The Doug Ritter RSK® Mk5 Altoids Can Survival Knife is back for 2021

Photo courtesy of DougRitter.com

Hey friends, cool knife buy alert!

A couple of years ago, CRKT stopped production of the Doug Ritter RSK Mk5, a cool little "Fits into an Altoids Can" survival knife. 

For 2021, Smoky Mountain Knife Works has managed to bring them back into production. According to Doug Ritter, the knives are still made in the same factory as the original CRKT versions using the same exact steel, so the quality is identical. 

However, these knives now retail for HALF the price of the original CRKT versions, with a street price of just $11.99 at Smoky Mountain Knife Works as of this writing. 

You are not going to find another purpose built, Altoids Can sized fixed blade knife like this for even close to price. 

Ritter and his associates put a lot of work into developing this little knife for real world survival use back in the day, which can read about at this link- http://www.dougritter.com/rsk_mk5.htm  

I've owned the CRKT version for many years and love it.  

Aside from the fact that this knife is such a great accessory to your micro-survival kit, buying one also helps fund Doug's KnifeRights.org, which is on the front lines battling for your right to own and legally carry knives around the country. 

Cheers,

Jason

About the author

Jason Schwartz is the Founder and Senior Editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is an Army veteran, former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and the author of Edible & Medicinal Survival Plants of the Rocky Mountains Pocket Guides. Jason has also written articles on bushcraft and survival for The New Pioneer and Backpacker Magazine Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

REVIEW: Winchester AA 12 Gauge International Target #7.5 Birdshot Shells- Ultralight Shotgun Shells for Survival Guns

Back in March of 2017, I reviewed Aguila's Ultralight 12 Gauge #7.5 Mini Shells shotgun shells as an option for survival use.

Aguila's Mini Shell is basically a shrunken down 12 Gauge shotshell (only 1 3/4" long) that is extremely light (as light as a 410 shell), yet still throws excellent patterns. 

As great as the little Mini Shell was, it suffered from one major drawback -- price. At roughly $20 for a box of 20 shells, Aguila Mini Shells are more expensive than most 12 Gauge High Brass loads. 

For the budget-minded backcountry trekker, this could be a real deal breaker, especially if you want do a lot of target practice with them.

So I set out in search of an alternative that would give similar performance to the Mini Shells without breaking the bank.

After a bit of searching online, I came across Winchester's 12 Gauge AA 2 3/4" #7.5 International Target Load, which is essentially a 7/8 ounce version of Winchester's popular AA Super Sporting Clays 1 1/8 ounce load. The Winchester AA International Target loads are generally $11-$13 for a box of 25 when you can find them online, so they are roughly half the price of the Aguila MiniShells. 

The SPECS

Winchester's AA International loads are used mainly for international skeet and trap competitions. Moving at a blazing 1,325fps, they feature hardened shot, a high strength hull, AA wads for improved pattern performance, reloadable brass shells, and what Winchester claims is the best in class primer and powder for reliability in the field.  

Winchester AA International 2 3/4" 12 Gauge Target Shells vs Winchester AA 20 Gauge Super Sport 7/8oz Shells

At only 26.1 ounces per 20 shells, the 12 Gauge AA International Loads are nearly as light as 20 shells of Winchester AA #7.5 20 Gauge Super Sport Shells - impressive.

20 shells of Winchester's AA International weighs only 26.1 ounces:

That is only once ounce more than Winchester's 20 Gauge AA 7/8th Ounce Shells:

The real question is, how well do they perform? Light loads often mean thin patterns, so I was curious to see what the patterns looked like on some rabbit, squirrel and turkey targets.

FIELD TEST

25 Yards from an H&R/NEF Pardner Single Shot Shotgun with a Modified Choke on a rabbit target:

25 Yards from an Stoeger Double Barrel Coach Gun Shotgun with an Improved Choke on a rabbit target:

35 Yards from an H&R/NEF Pardner Single Shot Shotgun with a Modified Choke on a Birchwood Casey splattering squirrel target:

35 Yards from an Stoeger Double Barrel Coach Gun Shotgun with an Improved Choke on a Birchwood Casey splattering squirrel target:

Even at 50 yards, the AA International load still produced enough of a pattern out of the H&R/NEF Single Shot to have multiple hits on this squirrel target:

35 Yards from an H&R/NEF Pardner Single Shot Shotgun with a Modified Choke on a Birchwood Casey splattering turkey target:

FINAL THOUGHTS

As shown in the field tests above, the Winchester AA International 12 Gauge Shells performed excellent. They give up very little in pattern density to heavier 1oz and 1 1/8oz shells. 

Although not as super ultralight as the tiny Aguila MiniShells, whatever they lose in weight advantage to the MiniShells, they make up for with superior velocity and harder, deeper penetrating shot. 

This makes Winchester's AA 12 Gauge International Target Shells an excellent ammo choice for bush pilots, snowmobiler's, ATV'ers, canoeists and other backcountry adventurers who like to pack a shotgun and keep their pack weight to a minimum. 

5 out of 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)

About the author

Jason Schwartz is the Founder and Senior Editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is an Army veteran, former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and the author of Edible & Medicinal Survival Plants of the Rocky Mountains Pocket Guides. Jason has also written articles on bushcraft and survival for The New Pioneer and Backpacker Magazine Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

Wilderness Survival: Eat Crow Readers!

Have you ever eaten a crow? I have! Back in 2014, I decided to put my money where my mouth is so to speak. I wanted to know -- if Crow were the only meat available in a survival situation, would it be barf-o-rama, or would it be tolerable? So....in the spirit of educating myself in order to share the experience with you, I ate crow.....

Into the pot it goes - yuck!

Crow are carrion feeders, so I had to boil it for 30 mins straight to ensure that no bad microbes remained. Shown here is the Crow after it had been fully cooked:

 

Unfortunately, a huge thunderstorm rolled up and a dropped a ton of rain right after I took this photo, so I had to huddle up in a tent and eat the Crow and was not able to take any more photos. Suffice it to say, I was quite surprised by the way it tasted!

About the author

Jason Schwartz is the Founder and Senior Editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is an Army veteran, former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and the author of Edible & Medicinal Survival Plants of the Rocky Mountains Pocket Guides. Jason has also written articles on bushcraft and survival for The New Pioneer and Backpacker Magazine Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

Buck Knives releases S35VN version of the Classic 119 Special

 

Photo credit: Buck Knives ©2021

Buck Knives has just released a super groovy version of their classic 119 Special in S35VN Supersteel. Called the 119 Special Pro, the knife includes an eye-pleasing green canvas micarta handle, black leather sheath, and a polished nickel silver guard and pommel. 

Photo credits: Buck Knives ©2021

For more information visit: https://www.buckknives.com/product/119-special-pro-knife/0119GRS1-B/

Photos missing from certain posts

Hey friends, Jason here. Just an FYI that during my absence, Google blogger removed or disabled some of my photos from certain reviews. These are photos that are copyrighted to me, so it does not appear that they were removed because of a perceived copyright violation, but because Blogger is an older program that has some bugs in it. As such, I am going to have to spend time re-uploading many of these photos to fix the issue. 

Thanks for your patience!

-Jason

So where has Jason been?.......

Friends, it's great to see you again and thank you for continuing to support RMB with your comments during my long absence. Unfortunately, I got a bit sidelined after some of my military injuries caught up with me. So I had to spend some time at the VA getting evaluated/service-connected as well as doing some physical therapy/exercises before I could come back to Rocky Mountain Bushcraft.

 
I am more limited now in what I can do because of my service injuries, but the good news is, as long as I stay within those limitations, I can return to sharing my adventures with you about wilderness survival skills, bushcrafting, tips & tricks and knife reviews. In fact, I am looking forward to figuring out how to do more with less gear, doing it on a budget, and sharing all of those juicy details with you.

Stay tuned!

-Jason

Reader Email: Pistol Scope on a Chiappa Double Badger 410/.22LR Survival Rifle, Great Versatility

(This email was recently sent to us from Gene in Wisconsin. Gene wanted to share his experience with his Chiappa Double Badger 410/.22LR folding survival gun and how he mounted a scope on it):

Dear Rocky Mountain Bushcraft,

This is my set up. 22LR/410.

I bought one of the first ones and found Savage mounts at Walmart that were a perfect fit. I have a Simmons pistol scope mounted on see-through mounts and this setup is awesome.

I own a hundred guns, and if I could only own one, it would be this one. Here in Wisconsin, this is the gun I use for everything except deer hunting. If it was legal to use the .410, I would use it for that as well. In a survival situation, I definitely would.

I can get 1 inch groups at 50 yards with the pistol scope if I do my part. I have found that using .22 Shorts are very accurate and for small game hunting, they are great because they are so quiet.

With this setup, it is still under 6 lbs. Out of all the combo guns I’ve had, this is the lightest. My Savage Model 24 .17 HMR over 20 gauge was over 9 lbs, and I had a Baikal .22 Mag over 410 and that was 7.5 lbs. For me, the double triggers makes this the best set up over all the other combo guns. No switches to fumble with, with just pull and shoot.

FYI - 1/2 of the Ruger 10/22 scope mounts are a perfect fit, so I went to Walmart with that half and matched them up with a pair of Savage mounts that worked perfectly.

I also took the rear peep off and replaced it with a notched Williams Fire Sight. I’m just not a fan of peeps.

Very versatile gun with .22 Shorts, Longs, Long Rifle, and CB’s. In the .410, Birdshot, Buckshot, Slugs. Pretty much a gun that will take any game in the USA.

Love reading your web page.

Gene


EDITOR'S NOTE- Great information- thanks Gene!

If you would like to check out RMB's original review of the Chiappa Double Badger 410/.22LR Survival Rifle, click HERE. 

The Italian Army Wool Officer's Blanket vs Regular Italian Army Wool Blanket

Left: Italian Army Officer's Wool Blanket. Right: Standard Italian Army Wool Blanket (the dark black markings on both blankets are faded maker's marks) Photo: ©2018 Rocky Mountain Bushcraft

Bushcrafters LOVE wool blankets for their versatility in the field. One of the blankets they particularly like for this role are the surplus Italian Army Wool Blankets.

The Italian Army Blankets were available for many years from surplus stores for dirt cheap prices ($10 a piece in some cases). Weighing in at roughly 5 to 5 1/2 lbs, constructed of 100% wool, tightly woven, and built like a tank, they work great as a general purpose field blanket.

The Italian Army Standard Wool Blankets in use circa 1985:

Photo Credit: http://nikemissile.forumfree.it/?t=39822680&st=720

Unfortunately, the supply of these blankets, like most quality military wool blankets, has dried up over the years and have become more difficult to find. The Italian Army blankets in particular have become highly sought after, fetching upwards of $100 to $200 per blanket on eBay and online forums.

As rare as the Italian Army Wool Blankets are, the Officer's version of the Italian Army Wool Blanket is even more more difficult to find.

The Officer's Blanket has a distinctive star on it (see main photo above), is generally lighter in color, is longer than the standard army blanket by 10" to 15", and noticeably heavier. Dimensionally, my one Officer's blanket is 96" X 67", and the other is 98" X 66". How much heavier are these  blankets? One weighs 7lbs 12oz, and the other is 7lbs 14oz. That's nearly 8lbs of pure wool! 

By way of comparison, a large 4 point Hudson Bay Wool Blanket generally weighs 6 to 6 1/2 lbs:

Photo credit: Jason Schwartz/Rocky Mountain Bushcraft ©2018

So the Italian Officer's Wool Blanket, at 1 1/2 to almost 2lbs heavier, is one serious field blanket!

Despite its weight, the Officer's blanket actually packs down much smaller than a Hudson Bay because of its dense, tightly woven construction. To give you an idea of just how small it will pack down, here is one of my Officer's Blankets next to a smallish 100% Wool USGI Army Blanket:

 Left: Italian Army Officer's Wool Blanket. Right: USGI 100% Wool Blanket

Photo credit: Jason Schwartz/Rocky Mountain Bushcraft ©2018

That's a seriously small package for nearly 8lbs of wool! My rolled up Hudson Bay blanket is twice this size. 

As cool as these Officer's blankets are, they are extremely rare unfortunately. In fact, they are so rare that I could hardly find any information about them, even on bushcrafting forums. 

Photo credit: Jason Schwartz/Rocky Mountain Bushcraft ©2018

To add to the confusion, it seems that a lot of people think that the regular Italian Army Wool Blanket is actually the Officer's model. As you can see from the main photo and from the differences in their size and weight, they are actually quite different. 

Hopefully, this post will help clarify these differences in case someone should run into one of them at a yard sale, estate sale, online, etc.

If you happen to own one and can add to this information, please leave a comment below. 

Cheers,

Jason

Review coming soon...... Barco-Kelly "Perfect" Felling Axe

EDITOR'S NOTE- Hey friends, sadly, it has come to my attention that Barco-Kelly went bankrupt recently and was not sold to another company to continue their legacy. This is unfortunate because their Kelly "Perfect" Axe was actually a great axe after I did some profile work on the bit. I still plan to post a review of it for historical purposes, but sadly, they are no longer available to buy except on the secondary market. So if you own one of these fine tools, hold on to it! It's now a collectors item:)

Regards,

Jason

Rocky Mountain Bushcraft now has 4.7 Million Pageviews- pretty cool!