Category: Self-Defense

Dear Mr. Rawles, I have followed your writings and bought your book Patriots which I have read several times. Now I am enjoying reading your blog everyday and all the profiles and exploring your links. You have lots of great ideas and have obviously spent a lot on equipment and supplies. Not everyone has many thousands of dollars every year to put into preparations, so I am wondering if you could say something about a low-cost strategy. For example, a no-holds barred firearms battery may include (in various quantities): * FAL .308 ( most are $1,000 – $1,500) plus 20 …

Jim It has occurred to me that someone staying in a zone where authorities are going to harass gun toting survivors ought to consider having at least one or more covert sidearms. If a survivor has to step out in a no-gun carrying zone,they can still be armed. I currently own one J frame Model 36 Chief’s Special and may well seek out another. This might possibly be one of those new Scandium 357 snubbies. A couple of five-shot snubs hidden in matching pocket holsters are better than a full-size service pistol that cops will hassle you over. It seems …

Dear Nationwide: SIGARMS® is responding to emergency requests from law enforcement in the hurricane ravaged areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and is expediting orders to agencies in those states. Already SIGARMS has shipped extra pistol magazines for the Louisiana State Police who carry the P220 pistol, and at the agency’s request will be sending all available remaining P220 magazines. As a result, SIGARMS has suspended sale of the P220 pistol magazines to the commercial market. Commercial sales are expected to resume in October. Additionally SIGARMS is working closely with officials at the ATF to expedite required paperwork for law …

Jim: I know you get a lot of email! But I found an interesting web site. It is one man’s experience with handguns, yet very practical. It covers lots of issues with handguns. Fun to read if you have the time. Fred (The Valmet-Meister)

Dear James: I have read in your book and in the blog site that you do not recommend the .223 round for a battle rifle. What do you think about the effectiveness of the 7.62 X 39 cartridge? I own an SKS and would like your opinion on the 7.62 compared to the .223 and also the .308. Also what is your opinion of the SKS as a battle rifle? As always, I appreciate your valued input. – Dr. Sidney Zweibel, Columbia P&S JWR’s Reply: Ballistically, the Soviet 7.62×39 (the standard cartridge for the SKS, AK-47, and clones) is almost …

Jim: On the question of the 40 cal Beretta, I can recommend the multiple trade in 40 S&W Glocks that are out there. CDNN and AIM Surplus are now stocking police trade-in Glock 22s and 23s at reasonable prices and they throw in high cap magazines. BTW, I mostly carry a Glock 26 or 17, because I know what a good 9mm round can do. Load it with the Ranger 127 grain hollow points and you have nearly the power of a .357 SIG, but without the problems. – L.K.

Hi Jim, This is my first time to your blog since my bud, Rod, set me up with a copy of your book (Patriots). I have now read entirely through it in about two weeks. I have a question. When I was in the military, I was instructed by a weapons instructor to always lubricate any weapons that I was going to store before casing the item for long periods of time. My father, who was a Marine (two tours in Vietnam) also suggested this. He said I needed to clean and over-oil the weapon before long term storage. The …

Dear James: I have been searching for a good quality 20 Gauge shotgun for home/retreat defense. I very much value your opinion and would like to know what make and model you would recommend. Also do you recommend a semi-auto or double barrel? What “extras” and accessories do you feel are the best? – Dr. Sidney Zweibel, Columbia P&S JWR’s Reply: In general, I much recommend a 12 gauge over a 20, unless you are very small-statured. 12 gauge shells are much easier to find (both now and post-TEOTWAWKI), and they pack more of a wallop on the receiving end. …

Jim: Here’s some of my views on some of the questions you’ve had in your letters about the Beretta M92/96 series. My experience with the gun, after use in the Army and use and ownership in the civilian world is they work as well as any gun out there. People get entirely too territorial about handguns, similar to the way people used to put some mystical significance to their sword they would be carrying in feudal times. The fact is that you really aren’t any less or better armed with nearly any of the current crop of service pistols from …

Hi Jim, thought I’d make a suggestion concerning one of the problems that we are likely to face once society turns south: Feral dogs roving in packs. A friend of mine in Southern California who relocated to the rural section of Riverside County remarked to me after soon moving there that they really didn’t have any problems with coyotes or mountain lions (which are prevalent) but in fact domestic dogs turned feral were a big concern with the land owners (most folks in his area have between 2.5 and 20 acres). Seems that dogs that were abandoned for one reason …

Jim, The U.S. BATFE has ruled that ex-military barrels are not to be imported. No new requests are being approved for import, and all previously approved requests must enter the country before the end of 2005. But on the other hand , ex-U.S. Military arms are going to be allowed back in, so the FAL/L1A1 are going to become more expensive with U.S. made barrels and the M1 Garands are going to come down in price from what ODCMP [currently] sells them for. Current CMP prices are as follows: 1. Ex-Greek used “Service Grade” (ok to return to service from …

Dear Jim, For what it’s worth, I think your new blog is excellent and I’ve read your book Patriots numerous times. I find them both entertaining and educational at the same time. Please continue with dispensing your knowledge to us “new guys”. I have a question about your 08/20/05 post regarding the Beretta 92 upgrade to .40 S&W. You stated that one should have 2500 rounds or more of ammunition if this is your primary weapon. My question is this: What do you suggest as far as FMJ or Hollow Point? Should all of that be either one or the …

I have always considered 9mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger) marginal at best at stopping two-legged predators. For those of you that own a 9mm Beretta Model 92 or Beretta Centurion, be advised that Beretta USA now produces a .40 S&W conversion kit for your pistol. These are complete “top halves” and come with one 11 round .40 S&W magazine. The folks at CDNN currently have these factory-made conversion kits on sale for $149.99. Since these kits don’t include a frame, no FFL is required. If you are one of those folks that has a Beretta 9mm that you …