Rogue Elite

I’m sure you’ve done plenty of research into combat optics, which is the toughest and which reticle is best for you,  but are you setup for a backup plan if your sighting system goes down?   Using loctite on all of the places that need to be locked down does wonders for reliability, but in combat, sometimes your optics can get smashed or even shot.    There have been several advertisements showing up about ACOGs getting hit by bullets and even surefire flashlights that took bullets and still worked, but sometimes a broken scope that is loctited to your gun will become a nightmare in a combat situation if it is broken.   Quick detach rifle scope and rifle sights are becoming more common because this is a reality of combat.

I personally do not like the idea of fold down front sights because I never thought the permanent front sight obscured my targets if I hed the gun right, but some people really don’t like the front sights there when using red dots or Eotech gun sights.   I think this is being a little too anal, but if it works for them, that’s their decision.   I do see some people operate Eotech gun sights with no backup sights and I think it’ll  be a matter of time before they show up a range with dead batteries and realise that their gun is going to be as accurate as a blunderbuss.   If you set your cowitness sights up, you can use them as primaries or backups at any point.   Using fold down front sights is an extra step to getting your Carbine backup if the primary optic goes down, but that’s just my opinion.

A lot of this is really going to be about conditions that you are shooting in, and it will also depend on how good your eye sight is in the first place, but traditional gun sights that are solid black can sometimes be hard to pick up in low light and even if they are being used in sunlight, they are too thin or too thick for a shooters taste.   Depending on the type of shooting that  you are doing sometimes the gun  you have is a good format, but some changes need to be made to your rifle sights or handgun sights.  Even today there are some red dot optics that I do not like because the dot is so big that it obscures the target and it makes it very difficult to shoot tight groups.   Low light can make it even hard to see objects behind the the target.

The real advantages I see to actually altering the front sights on handguns is for home defense.   Even if you have a flashlight on or there is some lighting  in  your home, it’s still can have a lot of shadows and moving from room to room will give you areas where it would be good to be able to see exactly where your front sight is pointing.   Hunting with a handgun or rifle usually means hunting in early morning with limited light and the same for late evenings in later afternoons.  Hi visiblity sights should give you some advantages for speedy target acquisitions.

I must admit, I was  lucky enough to be able to stock up on PMI magazines in the 1990s and never had to worry much about finding after market rifle magazines for the Mini 14.   While admit I have seen plenty of poor performing Mini 14 rifles on the ranges, it was always because the user was not using Ruger factory rifle magazines.  If you are fortunate enough to live in a State that allows the use of semi-auto rifles for deer season,  there is no lighter and faster Carbine for Coyote or white tails than the Mini 14.   I have personally witnessed deer being taken with 75gr HPBT with the Mini 14, so don’t tell me the .223 isn’t good for the job.
Inside of 200yds and with a 4x optic, a Mini 14 is well within the tolerances of being able to take a 150-200lb animal.   Considering the flat trajectory, hold overs are virtually none existant at these ranges.  Since you can get 20rd and 30rd factory magazines for the Mini 14 again.   There still are reasons to not want to heat up the rifle and it is well known that the Mini 14 is not a military rifle.  The accuracy will begin to decline after approximately the 3rd shot is fired which gives good reason to only stick with the factory 5rd magazines.

For most of the Northeast, hunting will start in about 6 weeks for archery and then small game begins.   Archery has gained a  lot of ground in this region because so much of the good hunting areas are populated and it’s hard to safely manage deer populations if areas where it’s not really safe to use a firearm.   I still don’t know why so many people go with monsterous optics that when put under any kind of realistic hunting test, will always slow you down.   Whenever I ask people what they are doing with a 50mm objective on a gun that is really meant for something that weights 800lbs and they are out hunting white tail, they usually say they are afraid of making bad shots.

From my own personal experience in the military and law enforcement community, I think hunting with a red dot is probable more practical than any optic that magnifies more than 5xs.   For small game I’d recommend against using a red dot, but there have been times I’ve been tempted to just bring a Mini 14 with an Eotech out for while tails just because the speed I get with that configuration is better than any lever action or 7mm bolt action.   Whenever you are thinking about doing long range shooting, go ahead with magnification, but wheneve you are thinking about rifle scopes for hunting applications, do a realistic gauge of how good your eyes are and what kind of opportunities you may expect when out in the field, and don’t slow yourself down with too much magnification or an optic that has an eye relief inhibits your mobility.

When getting asked the question how many guns we own, the question should be asked “what do I not own?”   After several  years of dealing with the high speed, low drag weapon systems, and after watching the 2008 election results, there was huge jumps in ammo prices.    I thought to myself when 5.56 ammo was hitting close to the $700 per 1000rds range, that maybe ammo was going to be worth more than gold soon.   After putting a little thought into why the ammo prices were going up, I pretty much guessed that they won’t stay up that long in a bad economy, because nobody in their right mind would spend money on something that was 200-300% over  inflated.   I decided that if It was reloaded ammo, I wasn’t going to touch any factory ammo, and it was now time for a 22lr bolt action rifle.
I picked up a Marlin 925 bolt action rifle with iron sights and I was planning on not ever putting a scope on this.   As a firearms instructor, this was a basic platform for teaching basic shooting skills.   There is nothing wrong with teaching to shoot firearms to new shooters with a scope, but in my opinion iron sights are a better starting point.    This Marlin 925 was extremely accurate, but I  noticed that my groups were always left of center.   I looked at the rear sight adjustment and noticed I really couldn’t accomadate for the windage.   I was a little depressed and packed up my Marlin in a one of the rifle cases I had with me.  As a kid, I always compensated for a guns accuracy flaw by aiming at a different point, but as somoene who’s been able to hit the X at 600yds with other firearms, this off center accuracy really bothered me.   I’m looking to put another adjusteable rear sight on this or possible put a scope on this and pick up another bolt action that has better sights.

It is always good to think ahead of yourself when you are selecting a firearm.   Sometimes people get into situations with their tactical gear that seemed pretty obvious, but somehow it was missed.   I have never had a major problem with my rifle scopes, probable because I already owned so many rifle cases, but I have had problems with fitting my Carbines into soft rifle cases because of the flashlights or rifle optics I was using.   If it was too much of a headache, I just took my hunting rifle cases and used those for the short term.   Sometimes when you are accessorizing the heck out of your guns, the last thing you are thinking about is how to pack it all up and transport it without having to take everything off the rails.   Many of the soft tactical rifle cases may be too tight at the top of the case and you are risking damaging a mount or breaking the zipper.

I believe in having a holster for every handgun and a rifle case for every rifle.    When people are putting $1000 Trijicon ACOGs on their rifles they are considered to be tough for combat, but sometimes things get slammed around in cars and unwanted dents and dings occur.   SKB rifle cases are on the  heavy side, but if you have a bigger sized vehicle, these are very easy to stow in and get out and it’s sturdy enough to not worry about damage if you have to bury it with other gear.   You may even be able to keep most of the rifle magazines and accessories in the case as well as some othe range gear.    Drag bags are another great rifle case, but they may be a bit of an overkill when it comes to using them for something as small as a Carbine.

There are always pros and cons of certain types of gear for your rifle and there are always trade offs.  A gun sock is good for protecting your guns from some levels of friction, they don’t take up much room in storage and they also don’t add weight to your gun in transport.   Any padded gun case will give you easy  use and easy storage, but when you start transporting firearms that are $1500-$5000 you’re going to want to think about hard rifle cases.   Granted, a sniper drag bag that is properly designed will give you plenty of protection and easy to drag around, but I’m talking about range days or inter State transportation.

SKB and Pelican make gun storage units that will protect your guns if they get knocked around.  The foam pads can always be customized for specific guns and gear and I highly recommend doing so.   I strongly believe in buying gun cases that are for specific firearms and especially so for rifles.   You will be able to fit varying sizes of handguns in the pistol cases depeding on which way you place them, but rifles will get tricky and since most of them will have optics, you gotta be careful how much you pack them.  There are even some rifle cases that can hold your magazines, pistol, and pistol magazines.

Here in Pennsylvania the laws for hunting with a crossbow have opened up new territory for hunters.   Many people have stayed away from archery season for physical reasons.   It takes more energy to bull a bow back and fire it, and hit what you are aiming at than simply bringing your Winchester Model 70 30/06 and taking a 100-600yd shot and then taking a sip from your coffee mug.   I have to admit that I have found Archery to be fun if you have someone to help set you up, but it takes far more patience than some people have to be efficient.   The only real drawback I have even seen to archery is that there are more bad shots in archery than I see with rifles and it’s not pretty to watch a wounded animal walk off and die and sometimes not be recovered.  Pennsyvania has a deer problem.  As a matter of fact, it has a huge problem.   There are a declining number of people going out and hunting every year, but the number of car accidents has been inceasing.

It has now been about 2yrs since crossbows have been allowed for hunting by the general hunting community and the are more likely out selling the standard compoun bows you use to see in hunting stores.   If you are familiar with using a rifle, it’s going to be an easy transition to using a crossbow.   The ability to use an optic with a calibrated bullet drop is going to make those 50yd shots pretty easy compared to using a compound bow.   I still think they need to change the rules and loosen things up even more to try and curb the deer population, but this new change was welcomed.    Having a good pair of binoculars with you on you next hunting trip will help you scout out more territory and give you the edge in observing your surroundings.   The things to think about are how much weight  you are carrying and being practical when it comes to magnification.   Anything above 4x and below 10x is recommended.

I’m so old that I can tell you about the day I was on a firing line and saw my first Trijicon ACOG.    The first time I saw it I thought it was some kind of toy.   The bright neon strand stood out that I just couldn’t understand why a combat optic was so visible.    I guess I read too many sniper stories where optics gave away a snipers position due to sun glare, and it was always something I thought about even when hunting.   I’ve spotted other hunters before just by see that split second flash from the tree line and I can completely understand how patience can be the key to winning a sniper battle.

Trijicon optics are a tool for modern day fighting, I still prefer the Eotech combat sights for close up fighting,  but the battery issue is a big problem for longer operations.   Trijicon rifle scopes have become more diversified and aren’t just meant for being mounted on an A2 carry handle anymore.    There are red dot and close up fighting optics and reticles now and the accupoint rifle scopes are very practical for hunting.   One thing to seriously consider for combat optics is along with giving you pin point accuracy, the objective lenses that are showing up on standard issue rifles these days make it real hard to hide in shadows.   If you put a flashlight and optic on your gun, those two tools can be a dead giveaway in even the lowest light.   I strongly recommend putting a kill flash or removeable scope cover, flip up covers are fine.

I still run into friends that laugh at the whole concealed carry market and say that the pants and shirts all look tactical and not very concealed carry.   There are arguments all over the internet about not wearing camoflauge while carrying a gun or wearing anything that makes you look like you’re packing.   Well, I’ve spotted plenty of off duty cops that were wearing t-shirts and jeans, but the shaved heads and the polite manners basically gave away the fact they were LEOs, so how do you hide that?

Here’s the realty,  keep your eyes open, situational awareness is more important that what type of clothing you are wearing.   I agree that looking like a SWAT team member might make you a primary target if you are in the middle of a bank robbery, but if you spotted the bank robber first and left the building or confronted him before he confronted you, who cares what you are wearing.   In this day and age, with so many pocket guns ect.  many regular clothing designs are not comfortable to use if you are carrying mace or firearms and accessories.  The Eotac style 205 pants have side zipper pockets that can hold firearms or mace and are very good for backup weapons.   The Kimber Guardian angel works very well in these pockets and although there are other similiar looking pants out there, these look more like men’s jeans and feel like them wear other tactical pants or concealed carry looking pants are a purplish blue and not very manly looking.