Here Kitty Kitty:

A 42-year-old-man was hunting Elk in Idaho when a mountain lion emerged from the wilderness and began stalking him.

Jared Erickson – from Paradise, Utah, just south of the Gem state – was lucky to get away with his life after the encounter with the lion in which he was forced to fire his gun twice.

After the second shot he was able to scare off the mountain lion, which then returned into the wilderness disappointed.

Erickson pulled out his pistol and phone upon noticing the big cat. With his left hand he filmed the lion as it moved menacingly towards him, one slow stride at a time.

In his right hand Erickson holds a Glock pistol pointed at the lion, prepared in case it chose to strike.

During the video Erickson can be heard breathing heavily as he moved backwards with the gun in hand.

‘Get back,’ he can was heard warning the lion firmly.

The lion begins to increase its pace until once about 20 feet away it lurches forward with both front legs extended. At that very moment the Erickson fires a singlehanded shot with the gun in his right hand.

Its unclear whether it was a warning shot or Erickson was aiming for the cat, but it dashes a few meters before turning back to face Erickson once more.

The article concludes that Mountain Lion attacks are rare.

There are photos of the cat at the link. Here’s the video. There’s a lot we could say about the mindset of Mr. Erickson and his use of the weapon. Ugh, that is the word that sums it up best.

The cat is being territorial and not hunting him! It could have kittens, but it’s very late in the season. Perhaps it has a kill nearby.

Via WoG.

This wonderful article captures the millennial hope our Christian forbears sought so diligently. Read the whole thing without delay. It’s suitable because it correctly identifies what Americans were, why they were the men and women they became and to whose culpability our current problems must be attributed. The loss of Christian America can only be the responsibility of Christians. Writing this post has reminded us of the damage the pessimism of Premillennialism can have on civilization.

Nothing below is a slight against the author or the article. This post is categorized under Religion and tagged Christian Instruction. It’s posted with a prayer to God that He brings joyfulness to the hope of the believer.

The author discusses happiness in a very biblical way, yet happiness is the wrong word; it’s not what the Christian ethic is about. Words matter, a lot, and all the more as communists destroy the actual and historical meaning of language.

A modern American dictionary will claim that Happiness and Joy and virtually synonymous. Those are the same dictionaries that claim a nation is a country and vice-versa.

You might get temporary happiness from a psychiatrist or psychologist, but joy is of the Lord. You can, at times, be content in your external situation, but internal contentedness comes from the knowledge of Christ Jesus, joy abounding unto the fruit of the Christian in service of Him toward your fellow man. Joy is a gift too precious not to share.

“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23

If you have a Bible translation that replaces joy with happiness, it was written by an inferior mind, one probably trained by communists. It’s not merely a matter of interpretation; it’s translated wrong! I’m not going to delve into the greek to show why; I couldn’t. But better yet, we’ll show what God does in the heart of the believer because that’s what matters. The issue is so important that we doubt the salvation of the translator who would use happiness.

It’s not happiness. Happiness comes from that which is external. Everything that happens to us and around us causes an emotional response, one of which can be happiness. Happiness is caused by things that happen; for that is the hap. Dear Christian friend, if you’re looking for happiness from external motivations, that is NOT Christianity!

The fruit of the Spirit, as we’ve explained prior, is not our fruit; it’s God’s fruit in and through you. It’s the Holy Spirit’s fruit, and He is God. Nor is the fruit of the Spirit many fruits; they are a single fruit that shows in the believer and through his converted heart to others.

The very first aspect of this fruit is love! Love does not cause happiness alone. In fact, if you love God and have a personal relationship with Him through Christ, you will experience the full range of emotions, and at times happiness will be one of them, and you may encounter a range of emotions all at once. But God is not a feeling or an emotion and not happiness.

Ah, but joy, dear brothers and sisters, the joy in Christ Jesus, there is the thing. Joy is the inward condition of the believer because the love of God by the Holy Spirit of God resides in the believer’s heart overriding all externalities; it’s the manifestation of love, the very love of God Almighty.

Joy is what keeps the believer calm when under persecution, and dear American believers, you need to know that because your day is swiftly approaching. Joy is what overrides the feeling of disgusted yuckiness so that we smile, take the hand of somebody who hasn’t bathed in a month or more, hug them and tell them that Jesus loves them and wants to save their eternal soul from damnation.

It’s joy, and man is this important, that overrides the desire for the momentary and fleeting happiness we get from sinning! This Joy of ours is caused by love; we have the love of God in us, His joy filling us; therefore, we depart from evil, rejecting the short season of pleasure (happiness) in sin, desiring much more so to please Him that we may attain to the fullness of the image of Christ Jesus in eternal life.

When we’re wronged by a brother in Christ; it doesn’t cause happiness! But it’s joy that makes us quick to forgive our brothers or share the Gospel even with those lost souls that have wronged us. You might assert those who hate God deserve nothing from you, but that’s wrong. They deserve to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for who were you but dead in your own trespasses and sins! We’re full of joy because we know God, lest we be high-minded, somebody loved us enough to tell us of the marvelous salvation in Christ by faith in His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. It’s the joy of His love for us that causes the believer to overcome doubt, nervousness, or shyness about openly discussing our Saviour and all He is willing to do for those that call upon Him in repentance of sin and hope of eternal life.

The love of God manifests the steady joy in knowing Christ is our King, God is our provider, and heaven is our home as we serve and live in the Kingdom of God awaiting the last day. This brings the desire in the Christian heart to give, care, and assist others while longing for the day of righteousness in Christ we know is coming by His vengeance upon all that reject His holy name. This is my considered and experiential observation; joy is the patience of the saints to those who keep His commandments.

These attributes of God, from Ephesians 5, imputed unto us should show outwardly toward a dead and dying, wicked, and sin-filled world as peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, which is a sober and sound mind. The love of God through His Spirit brings the joy from which all the fruit of the Spirit is bound to flow, changing the environment everywhere a Christian lays claim in the name of his King. The Love of God will cause us to show all these traits of God at once if only we would let Him. And that’s what they are, God’s own traits; His children should look and act like Him.

Hope and joy and love and peace aren’t mere words in the economy of God; they are how we proceed daily as we live, and move, and have our being in Him. Happiness comes and goes, but joy is our eternal state in the heavens before the throne of the Almighty, worshiping and bringing Him glory for today and evermore. Amen.

Happiness comes in a moment, and more often than not, from sin, which later brings heartbreak and suffering under the weight of the curse of God for our disobedience. Whereas joy comes from Christ in the heart of the believer so that in the face of all the ugliness the communists can muster, our giving and caring spirit remain to show outwardly as love and kindness for our fellow broken man.

This is how our Christian ancestors weathered hard times, and it’s what made them salt and light:

“17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” – Habakkuk 3:17-18

God is love. Joy brings rejoicing in Christ to those that have eternal salvation.

Excerpt from Charles Spurgeon Sermon, The Throne of Grace, November 19, 1871, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London.

These words are found embedded in that gracious verse, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”; [ Hebrews 4:16 ] they are a gem in a golden setting. True prayer is an approach of the soul by the Spirit of God to the throne of God. It is not the utterance of words, it is not alone the feeling of desires, but it is the advance of the desires to God, the spiritual approach of our nature towards the Lord our God. True prayer is not a mere mental exercise, nor a vocal performance, but it is deeper far than that—it is spiritual commerce with the Creator of heaven and earth. God is a Spirit unseen of mortal eye, and only to be perceived by the inner man; our spirit within us, begotten by the Holy Ghost at our regeneration, discerns the Great Spirit, communes with him, prefers to him its requests, and receives from him answers of peace. It is a spiritual business from beginning to end; and its aim and object end not with man, but reach to God himself.

[…]

If prayer should always be regarded by us as an entrance into the courts of the royalty of heaven; if we are to behave ourselves as courtiers should in the presence of an illustrious majesty, then we are not at a loss to know the right spirit in which to pray. If in prayer we come to a throne, it is clear that our spirit should, in the first place, be one of lowly reverence. It is expected that the subject in approaching to the king should pay him homage and honour. The pride that will not own the king, the treason which rebels against the sovereign will should, if it be wise, avoid any near approach to the throne. Let pride bite the curb at a distance, let treason lurk in corners, for only lowly reverence may come before the king himself when he sits clothed in his robes of majesty. In our case, the king before whom we come is the highest of all monarchs, the King of kings, the Lord of lords. Emperors are but the shadows of his imperial power. They call themselves kings by right divine, but what divine right have they? Common sense laughs their pretensions to scorn. The Lord alone hath divine right, and to him only doth the kingdom belong. He is the blessed and only potentate. They are but nominal kings, to be set up and put down at the will of men, or the decree of providence, but he is Lord alone, the Prince of the kings of the earth.

[…]

A throne, and therefore, in the second place, to be approached with devout joyfulness. If I find myself favoured by divine grace to stand amongst those favoured ones who frequent his courts, shall I not feel glad? I might have been in his prison, but I am before his throne: I might have been driven from his presence for ever, but I am permitted to come near to him, even into his royal palace, into his secret chamber of gracious audience, shall I not then be thankful? Shall not my thankfulness ascend into joy, and shall I not feel that I am honoured, that I am made the recipient of great favours when I am permitted to pray? Wherefore is thy countenance sad, O suppliant, when thou standest before the throne of grace? If thou wert before the throne of justice to be condemned for thine iniquities, thy hands might well be on thy loins; but now thou art favoured to come before the King in his silken robes of love, let thy face shine with sacred delight. If thy sorrows be heavy, tell them unto him, for he can assuage them; if thy sins be multiplied, confess them, for he can forgive them. O ye courtiers in the halls of such a monarch, be ye exceeding glad, and mingle praises with your prayers.

It is a throne, and therefore, in the third place, whenever it is approached, it should be with complete submission. We do not pray to God to instruct him as to what he ought to do, neither for a moment must we presume to dictate the line of the divine procedure. We are permitted to say unto God, “Thus and thus would we have it,” but we must evermore add, “But, seeing that we are ignorant and may be mistaken—seeing that we are still in the flesh, and, therefore, may be actuated by carnal motives—not as we will, but as thou wilt.” Who shall dictate to the throne? No loyal child of God will for a moment imagine that he is to occupy the place of the King, but he bows before him who has a right to be Lord of all; and though he utters his desire earnestly, vehemently, importunately, and pleads and pleads again, yet it is evermore with this needful reservation: “Thy will be done, my Lord: and, if I ask anything that is not in accordance therewith, my inmost will is that thou wouldst be good enough to deny thy servant; I will take it as a true answer if thou refuse me, if I ask that which seemeth not good in thy sight.” If we constantly remembered this, I think we should be less inclined to push certain suits before the throne, for we should feel, “I am here in seeking my own ease, my own comfort, my own advantage, and peradventure, I may be asking for that which would dishonour God; therefore will I speak with the deepest submission to the divine decrees.”

This is Mike on the recent shooting in Raleigh.  Well, not exactly the shooting, but rather, what the police did afterwards.

I live in North Carolina and I can comment on what Mike is saying.  While it’s true that there is no law against handguns in hospitals in NC, it’s also true that hospitals are private property.  They are owned and operated by corporations – they aren’t public property. The same thing goes for churches. Guns in churches is allowed in NC as long as the owners agree to it. It’s private property.

All hospitals I know about have rules against the carry of handguns on their premises.  You can either abide by their rules or refuse to patronize their establishment. However much I might disagree with their stupid decision, property rights supersede my right to carry. As gun owners, we can always work to change corporate policies. That’s the solution here.

Having said that, what Mike says is true.  They have metal detectors upon entry to the ER and it’s not possible to get around the rules.  The police were not needed.  They wanted to inject themselves into the fray, unnecessarily so.  They added nothing at all to the security that night.  The shooting had ended, and the shooting occurred nowhere near the hospital.  One wonders exactly what the police thought they were doing, and why?

Recoil.

NEW from Daniel Defense comes the SoundGuard Suppressors, powered by KGM!

Boasting multiple patent-pending design features, Daniel Defense says their three new suppressors (SG-556, SG-30, and SG-30Ti) utilize cutting-edge gas-flow dynamics that eliminate over-gassing and direct gas forward, substantially decreasing the amount of blowback.

These patent-pending gas-flow paths also help stabilize rounds as they pass through and exit the can, thus proving a “negligible” point-of-impact shift.

If that isn’t enough, patented baffle stack design and proprietary coatings reduce the flash signature to almost zero.

Combined, these are big claims and would represent some major innovations in suppressor technology. But with the surge of popularity in cans, we’ve seen some huge changes in recent years.

Daniel Defense is backing their SoundGuard Suppressors with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

MSRP is $750 for the SG-556 and SG-30, $1,000 for the SG-30Ti.

Ammoland also covered this, but almost like a paid advertisement with even less information than you see above from Recoil.

Honestly, this is just poor reporting.  So let me ask the most obvious question that wasn’t asked and answered above.  I had talked to the folks at Daniel Defense about removing the welded and staked flash hider on a 14.5″ barrel in order to install a SureFire flash hider.  The reason?  Because SureFire makes a suppressor that installs with a clamp over their own flash hider, so installation and removal is as simple and quick as that.

Does the Daniel Defense suppressor install with a clamping device over their own flash hider?  Do they make a model like that?  If not currently, do they intend to?

Again, lousy reporting.  Daniel Defense should have contacted me to announce this and I would have asked the hard questions.

FWIW, Daniel told me to let a gunsmith do the removal and reinstallation of a new flash hider, that they had a procedure that had to be followed so as not to harm the barrel.  But (and here is the nit I have) they also told me that they had fielded other calls to this effect and knew that folks wanted to install flash hiders that clamped on.

So if they knew this, why didn’t they include it in their own design?  If they did include it, why didn’t the press release say so?

Does Daniel Defense need to hire me?

Dean Weingarten at AmmoLand:

On Tuesday, August 30, at about 6:50 p.m., James Little settled into campsite 674 in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). His youngest child was a few feet away.  His youngest cried out, and James grabbed the child and took a couple of steps, uncertain of what had happened.

Then his oldest yelled, “Bear!” and James turned around. The bear was about six feet from him. It had been within 3-4 feet of his back when the child was startled. This was the start of the remarkable incident. In James’ words:

Just finished a trip to Horseshoe that should have been three nights, but turn to one. (Campsite 674) Had a bear walk right into camp and within four feet of my youngest! Nothing would discourage him till I fired a couple of rounds.  We packed up and bolted to an open site (campsite 677) a half mile away on the other side of the lake. Weren’t there five minutes and was pulling up the food bag and my wife screamed. There was another bear fifteen feet away heading to our canoe with our kids in it. I had to fire another round before he would be deterred.  Left that site and unexpected BWCA.com member Ausable and his crew took my family and me in for the night. (Campsite 672) Early the next morning, we broke came and headed out. My family had had too much. Across from the portage from Caribou to Lizz, (campsite 645) the campers there had their breakfast intruded upon by a bear who would not be deterred till he had taken their food bag.

This correspondent talked to James, who reported the incident to the BWCA authorities.

James used a North American Arms mini revolver, the Wasp model in .22 magnum, with a 1 5/8 inch barrel. The revolver was loaded with Speer Gold Dot defensive ammunition.

Read the rest at the link.

They say this is going to be a series.  If so, I’ll be sure to watch it.

On another note, he says that Rossi is beginning production again of its 454 Casull rifle.  That’s nice, although I suspect they will be very difficult to obtain.

The Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems a contract for its Mobile Protected Firepower light tank. (US Army photo)

Popular Science: Via Instapundit.

When it comes to crossing rivers on bridges, all the technology of modern warfare is still bound by the hard limits imposed by the laws of physics—the structure needs to be able to support the vehicle that’s on it. To try to cope with this problem, the Army is investing in a lighter tank than its current battlefield behemoth, the M1 Abrams main battle tank. This new vehicle, which is still known by its descriptive moniker Mobile Protected Firepower, was promoted at the Association of the United States Army conference held in Washington, DC, from October 10-12.

The Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) vehicle weighs in at 38 tons, which is heavy by all standards, except it is light compared to the 70 tons of heft of an Abrams tank. That means it can go places the Abrams can’t, expanding how and where the Army can effectively fight war from vehicles. The MPF will also feature fire control and situational awareness sensors, which can allow enemy location data to be shared across vehicles in formation.

The MPF is designed to accompany Infantry Brigade Combat Teams, which are intended primarily for travel on foot. These formations, which consist of between 3,900 to 4,100 people, incorporate some vehicles, but are distinguished from Armored and Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, which use roughly heavy and medium-armored vehicles to transport soldiers and weapons around the battlefield.

Breaking Defense: (from June)

The Mobile Protected Firepower program is part of the Army’s Next-Generation Combat Vehicle portfolio, which is developing future ground vehicles as part of the services’ broader, multi-billion modernization effort that includes the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle.

Optionally Manned Fighting (ground) Vehicles and Unmanned Fighting (ground) Vehicles can now be added to the vernacular that includes UAVs.

The Army’s stated acquisition objective for the program is 504 vehicles. The first production vehicle will be delivered in “just under” 19 months, Dean said, a timetable that roughly hits around December 2023. That timeline is driven in part by the time it takes to get long-lead time parts, Dean said.

Moving into production, the Army and GDLS will have to be diligent to avoid supply chain issues as production ramps up. Dean said the program was already experiencing “challenges” in the supply base.

“We are seeing challenges in the supply base right now both in cost and availability [of] materials, as well as competition for other components, particularly in the electronic space where electronic chips are in big demand,” Dean said, adding the Army had “some comfort” because the proposals had “reasonable control” over their supply chain.

So, General Dynamics can’t get raw materials and parts; why? Aren’t these sourced entirely in the US? Building fighting machines based on a global JIT supply chain seems fairly idiotic. If there’s an actual war, not one of those banker’s wars, mind you, but a real war, how can the United States satisfy its national strategic interests if it can’t build fighting machines and field trained fighting men? America does not appear to be a serious power anymore. The best part of the top photo is the little step stool. Is that for Generals to look down the barrel?

Here’s a scale model from AUSA‘s recent trade show and exhibition:

Also, at the show – (Why do we get the feeling many of these will be used in CONUS?)

AbramsX:

TRX Breacher:

StrykerX:

Stryker Leonidas:

Better Photo of the Leonidas:

It’s been a mild autumn so far nationwide. Not sure about Alaska, but they usually know what they’re doing. But for the rest of us, it’s been so mild in all regions that we may be lulled into a false sense of ease about the coming winter. That first blast of cold will be a wakeup call for many. Several links are provided below; most are basics, but for the serious, here is the List of Lists.

Winter Prepping basics and tips, including some things you might not have thought about in a while or ever considered, along with regional considerations. This list is too short. There are many other facets that need consideration.

#2: Honey, get yourself a honey bucket!
Since you may you may not have water or sewer from the municipal water supply in an emergency you’ll need to think about sanitation: grey water and honey buckets.

A Honey Bucket is not a Honey Trap, nor is it a Honey Bunny. See, prepping can be fun! The term Honey Pot is very often misused for Honey Trapping. A Honey Pot is actually a computer network with no real intelligence value in the data. It’s designed to lure in (foreign) powers, so they give away their intrusion capabilities or otherwise open themselves to counterattack. Properly identifying each of these other three potential problems has, at sundry times and in diverse manners, helped me. Prepping isn’t only about dried foods. A Honey Bucket is something else entirely.

#3: Stock up on food and a way to cook indoors
You may well have prepared your long-term emergency food needs with ample supplies of rice and beans, but it’s time to stock up on the foods you’ll need to survive a power outage! Your aim for a power outage is ready to eat, shelf-stable meals, such as protein and energy bars, nut butters and crackers. If you have an alternate way to cook, then stock up on soups and canned foods.

Next, given the recent global environment, there are World War II Civilian Survival Lessons. Regardless of what becomes of America, you’ll spend most of your time doing “civilian stuff” anyway.

How American Civilians helped win World War II (and survive).
History repeats itself they say. Capitalizing on wartime lessons can help you for any disaster, not just war. Below are some civilian survival skills and ideas garnered from the civilians who survived World War II with patriotism, collaboration and a “can do” attitude. Below are survival lessons garnered from civilians during the war…

Next, don’t forget how the bankers and government (but we repeat ourselves) brought us the never-ending communist New Deal. So consider prepper Lessons on The Great Depression. The Green New Deal should be twice as good as the first one! That’s what the TV said, so we believe it. Joking aside, Solutions-based Prepping is an interesting concept.

Learn from the past: prepping for the next Great Depression.
Wondering how can you survive an economic collapse and avoid poverty? Perhaps Robert T. Kiyosaki summed it up best when he wrote: “Poverty is simply having more problems than solutions.” Think about this from a prepper’s perspective: strive to be prepared to have more solutions than problems. To ensure you have more solutions than problems, be creative, be flexible and adapt. Below is how to help survive the next Great Depression.

Further, if you’re new to the notion of viewing how to make it through tough times, here are some basics to start:

10 Steps to Basic Preparedness.

Prepping for Ordinary People.

At the CDC, we learn some rudimentary respects to being prepared for Winter Storms. The fun part about doing what the government says to be prepared is that they tell you to both get ready, and then they call you insulting monikers for taking their advice.

Also, see the basics of preparing for Winter Power Outages. This seems important now, certainly for Europe and California, but elsewhere as well.

37 Foods to Hoard

And finally, in light of the recent “pandemic,” it would be a very good idea to get books and training in basic medical and dental knowledge.

Light weight rifles in the news.

New Begara Crest rifle, carbon stock.  Somewhere on the order of $2000.

American Hunter on the Bergara Premier MgLite.

Carbon barrel and carbon stock.  And it looks about as skeletonized as you could get it, running at 6.8 pounds but a bracing $3300.

And just today Game and Fish came out with a nicely written article on eight guns that run between 6 and 7 pounds, but also run somewhere mostly around $2000 each.  Carbon seems to be the common element.

The goal is weight mitigation in the bush and especially in the mountains.  As a man who has carried heavy weight in the mountains, I can sympathize with the goal.

These are some nice rifles.  If readers have experience with any of them, please weigh in with comments.  We may revisit these guns in the future.