Trijicon RMR Review
Posted by Bill on Oct 23, 2013 in Bill, New Products, Uncategorized | 0 comments
My Hunting Rifle, a slightly modified 308 AR10 with a bit of custom work was great for long well planned shots. For close quarters, deep woods or OMG I was not expecting this so soon… She simply fell short. I looked at the Three Gun Competitions and chose the Trijicon RMR. It’s a bit pricey compared to other reflex sight for a reason…It’s better… No batteries and great quick action lock on. A simple 45 twist to the left and she is on target. After sighting in the local range, one of the Swat Teams training stopped over to check it out and said they liked it. Generally at the range it’s “ok nice equipment,” but the fact that their lead passed it on to several members with a thumbs up shows the value of a close quarter sight on a medium to long range hunting rifle. Without a doubt if I had to choose only 1 Rifle I would choose one with a Leupold 4.5 x 14 for any thing over 100 meters but for that close in shot a quarter twist gives less than a second time on target and with a 100 meter zero on a 308 your more than good in all hunting situations....
Read MoreLeupold Mark4 QC/T Scope
Posted by Bill on Jun 7, 2013 in Articles, Bill, New Products, Uncategorized | 0 comments
After hunting with numerous rifle scopes I finally settled on the Leupold Mark4. Hunting deer in Central Wisconsin is normally in wooded areas during the dawn and dusk. A standard 3X scope in a heavily wooded area simply took too much time to lock in. The Mark 4 1-3x14mm CQ/T combines the strengths of a red dot sight and the flexibility of a low power riflescope. I prefer this sight over Red Dot Sights as the reticle is always visible, with or without batteries. In the unlikely but possible event the EPA will ban batteries or some rouge nation detonates an upper atmosphere nuclear weapon causing a massive EMP, you will still have a functioning optic. I mounted the CQ/T on a custom MA10 w 18″ medium contour barrel. Accuracy at 100yards was excellent the center dot covered appx 3-4″ and every bullet was inside 2″. Not bad for a 3X scope. Its not a target scope but the size and clarity of the center dot is perfect for hunting and tactical applications. This is an illuminated optic but in bright sunlight the illumination was not noticed. Indoors and in densely wooded the illuminated dot was very welcome and allowed for instant target acquisition. I used it last year deer hunting with my 458 Socom and to put it bluntly harvesting a moving deer 50 yards out in medium woods was rather easy. I have a 30/30 with a Standard Leupold 1.5 x 4x and would of passed on the shot under the same conditions. Needless to say the terminal ballistics of the 458 Socom on the deer was horrific and its now relegated to Burglar Repellent and Feral Hogs. I now prefer the 308 or 300AAC with a Barns Bullet for deer hunting as depending on the shot less meat is damaged and a humane harvest is still maintained. As a primary hunting rifle I did like the ability to easily mount a flashlight. After the hunt this unloaded rifle makes the trail easily navigable at night without having to carry or wear a flashlight. For home defense this optic mounted on my 458 Socom with the light is very user friendly. Late at night with a drug crazed intruder I trust this is the best option for deterrence and protection....
Read MoreCerakote
Posted by Bill on Jun 5, 2013 in Articles, Bill, New Products, Uncategorized | 0 comments
CerakoteTM has a unique ceramic structure that is extremely durable and corrosion resistant. It is perfect for ensuring your firearms last as well as blend in to their natural surroundings. Before we started offering this service I decided to use my AR10 and Desert Eagle as a sample to test the quality and looks. The results were amazing. I was so impressed with the results I plan on doing most of my Firearms. The Magazine and Arms SIR Rail were coated in MagPul Flat Dark Earth and the Receiver and rail were MagPul OD Green. I liked this combo with a little Black so much I did my Desert Eagle in the same combination. Yes Cerakote is a little more expensive than other coatings like Duracoat. I’ve done a few rifles in my garage with Duracoat with great results. This said comparing My Duracoat to a professional Cerakote firearem leaves me with only one question. Do I have a professional Cerakote these firearms or do I keep them as is? The answer is a reluctant keep as is. This was a Savage 110 3006 and a Remington 870 aka generic hunting tools. The purpose was to simply protect the firearm from corrosion and Duracoat is more than adequate compared to the factory finish and given the abuse these see in the field there was no need to incur extra dollars hidden from the wife for the shooting hobby. For future firearms Cerakote is without a doubt the best option. I could cut and past the Cerakote Test Results or you could simply click the link and go directly to their webpage. If I were to do it again, a whole afternoon prepping and spraying Duracoat my self vs sending it to a Cerakote Pro…Cerakote would win hands down. I’ve looked into doing this my self and Cerakote has a lot more issues if done wrong than Duracoat. Everyone I’ve talked to familiar with the process recommends to have someone with experience do this. We use the term Trial By Fire rather strictly and if fails its dropped quicker than Bill Clinton drops his pants in a Girls Sorority House. Cerakote did not fail in fact it preformed top of its class. We are...
Read More550 Parachute Cord Handle Cover
Posted by Bill on May 8, 2013 in Articles, Bill, Uncategorized | 0 comments
Back in the day I learned during Air Force Combat Survival School how valuable a Parachute, Knife and Flint can be to surviving months in the woods. We normally do not go hunting or camping with a C9 Parachute but we can easily carry its 550 Cord. In fact you can make items like a knife or axe more user friendly by wrapping it around the handle. Having large hands this made one of my favorite hunting knives a better fit. It also gave me an emergency supply of valuable 550 Cord. During Survival training we used 550 cord for deer snares, in our primitive housings and yes even to sew with. It has multiple strands of fine thread. While hunting and camping I’ve used it to hang deer, elk and our food stash high away from the bears. Its very simple to enhance or customize your handle. The first step is to line up the tension string and start wrapping the cord around the handle. The best way to wrap the 550 cord is to roll the handle as to not cause a unnatural twist to the cord. After you have enough cord wrapped around the handle, thread the last bit through the top loop. Then use some pliers and pull tight. Trim the excess and use a lighter or match to sear the ends. I liked the idea of having extra 550 cord available so much I also did the stock of my politically incorrect...
Read MoreBar-Sto Barrel Review Beretta 92F
Posted by Bill on Feb 15, 2013 in Articles, Bill, New Products | 0 comments
Back in the day the Military switched their standard service pistol to the M9 or Beretta 92F. There has been a lot of debate on choosing a 9mm but given its popularity and availability of numerous types of 9mm ammunition I consider this my primary SHTF Pistol. I purchased my 92F over 20 years ago about the same time the Military adopted her, and have seen well over 5-10K rounds through her. I doubt this is a record but have never seen a major malfunction or failure to feed. Without a doubt she has been more reliable and trustworthy than the women in my life. Honestly my only complaint is there is not a 10mm version… A few years back I put a 5 1/2″ Compensated Bar-Sto Barrel on my Glock20 and noticed an improvement in accuracy and a reduction in felt recoil. Will document the upgrades to this in a future post. Any way I was extremely impressed with the barrel then and very happy with the drop in fit. The Beretta Bar-Sto Barrel did not install easily. To the credit of Bar-Sto they have a warning noting this, and to quote them ” We would prefer that you have your match target barrel installed by us, but if not, please use a competent qualified gunsmith”… This Barrel did need custom fitting and would not work without. We rely heavily on precision gunsmiths but I wanted to try this one myself. By doing it myself I would have it much sooner as most quality gunsmiths are backlogged with work. I already waited 9 months for the barrel to ship. I wanted this ASAP. My applicable life experience is simple…Old school High School shop class. In these pictures the new barrel would simply not slide in. Two choices…Open up the receiver or file down the barrel. The obvious solution is to adjust only the Bar-Sto Barrel with a simple gunsmith file. After several hours of filing…some of which was done with my teenage daughter while watching the movie Taken. The Barrel fit perfectly with the frame however the slide was a no go. The Locking Block would not fit…More filing…This time while watching the movie Hope Floats by my self… Eventually it...
Read MoreMRE Star Review
Posted by Bill on Oct 26, 2012 in Articles, Bill, New Products | 0 comments
The term MRE “Meal Ready to Eat”, AKA “Meals Refused by Ethiopians” is a rather generic term. And just because its in a brown plastic bag and labled MRE does not put it at the same level of Military issue MREs. The Authentic Military MRE have come a long way. Back in the day I remember the classic Beans and Franks were “Not for Flight Use” nor was the Ham and Egg Omelet… During the Gulf War we avoided these like an occupy wallstreet protester avoids a shower and going to work. The current Military MREs are not bad to say the least. They are well thought out and one with two quarts of water is enough in an average environment to survive. In the Desert more water is required and in the Arctic more calories are needed. Current Military MREs rock especially the ones with the little Tabasco bottles…These for lack of better words spice up the meal and have been used with a pinch of feezedried coffee between the cheek and gum to keep one awake. That said, the biggest problem with issue Military MREs is they are like an Airline Flight Attendant…You simply do not know where its been and how long its been mishandled. MREs from the desert have a shelf life of only a couple months…Been there and done that. Desert MREs have been consumed well past their expiration and the ones that went bad were mostly obvious. Once you open them the smell is rather foul to say the least. Some were not so obvious and one might have better odds eating the two day old shawarma from the local vendor. The Fruit Cake however may have a longer shelf life than Twinkies but this would be a debate on par with who is hotter Ginger or Mary Ann. Overall Shelf Life is directly related to storage conditions and temperature. We chose MRE Star to evaluate for two primary reasons. First they are produced under the same standards as Military Issue MREs. Second, and perhaps more important each box is labeled with an obvious date of manufacture so you know how long your ration is good for. Another reason to...
Read MoreTerminal Ballistics Part 2: Hornandy Index of Terminal Standards. AKA HITS
Posted by Bill on Jul 25, 2012 in Articles, Bill | 0 comments
The Taylor Knock Out is a useful comparision of different rounds. That said TKO falls a bit short in some practicable application. According to Hornandy the “Hornady Index of Terminal Standards” calculator is a resource designed to help hunters choose effective bullet/cartridge combinations for any hunting situation in the world. Traditional muzzle energy figures do not take into account for the manner in which energy is transferred from the bullet to game animals. HITS factors in Bullet Weight, Sectional Density, Ballistics Coefficient, and Impact Velocity and delivers a rating that will fall into one of the four classifications below. Bullet construction is also a very important factor to consider. If you have questions as to which Hornady bullet is right for you, there is a quick performance reference listed at the bottom of the page. The H.I.T.S formula = Bullet Weight2 / Bullet Diameter2 / 7000 x Impact Velocity / 100 The H.I.T.S. rating on Hornady ammunition is based on: 100 yard impact velocities for rifles, muzzleloaders, and shotguns and 50 yard impact velocities for handguns. 500 or Below — Small game weighing less than 50 lbs 501 to 900 — Medium game with a body weight of 50 to 300 lbs (e.g., deer, black bear and caribou) 901 to 1500 — Large and heavy, but non-dangerous game weighing from 300 to 2000 lbs (e.g., elk, moose, African plains game, bison, etc) 1501 or Above — Dangerous game of any weight (including, for example, big cats) H.I.T.S TKO Bullet Weight Velocity Diameter Energy Momentum 7589 147 .50 BMG 660 3050 0.51 13630 287 3666 70.3 .458 Winchester Magnum 500 2150 0.458 5131 153 1102 35 .458 SOCOM 300 1800 0.458 2157 77 1239 26 .458 SOCOM 450 900 0.458 809 57 1716 42.9 .500 S&W Magnum 500 1200 0.5 1598 85 2333 41 .375 H&H 300 2550 0.375 4330 109 1325 37.7 .500 Linebaugh 440 1200 0.51 1406 75 1721 36.5 .45-70 450 1250 0.458 1560 80 2301 35.5 .338 Lapua Magnum 250 2940 0.338 4797 105 1212 35.2 .475 Linebaugh 370 1400 0.475 1609 74 1530 34.7 .405 Winchester 300 2000 0.4115 2664 85 852 30.2 .454 Casull 260 1800 0.452 1870 66 904 29.8 .480 Ruger...
Read MoreTerminal Ballistics Part 1: Taylor KO Factor
Posted by Bill on Jul 19, 2012 in Articles, Bill | 0 comments
There has been much debate on which bullet is better or is this round good enough. This debate is as much opinion based as it is with practicable field experience. The main difference from this and the agelong debate on who is hotter Ginger or Mary Ann is the conclusion. The results of this debate has much more consequence. It may mean the difference from the drug crazed home intruder continuing its aggressive threatening actions… or simply being quickly rendered to a state of compliance. It may also have a moral implication as in hunting. The ethical hunter simply wants to cull the herd to maintain its health while providing meat for the family without promoting suffering to the game. Choice in hunting ammunition is key. Before the Taylor KO there was only Kinetic Energy or Momentum. Kinetic Energy or KE is Mass times the Square of Velocity. KE gave the advantage to smaller faster moving projectiles. The adaption of the Military 5.56 is a result of the fact a quicker object has more energy than a slower object. Momentum is simply Mass times Velocity. This gives advantage to larger heavier bullets. During our Civil War these large 50-54 cal slow moving bullets did horrific damage to the receiving soldier. During the Vietnam War the .556 tumbling did horrific damage as well but more efficiently. John Taylor was a famous professional hunter or infamous poacher depending on the historic source. Never less he has shot a lot of animals, mostly large game and based on his experience, he has developed the following formula for best describe best terminal ballistics… TKOF=(Mass of Bullet x Velocity of Bullet x Diameter of Bullet)/7000 This simple formula can still complicate the the original question on which round is best. But is still valuable. To go back to the age old question who is hotter Ginger or Mary Ann? It depends on application. The 50BMG would be best for most everything including anti material applications such as sever vehicle incapacitation. Yes a 50 BMG is a hoot to shoot at 1000 yards but as a club we would not have it in our golf bag of guns for most applications. A fishing guide in Alaska would not consider the 50BMG a viable bear defensive...
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