All posts in Tactical Gear

Knives, bullets and white lights

There are things that we never leave home without, our wallets and keys for the most part.   If we are CCW holders, we always leave with our guns, a knife can come in more useful than your firearm at times and even more useful, is a white light.   People seem to think that when you hear get a white light for your gun, it means mounting it, but there are other alternatives.   Section 8 Tactical makes a nifty light holder called the Ultimate Retention Device.   This device comes in real handy since it’s not weapon mounted and really doesn’t tie up your hand.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been in the car on camping trips and for fixing flat tires, but times I forgot to bring my flashlight with me.  Recently I took a Streamlight Scorpion LED and tossed it in my car with a Section 8 TacPac stocked with batteries.   With modern LED technology, battery life has been extended dramatically, but it’s good to always know you have backup batteries around for the just incase scenario.  I personally see very little practical difference between Streamlight flashlights and Surefire flashlights.   The Streamlight scorpion works well on a carbine or shotgun and it’s also small enough to fit in your pocket, but not too small to lose.

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Folding knives and camping

I have a few knives that have been passed down through a few generations.   Most of them look like they were used in Boy Scouts.  Some were Bowie knives that must have been fun to use, but were really an over kill.   Not that there is anything wrong with it, but carrying those around all the time made a  kid feel cool, but mostly likely got in the way.   Recently I got out to do some nature conservation and decided to spend the weekend at a State Park.    We weren’t allowed to bring in our own firewood which I normally do, just because I like to know that I’ll have good dry wood for cooking in need be even if the weather isn’t good.
At the gate of the park, we picked up a few bundles of wood, we took it back to camp and I brought out my Columbia River folding knife and slashed open a bundle that was shrink wrapped and tied with a rope.   I’m still not sure what tactical knives are, but this one works for me.  A co-worker of mine was tugging and pulling on his stack and had trouble getting it undone.    Everyone likes to bring knives for cooking, but even just a simple folding knife in your pocket can be very useful.   Whenever your camping, there is room for you to pack a knife.

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CCW and thinking ahead

The Boy Scout motto is BE PREPARED.   When we accept our responsibilities in carrying a firearm, one thing we have to be aware of is making sure that we are concealing our weapons and not overdoing it.    There are a few placed in the Country where you may be fined if anyone spots your concealed firearm, and although I think the vast majority of criminals aren’t looking for citizens with guns, it’s best to not advertise it.   I’ve found that over the years of carrying duty size weapons on the job and CCW are different for me.   I’m not too comfortable carrying double stack spare magazines around all day.

Something to consider while carrying a CCW gun is, it is good to always have a backup magazine available, but don’t go overboard in carrying gun magazines.   Statistics show that most gun fights occur with shots fired being in the single digits.   Knowing how to retreat from a gun fight is more important than carrying tons of ammo and expecting to stand your ground.

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Aim, hold and squeeze only gets you so far

Everyone learns to shoot at different levels, and we all basically figure it out at some point, but the fundamentals for shooting will always be the fundamentals.    There always little add ons that we can do when trying to improve our shooting skills and for those familiar with competitive shooting, without using a sandbag or a bipod, a good rifle sling can give you far more stability than just a good grip.   You have to learn the positions you need to get into and how to adjust your sling to the correct length, but I have watched people improve their off the bench accuracy dramatically.    You will get very good windage control if you are setup properly.

 
A new era of rifles are upon us, the M4 Carbine is probable the most commonly accessorized rifle out there, but there are some really well thought gun slings for it.  Blue Force gear rifle slings are probable our biggest sellers and have lots of good references from those in the sandbox.I always suggest quick detach slings because being that the M4 Carbine is meant for CQB, you may get in a situation where you are getting snagged or someone gets a hold if you and detaching yourself from your gear may mean getting away.   You may have to do some slight modifications to your AR15 when  you switch your traditional rifle sling over to a different configuration.

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CCW and modern environments

While I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, I actually advise some of my students and family and friends that a firearm should not always  be your primary weapon.   If you use your firearm to defend yourself,  you are going to be going to be hiring a lawyer and sitting in a courtroom in the very near future regardless of whether or not you were in your right.  There have been several recent crime reports coming out of the Country where 14-17yr old youths were involved with violent crimes, but as in much of the Urban environments, the bad kids get played like they are the victims when a good guy uses force against them, usually police officers.

There is a reason you hear about Cops using tasers more and more.   In some situations there has even been complaints that they are using them too much.     If you have a means to carry mace, pepper spray or a taser, you can solve the problem, walk away and call 911 without too much to worry about in the aftermath.The reality is this, yes people can die from being tasered, or even have alergic reactions to pepper sprays and mace,  I was even involved with an incident where a man on PCP actually dies from being maced, but statistically speaking, it is almost always better than if a firearm was used in these incidencies.    Public places are probable the most likely places you will need to defend yourself, and even bullet you send, may not hit the bg, but may hit a wall or other person.   If you are dealing with a hostile drunk or a 16yr old juvenile drugged up, your physical well being may be in danger, but using deadly force will mean hiring a lawyer and a long drawn out case.

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Military rifles and table shooting

I remember when I made the jump from shooting bolt action rifles as a kid to shooting my first AK style rifle.  Besides thinking it was cool and fun to shoot, I realize that the kind of felt awkward to shoot from the table.   The real reason was that my size didn’t really support the gun very well and it was the protruding 30rd magazine that made me sight a little higher than I wanted to.  I later picked up a Yugoslavian SKS rifle and even though it fired the exact same 7.62×39 round, it was far more comfortable to shoot, and it was easier to lay lower on the ground.    With my present level of training I realise there are shooting positions that you can move into and still remain low to the ground, but still not always practical.

Another simliar comparison would be for an AR 15 style rifle vs a Mini  14 with a 5rd magazine.  The next time you buy a gun and are looking to stock up on gun magazines, pickup a smaller capacity magazine for table shooting and see what I mean. These differences really come out when taking a firearm on a long hunting trip, because finding a good firing position is extremely important to getting a good hit.    I have a few 10rd magazines for my M1A rifle that I like to use when shooting off of tables.   Even though the gun is normally sold or issued with a 20rd, the smaller capacity helps keep you low and gives you a little bit more potential for movement.

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CCW and gray areas

When an individual decides that they are going to be carrying a firearm, they must first understand that even though they are permitted to carry a firearm, there are some places that they cannot carry.   Most areas that you can not carry are obvious, like government buildings, court rooms ect, but each State has some areas you may not.    Even though it may be legal to carry a concealed firearm into a bank in your State, a bank that has had a previous history of robberies may have a metal detector that you will have to walk through, and since it’s guaranteed that you’ll set it off, it may be a good idea to leave your firearm in the car.

There are many gray areas for CCWing.   When selecting a gun holsters, it may be wise to think about the what ifs, and how much of a headache it’s going to be to have to take your holster off during the day.   I have personally seen a few clip on holsters fail during CCW where the student comically points the gun with the holster on it at the target.   Even though this has occured numerous times, I still have to state that the belts that were being used were not ideal.   It is extremely important to select a good gun belt that securely holds your clip on holster.

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Non weapon mounted flashlights

I highly recommend the Section 8 Tactical ultimate retention device.   These work extremely well with 20-25mm flashlights.   When I first got a hold of one, it took me a little while to get use to the idea of using them, but after an incident that changed my life, the $16 I spent was worth it.   Being able to point a light in a different direction than a gun is extremely important in some situations, especially in your own home.   There are are endless scenarios that play out when discussion these topics, but I’ve actually live a few of my own and I am confident that I have the right tools.

Lanyards are in my opinion an old school way of carry a flashlight.   If it works for you than good for ya.   I put lanyards on some flashlights just so they are harder to loose.   Now that so many flashlights have gotten so small, yet powerful, losing that $250, 80 Lumen flashlight has gotten easier and easier.   I have some weapon mounted flashlights that are rock soldid and I don’t think I will ever change that, but when it comes to using handguns, I’m not a big fan of putting lights on them.   Maybe once Streamlight flashlights technology gets to the point where the flashlight projects from the guide rod and doesn’t inhibit the use of your usual CCW holster or make your gun bulkier, then I’ll change my mind.

 

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New tools new tactics

Whenever we run a novice student through a carbine course, one of the first things we teach them after the basic saftey and shooting techniques is barrel sight offset.   Since so many people are using AR15 type rifles, there is a considerable distance between the place where a scope points its crosshairs and where the bullet is going to impact at close ranges.   Something like a Trijicon ACOG gives you a good idea of what people mostly use and we show crosshairs pointing at a dot and where the bullet hits approx 2 inches below that.   This really only has a purpose in showing a shooter what could be applied is using a firearm in self defense in a hostage type situation.

Since lasers have been improving and prices are coming down, we see them showing up more and more on handguns.   While I suggest people take a look at the price they are paying for them and do a lot of research on the durability of the product, a whole new can of worms emerges when sighting in your crimson trace or lasermax laser sights.   Depending on how your laser is mounted, there will be a windage offset that needs to be known.  Crimson Trace laser grips on revolvers can project from right above the grip area or there is a newer style that projects next to where the barrel line is.   Each have their pros and cons, but there is still an offset.   With new tools, there are always slight changes that need to be made to insure an operator knows that with distance, bullet impacts change.

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Looking for a white light?

streamlight flashlightsIf you have ever taken a course at Thunder Ranch, one of the things you will hear from an instructor is to put a white light on your gun.    I think there are valid arguments about how to use lasers and lights on a firearm, but there are mostly liabilities in not having  a light available in defensive situations, especially in your own home.   Why would anyone not put a light on a firearm in there house?  Police are trained to move and turn lights off and on as they move white pretty much voids the argument that it gives the bad guys a place to aim, well, if the guy with the light spots the guy in the dark first, his gun is probable already pointed in the right direction.

If you wanted to, you can use duct tape on a lever action or a double barrel shotgun and use your grandfathers Radio Shack flashlights and it may do the trick, but for only another $25-$30 you can get a white light from Streamlight flashlights that won’t burn a hole in your pocket, and given modern advancements in battery and bulb science,  you will save money on batteries in a very short time period,   The new Streamlight flashlights called the Polytac have a C4 LED that are 2-3x brighter than other LED.   I’ve done side by sider comparisons with my Surefire G2 and I do see the difference.  These flashlights are easily attached to most modern flashlights and can be used on Combat rifles without problems.

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