Combat Archery?

My daughter Merrianna, who has an interest in archery, gave me the link to the video below. I found the archer's ability to fire arrows accurately in rapid succession impressive.

I'm not ready to throw out my firearms in favor of bows & arrows, but this leads me think that a bow has a lot more potential as a combat weapon than I had previously thought. If I had a bow and this guy's skills, I would not feel totally at a loss if separated from my firearms, or if I ran out of ammo.

Battle Mug or Beans?

Okay, folks, I want to show you what's NOT on my Christmas list this year. It's called The Battle Mug. As far as I'm concerned, this is the most useless, overpriced gear on which a Christian Warrior might waste his money.

Here's the description:

Built to military specifications, Battle Mug features a M1913 rail interface system which allows the operator to mount a standard issue M4 carry handle, tactical light, laser device, holographic sight (we call them beer goggles) or even a bayonet for close quarters, high risk operations.

The basic mug is $159, but it will cost you another $25 if you want the handle. To me, this screams "macho wannabe with more cash than sense".

I mean, this is just what a guy out in the field would want to lug around to drink out of, right? Instead of an extra mag of ammo. 

Of course you can fix your bayonet to it. Get real.

If you've got an extra $150+ burning a hole in your pocket, go to the local grocery store and buy another case of beans. Or maybe a trip to Dollar Tree to beef up your first aid supplies. Perhaps some ammo or new boots or a solar battery charger or . . . anything that will be of real use in an emergency. 

Sorry for venting. If you've got all your prepping done, and you've got the wherewithal to plunk down cash for macho schlock like this, be my guest. But please don't buy me one. I will weep inwardly at what the cost of that foolishness could have bought that would actually do some good.

Christian Warrior Gear: Strop to Achieve Keenest Edges

To the Christian Warrior, a knife serves as more than a stealth or last-ditch weapon. You will pit the edge of your knife against a variety of objects in order to accomplish a multitude of tasks at home, on the job or in the field. To maintain the keenest edge, you will need the right gear. After trying out a strop, I recommend it for a variety of reasons.

But let me back up a little. I have had a Blackjack knife with a convex blade for a number of years. I had never sharpened it because my stone, ceramic or diamond hones would flatten and ruin the convex edge. I finally decided to bite the bullet and order an inexpensive strop, and boy, am I glad I did.

Last week, I received the strop set (click here to see it) from Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers. The directions were sparse but clear, so I set myself to the task of sharpening. I decided to practice on some other blades before I tackled the Blackjack.

I had chosen the four-sided hone because it offered more stages from rough to finished edge than a competitor's two-sided strop. It worked well on the carbon steel blade of my Ka-Bar pocket knife (a camp knife with stainless awl, screw driver, can opener & bottle opener in addition to the carbon steel blade) which, alas, they no longer make.

As I worked it, the strop polished the sides of the blade to a highly reflective finish. That's actually the same process by which it sharpens. That is, it polishes a multitude of tiny imperfections from the edge of the blade.

When I tried stropping my CRKT K.I.S.S. knife, I made an interesting discovery. The stropping process sharpened the serrations as well as the straight portion of the blade. So much easier than dressing each separate serration with my diamond rattail hone.

(Note: the CRKT K.I.S.S. has a couple of serious drawbacks. If you grip it too tightly, you may unintentionally depress the liner lock mechanism, and the blade may collapse against your finger(s). Also, if you close it one-handed, you must take care to keep your fingers out of the way of the closing blade.)

When I'd finished, the CRKT would cut paper, and I could change directions so as to make a wavy slice in the sheet. I could do this with a serration as well as with the straight edge.

At length, I thought I'd gained enough of a feel for the stropping process to try it on my Blackjack blade. I took it through the four sides of the strop three or four times, then I tried it out. 

Results? Incredible!

When I bought it new, the blade could shave hair from my arm -- just barely. Now, it will shave a patch bare in one stroke. Also, I can now cut zig-zags as it slices through paper. It's definitely sharper than when it came from the factory.

I may discuss the benefits of stropping more in the future, but for now, let me say that if you want the sharpest edge with the least wear on your knife, try stropping.

The Slingbow

I have previously featured some of Joerg Sprave's slingshot designs (here, here, and here). Today, I'd like you to see his slingbow.

For preppers, while the slingbow sacrifices some of the power of a longbow, recurve or compound bow, it does have certain advantages. It's relatively cheap to make; it's compact and thus easily portable along with your other bug-out gear; it's less likely to snag on brush and create noise or slow you down.

The video below offers both a demonstration and how-to instruction. You can access & print out the patterns for the slingbow -- CLICK HERE.

patter

Slings and Arrows

Not the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," but rather slingshots designed to shoot arrows. If you're an archer, be assured this slingshot is not intended to replace a bow, but rather to take advantage of the slingshot's more compact profile while extending its utility to bag medium-sized game.

In the video below, Joerg Sprave shows the modifications he made to his "W" design in order to accommodate arrows. Note his homemade whisker biscuit.

From the Barber's Chair: More on EDC

In this post, I am including something my barber sent me some time back. It really took me by surprise.

It's not that I don't appreciate Zippo lighters. I have one, and I consider it part of my prepping gear. I just didn't know they had so much other neat stuff.

As my barber pointed out, "They really updated the product line.  It's been years since I visited this site.  Emergency fire starters,handwarmers, etc." Here's the link:


ZIPPO

How To Make a Powerful Slingshot

Joerg Sprave lives in Germany, which has highly restrictive firearms laws. Therefore, as a red-blooded male, he sets his mind to designing and producing highly effective non-regulated weapons.

My post "Slingshot Powerhouse" features one of his creations: The "W" shaped slingshot. In the video below, Sprave demonstrates how to make one.

The one in the how-to video is not exactly like the one in the previous video, but it's close enough, especially for a first attempt at a do-it-yourself slingshot.



Note: The purpose for allowing the handle to swivel is so that the pouch and its load are always centered between the posts. This keeps the tension on the two bands even, resulting in greater consistency and accuracy.

Slingshot Powerhouse

In the following video, Joerg Sprave demonstrates the power of his "W" design slingshot compared to a commercially available model powered by latex tubing. He powers his slingshot with Theraband material.



Some reasons you may want to include a slingshot in your prepping plans:

1. Quieter than a firearm for hunting small game;
2. It's smaller and more concealable than a bow;
3. As a consequence, it's also easier to carry;
4. Ammo is also more compact & portable than arrows;
5. Easier to improvise ammo (small stones, vs. fabricating arrows);
6. Extra bands take up almost no space.

Anyone interested in a how-to video on making a slingshot like this?

Knife Advice

A reader wrote and asked me advice about what he might buy from the current sale going on over at Cold Steel's Special Projects site. My response, with editing, follows:

Dear Warrior,

Back when I sold knives, Cold Steel was known for the quality steel used in its blades. They now use such a wide variety of steels that I'm not familiar with -- just have not kept up -- that I would have to limit my recommendations. (It's not that there are so many different steels, it's that each company has its own proprietary name for them.)

One item that I have always liked because of its simplicity, versatility and low price was the Bushman. It can be a large camp knife by itself. With a short handle, it can be a machete-like chopping tool. With a longer handle, it can be a spear. It's not on sale, but it's cheap enough. Sometimes you can find them among the seconds items. It did not sell well for me, I think, because is purely utilitarian -- does not conjure images of commando raids, etc.

I own a Master Hunter, which I like, but mine is an older version made of Carbon V steel. I don't know about the San Mai steel. 

If I were to recommend a great knife that would be a lifetime investment, it wouldn't be from Cold Steel. It would be from Blackjack Knives. They are back in business after going into receivership because of a nasty altercation with the IRS. 

They make knives from A-2 tool steel, which is air quenched. If you use water to quench steel in the hardening process, you create a lot of stress micro-fractures. This makes the steel brittle. You can reheat the steel to minimize the fractures, but that takes away some of the hardness.

Some steels can be oil quenched, which cools a little more slowly than water but results in good hardness and fewer stress fractures. Cold Steel's Carbon V was/is an oil quenched steel.

Steels with the right amount of molybdenum can be air quenched. They take the steel out of the heating oven and put it in front of a fan. The final product will have high hardness and strength.

Different air quenched alloys can have different characteristics. A-2 is chosen for hardness, D-2 for resistance to wear, etc.

I have a pre-receivership Blackjack hunting knife called the Trail Guide. It's made of A-2 tool steel. My knife is similar, though not identical to the Model 5.

The other characteristic I like about Blackjack knives is that they make convex blades. Convex blades will not only take a razor-like edge, but that edge will stand up to a lot of use. One thing about convex blades, though. You must learn how to hone them properly. If you use a stone instead of a strop, you will ruin the edge.

Well, I've gone on and told you more than you wanted to know. I don't know what help this will be to you, but maybe I'll recycle this letter as a blog post.

This video may help to explain the advantages of a convex blade:

Christian Warrior Gear: Concealed Carry Pants

Clothing manufacturer Woolrich now offers chinos that feature extra pockets designed for the wearer to carry a gun and/or a knife. They have designed the gun pocket with three-ply construction to minimize the imprint of the weapon.

You can check out the pants by clicking here.

You can read the news article on concealed carry pants by clicking here.

Buying Your First (or Next) Handgun

I have some bottom-line advice for people in the market for their 1st (or next) self-defense handgun. It will appear at the end of this short post.

In a Daily Caller article, Mike Piccione goes into some of the issues for first-time handgun buyers. He brings up some valid points, and I recommend that you take a look at the article.

I would, however, caution you on to take a step back and reflect before you take his advice on one issue. I'm talking about his recommendation for "simplicity".

He thinks that remembering to cock a piece or take off a safety may be too complex for new gun owners. Let's look at the matter in the same way that you might approach another deadly mechanism: the automobile.

Operating an automobile involves a lot of complex coordinated actions on the part of an operator. Any individual who does want to learn these complexities has no business operating on motor vehicle on the public highways -- period.

The same holds true for handguns. You undertake a great responsibility by just picking one up.

Further, there is no such thing as a foolproof firearm. Fools should leave them alone.

As to the rest, you need to become as familiar with the operation of your handgun as you are with driving your car. Perhaps even more so.

Rather than muddy the waters with too many factors, I think the prospective defensive handgun buyer should focus on two major issues:

1. Quality: the best you can afford
2. Caliber: the biggest you can control

Everything else comes under the heading of training. Or as my barber puts it, "Practice, practice practice."

Bertucci Field Watch, 1 Year Later

About a year ago, I bought a Bertucci Field watch and posted a review on my WARSKYL blog. I republished that review here at Christian Warrior Online. Now, it's time for the one-year evaluation.

First and foremost, it still keeps great time. I reset it every week or two, and it's usually only a second or two off. That's the kind of accuracy you'd expect from a much pricier watch.

On a related note, the watch still runs on its original battery, which the company says should last 2 years. So far, so good.

The recessed crystal is still intact, which is a key issue for me. I tend to be hard on watch crystals because I occasionally bang my wrist on doorknobs and other objects that reach out for me as I pass. 

I've become so paranoid about this that I have left the clear polyethylene protective cover, which originally came with it, on the crystal as a last resort buffer against damage. You would probably find this unnecessary since recessing the crystal surrounds it with a protective ring of titanium -- just what Crash Gordon types like me need.

That brings us to the titanium case, which, as you might expect, is very much intact. A few dings -- actually more like discolorations than dings -- mark the very edge of the case where it surrounds the crystal. Each is about the size of a period on this page -- (.)

The rugged nylon band looks a little weathered, probably because every couple of weeks it needs a washing from the perspiration and skin oils that it has absorbed. Also, the buckle and the loop that keeps the end of the strap from flapping around have lost some of their black finish.

This does not bother me, since I bought my Bertucci as a field watch, not as a dress watch. I think the worn look gives the watch a ruggedly attractive look.

You can find the Bertucci Field Watch on Amazon.com.

Saturday Afternoon Shooting

Saturday, we visited a couple from church. They had invited us to supper & asked us to come early to do some shooting.

In particular, the husband & father wanted some informal instruction for his wife who had never fired a weapon in her life. I started with a little talk about safety & range protocol, then showed how to make sure a weapon is cleared.

Then I took the wife to the standard police target and introduced her to my Airsoft pellet gun which is configured like my Gov't Model. From a distance of about 12 feet, I let her fire pellets at the target, using the Fairbairn method of point shooting.

Then we moved up the actual .45. She and my wife took turns, and both did well.

For me, the highlight of the day was when my wife & I got to shoot our Ithaca Model 37. We've had it for a year (see here and here), and -- believe it or not -- had not yet had a chance to try it out.

At a home-defense distance of about 20 feet, I had no problem putting all rounds in the torso of the target. My wife did almost as well.

Even our hostess fired the Ithaca. She was surprised that she suffered no after-effects from the recoil. (The secret, as you know, is to hold the butt tightly in the pocket between your deltoid and your pectoral muscles.)

One notable phenomenon is that the #8 birdshot hit the targets just like a slug. At that short distance, they had not yet shed their plastic wad, so there was zero spread, and the load hit as a solid mass.

This means that, for home defense, you will simply waste your money buying slugs or 00 buckshot. A solid mass of #8 will do the same job for a lot less $$.

All in all, we spent almost 6 leisurely hours talking and burning up some pistol & shotgun ammo. Nothing facilitates Christian fellowship like the smell of gunpowder -- unless maybe it's a cigar or a pipe.

From the Barber's Chair: Maglite LED

Back in the old days, Maglite ruled the tactical flashlight field. In recent years, however, they've fallen behind those companies that have taken advantage of the bright LED technologies.

When I saw that they came out with an LED light, I asked my barber what he knew about it. Since he's a flash-o-phile, he acquired a Maglight model LED XL50 and sent me the following report:

Just secured it a few hours ago. It's from Maglight at wally-world.

1. 105 lumens. 
2. three-click control , one click for full power,two for half power,and three for strobe. (I really like that one for signaling and for disrupting an attacker.)
3. 8hours and 45 min. run time on high beam. 36,yes 36 hours run time on low beam!!!!!! 
4. 145 meter beam distance. 
5. Powered by three AAA batteries!!! 

 I tested this tonight on the neighbor's house,which is about 200 yards away. I could clearly see detail on their garage door and siding... All for $29.00. The slim profile is the main attraction for me.

This light will be used in conjunction with this. [click here] I have been planning this for months. I cut the elastic out of the sides of the pouch. I use it for an active shooter pouch. It contains my smith 642,two speedloaders,small first aid kit in the flap,a combination camper knife,and a pad and pen,and the new LED light. It is a small package,that travels well for off-body CCW,and very low profile.

The pouch can be added to bags to increase options,and in vehicles when the EDC bag does not go. It will also fit in coat pockets,too. I slide it into the cupboard in the shop while working.

 I like the new LED light from maglight.

Preparedness Gear: A Good, Inexpensive Flashlight

As you may gather from my previous posts, I put a lot of stock in my barber's expertise as well as his opinions. That's why, when he recently sent me a Coleman Extra Bright (90 lumens) LED flashlight, I realized it must be something special.

Its black aluminum body is solid & feels substantial in my hand. It has an O-ring to keep water out of the battery compartment, and its Cree LED should never need to be replaced.

It runs on 3 AAA batteries with an advertised 9.5 hr. run time. I haven't checked out whether that's accurate, but if it's anywhere close, I think that's incredible, given its brightness.

Speaking of brightness, of course I had to make a comparison with my 4Sevens Quark AA2. The comparison was not easy.

Although the Coleman's hot spot is brighter, the Quark's hot spot is about twice the diameter (and therefore four times the area). Both lights have about the same diameter spill. Neither light has any dark spots or shadow rings.

Although I'm impressed by its brightness and quality of manufacture, the Coleman has a couple of features that would keep me from making it my primary go-to light.

First, its on button has no momentary on feature. You have to click it all the way down to turn it on, which -- with my stubby thumbs -- makes it unhandy to carry for blinding an attacker. Strangely enough, once it's on, the button has a momentary off feature.

Second, it has only one brightness. This makes it unsuitable for those situations where you don't want your light to attract undue attention.

That said, the Coleman will make a great utility light for my car or around the house & yard. And, if your prepping budget is such that you can't afford a Surefire or 4Sevens, then the price tag of around $20 makes this light a good choice until you can upgrade.

You can find the Coleman Extra Bright LED flashlight at Wal-Mart, or for a tad more, you can get the ultra bright (140 lumens) version from Amazon. (CLICK HERE)

Christian Warrior as Sentinel

Yesterday one of my daughters plus husband & 8 children stopped in for a visit before continuing a whirlwind business trip. As they made their way to the car to leave, I stood over a pile of doggy-dooders with my flash light, so no one would step in it.

My daughter thought that the moment was worth memorializing. Here's the pic.

Among my daughter's Facebook comments, she said, " There might be a country song here somewhere."

Lesson: make your tactical flashlight part of your EDC; it could help keep you out of deep doo-doo.