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General George S. Patton once called the M1 Garand the “best battle implement ever devised.” But was he correct? The run up to World War II saw a giant leap forward in technology for weapons of war. The jet airplane was invented for WWII. Of course the atomic bomb was invented for WWII. But more importantly, the weapons that saw the most combat, the infantry battle rifles of the war, changed considerably as well, worldwide. The SVT-40 never really got out of the gate due to the later popularity of the AK-47, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was an influential rifle on the Eastern front during the war, or the fact that it totally rocks. We got to test an actual 1943 SVT-40 side by side with an M1 Garand, and the results may surprise you.

When Savage called and asked if GunsAmerica would review one of their Youth rifles, I intended to do it right and have an actual kid do the shooting. Then they asked if they could send one in Muddy Girl. While this camo pattern won’t prevent boys from shooting it, I thought I’d try to find a girl who knew her way around guns. After a few phone calls, I lined up an 11 year old. But when the rifle arrived, it was a .308. How well can an 11 year old girl handle a .308?

Gunslingers agree on very few things, but one of them is that bigger, longer guns are easier to shoot, and to shoot well. This is doubly true when you have to do a lot of shooting. Glock owners are a fierce bunch of gunslinging devotees, and now they have a Gen. 4 version of what is essentially a bigger, longer .45ACP Glock 21. This is the last of a competition trio that joins the G34, a long slide 9mm G17, and the G35, a long slide .40 G22. This new G41 has a barrel about .6 inches longer and it has about 3/4 inch more sight radius than the G21, but it actually comes in a couple ounces lighter.

Do you have a “bug out bag”? Many of us do, but even if you are not planning on leaving your safe location should the Apocalypse arrive unscheduled, there is going to be a transition period between normal life, and survival life. During that time you have to be able to cook. Think about that, because if you are going to rely on freeze dried foods, as we suggested in an earlier installment, that means you should have some kind of cooking apparatus that doesn’t require setting up a stove. For this article we got to look at a fairly new product that is just now finding its way into consumer retail. It is called a “ration heater” from Milspec. This product was developed for heating military MREs, which for home prepping are way too expensive per meal, and they don’t have a 15 year shelf life like freeze dried. So we tried to use the Mealspec Ration Heater to actually cook a 4 serving rice meal from Wise, part of a popular pack carried by many gunshops, and even Walmart.

I just checked on-line. A Savage Model 111 Long Range Hunter Rifle chambered in .300 Win Mag with a 26″ Barrel and equipped with an AccuTrigger, an AccuStock, and an adjustable comb, sells for $863. A Lucid L5 6x-24 50MM Rifle Scope can be found for $327. Yours Truly is no super sniper, military or law enforcement high-speed, low-drag, kind of guy, but I can consistently hit targets out to one mile with this set-up. This means you can too! And if you are a really disciplined shooter, your results should be phenomenal.

Haven’t started preparations for the fall? Now’s the time. The deer are gorging on grass, and you need to see where they are. The StealthCam P12 can help. This affordable game cam shoots day or night, and can take video or stills. Check out our review.

The Swiss are know for two things, neutrality and precision. There is a lot more going on over there than just those two things, but if you look at history, the Swiss are known for being a neutral country during both World Wars, and for their meticulous precision in things like watches. Swiss neutrality, in fact, could not have been achieved without the precision of the Swiss rifle, called the Schmidt Rubin. There is a famous question: “Why was Switzerland never invaded by the Germans?” The answer is simple. In 1912, the German Kaiser asked a Swiss soldier what Switzerland would do if Germany invaded with 500,000 troops, while the Swiss could only muster 250,000. The soldier answered: “Shoot twice and go home.”

It is almost laughable when you hear people say “I don’t want to survive in whatever world is left after the collapse.” I promise you that every one of them will be singing a different tune when they are wasting away from thirst and hunger. “I don’t want to die like this!” That is what they are going to be saying. You can bet on it. That also goes for injuries and sickness. Nobody is going to say “Nah, don’t try to stop the bleeding! Don’t give me antibiotics to get rid of my Malaria! I really don’t want to live anyway since the world is so crappy now. Go help someone else.” Nobody wants to die when the time comes. Nobody.

Many experts agree that the 20 gauge is not only sufficient at the distances most likely to be in play in a home defense scenario– many feel it is a better choice than the traditional 12 gauge. The Escort Gladius 20 gauge shotgun is a purpose built defensive weapon, and is well appointed to serve in that role.