Single-Minded Gun Guy

  

Maybe it's the old Boy Scout in me. Maybe it's survivalism or maybe it's just the freeing simplicity of the concept where a person is reduced to a few simple tools and his/her wits getting by in the great outdoors. A few years ago, I started watching Dave Canterbury's videos on bushcraft and loved them! One of the things that he supports is the idea of having a single "do everything" firearm using the Harrington and Richardson single shot that's been produced for many years under many model names, such as Topper, 148, Pardner..... the list goes on. As much as I love modern semi-automatics such as ARs, I really enjoy the concept of these simply, little to go wrong designs.

While in the process of scouring pawnshops for a H&R, I came across and became interested in the $99 Hatfield shotgun sold at Walmart, due in part to the amazing price, but also because of what one Youtuber that goes by "Booligan" was able to do with it!

It's an old formula pioneered over 100 years ago by American gun companies, but one of the mods that this Turkish manufacturer was able to come up with was to move the hinge slightly thus allowing for the gun to fold back under itself creating a folding 16" firearm that can easily be carried in a backpack. While contemplating getting one of these, I stumbled across this...

Apparently, the manufacturer for the "Hatfield", either contracted it with another company or decided to bring a lightly modified version in themselves and sell it under the name of Fedarm SS12. They can often be found on Gunbroker, the online auction seller for $50 to $70. Got mine for about $65. I bought a 9mm Luger 5" chamber adapter/barrel for it and started using it to test my 9mm hand loads. VERY convenient not having to chase brass around! So, much so that I traded for.... this.....

A Rossi R223HB, meaning a Brazilian manufactured version of the same concept chambered in .223 Remington so I can test my .223 hand loads that same way! It basically cost me nothing because I refurbished a laptop I was given and exchanged it for the gun. Unlike the SS12 above and any of the H&Rs this is no lighweight; it's equipped with a "heavy barrel" and is quite accurate. I'd really like to have a 9mm Luger barrel for it as well so I don't have to use a chamber adapter. So, I started looking for a cheap Rossi barrel that I can use as a "stubb" (explain later), or maybe another .223 barrel (which is close enough in case diameter that I could marry a 9mm barrel to it. In the process, I found this:

 

It's called a "Trifecta" for obvious reasons and mine came with a 7mm08 barrel, a 20ga barrel, and a 22LR barrel. Despite Rossi claiming that barrels require a trip back to the factory to "fit" them to a particular frame, mine fit the R223 just fine and visa-versa. I don't have any need for a 7mm08 barrel, but what can it hurt! However, I sure like having the 20ga and the 22LR barrels. Plus, I got it for a song at $175 off of Texas Gun Trader from a guy who had run out of room in his gun safe! All of a sudden, I'm the owner of 3 single shot long guns, in 2 shot gauges, and 3 rifle calibers with the capability to shoot a 4th!

Now I still need to find another barrel to make into a 9mm! In the meantime, while I was researching, I found that Rossi made a couple of interesting items for a short time. 

The first (which is practically, although NOT easily attainable) is the P4102211 Matched Pair Pistol. Basically the same frame/receiver but fitted with a pistol grip and short barrels in either 45LC/410ga or 22LR. I'd love to have one of these. Although they aren't terribly expensive (about $200-250), but they are hard to find because they weren't in production for very long. The other though....

First of all; they were only sold in Canada and to add a level of complexity, it's legal there since our Canuck friends, while having generally more restrictive firearms laws, have some less so, regarding short barreled shotguns! So yeah, it's be difficult if not impossible to import! Now, it would be possible to buy a regular 12 gauge single shot, then file a Form 1 with the BATF along with the $200 fee and wait, and wait, and wait..... Then at some point in the future when you're old like me, and it's been approved, you can make your own Canadian Rossi Shotgun Pistol! Am I going to build one of these? No, I don't think so. If I were to invest $200 in a BATF "tax stamp", I think I'd want to create a modern "Howdah" (or Houdah). What's that you say?

During the time of the British Raj, hunters, both Victorian and local potentates, would go afield carried by elephants in the "Houdah" (platform). The "pistol" (and I use the term loosely) was carried as a "defense of last resort" when hunting dangerous game like Tigers and Lions... oh my! They originally began as flintlock, then cap & ball, but appears to have reached the pinnacle of development in the break-open form chambered in large-bore calibers such as .577 Martini. I've become slightly obsessed, but them, but they (like the Pedersoli above) tend to run into the thousands depending on whether you get the kit or finished form. Can anyone say sawed-off Coach Gun!?!

 

From Bad to Worse: The Guns & Ammo Situation 2020

 

For a lot of people, this is what it feels like right now. And this thing with the West Coast fires is just the latest. It breaks my heart! I've actually driven around in that area just enjoying the trees. For a guy who grew up on the treeless plain of the Texas Panhandle, it was amazing! Ironically, that was the year of the never-ending rains which caused all manner of havoc with mud-slides! It seems like a lifetime ago....

And then you have this.... 

After this......

With mayors in various places literally ordering police to NOT "police".......hmmmm So, what's the upshot? Well, you have lots of nervous folks. And nervous folks buy up all the guns and ammo they can lay their hands on.

So, philosophically and realistically, here's where I think we are: although many of us adhere to the belief that we are ultimately responsible for defending ourselves from the miscreants of society, we thought we lived in an advanced nation with functioning policing. Then the craziness started. We all know what those are, starting with the pandemic and currently sitting in hurricane season and watching wildfires on TV that probably are the result of us stopping forest fires and may or may not be worsened by global warming!!! From a rational non-extremist standpoint, what should we be doing right now instead of just watching in horror every evening on the news?

Here's what I'm doing..... the NON-doomsday version of prepping and my rationale behind it.

• 1st of all, I don't believe there's going to be a societal collapse SHTF situation. I'm not going to go into why I believe this right now, but I just don't!
• 2nd. I do believe that they'll be chances of some societal unrest in the next few month/years? Yes, I do, but with the proviso that it will vary quite a lot from region to region and certainly being in big cities of "blue states" would be the iffy-est situations. 
• 3rd. I absolutely believe that all these uncertainties will create a continuation of the 2020 situation with disruptions and shortages. Because, nervous people will hoard. I lived in New Orleans (pre-Katrina) and Chicago. Every time there was something on the horizon, weather-wise, people freaked out.

Now with the rationale out of the way; what have I done and am I proposing to do for myself and my family?

• Basic Defense- On average, if you live in an urban or suburban location it takes 7 minutes for for police to get to you. If you're rural, it'll probably be longer. If you have a hopped up meth-head or home-invasion gone wrong..... any number of minutes is a loooong time. So, one of the first guns I bought was a 12 gauge pump shotgun and I have quite a bit of buckshot. We have a defense plan for our house and everyone in it know what it is. I also have a number of 9mm handguns, one of which is in the nightstand. It will go into the hands of my wife or son as my backup. It's part of the plan. I have over a 1000 rounds of 9mm, so I don't need to buy any for some time.
• Widespread Societal Disruptions- What I mean by this is, if things get so bad, I'll need to get home and hunker down with my family and go nowhere for some time.
• Have or Prepare to Store from 1 to 3 months of food. I'd say that we keep roughly about a months worth of essentials in our house right now, ranging from food, to other items, like alternative cooking equipment such as propane stoves/fuel just in case there's a power disruption. We also have batteries as well as portable light and power for short term disruptions. This also includes enough potable water, or water that's near potable enough to drink if it come to that.
• Defense- when we talk about defense as related to this scenario, is if absolutely "next-level" stuff. Now you're talking about the possibility of defending against marauders or desperate folks (read unprepared) looking to take what you have. Besides the 9mm handguns that I have, my actual primary defensive arms are AR platform carbines/pistols. They range from the run-of-the-mill 5.56/.223 to .300 Blackout and my current build of a 6.5 Grendel which will give me the ability to keep a "stand-off" distance of over 300 yards plus (limited by eyesight). There's a system here and I will explain in a future post. If my troubles are too much for this setup, then I guess I'm screwed!

• Comms- If "services" get disrupted, there's a good chance that cellphone/telephone service will go out along with possibly radio/tv. Which leaves ham/shortwave. I have 3 of the cheapo Baofeng radios. They're cheap, but they work. My plan is to study for and pass the ham licensing test this coming year. I also have a couple of the FRS radios and have those channels programmed into the Baofengs as well. I don't intend for the Baofeng radios to do heavy lifting as far as long distance shortwave communications is concerned, but they are what I can afford and way better than nothing. They can be used for comms in a pinch. I'll get something better when I pass my exam!

• The last part of this level of my plan is power. Nope, I don't have solar panels, a power-wall or a windmill yet, but don't think I haven't thought about it! What I do have is flashlights and lanterns for every person and situation, along with batteries stored up for them all. I also recently bought a power station that has a portable solar charging panel. It should be able to power/charge up emergency items such as phone, flashlights and radios and charge itself up every day that there's sunlight. 

So, as you can see, at this stage of the game, it's a short-term setup. Something along the lines of a month or so. Would I like to be more prepared, absolutely! I'm working on it though...