Wednesday Wisdom: 30 September 2026

Medal of Honor: Marvin Glen Shields

Construction Mechanic Third Class Marvin Shields was awarded the Medal of honor for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Although wounded when the compound of Detachment A-342, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, came under intense fire from an estimated reinforced Viet Cong regiment employing machine guns, heavy weapons, and small arms, Shields continued to resupply his fellow Americans who needed ammunition and to return the enemy fire for a period of approximately three hours, at which time the Viet Cong launched a massive attack at close-range with flamethrowers, hand grenades and small-arms fire. Wounded a second time during this attack, Shields nevertheless assisted in carrying a more critically wounded man to safety, and then resumed firing at the enemy for four more hours. 

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Apex Optics Vapor 1-4X Variable Prism Sight

Prism sights are nothing new, but they have certainly taken off over the past decade. When Trijicon introduced the ACOG and it began appearing on military weapons, other manufacturers quickly took notice. Their compact size, etched reticles, clarity, and easy-to-use sight picture have made prism optics increasingly popular.

One of the reasons prism sights are so durable is their simple fixed-magnification design, although that same characteristic can also be considered a limitation. The Apex Optics Vapor takes a different approach by combining the advantages of a prism optic with variable magnification.

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Attorneys Try to Build on ‘Negligent Marketing’ Claim to Include Independent Reviews of Guns

They author was subpoenaed in an anti-gun lawsuit. . .for being a guntuber. The case is Roberts v. Smith & Wesson, and it’s the same playbook, almost copy+paste, of the Soto v. Bushmaster “Sandy Hook” lawsuit against Remington, which put them out of business.

This one arises from the Highland Park July 4, 2022 shooting, where the killer used an M&P15. The plaintiffs are of course attempting to blame S&W for the incident and the theory, you guessed it, “negligent marketing.” They say S&W appealed to young men interested in militaristic imagery and that this influenced the shooter to select the M&P15, and that this more or less was a cause of this incident. Insanity.

Now they are reaching beyond S&W and into firearms media. The author received a subpoena demanding years of info and analytics concerning S&W and reviews. The part that should concern my fellow gun reviewers: Their subpoena defines an “Advertisement” to include even unpaid organic social-media content. In other words, by the plaintiffs’ definition, even an independent review of a lawful product is “advertising,” and they think they are entitled to any info that touches on essentially any YouTube video about the M&P15 during the relevant period.

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Influencer Baloney: Beware of “Influencers” Passing False Propaganda

On social media, an influencer-type put up an out-of-context video of John Farnam. John was depicted on a range giving information and shooting a demonstration. The response was to use John’s demo to discount someone who was a “typical anti-competition fudd” (sic), who’d allegedly trained at DTI. It was alleged that John “told him to stop competing because it ingrained bad habits …” something that is unlikely to have happened.

This is why many classes prohibit video and/or audio recording.  It is too easy for someone with an agenda to publish the video out of context. This is going to get worse as AI proliferates. I was out with Massad Ayoob at dinner one evening when Mas showed me a video with him speaking fluent, flawless Spanish.  Since Mas does not speak Spanish I found this curious. He said that a student using AI had modified the video.

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The Bren Ten

A Bren Ten Prototype Pistol

Largely the brainchild of Thomas F. Dornaus and his business partner Michael W. Dixon, personal friends who shared a passion for firearms, the design that would become the Bren Ten began conceptualization in 1979. The two sought to create a semi-automatic pistol with greater capacity and cartridge power than the .45 ACP out of the Model 1911 and .357 Magnum out of double action revolvers, which were some of the most prevalent and powerful sidearm options available for law enforcement at the time. 

 

Jeff Cooper (of Gunsite fame) was impressed and suggested two alterations which would come to define the line, changing the name to "BREN TEN" in recognition of CZ and re-chambering the pistol for a new 10 mm automatic cartridge. As a result, Dornaus & Dixon contracted Norma to design Cooper's conceptual cartridge, resulting in the creation of the 10 mm Automatic cartridge, with the Bren Ten being the first firearm chambered for it.

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The 10mm Auto: History & Performance

Many shooters believe that the 10 mm Auto round LtCol. Jeff Cooper conceived was invented in 1983. However, the story goes back at least another decade. In the early ’70s, an editor at Guns & Ammo magazine, Whit Collins, became greatly interested in writer George C. Nonte’s experiments with a wildcat .40-cal. cartridge based upon a shortened .41 Magnum case with its rim turned down to a rebated style to fit a 9 mm Luger breech-face.

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Stop Practicing Shooting – A Response

Karl Rehn's thoughts concerning a older Ralph Mroz article lists 25 things an armed person needs to be good at to be well prepared for armed self-defense. The Massad Ayoob Group MAG 40 program covers fourteen of the twenty five.

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Springfield XD Mod.4 Review: New, But Not

The new XD Mod.4 is what appears to be an entirely new pistol, but it isn’t. The internals are the same as they have always been, with improvements to details such as manufacturing efficiency and fit and function. The frame is the same polymer shell with the internals fitted and pinned into place, with a bladed safety-trigger on the flat-faced trigger, and striker-fired mechanism. There is the grip safety at the rear, adding to the suite of safety designs internally, so the XD Mod.4 OSP is drop-safe and still ergonomic to handle and use.

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Garmin Chronograph VS Athlon Chronograph

Two of the most interesting modern Chronograph options are the Garmin Xero C1 Pro and the Athlon Rangecraft Velocity Pro. Both are small, rechargeable radar chronographs, capable of measuring a wide variety of projectiles at various velocities. Both can be operated independently of the firearm, meaning they don’t need to be attached to the gun or barrel to make them work. They also don’t use optical sensors, so you don’t need to shoot projectiles through a set of screens or antennas to get a ballistic reading.

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The Stenzel Industries SAK-21: A Uniquely American AK

The AR-15/M16 vs. AK-47 debate is often framed in a Cold War West vs. East. The reality is that AR-15-type firearms are now made around the world, while plenty of AKs are made in the U.S. An example of the latter is the Stenzel American Kalashnikov – 2021 or SAK-21.

While maintaining some basic design features and aesthetics of the Kalashnikov, the SAK-21 makes significant departures. Its receiver is machined out of billet aluminum with a steel trunnion insert, and it has a user-changeable barrel.

I personally never felt the need to own an AK, although I have fired many original former Communist-Bloc versions. This one looks to have addressed many of the shortcomings of the traditional AK—it is an expensive example though.

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Police Responding to an Unknown Situation

Police practices have strong regional overtones. Four retired officers from various regions of the country contributed to this study. In addition to addressing west coast practices Roy Huntington publishes American Cop magazine. Rich Grassi writes for the NRA’s Shooting Illustrated and the Tactical Wire; his comments in this study are representative of the mid-western states. After a 35-year career in policing and corrections, Herb Furhman now teaches firearms classes, and here he speaks to his experiences working in Connecticut. Police procedures expert Edward Mamet served a distinguished almost-forty-year career in New York City, including 20 years in NYPD’s detective bureau, and he speaks about policing in large, metropolitan areas.

Armed citizens bristle when told that they may be treated like a violent criminal after defending themselves. They forget that law enforcement enters the scene with only limited knowledge. Queried about how law enforcement approaches a call about an armed citizen, the respondents in this article (experienced police officers) explained that safety of the responding officers must be foremost (at least in the officer’s minds).

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Don't Get Shot: Dealing With Police During a Traffic Stop

While we are on the topic: This article analyzes Opelika Police Officer Phillip Hancock’s furtive movement shooting of Air Force Airman 1st Class Michael Davidson.

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Scout Rifle Requiem: Q&A With Gunsite Legend Giles Stock

I have quite a few rifles among which is a Steyr Scout I purchased in the late 1990’s. I purchased the rifle standard and then had the stock cerakoated a medium brown. I have the original Leupold fixed two-power Scout scope on the rifle.

I love my scout rifle. It vies with an M1A match rifle as my favorite. This article is a Q&A with Mr. Giles Stock who worked closely with Jeff Cooper as he developed the Scout Rifle concept.

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