Category: Weapons

Letter Re: Firearms Philosophy

In his book– Tools for Survival– JWR states that he is in the “narrow but deep” firearms camp rather than the “broad range” of firearms camp. I suggest a third alternative: Go for the “narrow but deep” philosophy first with a military style rifle with quality optics and a military style handgun and LOTS of mags and ammo for each (and, arguably, a shotgun). Then, slowly supplement that with other less expensive firearms with less ammo. These firearms should be non-military as, for example, lever action rifles, bolt action hunting rifles, and revolvers, with smaller quantities of ammo. Why? The …


Letter Re: Scoping the Garand

Hugh, Here is some helpful information when dealing with the Garand rifle. This video shows how to field strip the Garand rifle. You may remove the operating rod without removing the gas chamber/front sight assembly. Remove trigger group, Remove operating spring, Pull operating handle to the rear where it will come out of notch on upper edge of slot, Pull operating rod back and out of gas chamber. Thank you, – V.S.


Buck Knives Model 245 MWG, by Pat Cascio

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You probably won’t find the new fixed blade Buck Model 245 MWG on the Buck® Knives Official Website list of their Hunting and Tactical Knives just yet, because it is so new; I received one of the first samples. Sure, a month or two ago, many websites released a press release– the same I received– on the Model 245 MWG Buck knife, but these sites do an injustice to the product and the reader, if you ask me, by simply posting a press release without actually testing the product. Everyone is probably familiar with the most famous Buck folding knife …


Scot’s Product Review: Nikon PROSTAFF Target EFR 3-9x 40mm Rifle Scope

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If my rifles had feelings, I bet my .22’s and air rifles would feel slighted. They don’t get the expensive accessories that my centerfire ones get, the most important of which are quality optics. I usually have to pinch pennies, and I view the most important firearms in my collection to be the self-defense and hunting ones, so that’s where the money goes. The importance of self-defense does not need to be stated, while hunting puts food on the table and also serves a critical function. I don’t get to hunt as much as I would like, but when I …


Range Brass to Finished Cartridge, Tips For The Ubiquitous .223 Cartridge, by R.W. – Part 3

On full charge cartridges, you need to watch for defects, so: Look for any swelling, cracks, splits, or thinning of the brass. Check for fouling, debris, or dirt jammed into the cavity of the shell case. It may be generally noted that discoloring around the top of the case at the neck radius is common with most military surplus brass and will often be polished off in the cleaning of the shell cases. Watch for any heavy corrosion or pitting, as this should be a warning that the bullet has lost some ductility and integrity due to the oxidization process, …


Range Brass to Finished Cartridge, Tips For The Ubiquitous .223 Cartridge, by R.W. – Part 2

Why would anyone go to the risk or bother to reload their own bullets, if all things are equal? For instance, why reload if reloading materials are just as available as finished bullets and conversely there are no shortages or sticker shock encountered in either? That’s a good question. My advice is to leave no stone unturned, dig a little deeper, and keep all of your options open. Not all bullets are created equal, of course. Even if all manufacturers made the same specifications, performance and accuracy would vary wildly, or else the science of punching holes in paper to …


Range Brass to Finished Cartridge, Tips For The Ubiquitous .223 Cartridge, by R.W. – Part 1

One of the ways I have saved money in the past, to make room in my budget for other prep items, is by learning to load my own ammunition. I love capitalism, as I believe competition breeds innovation and competitive pricing and usually provides the consumer with a variety of options from which to choose. As a good consumer in a capitalist economy, I try to spread my loyalty (brand loyalty) around as I find products that meet my needs and budget. I believe that trade-offs of quality versus price will need to be balanced with value-added engineering and budgets. …


Scot’s Product Review: Scoping the Garand

Recently, you were treated to my diatribe on the wonders of the U.S. Semiautomatic Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, better known as the Garand after its designer, John C. Garand https://survivalblog.com/scots-product-review-the-m1-garand/. The brief synopsis is that I really like the thing. It fires the hard hitting .30-06 cartridge, which is fully capable of handling any game on the American continents (though I might like something bigger for the large bears), and it can deliver match grade long-range accuracy when tuned. In service grade with a fresh barrel, Garands often shoot just as well as a modern sporting bolt action rifle. The …


Letter Re: Milsurp Ammo

Sir: There has been some back and forth about the utility of milsurp rifles lately. Without regard to the rifles themselves, one of the advantages often given is that ammunition for some calibers can be relatively inexpensive when bought in bulk. Folks should be warned that some of this ammunition is military surplus and may not have been manufactured to Western standards, and it may have been subjected to improper storage conditions as well. It’s surplus for a reason, you know. Case in point: Some years back, I bought a spam can of 7.62x54R, opened the can, and transferred the …


An Argument for Milsurp Rifles

I’ve been reviewing old military rifles off and on, with the idea that they have uses for preppers. I’ve even had letters suggesting that I do these reviews. We recently published a very thoughtful letter from M.M. to the contrary. I wanted to address a few of the points he made and thank him for taking the time to write. The first point is that I wasn’t very good at saying that we are looking for bargains in these rifles. My main goal was to help people realize that if they see a good deal on one, they ought to …


Springfield Armory XD Mod.2, by Pat Cascio

Much has been written about this redefined little 9mm handgun from Springfield Armory– the XD Mod.2 since the first day it came on the scene. The gun is also available in .40 S&W, and by the time this article appears in print, it will also be available in .45ACP. I’ll be the first to admit that when the first XD subcompact 9mm came out, I wasn’t all that thrilled with it. It was too chunky to my way of thinking, and it just didn’t feel right in my hand. I shot one but never bought one! Just a quick run …


Letter: An Argument Against Milsurp Rifles

Dear Jim, Good article on Mauser rifles, but I have a few comments to consider. The cost of a milsurp, plus the cost of a free float barrel stock, plus the cost of gun smithing scope mounts on the receiver, plus the cost of the mount and rings cut to fit the receiver profile, plus the cost of a bent bolt that then needs to be fitted to your receiver is more than a bolt action 270 or 308 or 30-06 sporting rifle, which are already setup for off-the-shelf mount, rings, and a standard hunting scope with modern optics. Old …


Scot’s Product Review: Mauser 98 Rifle

As part of my continuing investigation of old military rifles for prepping, I have come to the products of the Mauser boys– Paul and Wilhelm– who are best known for their bolt action rifles. While they didn’t invent bolt actions or the box magazines that came to be one of their signature features of the bolt gun, their rifles, particularly the Model 98 (that’s for 1898) pattern, are still considered to be in the top tier of the type. Versions are made to this day. As best as I can research, the first bolt action rifle was the Dryese needle …


Scot’s Product Review: Federal Ammunition

I have always had good results with Federal ammunition, in handguns, rifles, and shotguns. It is what I carry in my primary self-defense pistol, and it’s what resides in my home defense shotgun. I’m torn between one of their loads and a competitor’s for the AR platform. Federal offers a pretty complete line; while it doesn’t satisfy every niche of my needs, it gets most of them and does so with reliable, high quality, and consistent products. They have some lines that I think should be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers, for self-defense, hunting, and training. Federal American Eagle Fresh …


Letter Re: Armor Plate for a Bus

Hello, I’m looking at putting plate steel inside the walls of a bus that I am converting, and I was wondering how thick of steel I should put in there for effective armor from rifle fire up to something like .30-06. Can you provide any guidance in this area? Thank you – T.K. Hugh Responds: If you are talking mild steel plates, there isn’t any thickness that I would recommend. Mild steel (the most common plate steel) is so soft that thicknesses of greater than 1” may be required. Many today use abrasion resistance steel (steel intended for large earth …