Category: Self-Defense

Letter Re: Advice on Security for Unattended Retreats

Mr. Rawles: I feel guilty about asking you this in an e-mail, since I should probably pay for consulting time to have you answer the following: I have a vacation/retreat house that is in another state, almost 600 miles from my home on the coast. I agree with your advice (that you’ve repeated gosh how many times) that someone should live at retreat year round. I tried renting it to an acquaintance that needed some “space” for a time following a divorce, but he eventually moved on. Now my retreat is vacant. All of my friends and me–including the two …


Letter Re: Urban Freeway Traffic Gridlock in a Disaster

James; As Bob B. from the Seattle area stated, the gridlock of freeways is a huge issue, especially in Seattle. I had the unfortunate experience of being on the 50th floor of a large building in Seattle during the earthquake of 2000, and again on Sept. 11th, 2001. I was more prepared for the latter. in the aftermath of the earthquake, I became acutely aware of the fact that Seattle is an island: bridges to get in and out of the city that cross both Lake Washington, and Lake Union. And while there, the entire freeway system is elevated. Not …


Two Letters Re: The Next Pandemic: Starvation in a Land of Plenty

Mr. Rawles: Your “The Next Pandemic” article and he responses to it that you posted really got me thinking. If it all hits the fan, how can I possibly hand out charity to refugees without them just taking it all, by force? Once a bunch of people are in your house, or even in your front yard, they have the advantage. I really want to be generous and charitable, since it is my duty as a Christian. (I have more than 2 tons of wheat, rice. and other stuff stored, for example.) But I don’t want to get cleaned out …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing Ammunition in Stripper Clips

Shalom Jim: I have a quick question for you that is probably not the most profound one you’ve ever heard. Recently I purchased some 7.62mm NATO Ball from Southern Ohio Gun, and it came in a metal box loaded on stripper clips with five cartridges per clip. Do you recommend keeping the cartridges on the clips or would you remove them and pack them loosely in the metal box? Also, what is the reasoning behind your answer? Thanks, – Dr. Sidney Zweibel, Columbia P&S JWR Replies: Unless the stripper clips are rusty (which could induce sympathetic corrosion on the cartridge …


Letter Re: Yet Another Article Touting “Mobility” for Survival

Jim: Thank you for response on the mobile survival fantasy. I think it is dangerous for the average Joe to believe that he can be a mountain man. Sure, some can, in some climates and locations with lots of training. Even then it’s dangerous and unpredictable. A twisted ankle can be the end of you. Remember too, those mountain survival stories were from the days when the wildlife in this country was at much higher levels. For most of us it means being cold, wet, tired, hungry and thirsty in the woods and being targets on the streets. (“Nice pack …


The Next Pandemic: Starvation in a Land of Plenty

At the dawn of the 21st century, we are living in an amazing time of prosperity. Our health care is excellent, our grocery store shelves burgeon with a huge assortment of fresh foods, and our telecommunications systems are lightning fast. We have relatively cheap transportation, and our cities are linked by an elaborate and fairly well-maintained system of roads, rails, canals, seaports, and airports. For the first time in human history, the majority of the world’s population will soon live in cities rather than in the countryside. But the downside to all this abundance is over-complexity, over-specialization, and lengthy supply …


Letter Re: SHOT Show Report From Mr. B.

The following are my brief impressions of things that I got to see at the recent SHOT Show. There was lot of interest in the prototype .308 Bullpup from Kel-Tec, which takes standard metric FAL magazines. It is planned to be produced in various barrel lengths, and should be reasonably priced.It was interesting, with its forward axial cartridge ejection, just above the barrel. I don’t recall pricing but $2K would be my best recall/guess. Mr. Kellegren [the “Kel” in Kel-Tec] personally showed me the patent pending ejector. It ejects the casing on the same forward stroke of the bolt that …


Two Letters Re: Night Sights for Pistols

Jim, I can definitely say that the XS Sights work as advertised. I’ve tried them on the Mini-14 and AR-15 carbines, and in both cases they enabled accurate 100 yard plinking at night and fast acquisition with full sights. With a peep-sight equipped rifle, the Tritium front is the most worthwhile upgrade. If you can see the sight through the opening, you’re going to hit what you’re pointing at. For around $100, this is a very worthwhile upgrade for any gun that gets used at night. – Arclight   Jim, While reading earlier today OSOM’s posting re “Night Sights for …


Letter Re: Tritium Night Sights for Rifles

Mr Rawles: Given that it is illegal anywhere that I know to hunt at night, and extremely inadvisable to hunt in low-light conditions – what in the heck are they making night sights for that fit hunting guns? It does seem okay to make them to fit on a rail – as backup, but for a typical battle-outfitted rifle with an ACOG or EOTech you can’t use those sights, they would be obstructed by the base. And if you’re going to put backup iron/night sights on a hunting rifle – would the money be better spent on a scope with …


Letter Re: New Production of Steyr AUG Bullpup Rifles in the U.S.?

Jim, I’d first heard of this product somewhat less than a year ago. Well, if the U.S. production ever starts up (rumor indicated that, because Steyr had supposedly sold some ‘things’ to Iran, that our President had decided the AUG would not be produced in this country), it’ll be a long time coming. Also, all those AUGs on Gunbroker.com selling for $4,000-$7,000 will take a steep nosedive; persistent rumor is saying the U.S.-made MSRP is expected to be around $1,300. (Even “under $2,000” will be a bargain). 🙂 Ben


Letter Re: Easy to Carry Fixed Blade Knives

Mr. R.: I read OSOM’s letter on fixed versus folder knives and I agree. I’d encourage folks to go take a look at the HideAway Knives. These are semi-custom made: You measure the circumference around your index and ring finger combined, and the knife is finished to that dimension. The resulting knife is a two-finger custom loop with a 2-inch (or longer) blade attached. They are incredibly fast into action, razor-sharp, and you can open the hand up and continue to operate lights, doors, keys, magazines, etc without losing the knife. It stays in place, out of the way and …


Letter Re: Easy to Carry Fixed Blade Knives

Dear Jim: Following up on the discussion a few months back on the folders vs. fixed blade knives for defense: To recap – folders are easier to carry and legal in more places, but fixed blades easier and faster and safer to get in to action. Ever tried opening a folder while wrestling or being hit? I’ve taken a class where you do a low intensity simulation with blunt training knives, and, put it this way, opening a folder under attack is not something I ever want to bet my life – or my fingers on! If you live in …


Letter Re: Pre-1899 Mauser Rifles

Dear Jim, I noticed that The Pre-1899 Specialist has some Chilean Mausers in stock. I have one of these that I acquired some time back, in the original 7 x 57 Mauser chambering. These are a very smooth, reliable, strong bolt action rifle, accurate and easy to handle. They’re a reasonably modern style. In either 7mm or 7.62mm they are definitely a good addition to a preparedness arsenal. They will take most North American or European large game, and in extremis will accurately defeat human threats at several hundred yards. You can also get a more modern drop-in stock for …


Letter Re: Night Sights for Pistols

Dear Jim: After doing some night shooting courses with no night sights on my long gun – ( bad idea 🙁 ) I found XS Sights for long gun tritium retrofits. Fortunately, I was also introduced to their pistol sights for faster day and night sight shooting – 24/7 Express Sights. You really need to see the photo to appreciate the design, but basically it make the rear notch a very shallow V with a tritium “I” bar in the low center. The front sight is tritium surrounded by a big white dot – so you get the tritium at …


Letter Re: Night Sights for Pistols

Hi Jim, I just wanted to tell you about the TRUGLO “TFO” (Tritium Fiber Optic) night sights that I recently got from Top Gun Supply and installed on my Glock 17. These things are amazing! The design combines the best of the Fiber Optic insert’s ability to gather ambient light during the day with the benefit of tritium night sights. Outside during the day, the sights look like three single LED lamp flashlights are switched on. At night they look like regular night sights. I have Meprolight brand and OEM Glock night sights on two of my other Glocks (a …