All posts in Hunting Gear

Boogie Regulators best bang for the buck

The Boogie Regulator opens up our eyewear product line to something new and general inexpensive eyewear.   Some ballistic eyewear might not work for you due to the design and frame and that’s why it’s always nice to be able to walk into a stocking Smith Optics Elite dealer.   The Boogie Regulator is an easy product to wear because there are multiple ways of wear it.  Check out the above Youtube video for the Smith Optics Elite boogie regulator goggles accessory.

The boogie regulator comes in 3 different lense designs, there is no frame to have interchangeable lenses so you might need to buy more than one.  These ballistic goggles are available in clear, gray and ignitor. These Smith Optics Elite goggles are the most practical thing to wear while riding a motorcycle, taking a Carbine or Defensive firearm course, send them off to your kids in the Military or give it to your Dad for Father’s day.

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Getting ready for Winter Camping? Try something the soldiers use

The Recon sleeping bags are one of the main attractions in our showroom here in Broomall, PA.   There are a lot of people that have asked if the could open one up so what we did was open the smallest Recon sleeping bag we have in stock and display it on one of our walls.  The Recon 2 sleeping bag is just a little bit bigger than a football and it is probable the best emergency bag to keep in your car if it broke down.  The Recon 5 is probable the best one to bring with you winter camping.  It is something to be cautious about when using too heavy of a sleeping bag but I have never had problems being too warm in one of these.

Having a product that is designed for military or serious camping means paying for it with your wallet but these recon sleeping bags are something that can stay in your camping supply room for decades.  I’ve had the same sleeping bag for close to 2yrs and only recently upgraded to the Recon Sleeping bags for my primary camping bags.  We have all of the Recon 2, Recon 3, Recon 4 and Recon 5 sleeping bags on display in our showroom so stop in and hold them in your hands before you buy them.  They range in cost from the low $100 range to close to $200.

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Woolrich Elite nearing the end?

Its looking more and more like the Woolrich Elite Series Tactical product line is no more.  We’ve seen several clothing companies and various other tactical gear manufacturers pull out of China and the task of retooling the the machines and launching the products in a bad economy have been rough.   We recently heard that Tru-Spec is now making their clothing in Honduras which is a major shift from our standpoint because just about everyone making tactical clothing came in from somewhere in Asia.   India, Cambodia, Vietnam, China it seemed like everyone had a manufacturer over there, but cost increases have really hit some companies and from what we see it can cause a certain percentage of your customers to switch to another brand.

Now that we  have such a large Law Enforcement customer base, many of these guys and gals have a clothing allowance and increase the cost of tactical clothing by $10 per item means they may can few items.   The differences between 5.11 tactical and TruSpec shirts are considerable as far as pocket designs and such, but many of the Tru-Spec and 5.11 tactical clothing products are made of similar materials.   The differences are quality control and sizing consistency.  We here so many complaints about 5.11 products getting expensive and the truth of the matter, they are not the only ones, Vertx pants are usually over $60, Woolrich Elite $50 and from what we see Tru-Spec products from Atlanco are the best priced products.

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Best gun cases for the buck?

Yes, we realize that not everyone looking for an AR15 is  going to want to pick up an LWRC M6A2 so we don’t always stock the most expensive items out there.  There is something to be said for getting what you paid for but not everything has to be expensive.  There are many products that are just what you need and you don’t need all of the added features or added cost.  The  only bad thing about shopping for products like this is they tend to be foreign made products and it’s rare to find good products in a low price range that are Made in the USA.   We stock a lot of the higher end  products especially the tactical nylon gear like the Elite Survival Systems products.

We realize that Uncle Mike’s makes some very nice products but not everything is going to work for you.  One of our top selling online sales for nylon gun cases and gun bags are the Bulldog gun cases which are always very well priced.  These gun cases can help protect your handguns or rifles to and from the firing range, in your closet or just for storing in your gun safe.  There are always varying degrees of rifle case protection and not everyone needs to spend $80-$110 on a padded rifle case.  They do make some very inexpensive assault rifle cases for under $40.  Check them out if you are on a budget.

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Range bags and something else for carrying handguns

I have several range bags that I’ve used over the years and they seem to keep getting bigger and bigger.  I have lots of experience taking guns to the range and realizing I forgot a certain caliber handgun or forgot to bring a sight in tool and pretty much spoiled my range day by doing that.   Nothing sucks worse than bringing a rifle to the range and knowing it’s not sighted in and not having the ability to correct it.   My Elite Survival Medium range bag was a step up from my Uncle Mikes range bag because it had a few better thought out features.

One thing I have learned to do is pack the bare minimum of firearm accessories, hearing protection and eye wear.  If I am taking a training course I usually use my Elite Survival bags like the 4 gun pistol pack.   I have modified that firearm bag to just use my combat or primary weapons.  It is outfitted with the  molle attachments that pertain to that caliber magazine, radio or other tools.   This Elite Survival bag can easily handle 4 large frame handguns and magazines.   My Beretta 92FS, Sig 229, Springfield XD and my Ruger GP100 all fit very well in this gun bag.

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Trijicon Reflex sights and dot sizes

We’ve seen a lot of changes in recent years in regards to what optics military and Law Enforcement Officials are using.  The Trijicon ACOG is widely used in the military but it is not so much in use amongst LEO’s.  The reasons are that 4X is far more power than the average Police Officers is going to need.  That type of magnification will slow you down which decreases your changes of being the first to get hits.  I see a lot of guys running Micro Dot and Aimpoints on their CQC rifles but many complain about the same things.  Red dots are not as precises and if you have good eye sight those hazy dots can be annoying, not to mention many of them can be too large and drain batteries.

The differences between the Eotech 512 and the Eotech compact optics is significant.  And now there is a new error of Trijicon Reflex sights coming out namely the Trijicon SRS.   The SRS is a compact red dot optic that gives some serious competition to the Aimpoint.   The SRS dot is the smallest dot we’ve seen from Trijicon but we’ll give further testing out when they arrive in December.  We’ve been told they are only making about 25 of these a week and in high demand so backordering them is probable the only way you’re going to be able to acquire them for awhile.

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Trijicon ACOGS, Mounts and configurations

I’ve seen the trend towards the fancy pants combat optics with the 4×32 ACOGS with the red dots on top but then after people do enough shooting they find out that they didn’t need the magnification in the first place or the red dot optics are just mounted too dam high.   You can always adapt to the rifle but for house to house fighting having your head higher than need be is something of an annoyance.   People trended towards zero magnification optics like the Aimpoint or Eotech but then having zero magnification can be a problem in identifying threats.   There have been many second hand stories heard around our store of Law Enforcement not being to identify weapons from cell phones at distances of under 25yds.   Small  handguns can almost fit in the palm of your hand and there is a big difference between a cell phone and a Walther PPK.

Recently there has been a strong trend towards green reticles but the still very popular Trijicon reticle is the TA01NSN.   The Trijicon TA01NSN has a traditional crosshair style reticle but with bullet drop comp.   It is very important to know that combat style optics are more about speed than precision but precision accuracy is absolutely obtainable for even novice shooters because the optic is so well thought out.  Even though you have one of the toughest optics out there, the optic top is designed to have a low light engagement iron sight.  The rear sights have a wide aperture for close fighting not just as a backup if your primary sight goes down.  It is a very easy transition to go from optic to irons with this system.

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Tactical Boots in stock for all seasons and jobs

Footwear is as diverse and the needs for various styles of footwear are paramount to what the user is doing with them. waterproof boots can get hot and uncomfortable in some situations but when you don’t want to get your feet wet you need waterproof footwear. The metro traction boots have a unique foot traction sole and are going to feel a lot more like a pair of sneakers with a better grip on the road. The Air Zip 1232 is one of the biggest sellers because the balance between support and comfort.  Just like tactical pants and tactical gloves people need to find what’s right for them.  Original swat footwear has a diverse product line to accommodate diverse users.

The Metro traction style of boots from Original Swat are far more comfortable to wear for every day use. We have gotten a lot of feedback over the last few years about the Original swat boots we have been selling and we are continuing to learn about the products every time we hear from a customer. The SEK9000 is the leather Cadillac of the original swat tactical footwear, but they are not what the average Swat team operator is going to want to wear when they are not all suited up. The new Chase Low footwear gives a new athletic footwear feel and a new market for the Original Swat footwear company.

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Durability and plastic sights and parts on your M4 carbine

There was a heck of a debate about how tough the M16 stock was when it was first issued and lots of people bitched that it was a terrible close quarters “give ’em a smash” rifle.  The reality of close up combat fighting is that at some  point  you may need to switch to a bayonet and fight with your unloaded rifle and use it as a baseball bat or a ram.  Many of the composite materials, often referred to as Plastic by people were not very tough back in the day.  Nowadays composite materials are very sturdy and in many adverse environments you are going to wish you had something other than a wooden stock.  The M16 design doesn’t lend itself to be a very good smashing rifle because the weakest point really is the buffer tube.  That’s just not going to stand up to being used in a harsh way without bending.

There are differences in height that need to be though about ahead of time because some of the sights out there from Troy, LWRC, Daniel Defense ect can cost you over $100 each.  I learned the hard way when I picked up an Eotech magnifier and my sights didn’t work, Magpul mbus sights are probable the best priced and most durable backup iron sights on the market.  The rear sight is about $50 and the front sights are under $40.  Which pretty much makes them about half of what many of the Troy Sights are.  Do something thinking about what you may intend to put on your firearm because sights can vary dramatically depending on what they are being used for.

 

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Going green with your gun cleaning and your lasers and sights?

Funny how often we make jokes at work about how our business is going green, but in a different way.   Many of the Trijicon optics that we sell use to be with Amber reticles and red crosshairs but not so much anymore.   The whole reason many are swithing over to the green reticles is  not that it’s a fad or anything, it’s that it is a scientific fast that the human eye picks up the green lasers and the green illumination better than red colors.   Now that this Country has over 10yrs of testing out various military style optics and weapons, there are some pretty big changes taking place.   Right now our biggest seller is the Trijicon TA31F-G combat optics.  Many of the flashlights and combo flashlights and lasers are going green.

I’m not the biggest fan of putting lasers on everything, but when you have Navy Seals walking in your store with them, and  you know they just came back from deployments there must be a reason they are using them.  Our primary staple for lasers has always been Crimson Trace laser grips although there has been a lot of traction made with the Viridian flashlights and their laser/light combos.   Streamlight makes a nice product with the TLR flashlights with various laser, lights, and strobe features but there are better things out there.   For home defense especially with less trained shooters, lasers can add more confidence to their shooting abilities.  Do your product review research and stop into a stock dealer and ask to check them out.

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