Bond Arms Snake Slayer or Perhaps Zombie Slayer

I just picked up my new Bond Arms Snake Slayer (Well ok its my Wife's) I wont go into too much detail as you can find plenty of info and reviews on line and I see no point in repeating all that. So I will just concentrate on the anti Zombie potential of Snake Slayer.
 
In brief the Snake Slayer is a cool little .410 shotshell/.45Colt pistol. It looks like an old fashioned Derringer but its made to modern standards and is bigger than the original Derringers.  I should also say that you can get it in many other calibers just by swapping out the barrels but its the .410 shotshell/.45Colt that we are talking about as that's what I have.

As an anti Zombie weapon the Snake slayer has a few problems. I will get them out of the way first so we can talk about all the good features of this gun.

CONS AS A ZOMBIE KILLER GUN

1) Limited to 2 shots. Because its in the style of a Derringer it only holds 2 rounds and reloading is quite slow. The best reload time I can get is about 10 seconds. Someone younger and faster could probably do a little better but its still slow. When surrounded by hoards of the undead 10 seconds is an eternity.

2) Single action. As the Snake Slayer is single action you need to manually cook the hammer for each shot and that will also slow your rate of fire down a tad.

3) Bad sights. The sights on this little gun are just not that great. The rear sight is small and as the gun is all one colour (stainless steel) I find it quite hard to get a quick sight picture. However to be fair the gun is intended to be used at extremely close range so the sights are just a guide.

PROS AS A ZOMBIE KILLER GUN

Now for the good stuff.

1) Quality. The Snake Slayer is well made. It's a solid hunk of stainless steel that just looks really good. It feels like with a little care it would last a lifetime.

2) Reliability. I have found it quite reliable. I have had no issues with any brand of ammo that I have used. In fact I have had no misfires or any failures at all. I should say however that the gun has only had 250 rounds through it so something may crop up yet.

3) Its versatile. This gun is really a little tiny shot gun and as such its very versatile. With a simple change of shells you can go from shooting small animals like snakes or small birds to defending yourself from larger attackers like dogs or Zombies. A blast of .410 buckshot is devastating at close range. And with slugs or .45 Colt you can extend your range out to a considerable distance. I found it easy to ring a 12 inch steel gong at 60 yards from a seated position. I was able to hit it a few times from a standing position as well but I found it difficult. I should also mention that after about 5 shots it started to get a little hard on the hand. The recoil with slugs is managable but some may find it a bit much.

4) Easy to use. Its a really simple gun to use. Push the safety. Cock the hammer. Pull the trigger.

5) Safe. Because its so simple to use I believe it would be a gun that lends itself to safe use. The safety is large and simple and easy to use. Its a single action so one must cock the hammer before you can shoot it. It also has a rather stiff trigger pull that makes it hard for someone who is in a stressful situation to have an accidental discharge. You have to pull the trigger hard to make this gun go bang.

6) Easy to carry. At about 22 oz it's a nice easy gun to carry around. Yes you can find lighter guns but when you combine the light weight with the firepower of .410 buckshot its a nice carry gun.

So to sum it all up the Snake Slayer may not be the best Zombie gun but in my opinion its a handy little gun that would make a great back up gun or a good carry gun for most self defence situations. Just not hordes of the UnDead.

Review of Dominion Arms Grizzly Part 2

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.

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

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.

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

Review Dominion Arms Grizzly part 1

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

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 in Part 2 of my review of the Dominion Arms Grizzly.