Feature Articles

How do you win over the hearts and minds of anti-gunners? Well, it’s not easy, but if you remember to do these five things you’ll stand a real chance to turning a foe into a friend.

I have been sitting on a story since Media Day at the Range back in January on the day before the 2014 SHOT Show. It is a very simple GPS driven topography map interface for smartphones and tablets. Who doesn’t have one of those these days right? But outside of a very small percentage of hunters that hunt public lands with topo maps, I didn’t think many people would be interested in our gun world. One detail about these cards, though, makes them extremely relevant for long term survival. They don’t require a network connection to use the GPS or the data. Once you download the app, all you need is the micro-SD card with the data. At $69.99 without private land data and $99.99 with that data, these are a really cheap way to keep right at your fingertips a complete set of topo maps for your entire state. Right now the cards are available for all Android devices and the Ipad, and we were able to fondle the first generation of IPhone charger cases at SHOT Show, though they have yet to be released.

Dick Metcalf speaks at the Aspen Ideas Festival about the abrupt end to his tenure at Guns & Ammo, while making some controversial remarks in the process.

Measuring radiation isn’t as complicated as all of the terminology makes it sound. Any radiation measuring device has some sort of Geiger–Müller tube, also called a G-M tube. The tube is a surprisingly simple device that turns any type of ionizing radiation into an electrical pulse. The rest of the machine we call “Geiger Counter” or “radiation meter” is just a signal amplification circuit that can contain computing chips and measurement dials or readouts. In a nuclear emergency there won’t be time for news of it to hit The Drudge Report. You’ll have to take evasive measures immediately (a topic for a future article). We are all waiting for the next big false flag or hoax catastrophe, and if it turns out to be nuclear, you’ll want some sort of Geiger counter, both to tell you when it is time to go inside, and also when it is ok to come out. For the most part, Geiger counters aren’t cheap. But I found a source for a DIY Geiger counter that takes only basic soldering for under $60, including the G-M tube. You can also get a no-solder option for still under $100, and they work great.

Smith & Wesson has made a major improvement to what is already a formidable pistol. The Shield is now even better for concealed carry, and may make the .380s out there irrelevant.

The Mini series rifles from Ruger are nothing new. They have been in production in various forms since 1973, and the action borrows from one that dates from the 1930s. They have shown up in Hollywood too: the original A Team used them. Still, they are a bit of a curiosity. After running this Mini Thirty through its paces, my opinion on them has risen: this is a very capable rifle with a couple of quirks.

For some reason, virtually any gunny discussion about the 300 AAC Blackout cartridge quickly devolves into a typing wind sprint where the winner itemizes more reasons why the 300 Blackout is not as good as (fill in your favorite cartridge here.) Due to the unique performance characteristics and its wide range of velocity and projectile weight combinations, it gets poked in the eye from both ends of the ballistic spectrum. As with most debates, there are a lot of elements of truth in all of these statements. But I don’t really care. That’s because, for me, whether the 300 Blackout is interesting or not isn’t a binary question. It doesn’t have to be better than (fill in the blank.) I like the fact that it’s a different option with unique capabilities. In fairness, I might be more biased in favor because I’m a reloading enthusiast, and the 300 Blackout is a reloaders dream.

I’ve had a lifelong fascination with oddball guns. The Marble’s Game Getter Gun, a storied gun with a long and troubled history, speaks to me. By today’s standards, the skeletal over-under is underpowered, and a bit slow. Yet the single-shot Game Getter Gun lives on in the survival-minded offerings of Springfield Armory, and Savage, and even Chiappa.

Buying your first AR-15 used to be a lot easier, if only because of the lack of options. A good base model would get you only you needed, and then you could add on extras and swap out parts to make the rifle more functional. The various scarcities (and shifts in political power) meant many bought whatever they could get and at artificially inflated prices. We’re past that now, at least for a while. Deciding which AR to buy is much more complicated now, as there are so many makers making many variations of guns that essentially do the same thing. In this market, you can take your pick of rifles and options. You don’t have to start at the bottom. And some rifles, like the Diamondback DB-15 B, represent a real value. The DB-15 B is an upgraded gun at a base model price, and it is a buyer’s market.