Range Talk: Practical Guns, Gear & Training

Obesity in the United States kills hundreds of thousands every year. Since this podcast is about practical firearms use, and being adequately prepared for their use, then we can't ignore the importance of fitness and physical health as a part of that. I promise I'll be back to talking about more direct gun stuff next week!

More Americans are carrying pistols now than ever before. While it's great that Americans are recognizing the need for a disproportionate means of self defense, I fear that the efforts to make those pistols fight ready aren't quite up to par.

Generally speaking, a modern carbine that you pick up off the shelf and go shoot with will work just fine. Whether it’s a direct impingement AR-15 or one of the many piston-driven systems out there, anything built to spec by a reputable manufacturer should be able to fire, eject, and feed any factory ammo of the correct caliber without issue. But there are still reasons you might consider options to tune a rifle’s gas system: perhaps you have a custom build or a specific ammo type that isn’t running as reliably as you’d like, or you’d like to reduce felt recoil for faster follow-up shots. Let's go through the options and how to tune your setup for your specific needs.

Caliber choice is something that people tend to overthink and put too much emphasis on, and those people don’t like being told not to do those things. Now I’m fine with shooters that have developed caliber preferences over time, but if you’re just starting out or looking for scientific reasons to go with a particular caliber, hear me out on this: choosing a caliber for your next gun is silly and I’m going to explain why.

Acquiring and shooting firearms is definitely one of the most expensive hobbies one could involve themselves in. There are ways to minimize the wallet hit, such as buying cheaper ammo in bulk to train with, but does the money you save come at another price?

I often hear that a pump-action 12-gauge should be considered the go-to for home defense. It’s easy to use, intimidating to the bad guy, and packs a major punch. There’s also a common belief that you don’t need to waste time aiming when the buckshot will fill the hallway. But the truth is that none of that is true and a shotgun is actually the worst option you could go with, and we're going to dig into why this week.

Slings may not seem like very exciting podcast material, but if you have and use a rifle, one of the first things we'd like you to have on that rifle is a quality sling. As long as you have a sling, you might as well make sure you know what it’s for and how best to use it

Welp, it’s that time again. Some stuff is on the news and some political shenanigans are in the forecast. That means perfectly normal guns, ammo, and gear are going to be flying off the shelves and hoarded into closets, basements, and bunkers. Yep, it’s panic buying time.

This episode is PACKED with puns, and mostly not the dirty kinds. Everyone "knows" that a longer barrel will be more effective at distance and that short barrels are only useful in close quarters or concealment when the size of the weapon is more of a factor than actually shooting the thing. Let's dissect a bit of what is "known" and figure out what we should know going forward when it comes to barrel length.

When discussing any hobby or profession where you’re spending money on gear and equipment, debates will always come up about how much is the right amount to spend on something. As with everything, there’s a sweet spot to setting up your everyday pistols and rifles, and in this episode we’re hopefully going to find those sweet spots.

Since this is isn't a podcast that I expect a lot of Navy SEALS or Delta Force operators listen to, I’ve tried to steer clear of stuff that you might consider too ‘high speed’ or ‘tactical’ in nature. But even normal shooters can and should borrow elements that those high speed operators practice, especially when it comes to the basics. This week, we’re gonna cover how to most efficiently practice one of those basics.

This is gonna sound weird coming from a gun-oriented podcast, but… I kinda hate gun stores. It’s easy to feel uncomfortable and out of place when shopping for guns and interacting with a store’s staff. With that said, there are some Do’s and Don'ts that can make your experience at your local gun store more pleasant.

This show isn’t sponsored or endorsed by EOTech in any way - I’m sure nobody that works there knows about this podcast at all - but we feel that some recent happenings with EOTech makes for an interesting story and want to dive into it a bit.

There has never been a better time to get into AR-15s (or the AR platform in general). In the US, we have tons of manufacturers of quality firearms and components that span a wide range of prices for every budget. But how much do you really need to spend to get the AR that's right for you, and what goes into those cost differences?

Debates that revolve around civilian gun use often revolve around whether it’s right for someone to use a potentially lethal firearm to defend their home. A common argument is that if you don’t know if someone is looking to hurt anyone or if they're just after some jewelry or a TV, then it’s not ethical to use lethal force. Let's explore that.

"Nobody needs more than 5 rounds to defend themselves unless they're a terrible shot", said no one familiar with defensive firearms use ever. Not only should you bring as much ammo as you can to a gunfight, but you should learn how to get all of those rounds on target in a hurry (because you'll probably be in a hurry if the day comes that you need all those rounds).

There are about a kajillion firearms manufacturers on the market nowadays, but not all of them are created equal. This week's talk covers the brands that you probably shouldn't buy from under any circumstance, for reasons ranging from simple mechanical inferiority to blatantly unsafe products that are going unfixed by these companies.

It's time to bury any chance of sponsorship by a gun manufacturer: you probably only need one rifle to do everything you use rifles for, and there's a really compelling reason to only have one rifle.

Despite having more options than ever, and despite the internet's collective addiction to debating feature and spec differences, the ugly simple truth about choosing a pistol is that it doesn't really matter which brand or model you go with. Let's dig into why before anyone's feelings get hurt too badly.

Your hearing protection, eye protection, and possibly your cover from sunlight and weather are all pretty critical to your shooting. You only get one head and one set of the organs that are plugged into it, so it makes sense to protect all that good stuff as well as you can while you’re doing any outdoor activity, but including and especially shooting at the range.