Category: Weapons

Building An 80% Firearm- Part 3, by Tupreco

Finishing an AR-15 80% Lower During the eight years of Obama’s presidency, a record 144 million pre-purchase NICS background checks were performed. This is almost exactly twice the number we saw during eight years of George W. Bush. Whether the numbers return to Bush-era levels under a Trump presidency remains to be seen. Certainly, while a background check is not an actual gun sale, it is widely believed that the numbers do correlate closely to actual gun sales. This substantial increase in firearms sales also saw a corresponding increase in firearms technology development. Good examples of this include the rise …


Building An 80% Firearm- Part 2, by Tupreco

Learn The Why and How (continued) The key provision that makes the 80% industry possible is making sure that all the items being purchased and transported are parts and not a firearm. Because once the parts wind up in your hand, you have the right to now “make” a firearm as listed above but only if you can legally own that firearm in your state of residence. Does this mean I can make my own firearm? The short answer is “Yes, with conditions attached.” From the ATF website: An individual may generally make a firearm for personal use. However, individuals …


Building An 80% Firearm- Part 1, by Tupreco

Learn the Why and How The election of Donald Trump is beginning to show concrete steps toward dialing back the Obama administration’s numerous efforts to undermine our Second Amendment rights. How that will continue to play out remains to be seen. Surprisingly though, even on Obama’s watch there were several pro-2nd Amendment (2A) court and legislative victories, including expansion of concealed carry in many states. Another thing that occurred while Obama was in office was an unexpected but welcome surprise from the ATF. Several years ago, a well-known AR-15 parts manufacturer requested and received the ATF’s formal approval to manufacture …


Kel-Tec SU-16B, by Pat Cascio

This isn’t my first Kel-Tec SU-16B rifle; I bought one around 2003 or 2004, if memory serves me correctly. What caught my attention back then was that it didn’t look like other so-called “assault rifles”. It was compact, lightweight, and shot the .223/5.56 caliber round. However, I had nothing but problems with that particular sample. The empty brass would stick in the chamber after firing, and quite often loaded rounds wouldn’t fit the chamber either. The gun was sent back to Kel-Tec, and several weeks later I got the gun back. I was told that the chamber reamer was worn …


Blackhawk Legacy, by Pat Cascio

As many readers will know, my wife is always chiding me about flashlights. She is somehow under the impression that I might have too many, until the lights go out and she asks, “Where’s a flashlight?”. To be sure, I keep flashlights within my reach– in my living room, bedroom, kitchen, and office. Living in the boonies does have some disadvantages; the power goes out quite often in the winter months, due to trees falling onto the power lines. We are used to the power going out and have prepared accordingly. We have LED lanterns, and we also have a …


Kahr CT40, by Pat Cascio

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I’ve been a huge fan of Kahr , since I laid my hands on the first one I ever spotted in a gun shop. The double-action only trigger pull on their handguns is second to none; it is butter smooth. Some have described the trigger pull as the Rolls Royce of DAO triggers, and I’m not about to argue the point either. The one “problem” I have with any of the Kahr handguns I get in for testing and for writing an article on is that I simply can’t return the samples; I end up purchasing them eventually, because I …


Everyday Carry and the Musings of an Old Guy, for a Post-Apocalyptic World, by OldRonin

A big part of the prepper culture revolves around guns and gear. I must confess, I’m gun and gear poor! I can just about outfit an infantry squad as I write this! My bonafides are as follows: In my youth, I was an Army Airborne Ranger (Ranger class 9/78, assigned to the second Ranger Battalion, 2/75th). Currently, I am a more than 29 year serving police officer and soon to be retired. I’ve done patrol, investigations, FTO, supervision, and I was a SWAT guy at one time. I have also been a “use of force” instructor and have taught rifle, …


Springfield Armory Saint, by Pat Cascio

It happens! Sometimes, it just happens! I don’t know how or why and neither does my contact at Springfield Armory, but I was somehow left out of the loop on their new Saint AR-style rifle. Grrr! I didn’t get a sample on the day they were released; it took more than a month before I got a gun in my hand. Many “gun writers” that I’ve never ever heard of were invited to shoot the new Saint a month earlier at a top secret event. Again, I don’t know how I wasn’t invited, but it happened. Honestly, I don’t know …


CRKT Beauty and The Beast, by Pat Cascio

I still remember when I was a mere lad, seeing Beauty and the Beast on television. It was, of course, a stage production. Still, I was pretty scared of “The Beast” in that production. Years later, we had a TV series with Linda Hamilton as “Beauty” and Ron Perlman as “The Beast”, and things weren’t so scary for me with that “Beast”. I must admit it; I watched the show for “Beauty” and not “The Beast”. It was a modern day version of the old fairy tale. There was another similar show on TV, but it didn’t last very long …


S&W M&P Shield .45 ACP, by Pat Cascio

I know what the stats say that were put out by the FBI that the 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP loaded with a good JHP round are all about the same when it comes to stopping power. However, in their testing, they have no way of determining just how fast a bad guy goes down. Yes, there are results from the street from actual shootings; however, no one is there with a stop watch to time these events. I’ve been a fan of the .45ACP round for just about all my life, and I’m convinced in my own mind …


Reloading And Accurizing For The 45 Colt Revolver- Part 2, by “Papa Bear”

Reloading The 45 Colt is a great choice for reloading. The size of the 45 Colt cartridge helps to make it an easy one to reload. The cartridge can be easily inspected along every step of the reloading process. Also, the handloader has many component options to produce high quality ammunition at a cost much lower than purchasing factory new ammunition. There are some safety considerations that deserve mentioning before getting into the actual reloading instructions. For some reason, there are many people who find it necessary to load the 45 Colt to pressures WAY above safe limits, even exceeding …


Reloading and Accurizing for the 45 Colt Revolver – Part 1, by “Papa Bear”

The 45 Colt revolver is an excellent weapon with many great characteristics. This big revolver is fun to shoot! It throws a big bullet, around 250 grains, but does not have the snappy punishing recoil of larger magnum handguns. Often referred to as “the original magnum revolver”, the old revolver cartridge was a hit when it was introduced. The heavy lead bullet with large frontal area proved to be big medicine against both game animals and ne’er do wells caught on the wrong end of its muzzle. Being eclipsed by newer and higher velocity magnum cartridges has not diminished the …


Inexpensive, Effective, Firearms Training, by R.R.

Editor’s Introductory Note: Three important points should be kept in mind, while absorbing the following valuable article: While quite useful, dry fire practice should only be conducted in a room with a suitable safe backstop, such as sandbags or several thickness of thick metropolitan phone books in a large box atop a desk at chest and head level. And, of course, the weapon should be completely unloaded and ALL ammunition should be absent from that room to prevent negligent discharges. Double check all of this before conducting any dry fire practice. If you want to practice clearing stoppages, then do …


SIG Sauer P320 Series–The U.S. Army’s New Modular Handgun, by Pat Cascio

The Federal government is on the wrong track most of the time. If there is a hard, wrong, or difficult way to do something, they do it, nearly every time. I know this from first-hand experience when I worked for a large detective agency and we often bid on uniform guard services for the Federal government. It’s not quite as simple as being the lowest bidder, as many believe. There are a good number of loopholes involved in bidding on FedGov services, including whether your company has the capability to meet the requirements. They want to know if your business …


Letter Re: SIG MCX Recall

Hello Sir, I noticed a credit card charge from SIG. It turns out a conversion kit (AKA a barrel) finally became available for my MCX. I’ve been “in line” for several months now. Just to be safe, in this era of scams and CC fraud, I called in to verify that this was a legitimate charge. It was. While on their website looking for their contact number, however, I noticed that there was a recall: MCX Mandatory Carriage Assembly Replacement Program. I started filling out the form, but then my paranoia got the better of me. I made further inquiry …