Versatile waterproof outerwear

There really aren’t many options that I know of for someone that is carrying a firearm or other tactical gear to be able to still stow his magazines ect. in his outwear and keep the rain off.   Woolrich Elite Series Tactical also has water proof pants that range in sizes from Small-XXL.   Make sure you check out the sizing guide on this one and don’t make any guesses.   Your XL shirt sizes don’t mean you  are going to fit in a XL pant.   I find this to be a good option in the Fall and Spring and it’s always nice to not have to throw on a large heavy coat when you don’t have to.

My Sig 226 9mm is a very large firearm and once of the best balanced 9mm there is.   I usually carry 3-4 15rd pistol magazines and the Woolrich Elite Parka holds all of them without printing.  The front pockets have elastic straps that will hold them in place and a pair of handcuffs and knife also keep me ready for work.   This is too heavy for summer carry, but it’s easy to roll it up and stuff it in the glove compartment or under a  seat if I need to put it away for a Season or two.

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Woolrich Elite Outerwear

We were really wondering what was going on with Woolrich a few years ago after some of the people that were involved with the company split off and went on and started their own thing.   We were not sure if they were going to survive this bump in the road, but 2011 gave us a glimpse into some original products that are being added to their product line.  We have always had a high opinion of their quality, but some of the designs of their products really needed improving.   Woolrich has gotten the edge over some of the big tactical clothing companies in 2011.

I recently looked up several shirt companies from a few years ago and they were all out of business.   This year Woolrich Elite took the trophy with their concealed carry and tactical shirts.  The lightweight cotton rip stop shirts are much lighter for hot weather and still have the tactical utility uses.  The Woolrich Elite shirts primarily the CCW and Oxford shirts are outstanding.  They truly are concealed carry shirts that aren’t tactical looking at all.  If you want dress shirts that are cut for CCW this is your best option.

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Standard weight tactical pants

I am not a big fan of wearing tactical pants, I find that many of the tactical clothing companies are over do the designs of some of their pockets and I either find them to be too darn big or awkward sizes.  Not every has the same size phone and there really isn’t the need for carrying a knife in every pocket.   I also do not feel as though I need to keep a 30rd magazine inside my pants pocket.   For concealed carry pants there are even fewer options out there.   Try putting a j-frame revolver in regular clothing pocket pants and you’ll find out why there is a tactical clothing market, though.

I am not also not a fan of tactical shorts.  I have been wearing the Woolrich Elite Series tactical 44905 shorts for years, but the cargo pockets are roughly one half of the size of the pants pockets and I always feel as though I have to limit what I am carrying in the summer.   I always feel kind of naked when I can’t wear the Eotac Style 202 tactical pants which are my primary tactical clothing option.  These cotton canvas pants are very well balanced as far as utility needs and the rear wallet pockets are perfect for what I need them for.

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Adding tactical gear you can really use

When people talk about tactical gear, it usually pertains to the stuff they are hanging off of their M4.  One of my biggest pet peeves in the  tactical accessory market is something I refer to as the tactical gear snag.   I have torn tactical pants in the kitchen of my home because the pockets get caught on everything that a kitchen has to offer, and slings, pressure switches ect are all extra things that get caught on the same things, I’m definitely not a fan of pressure switches because if you have the right size flashlight and mount it in the right position, you should  be able to turn it off and on with your finger without the need for running wires.

One thing that I have found to not be a drawback are gloves, having a good set of tactical gloves like the Larry Vickers tactical gloves from Eotac, will not be as heavy and hard to feel like Kevlar gloves and the Vickers tactical gloves can be customized to what you want with your trigger finger.   If you do not like the idea of  having your trigger finger wrapped in a glove, you can cut these down to where you want your trigger finger to be exposed and the glove will not fray or fall apart.  This will work for left or right handed shooters.

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Has anyone made plans for a Mapgul pistol mag?

I’ve been getting good at sensing changes in the gun industry and I think we’re on the precipice right now.   Synthetic stocks are far superior to what was out a decade ago and machining has improvement so well on the AR15 design that even the direct impingement guns are superior to what was out a decade ago.   I think  if you have the money to spend, you can get a good DI gun that is as reliable as a piston gun.   On the discussion of rifle magazines, once you get to the point that you can drive your car over a magazine and then still reliable shoot it in your gun, you have arrived at the top of the mountain.

I think Glock magazines are pretty tough, but I’ve never seen somebody drive over one with a car and still have it run.  If anyone has seen a pistol magazine as tough as the Magpul Pmags let me know? Wilson combat magazines are the most reliable gun magazines, but I don’t think any 1911 magazine would hold up to a 200lb person standing on it let alone a 2 ton truck.   Maybe we don’t need gun magazines to be this tough, but I sure think that if we can improve the light bulb, we can improve the handgun or pistol magazines.

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Speed loaders and stripper clips

I remember finding stripper clips laying around on gun ranges and not having an idea where they came from and what they were for.  Most of them were for bolt action rifles and probable surplus ammo.   I see a lot of ammo that is sold in bulk like 9mm, 45acp, 8mm Mauser and 7.62×39  are sold in loose ammo cases.  The loose ammo can be cheaper, but it is also a pain in the butt to load if you are going to do some serious range reporting.   Loading up 3 or 4 magazines isn’t a pain, but try loading up 10 magazines and you’ll feel the difference in your fingers.  The military usually issues ammo on stripper clips for this very reason.

Many of my reloaded rounds are on stripper clips because I really don’t like the idea of storing rifle ammunition in loose containers.  All of those primers floating around that don’t have anything behind them bothers me.  Maglula speed loaders are the best option for you if you do have ammo stored in loose ammo cans.   Stripper clips are a better way to store them and for 5.56 ammo, you can find a military speed loader for only a few bucks.   Expect your magazines to show some wear from these loaders, but serious shooters should consider having them.

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Eotac Style 202 pants

I’ve been growing concerned about some of the products I have learned to love in recent years because production issues in making clothing in China is having an impact on the availability of some of the tactical clothing out there.   I have gone from 5.11 tactical clothing to Woolrich Elite Series and then on to Eotac and picked up various tactical shirts, vests and jackets along the way.  I  had a Sigtac jacket for a short time, but kind of had no real use for it because I didn’t like the idea of carrying a gun in the jacket.  I always want the gun on my body and not in outerwear.

When it comes to the type of pants I want to wear, I am really stuck on wearing the Style 202 pants from Eotac.   I actually had switching over to the lightweight pants in the summer because the 100% cotton ripstop just doesn’t support the gear that I carry as well as the cotton canvas tactical pants.   The pocket designs on this are bellowed and hold more although snagging is a problem with all of the tactical pants I own.  Try washing dishes in the kitchen and you’ll learn to hate the cabinet knobs and handles.  I have a friend that has town his pants in the same area in his garage because of the same issue, but there are always compromises.

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Glocks and the Blackhawk Serpa holsters

I remember all of those arguments about the 1911 being a bad CCW back in the 1990’s and the early part of the last decade.  There was a big move towards large capacity firearms and Glock firearms pretty much became kind of that world for awhile.  I also remember seeing more and more stories on the news about shoot out involving 50-100rds of exchanged fire and nobody got hit.  In the inner city, there were more innocent people killed in fire fights than the people that were actually shooting at each other.  The Military dropped the M16A1 and went to the M16A2 because they realized that the full auto option really just meant wasting ammo and not more insurance.

There is something to be said for knowing your firearms.   I have along with several of my counterparts witnessed experienced shooters use a 45acp 1911 and engage 100yd targets and another friend learned to shoot from a guy shooting a Glock 40 at a 200yd target and did better with it than most people would have done with a 30/30 lever action.  Blackhawk holsters have a retention device that will help retain your firearm and keep it from falling out or being taking from you.  Every gun has it’s good an bad points and there is no difference between the 1911 thumb safety and the Blackhawk Serpa holsters.  Train to use what you have an know why you are carrying it.

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Sig 230 for CCW

There seems to be a wave of .380 CCW and after watching this trend for almost 2yrs, I have to say that it does seem to be a fad.   I am aware of a Police shooting where a Philadelphia Police Officer was killed by a bad guy with a .380 pistol and I later found out that she was hit in the head.   I hate having to be so gruesome in talking about shootings like this, but carrying a firearm means you are carrying a tool that may kill someone in self defense and we all know we don’t want to use the cheapest tools in the tool box if we are worried about keeping something of value in good condition.

The Sig 230 handguns have been around for a long time and from my experience the only down side to them is the lack of a normal magazine release.   All .380 handguns should be viewed as minimal, I wouldn’t carry one as a primary weapon or use it for home defense.  I have Don Hume holsters for my Sig 230 for inside the waistband.   The clip on belt holster is very reliable and the gun is already thin enough that carrying IWB is a non-issue.   .380 ballistics are something  you need to look into and train your mind to implement your weapon accordingly.

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Improving what you already have

There is nothing wrong with putting some money into the firearms you already own.   For some reason people think that putting a $100 gun stock on an SKS is a waste because you’re spending close to 30% more on your investment.   Well, I am one who  has come to the conclusion that firearms should be customized to the operator.   The good thing about the stock options you have today are many of them are adjustable.   I remember when I was a teenager and many of the rifles that I was shooting were too long for me, now I have trouble getting kids to shoot some of my guns because they are too long.

Guess which firearm is the easiest for me to teach knew shooters that are teenagers and still growing?  You guessed it, the M4 Carbine.   The adjustable stocks are really meant for people that wear body armor, but I have gotten good use out of my Magpul stocks, the PRS AR15 sniper stock also has an adjustable cheek weld which is something that you will learn to appreciate especially if you are not sure about which optics you are going to use on the gun.  The Magpul CTR stock is by far the biggest seller because it is easy to adjust and lock in place.

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