Table of contents for October/November 2019 in Ballistic

It’s Wednesday, April 21, 2021, President Beto O’Rourke is celebrating his first 90 days on the job by burning a joint in the Oval Office. Newly minted Attorney General Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has just completed giving all U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents their pink slips. Bulldozers have nearly finished demolishing the southern border wall, and 150,000 hungry Venezuelans have poured north in three short months. Cory Booker is the new U.S. Senate majority leader. In close concert with perennial Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, they have used their newfound legislative majorities to push through unprecedented progressive reforms. The newly enacted Green New Deal promises to rid the nation of coal, airplanes and cows within the decade. The jewel in their legislative crown, however, is the passage of hard-fought gun-control…

Our weapons should reflect who we are. That’s why Rise Armament has unveiled a new trigger to honor the heritage of the Gadsden flag. Available with a curved or flat trigger blade, the new DTOM RA-140 drop-in trigger makes it easy for shooters to upgrade their AR’s performance without breaking the bank. In support of our country’s founding ideals, the 3.5-pound trigger is encased in a yellow anodized aluminum housing that features the coiled snake and “Don’t Tread On Me” text of the Gadsden flag. These drop-in triggers are simple to install and are compatible with ARs built to mil-spec dimensions. If that weren’t enough, Rise Armament is also offering a custom “Don’t Tread On Me” T-shirt that will help you celebrate our heritage wherever you go. Check it out.…

Initially, I found the proposition of taking a “price-point” rifle to Africa to be a bit unsettling. Stalking an elk-sized kudu through miles of bush is an entirely different proposition than shooting a whitetail from a blind in Texas. I have done both, and experience has taught me the vast difference between the two, particularly the cost of a mechanical failure or inconsistent accuracy. So when I was asked to take the $350 Thompson/Center Compass rifle to hunt plains game in South Africa, I was a bit skeptical The Compass is the most recent evolution in the T/C line of affordable but technologically forward-thinking and precisely manufactured rifles. On the flat range, my 6.5 Creedmoor Compass had an average group size of 0.63 inches, with a best three-shot group of…

There’s no getting around the fact that having a bag or pack with you throughout the day can ensure you have the gear you need in any situation, from an unexpected client meeting to a disaster scenario. Consequently, more and more people are carrying packs and sling bags to move gear around. If you are headed to the range, a good bag or pack is a must. However, backpacks can also serve as a great foundation for your get-home preparations and are valuable in day-to-day use. If you don’t have any good bags, or you are looking to upgrade, here’s a look at some great options. 1› 5.11 TACTICAL AMP24 Looking for a backpack that will cover the majority of your needs? Part of 5.11 Tactical’s All Missions Pack (AMP)…

Alaska offers the outdoorsman an incredible opportunity to explore a wilderness no longer found in the Lower 48. It’s a land of duality. In the Alaskan bush, there is feast and famine. Sunlight can be almost an all-day phenomenon, or there might be none at all. There are also hunters and hunted, or predators and prey. Recently, I traveled to Alaska with a few others for a week of salmon and trout fishing. But I also went prepared for any worst-case scenario and carried a big-bore rifle as well as a small-bore pistol. This combination, in my eyes, could sustain an outdoorsman in the wild with both food for the pot and plenty of protection against dangerous game. THE BIG BORE Before we could entertain any ideas of filling our…

There's a school of thought that says all game—whether it walks, swims or flies—should always be prepared as simply as possible so as not to detract from what should be an elemental experience. Well, this boy doesn't attend that school. To me, substituting game in classic recipes is an exciting way to expand one's culinary horizons. Got a rabbit? That calls for hasen-pfeffer, a classic German recipe. Pheasant? That's easy: poulet Dijonnaise. And venison? The perfect substitute meat for beef bourguignon. All of the following recipes serve two, so adjust for more accordingly RECIPE 1 HASENPFEFFER There's an extra dimension of satisfaction if this dinner is the result of a successful hunt, but domestic rabbits are larger, a bit more tender and in the end a lot cheaper! INGREDIENTS •…

WOULD YOU RATHER… Be a quick shot at 10 yards or dead-nuts accurate at 1,250 yards? Wyatt Earp is attributed with saying, “Fast is fine, but accuracy is final.” Most shootings are at point-blank distances, but reigning death from afar never goes out of style. Well, we asked our readers, and 49.8 percent said they’d rather be super-fast at 10 yards, and 50.2 percent would rather be super-accurate at 1,250 yards. The best responses include “You don’t need to be fast if you’re accurate at 1,250” and “Why not both?” CRAFTY BREWS Cool weather is on the way, bringing Oktoberfest. As the nights get darker, so do my beers. Fall is a good time for a good scotch ale, and if you find yourself in Atlanta, I recommend you wander…

DURING THE WAR OF 1812, British Major General Robert Ross arrested Dr. William Beanes and four other Americans after they captured a small patrol of looting British soldiers and locked them in the county jail. Ross had the Americans brought to the HMS Tonnant. Nearby townsfolk contacted a lawyer in Georgetown named Francis Scott Key to help arrange their release. Key had made a name for himself during the Aaron Burr treason trial in 1807. On September 3, President Madison instructed Key and the local prisoner-of-war exchange officer, John Skinner, to negotiate freedom for the Americans. FREEDOM FIGHTERS It took Skinner and Key nearly a week before Ross agreed to release the elderly Dr. Beanes, but there was a catch. Since Key, Skinner and Beanes had all heard the British…

It’s nearly impossible to fathom the challenges one will encounter as an orphan in Africa. The AIDS epidemic, genocide, drug abuse and a variety of other societal crises produce the tragic casualty of parentless children. In South Africa, a man named Abraham Kriel recognized the problem after the economic depression and famine in the 1930s left hundreds of South African children homeless. Originally sponsored by and expanded to several locations across South Africa by the Dutch Reformed Church, the now-independent non-profit Abraham Kriel Children’s Home in Nylstroom is home to nearly 200 children ranging in age from 3 to 19. Our hunting party, which included Gregg Ritz and the Hunt Masters film crew as well as representatives from Thompson/Center and Hornady, spent several hours at the facility and donated more…

If you’re as obsessed with medieval and Viking-era history and weaponry as I am, then you’ve likely watched Netflix’s The Last Kingdom or have it on your to-do list. For those who haven’t, here’s a quick summary before you get to binge watching. The show is based on the Saxon Stories, a series of historical novels by British author Bernard Cornwell. The first book of the series (of which there are currently 11) is The Last Kingdom, although the Netflix show covers several of the novels. Set in 9th and 10th century Britain, the novels and the Netflix series follow the life and exploits of Uhtred of Bebbanburg. As a young boy, Uhtred (named Osbert at the time) witnesses a host of Danes attack his home in Northumbria and kill…

Over the last seven decades, the Kalashnikov design has been modified to run a wide variety of rounds, from the needle-like 5.45x39mm to 12-gauge shells. More recently, two maverick designers, Sharps Bros. and Tromix Lead Delivery Systems, have taken the versatile platform to the next level by building an AK chambered in .458 SOCOM. SOME BACKSTORY As you already know, the AK was originally chambered for the 7.62x39mm, an intermediate cartridge. Having learned from World War II, the Soviets were looking for a cartridge that, among other things, could still deliver decent energy at mid-range but was lighter to carry, less expensive to make and offered less recoil than their previous standard rifle cartridge, the 7.62x54R. Western nations also saw merit in this concept, and a couple decades later, the…

You would never know where Primary Weapons Systems (PWS) is actually located simply by relying on your phone’s navigation app or by looking at a map. The PWS lair is hidden deep in the woods, where visitors need an escort to find what is reminiscent of an old bunker entrance. All kidding aside, it’s actually a rather large, nondescript building with no external identifying markers of any kind. It’s just another building in a Boise, Idaho, industrial park. As a matter of fact, I had to walk around the outside just to figure it out. A couple of employees’ cars with PWS “EVOLVE” stickers provided the final markers I needed to know that I was in the right place. Then I was met by a smiling member of the company’s…

AFRICA is the largest continent, covering 20.3 percent of the planet’s surface. By contrast, the contiguous United States cover roughly 1.58 percent. But Africa’s vastness and diversity, above and beyond its size, are what make it so special. The regions of Africa best known for hunting are the continent’s southern and eastern countries. Of course, hunting in Africa is not without its unique controversies, not the least of which was the killing of “Cecil the Lion” in Zimbabwe. In general, when managed properly and ethically, hunting helps African game and its human inhabitants in many ways. In fact, banning hunting often has the opposite effect, with Kenya being the most egregious example. Once the mecca of East Africa hunting, Kenya banned hunting in 1977 and has since seen a 70-percent…

What comes to mind when you think of Italy? Maybe Rome and its rich history, the culture of Florence, the mind-numbing beauty of Venice, the food or the wine? If you’re a hunter, I’ll bet it’s not hunting—especially not big-game hunting. I don’t know why that is. Maybe it’s because Italy is a victim of its own success; the country is unquestionably one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. All I know is that I’ve been traveling in international hunting circles for more than 40 years and can honestly say that Italy just isn’t generally thought of as a serious venue for big game compared to other Western and Central European countries. There are always exceptions, of course, but for the most part I believe that to…

Discovery's newest competition show, Master of Arms, is bringing together some of today's most talented blacksmiths in head-to-head challenges to try and recreate some of history's most iconic weapons. Each challenge is judged by a set of experts who crown one final winner and anoint them "Master of Arms." Given the show's subject, it should come as no surprise that one of Athlon Outdoors' very own contributors, Ashley Hlebinsky, was selected as a judge for this upcoming season. I recently caught up with Ashley to talk about the show. Congrats on the new gig! How's it been so far? I absolutely loved being a part of this show. Everyone from the cast and contestants to the crew were so much fun to work with. But I think my favorite part…

Over the last few years, we have been hearing more and more from the scientific community about the benefits of being outdoors. Of course, we all already knew that, but it’s nice to know that proper “research” is being done. For those of us who have spent a lot of our free time outside and most of our working time thinking about being outside, we know that being in nature is healing for the mind, body and soul—but only if you’re prepared! That being said, here are some great products to help you have a successful fall hunt, hike or whatever else gets you out the door. DMOS DELTA SHOVEL Following its award-winning Stealth snow and ski shovels, DMOS shifted its attention from snow to dirt with the Delta shovel.…