How to shoot an AK-47

If it's not tactical it's not practical. That's what they say in the gun culture. The same holds true in revolutionary/clandestine operations; if an item or technique is not tactically sound, i.e. maximized killing, minimized being killing then ditch it. If your gun is gonna jam up every five shots, you better find a better gun fast. Of course if it does jam it's still better than a pointed stick or throwing rocks. That is one of the biggest reason I advocate the use of AK-47 and AK-variants. But that reliability won't mean squat if you can't hit what you are shooting at. Update: I redid some of this article after re-reading the article, I kinda got some things confused in the first go around.

Sighting in an AK is a pain in the ass, requiring the use of a special tool and a hammer. I read an account of training Iraqi security forces in marksmanship. They sighted their rifles a little low and were taught to fire in short controlled bursts. Because of this, the worst that could happen is that the first couple of round will skip up and as the rifle rises due to recoil the successive rounds will hit their target directly. This is far preferable to the bullets going right over the enemy's head. They also cleaned their rifle with a mixture of motor oil and diesel fuel, with no reports of flaming rifles.
The author of the article said that insurgents just dump ammo firing from the hip, subscribing to the "spray and pray" philosophy of aiming, better trained soldiers will drop you with a couple of shots while you wildly spray automatic fire. Don't shoot in a particular style just to look cool, like holding your handgun sideways to look like 50 Cent.

See also this break down of shooting positions.

Counter Insurgency Reading List

I found a great list of various counter-insurgency manuals and books on Abu Muqawama. Check it out, I haven't heard of hardly any of them.

Check out my comrade Blackstone's Power to the People. I found his blog recently and we seem to share many of the same interests.

Also vote on my new poll!

Range Report: Full Auto Weapons Training

As previously mentioned on this blog, my comrades in arms and I were to attend a fire arms training event in Westfield, Mass this weekend. We did and it went well, here is my report:
The rise in ammo prices was reflected this year in how expensive it was. Also the wait times to shoot were much much too long. The following are my impression of the guns I shot:

P90- This über-futuristic bull-pup assault rifle/sub-machine gun hybrid was a joy to shoot, controllable, compact, and I hear the ammo, 5.7x25mm pierces body armor and does major damage. Here is a video of me shooting 30 rounds.


Mirco Uzi- This tiny 9mm was a bitch, uncontrollable it fired to fast for me to do burst fire. It keep jamming and even not firing. Thumbs down.

Galil- This Israeli AK variant was interesting, I was not familiar with the type of sights it used. It had significant recoil for a 5.56 but was easier to fire than the Micro Uzi.

Now for the Semis:

CZ-85- This Czech 9mm was heavy has all hell but that made it easy to shoot. I wouldn't want it as a side arm in the jungle.

Walther PPKS- Another tiny gun in .380. Even though the round was tiny, it kicked like a mule. After some practice I can see me getting one to carry clandestinely, probably in 9mm, because the ammo is easier to come by.

Desert Eagle- The best thing to come out of Israel, ever. Wow I just realized I shot 3 types of Israeli guns that day, huh. Anyways this .44 mag was smooth to shoot (less recoil than the PPKS!) and easy to aim. I had fun blasting pumpkin with it. Two of my comrades it arms shot it and felt the same way as me, it kicks ass. I wonder what the .50 cal version is like.

Marlin Carbine in 9mm- I had shot it in previous years but I still had fun with in, seems ideal of urban/close quarter combat. I think this and a rifle would make a good combo, no need for a pistol.

Ruger Mk II- Always a pleasure, especially with a red dot. Plink away!

Still more lessons from the FLQ and the EZLN

Noticing a pattern in my posts? This is an except from a captured FLQ manual, supposedly written by Pierre Valliéres:

the cache of each group should include: one revolver for each member, cartridges, dynamite, detonators, acids, black powder, containers for the transportation of the bombs, clubs, saws, shovels, nails, screwdrivers, wires etc. Moreover, each head of the groups must have in his possession the instructions for the fabrication of Molotov cocktails…
It may happen – and this will happen most certainly happen – that groups or members of groups may be called upon to use machineguns or grenades. In this case the arms will be furnished by those responsible for the detachment (four groups) who will see to that the arms are returned as soon as the operation has finished

I know good/obscure training manuals are hard to find, so I was excited when I came across this in my research.

An internet compañero recently related to me that when he was working with the EZLN in Chiapas, México he learned that they, at least the ones he encountered "used the "British Army Training Manual" (1980s edition) or a text largely based on that, I think it has some extracts from US marine manuals as well." I had always be curious about this and was also very happy to learn this. Maybe in my next trip to Chiapas I will bring them some more up to date material.

¡Viva Zapata!

More lessons from the FLQ

In previous posts I have posted snippets of my thesis, I wrote this today and thought it would make a good inspirational story. Here is another preview of "Frozen in Terror: The FLQ and the Fight against Global Capitalism":

"L'Armée de Liberation du Québec" (ALQ or Quebec Liberation Army), orchestrated nine hold-ups and robberies over a period of eight months in 1963 and 1964, obtaining forty thousand dollars in cash as well as fifty-five thousand dollars worth of electronics and military equipment before being arrested. What is noteworthy is that a group of mostly untrained nineteen to twenty-three year-olds could orchestrate such actions against military targets. At the very least these robberies demonstrated to the people of Québec how vulnerable the military and financial institution of the province were. Seen in this perspective, the second series of FLQ actions were successful, despite the fact that they ended in numerous arrests and repossession of all captured munitions by the Canadian authorities. Just one example of their raids exemplifies this perfectly:

"Carried out with clock-like precision, the raid began at half-past seven in the morning of January 30 (1964) and was over by nine o'clock. An ALQ commando unit overpowered the night watchman and tied him up, along with eight other civilian and military employees of the Department of National Defence. (As in all reserve army barracks, there were no troops quartered there.) A truck was backed into the drill hall on Avenue des Pins and loaded up; 59 Belgian FN 7.62 semi-automatic rifles (the type used by NATO troops); four Bren light machine guns and 34 Sten submachine guns with firing pins; four 60-millimetre field mortars; three bazooka-type rocket launchers; hand grenades; five Browning automatic pistols; 13,000 rounds of .22 calibre ammunition; 2,000 rounds of 7.62 ammunition; and 2,300 rounds of .303 ammunition. Add to this: 15 two-way radio sets, two portable field telephones, storm lanterns, electric wire… Official estimates put the total value at about $22,000." (Quote From Louis Fornier's "FLQ The Anatomy of an Underground Movement)

This capture alone would have been enough to start an insurgency, had there been enough FLQ members to use the guns. Today it seems absurd that such a large cache of munitions would be left virtually unguarded anywhere in North America. But at that point in time nobody expected such levels of political violence in Canada; the same reason why dynamite was so easy to such large quantities from construction sites. It must have been an alarming revelation to both the Canadian state and the people of Canada to realize how easily "extremists" could rob the army of so many dangerous weapons. For example, modified mortars are a very common explosive currently used by the Iraqi Insurgency for Improvised Explosive Devises (IED) that are killing so many people in Iraq.

Attention Revolutionaries Near Western Mass. !!!

This Saturday and Sunday in Westfield, Mass there will be an annual Machine Gun shoot. This is your chance to train (for a price) with fully automatic rifles, heavy machine guns, handguns and shotguns. Any thing you could ever want to shoot is there (including chainguns). More info on their website.
Here is a picture of me shooting an AK in .223 at the shoot last year



and my comrade in arms shooting an HK 5



I will most certainly be there with several comrades, training all day Saturday. If anyone ends up come feel free to find me, the pictures of my hair will be more than enough to identify me.

Help Me!

To my loyal readership,

I have been getting lots of hits from around the world lately thanks, in part to my posts on Gunsnet and Rev Left, including more than one from Lebanon. I hope my blog is helping people in the respective struggles. One day we will all be brothers and sisters in arms fighting for liberation of those oppressed by capitalism. Hopefully all of my hits don't come from counter-insurgents. All of this support really encourages me to keep writing and keep training. But I need your help. I need to know what you want to see me write about, what you like and don't like, etc. I have put out this call before with limited results. Also I want you to critique what I write, add to it, supplement it with your own expertise/knowledge.

La Lucha Sigue,
The Red Son

Movies to Train for the Revolution with

The following movies are currently screened to U.S. soldiers as part of counter insurgency training:

Battles of Algiers Entire film below.



Black Hawk Down Trailer Below



Use them for your insurgency training!

Also, for inspiration and entertainment Equilibrium Trailer Below

Long Live a Free Vermont!

Help the Second Vermont Republic Movement: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/166703669

Hi Friends,

I have just read and signed the petition: "Vermont Independence Resolution"

Please help by signing this petition. It takes 30 seconds and will really help to liberate the great state of Vermont and establish a worker's state there.

Please follow this link:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/166703669

Thanks!
The Red Son

The Real Red Son

I must admit, my nomme-de-guerre used in this blog is not my own creation. I took the name from a miniseries of comics called Superman: Red Son about what would happen if Superman landed in the USSR and not the USA. Check it out, it is one of my favorite comics and pro-socialist pieces of literature. Here is a sample panel:

Gun of the Day: Serbu Super Shorty Shotty

The Serbu Super Shorty is a modified Mossberg 500 or 590 Maverick or Remmington 870. It has a 16.5 inch over all length, but only fits two plus one 12 ga shells. It bad ass but I would rather be packing "The Judge"



It's a five-shot revolver chambered in .410 and .45 Colt. It is shorter and has more shots, which are less powerful. You gotta love the duel ammo versatility. In case you have noticed I love shotguns cause I love blasting.

Che-MANIA

Here are a whole bunch of links relating to "el Che":

Desert Peace has several posts and two speeches by Che. This is an exceptional blog with really great and beautiful images.

Disillusioned Kid's sub-par and unoriginal review of Guerrilla Warfare.

I don't get a good feeling about the blog Che Guevara. It has no ascribed author and no text explaining anything about the blog, just a series of well written essays on various parts of Che's life.

And last, a U.S. Marine Corp. memo reviews and exploring the life of Che but more specifically his book Guerrilla Warfare.

And below is a great vintage propaganda poster:

Tip of the Day: Use Shotguns

In many situations a shotgun is the perfect for the guerrilla. Why?
1) Shotguns and shotshells are cheap and easily acquired in most situation because they are used for hunting. Therefor they can be legally acquired and commonly found in almost any country or locality, even where gun control is stringent, such as Europe.
2) They are easy to use and relatively untrained soldiers can use them effectively. It is not precision weapons so instructing somebody to simply "point and shoot."
3) They are easy to conceal, on your person, luggage or in a vehicle, especially with a sawed-off or combat length barrel and a pistol grip or folding/collapsible stock.
4) They rip people up at close range, great for room clearing and other urban combat situations. The amount of raw energy being transfered into your target and size/number of wound is unrivaled by another other small arm at distances under 25 yards.
5) Shotshells are a versatile cartridge which can accommodate many different loads to fit many situations.
6) Shotguns, accessories and ammo are all pretty cheap which allows you to equip more troops on a smaller budget.
7) Shotguns loaded with lead slugs or buck shot (the former much safer and more effective) can be used to blow the hinges and/or locks on a door in order to gain entrance to a building or other contained area.
Just for fun, here is a picture of me at the range with a side by side, currently broken open.

Robert Williams

Here is an old school radical/civil rights activist who provides a lesson for us all

Tip of the Day: Wear Leather or Denim

If you are going to be shot at and can't afford or acquire body armor, try a thick leather or denim jacket, or both. Most (except for very advanced) hollow points will not expand at all or completely when they hit these types of fabric. It should be noted that these bullets are illegal under the Geneva Convention, so government forces do not usually use them, but Blackwater and other mercenary groups do as they are not bound by international conventions. The bullets will still do damage, just not as much.

Consider this testimony from Gunthorp:

"The last time we did a bullet performance test was during a course in PA early last year. At that time, friend and colleague, Mike Shovel from Cor-Bon brought out huge blocks of ballistic gelatin, and we shot them with a variety of commercially-available, high-performance pistol ammunition. We required each bullet to first penetrate four layers of denim before entering the gelatin. At that time, we discovered that denim retarded and frustrated the expansion of a number of conventional, hollow-point bullets. In bare gelatin, most expanded just fine, but the denim barrier presented a problem for all but a few.

Last weekend, again in PA, Mike joined us once more for an Advanced Defensive Pistol Course, The gelatin tests continued:

Many commented last time that they wondered what effect a heavy, leather jacket would have on pistol-bullet performance and penetration. So, this time we required each bullet to penetrate a leather jacket AND four layers of denim before entering the gelatin. Each student subjected his own, carry ammunition to the test. Here is what we found:

The combination of leather and denim frustrated most conventional, hollow-points. Most traversed the gelatin with badly-compromised expansion. Some did not expand at all. Even Cor-Bon's vaunted PowerBall (45ACP, out of my Detonics) did not do well in this test. I was surprised, as few rounds will out-expand PowerBall, but the layers of clothing, combined with the Detonics' short barrel, conspired to thwart performance.

The one round that expanded consistently and completely, despite the leather and denim barrier, in all calibers, was Cor-Bon's DPX! DPX, in 40S&W, 45ACP, 357SIG, 38Super, and 45AutoRim, were all unimpressed by the leather and denim. Even 380Auto DPX, out of my little Kel-Tec, was immune. It expanded symmetrically and completely, penetrating nine inches of gelatin, after penetrating the clothing."

Revolutionary Art

I recently came across a number of sites devoted to one of my favorite subjects, socialist propaganda poster art. I have already posted about Mao Post, but there is more Chinese, as well as Cuban poster art on Docs Populi. Also check out these two sister blogs, Soviet Poster a Day and Posters of Cuba - The Crimson Dawn Island, which I think is a great name.

Communiqué and PR for the Guerrilla

Communiqués are an integral weapon in the arsenal of any insurgency, a weapon to be used in their political struggle to win over public opinion. Without some form of communication to the populace, only the government and bourgeoisie’s versions of the story is widely known. The contestation of public support is of paramount importance for the guerrilla, in particular the urban guerrilla, Guillén argues, who because of the “terrorist” nature of their actions “can never win popular support unless they can explain their actions as something more than random criminal assaults or lunatic gestures. ” He also criticized the Tupamaros for being overly reliant on tactics, arguing that strategic and political victories much more integral to a successful guerrilla campaign. Often the publication of communiqués by mainstream media outlets is the only way that guerrillas can make their voices heard. In cases of particularly authoritarian regimes, even this may not be possible as Moss describes was the case in Uruguay during this same time: “In the face of official censorship, the Tupamaros have tried to construct ‘counter-media,’ including a private radio transmitter and the use of electronics experts to break into normal broadcasts with special messages… (taking) over public meeting-places like cinemas and workers’ canteens to deliver impromptu harangues.”

Tip of the Day: Know which Terrain is Best

Today tip of the day comes from Abraham Guillén:

Che Guevara’s thesis of the insurrectional foco is correct inasmuch as action creates the revolutionary conditions; but it is imperative to know in each country and situation whether to begin operations in the city or the countryside, that is, in the event that we cannot do so in both places at the same time, which would be optimum initial strategy given sufficient forces.

Gun of the Day: Carcano Moschetto Mo. 1938 Fucile Corto

I recently saw one of these on sale at the local gun store and it peaked my interest. I looked in a Mil Surp collectors guide and found out that it was the gun used to shoot Kennedy. A Bolt-action, it was feed with stripper clips which popped out the bottom when the clip was done. This is the alleged murder weapon:



I think that I actually saw a variant, the Carcano M91TS Moschetto per Truppe Speciali (Special Troops carbine). shown here:

Tip of the Day: Fight with a Bayonet

I found this looking at various Mao propaganda posters for sale on Mao Post. This one caught my eye because he is holding a Norinco SKS, my favorite side arm. My comrade in arms and I frequently practice bayonet charges and close combat with our SKSs.



Charge boldly against your enemy and ensure your bayonet gleams red with his blood. Only armies that dare to fight with bayonets are truly fierce. Bayonet-fighting is a symbol of political and military quality in an army. Bloodied bayonets are a symbol of a brave army. Poster 3, Combat Techniques.