Gun Digestthe Magazine is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. With a subscription toGun Digestthe Magazine, readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews, how-to instructions and Second Amendment issues.
Panic can lead to shutting down in survival situations. Learn how to control fear before that ever happens.
Your Worst Enemy: How to Control Fear
It's said that survival is partially a mental game. That's actually incorrect.
It's almost entirely a mental game.
Go ahead, buy all the gear you want. But if you don't know how to control fear, all the fancy knives and freeze-dried chemistry in the world won't make a bit of different. You'll be too out of yourself to use them.
In order to prevent panic, we must understand how to control fear. We now know some of the fears that affect people in a survival situation. But that is not enough.
Mark Twain once said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
We must learn how to control fear, so panic does not have a chance to control us.
When fear strikes, we know we must act immediately. Don’t run from it, but recognize and admit it. To prevent the physical symptoms of fear from setting in, there are several things you can do.
How to Control Fear: B-R-E-A-T-H-E
People tend to hold their breath when frightened, so breathe, breathe, breathe! Breathing prevents hyperventilation. Take slow, deep breaths to establish a regular breathing pattern, which will help you relax.
How to Control Fear: Stay Loose
People also have a tendency to freeze when frightened. The breathing helps you to relax, which helps prevent you from becoming tense. Tense muscles can add to anxiety by reinforcing fear. To know how to control fear is also to understand your body.
How to Control Fear: Move Around
Some people spend a lot of mental energy worrying about wild animal attacks in the outdoors. But such attacks are rare and generally not concerning. Being educated helps control fear by focusing energy on what matters.
Move! When people freeze in the middle of a threatening situation it results in inaction. To break this natural instinct, move. Doing something will lessen the dread of the fear and help you restore confidence in yourself.
Staying busy also keeps your mind busy and away from the negative aspects of the situation that reinforce the fear.
How to Control Fear: Be Prepared
Another way to limit fear is by being prepared to survive! I have always been an advocate of carrying the basic essentials for survival with me whenever I leave the safety of my immediate surroundings, or what I call the “safety zone.”
I always wear, or have with me, proper clothing for a change of weather. Many times when I am hiking it starts to rain. While continuing on my way wearing the rain gear I keep with me, I pass others in a soaked t-shirt and jeans.I have seen these same unprepared hikers on a hot sunny day without any signs of having water with them.
Preparedness also includes knowledge and training in regard to handling a survival situation. I have “beat a dead horse to death” over the years advocating the necessity of practicing with your survival kit and learning the skills of survival. Being properly equipped is not enough; knowing how to use the equipment is also critical.
In John Leach’s book, Survival Psychology, he states, “Familiarity with the use and handling of survival equipment is also essential during training. Unfamiliarity with equipment stops people from using it. Victims have been recovered from life rafts with a survival box (containing flares, rations, first-aid kit and so on) unopened and the necessary contents unused.”
Carry the essentials to survive and be comfortable with their use.
How to Control Fear: Physical Fitness
Lastly, stay physically fit. The combination of preparation, knowledge and fitness for survival develops confidence in yourself and your ability to face your fears in a survival situation.
Add all these factors up, and you'll be well on your way to understanding how to control fear.
Gun Digestthe Magazine is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. With a subscription toGun Digestthe Magazine, readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews, how-to instructions and Second Amendment issues.
It used to be that if I wanted ammo for my .280 Ackley Improved, I needed to shoot .280 Remington in order to fireform it and then reload it. Now, Nosler Custom offers .280 Ackley ammo – and the stuff is darn accurate!
I don’t reload as much as I used to, thanks to limited free time, but equally at fault is the fact that factory ammo has become so good. This is especially true when it comes to match-grade ammo.
One benefit of reloading precision rifle ammunition is the ability to customize loads for your rifle. Benchrest shooters are renown for this level of exactness. They’ll weigh out cases and bullets and discard any component that doesn’t fall within their self-imposed tolerances.
I don’t take it to this level. For one thing, I’m not a benchrest shooter. I enjoy banging steel or shooting IDPA targets at long range. At six football fields distant, I celebrate when I shoot a respectable MOA-sized group.
For handgunning, I still like to reload the .44 magnum. My favorite handgun load for deer is a genuine 250- or 300-grain “Keith-style” lead bullet design. These suckers kill big game today just like they did in the good ‘ol days for Elmer.
I can buy ammo loaded with the little sledgehammers — and I just might if time gets any tighter — but for now I’ve got an accurate recipe and the dies are all set up just right. So, go ahead and make my day.
Meanwhile, my .280 Ackley Improved requires .280 Remington ammo be shot for fireforming, after which it is then reloaded at Ackley levels. Having done my fair share of this, it’s refreshing that I can buy Nosler Custom .280 AI ammo that just happens to be extremely accurate in my gun.
For defensive handgunning, much shooting can and should be done to improve proficiency. An easy-going target load cranked out on a progressive press would make this endeavor more affordable. Unfortunately, reloading components — just like AR-15s and Glocks — are in short supply.
So for now I’m scrounging factory handgun ammo just like everyone else.
Which has inspired this thought: Factory ammo has gotten so good in recent years that a case could be made that it eclipses the benefits of handloading.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and tell me your thoughts.
Windham Weaponry AR-15 rifles are just what you'd expect out of this long-time manufacturer from Maine: Top quality and great shooters. Here's a look at the Windham Weaponry Special Build 02.
As happens often when one company gets bought out by another, operations are merged for cost reductions and efficiencies and all too often, the result is somebody loses their job. Such was the case when Bushmaster was bought several years back. Manufacturing that had been performed at the company’s factory in rural Windham, Maine, was moved out of state and workers were laid off. That might have been the end of the story. But not for former Bushmaster owner, Richard Dyke, who decided to come out of retirement and help put his former employees back to work doing what they know best: producing top-quality AR-15 rifles.
The Special Build
I hiked 50 yards into the forest and wired a rusty cast-iron skillet to a tree. It had just started snowing when I laid the Windham Weaponry SB02 in the grass and tossed an extra magazine next to it and went inside. It was all part of my weather test.
After 4 inches of snow covered the ground, I brushed off the rifle and lifted the front sight and rear dual aperture Diamondhead flip-up sight. Each sight locked solid despite being gummed with snow. I pulled out the telescoping stock, shouldered the rifle, clicked the safety off and aimed at the makeshift target swaying in the blustery wind. The .223 bullet smacked the iron skillet as the snowy woods swallowed the sharp noise. The crusted snow and ice did not hamper any of the functions of the rifle.
The SB02 stands for Special Build. The SB02 is one of many AR rifles produced by Windham Weaponry and is marketed towards the law enforcement audience, partly because of the Diamondhead 2-Piece aluminum handguard with quad rails. The conventional thinking is that police will want to trick out their rifle with lasers, bipods and flashlights — but so do civilians. Dismissing the idea that some guns are better suited for police and not for regular folks, the SB02 is a great versatile rifle for anyone — cop, hunter, competition shooter or home defender.
The .223 Myth
Weeks before, I tested the SB02 right before deer season. That is the worst time of year to visit a gun range since so many hunters are sighting in their deer rifles. I was the only one there with an AR-15-style rifle. It drew many odd looks, and I was asked a few times if I was going to hunt deer with it. Unfortunately, the .223 is not a legal cartridge for hunting whitetail deer in Wisconsin, the state where I live. The idea that the .223 is not a viable caliber for deer is an old myth as hunters in other states where it is legal have proven it as a deadly cartridge. If it were legal in my home state, I would not hesitate to take the SB02 into the woods.
Made-in-America Match Up
I attached a 1.5-6x40mm Burris Xtreme Tactical Riflescope (XTR-156) to the SB02. This Burris scope is an ideal match-up with AR-15 rifles. Burris scopes are known to be rugged and can take some of the roughest treatment in the optics world as the XTR tubes are 30mm, resulting in reported 25 percent thicker main tubes and 42 percent more strength. Inside the housing there is some high technology going on. Besides being waterproof, fogproof and shockproof, the lenses have a StormCoat finish, which causes water to bead up and shed off the lens.
While shooting quite a number of experimental rounds during testing, I adjusted the turret-mounted parallax adjustment system and got familiar with the Ballistic 7.62 Reticle. Once I got it zeroed in, I was shooting sub-1-inch five-shot groups at 100 yards with Hornady TAP ammo.
As I hiked back and forth across the range with the other hunters to fetch our targets, some were curious about how this so-called black rifle was shooting. After inspecting the evidence — the tight groups punched in the paper — they figured this .233 AR-15 might make a fine deer rifle after all.
Windham Weaponry SB-02 Model Number: R16M4FTT-SB02 Caliber: .223 Rem. / 5.56mm NATO Action: Semi-Auto, Gas Impingement Capacity: 30 + 1 Round Magazine Safety: Manual Lever with Indicator Markings Both Sides of Receiver Receiver: M4A4 Type Flat Top Upper Receiver Receiver Material: Forged 7075 T6 Aircraft Aluminum with Aluminum Trigger Guard Receiver Finish: Hardcoat Black Anodized Finish Bolt Material: Carpenter 158 Steel – MP/HP Tested Barrel: 16” M4 Profile, Chrome Lined with A2 Flash Suppressor Barrel Material: 4150 Chrome Moly Vanadium 11595E Steel, M4 Feed Ramps Rifling: 1 Turn in 9” – Right Hand Twist Pistol Grip: A2 Black Plastic Grip Weight: 6.55 lbs. (without magazine) Length Overall: 36.125” (32.375” collapsed) MSRP: $1,480 Website: windhamweaponry.com
This article originally appeared in the January 28, 2013 issue of the newly-redesigned Gun Digest the Magazine.
Squirrels are the perfect survival food, and they taste better than you'd think. And best of all, chasing the little critters is a whole lot of fun. It's time to rethink squirrel hunting.
Name the wild game that can meet these requirements:
* Is found abundantly throughout North America * Has generous hunting seasons * Is able to sustain high levels of hunting without a population collapse * Can be hunted using inexpensive rimfire ammunition * Is high in protein * Lives in urban, suburban and rural areas * Has a mild taste that isn't “gamey” * Eats only plant matter * Is easy to hunt compared to most other game * Requires minimal processing to eat
No, this isn't the legendary snipe hunt to nowhere. I'm talking about squirrels. It's time to rethink squirrel hunting.
I know, I know, you're already cuing the theme song to “Deliverance” in your head. There are plenty of stereotypes about eating squirrel. Throw them away. Look at this small game animal from a self-sufficiency standpoint.
Squirrel Hunting: The Ideal Survival Food
Squirrels are the ideal survival food. They're everywhere, and it doesn't take a ton of effort to hunt them. You can use that emergency .22 rifle or handgun. They only need a couple months to reproduce. And unlike rabbits, they'll sit on a branch and ask you to shoot them.
Cast aside any delusions about relying only on big game during an extended crisis. Any deer hunter knows how perceptive these animals are to human pressure. Now imagine everyone and their brother heading to the woods for dinner. Your odds are better to take the “low-hanging fruit” in your backyard and go squirrel hunting.
I recently went squirrel hunting in Minnesota to experience this for myself. The photos chronicle some of the highlights.
The hunt was also a reminder of my roots, as I'm sure it is for many hunters. Only a few generations ago, my immigrant relatives were dirt poor and eating whatever they could find. It's no coincidence that my family has a catalog of squirrel recipes. The self-sufficiency they practiced to survive in a new country offers plenty of lessons for today.
Squirrel Hunting in the ‘Burbs
To rural folks, squirrel hunting is nothing new. But if you're living in urban or suburban areas, take note. This is 100 percent organic, free-range, sustainable protein that will get you to the clear side of a disaster. And you're living in squirrel central.
Trust me, squeamish urbanites, it's what you'll be eating anyway if the SHTF. Better to prepare now. Get your hands on a .17 or .22 rifle and get to squirrel hunting.
How Does it Taste?
Squirrel tastes mild and mellow, without a hint of gaminess. I won't say it tastes like chicken, but it is pretty close to grouse. The meat is clean on the tongue and finishes smooth. No need to chug a beverage to keep it down.
Preparing the meat is simple. Make a vertical cut down the sides. Pull half the skin off and over the head. Then pull the other half down toward the tail. Chop off the four legs.
It is possible with larger squirrels to cook the whole body. But in most cases, the legs (especially the rear pair) are where the meat is concentrated.
Dredge the legs in seasoned flour, then fry in oil. Eat them just like chicken wings. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
It's time to rethink squirrel hunting. Give it a try and discover why it's the ideal survival food.
Gun Digestthe Magazine is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. With a subscription toGun Digestthe Magazine, readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews, how-to instructions and Second Amendment issues.
Runs on twigs: Scrap up some burnable debris, torch it up and the heat flowing up the inside chimney gets the water inside the Kelly Kettle boiling hot in no time. Click the image for a closer look.
When you’re cold, wet, tired and in the elements, hot water for tea, coffee or cooking is good. But hot water quickly is much, much better. And there’s not much out there that boils water in the field more quickly or efficiently than the Kelly Kettle.
So what exactly is a Kelly Kettle? This clever little bit of camping/preparedness kit is an import from Ireland that was originally used to heat water for Irish boatmen and fishing guides.
It’s simply a double-walled kettle with a big hole in the middle of it. That’s it. You fill the kettle with water, place it on its base, place a few twigs (or anything, really) in the base, light it, feed it a few more twigs, and in just a few minutes you have boiling water.
It’s that simple.
The Kelly Kettle is what’s known in bushcraft/preparedness circles as a “volcano” kettle, which doesn’t mean it spews hot magma, rather the name come from the basic design of its center fire hole. Due to the kettle’s extremely large surface area, when a fire is lit in its center, the water heats up very quickly.
What’s more, the Kelly Kettle is very effective in windy conditions, as the fire is protected from the wind. In fact, the fire burns hotter as it gets windier because the kettle’s stand acts like a bellows that draws air into the fire chamber. The final effect, with flames shooting out from the top of the kettle’s chimney and hot steam piping into the air, is, well, volcano-like.
I first discovered the Kelly Kettle while researching alternatives to propane stoves. Like many outdoorsmen, when I’m on hunting or fishing trip I usually take a little one-burner propane stove for heating up water for tea, coffee, etc. It works well enough when the wind’s calm, but not so much when the wind blows.
An alternative boiler is the Jetboil. It's small, portable and runs on gas. Its design works well in breezy conditions. Living Ready gives it a thumbs up. Click to order it from GunDigestStore.com.
Since I live in Oklahoma, where the wind blows pretty much non-stop, I had been looking for a wind-proof alternative to my propane stove, something I can take on a fishing or hunting trip and use to boil water quickly and easily right on the tailgate or ground.
But the Kelly Kettle is equally useful as an emergency/backup source of hot water for homeowners, campers, picnickers or anyone who needs hot water quickly, reliably, and with minimal fuel.
Thinking the Kelly Kettle might be the ticket, I ordered one. And on first use, I was, quite frankly, shocked at how quickly this thing boils water with such little fuel.
Soon after receiving mine, I decided to test it in a cold, wet and howling mid-winter wind. With just a little grass tinder and twigs scrounged from my yard and placed in the stainless steel base, it took less than four minutes from striking a ferro rod to the grass and feeding twigs into the fire, to boiling water ready for the French press.
The Kelly Kettle has since become a permanent and valued part of my camping/preparedness kit. It’s rugged, simple, efficient, and works well with virtually any combustible material you feed it.
With a price range from $59.95 for the aluminum “Trekker” model that holds 17 ounces of water all the way, to $84.99 for the stainless steel base camp model that holds 50 ounces of water, the Kelly Kettle is not inexpensive. But then, good gear rarely is.
Hosted by K&M Precision Rifle Training and GA Precision, the 2012 GAP Grind was held October 26-28, 2012. Watch this video to get a look inside this demanding long-range shooting competition. Do you think you have what it takes?
Power juicers aren't the first gadget that come to mind when considering the Living Ready lifestyle. Here are some juicing tips for anyone interested in self-sufficiency.
The juicer is about the size of our coffee machine.
Last year, our small vegetable plot cranked out more zucchini squash than we could eat in a year. No, three years. These things just about grew legs and got a job. I thought the neighbors were going to call the police, these zucchini were so intimidating and numerous.
We were excited at first. How many ways could we make these zucchini? After burning through a few cookbooks and bags of charcoal, the thrill wore off. But the zucchini didn't. They just kept coming.
Back in the day, such a surplus was a good problem to have. The excess would be canned for later. Being someone who cringes when perfectly good food is thrown away, this is something we should've done.
But like many modern folks, we didn't go the canning route. Not that it's a bad idea. We're just not there yet with our self-sufficiency.
What zucchini that didn't make it past the “no, really, we're OK”s from family and friends wound up returning to the earth from whence it came. That's a nicer way of saying, “it went in the trash.”
That still bugs me. I place a lot of value in “waste not, want not.” The zucchini incident did not live up to my own standards.
I don't want a repeat this coming season. If we get a bumper crop with any of our vegetables, I want to use everything. So I went out and found a solution.
I bought a juicer. Specifically, a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer.
Yes, this staple of late-night programming is gimmicky. But for $100, it's not like juicing tips us into bankruptcy. It actually turned out to be a smart investment. Instead of letting surpluses go to waste, I could juice produce that would've turned south.
Here are some pros and cons, as well as some juicing tips, I learned along the way.
It's hard to see in the photo, but the juice is actually coming out pretty fast.
Pro: It's Fast
Turn the machine on, then drop fruits and veggies down the chute. Bam. You've got juice.
Compared to canning, this is lightning speed. Food grown outside could go from the ground to my glass in just a few minutes.
Pro: It Will Juice Anything
The Jack LaLanne Power Juicer is an indiscriminate produce killing machine. It does not care what is tossed into it. It could find the juice in a boot. It is to juicing what Liam Neeson's character is in Taken.
Pro: It Makes Use of Scraps
Broccoli stems are a good example. We normally buy a head of broccoli and eat the tops, discarding the rest. This is wasteful. The solution is to juice the stems. The results are actually sweet, which was a surprise. It got me thinking about how other scraps could be put to use.
Potato peels? Juice 'em. Asparagus stems? Juice 'em. More heads of lettuce than you can eat? Juice 'em. Apple peels? Juice 'em. The leafy parts of a celery stalk? Juice 'em. Grapes on a vine past their due date? Juice 'em. All those leafy veggies your doctor says to eat but you never do? Juice 'em.
Pro: It's a Supercharged Compost Machine
As the machine separates juice from everything else, the latter winds up in a container. This pulpy mix would make perfect compost.
It's supercharged because it's making the job of hungry bacteria easier. The total surface area of those shredded bits is greater than if you tossed in a whole vegetable or fruit. This allows for more bacteria to get in and do their job. Although I've yet to prove it, it is my theory that the pulp will break down faster.
The pulp left over from a glass of carrot juice.
Pro: Lots of Ways to Eat the Pulp
The pulp can be used for a variety of culinary purposes, too. Carrot shreds would go perfectly in baked goods, for example. You could eat fruit pulp outright. Or you could throw veggie pulp into an omelet. There are scores of juicing tips out there on what to do with the stuff.
Whatever you do with the pulp, just don't let it go to waste.
Pro: It's Healthy
We're talking about 100% juice with no preservatives, no dyes and nothing you can't pronounce (although zucchini is hard to spell). Tell me that's not a good thing.
You're also getting a vitamin bomb, depending on what you put in it (i.e not cupcakes). Some juicing tips out there talk about natural remedies for this and that. I don't buy into many of those claims, but I'll stand by this most inarguable of juicing tips: There are a lot worse things you could drink.
Con: Results May…Vary
As you can see, the juice is not homogenized.
If you're a picky drinker, a power juicer is not for you. The taste usually falls somewhere between “pretty good” and “I have to take the rest of the day off.”
I worked long and hard to earn the nickname of “the human trash can” around the house, so taste doesn't bother me. That's not why I bought this juicer.
The trick is to find the right combination of fruits and vegetables. Most of the juicing tips I've read say an apple will make anything palatable.
Con: The Juice Doesn't Last Long
It's best to drink the juice right away. Remember, there aren't any preservatives and nothing has been homogenized. The longer the juice sits, the worse it's going to look and taste.
I suppose you could can the juice, but that's not the point of this machine. Juicing is supposed to save time.
Con: Clean Up is a Mess
This is the case with most juicer models. There are several parts to the machine, and they all need to be cleaned immediately after use. That's is the best of all the juicing tips I could offer.
Waiting even an hour guarantees all that pulp will magically transform into veggie glue. At that point, you may as well have canned, because you'll spend just as much time scrubbing.
Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and am looking forward to finding ways to use the machine. It's an unlikely choice for self-sufficient folks, but one definitely worth a look.
Gun Digestthe Magazine is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. With a subscription to Gun Digestthe Magazine, readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews, how-to instructions and Second Amendment issues.
If you're looking for a good first concealed carry gun, you can't go wrong with a Glock. If you're not sure about that, just ask me and I'll tell you.
I’ve noticed a few things among those pondering a concealed carry gun. Maybe it’s just me.
A co-worker sought my advice about choosing a concealed carry gun. It was time to get armed.
There’s a running joke around the office, in which my co-workers engage in silly name calling, leveling monikers like “Glock Snob” at me (a name I’ve worn as a badge of honor, by the way). If you ask me what gun you should buy, you’ll usually get the same answer: “Glock.”
Well, Glock Snob has noticed a few patterns that tend to surface when it comes to folks contemplating starting to carry a concealed handgun.
Stop fretting about stopping power and think what it will actually cost you to shoot your handgun. To be sufficiently prepared, you’ll need to practice frequently. Training is key.
I almost always recommend a semi-automatic handgun as the primary CCW gun, and it doesn’t take long to blow through 500 rounds (expert tip: buy a Glock, and you won't get any jams). You can drop a couple hundred bucks in an afternoon at the range very quickly.
Consider that .45ACP ammo can be as much as 150% to (in some cases) almost twice the cost of similar types and quantities of 9mm ammo.
And when you actually study self-defense uses of guns, you see that the mere presence of a gun by an armed citizen is often enough to immediately deter the threat — it changes the cost/benefit analysis for the would-be criminal before terminal ballistics ever become an issue.
Get a Big CCW Handgun
Don’t choose a tiny CCW gun just because you think it’ll be easier to hide under a t-shirt. There are many ways, and many special clothes for CCW that can conceal full size pistols.
Big guns can be shot more accurately and are more forgiving on recoil. The worst — and perhaps most common — mistake made is by well-meaning boyfriends or husbands recommending a small snub nose .38 special revolver to their lady.
These little pipsqueaks are cute, but they bark and buck like mad. Your woman won’t feel comfortable carrying a gun like this, so get her a full-sized handgun — something she can shoot comfortably.
I’ve noticed more commonalities, but the main thing to remember when buying your first concealed carry handgun — the most important thing in the whole world — is that you make sure, darn sure, that you always, always, always be sure that you buy a Glock.
According to Congresswoman Dianne Feinstein (D), this is an “assault weapon.” The rest of us regard this .22 as a squirrel hunting rifle. Are BB guns next?
The Assault Weapons Ban List Includes Some Curious Picks
You have to hand it to Congresswoman Dianne Feinstein. She’s etched out a 20-plus year career, paid for by taxpayers, in which she gets to act out what appears to be a delusional fantasy.
Her latest hallucinations were manifested during a sensational press conference on January 24, 2013. She called for a ban of 157 specifically-named “assault weapons,” which includes of all things a squirrel hunting gun.
Feinstein knows she can bamboozle most Americans. People not acquainted with firearms will read her list and not spend one iota of effort to think critically about them.
If a gun’s on the list, it must be evil. No one “needs” it.
Now, I don’t buy into the notion that the guns of law-abiding citizens should be banned because one happened to be used in the commission of a crime. Even so, what no rational person can explain is why Feinstein is targeting guns like the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 22LR — which if you’re a tree-dwelling rodent with a bushy tail is one very scary gun.
Gun Digest readers know the .22LR rimfire is an effective small game cartridge. It’s designed for shooting rabbits or for target practice — and the competitive shooting sports.
According to Congresswoman Dianne Feinstein, this Ruger Mini-14 Tactical Model CF20 is an evil “assault weapon…”
I’m not suggesting guns chambered in .22LR don’t need to be treated with the same level of respect as other guns — they most certainly do. But I don’t recollect anyone claiming they were designed “for nothin' but shooting people.” After all, was that not the purported purpose of this proposed gun ban?
…Yet this Ruger Mini-14 Tactical, the Model GBCP, was not specifically named by Feinstein. Can you tell the difference?
Of course, the Smith & Wesson .22’s real problem is that it’s condemned right out of the box simply because it looks like an AR-15. It’s a scary-looking gun just asking to be banned.
It is semi-automatic (don’t tell Feinstein about all the tubular-magazine fed semi-auto .22s out there) and it has a “clip” (ignoramus speak for “mag.”). Abandoning even pretended pretexts about keeping kids safe, the inclusion of this very effective squirrel rifle in Feinstein’s list proves beyond a shadow of a doubt for the watching world the blatant intellectual dishonesty of this cosmetic gun ban — a ban built upon manipulation and exploitation of tragedy for political gain.
Not only that, but the fact that the AR-15s on her list (those commonly chambered in .223 Rem. or 5.56 NATO) are quite literally the most popular predator hunting rifles in use today — for varmint hunting of coyotes, fox and other furbearers — flies in the face of the Congresswoman’s claim to be protecting hunting rifles.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Feinstein chose to smear the Barrett M107A1 and M82A1 .50 caliber rifles as well, which weigh about as much as an outboard motor and are just about the most impractical guns any would-be criminal could ever choose. Imagine someone trying to lug around a five-foot long, 30-pound rifle that costs between $5-10 per round to shoot.
Politicians have been looking for excuses to go after .50 caliber rifles for years and, since they can’t find them used in any crimes, the new tactic is to simply make an assertion that they are “assault rifles” by virtue of their being semi-automatic and thus need to be banned.
It’s the same thing with the third exhibit on Feinstein’s list. The Ruger Mini-14 Tactical M-14/20CF, which is only differentiated from Ruger’s Mini-14 Tactical M-14/20GBCP model in that it sports a scary-looking (her opinion, apparently) collapsible stock. In every other respect it functions in exactly the same manner. It shoots the same round. At the same rate of fire.
The only thing upstaging this level of deceit and absurdity — not to mention gargantuan waste of taxpayer funds at a time when the country can’t afford it — is the widespread ignorance about firearms underpinning all this that allows these fabrications to be taken seriously in public policy making. It is truly obscene.
Clear-thinking people can conclude only one thing. Even a cursory examination of the guns being targeted by congress shows Feinstein got tripped up in her own subterfuge. It reveals to everyone that her stated justification for the proposed gun ban is phony.
Make no mistake. This is about pushing an agenda, pure and simple. Hell, even a blind squirrel can see that much.
Gun Digestthe Magazine is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. With a subscription to Gun Digestthe Magazine, readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews, how-to instructions and Second Amendment issues.
Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 of the best concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
Inside This Issue
