Category: Self-Defense

Pat’s Product Review: Benchmade’s 63 Bali-Song Bowie

I still remember when I first laid my hands on a “butterfly” style knife – it was back in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1986 or 1987. I thought they were a bit strange-looking, to say the least. And the examples I handled were all very cheaply made on top of it all. I just didn’t get what all the fuss was about, watching people doing the “twirl” with the butterfly knives – they had to whipped these knives out of their pockets and fling them around, until they opened and locked in their hand. Seemed like a lot of work, …


Letter Re: Paddle Magazine Releases for HK Family Rifles

Captain Rawles, I would like to tell your readers about a piece missing on HK Model 91s and clones, except for some Vectors.  This is the paddle magazine release.  With this latest skyrocketing of prices and the cheap availability of HK .308 magazines, you have suggested these type rifles.  I have had my beloved PTR for years, but only recently had what I consider the most important upgrade added to it: My paddle magazine release.  The G3 rifle (which all these are civilian copies of) had the paddle magazine release, but since it also used the pushpin mount/hole for the …


Letter Re: Weasel Words in Pending Federal Gun Legislation

Captain Rawles: I read the text of the draft Toomey-Manchin-Schumer Amendment. It does not define the word “publication.” Because there are several common definitions of the word, including the transitive verb ,”publish” could include just telling two or more people at once that you have a gun for sale.  Also the “safe travel” provision does not include magazines, so if you are stopped in New York or Connecticut or Maryland with a 30 round mag while driving from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire (for example) then you are a felon.  Also NY SAFE act bans transport of Guns AND Ammo,  the …


Bartering Via Craigslist, by George H.

Building up a skill set can easily be argued the most critical survival ability available. One skill set often overlooked is bartering. Trading a good or service for another. Looking at tangible items, one recent item everyone has noticed is the new price for ammo and certain rifles. The adage “buy low sell high” still applies if you can do so and still maintain your own needed stock. About four and a half years ago AR-15s were roughly the same inflated cost as today (after BHO was elected), there was a massive panic and parts were scarce. It took four …


Guest Article: Colorado’s New Law on “Large Capacity” Ammunition Magazines, by Attorney Timothy J. Priebe

On March 10, 2013, the Governor of Colorado signed into law three new statutes that pertain to gun and magazine owners throughout the state. In this post, I will start with the addition of C.R.S. 18-12-301, having to do with “Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines”. We will first begin with the name of the bill. As many of you know, a magazine which holds more than 15 rounds is not a “Large Capacity” magazine but in many cases just the stock or standard magazine that comes with the firearm. However, if you asked my mother, who is not a gun owner, …


Connecticut Gun Owners Betrayed by Their State Legislature

Connecticut is known as a progenitor of American Liberty. There were some small War of Independence battles fought at Stonington (1775), Danbury (1777), New Haven (1779), and New London (1781.) But sadly, legislators in Connecticut just dutifully lined up for their Kool-Aid cups and voted for a ban so-called “assault” weapons, a ban on private party sales of used guns, creates a new “ammunition eligibility certificate,” and mandates a ban on the manufacture or sale and a registry for high capacity magazines. Do these buffoons have any concept of how many millions of magazines larger that 10 round capacity exist, …


Pat’s Product Review: Italian Gun Grease

In more than 45 years of shooting, I’ve tried just about every kind of lube and gun cleaner on the market. Some work a little better than others, and some don’t work very well at all. Anyone who is serious about taking care of their firearms, for self-defense, combat, military missions or survival, had better take very good care of their firearms. If you don’t properly care for your weapons, they will fail you, just when you need them the most. I couldn’t tell you the number of students who have trained under me, who have had their firearms fail …


Letter Re: The Right to Open Carry Guns: Use It or Lose It

James, I hope your readers don’t lump all police officers into the ignorant category. I’m retired now, but I clearly remember an instance about 15 years ago… I was on grave shift and received a call of a man with a gun in a Shari’s restaurant at about 2 a.m.. When I asked the dispatcher what the man was doing, she told me he was eating.   I walked in and spotted him fairly quickly. He had a Ruger Blackhawk in a leather western style holster. I sat down in the booth with him and asked him why he was …


Things to Understand When Interacting With Police, by G.S.

As a former prosecutor and now criminal defense attorney practicing in Florida, I offer some insights gained by experience for the patriotic reader. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2,266,800 adults were incarcerated in U.S. federal and state prisons, and county jails at year-end 2010 – about 0.7% of adults in the U.S. resident population. Additionally, 4,933,667 adults at year-end 2009 were on probation or on parole. In total, 7,225,800 adults were under correctional supervision (probation, parole, jail or prison) in 2009 – about 3.1% of adults in the U.S. resident population. With the statist establishment criminalizing everything, …


Colorado’s Million Magazine March

On March 20th, Colorado’s Democrat Governor John Hickenlooper did a very foolish thing. He signed into law a ban on any magazine over 15 round capacity with a ban on shotguns with tubular magazines that can hold more than 28 lineal inches of shotshells, and another law that will ban private party sales of guns. (All transfers except a few within families will have to be handled through Federally licensed dealers. ) Because the magazine ban won’t take effect until July 1, 2013, I can predict an unintended consequence: Close to one million magazines of 16+ round capacity will be …


Letter Re: The Right to Open Carry Guns: Use It or Lose It

Mr. Rawles, I read your essay “The Right to Open Carry Guns: Use It or Lose It,” with interest.  I watched the videos you linked to with horror.  I was awestruck. It is a shock to my system to see law enforcement officers so poorly trained and so willing to violate rights of citizens.  Perhaps I should know better by now.  To think that just one telephone call from a “concerned citizen” is enough to cause the police to violate a law abiding persons civil rights is terrifying. I live in an extremely 2nd amendment friendly state, Arizona.  It is …


The Right to Open Carry Guns: Use It or Lose It

The American concealed carry movement can now be chalked up as a bona fide victory. CCW permits are now available in 48+ states. (To be safe I’d say around 46 or 47 states, depending on several factors. For example, permit issuance policies are not always uniformly non-discretionary in every county within a state.) The logical successors to the concealed carry movement are the Constitutional Carry Movement (aka permitless concealed carry) and the Open Carry Movement. In my opinion, both of these are worthy endeavors. I’ve said the following before, but it bears repeating: Whenever someone must buy a license or …


Americans Against Illegal Mayors: Demand A Plan

Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns political pressure group is hard at work. Working with several paid lobbyist, advertising, and public relations firms, they are about to launch a $12 million television ad campaign, pressing for “comprehensive background checks”. Banning private party sales of used guns (forcing all gun sales to go through licensed dealers) will lay the groundwork for a nationwide system of gun registration. But Bloomberg’s Buddies have some public relations problems… The latest news is that another member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns has been arrested. This time it was Mayor Craig Lowe of Gainesville, Florida, …


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 …