Today we interview Joe Nobody (pen name for the author who wishes to keep his identity confidential) has provided systems, consulting and training for the U.S. Army, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Naval Research, United States Border Patrol as well as several private firms and government agencies which cannot be disclosed.
He is currently active in this area and for the security of his family and ongoing business, wishes to remain anonymous.
He has over 30 years of competitive shooting experience, including IPSC, NRA, and other related organizations. He has been a firearms instructor and consultant for over 30 years and holds the rights to a United States Patent for a firearms modification
Joe Nobody initially became involved in helping private citizens “prepare” at the request of his students and clients. A conscientious instructor, he would always inquire as to why they wanted to learn certain skills or techniques and often the response was to prepare for more than just simple home invasion or self-defense. If you ask Joe what his greatest attribute is, he will tell you he is a “problem solver” and uses his formal education in Systems Engineering to this end.
His book the Home Schooled Shootist is one of my favorite carbine manuals I have read to date.
There are some misconceptions about Glock maritime spring cups and shooting Glock pistols underwater that I want to clear up in this article.
You can shoot a Glock underwater without special maritime spring cups. Any Glock can be shot underwater.
However, water does not compress. Additionally it flows slower than air. This means that water can bind in the firing pin chamber and cause your Glock fail to cycle. Basically making it a single shot handgun.
To remedy this malfunction in water, Glock created maritime spring cups.
What Are Maritime Spring Cups?
Spring cups are two half cylinder shaped stops that fit in the firing pin spring and cup the firing pin connecting the two so that the spring can cause the firing pin to function. Spring cups are called the “million dollar part” because if you break them or lose one the gun WILL NOT function.
Normal spring cups are solid plastic, maritime spring cups have two channels cut into them to allow water to flow past them and empty out of the firing pin chamber, so that it can move fast enough to fire the handgun.
Spring Cups Allow Glocks to be More Reliable When Wet
Maritime cups don’t actually allow the gun to fire underwater; they just allow the gun to function more reliably when wet. While the gun CAN fire submerged, the idea is that when working in maritime environments like on rivers or swamps, if the gun is submerged you can pick it up and start firing without having to shake the water out or perform maintenance. In the Glock 18 courses they actually fire the full auto Glock until it smokes, dump it in 5 gallon buckets of water to cool, and then return to firing by using the maritime cups.
Shooting Guns While Underwater Can Cause Internal Injury
But besides the impact to on the gun, the water also impacts your body. When shooting on dry land, the atmosphere does not impact on the gun the same way the water does. Since the water does not compress, firing a gun underwater causes shockwaves. The impact of repeated underwater shockwaves can do major damage to a person’s internal organs. Therefore, this is one of those things that, just because you CAN, does not mean you SHOULD. There are several very cool you tube videos showing high speed camera footage of shockwaves caused by underwater gunfire.
Watch Your Backstop
Unfortunately enough people have tried out their maritime spring cups in their bathrooms, toilet bowls, and above ground pools that Glock considers the spring cups to be restricted items. Only law enforcement agencies can buy factory maritime cups, and only on official letterhead signed by the agency head.
Maritime Spring Cups Are Not Always The Best Choice
You can buy aftermarket cups, but you should know that they have less material to support the firing pin, so they are more prone to failure, they are not able to be seen without disassembling the slide, and if they break the gun is useless until repaired.
Spring cups are always replaced in a set of two. Glock only sells them in pairs, and factory cups are only a dollar. I do not see a need for using the maritime cups. If you want to run maritime spring cups, I am not mad at you, its your gun.
Just please be aware of the entire issue before you decide to tinker. There are a lot of modifications to Glocks that are factory blessed. I have done most of them to mine to show you exactly what they are. My favorite is a tie between the larger magazine release and the smooth trigger. In my new free PDF section I have a collection of Glock manuals
If you are involved in either sailing or rock climbing, it is likely you know the importance of the Figure Eight knot. It is used to stop ropes from running out of retaining devices.
Like the overhand knot, it will jam under strain, but unlike the Overhand, which often causes the rope to have to be cut, the figure of eight is usually more easily undone than the overhand knot.
Tying the Figure 8
Pass the tail over itself to form a loop.
Continue under and around the standing end.
Complete the knot by passing the tail down through the loop
Can also double the rope up and make a figure 8 on a bite to be used for anchoring rope.
When my dad taught me about mountaineering and repelling this was one of the first knots he had me memorize.
He told me that proper knots are more than just pretty. They were a sign of professionalism and knowledge. He said that proper knots did the job they were designed to do, and as a rule (with the double fisherman as an exception) were easier to untie than improper knots.
To this day, I cannot tie a load down without thinking of him.
I don’t drink coffee, so this took me a while to get a plastic coffee container, but once I did I made a very quick Coffee Can Toilet Paper Hanger to take when we go visit the property.
This is a pretty simple little DIY camping hack that makes life so much easier.
Being a prepper, and working on a piece of land that is an hour away from my home means I like to keep a roll of Toilet paper in the car, in the truck, in the job box on the property, in my Bug out bag, and anywhere else I can think of.
The problem is that if just thrown in the back of a car the paper gets ripped, or wet, or nasty.
This simple coffee can toilet paper hanger for camping makes life much easier as well as more hygienic.
First cut a slit long enough for toilet paper. (If you put the slit opposite of the handles so you can hold and pull)
Then thread the TP in the slit and put roll of TP in container.
In this episode David discusses the taping of his upcoming episode of Doomsday Preppers.
He talks about the opsec and privacy issues. Additionall, he discusses the projects he built for the show and offers insight into how the show taping worked.
The producers taped David building three projects:
There are some misconceptions about Glock maritime spring cups and shooting Glock pistols underwater that I want to clear up in this article.
If you are involved in either sailing or rock climbing, it is likely you know the importance of the Figure Eight knot. It is used to stop ropes from running out of retaining devices.
I don’t drink coffee, so this took me a while to get a plastic coffee container, but once I did I made a very quick Coffee Can Toilet Paper Hanger to take when we go visit the property.