Archive for November, 2013

Keeping your light on your gun but switching holsters

safariland holstersWe  have a lot of Cops come in here and ask us for paddle holsters that hold the TLR-1S flashlight.   Some of the Pennsylvania State Troopers have recently switched to the Glock 21 but they are using the Surefire X300.   The holsters are going to be different depending on the light you use, but it’s a royal pain for them to have to show up in court and have all of their duty gear on them.   We  had a lot of requests for these holsters and started stocking them.  The problem with dealing with the Safariland product line is that it tends to be on the expensive side and some of the small time dealers don’t stock the real fancy holsters and rarely stock duty gear.

The Safariland 6280 is the most common duty holster in our neck of the woods but it’s not a good CCW or off duty holster.  Nobody wants the rention even if they like Safariland holsters because the duty gear with the retention hood is meant to protect the Officers gun from being used against him or for flying out of his holster during a pursuit.  The Safariland 5188 is the Glock 21 holster that is getting the most use around here and it does work with the Surefire X200 light if you are using that.  Think about the holster you really are looking for before you pickup some odd ball flashlight that nobody makes a holster for.

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Major Changes to lubrication and gun grease

gun cleaning suppliesLots of gun owners are starting to realize that they should consider using a form of gun grease on their firearms.  Now that so many people are using .308 rifles the heat and friction rates are much higher than 5.56 guns.    Long term storage and larger mechanical parts means harder banging and clanking around and it’s not just the guys that had the Springfield M1A rifles that still use gun grease.   I have been looking for a good gun grease for a long time ever since my Colt gun grease started running out.  We found out about the Slip 2000 gun grease after becoming a Slip 2000 dealer and I have used it on all of my AR15 recoil springs to smooth out the action and also to get rid of that AR15 gun ping that makes the firearm sound like sometime of BB gun.

With all of the Sig and FN SCAR Rifles becoming more and more popular, it’s not just M1A vs FAL as far as durable and reliable 7.62 MM guns.   I have been cleaning out all of my old gun cleaning supplies and bringing in new stuff.  Frog lube is another lubrication we hear about but it’s really up to the customers what works best for them.  M-Pro7 has greatly improved it’s product line and we are moving further away from the old Hoppes #9 that probable 90% of gun owners have used in the past.  The best thing about many of these lubricants is they are also as good with rifles as they are with handguns.  The gun grease are not sticky and thick like they use to be.

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Looking for a red dot sight? Why not consider the RMR sights

There are plenty of reason to consider this small compact red dot sight.   Yes it is an expensive optic but we’ve seen Police Departments in our area remove optics from Police Officers in training when they showed up with red dot sights that were made in China or were know to be inferior.  Their exact quotes were that any sight that was not made by Trijicon, Eotech or Aimpoint it must be put under review and may not be approved.   We’ve seen most  police officers stick with whatever they could find in the $400 price range and that usually means an Aimpoint Pro or an Eotech, but many forget to consider the Trijicon RMR sights.  There are many different optics to consider but the RMR has a very long battery life and is very lightweight.

Fiber optics have their limits, battery powered optics have their limits and you have to train to fight if your optics fail you.   The Trijicon RMR sights we sell are flying out the door, primarily the RM08 green triangle.   One of the things you have to consider is the brightness of a red dot and not always the size.   A small red dot with a very bright setting may actually block your view as badley as a larger MOA dot.   Sometimes if you want precision you have to consider going to a lower power setting and not always worry about your red dot size.

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The differences between hand held flashlights, weapon mounted and lasers and applications

crimson trace laser grips I got a good course in flashlight uses yesterday when a very well known Police instructor showed me how washouts and white outs occur when entering a room, there is such a thing now as too much power candle power.  Everyone is getting shocked when they see the output from some of these new Surefire and Streamlight flashlights and probable 350 Lumens is about what the average Surefire or Streamlight flashlight can put out.   I got a good review of some of the Pelican flashlights and it’s pretty obvious that the technology has greatly advanced.   Having high output is useful outdoors but indoors it can be liability.   Having a light that has adjustable output with a high and low is a good idea.   Also, there are big differences between having a search light vs a point light on your firearm.   Now go back to thinking about how much light you really need.

I have an LWRC M6A2 that I’ve had around for several years and recently had to make some changes due to my angled foregrip cracking.  I have been looking over the Crimson Trace Laser grips and thinking about putting a laser  on  it.   Using night vision in outdoor environments is a real possibility for me and I’ve learned to use lasers as pointing devices when working in team situations.   Its much easier to put a laser on a door in a building to identify the threat rather than to yell out which color and how many doors down the threat is sitting in.  Clearing rooms in a house after a domestic call or an alarm goes off is probable one of the most dangerous things police deal with and knowing how to use lights and lasers in those environment is very important.

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IDPA competition shooters, where to start? We’ll tell ya!

Blackhawk Serpa HolstersJust had another local guy that was getting into shooting IDPA and was not sure where to start from.  We have been getting a lot of customers walking in here trying to figure out what the best holster was for them to get and we always start with the Fobus gun holsters.  Paddle holsters are easy to get on and off and Fobus makes a good product for in the $25 price range.  They are very good for open carry or winter carry.  When it’s time to pick out magazine pouches, we offer nylon, open kydex mag pouches and the Blackhawk single and double stack magazine pouches.  I personally like the Blackhawk open magazine pouches because they have a little bit of tention that keeps the magazines from rattling or coming out under certain levels of shaking.   I always warn people about open magazine pouches because sometimes people do lose gear when moving.

You definitely are not going to want any type of holster with level 2 retention but there is nothing wrong with the Fobus E2 type holsters because you can adjust the tension to your tolerance levels.  The Blackhawk Serpa holsters are more popular with law enforcement and it’s not safe for them to carry guns out in the open without level 2.  Lots of Police Officers get hurt on the job just from scuffles and it gives a little more comfort knowing that in a scuffle the gun is not going to come loose.  Most of the differences between Safariland ALS and the Blackhawk Serpa is about preferences, but they are all very popular with Glock owners.

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Compact sights that get the job done

eotech sights After you gain experience in Law Enforcement you realize that hits matter more than MOA groups.   I’ve been through so much training and had so much range experience that having an accurate rifle does not mean you are going to win a fight.  There are plenty of bad guys that can’t shoot for shit and they still can kill special forces guys if they spray enough gun fire at them.   Ricochet bullets can kill and even body amour mentions on the trama plates that they can cause ricochets so you know bullets don’t always fly straight.  The trend in recent years has been towards red dots and even though Trijicon, Aimpoint and Eotechs have been around for a long time, there are a lot of variations between all of them.  Many of our customers ask for advice but it’s really about what you want to see and  how you use them.

I personally have a strong preference toward Eotech sights and I’m a big fan of the Eotech EXPS2-0 sight.  I have been using Eotech sights for almost 8yrs and only had one battery issue, but wear and tear has to be expected and most of the big name companies have good warranties so you can send them  in for repairs.  My eyes still pickup the Eotech gun sight better than a red dot because red dots always seem to chase the targets to me.   The Eotech sights do have variations in reticles and for longer range engagements you may want the circle with the 2 dot system.  I am a big fan of the Eotech magnifiers.

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Elite Survival Tactical Messenger Bag

Elite Survival bagsRecently I decided it was time to get a lap top for my work because using a  phone still isn’t going to be the same as working off a lap top.   I still have to do trade shows and setup various conventions for customers and even though you can run credit cards off of your phone, it still is a pain in the butt to type and the number of typos I have seen makes taking customer orders a pain in the neck.   Recently we’ve been running various tactical training videos from Panteo Productions and using the DVD player hooked up to a computer monitor or TV very useful.  My biggest problem was how do I carry a lap top around with me without worrying about getting it wet.   One of my friends reminded me that the Special Forces Operators are carrying lap tops around with them in Afghanistan and there are bags out there that are waterproof.

It reminded me to check back to the Elite Survival Systems product line and I forgot about the Elite Tactical Messenger bags.   We have sold many of these to deployed soldiers and the Elite Survival bags we were selling do have an option for this.   The Elite Tactical Messenger bag was slightly more than $100 and the waterproof compartment will keep your electronics dry.   I also have molle locations to store magazine pouches or pockets to hold chargers.  I will be working on picking up several types of Solar chargers to test out and they should all fit into this large bag.   Apparently there is a a Blackhawk bag that is similar to this one but I will post reviews the more I get to use it.

 

 

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Streamlight Profession Series 2L

I have been looking to replaced my Streamlight Scorpion flashlight for some time now, but I didn’t really have a clue from where to start.   I see so many flashlights being sold as CCW lights, but I really can’t justify spending $100 or more on something that is easy to loose.   I’d rather tote a $40 flashlight that is just a bright, but I know where it is at all times and it doesn’t disappear.   You’re reading from a guy that has lost gear inside a few tactical vests before because it’s just too easy to do.

I walked into a local gun shop and checked out a few Streamlights and the reason I have stuck with this brand is because I’ve never had a real reason to go to anyone else.  Streamlight flashlights don’t burn a whole in your pocket and the Profession Tactical series has a strobe that I find fun to use on guests as well as use it for CCW.  The prices are reasonable and I didn’t have a very good experience with a Surefire G2 that I first mounted on an M4 Carbine.

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