The Prepper’s Storage Dilemma, by Pat Cascio

Storage of your voluminous preps can be a real problem. We don’t live in a large house, it is only about 1,600 Square Feet. It has two bedrooms, one is extremely small, and is used as my office. The home we used to live in, on the dry side of Oregon, was quite a bit bigger, it was originally an earth-sheltered house, with most of it underground. And, at some point, in the 1970s, there was another level added and it became a more traditional house. However, the below-ground portion of the house was totally useable. Half of the “basement” …


Springfield Armory XDm Elite & Black Hills 10mm HoneyBadger, by Pat Cascio

A little over three years back, I reviewed the then-new XDm in 10mm, and found it to be an excellent handgun. However, this review isn’t a rehash of that pistol. This review is an updated version of the XDm Elite, as well as the brand-new Black Hills Ammunition 10mm round that isn’t even yet on the market. My original 10mm handgun was a full-sized Colt Delta Elite, in stainless steel, and I liked it a lot. However, in short order, the gun shot loose. We had also just moved back to Oregon in 1988, and I was in a recent …


CZ-75D Compact, by Pat Cascio

Back in 1976, a new handgun was introduced to the marketplace – all over the world, with the exception of the United States. It wasn’t allowed to be imported directly for some reason – I’m sure it was all about politics. The CZ-75 was really something to brag about, and I really wanted one, for many years. Some folks found that they could secondarily import the CZ-75 from Canada. Unfortunately, they were paying upwards of $1,000 for those guns, and back then that was a huge sum of money. The original 9mm CZ-75 was a full-sized combat/duty gun. The original …


CRKT Butte Folder, by Pat Cascio

Some of my favorite knives are the ones that are simple in design, but still made out of good materials. The new “Butte” folder, from CRKT Knives, Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) is fast becoming one of my favorites that have come into my hands for testing. I’ve always been of the opinion that “simpler” is better, when it comes to a lot of things, simply because there are fewer parts to break or lose. The Butte is made in Taiwan (Free China), so keep that in mind – and you get as good as you want in a …


Smith & Wesson M&P-15 .22 LR Sporter, by Pat Cascio

I’m hooked on AR-15 style of rifles, and I own more than a few, not counting what my lovely wife owns, or my two daughters. Some years ago, I purchased the then-new Colt AR-15 chambered in .22 LR. Sadly, that particular rifle wouldn’t reliably function with any type of .22 LR, and I made adjustments and tinkered with it, but finally got rid of it. So, quite a few years passed before I even thought about another AR-15 rifle chambered in .22 Long Rifle (LR). Not long ago, I was shopping for another AR. However, none were to be found …


CRKT Ramadi Knife, by Pat Cascio

As a knife designer myself, I know what goes into designing the “perfect” knife, be it a folder or a fixed blade. When you take a close look at many of the CRKT knives, you probably say “Gee, nothing special about this one…” Well, nothing could be further from the truth. A knife has to have a certain style, and it must perform as designed, and that is easier said than done. I designed a specialized fixed blade fighting knife – a double-edge fighter…and my friend, Brian Wagner made the prototypes. Again, easier said than done. However, I had a …


Springfield Armory Hellion, by Pat Cascio

I hate to admit it, but I came to the bullpup dance a little bit late. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the AR-style of rifles, as well as the M14 (M1A) rifles. Some folks like to say I’m older than dirt – well, not quite. When I joined the Illinois National Guard in June of 1969, I was originally issued a 19-pound BAR. That didn’t cut it – I weighed only 135 pounds at the time. I quickly traded that BAR in for an M1 Garand…and as they say, the rest is history. Basic Training was my introduction to the …


Ruger Security 9 Endurance Test, by Pat Cascio

Back in February 2018, I tested the then fairly-new polymer-frame Ruger Security 9  handgun. It was a stellar pistol, and very affordable, as well. I liked that gun so much that I added a second one to my modest collection. The first one resides in our bedroom, it is my “nightstand” gun – even though it isn’t stored in a nightstand. My second Security 9 has a trigger guard mounted laser on it, and that is the only difference between the two guns. Look, we all know that, anything can be broken, under the right circumstance, and I stopped doing …


Extra Capacity Pistol Magazines, by Pat Cascio

As we all know, not only the FedGov, but many state governments are attempting to limit magazine capacities to no more than 10 rounds. And even my state of Oregon will probably get it done this year, since we have a Democrat-controlled house, senate, and governor’s seat. That has already happened in neighboring Washington. So, I keep telling everyone who will listen, to get more magazines – NOW! Some folks say: “Oh, I have five spare magazines for my gun…” Sorry, that’s not going to be enough! At the Federal level, H.R. 1808 — which includes a ban on any …


Prevail EMT Kit Pouch, by Pat Cascio

Back in another life, I worked as a Paramedic. This involved a number of different positions. As part of my training, I worked in a big city Emergency Room. I also worked for a doctor for a year, as his assistant. This was long before there was anything like a Physician’s Assistant (PA). I got a great education while working for the doctor – I assisted him in just about everything he did – including minor outpatient surgery, delivering babies, and everything you can possibly think of that took place in a medical practice. I also owned my own clinic …


SIG M17 9mm Pistol, by Pat Cascio

Several years back, I reviewed several of the SIG-Sauer P320 handguns, and loved them all. To be sure, SIG -Sauer produces some of the finest handguns around. My one and only complaint is the price of magazines – seems to me that at times, SIG might be in the business of selling magazines as their main product, instead of firearms – they are expensive! Today we’re looking at the official full-size handgun of the US military forces. It is designated the M17. That replaced the Beretta M9, in service. SIG also produces the more compact M18. However, today we’re looking …


Springfield Armory SA-35 Pistol, by Pat Cascio

Springfield Armory says we shouldn’t call their new SA-35 a “Classic” but I disagree with them. If ever a handgun was a classic, it is their SA-35. This is an updated version of the famous Browning Hi-Power 9mm handgun. As many may be aware, Browning discontinued their Hi-Power pistols – all versions – a few years ago. I don’t know the thinking behind their decision, but it was a mistake. John Browning, passed before he completed the design on the Hi-Power, and his French assistant actually completed the design. It was the first double-stack 9mm handgun in the world, and …


Springfield Armory 1911 EMP Ronin 9mm 4-Inch, by Pat Cascio

Some years back, I did a review of the (then new) Springfield Armory Enhanced Micro Pistol (EMP) 9mm handgun. It was quite a little powerhouse to be sure. However, the gun under review in this article is a different model: I elected to test the slightly bigger model – but it is still a small 1911, and perfectly-sized for the 9mm round. For a lot of years, many 1911 makers produced some of their 1911 handguns in 9mm as well as .45 ACP – and a number of other calibers as well. I always wondered by the guns in 9mm …


CRKT Assisted Opening M16 Folders, by Pat Cascio

I have followed CRKT (Columbia River Knife & Tool) since they first came on the cutlery scene many years ago. CRKT was actually formed by a couple of former executives from another knife company. It is now solely owned by Rod Bremer. We’ve been great friends ever since I first met him. Rod is now mostly retired. However he has an outstanding management team who runs CRKT and I’ve met most of them – all great folks to work with. As a disclaimer of sorts, CRKT produced my OC-3 double edge fixed blade fighting knife that I did as a …


Consider Your Socks, by Pat Cascio

Everyone has a sock drawer! Most of us don’t give any thought to socks – for the most part. We just reach in and grab whatever is in our hand, and put those socks on for the day. As I’ve stated in the past, when it comes to footwear, I’m very particular about the kinds of shoes and boots I wear. I mainly wear boots. Matter of fact, the only pair of shoes I own came from the Salvation Army. Bought those used shoes to go to out oldest daughter’s college graduation – I wore a suit. I still have …