Articles by PGF

First, Canada sends their geese, and now these. Imbedded video includes an infographic depicting the spread. Apparently, they also build “pigloos.”

The cross between a European wild boar and a domestic pig is migrating south, to the US, as their numbers swell in Canada.

A cross-bred “super pig” from Canada is poised to wreak havoc on the environment in the United States and must be dealt with aggressively and immediately, a wildlife expert told Fox News Digital.

“These pigs are easily the worst invasive large mammal on the planet,” said Dr. Ryan Brook, an assistant professor in the department of animal and poultry science at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

These “super pigs” are actually a cross between a European wild boar and a domestic pig, Brook said.

The pigs “cause crop damage, destroy natural environments, get into cities, destroy water quality and can spread disease to humans, livestock, pets, and native wildlife,” he also noted.

The pigs are coming into the U.S. from Canada as their numbers swell there, causing populations to migrate south. Left unchecked, these “super pigs” could negatively impact just about everyone, Brook emphasized.

“The only people who should be worried about this is anyone that lives in North America and eats meat, or eats vegetables, or eats any foods based on grain crops or spends time outside for any reason,” he said.

[…]

The “super pigs” began with a unique set of circumstances, said Brook.

“Wild boar farmers were told to cross the wild boar with domestic pigs to make a bigger and longer animal,” Brook said.

He said a domestic pig has an extra set of ribs and has larger, more frequent litter.

“This was great for wild boar farmers, but [it] was a huge problem when [these animals] got into the wild,” he said.

The animals’ size, along with their intelligence, has made the “super pigs” capable of survival in harsh conditions and therefore hard to eradicate, said Brook. He noted they’ve even learned how to tunnel into snow caves to keep themselves warm.

“It is much warmer under than snow than on top of it,” said Brook.

Eradicating these wild pigs must be done as “quickly as possible,” he emphasized.

There must be “a rapid and highly aggressive response, just like dealing with cancer or forest fires — that is really the only option.”

He added, “Once [the pigs] are established, you will have them for another 500 years.”

Traditional hunting techniques are not effective in pig eradication, said Brook.

“Large traps and tracking Judas pigs (wild pigs with a GPS collar that will lead you to other pigs), ground removal teams, fencing, and education are all key,” he said.

Failure to quickly eradicate the pigs will result in devastation to the environment.

But how do they taste?

Video Included.

While the dispute between single stage vs two stage trigger is very much a preference thing, this won’t be a preference article. This article will discuss build and mechanics, the options and reliability of each, and why one might be chosen over the other in specific situations.

When thinking of a single-stage vs a two-stage trigger, the main terms that need to be known are hammer, sear, and disconnect. As these three parts will differ between triggers in an AR.

Hammer:The hammer is released when the trigger is fully pulled, striking the firing pin to ignite the primer of the round. Note: The hammer does have a portion on it that is known as the “searing portion” but it is not usually referred to as the main sear.

Sear: The sear is a separate part from the disconnect and hammer. The sear will be the last ledge that the hammer slides off of before being totally released to hit the firing pin. Dependent on the trigger, the sear can be a part of the trigger or its own separate piece that is then connected to the trigger.

Disconnect:The disconnect holds the hammer down after the trigger is pulled and the gun is cycling. As the gun is cycling, the hammer is pushed down and held down by the disconnect. This disconnect will then release once the gun has fully cycled and the trigger has been released. Once the disconnect releases the hammer, the hammer is now being held down by the sear.

Below is a graph provided by TriggerTech of various trigger pulls comparing pull weight and trigger travel distance. You can see the different forces and trigger travel required to set off different triggers as well as the amount of variation from trigger to trigger.

As some are better with words and some are better with actually seeing it, below is one of the better videos I’ve found in explaining the mechanics of the single-stage vs two-stage trigger. His example being with a Mil-spec single stage trigger in a standard AR-15 and then a Geissele Super Dynamic Two-Stage trigger.

It is worth it to note that all triggers will be different, even when it is a simple single stage trigger. Aftermarket triggers such as Triggertech, Hiperfire, and CMC are all very intricate designs and will differ from the example below but will have similar steps of operation.

Educational details about build and applications at the link.

John 17

What a divinely beautiful prayer from our Lord in this chapter. None of us will ever pray with such a lovely heart toward Holy Father God, but we must try to attain the same purposes.

John 17 is a righteous prayer in the will of God, evidence of a life dedicated to the mission that Christ Jesus completed in service of the Father to bring glory to Him as His Son. There’s no better example than Jesus of obedience for a young man today toward his father or for a disciple toward his heavenly Father; the latter will be addressed.

Some of the things Jesus speaks to the Father about in this chapter are unique to Him and their specific relationship. But we’re also heirs, left with this prayer that we might know Christ, His purposes, and His mind toward us; we can draw many direct applications for us today and should.

Jesus, in verses one and two, knows His purpose, so He starts in prayer to the Father, seeking to fulfill that purpose in the will of the Father, asking above all for Father to be glorified, that He would receive glory in the Son. Through Christ’s example, we ought to pray both in the will of the Father and to fulfill the will of the Father. You can pray for your own choices and be perpetually unhappy for your lack of worldly goods. Or, you can pray for the Father’s will above all and be blessed with the measure of fullness just by knowing Him.

“As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” – John 17:2

Jesus came to give eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him, but for an express purpose; to bring glory to the Almighty. This is an unspeakable gift. We oughtn’t to be puffed up as though any deserve it; selfish-mindedness about this purpose of Christ is misplaced. Jesus came to make for Himself the inheritance that Holy Father God promised Him before eternity began. “…ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Jesus did all things well so that His heavenly Father might be sufficiently pleased with Him, receiving glory and honor and blessings.

“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” – Romans 8:17

“Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” – Isaiah 43:7

Having been formed by God from the dust of the earth, raised to an age of understanding, and if you would by faith in Christ, reformed by a new birth through the Holy Spirit, in Christ, called by His name, God has made you for His own glory.

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” – John 17:3

There is no more a submissive act than to hand your life and will to God and ask that He do with you what He desires. For He made you from the start and remade you anew, and His Son bought you with a terrible price in blood to be His own; you are not your own, therefore bring glory to God through faithful doing of the word.

If the thought scares you some, good, you know there is a will of God for you and that you have already accepted His station far above you, but coming to grips with our place in the Kingdom of God is a lofty height of thin air indeed. It’s an unknown, unpredictable, and that’s why it’s called walking by faith.

And the greatest of unknowns could be your end, for you could be martyred, or destitute, or lead a congregation to which you’re wholly unfit (hint: none are), or called before the courts of magistrates to account for your faith having been charged as a criminal. God could bring you into dangerous and remote territory, the name of which you can’t pronounce. You might have to push yourself forward, Bible in hand, to confront your enemies with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Or, although entirely within your rights not to, reconcile your broken family.

It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God; being Christian, and living in the Kingdom of God, serving our King to bring Him all honor and glory isn’t for the weak of faith. Jesus said, concluding a short parable of a servant and his master: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” – Luke 17:10

Pitiful are the churches today that don’t lay out the mission of a disciple plainly by showing Christ’s commands, pointing to no other purpose but the duty to our Master, and declaring, go ye now and do it! Jesus, in John 17, shows singleness of mind to fulfill His mission to the Master, and He prays that His disciples meet their duty likewise.

Today there is one problem in the Kingdom, and it is just one fundamental problem at the root of all; the modern American church simply will not do what the Bible says. There are many reasons for this, some of which we’ve lamented over these pages, but they are all excuses at the individual level in the sight of God. To say nobody else was serving will not pass muster on the great and notable day of the Lord. To say nobody told you will not fly, for He left us His holy word with thorough instructions.

One cannot be Christian and a herd follower; it’s, as plainly as we can say, not possible. You must turn and confront the King on your knees and be anointed for the fight in righteousness, equipped also with a sword, helmet, shoes, and shield, and sent into battle against impossible odds. Christians, genuine converts, are outnumbered what, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty to one on this planet? Yet, there is no service that is not reasonable to accomplish for our Lord.

God will put you out there, hanging by one thin thread to test your faith, and regardless of the results, He’ll get the glory; look to Christ. But you see, if you won’t serve in faith, there’s nothing to test. And I’ll tell you, brethren, a little secret of those who seek the will of God, He’ll find your point where you turn back, He’ll see your limit, and you will know, in that day, He is God, and you are but sinful man, weak in the flesh. But, perhaps this is wrong; just maybe, you would go all the way to an actual cross.

A wise man once related something so simple yet profound God often brings it to mind. A worker of wickedness was testing college students at gunpoint, letting those go who denied Christ. I was discussing the faith of those young men and women who wouldn’t deny Christ and died for Him, taking a bullet to the head in front of their classmates. But this gentleman asked me, sure, you may be prepared to die for Christ in the moment, but are you willing to live your life for Him now?

Selected Notes.

“3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

What better thing in all of history for any man than that you might have occasion to eternal life and to know the one true God through Jesus Christ? There is no rational explanation that God would speak out of eternity, His Spirit moving upon the face of darkness surrounding your sin-stained mortal soul, pointing you to His Son. There is no answer but the love of God that He shined the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ into your heart, for no man ever deserved anything but the torment of hell. And sadly, if you do nothing of usefulness, you perpetuate the dead condition in which God found you, visiting a profound injustice upon Jesus; having received the truth, accepted it, and called upon Christ unto life and life eternal, not man ought to remain idle. Bring glory, therefore, to God.

What did Christ do? He did the will of the Father always, finishing the work that God gave Him to accomplish (John 6:38). No disciple is like his master except He does as his Master instructs (Luke 6:40). Finish the work ever keeping your eye on the One who is prized above all (Philippians 3:14). And if you haven’t started, well, begin today or begin anew, as Christ our Saviour has shown, in prayer, laying up before the throne your hunger to do as the Father would have, forsaking your life and the desires of the flesh for no other reason than to bring to Him the glory that is His. It’s His glory; why do you withhold it, robbing God through sloth or disobedience?

“10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.”

Christ did that which satisfied God’s purposes. We see men who took the ministry given to them and followed after Christ to the glory of God the Father (2 Timothy 4:7, 2 Peter 1:14-15); faithful servants to the end, knowing their time had come, they did not boast, but knew they had done what their Master had asked. In faith, steadfast, by the will of the Father, they, belonging to no man, didn’t follow the herd. All belonging to Christ are the Fathers, and we are one in Christ Jesus to the glory of God.

Eternal life is a gift. Men ought not to shrink from the war for His Kingdom. If you knew the half of some men’s story, tried seven times, purified through fire, made a suitable vessel, sanctified by the Spirit; spiritual tests and earthly battles and battles against the lust-filled flesh, contesting with evil spirits, constantly warring that they might fulfill the call. Having endured many a hardship of every nature, for the express purpose of pleasing our Lord and in humility still, offering no other explanation but that they remain unprofitable servants. You can be humble or uselessly unprofitable, but you can’t be both.

What need has the Captain of our salvation for soldiers who will not fight? The more challenging the battle, the more we need His command, lending yet more glory to Him from us through our dependence upon Him alone; the more satisfying will be the final day of approaching union in Him.

“17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”

All those in Christ are His. God has sanctified you in the faith by His word; read it, study it, learn the truth, and do it. You ought to approach this with fear and sound purpose of heart, for you were made for God and are given to Christ for carrying out the will of God, having been rebirthed and sent into the world to bring glory to the Father as did Christ.

The young must be instructed daily, and the young in Christ must be trained with the express intent to grow them all in the confidence, fear, and admonition of the Lord Jesus Christ to trust and obey Him. His word, as a sword, is the tool for this self-same purpose to bring all men to trust Christ, setting them apart for God, training and encouraging them to be sent by God also into the field, some near and some far, some unto significant burdens lifted, some unto splendid duties added, but all to bring honor publicly to our Father God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.”

Jesus prayed to do that which He was commanded. That’s plain to say, sometimes tough for us to do, but what of Christ? He gave Himself to the cross with the express purpose of doing the will of the Father. Where has any Christian man found an excuse that doesn’t point directly to Calvary’s hill, leaving him bereft of options but to follow Christ?

Jesus saw His seed on the cross (Isaiah 53:10), those who would be born again, and having endured unto the end, He glimpsed His faithful bride-to-be, knowing He alone could pay the redemption price upon your head. He prayed for you, knowing you would be His own into eternity. Through the ages, disciples have shared the Gospel, doing as Christ did, to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10) so you might believe through the word and be saved. And you owe them also, your forebearers in the faith.

We should never leave Jesus as a type of widower by our faithlessness to follow after. Thousands of years ago, Jesus prayed for you that you would receive and accept the report given by the word of his disciples. Read John 17, understand it, pray, believe, and follow after Christ in faith.

The All-Prevailing Plea – A Prayer, by Charles Spurgeon (Date not included in the original)

O LORD God! the Fountain of all fullness, we, who are nothing but emptiness, come unto Thee for all supplies, nor shall we come in vain, since we bear with us a plea which is all prevalent. Since we come commanded by Thy Word, encouraged by Thy promise, and preceded by Christ Jesus, our great High Priest, we know that whatsoever we shall ask in prayer, believing, we shall receive. Only do Thou help us now to ask right things and may the utterances of our mouth be acceptable in Thy sight, O God our Strength and our Redeemer.

We would first adore Thy blessed and ever-to-be-beloved Name. “All the earth doth worship Thee, the Father everlasting.” Heaven is full of Thy glory. Oh! that men’s hearts were filled therewith, that the noblest creatures Thou hast made, whom Thou didst set in the Paradise of God, for whom the Savior shed His blood, loved Thee with all their hearts.

The faithful, chosen, called, and separated, join in the everlasting song. All Thy redeemed praise Thee, O God! As the God of our election, we extol Thee for Thine everlasting and immutable love. As the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we bless Thee for that unspeakable gift, the offering of Thine Only-begotten. Words are but air, and tongues but clay, and Thy compassion is divine, therefore it is not possible that any words of ours should “reach the height of this great argument” or sound forth Thy worthy praise for this superlative deed of grace.

We bless Thee, also, divine Son of God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, that Thou didst not disdain to be born of the Virgin, and that, being found in fashion like a man, thou didst not refuse to be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Let Thy brows be girt with something better than thorns. Let the eternal diadem forever glitter there. Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood. Unto Thee be glory, and honor, and power, and majesty, and dominion, and might, forever and ever!

And equally, most blessed Spirit, Thou who didst brood over chaos and bring it into order, Thou who didst beget the Son of God’s body of flesh, Thou who didst quicken us to spiritual life, by whose divine energy we are sanctified and hope to be made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, unto Thee, also, be hallelujahs, world without end!

O Lord! our soul longeth for words of fire, but we cannot reach them! Oh! when shall we drop this clay which now is so uncongenial to our song? When shall we be able with wings to mount upward to Thy throne, and having learned some flaming sonnets that have once been sung by cherubim above, we shall praise Thee forever?

Yet even these are not rich enough for Thy glory. We would sing unto Thee a new song. We will, when we reach the heavenly shore, become leaders of the eternal music. “Day without night” will we “circle God’s throne rejoicing,“ and count it the fulness of our glory, our bliss, our heaven, to wave the palm, and cast our crowns with our songs at Thy feet forever and ever!

Our Father, which art in heaven, next to this we would offer prayer for those who never think of Thee, who, though created by Thee, are strangers to Thee, who are fed by Thy bounty and yet never lift their voices to Thee, but live for self, for the world, for Satan, for sin. Father, these cannot pray for themselves for they are dead. Thy quickened children pray for them. These will not come to Thee, for, like sheep, they are lost, but do Thou seek them, Father, and bring them back.

Oh! our glorious Lord, Thou hast taught us to pray for others, for the grace which could have met with such undeserving sinners as we are must be able to meet with the vilest of the vile. Oh! we cannot boast of what we are. We cannot boast of what we have been by nature. Had we our doom, we had now been in hell. Had we this day our proper, natural, and deserved position, we should still have been in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. ‘Tis Thy rich, free, sovereign, distinguishing grace which has brought us up out of the miry clay and set our feet upon a rock. And shall we even refuse to pray for others? Shall we leave a stone unturned for their conversion? Shall we not weep for those who have no tears and cry for those who have no prayers? Father, we must and we will.

“Fain our pity would reclaim,
And snatch the fire-brands from the flame.”

There are those who are utterly careless about divine things. Wilt Thou impress them! May some stray shot reach their conscience! Oh! that they may be led solemnly to consider their position and their latter end! May thoughts of death and of eternity dash like some mighty waves, irresistibly against their souls! Oh! may heaven’s light shine into their conscience! May they begin to ask themselves, where they are, and what they are, and may they be turned unto the Lord with full purpose of heart.

There are others who are concerned, but they are halting between two opinions. There are some that we love in the flesh who have not yet decided for God. Behold it trembles in the balance! Cast in Thy cross, O Jesus, and turn the scale! Oh! Love irresistible, come forth and carry by blessed storm the hearts which have not yet yielded to all the attacks of the law! Oh! that some who never could be melted, even by the furnace of Sinai, may be dissolved by the beams of love from the tearful eyes of Jesus!

Lord, Lord, if there be a heart that is saying, “Now, behold I yield. Lo! at Thy feet rebellion’s weapons I lay down and cease to be Thy foe, Thou King of kings”—if there be one who is saying, “I am willing to be espoused unto Christ, to be washed in His blood, to be called in His righteousness”—bring that willing sinner in now! May there be no longer delay, but may this be the time when, once for all, the great transaction shall be done and they shall be their Lord’s and He shall be theirs.

Oh! that we could pour out our soul in prayer for the unconverted! Thou knowest where they will all be in a few years! Oh! by Thy wrath, we pray Thee, let them not endure it! By the flames of hell, be pleased to ransom them from going down into the pit! By everything that is dreadful in the wrath to come, we do argue with Thee to have mercy upon these sons of men, even upon those who have no mercy upon themselves. Father, hast Thou not promised Thy Son to see of His soul’s travail? We point Thee to the ransom paid. We point Thee once again to the groans of Thy Son, to His agony, and bloody sweat! Turn, turn Thy glorious eyes thither, and then look on sinners and speak the word and bid them live. Righteous Father, refresh every corner of the vineyard and on every branch of the vine let the dew of heaven rest. Oh! that Thou wouldest bless Thy Church throughout the world! Let visible union be established, or if not that, yet let the invisible union which has always existed be better recognised by believers. Wilt Thou repair our schisms? Wilt Thou repair the breaches which have been made in the walls of Zion? Oh! that Thou wouldest purge us of everything unscriptural, till all Christians shall come to the law and to the testimony, and still keep the ordinances and the doctrines as they were committed to the apostles by Christ!

Remember our land in this time of need. Do Thou be pleased by some means to relieve the distress prevalent. Quicken the wheels of commerce that the many who are out of employment in this city may no longer be crying for work and bread. Oh! that Thou wouldest make wars to cease to the ends of the earth, or when they break out, break Thou the slave’s fetters thereby, and though desperate be the evil, yet grant that Satan may cast out Satan and may his kingdom be divided and so fall.

Above all, Thou long-expected Messiah, do Thou come! Thine ancient people who despised Thee once are waiting for Thee in Thy second coming, and we, the Gentiles, who knew Thee not, neither regarded Thee, we too are watching for Thine advent. Make no tarrying, O Jesus! May Thy feet soon stand again on Olivet! Thou shalt not have this time there to sweat great drops of blood, but Thou shall come to proclaim the year of vengeance for Thy foes and the year of acceptance for Thy people.

“When wilt thou the heavens rend,
In majesty come down?”

Earth travails for Thy coming. The whole creation groaneth in pain together until now. Thine own expect Thee. We are longing till we are weary for Thy coming. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen and Amen.

The first thing that struck me is that all of the newscasters have weird foreign accents. Not sure what states they are from but not South Carolina. Also, the reporter said that cubs show up with daddy bears. That’s highly unlikely. Of course, the State blames the homeowner for having modern conveniences like outside trash pickup and nice things like a bird feeder to enjoy. At the end of the video, the state propagandist says she wants bear spray, which is an excellent choice for her; please rely exclusively on it. I’ll carry a large bore handgun.

Video Via WoG.

“It’s terrifying, I’m 75 years old or will be, where in the world would I go? I can’t run from one,” she said. “I used to walk up and check our mail ‘cause it’s up on the road, and I would walk up there and check it and come back. But now I’m too scared to even walk up the driveway during the day.”

In a security video from Chambers’ property, a young bear can be seen coming up to her door, down her porch and leaving behind a big mess.

She said the bears come out at various times of the day, making her scared to go outside, even just to walk her dog.

“I opened the door this morning and my porch, it was torn to pieces,” Chambers said. “My chair was overturned, my bird seed in that can was everywhere, the flowers were knocked over like they were trying to eat them or something, I don’t know. I’m terrified.”

The State is for control, not the security of a free people.

This special session is truly nefarious. A special session in Tennessee is a separate single-topic debate. It’s a sneaky way to bring Red Flag law legislation to the floor of the full body of representatives, wherein a regular session, it would die in committee as has happened in the past. If this were the regular Tennessee session, a Red Flag law would be a non-starter.

There will be intense pressure and truckloads of outside money from national-level organizations and governments. This is a terrible and underhanded sneak attack by a governor to undermine the rights of the people of Tennessee. He’s always been a squish on gun rights and can never be trusted. Expect to see wailing mothers and crying children saying everybody must compromise and shred the Constitution because of one deranged sodomite pervert who should have been locked away in a mental facility.

Full Article.

Gov. Bill Lee has called for a special legislative session this August “to pursue thoughtful, practical measures that strengthen the safety of Tennesseans, preserve Second Amendment rights, prioritize due process protections, support law enforcement, and address mental health.”

The Montgomery County Tennessee Republican Party (MCTNGOP) stands with our Republican elected officials in maintaining their duty to uphold, preserve and protect the Tennessee State Constitution and the US Constitution with all the rights contained therein, and uphold the Republican Party values contained within the Republican Party platform.

With a primary focus of this session on possible gun control measures, and even discussions entertaining versions of a red flag law, the MCTNGOP unequivocally opposes any legislation or Republican member of the state Legislature who would seek to defy the duties and responsibilities to their constituents and constitutions, especially regarding our inalienable Second Amendment right.

I hadn’t heard of these guys, but if that’s their position, I like them.

The MCTNGOP continues its recruitment and elections of candidates that support the US and Tennessee State constitutions, and the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms that expressly “shall not be infringed” that truly is a foundational pillar of American liberty. Those officials or candidates not in alignment with our shared Republican values will not obtain the support of the MCTNGOP. We look forward to watching our committed civil servants in the Legislature stand on their conservative values to support, protect and safeguard the liberty and freedoms we enjoy as Tennesseans.

A good drill for shotgunners.

I’m not sure who invented the Shotgun Casino Drill. I first saw it on the Active Self Protection YouTube channel. Maybe the ASP crew created it, or maybe not. However, I give them full credit for them making me aware of the drill, which almost immediately sent me to the range to give it a spin.

I love shotguns and shotgun shooting, but there aren’t a ton of training drills with shotguns. It’s easy to see why. With the shotgun, it’s often an aim, shoot, target down scenario. The shotgun is an extremely powerful weapon and a dominant force in close-range fighting. There is something about a single shot putting eight to nine .32 caliber pellets into a bad guy that ends the fight. Still, we train for the worst possible scenarios, and the Shotgun Casino Drill allows us to stretch our legs and train and test a variety of skills.

The Casino drill didn’t start with the shotgun. The Casino drill is a classic drill that requires a bit of a special target. You start by firing one round into target one and escalate until you are shooting six rounds into target number six. It integrates reloads, target changes, and good marksmanship. The Shotgun Casino Drill does the same but with a bit less ammo.

What do we need to run the Shotgun Casino Drill?

We need a modern shotgun that falls into the repeater category. What’s a repeater? Well, you need a shotgun with a magazine tube or even a magazine. However, you’ll need several magazines if you take that route. A modern repeater is basically any modern pump or semi-auto shotgun. It needs to be able to hold at least four rounds, which tends to be the lower end for defensive shotguns.

We need ten rounds of ammo for each run. You can use either birdshot or buckshot. If you plan to shoot it a few times, consider starting with birdshot and escalating to buckshot when you develop a little more skill and experience with the drill. You’ll need to be able to hold at least six rounds on the gun or a mix of ammo on the gun and on the belt. Either way, it needs to be easily at hand and ready to load.

We also need four targets. Shotguns tear targets up, so steel is best, but man, four man-sized steel targets is an expensive venture. Good paper targets will have to be what it is. I prefer the Sage Dynamics targets, mostly because I can print them for free and not rip through fifty bucks worth of targets in an afternoon.

Don’t forget your basics: a shot timer and your eyes and ears.

As always, you’ll have to click the link to see the setup and drill specifics.

Interesting history. The list may have gaps because the data considered is official. There were other guns in use, especially during the civil war.

In any war, even the smallest advantage can mean the difference between victory and defeat. To maintain the upper hand, the Department of Defense spent $106 billion on research and development of weapons technology in 2021 alone. And while new and evolving technologies like precision guided missiles and drones have changed battlefield dynamics in recent years, outfitting troops with rifles that are reliable and effective remains a top priority – as it has since America’s founding.

Perhaps second only to the will to fight, the rifle is the most important asset of any army infantry soldier. And from the flintlock muskets used by the Continental Army in the American Revolution, to the M4 assault rifles carried by U.S. Army infantry units of today, weapons technology has evolved considerably over the nearly 250 years the U.S. has been a country.

U.S. Models 1855 and 1861 Springfield rifle-muskets (picture is public domain):

Using data from a range of sources, including military records and government websites, 24/7 Wall St. identified standard-issue and other common infantry rifles issued by the U.S. Army throughout history – starting with the Colonial period. We did not include rifles with specialized functions, such as sniper rifles and machine guns.

From the American Revolution through the Civil War, rifle technology changed little. Over that nearly 100-year period, American soldiers were issued muskets that were limited in range, accuracy, and reliability by any modern standard. Though there were some innovations during that period, including the rifled barrel and the switch from a flintlock firing mechanism to caplock, it was not until the 1870s, with the introduction of the Model 1873 Springfield, which fired a bullet with a self-contained cartridge, that the U.S. Army adopted anything resembling what we use today.

Even then, the M1873 was a single-shot rifle, with a maximum rate of fire of about 15 rounds per minute. For comparison, modern military rifles can cycle at a rate of about 950 rounds per minute.

List with specs and historical detail at the link.

Tennessee Republican Fudd Explains:

The basics

Many are familiar with basic weapons handguns, rifles, shotguns, and machine guns.

Gill (Bo Gill, chair of the Bedford County [TN] Republican Party and a self-described “amateur gunsmith,”) said firearms are broadly categorized into two main types: automatic and semi-automatic. The difference lies in their firing mechanisms, which significantly impact their functionality and practical applications.

Semi-automatic firearms are designed to fire one round with each pull of the trigger. After firing, the expended cartridge is ejected, and a fresh round is automatically loaded into the firing chamber for the next shot. Unlike automatic firearms, the trigger must be released and pulled again to fire subsequent rounds.

For reference, the transgender shooter at The Covenant School used a semi-automatic, which is the most common type used for recent mass shootings.

“Any semi-automatic firearm cannot be readily converted into an automatic firearm,” though bump stocks, which the 2016 Las Vegas shooter used, can mimic an automatic.

Automatic firearms, commonly known as machine guns, are capable of firing rounds continuously as long as the trigger remains depressed. These firearms use the energy from each fired round to automatically load and fire subsequent rounds without the need for additional manual manipulation.

Often automatic weapons are $10,000 and up and not readily available in gun stores but are available online.

You know it’s coming, or it wouldn’t be a “news” article. Ah, yes, the, however!

However, like some gun owners, Gill agrees, “I don’t think automatic firearms have a place anywhere but war. They’re not practical and they’re a waste of ammo.”

It’s a Bill of Limited Ammo Use. What he’s saying is that the government should have a sole monopoly on force. He’s for self-defense and “sporting,” which is a totally made-up word. But he misses the purpose of the Second Amendment if he thinks the government is the only acceptable entity to make war. That’s scary to the modern weak, prissy Western man of which America has an epidemic.

There is also much discussion around “military-style” weapons.

Gill explains, “Visual resemblances do not necessarily indicate an increase in functionality or lethality beyond that of other semi-automatic firearms.”

Military-style firearms, also referred to as “assault weapons,” feature certain cosmetic characteristics that resemble firearms used by military or law enforcement agencies. These features can include folding or collapsible stocks, pistol grips, flash suppressors, and detachable magazines, among others.

The article indicates those are not “genuine” firearms. Only Fudd purposes are genuine.

Then there are genuine firearms that come in a multitude of designs and models, serving various purposes such as self-defense, sport shooting, hunting, and collecting.

Gill explained, in an opinion letter he wrote in 2020, that, “It is important to evaluate the firearm’s functional characteristics rather than solely relying on its appearance to determine its intended purpose or danger level.

He said, “The main thing is the guns are not the issue. It’s the intent, the person that does it.”

The intent of a person, in Western Jurisprudence, is determined solely by courts of law in a trial by jury. Red Flag laws are a usurpation of the right to a fair trial. You can’t possibly know the intent of somebody or their mental condition. You could, however, stop giving psychotropic mind and mood-altering chemicals falsely labeled as medicine (which they are not) to people.

“Now the ease of mentally ill getting a gun, it could be tightened.” Gill added, “I think private sales is something that could be done more responsibility.”

Who get’s to define mentally ill? What is the definition?

He explained those purchasing firearms in private sales are asked for the receipt, name, and number. This information is then run through the sheriff’s office.

If you’re in Tennessee you should check to make sure, but I don’t think that’s the law. You need to verify TN state residency with a Driver’s License.

“That is what a law-abiding citizen should do,” said Gill. “But, see, that’s not going to happen with ‘no guns allowed.’ All the responsible gun owners are going to put their guns back and that’s going to create soft targets.”

Often, places that do not allow for guns on the premises, such as schools, some churches, and movie theatres, are the targets of mass shootings.

“I don’t think the solution is taking away guns. It’s a societal issue that independent families have to fix,” said Gill.

Disarmed men create soft targets. There’s more at the link. Anyway, what’s the rule? Never talk to the press! The guy probably feels bad. I’m certain they mischaracterized some of what he said, but some are quoted. He’s a Fudd.

Part One

Romans 9 and 1 Corinthians 1 as references.

There is the offense of the cross and the scandal of the cross. But they, at the center, have much overlapping commonality. It could be the scandal that offends, but both are scandalous and appalling to men.

The New Religion and mock-Christian liberalism are both inclusive, but neither is actual Christianity. At the center of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the exclusive nature of Christ and by Him Christianity.

The Roman Empire had many gods in the first century. So too, the continual influence of the last Greek empire and its philosophies in Christ’s day permeated much of European and Mediterranean basin civilization; the seeking of “new knowledge” and the presence of many gods was in every town and hamlet.

What struck the first century’s polytheistic (and pantheistic) senses as the Gospel went west was that Christians proclaimed one God, a living God, and an undivided title by Him to be made a son of God. To the exclusion of all religions, Christ stands as the only way to have a personal relationship with God. He alone is the door and salvation for entrance into the legitimate flock (John 10:9), which is His Church – the body of Christ; everlasting life in heaven is through Jesus. This is deeply objectionable, still today, and even among some professing Christians.

The world nods in acceptance and approval when you find a new way to have temporary comfort in your own skin. Whether that path is proper or even wholesome doesn’t matter. Everyone is allowed to have his unique god, which does not matter as long as everyone finds the thing that helps him justify his evil while conforming to the modern sense of ethics and morality.

It’s claimed that you can have any savior you like and be secure in your feelings; this is the least objectionable thing in which there is no scandal. Can’t we all get along? But to the mind of the man in Christ, he knows Holy God is deeply offended at making yourself accepted among men in the rejection of Him; Christ said, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

All those professing to be wise by knowledge and “science” and well-doing, comfortable in their own deception, are brought to ruin in the simplicity, exclusivity, power, and authority of Christ’s cross.

The abject sinfulness and grotesquely open wicked flaunting of sin as pride all started with well-doing. Where else could the works of men, trying to do good, lead but to proclaiming themselves to be free from consequence? These works of faith have led directly to the place warned of by the prophet in Isaiah 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

All this evil of the New Religion in the West started as well-doing; the works of being a good person but outside of God’s holy law through faith in Jesus Christ is ruinous. They still think they are correct; the claim is that good people are being tolerant. They genuinely believe. You might say, well, I’m not that bad, I would never land in the bed of someone of my own sex, but the works of your own righteousness, whatever they may be, will no less land you in the same hell with them.

Also, today, self-centered humanists are significantly at odds with the message of the cross. As it was from the start, the preaching of the cross two thousand years later is somewhere on the scale of foolishness for them (1 Corinthians 1:18) to causing seething murderous rage (Acts 7:45). Without Christ, you are numbered as an enemy of God.

There’s a movement that’s gained little traction, but we must be on guard. There are those saying that Talmudism (modern Judaism), Mohamedism, and Christianity are all Abrahamic faiths and are, therefore, equally valid. The Talmudists are promoting this but don’t actually believe it and still hate Jesus Christ. This is the subtlety of the devil, a broad way, an easy non-offensive path, but Christ has defeated sin, death, and the grave; Jesus says, “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Few find it because it must be sought by faith in Jesus and only by faith in Him. Talmudism and Mohamedism are founded in hatred, not in the love of God, who gave His only begotten Son to reconcile sinful man to Himself. It is not holy God that must negotiate with all the faiths; it is men that must be reconciled to God by surrendering to Him through faith in Christ Jesus.

All men are helpless before the God that created them. The evolving god that changes as a man ages and learns, built by the world’s wisdom, is foolishness to holy God (1 Corinthians 1:23-29). But men, in their vanity, assert a god: regardless of the form, the mastery claimed by man is to conceive his god and make that god the symbol of his many illusions so that he may placate his fears of the unknown universe. But it’s not the man that can conceive God but God that creates the man.

“For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.” – Romans 14:9

Jesus Christ is Lord of all. We must convey that you can, in accordance with the power and authority of Jesus Christ, enter into His kingdom and eternal life in heaven by placing your faith in Him. He died for your sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Jesus lived a sinless life, defeating sin on the cross, and He rose again on the third day conquering death and is now seated at the right hand of power in heaven, crowned Ruler and King of all that is. The power and authority of God to make life eternal can be realized by you, in faith, and the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord imparted unto you by the forgiveness of your sin and imputation of Christ’s righteousness.

“Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” – Romans 9:18

The acceptance of Jesus Christ’s payment for your sins on the cross and sole reliance on Him for eternal life, by faith in His resurrection, is for those that belong to Him mercy, but to those that are not, it lends to a hardened heart. God’s authority over all His creatures and, therefore, the offense of the cross is well shown in this verse. God does what He wants with whom He will, and nobody can tell Him to do otherwise; He is sovereign. But we know that entrance may be gained by much prayer in seeking not to rule God that He changes His mind but by calling upon the mercies of Christ Jesus the Mediator. Nonetheless, God does as it pleases Him with His creatures.

But this exclusive title offered by Christ to become a son of God comes not by the workings of man, for what difference would Jesus Christ make if He were just one more religious figure added to the pantheon of global gods? That notion is no offense to the world or the New Religion. Jesus, the “good guy” and guru of kind living, is easily assimilated into the many false world belief systems, and thereby, Christ, in the mind of the unconverted, becomes just another inoffensive idol among the rest.

A man is not saved by following the moral life of Christ or the ethics of His teaching but by faith; except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God: ye must be born again. Nonetheless, if they would be called friend, those that are His keep His commandments. In fear of the Lord, when He reveals Himself and His divine authority to judge your wicked crimes against him, a man can receive Christ as having taken his substitutionary punishment. As applicable as Christ’s teachings may be, and indeed, obeying Christ’s commands is a fact of life after conversion, the rest is simply religion.

——-

Part Two

No man genuinely converted by Christ chose to become Christian; neither did any man who did not receive Christ get converted.

This statement about the undivided authority of the Almighty to work His will for His unknowable purposes will offend not just unbelievers but 95 percent of professing Christians. Salvation is an exclusive moment. You can join a denomination, church, cult, or movement and perform rituals, rites, recitations, and ceremonies, but that’s not conversion. All other associations exist for the sake of Christianity and not Christianity for the sake of performances; the object of our faith is not ceremony; it’s Christ.

God, in His grace, may reveal to a lost sinner his sin, allow him to see that he’s headed to hell, or leave him fearful without excuse knowing he will stand before the God of creation. All these things are true.

The scandal is this; there’s nothing any man can do but surrender his whole being to the One who made him, accepting that God does that which He will. There’s no way but the cross, and unless God, in His mercy, shows you your need, you’ve been condemned already, a helpless soul headed to an unknown death and an eternity of darkness and separation from God. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost; until the soul of a man knows it’s lost, in need of Jesus, he is unlikely to be found. Here’s the offense, those dead in their sin, except God quicken them through faith in Christ, are damned; all men have sinned against God, and only Jesus can save them.

Except God calls you, there is no heaven for you. You deserve the eternal torture of God for your sin, and until you face this fact, under the power of conviction from the Holy Spirit, the Christ of the Bible is just an imaginary being. Every man’s salvation testimony is unique, but every man who’s been converted has one. A testimony of Christian ceremony is not a conversion covenant with the holy Creator. If your testimony relies upon a ceremony of any kind for eternal life and not upon Christ, why are you waiting? We suppose a man could reject the call of God, but having shown Himself to them, it’s unclear how or why he would. Reading this, God is offering you the way by faith in Christ alone; if you’re feeling helpless right now, you are being called; Jesus is the way!

God doesn’t force Himself on a man; that would not bring love and mutual fellowship but resentment in the man. But in His lovingkindness, our merciful God shows the man his need for Christ. By a thought, God could make all men little robotic automatons of obedience, but that’s not love; that’s tyranny leaving God little better than a petty despot, which He is not. Faith in God’s love and trust in Him through His Son brings salvation!

Starting a discourse about preparing a home in heaven for His followers, Jesus said, “ye believe in God, believe also in me.” Elsewhere, a forewarned seeker, whose child was possessed, cried out in faith with tears unto Christ and said, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” You must receive the Christ of God.

And so we begin to see a more complete picture of the offense of universal damnation for sin and the scandal of the exclusivity that is the cross of Christ.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” – John 14:6

With God, there is no doubt allowed as to who is the Saviour and who is the way to heaven. Contained therein is the very right of Christ set forth before all men: He claims to be the sole path to heaven for meeting the Maker (Romans 9:21), the Father of us all by faith; if you would be forgiven and made His son being condemned no more and welcomed into eternity.

But you must face some facts; no man comes to God but by Christ. That is the most offensive claim ever made, and they killed Him for it. For we are designed to seek a god, as religious beings, to have a god, and Jesus, being the only way, destroys all the imaginations of the hearts of men, leaving them helpless at the mercy of He who says, “I Am.” Salvation isn’t merely through Christ, but only through Christ. Other means are hereby resolutely rejected, leaving a man helpless and thus deeply offended in his pride.

If Jesus weren’t the only way, but just another way, He would have been gladly added everywhere to the list of fine men who’ve benefited history with excellent teaching on lofty living, and there would be no persecution of His followers. But being the only Saviour, exclaimed by those in Christ who must abide by their new nature never to deny Him, brings hatred from all corners to the Christian man. The name of Jesus is hated the world over by those that remain in their sin, but unto us that are saved by His grace, we know, neither is there salvation in any other. The religious despise Jesus most of all, even today, and two thousand years ago if He had been just another teacher of good things, they would not have tortured Him to death.

If the offense of the cross is done away with by inclusiveness, so too is the glory in Christ’s power by the resurrection gone. The simple question remains, do you believe in the power and authority of Jesus Christ to save your eternal soul; will you be converted through faith in Jesus Christ? Christ has bound all men’s hope of peace, faith in God, love, redemption, forgiveness, grace, new birth, soul salvation, and eternity in heaven to His person. Jesus isn’t only a good life, He didn’t teach merely another truth, and He isn’t only a way; He is the way, the truth, and the life.

The offense of exclusivity and the scandal of the cross is the beauty of Christ to those who belong to Him by faith.