Free Republic

OMG! Have you ever seen something like this? Have you ever seen a bright-blue lightning bolt shooting upward from thunderclouds? Such Blue jets are difficult to spot from the ground, since the electrical discharges erupt from the tops of thunderclouds. But what about from space? In a new scientific release, scientists discuss such a transient luminous event that occurred on February 26, 2019 near Nauru, a small island in the central Pacific Ocean. And the images are bombastic: The above artist impression features a lightning in clouds seen from space followed by a blue flash that lasts 10 micro seconds,...

Large-frame handgun? Small? What caliber? Glock? S&W? It's all about balancing 'Comfort vs Lethality,' says longtime Policeman. One of the best parts about being a cop is HR 218. This law allows officers to carry a firearm in practically every locale in the United States. "Carrying on your badge," as it’s referred to, is one of the few perks law enforcement still enjoys. In 2020, the job lost a lot of its appeal, but I still appreciate the fact that I can carry concealed to protect others and myself. In a perfect world, these rights would be afforded to every...

An exceptional atmospheric river rated Category 5 (AR 5) is soaking the Pacific Northwest, bringing flooding rain and strong winds in parts of coastal Oregon and Washington, where up to 8 600 customers were left without power on Tuesday, January 12, 2021. Threats of flooding, mudslides, and avalanches continue into Wednesday morning, January 13, before the moisture flow heads offshore and dissipates. In Oregon, Portland General Electric reported more than 5 000 customers lost electricity on Tuesday night, while 3 600 were without power in Multnomah County during the severe weather's onslaught. The atmospheric river was classified as Category 5...

There’s more than one way to neutralize a threat and these novel, thin, finned steel projectiles can put on a hurt at greater distance than buckshot - Flechettes were first used as small bomblets dropped from airplanes in World War I and World War II. Their use in small arms began in February 1951, when Irwin R. Barr of Aircraft Armaments Inc. came out with the concept of firearms flechettes. Initially, the emphasis was on firing one flechette instead of a standard rifle bullet. This led to the Army’s Special Purpose Individual Weapon (SPIW) program, as the concept was tested....

The revolver or wheel gun is that classic cowboy gun that everyone wants; it’s reliable, powerful, and is just plain cool. Smith & Wesson brings a new modern take on the revolver with the 327 TRR8, a .357 blacked out showstopper designed with SWAT use in mind. Is it the best new revolver in town, or does it lose the wheel gun showdown? Let’s take a closer look in my review of the Smith & Wesson 327 TRR8 just below.

When it comes to this powerful cartridge, 'bullet choice is imperative for the best results.' - I had just obtained my first .300 Winchester Magnum – a cartridge I'd come to absolutely love, and one that I'd end up taking all over the world – and simply could not wait for the first day of deer season. I had the rifle zeroed perfectly, so any shot in the open woods of our hunting property was a dead hold, and it was grouping very well. When opening day finally arrived, the morning had been rather quiet – just a couple does...

A sub-compact .45 almost seems too good to be true, but Glock listened to the market and released the Glock 30, a concealable pistol with a big bang. Many believe the 30 is the top contender for the modern concealed carry weapon (CCW) 45. Does Glock’s design hold up to the beefy .45 ACP? Find out in my review of the Glock 30 below.

Hopefully, it doesn’t happen. Hopefully, we are never forced into a bad situation that requires us to rely on a firearm. However, if it ever does come to that, you need to know that you have the tools to put food on the table, keep predators at bay, and defend what is yours. Thankfully, some of these tools are already available to you. I’ve put together a list of five of the most popular utility guns that are reliable, durable, and available on the market. When the going gets tough, these guns will not let you down, and they won’t...

In case you're having a bad day, it could be worse. https://youtu.be/u0pf-uuT9Tk

While the total number of firearms sales for 2020 won’t be known for another couple of weeks, it is already evident that last year broke all the records. With just weeks until President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn in and moves into the White House, sales of guns are only likely to increase, and that means ammo prices are spiking across the nation. Ammo in Short Supply As numerous reports have highlighted, a driving factor in the increase of sales was due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but it wasn’t just gun owners stocking up. 2020 saw the largest increase in...

The Weather forecast for Washington, D.C. is freezing in the early morning hours with a low temperature of 31 degrees F. It will be partly cloudy, warming to 45 degrees on Wednesday the 6th. There is a 5% chance of rain. The same conditions prevail through Thursday the 7th of January, with a degree cooler in the morning and afternoon. https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Washington+DC?canonicalCityId=4c0ca6d01716c299f53606df83d99d5eb96b2ee0efbe3cd15d35ddd29dee93b2

The AR-15 is certainly one popular firearm. Simply put, the AR-15 the civilian version of the U.S. military’s M16. The only main difference being that you can’t fire in three-round bursts or full-automatic. But while it’s just as versatile, accurate, durable, and downright dependable as the one trusted by the uniformed services, the one thing you can do with an AR-15 that you couldn’t dream of doing in the military is customizing it. Think of Legos — but for grown-ups. Entering the vast and colorful world of rifle mods can be overwhelming at first, and it will take some time...

From 2008 until 2016, there was a shortage of civilian small arms ammunition. It began in late 2008 and continued through nearly all of 2010, and then began again in 2012. Almost all popular calibers including 9mm, 7.62mm, and .45 caliber were impacted – and it impacted the once cheaply priced .22 LR as sport shooters turned to the smaller caliber weapons. It doesn’t take a serious study to note that the ammo shortage began with the election of President Barack Obama, who was often noted to be “the greatest gun salesmen” in the history of the United States. Fears...

#KISS2020GOODBYE includes the largest stage ever built by humans, 50 cameras, 360-degree angles and $1 million worth of pyrotechnics, live streamed from the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. Starts at Noon ET. Full global schedule at link.

Sometimes the military needs a little bit of nudging to determine it actually needs a new weapon. That might just be the short version of the history of the Barrett M82. The U.S. military has a proven track record of sometimes not seeing the potential, and this was true initially of the machine gun – and more recently with a very high powered sniper rifle. The concept of large rifles isn’t entirely new. Large caliber “wall guns” had been used since the 16th century in Europe, and remained in use throughout the 18th and 19th century in India and China...

How Tim Bero went from making floppy disks to manufacturing semiauto .50-caliber machineguns, helping save Humvee crews' lives in the Second Gulf War and now, Multi-Caliber Survival Rifles, Pistols, and more. TNW Firearms first made a name for itself among American shooters 20 years ago in a really big way with a really big gun. That gun was a semi-automatic, full-size replica of the military M2 HB .50-caliber heavy machinegun, a weapon that's seen continuous use in all theaters of war from the 1930s to the present. That sexy belt-fed beast, known affectionately as the Ma Deuce in military circles,...

I have no other words for this... https://twitter.com/rubinreport/status/1340099167964688386?s=21

The only recoil-cancelling pistol made, this first successful British automatic may be largely forgotten today given the rise of the M1911, but it sported notable features for its time. Recoil and muzzle bounce are a fact of life for pistol shooters firing powerful calibers. The time taken to recover from that muzzle bounce is the biggest limiting factor on accurate rapidfire. Only one pistol has successfully engaged this problem and eliminated it: the Webley & Scott .455 automatic pistol. It accomplishes this miracle with its unique locking system. More on that later, but rapidfire is furthered by perhaps the best...

Want to bag a buck? Head to the South and Midwest, where the huntin’s good for America’s deer. The deer hunting sector has been changing over the last few years, with new entrants moving into the top positions as far as the number and quality of white-tail deer hunting is concerned. Judging which states are working hardest to produce a high number of deer for hunting can be difficult, but there have been many changes to the states that sit at the top of the list in the last few years. The best States for deer hunting are spread through...

Widespread, severe flooding has killed at least nine people and affected 210 000 households or more than half a million people in southern Thailand, officials reported Friday, December 4, 2020, describing the situation as the worst they have seen in 50 years. A state of emergency has been declared for Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, where all the fatalities occurred. Thailand's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) said another person reportedly went missing. The youngest victim was a child aged five. DDPM added that the affected provinces are Surat Thani, Phatthalung, Trang, Songkhla, Pattani, Narathiwat, and the worst-hit, Nakhon Si...