The following video reviews the ATN THOR Thermal weapons system. Thermal represents a key move up to 24-hour surveillance capability along with the ability to target potential threats 24-hours a day.
The THOR is what many would consider a “budget” thermal optic. Sitting right around $1,950 “budget” is not a word that comes to mind when I see that price but it is one of the least expensive thermal optics available.
Very impressive weapons sight.
by Prepper Ralph
I was looking for a 9 millimeter subcompact that would not break the bank but would also make a good carry gun for my wife and I. We looked all over the place from the Kahr CM9 single stack 9 millimeter to the Kel-Tec P11, and even used a SCCY CPX-2 for about 6 months. The new Glock 43’s were nice, but we really wanted a double stack that would fit in either of our hands, and also be comfortable. My wife has never enjoyed a Glock 26 so that was out of the question. I wanted something that wouldn’t break the bank or my wallet. That eventually lead me to my local gun shop where I ran across the Taurus Millennium G2 in 9mm. A lot of you may remember the old Taurus PT-111 Pro’s… this is the Gen 2 of that weapon.
First Impressions…
My initial shock was the fact that this weapon was sitting in the glass case at a meager price of only $199.99! I was stunned that someone would put a tag like that on a handgun and expect it to function. More on that later. I asked to hold the gun so the salesman pulled it from the case. I was amazed by how it felt in my hands. The grip has a texture unlike anything on the market that I could think of; almost like sandpaper, but nicer. It also fit in my hand like it was made for it. I have large hands, and wear a large sized glove, and this felt great – almost like it was glued into my palm due to the texturing. FYI, though the texture is rough, it isn’t painful, or too abrasive. I never knew what the perfect texture was until I held the G2. It’s light weight, a subcompact, and was double stack just like we wanted. Another thing I noticed was the attractive and modern lines of the G2. It’s rounded in the rear of the slide/frame for comfort while carrying, while slightly wedge shaped in the nose for holster insertion. The front of the slide also has a “scallop” on both sides to lighten the gun which I also found attractive. The finish on the slide seemed to be as good as any higher priced weapon on the market with no blemishes. Machining was perfect in my opinion, with zero tool marks to be found. As always, I had some research to do before I took the gun home finally so I handed it back over to the salesman.
Specs…
Taurus’s website has the specs on the G2 at http://www.taurususa.com which is where I did my research. MSRP of the G2 is listed at $301.52 though I’ve seen it as high as $250, and as low as the price I paid: $199. I found that the gun was 6.24” long with a barrel of 3.2”. It weighs 22oz. without the 12+1 rounds in it. Did I mention that it came with 2 magazines? That was a shocker to me. Both have a high gloss bluing and drop freely from the gun when the mag release is pressed. It holds 2 more rounds than a Glock 26, with the G2 weighing .29 ounces more. Since I’m comparing it to the Glocks, it’s roughly the height of a 19, but roughly the length of a 26 if that helps. The barrel is stainless steel, as well as the slide. Frames of G2 handguns are polymer as is typical of modern handguns with one other color option that I have found: desert tan. Sights are the typical 3 dot system, though the rear is adjustable. Both front and rear sights are polymer. Taurus has placed several safeties in the G2 which include a Loaded Chamber Indicator on the top of the slide, a thumb safety on the left (up is safe, down is fire) Taurus’s iconic Security System that utilizes a key, as well as a Trigger Safety. I’m not a fan of all that, but I can say that the thumb safety was easy to get used to and it reassured my wife since I carry with a loaded chamber. The chamber indicator never gets in that way, and when sighting along the slide it is below the sight plane. Lastly, the G2 carries another Taurus icon; the double/single action trigger. The initial trigger pull is SA, and if a dud is in the chamber, you can release the trigger and pull a second time in DA. Basically, it allows a second strike capability in times of high stress. The SA is slightly mushy but with a fast break/reset, while the DA is long with a definite breaking point that is easy to feel when firing.
Reliability and Accuracy…
The Taurus Millennium G2 has proven to be highly reliable and accurate since I went back and picked up one for my wife and I each. With the adjustable rear sight, hitting a 6” plate at 25 yards becomes routine with easily 10/12 hits on target. Within 7-10 yards (typical gun fighting distance per FBI) it’s easy to place all 12 rounds in about a 2” pattern. Hostage drills, El Presidente, and target shooting are great with the G2. I found with our particular examples that they would not reliably chamber hollow point ammunition. I’ve tried Hornady, Winchester, Remington, and even some cheaper discount brands such as Independence and ZQI. I did find one self defense round that would work all the time. Those are the 100 gr FTX® Critical Defense® Lite from Hornady. They work all the time, every time and are polymer tipped in pink for the ladies.
The G2’s have had zero problems running round nose ball ammo. I’ve not had a stove pipe, FTF, FTE, light strike, or magazine malfunction. For $199, that’s a lot of reliability for such an inexpensive price.
Final Thoughts…
The Taurus Millennium G2 9mm has proven to be an inexpensive though high quality handgun. It’s lightweight, accurate, and what we were looking for. Though it has had issues using other brands of HP ammunition, the Hornady rounds have proven to be 100% reliable. Between both guns, we’ve placed several hundred rounds through them. If you are a new shooter, on a budget, or small statured, then this will make a fine weapon that you can carry with confidence. I know many people that have them including my friend John Rourke, my father, as well as several other friends and family members. Everyone I’ve talked to who has a G2 love the guns, and have minimal complaints. Most people who get on G2 tend to go back to their local dealers to pick up one or two more. One guy I heard from the salesman I picked ours up from stated that a man walked in and bought one, then the next week obtained 4 more for his family because of the price and reliability.
Prepper Ralph
Images used were sourced from the manufacturer’s websites. Article is original content by Prepper Ralph.
Popular topic among those who have to travel any distance from home is being able to carry the firepower of a battle rifle – without it being seen. Most long guns are not known for their concealability thus pistols are often the firearm of choice. The AR pistol has become a popular “truck-gun” due to its large firepower and smaller size.
One option that mostly goes unnoticed is the standard AR carbine. Although too large to fit in a backpack or standard duffel bag it can be separated into two pieces making it much more compact. My AR carbine in the picture above breaks down to 24.5″. It takes literally seconds to put the two pieces together via two pins and “Abracadabra!!” – ready to rock and roll.
One issue with this set up is the ability of the bolt to slide out of the upper while in the bag. This would prove just a bit frustrating should the need for the AR arise and speed was of the essence. Reaching around the bottom of the bag for parts would not be very encouraging.
The simple fix is placing a loop of paracord through the pivot hole in the upper and wrapping it around the bolt carrier – and then securing it. In the included pictures a secure knot is presented through a secure but quick release knot would be preferable.
Options are great, aren’t they?
Rourke
Via Wikipedia……
The Newhall incident, also called the “Newhall massacre”, was a shootout between two heavily armed criminals and officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) in the Newhall unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, California on April 5, 1970. In less than 5 minutes, four CHP officers were killed in what was at the time the deadliest day in the history of California law enforcement.[1][2]
At approximately 11:55 p.m. (UTC-8), CHP officers Walt Frago and Roger Gore conducted a traffic stop of Bobby Davis and Jack Twinning in conjunction with an incident involving the pair that had been reported to the CHP minutes earlier. After stopping in a restaurant parking lot and initially cooperating with the officers, Twinning and Davis opened fire and killed both officers. Minutes later, Officers George Alleyn and James Pence arrived on the scene and engaged Twinning and Davis in a shootout. A passerby picked up one of the officers’ weapons and opened fire on the perpetrators; however, the three were outgunned, and both Alleyn and Pence suffered fatal injuries while the passerby ran out of ammunition and took cover in a ditch. A third CHP patrol car arrived on the scene and the lone officer inside briefly exchanged gunfire with the perpetrators, but they were able to flee the scene.
Over three hours later, after stealing a vehicle and exchanging gunfire with its owner, Davis attempted to flee the area; however, he was spotted by police and arrested. Meanwhile, Twinning broke into a house and took one of its occupants hostage. The house was surrounded by deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and at approximately 9 a.m., he released the hostage and committed suicide when the deputies entered the house. Davis was sentenced to death but had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1973. He killed himself[3] at Kern Valley State Prison in 2009.[1]
The Newhall incident resulted in a number of changes at the CHP, including procedural changes in arresting high risk suspects and standardization of firearms and firearms training used across the department.[1][2]
The above describes a horrible situation where good and evil battled and eventually good won out. What struck me when I first heard this story was the involvement of that sheepdog that picked up an officers weapon and stood up against evil. I have corrected a few people when they refer to police, EMS, fire department, etc. as “first responders”. No disrespect meant at all but quite often it is a civilian that is the first responder. What they decide to do – or not do – can make all difference. I’m likely just overly obsessed with the semantics of terminology.
So – how many of us would jump in in defense of those officers? Don’t answer – because I’m not sure most would really know until the situation occurred.
Rourke
Upon my recent reflection of the 80’s survivalist movement I scoured my memories for all the different firearms and survival equipment available at the time and remembered a unique device – the BMF Activator. From my recollection it was primarily intended for .22lr semi-auto’s – especially the Ruger 10/22. Attached to the trigger guard each rotation of the crank would cause the gun to fire four times. This essentially provided a feeling similar to that of firing a fully automatic firearm.
I had figured the BMF was nothing but a relic from the past but this is not the case. It is in fact still available at least from a few dealers.
Here is a demonstration video:
I’ve watched a lot of video’s on YouTube which display some serious safety issues as people fire from the hip and who knows where the rounds are going. Regardless – there could be some applications where the BMF Activator could be a combat multiplier.
Might pick one up and try it out. At a minimum it’ll be fun.
Rourke
One of many firearms on my wishlist is the Beretta CX4 Storm. Available in a few different calibers my preference would be 9mm. I just left my LGS and handled one of these unique weapons. It is extremely compact and felt very lightweight.
Hoping to get a new gun cabinet for Christmas which I will have no choice but to fill up. The Beretta CX4 Storm is a viable candidate.
Check out this video……
Beyond the ever increasing threats existing in the world and the possibility that significant gun control could be realized after the Presidential election – having an AR-15 can be flat out fun! Although there are many models out there costing well over $1000 if funds are a challenge there is still hope.
Just one example of putting together a very useable AR is shopping the sales from Palmetto State Armory. Located in South Carolina they do a massive online business and send out great sales flyers for those on their email list. I have toured their Columbia, SC location and talked to the owner/manager. He was a nice guy. The staff? Not so much. Regardless, their mail order business is excellent.
From a recent sales promotion:
For just over $500 a complete AR can be put together. Shipping and handling as well as any transfer fees are not included.
Putting together an AR in this manner can be done a little at a time and part by part. Stripped lowers/uppers can be purchased and then specific parts added over time. It can be a lot of fun putting together your own gun piece by piece.
If the money is available all at once most manufacturers offer up a budget model between $500 and $600. ClassicFirearms.com is a good source.
Point of the post? No excuses! If you are wanting an AR the time is now.
Rourke
I’m of that generation who drove old pickup trucks to school at age 14 (yes, we had paper driver’s licenses at that age and before, way back then) with rifles and shotguns suspended from a rack behind the seat blocking the rear glass. There were no crew cabs and the pickup trucks had single bench seats. Every truck in the school parking lot displayed at least one rifle and many had fishing rods as well. Without even noticing it, those trucks sporting rifle racks in plain view – all disappeared.
I didn’t give vehicle mounted rifle racks much attention until my first African safari. We were hunting the Big Five with double rifles, a .458 Lott bolt action rifle, and a light rifle in .300 Win Mag. Those of you who were raised reading about Karamojo Bell (Walter D.M. Bell), probably liked reading the White Snows of Kilimanjaro and The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Hemingway, and know that a good double rifle in such a venerable caliber as .470 NE is likely more expensive than the median house in the US. So I had a good look at the rifle racks in the Toyota Land Cruiser pick up truck before entrusting my rifles to their safekeeping. Furthermore I knew we would be bouncing across equatorial east Africa, as there were no roads other than the ruts we might make. That opinion was amplified by observing two spare sets of leaf springs and three spare tires mounted to the roll cage.
So what kind of rack would one entrust their rifle valued at six figures in these circumstances? The vehicle was equipped with several sturdily fabricated rifle mounts using 1” angle iron and rebar. In the cab, two sections of half inch rebar were bent into a U shape and welded at the outside bottom of the U to the angle iron separated by about 14”. Two of these mounts were affixed vertically in the cab. The U sections were then wrapped repetitively with a strip of inner tube with a piece left hanging from one end of the U long enough to wrap several times around the other open end of the U and back. Simple, strong, capable of being easily repaired, and durable. Similar, but larger size rifle mounts were affixed horizontally on the transverse portion of the roll cage. These mounts were intended to secure rifles inside lined canvas cases thus protected from dirt and debris. These mounts served me well during this hunt and subsequent with the same PH.
When planning a rifle mount for my trusty Jeep TEOTWAWKI, I first considered duplicating those used in Africa. I wanted a mount that would hold two rifles vertically between the front bucket seats, TEOTWAWKI however did not have the room up front of those one ton Toyota trucks. The standard gearshift and transfer case shift levers were in the way and I had mounted a metal box between the seats for a duplicate ignition system, alternator, and tools). I considered all sorts of placements for the rifle rack but wanted my M1A easily accessible while driving.
Living in hunt country where four wheelers and side-by-sides abound, I realized a lot of thought had been put into designing rifle mounts for these type vehicles. Given the space constraints and design goal, none looked as if they could be mounted directly to the TEOTWAWKI. I purchased a set of Kolpin Rhino Grips intended for two rifles (see www.kolpin.com/powersports/hunt/rhino-grip-xl-double) with the intent of fabricating a custom mount for these rifle grips.
I ended up fabricating a lower mount adapter out of a one inch angle iron welded transverse to a strip of 1 ½”x ¼” flat iron that would bolt to the floorboard. This piece of flat iron was drilled in three places in the vertical section and tapped for 7/16 x24 tpi bolts (the size and thread of two thumbscrews I had on hand). A three inch piece of one end was bent and drilled to bolt to the floorboard. The transverse angle portion would then be bolted to two pieces of metal in turn bolted to the sides of the metal box between the seats. I then welded a five inch piece of angle transverse to a 1 ½” x ¼ flat, 16” in length and drilled three 3/8” holes. The holes in both flat iron pieces were located so that the upper mount could be secured by the 7/16” thumbscrews in either a raised or lowered position.
The mount provides a secure way to mount driver and front passenger accessible rifles. If leaving the open top vehicle, a bicycle type chain lock can be used to secure the rifles to the vehicle by running the wire rope through the open actions and looping around the welded lower mount. The way in which the lower mount is bolted to the floorboard would require removing the lower transmission support for access to the nuts. Any cable can be cut and I loathe leaving rifles in plain sight, but this at least provides a measure of security.
I hope this brief article perhaps gives some ideas as how to transport rifles in your vehicle. Should you employ such a mount, I recommend knowing and complying with your state and local laws, especially before picking up the kiddos at school and with two M14s proximately displayed between the seats.
Please be careful and responsible with accessible vehicle mounted rifles and in all things, adopt Davy Crockett’s motto.
Panhandle Rancher
* * * * * * * * *
It is often professed that a weapons stockpile should consist of firearms in common calibers for one very important reason: Resupply. Due to the sheer volume of rounds with calibers such as 9mm, 45ACP, .223, .308, and .22LR if things get bad these calibers will always be readily available.
Well, maybe not.
Remember the months and months that followed Sandy Hook? It was extremely difficult to find ANY common calibers unless one was willing to pay some extremely inflated prices. I would visit my local gun shop, Academy, Wal-Mart, and DICK’s and there was no 9mm, no .223/5.56, no .22LR. Those were the calibers at the time I was searching for. There was also no 45ACP, no .308, and no .380. I also could not find any .30 Carbine. I did see 10mm sitting on the shelves. There sitting lonely covered with dust were other calibers such as .270, .300 Winchester Magnum, and even .30-06 occasionally. Back then even the .22 Magnum was readily available for quite some time.
Over the last few months since the pandemic ramped up ammo firearm and ammo sales have gone through the roof. A very similar situation has occurred although ammunition is in better supply and prices are more favorable than after Sandy Hook.
I totally understand the theory that the chances of coming across common ammunition such as 9mm and .223 anywhere in the United States are much greater than finding .41 Magnum. Absolutely I agree. With that in mind there are some advantages to the less-popular calibers.
I remember after Sandy Hook two things:
Lessons learned. Next time – and there will be a next time – be stocked up on what you need BEFORE a shortage happens.
Take care all –
JR
Every time I turn around I see the word “tactical”.
Tactical pens. Tactical pants. Tactical socks. Tactical shoes. Tactical belts. Tactical knives. Tactical flashlights. Tactical backpacks. Tactical gloves. Tactical watches. Tactical scissors. Tactical hats. Tactical patches. Tactical handcuffs. Tactical wallets. Tactical lunch boxes. Tactical money clips. Tactical ear plugs.
……and yes….even Tactical Bacon.
Since Obummer got into office everything related to firearms has become popular. Although he wishes he could disarm every American the reality is he has been the biggest salesman of firearms in history. Along with this “tactical” has become a marketing term stuck in front of almost everything that is even remotely related to guns – or not.
I present to you…..the tactical bottle opener.
My biggest issue with the overuse of “tactical” is far too many people buying products that have tactical in the name and thinking that somehow it is endorsed or related to law enforcement and military. A lot of folks out there are getting ripped off.
Well – I need to go. Have to go try out some tactical toilet paper I just got in.
JR
