Category: Hunting

Prioritizing My Prepping, by R.W.L.

First of all, a note of praise to JWR: thanks for all you do.  You’ve got an amazing reference blog site going here and are providing an immeasurable amount of help to your readers.  I stumbled across SurvivalBlog via a link in the comments section of another blog called The Deliberate Agrarian, last October. The link included the warning: “Just see if you can escape from the archives in less than four hours.”  Two weeks later, I emerged from the archives with blood shot eyes and was both enlightened and scared at the same time.  I had a lot of …


Letter Re: Another Instructables Reader

Hi Mr. Rawles, Instructables.com is one of five web sites I visit on a daily basis (second to yours, of course), and I love seeing links to it from your blog.  I don’t know if you’ve seen the following entries, but they’re certainly handy in a pinch: Emergency Duct Tape field stretcher Paracord Rifle Sling Paracord Bandoleer Of course purpose-built stretchers, slings, and bandoleers would serve one best; but once the Schumer hits the fan, the next best thing might just be made from stockpiled duct tape and parachute cord! Best Regards, – Skip H.


Understanding Metric and Inch Bore Dimensions

I often have blog readers and consulting clients send me questions about firearms calibers. They are often confused, but this not always their fault. It is a confusing, complex, and often arcane topic. A lot of the facts that you will find are mere trivia, but since safety is an issue–(we mustn’t fire the incorrect ammo in our guns!)–it is important to study. To begin: Metric caliber designations are usually written with an “x” in the middle to distinguish the bore diameter and case length. For example, the 6.5×55 designation tells us that the cartridge uses a 6.5 mm bullet, …


Pat’s Product Reviews: Rossi Rio Grande .30-30

Those of you old enough, like myself, who grew-up in the 1950s and 1960s, saw a lot of television Westerns. Today’s youth call guys who play sports “heroes” and many, not all, of them, give sports a bad name, for their behavior off the field. Two of the things I liked about television Westerns, and Westerns on the silver screen, were the ol’ fashion Single Action Army revolvers, and the lever-action rifles most gunfighters and good guys carried and used. I still remember my first lever-action rifle – it was a Daisy Red Rider BB gun, and I’m sure I …


Letter Re: The Endless “One Gun” Internet Debates

Jim, I understand and agree with your position regarding the “One Gun” debate. I have no desire to challenge or question yesterday’s article on the topic. I do have a question on your thoughts about the new Ruger Gunsite Scout rifle. What is your opinion regarding the concept behind this type of gun? I know they are marketing this as the “the gun to have if you can only have one” and I am not asking about that aspect of it. I see this gun as being versatile and an asset to anyone who has small arsenal. Do you think …


Letter Re: The Endless “One Gun” Internet Debates

JWR, First, a big thanks for all you do to educate and enlighten us! My day is not complete until I have had my SurvivalBlog fix (one of my good habits!).   I whole-heartedly support your gun is a tool analogy, and that having just one gun is like having just one tool in the box. Where we would differ is in how to build a suitable battery of firearms to fill most needs – much like a plumber’s tool box will look different from a auto mechanic’s. Under the cover of YMMV, those of you who have escaped to …


The Endless “One Gun” Internet Debates

I often read suggestions in survivalist and shooting forums that run something like this: “If you had to choose just one gun to handle all your tasks, then what would it be?” A lively debate then ensues, usually marked by extreme opinions, running the gamut from pipsqueak calibers, to elephant guns. These debates go on, endlessly. The result is a confusing muddle that does little to educate folks that are new to shooting as to what is truly practical. What prompted this post is that recently received a “one gun solution” article entry for SurvivalBlog’s writing contest, which I politely …


Pat’s Product Reviews: Smith & Wesson Model 329PD

I know a lot of SurvivalBlog readers are fans of .44 Magnum revolvers – when I did my article on the S&W 329 Night Guard, I heard from quite a few of you. What we’re looking at today is the S&W 329PD – the PD stands for Personal Defense. The 329 PD is a super light-weight .44 Magnum / .44 Special revolver that weighs in at a mere 25.1 ounces. That’s not much weight in a gun that will shoot the powerful .44 Magnum round. S&W makes the 329PD with Scandium Alloy for the frame, and Titanium alloy for the …


Two Letter Re: The SKS for Tight Budget Shooters

Mr. Rawles,   Once again thank you for your work on SurvivalBlog, may God richly bless you. I read Pat’s review of the AK-47 and at the end the SKS was mentioned. I thought I would just add my 2 cents worth on the SKS.  I have had several people come to me who are on a very tight budget and cannot afford an AR, FN SCAR, or any of the other pricey weapons available.  If you are on a tight budget, I highly recommend the SKS.   I have several SKSes and AK-47s, along with the FN-FAL, CETME, and …


Letter Re: Better Performance for 7.62x39mm Ammunition

James Wesley: After personal experience testing and reviewing the tests results as reported by many parties, both layman and professionals that included photos of terminal performance on game animals and ballistic gelatin, if one uses the 8M3 bullet as found on the original 7.62×39 Sapsan, now offered on the Wolf Military Classic HP, one would have ammunition that reliably fragments after 3 inches in gelatin and penetrates 18″ much like soft point ammunition with in 100 yards, and becomes more like soft point ammunition and mushrooms after 100 yards.  The Sapsan and 8M3 bullet is discussed and recommended by an …


Letter Re: Ruger’s Model 77 Hawkeye in .300 Winchester Magnum

Jim:: Congrats to Pat for writing a nice review. There are a few items I would have included that may make a difference to a shooter with this caliber, especially for new shooters: 1. when shooting in the prone, expect to leave a dust cloud marking your position. You can lay a wet burlap sack on the ground beneath the muzzle to assist in disguising your position. This is a powerful caliber, remember, there are no free lunches with anything firearms related. 2. Even if you reload, you will be paying more for this cartridge [, since the brass and primers are more …


Pat’s Product Reviews: Ruger’s Model 77 Hawkeye in .300 Winchester Magnum

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Without a doubt, the .300 Winchester Magnum (“Win Mag”) round, is my all-time favorite round in a high-powered hunting rifle. What I like about the .300 Win Mag round is, you can load it down (if you load your own ammo) to the velocities of a .308 or 30-06, and it’s just fine the way it is, in the factory loadings as well.   In a life-changing situation, where there may be a break-down of law and order, you may find that you need some type of high-powered rifle, that can really reach out there and touch someone. Or, for …


Pat’s Product Reviews: Benchmade Marc Lee “Glory” Knife

Pat’s Product Reviews: Benchmade Marc Lee “Glory” Knife Make no mistake, I like big knives. I don’t care if they are folders or fixed blade knives, I like mine big. I’ve found over the years, that a big knife can do more than a little knife can, in most situations. Don’t get me wrong, small knives have their place, too. However, I’ve just found that a big knife can do just about all I ask of it on a daily basis.   The new Benchmade Knives, Marc Lee “Glory” Knife, was made to commemorate US Navy SEAL, Marc Lee, who …


Product Review: Gamo Airguns CFX Combo

Airguns are a useful thing to have around for pest control and small game, can be backup weapons when necessary, and are legal in many places where regular firearms are not.  They are relatively quiet, inexpensive, and the ammunition (pellets) can be bought by the thousand for little money. The Gamo CFX Combo air rifle is a handy package, that includes a .177 caliber air rifle with muzzle brake/muffler and 4×32 telescopic sight.  It shoots 1,000 fps with lead pellets, and is actually supersonic (1,200 FPS) with PBA (Performance Ballistic Alloy) pellets.  These are harder metal and harder hitting up …


Letter Re: Ammunition Storage and Do-It-Yourself Desiccants

Hi Jim.   Dry wall is made of Gypsum, which is composed of Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found naturally and also made Synthetically by Flue Gas Desulfurization at some coal-fired electric power plants. Synthetic Gypsum can be used interchangeably with Natural Gypsum in some applications. There was a problem with drywall from China which contains too much Sulfur probably from the flue gas desulfurization process. When Water is absorbed by the bad drywall, Hydrogen Sulfide is formed which induces corrosion in some metals. I would not trust using drywall as a desiccant for ammo storage. Just think …