Today you'll get the video, as well as the transcript from the Lucky Gunner Lounge Blog. both conducted by Chris Baker. From the original Kel-Tec Bullpup introduced over a decade ago, at least half a dozen other models have been introduced by various manufacturers with varying degrees of success and failure.
The plusses of course being higher capacity, and shorter overall length for ease of handling and maneuverability in close quarters.
The drawbacks being increased weight, and in the the case of the early Kel-Tecs, the unfortunate lack of a forward hand stop which resulted in more than just a few incidents of users hands slipping off the fire-end slide and being in the way of the muzzle with disastrous results.
Anyway, watch the video, read the article and be enlightened.
I'm pretty sure most of you know who Ed Calderon is. For those of you who don't, here is a brief bio.
Ed Calderon was a police officer in Baja California, Mexico, for 12 years, working in counter-narcotics and organized-crime units in the northern border region. During this time, he witnessed gun smuggling and narcotics smuggling.
He has since worked with members of the US Army, and Mexican and United States intelligence service agents, doing security consulting. He specializes in anti-abduction training, edged-weapon training, and executive-protection work.
Calderon talks to Insider about the practicalities of firearms trafficking across the border. He discusses the point of sale in the US, methods of smuggling, and how the weapons end up in the hands of the Cartels. The Mexican government has estimated that 200,000 firearms are smuggled from the United States each year.
As always, click on the video to watch it full screen at Youtube.
Excerpt From The Global Sitrep For 7-28-23;
FIRST UP: Leaders of the coup in Niger declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state on Friday.
The coup was hailed by Wagner paramilitary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who also offered his services to General Abdourahamane.
Tiani, the former head of the presidential guard,
suspended the constitution and dissolved the government, saying his
National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland (CNSP) would assume both
executive and legislative authorities.
Why It Matters: Africa is becoming a
geopolitical contest between the China-Russia eastern alliance and the
U.S.-led rules-based order. Western militaries working on
counterterrorism operations in several Sahel countries have been ordered
to leave over allegations of mediocre performance and meddling in
nation-state affairs. Some African leaders have instead invited the
Wagner Group, formerly of Russia but now operating out of Belarus, to
provide assistance in fighting Islamic extremists. Up until this coup,
the U.S. had worked extensively with the Niger government on
counterterrorism operations against Al Qaeda and ISIS in the Sahel. –
M.M.
Living "Off The Grid" always sounds cool. However the reality has a tendency to be less spectacular. Especially when you decide to try and do it without preparation, skills, or in the case the 3 people in the article below, any common sense. Be sure to read the comments section at the bottom of the article.
1. FIRST UP : Dead cargo ship carrying electric vehicles on fire off the Dutch coast.
The cargo vessel reportedly has roughly 3000 automobiles on board, some of them electric vehicles. The ship was bound for Egypt from Germany and had an Indian crew. The fire started in an electric vehicle and reportedly ran through the entire vessel.
Why It Matters : The cargo ship is one of several that have caught fire and burned over the past year. While this could result in a major environmental disaster if the ship sinks, firefighters and salvage crews are working to keep it afloat and extinguish the fire so it can be brought into a facility for reclamation. The International Maritime Organization plans to evaluate new measures for ships transporting electric vehicles in light of the growing number of fires on cargo ships. – M.M.
BOLIVIA TO ORDER IRANIAN DRONES: On Tuesday,
Bolivia’s defense minister said that the country is interested in
obtaining Iranian drone technology to combat smuggling and drug
trafficking.
Bolivia’s Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo signed a security agreement with his Iranian counterpart during a visit to Tehran last week.
When pressed by Argentina over the agreement, Novillo saidit was merely an “act’ to identify common points of interest.
Why It Matters: Bolivia announced earlier this
month that it had the world’s largest lithium reserves. Shortly
thereafter, they signed agreements with both Chinese and Russian mining
companies to run extraction operations. With the increasingly close
military relationship with Iran, it appears the China-Russia-Iran
alliance is moving quickly to consolidate gains in the South American
Andean nation – a move that should concern Washington. – M.M.
SECOND U.S. NUKE SUB TO SOUTH KOREA: The U.S. military sent a second nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea for a port visit.
The USS Annapolis is a nuclear-powered attack submarine with conventional munitions that conducts anti-ship and antisubmarine operations.
The Annapolis docked at a South Korean naval base on the island of Jeju for resupply.
Why It Matters: Recent U.S. nuclear submarine
deployments have triggered North Korea, although their presence on the
peninsula is mostly performative. U.S. nuclear ballistic missile
submarines could strike North Korea from anywhere in East Asia, and its
attack submarines routinely patrol international waters in the region.
North Korea has conducted a series of test launches of ballistic and
cruise missiles in retaliation for the deployments; however, Pyongyang
has a history of rattling its sabers over nearly every U.S. military
movement or exercise in the region. – M.M.
LET’S TALK: Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi proposed
high-level talks between China, Japan, and South Korea during a meeting
with the Japanese foreign minister in Indonesia.
Wang and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Indonesia earlier this month.
China’s foreign ministry refused to comment on the proposed meeting.
Why It Matters: China likely understands that
the U.S.’s most capable partners in a conflict with China would be Japan
and South Korea, a relationship Beijing is keen to disrupt. Although
Tokyo is rapidly modernizing its military due to overt territorial
threats from Beijing, Seoul is still sitting on the fence over the
China-U.S. power struggle. Japan’s drive to modernize and expand its
military is likely due to its doubts about the U.S.’ willingness to
counter Chinese military action in the region – something that South
Korea’s leadership is looking hard at in assessing its commitments to
the U.S. beyond the Korean peninsula. – M.M.
An article on the use of the Shotgun about a 2 day training session With a gentleman by the name of Randy Watt. His extensive real world experience is detailed in the lead-in to the article.
Thanks for this find goes once again to Mr. Jed Berg owing, like myself, to his having far too much time to peruse the ever expanding digital universe of the internet.
A couple of weeks ago I put up an article about a Russian Internal Security unit known as the DKRO. In it I mentioned they were a not quite as high profile as the Alpha Group. The article linked to below gives a good description of how The Alpha Group operates, and what sort of situations determine if they are used. Its moderate length overview that's worth a look.
Evan Gershkovich, A Journalist Detained in Russia by The DKRO
The Cheka, The NKVD, MGB, GRU, KGB, and the most current iteration of the Russian Secret Police, the FSB. Some of these acronyms you may know, some you may not. But there is a group you have probably never heard of within the FSB whose primary task is surveilling, harassing, and sometimes snatching up, foreign nationals within the borders of Russia. Sort of a lower profile version of the old ALPHA Teams.
This group is known as the DKRO, and the link below goes to an article from the Wall Street Journal.
