Village Praxis: Advanced Civilian Armament Program Part I

“Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India, history will look
upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.”

– Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi

To a certain extent, Gandhi is one of the intellectual patron saints of this blog and it is only appropriate to let him introduce the latest installment in the Village Praxis Series.  I would like to thank Hillary Clinton for inspiring the title and intent of this series but in the spirit of her entire life, we employ the opposite meaning that would make that female variant of Josef Stalin blanch.  As a collectivist extraordinaire, she is philosophically wrong in most everything she speaks to and has ghost-written for her.  Therefore, in a twist on Orwellian Doublespeak, we wish to ensure that the Village in this case takes the initiative to make a U-turn and go in the opposite direction from Clinton’s totalitarian vision in her book, It Takes a Village.

Skip L. is done with the Ama-gi guide he put together for our village reformation project.  He has done a thorough examination of our needs here that would make Boston T. Party proud.  As with most of these kinds of evaluations, they tend to be climate and topography specific.  Our present location is in the high desert at approx 1600 meters with mountain peaks approaching 2500 meters on occasion.  Climate is certainly mild compared with the north Idaho climes we are formerly accustomed to.  While our winter nights can reach freezing temperatures, it is rather rare to have blustery days below 60 degrees Fahrenheit during the day even during winter. On the other end of the scale, it is rare to have more than one week out of the year with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.

In the desert where we live, this is not the Sahara and we have plenty of low height vegetation that will prick, prod and sting you if you mess with them and the same applies to the local fauna among which the vipers tend to be the most unpleasant but the designer saw fit to attach warning devices on them.   The ideal camouflage for our environment tends to be Multicam or British Desert DPM although one of my lads has discovered that the old Gulf War I “chocolate chip” pattern is especially useful here.   Mind you, depending on the threat profile, the goblins may have access to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or man-portable thermal imaging which may obviate any camouflage you may employ.

I have some slight disagreements with Skip on his guide but they are merely nitpicks in an otherwise masterful guide.  Skip used the noxious term reconstruction in a positive sense and that is regrettable for those of us who hail from Confederate households (the Confederacy is not a region but a state of mind).

The weapons systems we adopted or are in the process of leveraging are designed for one rather simple task which becomes complex over time and distance:  to increase our immediate defensive envelope from one meter to a potential of  1600 meters using various tools in the quiver.

Skip and I developed the sidearm philosophy with a single guiding purpose which is one pistol family with slight variations in attributes but identical in functionality.  There will be endless debates on the efficacy of the 1911 versus the Glock and I wish to offer this one olive branch:  we have chosen and trained on the Glock with the modifications noted in the Praxis but if you or your village has mastered a different handgun system, great.  Thank you for not outsourcing your self-defense to a proxy (government) which in the end will turn it on you.  This suits our needs and yours may be different.  Skip uses the term concealed carry and I have since started using the term discreet carry because language unconsciously informs our thinking and I am not trying to hide anything nor do I like the implication.

When we first started examining rifle choices over a decade ago, we went to the FN-FAL platform as the primary for ourselves and our family members and both evolving technology and genetics forced a complete reevaluation of that decision.  We have since started moving to an AR platform based .223 and .308 system for matching the ubiquity and availability of weapons and training and adopting the lesser .223 cartridge for the family members who will NEVER field a .308 in any configuration.  Hence the decision to change platforms;  again, I cannot quibble over Skip’s recommendations except to add that a three-point sling is preferable to a two point and the addition of a Viking Tactical Loop Sling is vital to increased accuracy for the shooter especially the .308 platforms.  You will also note that as heretical as it may appear, we have not jumped on the gas piston technology and are still going with the direct impingement systems due to emerging drama over accuracy issues with the gas piston systems.

I am also hopeful that we will find a Tactical Latch that will not ventilate your sternum every time you go on a long yomp with it.

Please note that all the prices are subject to change in the Praxis but they are there as a relative guide.

I will let Skips’ recommendation for a pistol PDW/CCW speak for itself.  That is the only significant philosophical departure he and I have in the entire Praxis and I will not be adopting it.  I do think it may have an ideal “Michael Collins” deep carry urban rig utility but I am still a skeptic.

Skip and I also thought long and hard on the adoption of the Hard Target Interdiction Rifle (HTIR) and settled on the caliber of .338 Edge and he provides a great guide map on how to get there. The goblins own the Close Quarters Battle (CQB) environment but as history and our present difficulties in the Middle East show, the competent infantry half-kilometer rifleman will rule the roost and the ability to stretch that envelope to 1600 meters is even better.  Mind you, a curious combination of genetics and your willingness to train will be required to achieve any degree of mastery in the 800 meter plus combat environment and does it well.  I would contend that there are only a very small percentage of active riflemen who are even capable of this.  Not only is there a tremendous financial investment of nearly 10k per rifle when one factors in the training and ammunition and rebarreling necessary to master the system.  This is where the costs may be prohibitive in both money and time to become expert in a rather arcane skill set.

Per Skip’s recommendation on mission sets, I would offer that consideration be given to Level III versus Level IIIA armor for ballistic protection if you choose to not get Level IV.  I would also recommend that you consider that purchase now instead of later because it is only a matter of time before the rulers consider the private ownership of armor to be beyond the ken for them.  These bundles of kit also imply a tremendous amount of homework to see what fits your personal profile and the area of the country you live in.

One can infer from even a casual glance that this is not for the financially faint-hearted nor for folks pressed for time they can allocate to proper training.  It is one thing to have the kit for any enterprise you embark on but it is quite another to become competent with it.  The occupation dissenters in Iraq and Afghanistan are giving the world’s hyper military quite a difficult time with primitive but effective weapons technology because they have taken the time to train and acquaint themselves with their tools to include their hometown advantage.  Training is the most valuable resource you have when it comes to weapons, period.

Here at ZeroGov, we do not endorse a pacifist philosophy which appears to be a sure road to extinction.  We are opposed to ALL initiated violence on principle but endorse the use of elective (dueling) violence and defensive violence to protect village and kin from aggression.  Like the Free State Project, our mascot is the porcupine which is only harmful if messed with.  F. Paul Wilson gave us this from THE SECOND BOOK OF KYFHO [Keep Your F**king Hands Off] (Revised Eastern Sect Edition):

Never initiate force against another. That should be the underlying principle of your life. But should someone do violence to you, retaliate without hesitation, without reservation, without quarter, until you are sure that he will never wish to harm – or never be capable of harming – you or yours again.

Imagine a world in which individuals or cooperatives would react in that fashion to any violent government intervention in their lives; before long, government would be resting comfortably in the dustbins of history where they belong.

Remember, weapons and their associated kit are only a small part of the preparedness profile necessary to be ready for what government has created – a big bloody mess with unintended consequences all over the place.  America will be an amusement park ride for the rest of its short-lived history remaining.  Your ability to care for your family and let them prosper in the coming bad times is your mission and if you leave it to the authorities, you are wrong.

My friend Nathan C sent this terrific critique of the Guide:

1. Plug in Glock handle may make it harder to remove mag if stuck.

2. Extended slide release not so important if people learn to not use them at all. It is better to grab the slide and rack it.  I never use that little mag release thingy [very useful in wounded defender drills, actually indispensable]

3. DMR 5.56 is great, I run a 16″ Recce.  I am still supersonic out to 800 yards so that is what my range is in my opinion.  The 77 gn bullets hit the steel so hard at 800 they disintegrate.  Imagine being hit by a .22 LR going 1100 fps second that weighed 77 gr. The DMR you show would have another 200 fps, so supersonic range is out to 900 or so I think. It is important people know that they need a fast rate of twist to shoot 77 gn smk, at least 1 in 8 but I run 1 in 7 twist.  I have been promoting the Recon 5.56 as a standard caliber/rifle in my circle. I know that 308 is the caliber of choice amongst preppers, but I got my reasons.  Compatible magazines, parts and ammo just seem like such a great idea. I was also led down this path by Marcus Luttrell’s book.

4. Optics are essential and you are missing out if you never had the chance to shoot a scope whose knobs and reticle both speak the miliradian language.  MOA is a dinosaur that will be extinct in the next 20 years.  Get in now on the ground floor of Mil/Mil and be seen as pioneers. Other nice features are zero stop, 1 or 2 turn knob, front focal plane and variable power. SWFA has a 3-9 power that fits most of these criteria for a paltry $500 (demo) I have their 10x and am very impressed with it.  Unfortunately it is not illuminated.  Personally I like US Optics and Nightforce the best but expensive for sure.  I have been driving a 1.5-6x USO for a few months now and I am very impressed.

5. The Harris bipods are much better with the notched legs and the “pod-lock.” [Versapod is even better]

6. I have read quite a few neg reviews on the Newcon rangefinder. I am leaning toward the Swaro or the next step up is the Vectronix I think. For under 800 yards the Leoupold is OK.  I am a little embarrassed to admit I don’t own a good rangefinder right now.  I will soon fix that though.

7. I have an Eliseo tube gun chassis on order that I think is a good way to go. 20 MOA rail, AI magazine compatible, and Rem compatible for around $700.  I hope to have this up and running as a 308/260 Remington switch barrel in the next few months.

8.  I know you guys have put a lot of thought into this and I appreciate it.  I hope one of my ideas will bring you at least mild amusement.

9. In the future I will attempt to lure you to the dark side of suppressor ownership and to the dark realm of the 300 AAC Blackout formerly known as 300 Whisper.

What can hide muzzle flash, soak up recoil, confuse the zombies into looking for you where you are not, make your weapon much quieter, and entice timid people into having fun at the range? Sssshhhh.

10. I once asked a friend of mine whether or not he was worried that the authorities might not come one day and confiscate his weapons, as he had many suppressors and machine guns (all legall).  He was an Oathkeeper and a Ranger.

He said simply, “Oh, I’ll be long gone before that.”

I guess he had drawn a line in the sand, and dared them to cross it.

Notes in the Margin:

I found a bootlegged copy of my speech at the Freedom Summit on 5 DEC 2010 on the “The End of America: the Coming deSovietization of These united States”.  You will find it here:

I will post a cleaner copy as soon as it becomes available.

“There exists a law, not written down anywhere, but inborn in our hearts; a law which comes to us not by training or custom or reading; a law which has come to us not from theory but from practice, not by instruction but by natural intuition. I refer to the law which lays it down that, if our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right.”

— Marcus Tulius Cicero