Like my clothing, shotguns seem to come back into fashion every six or seven years. And every time they do, there blossoms an attendant array of after-market gadgets and gizmos that aren’t worth a damn—and a few useful accoutrements that can actually improve your battle capability. It seems that the Firearms Law of Inverse Proportions
In the excellent training video entitled Surviving Edged Weapons, the point is made that we live in a blade culture. While there are a large number of individuals who carry a firearm daily, that number is dwarfed by those who carry an edged weapon. The search for individual weapons is a very personal thing. Likes
A hundred years ago everyone carried a gun. Saloonkeepers, trail hands and even little old ladies had a gun—or at least one close at hand. Over the years, however, the need to become more discreet about carrying a weapon has increased. Many misinformed people see anyone who carries a gun—other than a uniformed police officer—as
If you, like myself, have ever had the opportunity to clear a dark attic in search of a bad guy, it probably rates in the top ten things you dislike. Simply climbing the ladder to the opening of the attic is bad enough, as the suspect knows exactly where you are, and drywall is not
The carriage of mission essential equipment has always been an issue of contention. When men first started carrying firearms, spare ammunition and equipment were carried on belts—a practice that has continued until relatively recently. The first of the modern American rifle belts was the U.S. Navy M1895 6mm belt, which had 12 fabric pockets and
I first became enamored of hollow-handled fighting and survival knives as a result of some contract work I was doing. I was training Third World—oops, better make that “developing countries” for political correctness—counterinsurgency forces and didn’t fully trust those with whom I was working. Nkonka is tough outdoorsman’s knife whether screwdriver kit is in place
Much to my wife’s chagrin, I rarely throw anything away. The reason (excuse?) is, “I’ll find a use for that later.” I attribute this to being the son of a man who grew up during the Great Depression, when anything that could possibly be used was saved. Then again, maybe I’m just cheap or a
In recent years it has become necessary to carry more gear—ammo, magazines, medical kits, etc.—because bad guys tend to hunt like wild dogs in packs. The average cop will carry two reloads on his duty belt, a SWAT cop will carry more on a load-bearing vest, and military personnel will carry much more as mission
As has been said many times before, the first rule of gunfighting is to have a gun. I am not going to preach what is the best gun for the job, because everyone has their own thoughts on the subject. The simple truth is that the best gun for a gunfight is the one you
As any front line soldier knows, if you have jungle rot, corns, bunions or athlete’s foot, you aren’t going anywhere. Which means if you’re going to be marching, hiking or merely spending much of your time on your feet, you’d better have comfortable shoes or boots. Blackhawk’s boot (center) flanked by HiTech Magnum (left) and
