Merry Christmas from SGB!

UTS 15 = Ultimate Tactical Shotgun

Survival Shotgun Build - ATI shotshell holder

Perhaps the strictest limitation on the venerable 12-gauge is limited ammunition capacity. My Mossberg 500 defender holds 5+1 - and even with the SideSaddle installed, capacity is increased to 10+1. Compare this to a .22, for example, where you can carry a couple dozen rounds in your pocket without even feeling the weight. To compensate, I have decided to add an ATI shotshell holder to the outside of my buttstock.

 The ATI kit includes the shotshell holder, six mounting screws, and a template for drilling.

 Position the template as you see fit.

 Used a nail and a hammer to mark the drill holes.

 Drill the mounting holes out with a 7/64" drill bit.

 The screws mount up easily with a regular screw-driver.

 Fully mounted. Start to finish, this took me about 7 minutes.

The finished product matches my polymer shotgun perfectly. Now, if I have to "bug out", I have 15 rounds of ammo. An excellent upgrade for a low price and easy install!

The Other Other Survival Handgun

A while back we discussed having an alternate caliber handgun for backup. One excellent choice that we didn't mention is the Smith and Wesson M&P 22. Chambered in 22LR, this weapon can share ammo with your survival rifle of the same caliber, uses one of the most plentiful and cheap rounds available, holds 12 rounds, and is virtually indestructible. Worth consideration, despite its meager 40-gr. bullet.

Prep Plannig - Top Ten

The Other Survival Handgun

Few weapons can compete with the Glock 19 as a survival handgun, but we recommend that everyone own a small, concealable weapon in an alternative caliber. The logic behind this is that in a survival situation you might not be able to get your hands on your preferred caliber. The two most popular handgun calibers are probably 9mm and 40S&W, if only because those calibers service the vast majority of government small arms. Assuming a primary G19, you might want an M&P Shield in .40 as your back up piece. Another alternative is .380ACP (9mm kurtz). This ammo has the disadvantage of being far less common than either of the previous two calibers, but the advantage of being in far less demand in a large scale SHTF scenario. M&P Shield below:

Survival...Crossbow?

Shotgun Build : Reflex Sight

It's time to move on to the next stage of my survival shotgun build. The base model is a Mossberg 500 Defender with 18" barrel. In the last post, we installed a SideSaddle shot shell holder on the side of the receiver. In this post we will install a picatinny rail on the top of the receiver along with an NC-Star reflex sight.

Picatinny rail kit with NC-Star reflex sight

 Remove factory installed screws in the top of the receiver.

 Mount picatinny rail to receiver top with included screws and allen wrench.

 Slide reflex sight onto rail and tighten. Sight works best near the front of the receiver.

The sight comes with four settings. This is the classic crosshair.

 Simple dot.

 Circle and crosshair.

Doughnut.

I am very pleased with this install. The sight is very light and provides rapid target acquisition. Total install time: about 5 minutes.

Remington VersaMax Auto-Loading Shotgun

Bushido Monday

"There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within."

Morihei Ueshiba, founder Aikido

One Tough Scattergun

Survival Handgun Build

My survival handgun is the Glock 23. I prefer the .40 cal for several reasons, but one big reason is the recent order by DHS for millions of these rounds. In a SHTF scenario, the government will always have ammo.

Safety checked for your protection.

Regardless of caliber, the Glock is often presented as the gold standard for wilderness sidearms. They are rugged, reliable, and simple. They also have a nifty feature: a hollow space behind the mag well. Today, I am installing a plug for this hole, along with a nifty survival feature.

The makeshift storage compartment can be seen just behind the mag well.

This plug caps the hole, using the lanyard hole in the grip as a latch.

There isn't much that can fit in this little compartment - some matches, maybe fishing line. But I wanted to use this space as efficiently as possible. In what kind of scenarios might I be stuck in the middle of the wilderness with only a sidearm? Not a good one. And in any scenario like that, my first concern will be drinking water. So, I decided to store some water purification tabs in this space.

Potable Aqua - two tiny tabs per quart of water.

These tabs are quite small, as the picture below demonstrates. The first step is to wrap them securely in plastic wrap in case the weapon is submerged. Quarter added for scale.

These tabs are quite small - and could save your life.

I wrapped up six tabs - enough for three quarts of clean water - and stashed them in the plug. A word of caution: this plug fits tight, and removing it can cause it to go shooting across the room. Best to point it at the floor during removal to avoid losing your stash!

Three quarts of pure water in a tiny plug...

The picture below shows the installed plug - or actually doesn't show the plug. It fits completely flush. Now that is some nifty "found" storage space!

Not safety checked!

Bugging Out?

BOB (Bug Out Bag) Essentials:


Weapons Bag:


What NOT to Wear:

TacStar SideSaddle® Shotshell Mount

Today we are going to mount a TacStar SideSaddle® on a Mossberg 500 shotgun. The Sidesaddle holds six rounds, which immediately doubles the capacity of this shotgun.

First remove the product from its junky, Toys-R-Us packaging:

That's better:

Open the ejection port, and lay the shotgun on its side, port up:

 Remove the 8/32 screw on the opposite side of the ejection port. Replace this screw with the supplied longer 8/32 screw and tighten (the instructions say "screw", but technically, it is a bolt):

With the shotgun in the same position, use the supplied 10/32 bolt with washer to push out the pin located just above the trigger. Line up the bolt, and tap it with the palm of your hand and the pin will pop out pretty easily. Just push it flush on the other side; you will have to screw it into a threaded hole later:

Remove the flathead screws from the SideSaddle® so that it splits into two parts:

Place the mounting plate on the receiver with the counter-bored hole on the 8/32 bolt, and the tapped hole on the 10/32 bolt. There are two counter-bored holes; which one you use depends on which model you have:

Tighten the 10/32 bolt into the tapped hole on the SideSaddle® mounting plate. Do not overtighten, as you could end up locking up the gun's action. It kind of makes you wish you had a sturdy, milled receiver. Then again, I paid less for this gun than for the upper receiver on my AR, so maybe not:

Place the supplied nut on the 8/32 bolt and tighten. Note that the kit does not include a tool for tightening this nut. I took this as a sign to hand-tighten the nut. Once the facing is in place, it will keep this nut from backing off:

Place the SideSaddle® shell holder onto the mounting plate, and tighten the screws:

Well, there you have it; double the capacity after $30 and five minutes. Note that the shells are loaded primer down. This serves two purposes. First, if the weapon is dropped, the stock and trigger guard protect the rounds from accidental ignition. Second, with the shells mounted this way, I can pull them out with my off hand and load them into my receiver; one at a time if I am in an "oh, shit" zombie situation.

The product is rough, black plastic. It looks right at home on my Mossberg Defender, but nicer weapons will look pretty shabby sporting this accessory. But, I got his weapon as a home defender and bugout gun, so rough black plastic is fine with me. I kind of like the ugly look on guns anyway. At least, I keep telling myself that ever since I bought my Glock.

How to Operate an AR Platform

M-6 Scout Survival Rifle

Bushido Monday

"Although it stands to reason that a Samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent. Consequently, if someone were to ask, "What is the true meaning of the way of the Samurai?" the person who would be able to answer promptly is rare. That is because it has not been established in one's mind beforehand. From this, one's unmindfulness of the Way can be known. Negligence is an extreme thing."

-Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure

This excerpt from Yamamoto's Hagakure reminds us all that knowledge and preparation do not come by accident. At the end of the day, that is what "prepping" is all about. Being prepared to handle the sometimes extreme emergencies that life throws at you. Whether it is a sterile drinking water bladder or a family fire-drill, preparation is about establishing the way in your mind before the emergency happens.

Sno-Man Recommends a Survival Handgun

Creek Stewart Survival Shotgun Video

Nearing Completion

Here is the current AR build - Bushmaster lower, VLTOR MUR-1 upper, 1/9 mil-spec barrel and mil-spec bolt-carrier group, Troy VTAC 13" floating hand guard, Magpul ACS stock, Magpul MBUS fixed sights, Leatherwood CMR 1-4x24 scope. I have two 20-rd and two 30-rd Magpul Pmags to go with it. Not too shabby.

AR Build, Optics Update

Sighting in the kitchen floor reveals the illuminated horseshoe reticule.

I chose to remove the offset reflex sight for two reasons. First, the Leatherwood CMR that I mounted works fantastically. I am really pleased with the quality and usability of this optic. I can easily acquire a target with both eyes open just like with the red dot, and even at 4X this is not discombobulating. The second reason is that the offset adds weight without benefit. The idea is that I could rapidly transition to CQB, but that would require removing the lens covers, turning it on, etc. The Leatherwood, on the other hand, functions even better as a reflex sight, with slightly less "rim" blocking the view. The only downside to the scope is that the green illuminated reticule doesn't get nearly as bright as the Bushnell. In full sun, it is basically just a regular sighting tool. However, the interior shot (above) inside with the sun shining and all lights on shows up just fine, so I think this trade off is worth it. Also, the weapon is less bulky and stores quite a bit more easily now as well.

AR Build, Optics

So far, the AR build is coming along nicely. However, it hasn't got any sights yet, a rather necessary component for a rifle. The choice of optics for ARs is staggering. Ignoring for a moment the different brands, there are at least three major different types of sighting devices: scopes, reflex sights, and fixed sights. Each of these major types have all kinds of options and variations.

This build is for survival, including use in the wilderness, so the foundational optic for this weapon is good old fixed sights. However, I want other optics as well (more on that in a bit), so I chose flip up sights. I settled on Magpul MBUS sights. They are very sturdy and inexpensive - I got a front and rear set for less than $90. They also come in a handsome FDE that complements my weapon's color scheme. My only disappointment is that it is darned hard to see the front sight post, especially in low light situations. I sort of wish I had gotten a tritium front sight post.

While this gun will certainly have to hold its own in CQB (close quarters combat), it also needs to suffice for medium range marksmanship and longer range hunting scenarios. For this purpose, I selected a 1-4x24 scope. If you are unaware, the 1-4 designation represents magnification power. This scope goes from a magnification factor of 1 (e.g., no magnification) to a magnification factor of four (e.g., a target at 400 yards will look like it is at 100 yards). The 24 designation is the diameter of the aperture lens in millimeters. This scope allows rapid zero-magnification target acquisition, and enough magnification to accurately hit at the edge of this weapon's range (the barrel is a 1-9 twist, limiting loads to 62 grains, and realistic effective range to maybe 300 yards). These kinds of scopes are also very light, which is a bonus. In the end, I narrowed my search to two weapons: the Super Sniper MRAD and the Leatherwood (by Hi-Lux) CMR. Both scopes have illuminated reticules, but the Super Sniper has several advantages: fully submersible, 1-6 power magnification, and first focal plane illuminated donut reticule. However, the Leatherwood has advantages of its own: it is significantly lighter than the SS (17.7 vs. 24.4 oz.), significantly cheaper ($330 with SS SALT mount, vs. $999 sans mount), and has flip-up lens covers. It also has mil-dot ranging marks on the lens, although only the center reticule is illuminated. I chose the Leatherwood on the strength of its value and weight advantage. The lens caps were also important to me - I have gotten sap on my lenses before, and that is no picnic. The mounting bracket uses two thumb-screws, and can be rapidly removed. This is important, because in a bugout scenario, I am very likely to detach my optic and store separately.

The final optic I mounted is a 1 O'clock offset with a reflex sight. This allows extremely rapid transition from magnified or backup sights to reflex sighting. The optic I chose is a Bushnell TRS-25. This is essentially an Aimpoint Micro clone. Again, the $80 price-point made it attractive, and the enclosed housing seems sturdier than some of the open pane sights. It is also small and light weight, so it stays out of the way. It is a bit redundant, so I'm not sure if I will keep it on there. I will have to try all the optics out together in some extensive scenario shooting. In the end, I chose to deploy all three major sighting types. Go figure.

AR Build, Handguard

The choice for hand-guard is a difficult one. I don't think there is any right answer, but I will explain my choice and how I arrived at it. My criteria for selecting a hand guard are as follows:
1) Light weight. I may have to hump this weapon all day.
2) No front sight gas block. I want to run optics, and I don't want to drop my rifle into a gorge and knock the gas-block off by accident.
3) QED, I need a guard that covers and protects the gas-block.
4) I don't want a quad rail. All those sharp edges and extra weight are annoying.
5) Decent length and ventilation. I don't want to burn my leg by accident.
6) Inexpensive. Or at least reasonably so.

In light of these requirements, I selected Troy's VTAC Alpha Rail 13". This hand-guard is exceptionally light and remarkably sturdy - and at less than $200 it is a bargain. The 13" length protects the gas-block from getting knocked around, and provides superior heat dissipation and barrel protection. It also looks pretty damn handsome.

I chose to affix a Magpul AFG2. I'm not sure if I will keep this. The benefit is an ergonomic platform with superior positive grip. The negative is that I can't just grab the hand-guard and start shooting. So, if I am deploying the weapon from a sling, the AFG might be a liability. In a battle situation, however, it is a significant ergonomic improvement.

The weapon is shaping up quite nicely.

AR Build, Buffer Tube and Stock

I chose to replace my buttstock and lower receiver extension tube. The lower receiver extension tube, commonly known as the buffer tube, comes in two sizes: mil-spec and commercial-spec. As far as I know, all commercially available Bushmaster's use the commercial tube. Either will serve you fine, but I chose to swap mine out for a mil-spec tube, as I want my entire rifle build to be mil-spec. There is a detent spring concealed beneath the rear plate, and I have yet to find a way of removing the castle nut without destroying this spring, so I went ahead and ordered a new spring set while I was at it. Although either buffer tube is fine, they are different sizes, so you have to know which size you have before ordering a new buttstock.

First, the standard buttstock has to be removed. This is accomplished by sliding it all the way to the rear, and then lifting up on the lever. It can now be slid off the end of the tube. You can now tell if you have a commercial or mil-spec tube. The commercial tube has a slightly slanted rear, while the mil-spec has a vertical rear. Also, the threads on a commercial tube are at the same level as the tube, while on a mil-spec tube the threads stick up higher than the tube. This is actually why commercial tubes exist. The military specifications call for a tube that is threaded, and then the body of the tube is milled down below the thread level. Obviously, this is expensive. The commercial tube begins with the same radius as the mil-spec tube, and gets the same threads, but the tube is never milled down. Instead, the buttstock comes with a larger aperture. This is significantly less expensive to manufacture. The mil-spec tube is a bit stronger and a bit lighter, but you are unlikely to notice a difference. Again, I only chose a mil-spec tube because I wanted an all mil-spec build. This sort of simplifies things.

Once the buttstock is removed, the castle nut can be loosened. Hold the rear plate in place while you do this, as it is spring loaded. If you do it right, you can even get the detent spring out without wrecking it. I have generally been unsuccessful in this regard. Loosen the castle nut as far as it will go, and then gentle remove pressure on the back plate. The detent spring should come out, along with the (very tiny) detent. I recommend putting these in a ziploc ASAP. The next step is to remove the tube. This is done easily by unscrewing it, but there is a stop pin under the lip of the tube which is under spring pressure. Be sure to hold this in place with a finger while loosening the tube.

The new buffer tube is installed in the reverse. The most important thing to be careful of is the new detent spring. Be careful not to crush it. Once the new buffer tube is installed, it is time to add the buttstock.

For this build, I chose the Magpul ACS buttstock. I chose this for three reasons.
1) Magpul makes some tough, high quality products.
2) Superior cheek-weld.
3) Storage space.
4) much cheaper than the UBR stock.

Again, this is a "real life" build, and the ACS retails for around $100. The UBR is upward of $250. There are other storage compartment stocks out there, such as Troy's nifty Battle Ax stock. This stock has almost endless storage space, but is heavier, more expensive, and in my opinion uglier. Also, I don't want to carry a whole bunch of gear in my carbine, just survival basics. Weight is important.

The ACS is a straight forward install, but the polymer "bullets" provided don't work very well for raising the pressure plug. I used a slim allen wrench. The final product is quite handsome.

AR Build, Upper Reciever

My choice for upper receiver is the VLTOR MUR-1A. I chose this upper receiver for the following reasons:
1) The stock bushmaster upper has a built-hand-guard, which makes mounting optics darned near impossible.
2) I wanted an all mil-spec build both for toughness and parts compatibility.
3) The MUR-1 is machined from forged billet, and has extra material and bracing, making it arguably the strongest upper on the market.

I had to take the receiver to a gunsmith to swap the barrel over, so while I am waiting on my lower receiver parts, I went ahead and got that done. In the next post I will show you my choice of hand-guard and explain the logic behind my choice.

Quote of the Week

  "The choice is not between death and life. The choice is between honor and dishonor."