Hold an AK, Dugan Ashley (Full Video)

VSO Throw-Back Week. Mud Guns

I recently had a birthday. You know birthdays kinda suck when you get older- the best ones are sub 16 years old; then your "friends" get a hold of you for your 21st. That day is the worst day of your life, until you get married.

Everyone asked me what I wanted? And I kind of sluffed it off, did the socially correct thing and didn't name an endless list of $2000 guns. (Tacdaddy, I want and FNX45T, black variant!) All kidding aside, what I really wanted was something that no one could give me. I wanted to go run and gun like the old days with my brother, MrTacticalBacon.

As many of you know he is currently deployed overseas, hunting bad guys. So needless to say he is somewhat predisposed with raising his kill count and won't be making the party. He did email me and say that he picked me up a nice gift that will arrive at the FFL in about a month. Hat tip to him, I am very grateful but I would much rather be out-running him on the obstacle course.

I couldn't have that so I did the next best thing: I have a ton of video that has been published from the early days of VSO. A lot of it is pretty terrible, I am not going to lie. However, I keep it around to grant me some solace while by best friend is gone, engaging in grand adventures of desolation and requital. So stay safe bro, kill Moogs, and without further babbling. The first throwback I would like to highlight is this last minute throw together from early 2011.  "Mud Guns"

Spectre

ARES ARMOR Raided by the ATF

Yes, you read that right. The ATF conducted a raid of a non-firearms company, making up their own laws as they go. They even went as far as to defy a restraining order that Ares Armor had taken out on them.

In this video I put out a direct letter to the ATF. If you feel so inclined please write the ATF, respectfully and professionally and tell them that this is unacceptable. I have included my words in text form in the description box


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Steel Cased Ammo, To Use or Not to Use?

I recently received a message from a viewer asking about the use of steel cased ammunition in his firearm and if it is alright:

"I had a question. I was wondering what your opinion is of on steel cased ammo for just recreational shooting. I've talked to a lot of people and they all have different opinions. Some say it's just fine. Others say I can shoot them as long as I clean my gun immediately after shooting. But others say not to use it period. What is your opinion? Thanks! "

My Response:

"Well before giving a straight opinion I will give you that facts and let you formulate your own.

Steel cased ammo is generally less expensive because:

i.)The cases are generally not reloadable as they are almost always berdan primed, Of course you could drill these out if you wanted...

ii.) Steel is less malleable than brass, making it more brittle and prone to failure when reloaded.

iii.) By far the most relevant reason why steel ammo is considered "cheaper" is because the case does not expand/contract as well during the firing cycle as brass. This leads to an increased incidence of malfunction because the seal on the chamber is often not as complete as its brass alternative. People also say that steel ammo is "dirtier" ; this is actually not true either. XM855 is some of the dirtiest ammo you can find for your AR-15. However, because of the aforementioned seal issue there is often leakage of the chamber gasses back into the action. Making it appear dirtier than most brass ammunition.

So long story short:   It will not hurt your gun, period

As for the cleaning of the gun immediately after use, most of the steel cased ammo available now is non corrosive and will not damage your weapon. You can confirm this by checking for odd colored residue (often Blue-green) on the crown of your barrel after about a week of inactivity. If the ammunition is indeed non-corrosive then the only reason for immediate cleaning would be to 

mitigate berdan buildup between cleanings.

WE use, almost exclusively, Steel cased ammo."

To continue that point, the reason we do so is two fold. One, to keep costs down, obviously. Two, to increase the incidence of malfunction of our weapons. This is a valuable training tool. A weapon that malfunctions from time to time is better than one that doesn't in the realm of training. If your gun never has a problem then when Murphy's law kicks in you likely won't know how to handle it in an expedient manner. 

I recommend cleaning every thousand rounds or so.

Now all my "Emergency mags" are loaded with high quality brass ammo and hopefully will stay that way.

As a final note:

You should always read your owners manual. From time to time your manufacturer will dictate what kind of ammunition they will not warranty your firearm for use with. What works for me may also not work for you: I am going to burn that barrel out far before I worry about long term erosion by corrosive ammo or clogging of internal components with berdan. I assemble my AR-15s and augment most of my firearms myself. I am accountable to myself in this regard, but remember that the role of gear tester is much different then that of long-term owner.

Spectre

Tactical Walls Firearms Concealment: Rebate Through VSO

Tactical Walls just does it right. Great, American-Made products, employing great, Americans. What else can you ask for? Oh, how about a little break on the entire product line? Well here you go if you enter the code in the description of the above video at check out you are going to save five-percent. I personally have installed two Tactical Walls and am not only pleased, but also looking into a third.

Thanks for watching everyone, don't forget to like and share the video and get that discount.

Vehicle Operations Training: Civilians, Cops, and Military for the Constitution

I am going to touch base on what is going on with our Asymmetric Solutions Video series. Right now, I have been bringing you a series on Vehicle Interdiction/ Ambush. Really (and the instructor even says this in one of the videos), these techniques are for the most part, not applicable to most civilian situations (mostly applicable to my military and LEO folks). That said, I can identify two reasons why this information is very important to the civilian community.

The first I want to touch on is the Emergency Situation. Something along the lines of "Shit hit the fan". Now don't jump on me for this line of thinking. In the chaos that results from a natural disaster, people panic. When panic sets in we revert to animals, no mater how "civilized" you think you are. Three days without food and our most refined communities will look like Mogadishu. Commandeering a vehicle...well, don't you think that could be a useful skill? Or at least defending against it?

That is a great caveat to the second reason why I think the citizenry as a whole should be privy to this information. This is maybe going to piss some people off, but hear me out before you freak on me.

We are currently witnessing the militarization of the police force. For whatever reason you think it is happening, or whether you are a proponent or opponent- the simple fact is that it is happening. Likewise, whether you like it or not, the rules are being bent more and more often these days on technicalities. If you know this information you are better equipped to react to the situation. It's like having the other team's playbook. I am not trying to upset my LEO and military people, many of my friends work in these fields. 

That said (speaking directly to my LEOs), you guys need to know your bounds, an unconstitutional law or directive is invalid. Remember that you derive your authority from the consent of the governed, not the other way around. To those in the community feeling threatened by the way I am framing this information- just make sure that you find yourself on the correct side of the constitution. Do this and the people that you have sworn an oath to (for the purposes of protecting their inalienable rights) will pose you no threat by wielding such information. If you feel threatened by that then perhaps you should spend a little time contemplating your role and perspective with respect to those who pay your salary. I say that because, even though our education system doesn't teach it, there is a such thing as being wrong. In this case you are and should reevaluate your career path. 

To wrap it up. Whether you are on the job- pulling Gang-Bangers out of Suburbans; deployed to some God-awful hell hole- ripping Moogs out of broke-ass cars; or just a citizen going about your unmolested business, this information doesn't take that long to absorb and is fairly intuitive. It is for everyone and that is why I have decided to share it on my channel. Enjoy the show and follow this link view the vehicle portion of my series from Asymmetric Solutions from start.

Episode List:
Vehicle Interdiction (Intro)

Pain Compliance

Extracting a Person from a Vehicle

Creating or Defending a Vehicle Ambush

Non-compliance Demo

Asymmetric Solutions Full Video series (multiple topics 20+ videos)

VigilantSpectre Operations Media

ADCOR DEFENSE: Forward with Poor Service

At SHOT Show media day I stopped at the ADCOR booth and took their "Range Day Challenge". It wasn't too bad of a setup. They strapped you into a decently constructed plate carrier (as far as I could tell) and had you shoot the targets while using their charging handle system. They then had you plink to 500 Yrds with a Horus Raptor on one of their setups; I guess to show accuracy...?  Two things. 

1.) Where were the plates in the vest? Those are a game changer for any weapon upgrade. So either they forgot the plates, or didn't bother lining them up or the charging handle is out of reach for some. Draw you own conclusions. Their system does maintain standard controls and, as I demonstrated, shows some improvement- you do not have to throw your face out of the way when you Big-Boy Stroke.

2.) 500 yards? With a 16X optic from Horus Vision? I can hit targets at 500 yrds off of carry handle. While the optic from Horus was very beautiful I would have liked to see them push out farther with it if they wanted to demonstrate the weapon's accuracy. 

So in summation, yes they had some decent innovations and I told them that at the time of filming. You all know me though, I pull no punches. Although their enhancements may be positive influences on the AR-15 platform I have not personally tested them. I will give ADCOR credit, they have a former combat veteran on staff that stands by the product (pictured in the video). I am assuming he is on the payroll but I will yield to his military credentials and allow them to speak for themselves- If he says its good kit then its good enough for me until I find otherwise. 

That said, I do not think we are ever going to know the answer to that question. There are several tenants that a company has to fulfill before I am willing to work with them. While ADCOR was on the mark with their product they failed miserably in the customer service side of affairs. While I do not intend to disclose any identities or air any of the recorded phone calls. I will say that in my post SHOT Show follow up that not all of the people I communicated with maintained professionalism. I am going to ask you, the reader/viewer, a very simple question. The same question I always ask when we talk about customer service:  If ADCOR is going to conduct themselves in such a manner to me- the one wielding power over a portion of the interweb. How are they going to treat you, the individual consumer?

In closing, the Horus representative that I spoke with was top notch.

Thanks for checking in everyone

Spectre