Rifleman Report: Safe Passage

While the phrase “tools of the trade” may refer to specific items that a worker uses to ply his or her vocation, it could just as easily be a reference to the firearms, knives and other everyday carry, or EDC, gear that the average citizen uses to ensure his or her safe passage through the course of an uncertain, sometimes dangerous, daily existence.

In “Springfield Kuna: A PDW For The Masses,” Field Editor Jeremiah Knupp makes a compelling case for the viability of a brace-equipped, large-format pistol in the hands of a safety-conscious armed citizen. Featuring a trim profile and a delayed-blowback, 9 mm Luger-based action fed from 30-round magazines, the Kuna is yet another innovative achievement resulting from the long-time collaboration between Illinois gunmaker Springfield Armory and the Croatian firm of HS Produkt. It is also an entirely modern example of how the market is continuing to develop solutions to a niche category of arm that draws from both the pistol-caliber-carbine and personal-defense-weapon concepts.

In “Savage Revels In The Rimfire Lever-Action,” Field Editor Aaron Carter evaluates two versions of that company’s newest .22 Long Rifle-chambered long gun—a lever-action that takes down for compact storage or transport. Like most rimfires, the tubular-magazine Revel Classic and DLX models are relatively economical to buy and shoot, and their lack of significant recoil makes them pleasant to practice with, which helps their users develop skill. Such properties, of course, are ideal for teaching new shooters, particularly young ones, which ensures that they not only have a good time at the range, and maybe even advance to small-game hunting, but that they establish a solid foundation for themselves in firearm safety.

Then, in “Marine Corps Knives Of World War II,” Field Editor Bruce Canfield reminds us that small arms were not the only tools of utility and self-defense on which U.S. soldiers relied during the Second World War. Many readers are likely familiar with some of the edged examples the author covers because they were introduced to them by their fathers or grandfathers. The Ka-Bar, for one, is still in use by some branches, and remembering how soldiers have relied on such fixed-blade knives through the years helps us understand why pocket-clip-equipped folders designed to tackle the more mundane chores of everyday life have become so prominent among legions of users today.

Finally, in our recent Dope Bag reviews, we evaluate three examples of tools that have proven themselves through time with large groups of shooters—never really going out of style, just being reinvented in new platforms. First is the Ruger LC Carbine in 10 mm Auto, a cartridge that has been resurgent in recent years. Then there is the Charter Arms Double Dog, a compact, convertible double-action revolver that accepts both rimmed and rimless cartridges thanks to its interchangeable cylinders. And, in cartridges, there is the Winchester 400 Legend, which proves that moderately fast, large-bore rifle chamberings are still an American specialty—whether in bolt guns or the AR platform.

At any rate, whether it be an advanced large-format pistol, a rimfire lever-action, a fixed-blade or folding knife, a semi-automatic carbine, a double-action revolver or a big-bore cartridge, time spent with such “tools of the trade” within the shooting lifestyle are sure to instill confidence, capability and self-reliance in the person who learns how to competently and responsibly handle them.

It seems like that’s exactly the kind of individual that makes American society stronger and safer—and keeps it free.