Secondary, Tertiary Consequences of a Gun Ban

An all-out Feinstein gun ban probably isn’t on the way soon (a string of shootings could change that), but its remains the goal of the Dems long-term. They will use the press to wage a propaganda war to alter public opinion enough to avoid a repeat of the 1996 elections. In the mean time, “The Democrats cannot be trusted with our freedoms, and they will politicize every tragedy to accomplish their ends.”

If a gun ban were put in place that greatly restricted some of the most popular semi-automatic rifles and pistols available today, there would be other affects down the road depending on the details. Here we’ll assume a ban on all new semi-autos, normal capacity magazine, or the transfers of those.

Markets: Drying up the civilian market would obviously cause a lot of current producers to fold their doors, especially the smaller outfits. Unless they could make the change to bolt guns (bound to become better sellers), or get and keep military and police contracts. Then the firearms available to the public would cost more since the volume would be lower (eventually, not counting the current buying frenzy).

Regulations: Paying for all the checks, record keeping, registries, etc. also has costs involved and guess who will pay them; gun owners. If it is anything close to the hoops one has to go through to own a firearm in DC, you’re talking a couple days (or more) of in-person filings at various offices, and hundreds of dollars of fees, on top of the cost of probably mandatory firearms training.

Overall effect: Shrink the market; make legally owning firearms prohibitively expensive for most Americans. Key work there is legally – the bad guys won’t be paying any of those fees, and won’t be limited to whatever the nanny-state allows.

Some Republicans may roll over: See info from the Doc Thompson Show.

Nutnfancy explains a Second Amendment issue: Many for gun control think those who favor owning firearms as a check on the government are delusional since modern militaries are so powerful. Nutn explains that semi-auto rifles can get one a crew-served weapon, etc.

Sturmgewehre goes into detail on the magazine ban: Mac also include a link to contact your elected representatives to tell them you do not want them to vote for more gun regulations.

At Guns.com, see a Marine’s letter to Feinstein, and Ted Nugent’s letter to Biden.

BOYCOTT: Dick’s Sporting Goods for rolling on it’s customers, and Cheaper Than Dirt for attempting to profiteer.

Tragic School Massacre a Mental Health Issue, Not a Gun Control Issue

As a father with children the same age as some that were murdered by Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, I can sympathize with the families of the victims. I’m not going to claim I can truly understand how they feel, almost no one really can. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

I am angry it happened. But I’m also angry that I can’t just focus on that, I have to immediately worry about my rights being infringed by the emotional and illogical backlash of gun control advocates who are using this tragedy to political advantage.

A few points:

• This is a mental health issue; it is not a gun control issue. An expert goes into and says it better than I could, here.
• The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting; it is about the people having a check on the power of the federal government. The Heller decision lays it out pretty well.
• The majority of shootings are in blue states or blue cities; now those in blue areas are attempting to take away everyone’s rights because they have problems. The Left-Right cultural divide is getting wider, and trying to limit our rights will exacerbate it.

The mother, Nancy Lunza, is also being portrayed as, “paranoid ‘survivalist’ who believed the world was on the verge of violent, economic collapse,” and who, “stockpiled food, water and guns.” That probably described 99% of readers here. The Left will keep hammering that “preppers” or “survivalists” are dangerous. We will be demonized. But it’s a smokescreen.

In my last post I urged readers to get any weapons, ammo, and related gear they might need. That’s even more urgent now. I’ll add to that:

• Follow your gun laws, don’t even bend them. Don’t provide an excuse for them to be taken.
• If not already a member, join the NRA, or another gun rights organization. If already a member, donate some cash now.

Good luck, we’ll all need it.

Update: Three perspective;

• Sturmgewehre
• Nutnfancy (in addition to the Nutn link in main text)
• Sootch00

Also saw this on BBC News. The so-called expert being interviewed was asked why the gun has this special place in America. Her answer was that, “an element in U.S. society” that believes “the citizen needs to be armed in order to counterbalance the power of the state”.” She described this as a “fantasy” and “absurdity” and gave Waco as an example.

Who are those involved in this “fantasy?” That would be those who read and understand he constitution, and know the history of how the Second Amendment came about.

Makes me wonder if Mosin Nagants and ammo will skyrocket in price?

Long-Term Ammunition Storage and Heat

While avoiding humidity is pretty much a universal theme on the topic of long-term ammunition storage, there is a lot of directly contradictory information when it comes to heat. I’d like your input if you have any experience or observations in this area.

The generally very informative Ammo Oracle at AR15.com has this to say:

The three primary killers of ammo are heat, moisture, and chemicals. Excessive heat will break down both the powder and the primer compound over time, causing erratic ignition and velocities.

Military guidance on how much heat is too much heat doesn’t offer much. Department of the Army Pamphlet 700–16, THE ARMY AMMUNITION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM for Logistics, does not list any temperatures, noting only that:

In general, ammunition must be protected from moisture and should be protected from temperature extremes when feasible.

Department of the Army Pamphlet 385-65, Ammunition and Explosives Safety Standards, says in Chapter 2, Field Storage of Ammunition:

When standard magazines are not available, buildings used for AE [ammunition and explosives] storage must afford protection against moisture and excessive changes in temperature and have means for adequate ventilation. . . The AE containing explosives or combustibles (such as, black powder, tracer composition, or pyrotechnic mixtures) that deteriorate rapidly in damp or high temperature environments should be stored under the best cover available.

And MARINE CORPS ORDER P8020.10A, MARINE CORPS AMMUNITION MANAGEMENT AND EXPLOSIVES SAFETY POLICY MANUAL, does not refer to heat or temperature at all, in regard to ammo storage.

Anecdotally, some say heat is bad, others note they’ve used ammo stored in very hot bunkers with no issues. Various old and/or surplus ammo from the 1950s or earlier not stored in cool conditions that still functions, and hand-loaded .223 ammo in a VA attic for ~25 years, working fine.

You can find dozens of forums or blogs that say one other, but I haven’t seen any actual studies. From a common sense perspective, seems like heat might affect ammo since it affects food and many other chemical compounds. But with a little more information, a lot of real-world examples seem to point to heat not mattering much, which might alter what passes for common sense.

From my personal experience (more anecdotal evidence), I’ve seen Conex boxes in the desert storing U.S./NATO ammo, and have personally used ammo stored in hot humid conditions for long-term with no problems. I’m talking shot shells (some old enough to be some sort of cardboard or thick paper rather than plastic), .22S/L/LR, various old surplus calibers (some with slight corrosion), etc. not in ammo boxes or with AC during the summer, for decades.

I’m leaning towards heat doesn’t matter as long as humidity is controlled.

What say you?

Guns and Ammo Finishing Touches

When you get to where you’re going, some GPS units say, “you have arrived.” That’s kind of what I feel like as I expect that before the New Year my brothers and I will have all standard rifles and carbines and standard caliber pistols (9mm) and shotguns (12 gauge), exceeded our minimum ammo stockpile requirements for all calibers/gauges we own, and have sufficient gear such as slings, scopes, etc.

Is it enough? No, it’s never enough. But if TEOTWAWKI happened on or after January 01, 2012, wouldn’t feel like we got caught with our pants down, at least considering firearms, ammo, and related gear.

For longer range rifles (~200+ yards), we have several more Mosin Nagant rifles than we can probably use – I expect others would show up and need them. Several of those rifles already have bent bolts, will soon have JMeck scope mounts, and will then be scoped with Nikon or Simons scopes.

We chose the Mini-14 Tactical (and here) for our carbine (300 yards max, closer preferred). While there are not as many customization options for the Mini-14 as for the more popular AR-15 variants, we determined that for a survival situation in which spare parts or a choice in ammo might not be available, the more rugged piston operated and sufficiently accurate Ruger will do just fine.

Recently Nutnfancy spoke about the importance of being, “Tactically Squared Away,” and Ryan wrote about having enough ammo of sufficient caliber. I agree with both. We’ve been slowly putting away thousands of rounds in all calibers/gauges, and the slings, scopes, mag pouches, dump pouches, etc. that are needed. We’ll be using MOLLE II FLC vests to attach needed pouches and other items (these days very cheap, shop eBay).

At one point I thought it best to get rid of (for us) odd caliber weapons so that we don’t need to worry about the logistics of spare parts and ammo for them long-term. But I eventually decided that unless obsolete, having a variety of non-standard caliber weapons – or a way to use ammo for them – is fine. For example, we don’t have a .38 special or .357 magnum, but an adapter will allow us to shoot that ammo from a 12 gauge shotgun. Adapters are available in a varied of calibers and gauges.

For guns, ammo, and related gear we’re there – but will keep adding, especially more magazines and ammo. Can never have enough. But the new priority for 2012 will be food stockpiling and growing…

Review: Kel-Tec SU-16C Carbine

Several months ago I saw a deal on a Kel-Tec SU-16C ($515 from Bud’s) that I couldn’t pass up. Once I got it, it took awhile to find time to get to a rifle range and shoot it. But now that I’ve shot it, had it apart a few times, and done a few basic modifications, it’s time to review this carbine.

First what this rifle is and isn’t. At 4.7 lbs unloaded and just over five with an optic, with a folding stock (can shoot folded), using cheap and plentiful AR magazines, I consider this primarily a bug out weapon in 5.56 NATO. Excellent for a pack, trunk, toolbox, etc. Relatively inexpensive, few parts to break/replace, and a clean piston system. Picatinny rail on top for easy scope mounting options. Anything for bugging out is also fine for home defense. I don’t consider it a long-term survival weapon with hard use in mind – it’s not an AK or Mini-14 – and will cover that below.

There are several variants of the SU-16. I prefer the SU-16C for the thicker barrel and folding stock. If you have any of the other SU-16 versions, a folding stock can be added, if legal in your state.

The excellent Nutnfacny review of the SU-16C noted that the carbine might need a couple hundred rounds for breaking-in. I shot about 200 rounds of PMC 55 grain FMJ and 60 of Wolf 55 grain HP through mine with no malfunctions at all, so I was probably lucky and this one didn’t seem to need that. The Wolf HP was to verify it would eat cheap steel-cased ammo. Cleaning was easy, very little fouling, very clean shooting.

As part of the break-in process, I went through three 30 round magazines in rapid fire to see if I’d get any stringing when the barrel got hot. Didn’t notice any of that, but it did get hot enough that I was worried about some of the plastic parts melting, especially where the barrel connects to the stock. I did not have this concern with the Ruger Mini-14 Tactical carbine.

Accuracy was good for a break-in, but conditions at the range weren’t ideal. I was a bit rushed, the 100 yard area was in the shade, and it had rained recently so impacts didn’t cause any dust to appear. Excuses aside, I was able to sight it in with an EOTech 512 and hit a nine inch gong at 100 yards consistently. A little more time in better conditions and I’d have the iron sights dialed in, but that’ll have to be next time.

The reason I say, IMO, the SU-16C isn’t a long-term survival carbine with hard use is that I suspect the polymer stock isn’t up to it. Let me stress couple phrases here; long-term and hard use. Glocks have stood the test of time, but an SU-16 has a lot more surface area that needs to hold up. When TSHTF, I’ll be fine with the SU-16C for bugging out. When I get to the retreat, I want my Mini-14 Tactical. The SU-16C will remain for occasional use.

I changed three things on this carbine; added a Kel-Tec compact fore end, a Yankee Hill Phantom C2 flash hider, and a single point sling attachment. The flash hider was a pain because the SU-16C threads didn’t quite lend to easy installation. Took awhile, but I got it. The sling attachment was actually for a PLR – but works perfectly for the SU-16 (note to Kel-Tec, you need to market the PLR sling attachment for the SU-16).

The compact fore end installation was a real pain. I wanted this change so I could use a fore grip and to mount a bipod, and maybe a flashlight. First, the instructions from Kel-Tec absolutely suck. As did the PLR sling attachment instructions. This is a big Kel-Tec fail. So I looked online – this guy did it all wrong, should be a lot more solid.

And getting the compact fore end solid was the real problem. If a fore grip is mounted to it, it must be solid, not come off easily. Some people may add it to look cool, I did not, I wanted some function out of the picatinny rail underneath. My solution was to drill holes and cut/drill/tap four small strips of aluminum to hold the compact fore grip together solidly from the inside with some hex bolts. Took a few hours to get everything right, used blue Loc-Tite. End result, its rock solid.

Overall this is a perfect bug out carbine in 5.56mm NATO, has a clean piston operation, takes cheap AR mags, has good optics mounting options, is ultra light, clean shooting, and inexpensive. Not a major consideration, but looks cool and is fun to shot. Probably not for long-term, hard use, but fine for home defense.

Cheaper Than Dirt Customer Service Fail

Update: Cheaper Than Dirt read this post and has corrected the issue! I think I feel a six-pack coming my way…

Original Post: Do you think the Glock Field Knife is a dagger? Cheaper Than Dirt (CTD) does, and they won’t ship it to a customer in my area because of this error. Note that the top edge of the knife past the tip is flat, not sharp or even tapered.

Over the years I’ve purchased a lot of good equipment (and some junk) from CTD, including a few knives, with no real issues. But a buddy recently forwarded me a strange email exchange with CTD customer service that has changed my view of the company. Gets into the realm of idiotic incompetence on CTD’s part. I’ll still buy there, but will shop around a lot more first.

Like me, this friend lives in Northern Virginia. When he tried to order the Glock Field Knife from CTD (their item number GLOCK-105), he got this message;

Because of restrictions imposed by local laws, some of the items in your cart can not be sold to you.

There was an icon next to the knife saying, “Can Not Ship.” He emailed customer service asking why. This was the first response;

I do apologize but due to state restrictions, we cannot ship GLOCK-105.

Ok, what state restrictions? Virginia isn’t known for being a nanny state. He emailed again asking what restrictions, “specifically.” The same CTD customer service agent responded;

I apologize but we will not be able to ship the item.

Vibe I’m getting reading the email exchange is that the customer service person is on autopilot and not really paying attention to what the customer is asking. Minimum wage, minimum effort, a little bit too much power for pay grade.

My buddy emails them back, asking again for the “specific Virginia law” that would prevent a Glock Field Knife from being shipped to him. He also did an experiment by adding a KaBar Fighting Knife (Glock blade profile is almost identical, just smaller). Guess what? The KaBar was fine, which he mentioned in the email. CTD response;

Please be advised of the restrictions for the state of Virgina below…

VIRGINIA
- Assisted-Opening Knives
- Daggers
- Throwing Knives
- Throwing Stars/Shuriken
- Starter (Blanks) Pistols
- Fuel Cans

Our system recognizes an issue with shipping the item you requested, so the system will not allow us to ship you the item. Check with your local law enforcement agency or the state legislator as we do not have detailed information on why an item is restricted.

The computer says it, so it must be true. Check the picture of the Glock Fighting Knife above – it’s none of the things on the list. They ignored his question about why the KaBar is ok but the Glock is not.

But thinking progress was being made because he has the list of wrong reasons, my buddy sends response spelling out that the knife is none of those things and asks that the error in the “system” be corrected. Pretty obvious solution. CTD customer service responds;

We apologize, but the item could be classified as a dagger. We create the restrictions based on our interpretation of the laws.

A Glock Field Knife is not a dagger. It seems the minim wage customer service agents are following their script. Buddy sends and email explaining that needs to be reevaluated since it is technically incorrect, suggests a manager get involved. CTD strikes again (bold mine);

I brought this to the attention of upper management and it may be completely legal in your state, but Cheaper Than Dirt made a business decision not to ship this item to you area. I do apologize but we will not be making any exceptions.

My experiment – went to CTD, added several knives, including the Glock Field Knife (w/o saw back, the one blocked), the version with a saw back, a KaBar, and an actual dagger. Keep in mind we live in the same area. My results;

Yeah, that’s right. Cheaper Than Dirt won’t ship a Glock Field Knife w/o saw back because their “business decision” says it’s a dagger. The saw back version is fine, as is an actual dagger.

This is a huge fail for Cheaper Than Dirt, no good excuse. They should be more careful about who they hire to interface with customers – I’d have been a lot less polite with the dolts at their customer service.

Selecting a TEOTWAWKI Carbine: Mini-14 Tactical

Over Christmas vacation I was able to put my recently purchased Mini-14 Tactical through its paces, overall with very good results. Tested with iron sights, red-dot, and scoped (out to 300 yards); and using a wide variety of ammunition. Review to follow, this post is about the process used to select the Mini-14.

The criteria my brothers and I started with in selection a group standard carbine; reliability, accuracy, durability, high capacity magazines, can use a wide variety of ammunition, weight, able to reach out to 300 yards (scoped), and price. Not necessarily in that order, we were looking at the whole rifle capability. We have Mosin Nagants for longer-ranges (review to follow).

We did a lot of research before settling on the Mini-14. While I’ve owned AK-47s and have experience with the M-16 in the military, I had not fired a Mini-14. We all read a lot of online reviews and all the “AR vs. AK vs. Mini” forum threads we could find.

While there are high capacity magazines for the SKS (7.62x39mm, like the AK-47), they are awkward and the rifle itself is larger and heavier than the other carbines being considered. We still own a few SKSs and will keep them as backups. Also looked at the KelTec SU-16C, but eliminated it early on due to concerns about long-term use of the polymer parts that are probably more apt to be bumped around than a Glock.

Something you’ll come across fairly often in forums discussing AR vs. AK is that 5.56mm ammunition will be more accessible in a TEOTWAWKI situation. While we selected a rifle in 5.56mm, I think that notion is a myth; the military and maybe police would have some but it’s not like they’re going to sell it or share it. 5.56mm might be available for a little longer, but the vast majority of ammo would become scarce at any price.

Early on in we research we eliminated the AK-47 and AK-74. They’re fun to shoot and have an undeniable track record for rugged combat reliability and durability, but the AK-47 isn’t generally considered very accurate past 100-200 yards and is a hassle to scope. The AK-74 and its 5.45x39mm ammo aren’t very prevalent in the U.S. yet, so that was also ruled out.

A few years ago I never would have considered a Mini-14 due to its notorious accuracy problems and very expensive magazines. The problem with that view is that Ruger improved the Mini-14 several years ago, adding thicker barrels, tighter tolerances, and a few different versions. Magazine prices are now also sane, at about $30 for factory 30-round steel magazines.

There are a lot of Mini-haters out there, which made forum threads painful at times. Those with no trigger time on the new Minis continued to berate their accuracy. That’s like comparing the reliability of the original M-16 to a modern M-4; apples and oranges. Nutnfancy has a thorough and bias-free review of the Mini-14 Tactical.

Having narrowed things down to an AR or a Mini-14, my brothers and I were leaning towards the AR, specifically the SIG516. Truth be told I’d like to be able to outfit all of us with these, but at about $1,350 before shipping, taxes, and FFL fees, it’s a bit too much. Additionally, there are also still valid concerns about feeding ARs cheap ammo since some ARs are finicky. Training with the steel-cased ammo is a lot cheaper, and what if the steel-cased was all that was available after TSHTF?

Sifting through the forums where people with actual trigger time on the newer Mini-14s showed the new and old to be like two different weapons as far as accuracy. Still with AK-like reliability and durability, but now with accuracy nearing the AR.

Some arguing against the Mini-14 and for the AR-15 claimed Mini-14 parts aren’t nearly as widely available as AR parts. Looking at Cheaper Than Dirt, Centerfire, CDNN, etc., that claim is absolutely true, lots more AR parts (and more accessories) out there. Why? Reading forums it seems Mini-14s almost never break (firing pin a noted issue in some Minis after high round counts).

This reminds me of another often quoted Mini-14 myth: it’s a good varmint rifle – coyotes and jackrabbits are in danger – but not a combat rifle. Right, because the 5.56mm round is lethal to varmints but won’t kill people when fired out of a Mini. These are the sorts of illogical arguments you need to sift through to find the information you’re looking for.

All our research led us to believe that the AR is more accurate than the newer Mini-14s, but we’re talking 1-1.5 MOA for most ARs vs. 2-3 MOA for non-target model Minis, at 100 yards, out of the box. And that the Mini-14 won’t normally do better than that. Accuracy was one of our critical criteria, but we felt 2-3 MOA was fine – we’re not snipers taking head shots.

We had two major concerns about the AR platform. First the repeated use of caveats when describing the reliability of the system, for example it’s reliable when properly lubricated or when properly cleaned. Some claimed to have fired a million rounds though their AR with no cleaning/lubrication (yes, I’m exaggerating), but those claims didn’t mesh well with the vast majority of credible information we read. Mini-14 users never used those caveats, just reported that it always goes bang.

Second was that ARs can be choosy about the type of ammo it cycles well, specifically some problems with cheap steel-cased ammo. This is a problem because it could potentially increase the cost of training with the AR, and in the perhaps unlikely but still possible event that it’s TEOTWAWKI and all you can get your hands on is some Wolf ammo.

However, unlike the Mini-14, ARs have much cheaper magazines (good ones for $10) and can be scoped with a variety of optics very easily. The Mini-14 has $30 magazines and using the provided scope rings (which are not quick detach, or QD) blocks iron sights. Overall, we considered these annoyances rather than deal breakers, and a B-Square mount for the Mini-14 worked out very well (w/o rings for ~$50, review to follow).

Considering our criteria and planned use as a TEOTWAWKI weapon, we settled on the Mini-14. If we never expected a SHTF situation, could afford to stock up on tens of thousands of brass-cased rounds, and price was not a concern, might’ve gone with an AR. The Mini-14 accuracy is now very good, reliability/durability excellent, can reach out to 300 yards easily, not picky about ammo, and the price is right – under $600 at CDNN.

In the end, it all comes down to your personal (or group) criteria and preferences. If you like or dislike the ergos, etc. on one or the other, go with what you like. IMO the AR, AK, and Mini can all good choices, depending on your specific needs.

Review: Beretta U22 Neos Carbine Kit

Beretta’s U22 Neos .22 LR pistol is an inexpensive but solid semi-auto pistol with a steel and polymer frame. While I don’t care for the looks, the Neos is accurate, reliable, and extremely easy to field strip. The grip is a little small for me, but perfect for my wife. Other pluses are the ambidextrous safety, fully adjustable sights, and built in Weaver rail. For around $250, it’s a bargain.

This year Beretta finally released the carbine kit for the Neos to U.S. consumers. The kit contains a 16.25” barrel to replace the pistol barrel (4.5″, 6″, and 7.5″ lengths), and a reinforced polymer skeletonized stock and grip to replace the pistol grip.

Like the pistol, the carbine barrel has a Weaver rail on top for mounting optics, but also has an orange TruGlo fiber optic front sight and fully adjustable aperture rear sight (peep). According to Beretta, the Neos carbine kit is also approved for sale in California.

I recently obtained and tried out the Neos carbine kit. Overall this is a very good carbine kit with a few drawbacks:

• Pros: Lightweight (3.8 lbs configured as a carbine), compact, accurate, ergonomic, Weaver rail, fully adjustable sights, potential storage space in stock, FFL not needed to purchase
• Cons: Expensive, no high-capacity magazines (10 rounds only), no sling attachment on fore grip, not suitable for single-point sling

Besides being fun to shoot, the carbine is light and perfect for backpacking or a Bug out Bag (BoB). For survivalists/preppers, this allows the kit to be carried in the BoB while the pistol is carried in a holster. Photos below will show the space in the stock could be used to strap in a small pouch containing extra ammunition, magazine, cleaning supplies, etc. I put a few hundred rounds through it on the first trip to the range and found it to be very accurate using an inexpensive optic.

The biggest drawback is the price. I paid $240 for the kit but have seen it for $219. For that much you could add a Marlin Papoose, which breaks down and is only about 3.5 lbs (see the Nutnfancy review). We’ll have to wait to see if higher capacity magazine will be offered, but the sling swivel attachment problem is easily fixed.

There has been discussion about the legality of the carbine kit. The carbine stock contains a warning about configuring the rifle stock with any pistol barrel – doing so would make it a short-barreled rifle, which must be registered or may be illegal where you live. Putting the 16.25” barrel in a pistol configuration should be fine, but check your local laws.

More photos below – click on images for full-size.

Outfitting Firearms and Beefing Up the BoB

Over the past year my brothers and I have purchased a variety of firearms. Now that we’ve had them for a bit and know they’re keepers, we’re finally getting around to some minor accessorizing; optics, slings, bipods, and mounts for them. Also stocking up on magazines and ammunition. Nothing exotic, but it still adds up fairly fast.

Aside from the ammunition and magazines, these items aren’t required for survival weapons. However they do make the weapons more usable and can make them much more effective. Reviews to follow over the next several months.

There are tons of options and I suggest you spent some time online figuring out what seems to work with your specific firearms. For some scope mounts drilling and tapping (I recommend having a gunsmith do this) the rifle receiver is required – it costs more but in many cases will be the best choice. Beside regular searches, two forums have been particularly useful; The High Road (THR) and Perfect Union.

Most of our purchases have been through CDNN and Cheaper Than Dirt, though a few have been through Amazon.com. For the best ammo prices I always check Gun-Deal.com.

I’ve also been revamping my Bug Out Bag (BoB). Haven’t had time to update the BoB inventory yet, but have tried to free up some space and reduce the weight, since if/when it really needs to be used, more stuff will be added last minute that will fill it up and weight it down.

Besides thinning things out in general, I replaced the small fleece sleeping bags with Thermo-Lite 2.0 Bivy Sacks. While not a long-term solution, these take up about a quarter of the space/weight, which I believe will be more important initially.

Some of the things I’ve added are for the long-term bug out situation, including snares from Bruce “Buckshot” Hemming’s site, and some smaller traps from Presleys Outdoors. The idea would be to catch a meal while sleeping, silently, and without expending ammo or much energy.

I’ve never used either snare or traps and won’t try them out where I live as I’d probably only get cats and a few squirrels. But there is a lot of info available on both snares and traps to create some simplified instructions to put in the BoB, and of course I’ll experiment with the snares/traps before packing them away.

A few blogs talk about how cheap it can be to prep, living in a trailer off-grid, relying on old bolt-action rifles (nice, but unlikely to fit the bill for longer-term survival), etc. If you don’t have any dependents and already have a retreat stocked with most things you’d need, sure, it’s relatively cheap to prep.

For everyone else, I think you’d be doing yourself a disservice by skimping on some firearms accessories and not having a well outfitted BoB (Contrary to what some may say, IMO even if you have a squared away retreat, you need a good BoB, just in case. Just wait until the Golden Horde is at your gate – or a fast-moving fire is blowing towards it.)

Sometimes doing a lot of research and spending extra can make a big difference in the outcome.

AR-15 Alternatives: Mini-14 and SU-16C

In Thinking Through Bug Out Firearms, I suggested criteria for choosing weapons you might want to have if bugging out. My personal choice was for a carbine in 5.56mm or 7.62x39mm rather than a battle rifle. At the time I was leaning toward the (still) yet to be released to the public SIG516, and decided against the AK platform.

The SIG516, an improved AR clone, was featured in American Rifleman and was pretty impressive. I’m not a fan of gas-impingement systems and the SIG516 is a gas piston operated AR, so all the better. I’ve fired the M-16 and like the design well enough, but am not a dedicated fan. Reliability, accuracy, durability, and feel are all important to me, and let’s not forget price.

The AR of course has a well established reputation for reliability problems. Rabid AR fans will argue about the reliability issue, saying the weapon is reliable if properly cleaned, or if regularly lubricated. To me those are loser arguments; give me AK reliability with no caveats. From what I’ve read, the relatively dirty gas impingement ARs just cannot deliver that level of reliability, but cleaner gas piston operated systems like the SIG516 seem to be able to.

While waiting around for the SIG516 to come out (read someplace that might be December 2010, but might be later), I rediscovered the Ruger Mini-14. I say rediscovered since of course I’ve been aware of it for years, but never took it seriously due to its notorious accuracy problems and very expensive magazines (over $100 for a 30-round, at one time). It did have a tough-as-nails durability/AK-like reliability reputation (gas piston based on the M-14, bolt system based on the Garand), but why pay twice as much as an AK for the same accuracy?

But something changed around 2005-2006 – Ruger finally upgraded the pencil thin barrel and now has a thicker, tapered barrel that, by most accounts, has eliminated the accuracy problems. This improved the well known Ranch model, and a Tactical model with slightly shorter barrel and flash suppressor was added to the line-up. The newer models have serial numbers beginning with 580 and 581.

Nutnfancy has an excellent review where he puts up a Mini-14 Tactical against an AR-15 and an AK-74. The Mini-14 more than holds its own (first part in a series);

Having found the Mini-14 option right under my nose, I took a second look at another rifle I hadn’t paid much attention to, the Kel-Tec SU-16 series, specifically the SU-16C. This rifle is also in 5.56mm, but has a polymer frame, is gas-piston operated, an under-folding stock (can be fired in this configuration), and uses standard AR magazines.

This rifle has real appeal as a Bug out Bag (BoB) weapon that can fit right into the bag. Using AR magazines is a real bonus, since those magazines are plentiful and cheap. From all I’ve read, it’s very ergonomic and accurate. While it is gas piston operated, it hasn’t been around for long enough to judge overall relatively.

Again, Nutnfacny has an excellent review of the SU-16C (and, again, is a series, so watch them all);

If you do a few searches, you’ll find a lot of opinions out there about the Mini-14 and the SU-16C. Unfortunately, a lot of those opinions are grossly uninformed. Some are have never fired a Mini-14 or are completely unaware of the improved versions, but will still talk trash. Some will do the same about the SU-16C because it has a polymer frame and is so inexpensive (relatively).

In both cases they may be talked poorly about because they aren’t ARs. The AR is a fine weapon, but AR snobs have issues admitting any other rifle compares. You’ll have to sift through reviews and message threads to find input from those who’ve actually fired the weapons or who are judging fairly based on all information available.

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, I have a few criteria for judging between platforms, based on many hours of sifting through comments, reports, and reviews from those who’ve used one or more of these rifles;

• Reliability: Mini-14 comes out on top, AR gas piston models next, and not enough information to rate the SU-16C yet.
• Durability: Mini-14 again, followed by the AR. The SU-16C is polymer so probably won’t hold up as well over time.
• Accuracy: More expensive ARs have the edge here, while the newer Mini-14s will be on par or better to the lower end ARs. The SU-16C likely is at least equal to the Mini-14 in this category (better than the older Minis though).
• Price: The SU-16C can be had in the $550-600 range, the Mini-14 for $600-800, and AR gas piston operated models for $800+. ARs generally also require additional sights.
• Feel/Style: This is completely subjective. I like them all, but prefer the “real rifle” feel of the Mini-14.
• Magazines: AR magazines (aluminum) are cheaper and lighter, and go for $10 and up. On the other hand, Mini-14 magazines (steel) are heavier but stronger and go for $20 and up. Advantage AR.
• Parts: AR hands down. There is a nascent Mini-14 parts/upgrade market, but the AR market is very well established.
• Field Stripping: There are all reported to be easy, with the SU-16C perhaps to a slight disadvantage.

I think the SU-16C is a good choice, especially if you need or really want a rifle that will fit into a backpack or other small space. And for those most comfortable with the AR platform, no reason not to go that way.

But after going through all of this over the past several months, my group is planning standardizing on the Mini-14. We were going to wait on the $1,300 MSRP SIG516, but with the Mini-14s improved accuracy and decades proven relativity and durability – at half the price of the SIG516 – the decision practically made itself.