply that your products are made to perfection, and without flaw. Many years ago, I used to collect …


Siege Stoves, by Pat Cascio

12

Have you ever been out camping, hunting, or hiking, and you had a desire for a nice fresh-brewed cup of coffee, but you didn’t want to make a campfire to brew it? How about a nice warm meal, and I don’t mean taking an MRE and putting it in the heater pouch to heat it up. Yeah, me too. And, most of the time, there isn’t a need for a campfire if you want to cook something or make some fresh coffee. Consider getting a Siege Stove. Those are what I’m reviewing today. I was never a Boy Scout, but …


S&W M&P 9mm Compact, by Pat Cascio

9

Back in the day, I used to be a huge fan of S&W firearms. It was usually my preferred choice in a handgun. However, over the years, some of S&W politics turned me off, as well as a few times I encountered poor customer service. S&W is less political these days, and their  customer service is said to be better. Today, we’re checking out the M&P 9mm Compact semi-auto, and it’s a real dandy for concealed carry. I’m not really bashing S&W these days. Far from it – the old guard at S&W made some bad business decisions some years …


CRKT/Ruger AR Cleaning Tool, by Pat Cascio

8

I do a lot of AR-15 shooting these days, either testing guns for articles, or just for my own shooting pleasure. One thing that I don’t especially enjoy, and never have, is AR cleaning. Because they use a gas tube rather than a gas piston, they require frequent cleaning. And they aren’t one of the easiest rifles to clean. Today, we’re looking at the AR cleaning tool, from CRKT and Ruger. Several years ago, Ruger commissioned CRKT to produce some cutlery for them – under the Ruger name, and it has been a great relationship. The first time I handled …


Glock 17 RTF 9mm Handgun, by Pat Cascio

22

Many readers have asked me to review the Glock 17, even though I’ve already reviewed the Glock 19 – which is my favorite Glock model. Other than their size, there isn’t a lot of difference between the two models per se. However, since I received a lot of requests for my input on the Glock 17, we’re taking a close look at it today. It was 1987, and my family and I lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado – actually we lived slightly outside of The Springs, right next to the Peterson Air Force Base. Even though I was in partnership with my …