# gun culture (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 1 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover gun culture. Page: Feed: --- ## [The Germans still really love Dragons Teeth](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/28/the-germans-still-really-love-dragons-teeth/) _2026-08-28 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ 3 April 1945. Original Caption: “Dragon teeth on the Siegfried Line presented an obstacle to tanks of U. S. Seventh Army in the Wissembourg area, France. Note teeth extend to mountains which raise a natural barrier.” Fast forward some 80 years, and the line has moved well East but still looks much the same, only a bit less angular and ## [Well versed in MG](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/28/well-versed-in-mg/) _2026-08-28 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Some 110 years ago this month. Imperial Russian Army pilots and observers training in Kiev, Ukraine, August 1916, with American-made Colt 1895 pattern “potato digger” machine guns, likely made by Marlin-Rockwell. Contrary to the common trope of being underarmed, the Tsar’s purchasing agents were fond of all things machine gun, with Cossack cavalry carrying Madsen guns in Manchuria in 1904 ## [First Crabs, now 85 years in the rearview](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/28/first-crabs-now-85-years-in-the-rearview/) _2026-08-28 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Some 85 years ago this week, on 22 August 1941, at the Navy Gun Factory (now the Washington Navy Yard), Mine Recovery School Class No. 1 graduated, minting 10 officers (three of them Coasties), five chiefs, and eight ratings in the art of Navy EOD. These men, who all certainly went on to risk life and limb around moody, explosive-filled ## [The Coast Guard is putting its ersatz AOE to good use already](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/27/the-coast-guard-is-putting-its-ersatz-aoe-to-good-use-already/) _2026-08-27 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ We covered the story of the civilian-mariner-operated Homeland Security Cutter Ocean (the leased M/V Connor Bordelon) back in June. A 257-foot/3,285 LT “Ultralight subsea intervention vessel” with a 60-ton AHC crane and a 55-foot helicopter platform, Ocean has the capacity to carry nearly 70,000 gallons of potable water, produce another 3,100 a day, and carry 122,000 gallons of transferable… ## [Mary Bonnin Closes her Dive Locker](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/27/mary-bonnin-closes-her-dive-locker/) _2026-08-27 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ EMCM/MDV (Ret) Mary J. Bonnin has passed in an accident on dry land, near her home in Panama City, at age 63. Wisconsin-born Mary joined the Navy in 1976, finished “A” school to become an Electrician’s Mate (EM), and became one of the first women (following Donna Tobias in 1975) to complete Navy Second Class Dive School in Little Creek ## [A Last look at the old Sultan, 60 Years Ago](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/26/a-last-look-at-the-old-sultan-60-years-ago/) _2026-08-26 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ On the road in Idaho at an industry event, so instead of our regular Warship Wednesday programming, please accept this glimpse of the past. Every warship fan knows of the (in)famous Great War-era Moltke-class battlecruiser SMS Goeben, which had been used by the Ottomans as Yavuz Sultan Selim and then by the Turkish Navy simply as TCG Yavuz. Decommissioned in ## [Retro-Vintage Style Recruiting Posters Show off USCG’s New Tactical Jet Ski Program](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/25/retro-vintage-style-recruiting-posters-show-off-uscgs-new-tactical-jet-ski-program/) _2026-08-25 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Check out these great new recruiting posters for the USCG, which show off current programs (MSRT, Blackfin MH-65Es with HITRON, etc.) in an early 1980s throwback style. The last features a great image by Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Robertson of Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Ilima Maiava, an aviation survival technician assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers ## [Going Fast](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/25/going-fast/) _2026-08-25 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Some 52 years ago this month, a high speed formation off the coast of southern California. August 1974. We see the front runner, the Interdiction Craft Experimental (CPIC-X), in the center, flanked closely by the experimental hydrofoil USS Flagstaff (PGH-1) at the top and the Osprey class PTF (Fast Patrol Boat) 24 at the bottom. For reference, CPIC-X was a ## [Mark 37 ‘Long Threes’ Preserved](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/24/mark-37-long-threes-preserved/) _2026-08-24 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ A recent addition to Naval Station Norfolk’s Gate 2 are a pair of historic, and rare, Cold War era twin mounts: two twin 3″/70 Mark 26 guns in Mark 37 mounts. The guns came from the old USS Norfolk (DL-1), the one-off ASW destroyer flotilla leader commissioned in 1953. The first major warship not built to a WWII design, she ## [Two if by Sea, Cam Ranh Edition](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/24/two-if-by-sea-cam-ranh-edition/) _2026-08-24 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Some 55 years ago, Southeast Asia. Loading a 6th Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment M107 175mm self-propelled howitzers onto USNS LST-546. Photos by David D. Lozano, B Battery 6/32ed Artillery. Cam Ranh Bay for a move to the DMZ 1971. Hattip Big Guns of the Vietnam War group on FB. The gator, a 328-foot 1,600-ton LST-542-class tank landing ship, was ## [Unlimited Mobile Internet, One V-SIM (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/dWfUClaenKL9) _2026-08-24 · **Sponsored**_ Automatically switches across T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon; no throttling, no contract. ## [Bellissimo! Benelli’s Italian Plant has the Best Foyer in the Gun Industry](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/24/bellissimo-benellis-italian-plant-has-the-best-foyer-in-the-gun-industry/) _2026-08-24 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ On a recent trip to the Benelli factory in Urbino, Italy, we got a peek at their one-of-a-kind facility that blends Old World craftsmanship with modern manufacturing standards. We were there to get the scoop on the new gas-operated M2-G1 tactical shotgun but would be remiss if we failed to bring you at least some coverage of the factory itself. For instance, the 430,000 square feet of ## [Hammerhead Sovereign](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/21/hammerhead-sovereign/) _2026-08-21 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ The Royal Navy R-class battleship HMS Royal Sovereign (05) in 1941 was a Great War-era bruiser who was having a very busy year. With larger German surface raiders amok in the North Atlantic, she rode shotgun on Convoys SC 16, HX 103, TC 09, HX 113, HX 114, HX 116, HX 120, and HX 124 before putting into (officially neutral) ## [Navy Greenlights CHAOS maritime strike system](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/21/navy-greenlights-chaos-maritime-strike-system/) _2026-08-21 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ CoAspire’s CHAOS (Coalition Heterogeneous Affordable Offensive Strike) system, composed of the RAACM-ER cruise missile attached to a booster and a launcher system, is billed as a sort of cheap mini-Tomahawk or JASSM, with a 500-pound warhead, a 900nm(+) range, and a well under $1m cost per round (compared to a $2.6m JASSM or a $4m TLAM). Further, it can be ## [Czech You Later: CZ 75 B, CZ 75 BD, and CZ 75 Compact Discontinued](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/21/czech-you-later-cz-75-b-cz-75-bd-and-cz-75-compact-discontinued/) _2026-08-21 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Cue the funeral dirge for a few classic CZ models that are being escorted out of the company’s pistol catalog this year. CZ announced on Thursday that 2026 will “mark the conclusion of production for three CZ 75 models: the CZ 75 B, CZ 75 BD, and CZ 75 Compact.” The all-steel firing pin block-equipped CZ 75 B was introduced in 1993 as an updated, ## [How Copy?](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/20/how-copy/) _2026-08-20 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Happy National Radio Day! And, as the grandson of a Vietnam-era Fort Gordon Regular Army Signals Corps instructor (MOS 31Z5H, 31W50) with two tours in Vietnam and the two Bronze Stars and 7-starred-VSM on his DD-214 to show for it, big salute to those unsung RTOs with the PRC-25s and PRC-77s on their back, up to their chins in the ## [I’ve known about the new Benelli M2-G1 for a bit…](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/20/ive-known-about-the-new-benelli-m2-g1-for-a-bit/) _2026-08-20 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ While the original circa 2004 Benelli M2 was a linear development of the M1/Super 90 line of semi-automatic shotguns, which were first introduced in 1986, the line has always used the Inertia style recoil-operation system as its heart. There have been few complaints about the classic Benelli M2 Tactical that we have heard. I had one from about 2005 through ## [ADA, the CIWS Way](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/20/ada-the-ciws-way/) _2026-08-20 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Official caption: Army field artillerymen conduct reload training in the Middle East on a counter-air defense Land-based Phalanx Weapon System, which can eliminate threats with its rapid-fire 20 mm Gatling gun, Aug. 12, 2026. The patch is of the Marion helmets of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team “Gator Brigade” of the Florida National Guard, whose ADA units are drawn ## [Warship Wednesday 19 August 2026: Ward? Is that you?](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/19/warship-wednesday-19-august-2026-ward-is-that-you/) _2026-08-19 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Here at LSOZI, we take a break every Wednesday to explore the old steam/diesel navies from 1833 to 1954, profiling a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places.- Christopher Eger If you enjoy my always ad-free Warship Wednesday content, you can support it by buying ## [Twin bruisers](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/18/twin-bruisers/) _2026-08-18 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Some 50 years ago this month, two sister sluggers, the 8-inch-gunned heavy cruisers USS Des Moines (CA-134) and Newport News (CA-148), rest on red lead row in Philadelphia, August 1976 The massive Des Moines, tipping the scales at 21,000 tons, entered the fleet in November 1948 and was laid up just 13 years later, her nine 8″/55 RF Mk 16 ## [Do you know the German .45ACP Service Pistol?](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/18/do-you-know-the-german-45acp-service-pistol/) _2026-08-18 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ While the huge (37 ounces, unloaded) H&K Mk23 SOCOM freakbeast in .45ACP is well known in the West, at least in video game use, the Bundeswehr’s similar (in concept) P12 flies largely under the radar. You know, this bad boy: The beefy Mk23 was a stepping stone for HK to create the USP (Universal Self-loading Pistol), which the Bundeswehr adopted ## [Follow Releases, Get Reminders (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/rRTNp78b97nB) _2026-08-18 · **Sponsored**_ Follow a genre or a name and receive reminders on release day — free. ## [Land Cruiser, is that you?](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/17/land-cruiser-is-that-you/) _2026-08-17 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ OK, Ok it isn’t the size of a guided missile cruiser on wheels, but Rheinmetall has marked a key advance in modern loitering munition technology by successfully demonstrating the FV-014 loitering munition/kamizakee drone launching from a container while in motion. Developed entirely in-house, the system was launched from a modular Containerized Missile Launcher at the National Test Centre in… ## [A Couple of Batteries of Waterlogged Artillery return ‘home’ to Savannah](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/17/a-couple-of-batteries-of-waterlogged-artillery-return-home-to-savannah/) _2026-08-17 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ What began as a dredging effort to deepen Savannah Harbor near old Fort Jackson became one of the most significant underwater archaeological discoveries in the city’s history. The artifacts have now been unveiled at their new home, the Savannah History Museum. In early 2021, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crews working on the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project unexpectedly pulled a ## [FRCs Roaming from San Diego to Panama, to Manila](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/14/frcs-roaming-from-san-diego-to-manila/) _2026-08-14 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman (WPC 1149) returned to her homeport at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan on Saturday, following a 41-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific. Douglas Denman conducted 42 investigative boardings and queries in support of Operation Border Trident along the sea frontier south of San Diego. That s a lot of time underway on a ## [Thanks, Mike!](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/14/thanks-mike/) _2026-08-14 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ The animated film Heavy Metal premiered in the United States and Canada on August 7, 1981, making it 45 years young this month. As any Gen Xer can vouch, HM and the magazine that went along with it were transformative. Besides perhaps the Harry Canyon segment, the most affective, at least to me, was the B-17 Pacific Pearl segment, and ## [Lifting Battle Weary Eyes to the Heavens](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/14/lifting-battle-weary-eyes-to-the-heavens/) _2026-08-14 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Some 60 years ago this week. A well-traveled paratrooper with good reason to wonder why. Official caption: 14 August 1966. SP4 Ruediger Richter (Columbus, Georgia), 4th Bn., 503 Inf., 173 Abn Bde (Separate), lifts his battle-weary eyes to the heavens, as if to ask why? SGT. Daniel E. Spencer (Bend, Oregon) stares down at their fallen comrade. The day s battle ## [Checkerboard Fury: 110,743 rounds on Deployment](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/13/checkerboard-fury-110743-rounds-on-deployment/) _2026-08-13 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ From the February 1959 issue of Navy Aviation News comes this article about the month-long deployment of the Checkerboards of Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 312 to Cuba. Sent down south during the height of the Cuban Revolution, their 24 FJ-2 Furies flew 1,300 flight hours of diplomacy and fired over 110,743 rounds in air-to-air target quals from their Colt Mk ## [EOTECH, B.E. Meyers seen in more NGSW Spaces](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/13/eotech-b-e-meyers-seen-in-more-ngsw-spaces/) _2026-08-13 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ While the Vortex M1157 Fire Control System is the electro-optic of record for the Army s 250,000 Next Generation Squad Weapons in rifle (M7), carbine (XM8), and LMG (M250) variants to the tune of a fantastical $2.7 billion, Big Green is also looking at other, more modular, options under what is being termed the M7 Surrogate Fire Control Program. EOTECH just ## [Sea Control Ship, is that you?](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/12/sea-control-ship-is-that-you/) _2026-08-12 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ On the road in Utah for an industry event this week, so I didn t have the 10-20 hours needed to pull off a Warship Wednesday. In its place, let us talk about one of Uncle Elmo s pet projects. Back in the 1970s, CNO Elmo Zumwalt’s “Sea Control Ship” concept that would provide a Cold War-era evolution to the escort carrier ## [KelTec Bullpup Shotguns: Holding the Maritime Line off Korea](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/11/keltec-bullpup-shotguns-holding-the-maritime-line-off-korea/) _2026-08-11 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ Florida-based KelTec announced last week that a major Pacific Rim maritime agency has once again selected the company s tactical bullpup shotgun for use on patrol. The South Korean Coast Guard has long used the well-reviewed (once you get used to it) KelTec KSG, with some 200 of the shotguns already in service, dating back to 2015. A new contract, signed ## [The Harrier Still Serves…](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/11/the-harrier-still-serves/) _2026-08-11 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ With the sunsetting of the AV-8B in USMC service in May, it is refreshing to see these images from the recently concluded Neptune Strike 26-3 of Spanish AV-8Bs (the world s youngest Harriers) of Novena Escuadrilla (9th Squadron, the Spanish Navy s sole fixed-wing fighter aircraft unit), doing their thing in the Atlantic aboard the 26,000-ton carrier SPS Juan Carlos I (L ## [Web Coding With AI, Live (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/wewl75bB2ymu) _2026-08-11 · **Sponsored**_ Collaborative screen sharing with simultaneous remote control, open source. ## [Deckies Recalling the old DEMs Gunners](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/11/deckies-recalling-the-old-dems-gunners/) _2026-08-11 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ The British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is roughly akin to the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) in that they man naval auxiliaries with civilian mariners on contract. While the MSC s CIVMARs kinda go native, the RFA wears a very RN-like blueberry coverall complete with badges and patches, and they run their own ship s defense. All RFA ships have a small ## [Landing Party, 125 Years Ago](https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2026/08/10/landing-party-125-years-ago/) _2026-08-10 · laststandonzombieisland · laststandonzombieisland_ We see a great shot of a Montgomery-class cruiser (USS Montgomery C-9, Detroit C-10, or Marblehead C-11) conducting an arm and away landing party boat drill in Hampton Roads circa 1901. Note the five whale boats are carrying about 100~ Bluejackets, complete with visible cartridge belts and canteens, which amount to nearly half the authorized complement. Official caption: The naval