Category: General Opinion

(I lost track of this for a few weeks, so I hope that this help will come in time for Y-man) If you've been a reader of The Firearm Blog for any period of time, you've probably seen Emmanuel, or Y-man, mentioned before. He lives in Nigeria (or Najia, as it's apparently called by the locals) and legally owns a few shotguns, which he has to maintain himself with no spare parts or support network. Here are some of his posts: A Nigerian's Shotgun Turning Birdshot Into Slugs for Self… Read More

It's really popular for gun people to talk about needing a reliable gun for every day carry or duty use, but I don't hear many gun people talking about having a reliable phone. So that's what I'll talk about today. No matter where I am in the world, the likelihood that I will need to use a "communication device" of some sort to summon help from others is greater than the likelihood that I will need my "three pound" to bust a cap in someone's rear end. Car accidents and… Read More

Whenever I mention that I carry Glock pistols, I am asked what sort of modifications I have done to them - sights, trigger, grip reductions, and so on. When I say that my Glocks are entirely stock, more questions follow - most relating to the word "why." Glocks are similar to AR-15s in terms of popularity, and the number of companies offering every part imaginable for both platforms are too numerous to count. Many of these parts are intended to make the firearm more practical for real-world use, or so… Read More

Whenever the possible uses for a firearm are discussed, defense against wild creatures is mentioned seemingly without fail. Indeed, I have carried firearms in wilderness areas ever since I was old enough to handle and control them. I continue to do so. However, I do not relish the thought of shooting animals unnecessarily, and I take many steps to avoid confrontations with wild animals and reptiles. Here's why. Most of the time, wild animals will leave you alone if you leave them alone. I have encountered bears, big cats, wolves,… Read More

Today I shot a Spike's Tactical midlength AR-15 until it caught fire. The MOE handguard caught fire, that is. I posted some photos on Facebook, and naturally, it garnered some attention. There were a number of comments about how MOE handguards suck, or plastic sucks, or that normal ARs suck. I am not very concerned about the lamentations of the ignorant, but I would like to address the comments about Magpul products from a quality standpoint. First, I've tested normal and MOE handguards, as well as KAC aluminum handguards, from… Read More

I was in a gun store a while back, trying and failing to find anything exciting, when a friend suggested I look at the new Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD. I thought it was a pretty good deal for a factory threaded .308, until I saw the engraving on the barrel. It said "Tactical Rifling." I handed the rifle back to my friend and moved on. Then I started thinking about what actually makes a "tactical rifle." Is it tactical if you engrave "tactical rifling" on the barrel? I don't… Read More

A few days ago, I saw Weapon Outfitters link to a post on guns.com regarding concealed carry and homeless people. The topic of that article was a video by YouTuber MrColionNoir. Enough links? "Dabneybailey," the guns.com writer, criticizes Se±or Noir's video by saying that the latter's attitude towards the homeless is bigoted. MrColionNoir's statements are certainly strong at times, but I dislike the word shifts used by the guns.com writer. I would prefer that you read the article and watch the video in their respective entireties in order to discern… Read More

A friend of mine took an FAMAE SAF and basically modified it to be a lot like a pistol caliber 55X series Sig rifle. Here's a list of the modifications he made, which he said took about 50 hours over two years: New safety (original SIG Parts adapted) left and right hand use free floating barrel with flash hider adapted 553 4rail one piece toprail front and rearsight removed (that was a lot of work to grind it clean) the whole buttplate for the folding stock was removed an original SIG… Read More

I've spent some time hanging out at West Coast Armory with a friend recently, and the (very polite) staff has inexplicably given me access to the whole facility, including their multiple indoor ranges and open bays for "action" shooting. I began comparing WCA to Scottsdale Gun Club as soon as I arrived. SGC has a wider firearm selection - both rental and sales - but I was treated with respect at WCA, whereas at Scottsdale Gun Club, I'm almost always ignored or treated as if I don't know anything about guns.… Read More

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.