Taurus Public Defender; When The Gavel Drops...

                   When you think concealed carry you probably don't think "scatter gun", but that's exactly what you get with the Public Defender. Taurus took their popular Judge series and cut down the size, making for a formidable carry gun for the trail.  To make the Public Defender more carry friendly, Taurus cut the Judges barrel and grip down about 1.5 inches each, reducing the weight by 8.6 ounces. Despite this reduction, the Public Defender is still a hefty 28.2 ounces and 9 inches in length. Most of this heft is due to the elongated 5 shot cylinder.  In order to chamber 2.5 inch .410 shot shells, Public Defender sports a 3 inch long cylinder , making the cylinder longer than the barrel.

Chambered in both .45 Long Colt and 2.5 inch .410, the Public Defender gives the shooter a wide variety of load choices. The ability to mix and match different types of shot and and .45LC lends itself to making the Public Defender a terrific trail gun. Due to the slow burning shotgun powder, traditional .410 rounds are somewhat underpowered in the short barrel, pocket blunderbuss. Despite the shortcoming they make a good round for snakes and troublesome rodents. Companies like Federal Premium, Winchester and Hornady produce a number of options specifically for .410 handguns.

Featuring a rudimentary rear sight coupled with fiber optic front sight, The Public Defender makes picking up targets quick and simple at close to medium range. Despite having a decent set of fixed sights, accuracy with .45LC leaves much to be desired. While at the 25 yard range, I managed to average about 6 inch groups, which is just shy of "Pie Plate Accuracy".
All tough I'm not that great of a shot, the main issue is the short, shallowly  rifled barrel and long, stiff trigger pull. (About 8lbs, normal for most revolvers.)  In order to accommodate the .410 shells, Taurus made the rifling shallower than normal so that it would not disperse the shot too widely. Loaded with #7 shot, the spread is is about 10-15ft wide from 25 yards away, not the tightest pattern.

When shooting the Public Defender, recoil varies  greatly depending on what type of round you're firing from it. .410 game loads give a little bit of muzzle rise basic recoil (The slower burning powder also puts out a good sized fireball)  while heavy .45lc bear loads give you a slow, strong push.  Higher velocity defense loads is where the ribber grip comes in handy, Firing these gives significant, snappy recoil and can be abusive to the palms of the shooter.

All in all, The Public Defender is not an all around carry gun but is better suited for dispatching snake, carjackers or just paper targets and aluminum cans.                                                                    

Ka-Bar ZK Pestilence Chopper

When I first saw the Ka-Bar Zk Series I knew that I had to own one of these zombie dispatching tools. After ordering the "Pestilence Chopper" I was disappointed to find out that the knives were made in Taiwan (You can purchase USA made ones for almost three times the price.) and wrote them off as nothing more than vibrant green gimmick. One night while packing for a camping trip I decided to bring along the ZK just to see how it performed outside of being a wall hanger, I hate to say it but I was wrong.

The shape and weight of the knife make it great for chopping, like the the name implies.  This hacked it's way through tree limb after tree limb over the course of the night.  Although it's lacking a tip, the thick blade makes for a great prying tool. (I really would not suggest using this knife or any knife to pry, I was just testing the limits.)  Despite not having any form of impact absorption the grip is surprisingly comfortable whether slicing or chopping, unless you strike something like a rock. A few times I accidently dug  the SK5 steel blade into the coral filled Florida ground with minimal damage to the tip, and my hand from the shock that reverbed into it.

Another great feature of ZK series is the giant cordura sheath with M.O.L.L.E attachments  with a massive black hole stuff pouch. The sheath also has a hook and loop patch for your favorite moral patch or an extra gear pouch.  Hidden in the the sheath, is a piggyback knife  known as the ZK Acheron. It's almost too small to hold but is razor sharp. The Acheron picks up where the Pestilence Chopper slacks.  This knife is perfect for smaller tasks such as cutting paracord, shaving kindling, or whittling where fine control of the blade is needed.

Not only does Pestilence Chopper work great for splitting undead craniums and campsite tasks, but it's also a great yard work companion. The long heavy blade makes short work of any would be bushes or stubborn saplings. I spent about three days reclaiming my overgrown garden with mostly just the help of the ZK-PC.  After much use, the wear is starting to show. Some may have an issue with the deteriorating  aesthetics  but I don't mind, The PC wears it's battle scars proudly. My only complaint is that it's hard to maintain an edge, Because of this, I always keep a small whetstone in the stuff pouch.  That being said, the overall performance of the knife makes it worth the the price. (not to mention, I really dig the color.)