The Cheapskate

As a BBOD employee and a University student, let me tell you, I am most assuredly not flush with excess cash funds to buy expensive firearms. None the less, I recognize quality and the importance of picking a quality firearm, if you intend to use it for self defense.

As I've said to in the past at the BBOD we deal mostly in sporting grade guns, but also in personal defense weapons. When it comes to personal defense shotguns, I generally grab the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500 off the shelf, explain the differences and benefits of one over the other and sell the customer the safety of their choice (it almost always come down to the position of the safety on the shotgun and previous experience by the customer). I generally, do NOT really recommend the cheaper 18.5" barreled shotgun variants out there, the Mossberg Mavericks and the H&R Pardner (870 clones), because these guns have a hit and miss reliability record. As I have stated before and will state again, IN A DEFENSIVE GUN RELIABILITY AND ACCURACY ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS. Anything that I have a 10% of higher repair rate and customer concern with is junked from the list of "reliable defensive guns" and downgraded to "range plinker/sporting gun status." With all that said, let me tell you about a customer that I despise more than anything, the cheapskate.

Case in point, a cheapskate came into the BBOD today, who represents the WORST of the worst. The gentleman was looking for firearms for personal and home defense. After showing him the differences between the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500, he decided that neither was worth their asking price and instead opted for the cheaper Maverick 88 shotgun. I informed him of the spotty quality control and hit and miss reliability and his response was, "Well, it will almost never get shot, so who cares? It's just for my wife to scare off anyone in the house. Besides, it's cheaper." Cheaper...that's what it is, cheaper. The cheapskate strikes again, buying a sub-par quality firearm to defend his family, because who cares and it's cheaper.

Well, I CARE, I don't want to read about your family and know that it was your tightness that caused them to be killed by some attackers, because the cheap shit gun you bought failed to go boom and instead went click. AND finally sir, I KNOW you can afford to buy a more expensive gun, because you're wearing a ()*@*(^&^*$@ $10,000 ROLEX!!!!!!!!!! Your watch is worth 10k, but your family's well being is only worth a HUNDRED AND EIGHTY NINE BUCKS?! You sir cheapskate need to have your head re-examined and your cranium removed from your rectal cavity.

I really hope that your wife or sons talk you into a more expensive and reliable gun to defend them with. Until then...I just don't know how to deal with you....

-Rob

I got a need a need for speed...loaders!!

Over the last year or so, I have noted some developments in the speed reloading section of revolver usage. So, while I have not owned all of these products and I do not have indepth reviews, I would like to share the knowledge of these products for those that might want and or need them.

Speed Loaders:

http://www.3dinc.net/page2.php <---These guys are brand new making CNC machined aluminum speed loaders for a little bit of everything, including the biggies S&W X-Frames in .500 S&W and Taurus Judges. They are also making what appear to be nicely done L and J frame loaders.

http://www.thunderranchinc.com/8shot.html <--Expensive, but the only game in town for 8-shot speed loaders for your Smith 327/627 series guns in .38/.357.

http://www.hksspeedloaders.com/SpeedloaderPage.html <--Still the industry standard and available for nearly all applications.

http://www.safariland.com/dutygear/d...edloaders.aspx <--The stand-by for revolver competition use and for those who don't care for twisty knobs.

Speed Strips:

http://www.tuffproducts.com/home.php...ction=0&page=3 <---The new guys! "Speed Strip" style strips for everything under the sun, 10-shot .22, 5/6/7/8 shot .38/.357, 5 shot .45LC/.410, even strips for 12-gauge shot shells. Check out there various pocket holsters with spare ammo carriers and their strip pouches too.

http://www.bianchi-intl.com/product/...TxtModelID=580 <--The Bianchi created industry standard, the 6-shot 580 series for .38/.357.

I hope that some of this information can be useful to some of us around here, especially those of us who are still toting around round guns, instead of flat ones. Yes, I do carry mostly round guns in the .38/.357 variety, thats why I call myself, "RevolverRob"...just sayin'.

-Rob

Meditations on Ammunition Capacity...

One of those posts, a comment on capacity. In this month's Blue Press author Serena Wood wrote an article titled, "Make mine a High Capacity Nine". I read it with some interest and thought it worth commenting on, ammunition capacity that is. There are many schools of thought, most seem to feel that if you can't "solve it in x" number of rounds, then it can't be solved. My thought is that this is always a defeatist attitude, because there is ALWAYS a possibility that you could be attacked by that "x" number of attackers or more. And my question is, why give up? You can solve the problem, you just have to work harder at it. None the less, the statisticians will drag the numbers out, the largest percentage of handgun carriers who have to draw their pistol in defense, will most likely not use it. Those that do, will likely fire less than 5 rounds. A smaller percentage will fire over five rounds. An even smaller percentage will fire more than 5 rounds and be attacked by more than two attackers. If the percentages are so small, why even carry a gun that holds more than 1 or 2 or 3 rounds?

In fact, there was a time, where mode of the day was to carry a single shot pistol, but soon after the introduction of the pistol, came the idea of a brace of pistols, and then a suite of pistols. So, in the day of duels and exploration, the common mode of carry was to carry at least three guns. In fact when I was at the Texas Ranger Museum, I noted that when the Rangers were founded, a Ranger had to provide a rifle, a brace of pistols, and his own ammunition. So, we know from the beginning of carrying a firearm for personal defense and offense, the preference has been to multiple shots.

And, let's be honest the first true innovation in handgun history from Sam Colt was that the gun could fire 5 rounds reliably, before being used as a club, not just one or two. Once the 5 and later 6 shot pistols were created, then came the habit of carrying two of them for a total of 12 rounds before needing to reload. Then came the real innovations in handgun history. Schofield created the easier to break open and reload Smith and Wesson No. 3 Schofield (Calvary) model. Then Webley & Scott made their MK. series of revolvers, which shortly after their adoption, an enterprising man created the Prideaux Device, to facilitate even faster reloading. In 1893 Hugo Borchardt invented the first successful semi-automatic handgun, and a more important idea, the detachable box magazine. All of these innovations where in the name of MORE ammunition and FASTER reloads.

What's the point I'm getting at? Ammunition capacity is an important factor in purchasing a firearm. But unlike Ms. Wood, who made it one of her main criteria in choosing a firearm, I feel that capacity is secondary to fit, reliability, and the ability to shoot the gun well. That's an important distinction, a handgun needs to FIT in order for you to shoot it well. The short nature of the handgun means that it requires more work to shoot well over a rifle or shotgun; it means that gun fit is more critical than anything else. This means, that I recommend that one pick a firearm that fits, over one that holds more rounds.

The continued evolution of magazine capacity is something to consider when purchasing a gun, but the reality is we haven't found a better way to reload guns in over a hundred years. We are still using versions of the detachable box magazine and the Prideaux device, in our big square box magazines and our HKS or Safariland speed loaders. These devices work quite well and with practice sub-second reloads are possible. With the ability to carry spare ammunition (especially handgun magazines, and especially single stack ones, because they are thin and imminently concealable), one can be less concerned with capacity and more focused on fit.

So, to sound like a broken record I will say again, when it comes to a capacity/caliber/handgun size argument the answer is simple. Pick the gun that FITS, the one that fits your hand, your body, and your purpose.

-Rob

Life is busy, busy, busy

It has been a very busy life for me lately, hence the lack of bloggery. After the holidays, I spent 10 days in the field collecting specimens, in West Texas. This included a stint of days where the lows were in the teens and highs in the 30s. The cold and dry temperature is a recipe for hypothermia, if you don't pay attention and stay well hydrated and active. Dehydration is a common cause of illness and death when it is both cold and dry and you are being active. Fortunately, everyone stayed hydrated, healthy, and mostly warm. I learned a few things about being in the field, when it is going to be that cold, I think I will share them.

1) Layers, gloves, hats, and waterproof boots are a MUST. It shouldn't HAVE to be said, but I've said it, because a couple of people on the crew showed up without gloves or hats, a huge no-no.
2) FIRE. In a desert environment, any dry brush or cactus will most likely burn very hot and very fast. Keep this in mind, at one point while considering if I could survive at night, I realized I would do okay. The first reason, I had a way to make a fire, both a spark igniter and a nice torch flame and windproof lighter. Second, I know that any dry brush or even some of the green stuff, would burn hot and fast. If stranded, I could easily locate enough to last a night, if I started early and worked in a progressive circle and if I kept my fire small. The heat given off, by even a small fire, is more than adequate to keep your warm, not comfortable, but warm.
3) Alcohol. First, alcohol and guns don't mix, so don't do this. But, if you are planning a cold weather camping trip, I do suggest you pack a small bottle of your favorite firewater. I failed to pack a flask of rum and regretted it for the entire trip. A quick nip before bed time, would've improved my ability to sleep, and it has been proven to provide at least a warming sensation. If you take it easy and have the rest of your gear and shit in one bag, it can make an unpleasant situation more pleasant.

A few bits of gear that always make it into my daypack when hiking in rough country:

1) A good sharp knife, both a large knife and a small one. A small Swiss Army Knife (SAK) is very useful for the tweezers, for pulling cactus spines out of your hand, after you go ass over kettle.
2) A source of fire. Lighter and an emergency flint or sparklite. Also some good tender. Quiktender works great, so do the little Coleman wax firestarters. For those on a budget, a double ziploc baggy full of dryer lint works like a champ. A dry bird's nest or some herbivore excrement can work as well (this also works as great fire fuel).
3) Food. I always carry lunch and dinner, in addition to energy bars, sugary snacks, and a salty snack. If you stretch and ration accordingly, you can live for two or three days on gear like this.
4) Water, always MORE than you think you'll need. Pack some tea bags too.
5) First aid kit. I keep a basic in my pack and our crew carried a more extensive, hiking oriented first aid kit.
6) Paracord or 550-pound cord. 100 feet of it, and two load bearing carabiners. This is for emergency rappeling or building a shelter or building a litter/travois to carry a wounded person out on.
7) An extra layer of clothes and an extra pair of socks.
8) Emergency space blanket (for when the layer is only helping some)
9) Flask of good rum or whiskey (for when the going gets really rough)
10) Flashlight and spare batteries. There is no reason to be without a GOOD and BRIGHT light these days. AA powered LED lights, are bright enough to signal aircraft and see your way in the dark.
11) A compass, and a general sense of the direction of your camp and the direction you are traveling.
12) A bottle that can be heated. My high density plastic Nalgenes work great for carrying water, but poorly for heating it up. Sure would be nice to make a tea or a freeze dried soup you stored in your kit, over your fire, right? Except, you have nothing to cook in.
13) A Katadyne hand pump water filter system. Surprisingly, it is easy enough to find water in the desert (here's the tip, follow the animal tracks, they are going to food or water). If you run out, a hand pump filter can save you a little of trouble when you need some water. During my time, I located two fresh water springs, which produces running, ice cold water, that wasn't drinkable without iodine tablets, boiling, or filtering. Boiling is the easiest method, but a backpack pump is light, easy to use, and can be a real life saver, plus the water doesn't taste like ass.

Those are just a few tips and I will try and post a few more at a later time.

-Rob

Hsoi brings us more on the debate of Pump vs. Semi-Auto for defensive shotgun. Take a look as he makes some fine points that I did not cover in my previous post.

-Rob

Shotguns, the Defensive (Offensive...?) Kind....

At the BBOD we deal almost entirely in sporting grade shotguns, but we also sell a few personal defense guns, so let's talk about them for a minute...

The personal defense shotgun is probably the most often thought of, but least understood firearm for defensive and offensive use. We can start by defining the personal defense shotgun, what is the PD scattergun? The one you have on hand or the one you buy to use to protect yourself. Barrel length is not the criteria, let me repeat that, barrel length is not the criteria, you need to be concerned with. What you need in a respected defensive gun is reliability and the ability to hit what you are aiming at.

With that said, let's talk about preferred options of the defensive shotgun:

-Short(er) Barrel, generally 22" in length or less, typically an 18.5" or 20" barrel is found. Personal defense guns come in all shapes and sizes, but the guns that are designed and marketed as such are found usually with a 20" or shorter barrel length. The shorter barrel allows you to wield the gun more effectively inside your home, especially if you live in a smaller or more confined space. I recommend the longest barrel you feel you can effectively swing and get through doors for house clearing (I do NOT advocate house clearing, but if it has to be done, do it with your long gun!). The longer the barrel, the longer the sight radius, the easier it is to aim and hit with. Also, many of the defensive guns on the market are fixed cylinder choke barrels, if you can purchase a gun with screw in chokes. Screw in chokes will increase the versatility of your shotgun exponentially. Fixed Cylinder works okay with some buckshot loads and some slugs, but you need to experiment with loads and patterning to find the most accurate. Being able to adjust the choke, might allow an even tighter pattern or more general accuracy from your chosen ammo.



-Safety you can use; this one just makes sense, right? Yet, so many buyers out there buy shotguns and figure they will leave them in "Cruiser Ready" mode, or fully loaded with a round not chambered and the safety set. Guess what? If you can't work the safety, you're going to be in a world of chambered with a loaded shotgun that still doesn't work. When milliseconds count and you are fighting for your life, don't try and remember where the safety is and how it works, know it. I'm an advocate of the top tang Mossberg-style safety, because it works universally right and left hand and is easy to use and see, with a traditional stock. That said, there is nothing wrong with the position of the Remington safety for a right hander and many companies make left handed safeties for the Remington series of guns.


-Controls you can reach without having to adjust your grip drastically (I.E. can you reach the slide lock without having to take your main shooting hand off the gun?) This goes back to the safety argument above, if you are running a pump, can you hit the slide lock with your off hand, what about one handed? Again the Mossberg camp wins this with their behind the trigger guard on the left setup, versus the Remington in front of the trigger guard setup. How about the semi-auto guys, can you hit your bolt release or bolt lock back button without sacrificing control of the gun? It's critical, weapon control is as critical as hitting your target. Maintain it and pick a gun that has controls where you like them and where you feel like they should be.

-Semi-Auto vs. Pump vs. Non-Reciprocating Action Guns: This debate will rage until the end of time. Lets get down and dirty and quick. The Mossberg 500 and 590 guns, the Remington 870, the Benelli Nova and SuperNova, are all exceptionally reliable and functional pump shotguns. With a pump you do run the risk of short stroking the gun. If you are concerned about this, my suggestion is to buy a Remington. The Mossberg and Benelli guns are smooth, but not the same level as the 870 series of guns. The smoother gun will be easier to run and generally result in fewer operator errors, but the only way to be truly good is to practice. Semi-auto, gas guns will have a reduced felt recoil to pump guns and inertia driven guns, gas guns typically are more picky about loads, a pump will generally feed and shoot anything that fits in the chamber. Inertia Driven semi-auto guns, the Benellis, Berettas, and Stoeger guns are all super cool guns, but just not what I think it takes for personal defense. The Inertia Driven system is a super recoiling system and limits the ability to make fast follow up shots with defensive type shot loads. Non-reciprocating action guns, single shots are cheaper, but not necessarily any better than a quality pump gun, if it's what you have, learn it and love it, if you are in the market to buy, go pump if you can.

-12 or 20 gauge; another great debate. 12-gauge 00 buckshot has the record, 000 might be even better. 20-gauge has #3 buck in 2 3/4" shells and #2 in 3" shells, in my opinion, opt for 2 3/4" shells, the recoil vs. increased amount of shot or shot size, is not worth the trade off. It doesn't matter which you choose if you pick a good quality buckshot load AND you learn to aim.

-Ghost Ring Sights vs. Bead vs. Fiber Optic, now the truly important bit on this subject, sights. Gun sights are there for a reason, racking the shotgun and pointing in the general direction will not guarantee hits with the shots. You need to aim and the best way to do it, is to use the sights. Ghost Ring or Rifle type sights are all the rage these days with many of the "tactical" shooters and while I generally agree that Ghost Rings are faster and easier to focus on, I don't necessarily agree that they are the only choice in shotgun sights. A bead sight and vented barrel rib works well for tracking small, quickly flying game like dove, it can work equally well on a shorter barrel, for tracking a much larger, but still quick, human target. In this case, the Ghost Ring sights are advantageous in they help the shooter focus on the front sight and aim, but they are not the end all be all. If you have them on your gun, love them, learn them, shoot them, if you don't, spend your money on buckshot and range time.

Now, fiber optic sights, many new guns have them, especially sporting guns, bright red and green inserts certainly allow you to spot the right sight and keep a good eye on things. I personally, really like the Tru-Glo setups that are meant to attach over your standard bead sight and allow you to see a fiber optic tube. I prefer this setup to a fiber optic only setup, because the fiber rods do occasionally fall out. If that were to happen to you, you'd at least still have a front bead to focus on and shoot from.

-Other Accessories like butt cuffs, side saddles, and flashlights; Spare ammunition is good, having it on the gun is good, because we will probably fight with the ammo in and on the gun, but there is too much of a good thing. Choose one system and use it, use it, use it, until it is second nature to reload your shotgun from the butt cuff or side saddle. Personally, I opt for butt cuff, because I'm on a low budget and side saddles don't ever seem to come cheap. The stretchy spandex like butt cuff that holds five shot shells will fill all your needs. You do need to do one thing, secure it to the stock. I did this, by using marine grade velcro, the hook side on the cuff and the loop side on the stock, held on by marine grade waterproof adhesive. The cuff does not move around on my gun and allows me a platform to use.

On flashlights, just do it. You don't have to go for a Surefire flashlight fore end, but there are many setups out there on the market. Find one that works for you, use it, learn it, love it. Personally, my setup is pretty redneck, opting for a positive 'clicky' tail-capped LED Mini-Mag Light, that is secured to the fore-end via duct tape and more marine grade velcro. It's very ugly, but extremely functional, it does not effect the ability to use the fore-end nor does it move around while the gun is in use. Again, pick a system and practice with it, until it is second nature.

~Whew~ Let me take a breath, are you confused yet? Well, lets get back to basics. For personal defense, the shotgun that is for you, is the one with controls that you are familiar with and feel comfortable with. Your next big issue is picking a gauge that works for you, if you are recoil sensitive, don't buy the hype that 20 feels less than 12, because many 20-gauge guns are also lighter in overall weight. The lighter the gun, the more felt recoil, period, in this case, if the guns weigh the same, yes 20 will have a little lighter recoil, but 12-gauge will still be managable. Next, you need sights you can use and perhaps you should consider spare ammo and a flashlight on your gun. The later two items can help in a fight but aren't necessary, the sights are. Pick a sighting system that allows you to aim and hit. Finally, whatever you pick, practice, practice, practice, and train, train, train. The shotgun might be an extremely powerful and versatile tool for personal defense, but you need the ability to wield that power.

Defensive shotguns are extremely useful and should be part of everyone's toolkit. Selecting a gun is not hard, pick the gun that fills your needs with the least amount of compromise and practice with it. For those wondering about my top picks for defensive shotguns the list is as follows: Remington 870, particularly the Express Series "Defense" Models in 12-gauge, the Mossberg 500 and 590 in 12-gauge, the Remington Express 870 20-gauge "Youth" gun, the Mossberg 500 20-gauge "Youth" gun, and then the Benelli series of guns. The Benellis come last, because parts for the Mossberg and Remington series of guns are literally a dime a dozen of anything you need.

-Rob

Veteran's Day

Several years ago (about 5 of them to be exact), I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with a WWII Marine Corp Veteran about his service time and his time on the island of Iwo Jima and then following that his time during the occupation of Japan, Nagasaki to be exact.

This Marine, was part of the second wave on Iwo Jima and lost multiple friends and comrades on that rock in the South Pacific. He stood on the beach and watched the flag being raised at Mt. Siribachi, he explained to me, that he could not explain, the feeling that he felt that day. He told me the story of his life, a boy who grew up during the depression, a teenager who came of age during the war. A boy of 15 in 1941 who waited to do his part for Uncle Sam until he could enlist in 1944, just weeks shy of graduating from high school.

He went as part of the occupation force to Nagasaki in 1946 and 1947 and drove for the occupying general. For his efforts, the fallout from the nuclear blast caused him to be sterile. This fact was something that he would discover later in life when he and his first wife would attempt to have kids. Later even though they adopted, it would still cause a rift in his marriage and she left. This Marine went on, married another, beautiful, caring, and loving woman, who he is married to, this very moment, some 40 years later.

He doesn't live in a fancy house, or drive a fancy car, he doesn't ask anything of anyone that he wouldn't do for himself. He is retired now and makes his days pass by collecting antique pistols and growing vegetables in his garden, but he is MY hero. He is the hero of an ENTIRE generation, he and millions like him. Those who fought, those who died, those who were injured in ways we can't understand. MILLIONS of soldiers who have lived, fought, and died, for you and I. He is my hero, he is my Marine, and he is your hero too.

To him today, I dedicate this post, for the life of service to this country and a willingness to leave the glory of life, for death, to protect it.

Thank you Marine, Semper Fi.

Thank you Vets, your service is more invaluable than you will ever know.

-Rob