Although you can buy the Highball Bead by itself, Defender also sent me their Rear Tang Safety Sight to try out with the Highball front bead. You can buy Rear Tang Safety Sight with the Highball Brass Bead as a kit for $25.00.
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Wednesday, December 27, 2023
REVIEW: Is your Mossberg 500, 590, Maverick 88 or Shockwave shooting high? Defender Tactical's Highball Brass Bead Kit is an affordable and easy fix
Although you can buy the Highball Bead by itself, Defender also sent me their Rear Tang Safety Sight to try out with the Highball front bead. You can buy Rear Tang Safety Sight with the Highball Brass Bead as a kit for $25.00.
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Monday, December 18, 2023
Thursday, December 7, 2023
REVIEW: Winchester Elite Defender 10mm 180gr Bonded Jacketed Hollow Point - Great self defense ammo for when you're off the trail
Winchester recently sent me some test samples of their new Defender Elite 10mm 180gr Bonded Jacketed Hollow Point to try out in my Glock 29 Gen 4 10mm Semi-Auto Sub-Compact 10-Round Pistol.
The Glock 29 is what I carry for dangerous game defense when I'm out in the wilderness. In that role, I keep the gun loaded with full power bear protection loads such as the Underwood Xtreme Penetrator and/or Underwood 200gr Hardcast rounds.
But when I'm not in the wilderness, I also carry my Glock 29 as a CCW pistol.
In a CCW role, bear defense rounds grossly over-penetrate for self-defense use. So I usually switch to jacketed hollow point ammunition to avoid overpenetration once I'm off the trail.
After spending time at the range with the Winchester Defender 10mm JHP rounds, as well as checking out ballistic gelatin tests on Youtube, they have impressed me to the point where I have started carrying them as my main CCW carry round.
The plus side of this slightly lower power is that recoil and muzzle blast are less intense. In a small gun like the Glock 29, it definitely makes a difference in shootability compared to shooting the larger Glock 20.
But you are still probably saying to yourself that if these are less powerful than the Underwood and Buffalo Bore rounds, then they are probably less effective in stopping a threat.
However, the Youtube ballistic gel tests below should quickly dispel any notion that these are not effective self defense rounds. The Defender round is quite literally devastating:
How's the accuracy?
Once the winds died down after dark, I did another test using an LED flashlight for illumination:
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Recommended Book: The Lost Frontier Handbook by Suzanne Sherman
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Tips & Tricks: Use Shock Cord to Hold Your Bushcraft Knife Securely in its Sheath
Get some quality 1/8" shock cord or 3/16" shock cord (depending on the size of your knife and the amount of retention you want), cut it to length, and then use a simple overhand loop knot to fasten it onto the belt clip or belt loop of the sheath.
You will have to experiment with how small and tight to make it to have the retention you want.
Using this trick made my Benchmade Puukko shown above, as well as several of my Mora knives that were previously too loose and unsafe, to be safe and secure when carrying them in the backcountry. Plus, it has saved me a lot of money because I don't have to buy aftermarket sheaths to get the retention I need!One hank of shock cord is enough for many applications, plus I usually have enough left to replace any cord that starts to wear out.
This same trick can be used on any knife that has a retention issue, or, if you just want to add extra retention to an already good sheath.
Cheers,
Jason
Thursday, August 10, 2023
River stone knife sharpening at Rabbitstick 2022
This is a class I assisted my friend Lex Rule with (shown holding the knife and river stone) at Rabbitstick in Idaho last year.
The goal was simple -- have students bring their dull knives to the river which runs next to Rabbitstick and show them how to sharpen them using only natural stones found in the river. We were able to bring most of the knives to shaving sharpness using just the stones and afterwards, stropping them on the bark of the Willow and Alder trees that ran along the bank.
Cheers!
Jason
Saturday, July 29, 2023
Recommended Book: Botany in a Day by Thomas J. Elpel
Thursday, April 13, 2023
Wool Blanket Tip! - Look for 100% Northwest Woolen Mills USGI Army Blankets on eBay and in Thrift Stores
And don't let the "65/35%" thing confuse you. It is a 100% wool blanket. I currently own three of these and they are among my most prized possessions. You can use a dog hair comb to lightly tease one side to make the wool fluffier for more loft and warmth. And if you combine one of these with the USGI Fleece Blanket that Sportsman's Guide sells, it is the cat's meow. With the Northwest Woolen Mills blanket on top of the fleece, I have slept comfortably into the 20s (F) at camp.
I would not hesitate to pay up to $60 to $80 for one of these in good condition, but they can often be found for $25 to $45 if you look around or wait a few weeks. These blankets are one of the best kept secrets in the bushcraft world.
Cheers!
Jason
50 Yards freestanding with a Ruger 22/45 22LR Pistol and a $40 Walmart Tasco ProPoint 1x30 Red Dot!
Cheers!
Jason
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Plant Identification Photos: Monkshood (also known as "Wolf's Bane") - Deadly!
Friends, if you see this plant up in the mountains, observe it from a distance and do not touch it. Monkshood is very toxic and potentially deadly if eaten. In fact, even handling the plant is toxic enough to cause illness, so beware!
Cheers,
Jason
Saturday, February 25, 2023
REVIEW: Terava Jaakaripuukko 140 Finnish Military Survival Knife by Varusteleka - Is this the heir to the original Cold Steel SRK Carbon V?
The knife is a 5.5" high carbon 80CrV2 Finnish military survival knife sold by military surplus outlet Varusteleka of Finland. Some of you may be familiar with Varusteleka because they sell a ton of hard to find European military surplus gear to bushcrafters in the US, Canada and the UK.
Now, I have seen a lot of destruction videos in my time, but this one took the cake. These two crazy Dutch knife reviewers pounded, with a hammer, the Terava Jaakaripuukko blade through a cinderblock, wetstones and mild steel tubing. No problem.
Then, they hammered the tip into hard dead wood and tried to break it off repeatedly. Again -- no problem.
Finally, the Dutch duo hammered the knife sideways into a log and then the big guy, who is built like a viking, stood on the blade and BOUNCED on it to try and break it. NOTHING.
Not happy with their results, they then SHOT the blade several times -- NOTHING.
Finally, they just decided to set it on fire briefly. Again- NOTHING, except some singeing of the rubberized handle.
Here's the video:
After seeing these videos, I thought "Man, I have to get one of these to test!!" So I contacted Varusteleka and they were kind enough to send me a sample to try out.
Varusteleka has become well known in the American bushcraft community for offering hard to find, high quality European military surplus for less than $10 shipping to the US.
The origins of the Terava Jaakaripuukko Knife are best explained by this comment from a French member of Blade Forums USA who goes by "Schwep." His explanation is helpful and interesting, which I edited for clarity to account for the French-English language difference:
"In Finland, most infantry are called jeager or ranger troops. It's meant to be a general utility knife for conscript soldiers (and civilians) who need a sturdy knife for life in the endless forests to do camp work.As you can see from Schwep's explanation, it was designed for soldiers of the Finnish Armed Forces who require a knife that is tough enough to be thrashed on while being nimble enough for wilderness tasks in Finland's "endless forests."
The leather dangler sheath features both stitching and rivets and has a sturdy plastic liner to prevent the blade from puncturing through. It has a unique button snap blade retention system that is very secure but easily disengaged by using your thumb to unlock it.
Plainly speaking, the newer SRK in SK5 is just not as robust as the original Carbon V or as easy to sharpen. It has a thin tip (see the comparison further below) that breaks too easy and the steel, although decent, is harder to sharpen and does not take as fine of an edge in my experience. The AUS8 version of the SRK is better (I've owned two of them) than the SK5 version, but it is no longer made.
To test the batoning capability of the Terava, I selected a piece of very twisted Cottonwood and split it into kindling. This piece was extremely difficult to split and some of the pieces literally broke off rather then just splitting. The Terava performed excellent during this task. Although it's a Scandi grind, from a splitting perspective, the way the Terava is ground is similar to the SRK's Sabre grind which helps to wedge the wood open as it passes through the log.
I also split several other small logs and large branch sections off camera and had the same results (i.e. excellent).
I was able to quickly bring the Terava back to hair shaving sharpness using this method -- pretty cool!