All posts in Hunting Gear

Don’t go crazy but you might want to changer your stuff to MOE

I personally like to keep things simple, the simpler things are with guns and weapons the easier it is to fix.   I’ve found the necessity to having loctite on everything that can be screwed in and I have already had atleast 3 scope ring failures while on the firing range.   I have a few rifles that I have seriously considered taking a welding torch too because they are so harsh on optics and mounts that I just don’t expect them to hold up under long firing sessions.   Some of the gun mounts and accessories that were around a decade ago have probable been put out of business by now.   The whole after market magazines industry has been cleaned up and I have already seen the results at gun shows.

Finding a good Carbine that holds up to what you want it to be only takes a little time, but customizing your guns and knowing how to adapt to those customizations takes range time.   We get people walking in here want to hold magpul accessories  in their hands but it’s not the same as using them on a firing line.   We have several blue rifles in the store with rails on them because it’s really important to the operator to know how the grips feel in certain positions and how their body is going to need to adjust to them.   Positioning your grips, especially the foregrips is something you need to figure out for yourself and know how to adapt even if it feels odd at first.

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Visibility and profile of firearms

With all of those new hi-visibility gun sights out there the look of the traditional firearm is changing.  It’s not that uncommon to see a firearm like an AK with bright green, yellow or red sights.   Changing the sight color of your gun may dramatically speed up your target acquisition.   I really don’t mind people doing something like this because it’s better than putting optics on your firearm.  Some of the small red dot optics like the RM1 from Trijicon are nice, but they still make holstering the firearm or carrying a firearm like this a little too bulky.  If there was a way to get the sights to fold down, that would be a better setup.

Folding pistol sights would be something that I would love to see some day, if they can do it for a carbine they should be able to do it with a handgun.  Trijicon Rifle Scopes have varying profiles and some of the ones that are used by the military are meant to limit the need for batteries, but there are always trade offs.   I like Trijicon optics, but I do  not like the idea of having a hi-viz target indicator on my carbine and announce where I am.   The TA01NSN is still my favorite ACOG, but been low-profile means less of a chance of getting targeted.   The Trijicon Kill Flash is a much for all owners of Trijicon ACOGS.

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Thinking about another AR15 upper?

I would definitely suggest you consider a MOE configuration for your AR.   Magpul is the #1 AR15 magazine parts and accessories manufacturer and  as far as I know they all of their products are Made in the USA.   I have had to force myself to actually think about that recently after several people walked in our shop and were asking about the knives and clothing we sold and asked if they were Made in the  USA.   Sadly so much is not made in this Country anymore but there is definitely a trend away from China but hopefully it won’t turn into an all our trade war.

If people work in the Law Enforcement community or understand the economics of the gun industry and our present economic situation it is important to look into buying things made in the US.  When it comes to AR15 rifles, Magpul accessories are what you are going to want to put on your  gun and know you aren’t dressing down your firearms with made in China crap.   There is a certain pool of shooters though that just want save the money for good stuff and rarely have an item last.  The Magpul MOE can help you lighten and customize a firearm even more without wasting rail space and needing to put rail covers on all of that un-used space.

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How much of a Flashlight do you need to carry?

I  have asked myself that question for several years now and have actually enjoyed learning about all of the options that are available.  One of my primary rules for carrying a flashlight is it can’t be too small or I’ll end up losing it.  There are plenty of very powerful flashlights that cost close to $200 and can fit in your pocket, but to me that is a one heck of an expensive thing to loose.   Flashlights should be small if you are carrying them all the time, but there is such a thing as too small.   If it is really small you might as well put it on a keychain.

Even though I’ve been impressed with the Streamlight Nanolights and how powerful they are, I don’t like the idea of putting them on a keychain.  I carry a  lot of keys already and having another thing hanging in the ignition like the Streamlight Flashlights that are on a keychain makes keys kind of clunky.    I find the Streamlight Polytac to be a very nice light for all around purposes because it fits my hand very well, but it’s too big to keep on a belt or in a pocket all the time.   I’ve been carrying a Streamlight PT-2  or ProTac-2.  There is a smaller version called  the PT-2 but that is a little too small for me.   The PT-2 is in the Warranty office right now because I dropped it and cracked the lense, but the flashlight still worked.

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Illuminated reticles and night sights

There is much to debate when it comes to low light fighting because as all debates, one change in the situation can alter the entire argument.   Recently I did some not so technical comparisons between some of the Trijicon ACOGS we had in the store and tested them out late at night.  I went from being in a well lit room to walking out into the night and see how the reticles looked.   One thing I did not like about the Trijicon ACOGS at first was going from bright sunny, well light reticle illumination to a dark room with a TA26SG-10.   I was not happy about the 90% change in illumination and for an instant I could not see the reticle when entering a room.

That is one argument I still use when boasting about my Eotech selection of combat sights.  The changes in illumination from the Trijicon Rifle Scopes that are meant for combat is something that you need to train for.   I also tested out the Trijicon TA01NSN to see how that worked in low light.   Once again I went from a well lit room with those nice dark black reticles to nighttime and the center most reticles began to glow.   What I did not like about this optic and reticle configuration was that even in low light, there is still light and the glowing reticle was not easy to see against street lights.   Another issue for reticles that have varying contrasts in different lighting.   If there was a way to regulate the changes in lighting that might make the Trijicon ACOG an even better optic.   Consistent lighting from an optic can mean something.  I am starting to like the Trijicon TA31F-G.

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Red Dots on ACOGS

I am really liking the RMR sights not because they look nice mounted on the top of a TA01 optic or a TA31, but because you can put them on just about anything.   The notion of putting a red dot on handguns is a much better idea than laser sights in my opinion because I do not think people will take as long to track a target with this sighting system.   Handguns are hard enough to shoot in tight groups a better sighting system than irons gives you something easy to see with old eyes and low light environments.   It will take less training to teach a novice to use a firearm with a sighting system like this.

If you really want to dress your M4 Carbine down and have a light and fast optic, the RMR system by itself might be good enough for you.  The RM01-33 can be mounted on a Picatinny rail system and the RM01-34 can be mounted on a Weaver system.  There are plenty  Trijicon rifle scopes  out there but don’t over look the simplicity of  a small and compact optic system that doesn’t add too much weight to your weapon.  The trend is towards lighter and faster firearms and optics are moving in that direction too.

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Inside the waistband holsters?

I remember when I finally realized that there is no such thing as a perfectly comfortable way of carrying a firearm, you just learn how to adjust to carrying it.   The people that have no complaints about how they carry a firearm probable don’t do a lot of physical work because for those of us that are physically active are going to feel the guns press up against us especially if they are medium or large frame.   It is funny to say though that the most comfortable gun I can carry is not the smallers, but its actually the thinnest, the Colt 1911.

More people I know carry firearms on belt holsters and not IWB and I have to say that that is partially because they are too fat to put a gun in the belt. The Desantis holsters that I have been using recently are the Sof-tuck holsters.   I will report back after I use them for awhile.   One of my biggest issues lately with the IWB holsters is they become flimsy and do not hold their form and re-holstering firearms can actually become dangerous if the holster does not all the gun to go in easily.   There are reasons to be able to quickly re-holster a firearm after a fight so that  you can lay low until the police arrive and not be standing there with a gun in your hands.

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Understanding optics and reticles

There is so much back and forth behavior when it comes to accessorizing AR15 guns and and the optics that go on them.  Luckily I was not in the category of people that spent $1000 on optics and then switched to something else later.  I was smart enough and had enough life experience and also a very small amount of money in a bank account so I started off with an AR15A2.   I still believe that after starting a new shooter out on a 22lr rifle preferable a  bolt action, once a shooter can handle a 22lr gun, the AR15A2 is the next best step.

When it comes to not having a  lot of money to spend but you know you want serious equipment, it really comes down to Trijicon, Aimpoint and Eotech.   There are pros and cons of each but none of them will do everything.  Trijicon Rifle Scopes and give you a very wide range of optics for hunting and combat but to this day the Eotech still holds its own for close up fighting and fast shooting.   In close range fighting zero magnification is the best but there are some options like the TA26 which is 1.5x magnification and gives you a light edge over zero mag.   This may mean the difference between identifying a weapon from a cell phone at reasonable close ranges.

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It isn’t always about hitting the target

It isn’t always about being able to shoot tight groups, combat optics usually have some level of magnification because identifying a friendly from a foe is of the utmost importance.   A few friends of mine liked the ACOGS because they helped them identify wires from IED’s from out to 100yds.   IF you had zero magnification you might have trouble knowing from under 25yds away and that is not safe.  The Eotech 3x magnifier gives you this ability but you will have to worry about having two mounted optics  on your gun and not one which is basically what the Trijicon ACOG is.

If you want to get a really good deal on a Trijicon ACOGS, you’ll probable have to buy a used one from someone having a baby or someone getting out of the military.  Those Trijicon rifle scopes aren’t cheap, but they will hold up and they have a proven track record of doing so.  I have yet to hear of anyone having mounting issues because in my opinion it’s impossible to mount an ACOG wrong unless you use a hammer. There are big differences between each Trijicon ACOG reticle and it’s your job to decide on which style of reticle fits your needs, but always be open to adapting.

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Not a big fan of everything in the tactical clothing world

I have yet to find a shirt that is considered to be tactical that actually fits me right.  I’ve worn plenty of them while teaching handgun courses but there were either sizing issues with them or there were functionality issues.   I never like the idea of having velcro on the pockets and the button down versions just seemed far more professional looking.   Some of the early Woolrich Elite products really were a knock off of what 5.11 had, but the quality and slight design improvements were a big, big deal.

Tru-Spec tactical clothing is very much becoming my favorite and its’ mostly because the fit is probable the best for me.  I will not go out and say that everything else in the tactical clothing world sucks because so much of this is about preference.   Tactical pants, tactical shirts and tactical vests all  have different purpose and sometimes you’ll want different clothing because of the weather.  Heck there may be a time you might want to put your guns and gear down and put on EMS pants and brush up on your first aid training.

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