All posts in Tactical Gear

Where to go after Eotac?

We are now being bombarded with questions from our customers about what happened to Eotac.   We are out of various sizes of tactical pants from Eotac, but we still have a lot left and lots of people don’t believe we have it.    It’s almost like Eotac tactical pants are more popular and sought after now that nobody can get them.  It really is sad that the company was barely around for 2yrs and just when people are getting to know the product line it goes belly up.   We’re still waiting to hear from somebody at Remington on what the situation was.   We don’t know if they went out of business, were bought out, or merged with someone else.

After Fernando Coelho left Eotac last year, it’s no surprise that investors may have been concerned about it’s future.   Recently Fernando mentioned on Facebook on the Eotac page that if people are looking for something similar your best bet is with Woolrich Elite pants.   The fit is different and we’ll leave it up to our customers to say which is better, but considering how many disgruntled 5.11 customers we have, Woolrich Elite products are top notch and I would never bash them.   Designs are debatable and Woolrich Elite series shirts, pants and vests have a 95% satisfaction record with our customer base.

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Unconventional thought in defensive situations

I think most people expect to read about firearms, knives and pepper spray when it comes to using weapons in a defensive situations, but we can’t for get to think  about ways of using our body in situations to get away, or restrain an individual.   I’ve shown many people how to take a firearm away from someone, but that is only for people that have the confidence to do so.  I remember a few years ago there were was a lot of buzz about how easy it was to take apart a Beretta 92FS pistol and disarm someone who wielded it.   Well, it is easy to do that, but it’s even easier to drop a magazine on a Glock and pull the trigger on it and then it’s basically disarmed as well.

Verbal defense is probable the most important training that a shooter can employ.  I’ve taught people how to build confidence that they will know how to shout down an attack or trick a home invader to retreat, just by yelling “I have a gun”.  Knowing how to use every sharp edge of your firearm and your Blackhawk holsters even the magazine holders as blunt objects should give you things to think about when in a crisis situation.   Lots of firearms and tactical gear and accessories can be used for jabbing or bashing.

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Reloading speed, revolvers and tactical loads

If you are new to firearms it’s fun to play tricks on you.   I have the opportunity to teach novice shooters and sometimes just random co-workers and family members that have no idea how to use a firearm other than pulling the trigger.   It’s not always up to the operator’s speed at gun handling, sometimes its the way the gun is loaded has more to do with how fast you get it up and running.  For instance, if you had a Glock 19 and 3  15rd magazines and they all ran empty, if you don’t have a speed loader a guy with a 5 shot revolver is going to get his gun back in the fight faster especially if he had speed loaders ahead of time.  It’s not really that you have to worry about running empty with a Glock firearm, it’s that carrying a 5 shot revolver does not mean you are under gunned.

As our economy sits in limbo, there will be crimes that creep up out of nowhere and concealed carry is something people are thinking about.  There are a lot of wild situations that people like to put themselves into, but the right mindset of a gun fight is to get out of it.   If you are military or Police, you may be called to break down doors and take down the bad guy, but civilians don’t have the justification for doing that by law.   The 1911 is seeing a lot of come backs in private security rankings and we have sold a lot of Wilson Combat magazines to guys that are doing the door knocking.   The reality of many search warrants is that close quarters gun fight does last long and the need for a high capacity firearm isn’t very necessary.  The most common gun magazine we are selling to the guys doing the door knocking are 7rd Wilson combat 1911 mags.

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Storing cleaning kits with a firearm

I remember all of the Russian SKS rifles I got back in the early 1990’s came with cleaning kits and I always thought that was neat.  I’m still not sure how to use them properly because the rods that they came with didn’t go fully into the barrel, but that is something I’ll have to research later.  It’s  nice to be able to keep all of your gear stowed in the places where they are easiest to access and if there is a combat firearm that needs to be cleaning more than any other it’s the M16 rifle.   Everyone I know that was issued an M16 was issued a cleaning kit that went in the buttstock.   Oddly enough, I don’t know many guys with AR15 rifles that have them in their guns.

One option to consider when you are getting all of your gear together for SHTF or for a training class is to have your cleaning supplies in order.  Probable the most practical Otis gun cleaning kits is the Otis 5.56 buttstock cleaning kit.   This kit comes with various tools that will come in useful and are specific to the M4 or AR15 style rifles.   You will be able to scrap off carbon build up in the hard to get to areas and with such a compact device, you’ll be able to stow it in your butt stock and not have to worry about packing one up every time you take it to the range.

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Atlantic City Police and Security Expo

Join us next month as we will be representing the Original Swat footwear company and the Atlantic City Police and Security Expo.    We had a very successful event at the New York Tactical Operations convention last month and we moved a lot of inventory.   It’s always good to work events like this to get product feedback and to see what customers are asking for.   There are always slight modifications a manufacturer can do after a product has been fielded for awhile and there have been some minor changes in the time period we have been dealers for the Original Swat boots.   One of the nice things about carrying this line of footwear is that it is not all tactical looking.  The SEK900sz and is considered to be the cadillac of the line.   The all leather boots are very supportive of the ankle and great for kicking in doors.

The less tactical looking Metro traction boots feel  more like sneakers and less like boots but have a very street friendly sole.   It’s important to know that your footwear can handle certain surfaces.   The Dress Oxford boots go great with a uniform and even for those in the CCW world, it’s good to know that you can still move quickly without slide across surfaces.   You can not run well at all with dress shoes and anyone that has taken a defensive training course knows that movement is extremely important.  Original Swat boots will be sold at the Atlantic City show at extreme discounts to Law Enforcement so stop by if you get the chance and say hello.

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Sneakers aren’t going to cut it so don’t try

Another recent event at a local Carbine training event gave me another perspective on seeing novice weekend warriors show up at a class for the first time.  Besides the usual guys that have gear fall off, magazines fly all over the place, guns break, scopes come loose, pants tear.   I saw a guy try and shoot a course in a pair of sneakers.   I know that sometimes people think that being able to move fast is important, and it is, but not having good foot support is really bad.   Unless you have no intentions of having to run around very fast, sneakers are good for you, but i’ve seen so many twisted ankles and stumbling that I would never take a class with anything but boots.   I have a couple old steel toe relics in my closet, I haven’t used them very much, but they are so hardly worn that I can’t thrown them away.

The tactical footwear that I have the most experience with to date is the Original Swat footwear.   I’m not going to boast that they are the best boots out there, but they were well within my price range and I have not been disappointed by them yet.   I am presently wearing 3 kinds of Original Swat boots and I still hate it when I have situations where I can not wear them.  Considering how much weight I am sometimes asked to carry around, I really don’t feel the stress on my feets since I’ve been wearing the Original Swat Air 9″ 1232 boots.   After about 8 months of wearing them I did feel the support begin to wear out, but that’s 8 hard months of work for less than $100.   I could have saved money on some medical bills if i would have been wearing these years before.

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Finding balance with firearms and magazines

When you have found that you have the right handgun for CCW, sometimes you’re better off with a smaller capacity firearm and a spare magazin than carrying a full size auto with a lot of bullets.   I have never had a magazine fall apart on me, but I’m sure it has happened to some people, but that’s not the reason i carry a spare magazine.   I had a lot of after market magazine laying around when the assault weapons ban was going on and much of it was after market magazines.   I picked up several 10rd magazines for my Kimber 1911 guns only to find that they were not reliable at all.   The balance was absolutely terrible and there was no way i would consider carrying something like that in a holster.

When it comes to using magazines in firearms like the M16, I have heard a lot of my military friends say they liked the 20rd magazines because it was better balanced and they could get into better shooting positions lower to the ground.   I know there are plenty of ways to get down low on the ground, but let’s just talk about balance.   Wilson Combat magazines are the most reliable and drop free on my 1911s, but I’m still not a fan of anything other than 8rd magazines.  Some people claim they are reliable, but the weight of 10rds of 45acp on a spring and 7rds is considerable and even though people will argue this, I have not found them to be as reliable for as long.

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Time to get your gear in order and your gun cleaning supplies

There’s a certain point where a gun owners really can waste enormous amounts of time if they aren’t keeping there gun cleaning supplies in order.   There are lots of cleaning tools that will speed up your cleaning time and reduce the amount of money you’ll spend on cleaning pads and cleaning fluids.  I must have the same bottle of Break Free CLP gun cleaning and lubrication that I had 5yrs ago.   I hardly go through gun cleaning solvents because the tools that I am using now are so good at getting the debris and grud off the guns that solvents really only get used for cleaning the bore if I am using lead bullets.

Last year I got an Otis gun cleaning mat from my wife for a Christmas present and it’s really helped keep me from losing parts and messing up my living room rug. Otis gun cleaning kits are compact, versatile and easy to use on various firearms.   I’ve had a few issues with bore snakes and some of my semi-auto rifles and the Otis cleaning kits were great companions for people that want to clean a firearm on a firing range or on the road.   The tools that fit in some of the kits are great for the AR15 style firearms because some can be stowed in the grips or butt stocks.

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Outside the pants carry, how well can you conceal?

I’ve been on the mission of trying to find gun holsters that I can wear that are not IWB because I’ve had too many times where i got a bruise and it took weeks for it to go away.  If i got thrown around in a fight IWB is more likely to hurt you in my opinion, but for some situations it’s about the only way a thin guy can carry.   Now that I’ve grown  older and packed on a few extra pounds, I’ve been trying to see if I can get away with summer carry outside the pants.   Paddle holsters, especially the Blackhawk Serpa holsters protrude too far outside my body for me to conceal them with just a t-shirt.  I’ve been wearing an Eotac Style 103 for Spring Season, but once it warms up I can’t carry with my Blackhawk Serpa any longer.

I’m trying some of these Woolrich Elite CCW shirts, they are really, really impressive.   I think Woolrich got hurt pretty bad by the split up a few years ago, but the Woolrich Elite shirts i recently picked up have been really nice to wear to family and social events.  Since the 1911 is one of the thinnest built handguns I own, I have been trying one of these Galco holsters that is a locked in place by your belt and sits right up against your body.  I always prefer paddle holsters because they are easy to get on and off, but for CCW they just don’t cut it in the Summer.  My Colt 1911 is getting use to this configuration and I’ll report back as soon as I get the chance.

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The Art of the Dynamic Handgun

I’ve been really impressed with how well these Magpul DVD’s have been made.  I have been acquiring various firearm instruction DVD’s and most of them were well made, but I’m not picking up as much information as I would like to be getting for $40-$50.   The Magpul DVD’s are mostly 3-4 DVDs long and for that much information, it’s beyond worth the $40 or so that you will spend.   The Art of the Tactical Carbine Volumes I and II give you more than just the basics, they give you team communications and real fighting training.

I’m still hoping for the day when somebody like Pat Rogers does a DVD series.  I’ve been hoping to take a Carbine course from him but haven’t gotten the time to get out.   Shooting a good firearm instruction DVD means good training, and good production.  I’ve seen some pretty crappy production work, but the Magpul DVD series is very well done.   I’ve seen some really bad production where there were points you couldn’t hear the instructor talk or you got the same basic run down on how to load and unload the gun that you feel like you’re just learning basic NRA firearms instruction.

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