Range Talk: Practical Guns, Gear & Training Josh Barnett

Obesity in the United States kills hundreds of thousands every year. Since this podcast is about practical firearms use, and being adequately prepared for their use, then we can't ignore the importance of fitness and physical health as a part of that. I promise I'll be back to talking about more direct gun stuff next week!

More Americans are carrying pistols now than ever before. While it's great that Americans are recognizing the need for a disproportionate means of self defense, I fear that the efforts to make those pistols fight ready aren't quite up to par.

Generally speaking, a modern carbine that you pick up off the shelf and go shoot with will work just fine. Whether it’s a direct impingement AR-15 or one of the many piston-driven systems out there, anything built to spec by a reputable manufacturer should be able to fire, eject, and feed any factory ammo of the correct caliber without issue. But there are still reasons you might consider options to tune a rifle’s gas system: perhaps you have a custom build or a specific ammo type that isn’t running as reliably as you’d like, or you’d like to reduce felt recoil for faster follow-up shots. Let's go through the options and how to tune your setup for your specific needs.

Caliber choice is something that people tend to overthink and put too much emphasis on, and those people don’t like being told not to do those things. Now I’m fine with shooters that have developed caliber preferences over time, but if you’re just starting out or looking for scientific reasons to go with a particular caliber, hear me out on this: choosing a caliber for your next gun is silly and I’m going to explain why.

Acquiring and shooting firearms is definitely one of the most expensive hobbies one could involve themselves in. There are ways to minimize the wallet hit, such as buying cheaper ammo in bulk to train with, but does the money you save come at another price?

I often hear that a pump-action 12-gauge should be considered the go-to for home defense. It’s easy to use, intimidating to the bad guy, and packs a major punch. There’s also a common belief that you don’t need to waste time aiming when the buckshot will fill the hallway. But the truth is that none of that is true and a shotgun is actually the worst option you could go with, and we're going to dig into why this week.