Category: Self-Defense

Letter Re: Unloading Mossberg 500/590 Shotguns

Captain Rawles, People may already know this one, but if not, then here is a trick for anyone with a Mossberg 500/590 shotgun who wants to know how to remove shells from the tube magazine without cycling the action” Inside the loading port located on the left is a small piece of metal [called a shell stop] which holds the shells in the magazine (it’s easy to see with a shell in the magazine).  Pushing this in allows shells to be removed from the magazine one-by-one swiftly and silently.  Push the piece in until a shell pops out of the magazine, release the metal piece, …


Dealing With Mentally Unbalanced Trespassers, by Hearthkeeper

The biggest weakness in preparedness planning is not a forgotten survival item, or too few cartridges.  The invisible weakness is lack of real time experience   It’s one thing to say your going to raise your own food, and maybe you have all the seeds and tools to do it stored away.  But if you have never actually planted a huge garden and tried to live off it your first year is going to be full of failures (see: learning opportunities) that could be potentially deadly in real survival time.  The same goes for every aspect of survival and emergency situation response.  Personally I have always …


Pat’s Product Review: SIG-Sauer M400 Enhanced

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Without a doubt, the hottest selling long-gun these days is some sort of AR-15/M4 type of gun. Thanks to the efforts of anti-gunners like Dianne Feinstein and Barack Obama, with their proposed bans on certain classes or types of firearms, there has been a run on these types of guns that has never been seen before. With looming threats of banning certain types of firearms, as well as magazines over 10 rounds, the American People are waking up, and are spending their hard-earned money on what they presume will be banned or regulated. Without a doubt, this has led to …


Letter Re: Colorado’s Magazine Ban

Hi, I saw that the Colorado law banning magazines of greater than 15 round capacity passed – outrageous but not unbelievable for this state. Colorado  used to be a great and conservative one, but no longer. [Regarding the law’s limited grandfather clause,] I have written out documents for all of my magazines, which I have had notarized, transferring ownership of the magazines I own to my children. This way, when I die, it can easily be ascertained that the magazines were actually their property before the law went into effect. I am not a lawyer, but this sort of thing …


Good News and Bad News for Colorado Citizens

SurvivalBlog reader Diana V. wrote to mention some good news: Colorado ban on campus concealed weapons defeated. But the same day, reader Bill C. sent some bad news: The Colorado legislature passed H.B. 1224—a ban on any magazine over 15 round capacity. It is now headed to the Governor’s desk. It appears that he will sign it. The only glimmer of hope is that the law has a grandfather clause. Updates: Reader K.A.W. wrote to mention: “The grandfather clause in HB13-1224 only applies to current owners.  There are NO transfers to anyone else, including descendants, upon death.  The only way …


Update on The New Israeli E-Lander (Tavor) Steel AR Magazines

Back on January 13, 2013 I mentioned the availability of steel AR-15/M16-compatible Tavor magazines, made in Israel, being sold by a company in the U.S. called The Mako Group. These were priced at $18.70 each. I personally ordered more than 100 of them on January 11th. My order just arrived on March 7th. I was very pleased with the fit and finish of the magazines. Mine came with white followers. Their finish was glossy black and quite slick feeling. They have gave reinforced magazine retainer tabs. The E-Lander company maintains stringent military specifications and they have ISO certified and NQA …


Pat’s Product Review: Springfield Armory Champion Operator 1911

Over the years, I’ve received hundreds of e-mails, always asking me if I had to pick just one gun, for the rest of my life, what would it be? Of course, there is no easy answer to this question, and thankfully, I don’t have to make that choice – right now. And, depending on how I’m feeling at the time this question is asked, then my answer has changed over the years. There is no one gun solution , at least not in my mind. I said for years, that I’d pick some kind of 4-inch barrel, stainless steel .357 …


Three Letters Re: .300 AAC Blackout Uppers for AR-15s

Jim. An additional point or two on the viability of the 300BLK. While I agree that the primary concern should be to have your standard calibers covered, the 300BLK has the additional advantages. Because it is made from 223/5.56 brass, and uses any 30 caliber bullet, it will be easily reloaded in a SHTF situation. Another advantage is the ability to use the round suppressed (using subsonic rounds)with as close to “Hollywood” results as you will get. Although the advantages of using silenced weapons in a SHTF situation has been touched on in this forum I believe the subject could …


Letter Re: .300 AAC Blackout Uppers for AR-15s

Hi James, I read your excellent forum every day, before I read the local paper. In case you haven’t looked at the new .300 AAC Blackout, you might want to take a hard look at it.   The PDF of a presentation by an AAI executive describes it quite well. With just an upper receiver swap out, you can have an AR-15 that will shoot through a pretty hefty tree, vehicle panel or door.  I load my own and convert old 5.56  brass into Blackout brass with a single stroke of the press handle. A Dillon electric case trimmer whacks …


Letter Re: A Primer on Guns for Survival

Mr. Rawles, I would like to add to the shotgun portion of this posting. While we all like to have the latest high tech looter stopper, a trip to the used section of your local gun shop will yield some hidden treasures. You can have your 18.5 inch pump riot gun for a fractional price of a new one. Perusing my local large chain yielded a pile of old, but still serviceable pieces. Many are old department store guns wearing hideous looking chokes, but the guns were made by Remington, Winchester, Ithaca etc. Price ranged from $100 to $249, this included …


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 …


One Absurdity of Gun Registration: Criminals Are Exempt

The mass media is still all atwitter with talk of “closing the gun show loophole” and “universal background checks.” These phrases are tossed about without concern to their true intent: a de facto system of gun registration in these United States. I am dead set against any form of registration, since the history of the 20th Century showed countless times that registration leads to eventual confiscation. There is one other inherent problem with gun registration schemes that is often ignored: that is that it only applies to law-abiding citizens. By virtue of established case law and cemented with an 8-1 …


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 …


Pat’s Product Review: The Inner City Survival Pencil

On a daily basis I hear from many SurvivalBlog readers with a variety of questions. Most of these have to do with wilderness survival, or weapons for hard-core survival. Rarely do I hear from folks who think in terms on city survival. Seeing as how a large portion of the population live in urban areas, I’m always stumped, that the readers, don’t have a lot of questions about urban survival. Many readers that I hear from live in big cities, and they always have questions about bugging-out to the wilderness. Hmmm!!!!   I was born and raised in Chicago, one of …


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.