I didn’t get a chance to post articles here on the blog site last week. Patreon readers got theirs. That may seem like a dick move on my part, but….well, they ARE paying for it. So, back to regularly scheduled programming: –—————————– After reading GG v1, I purchased a Glock 19 MOS and a Trijicon RDS. After a LOT of dry fire practice, I’m getting pretty good at seeing the dot at presentation. But the other day, I tried something different. With the weapon unloaded, I went into a completely dark room – so dark, I could barely see the pistol. I found it very hard to find the dot under that condition. Have you experienced this issue? Nope. Of course, if the room is that dark, I’m illuminating it with white light before I start pointing my gun at noises….or, I’m looking at the room through night-vision. I suspect your problem is an inconsistency in your grip during presentation. It may not be as noticeable during visible hours, because you are subconciously adjusting the gun as it moves out to extension. I have a tendency to do that with iron sights (it doesn’t work nearly as well for me with RDS). In total black though, that’s not going to be an option, so you’re stuck hunting for it once the gun is at extension. ——————————- Could just as easily talk about the NSA’s mighty Eye of Providence, but then none of the local media outlets would touch it. As it is, several people have advised me to abandon any hope of ever traveling to mainland China. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/gaming-chinas-total-surveillance-state/ I was offered a job, for an international company, in the middle part of the last decade, that would have required me to travel to the PRC on a regular, on-going basis. I was willing to take the job (I was married to my ex-wife, who probably wouldn’t have noticed I was gone…and the pay was spectacular), but the offer was contingent on my getting a visa successfully. I got refused, so I traveled to the Consulate to see if that would work. The girl there laughed at me, and informed me, the only way I would ever be allowed to enter the PRC was if I re-enlisted in the American Army, and they invaded China…. I went to school with a kid—of Chinese descent, but like 6 generations back—who went to China as a missionary (I’m not entirely sure how that was managed, all things considered, but that’s the story I’ve gotten). Apparently the government found out what he was doing, because his family here hasn’t heard from him since, and can’t get any information from the PRC about him either. I can’t think of a single thing in China I’m missing by not going. ————————————— I’m getting more exercise than ever since my move to the mountains, but I still sit all day for my work. Appendix carry is really uncomfortable. And wearing 3’oclock winds up banging the handle against the chair a lot. Do you have a holster reccomendation for guys that sit a lot? Nope. I’ve been sitting here for several hours, with a G17, with a TLR-1 attached, in an Integrated Survival Systems Cimmerian A-IWB holster. My right leg is asleep, and I’m pretty sure it’s gone through a couple of REM cycles, it’s been asleep for so long. Normally, if I know I’m going to be sitting still for this long, I’ll take the holster off. I’ll either tuck it in my laptop case, or a desk drawer. If I’m in the truck, I’ll tuck it into the seat, where it’s secure, but easily accessible. ——————————————— I’ve read over your shotgun piece on Patreon a few times, and was wondering if you could answer a few follow up questions. 1. Have you tried any of the flite control stuff from Federal? 2. What brand of slugs have you tried, and what is your typical group at, say, 100 yards (i.e. what is realistically obtainable with a smoothbore)? 3. Have you tried any semi auto shotguns? You favor semi-auto handguns and rifles – why a pump shotgun? Cost? 1) I haven’t. I’ve heard nothing but stellar reviews, but Saturday, I was getting hits on a 6” steel, at 50 yards, with military OO buck. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. (That having been said, I’ve been meaning to purchase some to test it out, but….) 2) Normally, I’m running whatever rifled slugs are on sale at Wal-Mart or Cabelas. Mostly Winchester, but I’ve run some others too. I haven’t shot to measure tight groups. I “zeroed” the slugs at 50 yards, with a red dot, and then I worked on getting consistent hits on an 8” steel plate at 100 yards. For me, as I mentioned in the original article, the shotgun is never going to be my go-to gun. I get that it’s super lethal and etc, it’s just not my preference. I’ve got one, because a) I suspect it will be the last weapon I’ll ever have trouble finding ammunition for, and if I do, I can roll my own, without even needing reloading gear, and using blackpowder. b) Because, well, who the fuck doesn’t own a scattergun? I end up keeping it loaded with slugs, with a couple of small game loads on the side saddle. If I need to shoot a raccoon or something, I can do a “slug changeover,” just changing to a small game load, instead of vice versa. Ultimately though, my front gate is 100 yards from my front door, and I’ve got 100-200 yards of field-of-fire in every direction from my house (fuck yes, by design!). 3) I’ve actually got a semi-auto Franchi. It’s got like a 28” barrel on it, with changeable chokes, the whole nine yards. I’ve just never bothered buying a semi-auto combat shotgun, because, well….why? It’s not my go to gun, and I’ve GOT plenty of semi-auto rifles (granted, none of them are .72 caliber, but….) –——————————————- Thanks for the recommendation of “Some Thoughts on Scouts and Spies”. I picked it up and it definitely got my gears turning. We have a la lot of open ground here, I’ve heard it best described as the Corn Desert and movement unseen at parts of the year would be channeled to natural depressions that are typically scrubby/overgrown. The great forests of the east must have been a hell of an experience. The one thing that stuck with me through the book was the emphasis on silent movement , it takes me back to being taught how to stalk squirrels by my uncle ( yes, squirrels). The fox squirrels we have here in the older growth areas are wary little bastards and creeping up to range on them through dry, deciduous litter was tough. As mentioned in the book, balance and a focus on quiet as opposed to speed meant success. My two cents for you folks with kids, make them stalk small game in your area with a low powered kit, they’ll learn plenty. I learned to stalk, hunting squirrels with a slingshot, and later a pellet gun. You’re spot on. I’ve been giving the book a lot of thought too, including re-reading it, again. I actually put together ANOTHER war belt, as a sort of “solo scout” belt kit. Super lightweight, with just two mag pouches, a knife, and a compass pouch. It’s rapidly becoming my “I’m gonna go hike around the mountain for a bit” belt. With some rockahominy in my pocket, I’m set. –—————————————— Mr. Mosby, what are your thoughts about the effect of debt, specifically student loan debt, on younger folks attempting to become more prepared? I find that it’s far easier to inspire interest in becoming prepared for any kind of hardship, or just hitting the trail and gym, in twenty- and thirty-somethings than it is in older generations. The major obstacle that slows younger people down is that they tend to have a lot more debt that chokes their ability to buy a piece of land/property. I lucked out and became a tradesman with a good job and no debt, but it really kills me to see a lot of my friends hurting when they know they should be doing something else. Would it be a good idea for like 15 men and women to buy a plot of land in the woods to “colonize” and live Lord of the Flies style? Well, I don’t know about Lord of the Flies style…I haven’t read Golding’s book in decades, but doesn’t it go to shit pretty quick? I’m really ambivalent about the idea of communal land purchase. If it’s a group of lifelong friends, it might be doable, but until adequate frith had been built, I’d be worried about someone deciding to pull up stakes and go elsewhere, and want something back for their investment. Enter lawsuits, etc. That having been said, I’ve heard of a number of groups of young people doing basically that. They’ll start a corporation or LLC, with $XXX for a buy-in share, and then you get a piece of the ground, and help from everyone else in building a house, etc. There’s a pile of information on these intentional communities in the Permaculture world. As far as student loan debt? Man, I get what you’re saying, but I don’t have any easy answers. I don’t have any, and neither does my wife. On the other hand—while this will piss off some of the older readers, probably—if one of my cousins came to me, or one of the members of our clan came to me, and asked, I’d probably tell them to look for owner-financed land to buy, build themselves, even if it’s a really small structure, and fuck off the student loans. That sounds horrible, perhaps, but these kids have been spoon-fed a line of bullshit about college being the path to a better life and the American Dream, their whole lives. They were forced into a system that basically brainwashed them into believing they HAD to go into hock for their future, or they’d be failures, and life would suck. Fuck that. ————————————– I got a copy of “Highland Folk Ways” by Dr. Grant. Good book, and thank you for recommending it! Awesome! Glad you liked it! —————————————— Welcome back John, you were missed. if you would indulge I’d like to direct your attention to an online publication entitled first things. An article published quite recently entitled all you need is Jesus has a great many philosophical points which I find worthy of discussion. and since you are probably the only individual with whom I have any relationship whatsoever that I would consider having the depth of mind required to have such a discussion. I would ask that you would find a little bit of time to perhaps consider such an exchange of information . I personally do not prescribe to any specific philosophy mentioned. The points discussed should present themselves adequately enough. I haven’t heard of the online journal or the article, so I haven’t read it. I can say, not having Jesus, I don’t personally feel like I’m missing much. Sorry. ——————————————- Finally got around to making a lead weighted club. Ended up being 18″ baton of red oak with a 4″ plug of lead epoxied in on the business end and a hole for a loop of paracord about 6″ up from the bottom of the grip. I know you mentioned that you train with clubs, where’s a good place to get started? I watched some old police training videos which seemed to be a good start, especially using two handed retention and jabs, as well as wrapping the cord/thong around the thumb and hand, not wrist, to allow retention but allow the user to let go and not get bound up if over powered. However, police training emphasized use of the club for less lethal uses with the end goal of making an arrest. Not sure if there are similar training that speaks to using a club as lethal force. Absolutely, the proper way to use a short baton is as a bayonet. It’s more efficient, and less prone to being countered successfully. Check out Applegate’s stuff and John Steyer’s Cold Steel. ————————————- Pimping the Patreon site again. Tonight, we’ve got another article on Survival Retreat Considerations (I promise, we’re going to move on to other topics soon!) on the first tier subscription. We’ve also got TWO guest contributions from the same SF NCO that wrote the TACFAC AAR. For now, we’re going to refer to him as SFC Papa, unless he offers a pseudonym he’d prefer. One is on the drone subject, from a guy who has USED drones (obviously), but has also been on the downrange side of COTS drones, pressed into service by Daesh. It’s an awesome article, with lots of links to relevant videos. The second article from SFC Papa is a rehash, discussing the Dies the Fire novel and it’s sequels in the original trilogy, and why preppers SHOULD be reading it, in lieu of the latest prepper porn. For second tier subscribers, we’ve got a training specific article, about an exercise you SHOULD be incorporating into your preparedness—and most of you probably aren’t—and why it’s so critically important. We’ve also got the From the Journals, Council Fire article for the week. I’m working on an article for you guys for next week also, that may even include photographs… If you’re not subscribing to the Patreon channel, why not? Continue reading...
