Author: Gunner Quinn
Mention the words “Baker Rifle” and one image comes to mind: Richard Sharpe, the main character in Bernard Cornwell’s series of historical novels and the BBC television series it inspired, and his band of green-coated riflemen. Until recently, to get your hands on a Baker Rifle like Sharpe’s you had to choose between a rare original, a custom-built replica or an affordable, but less authentic reproduction that often lacked the Baker’s key feature—its rifling. That has changed with Pedersoli’s introduction of its 1805 Baker Rifle. : Pedersoli sought to bring authentically styled Baker rifles into the hands of collectors, re-enactors,…
To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds…
We have all seen the media drama these past few weeks regarding the weather. Until about 10 years ago, I never even heard the term “polar vortex”, it was just winter. Living in Maine for the past 20 + years and making through the harsh winters has been a humbling and rewarding experience. Every spring you can hear people sigh in relief. I feel sorry for the lower portion of the country that has been experiencing the extreme cold, ice and snow. It’s something that takes getting used to and it helps to have the proper clothing and gear to…
On February 7, 1812, a magnitude 8.2 earthquake shook New Madrid, Missouri. The public domain photo above was taken in 2006. JWR’s Comment: I’d suggest woodframe rather than brick construction, for earthquake-prone locales… — And on February 7, 1904, The Baltimore Fire. An estimated 1,500 buildings were destroyed. Fires raged through 80 blocks. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095…
The Hawai’i Department of Natural of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is currently accepting applications from landowners and lessees to participate in a unique “incentive program” that encourages the removal of invasive axis deer on the island of Maui.The program, dubbed the Landowner Incentive Program, was initially launched in 2024 to reduce axis deer numbers to manageable levels. It is essentially a bounty program, offering compensation of up to $50 for each deer tail submitted. The number of tails each landowner can submit in the program is calculated using a deer-to-acreage ratio, and the axis deer are required to be…
Roger Maes knows he’ll recognize his grandfather’s nearly century-old trophy buck whether it’s in online photo lineups, hanging in a Northwoods tavern, or fully restored and displayed at a giant hunting/fishing store.But the Madison, Wisconsin, resident hasn’t seen the buck for over 30 years, not since his grandfather sold it shortly before dying in 1993. Maes is just going off his childhood memories and an old photograph whose top-left corner is peppered with thumb-tack holes. The photo shows the buck’s decrepit shoulder mount and 18-point, coffee-colored rack flanked by two old snowshoes on his grandfather’s basement wall in Niagara, Wisconsin.Maes…
Real Avid, known for its extensive line of gunsmithing and general firearm-cleaning tools, has built a repository of tools and innovative solutions to help gun enthusiasts build, modify and maintain their firearms for peak performance. Real Avid has culled through its broad portfolio of purpose-built tools to assemble specialized tool- and supply-collections intended for specific firearm tasks. One way Real Avid has helped the do-it-yourselfer is to offer bundles of tools with related functionality. Two of the latest Master Collections by Real Avid are the Master Firearm Maintenance and Optics Mounting Collection and the Master Firearm Cleaning and Optics Mounting…
Armed Citizen® Today On Jan. 23 in St. Petersburg, Fla., around dinnertime, two men were sitting in a vehicle when two other men approached and reportedly tried to rob them at gunpoint. The robbery victims were also armed, however, and one or both of them responded by shooting at the alleged assailants. One of the robbery suspects died and the other was critically wounded. Police detained all involved but said the incident appeared to be self-defense. (fox13news.com, Tampa Bay, Fla., 1/24/26) From the Armed Citizen® Archives – January 1989An 89-year-old Ft. Wayne, Ind. woman was talking on the phone when…
Welcome to another Gun of the Week episode. In today’s show, we’re down on the range with the Benelli M4 Tactical shotgun. What you might notice if you’re an eagle-eyed viewer is this looks a little bit different than the typical M4 commercial shotguns that we’ve seen previously from Benelli. That’s because this is the M4 EXT, or as Benelli likes to call it, more of a good thing. As for the EXT, you could say it stands for “extras,” because there are a few little extras that you get on this new model. Now, the M4 shotguns we’re typically used…
The field of archeology is full of examples of humans using antlers for sacred and ceremonial purposes. It is obvious that antlers have amazed hunters long before we started scoring them in inches and points. Some of the spiritual mystique of antlers comes from the fact that they are cast off and regrown every year, and that has been viewed by just about every culture on Earth as a symbol of rebirth and healing. Even badly broken antlers are replaced with a perfect set—usually bigger—the following year.Evidence of the spiritual significance of antlers is found in their prevalence in graves,…