Direct Impingement vs Piston Driven Systems There are a number of semi-auto platforms out there with a large number of them using either the Direct Impingement system or the Piston-Driven system. The one that really seems to garner the most controversy is the AR-15 system. The Direct Impingement system was the original design. The AR-15‘s gas system uses…
Category: Know Your Weapons
Know Your WW2 Weapons: Japanese Model 89 Knee Mortar
Japanese Model 89 Knee Mortar For more than a century, American troops have given a wide variety of nicknames to their own weapons, and also those of their enemies. During World War II, American troops in the Pacific Theatre created a nickname for a highly effective Japanese weapon that was a bit misleading. The…
The Ammo Files: The .450 Bushmaster
Gunmagopedia: 450 Bushmaster In the world of straight-walled cartridges, some are better known than others. Perhaps one of the most popular straight-walled options in the rifle world is the 450 Bushmaster, a cartridge that’s known for packing quite a punch whether on steel or while hunting. This cartridge has been around for some time…
Know Your Firearms History: The ‘Tiffany Guns’ of the Spanish-American War
The ‘Tiffany Guns’ of the Spanish-American War President Joe Biden has repeatedly suggested when it was first drafted there were restrictions to the Second Amendment. He pressed the point by stating that “you couldn’t own a cannon,” while more recently he’s made the argument that the Second Amendment isn’t absolute in that Americans today…
Know Your Firearms History: Lessons and Lore from Elmer Keith
Lessons and Lore from Elmer Keith For those of you who are just joining us, this “Elmer” guy is Elmer Keith, known to some as the Sage of Salmon, Idaho, and Dean of American Gunwriters to others. He was a cowboy, hunter, packer, guide, shooter, prolific experimenter, and gun writer during most of the…
Know Your Weapons: Browning’s Hammerless 1911
John Browning’s Hammerless 1911 Last year I had the opportunity to visit the John M. Browning Museum in Ogden, Utah and I was thrilled to see Browning’s hammerless 1911 prototype on display. Very little has been written about the development of this particular pistol. The pistol is briefly mentioned in John Browning and Curt Gentry’s 1964 biography of John…
Drilling for Changing Times
From the Archives, 2013 The armed civilian, like the LEO, needs to evaluate his Course of Fire and Firearm Drills frequently to make sure they stay current with the times. The best example of this is the increased use of Body Armor by thugs. Looking at history, one could expect your “higher…
The Way of the Warrior
H/T WRSA The Way of the Warrior in Anglo-Saxon England involved far more than merely being trained in the use of weapons as I put it simply in my thread of yesterday. Of equal, or greater, importance was learning both the rituals associated with warfare and the right form of battle. 1/19 The…
Know Your Weapons: The M72 LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon)
M72 LAW: American Light Anti-Tank Weapons in Vietnam and Beyond The M72 consists of a disposable launcher that fires an unguided 66mm solid-fuel rocket. The basic concept is essentially an arithmetic mean between the American bazooka and the German WWII-vintage Panzerfaust. The light anti-armor weapon saw a great deal of use in the Vietnam War…
Know Your Weapons: The M18A1 Claymore Mine
The M18A1 Claymore Mine: From Vietnam to Today Aimed in the right direction, the U.S. M18A1 Claymore mine is one of the most lethal and devastating anti-infiltration weapons of modern warfare. There’s a reason for the qualifier on that kudo, and more about that in a moment. From its initial employment with U.S….