Melinsky entered the U.S. Army from Minnesota and was a member of Company I, 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division. In May of 1944 the 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, was taking part in the Fifth Army's drive northwest through Italy to meet with Allied forces breaking out of Anzio. On May 20, 1944, Melinsky was part of an advance scout patrol from the 351st Infantry Regiment which came under attack north of Itri, Italy, taking fire from the front and both flanks. Members of Melinsky’s unit initially reported him missing when the company was forced to withdraw. Company I later retook the area and searched for Melinsky without finding him or his body. Following the war, an American Graves Registration Service team recovered the remains of an American Soldier on the slope of a valley just south of Itri, Italy but could not identify the remains.
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Grayboe’s Universal Mini Chassis and Stock System
One of the important advances in precision rifle shooting has been the development of high quality stocks and chassis. If you aren’t familiar with the difference between the two, let me clear it up for you; a stock is usually made of wood, polymer or other material (fiberglass, carbon fiber), while a chassis uses a more rigid material like aluminum.
Think of it like this; you can bolt an outboard motor to either a wooden boat or an aluminum boat. Over time, and with use and water involved, the transom of the wooden boat could deteriorate and allow some wiggle room. The aluminum transomed boat, however, is likely to continue to work until a weld breaks or something similar.
Modern rifle stocks have greatly improved, but the more modern chassis have taken it to the next level. Grayboe’s Universal Mini Chassis and Stock System illustrates perhaps the best of both worlds.
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Hornady .338 ARC Guide: AR-15 Conversion, Ballistics, & Suppressors
For those who are curious about the Hornady .338 ARC. Long-range precision isn’t the goal here—hard-hitting terminal energy and optimized suppressor performance are. Engineered to squeeze maximum heavy-payload energy out of a standard AR-15 platform, the .338 ARC fills a crucial gap for shooters wanting true subsonic stopping power without jumping to a large-frame rifle like the 8.6 AAC Blackout.
While the .338 ARC offers impressive energy and suppression, it does come with a few trade-offs to consider. First is its steep trajectory—a 307-grain bullet moving at subsonic speeds drops fast. You’re practically mortaring the round out to 200 yards, and with a 100-yard zero, expect to see around 30 or more inches of drop at the 200-yard mark.
Cost is another factor. Ammo is expensive—all of the ARC rounds are expensive, and this chunky .338 requires a lot of lead and copper to produce. As a result, factory ammo will likely remain expensive throughout the cartridge’s life compared to standard intermediate rounds.
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Knife Violence: Zombie-Style Knives Banned
Zombie-style knives and machetes have this week (24 September 2024) been added to the list of prohibited weapons in the Criminal Justice Act 1988 as the government cracks down on dangerous weapons with no legitimate purpose.
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John Farnam’s thoughts on grip safeties, loaded-chamber indicators, manual safeties, hyper-accuracy, and magazine safeties.
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Gustave Young Exhibition Engraved & Gold-Inlaid Smith & Wesson Second Model American Revolvers
These wonderful revolvers are consecutively numbered Smith & Wesson Second Model American Revolvers that S&W displayed at the Moscow & Vienna World Fairs in 1872 & 1873 and at the United States Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876.
Master engraver Gustave Young embellished both with the finest quality detailed foliate scrollwork with punch-dot background shading extending onto the hammer, trigger guard, and latch. Young’s record books have rubbings of the revolver’s engraving and gold inlay pattern. Description and Images courtesy of Amoskeag Auction company.
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The Rifling Marks on Your Bullet Tell a Story
Every bullet that passes through a rifled barrel picks up a unique set of marks. The lands and grooves of the rifling engrave themselves into the bullet's surface as it spins down the bore. Most shooters never look at these marks. But if you do, they'll tell you more about your barrel's condition, your ammunition's fit, and your gun's health than almost any other diagnostic tool available.
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The Story of the .30-30 Winchester: America’s Original Deer Cartridge
There are cartridges that are faster than the .30-30 Winchester. There are cartridges that shoot flatter, hit harder, handle wind better, and look considerably more impressive on a ballistic calculator. None of that has managed to kill the .30-30. Hornady even makes subsonic rounds for the .30-30.
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Shooting is not "Just Shooting"
The sport shooters like to say that “shooting is just shooting” in an effort to convert everyone into sport shooters. That is a complete fallacy. Shooting is a closed skill and Gun Fighting is an open skill.
Taking their perspective, we could also say “punching is just punching” or “kicking is just kicking.” And in their context we would be correct. Punching in dry training is the same as dry firing, and punching a bag is the same as shooting a target. But saying that is the same as fighting is a ridiculous thing to suggest. Punching a bag is a closed skill. Applying a perfectly timed punch in a fight is an open skill.
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The Relative Draw Speeds of Pistols
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You don’t rise to the occasion behind the steering wheel--you default to your last level of training which most drivers don’t have. They have habits, what they saw in a reel, or the assumption nothing bad will happen between ignition and destination. That assumption is where things start to unravel.
When a street turns hostile, drivers don’t perform to the level of their intentions — they perform to the level of their preparation. Steel and glass feel protective right up to the moment they stop being so. A vehicle is not a bunker. Steel and glass give you the illusion of safety right up until they don’t. A vehicle gives you movement. Movement is leverage. Distance buys time. Time preserves options. Lose either one and the whole equation folds like a lawn chair.
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