All posts tagged Flashlights

Weapon mounted lights, handguns, shotguns and Carbines

streamlight flashlights I’m looking at all of the new lights that are coming out in 2013 and I can’t believe the changes that are taking place.  We had a customer that recently told us they picked up a 500 lumen Streamlight flashlight from another dealer and mounted it on their new M4 rifle.  At first I was thinking it would probable be a $500 flashlight and it turned out it was an $80 Streamlight flashlight.  I seriously don’t understand how the heck people can justify some of the flashlights that Surefire and some others have made and I think their is going to be a blood bath in the industry when these new and improved versions of lights hit the market.  I remember the Surefire G2 being a staple for AR15 rifles but not anymore.

I never had much interest in the Streamlight TLR-1S flashlight because I’m not a police officer and and don’t need to carry a large auto on daily patrols.   We have a clear out of the older models of Streamlight flashlights for sale in our Broomall, Pennsylvania showroom so stop in if you want to get some really good deals.  There are still customers that want to smaller Micro-stream AA battery flashlights because they are small and compact and are very EMT and Paramedic friendly.  There are a few guys that run car repair shops and also use various flashlights just so they can in and see the hard to reach stuff.

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Is pepper spray and mace a thing of the past?

I have been fortunate to have attended plenty of tactical conferences over the last year and it came up several times during training sessions that there is a move away from using mace like Sabre Defense products and towards  using tasers.   Tasers don’t have the blow back that mace has and of all of the times I have every trained with pepper spray or mace, my lips and eyes always got a little bit of it.   It’s still a very good thing to have on you if you want a less lethal and lower legal liability to use in a bad situation.   If I could name all of the times I have ever felt uneasy dealing with someone or was in a hostile situation, it was almost in or around a place serving alcohol.

Now that there is a lawyer  hiding under every rock, if you choose to carry a firearm for self defense you better be prepared to deal with the legal consequences of every action.   Streamlight flashlights are even being sold as defensive weapons for the strobe feature or the striking bezel.   Until tasers become smaller and more compact, I find them to be  a little too impractical to carry, but the time will come.  One of my favorites to this day is the Kimber Guardian II which looks and feels more like a gun but lasts much longer than bottles pepper sprays.   They are going to cost you more, but they are worth it.

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Streamlight and it’s competition

I was at several tactical conferences over the last few months from the NYTOA, NJTOA, and the NRA Convention in Pittsburgh.    I got into using Streamlight flashlights because they were well within my price range and seemed to be more worthy of being used with firearms than anything that Radio Shack had in stock.   I really didn’t  know what I was doing when I purchased a CAA mount on my M4 Carbine, but it got it to work after using a good bit of super glue.   I’ve found that everything you need to mount on a M4 rail needs loctite or super glue.  The mount I got for my Streamlight scorpion didn’t hold and it wasn’t just because of the mount, the rubber cover on the Scorpion didn’t grip the mount well at all.

Streamlight seems to have a good foot in the door for Law Enforcement and Firemen.   I was not impressed with the price margins on some of the Surefire flashlights that I cam across because spending more than $200 on any flashlight is something disturbing if you ask me.  Streamlight flashlights are price well and I still primarily push the Streamlight Scorpion and the Polytac flashlights for weapons mounting.   There are pressure switches you can use, but I have not had the need for them. The Profession Series are really nice for CCW because they are smaller to stow in a pocket but not too small they they need to be on a keychain or easily lost.

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CCW options, gun, knife, mace, fists, flashlights and strobes

I think those about sum up your options for fighting and maybe if you are in good shape a good kicking foot will do.   I primarily count on firearms for self defense because there are levels of threats and levels of criminal intent and showing a gun is enough to deter most crimes when a knife or flashlight really might just make a bad guy laugh at you especially if he’s bigger.  I’ve seen first hand that a untrained person with a knife isn’t going to inflict much damage and unless you actually know how to move with a knife, don’t even try and wield it.   A tactical knife is a good accessory to concealed carry, but not something for the amateur to fight with.

Something to consider which is showing up more and more in CCW flashlight courses I have sat in on are the strobe flashlights.   Now, first of all, I’m not going to tell you that it’s something that is going to stop a threat, I’m just saying that it is something else to consider especially when Streamlight Flashlights only cost you about $50+ dollars and might give you something else to use on a dumb drunk that is really just an annoyance rather than a threat.  An unsuspecting drunk isn’t going to like having a 180 Lumen flashlight and a ” Hi, how are you” from a friendly CCW that flashes him in the eyes and then gets into a car and drives off.

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Suggestions for concealment in Fall and Winter

There are a great many arguments on the gun forums about how bad of an idea it is to carry using a vests becuase it supposedly gives you away.   Well, if you are 22yrs old and wearing a vest and it’s 80F outside, you probable will look out of place, but you have to realize that most bad guys don’t think like that.   If you factor in how many people that carry concealed firearms vs. the statistics that don’t, you’re probable over thinking.   Find out which guy you really prefer to carry and dress accordingly.   The Eotac Style 102 lightweight vest is extremely popular with many of our customers living in Texas and in the Southwest do to it’s 100% cotton material.   It gives you some  protection against the sun and won’t weigh you down.

The Eotac style 103 vests is a fairly new vest, but it has been growing in popularity due to it’s length and pocket designs.  I don’t normally recommend carrying  a fiream in outerwear, but the Eotac vest will help you conceal a full size auto and be able to stow a firearm in the outer pockets without printing.   The elastic straps  inside the pockets will secure any other knives, flashlights or magazines for added security.   This is not a lightweight vest, but I think that it is very well balanced and does not look too tactical for a concealed carry vest.   The Style 101 vests are by far the most tactical looking, but we do have some operators that wear them under another lighweight jacket and prefer the soft fabric over a harness locking vest.

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Hobbies, accessories and reasons

Tactical GearThere area a lot of good upgrades one can do to a firearm, a fighting rifle should be customized to fit an operator.  Advanced Technology makes some quick and easy upgrades for your shotgun or carbine that can give you better grip or balance.  Shotgun shell holders on the buttstock or riding side saddle is a practical tactical upgrade you can do on your remington 870.  The fiberforce stock for the MAK90 is a way to legally get around some firearm bans and are a big step up compared to the stupid thumbhole stocks.    Attach a rifle sling that fits yoru purpose from Blue Force Gear, they come in 1 point, 2 point and 3 point attachements. Minor firearm modifications make need to be done to attache rifle slings, but do some research on various rifle sling configurations to see what works for you.

We’ve all seen the massive accessorizing of firearms in recent years.   Firearms likes SKS rifle and Mini 14s are not immune to the firearm attachements and modifications that have run rampant in the AR15 community.   In my opinion, there are a lot of firearm owners out there that had their Legos taken away from them and they brought that mindset into gun accessorizing and tactical gear stockpiling.    That’s about as harsh as I can be about why people do what they do to their firearms, but some of it is for hobbie reasons, some for practical reasons, and some because people have the obsessive compulsive behavior of needing to spend money.

 

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