All posts tagged Bulldog

Take your gear camping and get back to me

I always enjoy watching the weekend warrior guys show up with their $4000 worth of M4 and accessories that are the first ones to panic and want to leave the range if it starts to drizzle.   The idea that your $4000 rifle will some how get ruined in the rain and the majority of firearms like it are expected to be combat reliable.   Well… what is combat reliability?  Combat reliability is a gun that will take a level of abuse in bad weather and dirty conditions without malfunctioning.  If you have a military issued rifle, the gun better darn well be combat reliable and a little bit of rain shouldn’t concern you.

Combat optics are are also given this description because they better take the abuse and still hold zero.  The gun should work if it gets dropped and the glass better not break.   I’ve retired a few rifle scopes because they would fog up and I learned the lesson of wiping all of my hunting rifles down with a light amount of CLP whenever I brought them back from a trip. Take your gun cases and your firearms out on a day when the weather isn’t that great and have some confidence.   A good nylon rifle case should protect your firearms from moisture and dirt and there’s nothing to cry about if you know your gear.

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Gun storage, gun safes and gun cases

I mentioned a few days ago that the ideal way of locking up all of your firearms and ammunition is to create a fireproof room in your home that you can just walk into.   I know several gun collectors that have done this and if they would have gone out and purchase gun safes they probable would have had to remove a few walls in there house just to get the safes in, not to mention how much destruction they might have caused trying to move one around the house.   I believe my one friend had 3 gun safes that would today, cost close to $10,000, but I don’t think he would have done that again.   Security systems are much better designed and you can keep various sections of your home under active lock downs while it’s free to roam in other areas.

One thing that hasn’t changed very much is the reality that guns usually get damaged during transport and many people don’t  have the right gun cases matching up to the rifles.  I had issues with several of my Uncle Mike’s assault rifle cases not working very well with some of my M4 Carbines when they had anything more than a rifle scope on them.   The Uncle Mike’s gun cases are very good, but if you have lasers or flashlights on them, you may need another fatter type of gun case.  There have been times where I have taken 7-10 rifles to a gun club and that was an enlightening time for me.   After I put my most expensive rifles in the better gun cases like the SKB gun cases, I ended up just having gun socks for shotguns and 22 rifles.  I think gun socks are good for the money, but the Allen Endura gun cases offer a little more protection.

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Spicing up your gun collection with handgun displays

Long before I moved to where I am presently living, I was able to turn a closet in my home  into a gun safe.   I think there needs to be some serious thought put into how safe it is to keep your guns in a closet, but depending on the location in  your home and how strong and secure the door is, the only bad thing other than any a break in would be fire.   If you have a good fire alarm system in your home, the notion that your house is going to burn to the ground shouldn’t really be much of a reality, although it is possible.   There are ways to fire proof areas of your  house especially around closets that can help you avoid having to bring a 500lb safe down your basement steps.   I strongly recommend keeping any kind of firearms safe out of visibility because I have learned that a good $2000 gun safe will only slow a thief down, but not necessarily stop them.

If you have the time to build a small fire proof room  in your home for your firearms, you can avoid all of the clunking and banging around that can happen in other safes.   There are good pistol display racks like the Versatile rack that can organize and spice up the look of your collection.   Springfield Armory also has fun looking GI 1911 gun cases that are a wooden box that looks like you just received it from an airdrop in Europe.  Gun cases can help you keep your guns and stuff organized and protected, but it’s no fun to have to store your guns in a gun safe that is cluttered.  Build yourself a gun closet.

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My new LWRCI an C-Products

With things being pretty shaky with our economy right now,  I have been doing a lot of thought about what I am planning to use at training sessions in the coming year.   I have watched the prices of 5.45×39 for almost 2yrs now and seen very limited movement.    Almost 10yrs ago I did a range test at a 500yd gun club where I tested a Romanian SARI and a Romanian SARII side by side.   I engaged targets at 100yds and tested groups sizes.  I’m very much aware of what the AK was designed to do and expecting better than 4inch groups from a 7.62×39 gun is a  lot with military ammo.   I know you can do better with handloads, but that’s another story.   As I  proceed out to 300yds, I had more and more  hold over with the SARI rifle.   The SARII gun was nailing targets and I don’t think I was holding more than 12 inches over the targets.   Even though I thought the gun was a little clunky, it was as flat shooting as an M4 Carbine.

My LWRCI upper was something I have wished for, for several years.    I know I will  be the first amongst my friends to test this gun out, but it seems to be a better thought out idea over the Smith & Wesson 5.45×39 upper.    The Smith & Wesson is a direct impingement gun and even though they will fit in the same gun cases as my LWRCI, I don’t thing they are the same.   Say what you will about the AR design, but this LWRCI upper is a combat gun and not a plinking gun.   I wouldn’t expect a gun like the S&W to hold up to much abuse unless there was a domestic manufacturer of 5.45×39 ammo.

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Tactical clothing and gun holsters

I recently took a swing by several big gun shops and picked up a few products from tactical clothing companies that I was unfamiliar with.   I do think that many of the top tactical clothing companies are much better than the stuff that was being made years ago.   Clothing manufacturing has gotten better in many regards.   I have several BDU pants from Army Navy stores, but I just can’t stand wearing them anymore.   The hand pockets are too small and the BDU pockets are too flimsy.    If I want BDU pants,  The Eotac Style 201 Pants are the way to go.   If I want to wear denim jeans, I’m going to go with one of the tactical jeans from 5.11, Woolrich Elite or Eotac.

One thing I didn’t like about the 5.11 jeans was that the hand pockets were not any larger than my regular jeans which completely eliminates the possibility of pocket carry.   I had a j-frame 38 Special in the pocket and the handle was showing.   I find this to be a real short coming even though the internal pockets that can stow guns or magazines.   I find these pants to be concealed carry friendly to some degree, but they really were missing some features.   I don’t like the fact that there isn’t spot in the right side at about 3 o’clock that would be gun holsters for most right handed individuals.   Even though I think some of the 205 jeans are a little over designed with the rear pockets, I think pocket carry is really important for CCW wearers and the 5.11 jeans isn’t for that.  The 5.11 jeans can hold your wallet or money, but that’s about it.

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Some say that a shoulder rig isn’t good CCW

Some say that a shoulder rig isn’t a good way of concealing a firearm, but I’d have to say that I think it’s the most comfortable way to carry a medium size auto.   There are considerable differences in the fit of each should rig, but I have actually found that Bulldog and Uncle Mike’s have made some really nice holsters that are very inexpensive.   If you are wearing a good gun belt you won’t have any bunching up where the straps latch on and if you are carrying a firearm in the winter, this can help free up the room around your belt line and give you some other jacket options that aren’t full length.

Galco gun holsters are still making the popular Miami should rig, but I’m not a big fan of the horizontal holsters.   These are banned at most of my CCW courses because it’s hard to actually use the holster and not sweep someone behind you if you are on the firing line.   I prefer to carry large size Sig Sauer pistols when I know I will be wearing a jacket full time and I like to carry them in something other than inside the pants gun holsters. I have recently picked up a Sig 229 in .357 Sig that I hope to get some good practice time in.  I don’t think it’ll be much of a big change from going from a Sig 228 9mm to a Sig 229.   There is a noticeable amount of weight but a whole bunch more punch.

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Concealed carry holter or tactical?

I have to admit that I do read a lot of gun magazines, I guess it’s primarily to educate myself on what is out there as far as firearms and gear and see if there is anything ground breaking.   I remember when I could name about 5 or 6 good gun manufacturers, but now there are so many people making AR15 guns that I don’t think I could really say that I have a very good point of reference if I was going to give my critisism because not all of the direct impingement guns are the same.   There have been some productions with Springfield Armory XD guns when they first came out as well as a few others, but eventually the gun company gets it right.  I have never seen so many holster modifications done in the last 2yrs as I have before.   If you had a Sig 229 6yrs ago and get one now, and put a light on it, time for another gun holsters.

I guess the real question that we need to ask ourselves is do we want a tactical gun or a concealed carry gun?   Even that can become complicated if we start putting lasers on them which many are doing for small frame revolvers and semi-autos.   I took a training course using lasers and gun holsters and learned in the first 5 minutes that a laser has an extreme advantage over non laser guns with shooting around corners.   Anyone that has taken a defensive firearms course has learned to use cover, and limit the exposure when shooting around a corner, keep your feet behind cover and try to only move the barrel and your eyes around the corner.  With a laser, you can learn to keep your gun at one firing point and your head at another which gives your threat 2 things to think about if they want to return fire.

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Soft gun cases are the way to go

I still think having a couple SKB gun cases that were configured for your favorite Carbine and handgun is cool, but I don’t have the money to spend to do that for all of the firearms I own.  The other issue is storing all of the bulk in your home.  For that $3000 rifle with the $1600 optic on it, then go ahead and get  a hard case, but I think after lifting your guns in and out of a vehicle, you’ll be more than happy with using a soft gun case.   Being able to fold up 5 or 6 assault rifle type cases and put it in a closet sure beats having to figure out how the heck to fit 1 hard case in any of my closets.   A soft gun case should be labeled in my opinion so you know which magazines or gear to store in it.   Staying organized and not getting confused and showing up at a range with the wrong magazines is something that is avoidable.

I admit I have gained  much of my experience through making mistakes, but showing up with an AK rifle after an hour of driving and pulling Mini 14 magazines out of one of the gun cases, was a learning experience.  Uncle Mikes assault rifle cases are what I mostly have and for the money I spent and how little wear the cases show, I really could not have justified spending money on anything more expensive.   I have looked into getting a Tac Force transport gun case for long road trips just because I think they stack a little more consistantly, this can be an issue if you are loading up more in a vehicle than just a daily range trip.

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Tactical gear and clothing

There are a lot of words that get thrown around in the firearm industry that are fairly broad.    Tactical clothing these days may sound like BDUs to one person and 5.11 tactical clothing to another.    Tactical gear can mean anything from a folding stock to a knife, or a $1500 rifle scope.    The word “tactical” doesn’t really tell you what something is going to be used for in the field.    I have some pretty dressed down AR15 rifles that to some people, just look like violent weapons and scare them, while most of us that are familiar with the accessorized M4 Carbine, will find a A2 style AR15 to be  pretty bland.

The so called tactical clothing and concealed carry markets seem to be new markets and these terms get thrown around a lot but don’t really tell us much.  To the trained individual, they can spot a knife in the pocket and 5.11 style pants from a mile away and loads of pockets full of tactical gear and usually that’s a dead giveaway that someone is carrying a firearm.   Think about what purpose your clothing is to serve and adapt to it.   There are more than a few good clothing companies that are making concealed carry friendly apparel.

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CCW and gray areas

When an individual decides that they are going to be carrying a firearm, they must first understand that even though they are permitted to carry a firearm, there are some places that they cannot carry.   Most areas that you can not carry are obvious, like government buildings, court rooms ect, but each State has some areas you may not.    Even though it may be legal to carry a concealed firearm into a bank in your State, a bank that has had a previous history of robberies may have a metal detector that you will have to walk through, and since it’s guaranteed that you’ll set it off, it may be a good idea to leave your firearm in the car.

There are many gray areas for CCWing.   When selecting a gun holsters, it may be wise to think about the what ifs, and how much of a headache it’s going to be to have to take your holster off during the day.   I have personally seen a few clip on holsters fail during CCW where the student comically points the gun with the holster on it at the target.   Even though this has occured numerous times, I still have to state that the belts that were being used were not ideal.   It is extremely important to select a good gun belt that securely holds your clip on holster.

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