Category: Weapons

Making A Conceal Carry Vest, by C.E.

Surviving is really a willingness to accept the challenge of a life-threatening change that is forced on you. A world that requires a grandmother to conceal carry has been one of my biggest challenges. Can I keep a firearm close at hand for self defense, be legal, be safe around my grandchildren, and still be comfortable? I rarely wear any clothing that will handle a holster. I like the belly band system but find they don’t always work with dresses, and at the end of the day they can be rough on the skin. A conceal carry purse seems too …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Ruger’s New American Pro 9mm

I’ve been a huge fan of Ruger firearms since 1979, when I bought my first Ruger centerfire rifle in .300 Winchester Mag. Everyone anticipated the first cernterfire semiauto pistol from Ruger in 1985, when it was first announced. Alas, there were problems, and the Ruger P85 didn’t actually come out until 1987. I lived in Colorado Springs, CO at the time and operated a small gun business with a friend out of his gas station as well as gun shows, but we couldn’t get our hands on a P85. One gun shop in the entire city had received one sample, …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Ruger SR-556 Takedown

I’m a fan of the AR-15 type of rifles. I always have been. So, when some gun makers started coming out with AR-15s that had a gas piston, instead of the direct gas impingement system, I tested several of them. I think we could have a debate all week long as to the merits of the gas piston system versus the direct gas impingement system and we couldn’t change one another’s minds. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the direct gas impingement system, other than your AR really gets dirty, in short order. Yes, I’m aware there were problems with …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: MagPul D60 AR Magazine

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I’ve seen it, not a few times and not a hundred times but thousands of times, while in gun shops all over the country. A person will lay down a large sum of money for a high-end firearm of some type and then ask the clerk behind the gun shop counter, “Do you have any cheap magazines for this gun?” Are you kidding me? The same goes when it comes to buying a holster for that new 1911 that cost a guy two grand. He’ll buy a $20 generic nylon holster to go on his ultra-thin dress belt! I just …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Cold Steel’s Tiger Claw

Wicked! That’s the word that comes to mind, whenever I think about certain types of knives, especially those designed for self-defense use. Of course, many will associate the word “wicked” with an ex-spouse, and I can certainly understand that! LOL! However, many knives have passed through my hands over the years for articles, perhaps a thousand or more knives. Many, while designed for self-defense, weren’t especially “wicked” looking to my mind. Oh, for sure, you could tell they were what many call “tactical” knives, whatever that means to different people. I’ve been trying to lay claim to a Cold Steel …


Letter Re: Can You Buy a Budget Sniping Rifle That Is Effective?

SB editors, That’s an interesting read on sniping rifles; thanks for posting. I would like to bring your attention to a detailed 80+ YouTube video series on long-range marksmanship, Sniper 101 by Tiborsaurus Rex. The author is a bit long-winded and spreads out 15 minutes of good info into 20-30 minutes, but it’s still worth passing on to your readers. I’m up to video 38; so far it’s been a very informative series, and I’ve adjusted some of my cyber-Monday purchases after hearing his discussion on equipment choices (i.e. single-power mili-rad scope and spotting scope). The author also has a …


CRKT BT-70, by Pat Cascio

I don’t remember where I first heard about custom knife maker Bob Terzuola, but I remember where I was and when it was. My family and I had just moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in June of 1984. During that summer I managed to get my hands on a brochure from Terzuola, and it was pretty plain. There were no pictures at all, just drawings of his fixed blade knives. However, I was impressed by what I saw and ordered one of his knives, which was my very first custom knife. I fell in love with custom knives after that …


Can You Buy a Budget Sniping Rifle That Is Effective?, by B.F.

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There are many definitions of what sniping is. A google search results in 242,000 hits. What one writer calls sniping, another may call precision marksmanship, counter-sniping, or just plain shooting. For the purpose of this article, we will look at rifles capable of acceptable accuracy and sufficient stopping power at distances beyond those of a typical 5.56 or 7.62×39 modern sporting rifle. I’ll compare several budget rifles to a couple that are quite a bit more expensive. Shooting will be done at both 100 and 550 yards, both cold barrel and warm barrel. Honestly, I am not convinced that a …


Sig Sauer P226 Scorpion, by Pat Cascio

My first exposure to any Sig Sauer firearm came in 1980, shortly after I was married and I opened a gun shop in my home. Later, I moved to a regular store front location. A customer asked me to order him a Browning BDA .45 ACP handgun. I readily admit, that back then, I had no idea what the BDA was. I knew the Browning name but wasn’t familiar with the BDA (Browning Double Action) model. After some research, I found out that the “Browning” BDA was manufactured by Sig and imported into the USA by Browning. I was impressed …


Two Letters Re: The 9mm Parabellum vs the .40 Smith and Wesson vs the .45 ACP, by B.F.

Hugh, I enjoyed BF’s “The 9mm Parabellum vs the .40 Smith and Wesson vs the .45 ACP”. It brought back some great memories of my police days and the El Presidente drill we conducted at the end of our range sessions every year. I can attest to his results. When I came on the job in the 1980s, we were issued Ruger .357 Magnum handguns and carried .38 +P rounds. In the early 90s, we went to 9mm because “the criminals are outgunning us with their semi-autos”! In the early 2000s, we went to S&W .40 because “the 9mm doesn’t …


Letter Re: Sheath for Rawles Voyager XL

JWR, Hey, I sent you an email some time back about a sheath for the new knife of yours that my wife bought for me and you recommended “Wicekleather”, a company from Poland. I just wanted you to know, I ordered the sheath and it came today. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL workmanship, and the knife fits into it PERFECTLY. I was thrilled with the sheath and for anyone who bought the knife, I can highly recommend Wiceleather. Thanks for the recommendation! – W.R.


Two Letters Re: The 9mm Parabellum vs the .40 Smith and Wesson vs the .45 ACP, by B.F.

Good Morning Hugh, Read with interest the article posted today about handgun calibers. I agree, the topic is beaten to death, and I agree with the author’s conclusion 110%: You should practice, practice, practice and use what works best for you! I found the following website/report to be extremely useful in my own research, and it provided me with the information I needed to choose a carry-ammunition for my family (Federal 124 gr HST 9mm). YMMV, however, the data was presented extremely well and un-biased. Please pass this link along to your readers for them to use as well. I …


The 9mm Parabellum vs the .40 Smith and Wesson vs the .45 ACP, by B.F.

I recently wrote a letter to SurvivalBlog suggesting that preppers who were looking to upgrade their handguns consider some of the bargains currently available in .40 S&W. In recent weeks, I have seen police trade-ins dropping even more in price with Sig Sauer P226s and P229s selling for as low as $305 and Glock 22s selling for $279. Hugh asked me about my experience with the .40, and I sent him back a note that covered a bit of ground on that topic. I’ve been shooting and reloading for the .40 S&W since Glock introduced the G35 in 1998. That …


Letter Re: Pat Cascio’s VP-9 review

Pat, While most of us who have had some experience with the VP9 agree that it is a reliable and affordable pistol we also have found that the trigger guard has a groove in it that will really mess up your finger from friction if you shoot it a lot. One guy I know loves the gun so much he has altered the trigger guard a bit to mitigate this problem. – M.


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: H&K VP9

I’ve always been a big fan of H&K (Heckler & Koch) firearms, at least most of them. They’ve had a few that weren’t to my liking. One thing that most folks will agree on is that the price point on many H&K Products is very high, VERY high, and that scares away a lot of gun buyers– guys like me who are the average guy! I have to spend my hard-earned money very carefully. The H&K firearms I’ve owned in the past were all used ones. I couldn’t afford new guns from them. Well, that is changing. H&K is listening …