Sunday, July 8, 2018

Snub Nose Revolver by Cheaper than Dirt

Review: Smith and Wesson Model 649 — S&W’s Best Snubbie



By Dave Dolbee published on in Firearms, General, Reviews

Smith and Wesson has earned an enviable reputation for quality revolvers well suited to personal defense. The small five-shot revolver is among its most popular handguns, with the Model 649 carrying honors as the best of Smith and Wesson’s snubbie lineup.


Smith and Wesson 649 .357 Magnum right Smith and Wesson 649 left
The SW 649 is slightly larger than the SW 442, but much easier to use well and more accurate. There is a weight penalty, but the author finds it worthwhile.

The Smith and Wesson Chief’s Special was its first, compact, .38 Special five shooter. There had been small .32 and .38 short revolvers, but the Chief’s Special became a baseline for personal defense revolvers for many years. This makes more than 70 years of continuous production, including steel frame and aluminum frame variations, and in recent years revolvers in .357 Magnum.
A popular idiom, introduced a few decades ago, is a 3-inch barrel variant of the Chief’s Special .38. With more weight and balance than the typical 2-inch barrel snub nose revolver, this revolver points well and is easier to use well because of its longer sight radius. The 3-inch barrel has been offered in both square and round butt configurations. Modern J frame revolvers are manufactured with a round butt grip.
When Smith and Wesson introduced the Model 60 .357 Magnum revolver on the J frame, I was surprised. I did not think the revolver would be controllable. After firing the type extensively, I found the steel frame Model 60 a handful, but the overall geometry and grip design made for better control that I imagined.


front sight on a revolver
The front sight is low profile but affords a good sight picture.

The revolver isn’t for the slightly interested but it is viable. With dedication and practice, the revolver is suitable for concealed carry. The overwhelming advantage is the power of the .357 Magnum cartridge. Many concealed carry permit holders load their .357 Magnum revolvers with .38 Special ammunition. This allows for a heavier revolver that offers better balance and less recoil than the typical lightweight .38 Special revolver. This isn’t a bad program with modern .38 Special +P loads. However, if you are willing to master the formidable .357 Magnum cartridge you will be as well armed as possible with a handgun.
The revolver is often carried in a pocket or as a backup revolver concealed on the body. The concealed hammer Smith and Wesson revolvers have the advantage of a snag-free design. As an added advantage, the humpback frame seems to help control recoil in a superior manner. Still, there are some of us whom prefer a revolver with a single action option. This is particularly true of those who that use the revolver as a field and trail gun.
The 3-inch barrel .357 Mangum is well suited to field and trail use for defense against reptiles or feral dogs. The .38 Special shot shell is one load that is useful for dusting off reptiles, but heavy JHP loads delivered in the coils are effective as well. The single action option, offering precise fire, is desirable when the threat is beyond the usual conversational range.


rear sight on the Smith and Wesson 649 .357 Magnum
The rear sight is snag free but makes for a good sight picture.

In the late 1950s, Smith and Wesson introduced the Smith and Wesson BodyGuard. This is a variation on the concealed hammer revolver with an opening in the shroud to allow cocking the hammer for single-action fire. While manipulation isn’t difficult, lowering the hammer if you have not fired requires concentration. Be certain to practice this manipulation with an unloaded firearm.
The Smith and Wesson J frame Model 649 .357 Magnum is a .357 Magnum BodyGuard type revolver. The revolver weighs about 24 ounces loaded, so it is a little heavier than most .38 Special revolvers. The barrel is 2.125 inches long. This is slightly longer than the typical 1.9-inch Chief’s Special barrel, but it offers a little extra weight.
The revolver features a smooth action. The Smith and Wesson action allows the technique known as stacking. The trigger is pressed to the rear smoothly, and the hammer is held momentarily while the sight picture is affirmed and the trigger is then pressed through, making for good accuracy.


Hammer on the Smith and Wesson Model 649
While the hammer is nicely shrouded, the hammer may be cocked manually for precise single-action fire.

A trained shooter will be able to hit a threat in the chest well past 20 yards. The grips absorb recoil well. Overall, the revolver is user friendly.
I began my evaluation with the Federal 129-grain Hydra-Shok. At about 1,000 fps this is a strong load with a good balance of expansion and penetration. This is a controllable load, well suited to personal defense. Firing in the single-action mode, I was able to strike small targets well past 20 yards. This is a pleasant revolver to fire with .38 Special loads.
.357 Magnum loads are more interesting to say the least. The Federal 125-grain jacketed hollow point will break 1,220 fps from the Model 649—down considerably from its 1,420 fps in a4- inch barrel revolver, but much stronger than the .38 Special +P. When you fire this load a strong hold-the Gorilla grip-is demanded. The barrel bolts into the air with each shot. It requires consistent practice with the correct technique to master this revolver. The payoff is excellent wound ballistics.
The exposed lead nose of the Federal hollowpoint expands well and in some cases spins off fragments. The Smith and Wesson 649 .357 Magnum fills my needs well. I often carry it in a Lobo Gun Leather rear clip IWB holster in good comfort.
The balance of this revolver is excellent, and the revolver is very fast into action. Shoot the elbow to the rear, come up from under the revolver, scoop the revolver out of the holster and drive it toward the target. Get the front sight on target, press the trigger, and you have a hit. The Smith and Wesson 649 is a formidable revolver will worth its price.

Do you have a favorite snubnose revolver? Is it the Smith and Wesson 649? Share your pick in the comment section.

SLRule

Bob Campbell is a former peace officer and published author with over 40 years combined shooting and police and security experience. Bob holds a degree in Criminal Justice. Bob is the author of the books, The Handgun in Personal Defense, Holsters for Combat and Concealed Carry, The 1911 Automatic Pistol, The Gun Digest Book of Personal Protection and Home Defense, The Shooter’s Guide to the 1911, The Hunter and the Hunted, and The Complete Illustrated Manual of Handgun Skills. His latest book is Dealing with the Great Ammo Shortage. He is also a regular contributor to Gun Tests, American Gunsmith, Small Arms Review, Gun Digest, Concealed Carry Magazine, Knife World, Women and Guns, Handloader and other publications. Bob is well-known for his firearm testing.

View all articles by Bob Campbell



Smith and Wesson 649 .357 Magnum right Smith and Wesson 649 left 
The SW 649 is slightly larger than the SW 442, but much easier to use well and more accurate. There is a weight penalty, but the author finds it worthwhile.

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EMP by Cheaper than Dirt

If you were at work when an EMP hit, would you be ready? How would you get home? Do you have an office, work in the field, or travel for work? This article examines the difficulties you could face if an EMP hit while you were at work, and covers some of the basic SHTF supplies you should have with you or stashed at work.

EMP over power lines
The effects of an EMP are directly related to its strength.

Whether you work in a big city or small town, odds are you spend a major portion of your week at work (away from home). If you work at a grocery store or Walmart Super Center, your employer’s shelves may leave you well prepared in the event of an emergency such as an electromagnetic pulse. For the rest, prior preparation is a must.
For the purposes of this article, let’s assume you work as an IT specialist at a small manufacturing facility in a town of about 100,000. Your office is about 15 miles from your home. Suddenly, the lights and computers suddenly go black. You wait for the customary five or so seconds, but the backup generator has not kicked on. A solar flare just caused an EMP that will change the lives of millions, including you. How will you survive?
You are stuck in a cube farm in the basement of your building. You feel around for your $1,000 cell phone to use its flashlight function. You tap furiously at the screen, but it will not come on. While mashing at the buttons, trying to get it to restart, someone yells from a neighboring cubicle, “Can anyone get their cell phone to work? Mine is dead.” A sick feeling settles in the bottom of your stomach. You know this is more than a simple power outage and help will not be arriving any time soon enough to matter.
Once the EMP hits, it will be too late to get prepared. People across the country will be stranded. Government services will not be forth coming. Everything will stop. Have your prepared for such an event?

Workplace Emergency Items

The first thing you’ll need to do is make a mental emergency assessment of your surroundings.
Do you have any items on your person that may aid in survival? What is in, or on, your desk? Do you have a locker? If so, will you be able to open it? What tools do you have access to? Does your workplace have first aid kits, or vending machines you may be able to raid for supplies? What is the demeanor of the people around you? How will you egress in the dark?
Let us examine some of the items it would be beneficial to have available for easy access in an emergency.

survival supplies
So what do you need to do before hurricanes, or pandemics actually happen? First, you should compile an emergency kit for your house that includes water, food, and other supplies. Then prep your car and workplace.

  1. Flashlight (with extra batteries) – This is great for many emergencies, but after an EMP, it could be useless. Plan ahead with a lighter or matches and candle.
  2. Multitool – The various implements incorporated into a multitool allows you to carry a single small item with a host of potential.
  3. Pocketknife – Many workplaces have policies regarding weapons. Some even cover items as small as a pocketknife, but I’d still want to have a one available.
  4. Matches or lighters. These are cheap and easy to store, but could be invaluable in the scenario described above.
  5. Chemical light sticks – You can get between six and 24 hours of light from a single stick that can be picked up at most any $1 store. This si a no brainer to throw into a desk drawer.
  6. Firearm – Putting this on the list is a wobbler for me. Yes, I subscribe to 24/7 carry, so I would be very likely to be armed. However, while prepared to face a mob mentality scenario, a firearm would actually be low on my personal list. I do not find it likely that chaos would break out immediately, so I could easily walk 10 miles before the desperation of other set in.
  7. Batteries – This one is another wobbler. Batteries that are not connected to an electronic/electrical device would likely survive an EMP. However, the devices they would power would likely not survive. I suppose it is better to be over prepared.
  8. First Aid Kit/IFAK – Injuries are going to happen. People will panic. Whether you are rendering aid or simply carrying the supplies so someone can give you aid, a kit is essential.

Emergency Egress

You may simply want to get outside, but you may also need to go deep. An EMP might not knock out all cars. You should have an emergency kit in your car—parked on the forth floor of the subterranean parking structure. Make a plan to escape or get to your supplies.

Workplace Gear

What do you normally keep at your desk? I always have a junk food drawer, because I like to snack. In a SHFT scenario, this is food I would want to pack with me. Living in the Midwest, I keep an extra jacket in my office. Even when the temperature is in the low 20s, I often leave the house without a jacket. I have an attached garage and there is a heated underground garage at work. However, if I ever had to walk home in winter or other severe weather, I would be unprepared without additional clothing. Plan for the worst.
The vending machine won’t be working after an EMP, but after breaking a bit of glass those prepackaged food and drinks would be great emergency supplies. Being prepared requires more than simply your supplies in a bag. Think about your surroundings.

Vehicle Kit

For those who do not live in a metropolis such as New York where most ride the subway, your vehicle is probably your best bet. You should keep emergency supplies in your trunk or the back of your SUV. Therefore, all you’ll likely need to do is transit from your position when the EMP hits to the supplies in your vehicle. Why make two kits when one can serve double duty?

It Is Your Responsibility

Ending the article at this point, I can already hear the scoffs and complaints that there is nothing new here and this article does not cover every situation, scenario, or aspect of survival. I agree. However, it would be impossible. Every person’s work situation is different. Their distance from work to home varies. The strength of an EMP is variable, so the equipment that would work after an EMP and the effort required to resume normal utilities and services would be different. Besides, if believe a 1,000 word article is going to prepare you, perhaps you should study a man named Darwin.
So, what is the purpose of this article? It is not to give you a “feel good” list of 10 items that give you a false sense of preparation because you have a multitool and flashlight. Instead, it is to scratch the surface and get you thinking about your responsibility for your own survival in a SHTF scenario such as an EMP or other emergencies when you are away from home. Good luck!

Have you prepared for an EMP? How would you plan to get home after an event such as an EMP? Share your answers in the comment section.

Build Your Own Bug Out Bag

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Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Alone Season 5 Pack List


This Season, the 10 contestants were selected from previous 4 show participants, so they have Alone experience and should make better choices in what gear to carry.  In addition to some common necessities (like clothes and tarps), they get to pick 10 personal items to carry with them.



All ten participants chose a sleeping bag and ferrous rod. Nine selected the fishing kit with 25 hooks and fishing string and a cooking pot, although the tenth participant chose a frying pan.  Nine also chose a saw. .

If we compare this to the list of things the past winners packed, we see a few differences. 
Para cord was used by about 80% in the past, but only 40% this time.

In the past, the bow and arrow was selected by only about 10% - 20% of the participants, but this time 70% are taking a Bow and Arrows as this area has more large animals than the previous season locations.  The ability to get a large animal through bow hunting or trapping will be a game changer and determine whom the winner is.

Only 2 chose a gill net, which has been one of the most productive food sources in past shows/locations.

Who do you think will win this Season 5 event? Is the participants past performance an indicator of how they might do this time?



86 days - Carleigh lasted the longest on the Season 4 show of any participants this Season 5 at 86 days, which would have likely won the previous seasons, making her the odds on favorite to win this one, but she may be suffering from PTSD from her first episode on Alone, as she is breaking down crying a lot. Note she did not quite but was forced out due to health risk/concerns; so she is tough.

73 days - Dave was forced out of Season 3 at 73 days due to health risk/concerns, despite having 33 dried fish halves preserved for food. This could have carried him for another 33 days or more, making him the clear winner. Dave can win this season because he has the skills and mental attitude to be successful.

64 days - Larry Roberts quit after 64 days on the season 2 show due to hunger.

57 days - Nichole quit after 57 days on Season 2, despite catching more fish than anyone else, but didn't dry and preserve them for future needs. But how much of her abundant fish supply was luck of the draw, getting a hot location? She also had an excellent knowledge of edible plants.

55 days - Sam Larson lasted 55 days, until his food supply of mice ran out. He went with a minimal shelter and conserving calories strategy. This approach can work for short competitions, but not long ones.

49 days - Brook Whipple and her husband lasted 49 days, but she will be "Alone" this time and survival will be much tougher.

Anyone who couldn't last longer than these has little if any chance of winning.

Brad Richardson was out after 1 day on Season 4 when his brother hurt his ankle, and Jesse Bosdell was out after 5 days when his brother injured his back. Either of these two are the unknown wild cards that could be the surprise winner.


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Saturday, June 9, 2018

Practice Garden

You know fresh grown food will be healthy but in today's modern life style, you don't have time for a Garden 

Most home owners spend many hours (or $) each year on yard care.  Mowing grass, trimming hedges, watering flowers, hedges, potted plants, and when they are done, they have nothing of true value to show for it. Okay, it looks nice, but it will improve your chances of survival by 0%.

Suppose you could have some small level of preparation with minimal cost and effort?  Not a low budget garden but just a few potted plants that grow food instead of flowers or ivy.  Instead of hedge bushes, what about blue berries, fig trees, or asparagus? Perhaps grape vines growing on your fence.  Minimal extra cost or effort, if any, but the fruit of your labor is now delicious.  Having a timer to automatically drip irrigate them will make the process even easier.


Seeds are one of the lowest cost investments you can make, are excellent for Barter, and a good addition to any Prepper Plan. But you need to know how to use them as growing plants from seed can be challenging without experience.



 In doing this, there are a few key objectives you want to accomplish.
  1. Grow fresh healthy food at a fraction of the cost
  2. Gain valuable experience 
  3. Learn what varieties of foods grow well for you in your area
  4. Save Heirloom Seeds each year to maintain your seed stock to meet future needs
1) In gardening, you will find that fresh grown foods taste much better than most store bought varieties.  This is because your crops were not picked green, weeks/months earlier nor coated with chemicals & pesticides. 

2) The gardening experience is a connection with Mother Nature that brings a peace of mind while developing a valuable skill.

3) Gardening is easy, but you would not want your life to depend on your ability to learn it overnight.  Knowing what crops will grow from seed in your area without pesticides and commercial fertilizers will provide a level of survival security that nothing else will.

4) Save seeds from your heirloom garden to plant again the next year.  This way you develop your own personalized sustainable store of seeds.  

For $5 and a package of seeds, you are in business.

Your seeds should organically grow foods in your area that you like to eat. My recommended foods that grow well without pesticides include:  Okra, Squash, Tomatoes, Asparagus, Figs, Pomegranates,  Bantam or field corn, Turnips, pinto beans, green beans, purple hull, black eye peas and sorghum, oats and wheat for bread or animal feed.  

These seeds should be dried for a few days at room temperature and then stored in freezer bags in the refrigerator for 1 year of storage.  Figs trees are grown by cutting a small branch off of an existing tree and planting it in moist soil until roots sprout and take hold.

OK, here is how you get started.  
  1. Buy one or two packages of heirloom seeds. I would start with corn and pinto beans or peas, but you pick your favorite.  Under $2 per package, seeds are one of the lowest cost Prepper purchases you can make, and will be excellent for Barter in a SHTF situation. 
    Plant a few of them and save the rest in a freezer bag in the freezer for long term storage.  After several years, I take them out and plant them in fields, the woods, or throw them in the creek to wash down and hopefully grow; sort of a hidden garden you might say. This may greatly improve your Wilderness Survival chances some day. Freezing or drying and preserving foods is good practice too.
  2. Harvest your food and save the best looking seeds for planting next year.
  3. Plant your home grown seeds and repeat the process each year.


You can plant them in the flower beds of your Apartment or Condo, although it is good to share the benefits with your neighbors.  Above we have tomatoes & peppers; okra, onions and tomatoes below.  Dead hedge bushes have been replaced with figs.

 
If second, third, etc. generation seeds don't grow for you, get another variety of heirloom seeds and start over.  Hybrid seeds will usually not grow second generation crops well.  Also don't grow two variety of plants as they will cross pollinate and make a third variety of potentially unreliable seeds. 

Goal:  Save your own home grown seeds, fresh each year, of foods you like to eat. 

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Monday, June 4, 2018

22 LR for Defense


Is the .22 LR Suitable for Defense?


CCI .22 LR Velocitor ammunition box with bolt action rifle
The results in actual cases with a rifle are far superior to the handgun.
I try to impress situational awareness and thinking on these students. If you do not do drugs, frequent rough bars, associate with prostitutes or gangs, or run off at the mouth at the worst possible time, then you might be pretty safe in America. There is always the predator wanting you to be his victim, but if you have situational awareness and a positive demeanor, the perpetrator may often choose another victim, and you will not even know it. Many of us dodge the bullet due to training and awareness.
Most victims meet the perpetrator half way through some action of their own. Some students want to qualify with the .22. That’s ok for beginners as the .22 is the most excellent training cartridge we have. But using the .22 Long Rifle cartridge for defense requires quite a stretch.
While any firearm is useful as a threat and will dissuade many, motivated attackers or assailants bent on harm, rape, or murder may not be so easily turned. We need a firearm with sufficient wound potential to stop the threat. The .22 is good for small game about the size of a squirrel to that of a possum or raccoon. It isn’t suitable for use against men that may be about the same size as a deer. The 9mm and .38 Special are a realistic minimum for personal defense.

40-grain .22 after recovery from water jugs compared to a 155-grain .40 JHP
This is a 40-grain .22 after recovery from water jugs compared to a 155-grain .40 JHP

That being said, there are many incidents in which the .22 caliber rimfire has been used in personal defense. When there is nothing else available, good folks have prevailed. Others have failed. I am going to concentrate on the pistol in this report. I have, on file, several incidents with the .22 rifle in which a total of four dangerous felons were stopped with a single shot. Two died on the spot.
In each incident, including one that involved a frightened young teen and a home invasion, good shot placement and penetration carried the day. In another, a home invader took 15 peripheral hits—none to the vitals. He was taken to the hospital and while being wheeled to the examination room in a wheelchair, rose up, grabbed the chair, and threw it at the doctors.
With the pistol we do not have the advantage of the easy handling or the practical accuracy of the rifle. As an example, a relative was murdered along with a friend in an unfortunate domestic incident in which the attacker was armed with a shotgun. The defender fired six .22s into the chest of the attacker with no effect. The murderer survived without complications.
In another case, a homeowner fought back against a home invasion with her Ruger Standard Model target-grade pistol. She fired nine times and hit every time, causing three armed felons to flee. She was brave and lucky—one felon expired the rest recovered, and all were captured. Results with the pistol are poor compared to the rifle.

40-grain .22 LR bullet left,  upset .40 caliber JHP right
The 40 grain .22 compared to a .40 caliber JHP

The argument is often made that the .22 is all that some shooters can afford or that it is all the recoil some can handle. The existence of specialized modern handguns such as the Smith and Wesson Shield .380 EZ and Springfield 911 which are easy to rack and offer low recoil, are a counter argument.
Recoil is subjective, but I believe that anyone who may handle a .22 can probably handle a full-size .380 ACP pistol. Not that the .380 ACP is a powerful handgun, but it is superior to the .22. Then there is the option of a .38 Special revolver loaded with 148-grain wadcutters. This is a classic ‘widow’s load’ that offers much greater wound potential than the .22 or .32. But that is common knowledge; let us let the .22 stand on its own merits.
As a deterrent, the .22 is as good as any firearm and sometimes the presence of a handgun is enough to stop a fight before it begins. However, there are times when a felon needs to be shot to defend your person. Not long ago, a pastor in a nearby town was stabbed during a home invasion and shot the assailant four times with his .22. The assailant turned, collapsed, and expired.

1 gallon water just filled with water
Standard water jugs were used for testing.

However, some felons take a lot of shooting. Some are shot once and stop the attack, others must be shot until they have lost enough blood to drop. Even with the 9mm and .38, multiple shots are needed at times.
The felon may change his mind and realize he has made a bad choice in victim selection. The felon may faint upon being shot. He may not. A shot to the nervous system is chancy as even heavier calibers sometimes fail to penetrate the skull. A 9mm or .38 with a round-nose bullet may skip around on the edge of the skull.
While eye socket shots sound like they would do the trick, this is a very difficult shot to perform under stress and goes against the rule of firing for center mass. Center mass is the center of the target that you see. The .22 has another advantage in this regard, given it is an accurate handgun that you have practiced with. You will be able to fire eight or nine accurate shots in the time it takes to fire three or four directed 9mm rounds. The .22 makes up for a lack of practice just as the 9mm is easier to achieve good results with quickly than the .40 or .45. That’s physics.

.22 lr cartridge that failed to fire
Even the best quality ammunition in rimfires sometimes fails to fire. This one took a good hit from the firing pin.

We are not shooting to kill but shooting to stop. Shooting to kill isn’t morally acceptable, we are only firing because of adversary’s actions are so terrible that he must be stopped. It cannot matter morally or legally if he dies as a result of being stopped. Even if hit with a heavy caliber, the dying part may take quite a few minutes. The problem of stopping a felon is a severe problem for a tiny bullet. Let’s consider this, does the .22 have the necessary penetration to reach vital organs? The answer is yes and no.

Range Test

I used my standard test material, water jugs, and fired a number of loads into the water jugs, with 12 inches pegged as the minimum acceptable level of penetration. The Fiocchi 40-grain HV load and the CCI Velocitor were dead on the money for acceptable penetration. Bullets lighter than 40 grains, bullets designed to break up into pieces, and the quite and suppressor loads fell far short, with some penetrating only five inches. That’s fine because they were designed to kill pests and small game. They are not designed to wound humans.
As for the myth of the .22 bouncing in the body, I can find no evidence of the .22 bouncing or tumbling in any media I have used. As a young officer I went to the hospital more than once to take reports on folks shot with a .22. I saw several through and through wounds. In one case, the entrance and exit wound were perfectly lined up on this skinny guy that seemed nonplussed in my interest. He was taped up and given antibiotics.

.22 hits and .40 hits on a standing target
.22 hits and .40 hits on a standing target.

The .22 may bounce off bone but any RNL bullet may. I will mention the head shot or the face shot again. Many years ago the famous New York City detective, Frank Serpico, was shot in the face with a .22. While the wound was severe, he survived and despite his wound, returned fire, and wounded his assailant.
We now come to the crux of the argument and a stern warning against using the .22 for personal defense. First, revolvers are more reliable than selfloaders some say but the .22 rimfire demands a hard blow to the priming compound to properly ignite the primer. As a result most .22 revolvers have a stout hammer spring. This means that the action is actually heavier than a .38, so hand strength is taxed.

The Ballistics Argument

Here is the problem with the .22 that renders the ballistic arguments mute. The .22 isn’t reliable enough for personal defense. How often have you fired a brick of 500 rounds of .22s? No matter how reputable the maker, chances are you will have a misfire along the way. This is why there are no surviving .32, .38 and .44 rimfire cartridges. They are not reliable as center fire cartridges. The priming compound will not ignite from time to time.

.22 LR pistol with a stovepiped round
The author feels that the .22 rimfire will never be reliable enough for home defense use. Even the best devices malfunction more than centerfire firearms.

Second, the bullet isn’t crimped in the case. The heel of the bullet juts into the cartridge case. Occasionally, on feeding, this bullet will be turned and cause a misfeed. Even the famously reliable Ruger Standard Model will misfeed more often then a Ruger American 9mm, as an example—a lot more. The combination of ancient priming technology, and a tendency of the bullet to be loose in the case, make the .22 LR unsuited for serious use.
As an example the greatest single amount of .22 Long Rifle high velocity I have fired without malfunction spread among three handguns was 1,600 rounds. That is a lot of ammunition to some—but not the 30,000 rounds fired by Glock during the FBI test program or the 700,000 rounds fired by SIG pistols in the French police testing program. .22 Long Rifle handguns are well made of good material in some cases. But the ammunition itself is fractionally as reliable as centerfire ammunition. The Army decided this in 1873 with regard to rimfire ammunition.
If the .22 is all you have, practice often. Load a high velocity 40-grain bullet. Clean the pistol thoroughly, and keep it well lubricated. Shoot straight, and pray the day never comes when this will be your first, or last, line of defense.

What is your opinion of the .22 LR for self-defense? What is the minimum caliber you would recommend? Why? Share your answers in the comment section.

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JR Note:  A 22 is better than no gun at all, but not a good choice for Self Defense.  It is the best gun for teaching new shooters, second perhaps only to a BB Gun.

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Sunday, June 3, 2018

Texas Silver Coins

Texas initiated their own Bullion Depository for storing precious metals, much like Fort Knox does for the US.  Now they have their own Texas Silver Coin.  Do they know something that others don't?

Investing in Silver is a popular form of financial security for many Preppers.  They believe that Silver vs Paper Dollars is a no brainer. Check it out and form your own opinion.

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Texas Bullion Depository

The Creation of the First Ever State Authorized Bullion Depository

The Texas Bullion Depository Bill was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 12, 2015, officially establishing the first ever state-administered precious metals bullion depository (HB 483; originally filed and submitted by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R - Southlake)). The establishment of the Texas Bullion Depository creates an official depository operation by the State of Texas, with depository services provided by Lone Star Tangible Assets of Austin, Texas.

This is an opportunity to store precious metals in a secure location.  You can even put part of your 401K or IRA in this investment.

In the event of a SHTF scenario, having about 10% of your savings in Silver or Gold could be a lifesaver.  Note:  I am NOT a Financial Advisor. 

A Utah law promotes the use of Gold and Silver for daily purchases, by making them tax free.  

Should you be investing in precious metals? Do your own investigation and make your own decision, but the State of Texas and Utah have certainly made some investments.

For more information, visit this link: https://texasbulliondepository.gov

For additional information see the following links:

The united States