Gun control - My thoughts and my recommended solution

My thoughts on gun control and the recent shooting this summer in America

If you are reading this then you probably already know this summer (July 2012) a man walked into a packed movie theater in Aurora Colorado armed with legally purchased firearms and began randomly shooting people. He killed 12 people including a 6 year old little girl.

A month later (August 2012) a man walked into a church in Oak Creek Wisconsin armed with at least one legally purchased handgun and began randomly shooting people. He killed 6 people.

Same month (August 2012) a man walked up to a former co-worker on a busy NYC sidewalk, pushed him to the ground and shot him in the head in broad daylight at around 9am. 

It has definitely been a summer of highly publicized gun violence.

When you hear of news like this what is the first that comes to mind?

For me its…what would I do if I were there? What would I do if my family were there caught in the middle of these situations? I have 2 little boys and a wife and I can’t help but think what would I do if an active shooter were to try and kill us while we are out in public somewhere? 

Another thought that comes to mind is… why didn’t at least one person have a gun to defend themselves? At least in the Colorado massacre that is. Its legal to carry a concealed weapon there.

Many people see this on the news and say to themselves “oh that will never happen to me”. I on the other hand say to myself, it can happen to anyone at any time at any place. Only a fool would think otherwise.

Believe it or not there are people out there who think that statistically there are over 200 million people in America and the odds of being hurt or killed by random acts of violence are extremely low. 

They believe they have a better chance of getting struck by lightning or being bit by a shark or winning the lottery.

They say, “I refuse to live in fear” so they go about their business as usual without a care in the world and do absolutely nothing to prepare themselves for any kind of threat to them or their family. They say things like…”If its my time to go then that’s just life and there is nothing I can do about it. Why waste time thinking about it”.

I am not made this way personally. If you believe in God then you believe that God helps those who help themselves. If you believe in luck then you believe luck favors the prepared.  

Another thing I think of is how are these massacres going to affect our gun laws? In other words, how are these crimes going to affect how I can defend myself after ridiculous gun control laws are made in a knee jerk reaction to these crimes?

I painfully remember the 1994 Clinton assault weapons ban . I was born in California and I cant stand the idiotic 10 round magazine limit, bullet button and the featureless nonsense they have to put up with that does absolutely nothing to stop crime. 

For those who don’t know, crime actually went up after the assault weapons ban. Why? Probably because criminals never stopped buying stolen weapons and never stopped carrying illegal guns. Simply put, they never stopped being criminals. They didn’t care about the law before the ban and they didn’t care about the law after the ban. They don’t care about laws in general. That is why we call them criminals. 

The gun control laws only affected the law abiding citizens who followed the law. It effectively disarmed and punished Americans who never committed a crime.

Ironically cities like Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago and NYC have the country’s strictest gun control laws all in the name of “safety” and “to reduce crime” yet they also have the highest firearm crime rates in the entire USA. How is it possible to have high firearms related murders if guns are so restricted? It simply cannot be possible. It is a fact that the anti-gun liberals refuse to recognize. It’s clear gun control does not work. 

Ironically in states that allow ownership of class III machine guns… there has never been a single case of a registered owner of a machine gun committing a crime with it. Las Vegas has lots of dirt bags and machine guns are completely legal to own there yet no one person has used a machine gun to commit a massacre or rob a billion dollar casino? How ironic. If you are an anti-gun advocate? Please answer that question?

These 3 recent shootings have only reinforced my decision to carry a concealed weapon every day. Not because I live in fear, but because I refuse to put my family at risk of being one of those defenseless victims.

Those who subscribe to me already know, I carry my Glock 26 7 days a week.  I always encourage my friends and family to have a certain “situational awareness” and stay armed if you can. Especially if you live in a state where you have the freedom to carry?

A few people have watched my youtube videos and have criticized me for being a “typical paranoid American”. I can only assume these comments are from a European socialist? But no matter who it is, I have to laugh at these kinds of comments because these are the same people who probably put a seat belt on their child. You don’t put a seatbelt on your child because of the law. You put a seatbelt on your child because you want to protect them just in case something bad happens. 

This is the exact same reason I carry a concealed weapon. I carry it to protect my family in case something bad happens. That’s not being paranoid. That’s being intelligent and prepared.

I fear these recent massacres will push law makers into creating new gun control laws to try and make us safer. With the Presidential elections just a few months away I fear whoever wins will feel compelled to enact some form of gun control to make us safer. 

The anti-gun movement has been working hard to find new ways to restrict guns in America. Many openly wish for an all-out total gun ban. The NRA and the 2^nd Amendment itself has been difficult for the anti-gun movement since the constitution clearly protects our right to bear arms. 

What I fear is what the 2^nd Amendment does not protect. It doesn’t protect magazine capacity or the amount of ammo we can buy. It doesn’t protect against high taxes on ammo or protect against caliber restriction.

I fear the federal government is going to try and push all of America to adopt the same gun control laws as California, New York and Illinois all in the attempt to make us safer…but as history has already proven…it wont. The shooting at the Empire State bldg. in NYC is proof of that.

Here is the sad truth about humanity. Criminals will always kill. Mass murders will always happen. With strict gun control laws there will be millions of defenseless law abiding citizens for killers to prey upon. 

A “gun free zone” might as well have a sign that says “mass murderers please come here. No one can stop you”. 

Thankfully banning all guns is impossible at this point but even if we did ban all guns today, the fact remains that guns are here to stay whether legal or illegal. If we stopped making guns and stopped importing guns, we shut down all gun stores and made all face to face gun sales illegal…the fact remains that guns are still on Earth. 

If you restrict them, you will create a powerful black market demand for them. Look at history. What happened when the Government banned something we love like alcohol? It created the bloodiest time in modern history. It created the entire organized crime phenomenon.

What do I think is the answer? My opinion is that instead of restricting guns, we should give law abiding citizens the power to defend themselves from random acts of violence. 

Do I want everyone to carry a gun? No. My fellow gun advocates will probably hate me for saying this but I believe we should allow gun ownership (not restrict it) but allow it with some strict rules.

The die hards hate this idea because they feel that once you give up an inch of the 2^nd amendment, somehow we will lose a mile. But for me, I feel if you own a gun you should have “mandatory” firearms training. Make gun buyers take a competency safety test. If you cannot pass an in-depth background check, and cannot pass a standard safety class then you are not competent to carry a gun. But if you are proven to be competent then we should be allowed to carry a concealed gun “IN ALL 50 STATES”.

We should create a national concealed carry law instead of individual state CCW laws. Give the good guys the power to stop random acts of violence. If one person had a concealed weapon in that movie theater they could have stopped the killer or at least injure him to the point where he could not concentrate because he is being shot at. People would probably still die but not 12 people.

Many argue that a handgun would have been suicide against a man with an AR15. True but I would rather die fighting to protect my family’s life than to just sit there and do nothing. 

Some will say having a restaurant or grocery store or theater full of armed citizens is a disaster waiting to happen. If 3 or 5 people respond to a single man with a gun, there will probably way too many shots fired and actually hurt or kill more people than the killer could. (if there are people behind the bad guy).

To a certain degree I agree. The NYC shooter killed one man but the police who responded shot him and 8 bystanders because the shooting happened on a busy NYC street.

As much as I would like to think all gun owners are good people. The fact is that there are a lot of people out there with bad attitudes, short tempers and violent personalities, or have a low intelligence but they are completely legal to own a firearm. 

Because of this I do think it would be wise to do more extensive background checks.  Make it mandatory for firearms owners to take firearms competency tests and safety classes. Educate them before they can own a gun. 

Here is the biggest problem. Mentally ill people! Every one of the shooters had emotional or mental issues. Many of them even had a history of mental illness or emotional problems. Why focus on guns when we all know the real problem is crazy people with guns! 

If you take away the guns you are still left with a violent mental person who still has access to knives, machetes, swords, chainsaws, needles filled with poison or diseases, homemade pipe bombs, fertilizer bombs and other explosives they learned to make from the internet. The capacity to kill does not go away by simply banning all guns. Humans have been killing long before the invention of the gun.  

I know I will piss off a lot of people by having this opinion but it is my opinion. 

I can understand the fear of my idea of gun control. Just look at what happened to the gun rights in the UK and Australia. Massacres we committed in those countries and the citizens voted for gun control. Next thing you know their guns were over restricted and banned totally. 

It was a clear case of over-reaction. The anti-gun movement was given an inch but they took a mile. Once they restrict your guns its almost impossible to repeal the law unless it has a built in expiration date.

I think the proper reaction to a massacre is not gun control but the right to carry a concealed weapon. Just like what Texas did after the Libbys restaurant massacre. Before the massacre Texas did not allow concealed carry of a firearm. After 22 people were killed in Libbys at lunch time, Texas wised up and gave their citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon. They did exactly the opposite of what politicians normally do in these cases. They empowered the citizens not leave them defenseless. 

Look at Texas now. Yes they still have crime but when was the last time you heard of a mass murder in Texas?

Not true...look at the Ft. Hood massacre, you say? Well guess what… The Army does not allow it soldiers or visiting civilians to carry a loaded firearm on base. It’s essentially a gun free zone even though there are hundreds of troops trained to shoot. It’s extremely ironic. 

The shooter knew everyone in the bldg. was unarmed. He knew he had a large window of time to conduct a massacre before anyone with a gun would arrive. For example at Virginia Tech 30 people were killed in 12 minutes. 12 minutes is all a mass murderer needs. It’s fairly common knowledge that it takes SWAT 15 minutes to even show up. 

So there you have it. That is my opinion on gun control here in America.

#1 Don’t ban guns. Make CCW permits legal in all 50 states and actually allow more guns to be in the hands of legally checked and trained citizens.

#2 Mandatory safety training for all firearms owners. Yes all of us. It’s a compromise but it’s the only compromise I feel makes sense. Restricting mags to 10 rounds, restricting barrel lengths to 16 or 18 inches, restricting pistol grips, restricting flash hiders, restricting, suppressors, restricting collapsible stocks, restricting folding stocks, restricting mag release buttons does nothing to make us safer. Let us keep all these things but make us take a safety class to do so. That makes the most sense to me. 

#3 Focus on the mentally unstable, not the gun itself. Guns don’t commit mass murder. Crazy people do.

What is your recommendation?

Like it or not that is my opinion (for now) unless someone can make a better case.

Ruger mini 14 Ranch Rifle “tactical” model

 First, the basics of the Ruger mini 14 in general...

The Ruger mini 14 family of rifles was first produced in 1974.

Mini 14’s are chambered in .223/5.56mm, 6.8spc, 7.62x39mm

Mini 14’s are popular because they are traditional styled, light weight, simple, compact, quick handling, affordable rifles. Good or bad…mini 14’s are an American legend. My father’s mini 14 (187 series) was the first center fire rifle I ever shot.

They are gas piston operated, Garand style rotating bolt, detachable magazine fed, semiautomatic rifles that are basically miniature versions of the Springfield Armory M14, hence the name mini 14.

Mini 14’s are famous for being extremely reliable and durable and can cycle almost any quality of ammo you feed it. They are also popular for being a nice alternative to AR15’s and AK47’s which have negative reputations in non-gun friendly states. The mini 14 looks more like a hunters rifle vs. a military style rifle.

Mini 14’s have a long history of proven performance under fire with police departments and prisons in America. The AR15 has pretty much taken over the role of patrol rifle today but in the 1970’s & 1980’s thousands of police officers trusted their lives to a mini 14. Many prisons still choose the mini 14 over the AR15.

Average prices today range from about $600 up to $900 depending on the model. In the old days they were a lot more budget friendly at about $250.

Ruger makes various models – 

-standard ranch rifle = 18.5” barrel

-tactical and NRA = 16.12” barrel

-heavy barrel target model = 22” barrel chambered in .223 only (not 5.56)

-mini 6.8spc = 18.5” barrel

-mini 30 (7.62x39) 18.5” barrel

-AC556 model has a 13” barrel and is select fire made for police & military use only. Very rare.

The older (pre-2005) mini 14’s were made with a thin profile barrel which was notorious for stringing its groups as the barrel heated up.

The sights have changed over the years from peep sights with a single front blade, to flip down rear sights to clear scopes to ghost ring sights with 3 blade protected front sights.

Ruger has been making the “Ranch Rifle” model since 1982 starting with the 187 series. You can tell a Ranch Rifle by its scope mounts on the receiver and side ejecting shells to clear a scope. Previous models had no factory scope mounting options and shell ejected out of the top of the receiver. Ruger did not start stamping “Ranch Rifle” into the receiver until 2005.

In 2005 Ruger began production of the new 580 series with a thicker barrel profile.

 The all new and improved 580 - 581 Series Mini 14

Produced from 2005-Present.

Designated as the Mini-14 “Ranch Rifle” which is stamped on the heel of the receiver.

The 580 series are built off of all new tooling machines with thicker profile “heavier” barrels which improved accuracy due to the barrel being stiffer and decreased heat sensitivity due to the thicker barrel. This basically put a stop to the reputation of mini 14’s being inaccurate when they heat up. 

Now you can shoot all day and expect 2 to 4 inch groups at 100 yards which is a significant leap forward in accuracy for the 40 year old design of the thin barreled mini 14’s of the past. Of course quality ammo helps with accuracy also.

The Tactical model mini 14

The tactical models come with a blued 16.12 inch barrel.

Ghost ring rear peep sight adjustable for windage & elevation, Winged (3-blade) Front Sight.

Some tactical models come with a birdcage style flash hider and some have no muzzle device at all.

Integrated scope mounts machined into the receiver.

Side ejecting shells to clear any optics mounted to the receiver.

Polymer traditional style rifle stock. Some models come with an ATI stock with a folding buttstock and multiple picatinny rails on the handguards.

Tactical models weigh roughly 6.75 lbs in the standard rifle style polymer stock.

Integrated front sling swivel in the gas block and a sling swivel mounted on the rear of the stock.

Ships with 2 Ruger factory 20 round steel magazines.

It’s easy to see inside the chamber just by glancing down. No need to tilt the gun to inspect the chamber.

The magazine release is ambidextrous, similar to the M14 and AK47. The down side is that it uses a “rock in” style vs. a straight insert and drop free style of an AR15 magazine. Mag changes are only slightly slower than an AR15 but it’s still quick with practice.

The safety selector is ambidextrous. Its styled after the M1 Garand and M14. The down side is that you have to insert your finger into the trigger guard to disengage it. If you make a mistake or have an accident as you go to disengage the safety, you could have a negligent discharge? This is why this style of safety is not copied in any modern rifle today. Its old but it works and as I mentioned, it is ambidextrous.

It has a “last shot- bolt hold open” feature. This obviously makes mag changes easy. When the bolt locks to the rear it needs a new mag. The downside is that it does not have a bolt release button like an AR15. You must insert a fresh mag, then “rack” the charging handle to release the bolt. With practice it can still be done quickly.

It field strips quick and easy. No pins to push. Simply yank on the trigger guard and the whole assembly pops out and unlocks from the barreled action.

The bolt can be a little tricky to remove and re-assemble but with practice it can be done quickly.

It has a plastic handguard. While it does a great job of protecting your hand from heat and the reciprocating op-rod...I think it looks freakishly ugly. I want to replace mine with an older style vented handuard with no op-rod portion.

Lots of magazine options. 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 round magazines and drum mags. It’s said that the factory Ruger magazines are the most reliable. From my own personal experience I would have to agree. I own a 40 round mag and it has malfunctioned more than I am comfortable with.

Final thoughts…

The Ruger mini 14 tactical is a great rifle for all kinds of uses from law enforcement to home defense to hunting to SHTF to the zombie apocalypse. 

Its rock solid reliable and rugged and can take a fair amount of abuse, neglect, cheap steel ammo and keep on shooting.

It may be almost the same price as an AR15 but some people actually don’t want an AR15 believe it or not. Some people actually prefer the look and feel of a more traditional rifle setup. 

It has its strengths and weaknesses just like any other gun. Some may not be a fan of the M14/AK47 style where you have to “rock in” the magazine vs. straight insert and drop free AR15 magazines?

Some may not be a fan of the Garand style safety lever in the trigger guard?

All in all, I think the Ruger min 14 tactical is a fun American classic that has been upgraded with a new barrel and better sights, that is worth every penny. Inside of 200 yards I think it is just as effective as almost any other .223/5.56 rifle that costs twice as much.

My opinion on slide mounted safeties/decockers

Plain and simple, I don’t like slide mounted safeties/decockers because…

1. They can cut my hand and make my grip slippery with blood.

2. They can be swiped into the “safe” condition when doing the overhand technique of manipulating the slide.

3. They can be swiped into the decocked condition which can be distracting and affect my accuracy and ultimately leave me vulnerable to being shot due to missing my target.

Here is how I came up with my opinions.

Many moons ago while in the military, I used to carry the Beretta M9 (9mm) handgun on my chest in a cross draw rig. I currently carry the S&W4006TSW tactical (40cal) as my dept. issued duty weapon.

If you don’t already know, both these guns have one huge feature in common…they both have slide mounted safeties and decokcers. (the safety is also the decocker combined) After a few years of past experience and current experience carrying this gun I have developed a first hand opinion on slide mounted safeties & decockers. For this topic I will refer slide mounted safeties/decockers as SMS’s to keep life simple.

If you ever ran your handgun through a demanding course of fire where you are forced to run, shoot from cover, from your back, shoot on the move, navigate through doors and rooms and hallways ect ect, and deal with malfunctions…all under stress and adrenaline…you may know what I am about to say?

When I experienced a malfunction, I did what was drilled into me for years, which is “tap, rack, bang!” Of course there are variations of the wording of this method now but you get the point. And no matter what level of malfunction there is, it usually involves manipulating or “racking” the slide with an “over the top” or “over hand” technique.

This is a part of my DNA now and I can’t remove it without some type of psychological brainwashing, lol. One time on the range after hours and hours of performing this “overhand” technique I noticed a warm wet feeling on my support hand. It was blood.

I had gripped that slide and rear sight with enough force to rip open the skin on my palm. Not so much a problem on my Beretta M9 but on the sights of the S&W4006. They are large, sharp and adjustable. Btw, I am also not a fan of adjustable sights on a fighting handgun but that’s a whole other topic.

Now this may not be a big deal since I will not die of blood loss obviously and in a real gun fight, adrenaline won’t allow me to feel the low level pain of a cut palm. The real problem is that my grip could get compromised due to the slickness of my blood. If this affects my shot placement then I could actually die from missing a critical shot on the bad guy who in turn takes advantage of my disadvantage.

At the end of the day, accuracy wins the day even though it’s popular to say “speed is life” on the battlefield.

So as you can see a small seemingly insignificant issue can turn into a real life and death issue in a split second due to a slippery grip.

Another big reason why I am not a fan of of SMS’s is not 100% the guns fault but a training issue. It is possible to do the “over hand” technique and accidentally swipe the safety into the “ON” position.

How is this possible? Well some hands are bigger (or in my case fatter) than others and my palm or fingers or both can push down on the SMS lever, actually pushing it all the way into the safe position.

This is obviously possible because the SMS lever is mounted high and pushing it “DOWN” is the safe position, whereas if it where mounted low on the frame and the action to put it on safe where “UP” (like on a 1911 or HK USP and others) it becomes almost impossible to accidentally swipe your gun into a safe/no fire condition. 

On my S&W4006 if I did this in a life and death gun fight…I would obviously put myself in danger. I’d have to have the presence of mind to recognize my mistake, take my focus off the threat (or threats) refocus on my gun to identify my problem, fix it by flicking the safety “OFF”, refocus back out onto the threat and get back into the fight.

For some, this whole process might only take a second or 2 to recognize and fix? But as you know, 1 or 2 seconds is all it takes to loose in a gun fight. Again, this is where that old saying “speed is life”. Accuracy won’t matter if your gun is on safe!!!

Now on some models, like the HK USP if you accidentally swipe the frame mounted safety/decocker lever all the way down past safe, all you will do is decock the gun and be forced to shoot the next round in double action mode. That’s the mode that requires a heavy trigger pull. This can be distracting and throw off your accuracy but at least you are still in the fight.

Now keep in mind many folks never experience what I did. And even folks with big or fat hands may not experience what I did. This is just my personal experience.

If you have a gun with a slide mounted safety/decocker and you are effective and accurate with it, don’t change your setup. You have found what works for you, and in the end that’s what you really need in a defensive/fighting handgun. You just need a gun that fits you and that you shoot accurately with.

Stay safe.

Why I like Mossberg shotguns vs Remington shotguns for self defense

The question of which shotgun to choose for home defense is an age old question. It cannot really be answered. There is no right or wrong answer. All I can do is clearly explain why I choose the Mossberg pump shotguns for home defense and let you decide if it makes sense to you?

So here are some of the reasons why I like Mossberg pump action shotguns vs Remingtons

1. Mossbergs have dual extractors vs a single extractor. In this case 2 is better than one. When you have a sticky shell or a weak casing lip on a single extractor shotgun, the brass lip of the shell can bend or rip and the shell will not extract and the gun will experience a double feed since the shell is still in the chamber. With dual extractors its basic physics. If one fails, there is a back up. In the world of self defense, back ups are always welcomed.

2. Mossbergs have a non-spring loaded shell elevator vs Remingtons spring loaded shell elevator. When you load a Mossberg, the shell elevator retracts up and out of the way of the load gate and chamber giving the shooter a wide open space to load shells into the magazine tube. There is nothing to cause any issues when loading.

When loading a Remington shotgun, it has a spring loaded shell elevator. You have to push the shell elevator down with the shell you are trying to load, and shove the shell into the mag  tube and pull your thumb out while the shell elevator is pushing against yout thumb the whole time. 

With practice this is a non issue but when loaded under stress or adrenaline your fine motor skills are deminished and inserting a shell into the mag can get sloppy. If you get too sloppy the spring loaded shell elevator can snag the tip of your thumb and pinch you, causing pain. Or scrape off some skin and cause pain and bleeding. 

If you are wearing gloves the material of your glove can get snagged in between the shell elevator and the reciever and leave you vulnerable if you are in a fight for your life and now you have to deal with a trapped hand.

Also, if you ever get sloppy and drop a shell into a Mossberg receiver when loading (assuming the gun is flipped upside down with the load gate facing up), the shell will hopefully fall inside the load gate. All you have to do is push it into the magazine if it didnt fall on the ground.

If you get sloppy loading a Remington with its spring loaded shell elevator, the shell will bounce off the elevator and fall to the ground every single time.

3. Mossberg "tang" safeties are ambidextrous. Since the Mossberg safety button is located on the top rear section of the reciever and not forward or rear of the trigger, this makes it easy for a shooter to transition from left to right sidded shooting and still have easy access to the safety without releasing their master firing grip.

This feature also allows for example, a right handed shooter can hand off his weapon to a left handed shooter with very little confusion or discomfort or muscle memory issues between both shooters since both shooters have equal advantage to the same safety.

On a Remington shotgun (and many other shotguns for that matter) the safety button is a cross bolt design located behind the trigger and it has to be pushed in from right to left. This is fine for a righty but kind of awkward for a lefty. A lefty has to either use their right hand to disengage the safety or release their master shooting grip and reach under the trigger guard with their left hand and push the safety button from right to left.

Also with the Mossberg's tang safety, the shooter can clearly see the safey button condition without moving his head of the shooting position. All he has to do is glance down and he will either see a red dot (red your dead) or a white dot. 

With a Remington you have to move your head off to the side so you can see if the safety button is pushed in on the right side or you see red on the left side.

Note: Mossbergs arent perfect. The down side with the Mossberg's tang safety is that it is not ergonomically friendly when you attach a pistol grip buttstock. A pistol grip will force the shooter to completely remove his hand from the pistol grip to reach the tang safety wat up on the top of the gun. With a standard rifle type buttstock th eshooters thumb is already gripping over the tang area which is why tang safeties are so fast on standard buttstocks.

4. Mossbergs have aluminum receivers with black anodize finish or parkerized finish. Aluminum is lighter than steel. Is it better? Yes no maybe so. Most like to argue that steel is stronger than aluminum but if thats the case then maybe we shouldnt use aluminum on jet landing gear? Or maybe we shouldnt use aluminum on F1 racing engine blocks or suspension parts that are subjected to constant heat and pressure. The M16/M4 uses a an aluminum receiver and it has been working just fine in combat for over 40+ years now. I think its clear aluminum receivers are just as good as steel if not better in many cases.

5. Mossberg has been the choice of the United Sates Marine Corps for 40+ years. Its the only pump shotgun to pass the military qualification tests for combat service as far as I know. Keep in mind I have been out of the service for 20 years so I could be wrong?

Are Mossbergs better than a Remington? No absolutely not. I love Remingtons. I have a Remington Police Magnum at my disposal at work. I'd trust my life to a Remington any day. 

I have owned Remington shotguns and they served me flawlessly. Their fit and finish is very refined compared to Mossbergs but because of the features mentioned in this article, I simply prefer Mossbergs for self defense. 

That is my personal choice and I in no way am claiming my choice is the best choice for all shooters.

I suggest that any shooter take the time to learn what features they want, need and desire before they make a decision on what pump shotgun they should chose for home defense. Many people blindly buy shotguns based on what is popular vs what is needed for the job.

Why I chose to buy a gas piston AR15 over a D.I. AR15?

You probably hear this statement all the time in the AR15 world...

"Just run your AR15 wet and it will run reliably all day"

Well thats fine and dandy if you are ok with carrying a bottle of oil with you all day and dont mind periodically adding lube to your bolt throughout the day. What if you are like me and you dont want to run my AR15 wet in the first place?

While I do have military and law enforcement experience, I am not a high speed low drag operator type guy and I do play out in the desert with my guns. Thats the beauty of living in Las Vegas. There is alot of open desert to go shooting in. When I had my D.I. (direct impingement) AR15, I would run it wet and it in deed ran flawlessly all day. But every few hours I would have to remember to stop and lube my gun to keep in running reliably.

Also, all that "wet" lube on my bolt attracted fine desert dust. After a while I noticed that a sort of crud would develop in and around the bolt and chamber which obviously is not good. Get enough grains of oily, sandy, crud under the extractor and you'll probably experience malfunctions? I know I did. So the claim that merely running my AR wet would keep my AR reliable all day just wasnt 100% true. 

Excessive oil = crud collection.

Of course if you mostly shoot in a forest type or grassy plains type environment then you probably dont have anything to worry about other than remembering carry a bottle of oil with you. And if you are a bench shooter, again a wet D.I. AR15 probably isnt going to be an issue?

Another thing I hated about my D.I. AR15 was that at the end of the day (or whenever I decided to get around to clean my gun) that dang star chamber was a pain in the ass to clean. I often had to use a dental pick to reach inside the hard to reach crevices of that star chamber. I bought a specialized brush made specifically for the AR15/M16 chamber and even that was a pain in the ass to use. 

I hate cleaning the star chamber back in my military days and I still hate cleaning it today! If you shoot a whole ammo can of ammo and you claim your D.I. AR15 doesnt get that dirty if you keep it oil... I might have to call bullshit? But hey, I guess anything is possible?

 

So me being an older and lazy guy, I wanted to try the newest craze in the industry..."the gas piston AR15".  After much research and a limited budget (due to the recession) I chose the Stag Arms model 8 gas piston AR15. (link to why I chose Stag here) 

I have already passed my first year with the Stag piston gun and I have to admit its good. Very good to be honest. It does everything my D.I. does but with the benefits of only oiling it once in the morning before we head out into the desert and cleanup is a cinch at the end of the day. 

No more carrying a bottle of oil to keep the bolt "wet" all day for reliability and no more oily crud build up arond the chamber and no more irritating dental pick star chamber cleaning at the end of the day!!! Those are all more than enough reasons for me to justify my transition to a gas piston AR15.

To be honest it is not perfect. No gun is. If I were a precision distance shooter then I probably would not want a piston AR? The piston system by design does not allow for a true free float barrel like a D.I. AR allows. The less the barrel flexes, the better the accuracy will be usually. Pistons involve pressure on the piston head and a few ounces of solid metal mass that reciprocates above the axis of the barrel. Either inside a tube or a spring cup design.

Is it significantly less accurate? Absolutely not; at least not at BZO ranges of 200 yards or 200 meters (Marines use yards/Army uses meters) I personally intend to use my AR as a home defense/desert fun gun so the piston AR fits my needs and performs what I need it to do at closer ranges.A piston AR may not be for you if you are a precision long shot bench shooter? Its a short stroke system vs a long stroke system but thats a whole other blog topic in itself also. From what I have learned is that long stroke systems tend to have more stabilization when the bolt travels rearward and tend to experience less carrier tilt because of the support. For the record, I have seen carrier tilt even on direct impingement systems.

I also went with Stag Arms because in the world of piston AR15's, you quickly learn that top tier piston guns are ridiculously expensive. I am talking $1800 just for a POF piston upper. AddaxTactical does make a very high quality piston upper at an affordable price but its still $800 just for an upper and their website didnt openly say what their warranty was? I am sure its great but I didnt see it on their website. Stag offers a complete piston rifle for $1000 and it clearly comes with a lifetime warranty. 

It may not have top tier features but for what I intend to do with it, I dont need it to be. Like I said, I am not a hard core shooter. I dont attend a lot of carbine courses so, I don’t need a top tier featured AR15. But if I were to do it all over again, I would go with the Stag Plus Package which is their top tier featured AR15 for only $100 more than the regular rifles. That’s a killer deal no matter if you need it or not in my opinion.

I will close with this. If I had a bigger budget of say $1500, I'd probably buy a PWS MK114 but that is a whole other blog topic. LOL.

Thanks for reading

Stay safe...

The Great Caliber Debate

I know you all have heard this before in some shape or form on the gun forums…

“what handgun caliber is best for home defense/self defense/SHTF?”

This is often followed by a hellstorm of debating back and forth that never really ends.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion so I figured I explain mine. I am not a firearms expert or ballistics expert or tactics expert, but I have been around guns for the last 20+ years. (i.e. having a very pro-gun Vietnam veteran father, military service & police)

My opinion is…there is no magic bullet. No caliber is going to magically solve all your problems. Even the one-shot stopping power of the 00-buck has its issues if the bad guy is standing too close to a good guy.

I am going to focus on the top 3 calibers I feel are the most popular in my opinion.

I understand there are many other very capable and popular calibers such as 10mm, 357 magnum, 44 magnum, 357 SIG, 380, 22lr etc. etc. but I am focusing on these 3 because they are the calibers that are easily found in stock at your local gun store or WalMart.

9mm – 9mm luger – 9mm parabellum

The good…

-         Its fast. Fast = a flatter trajectory / less bulletdrop. Most people train at roughly 25 yards or closer so accuracy is often reported to be fairly good at 25 yards depending on the gun of course.

-   Its known for its low recoil. This translates to faster follow up shots. 

-   9mm ammo is cheaper than 40cal and 45acp. Its also widely available in every gun store and WalMart accross America.

-         Its small. The smaller the bullet, the more you can carry in one magazine. More bullets is always better than less in the grand scheme of things. Also, more bullets = fewer mag changes. Fewer mag changes = less vulnerability holding an empty gun in a gun fight. My compact Glock 19 holds 15 rounds for example.

-         Modern 9mm technology such as a +P bonded JHP is for more superior than the 9mm ammo it once was when it was 1^st invented almost 100 years ago.

-         Modern 9mm ammo is still very effective at stopping threats in a trained persons hands so much so that the military and NYPD still use 9mm today. (2010)

The not so good…

-         Some argue that 9mm lacks true knock down power due to its small mass regardless of its technological advancements.

  

40 cal – 40 S&W

The good…

-         40cal is a rising star with police departments across America. This is most likely (in my opinion anyway) because they feel that it’s a nice combination both 9mm and 45acp.

-         40cal is larger than 9mm so it obviously has more mass and can hold more gun powder so in theory it should have more knock down power.

-         40cal is smaller than the 45acp so you can carry roughly 12 to 14 in one magazine vs the very popular 45acp platform, the 1911 which in general often only carries a single stacked magazine of  about 7 to 10 rounds. Of course there are other 45acp handguns that carry more but the most popular 45acp handgun on earth is the 1911.

-         Its often argued that it’s the best of both worlds.

The not so good…

  

 Not everyone likes the new kid on the block. Some argue that the 40cal does not perform significantly better than either 9mm or 45acp. Some say if they are going  to go to a bigger caliber from 9mm that they might as well move up to the 45acp to see a real difference in knock down performance?

45acp – 45 automatic

The good…

-         It’s a legendary man stopper that has served in our military for over 70 years.

-         It’s a big heavy bullet which is said to transfer its kinetic energy very effectively to its target, which is where the infamous term “knock down power” probably came from.

     

The not so good…

-         It’s a victim of its own legend and myth. People expect it to actually knock down a bad guy with one shot when in reality it still takes proper shot placement to drop a bad guy with one shot…even with the infamous 45acp that is still very hard to do when the target is moving and shooting back at you.

-         Its legendary size is also its weakness. The bigger the bullet, the less ammo you can carry in the magazine. The world’s most popular 45acp platform “the 1911” for example, is traditionally a single stacked magazine so on average it only holds 7 to 10 rounds. Double stacked 45’s are out there but they are not as common as the 1911 as a carry gun.

-         45acp hollow points can be an issue in some guns. Some 1911’s have issues feeding hollow points due to the large hole in the tip of the ammo. This can get hung up and cause a feed malfunction. Of course you can solve this problem with CorBon Pwr’ball ammo which is a hybrid hollow point with a polymer ball tip in the hollow point but they are very expensive and hard to find in stock locally.

-   45acp is expensive. Its often double the price of 9mm.

To me, what it boils down to is, you have to get out and shoot several calibers for yourself to get a feel for what is best for you. Most gun ranges usually rent all of these calibers.

Another thing to consider is the style of gun you choose along with the caliber it shoots which can effect your accuracy and defensive performance i.e. single action, S/A D/A, DAO, light trigger pull, heavy trigger pull, slide mounted safety and decocker, frame mounted decocker, thumb safety, grip safety, grip angle, single stack, double stack, bore axis, polymer gun, all steel gun and so on and so forth.

And lastly, even if you pick the perfect caliber with the perfect gun and you get good training…don’t forget the 21ft rule. (Research the Tueller drill.)

Just because you are carrying a gun doesn’t mean you are now equipped to stop all threats. A mentally disturbed person with a hidden knife can deploy that knife and stab you multiple times…before you can even draw your concealed weapon from its holster…inside of 21ft.

And even if you manage to actually shoot him, often times its not a one shot drop due to him moving quickly and you being pumped full of adrenaline (i.e. scared shitless). Even with a bullet hole in him he can still inflict a fatal stab wound to you before he succumbs to his injuries.

But that’s a whole other topic.

Stay safe. 

Honda CRV as a SHTF bug out vehicle? (the 1st generation CRV only)

Why on earth would I consider an underpowered 4cyclinder subcompact sized SUV that doesn’t have real off-road capabilities? Why? Because in a SHTF situation like hurricane Katrina or the 7.0 Chilean earthquakes or the LA riots or the 911 terrorist attacks…you don’t need a hard core rock crawler, tank of a vehicle just to get out of the city in my opinion.

You probably just need a vehicle that is capable of getting you and your loved ones down the road and away from danger. If the road is blocked or destroyed, your vehicle needs to be able to go off road into the dirt, mud, sand, snow, or be able to cross small bodies of water… which is where a Honda CRV comes in handy.

I dedicate this whole idea to a guy I bumped into on youtube. I had been thinking about buying a CRV just to get me out into the Nevada desert to go shooting but his youtube video about his CRV bug out vehicle totally impressed me. Thank you “LeonRFpoa”. Here is a link to his youtube channel.  http://www.youtube.com/user/LeonRFpoa

The 1^st generation CRV (1997 to 2001) is affordable. The 1^st gen CRV’s are the best for offroad in my opinion and luckily they seem to be priced very affordable at around $4000 to $5000 on average. You get a lot of reliability and performance for your money. You can buy a Jeep wrangler for $4000 but is it going to be reliable enough to drive to work every day let alone reliable enough to get your family up to the mountains when the SHTF?

The CRV is practical. You can buy it for work as a daily driver commuter car and if the SHTF you can use it to save your families life and get out of town even if the roads are down. It seats 5 and still has room for some gear. Most have a/c and a heater which my old Jeep Wrangler CJ7 didn’t have.

The CRV is small. If its just you or you only have 5 people total then you probably don’t need a huge 4x4 truck or SUV to get out of the city? Obviously bigger can be better but in a SHTF situation bigger can be a disadvantage because roads might be cluttered with debris such as broken down vehicles. Of course a big vehicle could just push through obstacles but I would want not want to risk breaking a perfectly running engine or drive train due to broken radiator or pop a tire etc etc. I’d rather slip past an obstacle with a tiny SUV. Big vehicles are harder to maneuver if you need to slip through congested traffic or back up and change directions. Plus big vehicles use A LOT of gas fairly quickly.

The CRV is good on gas. A big V8 4x4 truck or SUV is a seriously powerful but are gas hogs. I know because I currently own a Chevy Tahoe and I used to own a lifted GMC Yukon. You may be able to get out of the city quickly but how far will you be able to trek into the desert, hills or mountains after that? The range in a V8 is limited. Your range in a CRV can be extended substantially if you have 1 or 2 jerry cans of extra gas on the roof?

Also keep in mind that gas will be hard to find and what gas you to scrounge up outside of the city won’t be much. Having a small Honda 4 cylinder motor to feed will get you a lot further.

The CRV 2.0L engine in stock form is very reliable. In my opinion a stock engine = reliability and in my own personally experience from owning 2 Honda CRX’s and an Acura Integra I can tell you that they are far more reliable and durable in stock unmodified form than any other vehicle I have ever owned.

My Jeep Wrangler CJ7 and GMC Yukon were bad ass looking but they required a lot of maintenance to stay running reliably. And like I already mentioned they were both horrible on gas. Even though the Wrangler had an inline 6 it still drank down gas like a V8 due to the big tires.

The CRV is quiet. Why is this important? If you have survival supplies such as food, water, clothing, shelter, means to make a fire, guns and ammo…then you own the key to life itself. This makes you a target to those who did not properly prepare. Those people will be desperate and you can bet they would love to try to take it from you. To avoid this issue its best to stay quiet. A little Honda CRV is great at moving around quietly in the desert or woods. My lifted GMC Yukon with its powerful V8 was a loud even with the stock exhaust. My Jeep was a little less loud.

The CRV is a 4 door 5 passenger SUV. This means you can use it as shelter easily. My jeep had no room to lay down to sleep and its soft top sucked at keeping out the cold wind or rain. A small SUV like the CRV is essentially the size of a 2 man tent when you fold down the seats. Its water tight and will keep out the wind, rain, sand and snow.

You could carry a tent but that usually puts you on the ground with the dirt, mud or rocks, not to mention the snakes, spiders, mountain lions, wolves, bears etc etc. Sleeping inside a vehicle is just safer and you can just roll up the windows and lock the doors. If you have to bug out again, its just a matter of hopping in the drivers seat and taking off!

The CRV has a real time AWD system. This means it can get you in and out of places a 2wd passenger car or 2wd truck might not be able to? I live in Las Vegas so the possibility of needing to drive in sand is very possible if I want to get out of the city if the freeways are jammed. If you live in snow country then I don’t have to tell you how awesome AWD drive is.

The down side is that the CRV is basically a front wheel drive vehicle with a viscous limited slip differential (VLSD) in the back. It doesn’t have locking differentials to handle really rough off roading or rock crawling like a jeep or 4x4 truck or SUV.

I think for the average man trying to get his family out of the city, hopefully he wont need to hit the hard core rocks or black diamond trails to get to safety. I am taking a chance but hopefully all I really need to do is cross an open field, cross a muddy road, cross a dry creek bed, cross sand, cross a small stream or navigate through snow or ice covered roads without chains. A Honda CRV with AWD can do all of this fairly easy.

Here is a compilation of youtube videos showing how capable the little Honda CRV really is.

A hand operated winch and tow hooks can be used to get you unstuck if you bite off more than you can chew. This is a must have item for any off-road vehicle regardless of it capabilities.

The CRV’s suspension is higher than pretty much any 2wd car. The suspension is high enough to handle light offroad use. Its not going to be able to hang with lifted Jeeps, trucks and SUV’s but like I said, its just enough to get you out of the city and up into the woods or out into desert. It can be lifted up to 3” if you really want to optimize the capabilities of the little AWD SUV. This would obviously allow you to mount better off road tires which I think would be a wise upgrade. Ground clearance is always good for survival.

CRV parts are widely available. The 1^st generation CRV is based off the Honda Civic platform. That means there is literally thousands of parts and donor vehicles across the United States. I’d be willing to bet that there are more Honda CRV’s and Civics inside my 25 mile radius than any other type of car? More cars = more parts at my disposal to scrounge off of in a SHTF situation.

Some weakness of choosing a Honda CRV? Its very small so if you have more than 5 people or a lot of gear it might not be a good choice. Compared to any other SUV it is underpowered so you won’t be outrunning anyone or powering up serious hills. It doesn’t come in a V6 option if you want more power but you can slap on a K&N hi flow air filter, 4 in 1 headers and a hi flow exhaust to get a little bit more power without compromising reliability? It can’t tow very much with a 2.0L 4 cylinder engine, so no big trailers. High winds make it (and any small vehicle) unstable. It lacks true off road locking differentials so Jeeps and real 4x4s will leave you behind if they have enough gas?

So that’s my suggestion on a simple, cheap, reliable, practical, fuel efficient, offroad capable “bug  out vehicle” that most folks might overlook.

Of course there are other very good options like the Subarus with their legendary AWD or the Ford Escape AWD or a newer more reliable Jeep or a Toyota 4runner or Tacoma or RAV4 and so on, but I sided with Honda because of the sheer numbers of Hondas on the road and the huge supply of parts the Honda civic family of cars (which the CRV is based on) has across the country. And of course the cheap price! Those 2 reasons put the CRV on top in my opinion.

Stay safe...