All posts by Soda_Pop

AR15 Complete Upper Receivers, Modify existing or buy another one?

AR15 Complete Upper ReceiversEvery since the Magpul MOE handguards came out we saw a huge decline in sales of the metal quad rail systems.   The Magpul MOE accessories really was a major changing in the way accessories are added to an AR15 or other firearm like an Remington 870 or whatever else Magpul Inc is making.   There are plenty of reasons to keep your rail system on you gun because I’ve recently witnessed some “rate of fire” tests where many plastic accessories just burnt right up so always know the operating limits of any firearm alteration.

Even though sometimes the cost of buying another complete AR15 Firearm vs just buying  AR15 Complete Upper Receivers might only be a few hundred dollars, if you are thinking about stripping down your enter upper receiver think about the cost of all of the parts you are removing and if they are re-sellable or not.   I would suggest thinking about buying another upper receiver and if you like it a lot, then consider buying a lower receiver for it later to complete the 2nd firearm. Its a much better idea then regretting selling off a firearm.

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Gun Cases, Rifle Case and Pistol Case and what do you want to do with them?

I’ve dGun Casesone some serious upgrades to the rifle cases and range bags that I’ve used in the past because I got tired of forgetting things at home or bringing the wrong tools or magazines with me.   I’ve got stacks of Uncle Mike’s Gun cases that  have served me well, but the truth of the matter is I’ve got better optics on my rifles and more expensive flashlights that all of my AR15 Carbines travel in an Elite Surival Covert Operations Bag.   In this day and age of California laws on not displaying firearms in public or hyper active neighbors that think the next Columbine is going to happen in the driveway next door to them.  There are tons of Nylon companies out there like Voodoo Tactical, Uncle Mike’s, Blackhawk and more but once you accessorize your firearms you’ll know exactly what I mean about having problems zipping cases shut, guns sliding around and getting scraped up and broken zippers or zipper tabs.

Whatever floats your boat, and not everyone needs a Range Bag that holds 4 pistols, ammo, sight in tools, magazines and all the bells and whistles that put it up to a $100+ range bag.    I have plenty of gun cases that I don’t even know what the brands are, but gun socks and Allen Gun Cases have plenty of quick fixes to gun transportation and gun storage.   If Nylon gun cases don’t cut it check out the Bulldog Hybrid case with the foam inserts.  Gun Guard has a good selection of hard pistol cases and hard rifle cases that work well with Bolt Action Rifles with Optics and aren’t going to blow your bank like some of the SKB Cases.

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Tru-Spec Multicam and Camo Options and A-Tacs patterns around the corner

There are many reasons to wear camouflage but not always is it to hide you.  I don’t know how many times I’ve seen hunters with $150 camo suits on but then they have the bright orange vest that out them.   Well, from my experience, some of those zip up one piece suits have a lot of utility applications and I actually use a Tru-Spec Assault Suit in Multicam because it’s got even more pockets and utility than most hunting suits, cost a pretty penny, but it works for Archery Season and depending on the environment you are hunting in, you don’t always have to have an orange vest on, during rifle season it’s another story.   We have a lot of cross overs in this industry with Paintball and Airsoft and have plenty of adults buying the Tru-Spec Multicam, Tru-Spec All Terrain Tiger and even there broad selection of other camo pants in Urban Digital and the woodland camo.  Somtimes it fun to get an entire team on the same page with the same patterns so you know who’s on your side.

Hiding yourself and living up to the definition of camouflaging yourself can be very difficult.  Depending on the environment you are in, which can change if you in the woods or on a hillside isn’t going to happen most of the type, you’d need a cloaking device.   Part of Sniper training in the military is being able to adapt to the environment you are in and you are not going to be sent to the field with your camo, you’re going to have to put it all together yourself and make sure it works.   There are some people that love the Tru-Spec BDU Shorts in various camo patterns just for the look but there are much newer patterns coming out lately.   This past year there were several new pants available in Multicam and the new Multicam BlackMultiCamBlack A-Tacs.   We recently read that there are new Tru-Spec A-Tacs patterns coming out and they are very much a technological advancement in clothing and far advanced from the Digital Patterns of the past.   The best thing about having Paintball or Airsoft Tactical Clothing is you can basically wear the same thing during hunting season.

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First Aid, Medical Gear and Rescue gear, how close are you to it?

Rescue GearIt seems that in this industry, every time you buy something,  you have to buy something else to perfect it.  Just buying a first aid kit doesn’t cut it with me because even now, most of the first aid kits you see at Rite Aid or a neighborhood Drug Store isn’t going to have anything that relates to trauma, it’s mostly for people with boo boos, not lacerations, stabbings or gun show wounds.   If you don’t have any of the QuikClot, go out and atleast get the QuickClot Sport, if you are a gun owner, get the Combat Gauze and keep it in your car or in your range bag.   There are so many things to consider when putting together a medical bag,  but if you can afford it, there is every reason to keep some type of Go Bag with you at all times.    I have put together medical gear that stays in the family car, a medical box at home, one in my car and I also have a belt trama kit that goes in my tactical vest.

Sure you don’t need to have all of that stuff in 4 different locations, but in this day and age, it’s real easy to be the person that “can handle it” if you are faced with some type of emergency response.   Kids get hit by cars, dogs bite people,  lawn mower accidents occur and the most common thing are car accidents.   You should always have some type of glass break device in your vehicle and a knife that you know can cut a seat belt.   I’m more prone to want partially serrated knives since cutting through rope or seat belts often needs sawing.   If you don’t have a tourniquet, atleast always know that something like a belt can also work to some degree.   Also consider having rescue gear that applies to both Summer Hot weather or Winter wear.   Emergency Blankets are so inexpensive that keeping a few in the back of your car, especially if you have kids, is something  you may need if your car broke down in temperatures like we had in the Winter of 2014.   Consider some type of portable water filtration unit like some of the Camelback products so even if you don’t have water, if you can find it, you can drink it safely without having to haul large quantities around.

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511 Tactical Footwear, Brand Names and Picking the best

511 Tactical BootsOne thing about our product  line is that we never get caught  up with “this brand is better than another” so much of the tactical clothing and tactical gear world is getting what you paid for.   When it comes to comfort, it’s up to our customer to determine what works best for them.   Here in the Pennsylvania area we get all 4 Seasons, Summer, Winter, Fall and Spring so you need to switch up your clothing at some point.   This year was particularly harsh as far as winter goes and we added a few things to our “winter clothing” category and expecting our 5.11 Socks to include the heavier winter items.  5.11 Tactical is a monster of a company and and is hands down the best known product line and basically because they started it all.   There are a lot of Pros and Cons of every product we sell and we often pick the best products from 5.11 and leave the flashlights and Novelty stuff to the big 5.11 showcase dealers but there are plenty of 5.11 backpacks and gear that has a strong grip of the Emergency Management and Law Enforcement Market.

Like shorts and  pants, footwear needs to change up with the seasons and we’ve had a lot of people come in here asking us to carry some of the Taclite gear in the 5.11 Tactical product line and recently expanded the 511 Tactical Boots in our product line.   We hear a lot of the same stories from brand to brand like ” I don’t like those boots, they fall apart on me” or “they just weren’t comfortable.”   Comfort is your decision and if you have the same problems with a certain boot style or brand, consider  spending more money if you want years of durability.   So much of this can depend on what your work and footwear stress levels are, but here are some of the new products we are carrying online and in our Pennsylvania Tactical Store.

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Snap Caps, what’s the whole purpose ? Dry Firing? Clearing Malfunctions?

Snap CapsWell, I’ll tell you I don’t see too many directions on the packages and people ask us all the time about them, but I personally find them to be an excellent tool for doing malfunction drills.   Sometimes you can just take an empty shell and put it  in the chamber so it looks like a stove pipe, but I find it to be better training to actually allow your firearm to close on a dead round, recognize the gun won’t fire by hearing a click, and then just run through the “tap, rack, fire.”  It’s an excellent way to teach people to clear malfunctions.  I have never allowed someone I taught, to carry a firearm until they learned to clear malfunctions.   My reasoning is this, I have often seen less experiences shooters to be prone to limp wristing and because they probable have not trained under stress, they are more likely to see a malfunction which could mean having their gun taken from them or not being able to defend themselves.   Also, it’s very common for people to not load their firearms properly in the first place.

Snap caps are available from 17HMR to 22 Caliber and all of the major handgun calibers from .380 snap caps, 38 Special Snap caps, 9mm-45acp Snap caps.   I’ve found the 38 Special and revolver calibers to be excellent training accessories for practicing with speed loaders.  If you are taking a shotgun course, you can safely practice all of the loading and unloading skills.   I would personally recommend Snap Caps over some of the cheap plastic dummy rounds because these aluminum bullets won’t fall apart and put plastic shards in the mechanical parts of your firearm, one of the major reasons I stopped reloading lead bullets was even though they were cheap, I had to practically use a tooth pick to get all of it out, and that one little piece of plastic from a cheaper dummy round could end up in a trigger mechanism or in the action and cause a malfunction.

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Agilite Gear a different way of doing it, magazine pouches and Hi-Vest

Agilite GearAgilite Hi-VestsWe’ve been eye balling the Agilite Gear product line for more than a year and at this stage of our business model, we don’t want to carry everthing because there is plenty of crap gear out there, and if you sell crap, a certain percentage of your customers are going to come back to the retailer and either want a refund or you’ll end up dealing with warranty issues or disappointed customers.   You get what you pay for in this industry and you need to know that before you make a purchase and the other major concern is know what something is used for and if you are going to be using the gear that can achiever your goals.    Standing in line at a IDPA match a few months ago I saw people compete with firearms that they knew nothing about but just shot the match anyway.   You can practice self defense when shooting IDPA but if you haven’t had much experience shooting different guns, how will  you know if you are even capable of shooting your best?   Trigger pulls andd sight radius are going to help you out big time and if you cut yourself short.

The Agilite Hi-vest was the first thing that caught my eye when looking over their product line because they are very much up to date on Multicam and A-Tacs pattern nylon gear.   In the United States most of the Police Departments we deal with are looking for outer carrier vests because as a police officer, your job is to serve and protect, and not look like an Army Soldier unless a SWAT call out is made or you are Patrolman that gets called to an active shooter situation.   The Agilite Gear Hi-vest is something that probable isn’t what Law Enforcement are normally going to do but we have several Border Patrol Personnel wearing these that have given us positive feedback.   Their Agilite Advanced Magazine Pouch is very different than most of the triple mag pouches we’ve sold due to the fact the 3 magazines would be stacked going forward and not across a tactical vest which really is smart because it leaves more space on a Molle system.   The first time I tried out the Agilite Hi-Vests it fell like I was being locked into some type of safety harness because it is extremely comfortable and since it is designed to sit high on the chest, you can easily access gear without having to look down and your ability to move your upper body around corners is not restricted.  The Agilite Hi-Vest is sold with and without the AMAP (Attaching Modular Assault Pack) which I personel didn’t feel I needed at the moment but you can also buy it separately later if need be.    This would be a very cool vest for a Contagion event also.

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Gun Cleaning Supplies if you want it run, and run for a long time, you have to maintain it

Gun Cleaning SuppliesThere are a lot of technological changes taking place with synthetic oils and I have a ton of friends that are using things like Mobil 1 on their firearms, but if you are a hunter, you have to pay attention to lubricants that have rust corrosion abilities.  I’ve had my stories in previous blogs but I have lawn chairs and grills that I never paid attention to and watched them decompose over time because screws rusted or hinges corroded.  You can extend the life of a firearm if you keep in from rusting out and although we are getting close to having composite material rifles, there are plenty of things that can rust through or wear out like gun springs and trigger springs if you don’t watch how you maintain them.  The beauty of modern gun cleaners like Slip 2000 and Frog Lube are that they are going to clean, lubricate and protect your firearms and also non-toxic.

We’re working on some restocks of our best selling items this year and there are some really good Slip 2000 gun cleaning packages with bore cleaners and copper cutters that you might want to think about.   Gun cleaning supplies like boresnakes and one piece cleaning rods are going to make your life easier and I highly suggest using both.   Otis gun cleaning kits tend to be better for those that are mobile and might be doing cleaning on a trip.   We have several Border and Security personnel that use them while they travel State to State for Carbine Instructor courses.   Having the correct chamber brush for an AR15 is the difference between cleaning the chamber and not cleaning the chamber.  And don’t forget that taking  your magazines apart and checking them from time to time for rust and corrosion is another way to make them last.  I’ve seen base plates rust out and drop fully loaded mags on firing ranges.   A slight wipe down of a protective lubricant can stop all of this.

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Upcoming “Night Out” in your local Township? Flashlights and Less Lethal weapons

Streamlight Protac 2LKimber Pepper BlasterEvery year we have been asked to be at our local “Night Out” because we are a business that is use to dealing with people that are concerned about fighting crime and it’s not all about carrying firearms and CCW.   We always warn people when they call us up and tell us they are thinking about carrying a gun because of the crime they are hearing about, like the “knock out game” which recently occurred right near us and is something that has been going around in waves all around the Country.   The pathetic reality about the game is they are picking on individuals that are by themselves and often older or weaker than them.   The answer to defending yourself from this type of crime is not carrying a gun, it’s about situational awareness and in my humble opinion, verbal defense and flashlights and less lethal force like ASP Pepper Sprays, Kimber Pepper Blasters and a good Streamlight Protac 2L with a 260 lumen output and strobe are better starting points.

Without getting into hypothetical reasons of being able to use lethal force in an attack like the “knock out game” there are more stories about people being held up on bus stops and cell phones being stolen over any other crime.   Here in Philadelphia it’s the number one crime that is occurring.   If you are alone always keep your space from any individual or group of people and using verbal defense, lighting them up with a flashlight and using a form of Pepper Spray or cracking a taser to keep them away.  For home defense, the Massad Ayoob Home Defense  DVD from Pantaeo Productions is an excellent give and much of it has to do with having good lighting, not allowing your bushes to grow to high around your house, having a good Alarm System or a dog are also good things to always consider.  One of the biggest suggestions I would have for people attending a Night Out event is to understand how to work with your local Police and be able to give them the information to actually fight crime.   All too often I have met people that don’t know how to gather accurate information like License Plates, Accurate descriptions, time of day and no exaggerations on making reports.  I know plenty of Town Watch people that have been extremely effective in removing problematic neighbors because they knew how to work with Law Enforcement to get things done, and not just complain the police aren’t doing a good job.

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Tru-Spec Tactical Shirts and BDU Shorts for Men and Women

We have plenty of customers that can wear shorts for most of the year but there are some season changes that we deal with and Summer and Winter affects what inventory we stock.    We tend to sell most of the same inventory all  year long due to the fact we sell clothing both Nationally and Internationally as well as local.   It’s sometimes funny to see people in Alaska and Michigan buying sweatshirts while people on the East Coast are well into hot weather.  Usually when all of the IDPA competitions or State competitions are going on we usually see an up tick in sales of womens tactical shorts and pants.  Depending on the environment and the terrain of the competition it’s one or the other.   There are knee pad options with most of the tactical pants we sell but the Hatch knee pads and the Blackhawk Neoprene tend to sell very well.   We have many of the same complaints about inseam lengths for various tactical shorts because just like pants, not everyone is the same height and wanting shorts that have a 7 inch inseam or 9inch will not be available with every company we deal with.

The biggest selling point with the Tru-Spec product line is that they are very consistent in sizing and they are also very durable.  If you have ever seen the Tru-Spec 24/7 Series pants, the Tru-Spec 24/7 Series shorts are just a cut down version of those.   I tend to prefer those Tru-Spec tactical shortsTru-Spec Tactical Shorts over the BDU style because I don’t think it modern times with CCW and Cell phones, flashlights and various knives, that having large pockets where cargo just floats around is all that great.  I’d rather have a pocket for all of my stuff so I know which direction it is pointed and treat each pocket much in the same way I’d treat a firearm in a holster, it stays where you leave until you need it.    The BDU style shorts tend to be popular with the people working in EMS because they are inexpensive and they don’t need a bunch of pockets.    The Tru-Spec ladies clothing is hands down our best rated product line for women, according to our female customer base!

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