Category: Target Shooting & Marksmanship

Letter Re: .22 Handguns and Other Options For Self Defense

James: R.F.D. is spot on with the write-up, on .22 LR and to take this a step further,  everyone should do their own “field tests”. Most people (My estimation) can not or will not spend enough range time to be proactive in having the hands on experience to get not only the right weapon but equally important the right caliber for them and/also the first hand knowledge of what they can do to both living tissue or objects.  I have over my learning period of 50 plus years and hundreds of thousands of rounds shot, understood that I wanted several calibers and types of …


.22 Handguns and Other Options For Self Defense, by R.F.D.

No one, myself included, would recommend a .22 caliber handgun as the ideal defensive weapon. For that matter, I wouldn’t recommend any handgun at all as the ideal defensive weapon. We carry handguns because most of us find it a tad inconvenient to carry a tactical shotgun, or main battle rifle as we go about our daily lives, and most folks tend to get a little upset when you get on the bus with one. If I knew a fight was coming my way, my preference would be a crew-served weapon, preferably with the ‘crew’ in tow. So, a handgun, …


Two Letters Re: Introduction To Multi-Caliber Guns

Sir: J.S. did a pretty good review of multi caliber weapons (“Introduction to Multi-Caliber Guns by J.S.“) but he forgot the time honored Thompson-Center (T-C) Encore and Contender, now owned by Smith and Wesson single-shot firearms.     The Encore and Contender firearm lines not only allow changing barrels but to convert from pistol to rifle and back again by not only switching barrels but stocks, forearms and grips.  Encores are the larger frame and can handle almost any cartridge that you can.  You can buy barrels from 12 gauge to sub-caliber Hornet based wildcats and with either an offset …


Letter Re: Kel-Tec SU-16 Rifles

James, I ran across the info on your sight about the Kel-Tec SU16. I wanted to share my knowledge of the rifle with you. First of all, let me state that I have AR-15s and I enjoy them so I am not telling anyone to ditch their AR. I have the SU16A model with a Trijicon Accupoint 2-10 power 56mm scope on it. The rifle cost me $570 including tax. When you take the rifle apart you realize it’s a hybrid between an AR-15 and an AK-47. The first thing I did was replace the extractor with a heavy duty …


Introduction To Multi-Caliber Guns by J.S.

There have been dozens of articles on survival firearms on SurvivalBlog, and many of them focus on the “bare minimum” and/or doing the most with the fewest firearms.  None of us wants to fall into the trap of over-emphasizing firearms at the expense of food, water, arable land, and other supplies for balanced preparation.  We all know of “that guy” with 100 guns and a case of MREs who considers himself prepared for anything.  This is especially important when you’re looking to bug out WTSHTF; it’s very difficult to reconcile leaving firearms behind and, say, 50 long guns + 50 …


Two Letters Re: Melting Lead for the Meltdown

James: Anyone casting lead must understand that Molten Lead and Water or Perspiration don’t mix!   Just One Drop of Water in the Lead Pot and…BOOM, an instant steam explosion.   Casting lead is hot business.   Standing over the pot you feel one drop of perspiration run down your brow, down the bridge of your nose right to the tip and in the pot. By the time you realize what just happened, well… it’s too late.   That one little drop of sweat will most likely cause a violent explosion of molten lead all over you and every thing …


Melting Lead for the Meltdown, by Charles J.

As an avid competitor in IPSC and local pistol competitions, a number of years ago I decided to reload ammunition on my own.  I felt this would pay for itself over the long haul as well as allow me to work up loads that would have the correct power factor, accuracy, and excellent feeding for competitions, not to mention self-defense.  In addition, after the passing of the Brady Bill, I took on another task of casting my own bullets with the possible specter of either the government removal of ammunition from store shelves or some other legislative means of taking …


Prepping, in Its Infancy, by E.B. in Florida

I was trying to come up with way to write down all of things that I have been going through lately as a concerned husband, son, uncle, and brother.  A little background on me: I am turning 36 tomorrow.  When I was 24 I joined the U.S. Army.  I was fooling around in college (still) without a good source of income.  My three year relationship was coming to an abrupt end as my girlfriend was graduating college and moving into the next phase of her life (kudos to her making the tough decision to do what was best for her, …


Letter Re: To Shoot or Not to Shoot?

Mr. Rawles, I’m a regular SurvivalBlog reader.  I have your books and own the archive (Kindle edition).  Every once in a while I come across a post so genuinely correct I must comment on it.  Mr. White is absolutely correct.   Often times people will spout such utter nonsense on this subject it would be funny if it weren’t so dangerous.  And because so many aren’t well versed in this area, they buy it hook, line and sinker.     I can tell you from my own experiences; Mr. White’s advice is spot on.  I know this information to be factually correct.  …


Letter Re: Buffalo Bore Ammunition–Thinking Outside The Box

James, I’d like to offer a quick bit of follow up on Pat Cascio’s review of Buffalo Bore ammo. I’m a big fan of their ammo, and have quite a bit of experience with it. I recently ordered and tested some of the .45 Auto Rim +P 225 grain hard cast wad cutters, as well as the 200 grain version in .44 Special. I shot the Auto Rim in a 325 Airlight 2.5″ Smith & Wesson, as well as a Model 22 4″. This is stout ammo, pushing the big flat point bullet at over 1100 fps. I have to …


Pat’s Product Review: Buffalo Bore Ammunition–Thinking Outside The Box

I like companies (and people) who think outside the box. I think this comes from my days as a Private Investigator, or when I was in law enforcement. In order to solve “mysteries” I had to think outside the box many times. So it is with firearms and ammo companies – if they want to stay in business, they have to keep coming up with different ideas, in order to pique their customers’ interest.   Some months ago, I review some of the ammo that Buffalo Bore Ammunition (www.buffalbore.com) produces. Tim Sundles, who owns Buffalo Bore, told me he was …


Pat’s Product Review: Springfield Armory 5.25 XDm

Today I’m reviewing the new Springfield Armory XDm 5.25 9mm Competition handgun. I carried a Springfield Armory XD .40 S&W handgun for close to two years, and I found the gun utterly reliable and very accurate. The only drawback was that it was an early-production XD, and the finish wasn’t very durable and tended to easily rust if you didn’t pay attention and kept the gun clean and with some kind of preservative on the metal parts. The XDs made today have a very durable “Melonite” finish on the metal parts, and it really holds up extremely well.   The …


Letter Re: Learning More Than Just Weak Hand and Shooting

Mr. Rawles,  In many of your posts, and the posts on other sites, I see a recurring theme to practice with weapons using your “off-hand”, but I don’t see this same advice put out for any other activity. All right, so a bit of background: I’m a pretty hard-wired preparedness guy, I prep, I practice, and I thought I was pretty well covered for just about anything until just recently.   I was at work and while transiting from one area to another I slipped and slammed my hand in a large steel latching mechanism on one of the blast …


Budget Prepping in the Suburbs, by Kevin from Tennessee

Even though the idea of prepping “on a budget” or “in urban or suburban areas” may be common themes, it seems (to me, at least) that more often than not, the lovely people that contribute their knowledge, advice, and expertise to the topic of prepping seem to, somehow, have more capability than most when it comes to logistically and financially supporting these ventures. They may have lived on a farm for most of their life, they possibly inherited land from a relative, they may be able to work from home and have time to spare, they may be older and …


Pat’s Product Review: No-Name AR-15s

Over the past several months, I have been asked by many SurvivalBlog readers which AR-style rifle is the best. And, many readers mistakenly believe that some civilian brands of ARs are 100% “mil-spec.” When I explain to them that their civilian ARs, no matter who made them, are NOT mil-spec, and the facts to reinforce my argument, I don’t hear back from them.   So, let me explain why civilian ARs are not 100% mil-spec. Some AR makers mistakenly (intentionally?) advertise their ARs as being mil-spec, when in fact, they are only partially made up of mil-spec parts. Even Colt, who makes …