Table of contents for August/September #62 2024 in RECOIL OFFGRID

Anyone who has ever studied for a difficult test understands that memory devices such as sayings, rhymes, and abbreviations can be extremely helpful for remembering key information. Similar memory devices can help us be more prepared to recall important survival skills. S.T.O.P. (Stay Put, Think, Observe, and Plan) and the O.O.D.A. (Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act) loop are two very popular ways of framing your mindset in an emergency situation. The rule of 3s (3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food) is a popular way of recalling survival priorities. Other catchy number and letter memory devices have been introduced over the years to organize processes and groups of ideas with different levels of success. With fire starting, we know there’s a…

Games involving hiding are a core memory for most people’s childhoods, and this fact holds true across all recorded human history. Why? We think it’s a function of having to learn early on in our lives how to effectively avoid predators who may be actively hunting us. Likewise, we must also learn how to effectively hunt prey (or other predators) who are determined not to be found. Both halves of hide and seek can be directly tied back to evolutionary adaptations required to survive in a hostile world. Unfortunately, while the world has grown more developed, it hasn’t become any less hostile. Yet there are very few outlets in adult life that require us to rehearse or hone those hiding and seeking skillsets. One of those outlets is the Special…

Developing night-time shooting capability is expensive. First, there’s the cost of the required equipment: night vision devices, infrared lasers and illuminators, helmets, counterweights, IR strobes, helmet lights, and NV-specific optics mounts. Once you manage to get all of that, there’s the additional, and real cost, of ammo mo associated with the increased amount of training you’ll have to do in order to develop new skills. We can’t lower the cost of night vision equipment itself but, just like with daytime training, if you can substitute rimfire training to save ammo … why not? That’s what led us to dig an old Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 out of the back of the safe and outfit it as a budget-conscious night-fighting trainer. Finding a low-cost IR laser is one of the…

In the first part of this deep dive into ballistic protection, we talked about body armor. What about protecting your dome? Let’s take a brief look back at the history of helmets to better understand their value. The first documented use of helmets in combat was found in ancient Sumeria and Akkadian civilization, both from the region we would call Mesopotamia, circa 2300 BCE. The earliest bronze helmets are reported to have come from the Mycenae in 1700 BCE, and these Greeks were also believed to be the inventors of the first plate armor set. Use of combat helmets was prolific within the Ancient Greek and Roman Empires, at first being made of leather and eventually various types of metal and metal-alloys — initially leather and brass, then bronze and…

Humans have been developing handheld projectile weapons for a very long time, from the spear-throwers of the Paleolithic period to the gunpowder-loaded “hand cannons” which appeared in China around the 10th century. Air-powered projectile weapons are a newer development, but not as new as you might think. They’re actually one of the oldest types of pneumatic technology. You can find the earliest known example of an air rifle, which dates back to the late 1500s, in a museum in Stockholm. In the 1700s, the Lewis and Clark expedition utilized a Girandoni repeating air rifle — a 10-pound, 4-foot-long, .46-caliber behemoth of an air rifle — on their 8,000-mile voyage across the North American continent. The Girandoni took about 1,500 individual pumps to fill up the reservoir with enough air to…

“Where the rubber meets the road” is a saying that indicates a critical point of success or failure — in other words, the moment of truth. The logic behind this phrase is instinctual to anyone who has ever driven a vehicle and struggled to maintain traction in rain, snow, mud, or sand. Four tiny rubber-to-road contact patches are the only things that keep your two-ton vehicle under control, and by extension, keep yourself and your loved ones inside the vehicle safe. This is why good tires should be at the top of your priority list for every vehicle you own, especially for those of us who enjoy off-roading, overlanding, and driving through remote and challenging environments. In the city, bad tires might cause you to lose control and get into…

The Premise: “Being a Professional Citizen is not a hobby for you, it is your personal commitment. A promise to yourself and your family to be tactically and technically proficient with all the tools you have available.” These words are pulled directly from the pages of The Professional Citizen Project website. This site, and the project it supports, is the brainchild of veteran Jack Morris, who is passionate about passing on the preparedness and tactical skills he learned in the military to all Americans. This ideal that all upstanding citizens should be “tactically and technically proficient” is literally a founding principle of our nation. A principle that harkens back to the time when farmers and blacksmiths grabbed their muskets from over the hearth to defend their families and their freedom.…

1 MAKE & MODEL Burris Veracity PH 4-20X50 RETICLE Rapid Cross MOA MSRP $1,560 URL burrisoptics.com NOTES Burris Optics’ Veracity PH 4-20x50 riflescope is crafted for precision with a Rapid Cross MOA illuminated reticle and ED glass for clear vision. The illumination is powered by a CR2450 battery, and the reticle can be adjusted in 1/10 MOA increments. This high-tech optic features integrated PEK (Programmable Elevation Knob) technology that computes elevation adjustments and indicates them on a heads-up digital display. It weighs about 29 ounces, is 13.8 inches in length, and uses a 30mm main tube, making it compatible with many styles of optic mounts. This model seamlessly integrates with the BurrisConnect app, providing essential ballistic data for accurate shots without manual input, suited for shooters who value precision and innovation…

According to the Small Arms Survey, American civilians owned an estimated 393 million firearms in 2018 — that number has undoubtedly grown considerably in post-COVID years. The vast majority of those firearms will never be used maliciously against another human being, but as with any tool, some will inevitably be misused to harm the innocent. If you consider yourself a prepared individual, are concerned with protecting your family from violence, have an active shooter plan, or are just a firearms enthusiast — and I imagine you’re one or all these things if you’re reading this magazine — you should seriously consider owning a set of body armor, or “plates” as they’re often referred to. With advances in ballistic technology, rumblings about legislation banning civilian body armor ownership, and recent violent…

Milk and cookies, peanut butter and jelly, Jack Daniels and Coke — some things just seem to be made for each other. We have an addition to that list: rimfire pistols and suppressors. The former is an excellent tool for schwacking varmints, affordable plinking at the range, and teaching new shooters how to use a pistol; the latter enhances each of those functions. With a suppressed .22LR pistol, you can control the pest population discreetly without alerting everyone who lives near your property, plink safely without ear protection, and introduce those new shooters to a weapon that’s quiet and less intimidating to use. If you own a rimfire pistol, it’s easily the number-one accessory we’d recommend. That said, there are still a few drawbacks to installing a suppressor on your…

Rifle competitions are a great way for shooters of all experience levels to test their mettle in different scenarios and stages. Many think of the Precision Rifle Series — or three-gun — when it comes to competition, but another option is quickly gaining in popularity: precision rimfire. This build is a compilation of parts to make the ultimate competition piece for these rimfire matches. You may say to yourself, Whoa, that’s a lot of money for a .22! That may be true, but as we’ve often come to find out, particularly in the firearms world, you generally get what you pay for. The Main Components The start of this rifle is a 20-inch Proof Research pre-fit carbon-fiber barrel, specifically made to fit into the RimX action we chose. Proof Research…

Whether you say “time is a flat circle” or “what’s old is new again,” what we jokingly refer to as tactical fashion trends are indeed a real thing. Just like the Global War On Terror pulled everyone’s attention toward micro chest rigs and CQB, its sunset has redirected the focus of many prepared citizens back toward traditional infantry capabilities. This includes basic patrolling, reconnaissance, and the ability to carry more equipment. On one hand, it’s arguable that the market is simply bored by the endless permutations of tiny chest harnesses and desires other options. But it holds legitimate merit for folks to broaden their horizons beyond the laser-focus on door entry and room clearing. Especially since the overwhelming majority of problems that could be faced by American civilians will not…