Dominion Arms Grizzly. A handy Zombie gun or just a novelty. Pt 2

The Grizzly

So in Part 1 we established that while the Grizzly is perhaps not the best hunting shotgun, it can be used effectively for small game animals. But what else is this little gun good for? Self Defence? Wilderness Survival ? Well it is in this area that the Dominion Arms Grizzly really comes into its own.

Lets take a look at the Grizzly as a survival gun. A survival gun can mean different things to different people but in the context of this Blog post a survival gun is a firearm that you might take camping or hiking in the wilderness or perhaps carry in your truck, boat or plane in case you are stranded. First lets ask what qualities you would want in a firearm for this purpose.

(1) Reliability. Its no good if it wont work. The Remington 870 action is one of the best shotgun actions available so we know the design is good. Now as to the quality and reliability of the Grizzly only time will tell. So far the limited shooting I have done with the Grizzly has been without incident but more use is needed.

(2) Light weight and handy. You will not carry a firearm with you if its too big and awkward. The Grizzly gets good marks on this one. Its short and handy so it wont get all caught up in tree branches and brush. With a sling you can still work, climb and generally do what you need to without resorting to leaning it up against a tree someplace. I can tell you from experience how tempting it is to put your gun aside when you are struggling to work in the bush.

(3) Versatility. In a survival situation you may need a firearm to do many jobs. Well a 12ga is probably the most versatile gun ever invented. All you need is a few different kinds of shells in your pocket. Small shot like #4 #5 or #6 for small game. A buckshot load will defend you against large predators or get you a deer at close range. It is also a good signal gin as a 12ga is nice and loud and you can get flares for it. Now you can also shoot slugs out of the Grizzly but I have not had good luck with that so far. I believe its an issue with the front bead sight being so low. I am going to change the front sight at some point and will let you know how that works out.

(4) Ammunition Capacity. This sounds important and it is true that the more shots you have the better. However in real life practical terms it really is not as important as it sounds. I have over 30 years hunting experience and can tell you that its the first shot that counts. Most game that I have taken in my life went down on the first shot. I have on occasion got something with the second shot but I cant think of a single time when a third shot was needed. Animals move fast and disappear quickly. With the exception of waterfowl hunting most people who take a 3rd shot are doing it out of desperation and frustration. As to defending your self against predators. 3 shots with a 12ga should do the job. If you cant drop a charging bear with 3 shots from this gun you probably cant do it with any gun.

Self Defence against human predators is another use that people often suggest for the Grizzly in fact its the most often suggested use. I think that we can all agree that it has some value in this area. It really comes down to the 3 shots issue. Are you comfortable with just 3 shots? I can tell you when looking at the statistics on gun fights that most bad situations are over quickly with just a few shots fired. 3 shots from a skilled person with a 12ga will resolve most situations one way or another. In fact just looking at a Grizzly is intimidating and I would bet a lot of attackers would take one look at this nasty little gun and head for safer pastures.  I myself would feel comfortable using it in this role but I know others would not agree with me. Its a matter of taste.

The myth of the Sawed Off Shotgun. One little issue that I should touch on is the myth in popular culture that a sawed off shotgun can literally spray the room with shot. This is of course silly as the photo below illustrates quite clearly. Even at 25 yards you can only expect about a two foot spread of shot. That's is hardly going to clear the room.

At 25 yards the shot spread is just a tad over two ft.

So get yourself a Dominion Arms Grizzly. Its a handy little gun. 

Dominion Arms Grizzly. A handy Zombie gun or just a novelty. Pt 1

Dominion Arms Grizzly. A handy Zombie gun or just a novelty

Dominion Arms Grizzly

One firearm that has been getting a bit of attention the last few years is the Dominion Arms Grizzly 12ga shotgun. The Grizzly in most respects is an unremarkable shotgun. It's just a cheap Chinese copy of a Remington 870. If you compare the Grizzly to a Remington, the Grizzly is a poor second cousin. However what makes the Grizzly stand out is its 8.5 inch barrel. Yep 8.5 inches. That's about 20cm for us Canadians. In fact it's for us Canadians in mind that this gun is manufactured for it would be illegal to have such a short shotgun in many countries.

Now many people have said this gun has no purpose other than killing people. It has been said ( by so called Gun Experts ) that you cant hunt with a shotgun that has such a short barrel so it must be for killing people. Well let's look at that first. Can you hunt with it?

Well yes you can. It is generally excepted in the hunting and shooting community that you want a longer barrel because that will give you longer range and better penetration of the target. This is true for the most part but if you look at many real world hunting situations you will see that often a lot of range and penetration is not required. It depends on what and where you are hunting.

Now waterfowl hunting is probably out. The grizzly is just too short for that. But many of us old boys use our shotguns for small game like rabbits, squirrels, raccoons and other critters. And I can say that most of the small critters shot by me over the last 30 years have been only a few yards away. If you think about it most squirrels and raccoons are going to be in a tree you are standing under. Most rabbits if you are hunting in the bush are only 10 or perhaps 25 yards away. As you can see from the shot pattern in the target photos the Grizzly has not a bad pattern out at 25 yards.

At 25 yards with #5 shot.

 Now Deer or other large game require larger shot so I tested out a few rounds of 00B and again as you can see from the photos the shot pattern is not all that bad out at the 25 yard line. I would be comfortable taking a Deer at that range but that is about the max with 00B. Next time out I will see how it shoots with slugs.

00B at 10 yards. Shot is nice and tight.

00B at 25 yards. Starting to spread out now.

The bottom line is I myself would be quite comfortable going for a nice walk in the woods with my Grizzly looking for bunnies or squirrels. I would never use it for large game as better firearms are available but in a survival situation it would knock down a Deer or a Bear. A good hunter needs to know the effective range of his gun and be prepared to pass on the shots that are too far away.

So OK you can do a bit of hunting with it but what else is it good for? Well lets look at that tomorrow shall we..........

 

  

Zombie Gear Special At Marstar

 Things have been a little bit dark and serious on here as of late with all the talk of Bird Flu and Tornado's and such. So here is something a little more fun.......

Zombie Gear Special

Now I think the shotgun would be a fantastic Zombie Destroyer I am not sure about the single action revolver. The single action is nice and simple and reliable but its just so slow to reload.

Low Cost Weapons Part 1

So you need to arm yourself for the coming Zombie Apocalypse but you have a problem, no cash. Well rejoice my friend because all is not lost. You can still arm yourself with some pretty effective weaponry and not break the bank doing it. Now for the purpose of this discussion I have divided the types of possible weapons into two categories. Hand to hand combat weapons and projectile weapons.

Low cost hand to hand combat weapons

Hand to hand combat weapons are the easiest to either purchase or make do to the simple and obvious fact that any object you can hold in your hand can be used as a weapon. However it’s not advisable to try to defend yourself with a tea cup. But if all you have is a tea cup, then by all means use it. Hand to hand combat weapons also have the advantage of being legal to possess, at least for the most part, in most places. Check the laws ware you live. You don’t want to be in jail when the apocalypse happens.

One of the first things that most survival experts will tell you to have is a good knife. This is good advice as you should never be without a good knife, except perhaps on an airplane, they get all funny about that. You should in fact have two knives, The first a small pocket knife, you can get them for almost nothing at any hardware store or you may already have one laying around at the bottom of a drawer someplace. The second knife should be larger, more of what you might call a combat knife. A good knife will not cost you all that much. In fact one of the best things for this purpose is an old army surplus bayonet. You can get them online or at junk shops or army surplus stores for just a few bucks. In fact I just found a bayonet for a VZ-58 for six dollars at a flea market.

If you are willing to spend a little more you can get the knife that you think will be best for the task at hand. Choosing a knife is a personal decision and no one can tell you what knife is best. I personally recommend the Kukri or Gurkha knife. The Gurkha in my humble opinion is the best all purpose knife ever invented. It can do any job you ask of it from stabbing to slashing. No other knife is as handy.

Now if you want to go for a free knife, an old kitchen knife is better than nothing. You will need to make sure the blade is thick enough. Kitchen knives tend to be thin. This makes them more susceptible to snapping if you use them for stabbing or prying. One way to overcome this is to shorten the blade a bit. You can easily do this on a grinding wheel. If you don’t have a grinding wheel GO OUT AND GET ONE. You can get one for about thirty dollars and you are going to need it later.

You will also have to find or make a sheath for your homemade combat knife so you can carry it safely. It’s not hard to make a sheath but it will take you an hour or two. You can make a good sheath out of leather, wood, plastic or metal. I won’t go into detail as I’m sure you can figure it out. In a nutshell just lay your knife down on whatever material you have selected and draw a line around the knife a little bigger than the knife itself. Do this twice and then cut them out and fasten the two pieces together. Not hard just time consuming. Remember that if you use wood or something that is not flexible you will have to hollow out the two pieces before you fasten them together. So go with leather its much easier. You can get it from an old pair of work boots of a leather purse. However, like I said before a good knife is not expensive, so it hardly seems worth all the time and trouble.

More to come…

Anti Zombie Weapons

Anti Zombie Weapons

A lot has been written over the years about what kinds of weapons one should have on hand when the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us. And quite frankly most of what has been written is useless dribble. The uninformed opinions of people who have neither the experience nor the expertise to even have a valid opinion on the subject are worthless. Now im sorry if I sound harsh but it is of no use to any one when some twit suggests you get your self a bazooka or a machine gun. Yes we would all like to have access to such weaponry but the reality is that most people do not, and will not, be able to access this kind of firepower. Indeed what weapons you can acquire will depend on three factors. What country you live in, how much money you are willing to spend and how resourceful you are.

What Country You Live In

What country you live in is probably the most important factor when it comes to what kind of weapons are legally accessible. For example if you live in a country like Canada or the U.S.A. you can arm yourself quite well for little expense. On the other hand if you live in a country with strict weapons laws, like England, you will need to be a little more resourceful. But no matter what country you live in you can still arm yourself in some way that will drastically increase you chances of surviving the apocalypse.

How Much Money You Are Willing To Spend

Like many things in life it often comes down to money. And sorry to say it but rich people do have more resources at their disposal, and resources matter in a survival situation. But that being said you can still do what you need to do, no matter what your budget. If fact one of the goals of my blog is to teach people how to make the necessary preparations with little or no money.

How Resourceful You Are

One of the most important factors in any survival situation is resourcefulness. The person who is able to make effective use of the materials at hand is the person who will survive. This is also true in preparing for survival situations like the apocalypse. For example it costs NO money to store water for emergencies but how many people actually do it. And it costs NO money to keep a baseball bat handy in your car or closet. In fact an individual can acquire or fashion many useful weapons for little or no cost. It just takes a little work.

More on weapons at a latter date.