All posts in Rifle Slings

Research your guns before accessorizing

Nowadays many companies will hit you with restocking fees on gun accessories and in all fairness, the real reason is to deter people from being lazy asses and ordering wrong parts and acting like it was the companies fault something didn’t fit.   Many stock accessories tend to not be drop in changes and some fittings may occur, this is very common for non-AR15 style rifles.   People make mistakes but 85% of time we get a call about a return on a gun accessory its because somebody didn’t know that the gun had to go to a gunsmith or that they need to buy another mount or accessory to fit it.

Many companies also give Free Shipping on an item and if you’ve been a lazy bum and purchased a C-more optic and didn’t know that you needed a $75 mount for it to work on your gun and now you want your money back on the scope, we’ll you’re the person I’m talking about.   If you have a question ask it, if you aren’t sure about Magpul Accessories, the manufacturer of your firearm probable knows best.  Everyone and there dog is putting the MOE stocks on their guns and if you have a question about it, call them up.

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Customization of Firearms, fun, but necessary

Even since the AR15 got shortened down to the M4 Carbine, many in the Military and Law Enforcement have realized that there are ways to improve upon the design for the operators advantage.  No longer is an individual issued a rifle and forced to adjust to the stock length.  I have several World War II Vets and Korean War Vets that have told me that they actually hated shooting the M1 Garand and the BAR rifles.  All of those individuals were  under 5’6″ and it was pretty obvious to me as to why they didn’t like it.  They claimed that they couldn’t hit a darn thing with it, but anyone that is a firearm instructor knows that this is probable true.

Nobody starts a 7yr old kid out with a full size bolt action rifle and expects them to shoulder it, now that we have the M4 Carbine in service the stocks are adjustable.   Not just body size, but the types of things you may be wearing like a vest, armor ect can affect LOP.  Magpul Stocks and Accessories are our number one selling stock accessories and and everything from trigger guards to gun grips can be customized.  Body sizes and preferences mean a world of a difference for an operator to become proficient.

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The cost of firearm instruction

I have several DVDs in my collection that are from various firearms instructors, Gabe Suarez, Clint Smith and Rob Pincus to name a few.   I would have to say that some of their DVDs have good points and some are kinda weak in others.   I think Clint Smith’s DVD’s are introductory and very good for breaking someone in to shooting, but most of the DVDs that I have watched from his collection are not as advanced as the stuff coming from Magpul.   I have never been to Thunder Ranch so I’m not going to downplay or say that place isn’t a good place to go, I’ve never been there, but have heard good things although I know there are various levels of training going on.

The Magpul Art of the Tactical Carbine volumes I and volume II are outstanding firearms instruction for those looking to up their skills.   It wasn’t the same old shooting positions and malfunction clearings that you tend to see from others.  There are some really advanced gun handling skills as well as very well done communication skills.   It always takes me 2 or 3 runs at watching the DVD to soak it in, but I have been very impressed with the Magpul DVD series.   Soon I’ll get a chance to watch the Shotgun one and give you my thoughts.

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Slings on shotguns and home defense

While I must admit that I have never taken a shotgun training class, and I have not yet gotten around to watching the Magpul Art of the tactical shotgun DVD,  I have seen enough things happen on firing lines to know that the more stuff you put on a firearm, the more you are complicating things.   The more you complicate things the more you have to worry about things falling off or getting snagged.  Slings are extremely useful tools and it will get real uncomfortable carrying a firearm with out one.   I recently picked up a shotgun scabbard because I personally do not like having slings on a pump shotgun.   The fact that you have to manually cycle the gun and your sling will be moving around while you do this, I’ve  seen too many times where people’s hands get snagged up.

I must remind you that this is a personal preference, not everyone has these types of problems.   There are ways of training to get around some of the issues, but they can all  be eliminated by not having one on.   My shotgun scabbard is basically one of my rifle cases because it is attached to one of my primary shooting backpacks, I can just toss a lever action rifle or small bolt action into the same case and carry it on a hunting trip.   Some of my friends have the Galco battle sling on their shotgun and it is  a very thick sling.   Some people may prefer this because it is easy to grasp and feel.

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Having fun but having the right stuff

I would have to say that the vast majority of those that have anything more than a flashlight and optic on the M4 are probable putting something on our guns that we really don’t need, but just enjoy having on.   There’s nothing wrong with having an LWRCI upper with a quad rail or a MidWest quad rail if you think you can put it to use, but when we actually have to carry the Carbine for any real length of time, we’ll wish we could strip a few extra pounds of weight off the gun.  Many of our Staff have been attending competition shoots lately that have been really well run.   These events are everything from battle scenarios or even Zombie shoots.

Last  year in Pennsylvania we attended a Carbine shoot where the the attendees has to sign in at 8am and once they left the club house, they couldn’t drop off any gear and had to lug it all with them for the day.   All of the competitors were carrying M4 or AR15 variants and a few had AK rifles.    Ammunition loads were approximately 400rds of rifle and 100rds of handgun ammo.    I enjoy these events because we get too see some real hard use of tactical gear and tactical accessories.   We tend to not see things fail at these shoots because the competitors are in the higher class as far as skill and the types of firearms they use.   If you ever want to see what kind of optics work and which firearms and when things jam, go to a competition shoot at your gun club and sit back and watch.

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5.11 tactical jeans review pt 1

I finally did my rounds and checked out a few local 5.11 dealers to see what they had in stock.    Something I always find annoying about stopping in these places is how much of a mess the clothing usually is.   I always have to dig around for my sizes and rarely do any of these gun shops or police and security stores keep there crap together.   The other thing that I find annoying is that so many of them clear out certain styles of clothing during the year like there is a non-season for polos and jeans.   Some of these tactical clothing manufacturers are running huge shortages and various products are out of stock for 6-9 months at a time.   I actually noticed many of the gun shops in my neck of the woods stopped selling 5.11 tactical pants because it was too much of a headache for them to deal with.

It was time to restock my tactical pants inventory and I’m not prone to sticking to only one manufacturer.   I have worn 5.11 tactical pants, Eotac, Woolrich Elite and even SigTac.   Each tactical clothing company and tactical gear manufacturer has it’s pros and cons,  but I’d give Eotac and Woolrich Elite the edge on quality control.     I am comparing the Eotac 205 concealed carry jeans to the 5.11 jeans and there is no comparison.   I feel a difference in the movement of each jean, but I really don’t think I feel restricted in any way.   They are both well made, but there are huge differences in the designs.   The Eotac jeans are very similar to the Woolrich Elite Discreet MKII pants, but they are definitely not the same.   The 5.11 jeans are what I’d call more for deep concealment.   There are internal pockets that can hold a j-frame revolver or a small semi-auto and a few spare magazines.   I find the pockets to be a  little too deep and don’t really like the fact the guns are practically inside the pants.   I tried putting a Sig 239 in the pockets with spare magazines and it was extremely uncomfortable when sitting down, so I would have to say you need something smaller than that.

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Practical and tactical should go hand in hand

Although I am a big fan of battle rifles and prefer to carry a gun bigger than an M4, if I gotta carry ammo on my person and it’s not being carried in the trunk of my car, I’ll gladly take the smaller caliber.    The M1 Garand is a great and powerful weapon, but combat is at a much faster pace and being able to suppress a target with small arms is as important as neutralizing it.  If you are a weekend warrior and are considering taking a Carbine Class, even though your training will take place in the Course, you should do research on gear and accessories before you walk in the door.

 

I always try to sit in on training courses whenever I can although I wish I had the time to actually take more classes.   I’ve written on several occassions that one of my greatest joys of watching classes is watching all of the gear fall off or fail a student and watching their slow evolution of losing gear along the way.   Theirs nothing wrong with being a tactical accessory junky, but if you have to carry an M4 all day like i’ve had to, you’ll quickly learn that lightweight, means a happy person.  There seems to be a big craze getting tactical gear with the quad rails even though most people don’t need them, and then having to go out and get rail covers, when a simple stock would have lightend the gun by a few pounds.

 

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Combat rifle scopes and a backup plan

When you mount your rifle scope, please do some research on how to properly level and mount it.  A properly mounted combat optic should not be over torqued and should have loctite on the screws.  I have yet to see a mount come loose on a gun that used loctite.   When you go out an spend $1000 on a combat rifle scope, ask yourself, what will you do and how will you remove the scope and aim it if the optic goes down.   If one your Trijicon rifle scopes takes a bullet, are you going to be able to see through it and still be able to lay down effective fire if you can’t see through it?  Even if you have a rifle scope that does not allow for co-witness, would it be a good idea to still attach flip up sights to the gun if there is room for them?  Always have a backup plan for your defensive carbine.

The vast majority of M4 Carbines I see at the range have optics that are top of the line.    Aimpoint and Eotech along with the Trijicon ACOG are probable the top 3.   All of these are good for a certain purpose which is mostly for close up fighting.   The Trijicon ACOG is more of a medium range combat optic depending on the type of reticle you choose.   They do have a line of red dot or even green dot optic options, also.   If you are are a weekend warrior and new to defensive shooting and tactical gear, I would suggest you think about this next statement, whenever you attach an accessory to your Carbine, think about what you would do if that accessory mount broke or the actual item failed.

 

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Looking for Zombie killing options

Do search for gun clubs and shooting ranges in your State to find out if anyone is holding a Zombie shoot.   They usually occur in the September to October months.   Having some good tactical clothing that will securely hold your gear.   The Eotac Style 201 pants are my favorite because they hold 6- 30rd PMAGS and they are easy to run in.   Tactical vests like the Style 101 are not heavy and don’t make you feel like you are wearing a flak jacket.   There is a time and a place for different types of tactical vests, but mobility is important.  You may want to try getting your magazines loaded up with all of your gear and then try running 100yds with it and see what it feels like and if stuff starts to fly out of your pockets.   Mobility is extremely important.

There seems to be a new craze in competition shooting in recent years.   I’ve seen more high school boys coming home from class with Zombie survival guides, the recent 28 Days later type movies and the doomsday virus outbreaks.    I guess IDPA has lost some traction to the present generation, but I’ve attended a few Zombie survival competitions and they were very good training events.   The best thing about it was the amount of tactical gear that I watched fail, and the number of really novice mistakes people made.   Out of the 5 stages I attended, there was 1 stage that we saw about 18 firearms go down.   About half of those were AK variants and they were mostly magazine related.  Some guys never knew how hard it was to do a tactical reload on an AK if there was a round in the chamber and a fully loaded 30rd magazine.  People found out what happens after firing off the 1st round and the magazine falls out.

 

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Do we all wear the same size gloves?

rifle stocksAnd the answer is no, we do not, so why do people expect us to be able to shoulder the same size rifles or grip the same size handguns comfortable?  Even if you’re a guy, you’re not all built the same, and luckily the military has caught on to this.    If I had a nickel for every WWII vet I know that made a comment on how big the Garand was and how many of them had trouble shooting one, I’d be rich.   The M1 Garand is a very accurate and powerful rifle, but not everyone could hand them.   If you field a rifle of the same caliber today, and allowed people to adjust the stock for their comfort, recoil issues go away.

In the last few months I’ve had a lot of consultation with new gun owners about home defense weapons and assessing how they could be deployed and used within their homes.   Many of them always thought about handguns being used in their homes and never rifles but there are carbines with rifle stocks that use the same rounds as the pistols.  Everyone seems to think that a rifle is too much or too hard to manage, but now that pistol caliber Carbines are so prevailant.  Why not.    I prefer to mount lights on rifles rather than handguns, and I also know that most novice shooters will be safer and more proficient with a Carbine over a handgun.   At the very least, a rifle is easier to retain and become a baseball bat than a handgun.   Please keep in mind that bullet selection is extremely important when deciding on a Carbine or rifle in your home.   There are some very well thought out M4 rifle stocks, Beretta Storm, and shotgun stocks that are very good for home defense.

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