Category: Target Shooting & Marksmanship

Prepare or Die, by J. Britely

Throughout my life I have been caught unprepared several times and while nothing seriously bad happened, it easily could have.  I have been lost hiking.  My car has broken down in very bad neighborhoods – twice.  I have been close enough to riots that I feared they would spread to my neighborhood, been in earthquakes, been too close to wildfires, been stuck in a blizzard, and have been without power and water for several days after a hurricane.   I managed to get myself out of each situation, I thanked God, and tried to learn from my mistakes.  I could have …


Letter Re: Snap Shooting Skills

Sir; The recent SurvivalBlog article on snap shooting was great. I think that there is one useful thing to mention and that is how body armor vests (particularly thicker ones with rifle plates) change the way you shoot. The first and most obvious change to the proper way to shoot both rifles and pistols is to always face the target with your body armor! This means facing your chest directly towards the enemy, it really changes the way snap shooting works. Bringing rifles on target while keeping your chest straight toward the target is something that needs to be practiced …


Home Defense Tactics for the Disabled, Elderly, and Infirmed, by Heghduq

Picture this: It is 2:00 a.m. and you are in bed for the night. Things are falling apart due to a local upset of some kind, be it man made or a natural disaster. You are isolated by these events and there is no help to be had as the local Authorities are to busy with damage control in other areas. You are disabled and have little ones to protect. Your spouse is a bit of a worry wart and panics fairly easy. You hear something that is out of place, what do you do? If you have any form …


Elements of Quality Pistol Holster Design, by Steven

Does a good holster really make a difference? The answer is that sometimes it doesn’t. That may sound odd coming from a custom holster maker, but lets consider the average handgun owner. They keep their firearm on the top shelf in a shoe box in the closet, or in a nightstand drawer. On the way to the range, it might ride in a plastic case in the car trunk and back to the closet again. Should they need a container for their pistol that affords some protection and allows belt carry for short-periods of non-critical use, then factory produced budget …


The Four Laws of Firearms Safety

For the benefit of those that are new to SurvivalBlog, it is important to again mention The Four Laws of Firearms Safety, developed by the late Col. Jeff Cooper 1) All firearms are loaded. – There are no exceptions. Don’t pretend that this is true. Know that it is and handle all firearms accordingly. Do not believe it when someone says: “It isn’t loaded.” 2) Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy. – If you would not want to see a bullet hole in it do not allow a firearm’s muzzle …


Sources for Free Survival and Preparedness Information on the Internet, by K.L. in Alaska

Recent comments in SurvivalBlog provided excellent advice on using the public library. You can gain lots of knowledge with no expense, then purchase only those books you want to keep on hand for personal reference. Also, many colleges and universities loan to local residents, so you can use them too, even if you aren’t a student. If your local libraries participate, a great resource is Worldcat. It lets you search for books from home, then go check them out, or get them through interlibrary loan. What will happen to the Internet when the SHTF? There’s no guarantee it will survive. …


Letter Re: A Useful Rifle Zeroing Technique, and Effective Spotter Sighting Offsets

Dear Jim, You brought up an excellent point when you mentioned zeroing weapons. Everyone should know how to battle sight zero their primary defensive weapon (assuming adjustable sights). The procedure is as follows: Move the sights all the way left (rear) and down (front). Count the number of clicks or turns necessary to reach the opposite extreme. Move the sights back to the halfway position and remember this number (it can be written on a laminated card in the butt/grip or even on the side of the stock). This is mechanical zero. It should be fairly close to actual zero …


Letter Re: Skills Versus Gear for Survival

Jim, After reading the Profiles you have posted. I have come to the conclusion I cannot hold a dime to these folks. Makes me wonder why should I bother. Hmmm, that thought lasts all of five seconds. A lot of the people for whom you profiled are in a much higher income bracket than the rest of us working folks. Personally, I have two jobs and work 12-14 hours a day. I was unlucky enough to be in a third rear end collision. In my life time this year, although instead of being rear ended by an illegal uninsured illegal …


Letter Re: Preparedness on a Very Tight Budget

Mr Rawles, Having read your reply to S.’s letter “Preparedness on a Very Tight Budget” I must say you made my day! It made me realize that I am much better off than I thought and on the right track. I am one of those weird (smart?) people who was raised in the city, but for some reason, never belonged. From earliest childhood, I was always “preparing” long before I really knew what for. In other words, I was not your typical “raised in captivity” child. I learned to sew at nine, and spent a lot of time making sleeping …


Letter Re: The Importance of “Weak Side” Firearms Practice

Jim and SurvivalBlog Readers, If you are already reasonably accomplished with your defensive firearms and you have the time and money, then it can be most educational to take a firearm course (e.g. Front Sight) and shoot the entire course with your weak hand. Two or Four days of solid enforced practice with the off hand will do wonders for your ability to wrap your brain around the other side of your body. Plus, when it comes time to do the ‘weak hand’ drills, you really surprise the instructors 😉 – SCD


Letter Re: The Importance of “Weak Side” Firearms Practice

Sir, A recent shoulder injury has alerted me to the fact that my weak side drills were totally inadequate. Just tucking the strong side hand in and using the weak side does not equal the reality of having a useless and painful limb effecting balance, movement and concentration. This is a very humbling experience. I will try to use some sort of “handicap” rig to duplicate the effect at the range. Safety is the first rule. Long gun drills will be a real challenge. Sincerely in your debt for the great blog, – Spud JWR Replies: Al of the major …


Letter Re: Using .22 Rimfire Conversions for Low Cost Pistol Practice

Jim: I have just finished firing 500 rounds through an Advantage Arms .22 conversion for my Glock 17 and Glock 22 While not as accurate as my .22 Ruger pistol, it allows me to practice my shooting skills using the same holster and magazine carriers at fraction of what 9mm and .40 cost. More importantly, by using a conversion rather than a different pistol such as the Ruger, I am developing the same muscle memory, skills, and techniques I will use when shooting my service pistol. I chose the Advantage Arms over the Ciener conversion because the slide locks open …


Letter Re: Preparedness for Less Than a Worst Case, From an Eastern Urbanite’s Perspective

Hello Jim, I am very new reader of your blog and am just now starting to go through the archives. Based on what I’ve read so far, I commend you on putting together a useful, fact-intensive blog on “survivalism” (whatever that means), that isn’t geared towards loony, off-the-reservation, tinfoil hat-type readers, who believe that 9/11 was a plot masterminded by Halliburton. That said, one problem I suspect I will have with your blog is that you consistently seem to be preparing for an extreme, and more-or-less permanent, breakdown of society—or TEOTWAWKI, if you will. In one of your blog posts, …


Letter Re: Some Tests of Ultra High Velocity .22 Long Rifle Ammo

Jim, In April of 2007, I tested the three hottest “hypervelocity” .22 Long Rifle rounds. Because of the easy storage, accuracy and effects of .22 ammunition at ranges out to 150 yards (not to mention the fun of shooting a customized [Ruger] 10/22), I’ve had a second love affair with the round, since being a child. It’s the ultimate Survivalist round. These tests compared Aguila Supermaximum, CCI Stinger and the full 40-grain CCI Velocitor. These tests were conducted at 100 meters, using a Ruger 10/22, customized with a 20″ Butler Creek bull barrel on a floating Butler Creek lightweight bull …


Letter Re: Comments from a Like-Minded Virginia Prepper

Sir: I found your blog about a month ago. I received a copy of your novel “Patriots” from Fred’s M14 Stocks and have probably read the thing about 20 times. It sits by the bed. I sometimes just pick it up, open and begin reading. Good stuff. I am a former police officer (10 years) with sniper training, construction company owner( I have built everything except a church) CPA with many years public accounting and have military experience (like you in Military Intelligence. I was what is now known as a 98C [- Signals Intelligence Analyst]). I shoot a lot …