Category: Hunting

A Primer on Guns for Survival, by The Last New Jersey Conservative

Before his untimely demise, survivalist author Mel Tappan wrote his book Survival Guns some four decades ago, yet it still remains the authoritative source on the topic.  Mel also wrote columns for various magazines, expanding upon his previous writings and clarifying some concepts.  It is those columns and articles which formed the basis of not only this essay, but also leaving what is now an indelible impression upon my thought process for the same subject.  Mel Tappan had a rifle as his first acquisition and a shotgun as his third acquisition; I flip flopped it for this piece due to …


Ammunition Reloading: An Essential Basic Skill, by J.D.F.

When compiling a list of our survival necessities, we end up with a few basic categories: food, fuel, shelter, water, and protection. Stranded in the wilds, or a deserted island, water is the most important. Shelter comes in a close second, followed by fuel for water purification, food preparation, and sanitation, and ending with food for sustenance. If you add a sharpened stick, perhaps topped with a sharp rock, bone, or metal point, you can protect yourself from wild animals, kill or spear game and fish, and most importantly, fend off adversaries intent on taking your necessities for themselves, or …


Letter Re: Buying Ammo? There’s an App for That

Mr. Rawles I would like to share with you an automated (“Bot”) web site, that is currently in beta test, which hounds the Internet for current, in stock ammo.  It lists various calibers (5.56, 762×39, 7.62, 9mm,), brand, etc.  I discovered this when reading the Western Rifle Shooters Association blog. Best Regards, – G.H.


Letter Re: Report on the Dulles Gun Show

This afternoon I went to the 3 day gun show (Friday 3-8 and all day Sat, Sun) which began on Friday at 3PM.  Being retired it was easy for me to go but clearly a very large number of people left work early to get ahead of the Saturday morning crowds. So we all got the Friday afternoon crowd instead! Parking in a disabled slot, a gentleman in security noted that I was a 100 percent disabled Veteran and allowed me to walk straight in rather than wait in either of the two lines which went at least 500 meters …


Letter Re: .22 Magnum in Times of General Ammunition Shortages

Dear JWR: I currently live in the People’s Republic of Illinois and have seen the mad dash for ammo and firearms make it very difficult to acquire even the standard .22 Long Rifle rimfire ammo that until a few months ago could be purchased by the case at nearly any Wal-Mart, gun shop, or sporting goods store. Recently when browsing the aisles of both Bass Pro Shop and Wal-Mart I noticed something rather peculiar: that .22 Magnum ammunition was aplenty. This struck me as really odd that .22 Magnum was even being sold in bulk packs (CCI brand) at Bass …


Lessons Learned on My Prepping Journey, by Tim K.

As Seen on TV – My Humble Beginnings I admit I’ve watched just about every episode out there from all of the popular survival shows – Survivorman, Beyond Survival, Man vs. Wild, Dual Survival, Man Woman Wild, and yes, even Worst Case Scenario with Bear Gryllis . I ate it all up. Those shows got me hooked on wilderness survival. My Christmas and birthday lists went from a focus on video games and computer upgrades to things like paracord, solar blankets, magnesium fire starters, etc. I also got a few great books that gave me vast amounts of knowledge. Everything …


Pat’s Product Review: Ruger SR22 Pistol

If you’re serious about survival, you have to have some type of .22 Long Rifle (LR) firearm in your battery. Some will argue against the effectiveness of a .22 LR but I’m not one of them. You can take all manner of small game and fowl, with a well-placed shot from a .22 LR handgun or rifle. And, in a pinch, it will serve as a self-defense weapon as well. No, I’m not advocating the .22 LR as your one and only self-defense firearm, but it will sure do in a pinch, and make the bad guys wish they were …


Four-Tier Survival for the Newbie, by C.H.

A little about me: I am 27 years old, I have been married to my wife for 7 years. We have two boys, ages six and 22 months. Both my wife and I are school teachers; I also coach football and power lifting. So, we are the epitome of the American middle class. I have always enjoyed hunting, camping and the outdoors. So I have developed some basic “outdoorsman” skills throughout my youth and early adult hood. As a young child and early teen, I was very interested in survival, homesteading, and living off the land. I remember reading Foxfire …


Letter Re: A Lifetime Gun and Magazine Purchases in Just a Few Months?

Brother Rawles, Thank you to you and Ulysses in Montana for the detailed article on .308 battle rifles.  The current political environment kicked me into high gear, buying one.  Ulysses information helped me out tremendously.  It will help me save time and money on getting familiar with a new caliber and rifle.  In the beginning hours of the Gun Grab I picked up an Armalite AR-10 lower receiver and mags. I’ve got a number of 5.56 AR’s but have been putting off getting my “dream” rifle for a couple of years.  Depending on what happens in Washington DC, I might trade it toward a FAL …


Marksmanship and .308 Battle Rifles, by Ulysses in Montana

Like a lot of guys I did some shooting and hunting while growing up, only to set it aside in early adulthood as the frantic task of making it in life overcame interest in such ‘boyish’ pursuits.  When I returned to shooting later on it was with an emphasis on self-defense, particularly pistol shooting, which provided a fresh and stimulating way to ease back into it, as I had previously never fired a pistol.  I quickly settled on the Glock models in .45 ACP, keeping it simple and relatively inexpensive, and have kept at it steadily ever since, wanting above …


Accurizing a Precision Rifle on a Budget, by Mike L.

“Only accurate rifles are interesting.” – Col. Townsend Whelen We all know when we are shooting a super accurate rifle; when everything just “clicks” and the shooter, cartridge, and rifle come together to make great groups. But what are the variables involved in making a rifle accurate? And more importantly, how can we control some of those variables ourselves? One of the keys to accuracy, perhaps the most important one, is consistency. We know that, as shooters, we need to be very consistent to become good marksmen. We mount the gun the same way every time, control our breathing and …


Why Civilian Disarmament in the U.S. is Just a Statist Fantasy

I often have SurvivalBlog readers forward me alarmist e-mails, warning of “total disarmament” of the civilian populace. While there indeed may be plans or schemes to disarm Americans, I don’t consider these threats credible. Let me explain why: I would conservatively estimate that there are about 316 million firearms in private hands in the United States. Of these, less than 10% are logged in any formal registry. Perhaps another 30% have Form 4473s filed with the FFL dealers where they were first purchased, but that is a fractured mishmash of records with a quite perishable life span. It is notable …


Letter Re: Firearms Feeding Frenzy

Dater JWR: I am a retired police officer, SWAT team member, firearms instructor, armorer, First Aid CPR/AED instructor, and consider myself and my wife into prepping at a moderate level. While we do not have everything that I would like to have in my arms and accessories I know I am so far ahead of many of my friends that my confidence is high on that point. I must tell you I was shocked when we visited a Southwestern Ohio gun store  about a week ago. My friend, an employee and also retired law enforcement officer, looked at us like …


Letter Re: 3D Printing Rifle Magazines

Hello, James. I was wondering about something. If it is possible to build an entire lower assembly for an AR-15 (though a bit more fragile than what most people are aware of) using a 3D printer, wouldn’t it also be possible to program that same printer to make composite construction 30 magazines (or larger) for AR series rifles. All that you would need to do then is buy the springs. Everything else can be produced using the printer. Sincerely, – Gerald H.   JWR Replies: Unfortunately, with current technology I don’t think that the plastics used have the requisite tensile …


Pat’s Product Review: New Buffalo Bore Ammunition Loads

I’ve been shooting Buffalo Bore brand ammunition for about two years. The owner, Tim Sundles, never ceases to amaze me with all the new loads he comes out with – not just for self-defense, but great loads for hunting as well. What I also like about Buffalo Bore is that Sundles doesn’t use special pressure barrels to test his velocities, he uses his own guns, from his own collection, so you are getting real-world velocities. Additionally, Sundles lists the various firearms he tested his ammo in – I’m not aware of any other ammo maker that does this. First up …