All posts by Soda_Pop

Rothco Concealed Carry Vests something to consider if you don’t want to pocket carry

That seems to be the dilemma with the season change.   The Smith & Wesson Shield is probable the most popular firearms right now because everyone is getting them with a $75 rebate and from a local gun shop.   It’s still cold this May of 2017 in Pennsylvania, but as soon as it gets hot, it’s pretty much shorts and a t-shirt for most of our customers.   We’re actively researching new products lines because many of the pocket carry friendly clothing brands we use to sell are no longer available.  It’s also getting  harder and harder to find real CCW vests because so many of them are overly designed and tactical.

The Rothco Under Cover Travel Vest and the Rothco Concealed Carry Softshell vests are exactly what caught our eye that we knew our customer base would like.   We’ve only been selling their products for a few months but they are reasonable priced and cut for CCW.  There are other Rothco Concealed Carry Vests, but I wish there was a 100% cotton version of the Rothco Professional Concealed Carry vest because it looks exactly like the Eotac 102 lightweight vest that so many IDPA competitors wore, but it is slightly heavier weight which might be an issue with some of our customers.

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Original Swat Dress Oxfords a great deal on something you might hardly wear

Not everyone is going to need a shoe like this very often, but in our industry, almost everyone needs to wear them every once in awhile.   We have a lot of last minute ” I need those shiny shoes” and everyone is shocked at how inexpensive they are.   There have been some changes to the sole of the shoes to make them more comfortable compared to the original design that came out several years ago, but this is something we always try to keep in stock.   Whether it’s for color guard or funderals, you should consider picking up a pair of the Original Swat Dress Oxfords for your wardrobe.

Shoes like this aren’t something you are going to be able to wear all the time, but when you need high gloss footwear because your uniform code calls for it, or you want to get away with using this for a Wedding this weekend, the Original Swat Dress Oxfords are normally $54.99 which won’t burn a hole in your pocket and are almost half the price of the normal boot prices.  These also have better traction that many, more expensive dress shoes and I can tell you and they sell very well in our market.

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Ring’s Blue Guns are they still needed for training?

We’ve been around long enough to know that we can trust that Ring’s molds their plastic guns with outstanding quality.   I recently spoke to a firearm instructor that told me we need to carry airsoft because it’s better than blue guns.   Well, I told him that Airsoft isn’t really the thing you should be bringing into a classroom because people still need to wear eyewear.   Ring’s Blue guns are still relevant to the industry because you can do demonstrations and training with optics, weapon mounted flashlights, and firearm safety without fear of pellets flying at you.   Anyone that has been around firing ranges long enough can tell you about all of the accidents that could have been avoid with better training.

Whether it’s holstering and un-holster, training to use a light on a handgun, it’s always best to teach people in a classroom before going to a range.  Recently there was an incident at a range where someone had a piece of hot brass go down their shirt and they reached for the hot brass with the loaded gun in their hand to retrieve it and ended up discharging the handgun and shot a person standing behind them.    When people are new, they don’t have the muscle memory to be safe, I will never move someone to a live fire range without knowing that they are ready.    It is also a fact that Ring’s Blue Guns are highly sought after by holster makers, and we all know from SHOT SHOW that there are always new models coming out every year.

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Gun Safety, Self Defense and the liabilities of unlocked firearms Gunvault Gunsafes reduces the liabilites

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We recently had new customers ask us what we thought about keeping firearms in the bedroom loaded, and in the night stand.   I’ve heard of several firearms instructors warn people of sleep walkers, and stress, and bedside firearms not being a good mix.   I’m not a fan of biometric safes because dead bodies can be dragged over to a safe and opened.   Didn’t think of that?  Yeah, that’s how criminals work, your fingerprints still work when you’re lungs aren’t breathing.  If criminals don’t acquire firearms via straw-purchases, they get them from breaking into homes and stealing the guns.   Gun safes don’t “stop” criminals from stealing firearms, but they dramatically slow them down, sometimes by hours.   The most common break ins are daytime smash and grabs to the master bedroom.  If you have a bedside gun or a shotgun in the closest and not in a Gunvault Gun Safe, you can bet that, the bad guys will view that as a prize.

There is a new gun safe from Gunvault that is meant for storing Carbines or short barrel shotguns in.  It’s not too heavy that you have to worry about it ruining a second story floor.   I highly suggest push button combination Gunvault Gunsafes and not keylock or combination locks, unless it’s for a car safe.   I recently took Act 235 certification and we were warned that in Phildelphia, if you leave your firearm in a car and it gets stolen, that you can lose your CCW or Act 235,  get a car safe, keep it in a place where you can see it, and make sure you lock your firearm up when nobody sees you doing it.  The Drawervault and the Speedvault are also things to consider.

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Desantis Holsters Pocket options for season changes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the biggest things you run into when carrying a firearm here in Pennsylvania are the changes you have to make when the weather changes.  Lots of people in our neck of the woods have a Summer Carry and a Winter Carry.  Pocket guns aren’t what they use to be, plenty of people are packing 9mm pocket guns and it doesn’t mean 32acp, 380 or 38 Specials anymore.   There are still a few companies out there that don’t understand that you need deep pockets, especially hand pockets, if you want to win people over to wearing their stuff.   Good pocket holsters are meant to break away from the gun when drawn, but not all materials are abrasive enough to work all the time. The other thing you have to know is pocket holsters wear out.

You expect to spend around $20 for a pocket holster, and some nylon styles are almost have that and sometimes get the job done.   Safariland seems to have the edge on duty holsters like no other, but we still often send our customers to Desantis Holsters to find Leather and non-leather holsters.   The Desantis Nemesis pocket holsters have a reputation for outlasting nylon holsters.   They will get you covered for many of the Glock Firearms, Sig Sauer pocket guns and Smith & Wesson Body Guard as well as all of the various J-Frame revolvers.

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Lots of options for Hearing Protection on the range or on the job

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There has been some big changes in the the way people use and wear hearing protection.  Now that suppressors becoming more and more common, the need for hearing protection with high decibel reduction is going down.   You still do have to watch your ears with certain calibers because you may not know that you are doing damage if you go with something rated low.   Every once in awhile we get people that I normally consider outside the industry, like drummers and construction workers that pick up the foam ear plugs or the Sonic Protectors that Surefire produces.   Not everyone likes to have those heavy headphones on, and anyone using eyewear (which you should) finds out real fast how uncomfortable they are together.

People often ask about the electronic Hearing Protection from Peltor but I find that better for firearms instructors or training instructors.   If I was going to get a best recommendation, I lean heavily towards the Surefire Sonic Defenders.  With the Sonic Defenders, you have color options, size options (you have to measure the inside of your ear with a ruler) and ear canal depths, Once you have your size down, you’ll never go back to foam ear plugs.   And if you really aren’t interested in that and just want the foam ear plugs, just get a jar of them (usually about 100) for usually under $30 and it’ll last you a long time, sometimes that’s a good option for people like me that are always bringing novice shooters to the range that don’t have their own gear.   Sometimes children have trouble with those so junior size hearing protection is the best way to go.

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There’ isn’t always a need for a spotting scope, sometimes Binoculars get the job done

I’ve found that cheap binoculars can get the job done on a bright sunny day, but when you are dealing with low light, that’s when the quality of the optics really start to show there differences.   Some of the compact high magnification optics really don’t cut it in the early morning or late afternoon.   That makes them really bad for something like deer hunting.   The large wide objective lenses may not magnify as much but will give you a wider field of view.   The biggest problem with them is they are best relegated to bird watching.   Not having stability is another major negative of using binoculars.

We sell a lot of binoculars to Law Enforcement that are using them to identify people at a distance usually from a vehicle but when it comes to identifying holes in paper at 400yds, you’re going to need x8 or x10 power, all depends the caliber you are using and how big the holes are.   Konus makes some really good Binoculars and Spotting Scopes, but spotting scopes are hard to transport and I’ve found that just keeping a 3-9×40 scoped rifle around voids the need for them in most cases.  Vortex makes some good binoculars as well as a very interesting monocular which is very fast and lightweight.   The brands you can’t go wrong with are Leupold, Zeiss and Nikon and if you really have the cash, Steiner Binoculars.

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Pelican Cases when you need it!

There are times when you have to match the gun case to the value of a firearm, or if you are traveling long distances or possible shipping a firearm.  Many of these cases are customized to the firearm which gives insurance that it’s not going to be sliding around.  I’ve witnessed many times in my life, UPS drivers, Fedex Drives and Mail Men throwing packages around.  Even our customers will complain to us if a package is not packed right.   Long term storage in environments where you can’t predict what the humidity or temperature are going to be is another reason to buy Pelican Cases.

Pelican designs there products in multiple dimensions and depths and you have to know exactly what you are putting in them and make sure you have enough room to cut or alter the foam inserts that they come with.  There are some variables with pre-cut foam inserts for Pelican Cases but there is often a lot of wasted space when you do that.  Also, most people have different grips, stocks, bi-pods ect so dropping $100-$200 on a pre-cut insert and still having to alter it may or may not be a waste of time.  It’s always good to know somebody that has a hot wire or knows how to set one up to get the job done right.  There are plenty of tutorials on Youtube that you can watch before you take on that adventure.

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Elite Survival Double Agent Rifle Case you might need one

Now that the AR15 is such a popular firearm, many people are realizing that the more you accessorize a firearm, the more likely you are to outgrow those Assault Rifle Cases that that have the 3-5 magazine pouches on the side.  Once you throw on vertical foregrips, flashlights, laser sights ect. the simple inexpensive cases tend to not cut it.  That why we point our customers towards the Elite Survival Systems Double Agent Rifle Cases and the Cover Operations Gun Cases. If you are into competition shooting, 3gun, or possible in Law Enforcement or a tactical team, you might be carrying more than one rifle.   Nylon quality can vary from brand to brand and the cheap stuff doesn’t hold up, the nylon wears out and the zipper break.

If you are looking for quality, protecting your Carbine, and durable tactical nylon, you really need to find a brand that designs there products properly.   The Elite Survival Systems Double Agent Rifle Case is actually a 2nd generation rifle case, a good chunk of our sales are for active military because they don’t want to deal with crap gear that tears and rips easily.   There’s nothing worse than having a firearm in a rifle case that has a cheap zipper or easily tears.   With the new version of the Elite Survival Double Agent Case, you have straps that secure EACH firearm in it’s pocket and reduce movement.  For Competition shooters that have to transport more than one firearm, you should take serious consideration into there brand.

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Elite Survival Systems Stealth Backpack

This product has been around for a little over a year, one of the main selling points is in the description of the product.  In this day and age, not everyone wants to announce they are walking out of their house with a firearm and going away for a range trip or road trip.   This isn’t about being a weekend warrior or being a ninja, not announcing to your neighbors that you are a firearm owner is an asset and not a liability.   There have been more daytime smash and grabs at gun shops and gun owners are being targeted in many ways.  It use to mean that if you were a gun owner people were afraid to break into your home, now people want to break into your home because smash and grabs are someting very hard to stop. The Elite Survival Systems Stealth Backpack has been very popular with SWAT and other Law Enforcement because they know they have to hit the range, but they don’t want to announce it.

Sure this is in the higher priced category, but this is almost a range back and a gun case, all in a backpack.   There are several ways of using this firearm and it has an outstanding design for holding an M4 type firearm.  The Elite Survival Systems Stealth Backpack almost looks like something you’d take to the gym and although it’s not something you want to leave in sight in your car, this will not flag people that see you carrying it or announce you are a black rifle owner.   There are multiple internal pockets and molle and velcro options for attaching magazines, handcuffs flashlights and broken down M4 Carbine AR15 variants.    These are made in the USA gun backpacks there are well worth the investment.  They are superior nylon quality and easy to conceal firearms for work and for the range.  There are ways of customizing these backpacks to hold an IFAK or even magazine pouches, handgun or rifle, or even handcuff and radios.

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