The Practical Gunman, Random Musings And Considered Opinions

Statement of intent: Like the title says, my random musings on mostly firearms related issues: guns, gear, etc. Practical is defined as "of or concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory or ideas. The gun business is a strange business to be in. Realistically speaking and from an end user standpoint, guns are pretty durable items and with care will last a lifetime. Hopefully you start to see the dilemma of trying to sustain a living from something that is probably not going to wear out anytime soon

Quite a bit of what goes on in retail firearms is the selling of a lifestyle: operator, sheepdog, grey man, warrior, patriot. I'm pretty average guy with slightly better than average knowledge and skill. I shoot, reload, wrench on my guns, mostly out of necessity. I'd like to hopefully offer a dissident view of gun ownership, offer rational critiques on certain training issues, build community and shine the light on what I call gunsumerism, i.e.: the emphasis of gear over skills.

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The SAK Is More Than OK....One Man's EDC Evolution

Since my high school days, I have never been without some form of knife. Usually it’s been some form of folder simply because they are more practical and convenient for my environment. In my younger days, the self-defense aspect of knives is what appealed to me and was reflected in what I bought and carried. Spyderco had just come onto the scene and it seemed like everyone was flicking the damn things open. Sure I had a few traditional slip joint patterns, usually a Schrade Old Timer Stockman. I still have a soft place in my heart for those things and whenever I find a USA Schrade for a decent price, my wallet usually opens up. Many years and miles down the road I find myself more often than not carrying a Swiss Army knife. My preference is for the Victorinox, but have no reservations about the Wenger products. Maturity has disabused me of the idea of using a folder for self defense. I have nothing against people carrying Tactical Fold...

My Oddball Shotgun, Howa 3000

Life is funny. As a lifelong gunwhore; I have had to balance my penchant for acquiring guns with a desire to simplify my life and get rid of things. Earlier I had stated I no longer run shotguns as a part of simplifying logistics when it came to reloading components and as a response to what I term the gunsumerism that wants to separate you from your money. Well, two shotguns dropped into my lap in fairly short order after I wrote those words and my gunwhore side won out. Seriously, how do you turn down two perfectly good pump shotguns for less than $300.00. One I am keeping mostly stock and the second will be outfitted in a manner that is appropriate to the limited role I see for a defense shotgun. In brief I think defense shotguns are at their best in the role of short range defense of a static position and in close quarters. To that end; I think the manual of arms, tactics and techniques should be simple and the weapons themselves light and maneuverable. ...

The Shotgun As A Specialist Weapon...Outfitting A Practical Defense Shotgun On The Cheap

In an earlier article I talked about having two pump shotguns fall into my lap for something like $300.00 and was forced to re-think where the defense shotgun fills a niche for me. The Howa 3000 was outfitted as a basic room broom with only very basic concessions made to making the gun more useful as far as a sling and carrying some spare ammo. Let me reiterate that for me the shotgun works best as a short range weapon in defense of a static position. I am not trying to use it as a substitute for a rifle. This next shotgun is a basic Mossberg 500 that I was lucky enough to get with the short 18 inch barrel right off. For some reason the previous owners had a thing for pistol grips, placing a premium on storage and concealability over being able to hit a target. Having owned Mossberg 500s in the past I have some take off parts. The first order of business was to put a proper stock on it. I cut the stock to fit me and ground the recoil ...

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