New American Truth

Long time readers know that I have, in the past, written several articles about Bugout Bags, Go Bags, Trunk Kept Go Bags and assorted other articles on related topics. This past week I was presented with an interesting hypothetical: what if you couldn’t take a bag? What if all you had was what you were WEARING and your guns. What would that consist of? Naturally this is radically different depending on what environment you are, or you expect to be, in. Still, it seemed an interesting enough challenge to contemplate that I thought I’d share. Read the full story

First let me say this:  We at New American Truth are horrified and distraught at the loss of life in Newtown, Connecticut.  The history of violence in or against our schools in the United States predates our country’s founding.  It should shame us all that we act so aggressively to prevent accidental deaths by fire or physical injury but we so completely neglect the prevention of violence in any realistic manner.  Instead of arming willing and capable teachers and training our students to never accept being a victim, the educational leadership mouths meaningless platitudes about “zero tolerance” and “teaching individual responsibility.”  The only way to survive a violent attack and emerge victorious against evil is to train for it and respond to it with greater justified and completely moral violence.  Until that reality becomes accepted and spread through our schools, violence will continue; the loss of innocent lives will continue; and politicians will continue to use such horrific events, leveraging them for their own power-grabbing agendas. Read the full story

It is quite entertaining at times to be in the company of those who know firearms. Everyone has an educated opinion and we type A personalities don’t tend to be tactful in how we represent our opinion. I’ve enjoyed listening to some truly great minds in the firearms field debate the pros and cons of the .45ACP versus the 9mm. In the past few years the debate has grown to include the .40S&W, the .357Sig and now the .45GAP. Being highly presumptuous and arrogant, I’m going to way in with my two cents worth on the pros and cons of the various calibers and loadings and offer my outlook on what I believe the best is.

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Editor’s note: This review was originally published in January 2009. Since then, this handgun has had over 2,500 rounds put through it. There has been no measurable loss of accuracy nor any noticeable change in the finish. We repost this review as the weapon continues to perform as expected.

Okay, I admit it: I am a prejudiced person. I LIKE my guns to have BIG holes at the end of the barrel where the bullets come out. It probably has something to do with my first issue weapon being a 1911 pistol thanks to Uncle Sam’s Army MP Corps. The down side of that big hole is the usually attributed weight, size and limited capacity of the associated pistol. For certain it’s a challenge to find a compact, comfortable, easy to carry, easy to conceal weapon in .45ACP. Enter the Kahr CW4543 in .45ACP. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it when I first got it, but it’s grown on me. Here’s why. Read the full story

If you watch enough military movies, particularly if they revolve around special forces and/or explosives handlers, you’ll eventually hear the phrase, “Two is one; one is none.”  With people who deal in such risky work where the success of a mission can make or break a war, nothing can be left to chance.  They can’t count on ONE detonator; they use TWO.  A General may not be able to count on a single A-Team to get the mission accomplished so he sends TWO.  Two is one; one is none.  When we talk about survival preparation and equipment, where living or dying can hinge on what we do or don’t have, can we afford to take a less cautious approach?  I think not. Read the full story

Editor’s Note: Just yesterday I enjoyed a conversation with a family member about “the best way to carry concealed.”  Since “the best way” is a personal choice and often circumstance dependent, I felt it might be good to republish this article.  All comments and observations are appreciated.

In the past week, I’ve received a couple of emails requesting information about retention holsters for off-duty or plainclothes use. In an ideal world, a holster with equal retention features to our duty holsters, but easily hidden and immensely comfortable would be easy to find. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world. The best we can hope to find is a holster that is comfortable; that secures the weapon to our satisfaction; and from which we can present the weapon without delay. Read the full story

This past week I enjoyed a conversation with a “Flight Deck Officer”. That would be, as I understand it, a pilot who is armed. Why they don’t just continue to call them “pilots” is beyond me. Why do they need a special name? Especially one that might point out the fact that they’re armed to any bad guys paying attention? We’ll leave that alone for now. The jist of our conversation was that – in his experience – contemporary Use of Force guidelines as well as defensive tactics are being taught to Flight Deck Officers. He felt that this was inappropriate since the risk is potentially so much greater in a plane, and because so much of the defensive tactics skills being taught today simply don’t work in the limited space of airplane aisles. His comments got me thinking and here we go… Read the full story

One of the most popular topics you’ll ever see on a firearms / gun forum is the discussion about every day carry or “EDC”. I’ve participated in more than one of those conversations. That said, once you take the gun out of the equation – as it is legally removed for so many people – the conversation falls to nothing pretty quick. So my thought was this: if you aren’t carrying a gun, then what DO you carry every day that is a defensive tool? Read the full story

With 23 different variations of Glock available you’d think they make something for everyone.  I have to confess that, at one time or another, I’ve owned six of their handguns in 9mm, .40S&W and .45ACP.  Certainly their handguns are reliable, simple and “convenient:” easy to handle, easy to maintain.  Still, I find myself wishing Glock would make two more variations – and I readily admit that it’s all about me (as I write this) although I’m sure some folks out there would also take an interest in the fictional weapons I’m going to describe. Read the full story

Across the span of the past century, give or take a couple of years, the Colt Government Model 1911 .45ACP pistol may well be the most copied pistol design to date. At present you can get some version of the legendary pistol from Colt, Smith & Wesson, SigArms, Springfield Armory, Auto Ordnance, and more. As far as I know, Beretta and Glock don’t make 1911 variations. Glock never will because of the .45GAP cartridge and Beretta has shown little inclination to develop / design weapons in the .45ACP cartridge. They have in the past, but not with what appears to be great motivation. This week’s review, though, is going to be about a little known all stainless steel pistol made by Randall – the first stainless steel .45s made. Read the full story