Thoughts on Fighting Gear: Guns

Thanks to all those who have commented so far on the 'question' post from Monday. It's good to get a gauge for where everyone is before launching into any discussion on a topic.

Based on those comments, I wanted to talk through the firearm part, since several folks seem to be figuring that out. There's no reason to worry about a holster before you've bought the handgun, a sling before you've bought the rifle or how you will carry magazines if you have neither.

And, I will preface this and future conversations by recommending having some emergency savings, food and water storage and other basics before diving into the deep end of fighter gear. I'd also recommend an assessment of risks that you see yourself facing and whether you would play an active role in the defense of your community or whether a support role might be more appropriate.

If you are skeptical of the need for a citizen to take up arms in defense of his community, religion, nation or liberty, please keep your skepticism to yourself and do a little bit of reading on both historical and current events.

Anyways, onto the gun talk!

Project 590A1: Sling

I'm of the mind that fighting guns need slings on 'em. Heck, I think even range guns need slings on 'em. But especially fighting guns, because, while you can hold the gun in your off-hand and shoot with your strong hand, it's not ideal.

I wanted to keep the sling simple on this beast. No frills but functional. Simple equals cheap, so that's good to. Basic 2 point slings work plenty good for most things and that's what I was going for.

Parts:
- Uncle Mike's QD Sling swivels (only used one)
- Cheap-o Blackhawk! sling; basically just a piece of webbing and two tri-glides. Yes, you could make it yourself for cheaper if you had the materials on hand.

Cost out the door: Less than 20 bucks.

You can see how I've attached it to the shotty. The Choate stocks offers numerous attachment points, which is a plus.

Can't say I've run a class with it, but it has held up totally fine in the dry fire drills that I have run with it. Not much to go wrong with it, and that's a good thing in my book.

Obama Election AR Lower - Image

Was going through some older stuff and realized that I never posted up a picture of the assembled AR lower that I talked about at the beginning of December, prior to the current madness. Looks like the upper half will be waiting a while, but even if a ban somehow makes it through, uppers should still be legal, as they are a part, and not the serialized firearm. This will be getting a mid length BCM upper of some variety. Parts list at the original post.

Review: Operation Z Vol. 2 - Carbines, Rifles and Shotguns

Note: Please wear a shirt during the zombie apocalypse.

Operation Z Vol. 2 picks up right where Vol. 1 left off - pretty much literally. If you haven't read that review, give it a skim to get some background on the series. Vol. 1 covered handguns, and this DVD delves into carbines, rifles and shotguns. Both were filmed over the same time period--probably a day or two on handguns, and then the next day or two on long guns.

Chris Costa seemed to spend less time on some of the fundamentals as he did the first time around, so you'll get less on things like trigger control, reset, sight picture, etc. He demonstrates proper technique and then hands off. Each shooter cycles through a couple long guns, firing off a magazine while Chris coaches. Most of the shooters are pretty bad, so there's a lot of teaching moments. Costa will occasionally interject, grab the long gun and start showing 'em how its done.

For the viewer at home, this teaching portion serves as a refresher on (or introduction to) the basics. The newbies' errors are fairly obvious and exaggerated, emphasizing why stance is important, why you don't want to flinch, etc. Seeing someone else making mistakes, Costa correcting them, and their shooting improving (a bit) is a helpful learning experience. Newer/non-shooters will of course benefit the most.

My Obama Election Celebration (AR Lower Build)

I'm sure I'm not the only guy who built up an AR lower in the past few weeks since the election. I put this together over the Thanksgiving break. Here's the "before" shot with the parts all laid out. The stripped lower receiver was purchased earlier this summer. The parts kit and other bits post-election.

If you haven't built an AR-15 lower before, they're not too hard. This is my second lower build, and I don't really have all of the "correct" tools or a great workspace. This time around I at least had a decent set of properly sized punches (these Stanley ones - good deal, sturdy too). I've used this Tapco castle nut wrench for both builds, it works, it was cheap and that's about all.

If you're interested in doing it, go for it. There are lots of "how-tos" out there - ITS Tactical has a pretty good one, but there are a ton.  Take your time and be cautious and it should go fine.

Why built it yourself? Learning experience is a big one - no better way to learn how an AR-15 lower half works! You can also pick the parts that meet your specifications up front--trigger guard, grip, sling plate, etc., versus having to switch those out down the road. You do usually save a little bit of money--I have, I dunno, about $265 into it, including the Magpul goodies. Don't expect HUGE savings though unless you're really keeping your eye out for deals, though.

One thing that was different this build: Amazon carries a really wide selection of AR parts at good prices, with free shipping. Last build (in '08), they sure didn't have what they do now. You can buy everything you need to build up a stripped lower on Amazon - I bought everything, save the lower and parts kit on Amazon.

Here's the run down:

• CMMG Inc. Lower - my first AR is a CMMG and has treated me well. They're mil-spec and good to go.
• Doublestar Lower Parts Kit - Nicer overall parts than the DPMS kit I used for my first build. Had a couple extra small bits, which can come in handy. I bent up a takedown detent spring up pretty bad - had a couple spares already, plus an extra in the kit. You can buy the CMMG and Daniel Defense lower parts kits - both good makers, in my opinion - on Amazon.
• Magpul MOE + Grip in FDE - An overmolded/rubberized grip with a storage compartment. Nice feel to it, very comfortable. Way better than the standard AR grip, and better than the plain-jane MOE grip, too. I'll probably switch out the grip on my other AR for one of these, too. Check it out here.
• Magpul Polymer Trigger Guard in FDE - Again, a definite upgrade over the basic trigger guard. Fills in that annoying gap between the trigger guard and grip, and is generally a more ergonomic/comfortable trigger guard. More room if you have to shoot with gloved fingers, too. Nice overall addition. I wish Magpul included the tiny size allen wrench needed to tighten down the grip's one screw, though. Amazon for under $9.
• Mil-Spec Buffer Tube/Receiver Extension and Castle Nut - Good quality, affordable, threads work fine and they're sized right. Not a lot more that I ask! Receiver extension for just over $20, castle nut for under $9.
• Magpul ASAP - I have one of these on my current AR, and generally like it for running a single-point sling. A bit pain to install after everything's put together, so I wanted to do it during the initial build. Here for under $24.

It will wear a Magpul STR in FDE - still waiting on that. And the actual upper will probably be some variety of mid-length - need to decide on that one. TEOTWAWKI Wife is claiming this one as her own...we'll see how that goes!

The Single Shot 12-gauge: Bad choice for survival long gun

I'm a huge fan of Dave Canterbury - the amount and quality of the content he gives away, for free, on YouTube is pretty amazing. But, he's been promoting the single shot 12-gauge as a primary, go-to survival firearm for a while now. He's not alone - seems the single shot 12-gauge has a lot of advocates out there.

Sure, you can pick up a new in box H&R 12 gauge for right around $100 bucks, and used for well under $100. And yep, there's not a lot to 'em - pretty simple mechanically. 12 gauge is certainly quite versatile; from bird shot to slugs to random improvised loads, there's a lot you can do with it. And, of course, there are readily available chamber adapters that allow you to shoot a variety of ammo - from .22lr on up - through a 12 gauge single shot. 

But, there's some deal breakers that need to be called out, that are rarely mentioned by the single shot's proponents.

Alexander Wolf's Signature Apocalypse Weapons

Here's one I owed you guys - my end-of-the-world, the Nazi Zombies are marching load out. AR-15, Eagle plate carrier with Level III plates, Glock 17, ESEE-4 and Church & Son's forged Skull Cracker.

Every entry from the Signature Apocalypse Weaponry contest!

From COBB - Another excellent entry in our latest contest!

Here it is - all of the entries from our wicked awesome Signature Apocalypse Weaponry contest in one place - for archiving, linking and your enjoyment! Again, great work everyone, thanks for your support and engagement on this contest.

Aside from gratiutous gun/knife/gear enjoyment, there's also some merit in checking out what others are going to be running after the apocalypse. Sure, more than a few entries went extra heavy on firepower, but when you're hunting for zombies, that can be a good plan. We had 32 entries, which is a decent sample size. Of those, we had:

• 13 entries running some variety of 12 gauge shotgun, either as a primary or backup
• 10 entries running an AR-15 or variant
• 4 AKs and 1 SKS in 7.62x39mm
• 9 with pistols in 9mm
• 7 with pistols in .45 ACP
• 6 with pistols in .40 S&W
• 3 running a pistol as their primary
• 5 with .22lrs of some variety - 2 running a .22lr as a primary, three others with a .22 in a secondary role
• 4 entries without any kind of firearm - two from Europe, one new prepper, and 032125, who chose to go with heavy Viking steel
• Biggest bore rifle was SC's .30-06 bolt action; I was a bit surprised to see nothing in .308. Guess JWR needs to get on his battle rifle soap box more often these days.
• Biggest bore handgun was Neuro's .454 Casull Super Redhawk
• 2 entries had body armor (plate carriers with plates)

If we take this as a somewhat representative sample of preppers/survival types, 12 gauge is the most common across the board, AR-15s are the usual rifle of choice, and pistols in 9mm tend to be a bit more common than .45s or .40s, though not by a wide margin.

I've got to round up my gear and channel some of the creativity seen in this contest to show you guys and gals my personal selections for when the Nazi Zombies come knocking. Stay tuned for that, though you've seen most of the pieces at some point or another here on T-Blog.

This will take a while to load - if you've got a slow connection, you have been warned!

Signature Apocalypse Weapons Update #11 - Last one!

Here's the last one! Thanks again to all who entered. I'm planning on pulling all of the entries together in one place - then they'll all be together for your perusals down the line.

This has been my favorite contest thus far - way to step it up, loyal readers!

Signature Apocalypse Weaponry Update #10

One more updates in the queue after this one! Winners will be announced tomorrow night on Hala-ma-ween! The next (maybe last) update in the $40 a week series is going to be postponed 'till next week.

It's been a lot of fun and we're almost done!

If the dead do decide to rise tomorrow evening, I'm confident that you will all be ready to lay a hurtin' on them!

Remember to support the contest sponsors Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

Signature Apocalypse Weapons Update #8

We are officially closed for entires now. I have several updates worth of entries waiting in the wings though, so expect 'em to come fast and furious over the next week. A huge thanks to all those who have entered!

 Remember, there are great prizes from Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works and us here at T-Blog up for grabs! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

Signature Apocalypse Weapons Update #7

Today is the LAST DAY to enter the contest. Get it in by midnight tonight or you're outta luck. Winners will be announced next Friday.

I have lots of great entries in the wings, so expect them to continue to hit through next week.

Remember, there are great prizes from Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works and us here at T-Blog are up for grabs! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

These entries are some of my favorite so far! Enjoy & happy Friday!

From Recurve Boomstick:

The weapons:
 -My boomstick, a Remington 870 with Mesa Tactical high tube stock, Enidine recoil buffer, Magpul MOE+ with core containing 2 CR123 batteries, and Magpul CTR; Mesa Tactical 6 shell side caddy and rail; Eotech XPS-2 with Magpul MBUS; Magpul MOE forend with MOE vertical grip and Safariland 2 shell shot caddy; Magpul MS3 sling
 - Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm with Surefire X300 light and Trijicon Night Sights
- Two Kabar Combat Khukris

My load is inspired by 3-gun. It is ergonomical and makes reloads, weapon draws, and weapon reholstering as efficient as possible. It is set up in layers, so on a day-to-day basis I can dress appropriately for the “weather”.

Layer 1- HSGI padded war belt:
 -3 Uncle Mike's Tactical 3-Gun Competition Shell Caddies (12 shells total)
-2 Safariland shell caddies (4 shells total)
 -4 pistol mag pouches (4 mags total)
-Safariland ALS pistol holster
 -custom kydex sheath for khukri (sheath set up for left handed standard grip or right handed reverse grip draw)

 Layer 2- Eagle Plate Carrier:
-5 OSOE shotgun pull out pouches (a whopping 60 shells)
 -custom kydex sheath for khukri
 That’s a total of 91 shells (a mix of 00 for close combat  and slugs for anything over 25 yards), 5 pistol magazines, and 2 knives.

Still not enough?

Layer 3- Blackhawk Bandolier, an additional 55 shells.

Compression long sleeve shirt, shemagh, Oakley Flak Jackets for eye protection, Mechanix gloves, cap (gooooo blue team!), cargo pants (with multitool and flashlight), and comfortable shoes round out my ensemble.

From EVZombie:

I can still remember spotting my first zombie, it was in the vacant lot across from my house. I watched it for a very long 40 minutes before it wander into my yard and close enough for me to dispatch it quietly, I could see a few more gathering off in the distance. That was 51 days ago. Fortune had smiled upon me and I found a well secluded food distribution warehouse that had not been raided, that was probably due to the high number of undead in the parking lot and yard and the wrecked semi-truck blocking the road a few miles back. The fences and gates are intact and just need to be secured, after that I can clear the place out and make it my own. I have decided to try and secure it at first light tomorrow giving me as much daylight as possible to get the job done, I will be taking the usual gear.

Weapons:
Kel Tec SU-16E with nine 30-round P-mags, carried with single point sling and fitted with a Tapco short vertical grip and Maglite XL50. Maverick 88 six-shot loaded with "00" 9-pellet riding in a scabbard on my back, with additional 44 rounds carried on vest and belt. Ruger P89D in a cross-draw holster with five 17- round MecGar magazines. 7"straight-edge Kabar fighting knife in kydex sheath mounted next to pistol holster. Gerber Bear Grylls parang machete worn on belt. And last a Leatherman sidekick in my pocket.

Protective Gear:
Steel pot helmet with a mounted red/white led headlamp. C3 Gas mask with extra filters and 60mm to 40mm adapter. Cross-draw tactical vest. Custom personal med kit mounted on the back of the belt. Leather bracers and gloves to protect my hands and forearms which is where about 80% of zombie bites occur. And finally Alta knee pads and steel-toe tactical boots.

I hope it’s enough...

From J.S.:

I'm an artistic soul, and realized recently that all my guns are simply stock. I wanted to create a rifle based on a literary character I enjoy. Those who have read Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series might recall a skeletal rat who is essentially a sidekick of the grim reaper. Well, meet my custom Ruger 10/22, named "The Death of Rats". Rifles of this caliber offer some distinct advantages in a zombie apocalypse. They are relatively quiet, and the small size of the cartridge allows an individual to carry several hundred rounds without being over-incumbered. The round has the power to punch through the front of a zombie skull, but not out the back; the result: brain smoothies! Combine these features with the legendary reliability of the 10/22 platform and high capacity magazines, and I'll wager it against anything else you've got.

The gun itself is from 1991, with a wooden stock and new standard barrel. I painted it black, with a hand-painted rat skull on the butt. I sanded down the front, allowing for the installation of a UTG picatinny quad-rail, optic and folding bipod. As pure embellishments, I added a pewter rodent skull to the grip (originally intended as a drawer pull) and a black buffalo leather custom sling with biker-spikes. I have a tri-mag rig (not pictured) and (2) 25-round extended mags...for a total of 80 shots before reloading. Ideally, I would place myself in a relatively secure location and pick off zombies massing around my apartment. When supplies run low, my little Ratter could be useful in providing cover fire for ground-based team members, or for shifts on watch in a captured prison guard tower. Assuming I'll be looting for supplies at some point, I've included my multi-cam fatigues, folding esbit stove, naglene bottle with steel cup, and a shoulder bag to hold ammo and supplies. The little pouch on the top contains a basic medical kit, trauma pack and some powdered coffee and energy bars. As a defense against the living, I have a Glock 23, with three mags and hollow-point ammo. My AK-47 bayonet converts to wire-cutters, and can take down a chain-link fence. I'm missing a melee weapon, but would prefer to pick something up off the ground...this way, I'm not emotionally attached to something clunky and cumbersome. There you have it, my signature weapon and a light kit built around the concepts of fast movement and concealment...and bad-assery.  

Signature Apocalypse Weapons Contest Update #6

Guys and gals, this is now officially my favorite contest yet! We're getting close to the end here--Friday is your last day to enter--but we've got some of the best entries yet waiting in the wings. Full details here.

Remember, there are great prizes from Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works and us here at T-Blog are up for grabs! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

Signature Apocalypse Weapons - Update #5

More new & excellent entries into our signature apocalypse weapons photo contest! Keep the entries coming!

Remember, there are great prizes from Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works and us here at T-Blog are up for grabs! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

Reminder: We're looking for your personal weapons of choice/combat loadout for the dark post-collapse future, not your entire arsenal!

Signature Apocalypse Weapons - Update #4

More new & excellent entries into our signature apocalypse weapons photo contest! Keep the entries coming! This is turning out to be my favorite contest yet!

Remember, there are great prizes from Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works and us here at T-Blog are up for grabs! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

Reminder: We're looking for your personal weapons of choice/combat loadout for the dark post-collapse future, not your entire arsenal!

More Signature Apocalypse Weapons!

More new & excellent entries into our signature apocalypse weapons photo contest! Keep the entries coming! We want to get as many as possible. Enjoy.

Remember, there are great prizes from Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works and us here at T-Blog are up for grabs! Check out their websites and give them your support for helping make this contest possible!

Entries after the jump!

Signature Weapons Contest Updates & New Entries

Couple quick questions that have come up about the contest:

Can I enter multiple times?
No, I'm limiting this contest to one entry each. Pick your favorite gear!

Is should the photo show just one person's stuff or a whole group/family's stuff?
Just one person's stuff. If your photo happens to have other people's stuff in it, I won't disqualify you, but it won't help you when judging rolls around.

If you've got any more questions, let me know.

Remember, great prizes from Choate Machine & Tool, Vigilant Gear, Tom Bihn and Red Dirt Stock Works and us here at T-Blog are up for grabs!

Full rules and prize run down here.

Now onto new entries!

Photo Contest: Your Signature Apocalypse Weaponry

For the month of October, we want to celebrate monster season and the return of the Walking Dead by looking at your go-to weapons for the apocalypse/zombies rising or Commie-Nazi invading. When things hit the fan, what will be the weapons you grab to fight off the hordes of cannibal bikers? Mow down legions of undead? Fend off invading aliens?

Need an example?

Daryl Dixon on the Walking Dead is rarely without his trademark crossbow, a Horton Scout. He keeps a Busse Combat Team Gemini on his belt for up-close-and-personal zombie work, too.

Rick has his Colt Python and a Gerber folder. Shane had his Mossberg 590 and a Glock 17.

You get the idea, ya?

So, we want to see your personal selections for the end of the world as we know it - one picture and a short description of the weaponry. Methods of carry (sheaths, holsters, slings, etc.), rigs and armor would make good inclusions, too.

This is a photo contest, not about who has the most expensive stuff or who made the "best" tactical choices. We're looking at creativity, uniqueness, style, photo quality and cool factor.

One stipulation: it's got to be a reasonable amount of stuff that one person could carry, not the entire contents of your gun safe and knife drawer. No wheelbarrows full of assault rifles - sorry.

Why?
We wanted to do a fun reader contest for October, celebrating the return of the Walking Dead, zombie season, and our favorite firearms/knives/other implements of monster slaying. Reader appreciation and all that good stuff.

What's up for grabs?
We're going to have a first and second place winner. Here's the current prize line up - may be able to add some more fun stuff into the mix:

First Place: A set of (really cool!) custom zombie-camo AR-15 furniture from Choate Machine & Tool, a first aid kit from Red Dirt Gun Shop & Stock Works, a Synapse backpack from Tom Bihn and a pocket survival kit, custom designed by me!

Second Place: A pocket survival kit, custom designed by me!

Stay tuned for pictures and potential additions to the contest.

How do I enter?

• Get your artistic side going. Maybe some meditation and incense, maybe some Metallica to get things going. 
• Break out the good camera and figure out some good lighting/backdrop
• Make sure your toes aren't in the picture! Snap away and pick your favorite one.
• Write up a quick description of the what and a bit of the why. Aim for a paragraph.
•  Send the picture and description on over to: teotwawki.blog@gmail.com.

If you have a screen name/callsign you'd like me to use, let me know, otherwise I will use initials.

By Entering...
By entering, you agree to have your submitted photo and description posted on the blog and linked to on our Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest pages.

You also agree to let me resize the image, if necessary.

Contest will run through...
Entries are open through Friday, October 26th. Winners will be announced on October 31st--Halloween!

We're going to do a weekly or bi-weekly update with entries this time around - depending on the volume of entries - in order to keep the rest of the blog content rolling forward.

Questions
If you've got any questions prior to entering, let me know - glad to help!

Have fun!
The point here is to have fun, talk guns, knives and exotic weaponry -- enjoy!

My Current TEOTWAWKI Rifle

For those that asked, here it is - my current go-to gun for zombies and the end of days. I'm going to walk through the various components and why I settled on them.

I'm a fan of the AR family for survival purposes. They have a ton of good stuff going on for 'em - huge after market support, lots of high quality, professional grade stuff. Mountains of excellent quality ammunition available. Military and law enforcement use 'em. Not much recoil. Magazine capacity. With propper ammuntion selection, 5.56mm is a plenty good manstopper within its range envelope. Ammo is affordable enough to practice regularly and stock up on. Ability to take a .22lr drop in. Ease of maintenance and repair. And despite what many would have you believe, they are reliable as heck when you don't cheap out in critical areas.

I've first pieced this rifle together back in the summer of 2008 - yep, that long ago - and it's been a work in progress since then, buying components when I had the spare money. I'm pretty happy with where it is currently at. There's a couple things left that I want to do or change out, and I've learned some lessons about how I would do it differently now.

It's been an excellent rifle. I've had exactly one failure to fire in the couple thousand rounds of ammunition I've had through it, and that was with a bizzaro no-name garbage magazine that I expected to jam.

Long Term Survival: TEOTWAWKI Reloading

What to do?

Buy it cheap and stack it deep is a common mantra when it comes to survival ammo. It is one of those critical, difficult to replace survival items and a healthy supply of ammo is a good idea if you're preparing for a sustained, long term TEOTWAWKI scenario. But what to do if the ammo runs out or you are separated from your mountain of cartridges?

Reloading is the obvious answer, but if you're at the point where you and your personal treasure trove of ammo have been parted, there's a good chance you're low on reloading components--namely primers, powders and bullets. So we've got to look to unconventional methods - scavenging components from other caliber cartridges and making your own components by casting lead and mixing up black powder.

Revolvers, pump/single/double barrel shotguns, bolt and lever guns stand out here - less strict requirements on powder loading, bullet types and so on than a semiauto. An AR-15 is probably not going to run very well with cast lead bullets and black powder.

Of course, mess around with any of these at your own risk. Firearms, fingers and eyeballs are all things you don't want to blow up.