The Atlantic City Police and Security Expo

We will be attending the Atlantic City Police and Security Expo for Original Swat footwear and this will be our 2nd time attending the event.  It’s always nice to work at these conventions because we get to meet our customer base and learn about new products.   There are always new products coming out and slight production changes.   Nobody designs the perfect product in a Laboratory, the perfect product usually comes after it is fielded and then customer feedback and design improvements take place.   Just look at the number of F15 fighter planes we have and also the changes that have taken place.  You can make a nice design, but there can always be application differences that can broaden your product line.

Nobody in the Security field wants to wear steel toe boots, considering how so many locations will have metal detectors you can’t be setting off all of the beeps every time you take a BG through.   The Classic 9″ safety toe from Original Swat boots has a composite toe that gives you the same protection.  Other options are the Air 5″ and the Classic 9″ light safety toe.   It’s not common to have boots that are lighter than the old steel toe boots but still give you protection like the Air 5″ boots give you.   There are many more products that we will be having on display at the Police and Security Expo.

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The hard part about ordering tactical gear and accessories

I recently got into a conversation with an old timer in our area that talked about the good old days where gun shops and hunting stores had everything you needed. Now you gotta drive an hour or more to find a decent gun shop and most of the time you’ll find disorganized merchandise and even unpriced items with knowledge lacking individuals.   I remember taking a trek to a shop looking for an LWRC upper and the guy tried to sell me an LWRC upper receiver for $1700 and told me that they were hard to get.   I stopped at another shop and ordered the exact same one from another dealer for $1200.   Sometimes knowing what you are looking for, holding it in your hands and knowing  you like it before you buy gets consumer confidence going.

Ordering gun parts and tactical gear and accessories is no different.   We sell an awful lot of clothing and many of our customers show fear of ordering until they hear a voice on the other side of the computer monitor.   We can do quick searches on the internet and find out that some of the top responses are companies with over 300 complaints by  the better business bureau.   Tactical gear and accessories like Original Swat boots and tactical pants are big sellers but people want to hold them in their hands or try them on their feet first.   Now that we have a retail store it’s nice to have people stop in and know they got what they came for.   Unfortunately there is still the need for people to try stuff on and the internet hasn’t killed every business.

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New DVD from Dean Caputo

I just started getting through another Make Ready DVD this week after last weeks Dean Caputo AR15 Armorer’s bench DVD.   The first 75% of the AR15 was all stuff that I already new about and I was really starting to think about skipping over a few of the chapters and getting to something new, but I sat and thought to myself that I can’t say I watched it if I didn’t see the whole thing.   It’s kinda like all of the people that go to Mass on Sunday and walk out after Communion, but the Priest gets pissed and says that Mass isn’t over yet.   Well, Dean Caputo wasn’t talking about God, but he’s been talking about the AR15 and the 1911 and according to some people, those are holy things.

The 1911 is probable the most tinkered with firearm that I know of.   I always think of the 1911 as being the GI Mil-spec gun and a lot of the 1911’s I have seen from Kimber and some custom shops aren’ t really 1911s to me.  I’ve changed sights and triggers on my guns but I mostly stick to GI looks and Wilson combat magazines.   The magazines have always been the weak points on the 1911 followed probable by the throat.   I have no real interest in using HP ammunition on my 1911s because I feel like I’m compromising reliability.   Dean’s DVD’s are very good for basic information and he gets into basic history, but the best  thing about the DVD’s is his thorough and organized manor of explaining the parts and how to trouble shoot.  The trouble shooting was something I was not aware of.

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Ok, So LWRCI has something less expensive

I think the best bang for the buck is buying a 5.45×39 upper for your AR15, but you will have to do some research on using the magazines and possible changing a few things in your AR15  like a new buffer or a hammer spring.   The main reason I didn’t start shooting one of these was because I didn’t have a spare lower to try out.   Last year I did some shopping, but I’m not really a fan of swapping parts in and out of uppers and lowers just to do caliber changes.   I think its a better idea to pick a caliber and keep a lower for the gun.

The 5.45×39 ammunition is dirt cheap and the Smith &  Wesson seems to have been king of the realm for awhile, but direct impingement and 5.45×39 don’t mix very well.   LWRC uppers have been increasingly expensive and yes, you can buy a whole new Colt AR15 for the price of an LWRC upper, but recently we were informed that the LWRC M6SL which is the lightweight stretch upper costs just about $1000.   I got my LWRC M6A2 for more than than about 4yrs ago.   Even though we’re selling them we want to hear from people on how they are holding up.

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Another public service announcement

There are some things that I have to watch myself with because I can get too repetitive when dealing with some of my gun friends, but when it comes to public safety and gun ownership there are things that I am forced to re-iterate every year.    I was recently made aware of an incident where a novice gun owner went out and picked up a Kimber 1911 and was learning to shoot with it.   After probable putting about 1000rds through the gun it sat in his home unloaded for several months.   Just this past weekend he was in a hostile situation and ran up to his bedroom to retrieve it.

The gun was not loaded when pulled it out of his closet but he had ammunition standing when he loaded the magazine up the feed lips where so worn out that the bullets came loose when he popped it back in the gun magazine.   The manufacturer of the firearm was not important, but it is not wise to only have one magazine for a self defense weapon.  I rotate all of my Wilson Combat magazines for my 1911s and actually use GI magazines for range mags.  The GI magazines are not as reliable and I actually like that because I can practice clearing malfunctions with them.  If they jam too much I just toss them.   Don’t mix your range magazines in with defensive magazines.

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Blackhawk lightweight tactical pants

I attempted to deviate away from Woolrich Elite clothing this summer and it lasted about 5 minutes.   There really is  something to be said for “movement” when wearing tactical pants.   There aren’t any indestructible pants out there because there are always ways to move and tear them, but when  you feel them riding in your inner thighs when  you raise your legs, you’re going to be buying new pants sooner than later.   These pants cost more than Woolrich Elite but the fit was no where near the same.  The sizing was very good compared to regular clothing, but the fit was totally not the same.

The Style BH86TP02 pants came in and I was anxious to find something to replace my worn our Eotac and Woolrich Elite stuff.   The first thing that I noticed about these tactical pants was that they were heavier than Woolrich Elite lightweight pants.   The side cargo pockets seem to be very well stitched in and felt strong, but they did not feel lightweight. The one thing that really gets me is the darn hand pockets.  I hate this Blackhawk, 5.11 tactical pants cut that is slanted and not rounded off.

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Sale on Eotac apparel

We are running down the last of the Eotac apparel and most of our employees were acting like vultures grabbing their sizes before it was all sold off.   We only have a few of the odd sizes in the vest, shirts and jackets and most of the lightweight stuff is almost gone.   I think there is going to be a huge glut of tactical pants on the market because I noticed that with a bad economy and so many tactical clothing companies trying to get their foot in the door, I’m seeing $20-$30 8.11 and Blackhawk tactical pants all over the place.  Men and women are still going over to Iraq and Afghanistan so there is still a strong demand.

Now granted, there are some really bad designs and I recently tried out a few new styles of clothing, but after testing them all out, I ended up back with Woolrich Elite tactical pants.   It’ll be some what easier to sell clothing now that Eotac is gone because there won’t be so many people asking about the differences between the lightweight tactical pants and the regular clothing.   I am still waiting to find out what the situation is going to be with making clothing in China and cotton prices because we just got hit with a few more price increases and I doubt this will be the last of 2011.

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Drinking the cool aid with LWRC

I have been on hiatus form gun forums for several years due to the fact that they just wore me out.   I think they are great for researching information about products but you still need a really good bull shit meter to know if someone is lying to your or not.   As a dealer, i get stressed out reading about all of the new optics and accessories that are coming out because I know it’s only a matter of time before I get the phone call or email about what kind of adapter or mount someone is going to need for AR15 style X.    I love the industry but all of this accessorizing makes me want to break out a welding torch and just be done with it.   I’ve seen guys with what must have been about 24 or more screwed in components and to think about the odds of those screws coming loose or breaking bothers me.

I recently went back to a gun forum I use to frequent and it was all the same old anti-product bashing that goes on.  It’s almost tribal warfare with gun makers.   LWRC uppers are definitely my favorite upper receiver although I am very much aware of how expensive they are and that it’s debatable about how much of an improvement over reliability they are.   I have not had any parts breakage but I read all of the stuff i can from Pat Rogers and some of the uppers didn’t fair so well a few year ago in tests.   There have been product upgrades and I actually took a tour of the LWRCI facilities last year and had a parts upgrade done to my gun.  The real improvement I see if the gun just darn well runs cleaner and It doesn’t have lube running out of all of the a parts.

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Eyewear, protection and visibility

I will never forget to time of my life where i thought that people that wore sunglasses only wore them because they were just trying to be cool.   Then there was the time I went on a fishing trip on a bright sunny day and came home with the worst headache I have ever gotten in my life.   After that, I knew there was a reason to wear sunglasses and it was obvious to me that that’s why they are called sunglasses.  Gun safety glasses obviously protect you from flying debris and for those serving in the military, ballistics on the eyewear you have on really means something to you.

Sunglasses for law enforcement isn’t just about being cool or hiding your eyes from the public.  Ever since HIV and blood born diseases really affecting the Law Enforcement community wearing eyewear that protected you from the disgusting elements of society was important.  Smith Optics Elite are now in the tactical community with cool Lifestyle eyewear with various lense options.   The eyewear comes in clear, gray, ignitor and polarized gray. We see a lot of clear eyewear going to those running ambulance services and first responders.

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Women bitching on the tactical gear and accessories market

We have gotten lots and lots of feed back from Women that work in the Law Enforcement Community about how they are constantly forced to wear and buy men’s clothing and there are not  a lot of options.   We have been selling the Woolrich Elite women’s pants for several years in contrast to the 5.11 tactical pants and we still get lots of complaints about the fit of the clothing and how well they work for the various shapes and sizes of women. Tactical clothing that men wear rarely works with women and we hear it all day long at work.   Smaller sizes for men doesn’t mean hip sizes fit for a woman.

One product line we are proud to be selling is the Original Swat boots for Women.   There are 3 products in the Original swat boots line for women.  The Standard 1150 the Zip up 1152F and the most casual or street friendly 1151F.   The boots size variations are pretty broad and not just meant for petite women.   It’s amazing to see the product fit and variations that need to be made for women.   Just because it’s made for women doesn’t mean that it’s meant for dancing.   There are more women seeing combat situations and by the number of customers that we have had over recent months that call up before being deployed and are ordering tactical gear and accessories for combat, its a whole new world.

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