All posts by Soda_Pop

Lots of New Streamlight TLR Flashlights this year

Streamlight TLR FlashlightsStreamlight TLR-6 Streamlight Glock 43 FlashlightI don’t know where the ceiling is with flashlight brightness, maybe when it has enough to call it a lightsaber.  There has been much debate from Law Enforcement about what is optimum for doing entries and how much is too much.  The majority that I have spoken to believe that around 200 Lumens is optimum for indoors while outdoors it’s a completely different mindset.   The most important thing you need to know about when considering a flashlight like this is, you are far more likely to be able to identify a threat with a Streamlight TLR-1 Flashlight or the new compact model Streamlight TLR-6 laser light combo.

Flashlights have gotten cheaper to make, with longer run times and double or triple the Lumens compared to 10years ago.  Streamlight TLR Flashlights are a “staple” in this industry are they on just about every Handgun or Carbine.   They have become extremely popular as a Carbine “white light” due to there being an industry move away from pressure switches and people realizing that the lever activation switch is far more reliable.  The New Streamlight TLR-1 HL has an output of 800 Lumens which is quite incredible.  Everyone should have a light on a Carbine but there is such a thing as too much output.

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Safe Practice with Ring’s BlueGuns

Rings BlueGunsIn this industry the one thing you need are good, safe and responsible safety habits.    You can loose muscle memory if you don’t practice,  Ring’s BlueGuns are one option and if you don’t have good practice, you’re an accident waiting to happen.  I can run through the list of stories of all of the negligent discharges of firearms at Police Training Centers, Firearm Academies and Gun Ranges.  People loading guns in the parking lot, new recruits discharging firearms while drawing their weapons, discharges while re-holstering, and discharging firearms while defending themselves in defensive situations.

There are plenty of ways of keeping on top of your skills, and there are other options besides plastic firearms, Blade Tech has plastic replacement barrels, but it’s still not a bad idea to consider throwing Ring’s BlueGuns in to one of your range bags if you may be teaching a novice.   Grip, stance, sight picture, are all things you can teach with a $40 piece of plastic,  Police use them in training rooms, NRA Instructors do too.   It’s not the type of thing you normally find at a gun range or gun shop which is why Tactical Stores like www.RogueElite.net exist.

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Tru-Spec Men’s Tactical Boot Cut Pants – Formerly the Gunny Pant

Tru-Spec Men's Tactical Boot Cut TrousersThis was actually the first pant that I “really” liked that Tru-Spec made.   There is kind of a trademark design that Tru-Spec always had with the way their pockets were cut, and this was more of a design that I preferred due to the rear wallet pockets having a straight look and not the angled cut that the majority of the Tru-Spec 24/ Series pants had.   The BDU Pockets are also designed differently with an open slotted pocket on the outside and a larger BDU pocket behind it.  Now that so many people are carrying cell phones this was an easy access pocket for something just like that.   Once you star wearing clothing like this you don’t really need a belt cell phone carrier anymore.

This is something that people really have a preference over and often ask for the boot cut or non-boot cut.  Just like there are differences in the way jeans are designed, not all tactical clothing companies have the same cut, or fit, even if the waist sizes are the same.   Tru-Spec Men’s Tactical Boot Cut Pants are available in Black or Khaki and also still in the $44.95 dollar range, there are also several other fit designs within the Tru-Spec product line so if one isn’t for you, you still have other styles like the Tru-Spec Ascent, Tru-Spec Eclipse and Tru-Spec Simply Tactical.

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Tru-Spec Cool Camp shirts, might want to work these into your wardrobe

Tru-Spec Cool Camp Shirts

 

We’ve seen a lot of CCW clothing come and go in recent years, one of the biggest problems we see is cost of manufacturing, changes in the market and poor marketing.   So much of the CCW clothing is still too tactical to be low profile.   One of the major reasons we became a dealer for Tru-Spec is when I personally ordered clothing for myself to try on, it was actually the same size and that Blackhawk and Woolrich Elite were.   There are always fit and design differences and it’s very hard to make a shirt that fits everyone because tall and short sizes are what people really come in.   When it comes to hot weather, much of the Country resorts to t-shirts and shorts and if you are IWB or OWB  you have to be careful you aren’t printing which can and does have all kinds of ramifications.

In regards to printing, we have people constantly expect us to give them a magic holster that is comfortable and doesn’t print, but our response is always, you have to “dress” to the firearm that you wish to carry.   If you are looking for an extremely lightweight and breathable CCW shirt, definitely the Tru-Spec Cool Camp Shirts, which to sum up quickly, is a good cut, for CCW.   The Cool Camp Shirts are a 2nd version that Tru-Spec has made, we’re hoping to see more of this because this is the closest thing to any of types of products the now discontinued Woolrich Elite Series shirt inventory had.

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Gun Cases should match the firearm

Gun CasesThere are plenty of different ways to transport a firearm or even store them, and often it comes down to matching the cost of the gun case to the value of the firearm.   Hard Cases like Pelican and SKB are very nice but they are bulky and hard to get in and out of a trunk.   Some gun cases are very low profile and sometimes that’s very important in this day and age.   Even police are buying rifle cases like this so people don’t panic when they see them going to and from training.  What’s in that case?  Sometimes it’s best not to announce it and we definitely lean towards Elite Survival Systems with the Covert Operations Gun Cases and the Elite Survival Stealth Rifle Backpack.

We see plenty of sales data that tell us that Allen Gun Cases and Bulldog Gun Cases also have their niche and they are not all that expensive.    I’m a big fan of gun socks and simple gun cases when dealing with shotguns, lever actions and long guns with and without optics. You just have to keep in mind that slamming the brakes on in a car can slam your guns around when you are transporting them from one place to the other and scope turrets and barrels can be damaged from these.   Another thing to consider, that will cost you more is buying Made in the USA gun cases which we often find are better quality.

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Vicker’s Tactical Glock Magazine base plates

Tango Down Vicker's Tactical Glock Magazine base platesOne thing I learned shooting IDPA was that there are lots of things you can do to your firearm or with your gear, or even your training that can give you a split second improvement to your proficiency.  In competition shooting, those half seconds add up and can mean winning or losing.  In self defense, it means living or dying.   We don’t need to make CCW guns into competition guns because from what I heard, that is something that can be used against you in court, but having a holster you can get your gun out of quickly and magazine pouches that  you can quickly access for reloading is important.   There are a lot of magazine base plates for 1911s from Wilson Combat that will great for competition because it will help you speed up magazine changes but can also cause snagging or hangups of clothing if you are using them for CCW.  There are options that not flush fitting but still give you a bit of a bite so it’s all a balancing act, but if you are using a Glock the Vicker’s Tactical Glock Magazine base plates are probable something you might want to upgrade to for less than $20 that are not too drastic.

One rule of thumb for magazines is that they should drop freely, but depending on the situation you are in, sometimes you can rip them out fast than gravity lets them fall out.  Tango Down Vicker’s Tactical Glock Magazine base plates come in several colors, Blue, Orange, Flat Dark Earth, Black and Tan, we also have them available for not just Glock Firearms, but Smith & Wesson M&P and Springfield XD.  You won’t need any major tools to be able to change the floor plates but if you are a Glock owner, having the Glock tool might make it easier to replace the Glock floor plates.   We also recently added the Glock 43 Tango Down

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Magpul CTR Stocks still the most popular Carbine replacement or build stock

Magpul CTR Carbine Stocks  The future of the firearm industry is going to be with the firearms that are modular.   The Sig P320 and the AR15 Carbine.   It’s hard to find a decent gun shop that actually sells a lot of accessories because the truth of the matter is you really need to know the market and what accessories are worth selling.     The first thing you need to do, whether you are building an AR15 or you are buying one is if the buffer tube is a Commercial or a Mil-Spec, you can’t guess at this, otherwise, you’ll find out the stock wobbles or that you can’t even get it on.   There are ways you can tell just by looking at it vs. having to measure the dimensions of the tube.

Even though there are a lot of changes with handguards and grips, we can clearly see that the Magpul CTR Carbine Stocks are still the #1 rifle stock.   It’s just the best price range, you can still add cheek weld or stock extensions on it and you also can adjust the length to something shorter which is especially important if you are wearing AR500 Armor or some time of plate carrier.  Making sure you have the right stock length will greatly affect your proficiency. Then from there you can decide on what type of handguard or grip you should choose, it has been confirmed that Magpul has discontinue the Magpul MOE handguard and is now only making the Magpul M-Lok so be aware that those take two different rail sections.

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Switching from pants to shorts and cold weather to warm weather check out Tru Spec Shorts in this year

Tru Spec Eclipse ShortsTru Spec 24-7 SERIES MEN'S 9" SHORTSTru Spec Simple Tactical ShortsI’ve got as much variation in tactical clothing in my wardrobe as I do with holsters sitting in a box in my closet.  Some products I hardly wear but keep around for nostalgia like digital camo or lizard pattern military jackets.   I’ve got different fabrics, different fits and and occasionally where them.   Then there are the things I wear all the time and usually have to replace every couple of years.  It’s close to 4yrs I’ve had Tru Spec products in my rotation and I’ve often found that the number of styles I and colors is building up.   The cotton canvas pants are better for winter weather but the 65%/35% polyester cotton ripstop material can get you through most of the year probable 45F-85F, after that, depending on your heat tolerance, you might want to switch to the 100% nylon pants like the Tru Spec Eclipse pants.

When talking about wearing shorts, the Tru Spec 9″ poly/cotton ripstop shorts are our #1 selling shorts and the waist sizing is the same at the pants so it’s an easy switch over from Tru Spec pants to Tru Spec Shorts.   Last year Tru Spec added the Tru Spec Eclipse shorts to their inventory which is a different cut, does not have an elastic waistband and is extremely lightweight being made in the 100% nylon, if you are pocket carrying I would suggest going with the darker colors because since this made of such a lightweight material you may find “printing” depending on how good of a pocket holster you are using.

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Looking for utility friendly pants without BDU pockets? Try Tru Spec Mens Classic Pants

Tru Spec Mens Classic PantsEvery once in awhile we get people that come to our store because we stock a lot of the things that people don’t like to buy online namely, clothing and holsters.   Now that Tru Spec has gained so much ground in the competitive tactical clothing market it pays to be stock different styles.  It’s pretty much assumed that most of our customers are gun owners, and carry firearms, but not everyone does.   There are a considerable number of people that just like where various tactical pants because they need it for the tools or job they do for a living.  Having pants with  pockets that are friendly to carrying knives or multitools without punching holes through them or un-necessary wear is not common at a shopping mall.

One of the popular styles that we are going to stock more of are the Tru Spec Mens Classic Pants because they have all of the utility applications of many of the tactical pants “without” a BDU pocket which is usually the dead giveaway that your a Cop or Military personnel.   There is a hidden zipper pocket on both legs that come in handy when  you are driving a car or on trip on a plain, or just don’t need a pocket as large as most BDU pants.   The best thing about this style of pant  is that if you are already where the other 24/7 pants you aren’t going to have trouble with sizing like you would with other brands, consistency in sizing is something that we’ve always liked about Tru Spec products.

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Camping, Hiking, Survival and Training with Camelbak Hydration Packs

Camelbak Hydration PacksIt’s funny working in this industry and selling products that you already own,  I haven’t used my Camelbak Hydration Pack for several years but dug it out of the closet to use it on a family hiking trip, I forgot how much these actually hold and it beats having to carry a water bottle everywhere you go.  Due to the way these are designed, the weight of the water you are carrying disperses over your back and you hardly notice it if you get the right size.  With a recent warm up here in Pennsylvania, we went right from Winter into Summer weather and got hit with a surge of people that needed Hydration for training coming up.   It seems the National Guard have something going on and everyone in the area found out where to go to get Camelbaks.

One thing we noticed that we are planning on doing in the coming weeks it to start bringing in the cleaning kits and Elixir tablets because A) People don’t know how to clean Camelback Hydration Packs and B) People always put the wrong products in them.  If you use anything with sugar in it you risk damaging the anti-microbial lining that runs along the inside of each pack.   There isn’t really much to maintaining these and thanks to the Youtube videos we attached to each product, just watch and learn.  Another common mistake in picking out the Camelbak packs is that people often buy too small of a pack, the CamelBak Stealth 70 oz/2L Mil Spec Antidote is probable the top seller and after that you can go up to a 3Liter  Camelbak ThermoBak 3L 100 oz Mil Spec Antidote Long if you think you need it.  Small means running out sooner and on those hot Cambing, Hiking or Training days, you’ll wish you had more

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