Author: Andrew Tuohy

Firearms

Flying with Firearms in General Aviation Aircraft

Are you a pilot? Do you own guns (probably, if you read my blog)? Check out the article I wrote for LuckyGunner Labs on the legal and practical issues to flying with firearms and ammunition.

Tests

BUIS/Optic Drop Test

In early May, I performed a BUIS drop test which was partially published on Military.com's KitUp blog several days ago. The unpublished portion involved an EOTech 552 and an Aimpoint CompM3. The EOTech used the standard thumbscrew mount, and the Aimpoint was in a GDI CMC7-OSM mount. POI shifted 12MOA to the right with the EOTech, POI shift was 1MOA or less with the Aimpoint. One thing I did not mention in the post which was sent to KitUp (due to word count limitations) was that after dropping the MBUS twice,… Read More

Personal Defense

Are You Shooting Too Much?

I shoot a lot - probably too much at times. This shooting includes various disciplines, from smallbore rifle shooting to service pistol and carbine training to hunting - mostly unicorns and kittens. My first exposure to high volume training was under the guidance of a USMC SNCO who had just come from SOTG. For those who were lost at USMC, this means that my platoon leader was an experienced sergeant - not a commissioned officer - who had recently been an instructor at the Marine Corps' Special Operations Training Group,… Read More

Personal Defense

Focusing On Your Weak Points

It's easy to fall into a rut in any sort of activity - a comfortable place where you only practice the things you're good at, and therefore think you're good at the activity as a whole. This could apply to shooting, driving, flying, running, waterskiing, etc. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. I was shooting with Mike Pannone a week or so back and shot a new drill he is working on which forces the shooter to do things he or she normally wouldn't do (for practice purposes) at… Read More

Personal Defense

Training with Military vs. Competition Shooters

This is a topic I have been thinking about for a long time, yet upon which I have not really spoken to anyone except for a few close friends. I have heard (and read) back and forth discussions about whether it is better to pay for training from a former military or law enforcement shooter - say, someone who spent a long time in a special operations unit of some kind - or from a shooter who has won multiple national titles in something like NRA Action Pistol/Steel Challenge/USPSA/IDPA/IPSC etc.… Read More

General Opinion

I Am Not An Operator. Neither Are You.

The "tactical" industry has been overrun by the use of the word "operator." It's been used too much in advertising for too long, but this has perhaps had a trickle-down effect, to the point where random people on the internet kick the word operator around like it's a ball on some dirty third world street. I've even seen people refer to me as an operator, which, quite frankly, horrifies me (and also caused me to write this article). In the purest sense of the word (and leaving out the kind… Read More

Technical Issues/Notes

Hard Data on 5.56 vs .223 Chamber Pressures

When I started this blog, it was to put out good information, reliable information that every shooter could use. I didn't want to dumb down what I put out so that the bottom 10% could understand it, and I didn't want to make it so technical and hard to read that only the top 10% could understand it or cared enough to try to understand it. I understood from the outset that people might take my opinions and advice into consideration when making purchases, so I've focused on being right… Read More

Firearms

Revolvers Are Not Perfect, Or, The Problem With Revolver Fanatics

The only Dillon Blue Press article I've ever read was a passioned defense of the revolver, which criticized automatics for being finicky and unreliable. Revolvers were described as essentially perfect, although the author conceded that automatics could carry more rounds between reloads. I have since thrown away all the Blue Presses I get, with the exception of the one that had Julie Goloski-Golob on the cover (she's no fake "gun girl"), and the one with my friend Meredith on the cover with one of her 50 BMGs (she's also no fake "gun… Read More

Firearms

Why I Like the SCAR-H/SCAR-17S

This is not a review of the SCAR-H or SCAR-17S. It is a brief explanation of why I like the weapon system. It could almost be condensed into a Facebook post - but not quite. I will avoid a technical discussion in the interests of brevity. Put simply, the 7.62X51 SCAR does what it was intended to do at a competitive price. Although the AR-10 platform preceded the AR-15 platform, the latter has had considerably more refinement, development, and market competition. Thus, you are able to purchase a 5.56 AR-15… Read More

General Opinion

My Dad

So Father's Day is here, and I figured I would write an article about my dad. He has been the inspiration for many of the things I have done in my life. Born in Canada, he came to the United States at 15. He graduated from high school in Reno and joined the Army, where he was an armorer for a mechanized infantry unit. He left the Army before the start of the Vietnam War and used the GI Bill to advance his flying career. He met my mother while… Read More