The pistol ships with a RD soft case and (1) 30-round magazine. . Its a Remington 700, 3.5X10 Leupold scope, Hunter stock and mags. Some will say that the voting process is corrupt. Expensive yes, but far cheaper than any of the custom revolvers out there. Take the best that exists and make it better. I'd choose a rifle, a shotgun, an RPG or an atomic bomb instead. He was rigidly, rigidly flexible. https://youtu.be/H0qe45Z8wfk. ), I think 100s of mags is overkill, but Im just a dumbass civilian that works a bluecolar job. Its anall steel 5 Government Model chambered in 45ACP. ACP-arms response was not quite on the mark. Be among the first to hear about gun raffles, firearms training, and special events. My bone-stock $129 (from the good old days) Norinco MAK-90 will reliably hit minute-of-human at 200M. Building an AR isnt exactly difficult, unless you start with an 80% lower. (I think the only spare parts you really need for an AR is a spare BCG and a spring kit.). ALL of Clints advice is based on Murphys law, and therefore its all GOOD ADVICE. Ive got enough spare parts that I will build another very soon. Bow to me. Be humble. And if it does, a primitive pimple on the ass of your attackers wont be enough. Curious, would the felt recoil in that featherweight .45ACP be less than it in .357? Accept nothing nearly right or good enough., Sir Henry Royce, co-founder of Rolls Royce. Without getting into the differences between .223 and 5.56 both are perfectly viable out to ranges beyond which most people can shoot without optics. The AR may be more prone to breakdown than your precious AK, but at least my rifle can actually hit the target. However i have seen the real need for more than 8+1 even if it is a .45 But a whole second rifle? And that the author didnt know about the Baer guns. Im pretty sure of he carried a j frame with snake shot hed be a dangerous man. Now I need to think about where to transfer them tomorrow. I know all. Staff G.A. But our county, Allen County, Indiana, was the first county in Indiana to go to auto pistols, and thats because I took my deputy chief to Gunsite, we took off our revolvers, put on our auto pistols and took the class. Change the channel to Oprah? But, obscure ones is overkill and too expensive. But for the rest of us, maybe a rifle and a full kit of parts? Guns and ammo are good tools to have. The .38 Smith & Wesson Special, designed in 1898, rocked the handgun realm with its ballistic performance making it a cartridge for the history books. I remember thinking I was being ripped off at $89 per 1000, but I still bought it. Everyone knows that certain conditions require different loads! ", "An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity. Once again, the salient point is that the agreed upon definition of pukes in its own mouth, err, direct impingement includes the firing gas acting upon a carrier/block/whatevs. ", "You have the rest of your life to solve your problems. (Assuming you dont stay in your domicile, and wait til everything runs out. Some describe Clint Smith as a firearms instructor, stand-up comic, and social philosopher rolled into one small man. Jim Smith of Spartan Tactical Carries a Sphinx, a CZ clone. And thesurveysays! I say keep to the caliber your rifle is chambered for as long as you can! Gun Jesus had a very good explanation of it a while back. Lucky for me, my sister bought me one for Christmas a few years ago. The purpose of this website is to share educate, inform, and build a lasting culture around firearms. Theyre both pretty harmless, but I think the battlefield pickup guys are probably just slightly more ridiculous. In law enforcement, people only attend training because they are required too, but [Gunsite] was the first environment where I saw people that really did want to learn. Since that time Clint has been an invaluable mentor and friend who has helped shape my philosophy on carry guns and gear. Didnt somebody once say that one should not carry a pistol he cant afford to replace if it gets seized as evidence after a self-defense use? If someone comes up to me on the street and asks What does your logo mean? I tell them, for one, all the cool animals were taken, all the birds and dragons and everything. Eagle meat is never kosher because of the arrangement of the talons. Certainly, knowing how to fix what you have is a plus. Just my $.02. Nothings wrong with assembling your own AR. 6. James Yeager recommends keeping a spare fully assembled bolt in the battery compartment of your grip just in case you break an extractor or shear a locking lug because the AR15 bolt will do both. I dont think the caliber is relevant, I think people need to carry a caliber that they can consistently and repeatedly hit a target with, and control. Which feeds right into Clints advice to have three rifles and strip one for spare parts, if need be. ", "The handgun would not be my choice of weapon if I knew I was going to a fight. Practice, practice. white grips, custom checkering, $10k tag. If I have a gun, what in the hell do I have to be paranoid for. Hell, even were a para cord bracelet sometimes. said my cheap glock is just as effective and i can buy 15 more guns with money saved. Clint Smith ofThunder Ranch is a gun guru extraordinaire. Bravo! Get weekly news and instant alerts on the latest laws and politics that affect your gun rights. Striving for perfection and never releasing your work until it is 100% perfect actually means that you will never finish and never produce a product. A US Palm reinforced magazine, A2 brake and Thunder Ranch two-point sling round out the rifles features. People have been farming, trading, running shops, and manufacturing for thousands of years for profit. Second, I agree on the idea of three rifles of the same brand and model. Everybodys got something to worry about. the AK 15 passed trials and will be issued WITH the AK 12 and a new RPK chambered in. My mom and I went to Sears and Roebuck and we bought a Savage single-barrel .410 shotgun, which I still have. Hes a colonel of Marines, and that was box or a niche that I fit nicely into being a corporal of Marines. You can live on lock down in an underground shelter a hundred miles from the outskirts of East Bumfuck if you want, but bad shit will still find you, and youre still gonna die someday. There is a reason firing a 1 1/5 ounce high brass slug from a 12 gauge feels very much like firing a 300 grain bullet (standard charge) from a .300 H&H Magnum rifle. ", Complete Legal Protection for Armed Self Defense - Read This. Q:What are your goals going forward, or goals for Thunder Ranch?A:I need to love my wife, take care of my dogs, defend my country, take care of my health and I have no foreseeable goal to retire. member and precision rifleman. And the AR15 is the standard, end of story. Hand-cut 30lpi checkering front and rear I first met Clint in 2003 when I attended my first class under his instruction. For the first three years it was teachable but slow. Uncle Adolf commanded his Riech from a castle nicknamed the Eagles nest a top a mountain in Bavaria for much of The War. ", "A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. Are there perfect niche calibers for specific situations? However, keeping a spare parts kit or two around to keep all three running would be better. We protected them, we kept them from being kidnapped or intimidated by the North Vietnamese or Viet Cong, and we watched over them while they brought in their crops. I cant decide who is more amusingly deluded, guys who make purchasing decisions today based on concerns about hilariously unlikely post-apocalyptic scenarios, or guys who carry a rifle in their car on the off chance they need to stop a terrorist attack. Bricks, mortar, concrete and steel wont be enough. WebA collaborative design effort between Thunder Ranchs Clint Smith and Nighthawk engineers, the TR model encompasses the feature set of the perfect fighting pistol. Featuringunsurpassed quality and attention to detail, eachpistol is individually handcrafted to represent Clints idea for the pinnacle of carry guns. Its simple. A fingerprint or smudge or spec of dust negates 100% perfection. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. And? And mark your magazines with date loaded, and load. Smith Gunnery Sergeant Hartman for civilians goes on to list an AR-15s owners two greatest enemies . ", "If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. The pistol can be ordered and fitted with one of 4 different muzzles devices: Forward Controls KeyMo Flash Hider, Huxwrx QD Flash Hider, Dead Air KeyMo Flash Hider or Muzzle Break, SilencerCo ASR Flash Hider or Muzzle Break. Three of each gun? And even then, pull enough ops and you still risk gettin killed. I dont care how much money you have in your AK or SCAR or Bren 805 or FAL or G3 or M1A, or whatever, your main rifle SHOULD BE an AR15 in 5.56 NATO(NOT .223 Rem, NOT .223 Wylde because a milspec NATO chamber feeds the widest range of ammo). Dont know who Clint Smith is and dont give a rats ass what he carries. If Clint says it works, Ill take his word for it. For which parts are needed. Whats your experience? So the difference between how much .223 and how much 7.6239 is completely and utterly irrelevant. I really dont get a ten grand handgun of any stripe, barring the extraordinarily rare or the extremely enhanced/decorated, in which case youre paying for the engravers painstaking time and skill. Both demand high dollar prices today. The lightning bolt is offense, as required. Okay? Parting one out to keep the other two running isnt the worst idea in the world. Local Storage seems to Q:Ive got a classic question that the American Riflemanaudience will appreciate: What is your favorite firearm?A:Thats easy, no brainer, the M1 Carbine. Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. Hammer Women Of Distinction Award, Women's Wildlife Management / Conservation Scholarship, National Youth Shooting Sports Cooperative Program, Nighthawk Custom Thunder Ranch 1911 Pistol, 'Unquestionably A 1911:' The Nighthawk Custom/Thunder Ranch Combat Special, NRA Gun Gear of the Week: Gunsite Option Targets, The .38 Special: History & Performance | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Second Gun Released In SK Customs Lost States Of America Engravers Series | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, Defensive Learning | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Head to Head: .22-250 Remington vs. .224 Valkyrie | An Official Journal Of The NRA, The Rifleman Report: To The Patriotic American, Editors Choice: Rock Island Armory 5.0 ST, Preview: Burdette Custom Holsters Detective OWB SA-35 Leather Holster, The Keefe Report: True Velocity's Leap | An Official Journal Of The NRA, The Keefe Report: On The Range With An American Hero | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Trust But Verify: Function-Checking Your Guns | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Rifleman Review: Winchester Wildcat 22 SR | An Official Journal Of The NRA, WATCH: 2022 National Sporting Clays Championship | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, WATCH: Colt Python Revolver History | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, I Have This Old Gun: Colt Military 1908 Pocket Hammerless | An Official Journal Of The NRA, I Have This Old Gun: Terry Carbine | An Official Journal Of The NRA, I Have This Old Gun: U.S. Army M1871 Rolling Block | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Armed Citizen protected by Smith & Wesson, NRA Women | The Armed Citizen April 28, 2023, The Armed Citizen April 28, 2023 | An Official Journal Of The NRA, The Armed Citizen April 24, 2023 | An Official Journal Of The NRA, The Armed Citizen April 21, 2023 | An Official Journal Of The NRA, #SundayGunday: Smith & Wesson Model 350 | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Whats in the Washington State Gun Ban | An Official Journal Of The NRA, NRA Hunters' Leadership Forum | Hunters and Beyond: NRA Women Are All Under One Roof, NRA Hunters' Leadership Forum | Colorado Bill Defining Wolves as Experimental Population Heads to House Floor Today, Hardware: Henry Single Shot Turkey Shotgun | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Review: Duke Cannon Supply Co. Personally I dont see an issue with cartridges like 7.9257 or 300 Blackout for the reasons you mentioned. That bad boy msrps at an eye-watering $1,329.00. The gravelly voiced trainer is famous for his take-no-prisoners take on armed self-defense. I did that for 10 years, and in the latter two years I was a student at Gunsite with Mr. Jeff Cooperwere talking 1978-79. the ammo in front of him is the US army issue cartridges starting with the 50/70 through 5.56. So, an old curmudgeonly gun guy with an abrasive attitude and no shortages of opinions. Ive never had a problem with my builds except the staked Anderson BCG gas key loosening on my 300 blk. Thank you for stopping by my website and join the journey with me. It makes clearing the chamber of stuck rounds that much easier. My gently used, $400.00 G17 will kill an asshole just as dead as a $10,000 whatever. Comments anyone? And, Im positive, the vast majority of ARs do. He started the site to explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns. People say [the M1 Carbine] is not very effectiveOK, I wouldnt want to get shot by one. so after 3k rounds, the officers ALL shoot Glocks really well. . ", "Every time I teach a class, I discover I don't know something. Especially if he has fallen prey to the fallacy that somehow just because of patent claims, somehow Stoners AR/M platform is not, by definition, direct impingement. Precision has been in business since 1999. As David Hackworth purportedly said, if you find yourself in a fair fight, you didnt plan your mission correctly. thats only true if you have an enormous portfolio of advantages, like SOF pulling a raid or ambush at the time and place of their choice. Cold Shower Face And Body Wipes | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, Review: Taurus G3 Tactical | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, Video Review: Browning Citori Hunter Grade II Over/Under Shotgun | NRA Family, Video Review: Savage 93 Minimalist Rifle | NRA Family, Video Review: Springfield Armory XD-M Elite 4.5 OSP in 10mm Auto | NRA Family, Make Mine Metal: The Alloy-Frame KelTec P15 | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Preview: Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P9 M2.0 Competitor | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, NRA Women | New for 2022: 20-Gauge Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus, Preview: Springfield Armory 1911 DS Double-Stack 9 mm Pistol Lineup | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, Find More Great NRA Publications Perfect For Every Interest, Discover Everything That The NRA Has To Offer. Its like buying a second car to have the parts to fix the first one. To stay up to date with the website, hit that subscribe button. Q:And, just to set the Internet on fire, again9 mm vs. .45, any thoughts?A:Doesnt matter if you dont hit em. So i carry a CZ, if its good enough for a Delta Team member missing his right eye, i can submit myself to learn from him.. The AR IS a piston system. The AK is cheap to build, easy to operate, and extremely reliable. His work appears very, very nice. Thats what makes it part of a well rounded hobby. most of us are better off with standard rifles from a reputable manufacturer, you need to keep some loaded clips for your firearm around cause in an urgency you dont want to have to load. Building the poodle-shooter is most of the fun. Too late. and they get tons of ammo cheap, and lots of training at no cost to the officers. Clint Smith, President and Director of Thunder Ranch, is a Marine Corps veteran of two infantry and Combined Action Platoon tours in Vietnam. Thats my hood ornament. If you want to fantasize about seeing a need to engage at distances longer than 100 yards, be my guest. I want to teach a class a week after Im dead. This needs to be made clear, all of our students are vetted, everyone who comes here has to prove that they have no criminal record. Accept it as it is, or re-examine your role in society. If youre trying to kill something bigger, its not enough gun. Most of this Clint Smith video is about how its OK to run your gun dry before reloading. Rifle Dynamics and Thunder Ranch are teaming up again to bring another Limited Edition build brought to you by the legendary Clint Smith. I dont huntcity born and raised, I was never taught, and if I shot an animal or a bird, I wouldnt know what to do with it next. Here are a few of his observations on tactics, firearms, self defense and life as we know it in the civilized world. One of the advantages of the modern war on terror is theres been a remarkable improvement in projectilesDPX, POWR Ball, the Honey Badger. Opinions belong to their authors. But this gave us the opportunity to step out on our own. In 2004 we moved here to Oregon. If you look at English heraldry, the black shield was always construed to mean a bastard, or someone who was not politically aligned with a king or kingdom. Honestly I would go with an AR in 7.6239. This is Jason of Heirloom Precision we are talking about. Clint Smith , President and Director of Thunder Ranch , is a Marine Corps veteran of two infantry and Combined Action Platoon tours in Vietnam.His experience includes seven years as a police officer during which he served as head of the Firearms Training Division as well as being a S.W.A.T. In every commie hellhole in the middleeast, Africa, Russia etc. 1. But they are just one category of tools (and toys). His experience includes seven Ammo is not cheap, range time is not cheap, training is not cheap. ", "You can say 'stop' or 'alto' or use any other word you think will work but I've found that a large bore muzzle pointed at someone's head is pretty much the universal language. ", "If you're not shootin', you should be loadin'. Smith & Wesson sells the PERFORMANCE CENTER Model 325 Thunder Ranch: a matte black .45-caliber Scandium-framed revolver, complete with a gold bead sight and undersnout picatinny rail (not shown for some reason). That bad boy msrps at an eye-watering $1,329.00. As for the price of Mr. Smiths carry gun, if you have to ask you cant afford it. Its a heavy beast, but i cant afford to miss as my protection detail has me in crowds and around children. The CZ SP-01 Shadow wins most of the IPSC competitions for good reason. Thats why high speed low drag operators, such as my self, have tigers. So having the tools and experience to actually change out parts on your rifle is not a bad skill. Suarez has the RMR topic dialed in. This. Even in most collapsed societies there is more farming and trade and commerce than deadly violence, although there is of course an unacceptable level of violence when order is degraded. The new Thunder Ranch RD700 pistol is chambered in 7.62x39mm with a 12.5 barrel with a 1/228 thread pitch. I am here to be transparent and honest on all matters discussed or chronicled on this site. Polished blue finish And strip one for spare parts also seemed to be an important concept. I time my screws regularly my average is around 33 minutes, but my record is still 4 hours and Notify me of follow-up comments by email. I have much better things to use ten grand on. Three is two, two is one, one is none, right? As long as you dont go to far off the Mill spec reservation All you really need is a good YT video and a few special punches, an armors tool and bench vice to assemble an AR. As long as people will have me, I want to work. Does that 33 minutes include the haggling over the price? Well that works a whole heck of a lot better if youve built a few rifles so you know how they go together. Its Legos for adults. Rifle Dynamics & Thunder Ranch Team Up For The Thunder Ranch RD700 Pistol. 100 loaded mags? Buy 2 or 3 of the same rifle, same caliber and practice, practice, practice! That's ridiculous. I live in a largish and fairly homogeneous town; rioting is extremely unlikely. The sight is the last visual control over the projectile, the trigger is the last physical control. And perish the idea should something apocalyptic take place anytime soon, folks will be very glad they use a commonly-found caliber. Everyone chipped in, in the span of four years there were more than 6 million made. The Rifle Dynamics Limited Edition Thunder Ranch RD700 pistol retails for $3,250. I have no regrets in doing so, but it still stung to do it. (But make SURE it's not already listed. I took Vietnamese, a southern dialect, and I went to Vietnam. Read more. I served six years in the Marines Corps as an 0311. Then look at how many parts kits you see for the AR. Anything other than an AR15 and you are dependent on a stationary weapons cache at least for parts. YOU MUST BE My guess would be yes, the 45 should kick less, I am only basing this on my 5 Coonan having a little more felt recoil than a 5 45 1911. Smith & Wesson sells the PERFORMANCE CENTER Model 325 Thunder Ranch: a matte black .45-caliber Scandium-framed revolver, complete with a gold bead Run what you like but 9mm and 223 are certainly very common rounds. As to 5.56 or .223, I have read articles supporting problems with the use of .223 in 5.56 rifles! Kids and their new fangled jamamatics. A beater 400cc dirtbike is lots easier to live with. Captain Thunderpants has nothing but contempt for people who dismiss .223 as a viable cartridge. His experience includes seven years as a police officer during which he served as head of the Firearms Training Division as well as being a S.W.A.T. That quote, the sentiment behind it, and the desire to create something perfect speaks to me. I had to trade two older S&W .357s and Glock 19 gen 4 to get my Performance Center 627. I carry a revolver. Kart match grade barrel with stainless barrel bushing After the FBI shooting [in Miami] Ive taught more Urban Rifle classes than any of the other types of classes, combinedlike if you take of all of the different pistol classes we teach and put them together, Ive taught more Urban Rifle classes. Kimber myself. Feels good in hand and plenty of ammo available. 5.56 will kill you, make no mistake. Plus its not hard and they work just fine. You have entered an incorrect email address! It certainly doesnt say post-apocalyptic hellscape., certainly doesnt say post-apocalyptic hellscape.. Please feel free to drop a comment. My home built rifles, including one from an 80% lower, run just as well as the M&P 15s I own. But the issue is that, even with todays great prices, buying three gets to be an expensive proposition. Id really like to fix that rifle, but all I know is how to use a credit card, sooooooo. It doesnt say, complete breakdown of society with gun battles in the streets and scavenging ammunition. Then ask why there arent tables of parts for the AK. The entire package retails for less than $1,200. Its just like, as you know, I dont have a stopwatch on my range. First, NO ammo will be lying around it will be in someones bunker, even if it wasnt when the SHTF. Building my second ar and whats wrong with magpul? But calf head is a very delicious part of southern Germanys or eastern France cuisine. A lot of his students are LEO/military orgs. Love em all. Everyday Carry Pocket Dump of the Day: J.S. Im much more interested in how well a given vehicle will fit my needs. He probably knows how to use it! Just like my AK does. Hundreds of mags each? And again, I got to grow, I was allowed to grow inside a box. Throw a couple spare part kits in the BOB, and your golden. Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch, is part drill instructor, and part stand up comic. Smith & Wesson Model 317 Kit Gun 22LR J-Frame And taking shots at 700 yards? I am seeking to appeal to all demographics so from the novice, to experienced, along with LE and military communities. As to the video guy, I have to disagree on dont build your AR, buy one! I dont mean it like I lifted every spoonful of dirt, but I was allowed to grow and be exposed to people who really wanted to be there. To achieve certain flight parameters, there are certain way the wing and control surfaces must be made. Clint (at least as recently as three years ago), carries FMJ. Heidis mom lives in Bend, so that brought Heidi back a little closer to home. I only own firearms I use on a daily basis (CC handgun and full size tactical handgun are all I need) and feel much like Sgt Maj Plumley in We Were Soldiers Once. I am no operator by any means but, when he states that with three guns you can always strip one for parts to keep the other two up and running, this is where it would be nice to have the tools and knowledge that you gained by building rifles. Lowered and flared ejection port Its readily available, even during the post SH craze 7.6239 was always on the shelf where as .223/556 was never there. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Stupid, stupid notion. /sarc perhaps, because thats really old mythology. This philosophy carries through into my work and it is my pleasure to individually handcraft each pistol that will be built as part of this special limited run of guns. No do overs, indeed. In addition to serving his country in Vietnam, Mr. Smith worked in law enforcement, and also as H&Ks director of training.