Jim:
I recently won the third prize for the survivalblog writing contest and I thought I would give back to the SurvivalBlog readers a review of the items I received as a way of saying thanks. The items I received were a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21, expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy, and two Super Survival Pack seed collections, courtesy of Seed for Security. I received all the items quickly and with two of them I also received congratulations cards on winning which was a very nice touch in my opinion. I want to take the time to respond back to these, and all the survivalBlog prize donators with a big thank you. Your efforts are helping to drive one of the best collections of how to articles available on the net.

The first item I want to review is the Royal Berkey water filter. When I received the box I was impressed with how well packaged the item was. I then removed the filter from the box and I must tell you these look even better in person than it does in the pictures. I was also taken with how small it actually was. I had always imagined something the size of the tea dispensers you see in restaurants. Instead it was closer to the size of a coffee percolator, a large one, but still smaller than I expected, very impressive for something rated at four gallons of flow per hour.  The box contained everything I would need to get started except the water.

The filter housing is made of stainless steel and does not feel flimsy at all; it feels like it could handle being moved around a lot. You can really see why these are considered the gold standard for water purification. I would in no means call it bug out bag capable, but if you need to move it around your retreat local you would not have to worry about it coming apart. This would be a good item to put in a dedicated bug out vehicle that had some storage capacity to allow you to travel with it. I could actually see permanently installing this in an RV or other similar setup to provide safe drinking water on the road. As an emergency supply for those planning to bug in this would be invaluable, especially if you have a local source of water that might become contaminated once the SHTF. With no water, or questionable water, from the pipes this item will give you the flexibility you need to manage your drinking supply.  This would also provide an excellent long term camping solution to ensuring clean drinking water.
                 
The next item I received was the item from Natural Cozy. Now this is a bit harder for me to review being a guy and not needing these regularly. They are very nicely made items, to the point that when I took them out of the package I started to think of other uses I could use them for. They are very soft and absorbent feeling, something I am going to have to assume is a good thing. I was also struck by the thought that they would make excellent bandages in an emergency.  They are strongly stitched and appear that they can take a lot of use.

I introduced these items to the wife and daughter and the reaction was interesting. At first I will admit they were a little hesitant about these items. Both of them are products of modern society and frankly tolerate my prepper ways, mainly because I have the last say in my house on these issues. They have been raised to think of disposable as clean and anything else as dirty. There perception changed a bit once I started to ask them what their plans in this area were once things went south and they could not pop over to the local store and grab a box of hygiene products whenever they wanted. I pointed out that the local stores supplies would most likely be gone in a week and that we simply did not have the space to store enough to last them more than a month. I did offer to help to help them to figure out the middle ages method of control involving a rag and dried moss. Once they realized I was serious they suddenly got a lot more interested in these items. Their impression seemed to be that while they were not interested in using them right now, that once SHTF they would be very interested in them. Since then my wife has commented a couple times she is actually glad that we have them.

From my point of view I am also glad to have them. While I don’t personally need them I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to be real glad I have a supply once they get scarce. I may run my house and control things, I am not sure I could stand the insurrection caused by two of the ladies of the house with no midol, no chocolate, and no hygiene pads. I can at least plan to furnish to them one of these pieces and save myself a lot of headaches in the future! Until then I have put them in a long term storage bucket marked plumbing supplies.

Finally I want to talk about the seeds for security package I received. The package contained two sets of their super survival packs and I must say I was impressed. Each set contains multiple packages of heirloom seeds packaged in their own Mylar packs. I found this to be very desirable over the more common #10 can method of packaging as I only had to open the pack I needed to use, not the entire collection at once. The packs are also nice because great care was taken to package sets of seeds that have the same growth needs. The spring pack, for example, contains everything that should be planted together in the spring, followed by a summer pack, a fall pack, and a winter pack. Grain packs are also included so that you can keep you separate rotation of grains going at the same time as your main vegetable garden. Each set of seeds came with detailed planting instructions. Add a farmer’s almanac to this mix to find the proper starting times for each season in your area and you are golden. This set is as close to fool proof gardening as you can get.

Again I wish to express my gratitude to these sponsors for sending out these items. The water filter and seeds were next on my list for items I needed to stockpile. The hygiene products should have been on my list and were not. I am glad they got moved up and covered now that I have thought on them more. If you don’t have these items yet I strongly suggest you run out and get them after you have your initial stockpile of food started.

Safecastle has announced the winners of their video and writing contest. I was pleased to see that a SurvivalBlog writer won first prize and that second prize went to a piece that was originally posted at one of our favorite self-sufficiency blogs, Rural Revolution. (Edited by Patrice Lewis.)

Article Category:

1st prize: "What is a Well-Stocked First Aid Kit" by K.M., SurvivalBlog.com - Prize: Katadyn Pocket Water Filter

2nd prize: "Preparedness for Young People" by Maria S, Rural-Revolution.com - Prize: Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator

Video Category:

1st prize: "Survival and Prepping - The Basics" by Falcon15, Survivalmonkey.com - Prize: Katadyn Pocket Water Filter

2nd prize: "PSK Survival Exercise" by ia woodsman, Survivalistboards.com - Prize: Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator

I like companies (and people) who think outside the box. I think this comes from my days as a Private Investigator, or when I was in law enforcement. In order to solve "mysteries" I had to think outside the box many times. So it is with firearms and ammo companies - if they want to stay in business, they have to keep coming up with different ideas, in order to pique their customers' interest.
 
Some months ago, I review some of the ammo that Buffalo Bore Ammunition (www.buffalbore.com) produces. Tim Sundles, who owns Buffalo Bore, told me he was swamped with orders from SB readers as a result of that article. That's a good thing, I like to see smaller, American-owned companies rise in this day and age. Sundles isn't one to sit back and rest on his past accomplishments. Nope, this guy is always thinking outside the box, and coming up with new and better loads in some of the old standby calibers.
 
The grand ol' .38 Special has never been what it should be. Most ammo companies produce some pretty sedate loads for this old round, and I've always thought (knew) it could do better. Buffalo Bore has come up with a new hard cast "Outdoorsman" load for the .38 Special. This new Buffalo Bore load was designed for those who need a deep penetrating load to be fired from lightweight alloy .357s and .38 Special revolvers. Sundles discovered that alloy .357s developed multiple problems firing their heavy 180 grain .357 Magnum hard cast turbo charged ammo, or for that matter, any make of full-power .357 Magnum loads.
 
Many folks wanted a deep penetrating load for outdoor use, when carrying their lightweight pocket .357 Magnum revolvers. This new .38 Special +P 158 grain hard cast load is safe to shoot in all .38 Special and .357 Magnum firearms of modern design, in normal operating condition. I think there is only maker who says to not use +P loads in one of their particular super lightweight revolvers - that's Taurus - and it's only one of their revolvers.
 
Buffalo Bore never uses extra long test lab barrels to produce their advertised velocities, they use real firearms for all their readings. Sundles used a Ruger GP 100 with a 6" barrel in .357 Magnum and was getting velocities around 1,250 FPS - that's screaming for a .38 Special +P load. Sundles also used a S&W Model 642 1-7/8" barrel snub by revolver and was still getting velocities above 1,000 FPS. I tested this load in a couple guns, shooting into water-filled milk jugs, and it easily penetrated completely through 3 jugs. This is a great round to carry when you're in the boonies, with a little .38 Special snubbie in your pocket or on your belt.
 
Okay, do you want to turbo charge your .357 Magnum revolver, with a lead-free heavy .357 load? Here it is! Buffalo Bore developed a load using the 140 grain Barnes all-copper hollow point load using the Barnes 140 grain bullet. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with various all-copper hollow bullets from Barnes, and I'm very impressed with them . They open-up nicely and penetrate deeply.
 
Sundles recommends that you ONLY use this load in an all-steel .357 Magnum revolver. It should NOT be fired in the lightweight alloy framed revolvers. You can also use this load in any of the .357 Magnum chambered rifles. If you are looking for a real man-stopper of a round, this is just the ticket.
 
Tim fired this round through a S&W Model 66 2.5" barrel revolver - a snub by - and was getting almost 1,400 FPS out of the gun. Moving up to a 4" barrel revolver, we are looking at better than 1,500 FPS. In a Marlin Model 1894, with an 18" barrel, Sundles was getting almost 1,950 FPS. We're talking serious velocity from this round. I fired this round through one of my .357 Magnum rifles, and found it to be very accurate, and the recoil was mild in my humble opinion.
 
I previously tested the Buffalo Bore 190 grain JFN 30-30 heavy load in a Rossi rifle, and it would make a great round for just about all game on the North American continent, given the limitations and range of the 30-30 round. However, that round might be a bit too much for some medium-sized game, like smaller sized deer. Buffalo Bore to the rescue! The new Buffalo Bore heavy 30-30 150 grain Barnes TSX round will not only penetrate deeply (and hold together) on deer and elk, it will mushroom very nicely. This load would also be great for black bear, too.
 
What's nice about this load is, if you are going from deer hunting, to elk or black bear, you don't have to readjust your sights, as you'd normally have to do when changing from one bullet weight to another. Nope, you can use this same 150 grain Barnes TSX bullet for much of your .30-30 hunting needs. However, if I were up in Alaska, where the really big bears are, and moose, I'd go with the other Buffalo Bore 190 grain JFN hard cast 30-30 load, for deeper penetration.
 
In a Winchester .30-30 with a 20" barrel, Sundles is getting 2,271 FPS. And, even in a little 16" barrel Trapper, he is still getting close to 2,200 FPS. This is a great all 'round load if you ask me - so long as you're not up in Alaska looking for the big bears or moose.
 
The last load Buffalo Bore sent me is their new 45 auto rim +P 225 grain hard cast wad cutter anti-personnel load. Now, I said this is a full wad cutter bullet - not a semi-wad cutter bullet. The loaded round actually looks a bit "funky" to my way of thinking. However, this bullet will penetrate 30" of flesh and bone, and makes a horrific permanent crush cavity because of it's profile. This load is safe to use in all modern .45 ACP revolvers. (Not in converted antique .455 Webleys!)
 
I wasn't able to personally test this load, as I don't have a .45ACP revolver in my meager gun inventory. However, I'll take Sundles word on this round...He used a S&W Mountain Gun with a 4" barrel, and was getting 1,122 FPS out of it. And, using that hard cast (not lead) bullet will really get a bad guy's attention in short order. I also think this would be a great load to carry when you're out on the trail, it'll take care of two-legged and most four-legged critters in short order.
 
Once again, Tim Sundles is thinking outside the box, and providing shooters with some serious upgrades to some old calibers. If you want the same ol' same ol' from the major named ammo companies, then buy their products. If you're looking for something a bit different, and hotter in these older calibers, then you owed it to yourself to try some of these "upgraded" rounds from Buffalo Bore.
 
Sundles is always telling me that "more ammo is coming your way...." and he is still experimenting and coming up with better loads, for those of us who demand the most and best we can get from our firearms. I'm looking forward to seeing what Tim comes up with next. And he does a lot of hunting, and is always testing his loads in the field.

It's nice when a real survivalist designs something, instead of an arm chair commando or wannabe survivalist. The late Ron Hood was well respected in the survival field, as a true expert in wilderness survival techniques. Hood collaborated with Buck Knives (www.bucknives.com) , to come out with the Hood Hoodlum fixed blade survival knife. Unfortunately, about a week after the knife came out, Ron Hood passed away - a loss to us all, and he will be missed.
 
Ron Hood also spent 20 years teaching accredited college courses on survival skills. Not too many survival instructors I've heard of that have taught accredited courses on survival in college. My late friend, Chris Janowsky, who ran the World Survival Institute up in Tok, Alaska used to teach the US Marine Corps survival instructors winter survival skills, and Chris could have easily taught accredited college courses on survival techniques. But there just aren't too many survival instructors out there these days who have the background and know-how to teach accredited college courses.
 
As soon as I received the press release on the Hoodlum, I requested a sample, that was in January 2011 - and I only just received my sample a few weeks ago. Was it worth the wait? You bet it was! As SurvivalBlog readers know, I'm a fan of big knives, especially if you are dealing with wilderness survival. There's more tasks that you can accomplish with a big, stout, fixed blade knife, than you can with a small folding knife.
 
The Buck/Hood Hoodlum has a 10" blade made out of 5160 spring steel, and the overall length is 15.5" - so you know you have a big knife in your hand. The blade thickness is 3/16th of an inch - thick enough for tough chores, and thin enough to make the knife balance nicely in the hand. The Hoodlum really shined at chopping chores around my small homestead, and it would easily chop through some fairly thick tree limbs. There is also a small "cut out" in the blade backbone for scoring bone, to bending wire, to removing pots from the campfire. The knife is plenty big enough for defensive/offensive purposes, too. The handle is made out of Micarta - I would like to see G-10 handles scales, as it is stronger than Micarta - and who knows, maybe Buck will come out with a G-10 handle version. There is also a lanyard hole in the butt of the knife.
 
The Micarta handle scales can be removed - if you have a multi-tool - and you can create a spear by lashing the Hoodlum to a tree branch. There is also a very well made MOLLE compatible, heavy-duty black Nylon sheath, with a front storage pocket - read: sharpening stone or multi-tool pocket, and the sheath is lined, to prevent the knife from cutting through should you take a fall. As big as the Hoodlum is, it balances very well, and only weighs-in a 14.6 oz. Best of all, the Hoodlum is made in the USA - after Buck Knives moved to Post Falls, Idaho, they have been having some of their knives made overseas - not a bad thing, as it saves them and the consumer money, and you get as good of a knife as you want from overseas. Still, it does my heart good to see any products that bear the Made In The USA moniker stamped on 'em.
 
I showed the Hoodlum around to quite a few folks, and the first thing they all said was "wow" when they pulled the knife from the sheath. They were totally impressed with the overall length of the knife, and secondly, they couldn't believe how well-balanced the Hoodlum was. And, they all commented on the outstanding sheath. Then "the" question - "what's this cut-out in the handle for?" In short order, I explained that the Hoodlum was designed for hard-core wilderness survival, and the "cut-out" was for scoring bones from game animals they might take, as well as for lifting a pot off the ol' camp fire - I could see the light bulb go on over their heads. Something sooooo simple, yet soooooo useful on a big knife!
 
The 5160 spring steel is made out of carbon steel, but there is a coating of some type on the blade, to help prevent the blade from rusting. Still, it's a good idea to keep a coating of Birchwood Casey Barricade (formerly sold under the trade name "Sheath") on the blade to prevent rust from getting a foothold. I use Barricade on all my guns and knives - even the stainless steel ones (remember, stainless means they "stain less") and they can still rust if you don't take care of them. In a wilderness survival situation or a SHTF scenario, you have to take good care of your weapons and tools - you may not have a second chance if you tools and weapons fail you when things go bad.
 
I found the Hoodlum to be very fast in the hand using slashing moves. However, the knife wasn't designed as a stabber - but I could still stab into stacked cardboard as deeply as I wanted the blade to go. Never mind what Hollywood might say about knife fighting - when it gets down and dirty, most knife fighting will be slashes and not stabbing - although, a finishing move might entail stabbing. Still, it's best to slash as the arms, hands and legs of an attacker - cut those tendons and they can't hurt you any longer.
 
I also used the Hoodlum around the kitchen for cutting chores. While it's not any sort of a paring knife, it was great for slicing ham slices for Christmas. It also chopped various veggies with aplomb, too. I took the knife up to one of my rural shooting areas on top of nearby mountain, where poachers are always dumping illegally taken deer carcasses, and used the knife to easily chop through the bones on the carcasses - so it is a great chopper and easily broke through the leg and hip bones of deer carcasses without much effort. And, before I get a ton of e-mails about the poachers, I have called the local fish and feathers guys numerous times - they are aware of the area - but are so short-staffed, they can't sit there and watch for poachers to dump the carcasses all the time. I despise poachers! And, I have turned in a few when I saw them doing things that were illegal.
 
If the SHTF, or we were faced with an end of the world situation, I wouldn't hesitate for one moment, to grab the Buck Hoodlum and bug out for the boonies, with this being my only knife. It would take care of all the wilderness survival tasks I could possibly ask of it. Now, the good news - at least I think it's good news. I honestly expected a knife of this quality to be in the $300+ price range. However, Buck's full retail price on the Hoodlum is only $230. Yes, I know, it's still a good chunk of change, but you are getting a lot of knife for the money. BTW, these can sometimes be found for as little as $116 on Amazon.com and eBay. If you were to have a similar knife made by a custom knife maker, it would easily sent you back $400 to $500 - depending on who makes it for you. And, as always, shop around on the 'net, and you'll find the knife a bit less than retail - but be advised, they are a little hard to find right now - they are in great demand from those who are in the know.

Today I'm reviewing the new Springfield Armory XDm 5.25 9mm Competition handgun. I carried a Springfield Armory XD .40 S&W handgun for close to two years, and I found the gun utterly reliable and very accurate. The only drawback was that it was an early-production XD, and the finish wasn't very durable and tended to easily rust if you didn't pay attention and kept the gun clean and with some kind of preservative on the metal parts. The XDs made today have a very durable "Melonite" finish on the metal parts, and it really holds up extremely well.
 
The Springfield Armory XDm, is their new and improved version of the XD, and it really shines, if you ask me. The gun is more sleek, very stylish, and it has a better trigger pull, which is not only shorter, it also has one of the shortest resets of any polymer handgun on the market. What we have with the XDm 5.25 is a 9mm (it is also available in .40 S&W and .45 ACP as well) is an outstanding handgun with a 5.25" barrel - only .25 of an inch longer than the barrel on the grand ol' 1911 Government Model. Additionally, the front top of the slide is cut out, to reduce the overall weight and balance of the 5.25, which, by the way, balances nicely. The barrel is match grade, out of hammer forged steel, too - and fitted perfectly.
 
The front sight has a red fiber optic in it, which makes it easy to focus on, and when teaching new shooters how to aim their handguns, I always tell them "front sight, front sight, front sight..." they get tired of hearing it, but after a while, they are focusing on that front sight, and the XDm 5.25 makes that easy to do, in bright light, the red fiber optic really jumps out at you, and even in low light, you can see the front sight. The rear is fully adjustable for windage and elevation, too. My 5.25 sample only needed two adjustments of windage to the right, and one adjust of elevation to get it shooting where I wanted the bullet to go. You also get replacement fiber optic sights, should you manage to break the one in the front sight - you get a spare red, and a spare green fiber optic rod. They are easy to replace.
 
The trigger pull on my XDm sample is between 5-6 pounds, however because if the guns ergonomics it feels a lot lighter than that. Additionally, the trigger pull is smooth. As already mentioned, trigger reset is very short after each shot is fired, so you can get off additional shots extremely fast. The trigger itself has a trigger safety lever in the center - the trigger is "locked" against accidental discharge - you have to place your finger in the trigger to disengage the safety lever in order for the gun to fire. And, we have a grip safety, just like the good ol' 1911 has. There is also an internal safety, that prevents the gun from accidentally firing should it be dropped. Springfield Armory calls the safety system the USA  the "Ultra Safe Action."
 
The XD line-up of handguns -- and there are a lot of different models -- all have a loaded chamber indicator on the top of the slide, that you can see or feel, to know if there is a round in the chamber. There is also a slight protrusion on the back of the slide, to let you know if the gun is cocked or not. Again, you can see or feel it. Neat!
 
You can also have the XDm 5.25 Competition model with a brushed stainless steel slide. I elected the Melonite coated slide for "stealth" purposes - don't want opponents seeing my gun before they need to see it. There are angled and deeply grooved grasping grooves on the front and rear sides of the slide, so it's easy to manipulate the slide to chamber a round, or to clear a malfunction. Overall, the gun looks very futuristic to me. Empty weight is 29 ounces not too heavy and not too light.
 
I elected to get my XDm 5.25 in 9mm because it holds 19 rounds in the magazines - currently, Springfield Armory is providing three mags with this gun, but I've heard that's for a limited time - after that, you'll get two mags with the gun. Let's face facts, when you're dealing with a horde, you want lots of rounds in your gun, and it's sure hard to beat 19 rounds of 9mm. I find I can also shoot the 9mm faster than I can a .40 S&W or .45ACP. And, recovery time, from shot-to-shot, is very fast - you are right back on target extremely fast. Of course, I recommend using top quality JHP ammo when you carry a 9mm for self-defense.
 
All Springfield Armory XD handguns come with XD gear in the case with the guns. You not only get an XD or XDm in the polymer carrying case, you also get a holster, double mag pouch and magazine loader, along with your one or two spare magazines. What's not to like here? Speaking of the magazine loader - when you first load 19 rounds into the 5.25 magazines, you'll appreciate the loader. I could load up to 16 or 17 rounds using my thumb, however, the last few rounds required the use of the magazine loader to get 19-rounds fully loaded in the mag. Early Glock magazine used to be extremely hard to fully load when new. What I did was, get those magazine fully loaded, and let 'em sit that way for a couple of weeks. After that, the spring has compressed and I could load the magazine to full capacity without the magazine loader. And, it's the same way with the XDm 19 round 9mm magazines. After I let them sit for a couple weeks, I could then fully load them without the magazine loader. However, the springs are still pretty stout, and some folks will still want to use the magazine loader for the last few rounds. A stout magazine spring is a good thing in a 19 round magazine - it gets those rounds up there so they feed easily.
 
I contacted Tim Sundles, who owns and operates Buffalo Bore Ammunition  and requested 500 rounds of his outstanding 9mm +P and +P+ ammo for a bit of a mini torture test of the 5.25 9mm. I believe this gun can take a steady diet of hot 9mm, it's very well made and brutally strong. I requested three more mags for my sample gun, so I started out with six fully loaded, 19-rd magazines for my mini torture test. When I first got the XDm 5.25 I took it out for a function test, as well as an accuracy test, and I found the gun functioned 100% with various ammo, including Black Hills Ammunition's (www.black-hills.com) various 9mm loads, and some Winchester 9mm ammo. Shooting over the hood of my SUV, at 25-yards, I found the gun to be a 1.5 - 2.5 inch shooter if I did my part. However, the gun is capable of better 'cause I had a couple groups slightly over one inch - I couldn't do it all the time, but I did it a few times.
 
I breezed through the first three magazines loaded with the Buffalo Bore ammo without any problems. After that, it got to be work, firing as fast as I could pull the trigger - my trigger finger got tired after a while. However, what really slowed me down was reloading the magazines after they were empty. That really slowed me down in the mini torture test. I guess it was a good thing, as it allowed my trigger finger to rest, but my thumb got sore from loading all those magazines.
 
I had zero malfunctions with the XDm 5.25 nor did I expect any. The gun easily digested all the hot Buffalo Bore +P and +P+ 9mm I fed it. I could feel the recoil impulse differ when firing the +P ammo, as opposed to the +P+ 9mm ammo. Not a big difference, but I could still feel it. The empty brass was flying out of the slide as fast as I could pull the trigger, and the brass was going about 12-15 feet to my right and behind me a bit.
 
When it comes to shooting hotter ammo, it doesn't always prove to be the most accurate ammo, at least in most guns. The Springfield Armory XDm 5.25 really loved the Buffalo Bore 124-gr JHP +P ammo the best. When I was done with the torture test, I used some of the other Buffalo Bore ammo I had stashed away to see which would give the best accuracy. And, it turned out that the 124-gr JHP +P load was shooting the tightest groups. The "worst" groups were with the Buffalo Bore 124-gr  +P+ FMJ flat nose "Penetrator" rounds - but they were still giving me 2.5" groups. BTW, Tim Sundles recommends this load if you are going out in the boonies, where you might run into some big critters in the wild - it'll really penetrate when needed. Sundles also said that when he carries some kind of 9mm handgun, he has the top several rounds in his mags loaded with JHP ammo, and the remaining rounds are the "Penetrator" rounds. Tim's way of thinking is that, if the bad guy hasn't gone down after the first several rounds are fired, then the bad guy will probably be behind some type of cover, and you'll need to really penetrate that cover to hit the bad guy. I don't think I totally disagree with Tim's rationale on this, as he might be onto something.
 
The XDm 5.25 might be billed as a "Competition" handgun, and it can easily be used for this task. However, I believe this would make one dandy carry piece. If you can carry and conceal a full-sized 1911 Government Model, you can carry and conceal the XDm 5.25 just as easily, if not easier than a 1911. The manager at my local gun shop is the one who actually turned me on to the 5.25 when he insisted I take his 5.25 out and test fire it for him - he hadn't even fired it. I was more than willing to shoot someone else's gun and use their ammo. I was absolutely shocked at the accuracy from his 5.25. And, one of the sales guys at the gun shop also owns a 5.25 in 9mm and he says his gun is super accurate as well. So, that's three XDm 5.25 samples that are outstanding shooters - what's not to like here? Springfield is doing the XD line right. The guns are actually made in Croatia and imported into the US by Springfield Armory. However, each gun is checked over by Springfield Armory before they are sold to the public.
 
I haven't been able to find a full retail price on the XDm 5.25 Competition model, but I checked around, and it looks like they are going from around $799 to as high as $850. While the XDm 5.25 is more expensive than the XD and the standard XDm models, you get a lot of gun for the money, and one that is a natural pointer and very accurate..
 
Any more, after writing about firearms for 20 years or so, I don't get easily excited by new guns. However, after shooting the sample XDm 5.25 that the gun shop's manager insisted I test for him, I was absolutely sold on it. As a matter of fact, an e-mail went out to Springfield Armory that very afternoon, begging for a sample of my own. The wait was worth it, too.
 
When the SHTF, and I have to bug out, the Springfield Armory XDm 5.25 Competition 9mm will be on my hip, along with plenty of spare, fully loaded 19 round magazines. A person could do a whole lot worse if you ask me. A super accurate gun, that holds plenty of ammo, that is easy to handle, fast shooting and totally reliable? I've got mine, now go out and get your own. I plan on getting another XDm 5.25 later on - after I pay for this sample - but the next one will be in .45 ACP - just because I love the .45 ACP round.
 
So, if you're in the market for what might just be the ultimate high capacity 9mm handgun, you might want to seriously look at the Springfield Armory XDm 5.25 for your next purchase. If I sound like I'm really liking this gun, I am. It's always a joy to shoot an accurate handgun, and one that is totally reliable, and one that also holds a lot of rounds.

I love these muffs. I've had a pair of Pro Ears Gold Predator earmuffs for 18 months, and I haven't found a flaw. So let me tell you what I've found that's good: The first thing one needs from muffs is noise suppression, obviously. The Gold series have a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of 26. There are several factors that contribute to an NRR, one of which is frequency dependent. Pro Ears seems to have picked frequencies that are specific to shooting. The muffs have proven adequate for large bore rifles, .44 magnum revolvers and even make standing in the arc of a muzzle brake tolerable. They seal well around the ear, and are contoured to allow clearance of a rifle stock without bumping or dislodging.

Now to comfort, and back to those seals. The ear cups are a firm foam with a light leather cover. I've worn them for hours in hot or cold weather with no discomfort. They're hardly noticeable. There are
also convenient replacement parts available for maintenance.

These are active muffs, which mean they normally amplify, and shut off when noise passes into unsafe levels. The response time on these is claimed at 1.5 milliseconds. Most active muffs work by clipping the signal—they simply shut off. The Pro Ears work by signal compression and limiting—reducing amplification on a curve. It's more natural sounding, less jarring, and means no odd static sound when working around equipment at the edge of the safe level—rather than cutting in and out, they attenuate the noise.

In addition, they're equipped with a standard 3.5mm jack to allow iPod or radio use while working. The headphone sound quality is excellent, with two separate circuits, rather than a single split circuit. The batteries are easily changed, though I've not had to often. [They use the now fairly common size "N" batteries.] In addition, they shut off automatically after four hours to conserve battery life. If you're still wearing them, the knob on each muff is easily reached, and clicking them off and back on resets them. The volume level is adjustable, and the halfway setting is comparable to normal hearing. One can hear conversation, hand tools, movement, with weapon or industrial noise attenuated without obvious dips in sound.

As with many professional products, these are not inexpensive. However, with a five year warranty and readily available replacement parts, they're a better investment, in my opinion, than cheaper, shorter-lived muffs. They retail at $329.95, but are available in many outlets at good discounts. [JWR Adds: Pro Ears Gold Predator earmuffs are available through Amazon.com for around $283.]

Disclaimer (per FTC File No. P034520): SurvivalBlog accepts cash-paid advertising. To the best of my knowledge, as of the date of this posting, none of the advertisers that sell the products mentioned in this article have solicited me or paid me to write any reviews or endorsements, nor have they provided me any free or reduced-price gear in exchange for any reviews or endorsements. I am not a stock holder in any company. I was furnished a free pair of Pro Ears muffs by a third party who is sponsored by Pro Ears, as payment for other work. I have no direct interest in Pro Ears. - SurvivalBlog Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson

The first 9mm handgun that I ever owned was the S&W Model 39. I carried that gun on-duty as a private investigator for a long time. I had a lot of confidence in that gun. And, back then, it was considered a real light-weight pistol at around 28 ounces, and it held 8+1 rounds of 9mm ammo - more than enough to stop most hostile actions, with a spare 8-rd mag on-hand, it was a hot seller. The Model 39 wasn't exactly a compact pistol by any stretch of the imagination. If you wanted something smaller, many folks went to itty-bitty .25ACP pistols of some sort - and they were (and still are) notorious for not stopping fights.
 
The biggest problem back in the 1970s was that, the only 9mm ammo you could get, that would reliably feed in a 9mm handgun was FMJ (Full Metal Jacket). And, it was not known as a fight-stopper. (And it still isn't). There were a few jacketed hollowpoint (JHP) and soft point (SP) 9mm rounds, but none of them really fed 100% all the time in my S&W Model 39. Still, I carried that gun for a long time, with 9mm FMJ ammo. Call me young and dumb - back then! Today, my choice would be one of the better JHP 9mm loads - which are proven man stoppers.
 
We've come a long, long way from the S&W Model 39. Today, we have all manner of sub-compact 9mm handguns, that reliably feed all manner of JHP ammo. I still remember the first Kahr 9mm handgun I saw - I bought it! I simply couldn't believe how super-smooth the double-action only trigger pull was on the gun. Many gun writers have said that Kahr is the Rolls Royce of DAO trigger pulls, and I'm not gonna dispute that.
 
The 9mm round still isn't my first choice (today) as a man stopper. However, with the better 9mm JHP rounds on the market, I'd have no problem carrying a 9mm handgun as my main gun. Black Hills Ammunition, Buffalo Bore Ammunition and Winchester Ammunition all have some hot-stepping JHP rounds that are good fight stoppers. And, they also have +P rounds as well as +P+ rounds, too. Those really brings the stopping power of the 9mm round way up on the scale as a fight-stopper if you ask me. However, not all 9mm handguns are rated to handle the hotter +P and +P+ rounds - and I don't think any maker will actually warrant their handguns to stand-up to +P+ use.
 
The gun under review here is the newly released Kahr Arms CM9. This is their new economy version of their 9mm sub-compact line-up. The slide is stainless steel, with a polymer frame. Magazine capacity on the CM9 is 6+1 rounds, and the gun only comes with one magazine, but spare mags are readily available. With a 3" barrel, and a double action only (DAO) trigger pull of about 6 pounds, the little Kahr weighs in at only 14 ounces. Not the lightest sub-compact 9mm on the market, but it's near the top of the list. The sights are also polymer, with the rear being drift adjustable for windage, and have the bar-dot combat type of sight - fast and easy to pick-up, even with my aged eyes. The length of the gun is 5.42", height is only 4" and the slide width being .90" - so this is one tiny 9mm pistol. There is no external/manual safety on the CM9. However, [like a Glock] there are internal safeties that prevent the gun from accidentally firing if dropped.
 
I will say, though, that the poly Kahr pistols don't have the same super-smooth DAO trigger pull as the metal-framed Kahr's had. However, that's not to say there is anything "wrong" with the trigger pull on the poly guns. It's still smooth as butter - just not quite as smooth as the older metal frame guns were. I still think the Kahr line of handguns has one of the best DAO trigger pulls on the market.
 
As always, read the owner's manual before taking your Kahr out for a test run. Kahr still advises that you shoot at least 200 rounds of ammo through their guns to break them in. Over the past couple of years, I haven't had to do that - with the older Kahr's I did. However, it's still a good idea to run about 100 rounds of whatever self-defense ammo you want to carry in your Kahr to make sure it will function reliably with that particular load.
 
I had no problems with standard FMJ 9mm ammo, and I also ran some +P JHP through the little Kahr from Winchester, Black Hills and Buffalo Bore. I had no problems with any of the +P JHP ammo - but it did let me know that I had some hot ammo in the gun, and I wouldn't want to shoot +P through this Kahr all day long. The only ammo I had problems with was the Buffalo Bore +P+ ammo - it was just too hot for the Kahr to reliably handle all the time. Buffalo Bore makes some really hot 9mm +P+ ammo and some handguns won't handle it - period! While the CM9 did work with this Buffalo Bore load about half the time, I wouldn't trust the gun to handle it in a self-defense situation. This is why you have to test the self-defense ammo you plan on using, to make sure you gun will function with it 100% of the time. The light-weight of the CM9, plus the slide velocity was the killer with the Buffalo Bore +P+ ammo. I concluded that the slide was moving too fast and the stout magazine spring still wasn't pushing the rounds up fast enough so the slide could catch them and feed them into the chamber.
 
My preferred 9mm JHP round for the little CM9 is the new Black Hills 9mm 115 grain +P TAC-XP all copper bullet round. This is really new from Black Hills, and I'm impressed with it. The gun also performed flawlessly with the Winchester Supreme 124 grain JHP +P round, and this would be a great choice in the CM9 as well. With either the Black Hills or the Winchester +P rounds, you know you've got a handful of power there, and you need to really hold onto the little Kahr. I tried to limp-wrist the CM9 to see if I could get it to malfunction - it didn't - but that's not to say it won't. As with all polymer guns, you really need to lock your wrist - if you don't, you're inviting a malfunction - when you least need one.
 
In all, I fired over 300 rounds of ammo through the little Kahr, over several days, and there were zero problems - excluding the +P+ ammo. Maximum distance was 15 yards, and I think that's a fair test for accuracy with a little 3" barrel pistol. I was getting groups around 3" at 15-yards, and that's good enough for such a little gun, with such a short barrel. All firing was done standing - I didn't sandbag the gun.
 
The little Kahr CM9 did buck with the +P loads, as expected. However, with standard velocity 9mm FMJ loads, the CM9 was pretty tame - and for such a lightweight gun, that surprised me. I honestly thought I'd get more "kick" from a 14-ounce pistol.
 
All things considered, the Kahr CM9 earns a place as a back-up to whatever my main gun might be. The only reason the CM9 didn't earn a spot for me as my main gun is that, given the short barrel and limited magazine capacity, I'd like something more for a main carry gun. Now, that's not to say that you can't carry the little CM9 as your main carry piece - I know several people who do carry sub-compact 9mm Kahr's as their one and only gun, and that works for them. A friend of mine, a retired FBI Agent, who also served as a firearms instructor at the FBI Academy, routinely carries his Kahr sub-compact 9mm as his one and only gun. He owns several Kahrs in 9mm and .45ACP.
 
As always, if you decide to carry the little CM9 as your one and only gun, make sure you purchase and carry at least one spare magazine with you. My choice of carry would be in an ankle holster for the CM9. I personally know several guys who carry their Kahr's in a pocket holster or an in the waistband holster.
 
Full retail on the CM9 is $565 - a bit steep, but you can usually find them for quite a bit less if you shop around. If you want one of the smallest, and most concealable 9mm pistols on the market, and that has one of the best DAO trigger pulls - then check out the new CM9 at your local dealer. You could do a lot worse for your money. - SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Over the past several months, I have been asked by many SurvivalBlog readers which AR-style rifle is the best. And, many readers mistakenly believe that some civilian brands of ARs are 100% "mil-spec." When I explain to them that their civilian ARs, no matter who made them, are NOT mil-spec, and the facts to reinforce my argument, I don't hear back from them.
 
So, let me explain why civilian ARs are not 100% mil-spec. Some AR makers mistakenly (intentionally?) advertise their ARs as being mil-spec, when in fact, they are only partially made up of mil-spec parts. Even Colt, who makes the M4 for the military, doesn't produce a totally mil-spec AR-style gun for civilian use. One point of my argument is that, mil-spec guns are made to be select-fire, whereas, civilian M4gerys are semi-auto only. Secondly, mil-spec guns of the M4 variety usually have a 14.5" barrel, and civilian guns, must by law, have at least a 16" barrel. Additionally, if you look at the bolt carrier in most civilian ARs, they are not of the full-auto design, nor is the fire-control group. I could go on and on, but I don't wish to receive hundreds of e-mails from readers wishing to debate this topic.
 
I've also heard from SurvivalBlog readers, who claim that only ARs made by the big-name gun companies are worth having, and the smaller, no-name ARs aren't worth having - that they'll blow-up in your hands, or they'll fail when you need 'em the most. I'll not argue that some ARs are better made than others, I concede that fact. However, just because your no-name AR only cost you $600, as compared to someone who has a similar Colt that easily cost twice that much, doesn't mean they have a "better" AR than you have. Also please note, when I use the term "AR or AR-15" I'm using it as a generic term - everyone calls their AR-style guns by different names..
 
Most folks are shocked to learn, that most big name gun companies simply don't manufacture every part they use in their guns - they contract many parts out. And, when it comes to ARs, and their parts, almost all of the AR makers have many of their parts made by someone else - who is also selling the same parts to a competitor down the road, or to a no-name AR maker. So, odds are, some of the parts in your brand-name AR, are from the same vendor that sold the same parts to the no-name AR maker. Once again, I'm not saying there aren't better parts in some guns, or that some barrels are more accurate than others. Sometimes you get what you pay for, other times, you are over-paying simply because of the big name gun company selling a similar AR.
 
Over the years, I've probably owned more no-name ARs than those made by the well-known makers of ARs, and that's a fact. I can only recall having a problem with one AR that I've owned over the years. This gun was made by Olympic Arms - however, someone put a different bolt/bolt carrier in the gun - they assumed, as do many folks, that it was simply a drop-in affair - it's not! The after-market bolt and bolt carrier were over-sized and caused functioning problems. This was not the fault of the Oly Arms, it was the fault of the idiot who just dropped the parts in. I finally got the parts fitted properly, and the gun was 100% reliable after that.
 
I decided to do a mini torture test, on an no-name AR that I recently purchased at my local gun shop. This gun was manufactured by Superior Arms, and I had to do some research on the company. They've only been in business a few short years, but most of the reports I read on their guns were very favorable. This gun was used when I got it, well-used. The only thing I did to the gun was clean it and lube it, and check the orientation of the gas rings on the tail of the bolt - everything looked great.
 
I contacted long-time bud, Jeff Hoffman, who runs Black Hills Ammunition and requested 1,000 rounds of his 5.56 mm NATO factory seconds ammo, 55-gr FMJ. This ammo normally isn't available for sale to the public. What we have with the Black Hills Ammunition factory seconds are reloaded rounds, and the cases might have tiny dents, or are discolored for whatever reason - they were picked out of the final inspection and classified as "seconds." To be honest, you'd have to look very closely at a lot of the rounds to see why they were pulled during the final inspection process - which is a testament to how well Black Hills Ammunition inspects their finished products.
 
The reason I specifically requested the Black Hills Ammunition factory seconds was that I wanted to see if the Superior Arms AR would be up to the task of shooting this ammo. I figured if there were gonna be any problems, the factory seconds would cause them. Before heading out to do my mini torture test, I loaded thirty, 30 round magazines, which gave me 900 rounds of ammo to burn through, without having to reload more mags. Yeah, I know, I had 1,000-rds of ammo, but I just plain ol' got tired of loading magazines, my thumb was sore!
 
Instead of going out to one of my usual shooting sports near my home, I headed deep into the Cascade Mountains - far from where people could hear my shooting. I didn't want someone calling the local sheriff and reporting there was a shooting war going on near their houses. So, I was at least 15-miles from the nearest house for my testing.
 
The Superior Arms AR was clean and lubed at the start of my testing and no further cleaning or lube was done during my testing. I started out burning through the first couple of mags firing as fast as I could. I knew I couldn't keep-up this pace for long - unless there was a Zombie hoard coming my way. So, I slowed down my pace, and towards the end of my 900 round test, my trigger finger was pretty tired, to say the least. It took me about an hour and 15-minutes to burn through all those magazines - maybe a little longer. Like I said, towards the end of the shooting, my trigger finger was tired, and the gun was extremely hot - even the trigger.
 
During my testing, there was not a single malfunction or failure with the Superior Arms AR, and no problems with the Black Hills Ammunition factory seconds that I was using. Every round went off when the trigger was pulled, and every round sounded the same - no dudes or any problems of any kind. So, what did I learn in my mini torture test? Well, that it's a lot more work than I thought it would be - starting with loading all those magazines, and then shooting all those rounds in one shooting session. I thought the gun might malfunction or have some kind of problem when it got extremely hot - but there were no problems to report with gun or ammo.
 
As an aside, the area I was shooting in, was about a 35-minute drive from my house - and the gun's barrel was still very warm when I got home - so that hummer really got hot during my testing. Needless to say, it took quite a while for me to get the gun clean after that shooting session. Everything inside the gun looked good to go, for another shooting session, too. Oh yeah, I've gotta get back out to the area where I was shooting and police-up all that empty brass - one of these days. I suspect it'll still be there when I get to it.
 
So, what did I learn? Well, this was only one gun, from a no-name AR company - so I can't speak for all the other no-name ARs that are out there, as to if they'll hold up to this sort of mini torture test - but I'm betting they will - assuming you start with a clean gun, that is properly lubed and in proper working order. I've gone out and shot 200-to-300 rounds at a time through an AR in the past - and that was fun. However, this shooting session was work, and it just killed me to "waste" all that Black Hills Ammunition .223 ammo, too. Jeff Hoffman has been supplying my ammo needs for 20-yrs now and always fills my requests when I tell him I'm just gonna "waste" ammo. Black Hills Ammunition are good people to give your business to.
 
My Superior Arms AR has the 11" barrel on it, with a permanently attached 5.5" flash suppressor on it. On a good day, I can hold about a 3" group with this shorty barrel. And, a couple days after my shooting session, I tested for accuracy again, and it was still about a 3" group gun - which is about as good as you'll get with the shorter barrel. I just happen to like the look of this set-up with the shorter barrel and longer flash suppressor on it. I also know that it reduces the effectiveness of the .223 round much beyond the 150 - 200 yard mark, too.
 
So, if you are on a limited budget, don't think you have to settle for second best when you look at buying a no-name AR. Check the gun over carefully - take it apart - and if a gun shop won't let you do that - take your business some place else. Try the charging handle - see if it operates smoothly, and try the trigger-pull as well - not that most ARs are known for outstanding trigger pulls. Don't be afraid to buy a no-name AR just because your best buddy has a $2,500 AR of some type that he is always hyping. Odds are, when you go out shooting with your buddy, your no-name AR will shoot just as well as his expensive AR does - if not better.
 
There's nothing "wrong" with ARs made by the big name gun companies - and I've owned quite a few spendy ARs over the years - some shoot better than others - but not a whole lot better. Sometimes it depends on the ammo you're using - many guns will shoot one brand of ammo better than another - so don't be afraid to experiment if you aren't getting the accuracy you'd hope for. I want to give an example of a big name AR maker - I recently purchased one of the Carbon-15 ARs that is made by Bushmaster - I liked the look of the gun and the light-weight. However, this gun simply would not group - it was more like a shotgun - it "patterned" instead of grouping. I traded the gun back to my local gun shop the next day and told them about the gun. They sold it at a gun show, and told the new owner, that the gun didn't group well - he still bought it!
 
The only ARs I tend to shy away from are the parts gun -you know the ones I'm talking about. Someone bought an upper receiver parts kit, and then a lower receiver and put it all together themselves - those guns scare me at times - I've owned a few - they worked, but I still wasn't 100% sure they would keep working, or had any knowledge of the person who assembled the gun - if they knew anything about how ARs work.
 
So, if you're on a budget, take a look at the no-name AR that might be half the price of the big-name AR next to it - you might be surprised how well-made the no-name AR is, and how well it shoots, too. - SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Mr. Rawles,
I recently picked up a copy of your novel, "Survivors". It was a great book and I flew through it in no time. When I was making the purchase on Amazon, I also saw as a recommended [nonfiction ] book titled Holding Your Ground: Preparing for Defense if it All Falls Apart. I bought a copy of that up at the same time. After reading "Survivors", I read "Holding Your Ground". I think readers that like your writings and site would also like "Holding Your Ground". It presents helpful "how to" information on how to defend your home in the event of a societal collapse, information that I hadn't seen before. Next on my book list is "Patriots". Keep up the good work! - Jason B.

SurvivalBlog readers may recall that I've previously tested the Triple Eight Professional SOL Knife.  The 888 SurvivIt Tool is more versatile, and a bit more robust. The blade is AUS8 steel, and the handle is epoxy-painted steel.  It's assembled with machine screws and good quality pivot and fittings, so maintenance and repair is easy, though I don't expect it will need much.

The edge was not quite as sharp as I like, and I had some trouble cutting leather thong with the hook.  The serrated section, however, as short as it is, zips through heavy nylon, leather and plastic easily.

The handle is tiny, but comfortable enough even in my largish hands, and is well-designed.  I tested it in a hammer grip to chisel, in a standard grip to shave and whittle, and in a side grip for both drawing cuts and scraping. 

The edge geometry is excellent, and I was able to jab the blade well into various woods, both in the woodpile and on treated lumber in the shop.  It sliced into wood corners easily, sawed twigs, and scraped tape, bark and leather.

The mechanism is strong and sound and remains in place while the knife is held.  Keep in mind that there is no guard.  This is a compact tool, and its diminutive size means there are some compromises necessary.  Once you have a good grip, it remains easily in hand and is safe to use.  Just don't get careless.

In addition to the belt clip, there's a convenient thong hole for either neck carry, or just for a retention cord.

The suggested retail price is $34.95, but is usually available for less at most retailers.- SurvivalBlog Editor At Large, Michael Z. Williamson

Editor's Disclaimer (per FTC File No. P034520): SurvivalBlog accepts accept cash-paid advertising. To the best of my knowledge, as of the date of this posting, none of my advertisers that sell the products mentioned in this article have solicited me or paid me to write any reviews or endorsements, nor have they provided me any free or reduced-price gear in exchange for any reviews or endorsements. I am not a stock holder in any company. Mike Williamson was furnished one 888 SurvivIt Tool for test and evaluation, which he intends to keep for his personal use. He has received no compensation or inducements from Triple Eight.