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