Armed Lifestyle - Issue 2 - June 2022
Welcome to Issue 2 of The Armed Lifestyle! The AL team are REALLY getting into the groove to bring you, our fellow shooters, all the opinions and facts that we already know you love from your kind responses to Issue #1!
We kick off this time with some awesome reviews by Trampas of the Ruger LCP MAX, a Less Than Lethal defense option from PepperBall, the Stoner-designed US Survival Rifle from Henry Repeating Arms, plus Jamie gets "hands on" with the TISAS 9mm. In addition, we've got our unique take on a super pack from Duluth in the form of "The Wanderer", a review of the LOKSAK Shieldsak and an in-depth look at the "Commander" folder from Emerson Knives!
Jamie continues her look at "The New Shooter Perspective" and then Amy gets into discussing Realtor Safety and lands a super interview with one of the industry’s top instructors and founder of "Meet the Pressers", Klint Macro. Dan looks at the medical and psychological implications of working and shooting in hot weather, Charlie teams up with “Gun for Hire Radio” Host Anthony Colandro, Self Defense legend John Petrolino shares his thoughts on the Tactical Pen, and Rob again shares his vast knowledge as an internationally known firearms trainer to help readers decide how to choose the right course to fit their training needs!
Then to wrap things up, Trampas gets into one of his favourite topics, that of "The Lost Art of Gunsmithing".
So with even more gear reviews and articles to put you, the shooter who lives and breathes "The Armed Lifestyle" firmly in control, we hope that you'll dive on in and enjoy Issue 2!
Welcome to Issue 2 of The Armed Lifestyle! The AL team are REALLY getting into the groove to bring you, our fellow shooters, all the opinions and facts that we already know you love from your kind responses to Issue #1!
We kick off this time with some awesome reviews by Trampas of the Ruger LCP MAX, a Less Than Lethal defense option from PepperBall, the Stoner-designed US Survival Rifle from Henry Repeating Arms, plus Jamie gets "hands on" with the TISAS 9mm. In addition, we've got our unique take on a super pack from Duluth in the form of "The Wanderer", a review of the LOKSAK Shieldsak and an in-depth look at the "Commander" folder from Emerson Knives!
Jamie continues her look at "The New Shooter Perspective" and then Amy gets into discussing Realtor Safety and lands a super interview with one of the industry’s top instructors and founder of "Meet the Pressers", Klint Macro. Dan looks at the medical and psychological implications of working and shooting in hot weather, Charlie teams up with “Gun for Hire Radio” Host Anthony Colandro, Self Defense legend John Petrolino shares his thoughts on the Tactical Pen, and Rob again shares his vast knowledge as an internationally known firearms trainer to help readers decide how to choose the right course to fit their training needs!
Then to wrap things up, Trampas gets into one of his favourite topics, that of "The Lost Art of Gunsmithing".
So with even more gear reviews and articles to put you, the shooter who lives and breathes "The Armed Lifestyle" firmly in control, we hope that you'll dive on in and enjoy Issue 2!
38 FIREARMS: HENRY REPEATING RIFLE HENRY REPEATING ARMS U.S. SURVIVAL RIFLE BY TRAMPAS SWANSON In the face of economic down fall and turmoil in the news worldwide over the past decade, there has been a growing interest in post-apocalyptic survival by people of all walks of life. It’s no coincidence television reality shows like Survivor, Alone and anything associated with Bear Grylls are popular with weekly viewers. Topics such as bushcrafting, camping, and hunting are no longer being studied by just outdoor enthusiasts. Bankers, lawyers, doctors and company CEO’s are now putting down their cell phones and laptops to pick up a backpack and ax to learn to survive when / if the power grid goes down. When we look at what is needed to survive in an emergency situation, we often look to our military for equipment and training ideas. While civilians are usually mesmerized by the high speed tactical gear, there is one tool depended upon by the U.S. Air Force pilots since 1959 that is very often overlooked, the Eugene Stoner designed semi-auto AR-7 .22 caliber survival rifle. While most of us are not military pilots and are not able to access this particular item, an improved civilian version of the rifle has been quietly produced for some time now in black, True Timber-Kanati and Viper Western Camo by Henry Repeating Arms aptly named the U.S. Survival Rifle. This rifle is also usually listed as the Henry AR-7 by many retail sites including Henry’s own www.HenryUSA. com. Often overshadowed by Henry’s very popular lever action series of rifles, this little semi-auto .22 LR rifle provides the perfect tool for civilian bush pilots, backpackers and preppers around the world looking for a small caliber compact rifle for emergency situations. When disassembled, the Henry rifle fits easily in a boat hatch, overhead storage bin or a side pouch of a “Bug-out Bag”. RIFLE BREAK DOWN Few years ago, I received a sample of the U.S. Survival Rifle from nice folks at Henry Repeating Arms for a short review for a major retailor out of Texas. As a long-time fan of Henry rifles, I was well versed in their version of the AR-7 rifle already, but this would be the first chance to get some quality time with one in person. When the rifle arrived at my local gun shop, Second Amendment Guns and Range, I was surprised at how small the box was. Upon opening the plain black box marked U.S. Survival Rifle, it appeared as if they had only shipped a 16” long plastic stock. I took the gun out of the box and popped the butt pad off the rear of the stock to reveal the rest of the rifle securely nestled away inside. At a total weight of only 3.5lbs, I was very impressed how lightweight the total package was. I removed the barrel with attached nut, 2 magazines and receiver from the rear of the stock and secured the butt pad back on the gun. I started assembly by placing the rear of the receiver into the forked groove in the front of the stock and secured it in place by means of a turn screw underneath the pistol grip until it was tightly fitted. Next, I dropped the barrel onto the front of the receiver into a notch cut out for a barrel pin similar to an AR-15 and used the attached barrel nut to hand tighten the barrel down. A simple click of one of the 8 round .22 caliber magazines into the cut out magazine well and the whole rifle was assembled in all of about 45 seconds!
Fully assembled, the rifle was only 35 inches long, making it perfect to maneuverer through thick bush or over harsh terrain. The receiver and barrel were Teflon coated to protect against corrosion from inclement weather and even salt water. The receiver is grooved to mount a small air gun size scope, but for what the rifle is built to be, its supplied iron sights are more than adept for the task. The rear sight is an adjustable peep hole which lines up quickly with the highly visible orange fixed bladed front sight. I discovered quickly, the charging handle had to be popped out from the side to load the first round into battery and after that, the rest was easy. Once I familiarized myself with the operation of the rifle, I was ready for some quality time outdoors with the Henry. FIELD TIME The initial testing involved working with an old friend of mine who used to serve as our Swanson Media Group bushcraft expert, Craig Reinolds. He and I had a lot of fun over the years field testing various gear, guns, and equipment prior to his exit due to medical reasons. While I have had much more time in the field now working with the Survival Rifle for a long term review, much of my current thoughts remain the same as the first summer spent with Craig testing it. The first range testing of the rifle consisted of 40 grain CCI Mini Mag Hollow Point ammunition fired at small polymer and steel targets roughly 4 – 5 inches tall at typical small game distances of 15 and 25 yards. These rounds push close to 1235 ft/s and have proven in other .22 rifles to be the best all-round performers in non-suppressed platforms. As chance would have it, would also be the case with this test rifle as well. To date, I’ve texted over two dozen different loads from assorted manufacturers and the CCI Mini Mag still holds true as the best load for the rifle. While awkward the first time you shoulder the slightly offset configuration of the Survival rifle stock, it doesn’t take long to get use to how the barrel sits on the stock to accommodate the storage area inside. Due to the lack of a handguard, the shooter must choke up on the receiver with the support hand to prevent getting burned by a hot barrel over a prolonged period of shooting. With the deep cut out in the receiver for the magazine to fit flush, it’s easy to accidently grab the exposed outside edge of the magazine and apply enough pressure to cause a misfeed. Once I caught myself doing this, I corrected my grip and continued shooting with no further issue. The bright orange front sight was easy to line up against the black background of the targets and transitioned quickly from each one with very little felt recoil. The trigger felt a bit stiff but broke cleanly with a firm reset considering it is a survival tool meant to be there in an emergency while my match grade precision rifle is at home collecting dust in the safe. Even out to 25 yards, I was holding solid “minute of squirrel” groups shooting standing braced against a fence post. The first summer of running through box after box of the diminutive CCI ammo I only experienced one operator induced failure. After approximately two years of shooting the rifle, I finally had two “failure to fire” malfunctions during an impromptu afternoon plinking after teaching a class. Upon inspection of the rifle, I realized that I had never cleaned the rifle since owning it. That evening the rifle had a much-needed deep cleaning leaving a pile of dirty rags and patches. The rifle’s simple takedown configuration made it extremely easy to clean up by using a simple Hoppe’s Bore Snake and an old toothbrush. A few days later, I tested the rifle with 100 rounds of CCI Mini Mag and it ran perfectly again Not long after its first deep cleaning, I decided to see how the Henry Survival Rifle would do if dropped accidently in a river or lake. I went into the back yard (while my wife was at work with the kids were in school) and simply tossed the unassembled rifle into the pool. After the splash, the rifle rose to the top of the water and began to float around in the water’s current. After a few minutes, I noticed the rear of the stock started to slowly sink FIREARMS: HENRY REPEATING RIFLE www.thearmedlifestyle.com
- Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS JUNE 2022 Issue 2 WE ARE O
- Page 5 and 6: to a lender, and he was going to ge
- Page 7 and 8: with the concept of, ‘what is min
- Page 10: 10 EDITOR’S NOTE Mission Statemen
- Page 13 and 14: ights through the safe and ethical
- Page 15 and 16: Proudly Celebrating 25 Years of Mad
- Page 17 and 18: shotgun slug to collect more air to
- Page 19 and 20: its contents onto the target area.
- Page 21 and 22: PRODUCT FIELD TESTING As I wrapped
- Page 23 and 24: even a new stroller for my daughter
- Page 25 and 26: RIDIN’ SHOTGUN WITH CHARLIE BY CH
- Page 27 and 28: One of the things that Anthony driv
- Page 29 and 30: The thing with dealing with the TSA
- Page 31 and 32: twelve rounds instead of six. The s
- Page 34 and 35: GUNSMITHING: AN INSIDE LOOK 34 GUNS
- Page 36 and 37: 36 GUNSMITHING: AN INSIDE LOOK KEYS
- Page 40 and 41: 240 FIREARMS: HENRY REPEATING RIFLE
- Page 42 and 43: 42 HEAT RELATED EMERGENCIES Hot Blo
- Page 45 and 46: WHAT’S NEW… THE TISAS PX9 By Ja
- Page 47 and 48: located around the top of the pack.
- Page 49 and 50: DULUTH PACK: WANDERER www.thearmedl
- Page 51 and 52: of the Year in 1999 at the knife in
- Page 53 and 54: EVERYDAY CARRY KNIFE Once the Comma
- Page 55 and 56: CHOOSING THE RIGHT TRAINING CLASS F
- Page 57 and 58: PUTTING THE “A” IN TR”A”INI
- Page 59: I have said this in the past on num
38<br />
FIREARMS: HENRY REPEATING RIFLE<br />
HENRY REPEATING ARMS<br />
U.S. SURVIVAL RIFLE BY TRAMPAS SWANSON<br />
In the face of economic down fall and turmoil in the news<br />
worldwide over the past decade, there has been a growing<br />
interest in post-apocalyptic survival by people of all walks of life.<br />
It’s no coincidence television reality shows like Survivor, Alone<br />
and anything associated with Bear Grylls are popular with weekly<br />
viewers. Topics such as bushcrafting, camping, and hunting are<br />
no longer being studied by just outdoor enthusiasts. Bankers,<br />
lawyers, doctors and company CEO’s are now putting down their<br />
cell phones and laptops to pick up a backpack and ax to learn to<br />
survive when / if the power grid goes down.<br />
When we look at what is needed to survive in an emergency<br />
situation, we often look to our military for equipment and training<br />
ideas. While civilians are usually mesmerized by the high speed<br />
tactical gear, there is one tool depended upon by the U.S. Air<br />
Force pilots since 1959 that is very often overlooked, the Eugene<br />
Stoner designed semi-auto AR-7 .22 caliber survival rifle. While<br />
most of us are not military pilots and are not able to access this<br />
particular item, an improved civilian version of the rifle has been<br />
quietly produced for some time now in black, True Timber-Kanati<br />
and Viper Western Camo by Henry Repeating Arms aptly named<br />
the U.S. Survival Rifle. This rifle is also usually listed as the Henry<br />
AR-7 by many retail sites including Henry’s own www.HenryUSA.<br />
com. Often overshadowed by Henry’s very popular lever action<br />
series of rifles, this little semi-auto .22 LR rifle provides the<br />
perfect tool for civilian bush pilots, backpackers and preppers<br />
around the world looking for a small caliber compact rifle for<br />
emergency situations. When disassembled, the Henry rifle fits<br />
easily in a boat hatch, overhead storage bin or a side pouch of a<br />
“Bug-out Bag”.<br />
RIFLE BREAK DOWN<br />
Few years ago, I received a sample of the U.S. Survival Rifle<br />
from nice folks at Henry Repeating Arms for a short review for<br />
a major retailor out of Texas. As a long-time fan of Henry rifles,<br />
I was well versed in their version of the AR-7 rifle already, but<br />
this would be the first chance to get some quality time with one<br />
in person. When the rifle arrived at my local gun shop, Second<br />
Amendment Guns and Range, I was surprised at how small the<br />
box was. Upon opening the plain black box marked U.S. Survival<br />
Rifle, it appeared as if they had only shipped a 16” long plastic<br />
stock. I took the gun out of the box and popped the butt pad<br />
off the rear of the stock to reveal the rest of the rifle securely<br />
nestled away inside. At a total weight of only 3.5lbs, I was very<br />
impressed how lightweight the total package was.<br />
I removed the barrel with attached nut, 2 magazines and receiver<br />
from the rear of the stock and secured the butt pad back on the<br />
gun. I started assembly by placing the rear of the receiver into<br />
the forked groove in the front of the stock and secured it in place<br />
by means of a turn screw underneath the pistol grip until it was<br />
tightly fitted. Next, I dropped the barrel onto the front of the<br />
receiver into a notch cut out for a barrel pin similar to an AR-15<br />
and used the attached barrel nut to hand tighten the barrel down.<br />
A simple click of one of the 8 round .22 caliber magazines into<br />
the cut out magazine well and the whole rifle was assembled in<br />
all of about 45 seconds!
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