All posts tagged Tactical Accessories

The importance of drop free magazines

You need to test your gear and accessories out to know for sure that they work on your firearms because there are so many variables in manufacturing that even the same company can slightly alter a mag well or magazine.   There use to be enormous problems with some AK magazines because not all Communist block countries made them the same.  I had a friend that picked up about 20 AK mags at a gun show and thought he’d stock up on them, only to find out that he had to take a file to most of them because they wouldn’t lock up in the rifles.

When it comes to handguns, the biggest problem that can occur once you get away from Factory magazines for a 1911 are that they don’t drop free.   1911 guns are not know for being very tight when it comes to tolerances and they are for the most part drop in guns.   Wilson Combat magazines are very sleek and are the number one magazine I see at IDPA competitions.   I have 5 1911 handguns all from different companies and Wilsons 7rd and  8 rd are all I ever use.  I think  the guns look better with flush fitting magazines, but reliability is the most important.

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Blackhawk holsters for CCW

I think the Blackhawk Serpa holster is an outstanding design for a duty holster, but it’s not a very good design for CCW.   I remember all of the bashing that use to go on about Glocks vs 1911 handguns for CCW and the arguments  usually came down to people being against manual safeties.   I think there is something to be said for not having a manual safety on a CCW gun and there is a difference between that and having one on a hunting rifle, but it does not make sense to argue that a 1911 is bad for CCW and then tote your Glock 19 around in a Level 2 holster.    You have to weigh and balance the advantages and disadvantages of a firearm and how you would want to deploy it.

 

The Blackhawk Serpa works well as a duty holster and under a vest or a jacket it can work, but I never liked the idea of having to clean a layer of clothing, find the gun release and draw the firearm.   I stopped carry a 1911 after having too many times of missing the thumb safety.   The more you layer your clothing, the more of a risk you are going to run into a problem.  Blackhawk holsters do come in an IWB design that are of a nylon design and better suited for CCW.   I have found there are some advantages of a simple nylon holster for a Kydex or leather.

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Tactical vests that are already thought out

I understand the need for a Molle vest and there is nothing more versatile than a vest designed for just about anything that can be attached to it, but sometimes you just need a tactical vest that isn’t going to  break the bank and isn’t going to make you have to wonder how many magazine pouches, what configuration ect you are going to need when the answer is pretty much what the basics are.  If you want a tactical vest, you either want a sidearm  holster on it or you don’t.   You most likely need magazines for an M4 or M16 variant and possible storage for pistol magazines.  The Woolrich Elite tactical vests are made of a cotton canvas material which makes them very comfortable to wear but won’t make you feel like you are wearing a parachute.

The 4 pockets out the outside of this vest can hold up to 2 30rd M16 magazines.  If you are using GI magazines it will fit easily, holding 2 for a total of 8 magazines of something like Pmags will work, but it will be tight.   Behind the 30rd magazine pockets are inner pockets that can hold single stack or double stack mags.  I use my Woolrich Elite vests for range bags as well as for tactical purposes.   It’s real easy and smart to keep your shooting glasses, ear plugs, tactical gloves and targets, batteries inside the vest.   That way when you need to go, just throw it on and you’re all set.   I have personally loaded my vest up and none of the stitching has torn.   I will say that a fully loaded vest will be a little uncomfortable if you need to be in the seated position.   The 30rd magazines will start to get in the way.  It would be nice to see another tactical vest from Woolrich that sat a little higher on the chest.

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Nothing wrong with cheating

There have been moments in my training experience where I did have to speed up the process and get people in a position where they felt confident enough to have a firearm.   I’m not talking about skipping safety, I’m talking about skipping the 1000rd experience on a firing range.   I had a friend that was taking custody of a cousins baby while the baby’s mother went to drug rehab and the Father of the baby had recently gotten out of jail.   That individual broke into the home of my friend and tried to steal the baby back.   Sound crazy?  It’s actually true and although she had some level of firearm experience,  I didn’t expect to teach her how to disassemble and reassemble a Glock, but I did want her to know how to clear a malfunction.

She asked about putting a laser on a gun and I paused for a moment and asked her if she wanted one, she said yes, so I told her what to get.    She felt comfortable shooting a Sig 230 with a Crimson trace laser grip and that’s all I needed to know.  She put one box of ammo through it and had the right mindset to protect herself and I was done.   This wouldn’t have been ideal for many people, but while she planned on moving out of the area, she was unarmed and we all know what the police will tell you to do, buy a gun.

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The Beretta 92FS still going strong

I remember when the 9mm gun started showing up in  Military service and the stories about them cracking and not being reliable were all over the place.   Now that I’m about three decades older,  I think I have heard the same exact stories from other people about different types of guns.   The real situation with firearms is there are almost always alterations or improvements that take place after the first run comes out.   Just think about the Glock Perfection promotions you see everyone where.  Glock supposedly got it perfect, but now we are seeing the 4th Generation with back straps.   I’m not bashing Glocks because I am a Glock owner and I’ve seen them out run most handguns and they are an elite firearm.   In all honesty most firearms really are just different types of candy.   Sometimes it’s just preference.

The Beretta 92FS is an extremely reliable firearm, it also is a full size auto that needs a good holster.    Our top 2 selling holsters from Blackhawk are the gun holsters made for those carrying the Beretta 92FS in the military also known as the M9 and the Glock 17 and followed closely by the Glock 19.   Blackhawk holsters are outstanding duty holsters and secondary firearm holsters.   Our top level tactical customers prefer the Blackhawk finger release design over tradition thumb break holsters and we have yet to have someone come back to us about quality control issues.    The Beretta 92FS is the stronger version of the original Beretta 92F gun holsters.

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Pressure switches and manual levers

My first experiences with the M4 was with an M4 that had all of the bells and whistles on it that you could possible put there.   The first thing I noticed when I mounted it on my shoulder was that the Eotech holographic sight was canted because the forearm of the firearm was not leveled properly.   The second thing I noticed was that the pressure switch was coming off of the foregrip.   The third thing I noticed about it was the pressure switch didn’t work.   How’s that for a first time experience.   I’ve learned to not point out everything wrong in the world and kindly mentioned that mounting all of the gadgets on the gun properly must have been hard.    The owner mentioned that it worked for him.

I have a nice quad rail on my LWRC M6, but I have still the time or the want to actually put anything on all of the rails.   I have plenty of Streamlight flashlights in my  home because my experiences with them have been slightly better than Surefire flashlights.   I still avoid pressure switches because they snag, can come off and they are another thing that can fail you at the wrong time.   When it comes to handguns flashlights, I do like the TLR-1 up to the TLR-3 which seem to be simple and don’t have reliability issues that more complicated light setups are.

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Is the FAL a good DMR rifle?

I’ve always been a little stumped on why the FAL doesn’t show up on firing ranges as much as it should because I have had extensive experience with DSarms and they have been outstanding.   I did have a lesson learned about using loctite on screws with my FAL and after several thousand rounds later nothing came loose.    There are more accurate FALs and M1A rifles than mine, but 2 MOA means 10 inch groups at 500yds with Portugese surplus ammo and I’m not really sure why I would need to get any better than that for even hunting.   If I know my distance my FAL is still a darn good deer rifle if I could hunt with it here in New York State.   The return of the 7.62 caliber to active military service as a DMR role has given the AR10 and similar style rifles a new life.   I am looking at the LWRCI Repr although still dealing with some sticker shock.

The only draw back I feel I have with the FAL is the heavy trigger.   Maybe I could get it worked down a few pounds but with a good scope I have never missed my targets.   Unbeknownst to me, Larry Vickers is also a fan of the FAL and I recently read a nice read about his take on the FAL.   I haven’t had the need to always use Vickers gloves when shooting, but it’s actually something that I have been working more into my training when taking on a DMR role.     Loading 7.62 bullets into a magazine with gloves on is easier than doing it with smaller pistol caliber or 5.56 gloves so my desire to constantly take them off when loading magazines doesn’t kick in.   I prefer the mid length vickers gloves because they give added protection against burns on the wrist from hot barrels ect.

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Complicating a firearm with buttons and switches?

The era of the over done M4 Carbine seems to be coming to an end, and I have already seen a transition towards the lighter weight Carbines.   When the M4 initially came out, it was suppose to be a lighter weight and smaller weapon to be wielded on the battle field, but many of the ones that I have seen on civilian firing ranges were about the same weight as an M1 Garand.   I have not had very good experience with using pressure switches on flashlights, not only have I seen them fail, like all other wired accessories, but they do open you up to the possibility of snagging on more things.   Something like that would get messed up in a wooded area and in close hallways ect. you can get it caught on just about anything that hangs out.

There is no real advice I can give about what to put on your firearm, all I can tell you to do is to think about the environment you are using it in and think about what “could happen” in that environment.   Streamlight flashlights have worked very well for me, I recently got some negative feedback from a fellow operator about the switches they have on the flashlights now, but I have avoided using pressure switches.   The Streamlight Scorpion I have on my M4 Carbines is located in such a position that I can reach it with my thumb and turn it on and off with ease.

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CCW vs Cop holsters

There is a reason that Cops want locking holster, statistics show that many police get shot by their own guns, and I’m sure there are unknown statistics on the number of times Cops have had guns fall out of holsters.   I recently read a review by an LAPD Officer that sheered an entire gun and holster off of his side while the paddle and belt kept part of it in place.   Anything that can happen will happen and probable already did happen.   I remember when Youtube first got popular there were several people bashing Fobus holsters on how easy it was to rip the guns off of people by tearing the holster.   Truth is, it can happen, but it doesn’t happen that often.   When it comes to CCW, most of the time you won’t be dealing with snagging firearms unless you go to retrieve them and they get caught on a shirt or a jacket.

Level I holsters are for, in my humble opinion, all about speed.    A nice IWB holster for concealed carry should keep the trigger protected and be as comfortable and easy to retrieve as the operator desires.  When it comes to level II Serpa holsters, I think this is a smart thing to consider for anyone in an open carry situation.   Yes the bad guy may know how to release  Blackhawk holsters, but your average bad guy probable doesn’t know how to clear a malfunction or do speed loads either.   If you are that concerned about the gun being taken from you, then don’t open carry.   I believe that the Serpa holster is the best way to carry a secondary firearm also.   The Blackhawk Level III holster is best left for law enforcement and people that are in high risk situations.

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Magazine pouches, fobus vs Blackhawk

I have had a lot of experience using nylon gun holsters and I really can’t say anything bad about them except for the thumb break stile holsters.   I’m not a big fan of holsters with straps on them and I presently only prefer the Blackhawk Serpa holsters for locking and firearm retention.   My Fobus holsters have always served me well and I believe I may own one holster for every medium and large frame auto in my collection.  Fobus makes a nice paddle holster, but I have had experience with the magazine holders and I am not a big fan.

I have quite a few nylon magazine holders and they are very good and keep the magazines where I want them, I do not like to use the nylon magazine holders for CCW and after a short stint at using the Fobus holsters magazine holders, I found out that there is a limit to how many paddle style holsters I can wear comfortable.   I do not recommend the fobus paddle magazine holders because you will feel it dig into you if you have to roll around.  The Blackhawk single and double stack magazines are the best because they actually have tension and mags won’t fly out easy and they aren’t covered like a nylon magazine holder is.

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