Architekt Jess Archives

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By: Architekt Jess

The RIGHT to bear arms

Read the title again. The RIGHT to bear arms. The founding fathers did not give us this right, and I think people overlook this too often. Our founders simply acknowledged that this God-given (or natural) right exists, and wanted to make sure it was noted whilst standing up a new nation. No man can decide if another has the right to defend themselves. Self-defense, and the defense of one’s family or of innocents is a right so old, it’s primal. The fact that governments are attempting to control or limit citizens’ ability to protect themselves is cause alone to overthrow the government. Imagine how terrifying the world could become if you were at the mercy of the government to protect you, or worse, a government that is bent on total control. Many countries live in this nightmare today because they let their government legislate their rights into oblivion.

In a day and age of relative peace (at least from a tyrannical government) I think we as a nation have lost track of the very real dangers of a government that has acquired too much power. Power corrupts, and left unchecked only grows in power and corruption. I see on social and mainstream media, these calls for common sense gun laws, or laws allowing the government near absolute power in certain scenarios, in-trade for security. I also see it being embraced by the ignorant, and spread through celebrity platforms to the masses. I think the newer generations of Americans are all too willing to trade freedom for security, and this is absolutely terrifying. There is this notion that the government (if they ever become too corrupt) will have this immediate and sweeping take-over of the country, and if they aren’t doing that, then they aren’t doing anything corrupt. But that’s not how it will happen. A smart government (world or otherwise) will chip away at your rights, slowly, in exchange for security. They know that a population that is scared or unable to defend themselves, will embrace every infringement on rights and freedoms the government can dish out, as long as they think they are safe.

How do you create a society that cannot defend itself? You remove their ability to defend themselves, their self-worth, and their self-reliance through targeted propaganda. Mass media is used to portray the warrior class as unsavory and obsolete. The once admirable traits of the enemy (the classic masculine American male) are turned into the taboo. Now the American male- a strong sportsman, trained in weapons, living off the land, rooted in family values and honor- becomes toxic. There it is, a phrase that I know for a fact you have seen if you haven’t been living under a rock, “Toxic Masculinity”. Next, you get your media outlets to peddle this image as outdated, ignorant and immoral. Once that idea is out there, you rely on the leftists to run with it, and why not? Most of them do not exhibit these honorable traits, so they love the idea that they may not be the weak creatures they were traditionally thought to be. The Beta has become the new Alpha. With nearly all of the tech industry being controlled by the left, it’s hard to fight the wildfire spread of the disinformation after that, but that discussion is for another day. Once the movement against the American Alpha gains enough traction you sit back and watch their numbers dwindle over time. You watch each generation learn less life skills and become less familiar with weapon systems and self-defense. The end result is entire generations who are reliant on the government, with no survival skills or experience in self-defense. Now get them to go out and vote, and make sure to use every celebrity that supports your agenda in the press… The press that you own. This is how the government disarms a population -this is how we are being disarmed.

So what’s next then? How far will we let it go before we put our foot down as a nation? I honestly think it’ll go a lot further. We are not the generations of old who didn’t rely on the government to survive at all. All anyone has known for a few generations now is a massive government with their proverbial fingers in everything. It’s easy to accept something you are born into, and it’s hard identify how truly broken the system is when it’s all you have known. Government was meant to be limited, taxes were to be temporary, and freedom was to be paramount in the American way. But now if you go out and start talking like that, you are the crazy veteran or the conspiracy theorist… That just shows how successful they have been in the degradation of the fundamentals this nation was stood up upon. I think the government will continue to chip away slowly and steadily at our rights (all of them) until we can’t move in any direction. With a population that knows only comfort, and will do nearly anything to stay comfortable, it is going to take a catastrophic amount of infringement on rights before we fight back. I just hope by the time we as a nation reach that point, that it won’t be too late, we won’t be too disarmed, and the government won’t have too much control over us. We cannot continue down this path and still expect to live free and we most certainly cannot give up any more rights to defend ourselves. If you are not prepared to take a stand, be prepared to kneel.

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If you’re anything like me, you came up in an All-American family that hated anything those commie scum over the pond would produce, from trade-goods, to guns, to foreign policy. You were accustomed to the bad guys in every 80’s and 90’s action movie being a generally terrible human, sporting some kind of AK variant. Then, if you took the next step and joined the military, you would notice the enemy killing your brothers and sisters with these same weapons. AK’s are cheap to buy, cheap to fire, mass-produced, and function nearly anywhere, making them obvious choices for warfare. Lets just say there was no love lost on AK’s in the eyes of myself, and many of the people I came up with in the Marines.

Fast forward a few years out of the Marines, the “All-or-Nothing” Marine mindset starts to fade and I start to get curious as to why these weapons are so widely used. What really makes them so popular when so many newer weapon systems have been developed since the inception of the AK? I also start to think that if we ever get invaded on our own turf, it might be a good idea to have a weapon chambered in the enemy’s rounds on hand, as well as a lot of practice functioning and manipulating such a weapon. So I called up a good friend of mine, Brian Kovacs and told him I was on the hunt for a AK-47, I didn’t know what was quality and what wasn’t at that point but I knew he did and I trust his judgement. He agrees to keep an eye out for a quality one, but then says to me, “47’s are great, but have you ever heard of a AK-74?”. That conversation was the start of a serious love affair (Not just with Brian, but also these weapons) and ultimately led to the collection of my (Closet) favorite weapon, the AK-74.

Sparing you all the weapon specs you can find in a quick google search, I’ll get into a little bit of its history, and why I love this weapon. It was the next evolution of the AKM and what many call Mikhail’s answer to the M16. It was fielded in the Afghan War by Soviet Special Forces initially, and once Americans started to hear rumors of a Russian AK with “poisoned” bullets that could hit nearly anywhere and still kill, the race was on to get a hold of one. The AK-74 uses smaller 5.45x39mm rounds, with a higher velocity, with less recoil and more speed. This means lighter combat loads with more rounds per soldier, more penetrating power, and more accurate automatic fire capabilities. All while keeping the rugged reliability of the AK platform. All these reasons are why I had to try it out, plus the rounds look absolutely wicked, I mean come on.

As soon as I fired the first round I was blown away (right?!). The recoil was less -or at least felt less- than nearly any AR platform weapons that I had fired. Muzzle-rise is non-existent, and the factory trigger surprised me, not only on the first shot, but the following shots as well. The weapon breakdown is that of any AK, super simple, and tool-less, which I find an amazing feat in itself. The shots were surprisingly accurate, even standing, walking the shots out from 50m to 100, then 200 and so on. I could not believe I had just been given a Commie weapon that felt this great to fire and was basically an “Out-of-the-Box” example. I was amazed, and instantly fell in love. It felt so damn dirty to love a gun produced from the enemy so much, but I did, and I do. I hand refinished the wood, sanding it, restaining it, and sealing it over the next week. I cleaned it meticulously and went on the hunt for heaps of ammo for it… I knew I would keep this weapon, it made the cut.

My time in the military had produced a short list of “Must haves” in a weapon. High on that list is the trust that the weapon will fire every time you pull the trigger. Reliability, it seems, starts to outweigh things you thought would be more important like accuracy over 500m, a staple in the Marine mindset through training. Other things like worldwide access to ammo, parts, and ease of maintenance, especially when short on tools or time are also pressing concerns. This is one of those weapons that checks all the big boxes, and most of the little ones. If you ever find yourself in the market for an AK, I’d suggest you start with one of these weapons, but only if you’re OK with falling in love with the enemy.

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So with a title like that, I’d be willing to bet you are ready to skip past thoroughly reading
this article and get all hot and bothered in the comments section. Slow your roll chief. Take a
breath, and try to have an open mind about what I am writing because I promise you this is not
written after a heated argument with a friend, and is actually planted deep in common sense.
I’ve been simmering on this concept for a long time, trying to see it from both sides, and believe-
you-me, I don’t take axing a longtime friendship lightly. With that said, here is why I will do just
that, in a heartbeat, over politics.

I’m going to start off by addressing the most common argument against “unfriending”
over politics. “It’s just politics, if you are willing to lose a friend over that, you are immature and
need to grow up.” Let’s break this little diddy down for a second. What entity has killed millions
upon millions of people since its inception? The answer is Government. Before we get the soy-
mainlining-betas in here talking trash on the American Government, it’s ALL governments. The
Socialist, Communist, and Fascist ones being the worst of all, but back to my point. Politics are
quite possibly the most important thing you could lose a friendship over if you are looking at the
big picture. We as Americans just downplay the importance of politics because we as a nation
have never been subjected first hand to the absolute horrors of a tyrannical government since
our creation. To us, it’s something as simple as a choice in automobile manufacturers, or an
abstract concept lulled over in a history class somewhere.

It is unfathomable for the modern American to think their government would ever turn on
them. I mean, how could they? Most Americans have not visited these countries that are at war,
or under the control of a ruthless dictator. It’s also all too easy to minimize images and stories
you see on TV or the internet with indifference. The common consensus I hear from most of my
fellow Americans is “That could never happen here.” Well let me tell you, that is exactly what
everyone ever thought, right before they were disarmed and killed by the millions by their
government. Genocide happens for the simple reason that no one sees it coming. The only
people who seem to take politics seriously are the people who have traveled the world, seen
what could be, and the aftermath of what was. The kind of people who have visited warzones
and talked to people whose daily lives would send these Antifa protestors into a piss-soaked
fetal position

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So believe me when I say I will drop my most beloved of friends over politics. I cannot sit
idly by and condone their ignorance of facts and distortion of history. Doing nothing when you
hear ignorance being spread, is the same as spreading it yourself, and that’s what has
happened in our country. There are political agendas that I have no answer to and I do not
pretend to have all the answers. I do, however, feel strongly about our right to protect ourselves,
and I believe our government should never be able to restrict our armament as a people. I
believe trying to erase history because it doesn’t make you feel good is ignorant, and extremely
dangerous. And I know for a fact, that our educational system has become nothing but a liberal
indoctrination that is pushing socialist and communist beliefs down the throats of our youth,
when those ideals have destroyed countries, and killed million of innocent people. In 1956

Russia claimed they would take America without firing a shot. I know now what they meant,
infiltration from within the education system. You don’t have to fight a populus that you have
indoctrinated to accept your rule, start with the children, and those who remember the past will
fade in time.

If you think I’m crazy, just take a second and look what is going on. We have politicians
putting illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens, illegal sanctuary cities, liberal controlled social
media deleting any rhetoric that does not fall in line with their agenda. News outlets not only
reporting half-truths, but spreading outright lies to the masses. Literal propaganda. Transgender
is the new norm, and masculinity is toxic, and if you speak out an opinion that is against any of
this, you are a Nazi. All this, because we looked the other way for far too long, we let that one
idiot friend spread their hysteria unchecked on every social media outlet they could find because
we had better things to do than set them straight. This is as much our fault as it is theirs, and it’s
time people stop letting it slide. Thomas Jefferson once said, “All tyranny needs to gain a
foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” That is EXACTLY the culture we live
in, and now, we are reaping what we have sown. So feel no guilt when you confront ignorance,
it is literally your duty as an American. Losing a friend who is ignorant of history and facts is
losing no friend at all.

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Let me sound off first by saying I have never been a tactical wizard with pistols. Hell, we
barely even trained with them in the Marines until you were an NCO or above, or in MARSOC.
My first professional training with a pistol was the Beretta M9 on an impromptu range in the
middle of the artist formerly known as Khorasan. It was weird because Marines train and qualify
with the M9 and MSOB (Marine Special Operations Battalion) were running 1911’s in the field. I
guess that’s what happens when you are the brand new bastard child of the Special Operations
Community… Adapt and overcome. Anyway let’s get back to the point: I originally had minimal
pistol training or pistol systems exposure until later on in life, and I still consider myself a student
in pistol work. However, I do have enough experience now to bring you a stellar pistol
recommendation that I’ve seen dropped into a novice shooters hands that made them shoot on
the next level.

My first pistol purchase out of the Marines was what I was familiar with, so I picked up a
1911 chambered in .45. I later swapped the 1911 for a Glock 21, keeping that old mindset that
you need .45 for stopping power. I began to really enjoy the reliability and magazine capacity of
the Glock, and was glad I made the swap. Around this time I started to look into different
calibers more, as a by-product of training with more serious shooters. I began to grow
accustomed to the idea of the 9mm, having more rounds in the mag, similar ballistic capabilities
of .45 (with proper rounds), and ultimately less recoil, allowing for quicker follow-up shots.

So I picked up a Glock 43 for concealed carry initially and began to train draws from concealed, as
well as multi-target drills. At that point, I was ready to make the swap to 9mm on all my pistols
because nothing the .45 offered outweighed the bonuses of running 9mm in my opinion.
Once I had made my decision on caliber, the next step was to look for a full size carry
weapon to go with my kit. My Ole Lady was a police officer at the time and we got her a Glock
34 to run on duty, so naturally I used it to train drills in the off time with her as well. Although I
was becoming a better shot, I still wasn’t great. Then one day while training pistols I was offered
to try out a buddy’s H&K VP9, so we swapped holsters and weapons and got to work. I drew
from holster and fired a perfectly centered up head-shot at 25 meters on the first shot. Not a feat
by any means, but what I’m getting at is this gun is so natural to fire, that on the first shot I hit
exactly where I wanted, without ever touching the gun prior. I surprised myself, and knew in that
same moment, that this was the pistol for me.

First off, the VP9 is an H&K so toss your worries aside about its quality because it has all
the qualities. I have short thumbs so I always had to rotate to the side of any pistol to release
the mag, which almost always un-seats a good deep, high grip for firing. This weapon rectifies
that problem and then improves upon it with an ambidextrous mag release lever that you push
down. That means you can release the mag with your pointer or middle finger without
compromising your grip at all. It also feels more natural pointing a lever downward, where you
want the mag to go. The grip is absolutely the most ergo grip of any pistol I have ever held,
period. Not only does it feel great with the default grips installed, but there are six side panels

and three back straps you can interchange out in ANY combination in order to fit your personal
grip better.

It is a striker-fired pistol, which most people complain about the trigger pull on striker
fired pistols but let me tell you, H&K has done wonders on this one. The pre-travel is a flat,
consistent pull and the break and reset are crisp and pronounced. The slide has front and rear,
aggressive milling for grip, as well as what they call charging supports near the rear. These are
great for when you have a weak grip or were unable to obtain a positive grip while charging the
weapon. They will stop your hand from slipping back off the slide, allowing for charging in less
than desirable conditions. The factory night sights are ridiculously bright, surpassing many of
the aftermarket sights I’ve used on other pistols, which makes for one more thing you don’t have
to worry about after your purchase. It comes with quality, P30 steel 10 or 15 round magazines
from the manufacturer and finally, a picatinny rail for accessory mounting.

In my opinion no other pistol I have tried on the market has the VP9 beat on overall
quality, ergonomics, or function. I cannot give this pistol enough praise. However, I have found
that pistols -more so than rifles- are not a one-size-fits-all. I had to go through shooting multiple
pistols from multiple manufacturers before I found something that felt natural for me to shoot. So
while I suggest the VP9 as a great place to start your hunt for the perfect pistol, it may not be
what you end up using when it’s all said and done. Please do yourself a service and try as many
different pistols as you need, to find the one that fits your style of shooting and tactics. Do not
under any circumstances let yourself be chained to a platform or manufacturer by blind loyalty
when there may be another option out there that takes your shooting to the next level.

Architekt Jess Archives - Talking Guns

The Right to Bear Arms?

Why would you consider an AK-74?

Why I Will Disown a Friend Over Politics

The Sex That Is The H&K VP9