Tag Archives: video

Video – 1911 vs. M1 Carbine

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As you know, the M1 Carbine was never supposed to be a replacement for the M1 rifle. Rather, the purpose of the M1 Carbine was to give people who normally don’t carry a full-size rifle (radiomen, mortar crews, messengers, truck drivers, etc.) something more efficient than a pistol. Basically, the idea wasn’t to replace the M1 Rifle, the goal was to replace the 1911 pistol for people who would, normally, only be carrying a pistol.

The 1911, like any pistol really, is challenging to shoot well under stress. A carbine is way easier to handle and get hits with under stress. Gun Jesus ran an impromptu course using both a 1911 and an M1 Carbine and the results are interesting.

As Chuck Connors pointed out in virtually every episode of his show, a short carbine with a pistol cartridge at pistol ranges will outperform a pistol pretty often. This seems to answer the age-old question of ‘what good is a pistol caliber carbine’. Or..does it?

An M1 Garand is about ten pounds. The M1 carbine was about half that. Obviously, theres a tremendous weight advantage. But….a 9mm carbine like a 9mm AR is virtually the same weight as…a .223 AR. So you get virtually no advantage.

You could say, though, that a 9mm AR pistol would be more compact and lighter than a .223 AR carbine and you’d be right. But then you could also just carry a .223 AR pistol and be right back to zero.

So, comparing apples to apples…..AR platform to AR platform..is a zero-sum game it seems. But as mentioned, the M1 Carbine wasnt meant to replace the M1 Garand, it was meant to replace the pistol. So…what about when you compare the 9mm carbine against the pistol? Thats where things would change. But…since you can get your 9mm AR carbine in .223, why not just use your .223 carbine?

It’s an interesting mental exercise. Almost anything you can do with a 9mm carbine you can do with a .223 carbine, so why take the ballistic penalty of being in 9mm? I gotta say, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a 9mm carbine is a better choice than an M4. Easy to suppress and marginally lower recoil but after that…………..?

Having said that, though…I still like my 9mm carbines. I especially like my Ruger PC Charger which is probably the only format (an arm-braced ‘pistol’) that gives an advantage over the M4..namely, compactness.

Anyway, an interesting video although I’m not sure the implications it suggests are as relevant in a world of M4 carbines that ape the M1 Carbine in terms of length and weight.

Video – 10 Things That Would Happen if the United States Went Bankrupt

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In the book “The Mandibles: A Family , 2029-2047“, the US defaults on it’s national debt and all sorts of Bad Stuff happens. Its a very good book, in my opinion, except for the somewhat out-of-character ending.

Could the US actually default on it’s debt? What would happen? Well, here’s one limey’s interpretation:

The notion that a bankruptcy would kick off some type of Purge-like orgy of violence seems a bit dramatic. Crime go up? Sure. But unlike every other country that has gone through that sort of thing, there are enough people with guns in this country that a large part of the population would be quite a bit safer than the rest.  The problem with this sort of thing, as seen in places like Venezuela and similar venues, is that only the bad guys have guns. In ‘Murica, it’s a different story. I’m not saying its going to be all sunshine and stun grenades, but stuff like you see on the news in those Third World places? Mmmmm…not so much. Except for our own little pockets of Third World-like places such as New Orleans, any major California city, Detroit, etc.

Could the US go bankrupt? I don’t know enough about economics to say. But I do know this – when the US catches a cold, every other country sneezes. Just from a self-interest standpoint, it would be in the best interest of a lot of the planet to make sure the US doesn’t have something like that happen. That might mean a degree of debt forgiveness, renegotiation of terms, loans from the World Bank, etc, etc. I’m fairly confident what it won’t mean is hyperinflating our way out of it.

But…one never knows, does one? Which is why Zero had food, guns, and silver. And, really, probably why you should too.

 

Video – Dangerous Things Are Dangerous

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A very interesting video from Ian McCollum (aka ‘Gun Jesus’) detailing the time a trip to the range put a chunk of shrapnel in his chest.

There’s a lot in here about the importance of medical training and equipment when you spend a bunch of time out in the desert shooting hundred year old machine guns. However, whats really interesting is something that is sort of oblique to the main issue – how do you direct help to your location when you’re “in the middle of nowhere”?

The range I shoot at is an established shooting range in the sense that if you called 911 and said “Im at the So-N-So Range” they would know where that is and how to get there. But, what about when you go off the beaten path? At that point, you’re going to have to try and meet folks halfway by getting your bleeding butt to some sort of common rally point that the medics actually can find.

While I try to maintain a pretty decent degree of situational awareness I am surprised to say that when I go hunting I never take a moment to notice what mile marker I’m parking at when I disembark and make my way into the timber. It occurs to me that I need to take note of the sort of information that would come in handy if I had to call for assistance if I got hurt out in the sticks. It would be nice to be able to tell the dispatcher “Yeah, its along Highway 200, just after mile marker 27 theres a logging road heading east. Im parked four miles up that road.”

Of course, I also usually carry a couple signalling devices (flare/smoke) so that “close” becomes “close enough”.

It’s always a good idea to have an exit strategy and to ‘begin with the end in mind’. Which means when heading out into the sticks I need to start thinking about “what if”. Obviously I carry a certain amount of gear in case things go sideways, but I need to start being more cognizant of where I am and how I would direct others to that location. While I know how to use UTM coords, I wonder if the 911 people would have a clue.

Regardless, an interesting video to watch and a reminder that shooting guns can sometimes turn dangerous and therefore it’s always a good idea to have some gear (and training) to stay on top of things in case someone gets a hole punched in them.

Speaking of Gun Jesus, have you guys seen his Kickstarter? The man wrote a book that he hoped might garner $25,000 in sales. He failed to take into account his internet notoriety and he leaped past the $25,000 to almost $270,000…and thats with three weeks still left on the kickstarter.

Video – Should I Buy A Used Ruger P95

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An interesting video:

I’ve made no secret that I rather like the P95, but I like it for one very simple reason: for about $200 it’s the best gun you can buy. Thats not to say its the best gun out there, or that its even a ‘very good’ gun. Rather it means that if you have $200 in your pocket, unless you get extraordinarily lucky, the Ruger P95 will be the best gun you can afford.

But…there’s some other things to think about.

On the police trade-in market these days there are tons of Glock and S&W .40 caliber pistols. For about $250 you can have a S&W M&P or a Glock 22/23. And, honestly, both of those guns are better than the P95.

Why don’t I get a stack of those pistols if theyre better than the P95 and only a few bucks more? Well, first off, I already filled my need for some cheap disposable pistols…I already have a dozen of the P-series so there’s really nothing to be gained by picking up the other ones. Additionally, I’m not a .40 guy. I prefer the 9mm.

However, if you’re looking for something that is ‘affordable’ and far better than a HiPoint, Bersa, or Taurus, head over to Kings and check the used pistols. Or, you can cruise Gunbroker and try your luck at scoring some $200 P95’s. They don’t usually go that cheap, but there’s always plenty to bid on and if you bid often enough you’ll get one at that price.

Guns like these are not really my first choice for carrying around everyday (although you could), but rather they are ‘loaners’ or ‘expendable’ handguns. Guns that you don’t mind loaning or giving to a friend who needs a gun, that you can leave in a truck or cabin and not be heartbroken if it gets stolen, or that you can abuse by getting wet and banged up as you rough-n-tumble your way through some disaster. They are like Bic lighters…they work quite reliably but they are basically disposable and cheap enough that you can have several.

I’ve ordered up a few of the police trade-in M&Ps for a friend and I have to say, I really like the gun. We got a .45 ACP version with three magazines for, I believe, $270 which is a smoking deal for a .45 with spare mags. What amazed me was how narrow and comfortable the grip was for that double stack mag. Very impressive.

Anyway, I was perusing YouTube and saw that video and thought I’d pass it along since I’ve mentioned my penchant for cheap, uber-stout handguns more than a few times.

Link – Pistol Grip Only shotguns video

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So those new pistol grip 12 ga. firearms (which, technically, are not shotguns) are kind of the rage these days. I first became aware of them when I saw one on Gunbroker. A little later, I saw that Mossberg was going to introduce them. And then finally I got to shoot one. My ardor was cooled a bit after shooting one.

Unless your plans include spending a lot of time in hallways and elevators, it seems that a shoulder stock would be a better option. Really, a ‘wrist brace’ on one of these 14″ wonders would be the way to go. But, surely at the usual 7-yard distance the advantage of a stock versus stockless shotgun isn’t that great right?

Well, Gun Jesus explores that with some really interesting results:


TL;DR is that unless you’re someone who practices a lot with your pistol-grip-only shotgun, you are going to get better (and faster) results with a stocked gun.

Personally, I keep an 18″ 870 laying around for repelling boarders, but thats only because I don’t want the paperwork hassle of a 14″ or 16″ barreled gun. If barrel length legalities weren’t a thing, a 14″ stocked gun would be my first choice for operating in the confines of my humble abode.

This isnt to say that there is not a situation where something like the Shockwave would be exactly what the doctor ordered. But nine times out of ten, you’d probably be better served with the stocked gun.

This mean I won’t get a Shockwave or two? Nope. Because I love ‘rulebeater’ stuff. And, like wrist braces, I suspect there’ll come a time in the not too far future where ATF will get serious and tinker with their regulations and rulings. (“They can’t make laws! They can only enforce them!” is what I can already hear people typing in the comments. Dude, they’ve already proven they can classify/declassify/reclassify whatever they want. No one wants to be the test case.)

So…the 18″ full-stocked gun remains on night duty. But, an interesting video to watch for those who think about the efficacy of new goodies like the Shockwave.

 

Video – Adam Savage’s Land Cruiser

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You guys remember Adam Savage from Mythbusters? I’ve always kinda thought he was a closet survivalist. Anyway, years ago, he took a picture of his Toyota Land Cruiser and posted it online. He was unaware about the tags in the pictures data and wound up accidentally giving away his home address to the responsible, decent, unabusive people who populate the internet. Here’s an article about it.

BASICS-1-popupTurns out, Savage has a regular podcast series on YouTube where he talks about mostly ‘maker’ stuff but there are some excellent episodes about tools and techniques that would be useful to folks like us. The video I want to share with you is this one where he talks about how he’s fallen back in love with his Land Cruiser. He lists a few interesting mods he’s made to it.

I’ve always thought that one of the things, with a little tweaking here and there, would be a wonderful vehicle for those days when the zombies are uppity. You’re not gonna pass anything on the highway but you’ll climb hills that would freak a yak. And his is a diesel, too…how cool is that.

If I ever wind up making anything out of my life and getting some money put away, I’ll get one of these.