Outwear and concealment options

The Seasons ar changing in most of North America and it’s time to think about how we are going to be able to conceal our firearms as the weather patterns change.  The hard part months like October is you never know if it’s going to be 75F or 40F because there are so many fluctuations at this time of year.   You may wake up to frost on the ground and need a warm layer of clothing, but still need to take it off later in the afternoon.   The Eotac 501 half zip sweatshirt is not only warm and comfortable, it is a concealed carry friendly surface layer.   The size vent flaps open up to access gear like your CCW Glock, spare magazines, Surefire G2 or even just  your cell phone.

The problem with putting layers of clothing on is that you are potentially burying your gear.  Now that a boom in gun permits have been being issued around the Country, there has also been a shift in the types of weapons people are chosing for everyday purposes and the demand for CCW apparel.  Rogue Elite is carrying some of the top tier concealed carry vests, tactical pants, tactical shirts and CCW friendly outwear like the Eotac Field Vest, and Field Jacket.

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How much for a gun case?

As many of the choses we make when using firearms and the gear that we want to use with them, we have to ask ourselves “for what?” purpose are we using it.   If you are toting a Mini 14 around with a $180 Leupold rifle scope, you may not need a $1000 hard case with pistol magazine and handgun cutouts.   None of you are going to be deployed to Afghanistan with your gear or have it airdropped behind enemy lines, so there’s no need to worry about that level of violence occuring when moving your rifle around.   SKB gun cases are nice, but that may be for somebody else.

You really can’t go wrong with using Uncle Mike’s gun cases, or their holsters.   I wouldn’t say these are cheap products at all, some of them are priced very well and will hold up for most intended purposes.   The nylon holsters are very practical if used securely with a good gun belt and their gun cases are also very inexpensive for every day use.  They are outstanding to have for any semi-auto carbine because the magazine pouches will really help keep your Pmags or AK magazines organized.  I strongly recommend spending $25-$30 on a soft case for every gun that you won, and keep your sight in tools or magazines in the cases.

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Gun holsters, concealed carry, accessories and Carbine upgrades

We carry a  lot of gun accessories and gun holsters and we are always eager to hear back from our customers about which products they like the most.   We have trimmed our inventory several times after getting feedback and reviews from our customers and we are very happy with the products we are selling.   Firearms are much better made than even just 20yrs ago due to superior technological changes in the production and manufacturing of synthetic materials and product consistancy.   Many rifle scopes and tactical optics are being made with etched glass and not mounted.  This has a huge impace on the life and durability of an optic.  I remember the tactical scopes I saw at gun shows in the 1990’s that cost $40.   I have since broken every optic that ever was mounted on a firearm that cost under $150.   I guess I do more shooting that the average gun guy, but why waste the money inexpensive tactical gear or rifle optics.

A good hunting scope can be had in the $200 price range and there isn’t always a need to have to spend a grand or more.   Get good Leupold rifle scope mounts and use loctite to on the screws for added reliability.   If you are looking for tactical gear or a tactical rifle scope, then you’re really going to  have to cough up the money and spend the cash.   There are many applications for tactical rifle optics, zero magnification like the Eotech combat optic, or low magnification with a added magnifier on your Eotech or go with low magnification medium range optics like the Trijicon ACOG.   Long range shooting means finding the right reticle that applies to the type of shooting you want to do.

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Technology has improved, you can lock up your guns now

I am very much aware that not all of us live in the safest neighborhoods and some of us have jobs  or careers where we are at a higher level of personal safety than others.   I have seen on numerous news stories about how children can and do find out where hidden guns are and depending on whether or not the child new it was real or a toy, some children are not developed enough to fear real guns.   I have a lot of experience in dealing with new students and young adults and there are reasons we have to start slowly when teaching a novice shooter on how to handle a firearm.

The reality is this, children can get into things and if you think you can hide your guns from a child and not have it locked up, you are taking a risk that in this day and age, isn’t worth taking.   I feel comfortable that the young family members that dwell in my home know what real guns are, but when the dumb friend of your kid shows up and starts messing around when the parents aren’t around, Well…  GunVault gun safes are easy to bolt down and hide in closets, bedside, floors ect. and if  you think a finger keypad is too slow to open, try one of the gun safes that has a biometric print reader.  Considering how small these gun safes are, you really should consider ending the liability of not locking up your firearms.

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Tactical holsters and combat holsters

I have to admit that I fall under the category of people that have a pile of holsters that I hardly use, but I still don’t think they are worthless.   I think it’s always good to keep spare  holsters around incase you break one, wear it out or have to wait awhile to get one custom made.   I’ve had situations where a favorite gun holster broke and it took a few months to get a replacement.   When it comes to needing gun holsters for hard training, I think it’s always a good idea to know ahead of time on how many magazines you intend to be carrying.  Blackhawk Serpa holsters are outstanding combat holsters due to their superior durability and stability, but some nylon holsters will still work very well.

There is a point where I think people have to be realistic about how many handgun magazines they are willing and needing to carry and how much bulk they want.   At a certain point  you really need to put more thought into carrying  a Carbine if you want that much firepower.   There are gun holsters with a drop leg setup that will allow you to carry more magazines that are off the belt line, this can be a tricky configuration to use and I would put serious thought into whether or not you want that bulk, but it will free up your gun belt for cell phones, flashlights, radio ect.

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Wilson combat 1911 gun parts

Everyone that I know that owns a 1911 made some kind of upgrade or customization.   I personally think that, that is the norm and it’s good to suggest to gun buyers that you should expect to customize the gun, especially when it comes to gun grips.   There are a lot of things you can do to improve upon the GI 1911 gun that the military used.   The first thing that I always recommend is getting the sights replaced with your own preferences.   I personally love the way that Glock sights give a good sight picture and I have had very good experiences with training with my Glocks, but I still love my 1911s.   Beavertail can be dropped in and you won’t have to worry about gun smithing, 99% of the time.   The Wilson Combat Skeleton hammer and thumb safeties are also things to think about upgrading to.

An issue I have had with my big hands is that whenever I put on my preferred gun grips which are Hogue fingerless grips I sometimes it can become difficult to sweep the gun safeties or hit the slide release.  I found this out the hard way with a 1911 and had to put in an extended slide release.    You learn from experience but be aware that replacing any part of the gun may mean making another adjustment somewhere else.   Wilson Combat magazines are very reliable and lightweight and drop from all of my guns when the magazine release is hit.   Not all magazines drop freely and this is something to pay attention to whenever you are testing out your CCW or defensive gear.

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What are your options for suit and tie environments?

I will always leave room for imagination when it comes to CCW because there are different types of clothing that give you more possibilities and limitations and then there are variables in gun sizes and types of holsters.   What it really comes down to is comfort.  I don’t believe every firearm has to be carried in such a way that you have to always expect to be a gunslinger.   Deep concealment is something to consider in situations where there may be some unfriendlies and you don’t want to have to deal with the repurcussions of being outed.

I’d say that the closer you are going to be in contact with people the more you have to consider pocket carry or ankle holsters.  I prefer to use J-Frame 38 Special with 110gr Hornandy bullets due to the fact that this is about as light as you can possible get with a firearm without getting into the plinking caliber pistols.   There are situations where you have to consider that a person passing by you may feel the clunk of your IWB Galco Holsters or any other type of firearm that is at the waist line.   People tend to not be as suspicious about pocket gear so that is a office environment consideration.   For weddings I think pocket carry and Ankle Glove holsters are probable your best bet.

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Clip on holsters a bad idea?

I have had some bad experiences with various clip on holsters, but after I retired some of my standard dress belts and got an actual gun belt, the problems disappeared.  Many people really over look this issue when CCW and it’s one of those things that can really bite you at the wrong time.  I have a few firearms instructor friends that swear that they usually see atleast one person pull a firearm from their holster during defensive training classes where the holster is still on the gun.   It’s laughable, but people just don’t really know how stable their holsters are until they are really put to the test.

A good gun belt should be strong and solid and be about atleast 1.5 inches wide.  The skinny belt thing is a no no in the gun carrying world, and this is where I see a lot of failures.   The clip may hold the belt, but a fast draw of the gun may make it wobble or pop off.   The other thing to think about is the support of the firearm.   The first time I ever wore a Wilderness instructor belt, which was the 1.5″ version, I was carrying and using Springfield Armory XD 45acp in IWB gun holsters and I could hardly tell I was carrying the gun.  The support of the firearm was significant and I really didn’t feel like I  had to adjust the belt.   There are various types of Wilderness gun belts that are not as tactical looking which may be more apporpriate for white collar CCW.

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Low light and background

Recently I got a chance to get out during archery season here in New York State and hunted from a tree stand with a Horton Vision crossbow.   The crossbow came with a bolt drop comepsator and it worked impressively.  Using 100gr arrow points, it was dead on out to 50yds and I tested it at every range.   I probable would have gotten this crossbow without the scope because I still have young eyes and think i could have faired well without it.  There is an adjustable reticle knob that can allow for varying brightness and it also can illuminate with red or green reticles.

At first, I thought I didn’t need the illumination, but when I was out in the woods and depending on the background of what I was aiming at, the different color reticles were actually a bonus.  I could see the black crosshairs on this scope, but when I was aiming into thick vegitation, the red reticle option looked best, when I was aiming into the dark woods with mostly a wooden tree and leave background, the green reticle really stood out.   Trijicon riflescopes and ACOGS have been issued to military and law enforcement for many years now, but although there have been some changes to the reticle configurations, there has been a real trend away from just the red reticle.   Even laser manufacturers are moving more towards green for proveable reasons.   The human eye picks up certain colors better than others in low light, and it’s yet another reason to do some research into what you are using a rifle scope for and what environement it will be in.

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Excessive magnification, or effective upgrade?

I have a Winchester Model 70 Pre 64 that I got off a family member for hunting when I was 17yrs old.   At the time, the 3-9 Redfield scope was good enough for me to average 2 inch groups at a 100yds.   As I grew older I slowly learned the tricks to cut my groups down and it wasn’t all about trigger control.   Stock work and trigger tuning got this 2 MOA gun to being able to put 9 rounds in a 2 inch circle at 200yds.   My Zeiss 6.5-20×50 gave me an edge for target shooting, but I realize it’s a little much for your average New York State white tails.

 

 

Just like many of the options we have when thinking about selecting a firearm, caliber, holster, sights, rifle scopes, we have to do a little thinking ahead.   We have to realize that there is such a thing as versatility with various rifle scopes , but nobody has a do it all scope yet.   I think there is going to be a day when we have a rifle scope that is zero magnification at one setting and 40x at another setting with bullet calibration and computerization built into the reticle, but right now, that would probable cost too much to field these kinds of rifle scopes to the average citizen.

 

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