Category: General Opinion

Links: GearScout TheFirearmBlog RomeoTangoBravo

I describe a few things I think gun store employees should be aware of.

Recently, I have noticed somewhat of a backlash against what was once perceived as a "cool" product or service; there has always been an undercurrent of resentment against the more expensive gear in any market segment, but this movement seems more mainstream. Aided by this "quickmeme" thing, anyone can create condescending images like this one: I've seen others that poke fun at those who've, for example, taken carbine courses, and so on. Some of the folks passing these along seem pretty involved in that, for lack of a better term,… Read More

GearScout has more info on the strange, strange news of the Army's order from Remington of 24,000 M4A1s, as part of an IDIQ (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity) contract of up to 120,000 carbines.

While in St. Louis, Missouri for the NRA show, I decided to avoid the lavish parties - mostly because I wasn't invited to them - and take a stroll across the river in order to photograph East St. Louis, Illinois. My cab driver (a very proudly naturalized US Citizen formerly of Nigeria who was studying for the ASVAB in order to join the Army) who brought me to my hotel on the first night described it as "Deathtown." He also said "everyone that lives there is an animal." For those… Read More

Here's a guest post I wrote on the topic of preparing for medical emergencies. Special thanks to my fellow Corpsmen, especially Derek, who assisted with comments and ideas as I wrote the post.

This email was sent to the contact address on the Colorado Gun Sales website on 3/21/12; no response has been received. To whom it may concern, I recently purchased one of your M10 rifles in 5.45 from AIM Surplus. It arrived on Monday evening and I am now, as of Wednesday afternoon, shipping it back to AIM for a refund. I wish to inform you of some issues I saw with the rifle so that you may improve future production runs. I do not expect any action on your part.… Read More

After seeing a few photos of fake Marines recently, an 0351 friend and I bounced ideas off of each other for the details behind the awards some of these wonderful people choose to wear. You see, some of the ribbons they put on are for campaigns that took place before they were born, such as World War II. I guess when you're trying to build a stack the size of one of your manboobs, you need some filler, and that ancient campaign ribbon looks great next to your Army EOD… Read More

In this video, I relate some of the lessons I've learned about performance under stress, and how to improve my chances of survival in a dangerous situation. In order to provide a background for the opinions I have formed, I describe a few of the stressful situations I have encountered. I do not include them in order to boast or brag - they are the cornerstones of my experience regarding performance under stress. As you will see, I have learned as much - or more - from failure as I… Read More

As a reformed M&P fan, I feel that I have to provide a counter-opinion to her opinion. Don't get me wrong - I think that the M&P pistol could certainly be a Glock-beater. It just isn't at this point in time, as far as I am concerned (and this is coming from someone who has carried an M&P revolver for years and previously owned multiple M&P pistols). In order to understand why I feel this way, let's look at why Glock is successful, and where I feel the M&P falls… Read More