My Quest for the Ultimate Tactical .45: A Detailed Look at the Springfield Long Beach Police Operator

Springfield Long Beach Operator 1911

Recently I had the great pleasure of being able to trade my Remington R1 and a Glock 19 for the most amazing production model Springfield Operator I've ever laid eyes on, a Springfield Loaded Operator Long Beach Police Department Mod 1911. I'm a huge advocate of Springfield's firearms, especially their 1911's - not so much the XD's (I have always been a Glock Fanboy when it comes to Polymer pistols) but I've heard great things about the XD .45's and the XDm in all calibers. Springfield Armory is well known for their extensive lineup of 1911's and M1A/M14 rifles. These two weapons systems are where they excel in my opinion and the rest of their product line is just to retain market share and brand saturation (I'm not knocking the XD and XDm - I've shot both, just wasn't a fan). 

The Search for the Ultimate Tactical .45ACP

HK Mark 23

About six months back I started a quest to find a full-size .45 ACP caliber handgun with at least a 5" barrel, a picatinny rail for light/laser mounting, that could fire in some of the most extreme conditions without a single malfunction. Those specs were clear and the gun had to at least meet those to be considered. There were of course things that I could go either way on, such as Threaded Barrel or Not a Threaded Barrel, Lanyard Loop was a plus but not a must, and magazine capacity had to beat the 1911 capacity of 8+1. When I first started spec'ing out this handgun 6 months back, I really wanted a high capacity 45, so my search had me looking at a lot of polymer framed pistols. I started with the
HK Mark 23, but it was way out of the price range I was looking for, then I went to the HK USP .45, but it sure seemed expensive for a polymer pistol and it doesn't have a picatinny or universal rail. It has some weird HK propriety designed rail that requires the use of adapters for all lights/lasers - can

Glock 21

you say "Stooopid"? Talk about an engineering flaw, what were they thinking there? This is where all those HK Collectors and hardcore HK owners start cursing me....and that's fine if you are but remember, HK was my first choice, I love their guns, and would buy one but the prices have always held me back. I moved from HK to the Glock 21 and 21SF. I am very familiar with the Glock platform having owned a few of them in my day and modified and built many more. I like the modularity of the Glock platform and the fact that if you've shot one Glock you can shoot them all, they all fit your hand the same and function the same, very simply. I also like the fact that Glock does not use a lever safety of any kind (not a big fan of lever safeties, I like my guns ready to go and requiring as little work as possible by the shooter). I like the fact I can purchase a Match Grade Stainless Steel Barrel from Wilson Combat, KKM, BarSto, Storm Lake, or Lone Wolf for the Glock 21/21SF (I like choices)! From Glock I went to FNH and looked at the FNX-45 in FDE Tan with a Threaded Barrel. It has a magazine capacity of 15+1! That's awesome for a 45, but how wide is that grip?? I liked parts

FN Herstal's FNX-45 Tactical

of what I saw from each manufacturer, but I wasn't completely satisfied with anyone of them in particular. The Glock 21 was the winner as far as price and durability were concerned, but it sure is awfully plain looking and has minimal features. The HK's were great looking, had all the features I wanted, but have the wrong style rail for mounting lasers/lights. The FN FNX-45 was by far the coolest looking pistol, that incorporated all the features of the HK's with the standard picatinny rail of the Glock, not to mention the high round count of it's magazines. But the FN was a polymer pistol and it's price tag is inline with some of the better all steel guns on the market. There's two arguments on this but I personally would rather have an all metal gun for tactical usage. Some may argue that every ounce of weight you can subtract helps, so polymer is the way to go here so as to keep the weight down when your loaded down with gear. I feel like theres better ways you can shed weight so as to allow yourself to carry a steel gun.

The more I thought about what I truly wanted and needed from a Tactical .45, the more I realized that

Springfield Loaded Stainless Steel 1911

MEUSOC 1911 built by Marine Armorers from a WWI Era
Ithaca frame and mid-1980s Springfield slide.

a polymer frame just wasn't going to cut it. This pistol was developing into something more specific as time went by and I read more reviews and forum postings. I finally decided that I needed a 1911. I currently owned a Stainless Steel Springfield Loaded 1911 that I have had for about 5 years now. I love it! It's the most accurate shooting gun I've ever owned, I can punch 2" circles out of paper at 30 yards (90 feet) with it all day long! It has little recoil, is super accurate, very durable, and factory and aftermarket parts are readily available. My spec's were closely aligned with the MARSOC pistol that won Colt a government contract for their M45A1 (a Desert Tan Cerakoted SS Colt Rail Gun). My research led me to discover the MARSOC's predecessor/father the MEUSOC 1911, which were/are built by Marine Armorers for the Marine Expeditionary Unity Special Ops Command. These MEUSOC 1911's have round counts upward of 100,000 to 250,000 and they are still running strong! The MEUSOC 1911's don't have an integrally forged picatinny rail since most are built on WWI/WWII era Colt, Ithaca, and Remington Rand frame. The slides are much newer as the slide is scared after 50,000 rounds or so and new ones are installed, provided by Springfield Armory. Springfield has been doing this since the mid '80s according to their website.  So, I could just buy a Colt Rail Gun and I would have a gun that fits within my specs. Colt makes great 1911's, after all, they are a legend in the industry, but I own a Springfield 1911 and it's awesome, more reliable than any Glock

Colt's Rail Gun won the MARSOC contract a few years back.
The new Marine pistol, the M45A1, is a SS Colt Rail Gun like
the one pictured above, but finished in Cerakote's Desert Sand
and dons G10 Grips to match.

I've ever owned. Marine armorer's chose to purchase Springfield slide's for the MEUSOC 1911 not Colt, a couple divisions of the Marine's carry the Springfield MC Operator, the FBI HRT and some DEA Agents carry the Springfield Professional, not to mention the countless number of other LEO's that carry the Professional and other 1911 models from Springfield's lineup. There's a reason so many of these Government agencies equip their people with Springfield 1911's and it's not the price (the Professional cost's $2400 when you can find one for a good price).  It was at this moment I decided to add one more spec for this 45, it should be a pistol that is in service by a US Government LEO or Soldier, a duty or service pistol so to speak. Before I continue let me list out the spec's again incase I've confused any of you, I know it's changed and I've added to it since the beginning!

The Ultimate Tactical 45 Specifications

• Full Size (Government Model) 1911 Handgun
• Barrel Length of at least 5 inches
• Magazine Capacity of at least 8 rounds
• Picatinny Rail
• Must have Non-Adjustable Night Sights (Novak's preferred)
• All steel Frame and Slide (Stainless or Carbon doesn't matter but must be durable)
• Can have a threaded barrel but not a must
• Should have a lanyard loop but not a must either
• Accurate and extremely reliable
• Should have a next-gen firearm coating to prevent rust and provide adequate lubricity
• Must be a Service/Duty Pistol that is currently in use by a US Gov Official/Soldier or State LEO

These specs really narrow the gap down, especially if I say it should also be a Springfield Armory

Springfield Loaded MC Operator

1911. The brand isn't a must but I was definitely leaning for Springfield over Colt or Kimber. At this point I was dead set on the Springfield MC Operator, it met all my requirements, but as the days went by, there was just one thing that really began to bug me - that OD Green Armory Kote frame! The more I looked at pics of the MC Operator the more I didn't like the OD Green. Yes I could send the MC Operator into SACS and get the frame Armory Koted black for $80 to match the slide but that would cost extra, require me to ship my gun and be without it for a couple weeks or longer. While searching different retailers stores and websites I ran across a limited supply of the Springfield Loaded Operator Long Beach Police Department Mod 1911's. It's identical to the MC Operator in all ways except it's completely black (Armory Kote Satin Black), has G10 grips by 10-8 Performance (instead of the Pachmayr Wraparounds that are used on the MC Operator), and it has a magwell like most custom and higher end production pistols have. What I especially liked was the fact that these Long Beach Police Operators aren't production pistols that are featured standard in their product lineup, it's a limited edition model that is built in limited quantities once every year or two when Springfield has some extra Satin Black Armory Koted National Match Frames on hand. Since the only other pistols that use a frame like this would be the TRP, Springfield knows they can sell this limited run mod.

How the Long Beach Police Operator Came to Be

The Long Beach, California Police Department sent an RFQ to Springfield for a custom spec'd gun very similar to the MC Operator. They wanted it all Black, with 10-8 Performance Grips and to come with a magwell.  Originally when the RFQ was sent they were requesting enough of these guns to be able to issue one for each officer in the entire city, so several hundred at most. Springfield made the arrangements, entered into a pre-contract with LBPD, and started to build these fine pistols. Now,

Springfield Professional Operator 1911, the handgun
used by select FBI and DEA Agents, is built
by Springfield's Custom Shop Master Gunsmiths 

obviously these aren't Custom Shop guns, or the slides would be engraved with it like the FBI/DEA Professional Models. However, it is my understanding that any pistol made for a Government Agency for duty or service use is hand fitted and built by Springfield's Master Gunsmiths and not a regular joe working the assembly line for their production models, but keep in mind that a lot of these pistols are also sold to the Civilian public so the Gunsmith working on the pistol does not know if the gun he is building will be carried by an FBI Agent, a DEA Agent, or on a CHL holders hip on his next trip to the grocery store. This is what I was told by Springfield Armory in an interview I did with them over the phone several months back, so this is the law of the land until I see or am told by them otherwise. LBPD decides to finally follow through with their purchase of these Springfield Operators, but instead of issuing them to the entire force they decided to issue them only to SWAT, lowering their total purchase to only 146 handguns. Meanwhile, back in Genesso, Springfield has already assembled well over five hundred of

these guns. They fill the order and ship LBPD their 1911's. Springfield has no problem selling handguns, they ship the remaining LBPD 1911's out to distributors as a limited run pistol. This was almost 6 years ago......the LBPD 1911's were a hit and sold quickly at prices upward of $1700! Every year or two since, Springfield has continued to build this same Operator 1911 in limited quantities (typically less than 500 of them a year they say), dubbing it the Springfield Loaded Operator Long Beach Police Mod. The MSRP on one is $1450 and most will sell from reputable retailers for $1200 to $1300.

An In-Depth Look at The Long Beach Operator and it's Parts

Springfield Long Beach Police Operator field stripped. Note
that the recoil spring guide rod has been swapped out for a
Wilson Combat Bulletproof version, made from a Tool
Steel Billet. Not only is it much thicker and heavier,
but also secures to the recoil spring better than the stock part.

Springfield spared no expense with this handgun. They start by using one of their highly sought after NM (National Match) serial numbered frames with an integral picatinny rail and then they pair it with an Operator slide. Both the frame and slide receive a coating of their trademarked Armory Kote finish in Satin Black. Yes, I'm aware many think that Armory Kote is nothing more than Gun Kote, especially since the colors are identical between the two, and this could quite possibly be, but I do not know so I'm referring to it as their propriety coating, Armory Kote for the remainder of the article. The slide contains a titanium firing pin as is used in all of their Loaded model 1911's, as well as  Novak Night Sights which contain Trijicon's Tritium for that cool glow in the dark effect we all like so much! The extractor fits snuggly and is not quite flush fitting on the back of the slide but it's close. The slide stop also features a snug fit that could only be achieved by hand fitting. The barrel is Springfield's NM Stainless Steel .45 ACP barrel that are used in their Loaded and Trophy Match

Springfield Long Beach Police Operator Slide with Barrel.

model 1911's. A stainless barrel bushing is used and a standard GI recoil spring plug and spring guide, both finished in the same Satin Black Armory Kote as the Slide and Frame are finished in. Recoil Spring weight measures 16.5lbs and appears to be built from Chrome Silicon. This gun, like all Springfield 1911's is a series 70 style 1911 so it does not feature the firing pin plunger that is used to prevent the firing pin from moving unless the trigger is pulled. I'm not going to get into a debate on Series 70 and Series 80 1911's, I've owned both and I've never had issues with either, but I do prefer the Series 70 due to less moving parts, which in turn means less stuff to break and/or maintain.

Moving down to the frame - this 1911 features Springfield's three hole slotted Lightweight Aluminum

A view of the Long Beach Police Operator
frame from the top, looking down into the
frame. The lighting makes it difficult to see,
but the feed ramp is polished to a mirror shine.

Match Grade trigger and Springfield's standard sear and internals found on all Loaded models as well as a Delta style hammer. A flat, checkered mainspring housing featuring Springfield's ILS is installed with a bolt-on style maxwell attached to the bottom. The front of the grip is smooth and has no checkering. A S&A high ride grip safety has been hand fitted and blended to the frame with moreattention to detail than the one installed on my SS Loaded. The Long Beach Operator has a Wilson Combat Ambidextrous Safety identical to the one installed on the Custom Shop Professional model. The slide stop is the standard Springfield slide stop found on all Loaded model 1911's. Springfield installed an extended ejector like they do on most Loaded models, however this one has been pinned to the frame unlike the ejector on my SS Loaded. The inside of the frame and slide are immaculate, with superb attention to detail there are no machine or file marks, and the feed ramp is smooth and polished. Of course since this is an Operator model 1911 the front of the frame features the integral picatinny rail with 3 rail indentations offering a high level of flexibility when choosing laers/lights. 

View of the ejection port side of the Springfield Long Beach
Police Operator

Lets combine the slide and frame and take a look at fit with the recoil spring assembly installed and without. Without the recoil spring, guide rod, and spring plug you can really feel if a 1911 has any play in the slide to frame fit.  Now slide to frame fit should typically only have slight movement, and I'm talking microns of a millimeter in movement, only after it has been completely broken in. Even then it should still be nice and snug, especially when the recoil assembly is installed. The Long Beach Operator exhibits slide to frame fit on par with some of the finest production and semi-custom production model 1911's I've ever shot. Springfield has always been really good as far as slide and frame fit are concerned with all of their upper level pistols. I have never had the pleasure of handling or shooting any GI, Mil Spec, or Lightweight Springfields so I cannot vouch for these entry level 1911's slide and frame fit, but all of the Loaded, Trophy Match, TRP, and Custom Shop models exhibit some of the tightest fits.  Lastly, taking a look at the overall finish on the beautiful pistol reveals a perfectly applied Satin Black coating of Springfield's propriety coating, Armory Kote. At first glance, I was really impressed with Armory Kote. I have never owned a pistol with it before. The  Remington R1 that I traded had a very simple black painted finish, almost a low grade matte bluing, that wore very quickly with handling and holstering of the firearm.  What really impressed me about the Satin Black Armory Kote is the Satin look of the finish. It has just enough shine to it to make it look very nice, but not shiny enough to produce glare during daylight shooting or tactical situations. I use Teflon based Rem Oil to wipe down all my firearms, and it really soaks into the Armory Kote and makes the surface slick! I'll share my thoughts on this finish and how it holds up to the normal wear and tear of Shooting and Holstering after a week of cary and use on my family ranch in West Texas.

Optional Mods

Before I went out to shoot my new Long Beach Operator I made a few mods that I feel are necessary for reliability and to enhance shooting. Wilson Combat sells what they call a "1911 Reliability Kit" it's a bunch of springs to enhance overall reliability and to rebuild or respring a 1911. I took some of my mods from the reliability kit and I change out at least two springs on every 1911 I buy, yes, even

Left side view of the Long Beach Police Operator with a
Surefire X300 Ultra installed and VZ's Slant Tiger Stripe
G10 Grips

if they are new. First spring I change out is the recoil spring - stock rating is 16.5lbs and I install an 18.5lb Wolff Chrome Silicon spring as spec'd in the Wilson Combat Reliability Kit. Secondly, and this is something I never hesitate to change out, I install an Extra Power Firing Pin Spring. This not only adds enhanced safety to the gun by keeping the firing pin from being able to strike the primer if dropped, but also ensures that the pin returns to it's zero position within the slide so as to not allow the firing pin stop to drop out the back while the slide is moving through it's motion. The Wilson Combat Reliability Kit utilizes a 20lb hammer spring (mainspring) to lighten the trigger pull up a hair and ease the shooters ability to cock the hammer back by hand. I attempted to change this spring out with a Wolff 20lb hammer spring and it didn't work out. 22lb's is standard for the hammer spring on a 1911 but what happened with the Long Beach Operator was that the factory hammer spring was almost a half inch shorter than the new "lighter" hammer spring from Wolff. I swapped them out and had a hell of a time putting the mainspring housing back on the gun. Once I did, I couldn't pull the hammer all the way down. Anyone familiar with Springfield's 1911's knows that the hammer clicks 3 times while being pulled back. The second click is a halfway spot, while the third and final click happens when the hammer is pulled all the way back - I never could get this third click to happen, the hammer wouldn't go any farther than the second click, which is only halfway back. So, I opted to stick with the factory hammer spring and everything functioned fine during dry testing.

Besides springs I changed out the recoil spring guide rod with a Stainless Wilson Combat Bullet Proof version. Wilson's Bullet Proof line of 1911 parts are cut from a block of tool steel which allows them to don the Bullet Proof name. The factory recoil spring guide from Springfield is made from

Ejection port side view of Springfield LB Police Operator

carbon steel and is hollow through the center, and could very possibly be a MIM part. While the factory recoil spring guide is sufficient for shooting this pistol, remember I was looking for the Ultimate Tactical .45 and part of it being "Ultimate" is that  the internals need to be extra tough, I don't want parts breaking and I feel like Wilson's Bullet Proof line of parts enhance reliability as well. I also changed out the grips with a pair of VZ Slants in their Tiger Stripe G10 pattern. I prefer VZ Grips on my 1911's and have used their Recons, Operators, and Aliens so I decided to try out a pair of the Slants. They feel and look great, especially when shooting with gloves which is how I do the majority of my shooting.

Though it did not necessarily need it, I decided to polish the barrel chamber and feed lip. I started with 1000 grit wet paper, moving up through the grits until I finished with a 10,000 grit cloth based

Left side view of Springfield LB Police Operator

paper. It left a mirror shine. I also run a bit of JB Bore Polish down the barrel several times to really clean it up. The barrel did appear to not have been cleaned after test firing at the factory, polishing it really cleaned and shined it up. I had a Guncrafter Ind's Flat Checkered Mainspring Housing with Integral Lanyard Loop in the toolbox, so I attempted to install it on the Long Beach Operator to use with my Gemtech Lanyard. After installing it and seeing the color difference between the blued Guncrafter MSH and the Armory Koted Springfield MSH, not to mention losing my magwell, I decided to keep the stock setup here. Like I said before, a lanyard loop was not an absolute must but it's nice to have on a tactical handgun. Someday I may in fact go back to the lanyard loop MSH when I'm ready to get the gun recoated in Armory Kote Satin Black.

Range Results and Impressions

I finally got a chance to fire the Long Beach Operator about a week after aquiring it. I ran several mags of 230r M1911 Ball Ammo through it as well as a few mags of +P 185gr Atomic Match Hollow Points. 100rds later I had not a single malfunction or misfire. Recoil was smooth, accuracy identical to that of my SS Loaded 1911 and sighting targets was quick with the Novak Night Sights.

From left to right: 2 Mec-gar 8rd mags that came from Springfield,
2 Wilson Combat 47D mags, 1 Kimber Kim Pro 8rd mag, and
1 Chip McCormick 8rd Power Mag - all have performed
flawlessly with the Long Beach Police Operator.

Springfield has shipped the Long Beach Operator with a variety of different mags over the years, but this particular version came with 8rd Mecgear mags with the polymer slam pad on the bottom. I also grabbed a Chip McCormick Power Mag and a couple Wilson 47D's when I picked up the pistol from the gunstore. I already had a couple Kimber Kim-Pro 8 rounders at home that I use in my SS Loaded, I installed the slam pads on them that came with them and now use them with the Long Beach Operator. I know some 1911's can be very particular with what brand and type of mag they function with, using such a wide variety of mags - Mecgear, Wilson, Chip McCormick, and Kimber - I wasn't sure what to expect, but all fed smoothly and locked the slide back on the last round. Shooting the +P Atomics definitely produced slightly more felt recoil but nothing unmanageable by any means.  However, with that said, I do not prefer to shoot +P's for target practice, but I like to shoot a few mags of them through my guns when breaking in new springs. Nothing will help set those stiff extra power springs like some +P ammo leaving the muzzle of your 1911 faster than 9mm velocities (1200fps+). 

Finish wearing on the left side of the slide by the muzzle from
 holstering the weapon

Finish wearing on the right side of the slide by the muzzle
 from holstering the weapon

I spent Thanksgiving week, Deer and Turkey Hunting on my family ranch in West Texas. This was the week after I acquired the Long Beach Operator so I really got to put it through its paces and shoot a couple hundred rounds through it off the bat. I would have liked to shoot somewhere around 1000 rounds but that was near impossible to do since I was there to hunt, not target practice. Remember my initial impressions of the Armory Kote finish were something along the lines of "Wow this is really nice!" I use a Blackhawk Serpa Thigh Rig when at the Ranch with a Level 2 Serpa 1911 holster, it carries railed and non-railed 1911's without accessories attached. After a few days of holstering, drawing, and shooting, the pistol started to exhibit some signs of wear by the muzzle of the slide. At first it was more like dull rubbed areas, which would disappear after allowing a heavy coating of Rem Oil to penetrate the finish. Soon, after carrying the pistol for the 4th or 5th day, what was once a dull rubbed area, started to reveal bare metal. Most of my guns are Cerakoted, I know a guy that does a great job Cerakoting firearms for some of the most impressive prices I've ever seen. In my experience, Cerakote doesn't wear like this, it has a much higher abrasion resistance than most finishes do. Normal wear and tear don't doesn't phase Cerakote, it really takes a beating. So needless to say, I was expecting Armory Kote to wear similarly, but this would mean that it is equally as hard as Cerakote. I guess I should have known right there that I was expecting too much since Cerakote is by far the hardest spray-on gun coating on the market at the time of writing this.

It'll take some time longer for me to really decide how I like Armory Kote's finish overall, I still love the way it looks, but looks aren't everything now are they? Slide wear is normal and prevalent on all well used tactical firearms so it really doesn't bother me as much as it may seem, I just didn't expect it

Notice the finish wear on the top of the slide by
the ejection port. This is from holstering the weapon
for a week.

to show up so quickly I guess. That's fine though, the frame still shows a solid finish with no signs of wear at all, and after all SACS only charges $80 to refinish a Slide in Satin Black Armory Kote or $150 for an entire gun, which really isn't bad considering it's a professional full featured custom shop at one of the largest and oldest gun manufacturers in America.  The Long Beach Operator is a smooth and accurate shooting forty-five, it retains the GI recoil spring system to make it easier for the operator to field strip, clean and reassemble the gun by hand (without any tools). These are necessary attributes of any great tactical pistol.  I feel that with the few modifications I made and regular maintenance this gun will take anything I throw at it, shoot any type of ammo I feed it, and function flawlessly in a variety of different environments! It was definitely worth trading my Remington R1 and a Glock 19 in so that I could grab this limited run pistol. Unfortunately, for those of you that are now out looking everywhere for one, I hadn't seen one for under $1,500 yet! It's one of those things that if you're wanting one, you just gotta pick it up when the gun store has one. They MSRP at $1300, so a reputable gun store will sell them for just under or right at $1000 - or a trade of two good quality handguns.

Question of the Day

Do you agree that a 1911 with the right setup is the Ultimate Tactical .45? If not, what is the Ultimate Tactical .45 to you? Please post questions and answers in the comments section below!

Where's the Ammo at a Decent Price Gone?

It's been awhile since I have posted anything and I felt that it's a good time to post some information based on fact and research to help clear the web and world of all inconsistencies and false rumours....or at the very least, attempt to do so.

Whether you work, play, live, eat and/or breathe in the firearms industry like myself, or if your level of involvement with firearms happens to be just once a year at the beginning of the hunting season when you make your way to the local store to stock up on ammo before heading out to your favorite range to sharpen your skills so you can make the shot to bag the big one...chances are you've been keeping yourself apprised of current ammo prices and inventory levels, the ever changing political climate, current gun laws in your state and quite possibly where to buy what firearms for the best price (even if that "best" price is not ideal).

The firearms industry has made huge leaps in the last 9 years and is accredited with helping to restore a percentage of the US's economy with thousands of new jobs being created each year and the fact that the industries profit growth has climbed higher and faster in the last decade than it has EVER with a substantial amount of that money being put back into local and state economies. Oh and I almost forgot to mention the fact that there a many federal and state taxes associated with the firearms industry that have brought in record tax dollars as well. Not to mention a few thousand state and federal government jobs that have been created the last few years to help accommodate the increases in background checks, federal firearms license applications (renewals and first time applicants), Concealed Handgun Permits processing, and other various firearms license applications (such as Class III NFA licensing). It's almost enough to make one wonder what the hell the liberals and other anti-gun minded individuals are thinking when they present new legislation in hopes to start restricting the number of firearms manufactured in the US as well as those that seek to make all guns completely illegal and a thing of the past. I wonder, what kind of impact would it have on the US economy, GDP, GNP, and the unemployment rate if you completely eliminated a Multi-Billion Dollar domestic industry right now? I can tell you that the results would be so bad that no one can begin to contemplate the aftermath of such an action.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about, this post is dedicated to assembling various research in the hopes of finding an answer to where all of the Low Priced or at the very least, Regular Priced Ammunition has gone. I decided to re-join the NRA when the Feinstein Bill was first mentioned in 2012, after several years of not being a member. I now get their monthly publication, "American Rifleman" as well as a few other monthly periodicals from other parts of the industry. For example, once a month both Firearms Parts, Accessories and Ammo Supplies, Brownells and Cheaper than Dirt send me their newest printings with the most current inventory levels and pricing. I also have been subscribed to a very well known monthly publication, "Guns & Ammo" for a number of years. Besides these printed forms of communication I usually check in with several big name manufacturers and suppliers via the web each day and am in contact with several of their employees via email on a consistent basis. These companies include but are not limited to, Rainier Arms, WMD Guns, Seekins Precision, Midwest Industries Inc, Lone Wolf Distributors, Bushmaster Firearms, Remington Arms, and AR15.com. As you can see I stay informed of all things firearms on a daily basis, after all, it is my hobby, as well as a part-time profession of mine to design, build, and modify custom tactical weapon systems. My knowledge of firearms is highly specialized with a focus primarily on the AR/M4/M16 Weapons System as well as my two favorite handguns of all time, Glocks and 1911s. I own guns that do not fall into these categories and my knowledge of guns outside of these three platforms is vast but I am by no means an expert as I still learn something new with each build or modification I do.

Through my contacts at the above mentioned companies, my readings of the various periodicals mentioned above, as well as the conversations I've had with local gun store owners and just plain gun owners, I have constructed a very highly educated and well researched theory regarding the current run on Gun's, Ammo and Parts. 

With the introduction of the UN Small Arms Treaty and Obama's dedication and vow to the American people, "I will do everything in this office's power [the White House] to ban guns in their entirety across America before the end of the year. [2013]", a panic has been created amongst all red blooded, God fearing, and gun owning Americans (and even those that don't fear God).  Democratic and Republican gun owners alike started cleaning out the ammo shelves at retailers everywhere when talk of the Feinstein Bill Gun Grab (known as FBGG from this point forward) had started. This started a chain reaction of events.  Those that don't normally shoot or buy ammo, the guys and gals who may own a single pistol or grandpa's rifle and dad's old revolver, have started purchasing up as much ammo as they can find.  On top of this, US LE and Military agencies started renewing ammo contracts with the Big 3 (Federal, Remington, and Winchester). These ammo contracts are large and cover large parts of the year if not the decade and most of these agencies were willing to spend your tax dollars to make sure their order took precedence over all other orders by having all ammo shipments expedited.  Essentially, the firearms industry runs on the very basics of Micro-Econ 101, supply goes down when demand goes up, and prices go up to try and alleviate the demand. In our case, the demand has not subsided. When ammo started disappearing and the talk of the FBGG grew as it approached congress, the panic was fueled even more so. Long time gun store owners became millionaires by Christmas, new gun store owners, had grown their businesses as much as 500% by the beginning of 2013 and if you wanted to buy a gun that wasn't in stock at stores, you were looking at a 6 month backorder.  It is a this point, circa Jan. 2013, that ammo prices (when it can be found) have hit record high's for the first time in the history of firearms in America. A box of .45ACP (regularly $25 for 50rds) was selling for double and triple regular price, a box of 9mm (regularly $10 for 50rds) hit $75 a box (inflation of more than 600%) and a box of .223/5.56mm (reg. $8/20rds) could only be found in large 1000rd lots on GunBroker.com for prices well exceeding $1/rd and for those that couldn't afford to buy in bulk, prices were now at $30/box (20rds)! Firearms Manufactures at this point were experiencing increased lead times for supplies that would put a new order shipping out almost 18months down the road.  With the threat of a Gun Ban looming overhead the firearms industry was unsure of what to do and was ultimately faced with two choices: A) Business as usual, we may not be here much longer so just keep on keeping on, or B) Reinvest this increase of revenues into more employees, expand warehouse and manufacturing space so that production can be ramped up to meet demand and ultimately make more $$$$$. In the more liberal states that were passing their own State Gun Bans such as, New York, Illinois, Colorado, and California the firearms manufacturers chose option A. However, in the free states, they chose option B and have not regretted doing so.

If you haven't been into a gun store lately or even looked for ammo there is still really no point in even attempting to.  Here we are 5 months into 2013 and every Wal-Mart across the country still has not a single box of ammo on it's shelves. Of course, their fault (not that it is a fault) is that they didn't raise their prices to curb the purchasing....God Bless Wal-Mart for still selling 9mm at $10/box! Many of the big name chains did not raise prices but instead imposed limits on buying amounts.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am an avid supporter of a Free Market Economy and I believe in Capitalism 110%. I also like to consider myself moderately conservative and a loyal Republican who votes majority Republican if not straight Republican each and every election (sometimes there's a third party candidate I like, but NEVER a liberal). However, no matter how much I despise the fact that when my local WM get's .223 in for $7.95/box and won't let me buy more than 3 boxes at a time, this seems to be the only measure that can help all gun owners get some of the ammo supply.  Now I'm not talking about distributing wealth here, but we are all in this together. Our rights are on the line and I feel that it is down right awful that there has been a significant increase in people buying up all the ammo at the local Cabela's (who also has not raised their ammo prices) then turning around and listing it on GunBroker.com or selling it at their local shop for 20 times the amount they paid for it, just to make a penny off a really bad situation! These people deserve to be shot for their, intuitive money making ideas! No, but seriously, this isn't right, is it capitalism at it's finest? Yes. Is it legal for them to do? Yes. But what are the effects of this buying and selling for double and triple the price paid?

Well, it's clear that the effect is detrimental on the firearms industry.  These people aren't just doing it with ammo, but they are also going online and buying up every last Black Magpul CTR Stock for the AR/M4/M16 Weapon System and then turning around and selling it for double what they paid. They aren't just stopping there, have you tried to buy mags for any of your guns lately? When Brownells or Cheaper than Dirt (known as CTD from here on out) get a shipment of AR Mags in, a few people luck out an get to buy a couple for the regular $17/each but then a few other people place large quantity orders for 1000's of them and then resale them in their store or on their website for $60, $80 and I've even seen Glock 9mm mags going for $100/each (the only ones that you can find instock).  Ultimately, this crooked and scheming mentality will not allow the firearms industry to recover from this hole that we are in.  I guess that statement is partly incorrect as eventually it will recover but it will take a lot longer than it should. These characters, and I will not get into names as you can find them out for yourself, range from large online retailers, to small mom & pop gun shops, to Joe Blow the High School Janitor who uses his entire paycheck to double down on some the bet that he can sell all 1000 Magpul AR-15 PMAGs by next Friday for three times what he paid for them.  And guess what? He does sell them all essentially tripling his paycheck each time. Oh and his personal stash of AR Magazines has grown tremendously for no charge to him, while you have only been able to add two to your collection for a day's wages!  These actions are nothing new though. Every industry experiences this at some point or another, the firearms industry is just more prone to this than any other as any liberal politician can talk of a Gun Ban and it will throw the entire industry into chaos! 

What can YOU do to help fix the prices and low inventory levels throughout the firearms industry?

I know you are not going to want to hear this but, the only sound and reasonable advice I can give is: Quit giving them your money! That's right, cancel that order you placed last night for 500rds of backordered .40S&W ammo from CTD. Don't go down to the gun store tomorrow and buy your wife, mom, dad, uncle, cousins, and all four of your children a different handgun....they don't need it and the FBGG is DEAD! If the majority of gun owners would do this, then the only people purchasing guns, ammo and accessories would be the gun store owners and retailers. This would allow the inventory levels to come back much quicker than anyone thinks now that production has been increased to unprecedented levels unheard of in this country before.  When the shelves are once again full and those gun store owners and retailers purchasing departments are filled with employees sitting around playing Solitare and watching You Tube videos all day at work, they will have to start cutting their prices in order to combat the decreased purchasing levels.  Like I said, its Micro-Econ 101 at it's very basics.  When supply is at overwhelming levels and demand is at it's lowest point (no one is buying and the warehouses and storerooms are full to the brim), then the sales start and the prices have to be decreased to hopefully get customers to start buying again.  If the pattern continues it will eventually fix itself, but not before first destroying a few individuals and businesses...and again that is capitalism at it's finest.  I did see the other day two of the big online ammo retailers dropped their prices on .223/5.56mm ammo by $5 a box! After contacting one of them and inquiring as to what their current on hands were, I was assured that they had enough Pallets of .223 to satiate the current demand for some time.  Even at $5/box less, .223/5.56mm ammo is still more than double its regular price.  Remember, if it's not one of the big 3 ammo manufacturers (Federal, Remington, and Winchester) it's not a Gov't purchased round, so you can't blame it on Obama or anyother Gov't agency, it's our fault and no one elses!

10 Weapons You Need...For the Apocalypse and For Fun (Part 1)

As the title states I will be discussing 10 weapons that you need to add to your arsenal. No matter what you use your weapons for, work as law enforcement/military, work as a security contractor in the private sector, practice for when the Zombie Apocalypse occurs, or if you are just a collector of badass toys, these weapons will give you the edge in any combat/tactical situation you might find yourself in. I have done extensive research on this topic, scouring the "End of the World", SHTF, Tactical and Law Enforcement Forums of the World Wide Web, collecting data from manufacturers websites and sending emails asking questions that weren't answered from info found at their website, and of course I have the personal knowledge of having used almost all of these. I will give you an in depth look at each weapon, whats entailed in owning, using, and maintaining such a device, what you should expect, how to store/carry it, and of course the big one, how much it will set you back to obtain it and how many hoops of fire you must leap through before signing your life away to the federal government to own one....well maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit on the hoops of fire and the government owning you after purchasing one of these weapons, but some are more difficult to procure than others.

When this idea popped in my mind I wanted to do a countdown from the 10th most important weapon, down to the number 1 most important piece of weaponry you should have at your disposal should you need it, however that changed as my research progressed.  Honestly, I feel that for an assortment of tools, not a single one is more important or less important than another, all are equally important for the purpose of being able to tailor your load-out to specific environments and situations. Obviously, a scenario that requires you to enter and clear a 3 story building of flesh eating zombies would require a different load-out than a scenario that requires you to eliminate a road block of 10 armed, cannibalistic, slave trading, human, post-apocalyptic survivors (more information about these type of people at a later date) from a tree 500 yards back without being seen. With this in mind, you will need an assortment of weaponry that you can store and transport either: A) On your person, B) In your vehicle, C) By sled or horseback, or D) Whatever other means of transportation you have available.  Keep in mind while reading through the different weaponry that you may not be able to transport all of them at once, nor may you be able to obtain them all before you need to use them. Consider this a "wish list" that if you are able to get your hands on these, then by all means, you most certainly should. Many will already have several of the firearms, so it might just be that you need a few of the other items to complete the list. So, lets begin shall we?
 
1.  Mid to Full Size Pistol
Nothing is more important that your sidearm. This weapon is often the difference between life and death when one is faced with a prolonged close quarters battle or merely a simple pickpocketing that requires eliminating the pickpocket. Now, many will have their idea of the "ideal" or "perfect" handgun, but I will tell you from personal experience that I highly recommend Glock. For this category, the Mid to Full Size Pistol, there are in fact a couple choices when choosing a Glock pistol, which is perfect for you as the reader because lord knows we aren't all created the same. Some of us have larger hands and some have larger feet, some weight in at a thin 110lbs and others a muscularly beefy 325lbs! Glock has a Mid or Full Size Pistol for us all. As this is going to be your primary sidearm, this gun will always be included in your load-out no matter the situation, it should be attached to your hip at all times. This is one of the few weapons that is so versatile it can solve just about any problem you are faced with. Since this is going to be a weapon that your life will depend on (I know, you're thinking "aren't they all?") it should be chambered in a caliber that you feel the most comfortable with. Glock offers their entire line of handguns in sub-compact (small, backup sized), compact (mid-size), and full-size. Glock makes maintenance, repairs, and mag changes easy, making a Glock the most versatile and adaptable handgun available to civilians today.  A Glock 17 (full-sized 9mm version) barrel will fit into a Glock 22 (full-sized .40S&W version) converting the Glock 22 from .40 to 9mm.  The same applies to the slides (top half of gun) and the frames (bottom half of gun). A Glock 17 frame can be used with a Glock 22 slide.  A Glock 17, takes a standard metal-lined Glock magazine that is capable of holding 17 rounds of 9mm. The Glock 19, the compact/mid-sized 9mm little brother to the Glock 17, takes a standard metal-lined Glock magazine that is capable of holding 15 rounds of 9mm. The Glock 26, the sub-compact/backup sized 9mm baby brother to the Glock 17 takes a standard metal-lined Glock magazine that is capable of holding 12 rounds of 9mm. However, all three of these 9mm Glock pistols, the 17, 19, and 26 will accept and function with the full-size Glock 17's 17rd mag. Al three of these 9mm Glock pistols also will accept and function with the optional and very available, massive 33rd standard metal-lined Glock magazine! I could keep going but to summarize, Glock Magazines are a standard dimension and will fit any Glock, a .40 Glock 22 mag can be loaded with 9mm and used in any of the three 9mm Glock's. Fancy huh? Now, one must be careful when doing any interchanging of parts and magazines. Neither I, nor Glock endorse swapping barrels amongst your Glock handguns. However, I will say, it can be done, I have done it and it works flawlessy. I do not carry my Glock this way and I do not recommend you to carry yours that way either.  If it were the end of the world and gun parts are hard to find and in limited supply, the ability to swap parts amongst Glock handguns would be priceless, this is the reason for me writing about this. So, a Glock comes in three sizes, mags interchange, parts interchange if necessary, what else do they do?  A lot!  Glock is known for it's legendary Safe-Action mechanism which puts the safety in the trigger. You may have heard people say, "Glock's don't have safties." This is an incorrect statement as Glocks have more safety mechanisms than your standard handgun, they just don't require the user to switch them on or off before use.  If a Glock is dropped a mechanism blocks the firing pin from striking a bullet, if one were in the chamber, during a free fall. The trigger must be pulled with your entire finger, not a finger nail and it can't be activated from the side, you must be holding it in a shooting position to actually fire the gun.  Another reason for choosing Glock for this category is the fact that the Mid and Full-sized Glocks have attachment rails for attaching lights and lasers.  

3rd Generation Glock 19

Ok, I've sold you on a Glock, now to decide what caliber and which size. As I said before, you should choose a caliber that you are most comfortable with. If you have always shot 9mm and you enjoy shooting 9mm because you can empty an entire magazine into a 2" circle at 30 yards, then you need a Gloc Glock in 9mm.  If .40 is your choice because you like that extra stopping power and you find it easier to control then get one in .40. The good thing about Glock is that they manufacturer their handguns in all major calibers so everyone is bound to find a pistol that they can shoot and defend themselves with.  As for the size of the gun, this all has to do with the size of your hands, how you hold the gun, and again, what you feel the most comfortable with. Most Law Enforcement and Military Personnel that are issued a Glock, carry a Full-Size Glock 17 (9mm) or 22 (.40S&W). The main reason for carrying the larger size is due to magazine capacity. Even though the mid-sized glocks will accept the larger magazines it's just not something that the Government was thinking of when they purchased these guns. Another reason for the larger size is barrel length. The bigger the gun, the longer the barrel. Longer handgun barrel means your can shoot farther and shoot more accurately.  This is the part where most people say, "ok, I've made up my mind, I want the biggest Glock they sell so I can shoot 100 yards!". I will tell you though, thinking like that will only get you a gun that is too big for you to use properly and could cost you your life. So that you don't have to read another post, I will briefly describe, How to Pick a Handgun over the next several lines.  When you go to the gun store to look at guns, you point to the one you want to look at and they pull it out of the glass enclosure they store them in, then they pull back the slide while ejecting the mag to make sure it's not loaded (this is also known as a function check) and next they hand it to you. This is where people often do some of the weirdest and sometimes the stupidest things. Just because you know the gun is unloaded and the guy behind the counter does too, doesn't mean you should look down the sights while aiming it at his head. All guns should be treated as loaded and aimed in a safe direction when handling them (aim it down toward the ground or at a wall).  You will know you have found the correct gun and correct size for you by doing the following procedure.  Pull the slide back, it should lock with an empty mag in the gun, this simulates an empty gun as if you just fired the last shot. Now aim down the sights holding the gun one handed with your dominant hand, if this is your right hand then the gun should be in your right hand, and yes the slide should still be pulled back. Next take your thumb and work the mag release without changing your grip. Put the mag back in, and work the slide stop lever with your thumb to reset the slide forward. What you just did was simulate a tactical reload. You keep the gun on target the entire time while ejecting the spent mag, inserting a loaded mag, and then feeding one into the chamber by resetting the slide without changing your grip or losing the target, allowing you to continue firing.  If you have to change your grip on the pistol then the gun is to big. If your hands hang off the bottom of the guns grip then the pistol is too small.  Remember this is your primary sidearm we are talking about, it needs to be perfect!  

4th Generation Glock 22

Another shot of a 3rd Gen Glock 19

My choice of handgun for weapon #1 is the mid-sized Glock 19. My hands fit perfectly on the grip, I can perform a tactical reload without changing my grip or moving my hand a millimeter. I can accurately fire the Glock 19 out to 30+ yards and the 9mm round is plentiful and readily available. A Glock 19, like any Glock can be purchased for about $550, give or take $50 depending on the time of year and if the gun store is running any specials.




2. Large Knife (8"+ Blade)
Like your primary sidearm, a knife is equally important and so versatile that it should also be carried on your person at all times. For almost any situation you will encounter in this life or the next, a large blade, tactical style knife will do the trick nicely.  There are so many companies making knives these days, the selection is endless. This is good for you as a customer as it allows you to really find something that suits you and your style for a price that fits your budget.  I will be discussing a couple options here but you only need choose one.  Ka-Bar, a legend in knives, manufacutres the standard issue blades and bayonets issued to our boys and girls protecting and serving our country.  Ka-Bar is most famous for their USMC knife, a design that has been imitated by many, but only perfected by Ka-Bar.

Ka-Bar's USMC Knife is standard issue for the Marines

This is a fantastic knife and would make a great addition to your load-out however the blade length does not fit within the spec's I have chosen of eight inches or larger so it is not one that we will be discussing here at this time.  Ka-Bar does manufacturer a line of blades with lime green handles known as their "Zombie Line". These blades are made specifically with one thing in mind, slaughtering Walking Dead Humans, aka Zombies!  There are several knives that fall into this category but I have chosen one that meets our needs. The "Zombie Death Dagger" by Ka-Bar has a blade that comes in right under nine inches at 8.5", functions and looks extremely badass!

 Ka-Bar's Zombie Death Dagger comes with interchangeable lime green and black G10 grips for true customization.

What makes the Zombie Death Dagger from Ka-Bar so perfect? This bad motha measures in over a foot long at 13 7/8", features a pointed tip blade cut from a solid block of an extremely hard forged steel, making it almost unbreakable.  Notice I said almost, if you tried you could probably break it, but it can withstand things that most knives just can't handle.  Most knives that fit into the over 8" blade length class don't feature pointed tip blades since this sized knife is a borderline machete. A machete can make a great weapon but most are made for cutting grasses and wood from trees so the steel blades of machetes are often lacking the characteristics that make up a good combat knife. Ka-Bar's Zombie Death Dagger can be yours for about $55 and is available from Amazon.

Another knife that needs to be discussed here is the Cold Steel GI Tanto. The GI Tanto from Cold Steel, like the Ka-Bar USMC knife just doesn't meet the 8" blade spec, however it meets our needs and for a great price!

Cold Steel's GI Tanto with G10 Handle and Matte Black Tac Finish

The GI Tanto is everything tactical! It features a true tactical point with the Tanto edge inspired by Ancient Japanese Katana swords. This point is sharp, allows for fantastic piercing capabilities and gives the knife two edges, the main blades edge and a smaller one, the Tanto edge, also perfect for skinning.  The blade length of this masterpiece manufactured by Cold Steel is seven inches with the knife having an overall length of 12" making it an even foot long. Besides the edges of this knife, there are a few other characteristics that make this blade perfect as a primary blade for you load-out. The blade of the GI Tanto is cut from 1055 Carbon Tool Steel, one of the hardest steels on the market. This ensures that the GI Tanto retains is razor sharp edge. The blade is coated in a Matte Black non-reflective Tac finish making it the perfect knife for any scenario or operation thrown your way. Notice the funny indention after the hilt? Cold Steel cut this indention into the steel so that you can covert the GI Tanto into a spear or war club quickly and easily. It can be affixed onto a bamboo cane or wooden stick of some sort, then tied into place with paracord and used to hunt or kill! Unlike Ka-Bar's Zombie Death Dagger, this blade comes with a Secure-Ex Sheath that can be attached to a belt or MOLLE equipment to protect the blade when not in use and provide and easy carrying solution. The best feature of this knife is it's price, it can be purchased from Amazon for about $27.

GI Tanto in it's Secure-Ex Sheath

Maybe none of these knives are doing it for you, and if that's the case, that is ok. My last and final option is perfect for those that like DIY articles. You can view my post titled "Cut Yourself - Forging a Blade" for a step by step guide to making a knife. I took the design of the GI Tanto and modified it a bit, making it longer, thicker, and more machete like but made from a hard steel giving it tactical knife characteristics. I call this blade the GI Tanto Mod 2 knife. The number 2 designates that it was the third design I drew for this project as the first was Mod 0.

The blade length is 12" long with an overall length of 18". The grip is covered in paracord giving the user a phenomenal grip and quick access to nearly 30ft of rope with a 550lb test. This knife is long enough to be classified as a machete but retaining the characteristics we need for our tactical knife, it is the perfect companion to be attached at the hip opposite of your sidearm. I have used this blade for peeling apples to cutting down cactus, trimming branches to decapitating thieves and it has performed again and again. This is the perfect knife for the DIY Operator who prefers complete customization of his weaponry. It can be formed from pretty much any piece of steel: lawn mower blade, large file, truck leaf spring, or steel bar stock (which is what I used). It just takes some time and patience to fashion the blade, but when you get done you will have learned a skill that only Rambo and his closest friends know.

My choice for Weapon #2 is my Cold Steel GI Tanto. Now my GI Tanto Mod 2 is in my arsenal and will be with me when the Zombie Apocalypse begins, but I didn't choose it as one of my 10 weapons. I would also like to note that just because I chose a single blade out of all 10 weapons, most Operator's, Survivalist's, and anyone else reading this article for the purpose of putting the information to use, would benefit from having access to two or more knives stored somewhere within reach on your person.  I typically have several knives handy during any operation, most are attached via the MOLLE system to my gear while two are kept on me.  Remember the point of this article is to introduce you to various weapons while giving you a better understanding of how they function, what they do best, and which weapon is best suited for your specific needs.  If you don't have any of the 10 weapons on this list, it's time to make a trip to the store, and don't forget your checkbook. Also, it doesn't hurt to own more than 10 weapons as the more you have the better you can accomadate your load-out to an operations specifics.  Moving on....

 

3. Kel-tec KSG Shotgun

Notice I didn't just say 12 Gauge Shotgun here, I was specific. There is a reason for this as you will soon discover.  I don't feel that there are other shotguns that compete with the KSG from Kel-tec, especially for our purposes. This is one of the newest weapons to hit the market, released in early 2012 the KSG literally, redefines the 12 Gauge tactical pump segment. There are many 12 Gauge tactical shotguns but none like the KSG. Kel-tec, located in Cocoa, FL (I've driven by their manufacturing facility by the way) is dedicated to designing and manufacturing advanced tactical firearms with what is sometimes referred to as a futuristic design, with the most simple operating designs possible, 100% in house on their CNC machines.  Now, Kel-Tec has sometimes gotten a bad wrap for poor functioning hadnguns but they have worked out most of the kinks from their earlier generations of firearms. Kel-Tec is well known for the lightest, thinnest 9mm the PF-9 that utilizes a single stack magazine to allow the gun to be less than an inch wide dimensionally. They have also manufactured many .223/5.56 rifles and pistols over the years but it is over the past year they have made the farthest advances in their lineup. They now offer a bullpup, piston driven .308 rifle, known as the RFB, that is in the running for the military contract and their new double tube magazine pump action 12 gauge. These two weapons have launched Kel-Tec from a small boutique gun manufacturer located on the beach in Florida to a large scale, Internationally known Firearms Manufacturer.  You now know about Kel-Tec, let's talk about this shotty!  

 

The KSG is modeled after Kel-Tec's .308 the RFB as a Bullpup design. The bullpup design has not been one of the most successful firearms designs in the history of guns, partly due to it's "techy" futuristic look, however, a lot of the guns being designed today are bullpups. The reason for this due to the accuracy obtained from a bullpup firearm. A bullpup design moves the action back closer to the shooters shoulder, doing two things. First, it reduces the overall length of the weapon making it more mobile, shooters can exit vehicles and turn corners faster while staying on target. Secondly, it greatly reduces recoil by having the action's mechanisms closer to the shoulder, sometimes as much as a 50% reduction is seen with newer bullpup designs.  The KSG is only 26" long with an 18.5" barrel making it United States Civilian legal! Yay! It weighs 6.9lbs unloaded and about 8.5lbs when loaded full with twelve 3" 12 gauge shotgun shells. It can hold and fire 12 gauge shells from 1.75" to 3". It includes two magazine tubes running down the bottom of the barrel side by side, holding 6 shells each, the left or right tube is selected by the shooter using a lever located near the trigger. It is a pump action shotgun, meaning that after each shot the pump must be worked to load the next shell.  Kel-Tec is known for making what critics often call "plastic" looking guns. The receiver of the KSG is manufactured from hardened steel while the stock and forearm are made from Zytel, a glass reinforced nylon that is chemical/solvent, shock, and temperature resistant. The shotgun can be fully disassembled without the need for any tools, making it easily field stripped for service and cleaning. Another awesome feature of the KSG is the 1919 rails that run down the top and underside of the barrel allowing any AR-15/M4/M16 accessory to be mounted on it. That's right, your vertical grips, iron sights, holographic optics, even scopes can be mounted on this Shotty!

Kel-Tec's KSG makes the list for these reasons:

• Has one of the highest round capacities for a civilian legal shotgun on the market today- 12 rounds of 3" 12 gauge and 14 rounds of 2 3/4" 12 Gauge!!
• One of the smallest legally acceptable shotguns on the market that doesn't require a tax stamp to own or purchase
• Unique design and combination of durable materials makes the KSG the most durable shotgun available
• Accessory rails allowing the mounting of vertical grips and optics are standard on the KSG unlike any other competitors shotty
• The built in sling mounts on the barrel and stock allow for many sling mounting options, making it easy to carry the KSG over your chest, back, or side like a fine Coach Purse! Ladies the KSG is the must have accessory for 2013, make sure you ask Santa to bring you one for Christmas.

Kel-Tec's MSRP is $880, so retail should be a little less, however due to the high demand for these cone poppers after Obama's re-election, almost all gun stores that were retailing these for $1000 have raised their price to $1500 saying that they just can't keep them in stock. Before I close out weapon #3 I would like to add for the Saiga owners out there that were disagreeing with everything I had to say about the KSG after sentence number two, I am well aware there are many possibly better tactical shotguns on the market today, some that are semi-auto and hold large capacities like the 25 and 30 round drums for the Saiga 12 Gauge. However, due to the large size (overall length) of the Saiga and the massive recoil felt when rapid firing one with a 25 round drum of 3" 12 gauge shells attached, the Saiga does not have a place on this list. It could possibly have a spot on another list but the purpose of this list is to show 10 weapons that are easily maneuvered, field stripped, and repaired, while providing the most damage, accurately. Remember what were up against here, it could mean your entire family having their skin chewed off of their arms and legs by a horde of STD infested Zombie Prostitutes if you don't finish clearing the once crack house out as quickly and efficiently as possible and your AK-47 just ran out of ammo....

.....Oh yeah there's a reason you have the very light, 8.5lb Kel-Tec KSG loaded with 00 Buckshot slung to your back! 

4. AR-15/AR-10

I know you've been waiting for it, and here it is. 4th on the list, one of your primary rifles should be an AR-15.  As the AR-15 comprises a huge assortment of rifles, it is hard to say an AR-15 and mean any one specific gun. With that in mind, like your sidearm, I will say this, pick a caliber, brand and size that you are comfortable with.  Don't just get the biggest AR, which would be the AR-10 a .308, because the guy at the gun store told you it has the most stopping power and bullets are more expensive. We live in a day and age where you can have it your way and you should! AR's are made by thousands of companies and chambered in every caliber known to man, and if there's a caliber you want and you can't find, someone can make it for you, all you have to do is ask.  Not to poopoo your dream of having a AR-15 chambered in .45 Colt, but keep in mind, when SHTF and you are battling for your families survival in a Post-Apocalyptic world, no more guns are being manufactured, meaning no new replacement parts and the biggest factor of them all, no more ammo is being mass produced, meaning if your gun does not fire a common caliber, then once you run out, the gun is worthless. Unless, you have a friend that lives on an Indian Reservation where they mass produce ammunition out of trailers hidden in the forest to sell to the Dixie Mafia. If you do then you could quite possibly get that AR chambered in .45 Colt, at least until there's no more brass, primers, or bullets to load into them.  For those of you wondering, what is a common caliber, it is simply any caliber that is widely recognized as the "standard". These calibers tend to be military/NATO calibers. Any round that is designated by NATO as a NATO round is mass produced everyday in almost every country in the world...literally almost every country.  These calibers are the ones you should consider having all of your weapons chambered in if possible and they are as follows:

• 9mm or 9x19 (9mm in the US and 9x19 in metric countries)
• .308 or 7.62x51 (commonly referred to just as 7.62mm or 7.62Nato)
• .223 or 5.56x45 (commonly referred to as 5.56mm or 5.56Nato)
• 7.62x39

These first three calibers are used by every military and government agency worldwide with the last, 7.62x39 being used by every present day communist nation and any country that was once apart of the old Soviet Union aka the USSR. 7.62x39 can still be found pretty easily on American soil, however it is not mass produced in America like it still is in Russia, China, Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, and so on.  9mm tends to be a handgun caliber, although there are many rifle formats that fire the 9mm round.  The coolest part of the AR platform is that the majority of AR rifles are available in any of those four calibers mentioned above and parts are easily found.  

The AR platform rifle has got to be one of the greatest weapon platforms known to man. Many AK purists will argue that the AR is one of the most finicky and flawed weapons known however, I will disprove that and show you why you need an AR or two at your disposal. Eugene Stoner, Robert Fremont, and L. James Sullivan of the Fairchild ArmaLite (presently known as Armalite) corporation designed the 7.62mm AR-10. The AR in the name AR-10 stands for Armalite, not to be confused with Automatic Rifle as our US Congress stated in the Weapons Ban of '94. There is nothing automatic about any AR rifle. The -10 designates the number of the design. There were many AR rifles designed by Stoner while working for Armalite. The AR-3 for example which is best known by the name of the "Stoner 63" is pictured below.

AR-3 or Stoner 63 Rifle

Vietnam Era M16 Rifle

The AR-15 is based off the design of the AR-10 but was originally designed to fire the lightweight, high powered 5.56mm round. Due to financial problems, Armalite sold the rights to the AR-10 and AR-15 to Colt in 1959. Colt sold it's first 300 AR-15's to Maylasia on September 30th of 1959. After the Maylasian sale Colt started marketing the AR-15 to various global military and law enforcement agencies.  The US Army was the first of any US Military branch to adopt the AR-15 rifle, except they requested that it be modified from it's current semi-auto firing mechanism to shoot semi-auto, three shot bursts, and full auto. This design became known as the M16 and saw it's first use in the Jungles of Vietnam in 1963. By 1969 the AR-15 Rifle had been adopted for service in all branches of the US Armed Forces with the Majority of them using the M16 variant, thus replacing the M14 rifle.

The M16 has seen one of the longest runs of any firearm to be used by US Military. In 1994 the US Army approached Colt and asked them to come up with another variant of the AR-15 but with a shorter barrel and only semi-auto and three shot burst. This firearm would be known as the M4 Carbine. The M4 was soon adopted by all US Military branches with very few troops still using the M16 today. Some Marines have reported using M16 rifles during basic training. Most soldiers carry the M4 rifle and only fire it in semi-auto. There are a handful of M4's being used by the military the retained the full-auto capabilities of the M16, these are known as the M4A1.  

A tan painted M4 Carbine with holographic sight, light, laser, and vertical grip attached. This configuration is typical of what is seen being carried by US troops currently stationed in the Middle-East.

AR-10's and 15's have come along ways since their first tour of duty in Vietnam. One of the major complaints from the soldiers who fought in the jungles that still echoes through out the shooting world today is that this weapon system jams too much. AK fan's are accustomed to direct piston driven impingement while AR's are typically gas driven impingement systems. For those that are new to all this I'll explain. When an AR-15 is fired, gas from the bullet firing travels down the barrel towards the muzzle, some leaves with the bullet but some exits a tiny hole at the top of the barrel and travels through a stainless steel tube the size of a straw at 15,000psi back towards the receiver. When this gas reaches the receiver it pushes the bolt assembly back into the stock which is then pushed forward by a spring that resides in the tube that the stock is installed on. As the bolt assembly is pushed forward from the force of the spring it chambers another bullet while cocking the hammer, readying the rifle to fire the next round. The gases that chamber the next round are full of carbon soot and quickly dirty the receivers, upper and lower, as well as the bolt assembly, firing pin, and barrel. This carbon buildup can clog the gas tube preventing gas from ever reaching the receiver, preventing the action from cycling or causing it to only cycle partway creating a stovepipe jam. The AK-47 and it's variants which are even older than the AR platform, make use of a gas piston driven system to cycle. In the gas piston driven system the gases flow down the barrel towards the muzzle, some exit with the bullet but some exit through a tiny hole on the top of the barrel. It is here that the AR and AK systems are different. Instead of the gas flying down a tube toward the receiver, the gas pushes a stainless steel rod, at 15,000psi, back towards the receiver forcing the bolt back which is then forced forward by a spring loaded mechanism chambering the next round while cocking the hammer, readying the weapon to fire the next round. Since the gases don't ever reach the receiver on the gas piston system their are fewer misfires, jams, and misfeeds.  Now you're wondering why I've explained all of this. The AK guys are sitting here saying, "screw the AR-15, you just explained why an AK is better". Here's why this was necessary for you to know.  In the last 5 years many of the aftermarket companies producing AR parts have poured their R&D dollars into developing Gas Piston AR's and Gas Piston mod kits to modify existing AR/M4 weapons for a low cost. A Gas Piston AR gives you the accuracy and adaptability of the AR weapons system with the ruggedness and dependability of the AK weapons system. Some Gas Piston AR manufacturers brag about how you can fire 1000 rounds from their AR, throw the rifle in sand, then dirty water, and then fire another 1000 rounds without a single jam or malfunction.

As you can see from reading a little background information, the AR platform and it's variants can be configured in many different ways. Now we will look at the various AR's available to the civilian market and what you should be looking for when seeking to add one to your arsenal.  If you want an AR chambered in a caliber other than .223/5.56 or .308/7.62 you should look at DPMS as they have revolutionized the AR platform in wildcat chamberings. For example, DPMS's 2012 Product Catalog consists of the following AR calibers, each available in many different configurations:

• .22LR
• .204 Ruger
• .223/5.56
• .243 Win
• .260 Rem
• .308/7.62
• .338 Federal
• 6.5 Creedmore
• 6.8 SPC II

There are several other popular chambering's for the AR platform that include but are not limited to the following:

• .300 Blackout (.30 caliber round designed by Advanced Armament and quickly catching ground with Special Forces and those that require silencers for their missions/operations)
• .458 Socom (a Rock River Arms design)
• .50 Beowulf (a .50 Caliber AR-15 by Alexander Arms)
• 6.5 Grendel (.30 caliber round that competes closely with the .338 Lapua, also by Alexander Arms)
• 7.62x39 (the infamous eastern bloc/commie round, many diffferent companies manufacturer rifles chambered in this caliber, look at Yankee Hill Machine and Rock River's newest AR designed in this caliber for more info and ideas)
• 7.62x40WT (.30 caliber round that uses .223 mags and bolts, developed by Wilson Combat of Berryville, AR the WT stands for Wilson Tactical, their AR Rifle Division)
  
  Regardless of what caliber you decide to go with, an AR is an essential tool that can be configured for pretty much any scenario thrown at you. Obviously, in today's world and environment one can own an AR and many accessories to be able to customize it as needed for your load-out. However, in an "End of the World" environment being able to carry around multiple caliber barrels and barrel lengths to customize your AR as necessary is just not feasible. Since, the AR platform made the list, there must be a configuration that is suitable for many different scenarios with minimal change. 
  
  The AR-10 rifle only comes in one caliber and that is .308/7.62. An AR-10 with a 16" barrel would be a perfect firearm for any CQB or Long Range situation that requires the use of a high velocity cartridge and scoped rifle. For those of you that choose to go with the AR-10, awesome, you won't regret it. However, the AR-15 is my choice for weapon number 4. All of the calibers mentioned in the bullet points above (minus the .308) are based off the AR-15 platform, making the AR-15 the most versatile rifle in the AR platform.  Now for caliber choice. For those like me, looking at the AR-15, there are really only two calibers that I care about from the many that are available, .223/5.56 and 6.8 SPC II.  These two calibers are used by military organizations worldwide, making them readily available to obtain.  The biggest difference between the two is that the .223 is a .22 caliber bullet and the 6.8 is a .30 caliber bullet. Both require caliber specific bolts, barrels, and magazines to function properly. Ammo for the 6.8 is often 2 and three times more expensive that the .223 but the velocity and stopping power of the 6.8 is comparable to .308/7.62 from a bullet the size of a .223. As with anything they both have their pro's and con's. Me being a purist and a shooter who likes uniformity I chose an AR-15 chambered in .223/5.56 for weapon number 4. My AR-15 has a 16" Heavy Chrome/Moly Lined Barrel, is Piston Driven, with a 10" Quad Rail allowing installation of any optic and accessory available for the AR-15 as of today. This configuration I have described can be purchased or built for about $1100, give or take a hundred bucks. An AR-15 configured the same way without the Piston System can be had for a couple hundred dollars less.
  

  
  

  

  20" Barreled .223/5.56 AR-15 w/ Scope - This particular configuration is known as SPR (Special Purpose Rifle) and used for Long Range Tactical scenarios

  Looking back, that is a lot of information on the AR platform, lets recap the reason why weapon #4 is the AR and why you need it in your arsenal.
  

  1. The AR platform is highly versatile allowing many different configurations to suit any situation
  2. This weapon platform is the standard issue of the US military making parts for repair and service easy to come by and ammo readily available, now and in a post-apocalyptic earth environment
  3. The AR platform provides the most firepower and accuracy available on the market in a weapon system of its size (for you AK guys, sorry that AK needs a lot of work for the accuracy of it to even compare to that of an AR
  4. Your basic off the shelf AR from the gun store can fire around 10,000 rounds before needing any parts replaced or serviced
  5. The modern, Piston Driven AR's are as rugged and dependable if not more rugged and dependable than any AK or AK variant on the market today
  6. For a thousand dollars, the most reliable weapon system can be yours
  5. Sub-Compact Pistol
  
  

  

  Sub-Compact Glock chambered in .45 ACP with Stainless Slide

  

  Glock 26 with a Purple Finish looks nice with purple heels ladies!

  Two pistols on your person at all time is still not enough! The ideal load-out would consist of three pistols, a rifle, knife, and a shotgun.  A sub-compact pistol is a must for any tactical scenario. These baby backups often provide the final kills when faced with an extended gunfight. Having a sub-compact pistol on your person is also a good idea in case you should become unarmed. Zombies won't be disarming and taking hostages, but a group of those Post-Apocalyptic Cannibals that I spoke of in the beginning of the article are very capable of such acts.  The ideal carry position for a sub-compact pistol is the ankle as it is a fairly discreet and comfortable carrying position for a handgun. Again there are many different handguns available for you to choose from but once you consider your primary sidearm that was chosen for weapon #1, the list gets much smaller. Some people choose to carry a completely different brand and caliber of handgun for their backup, typically a smaller caliber. This is a stupid idea and one that can lead to some serious trouble if you should need to pull that backup in a battle. The reason is simple, if you feel the mission you are taking is best suited by carrying a .45 as your primary side arm, then if you need to pull that backup it best be able to stop someone or something like a .45 can, not like a .22.  Since I chose the mid-sized Glock 19 chambered in 9mm for my primary, the smaller Glock 26 is my choice for my backup. Easily tucked away, I carry it attached on my right ankle as I am right handed. Should I need another mag for my backup, the same mags that fit my Glock 19, fit the 26.  Once again a Glock is a Glock is a Glock, so long as it is purchased in the basic factory configuration, one can be had for about $550.