Precise Shots at Close Range

Years ago I wrote an article about low power optics that I've used on the AR-15 platform. Since then, I’ve been using the Vortex Crossfire II 1-4x24 regularly on both my 20” service rifle and my 16” utility carbine. Both are mounted in the same manner, but the optic is used differently in each case. With the 20” service rifle, I manually dial in the 200, 300, and 600 yard drops for my shots. With the 16” utility carbine, however, I set it to a “maximum point blank range zero” and call it good. 

At my last “two gun” experience I was the only person using a low powered variable optic (LPVO) on top of my 16” utility carbine. I normally keep the Crossfire dialed down to 1x and use it like a red dot sight for competitions that require both speed and accuracy, but the one stage where having an LPVO gave me an incredible advantage over the competitors who were using no-magnification red dots and holosights was the 14 yard, United States Air Force Rimfire Alternate Qualification target. The targets were just far enough away that people couldn’t see their bullet holes in the target through the no-magnification optics, but I could as I cranked my LPVO to 4x. I fired my first shot, saw that my impact was low, and used the bottom stadia line of the reticle as an aiming point to place my shots carefully.

The illuminated reticle on the 1-4x24 has a 1.5 MOA center dot, 6 MOA separation between the ends of the stadia lines surrounding the center dot, and 12.5 MOA distance between the thick outside stadia lines. Using the top of the thin stadia line I was able to precisely place my shots at 14 yards, almost 3 MOA low, which is exactly as predicted by my JBM ballistic software.

Vortex Crossfire II 1-4x24 

The match director laughed when he briefed the stage, saying that everyone who shot it hated it. I think this is because the trend in the centerfire rifle community has two main communities: the “long range precision” community that shoots F-Class, PRS, and High Power; and the “action shooting” community that sets up a battlesight zero on a carbine to compete in 3 gun, 2 gun, or cosplay CQB drills. There really isn’t a “short range precision” community outside of rimfire and air rifle, which makes these types of precise, short range shots something well outside the training norm for most centerfire shooters. After all, why train to hit a 1” dot at 14 yards with a rifle capable of first round hits out to 300 meters? If I want to hunt squirrel or rabbit, I’m much more likely to choose a rimfire or air rifle to handle that chore. 

The reduced range target we shot that day had silhouettes that represented 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 meter targets, and the vast majority of competitors that day hit less than 10 out of 40 possible trigger pulls because they were impacting under the target. Most of their scored hits were on the larger silhouettes where the bullets were clustered near the bottom of the black on the larger 50 and 100 meter sized silhouettes. Any optic on an AR is about 3 to 3.5 inches above the rifle bore (meaning that you have to aim above the intended point of impact for short range targets) and having an optic with reference points in the reticle makes this much easier than a no-magnification optic, or a “fine line” cross hair optic.

I wasn’t a better marksman than anyone else on that stage; I was just the one with the better gear for the problem. Even if I’d only had a fine line reticle, the 4x magnification would have allowed me to see impact on the target and hold by guesstimate, which would have still let me win the stage, but would NOT have let me get first round impacts on an animal.

I hope you get to the range and practice this skill for yourself. If you have your rifle set up with irons, a red dot, or a holosight you can still practice short range precision, but it will be more difficult than with an LPVO. To keep your training expenses low, I recommend that instead of buying commercial targets you get some 1” round orange stickers and use them as targets to see how many shots it takes you to break the color.

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Try to see how well you do at 7, 14, and 21 yards (common pistol ranges) and see if you can’t rapidly transition between those ranges with your carbine and get first round hits in the orange.

Given the nature of the world, you never know when you might need to make short range precision shots with your rifle. It might be placing a head shot on a young feral hog about to root up your potatoes, or perhaps winning a shooting contest with your friends for bragging rights, or maybe for a more urgent situation when the SHTF. 

No matter the reason, that rimfire stage identified a skills gap I was lucky enough to adapt to on first attempt. Next time, I won't have to rely on luck, and this cultivated skill will come in handy.

Edible Plants

There are a multitude of nutritious edible plants everywhere in nature. While time of year and location may affect availability, there is nearly always something for us to eat when we're out in the woods and fields.

Due to the risk of misidentification, I'm not going to be covering mushrooms in this article. The difference between nutrition and mortician can be very, very subtle. As the saying goes, "Every mushroom is edible, but some are edible only once."

Books

There are numerous books available on edible wild plants, such as Foraging: Explore Nature's Bounty and Turn Your Foraged Finds Into Flavorful Feasts by Mark Vorderbruggen and Thayer's Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Sam Thayer, to name just two. The Official U.S. Army Illustrated Guide To Edible Wild Plants can be downloaded and stored on a mobile device for remote wanderings.

Smartphone Apps

iNaturalist is a useful app, available for both Android and iPhone, which is a cooperative database of plant identification. Users can query the existing information as well as upload their own discoveries and photos. As a resident of Tennessee, though, I particularly like the more specialized Tennessee Wildflowers app. The name is somewhat deceptive, as it isn't only about flowering plants, nor limited to the boundaries of just one state; it contains data on nearly 3,500 species of plants found in Tennessee and the surrounding areas, only about half of which are wildflowers. One of the better features of this app is that the database is local to the device, so it's useable even in areas of poor service.

Websites

There are also a number of plant identification sites on the web. Some are good, some not so good. One of my personal favorites is called Eat the Invaders, which is all about edible invasive species. It's useful information with a sense of humor. The Texas Real Food website, contrary to the name, has edible plant information indexed by state, but be warned that much of the information on the site is contained in videos. As usual, the Cornell Cooperative has a lot of useful information on their website.

Differences

An important detail to keep in mind is that some parts of the same plant may be more or less healthy to eat than others, or the same part may be more nutritious at different parts of its life cycle, or may require some preparation for best use.

Cattails

With cattails, for example, the young shoots, flowers, and pollen are best in the spring, while the stalks and roots are best in the fall. As a bonus feature, the head of a ripe cat tail dipped in oil or wax can make a useful torch, and the fluff can be used as tinder for fire starting.

Stinging Nettles

Similarly, nettles, (which are a source of Vitamins A, C, K, iron, calcium, and more) should be cooked before eating to deactivate the mild toxin in the stinging hairs. Use gloves when handling to avoid skin irritation.

Dandelions

Dandelions are a ubiquitous weed found almost everywhere in the continental United States. Harvesting them young (before the flowers erupt from their buds) is best, though they should be boiled in salted water to reduce the bitterness. The roots can be used for a tisane or tea substitute, and the leaves of the flower can be added to enhance salads.

A Final Word

It's a very good idea to use more than one source, and to compare them, when identifying plants for edibility, just in case one of the sources is in error. 

Eat safely, and eat well. 

Uncle Loki's Essential Seasonings

The important thing is the spices. A man can live on packaged food from here 'til Judgement Day if he's got enough rosemary.

- Shepherd Derrial Book, Firefly, "Serenity"

Yes, this is a cooking post. No, I'm not David in disguise, though it is indeed inspired by his Prepper's Pantry. While it's all about seasoning, it's not seasonal. 

The Basics

The top of the list starts with salt and pepper. I like my salt kosher, and my pepper to be coarse ground black. The coarser texture plays far more nicely with what and how I like to cook, and gives a bit bolder flavor notes. 

Past that, the biggest basic need is powdered garlic. Fresh cloves or pre-minced "jarlic" are better, but they don't keep as long as powdered does. I keep both on hand for just that reason.

The Scarborough Faire

Sage and parsley are okay, but more on the niche side. Shepherd Book knew what was going on, though; the real workhorses are rosemary and thyme. They're incredibly versatile, working to season soups, meat and poultry, and even savory baked goods. 

The Unconventional

Cinnamon and smoked paprika seem a bit odd, but again, they're very versatile, pairing well with meats, baked goods, soups, and some vegetables. They also are readily available and rather inexpensive. I also am never without at least one kind of smoked chili, be it ancho, chipotle, or generic chili powder. This adds both heat and a bit of smoky complexity.

The Out of Left Field

Have a bit of faith and hear me out on this. The last of my essentials is crystallized lemon and/or lime. Ambitious folks can make this on their own, but I personally prefer the True Lemon/True Lime brand. They add bright, bold citrus flavor without being overly tart or adding acid like citrus juice does. The other essential (and the only blend I consider such) is Tajin, and it's good on literally everything I've tried it with. Cheesy things, meats, even watermelon is delicious and zippy with Tajin on it.

Once you've got your own version of this list figured out, you can expand in any direction you like; the variety in spices and seasonings is virtually endless. Expand your palate, expand your options, and food will never get boring.

Stay spicy, folks.

Lokidude