Archive for February, 2014

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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Your rifle barrel length doesn’t tell us anything

Elite Survival Systems gun casesWe deal with a higher class clientele than most gun shops deal with.  The higher quality optics like Aimpoint, Trijicon and Eotech with the bring in a different crowd and we specifically target “Made in the USA” products.   It’s hard to get away from imported products, but if you actually monitor the manufacturing process, a great many of the products that say “Made in China” may only have been assembled there even those American Made parts are in  it.  We’ve found that people are willing to spend a bucks more because walking around in a Police Department with Made in China back packs or gun cases is somewhat disturbing.

The AR15 is the most common firearm in the Country right now and everyone from 18yrs old to 75yrs old are getting their first firearm.     When it comes to shopping for gun cases, it’s hard to justify putting a $1200 or $3500 firearm in a gun case that costs $35 and expect it to protect in transport.  Our chosen tactical nylon product line and gun cases are the Elite Survival Systems gun cases.   One needs to measure the entire overall length of the firearm when it is collapsed to be able to shop for a gun case.   Flash suppressors and buttstock extensions can add several inches to the factory OAL and it’ll be easier if you know this before you shop/

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Co-witness, flip up front, and rear sights

Magpul sightsIn this business there is always going to be a considerable amount of research to do unless you are buying based on experience.   It’s always a good idea to ask people that are using the equipment or call a manufacturer to get suggestions.   We sell a lot of sighting systems from Red dots, crosshair, donut and chevrons.   There are different ways to use lines and dots to gather information about range estimations and about different lighting situations.   Iron sights have been around a long time and there are, even with iron sights, different sight pictures for different reasons.  About 20yrs ago I started seeing more and more optics on AR15s and seeing “glass” on military weapons was just starting to become common.

After about a decade of optics being used, I started to see more and more people putting backup iron sights on their ARs and the optics started trending to zero magnification.    All those heavy barreled AR15s with ACOGS were nice, but that platform had it’s disadvantages at close ranges.   Magpul has been around for a little over a decade and the Magpul sights are being sold “with” a great many AR15 manufacturers.  Its seems their product line, and ingenuity, has been widely accepted.   Using red dots or Eotech sights gives you speed but anything with electronics built into it can fail, and having a flip up rear sight  isn’t going to add much weight or get in the way of your optic usage.   Front sights seem to be somewhat of annoyance to some people when using optics which is why, depending on you AR15 configuration, you can get one “without” the traditional front post sight.  Personally, I am not bothered by this and would rather have a fixed front sight rather than have to flip up two sights if an electronic optic goes down.

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There’s a reason these can be expensive

Desantis holstersSticker shock just goes with this business, people that have no idea why things are priced the way they are but it’s extremely rare for me to personally say something in this industry is over priced.  Recently several customers have told us they had issues with certain weapon mounted lights and all I could tell them is there is a reason why people spend another $100-$200 for Surefire flashlights over some of the lesser expensive weapon mounted lights.  In the 10yrs we’ve been in business nobody has returned a Trijicon ACOG saying it won’t hold zero and the glass fell out.   I’ve had it happen to me personally with 2 optics, but both of those were under $200.

The same is going to go for firearm holsters and I can tell you from personal experience that I have broken, and had plenty of inferior holsters before I started increasing my investment amounts.   I’ve had plenty of broken kydex holsters in my life but have not ever had any Leather Desantis Holsters break, tear, or rattle.  There are plenty of magazine pouches I’ve used where once they were broken in, the mags started to rattle and it was just downright annoying.   A customer recently returned a Don Hume holster that had the finish peal off it but I told him that’s why they are $20.  The closest Desantis holster to that design started at $54.99 and nobody returns them because the colored peeled off.

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Re-arranging the furniture on your AR

AR15 Complete Upper ReceiversIn this business we can see who the obsessive compulsive people are and who the clean freaks are, but we also know how hard it is to know what work for  you.   We normally do a lot of listing but giving our 2 cents about the products we sell is why we are here.   Magpul firearm accessories is a good product line to consider purchasing although we know there are a lot of good products from VLTOR, Tango Down and many others. It’s very easy to over accessorize and the reality checks in when the gun becomes too heavy.   Some events we have attended were proof to this because we saw bipods and flashlights taken off firearms because of how much weight they were to lug around and how hard it was to clear corners depending on where you placed the accessory.

 

There are cool things you can use to their designed effectiveness but just like gun holsters, a lot of us have a pile of stuff sitting in a box, somewhere in our home that we aren’t using anymore.   The brilliance of the M4 design is that customization can easily occur and if you own an AR15 and want something different all you need to do is buy another AR15 Complete upper receiver and be able to use it with just a few pin snaps.   The Magpul MOE handguards are very easy to put on but you’ll need to measure your present hanguard to make sure you know if  you have a Carbine, Mid-length or a rifle one.  There are always tools you can get, (Tapco makes them) that can make most AR15 modifications easier.

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Contrast is a good thing when aiming

Trijicon night sightsRecently a local Police Department told their Officers to not wear white t-shirts because it would be considered a target indicator for a bad guy and everything has to be black.    While some might laugh at this, it’s can be true depending on your risk factor.   There was much debate years ago with the Eotac vs Woolrich Elite lightweight operator pants because the Woolrich Elite pants, no matter what color pant you choose, had a strap by the lower ankle pocket that had a black strap on it.   If yo had Khaki pants, there was a black strap, if you had OD pants there was a black strap and many customers that were deployed in Iraq complained about this and went with the Eotac brand.   Think it’s stupid?  If you don’t understand, the point of camouflage isn’t always to hide the entire body, it’s also to help breakup what part of your body to aim at.  If you tell them where your center mass is, that’s where they are going to aim.

In regards to getting a good sight picture with handguns and rifles, moving away from black iron sights on a handgun is going to be beneficial.   Most self defense shootings occur in low light and lots of people are switching to Meprolite sights and the Trijicon night sights for their sidearms.   Several Police Departments are ordering their Glocks with Meprolite green front and rear, but the Trijicon High Definition sights have out sold them 10 to 1.    Glock sights are probable the easiest sights to change and locally we have a gunsmith that can do the change for about $35.   The Trijicon HD or High Definition sights are going to get picked up by your eyes in bright light and low light far better than relying on your factory sights that might only give you a white outline.

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Get a grip if you haven’t already!

Hogue gripsEveryone has a different way of getting the job done, which is why the best firearm instructors always train, realizing, that not everyone will do things the same way. One way to profile for getting good firearm instruction is to listen to the attitude of the guy who is teaching.  Teaching “a way” is the correct attitude and saying “this is the only way”.    There are different shooting positions and shooting stances and not every one will work for you in every situation.  Another thing that seems to have put the military and Law Enforcement community into a reality check, is that, adjustable stocks on rifles,and adjustable back straps on firearms is extremely important of you are going to have an operator become effective and proficient.

Gun accessories and tactical gear can help an operator get the job done, but the firearm whether it is a rifle or handgun needs to fit properly. Many gun manufacturers are starting to catch on to this, but Hogue grips have known that factory grips on many firearms just don’t cut it. Having rock solid control of your firearm in a Defensive shooting situation is extremely important and knowing that your bullets are hitting the same place because your control is all there, can mean winning the fight. Hogue gun grips can work on your AR15 or your Sig 220 or any of your Glocks.  The 1911 is still very popular in the military and LEO community and Hogue pistol grips go hand in hand. You will notice better control and felt recoil in your hands by upgrading to these and they look and feel great on revolvers. Finger groves are available for some models.

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Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic

Aimpoint Patrol Rifle OpticWe sold a boat load of Eotech sights last year and probable because I, personally, am a big fan of that zero magnification optic.   The MOA circle and the 65MOA circle really gets picked up by my eyes and I never feel inhibited when engaging multiple targets.   I’ve done quite a few optic tests at my gun range and really learned a lot in this last year pertaining to the Trijicon, Eotech and Aimpoint optics.   Being that I am a firearm instructor it’s actually more fun for me to bring new shooters or less experienced shooters to the range and see how they learn.   I’ve done tests with AK variants and AR15’s and time and time again ended up with shooters choosing an M4 Carbine over the AK.   Usually a 50yd iron sight test and differences in hit counts between each.

I won’t let this turn into an AR15 vs AK debate, but I find it hard to argue that a less trained operator will be better with an AK than an AR15.   Recently we started stocking the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic has a staple optic for those looking for a red dot optic under $400 that comes with a mount.  Mounts can complicated decisions on optics especially when people see that it might start at a $140-$400 decision, just for a mount.   Aimpoint has had the red dot market for a long time because their optics have been field tested for a long time with military coming back from War and buying the same optic for their personal firearms.   The Aimpoint Patrol Rifle optic has several night vision settings as well as other variable power settings.  I highly recommend looking into getting a magnifier because you will increase your ability to identify targets as well as engage more accurately at 300yds + if need be.

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The Problem with lasers on firearms

crimson trace laser gripsThis is post is for the novice shooters out there because anyone in Law Enforcement is going to find this out on the first training day.   Lasers have improved greatly over the years and I personally haven’t changed the batteries in my j-frame Crimson Trace laser grip in almost 4yrs.   Lasers should hardly be used and a great asset for small firearms that have a short radius, most .380 guns or compact firearms.    Lasers are used in movies the way a new shooter might thing they are but they are not going to improve your accuracy.   All you need to do is have someone “try” to hold it directly on the target and just watch how much it  shakes and bounces.

Lasers are probable used as pointing devices or high lighting targets more than they are used for precision.  One thing that has changed in recent years, especially pertaining to Crimson Trace Laser grips for some autos is they are now mounted higher on the grip and if you buy the correct model, they are aligned more with the bore not off the side of the grip.  The best location for a laser grip is above the bore or directly below it.    For rifles, I’ve seen operators have deteriorating scores when transitioning from iron sights to laser sights, so just like flashlights, learn to use it the appropriate way.   There are some good training DVDs and online videos on the Panteao Productions – Make Ready library so if you want to check those out before you accessorize too much.

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Heroin it’s all over the place, and our sales for frisk gloves are up

turtleskin glovesThis is one of those things that really bothers us when we get phone calls from Police and our sales for certain products go up, it’s good for us from a sales point of view, but it’s incredible disturbing when we hear from Police that “heroin is everywhere”.    I  had a friend that was in our store last year that told me he’s never seen it like this before and aside from the Celebrity overdose stories (that happen every year) everyone in the medical industry from ambulance drivers to hospitals, all know when the bad batch of heroin is in the area.   I have some harsh opinions about people that are willing to risk in-taking someone elses chemistry skills.  Sure it’s somebody’s son or somebody’s daughter, but it’s also somebody’s son or daughter that has to risk getting stuck with a needle every time they frisk someone or have to look through a bag.

There are big differences between all of the protective gloves and we always know that people want dexterity because now that I-Pads, I-Phones and keyboards are an everyday thing, you need to be able to function with your gear.   We deal with a lot of glove manufacturers from Hatch to Damascus to Warwick Mills, and the Turtleskin gloves seem to be the product line that has gained the most in the last 3 years.   Corrections departments have been calling  us all the time because every other dealer seems to  be out of stock of these and the production never seems to keep up.   It’s rare to have  a product take off like this but has recently been very well deserving of a top seller.

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