Category: Review

Two iconic companies– Ruger Firearms www.ruger.com and Columbia River Knife & Tool www.crkt.com– come together to produce some outstanding knives at very affordable prices. We’re checking out the collaboration between these two companies in the form of the RTD (Ruger Take Down) folder. A Huge Fan of Ruger Firearms and CRKT Knives Anyone who has followed my writings for the past 25 or 26 years in the knife and firearms industry will no doubt know that I’m a huge fan of Ruger firearms and CRKT knives. Truth be told, I have probably written more words/articles than any other writer on …

Sometimes, the nostalgia bug bites me, big time, and I can’t resist a gun at my local gun shop. Under review in this article is the Charter Arms www.charterfirearms.com Undercover .38 Spl revolver, the older model. An “Old Time” Revolver They guys at my local gun shop are all quite a bit younger than me. So, whenever they get in an “old time” revolver they are sure to draw it to my attention and put it in my hands. I’ve been a habitual gun trader all my life, for the simple fact that I can’t afford all the firearms I …

We’re taking a close look at an updated classic 1911 with some enhancements, making it ready for the range, competition, or self-defense. It’s the Springfield Armory Range Officer 1911 in .45 ACP. Thanks for Reminding Me I think we have some of the smartest readers out there, and you all have a great memory.  I promised to review the Springfield Armory Range Officer, full-sized Government Model after reviewing a different model Range Officer. Somewhere along the line, this gun review was pushed back. My bad! I have more than 30 products on hand awaiting their turn on our editorial page, …

It’s a strange name for a folding knife, but we decided to check this one out and we’re glad we did! The Kershaw Atmos is worth a close look. As long-time SurvivalBlog.com readers know, I prefer longer blades on my knife, and I really like a folder with a 3.75-inch blade. They just seem to fit my hand better and can do more chores, well, better! However, I’m not a knife snob, and just because a folding knife has a blade less than my desired 3.75 inches doesn’t mean I won’t check it out. Enter the Kershaw Knives Atmos. A …

Kershaw Knives never ceases to amaze me each new year, with the number of new knife designs they come up with, most of which are designed in-house. Today we’re taking a look at Kershaw’s Vedder assisted-opening folder. No One Knife Can Take Care of All Cutting Tasks Many people, and I mean many people, just don’t seem to understand that there is no one knife that can be designed to take care of all the cutting tasks we expect a knife to do. It’s just impossible. Ditto is true with firearms. There is no one firearm or caliber that can …

Not all shotguns are created equal. Some are meant for sport hunting, and some are designed for self defense. Today we’re checking out the Stevens Model 320 Security shotgun. Shotguns A lot of people find most shotguns pretty boring, and I might just be in that crowd these days. There are so many different models and makes of shotguns out there, and many look the same as the next one or the one before it. Most folks who purchase a shotgun do so with the thought of upland bird hunting or water fowl hunting. I have no problem with that …

It used to be that Colt 1911 handguns were pretty much the only 1911 game in town, but many people thought they were out of business the past few years. Today we’re looking at the enhanced Combat Elite Enhanced 1911 .45 ACP handgun. Colt 1911 Handguns For the longest time, if you wanted a 1911 pistol you had to take a look at the Colt 1911 line of handguns. For the most part, they were the 1911 to own. However, today, there are more companies manufacturing 1911s than I can list. Most companies are producing some high-end 1911s while some …

Ruger’s newest 1911 handgun is under review here. Ruger sure did it up right. Check out our findings. The 1911 Handgun The 1911 handgun has been around since, well 1911, in one guise or another. I don’t have the facts to back this up, but I suspect it is the best-selling model of handgun of all time, based on how many different companies have produced a version of it over the years. And, just when you think we have saturated the 1911 market, a new maker comes along or an established maker comes out with more models. There seems to …

Tired of loading magazines by hand? Today, we’re checking out the Mag Pump 9mm magazine loader. I’m Getting On In Years I sincerely hate admitting that I’m getting on in years, but I am. We all knew we’d grow old, but we didn’t know how fast it would happen. And, what comes with growing older is we tend to grow weaker in many respects. Body parts don’t work like they used to. I suffer from severe osteo-arthritis in my hands, especially my right hand, which is my shooting hand, and my trigger finger. Osteo-arthritis is caused by wear and tear, …

As the name implies, the CRKT Minimalist is a very small knife. There isn’t anything fancy about the design, but just wait until you hold one in your hand. We are reviewing one of the CRKT Minimalist this time around. Little Knives Long time SurvivalBlog.com readers will know that I’m just not very “big” on little knives. Yeah, they have their place in the knife line-up. However, I’ve always felt that bigger is better and can do more than any little knife can do. Well, I still stand by that statement, but there sure are exceptions to this rule of …

Under review today is the Kershaw/Emergson CQC-8K Tactical Folder. It’s one of the most popular tactical folding knives, designed by custom knife maker Ernest Emerson himself. Knives Illustrated Many years ago, I wrote for Knives Illustrated magazine, and for quite a few years I was their West Coast Field Editor. In my experience, what you see today in what is called Knives Illustrated isn’t really a staff-written cutlery magazine. Instead, it is designed to appear like a magazine, when it is nothing more than paid advertisements that look like articles but are not. Don’t be fooled. What you read there …

Two popular AR-style rifles are put to the test. We’re looking at a standard AP4 Carbine and Lite 16-A3 from DPMS today, in a side-by-side comparison. A Rare Side-By-Side Test I receive requests all the time from many of our readers to do a side-by-side test of various firearms. I rarely do these types of articles for one very good reason– no matter how fair I try to be, or unbiased, human nature takes over, and I’ll like one firearm better than the other. I could test a 1911 .45ACP from the XYZ company and a version of the same …

Today, we are taking an exclusive look at the all-new CMMG “Banshee” 9mm pistol. Some might even call it a Personal Defense Weapon (PDW). SurvivalBlog was the first to receive this new pistol, and it has been a confidential project. Hush-Hush Five-Week Test We conducted a five-week test on this new AR 9mm pistol. I had originally planned on running about 500 rounds of 9mm ammo through the Banshee, which is a more than a fair test. However, I had so many volunteer testers helping me that we ran more than 1,500 rounds of ammo through this new AR pistol. It …

Under review today is the very unique Septimo folder by Green Beret, Jeremy Valdez. This one is more than a little unique in design and intended purpose! My First Knife I’m not exactly sure when I was given my first knife, but it would have been when I was about five or six years old. It was a two part set containing a Bowie-type fixed blade knife and a small hatchet. I longed for this set. And when my grandmother and grandfather who raised me had enough S&H green stamps (anyone remember those?), my grandfather went to the redemption center …