A 22-year-old rifleman named Henry Bedinger marched in a second Virginia company, which was locked in an informal race to Cambridge with Morgan’s men. Led by Hugh Stephenson, the group set out from Mecklenburg, Virginia, now Shepherdstown, West Virginia, two days after Morgan, on July 17. Bedinger kept a journal while en route. This year, to mark the Beeline March’s 250th anniversary, Historic Shepherdstown published excerpts from the diary alongside an interactive map.
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Let’s talk about the pluses of forward-of-the-hip carry. First, not all locations are truly “appendix.” This has become a catchall term of description, but let’s be honest, more people are carrying in an abdominal, directly over the navel, position than they are off to the side toward their leg. The further forward, the more comfortable for most people, and it has proven to be more concealable. The use of chassis- or side-car-style rigs, where the mag pouch and holster are attached has also led to a more centered and balanced mode of carry. No right or wrong here, it’s whatever works best for you.
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How (And Why) to deGoogle Your Life and Protect Your Privacy
These techniques include tracking your search queries, monitoring your interactions with online products and services, and even keeping tabs on your physical movements while using Google Maps. Each data point is funneled into a vast user profile, which is used to strategically present ads, an easy money grab that one industry executive described as a “newfound religion.”
This extensive surveillance apparatus has been the center of numerous privacy and courtroom disputes around the world. Google, however, has bought its way out of them with settlements and fines costing a tiny fraction of the revenue they generated with your data.
Despite the name recognition (Google is a verb, after all) and convenience, there are many reasons to consider switching away from Google.
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Government Fooled Around, Now It's Finding Out
It just keeps rising.
The Tax Code of the United States does not generate enough revenue to cover the spending that politicians and government promise. Period. Full stop. End of statement. And I see you jackals in the back — no, we can’t tax our way out of the National Debt under the current levels of promised spending. It’s just not possible, no matter how many billionaires you propose putting the squeeze on.
One more time for the slow ones: The US government spends more than it takes in taxes. Has for decades.
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The New Springfield Armory Saint Victor 9mm PDW
Springfield introduced its first 9mm blowback action Saint Victor model AR in late 2022 with a Melonite-coated 16-inch CMV 1:10 twist barrel, ambidextrous safety, nickel-boron-coated flat trigger, and a standard GI-style charging handle. In a departure from the widespread use of Glock double-stack mags for 9mm PCCs, the Victor carbine accepted 32-round Colt SMG stick mags, which are widely available. We've evaluated these carbines in the past and found them to deliver on the range.
Since then, the stick-magged 9mm PCC proved popular, with Springfield responding to customer feedback by delivering more compact models, including an 8.5-inch and a 5.5-inch pistol outfitted with an SB Tactical SB-A3 stabilizing brace. The 5.5-incher, in particular, taped out between 20 and 22.5 inches due to the adjustable receiver extension.
Going even more compact, the new Saint Victor 9mm PDW sticks with the 5.5-inch barrel, while its SB Tactical HBPDW brace paired with a short buffer system shrinks the overall length to 18.5 inches while feeling much more solid.
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Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 38 2.0
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A Civil War-issued Sharps 1859 with double set triggers--Issued to the Berdan Sharpshooters?
It wasn’t seen as honorable during the French and Indian War for ranger units of British Loyalists to skirmish with foes then blend into the forests rather than to stand toe to toe in direct battle. While European marksman considered it dishonorable to see officers as targets, that changed in the Civil War with the Berdan Sharpshooters. Their prime targets: Confederate officers, artillery crews and other marksmen.
Sharpshooters used rifles rather than the muskets of the common infantryman. A gun with a rifled barrel provides greater accuracy and range. Continental Army sharpshooters were effective to about 300 yards at targets like British officers, but black powder didn’t allow for much stealth as a cloud of smoke quickly gave away a sharpshooter’s position.
Through the 19th century, the development of the Minie ball and smokeless powder along with rifled barrels helped usher the sniper into the wars of the 20th century.
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The .35 Remington: Classic but still relevant
In the early 20th century, the powers at Remington were looking forward. They viewed the levergun — the king of rifles at the time — as somewhat old-fashioned and decided it was time to offer hunters a more modern choice. Semi-automatics were just starting to appear and Remington turned to John Browning to come up with a semi-automatic rifle. The result was the Model 8 chambered in rimless versions of the rimmed Winchester cartridges. This new rifle appeared chambered in .25 Remington, .30 Remington and .32 Remington. Then in 1908 Remington went big bore with a completely new cartridge, the .35 Remington.
The Model 8 became the Model 81 and then was joined by the pump-action Models 14 and 141. Later, Remington even chambered their model 760 pump gun in .35 Remington. All of these are long gone, as are the three original Remington rimless rifle cartridges; however, the .35 Remington remains. It was first chambered by Marlin in their Model 336 in 1953. Over the early years it was not only offered in the rifle version, but also the 20″ straight-gripped Texan (1953–1964) and the 16 ¼” Marauder (1963–1964).
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Iranian Mines and Epic Damage Control … in 1988
Even though the minesweepers had already recently been through, the protocol used by the U.S. Navy was to maintain at least one set of Mk 1 Mod 0 eyeballs standing watch. Through the binos, Seaman Bobby Gibson scanned, stopped, and went back.
Right There.
His initial thought was that there’s no need to get fired up just yet, because the Gulf was and is full of random flotsam, like trash bags and dead sheep. But then Gibson got clearer resolution. No doubt about it: it was a mine, and freshly laid, based on the bright finish and lack of barnacles. Command immediately threw the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) full astern until stopped. Then, the ship’s superlative skipper, Capt. Paul X. Rinn, took stock.
There were at least two more mines visible in front of them. That meant that there was a good chance that they’d already gone past other mines, either moored submerged or not visible in the chop. Capt. Rinn reasoned—as it turns out, correctly—that they were well into a minefield.
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Lessons should be learned -- some may not be obvious
So, apparently Critter du Jour got hisself a fixation on the daughter of a neighbor, and decided to pay a visit: When throwing a strop and beating on the front door didn’t work, the critter went around the house until he made entry through what was allegedly a sliding glass door, and began searching for — apparently — the daughter.
The father of the house, having seen all of this on video, rushes home, arms himself with a shovel, and confronts the intruder. Both the father and the critter seem to have sustained head injuries during the confrontation, received medical care, and the critter is now in custody — where he belongs.
First off — well done to the father for stepping up. Unfortunately, in these modern “enlightened” times, the concept of “father’s duty” occasionally gets ignored, so all honor to the father here. There are, however, some lessons that can be learned around this incident.
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Colt’s New VMR Series of Magnified Optics
Colt Optics has made the interesting decision to start 2026 off by entering the riflescope market with its new VMR series, a three-model launch that has options for both mid-range versatility and long-range precision. According to the company’s official announcement, the line was built by its Michigan-based team with a focus on durability, consistency, and real-world usability.
What makes this launch interesting for the historically firearm-only company is that Colt Optics is not launching the VMR series as a single optic but as a full suite of optics intended to cover a broad range of shooting roles. According to the short YouTube video announcement, the 1-8x is aimed at fast work in confined spaces, the 3-18x is the do-it-all option for multiple distances, and the 4.5-27x is naturally the precision model for longer shots where repeatability, better target confirmation, and an overall better view matter most.
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For most of my career I have been concerned with two related questions. The first is how to build warriors and units who possess the skills, and culture, required to fight and win our nation’s wars. The second is how to prepare them psychologically and morally for what fighting actually entails.
When we began developing what eventually became the Modern Army Combatives Program in the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the focus was never simply on teaching soldiers how to fight. Skill was only part of the problem. Fighting also requires a mindset. Warriors must be able to function under stress, act decisively in violent situations, and remain disciplined in the use of force. That portion of the training carries over to every range of combat. A training system that develops technical ability but neglects the psychological and moral dimensions of combat is incomplete.
Within the 75th Ranger Regiment, excellence has never been an accident of talent alone. It is the product of a culture that consistently emphasizes small-unit competence, aggression, and the expectation that every Ranger must be prepared to close with and destroy the enemy. The Combatives Program was developed as one tool to reinforce that culture. It kept the focus of training on the individual Ranger and on the small units, fire teams, squads, and platoons, where combat is ultimately decided. By centering training on controlled, competitive experiences of fighting, it reinforced the reality that wars are not won in abstraction, but in decisive moments of physical dominance at close range.
Combatives builds practical fighting ability, but it also exposes soldiers to controlled experiences of aggression, competition, fear, and a kind of toughness that is distinct from the endurance required for long movements under load or difficult terrain. It is the toughness required to engage another human being directly, to impose one’s will in close contact while maintaining control and discipline. Through progressive training, soldiers learn how to manage those forces rather than being overwhelmed by them.
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