Category: Weapons

Letter Re: An Opinion on .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO

Dear Mr. Rawles: I know you’re busy and I don’t expect you have time to chat about old ground but I did have some observations on guns that you might consider. While the AR-15 in .223 cal. is not a bear killer nor a long-range sniper weapon, it seems to have been completely dismissed in “Patriots” (which I greatly enjoyed and profited from) and in the writings on the Blog. However, there are two cartridges that make this little gun lethal: the [55 grain] M193 Round/Q3131 Round and the 68 gr. Black Hills Match Hollow Point. The M193/Q3131 round has …


Letter Re: The Salt Lake City Trolley Square Mall Shootings and “Gun Free” Zones

James, I’m a concealed carry handgun instructor for the state of Kansas. I haven’t come across any articles or news reports that made mention of whether or not the shopping mall had posted “no concealed carry” signs. Have you heard anything? I would like to know as I can use this incident in my classes. – Rick JWR Replies: According to several published new stories, including this one, there were indeed signs at some of the Trolley Square Mall’s entrances emblazoned, “No Guns.” So we can surmise that ostensibly “gun free zones” such as public schools, public buildings and shopping …


Letter Re: One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns?

Jim, In trying to standardize equipment for a retreat, what do you think of .40 S&W in handguns (already own) and the various [semi-auto] carbines that can be purchased that shoot that [same] round .(Like Ruger [Kel-Tec, and Marlin.] )? I know they (.40 S&W) are slower than the .223 or .308, but still effective. I know the smaller magazine capacities (like 10 rounds) might be an issue. The major “plus” would be a complete compatibility of ammunition for all the guns so that you only have to worry about stocking and carrying one type (except for the .22 [rimfire]s …


A SurvivalBlog Reader’s Four Days at Front Sight, by S.F. in Hawaii

I recently returned from a four day handgun course at Front Sight, courtesy of SurvivalBlog’s writing contest. Upon arriving I made a quick headcount of the handgun class. ~50 students, 10 female and 40 male. Mostly 30 to 50 year olds but a few teenagers and 60 year olds as well. The first pleasant surprise was how safe and peaceful I felt in a location where I was surrounded by absolute strangers all of whom had a gun in plain sight on a holster. I’ve never been around so many armed people and never felt so comfortable either. Crime in …


Letter Re: Smoke Damaged Firearms

Greetings, In January, our home burned down. The family made it out safely thanks to our dog waking us up. The fire started outside and once it entered the house it was engulfed in minutes. My question is how to restore books, firearms, et cetera that have been damaged by smoke and fire. Since getting burned out is a possibility in survival times this information could be quite handy. BTW Smoke eats the finish on guns. My Mini-14 got eaten up pretty badly, but the CETME in the rack next to it came out just fine. I guess they used …


Letter Re: Questions on Multipurpose Home Shelters

Sir: I live in Georgia and we have more than our share of tornados. We usually go to the basement to my office during storms but I’ve decided that even though it’s underground on 3 sides, with only 3/4 plywood and sheet rock between us and the garage doors that it is no longer a viable option. I’ve looked at FEMA plans and I’ve scratched my head and come up with this idea but wanted to kind of say it out loud to someone to see if it sounds too crazy. The back part of the basement is almost completely …


Letter Re: Firearm Chamber Adapters

Hi Jim, I found an article in the latest issue of “The Backwoodsman” magazine that talked about using chamber adapters to employ different caliber ammunition in single shot, and over-and-under [rifle/shotgun combination gun]s like the Savage 24V. Here’s the [MCA Sports] web site mentioned in the article that sells the adapters: http://www.mcace.com/adapters.htm It seems like a neat idea to have the capability to convert a firearm to shoot different types of ammo that might be scrounge during a long term TEOTWAWKI . Do you think there is any merit in investing in chamber adapters? Or would it be wiser to …


Letter Re: Advice on Security for Unattended Retreats

Mr. Rawles: I feel guilty about asking you this in an e-mail, since I should probably pay for consulting time to have you answer the following: I have a vacation/retreat house that is in another state, almost 600 miles from my home on the coast. I agree with your advice (that you’ve repeated gosh how many times) that someone should live at retreat year round. I tried renting it to an acquaintance that needed some “space” for a time following a divorce, but he eventually moved on. Now my retreat is vacant. All of my friends and me–including the two …


Letter Re: Urban Freeway Traffic Gridlock in a Disaster

James; As Bob B. from the Seattle area stated, the gridlock of freeways is a huge issue, especially in Seattle. I had the unfortunate experience of being on the 50th floor of a large building in Seattle during the earthquake of 2000, and again on Sept. 11th, 2001. I was more prepared for the latter. in the aftermath of the earthquake, I became acutely aware of the fact that Seattle is an island: bridges to get in and out of the city that cross both Lake Washington, and Lake Union. And while there, the entire freeway system is elevated. Not …


Home Security–The “Lock Bumping” Threat

There is currently a lot of buzz on the Internet about the emerging threat of “lock bumping.” This is an old technique used by burglars that can defeat up to 80% of typical household dead-bolt locks. It is catching on with a whole new generation of burglars in the U.S., Canada, and in Europe. (Using an easily obtained specially cut generic “bump” key and a small mallet.) This video clip from Holland (with English subtitles) shows the technique. And here is another video, from here in the States. My advice is to upgrade the locks on your exterior doors with …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing Ammunition in Stripper Clips

Shalom Jim: I have a quick question for you that is probably not the most profound one you’ve ever heard. Recently I purchased some 7.62mm NATO Ball from Southern Ohio Gun, and it came in a metal box loaded on stripper clips with five cartridges per clip. Do you recommend keeping the cartridges on the clips or would you remove them and pack them loosely in the metal box? Also, what is the reasoning behind your answer? Thanks, – Dr. Sidney Zweibel, Columbia P&S JWR Replies: Unless the stripper clips are rusty (which could induce sympathetic corrosion on the cartridge …


Letter Re: Yet Another Article Touting “Mobility” for Survival

Jim: Thank you for response on the mobile survival fantasy. I think it is dangerous for the average Joe to believe that he can be a mountain man. Sure, some can, in some climates and locations with lots of training. Even then it’s dangerous and unpredictable. A twisted ankle can be the end of you. Remember too, those mountain survival stories were from the days when the wildlife in this country was at much higher levels. For most of us it means being cold, wet, tired, hungry and thirsty in the woods and being targets on the streets. (“Nice pack …


The Next Pandemic: Starvation in a Land of Plenty

At the dawn of the 21st century, we are living in an amazing time of prosperity. Our health care is excellent, our grocery store shelves burgeon with a huge assortment of fresh foods, and our telecommunications systems are lightning fast. We have relatively cheap transportation, and our cities are linked by an elaborate and fairly well-maintained system of roads, rails, canals, seaports, and airports. For the first time in human history, the majority of the world’s population will soon live in cities rather than in the countryside. But the downside to all this abundance is over-complexity, over-specialization, and lengthy supply …


Letter Re: SHOT Show Report From Mr. B.

The following are my brief impressions of things that I got to see at the recent SHOT Show. There was lot of interest in the prototype .308 Bullpup from Kel-Tec, which takes standard metric FAL magazines. It is planned to be produced in various barrel lengths, and should be reasonably priced.It was interesting, with its forward axial cartridge ejection, just above the barrel. I don’t recall pricing but $2K would be my best recall/guess. Mr. Kellegren [the “Kel” in Kel-Tec] personally showed me the patent pending ejector. It ejects the casing on the same forward stroke of the bolt that …


Two Letters Re: Night Sights for Pistols

Jim, I can definitely say that the XS Sights work as advertised. I’ve tried them on the Mini-14 and AR-15 carbines, and in both cases they enabled accurate 100 yard plinking at night and fast acquisition with full sights. With a peep-sight equipped rifle, the Tritium front is the most worthwhile upgrade. If you can see the sight through the opening, you’re going to hit what you’re pointing at. For around $100, this is a very worthwhile upgrade for any gun that gets used at night. – Arclight   Jim, While reading earlier today OSOM’s posting re “Night Sights for …