Archive for August, 2014

Turtleskin Gloves vs. a Baseball Glove

Turtleskin glovesSounds like it might be a joke blog post today, but it’s not.   After spending years reading and interactive on several firearm forums, there’s always somebody that comes up with information that is so basic, it’s extremely useful.   In our business there are all kinds of bells and whistles to put on a firearm or dress up in, but so many of the times, the guys that actually have to use the stuff end up stripping gear down the more they are in the field.   I’ve seen plenty of Special Ops guys that don’t wear helmets and limit armor because it restricts mobility and a slow moving person is a much easier target than a fast moving one.   It’s always a good idea to have gloves available to you even if it’s something lightweight and is basically for heat protection.  I have seen plenty of Operators using something as simple as a baseball glove in the field.   We are often asked about the dexterity of a glove but just like footwear, the customer has to try it on and see how it works for them, finger lengths between digits and hand sizes are as diverse as inseams are on pants so it’s yet another one of those things you have to slip over your hand to see how you can move and feel in them.

One thing to consider in this day and age is to make sure you have a cell phone that has a “glove mode” or that you have your text size large enough, and that you can type with them on.   Even our Turtleskin gloves like the Alpha Gloves and the Bravo Gloves have little circles on the index fingers and palm of the hand so that you can type with them.   Although cell phones aren’t as reliable as radios, knowing you can keep your gloves on and still call 911 or type on a computer without going back and forth between putting the gloves on and taking them off is not an easy task.   You are always going to trade safety for comfort in varying degrees and preference and customization can’t be ruled  out.   There are plenty of people that have taken $80 gloves and cut the trigger finger off just because they don’t need any protection for possible their most important finger.

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Get onboard and you might not need gun cleaning patches anymore, Rifle and Pistol Boresnakes

BoresnakesI’ve been to a lot of trade shows in Firearm Industry, from Police and Security Expos to NRA Trade Shows and there are always people at these shows with something new, but sometimes when  you still have plenty of the old stuff, there’s no need to toss anything away.   As my firearm collection grew, I ended up needing more and more cleaning devices, different cleaning rods, different brushes, different cleaning patches.   At one point a friend of mine showed me his range cleaning kit and had a Hoppes 22 Caliber Boresnake for his AR15.    The beauty of this was that it also would work in my 22LR rifles.   Its probable about this time I realized the differences between each type of rifle wasn’t really that much, a .224 diameter bullet was still a 22 Caliber and getting new cleaning brushes wasn’t an issue anymore.

I rarely used the boresnakes on handguns because I already have a small pistol cleaning brush brush but once I’m out of all of the cleaning patches I have left, I’ll probable start switching over to to the 38/357/9mm pistol Boresnakes.   That pretty much covers cleaning a Smith & Wesson Model 19  39 Special/357 Magnum and any 9mm Handgun I own.    The one issue I have had with cleaning handguns is whenever I have shot lead.   Reloading saves you money, but reloading lead bullets is a mess to clean up in the chamber and barrels and I have actually stopped doing that in Semi-Auto Handguns because of how much of a liability it is to constantly worry if I “got it all”  revolvers are a little bit easier to find all of the carbon and  lead, but if you have mostly 22 Caliber or 30 Caliber rifles, you’ll probable get away with only needing a 22 Caliber Boresnake and 30 Caliber Boresnake.

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Adverse environments and having fun at the range with a good shooting mat, The Elite Survival Epsilon Shooting Mat

Elite Survival Epsilon Shooting MatMany people are use to going to their gun club or shooting range and being behind a table, many times they are also standing, but for those that want to get off the bench, there are several different formats and designs of shooting mats.   One of the first things you will know as soon as you deploy this shooting mat is how large it is.   If you are on a mat that is too small for  your body type, you’ll get scuffed or cut elbows and your feet will get wet.   Some shooting mat systems look great when laying on the ground, but many of them will curl up on you right after you deploy it and there are many built it modular features that you can adapt magazines, binoculars, or Security or Law Enforcement patches to.   I’ve personally used this product on concrete and in 3 feet of snow and it worked very well, the mat is thick enough that it deploys under you almost like a thin piece of plywood and is not only a great competition shooter mat, but very good for Law Enforcement for laying down on rooftops.

You can attach any type of molle pouches to this system and it is properly re-enforced for elbows and arm placements.   I remember shooting an M1 Garand on the ground without a shooting mat under me and even though at first it didn’t seem to hurt, I noticed latter on that I had several pieces of gravel dug into my elbows just from laying on the grass.   Getting into a good firing position is and firing from a stable platform is something you have to adjust to depending on your environment, but for long term deployments (hours) or for comfort, definitely check out the Elite Survival Epsilon Shooting Mat.   We always keep some of these on display in our store just because it’s one of those things you’ll want to see before you buy so stop in and check it out.

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We can give you gun holster options, and point you in the right direction

Gun HolstersWe can’t accommodate everyone in this industry because the tactical world is much like the restaurant business.  What do you want for dinner?  Are you for Italian Food, Seafood, going away camping?   There are a lot of advantages with Kydex holsters but we’ve seen so many of them break, that leather still seems to have an edge for longevity, even the cost of various types of leather holsters can vary in quality and features.  I’m still old school with shoulder  holsters, especially when I’m toting a large frame revolver or semi-auto handgun.   The Galco Miami Classics are still very popular with detectives but there are plenty of people buying smaller “off duty” handguns and recently many of our Law Enforcement are looking for Diamondback .380 holsters and Glock 42 holsters.  It always takes awhile for the holster market to catch up to the sales of new firearms but if it’s a good firearm, someone is going to make a holster for it.

If you are looking for leather  holsters, we often point people towards Desantis Holsters, Galco Holsters and Don Hume holsters.   Each of these holsters has different qualities and styles and the vary from expensive to inexpensive depending on the one you want.    If you are looking for inside the waistband gun holsters there nylon holsters like the Elite Survival Systems belt clip holsters which are very universal and fit a lot of firearms and are also ambidextrous.   The Desantis Insider is pretty popular because they are a little over $20 but leather sometimes has its drawbacks in very hot weather.   The new rave seems to be tuckable holsters and Galco Holsters has a pretty big selling rate for the Smith & Wesson bodyguard, check out all of the products we sell and if you don’t see what you are looking for feel free to ask.

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AR15 Complete Upper Receivers, Modify existing or buy another one?

AR15 Complete Upper ReceiversEvery since the Magpul MOE handguards came out we saw a huge decline in sales of the metal quad rail systems.   The Magpul MOE accessories really was a major changing in the way accessories are added to an AR15 or other firearm like an Remington 870 or whatever else Magpul Inc is making.   There are plenty of reasons to keep your rail system on you gun because I’ve recently witnessed some “rate of fire” tests where many plastic accessories just burnt right up so always know the operating limits of any firearm alteration.

Even though sometimes the cost of buying another complete AR15 Firearm vs just buying  AR15 Complete Upper Receivers might only be a few hundred dollars, if you are thinking about stripping down your enter upper receiver think about the cost of all of the parts you are removing and if they are re-sellable or not.   I would suggest thinking about buying another upper receiver and if you like it a lot, then consider buying a lower receiver for it later to complete the 2nd firearm. Its a much better idea then regretting selling off a firearm.

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Gun Cases, Rifle Case and Pistol Case and what do you want to do with them?

I’ve dGun Casesone some serious upgrades to the rifle cases and range bags that I’ve used in the past because I got tired of forgetting things at home or bringing the wrong tools or magazines with me.   I’ve got stacks of Uncle Mike’s Gun cases that  have served me well, but the truth of the matter is I’ve got better optics on my rifles and more expensive flashlights that all of my AR15 Carbines travel in an Elite Surival Covert Operations Bag.   In this day and age of California laws on not displaying firearms in public or hyper active neighbors that think the next Columbine is going to happen in the driveway next door to them.  There are tons of Nylon companies out there like Voodoo Tactical, Uncle Mike’s, Blackhawk and more but once you accessorize your firearms you’ll know exactly what I mean about having problems zipping cases shut, guns sliding around and getting scraped up and broken zippers or zipper tabs.

Whatever floats your boat, and not everyone needs a Range Bag that holds 4 pistols, ammo, sight in tools, magazines and all the bells and whistles that put it up to a $100+ range bag.    I have plenty of gun cases that I don’t even know what the brands are, but gun socks and Allen Gun Cases have plenty of quick fixes to gun transportation and gun storage.   If Nylon gun cases don’t cut it check out the Bulldog Hybrid case with the foam inserts.  Gun Guard has a good selection of hard pistol cases and hard rifle cases that work well with Bolt Action Rifles with Optics and aren’t going to blow your bank like some of the SKB Cases.

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Tru-Spec Multicam and Camo Options and A-Tacs patterns around the corner

There are many reasons to wear camouflage but not always is it to hide you.  I don’t know how many times I’ve seen hunters with $150 camo suits on but then they have the bright orange vest that out them.   Well, from my experience, some of those zip up one piece suits have a lot of utility applications and I actually use a Tru-Spec Assault Suit in Multicam because it’s got even more pockets and utility than most hunting suits, cost a pretty penny, but it works for Archery Season and depending on the environment you are hunting in, you don’t always have to have an orange vest on, during rifle season it’s another story.   We have a lot of cross overs in this industry with Paintball and Airsoft and have plenty of adults buying the Tru-Spec Multicam, Tru-Spec All Terrain Tiger and even there broad selection of other camo pants in Urban Digital and the woodland camo.  Somtimes it fun to get an entire team on the same page with the same patterns so you know who’s on your side.

Hiding yourself and living up to the definition of camouflaging yourself can be very difficult.  Depending on the environment you are in, which can change if you in the woods or on a hillside isn’t going to happen most of the type, you’d need a cloaking device.   Part of Sniper training in the military is being able to adapt to the environment you are in and you are not going to be sent to the field with your camo, you’re going to have to put it all together yourself and make sure it works.   There are some people that love the Tru-Spec BDU Shorts in various camo patterns just for the look but there are much newer patterns coming out lately.   This past year there were several new pants available in Multicam and the new Multicam BlackMultiCamBlack A-Tacs.   We recently read that there are new Tru-Spec A-Tacs patterns coming out and they are very much a technological advancement in clothing and far advanced from the Digital Patterns of the past.   The best thing about having Paintball or Airsoft Tactical Clothing is you can basically wear the same thing during hunting season.

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First Aid, Medical Gear and Rescue gear, how close are you to it?

Rescue GearIt seems that in this industry, every time you buy something,  you have to buy something else to perfect it.  Just buying a first aid kit doesn’t cut it with me because even now, most of the first aid kits you see at Rite Aid or a neighborhood Drug Store isn’t going to have anything that relates to trauma, it’s mostly for people with boo boos, not lacerations, stabbings or gun show wounds.   If you don’t have any of the QuikClot, go out and atleast get the QuickClot Sport, if you are a gun owner, get the Combat Gauze and keep it in your car or in your range bag.   There are so many things to consider when putting together a medical bag,  but if you can afford it, there is every reason to keep some type of Go Bag with you at all times.    I have put together medical gear that stays in the family car, a medical box at home, one in my car and I also have a belt trama kit that goes in my tactical vest.

Sure you don’t need to have all of that stuff in 4 different locations, but in this day and age, it’s real easy to be the person that “can handle it” if you are faced with some type of emergency response.   Kids get hit by cars, dogs bite people,  lawn mower accidents occur and the most common thing are car accidents.   You should always have some type of glass break device in your vehicle and a knife that you know can cut a seat belt.   I’m more prone to want partially serrated knives since cutting through rope or seat belts often needs sawing.   If you don’t have a tourniquet, atleast always know that something like a belt can also work to some degree.   Also consider having rescue gear that applies to both Summer Hot weather or Winter wear.   Emergency Blankets are so inexpensive that keeping a few in the back of your car, especially if you have kids, is something  you may need if your car broke down in temperatures like we had in the Winter of 2014.   Consider some type of portable water filtration unit like some of the Camelback products so even if you don’t have water, if you can find it, you can drink it safely without having to haul large quantities around.

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511 Tactical Footwear, Brand Names and Picking the best

511 Tactical BootsOne thing about our product  line is that we never get caught  up with “this brand is better than another” so much of the tactical clothing and tactical gear world is getting what you paid for.   When it comes to comfort, it’s up to our customer to determine what works best for them.   Here in the Pennsylvania area we get all 4 Seasons, Summer, Winter, Fall and Spring so you need to switch up your clothing at some point.   This year was particularly harsh as far as winter goes and we added a few things to our “winter clothing” category and expecting our 5.11 Socks to include the heavier winter items.  5.11 Tactical is a monster of a company and and is hands down the best known product line and basically because they started it all.   There are a lot of Pros and Cons of every product we sell and we often pick the best products from 5.11 and leave the flashlights and Novelty stuff to the big 5.11 showcase dealers but there are plenty of 5.11 backpacks and gear that has a strong grip of the Emergency Management and Law Enforcement Market.

Like shorts and  pants, footwear needs to change up with the seasons and we’ve had a lot of people come in here asking us to carry some of the Taclite gear in the 5.11 Tactical product line and recently expanded the 511 Tactical Boots in our product line.   We hear a lot of the same stories from brand to brand like ” I don’t like those boots, they fall apart on me” or “they just weren’t comfortable.”   Comfort is your decision and if you have the same problems with a certain boot style or brand, consider  spending more money if you want years of durability.   So much of this can depend on what your work and footwear stress levels are, but here are some of the new products we are carrying online and in our Pennsylvania Tactical Store.

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Snap Caps, what’s the whole purpose ? Dry Firing? Clearing Malfunctions?

Snap CapsWell, I’ll tell you I don’t see too many directions on the packages and people ask us all the time about them, but I personally find them to be an excellent tool for doing malfunction drills.   Sometimes you can just take an empty shell and put it  in the chamber so it looks like a stove pipe, but I find it to be better training to actually allow your firearm to close on a dead round, recognize the gun won’t fire by hearing a click, and then just run through the “tap, rack, fire.”  It’s an excellent way to teach people to clear malfunctions.  I have never allowed someone I taught, to carry a firearm until they learned to clear malfunctions.   My reasoning is this, I have often seen less experiences shooters to be prone to limp wristing and because they probable have not trained under stress, they are more likely to see a malfunction which could mean having their gun taken from them or not being able to defend themselves.   Also, it’s very common for people to not load their firearms properly in the first place.

Snap caps are available from 17HMR to 22 Caliber and all of the major handgun calibers from .380 snap caps, 38 Special Snap caps, 9mm-45acp Snap caps.   I’ve found the 38 Special and revolver calibers to be excellent training accessories for practicing with speed loaders.  If you are taking a shotgun course, you can safely practice all of the loading and unloading skills.   I would personally recommend Snap Caps over some of the cheap plastic dummy rounds because these aluminum bullets won’t fall apart and put plastic shards in the mechanical parts of your firearm, one of the major reasons I stopped reloading lead bullets was even though they were cheap, I had to practically use a tooth pick to get all of it out, and that one little piece of plastic from a cheaper dummy round could end up in a trigger mechanism or in the action and cause a malfunction.

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