Category: Review

CRKT Woods Chogan, by Pat Cascio

There are a lot of tools that are very suitable for survival purposes, as well as for just plain fun, and self-defense. In the past, I’ve mentioned that, in a hand-to-hand combat situation, as much as I love a good fighting knife – I designed several myself – I would prefer a well-made and well-balanced tomahawk (“t-hawk”) of some type. First of all, you will have a much longer reach, to get at your attacker, than you would with a knife. Secondly, there is a lot more “umph” behind a tomahawk that is swung at an attacker, And, of course, …


Steyr M9 Series Pistols, by Pat Cascio

We don’t see a lot of firearms coming out of Austria, and needed to say, the Glock line-up of handguns is the most recognized Austrian firearm, all around the entire world. Just about every shoot-‘em-up movie shows heavy use of a Glock pistol of some type – both bad guys and the good guys use them. Gaston Glock came out with the Glock 17 about 1985 – at least that’s when they first started appearing in the US marketplace. I spied a Glock 17, 9mm at a drug store when we lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado and it felt so …


Review: Cambridge University Press KJV Large Print Bible, by The Novice

I have heard it said that preppers should stockpile beans, bullets, band-aids, and Bibles. Beans, bullets and band-aids are easy to understand: in a disaster, we may need something to eat, something to defend ourselves with, and something to provide for our own medical care. But why Bibles? In Mark 8:36, Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” The best stockpile of tools and supplies, even when well utilized in the most effective possible manner, cannot prevent someone from being eternally lost. In 2 Timothy 3:15, …


Kimber Micro 9, by Pat Cascio

Many of us, when we were kids, at Christmastime, or on our birthdays, would always look for the biggest present, and open that one first – because we all knew that, the bigger the present, the better the present. Well, I don’t know about other folks, but I’ve learned, as I grew older that, some of the best gifts came in small packages. My first Christmas, with my lovely wife, Mary, in 1979, found us without jobs – no income – and a tiny foot-tall artificial Christmas Tree. And, we agreed that we would only spend $25 on each other’s …


Review: 80% Arms Easy Jig 3, by Jonathan E. Rawles

I was given an 80% build kit from 80 Percent Arms just a few week before Joe “Non-Absolute” Biden announced new rules that will seek to put companies like 80 Percent Arms out of business. So, I offer this review, and encourage you to take advantage of the rules as they now stand, and support them and other companies that support our God-given rights to manufacture our own tools and weapons. With the Biden/Harris Regime poised to issue rules requiring an FFL to buy or sell “ghost guns” such as bananas and partially-eaten Poptarts, now may be an excellent time …


SAR 9 Pistol, by Pat Cascio

Turkey is producing some outstanding firearms, at great prices. I think they are making some of the best shotguns, and the prices are crazy low for these quality firearms. Make no mistake, I’m no fan of the dictator Erdogan, who is the president of Turkey. He is a “Mad Turk” if you ask me – so save the hate mail, please.  Over the years, I’ve owned several shotguns and handguns produced in Turkey, and have zero problems with them. They are well-made and priced “oh-so-right”. I’ve been attempting to add a few more firearms to my meager gun collection now …


Zero Tolerance 0230, by Pat Cascio

Today, we’re looking at something a bit different from Zero Tolerance knives. Zero Tolerance used to say their knives were built for use by “Professionals” and they were rock-solid designs, meant to take on the harshest battlefields, or the meanest streets of any city in the world, or meant for survival situations. The ZT-0230 is about as far removed from the above as you can possibly get. Many of you are old enough to remember way back in the day when almost all folding knives had a “detent” ball system, and that kept the blade opened under most circumstances, and …


Polymer 80 9mm Pistols, by Pat Cascio

No, it’s not a Glock, and many people refer the P80 pistols to a Glock, and we often refer to this fine handgun as a “Not-a-Glock” However, for most purposes, these effectively are Glocks, with a few changes. Polymer 80  has been around a few years now, and they didn’t start out producing complete pistols. P80 was, and still is, producing 80% frames, that have to be completed by the buyer, and once the buyer does this, they can assemble the P80 into a complete firearm, and this was approved by the BATF, however…things have changed, the rules have changed …


A Sweater and a Knife, by The Novice

This is my gear review of a German Army Wool Commando Sweater Reproduction and Opinel No. 8 Outdoor Sea-Mountain Knife I love wool sweaters. For roughly nine months out of the year, I wear one pretty much every day. An inventory of my closet reveals a total of 21 wool sweaters: nine “cold-weather-office” sweaters, five “manual-labor” sweaters, and seven “cool-weather-office” sweaters. Norwegian Sweaters My love affair with wool sweaters began in Norway, where I lived for ten years. In Norway, wool sweaters are more than just a practical item of clothing. They are an art form. My first “Norwegian” sweater …


Review: Tortoise Gear Firefly, by The Novice

For decades, I carried a Victorinox MiniChamp in my left front pants pocket. There it shared space with a Maglite Solitaire LED and an ink pen. The ink pens came and went. They could not stand up to the wear and tear of pocket carry. The Solitaire and the MiniChamp endured, battered but unbroken. Sometime during the course of those decades, I noticed a Victorinox Swiss Army Classic SD at a garage sale. It cost one dollar if I remember right. I bought it as a backup in case I should happen to lose the MiniChamp. I took it home, …


CRKT M40-03 Knife, by Pat Cascio

I couldn’t tell you, dear readers, just how many knives have passed through my hands in the last 28 years, as a writer. However, I’m sure it has been several thousand knives. And, I can only write about a very few of them. So, I’m very particular about which knives I choose to test and write about – and it is only the best of the best, for the most part. But every now and then, I’ll get a knife that is so poorly made, that I feel the need to let folks know about it – and to steer …


Rossi RS22 Semiauto .22 Rifle, by Pat Cascio

I’ve neglected covering .22 Long Rifle (LR) firearms over the years. My apologies. It wasn’t intentional, believe me. I just get so many centerfire firearms to test, that I’ve been concentrating on them. For many years, I recommended that folks who were starting out as Preppers – or Survivalist – make their first purchase as a pump-action 12 Gauge shotgun – as their main firearm, until such time, as finances permitted, to move on to other firearms, if possible. I was wrong! Today, when new preppers ask me what to get as a first firearm, I recommend a .22 LR …


SIG P239 9 TAC, by Pat Cascio

Anyone who is the least bit familiar with the SIG-Sauer line of handguns, knows that they are outstanding firearms, and in demand. The only downside to this is that all SIG firearms are expensive. They are now made in the USA – thankfully – before that, they were made in Germany, and there was a big price to pay for those guns – with import fees, currency exchange rates, and taxes. Now made in the USA, the price came down quite a bit, but they are still expensive. Keep in-mind that you usually get what you pay for, and SIG firearms …


Kershaw Knives Natrix CF, by Pat Cascio

Kershaw Knives has been in business since around 1974, if memory serves me correctly. The company is here, in my home state of Oregon – my chosen home state. Kershaw isn’t too far from my digs, and I’ve toured their factory several times – but I’m overdue for another visit, as they have grown a lot since my last visit. Kershaw is a division of KAI USA, and they also own Zero Tolerance knives – also made in the same factory, where many of the Kershaw products are made. But note that some Kershaw knives are made overseas, and that …


Springfield XDs 9mm Mod 2 Red Dot, by Pat Cascio

In 2016, I reviewed the then-new Springfield Armory Mod 2 version of their outstanding XDs 9mm pistol – and it was, indeed, an improvement over the original version. Springfield is not a company to sit back and enjoy what they just did, they are always improving on various guns, and in many other cases, they are coming out with completely new versions and model. I like that about a company, if you sit back, you will get left in the dust by competing companies. I’m sure many readers will remember the first Terminator movie, and the “Long slide .45 with …