All posts by Soda_Pop

Being the first to buy a new gun?

Kahr MagazinesFactory magazines9mm MagazinesWe’ve seen a lot of recalls in this industry and it’s almost always a gun that just came out, and 6 months later you find out their is a magazine spring issue, extractor issue, or the barrels just don’t cut it and there has to be a Generation 2 or a slightly improved version.   I remember learning this lesson years ago on a firing range when someone in the NYPD was telling me all of his friends were getting Kahr pistols because it had a consistent trigger pull like Glocks did so it was a very nice off duty firearm.  Back then, the Kahr was kind of king of the small 9mm concealed carry crowd because it was very well built and seemed to have a good track record except for one thing, the early production firearms had issues with the trigger pins coming out.

Now that just about everyone and their dog is putting out a .380 handgun, watch and see how many recalls you see this year, or how many guns won’t be around in 2yrs.   One thing for sure is that there isn’t going to be a shortage of getting Kahr Magazines if you end up choosing that design.  Check out all of the gun holster options for Kahr and you’ll see how popular of a gun it is.   Single stack magazines for 9mm, 40 S&W and 45acp are available.  I’ve personally shot a lot of these guns and although I don’t own any, it’s definitely a product line that I would suggest to someone due to parts and availability.

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Reliance on optics, battery life and secondary sighting devices

TherTrijicon RMR sightsRM08Ge is always a very diverse crowd we have that buy from us, from competition shooters, Military Personnel, Law Enforcement and persons just looking for a better optic for the gun range.   There are always price levels and depending on the features you are looking for, you are going to pay for what you get.  There are plenty of less expensive optics on the market than the Trijicon ACOGS, RMRs,  Accupoints ect, but what do you really want?  Battery life is something you need to know ahead of time and if you don’t want to have to worry about turning  your optic on and off it’s most likely going to be Aimpoint optics even though the very expensive Trijicon SRS01 and SRS02 are optics that can compete with Aimpoint on a durability and battery life expectancy.

One option to consider is if so many people are raving about the Aimpoint Micro optics there is an even smaller option called the Trijicon RMR sight.   There are many dot sizes and normally the small the dot the more precise you can be, but now with red, green and amber dots, you should think ahead and decide what your eyes pickup better and whether or not you may end up using some form of night vision in the future.   The Trijicon RMR sights with the Amber dots seem to work better with night vision and according to many statistics, the human eye picks up the green color in low light and at longer distances.   There are several non battery operated options that fiber optics and will eliminate any need for spare batteries, normal battery life for the RMR sights is about 2yrs.

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If your gun isn’t up to par, don’t think adding accessories to it with change anything

MOE MagazinesOD Green AR magazinesFlat Dark EarthFoliage GreenMost AR15 rifles being built today are way ahead of the rifles from 10yrs ago.   I don’t hear about gas keys coming loose, gas tubes coming loose or firearms corroding like they use to.   The metals used today are so much better than before and the way the are put together has also been improved.  Now so many people are building their guns, sometimes from scratch and sometimes just purchasing the the upper receiver after building the lower.  We don’t act like experts when it comes to all the technical know how with various magwell, barrel designs, quad rails or stocks, but we can offer advice to help direct you in the right direction.   Recently we had a large purchase of Magpul magazines and all of the accessories that go with it and had push the product due to the departments lack of knowledge over the product line.

Most of the competition shooters know what all of the ranger plates and accessories values are what is just an over thought out product but sometimes it just comes down to the basics, to win  a competition or to win a fight.   Depending on the legalities of owning standard capacity magazines, Magpul 30rd pmags are by far the most recommended, although I would stick with the Gen 2 PMAGS because I personally  have had spec issues with the Gen 3 pmags and we had to put a recall on them, but I would blame that on Politics and hyperactive demand for the product line.    In this day and age, there are not a lot of GREAT magazines out there, but if your AR15 is not running with Magpul Gen 2 PMAGS or Lancer Magazines, I would highly recommend you consider taking the AR15 to a gunsmith to adjust the magazine release so the mags drop free.

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New Lightweight Tactical Pant, all Nylon

Lightweight Tactical PantsHot Weather ClothingWe had our Tru-Spec Rep in our store a few days ago to show us some of the new stuff coming in right now and later this year.   Everyone that goes to SHOT Show always talks about how it’s flooded with the same old same old, and rarely am I impressed by more than a half dozen NEW products each year.  It’s usually a fad, or some high priced product, that we know we aren’t going to be moving in large volumes, so does it really matter to us or our customers?  The problem we’ve had filling within our clothing line, was the customer base that wore the Woolrich Elite Series product line and the Eotac.  Finding a company to make a 100% cotton ripstop pant that doesn’t shrink and was durable was a hard task. And since those companies are gone, we get a  lot of customers that are looking to replace their old inventory with something new, but since so much of the tactical clothing market is filled with 65%/35% Polyester Cotton, it’s really hard to point people toward other brands.

I’ve got a closet full of tactical clothing from early product prototypes to 5.11 Taclite pros, and the Vertx 98% cotton 2% lycra.   Although I like the Vertx pants I’m not a big fan of the pocket placements and if I have my car keys in my tactical pants pockets and my knife where the knife re-enforcements are, my knife always flies out when I pull something out of the hand pockets.  I realize this is a preference but when you’ve been wearing the same style clothing for almost 8yrs, it’s hard to have to re-arrange your cell phone,  keys,  knife and flashlight locations.   I like the Tru-Spec pocket locations but a large number of our customers don’t like the Poly/Cotton material.   If you are in that category, check out the new All Nylon Tru-Spec Eclipse pant which we’re hoping our customers in the Southwestern United States are going to want to try out.  It’s probable going to be a good option for you this Summer and we’ll be awaiting our customers feedback.

 

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Smith & Wesson gaining with Glock with Law Enforcement?

Smith and Wesson magazinesM&P MagazinesSmith and Wesson Compact magsWe always are noticing trends in this industry because it has a big impact on what we will actually bring in to our store and stock.  There are always the Fad guns and Fad accessories that once the cool factory goes away people move on to something else.   We noticed that trend more than a decade ago, go from heavy barrel AR15s to lightweight upper receivers and even now the lowers are getting lighter and lighter.   Smith & Wesson has always had a big foot in the Law Enforcement and gun community but Glock has clearly gotten a huge foot to stand on because it was a major improvement technologically and in reliability.

The Smith & Wesson M&P was the first gun I personally shot that had the interchangeable back straps and if you are doing a purchase for your entire department, certain guns like this will help you decide on what to buy because there are always going to be hand size differences and caliber tolerances and control are not going to be a problem if you have the proper grip.   We notice that a large number of people have been buying the Smith & Wesson magazines for the M&P 9mm and M&P 40 and the Smith and Wesson Shield has been one of the most asked about gun holster in our store.  It always is a good idea to take  your time and use other peoples experiences when shopping for a firearm but the M&P rifles and handguns are here to stay.

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Don’t short change yourself with a cheap rifle case

Gun CasesAssault Rifle Soft CasesIt always amazes me the number of people that drop $2000 on an AR15 and then show up with the typical $30-$40 assault rifle case they picked up a a gun show.   Recently, we have had a large number of customers that have been issued carbines for their Patrol vehicles and many of them have been hearing the stories about mounts break on flashlights, batteries draining because pressure switches on their Surefire flashlights were being activated because the gun case that someone was using didn’t adapt to their newest addition to their bolt action, AK or M4 carbine.   Even something like a Magpul Vertical Grip can change the way your rifle fits and if you pull the zipper too hard,  you’ll need another case because the zipper is going to blow out.

I’ve always felt that it’s a good idea to assign a gun case to specific rifles so you can keep your magazines together as well as any sight in tools or carbine parts or shooting range gear.  One thing that we often market are the American Made tactical nylon gun cases that Elite Survival Systems and several other companies have.  There are Pelican “hard” gun cases that cost a lot of money but you can’t beat that for sending rifles across Country if you have someone else transporting them.   Lots of Special Ops guys buy the padded gun cases like the “Double Agent” case and they tend to have the fancy stuff on their M4 Carbines.   Learn from

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Did you have your Star Wars and G.I. Joe stuff taken away from you and replaced with Magpul Accessories?

Scout MOE Mount M4 rail coversMagpul PRS AR15 StocksItMagpul Stocks and accessories AR15 trigger guard‘s often a line I use when we deal with the “I’m building a rifle” because it’s often the case.   Children from the 70’s and 80’s all remember all of the Action Figures and accessories and the TV Commercials that posted all of the cool new Desert Trooper accessories that he came “Dusty”.  Watching some of these guys shop for their AR15 accessories and having those Commercials play in my head I can always profile which of those Action Figures they were into.   You pick this stuff watching those with certain mechanical skills use different approaches to basically were tastes.   While we know we’re dealing with deadly weapons now, there is so much science and skill with being a proficient marksmen that there is nothing wrong with having fun with your firearms because it’s a National Heritage.

The AR15 is really the modern musket and there are entry level guns, usually A2 sights and fixed stocks which Magpul has lots of options for modifications.   The vast majority of our customers are very happy with Magpul Stocks and Accessories and although we move a considerable amount of Troy and Tango Down pistol grips and stocks,  the modifications you may choose for your M4 Carbine are going to be as vast and the shoe sizes of everyone that owns this style of rifle.    The Magpul CTR stocks are the first option when moving from a Fixed stock to a varying position but knowing how to get a good cheek weld and not thinking you’re going to have to put risers and over think the gun is the way to start from.  If its not working you can always figure it out, just take one thing at a time.

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Evaluation of various Tactical Clothing Companies 5.11, Vertx, Tru-Spec ect.

Multicam Combat ShirtMulticam Black PantsTruSpec jacketsTactical Softshell JacketsCCW VestsConcealed Carry Shirtstactical pants Tactical Vests12yrs ago everything was very different and 5.11 Tactical was pretty much the only brand you would see in a gun shop or tactical store but not so much anymore.   Just by looking at the number of “likes” 5.11 tactical has on Facebook is pretty telling as to how big and widely accepted they are but not everyone needs to tow the brand names like they are a Rock Band they need to follow.  There are so many material differences, fit differences, quality control and features each product has that sometimes it just comes down to tactical clothing preferences, season changes can also make you decide on a different brand because some tactical shorts just don’t up to what you desire.   I personally find Tru-Spec tactical pants and tactical shorts to be an easy option to go back and forth between Winter and Summer Clothing because the pockets are exactly the same.

In extreme temperatures like we had this past Winter in Pennsylvania, lightweight tactical pants like Blackhawk lightweight pants and anything 100% cotton ripstop or the 65/35 Polyester cotton ripstop were not warm enough and more people were switching over to the Woolrich Elite Series cotton canvas pant, the Tru-Spec cotton pants and the Vertx all cotton with 2% Lycra pants.   Everyone is different with their tolerances of what they can handle but sticking to only one Tactical Clothing company and not only sticking to one brand has helped Rogue Elite gain more customers.  Finding the right fit is something you can do when you know you can drive an hour to a store and check your sizing or ask questions and be shown all of the features.

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If it’s not a Blackhawk it’s probable a Safariland

Safariland Auto Locking HolsterSafariland holstersdrop leg holstersSafariland Duty HolstersThis is a sensitive debate because there is plenty of proof that a lack of training with any mechanical device, gun holster, Magpul Accessory ect, will lead to accidents or to mechanical failure.    Any operator that does not have the discipline to keep their finger off the trigger while racking the slide is eventually going to have an ND and pushing the Blackhawk Serpa on them in My personal opinion a really bad idea.  I’ve seen enough novice behavior on firing ranges to know that range time and muscle memory isn’t something that will always come quickly and there are other retention holsters for Law Enforcement or CCW that are entry level yet still excellent holster.

Now that so many guns are being made with accessory rails, making sure you get the correct holster fit is going to mean double checking all of your specifications.   Safariland has a very good holster fit guide on their website that will help narrow down all of the available Safariland Holsters so you will know if they even have a holster for you if you are looking for one for your M&P or Springfield XD and want a TLR1, TLR2 or Surefire X300 flashlight on it.   There are a lot of reason to go with a Sig Sauer, Beretta 92, Government 1911 or Glock firearm if you want a light on it because even though Safarilands product line is vast, they don’t make holsters for every firearm design out there.

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When choosing iron sights other than Magpul

Troy Night SightsFlip Up Rear Sights The products we get asked about the most when discussing various AR15 battle sights are almost always either Magpul Flip up sights or Troy Industries.  One thing you should notice when shopping for accessories is noticing what AR15 Carbines are being sold with certain packages, and the reason they do is because that’s how people usually like them.   There are plenty of upper receivers that we sell that come with the iron sights on them and Troy battle sights are one of them.   I have a couple LWRCI Carbines that have the LWRC Logo on the sights but they are all made by Troy Industries.   Recently I attended a low light suppressed shoot and got to test out various night sighting systems, Trijicon and Surefire products were all over the range, but there were trade offs with every product.

The night sights of the past are now becoming even more out dated because they were mostly meant for handguns.  Now many AR15 sighting systems have certain pattern Troy SightsFixed Sights sights built into the rear sight that can make identifying your sight picture.   It’s amazing how color and brightness can affect whether or not you can even get a shot off.   There are reasons why most military and Law Enforcement have moved towards green lasers and green reticles and it’s not a bad idea to pick up Troy fixed or fold down sights for their Carbines.   Front sight night sights are very common but that doesn’t always help out and sometimes some foresight into dropping the cash for a rear sight is a good way to go.

 

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