Rogue Elite

Now that Holiday Seasons are upon us it’s time to be dressed up and CCW becomes more of a chore.   I’m sure not all of us have to where suit and tie every time we go over a relatives house during this time of the year,  but not having to dump your CCW gear just because you can’t wear any of your tactical clothing is a good thing and right now, I’d have to say that only the Woolrich Elite Chino pants fit the bill.   On a recent visit to Church,  I was able to keep my car keys in the same area that I stowed a firearm and they were both in different pockets.   It’s up to the user to determine which of the hand pockets they want for each item, but this is real CCW.

I normally carry pepper spray, a knife and a flashlight as well as a firearm, but that can be dangerous or a headache if you aren’t wearing the right pants.   The Woolrich Elite chino pants are not tactical pants at all, and they look just like regular pants.  The only thing that I would suggest to do is  not keep a firearm in the zippered pocket because it can be hard to get out quickly, but that is up to the user to decide.   The small zipper is a much better idea that the now obsolete 4910 pants that had a large zipper with a piece of fabric that flapped like a flag in the wind.

I admit that I am guilty of buying stuff for myself at this time of year, the truth of the matter is that this tends to be a good time of the year to buy as well as immediately after the Christmas shopping season.  It’s very rare that people give firearm accessories or ammunition as Christmas presents because that can actually be more tedious for a wife or girlfriend than going to Victoria’s Secret and buying items that match.   When it comes to gun accessories on an AR15, you’ll probable have a frustrated female on Christmas wondering if she got you the right item.  Foliage green and flat dark earth aren’t in the Victorias Secret Catalog.

Now that there are different length AR15 rifles and it’s not as simple as the A1, A2 or A3 styles.  You might  be better off shopping for your on AR15 upper receivers.   You won’t find many options for clearance prices, but the used and hardly used guns parts are out there.   Spikes tactical uppers seem to be hot sellers right now because they are reasonable priced and of good quality for those that are looking for a good accessorized or plinking gun.   I’m sure there are people out there that think they are above that level, but Daniel Defense, Colt and LWRC are in another category.

Unfortunately debates like this would break out on the gun forums in the last decade and all kinds of brew ha would break out.   Sure we do not need anymore gun laws on the books because the laws that are already written aren’t being enforced very well and Government restrictions tend to have no impact on crime.   Now that concealed carry has grown in many areas of the Country where it has  not been legal, more and more people are applying for permits.  In Wisconsin there have been big changes to these laws because crime has risen there.

There are levels of gun safety training and nobody does a better job that the NRA, even many that have been in the United States Military have not undergone much training with firearms.   The firearm training DVDs coming from Panteao Productions fills a hole that many gun owners and even military personel have missed out on.   From home defense, concealed carry, Carbine training from Paul Howe and Travis Haley, Dave Harringtons 360 pistol and many more will give you the broadest selection of shooting styles for defensive applications and competition shooting.

Magazine maintenance is something that is getting talked about more and more in instructors schools.   Now that using USGI magazines is becoming less and less common in Law Enforcement, the notion that gun magazines are throw aways isn’t so common anymore.  Magpul has taken a huge chunk of the Law Enforcement market and the only time it’s time to toss a Magpul P-mag is when the feed lips are worn.   There’s not reason to run them into the ground, but the life of a Pmag is a hundred times longer than a USGI rifle magazine.

Handgun magazines are also getting stronger and stronger, but there are many thing in a pistol magazine that can wear down and cause a firearm to become unreliable.  Glock magazines are pretty darn tough but even these gun magazines need maintenance from time to time.   If you put a lot of lead down range, even  your gun magazine should get cleaned out.   One thing you should be very restrictive about though is not using lubricant or grease  unless you are preventing run from forming.   A little CLP wiped on and off the spring and inner magazine is Ok, but it should be almost dry so that it does not attract dirt.

And I’m sure many of you own the Ruger LCP and LCR guns by now, but the Kahr .380 pistols are still in the top 3 as far as parts, magazines and holsters for .380 firearms.   I  own a few Walther PPK handguns but mostly for the nostalgia.   I personally think there are a lot of firearms that people own just because they like them and not because they are all that great of a gun.   There are many firearms in that CCW market that are almost like sports cars, they sit in peoples driveways or garages and get worked on, but they never go out on the street and on occasion, get taken to the race track.

Everyone and their dog is making a .380 pistol now, but the ballistics have not really changed that much and from my real world experience, I won’t carry anything smaller than a 38 Special.   Kahr firearms and Kahr magazines are still the number one selling CCW gun and magazines we see moving.  Their 9mm are very reliable and the prices are pretty good considering what you get from them.   There are a few older models that you might want to avoid, but the stuff they have out now very good for the price.

If you’re ready to do some Christmas shopping for your husband or boyfriend, ask them if they need anything for  their AR15 and I’m sure there will be something that they wish they could put on there gun.   Everyone with an AR15 has something that they want to try out or mount.   There are different accessories for different things and recently I got a phone call from a friend that was looking for an AR15 for varmint hunting.   Varmint hunting is something that comes up from time to time and its more about magazines and bullet styles than accessories, but sometimes that might mean rail covers on everything.

I tried the whole folding handguard thing but it didn’t work out too well when I found out that it was cracking.  The Magpul MOE accessories are probable the newest thing that is going to cause the AR15 world to go crazy over.   Everyone put a fore grip on their AR15 and some people never knew why they should do it, now people are realized how difficult it is to shoot with something like that and the Angled foregrips from Magpul give you the best middle of the road option.   The Magpul MOE also cuts out a good bit of weight for someone that cares about that.

I’ve been on bandwagon with LWRC long before we sold their upper receivers and I really have a hard time spending money on anything but.  We’ve been involved with gun builds at various places in the Country and it’s been loads of fun doing it and see people build or assemble their first AR15.   The AR15 is still the next best training rifle after a 22LR bolt action for new shooters.   You can teach range adjustments and get people to learn how to manipulate a firearm that is basically the same thing that most of our standing military uses.

If you are looking to get your first AR15, I would not hesitate to tell you that you really don’t need to spend more than about $600.   I see nothing wrong with people buying something like Spikes Tactical Uppers and slapping it on a used upper receiver or a less expensive gun.   Spikes Tactical Uppers give you a very good starting point with quality parts and a good price point.   If you don’t think you’ll be put on the front line and be shooting 10,000rds a year through your barrel, don’t worry about spending the $2000 on an LWRC.

There have been many times where we have thought we could just wing it when it comes to using firearms and skip cleaning it or carry it in a pocket without any kind of a holster.  I have never been a big fan of carrying firearms in a coat or a jacket because there are just too many things that can go wrong.   Years ago, it may go down as our favorite crazy customer, was a time when a guy picked up a Woolrich Elite lightweight vest and after putting various firearms inside the vest pockets, called us up and told us that the gun still printed and we were a fraud company for sell a vest that was suppose to conceal a firearm.

That level of knowledge or lack there of, is pretty common in every area of society, but I wonder if that guy still gets made if his guns spin around or when he reaches for them they aren’t there.   With all of the gun holsters out there, something like the Desantis holsters, especially for the pocket holsters like the LCP guns, which seem to have become incredible common you still should have any pocket gun in a pocket holster. Lint, and other things can cause problems and reducing the chances of excessive movement is very important.  It will cost you $20 or less for the most part.

We all know how well the Magpul Art of the Tactical Carbine and related DVDS have done and I have heard very little criticism about the training information that was put forward.  I do want to state that I have not fallen into the mindset of glorifying all of the firearms instructors with DVD’s just because they sold a lot.  There are plenty of Celebrity firearms instructors that I don’t too much credit into because I can find the information and competency in other venues.  I have to say that spending $50 on a DVD these days is kind of high, but considering that there is so much information that deducted from the price of traveling and training.

Travis Haley has parted with Magpul but from all accounts it was strictly business and I guess time to move on.   We have several sources tell us there will be much more coming from Travis Haley via Make Ready firearm instructional dvds give the working man or women a source for getting training and info from some of the best sources.  There is a lot to firearms  that has nothing to do with pulling the trigger and hitting the target.   Maintaining a firearm and diagnosing a problem quickly is something that all shooters need to know.   There are many different ways to do the same thing, but many times, the environments and positions change so you will have to have the mindset of adapting.

I admit that I do like the Blackhawk Serpa holsters and it is mostly in comparison to the thumb snap holsters that use to hold so much of the holster market.  Most Police in this neck of the woods use Safariland locking holsters or some other Safariland holster.    The biggest pet peeve of mine with the traditional thumbreak holster is snapping it back on when hoslter.  I’ve had them wear out on me and end up not being worth relying on and ended up just cutting them off.   I’ve had guns fall out of holsters so I do know there is a time and a place to lock them in.

When it comes to 1911 handguns, I am not a big fan of retention holsters.   As a matter of fact, there is enough of a debate about putting manual safeties on firearms that having a manual firearm safety on a gun and Blackhawk Serpa Holsters for a firearm is 2 more things you need to do other than pull the trigger on a sidearm.   The 1911 is a great firearm, but one more mechanical device to disengage?   Some guns are meant for certain things, and I would not recommend that for anyone who is CCW a 1911.