Category: Weapons

Cold Steel AD-15, by Pat Cascio

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I’ve been an amateur knife designer since the early 1980s, and several of my designs have actually been produced by custom knife makers, as well as some factories. One custom designer went so far as to add my design to his inventory – never giving me credit for the design, nor paying me any royalties, but that’s okay, I don’t hold a grudge. Another knife company has been producing several of my designs for quite a few years now, and I actually gave them my design, to help them get their company up and running – no problem there at …


Fighting My Flinch: The Mantis X10, by The Novice

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I tend to flinch while firing handguns. I recently tested the Mantis X10 Elite Shooting Performance System to see if it would help. My shooting improved significantly. Here is my story. The Offer On October 22 and 23, 2019, SurvivalBlog was kind enough to publish my article My Continued Handgun Search. In that article I wrote about my search for the ideal handgun for me, and mentioned my struggles with trigger flinch while firing handguns in self-defense calibers. The next day, Mr. Rawles forwarded an e-mail he’d just received from Mantis to test and evaluate their X10 Elite Shooting Performance …


SIG Sauer P320 Compact 9mm – A Fresh Look, by Pat Cascio

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A couple years ago, I reviewed the then new SIG Sauer P320 9mm handgun, that had been recently adopted by the US military – all military forces. And, to be sure, it was and still is an outstanding choice for our military handgun. The military wanted a modular handgun, that could be easily changed from one configuration to another – and in reality, I believe SIG Sauer was the only competitor to submit a truly modular handgun. Save the hate mail, please. I believe the Glock submission would have been an outstanding choice as well. As with many new firearms …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 3, 2020

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Pardon the pun, but we’ve “started off with a bang.” My web-based mail order business was launched on Saturday morning, selling carefully selected pre-1899 guns. It is called Elk Creek Company. The ElkCreekCompany.net web site is up and running, and the attached credit card processing system is taking orders. Consult your state and local laws before ordering, but in most cases these Federally-exempt antiques can be mailed right to your door with no paperwork!  We started with more than 74 antique guns listed, but at least eight have already sold or are now on hold for individual customers. (A few …


Ruger’s Model 57, by Pat Cascio

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As a general rule, I don’t like surprises of any kind. In my case, most of the time, a surprise wasn’t something good – at least in my eyes! But on December 31st, 2019, I was pleasantly surprised to get a press release from Ruger announcing an end-of-the-year surprise, to wit, their brand new handgun chambered in the high velocity 5.7x28mm centerfire. They sure kept a closed mouth on this one. I didn’t get any kind of a hint this gun was coming out – nor did many other gun writers hear about it. At first glance, the Model 57 …


Letter: Thoughts From a Richmond 2A Rally Attendee

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As we all now know, the 2A rally in Richmond, Virginia on January 20, 2020 to protest the tyrannical gun laws proposed and/or passed by Governor Ralph Northam and his Democrat cronies, proved uneventful. This not only shows that gun owners are some of the most peaceful and law-abiding people in the country, but also that the hysteria drummed up in the weeks preceding the event was just that, hysteria. In fact, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “Civil War 2”, “It’s a trap”, “buffalo jump”, “false flag”, “Boogaloo”, or dozens of other terms designed to …


Cold Weather Considerations – Part 6, by JM

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Editor’s Note: This is the concluding installment in this article series. Firearms No article on prepping would be complete without some discussion on firearms, and using them in winter conditions can present some unique challenges. Firearms are precision machines made from metals and polymers, and cold weather can have some big impacts. The materials themselves can become brittle at extremely low temperatures, so you should avoid sudden sharp impacts if possible. Shooting a firearm can heat up the barrel and other parts pretty quickly and cold temperatures can cool them back down rapidly, which can cause weaknesses in the materials, …


Kershaw Duojet Folder, by Pat Cascio

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Kershaw Knives brings out a lot of new knife designs each year, and this is to our benefit. I can’t begin to keep track of the newest folders from Kershaw each year, so I only select those that I think our readers will really like. Today, we’re looking at the Duojet folder from Kershaw. Ever since I was about 6 years old I have have some kind of pocket knife in my pants pocket. Growing-up in the 1950s and 1960s, just about everyone I knew – young and old alike – carried a folding knife. To be sure, these knives …


Group Industries Uzi 9mm Carbine, by Pat Cascio

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The Uzi submachinegun has a very long history, and you can read all you want about this outstanding sub machine gun, on the ‘net – be advised, there is a lot of history behind this gun, and worldwide usage as well. However, I’ll give some background on the Uzi submachinegun, for our readers, and then some history on civilian semi-auto versions on the Uzi – both licensed and unlicensed copies. The Uzi was designed in the late 1940s by Captain (later Major) Uziel “Uzi” Gal.  As was noted in the blog,  yesterday was his birthday. He was born December 15, …


Rock River Arms LAR-15 Carbine, by Pat Cascio

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This may come as news to some readers, but not all AR-15-style firearms are equal. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that, the brand-new Gee-Whiz AR you just bought, brand-new in the box, for $500 is the equal to the Wow AR that was next to it for $1,200. It just ain’t true – and I don’t care what the guy standing behind the gun counter might tell you. Don’t be taken in by their sales pitch. I actually own a couple of lower-end (in price) ARs and they are good performers, and would probably last for the the rest of …


Buck Knives 841 Sprint Pro Folder, by Pat Cascio

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Buck Knives is one of America’s oldest knife companies, and with good reason. Buck senses the pulse of the knife buying public, and they have produced some of the most rock-solid knife designs over the years, that are still in production. A knife executive of a major knife company once told me that, a “good” knife design has a three year shelf-life. That means that after about three years, that design no longer holds an interest to the knife buying public. But take a look at many of the Buck designs – like their classic Model 110 that have been …


Springfield Armory 9mm 911, by Pat Cascio

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Nope, that’s not a typo, I’m sure many believe I meant to type “1911” – such is not the case…this is Springfield Armory’s new 9mm sub-compact handgun, that looks much like a Model 1911. Albeit one that was washed and tossed in the dryer, and it shrunk down to a tiny size. Last year, Springfield came out with the 911 in .380 ACP, and it was an instant hit with concealed carriers all over the country. So, the folks at Springfield did some re-engineering, and produced a version in 9mm, and it is only ever-so-slightly-bigger than the .380 ACP version. …


Taurus Spectrum .380 ACP, by Pat Cascio

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While the .380 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) round  might have been a good choice for the fictional James Bond in some of his earlier movies, it still isn’t the first choice for me, or most other shooters. In later movies, Bond was shown carrying some 9mm handguns, which was a smart move. However, for my use, anything chambered in .380 ACP isn’t my first choice in a concealed carry handgun. Now, that’s not to say that in the past I didn’t actually did carry some .380 ACP handguns. I can only say I was young and naive. Keep in mind …


My Ankle Ammo Rig, by Spotlight

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It may sound crazy but I can routinely carry over 50 rounds of ammunition on my person at all times without it being obvious, uncomfortable or hampering my normal activities. After more than two decades of law enforcement work and now nearly seven years of a combination of private investigation (PI), private security work, and consulting, I have come full circle. I started out in the late 1980s as a small town cop and was issued a Ruger Security Six .357 Magnum revolver. As with most law enforcement agencies, we went through a series of semi-autos starting in the early …


Running a Gun Show Business – Part 3

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(Continued from Part 2. This installment concludes the article.) Legal Issues I’d be remiss if didn’t go over some of the statutory legality issues, liability issues, and tax issues associated with running gun show tables. As most folks know, when they walk into a gun show they will be seeing two types of sellers with guns on their tables:  Professional dealers with FFLs, and casual unlicensed sellers. The FFL holders can buy and sell both new and used guns. Legally, they must display their license. Casual sellers like me can only buy or sell guns that have already been “papered”, …