Archive for the 'Tactical Gear' Category

Fox News.

She said the Secret Service was aware of the security vulnerabilities presented by the building Crooks took a sniper’s position on to aim at Trump. However, a decision was made not to place any personnel on the roof.

“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside,” she said.

I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous in my life. First of all, men work on sloped roofs all day, every day, in America. Second, this is the secret service. It’s their jobs. Third, the most insulting thing is that she expects us to swallow this explanation, which is obviously fabricated. No decent SS agent would have objected to this assignment.

Finally, if you really want to be safe on a sloped roof, use a lanyard. I can teach them how to do it, but that isn’t necessary. They already know. So none of that is necessary. They know how to ensconce on sloped roofs. They know how to use lanyards. They aren’t concerned about SS agents falling off of roofs. They didn’t refuse to position agents on that roof because it’s sloped.

There is also this disturbing tidbit.

“I’m being told that the shooter was actually identified as a potential person of suspicion. Units started responding to seek that individual out,” Cheatle told ABC News. “Unfortunately, with the rapid succession of how things unfolded, by the time that individual was eventually located, they were on the rooftop and were able to fire off at the former president.”

“Rapid succession of events.” Again, how insulting that she expects us to swallow this ridiculous explanation.

“Slow down shooter, we can’t respond quickly enough. Give us time, for God’s sake.”

In the aftermath, TNR published a silly article advocating banning AR-15s. But of course. Don’t consider the fact that the shooter could have used a Tikka .300 Win Mag or .308 bolt action and probably done better.

And don’t consider the fact that the sniper team that took him out was using Remington 730 Win Mag bolt action rifles. This does answer my questions, though, about equipment that team used. I got the glass right (Night Force). I didn’t get the rifle right. I didn’t have a close enough image to tell.

I doubt they were using .50 though. They were probably using 300 Win Mag or 300 PRC.

UPDATE: WiscoDave sends these images. Good juxtaposition.

As internet firearms guides go, this one from the Alien Gear blog isn’t bad. The font is hard to view, though, and needs to be updated.

There are hundreds of very usable holsters and thousands of functional holster and holster retainment (i.e., belt) combinations. Find the combo and weapon body placement that’s best for you to carry a firearm every day. Some folks have different carry options and even different guns depending upon the environment, weather, location, and other limiting factors.

In the video below, the number one mistake is the worst type regardless of how you try to possess a weapon; never give up!

Accepting segregation as a general philosophy, I choose not to go where prohibition doesn’t allow guns. You don’t like my kind, and I don’t like your kind; that’s fair. As to the law, well, let’s not make stupid self-incriminating statements. But in either case, there are ways to safely and securely carry almost anywhere.

Also, see The Beginner’s Guide to Concealed Carry, and not exactly a definitive but informative guide.

This article covers a few different lighting options for handgun self-defense.

It should come as no surprise that most violent crime occurs in sub-optimal light conditions. For centuries, criminals have been using the veil of darkness to conceal their illicit activities, and this trend can be supported by any number of definitive sources. Burglaries, home invasions, armed robberies, muggings and sexual assaults all seem to spike in the evening hours.

The hands-apart technique shown here allows the user to direct the light in a different place than the muzzle of the gun.

To be truly prepared, our training should address the most likely scenarios we will face. While it is valid that danger can visit anytime or any place, violent assaults often fall into a pattern. The danger unfolds very fast, the distance between you and your assailant is short, and light conditions are likely to be poor. Clearly, darkness handicaps our ability to spot potential threats sooner and make a sound assessment of the level of danger.

One way of tipping the odds back in your favor is to carry a small flashlight on your person and train to how to use it. It’s essential to get familiar with some techniques for working it in concert with your handgun. I feel that if you carry a gun, you also need to have a light with you regardless of the time of day. Real-world data suggests you may never have a need to use that light as a shooting aid, but it can fill any number of other critical roles.

A helpful tip or two within the few techniques discussed is at the link.

As a follow-up to Night Sights: The Key to Fighting the Night from last week, we thought to post this brief discussion about several sights in varying light conditions. Though, in this article, the camera doesn’t capture well the pitch-dark aspect, the pictures are still helpful upon close examination.

Having a handful of different sight setups on a few of my Glocks, I figured it’d be handy to compare them side-by-side in various lighting conditions in a consistent manner. While I had my own feelings going into it, I found it interesting how similar the tritium and fiber options were with blacked out rears. Granted that was just when the tritium front sight came with a day-glo orange ring around it for extra highlighting, but I had expected the narrow fiber sight to have a clear advantage in all situations other than completely dark (which may be difficult to come up with a justifiable circumstance for).

H/T g/@ShootyMcBeardface

I’ve never read Handgun Mag (Guns & Ammo Handguns), but it might be worth a daily or weekly stop to check out; the source of this article is there.

Since criminals obviously prefer to avoid apprehension, it should come as no surprise that criminal activity spikes at night. The cloak of darkness provides fewer witnesses and makes it more difficult for their intended victims to detect their approach.

But darkness isn’t confined to night. Consider being inside a building where the lights are off. If you carry a gun but haven’t practiced with it in a low-light environment, you’re way behind the curve.

Training in diminished light will reveal shortcomings not only in your shooting skills but also in your equipment. The need for a weapon- mounted or handheld light—preferably both—becomes clear. After all, how can you shoot what you haven’t identified as a deadly threat? And if you’ve ever tried to align black sights on a silhouette target in low-light conditions, you probably wished your handgun had nights sights.

I was going to skip posting this commentary until it mentioned training. Preparedness for a low-light situation is an excellent point. This has me curious about the lighted vs. dark self-defense shooting stats; are any actually kept? Indeed, for home defense, low-light fighting skill is a must. Plans and drills are the most important thing for family home defense (and fire preparedness), and if you have a family, a firearm light is also critical. If you have a night job or often travel at night, and in other situations, it’s also essential.

Many night sights contain tritium, a radioactive material that emits electrons that interact with a phosphor gas, generating low-intensity light which is used to illuminate objects that need to be seen in the dark, such as emergency exit signs, wristwatches, or, in our case, gun sights. Night sights provide the shooter with invaluable aiming information, without disrupting night vision.

I’ve used night sights; they’re great. I’m interested to hear of any drawbacks to them. I’ve found none. Also, I’m very interested if anybody knows of specific drills for low-light they would link or share. This could benefit us all.

Part 1 and Part 2

Some of the choices made are interesting. It’s not likely many would consider the same build, but the article gets the ‘ol noggin assessing the possibilities and applications. The author accepts Jeff Cooper’s idea and builds upon it but from his own conventions and limitations.

Intro:

The “scout rifle” is a concept that has been around since the 1980s. First proposed by Colonel Jeff Cooper, it has become popular among outdoorsmen and survival-oriented folks as a “do-it-all” kind of rifle. Each person’s idea of a scout rifle can vary, with the purposes of self-defense and being able to take wild game common to your living area.

The original scout rifle concept has a very specific set of features. Cooper’s favorite caliber was, of course, the 308 Winchester / 7.62×51. He allowed other similar calibers such as 7mm-08 in the same power level. A scout rifle is supposed to be light, between 6.5 and 7.75 lbs, and have a short length of 39” or less. Scout rifles are typically magazine-fed bolt action, although Cooper’s original concept allowed for semi-auto operation if a sufficiently light action could be found. Forward-mounted, long eye-relief optics are the most noticeable feature of a scout rifle, typically from 2x-7x magnification. Scout rifles are supposed to be capable of 2 MOA or less, and are typically equipped with a Ching-style sling.

Source:

Having a weapon mounted light on your self-defense gun is a good idea whether that gun is used for daily carry, home defense, or as a truck gun. And if you’re like many gun owners, you might prefer a weapon-light-only product over one that includes other things, like a laser. By using a light-only platform there’s no battery sharing with other features, reduced bulk, and no zeroing. It doesn’t matter if you have a handgun or a long gun in need of a light, there’s one out there for you.

The Modlite PLHv2-18350 Light Package (Photo credit: Modlite)

Check out our top 5 list of weapon mounted lights, in no particular order. And remember, just because a product lists a particular firearm doesn’t mean the company doesn’t also make it for other platforms, because they usually do.

They discuss long gun and handgun lights. Though convenient, the Crimson Trace RIG (Rapid Illumination Grip) would probably be bothersome to deal with. Surefire claims that the X300U-A is “recoil proof.” I haven’t run any of the lights listed.

And earlier on TCJ, tactical handheld flashlights.

Source:

Magazine loaders are especially handy for competition shooters. Today we are going to examine some of the best magazine loaders in 2023 for competition shooters. While anyone can benefit from a magazine loader, competition shooters are in a unique situation. They often have to load a lot of ammo, and as mentioned, that’s a great way to get sore thumb syndrome.

On top of that, there might only be a very short time period between runs to reload. Maybe you are getting an alibi run due to a broken shot timer. Maybe you’ve had a mag issue and are down a mag, so reloading your mags quickly is important.

Caldwell AR Magazine Mag Charger

We also had to consider the environment the competition shooters occupy. They need something that’s portable and easy to move between stages. Preferably something they can toss in a range bag and call it a day. Speed and portability are the two defining features we looked for when choosing our top five magazine loaders of 2023 for competitive shooters.

Supplementary features include the calibers and magazines they incorporate. We need some common magazine types and calibers. No one is shooting 9mm Makarov in competition these days. On top of that, we need one that’s easy to use and foolproof. With these features in find, here are our favorite magazine loaders.

Maglula makes excellent loaders. I use them. Some of the others mentioned look very interesting. The title says it’s about competition loaders but there are others. A brief overview of each is provided. Read the rest.

At Outdoor Life.

They list some lights that throw a lot of lumens, but that isn’t everything, and it’s not most important for me.

For example, I refuse to have a headlamp that isn’t “hybrid.”  For example, this model they review is hybrid and can use both a rechargeable battery pack or 3AAA batteries.

I also require the red light for early morning walks to the tree stand.

If readers have any additions, please recommend your favorite in the comments.

Bloomberg.

Conflict is on America’s streets in 2020, and “tactical apparel” has become a lifestyle industry serving militarized law-enforcement agents and the freelance gunmen who emulate them. Less than two weeks before Election Day, orders are rolling in. Since last year, online purchases have driven a 20-fold jump in sales of goods like the $220 CM-6M gas mask — resistant to bean-bag rounds — for Mira Safety of Austin, Texas. “It doesn’t matter who gets elected,” founder Roman Zrazhevskiy said of his new customers. “They think that no matter who wins, Biden or Trump, there are going to be people who are upset about the result.”

Not long ago — perhaps a generation — dressing like you’re going to war was for the veteran who never quite made it back from Vietnam or the angry young men who obsessed over gas masks and combat boots at the military surplus store. (Every American town seemed to have one, and only one.) A shift became apparent with this spring’s Black Lives Matter protests and bitterly resented pandemic lockdowns. Now the gear is everywhere, from camouflage-clad antifa supporters to right-wing extremists who appeared at Michigan’s capitol even after men were arrested in a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

In some suburban and rural settings, it’s become everyday wear. A retail chain called 5.11 Tactical, which traces its roots to a friend of President Donald Trump’s adult sons, is even trying to turn the survivalist look into a fashionable national brand. It’s racking up annual sales of almost $400 million with stores in places including Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the U.S. Army’s Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Across the country, gun and ammunition sales have surged as well.

And this is news?  I don’t think these writers have ever even visited the South.

5.11 makes good gear.  And America knows something important about the state of affairs of its people and government.

The bureaucratic state wants to destroy the middle class, and Antifa/BLM and many millions more want you in camps.

But the picture at Bloomberg has a guy wearing NODS equipment.  Not many people can afford good NODS.  Most people are going to be cash-limited to firearms and ammunition, and the next step is going to be med kits, tactical gear (like holsters, battle belts, etc.), and then the next step will be tactical vests and body armor.

And most people can only afford the first steps, which is why we see the rush on firearms and ammunition.