All posts in Gun Cases

Elite Survival Ankle Holsters, there’s just something they did right

aahs_holsterWe’ve got enough history with certain holster companies that we can tell you what works just based on sales data.   It’s not just what sells and goes out the door, it’s also about what comes back in, whether its something that breaks or something people just don’t like.   Ankle holsters are a niche of our overall sales, but one of the most returned items until we started carrying the Elite Survival Ankle holsters.   We’ve had about a 75% return rate with other brands, Desantis, Galco and Uncle Mike’s.   I can’t blame it all on them being bad designs because there is a mentality that some people have that makes them think they want an ankle holster, but then they find out how uncomfortable and awkward it is to carry in this manner.

If you don’t have the right cut on the bottom of your pants, expect to have problems with your pant leg hanging up on the holster.  It’s not very practical for CCW and the vast majority of people actually buying them and using them properly are Police Detectives or people that do a lot of driving.   Ankle carry is very practical if you are driving a lot but other than that, you really need to consider pocket carry.  If we hear you complain too much about looking for a “comfortable holster” what you might not want to hear from us, is that you are carrying the wrong gun.   If you are seriously looking for an ankle holster, we have probable a 5% return rate on The Elite Survival Ankle holster.  The fit for the holster is very accommodating for various firearms and you can get the calf support strap for a few extra bucks if need be.

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Get a good gun belt, but should you get leather or nylon?

Elite Survival BeltsA lot of what goes on in this business is about looks, if your LEO, you know what it’s like to get written up for having the incorrect uniform and depending on your police Chief, you might have a bunch of odd looking finishes.   Just go look at tall of the options the average duty gear from Safariland comes in.    We’ve pretty much narrowed down leather CCW belts to Desantis, we may dabble a little bit with Galco leather this year but some of the leather gun belts we come across are a little too cowboy looking, that’s fine if that’s what you want, but most of our customers right now are not going to be wearing too much brown, mostly black.   There are thin dress belts that you might be able to use for CCW or Off duty, but in my humble opinion a 1.5 inch belt is probable the best support and for nylon it’s been for a very long time the difference between the Wilderness Instructor belt and a very close second, the Cobra Belt.

Elite Survival Systems has another Cobra Rigger’s belt that should be listed shortly, I forgot to bring this in stock until a customer walked in and asked if we had them.    The one thing  you have to be careful about when picking up any gun belt is to make sure that the pants you are wearing them have belt loops that are compatible.   We have had issues with the Tru-Spec 24/7 Series pants  not working to sell with the rear belt loop catching the Cobra belt buckle and thus, not a good combination.   I’ll have to bring this up with our Tru-Spec rep the next time I see him which is  on Tru-Spec and not Elite Survival belts.   Recently we had a walk in customer that told us that he had a foot chase where his nylon velcro belt started to come undone and wanted something with a latch, always good and bad points and yet another reason to go to a brick and mortar start and ask questions and try it on.

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Elite Survival Systems gun cases, travelling and profile

Elite Survival Gun CaseMany years ago there was a gun show in Pennsylvania where a whole bunch of firearms were stolen from a vendor that left the show, and stopped to get something to eat at a restaurant or diner and while he ate, all of his firearms were stolen from his vehicle.    In this situation it was a large number of firearms including Class III.   What a total nightmare, but anyone that parks a vehicle that has anything resembling a firearm where only a window is stopping them from grabbing it is asking for trouble.   Most people transport firearms in gun cases and a few times I’ve seen people transport them in a blanket because they didn’t have a gun case, but the best thing to do is get an appropriate gun case, gun sock, and for everyone sake, keep it out of visibility.  If you are a gun owner, whenever you look to buy a new car, make sure you get your windows tinted because that can make a big difference.

What are some options for carrying a low profile gun case? Sure tennis rackets and baseball gear gets stolen, computers lap tops, cell phone chargers ect, but if someone doesn’t know what you are transporting to and from your car, it’s just a bag.    Elite Survival Gun Cases are highly recommended by our staff and purchased by gun owners, both Law Enforcement and Private Citizens for similar reasons.    We had a customer walk  into our store about a year ago because his neighbors teenagers got caught selling drugs and he didn’t want anyone knowing what he was doing when he was going out on a Saturday afternoon to his gun club.   The same goes for pistol cases like the 4 Gun pistol pack that looks nothing more than a black back, but has room for 4 handguns, magazines and whatever else that floats your boat.

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Adverse environments and having fun at the range with a good shooting mat, The Elite Survival Epsilon Shooting Mat

Elite Survival Epsilon Shooting MatMany people are use to going to their gun club or shooting range and being behind a table, many times they are also standing, but for those that want to get off the bench, there are several different formats and designs of shooting mats.   One of the first things you will know as soon as you deploy this shooting mat is how large it is.   If you are on a mat that is too small for  your body type, you’ll get scuffed or cut elbows and your feet will get wet.   Some shooting mat systems look great when laying on the ground, but many of them will curl up on you right after you deploy it and there are many built it modular features that you can adapt magazines, binoculars, or Security or Law Enforcement patches to.   I’ve personally used this product on concrete and in 3 feet of snow and it worked very well, the mat is thick enough that it deploys under you almost like a thin piece of plywood and is not only a great competition shooter mat, but very good for Law Enforcement for laying down on rooftops.

You can attach any type of molle pouches to this system and it is properly re-enforced for elbows and arm placements.   I remember shooting an M1 Garand on the ground without a shooting mat under me and even though at first it didn’t seem to hurt, I noticed latter on that I had several pieces of gravel dug into my elbows just from laying on the grass.   Getting into a good firing position is and firing from a stable platform is something you have to adjust to depending on your environment, but for long term deployments (hours) or for comfort, definitely check out the Elite Survival Epsilon Shooting Mat.   We always keep some of these on display in our store just because it’s one of those things you’ll want to see before you buy so stop in and check it out.

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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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Don’t need an expensive rifle case? Allen Gun Cases might be the answer

Allen Gun Casesgun socksPistol RugsI often suggest people buy gun cases based upon the value of the firearm as well as the price of the optics you have on it because there are plenty of hunting stores I’ve heard of guys knocking their rifle scopes around in a car and finding out it’s not holding zero.  There are also the stores of people putting scratch marks up the stocks or scratching the objective lenses on rifle scopes from the simplest mistakes.   Scope Covers are very important for keeping your lenses and clean as possible but from my experience, it’s to avoid getting the lenses scratched because dust and moisture is always going to be around.   I have assault rifle cases for all of my semi-auto rifles and keep the magazines with the case and mark down which gun it is for, but I also keep several Allen Gun Socks around when I am transporting my shotguns or bolt action rifles with iron sights and need something to cover it while heading to the range and help keep it from looking like a firearm incase I have to stop and get something to eat and my stuff in the car isn’t in plain sight.

If you can’t afford to get a good range bag that can hold multiple handguns, ammunition or sight in tools ect, having a pistol rug for your scoped .357 Magnum or 44 Magnum is about $10 or less and it gives you plenty of protection while in storage.   If you look at the Allen Gun Cases we have to offer, there is also a tactical gun sock that works well for many scoped long guns and it definitely won’t break the bank.   After that, soft gun cases for rifles and then Pelican and SKB gun cases are the direction you want to go but that’s your call.   Keep in mind that if you aren’t using your gun cases they are going to take up room in your closet or gun safe so try to be uniform when you are looking to purchase your pistol cases or rifle cases because it’ll be easier to match up guns with gun cases and not have to scurry around trying to find one when you are trying to head out to the range.

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You need 2 Sleeping bags a Summer Bag and a Winter Bag so check out the Recon Sleeping Bags

Recon 2 Sleeping BagsRecon 3 Sleeping BagsRecon 4 Sleeping BagsRecon 5 Sleeping BagsWe have been expanding our EMS and Search and Rescue product lines in the last year from medical kits, Quick Clot sport and Combat Gauze as well as Timberline EMS Rescue Tools and Leatherman Multi-tools that are geared towards military, survival and Paramedics and EMTs.   There are always interesting products that Search and Rescue personnel buy from us that make you think they are going to be repelling off a cliff or going off on a jungle adventure.   One thing everyone knows in this industry is something many use to learn in Boy Scouts is “being prepared” is the best mindset you can have.  I don’t know the number of times I’ve been on friend or family trips and someone didn’t even think to bring rain gear or medical supplies.   There’s something to be said about survival of the fittest and when you are going in the outdoors for long periods of time, sometimes the possibility that something could go wrong and you might be out longer than expected is a real possibility.  Packing light is something that is much easier to do today and if you have old camping gear or outdated sleeping bags you might want to consider doing a clean out of your attic.

We picked up the Recon Sleeping bags via Elite Survival Systems and didn’t know much about them until they came in stock but we were really impressed with out light and compact these are.   There are always extreme temperatures that one can endure and not every sleeping bag is going to be good for -10 C and also be good for 95F temperatures.   Many in the Search and Rescue are aware that deployments might be a  lot longer and getting stuck over night in a not so great environment is a reality.   I’ve found that packing lighter gear especially camping and hiking gear is becoming easier and easier.   The lighter the sleeping bag the more food or gear you will be able to carry and even something like the Recon 2 Sleeping Bags or Recon 3 sleeping Bags and some type of emergency blanket that might only weigh a few ounces and cost less than $5 keeps your backpack light and gives you much more tolerance to cold temperatures.   The Recon Sleeping bags are very friendly to being geared up and ready to good since the bottom of the bag gives you the ability to move around with boots on without snagging or twist up.

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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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Reasons to keep your gear organized

Bulldog gun casesrifle caserange bagThere are a lot of reasons to consider putting the money down for a quality range bag because I’ve often see guys show up at gun ranges that didn’t have staples or forgot thumbtacks or tape for their targets.      One thing I always forget to bring with me is a dump pouch not just for collecting used magazines, but for keeping the brass I used so I can use it for reloading at a later time.  It’s always a liability to keep all of  your stuff of value in one place but it’s also an asset to know were it all is.  Nylon gear cay vary from quality to ingenuity from manufacturer to manufacturer but sometimes its best to look over all of what is available and pick what suits you.

If you wanted a shoulder holster that is made out of leather you’re going to be spending well over $100 and probable closer to $150 for a good one but nylon holsters are fast less expensive and depending on what type of gun you are carrying you might find you saved 50% off and got a good comfortable holster from Bulldog, Blackhawk or Elite Survival systems.    The Bulldog gun cases are reasonable priced and are a good option for pistol rugs, hunting rifles, shotguns ect.   The bulldog range bags are simple carry bags that can keep your ammo, range gear and magazines and sight in tools organized.

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Shooting in undesirable environments

Elite Survival Systems Epsilon shooting matSure we know the positions, squatting, shooting prone, but not only will you become uncomfortable after a period of time, stress builds up and it will have an impact on your ability to stay focused.    I’ve seen a lot of shooting mats in the past and they can be made out of a rug, foam sleeping mat or anything you want to make out of it, but weight and portability can be an issue.   I have an older Elite Survival Systems Ultimate Snip drag bag that works well with my DSArms STG58 and also is large enough to open up and give me some ground support if need be, but I decided to add the Epsilon shooting mat to my personal inventory after I got to hold on in my hands last  year.

The 2 things that sold me  on this item are that being 6’3″  I need a large shooting mat that I could use that my legs weren’t hanging off it and second, the fact that this folded up like a briefcase and didn’t curl up when It was deployed on the ground.   The Elite Survival Systems Epsilon shooting mat goes for $159.99 with free shipping and also has enough molle attachments and support that makes this also capable of holding a lot of gear.   I store Binoculars, spare magazines for my AR15 as well as handgun magazines and a mosquito net.   If you’ve shot off the ground you know how knees and elbows get torn up when you’re down in the dirt, but that doesn’t happen to me anymore because I bring this to the range with me and use it when desired.

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