Spring-Piston air rifles are probably the most popular type of the three, due to its great reliability, durability and ease of use and maintenance. The spring-piston power plant works by compressing a powerful spring attached to a piston. Pulling the trigger releases the spring and piston, which pushes a strong column of air into the breech, propelling the pellet at great speed down the barrel. There are two basic types of spring-piston air rifles. The first (and most common) has a break-action barrel in which the pellet is loaded into the breech when the barrel is open, and the action of closing the barrel compresses the spring. The other type compresses the spring by use of either an under-lever, or side-lever mechanism.
The spring-piston gets my vote as the most suitable air rifle for long-term survival hunting. They’re extremely durable, providing many years of reliable, high-power performance. About the only downside is that the powerful action of the spring and piston causes a bit of recoil, which is felt before the pellet actually leaves the barrel. This can affect accuracy and may require some adjustment to compensate, but it shouldn’t stop you from using one. If you’re accustomed to shooting a .22 rimfire, the recoil of this air gun shouldn’t bother you at all.
Whichever air rifle you get, make sure you follow the care and maintenance guidelines and always use the correct ammunition for the rifle you have. I recommend getting a .22 caliber air gun, but some anti-gun states have idiotically classified .22 caliber air guns as firearms and others plan to do the same in the near future. So make sure you check your state’s gun laws in regard to air rifles.
The Surprise and Distance of Self-Defense:
Selecting the ideal tools for your safety
by Kellene Bishop
A person hasn’t completely addressed all of the areas of preparedness if they have not at least considered what he is going to do every day to ensure his safety from others who care very little for it. Then of course there’s the need for self-defense in the event your world becomes a maelstrom of chaos and desperation.
Whether dealing with an everyday safety issue or more of an “end of civilization as we know it” scenario, you will indeed need to consider, plan, and master the tools and mindset necessary for self-defense. This isn’t just about protecting your food and blankets, folks. This is about protecting lives and virtue.
In either scenario it’s critical that you understand the two most important aspects of self-defense are the elements of 1) surprise, and 2) distance. I believe that a firearm in competent hands is the best tool to address both of those elements and ensure successful self-defense. This being the case, selection of a firearm should be handled with rational thought and research. Here are key considerations in making that critical selection.
The first firearm one should obtain is a handgun. A handgun gives you distance (albeit not nearly as much as a rifle would) and the element of surprise—which a shotgun and rifle fail to provide in most instances. When my clients select a handgun, I insist that all of them actually shoot with the firearm prior to committing valuable resources by purchasing one. This is simple enough to do by shooting with a collection belonging to a friend or relative, or going down to the local shooting range and renting from their variety of handguns.
The most important issue in choosing a handgun is to choose one that is comfortable to you. Don’t listen to the pitch from big guy behind the sales counter. He doesn’t know you or have any idea what will be more comfortable for you to shoot. Shooting experience, hand shape and size—particularly the first joint of your trigger finger -- the size of the grip on the firearm, the intensity of the recoil of the gun, and your physical make-up will all be determining factors in which firearm is right for you. Women feel the low bass boom throughout their body much more forcibly than men do. While they can get used to that reverberation with practice, it still makes a big difference in choosing an appropriate firearm. Shooting can be a pretty traumatic; the last thing you need is to get a firearm that intimidates you.
I strongly encourage you to ignore the insistent advice of any person telling you that you need to have a certain minimum caliber or specific brand of a firearm. Yes, as a professional firearm instructor for women, I do have my preferences, but the bottom line is that a firearm that’s uncomfortable, too powerful, or delivers too much kick to handle is nothing more than an expensive paperweight. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend going any smaller than a 9 mm, but if a smaller caliber is all you are comfortable with, then dog-gone-it, stick with the smaller caliber. Just make sure you’re really good at hitting your specific target.
If I had my druthers, I would also attempt to persuade a gun owner to think twice about relying on a revolver for self-defense. Yes, I have my absolute favorite revolvers, but the fact of the matter is, the magazine of a semi-automatic holds more cartridges than a revolver chamber does. I’m more comfortable knowing that I have 14-17 chances at saving a life than five or six. While there are some amazing experts who can reload a revolver faster than you can say “Go!” I find that I can reload a magazine in my semi-automatics much faster, even under stressful circumstances, than I can a revolver. And since I know that some of you are going to ask, I’m a big fan of the Glock. I can’t seem to get those to fail, whether in sandy conditions, mud, or even underwater. They simply don’t let me down -- and what more do I need than reliability when I have to draw my firearm on a would-be assailant?
Now, I would not be The Preparedness Pro if I just left things at that. You also need to consider a shotgun as and a rifle as well. The shotgun is ideal to use inside the home for self-defense without as much risk of stray bullets compromising the safety of your neighbors. A shotgun also has a broader target area, so it’s a better choice if your objective is to thwart the intentions of a home invader. A rifle is ideal for the ultimate in distance protection. For example: Suppose that martial law is declared, and in spite of that you’ve got looters and gangs roaming the streets. A Molotov Cocktail would destroy all of your tangible preparedness supplies in the blink of an eye; however, if you have a rifle and know how to use it, it’s unlikely that a person would get close enough to your shelter to cause any harm with an intended arson attack.
Again, when selecting a shotgun you’ve got to try out several candidates first. Bear in mind that I don’t know of a single firearm retailer that will allow you to take a gun for a spin before buying it. This means you’re going to have to experiment with the firearms that are available to you among your friends and your local shooting range. If one isn’t nearby, it might be worth the drive to find one; I’m certainly willing to travel a bit so that I can shoot with various firearms and become comfortable with them. Firearms aren’t cheap, even when they’re purchased privately. This is the kind of expenditure that should be made with prudence and planning.
I can’t say enough about the need for well-honed skill in using a firearm. I’ve been a concealed carry permit holder for just over a decade, as well as a Utah Concealed Firearm Instructor. I’m also the founder of Women of Caliber. I’ve had occasion to see all kinds of people with varying levels of skills, and I can tell you that I have never seen a permit protect someone’s life. There’s permission, and there’s skill – and the latter is the only thing that has value. Thus you should invest in it deliberately and liberally. Those of you who are faithful in your exercising habits should understand that I believe regular practice with a firearm is just as important as regular exercise. If the time ever comes when you need to draw your firearm, the last thing you will need is a foggy, adrenaline surge of fear and unfamiliarity. The more you practice properly shooting, loading, unloading, and cleaning your firearm, the safer you will be as well as others around you—in more ways than one.
Remember that a firearm without a sufficient supply of ammo. While this may sound a bit overzealous, I don’t believe that anyone should have a firearm without 1,000 rounds of proper ammo. (Check out http://www.ammoforsale.com/; I did a review on their product and it passed my criteria with flying colors.)
I’m not talking about a person starting World War III. I’m talking about being prepared— which means being ready if your state legislature tries to enact laws preventing you from purchasing the types of ammo you want, as well as for steep prices and/or taxes that may prevent you from purchasing what you need.
In addition, I always suggest that even if you’re a person who does not want a firearm in the home or near your person, you should still have plenty of ammo on hand. I would invest in ammo before I would ever invest in gold and/or silver coins. History has shown us again and again that when the chips were down in our economy, ammo has been worth a heck of a lot more than a gold coin – which you can neither shoot nor eat. When the economy collapses entirely, ammo is a lot easier to hunt with—unless you’re really, really good at tossing a gold coin at that rabbit at just the right speed and angle to knock him dead.
Kellene Bishop is the founder of Preparedness Pro and Women of Caliber. She’s been a highly sought-after preparedness expert for over 10 years, teaching a broad variety of self-reliance skills and disciplines all over the U.S. You can enjoy her “panic free preparedness” tips on a regular basis at www.preparednesspro.com or http://www.womenofcaliber.com/wordpress. Kellene is also the highest ranking certified female NRA instructor in the Western States as well as the co-creator of the highly effective “3 x 3 Shooting Method,” a quick -draw approach geared for safe and precise self-defense scenarios.
Back-Country Blades The Knives No Survivalist Should Be Without
by Leon Pantenburg
Every prepper, survivalist and big game hunter needs a selection of knives for processing the meat of large animals. At some point, you may need to reduce a steer, hog, sheep, goat or large game animal into neatly-wrapped packages of meat for the freezer. Or you might get a great deal on a half or quarter of beef or pork, and want to save on meat cutting and wrapping fees.
You may have all the tools and accessories needed to accomplish this at home -- but what knives should you carry when hunting the back-country? What if you’re on your own, with no outfitter to haul in meat-cutting tools and take the meat out on a pack horse? Even if the big game carcass will be taken to a commercial meat cutter later for processing, you’ll still have to gut, skin and possibly quarter the animal. (The Forschner boning knife, top and Cold Steel SRK are good choices for back-country hunting –pictured below)
Now the conversation about which knife (or knives) would be best should be held around the campfire -- and what fun would it be if everyone agreed? So first, let me state my biases:
No Folders: I love, own and use many folding knives. I carry a pocketknife every day and feel naked without one. But I don’t carry a folding hunting knife in the back-country. The weak point of any folder is the hinge. Break that part, and you end up with two pieces. In addition, the hinge will attract hair, dirt and other stuff that will gum it up and make it harder to use.
No Guthooks: In my opinion, the hook is only good for a couple of cuts, such as the initial incision to open up the body cavity. Otherwise, the guthook looks terrible on a knife blade, can hook on the sheath or your clothing, and serves no other purpose. (Those comments are guaranteed to start an argument!)
Safe Handle: My back-country knife must also have a non-slip handle. Inevitably, the knife will get covered with blood and body fluids during a gutting operation and a slippery handle is dangerous. Reluctantly, I must suggest the beautiful wood, bone and/or other slick, gorgeous composite-handled knives be left behind!
Sufficient Blade Length: A blade between four to six inches is my preference. Now, don’t write in and tell me how you’ve field-dressed all sorts of big game with your pocketknife! Sure, it’s possible. For years, I used a Schrade folding hunter with a three-inch clip-point blade for whitetail deer hunting. But for what I need in the back-country, a longer blade works better and is more efficient.
Easily Sharpened: It doesn’t matter what wonder component the blade may be made of. At some point, the blade will need sharpening, and you must be able to do it easily. Using a dull knife is dangerous!
The technique that my brother Mike and I use to hunt elk or deer in the mountains can be pretty hardcore. We’ve hunted together since he was 12 (decades ago!), and our usual routine is to work together as a team, but hunt separately. Before we take off from the base camp, a morning hunt is planned, and we know the area each other is hunting. We’ll pick a rendezvous site to meet for lunch. If an animal is down, we go take care of it. If not, the afternoon hunt is planned.
This style of hunting involves a lot of walking and glassing, and every ounce counts. Nothing is taken along that hasn’t been carefully weighed, discussed and considered.
So, based on those criteria, here are my choices for what knives to take along on a backpacking trip, or an elk or deer hunt:
Cold Steel SRK: If I only had one knife for field dressing and skinning a big game animal, the SRK would be it. The initials stand for “Search and Rescue Knife” and it would be a great choice for that. I bought my SRK in 1991, when I moved to Idaho. The knife’s performance is so impressive that two of my elk-hunter friends bought SRKs. (My Cold Steel SRK has had hard use for nearly 20 years and is still my first knife choice for the backcountry –pictured below)
The SRK blade is 3/16” thick and 6” long; the Kraton handle is 4-3/4 inches long; overall length is 10-3/4 inches. My SRK, without sheath, weighs eight ounces, and 10.5 with the sheath wrapped in duct tape.
My first action upon getting the SRK was to take the black “tactical” paint off the blade, and mark the handle with bright tape. The SRK has field-dressed well over 50 whitetails, been used on several elk, and is a very practical survival knife. In one instance, I quartered three deer without the SRK needing to be sharpened.
The SRK’s handle never gets too slick to hold safely, no matter how messy the gutting job gets. I have split a deer pelvis by pounding the SRK through it with a rock. Several times, the SRK has been used alone to split ribcages on big whitetails. The clip point is a good choice for making the initial slit down the belly when gutting an animal, and the SRK works passably well for skinning.
Another good choice is the Cold Steel Master Hunter. For folks who want a little less blade, but the same non-slip handle and good design, the Master Hunter might be a better option. The four-inch blade design works particularly well for skinning.
The next two knife choices I learned about in college. I worked my way through Iowa State at the Hy-Vee #1 grocery store in Ames, Iowa. Always a cutlery enthusiast, I quizzed the meat-cutters about their favorite knives and why they used them.
The guys in the clean white coats and hats did more meat cutting and processing in a day, than the rest of us do during a very successful hunting season. They could order any knife they wanted from a variety of commercial knife catalogs.
The meat-cutters didn’t agree on the best overall knife, naturally, but I made my choices for skinning and boning knives based on their input. Here’s what I came up with:
Victorinox or Forschner Lamb Skinner: The name refers to a style originally used, I imagine, for skinning sheep somewhere. The style features a five-inch upswept blade, and a large handle. A standard sheep skinner comes with a blunt tip, which I filed down from the top edge into a point. (These lamb skinner knives all work well to skin any sized big game animal –pictured below)
If you’re going to enjoy the meat you harvested, it must be cooled as soon as possible, and that means getting the hide off ASAP. A good skinning knife makes this critical job easier, and subsequently faster.
I’ve experimented with a standard six-inch butcher knife, but find I like the sheep skinner better.
Five-to-six inch Victorinox or Forschner Boning Knife: This knife also works well for filleting fish, and should have a thin, flexible blade. Mike and I usually carry one boning knife between us. The boning knife can be considered a specialized tool, but when you need one, it’s worth that extra weight!
Mora: I love my
Moras, and carry one most of time when I’m outdoors. The small Scandinavian knives are great for about 90 percent of what I need a knife for. A Mora is my choice for cleaning fish, processing small game and a Mora rides in my vest when I’m hunting birds, but I prefer a larger knife for bigger game animals. (The Mora knife is a good all-around camping and outdoor knife –pictured below)
Survival expert and former big game guide Peter Kummerfeldt has carried and used a Mora for years. He has used the small knife on bighorn sheep, deer and elk, and I bought my first Mora on his advice. In the case of any expert, skill always trumps equipment!
Gerber Model 46904 Gator: The looks of this knife so impressed me that I bought one just to test. So far, the knife is passing all tests with flying colors. This fall, I hope to use it on a deer and/or elk, and then it might make the finalist list!
Leatherman Wave: My favorite multi-tool is the Leatherman Wave. I got a Wave for Christmas several years ago, and so far, it has done everything I ever needed it to. In addition to pulling barbed wire from abandoned fences, the Leatherman has also been used to remove hooks from a toothy fish, repair a radiator hose, saw wood, and sundry similar tasks. (Leatherman 830040 Wave Multi-Tool –pictured below)
But the Leatherman is not a hunting/survival knife. And while none of my survival knives could replace the pliers, knife, screwdrivers, and other Wave features, weight in the backpack is the critical issue. You can be sure there is a Wave back at camp!
Survivalist Anthologies Volume 1 Page 11
