Category: Review

Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Tactical Walls

If you’re like me, you hate it when someone starts out with “this is a true story” and you know it’s not. Well, I’m going to relate a true story. People who know me, know that I just don’t lie. If you tell your lie, you have to remember that lie and cover it up with another lie. I don’t have time to make up stories or tell lies, and those who know me know that. If they don’t want to hear the truth from me, then don’t ask me. Life is too short to live it based on lies. …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: CRKT Ken Onion “Outrage”

I’ve personally been designing knives for about 30 years. I commissioned various custom knife makers to produce my designs, most of which were for my own personal use. However, several of my designs are being produced by Mil-Tac Knives & Tools and Columbia River Knife & Tool for retail sale. I’m honored that these companies thought enough of my designs to produce and sell them to the public at large. I make no claims to being any sort of world famous knife designer. I just know what I like and what works. I wish I had the talent to actually …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Black Hills Ammunition .380 ACP Xtreme Defense

I have been running Black Hills Ammunition through my firearms since 1992, when I first started writing gun articles. I have yet to have a single round fail me in any way. I think it is safe to say that I’ve easily fired hundreds of thousands of rounds of Black Hills ammo through various firearms for articles. And, to be sure, Black Hills is always on the cutting edge of new products. However, with that said, they do not just jump on the band wagon because everyone else is doing so. Jeff & Kristi Hoffman are the owners of Black …


Hawkins Pressure Cooker, by Pat and Mary Cascio

We’ve owned several travel trailers over the years but hardly ever went out camping. We live in the boonies, and I sincerely love where I live. There is no need for me to go any place else to enjoy myself. Basically, we used travel trailers as mobile bug out retreats, if the time ever came, or as a spare “bedroom” for guests. Approximately a year ago, we acquired a newer 21-foot travel trailer that has everything I wanted, except a/c, which would have been nice. (I still might have it installed and spend hot summer nights sleeping in it in …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Rockin’ 9mm for Survival

Without a doubt, the most often asked questions I get in my handguns classes is “What is your favorite handgun?” followed by “If you could only have one gun for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Of course, it is next to impossible to answer either of those questions, especially if you are a long-time gun owner. As to my favorite handgun, that’s an easy one to answer, and it confuses people. Put simply, my favorite handgun is the one I’m carrying at the moment! I’m not trying to dance around answering the question. If you stop …


Letter Re: Pat Cascio’s Product Review – AR-7

Hugh, Every so often Pat hits a “homer”. The AR-7 review was another very well thought out and informative article by a person who I have much respect for. A couple of points on the current AR7: one the big orange front sight is not a negative, as it is currently manufactured for those of us getting a little older and needing a little help, and that orange blade is just that. Another aspect is to buy at least 10 extra mags for each gun. First, as Pat stated, you can keep one in the receiver and that allows two …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Henry Rifles U.S. Survival AR-7 Rifle

When asked by my wife or daughters what I want for my birthday or Christmas, I have a pretty set answer– “something that goes bang or cuts.” So, I’m fairly easy to shop for these days. Last Christmas my beautiful wife bought me a Henry U.S. Survival AR-7 Survival Rifle, and it is a most welcomed addition to my meager firearms battery. While just about any firearm can be used for “survival” purposes, the AR-7 was designed specifically to be a compact rifle that was designed to aid in actual survival situations. Some history on the AR-7 is in order, …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: S&W Model 459

Some SurvivalBlog readers often question me as to why I don’t do more articles on old, used, or classic guns. Well, if you cruise through my many articles, you will see that I do cover these types of guns quite regularly. For example, if you look at my many articles on the Model 1911, you’ll read about this classic, which has been around for more than a hundred years. Even though there are many improvements made to the 1911 by various makers, it is still basically the same gun it was when it first came out. I think many of …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Savage Arms AXIS II XP

I’m one of these people who doesn’t brag very often about my accomplishments in life. The walls in my office are lined with various certificates I’ve earned over the years, from all types of training, too, and I only have about half of my certificates displayed. One of my few military training certificates I’ve managed to hang onto over the years is from the United States Army Marksmanship Training Unit. It’s from April, 1970 and certified me as completing the Rifle Instructor and Coaches clinic. I’m extremely proud of this earned diploma. Oh, it’s not that I didn’t know how …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Springfield Armory MC Operator 1911

I first saw one of the very first Springfield Armory MC Operator 1911s at a gun shop in Idaho some years ago. The MC Stands for Marine Corps, and this particular 1911 was designed with the specs laid out based on what the US Marine Corps wanted in a 1911 for their special ops guys. It wasn’t until just recently that the Corps was even allowed to refer to their special ops guys by the term Special Operators! Like many in the military SpecOps community, they prefer the proven stopping power of the .45 ACP FMJ round in the 1911 …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: UV Paqlite Mule Light

As a rule, I very seldom test prototype products, for a couple of good reasons. One is that the finished product is quite often quite a bit different than the prototype. Secondly, at times, the product never even comes on the market. Over the years, I’ve seen more than one firearm prototype covered in a magazine article, and the gun never came out. I covered one such handgun from Taurus some years ago, when I was the editor/publisher of a rag called Police Hot Sheet. My readers weren’t very happy to read my article on the gun that never came …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Survival, Escape & Evasion

Back in November of 1969, during my infantry school at Ft. Lewis, WA, we were afforded a one-day Survival, Escape & Evasion training course. The entire day was spent learning how to forage food and cook it, along with learning to read the sun during the day and the stars at night, for navigation purposes. We were also taught how to escape and evade capture by enemy troops, who were played by soldiers from other military units. During our training, we were shown a map of where we were. It also showed some of the terrain we had to cover …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Pat Law Tactical AR Folding Stock Adapter

I still remember, arriving at Ft. Lewis, WA in the Fall of 1969 and being issued the M-16 for my Infantry School training. It was a real joy to carry that rifle, especially after having carried the M-14, which weighed at 10 ½-lbs, in my Basic Training. The M-16 was only about 5½ lbs, so it was about half the weight of the M-14. There were some flaws in the early M-16, one of which was that the first ones to go to Viet Nam didn’t have chromed barrels, and the barrels themselves were considered “pencil” barrels, because they were …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: North American Arms .32 Auto– A Closer Look

Over the years, I’ve gotten quite a few requests for a followup article on a gun I tested either on SurvivalBlog.com or when I was writing for the printed gun magazines. I usually decline to do these articles for several reasons. First of all, it’s next to impossible to get one of the firearms printed magazines to accept a followup article. Secondly, I can’t duplicate the torture tests that most gun makers put their guns through. However, I have received quite a few requests for a followup article and report on several firearms I’ve tested for SurvivalBlog.com, and I thought …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Benchmade Steep

I think I’ve been getting knife samples from Benchmade for articles about 23 years now, and I’ve toured their factory several times, though I haven’t been up there for a while. So, I’m over due for a visit to see how much they have expanded since my last visit. Les d’Asis, the owner at Benchmade, always seems to find the time to sit down and visit with me, and it has never, ever been a visit that was cut short. Les is “good people”; with no dress shirt and tie, and I’ve mentioned this before about him, he’s a real …