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Imagine that you were a weakling who kept his cash under his mattress, and you lived in a bad neighborhood that was dominated by the Mafia.  Every year or two, Mafia thugs would come by and threaten to beat you to death, and demand: “Half for us and half for you.”  That is a bit like what it is like to live in an era of mass inflation. But with inflation, the cash extractions are gradual, and almost invisible. No thugs. Just melting purchasing power. Perhaps I chose a poor analogy, but bear with me, while I explain: As a…

February 18, 1678: John Bunyan‘s Christian novel “The Pilgrim’s Progress” was published in London by Nathaniel Ponder.  Pictured is John Bunyan’s Tomb, at Bunhill Field, London. — Today is also the birthday of astronaut Theodore Cordy “Ted” Freeman (February 18, 1930 – October 31, 1964.) Ted Freeman and his wife Faith were friends of my mother and father.  Both my father and Ted Freeman were stationed at Bryan Air Force base in the early 1950s, and they rented houses three blocks apart, in College Station, Texas. (My father was a T-33 instructor pilot.) About ten years later, while training as…

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The quest to make our firearms’ projectiles move downrange at ever higher velocities cuts across multiple shooting pursuits and predates anyone alive today. Beyond our very American penchant for things that go fast, the ballistic motivations for these efforts are easy to see. Purpose-built defensive and hunting bullets, such as expanding designs or deep-penetrating solids, usually perform best at higher-impact velocities. Within the military small-arms realm, high velocity is a key criterion for armor-piercing munitions. Extreme-long-range rifle shooters quickly learn that top-end muzzle velocities (MV) can also help supersonic projectiles remain stable at greater distances, thereby extending reach. Likewise, the…

On Feb. 10 South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) signed Senate Bill 2, which deregulated suppressors at the state level. It’s a major development, despite the fact the federal requirement to acquire a National Firearm Act (NFA) Stamp before taking possession of one of the hearing-safety devices remains mandatory. More than a dozen states, including The Mount Rushmore State until Feb. 10, require residents to have an NFA Stamp to legally own a suppressor. With the cost of acquiring one reduced from $200 to $0 on Jan. 1, South Dakota’s move pre-emptively clears what would become an insurmountable hurdle should…

So, after seeing the specs on Hornady’s .338 ARC (that were so impressive it won our Golden Bullseye Award for Ammunition Product of the Year, mind you), I set out to build a lower receiver for a new .338 ARC-chambered AR-15. I’ve built a number of AR-15-style rifles in the past, from a super lightweight rifle to a long-range build to an extremely dependable defensive carbine. On a side note, much like one’s shooting skills, AR-15-building skills are perishable, and if you don’t practice regularly, you have to go back to the basics. And of course, by that I mean…

00:00:01 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host, Tony Peterson. 00:00:20 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt Foundation’s podcast, which is brought to you by First Light. I’m your house Tony Peterson, and today’s episode is all about the scouting and how you should approach it during the off season to have your best chance of killing a big…

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“That’s not a knife. This is a knife!” (Paul Hogan as Mick Dundee, in Crocodile Dundee, 1986). When I took the Cold Steel Recon 1 XL out of its box for the first time and deployed the blade, the attempted mugging scene from Crocodile Dundee immediately came to mind. The Recon 1 XL is bigger than the average everyday carry (EDC) knife: a lot bigger. It has a 5.5-inch blade that is 0.15 inches thick and 1.63 inches wide. It is 12.25 inches long when the blade is deployed. And it weighs 8 ounces. The knife is 6.75 inches long,…