Idaho Rifleman

Ugh. I'm sorry I haven't got you guys a video over the past two weekends. I had a funeral on the 15th. The week leading up to the funeral was hectic with planning and prep. I just really wasn't in the frame of mind or physically able to get a video out.  Then COVID knocked me flat on my butt. I tested positive on the 19th and man it felt like I got hit by a truck over night. I was fine and symptom free when I went to sleep on the 18th, then bam. I slept like crap the first night, then woke up early with horrible body aches mainly in my neck, back, and shoulder (which are all areas of injury for me). It was terrible.  The following is how COVID decided to knock me down: Sore Throat - 5 days Horrible Body Aches - 5 days Restless Nights - 5 days Fever - 24 hours starting 12 hours after body aches Stomach bug - 24 hours starting after body aches Pounding Heartbeat and Anxiety - 24 hours intermittent starting after body aches Coughing and congestion - 10 days and cou...

I got my hands on a pretty cool little shotgun for this video. This is the Chino Arms double barrel .410 shotgun.  Did you know .410 is actually a caliber not a gauge? It's the only shotgun sized by caliber and not by gauge. Did you also know that .410 and 45 Colt are the same size? There are actually a couple revolvers out there chambered to fit both.  This shotgun is heavy for it's size, but it's actually pretty comfortable to shoot. The recoil is minimal, but as you move up in shot size, you definitely lose volume of projectiles. In 000 buckshot you only get 3 pellets. You might as well just use a slug.  But it's definitely got power. There's stories in my family going back generations of family members getting their first deer with a single shot .410 using a slug.  I used a water jug to test the shotgun... and 5 yards is definitely too close because I got wet. But this shotgun is a great little performer with a classic western look. Two barrels, two ...

Hey check this out! This is a .32 caliber rimfire from 1875. I bought this gun from a friend of mine for $65. This is the Hood Arms "Robin Hood". It's a 5 round rimfire cartridge revolver. Now, these guns had no real historic significance. They didn't tame the West or win any wars. They were self-defense pocket pistols for the common citizen. They weren't as finely crafted as a Smith and Wesson, or a Colt. In fact, these styles of revolvers came to be known as "suicide specials" because you didn't know if they were going to shoot or blow up. They were made cheaply with subpar materials and sold cheaply for the common man's self defense.  I was really excited to shoot this gun, but I didn't know A. if I could find ammo for it, or B. if it would blow up when I did shoot it. Well I found ammo... $5/round sold in lots of 5. Mrs. Rifleman said I could buy one lot of 5 so I definitely didn't buy 2 lots... I set the gun up in a vice ...

This was my attempt at creating a "#shorts" video. Didn't quite make it, it was about 30 seconds too long. But it was still fun! With this video, I used that same Remington Ultimate Defense ammo that didn't expand in the last video. It did pretty well against the ice block. The round deviated and went into the snow, but luckily it was pretty easy to spot the hole in the fresh snow. I was able to recover the round and it actually expanded pretty nicely this time.  Like I've said before, I'm really enjoying using the ice blocks for non-scientific testing. These will definitely be a permanent fixture on my channel.  Thanks for stopping by! Check out this video and all my other uploads on the Idaho Rifleman YouTube channel.  God bless, Idaho Rifleman

In this video, I put the. 380 to the test again. This time I used a Ruger LCP .380 with some additional ammo types.  This test was performed at 5 yards into 2 10% FBI ballistic gel blocks from Clear Ballistics. The Ammo Fiocchi 95gr FMJ - Muzzle Velocity: 960 FPS Fiocchi Blue Guardian 75gr HP - Muzzle Velocity: 1,040 FPS Federal Critical Defense 90gr FTX - Muzzle Velocity 1,000 FPS Federal 90gr Hydra-Shok - Muzzle Velocity: 1,000 FPS Remington Ultimate Defense 102gr BJHP - Muzzle Velocity: 815 FPS All of the ammo performed well with good expansion and wound channels. The Remington Ultimate Defense round did not open up and expand like a hollow point is supposed to. The tip was clogged with gel which may have contributed by taking up the space meant to create expansion. It's hard to say, so we will just have to test it again at some point.  The Ruger LCP is a pretty decent handgun. It's a good shooter, but this one has no external safety, no last round loc...

I'm covering 2 videos at once here because the second video is a clarification of the first.  I talked about the rules of gun safety:  1. Point your firearm in a safe direction 2. Treat every firearm as if it's loaded 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot 4. Know your target and what's behind it 5. Always wear hearing and eye protection Is blank ammunition dangerous? I put it to the test and the answer is simply that it depends how close you are... for the average user... don't point your firearm at anything you aren't willing to (potentially) kill even if you've triple checked they're blanks... I talked about the possibility of a revolver firing without touching the trigger if it's equipped with a "slip hammer". These are lightened hammers that do not have the traditional 4 click cocking mechanism. They only lock back at full cock. You would typically see these hammers in single action competitions suc...

Hey everybody! One more video here with the Ruger 41 Magnum while I have it. Here is a test with what is quickly becoming my favorite, cheap, non-scientific ballistic target. Supermarket ice blocks.  The Gun: Ruger New Model Blackhawk 41 Magnum with a 6.5" barrel The Ammo: Federal 41 Mag 210gr JHP Muzzle Velocity: 1230 FPS Muzzle Energy: 705 FT-LBS I was really hoping to catch this round in one ice block, but the block was thoroughly and completely obliterated. I'm really enjoying the ice block ballistics and I think I'm going to make it a regular addition to the channel.  Check out the video and see what I'm talking about at the Idaho Rifleman YouTube channel. You can also check out my other videos while you're there. Thanks for stopping by! God bless,  Idaho Rifleman

Here's a fun comparison! 41 mag vs 44 mag. I was able to get ahold of these 2 guns from some people I know for this test. We shot this test at 5 yards into 2 10% FBI Ballistic Gel Blocks from Clear Ballistics. The Guns: Ruger New Model Blackhawk 41 Magnum with a 6.5" barrel Uberti 44 Magnum with a 5.75" barrel The Ammo: Federal 41 Mag 210gr JHP Muzzle Velocity: 1230 FPS Muzzle Energy: 705 FT-LBS Grizzly 44 Mag 240gr JHP Muzzle Velocity: 1475 FPS Muzzle Energy: 1159 FT-LBS I was very happy with this test and had alot of fun shooting it. I was actually surprised at the results. The 41 Magnum was a straight, deep shooter with 24 inches of penetration into the gel while the 44 Magnum only made it 16 inches. Overall both guns were fun to shoot and neither of them were overly snappy. The 41 was the more comfortable of the two guns with just a hair less recoil.  Head over to the Idaho Rifleman YouTube channel to check this video out. While you're there check out ...

Here we go with another review of the Patriot Armor Level 3A steel panel. This time we are going to dive in and test the AR-15 with both FMJ and Green Tip LAP. The Gun: You've seen this rifle in a previous video. I'm using the Smith and Wesson MP-15 sport with a 16" barrel, 1/9 twist. The rifle has been upfitted with aftermarket furniture such as: - Magpul rubberized grip - Magpul MOE foregrip - Magpul MOE stock - Magpul angled foregrip - Low profile gas block instead of the A2 style triangle front sight/gas block - Axeon bi-color reticle with 4 dot styles.  The Ammo: 5.56 PMC X-TAC 55gr FMJ Muzzle Velocity: 3,120 FPS Muzzle Energy: 1316 FT-LBS PMC X-TAC 62gr Green Tip LAP Muzzle Velocity: 3100 FPS Muzzle Energy: 1323 FT-LBS The armor took more damage this time, but pretty equal results from the FMJ and the LAP. Both left pretty sizable divots in the metal, but did not penetrate. I can't say that multiple rounds in the same spot wouldn't make it through...

Hey everybody! This video was pretty cool to make. This is the same AR lower that you saw in the last video, but I was able to get ahold of a different upper for this test. The Upper: This AR upper was built by Bear Creek Arsenal and is chambered in 7.62x39. The AK caliber. Now I know there's some AK and AR guys out there who believes this is the cardinal sin and nary the two shall meet, but hear me out. It actually performs really well. All you have to do is pull the takedown pins and boom, you have your rifle in a new caliber.  The upper was very easy to install, like I said, it's just the 2 takedown pins and a special mag. Yes, the mag is different and you cannot use a 5.56 mag. It does not work, I tried. I looked them up, they're really not horrible for price as compared to a PMAG, only a couple bucks more, and they have that distinctive AK curve so you can tell them apart pretty easily.  I'm a pretty big fan of being able to change calibers so easy on t...

In the spirit of fall, I shot pumpkins! This video was alot of fun to make, I used basic FMJ 5.56 ammo on one pumpkin, and fragmenting polymer ballistic tip .223 ammo on the second pumpkin. The results were pretty impressive. That polymer round did not mess around. You can see just in the size of the impact holes how vastly different the rounds perform.  And of course no AR-15 video is complete without a 30 round mag dump.  Also:  The "AR" does not stand for "Assault Rifle". There. I said it. "AR" is the abbreviation for ArmaLite Rifle who began manufacturing the AR-15 back in the 1950's. Guess where they were founded? Hollywood, CALIFORNIA. Now headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The Gun: The rifle I'm using is a Smith and Wesson MP-15 sport with a 16" barrel, 1/9 twist. The rifle has been upfitted with aftermarket furniture such as: - Magpul rubberized grip - Magpul MOE foregrip - Magpul MOE stock - Magpul angled foregrip - Low ...

This video was back by popular request! Part 1 was just fun and not very scientific, so I put out a request for what you all wanted to see me shoot the fresh gel with. You all answered and so I remade this video! For the test I used the same 1911 45 ACP from Rock Island Armory, but the 45 Colt was a different revolver with a slightly longer barrel. I fired the same ammo as the first test from the same distance of 5 yards. But I fired into fresh 10% FBI Blocks of ballistics gel from Clear Ballistics. The results were pretty good. I was surprised that the +P 45 ACP rounds stopped in the first block, but they had pretty good energy transfer in the entry. I was hoping to catch the FMJ type rounds, but they zipped right through the gel. The Leverevolution 45 Colt round stopped in the second block, but really didn't expand at all.  I had fun with this test, both sets of rounds performed well and both handguns were very comfortable and easy shooters. Head over to YouTube and c...