Category: Weapons

CRKT TSR Knife, by Pat Cascio

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The Columbia River Knife & Tool – TSR (Terzuola Survival & Rescue) fixed blade survival knife is one of the newest designs from the mind of legendary custom knife maker Bob Terzuola. I’ve covered Terzuola’s background before, but a quick glean of his background is in order. Custom Knife Maker Bob Terzuola Before becoming a legendary custom knife maker, Bob Terzuola was into carving jade jewelry in Central America at one point. Then he moved to New Mexico and started making custom knives. Back in 1984, I saw an ad for his knives and sent away for his brochure. It …


Cold Steel’s Frenzy II, by Pat Cascio

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Cold Steel never ceases to amaze me, and this time around they sent me their new Frenzy II folding knife for testing. Long time friend and owner of Cold Steel, Lynn Thompson knows that our readers at SurvivalBlog keep asking me to review large folding knives.  Lynn is only too willing and ready to show us some of his newest and coolest blades. Knives Cold Steel Knife and Tool Company  is a knife and tool company dedicated to creating the world’s strongest and sharpest knives. They also create swords, tomahawks, machetes, cutlery, and tools for every day use. One of …


Review of MVT Combat Rifle Skills Class, by T.B.

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JWR & HJL, Below is my review of the MVT Combat Rifle Skills that was held at MVT Romney. As with the Defensive Concealed Handgun class that I attended in early 2017, I was greatly encouraged and motivated by the class. Again, thank you both for what you do! Past Experience I attended the Defensive Concealed Handgun class at MVT Romney in 2017. I greatly benefited from the well thought-out, deliberate, and detailed training I received at that class. One of the attendees of that class had attended the Combat Rifle Skills that had been held earlier in 2017. He …


Springfield Armory’s Range Officer Elite Champion, by Pat Cascio

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The all-new and improved Springfield Armory Range Officer Elite is under review today, and Springfield really went out of their way to update/upgrade this line of fine 1911A1 handguns. Springfield Armory 1911 Range Officer Review Plans I’ve been a huge fan of the Springfield Armory line of 1911 handguns since the mid 1980s for a number of reasons. Their very first 1911s were mostly mil-spec in nature, and they were priced extremely “right”; they still are. Springfield Armory offers great value for your money. I had recently received the Springfield Armory full-sized Range Officer (R.O.)1911A1 for testing and review and …


Letter: Questionable Ammo in Storage

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HJL, Just a quick heads up. As most like minded folks I’ve been storing food and ammo for some time now. Lately .22 ammo has been more readily available so my son and I decided to do a little plinking with our pistols. We each had two mags with our pistols that have been loaded for some time. When we started to shoot 16 of the 20 rounds didn’t discharge. After a bit we reloaded with some ammo that had been sealed and stored and had no problems. The ammo in question wasn’t cheap quality, but rather decent grade. I’m …


Cold Steel Heavy Duty Sword Cane, by Pat Cascio

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The Cold Steel Heavy Duty Sword Cane may well be the strongest and without a doubt the sharpest real world sword cane ever built. In 25 years of testing and writing about knives, firearms, and all manner of survival gear, it was done on a professional basis, and I always tried to maintain an unbiased opinion. However, in the case of the Cold Steel Heavy Duty Sword Cane, it was tested for real world use—my own personal, medical use. My Slow Hip Replacement Recovery As this is being written, I’m in my eleventh week of recovery from hip replacement surgery. …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on investing in firearms magazines. (See the Tangibles section, near the end of this column.) Precious Metals: Jack Chan: Silver Price Update o  o  o Gold Forecast for the Week of August 14, 2017, Technical Analysis Stocks: Top Four Gold Stocks as of August 2017 o  o  …


Kershaw Launch 7, by Pat Cascio

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The new Launch 7 by Kershaw Knives is their newest folder. It’s an automatic push button opening knife. Kershaw Knives I still remember when I took my first tour of the Kershaw plant how small it was. If memory serves me correctly, there were 17 people on the shop floor making knives. Since that first trip, Kershaw has moved into a much larger building, and no sooner did they move in they had plans to expand their operation. My last tour of Kershaw was several years back, and they had several hundred employees on the shop floor, in the warehouse, …


Springfield Armory’s XDe 9mm, by Pat Cascio

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The newest handgun in the XD line-up of Springfield Armory line-up is the compact XDe 9mm. I’ve been a huge fan of their XD line since the first one came out well over a dozen years ago. I purchased the first one I saw. It was used, and it looked “oh-so-GLOCKish” with a green polymer frame. But it was much more overbuilt than a Glock. And none of the parts will interchange with a Glock either. My first, but not my last, XD functioned with everything except Remington UMC bulk .40 S&W 180-gr FMJ ammo. I had numerous rounds that …


Guest Article: The MVT Lite Fight Concept- Part 1, by Max Alexander

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This is a follow-up contribution to the two gear posts: The Practical Application of Tactical Gear, Load, and Weight Considerations and Gear System: Philosophy, Set Up, Use, Fitness & Mindset. And as such, it should be read in combination with those posts. Notice that I have updated the gear photo from the one that I used in those posts. There is not a huge difference between the gear displayed. There’s merely a different rifle and Lite Hydration Pack, plus I have added the helmet to the mix for purposes to be explained below. This illustrates the point that this post …


Ruger American Compact .45 ACP, by Pat Cascio

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Though some time back, we reviewed the Ruger American Compact 9mm pistol, today we are looking at the American Compact .45 ACP. The Compact 9mm was a winner in my book. Ruger hit it out of the ballpark. My oldest daughter fell in love with it and had to have one of her own, though she hasn’t bought a new gun in at least eight years. My name was on the list for the American Compact in .45 ACP. So not too long ago, I finally got my sample for testing. Overview The 9mm and .45 ACP compact models are …


Guest Post: So Why Would You Do Tactical Training?, by David

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“So why do you do this tactical training stuff?” This is a question I get asked from time to time.  Sadly, the answer does not lend itself to a sentence or two.  Let me lay out my premises and then some conclusions. (This article comes from David, who is a multi-class MVT alumni. He is the organizer of the Idaho Classes in 2016 and 2017. And MVT says, “We have already scheduled Idaho May 2018.”) Assumed Role In our family, I am literally the last man standing of my generation.  Since I am no longer immersed in pursuing “the rat …


CRKT/Ruger Hollow-Point Folder, by Pat Cascio

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Today, we are taking a look at the CRKT/Ruger Hollow-point Folder. It is a Ken Onion knife, and I’ll have more on that a little later. Knives Are Tools I love knives, all knives, big and small. They all have a use. I especially love well-made knives, because I don’t have a lot of use for junk knives. That is why our readers just won’t see me wasting my time reviewing junk knives. A knife is a tool, first and foremost. Many people forget that. Many claim that the knife is the first tool ever invented. I’m sure those first …


Basic Handgun Marksmanship Skills- Part 2, by Mark Bunch

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In “Part One of Basic Handgun Marksmanship Skills”, we looked at some firearms 101 and gave instructions for a test to determine if you are right eye dominant or left eye dominant. We also went over bone support and stance as well as safety procedures and basic rules to prevent accidental shootings. Today, we will dig into the basics of handgun selection, ammunitions, and becoming proficient in the use of your handgun. I will also share my recommendation for how to train under pressure. This is a means to prepare for the stressful situation of a self defense scenario. Choosing …


Basic Handgun Marksmanship Skills- Part 1, by Mark Bunch

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These days, we “evil gun owners” are blamed for all sorts of despicable acts. Acts such as the horrible terrorist shooting/mass murder in California.  Muslim extremists used legally purchased weapons that they had been given by a friend of theirs. Typical of our leftist, non-American former President and his liberal communist-minded minions, their message was to blame gun owners, the NRA, and the ease of availability of firearms for that senseless incident of terror. To their way of thinking, it couldn’t possibly be because some Muslim terrorist hated our culture and simply wanted to kill as many of us as …