Home Front: Big Dumb Blocks

As first seen on Breach Bang & Clear: Big Dumb Blocks

Following the recent mass-casualty vehicle attacks in Charlottesville and New York City, I'm prompted to finish a piece I've been working on related to these tragic and horrific incidents.

Back in January 2017, a dude out on parole thought he'd dodge a police pursuit by driving through a crowded pedestrian mall in Melbourne on a Friday afternoon during school holidays. Within the thronging crowd, 35 were injured — two critically — and by the end of the rampage, four people (including ten-year-old Thalia Hakin, 22-year old Jess Mudie, 33-year old Matthew Si, and an unidentified 25-year old man) died on the scene.

Five-month-old Zachary Bryant later died in hospital, while his two-year-old sister survived her injuries. Ten days after the attack, 33-year-old Bhavita Patel died in hospital.

Police officers rammed the car and the driver was shot in the arm before being arrested. He was charged with six counts of murder and 28 counts of attempted murder.

Read the full article here on Breach Bang & Clear

Review: Gerber - GDC hook knife

I love keychain tools, I have quite a bundle in my pocket, so much so that I don't even keep my KEYS on my keychain. One thing I like is to carry a blade to add to my utility, so having a safe, secure and stealthy cutter like the Gerber Daily Carry Hook Knife really adds to my lifesaving potential, in the form of a reliable, easily stowed in my pocket. I added this to my keychain of mini tools, and it's been a very useful addition.

Gerber's idea behind the stainless steel hook blade is simple; it's an ultra-stealthy cutting tool that lives stealthily on a keychain and can be quickly deployed to quickly cut yourself out of a piece of clothing, seatbelt or other safety strap, or do the same for a loved one, or a battle buddy, if you should you ever find yourself in a rough spot. I've also found a number of day to day uses for the little knife. There are plenty of other ways to use a safety knife on a ring.

Using the ring at home, I put it to use opening boxes of goodies and dreaded utility bills. I cut ribbon, opened snack-packs and trimmed tags out of clothes. Out bush I've used it for cutting costs and fishing line, and opened up vacuum sealed food. I even used it to cut long grass for some little weaving craft jobs I was showing off to Tactical Baby and Triceratops Girl with.

At just over 2" long, it's innocuous and barely stands out on my keychain, the cutting edge is secured neatly in the hook, which in turn is stowed away in a small hard nylon friction lock scabbard, with a keychain loop to secure it. I gave one to each of my partners for Giftmas, and they went directly into handbags. One reported that they often found the blade loose in the bag, having come unstuck from its scabbard. A little alarming, but more from a loss perspective rather than risk of accidentally cutting things.

The ring is copper lined, which is a nice accent, and go feels good around the finger, and there are rounded crenellations on the back to give a good thumb lock on it when you are getting ready to do the cutting. The angles all work nicely to allow you to put some real power into the cut. My favourite test materials of paracord and cable-ties, neither of which offered much trouble, singly but due to the small size of the ring and its hook, you wouldn't want to load it up as heavily as you might with a full size rescue hook like the Gerber Crisis Hook. It's easily comparable in cutting power with the Benchmade Figure 5 Cutter

Since it's a pocket sized tool, I don't expect it to be for heavy use, rather for "I just need to cut this little thing, but right now" moments, especially if they are in delicate situations.

Home Front: Reader pistol ownership answers

I had four intrepid readers contact me answering my questions about their pistol ownership, and I am grateful for their trust and openness is laying out for what to some is a rather contentious topic.I wanted to gauge what pistol owners had to say about their decisions, training and mindset. In Victoria, Australia, where I live unless you are in the Federal or State Police, a licensed private security guard or a competitive sporting shooter, there is very limited civilian pistol ownership here. 

I grew up in a staunchly "no-gun toys" house, with exceptions made for my 1977 Han Solo and Stormtrooper blasters (which I still have). I did manage to trade my way into owning a .177 break-barrel air pistol whilst living in Dubai, UAE, in 1989, and left behind in Calgary, Canada in 1991. My dad gave me his Vietnam era Army pistol instruction, and I plinked away at paper targets, bottles, cicadas and the like. I did some quick draws, turn-and-shoots and the like, and generally made like a teenage Billy The Kid.

 Other than that, I've only had a limited experience with live firearms and some with laser trainers.  This is why I go out to the people with the experience to ask the questions. 

Obviously, I only have the replies from those who wanted to and did reply, so it's a subsection of my readers, but I think these folks have some interesting views and offer some insight to why people carry, what they carry, and how they carry. 

So, here are the answers to my questions from four pistol owners, all from the U.S.A., with LEO and Mil experience in some capacity in all four respondents. Lets hear it from their perspectives: 

How much pistol is too much pistol? 

• Ed N: A pistol is all about what you intend to do with it. If you are carrying it concealed you want something comfortable that you can wear all day. I don't like to go any smaller in caliber than a 9mm. If you go too big, you won't carry it and it becomes useless.

what is your current go-to pistol? 

• Ed N: In the woods I carry a Glock 20sf 10mm. Day to day, I carry a Ruger Lc9 9mm. For plinking, I prefer a Glock 34 9mm.  
  
  • I did have a question. When out in the woods, what might you expect to need a pistol for? Hunting? Defense? And if so, what and from what?
    • Ed N:I am much more worried about the two legged problems than I am 4 legged. I am not a hunter and would go well out of my way to harm an animal unless it is an immediate defense situation or survival was in question. I carry the largest caliber pistol with the largest capacity I could find because in the end, I just want to be prepared for anything. When I went camping, I used to carry a 44 magnum. Honestly, they are just a little too loud and reloading can be a problem in a pinch. The Glock 20 in 10mm seemed like the best compromise. I say all of this having never had to shoot at anyone or anything in the woods in all of my years carrying. I keep my pistol concealed and don't broadcast it and have never had a problem. However, I carry it for the same reason I carry a firestarter I have never had to use outside of practice. I would rather have the option there when I need it, than wishing I had it. And there is a pretty dramatic trade off. A couple pounds is a lot when you are hiking in the woods. Having a large pistol concealed on your person, (because having it in my pack would defeat the purpose of being prepared), is tiring. But in the end I would not do it any other way.

• Hunato (CONUS):Sig Sauer P238 
• Richard (Virginia, USA): EDC a Glock 19. Also carry a Glock 26 during the summer months when the 19, as small as it is, is to much with holster for the humidity. 
• Rob (Pennsylvania, USA): My go to pistol is a 1911.  I have a full custom on order, and I should have it soon.  Right now, my 1911 is a Sig Nitron.

what caliber and cartridge, and was this a deciding feature? 

• Ed N: 9mm is my go to caliber. With modern ammo it is the equal to 357sig and 40 with almost no ballistic differences. 9mm allows more rounds and a lot of options. You can pick up fmj (full metal jacket) rounds for cheap practice and jhp (jacketed hollow points) for self defense.  
• Hunato: .380 various PDR (price forces choice) 
• Richard:  9mm hollow point. 9mm has enough strong power and the size allows for a bigger magazine capacity. An additional deciding factor was that my wife is more comfortable with the recoil than a .40 or .45.
• Rob: The caliber I prefer is the .45, It was not the deciding factor in my choice, I just like the .45 caliber.

what is your motivation to own a firearm? 

• Ed N: Self defense and it is just fun to shoot. I have been shooting for 25+ years and it is a Hell of a lot of fun. 
• Hunato: I am a free man in a Republic.  I have children under my roof and two legged wolves (literally) come down my street time to time. 
• Richard: Raised around firearms in a law enforcement and military household, so firearms safety began as soon as I could walk. After my service, my father gave me a sidearm, and I have carried ever since. It is always better to be prepared and [not] need it, than need it and not have it. 
• Rob: I grew up on a farm and was always around firearms.  When I got into law enforcement as a career, naturally, the pistol training came with it. 

 

what was your motivation to carry a firearm?

• Ed N:I started off in an action oriented career before giving it up and going for money instead. I have been shooting and been around guns most of my life. 
• Hunato: Travel and home defense.  I also enjoy the sport of shooting. 
• Richard:  (as with reason to own)
• Rob: Even without my career choice, this world is getting dangerous.  I would carry a pistol regardless.

 

do you open-carry, concealed-carry or store-secure?

• Ed N: I conceal carry 99% of the time. I have friends that are very open-carry oriented, but I can do without the hassle of a soccer mom feeling threatened by a pistol on my hip and calling the cops. In my opinion, it is best to keep it completely concealed and hidden away from private eyes.
• Hunato: On some rural land I own, open carry.  Out and about conceal carry (license) at home ALWAYS store secure.  My oldest child was 8 before he realized we even have firearms 
• Richard: I am fortunate to live firearm friendly state (Virginia) and carry concealed ever day. During the weekend, I may carry openly while running errands, and when I do that carry a Glock 17. 
• Rob: Conceal carry.

 

what features of your pistol made it appealing for your use?

• Ed N: Overall size, grip comfort, ammo capacity, and accuracy with the pistol.
• Hunato: Can be carried condition One with high reliability, thumb safety (1911-ish design) my wife and I carry identical weapons, interchangeable. 
• Richard: I have stuck with the Glock family as they are inherently simple and safe to operate. In addition, if my wife is carrying the 26, and I am incapacitated, she can reload using the spare magazines for my 19 or 17 as I always carry at least two additional. 
• Rob: My Sig is the standard Sig pistol.  However, my custom 1911 was ordered with Heine ledge sites, a light rail, and a magazine well.  These, to me anyway, are needed for a true combat style pistol.

what training have you had?

• Ed N: I have had and later taught gun safety and target shooting. I actually spent more time learning tactical shooting with a shotgun than a pistol. While a pistol is the best self defense weapon, overall it does not compare to a long-gun.
• Hunato: Scouting Merit Badges, Law Enforcement Explorer Academy, Concealed Carry Permit Class, Active shooter class 
• Richard: My farther is a firearms instructor with the state, and have also trained during military service, although not as extensively as I do with my dad. With him, quick draws, fire from concealment, weak hand operations, threat identification, and more 
• Rob: Like I said, I grew up around guns and used them my whole life, for not only hunting, but target shooting as well.  I learned the safety issues surrounding guns at an early age. After high school, and during college, I joined the military, where my training continued and became more advanced.  Finally, my law enforcement experience has continued my training over the years.

what regular training do you perform?

• Ed N: I shoot on a semi-regular basis. Currently I hit the range about once every month. I tapered off a bit a couple years ago when ammo prices went through the roof. 
• Hunato: Monthly Range Day, weekly Dry Fire practice (including draws with Blue Gun). I used to think the NRA was "over the Top".  Now, after NY, PA, CT, MD, CO, PA, IL, CA, DC, and the English, Oz, NZ, and Canadian removal of self defense rights, I am a member. 
• Richard: As accuracy requires constant up keep, my wife and I go to the range at least monthly, more so if our schedule allows. In addition to that, we will randomly load a dummy round to simulate a failure and build muscle memory. I hope this answers your questions, and to add additional information, both my wife and I are ccw licensed in multiple states. We carry to ensure we do not become victims, and offset if that is also not putting ourselves into a situation where that could occur. Neither of us have ever had to resort to our firearm as a civilian, and hope never to need to. But I believe that I would rather carry for another 50 years, before seeing harm come to a loved one, and not have the tools to save them. 
• Rob: I continue to receive training through my department, and I shoot when I can on my own.

So, thanks to all the folks who sent me in replies, and I hope I've represented you all well.  It makes for an interesting read, and I am pleased to see responsible gun-ownership mentalities in place in all the replies. 
Be responsible, stay safe. I hope that none of you ever feed the need to use your pistols for anything other than because it's fun to shoot guns, or to put food on the table!

For those who object to all of this (and are still reading) , or thick skinned gun owners don't mind a very Australian ribbing, here's Jim Jeffries talking about an Australian take on the very American gun-culture.

And finally, to throw my own hat into the ring, if I had my choice of pistols to own, it would likely be the 
H&K SOCOM Mk23-Mod 0, being a "big gun that holds a lot of bullets", because I would want to put a lot of big rounds on target until it went away and accessories are what I'm all about ...

Review: StatGear - SuperVizor rescue hook

I have a collection of rescue hooks, from my EDC Benchmade Figure 5 that sits in my pocket along with my CRKT Eat'n'Tool along with my bigger Gerber model which lives on my webbing, and my dear-departed Benchmade 8Med and Gerber cutters. I've been fortunate not to have to use any of them in a crisis, but I've found great utility in having them for cord, strap and packaging cutting.

The SuperVisor Kickstarter took a familiar concept, and found a particular aspect to improve. The SuperVizor is pitched as an auto-escape tool and was designed by a Avi Goldstein, a NY-City Paramedic who has cut his teeth with several Kickstarter projects now.

It has a sleek, minimalist design which includes a 440 stainless steel seatbelt cutting blade and a tungsten carbide tip window punch at the tip. Having a dedicated window punch was a rally nice addition, especially when considering the likelihood of needing to break glass in similar situations you'd need a seatbelt cutter.

The hook has a molded nylon finger grip for the index and middle fingers and a little tab on the outside for the ring finger to lay on for extra stability and leverage The back of the hook has crenelations for thumb positioning and grip. The blade was wide enough to take bunched seatbelt webbing without an issue, but not so wide as to be a safety worry.

The real innovation, other than the glass-punch is that as part of the set, it includes a nylon sheath with an elastic strap, with hook-and-loop closure to keep the SuperVizor attached to the sun visor of your car.

I have a Zulu Nylon Gear MOLLE visor so if I wanted I could (and have in past) mounted a rescue hook directly to the MOLLE, but in this instance, and in most people's PALS/MOLLEless car interiors, you can securely affix the SuperVizor to the sun visor and have this tool at your fingertips to extract yourself, and your loved ones, in the event of a crash or off-the-road misadventure. The sheath has a small retention tab to hold the hook in place, and secures very firmly to my visor, I've not had any concern wit hit falling out, or shifting in my peripheral vision, even over some pretty poor roads.

There is a current Kickstarter going on, for the same set up, but with an expanded range of colours, so if you're keen, look them up here.

Review: BokerPlus - Automat Kalashnikov 11 knife

This is one of the few folders I have in my collection, and it was one that I got on a whim, and sort of never put into high rotation. However, it has some features and aspects I thought I'd share, AND it is the one that I am stocking my Bug-Out-Jar kits with.

I have two other folders in my collection, my EDC CRKT K.I.S.S. , my other Boker, the 343 Scalpel folder or my trusty old Shelham clasp knife . None of these are as chunky as the BokerPlus AK 11. 

The sturdy handle features textured solid billet aluminium scales over the liner lock frame. Normally I don't go in for flashy looking scales, but I overlooked these this time because of the functionality of the thumb flipper and the strap cutter.

It is a liner-lock style folder, with both the liner, and the lock being stainless steel. The blade itself  is a black coated, 440C stainless steel tanto tip. The integrated seatbelt cutter in the hilt is built into the folder side, rather than the spine side, so can't be accidentally deployed unless the main blade is already out.

The steel frame also ends in a lanyard hole and glass breaker pommel even more functionality. With an overall length of 20cm (8"), with 8cm (3.3") being the blade and 12cm (4.7")being handle, and with it's all-metal construction, weighing in at 185g (6.5oz) the knife is a very solid tool in the hand.

The thumb-flipper on the spine becomes a nice finger guard when deployed, and the crenelations on both the spine of the blade and scales gives a positive grip, even on its all-metal frame. The bullet shaped inset on the back of the blade gives you a secondary flipping point, if the back thumb-flipper isn't your thing.

The action of of the locking mechanism, which is locked in place but the liner, also has a tension bar inside the scale. This, in conjunction with the thumb-flipper, gives you an assisted deployment of the blade. Check local regulations where you live restrict that kind of thing. Know your local laws. 

The release is really snappy, and will open the blade all the way in a moment. Great for single handed use, or in an emergency when fine-motor skills are at a premium.

I tried out the blade and the strap cutter on some 1" webbing. The blade worked really well, but the hook-cutter needed some getting used to as it is a single straight edge rather than a hook like on the Gerber Crisis Hook. 

This is a solid, and well put together blade, and I think its well suited to sitting as a backup blade, which is why I wanted to have it in the Bug-Out-Jars.

Review: Gerber - Crisis Hook knife

Here is another new addition to my collection that comes out of my need to replace items lost when my car was broken into.

I had been keeping a Benchmade 8med Rescue-hook in the sun-visor MOLLE keeper from Zulu Nylon Gear in case of in-car emergencies, which in turn was an addition along with the Benchmade Figure 5 after I lost my original rescue hook, the Gerber Strap Cutter.

So, now I've come full circle with the Gerber Crisis Hook.

I really like this kind of tool. I go to events where fixed blade knives are restricted, but having a blade that can be used to get myself, or others out of trouble without being a big bad pig-sticker.

The Crisis Hook is fitted out with an even bigger handle than any of the previous cutter's which is covered with a textured, skeletonised  rubberized coating. This is shaped with finger groves on the inside, and crenelations for gripping both back and front. The steel that runs through the entirety of the tool is 420HC stainless steel.

The cutting edge is a single bevel housed within a blunt hook as you would expect from this kind of cutter. The entire tool, with its long handle, it a considerable improvement over the three previous rescue tools I've had.

Fitted with an oxygen wrench and a glass breaker point on the pommel with a loop hole for a dummy-cord, this is a robust and hefty tool, and it comes with an appropriately sturdy
friction locking clip sheath, made from the same 499 ballistic molded plastic as the handle.

The sheath is fitted out with a buckle strap, and can take either the included MALICE clip or, as seen here, a single PALS/MOLLE gripping clasp. It held secure to both my chest and on my hip for a weekends camping adventure recently, but was simple enough to shift in the field, even on the go without all the fiddling needed with the MALICE clips. It cuts like a treat, going through seat belt webbing, heavy strapping, 550 paracord and with a little more effort, thick cable-ties with single solid pulls.

I have no doubt that I could cut someone from belt to boot in a few simple, quick cuts if needs be with this. The over-sized handle affords a really solid grip, even with gloves on, and even when wet. It's not a subtle tool, but then again, its not meant to be. This is for getting you and your buddies, or loved ones, out of a jam. So far, it's done nothing but winning.