Mounting Flashlights on shotgun
After a few years of actually taking real fighting classes, one of the most common things every instructor told us was, “get a white light” on your fighting weapon. There are some handgun options where you can hold a flashlight while using a handgun and not have a fixed light on it which makes holster options very limited. The Section8 Tactical ultimate retention device is a good tool to use, but this isn’t recommended for using with a shotgun or carbine. I recenltly finished a training course where we used lasers for defensive purposes. The best tactical for using lasers is knowing when to turn them off. Yes, using a flashlight or laser is a giveaway, but spotlighting a threat and identifying it is paramount.
The 2nd most common suggestion for a home defense weapon is the shotgun. Setup a target at 15yds and put 9- 9mm bullets in center mass, then pick up a shotgun with OO buck and pull the trigger. The shotgun will will that argument every time. Shotguns are almost always heavy and can be awkward to shoot in some situations, primarily the most commong pump action ones. ATI Rifle Stocks have a pistol flashlight accessory that works well for putting white light on your shotgun. You can easily take that $180 used Remington 870 that was being sold at your gun shop and convert it into a brutal close quarters fighting weapon. I strongly recommend getting the stock length to the appropriate LOP. I’ve seen plenty of lazy people think they will be find in a course until they get down and dirty and end up punching themselves in the nose with their strong hand when the gun recoils.
Ever since the gun community went from the A2 style AR15s to the M4 Configurations, the AR15 became the most modified and accessorized firearm in existance. I sometimes have to stair at some of these AR15 designs to tell if it is even a 5.56 gun anymore. The AR15s these days are the old style Direct Impingement guns and also various style pistol driven guns. There are plenty of lower grade stock accessories that look cool and tactical, but they won’t hold up to bad weather and rough play. The old “you get what you paid for” is still true today.
We’ve all seen skyrocketing ammo prices and a run on various styles of weapons. There was a run on guns and ammo as the economy started to tank and also a shift in the Political climate. Back in 2006 there was a hint that the now Democratic controlled Congress might get cocky and try putting another 1994 assault weapons ban in place and gun owners became concerned, then there was the Obama administration win in 2008. For those old enough to remember the political climate in the 1990s, we’ve seen this shift before.
This weekend there is another Gun Show in my area that is one of my favorite places to go. I hear a lot of gun shops complaining about how the internet is taking away a lot of their business because people just go online and buy stuff and have it shipped to their homes. The reality is that this is true, but sometimes you still want to feel something in your hands and a gun shop or a gun show is the best place to pick something up and hold it in your hands. If you bring cash with you, you are more likely to get a better deal on ammo prices or gun accessories. One hint I would suggest is to go on the last day for the best deals.
I’m not aware of any indoor shooting ranges that are longer than 50yds, but I assume there are some out there. I’ve probable been to and shot at over a hundred different firing ranges in the Country and some were very impressive. I’d have to admit that at 90% of the ones I was in, there was either a bullet in the table or a bullet in the ceiling far too close to the tables. This tells you that there is always going to be a certain percentage of risk when dealing with the public. I’ve seen about as much negligence on firing ranges that I see on a daily basis on the roads with people driving, so theres the reality of being with gun owners.
Which gun is best for CCW? Which caliber is better than X? 9mm Vs. 45acp, which has more stopping power? I’ve been shooting guns for decades and carrying for close to 30yrs. I remember the early days when I was carrying a full size 1911 because I expected the worst and wanted the biggest possible gun I owned to be on me 24/7. As the years went by I got more involved in reloading bullets for handguns and then I started to notice the differences from caliber to caliber. I was amazed at the number of guns that are being used nowadays that all shoot the same bullet, but at different velocities.
Finding a gun club that fits our style of shooting can be difficult in some States, but for other States there are so many gun clubs around, but trying to find out where they are and who to contact is difficult. We have been compiling as much info about 
The Beretta 92FS is one of the longest serving sidearms in the United States Military for a reason. As much as a love the 1911, I have to agree that an average shooter will be more proficient with the M9 than with the M1911. Carrying the Beretta 92FS in an IWB holster is possible but I doubt it would be very comfortable for 24/7, but try putting one in a Fobus paddle holster and wear a good gun belt like The Wilderness instructor belts and you won’t notice the weight. I would highly recommend picking up atleast 1 double mag holder for your sidearm. These are great Winter carry guns and carry holsters, but will require a longer cut coat or jacket for concealment.
For most of the United States, we are moving towards warm weather. It’s time for us to think about our summer CCW and for those of us that were tactical apparel for work, time to switch to lightweight tactical pants. The military learned this the hard way in the Pacific Theatre during WWII. Wearing the wrong type of clothing in certain environments can mean freezing to death or unneccessary sweating. We don’t recommend wearing shorts in the winter for obvious reasons, but sometimes we still need to wear pants even though it’s pretty darn hot out.
Ammo availability seems to be slowly coming back. The last gun show I went to actually had .380 ammo which was telling. Russian ammo has slowly been dropping back to pre-Obama administration prices, too. We’ve been seeing a lot of people switch to the 5.45×39 uppers from Smith & Wesson and I got to see a few of them last weekend. The caliber is so close to the American 5.56 round that you gotta read the barrels to know what the calibers are. Later next month I hope to be at a show in the Dallas Fort Worth area to see more