Tools and accessories and practicality

Once we out grow the arguments about which gun is better than the other and which caliber has more stopping power, the next bit of squabbling is usually about accesories and gizmos.   There are absolutely higher quality tactical scopes and combat reliable flashlights like Surefire and Streamlight, but there are still credible debates about how much of a white light you should have on a firearm.    If it’s too powerful, you’re more than likely going to be draining batteries for more than what you need and a light can easily get in the way and begin to snag on things especially if it’s too big.

Tactical gear like rifle stocks like VLTOR and Magpul have a very good reputation from users and those that sell them.   We have very few complaints about durability and even though the average weekend warrior can put one of these on their Bushmaster or DPMS AR15, these tactical rifle stocks will last the life of the firearm.  When you are trying to decide on what to put on your AR15, think about everything you expect to use the firearm for and leave yourself some room for future modifications without having to overhaul the stock. If you think  you’re going to be putting a laser or flashlight on the gun, get the appropriate rail configuration.  If you are looking for long range shooting, a red dot or Eotech may not be something to put on your gun, just leave it setup for iron sights until you find the right tactical rifle scope that your money can buy.

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Knives, bullets and white lights

There are things that we never leave home without, our wallets and keys for the most part.   If we are CCW holders, we always leave with our guns, a knife can come in more useful than your firearm at times and even more useful, is a white light.   People seem to think that when you hear get a white light for your gun, it means mounting it, but there are other alternatives.   Section 8 Tactical makes a nifty light holder called the Ultimate Retention Device.   This device comes in real handy since it’s not weapon mounted and really doesn’t tie up your hand.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been in the car on camping trips and for fixing flat tires, but times I forgot to bring my flashlight with me.  Recently I took a Streamlight Scorpion LED and tossed it in my car with a Section 8 TacPac stocked with batteries.   With modern LED technology, battery life has been extended dramatically, but it’s good to always know you have backup batteries around for the just incase scenario.  I personally see very little practical difference between Streamlight flashlights and Surefire flashlights.   The Streamlight scorpion works well on a carbine or shotgun and it’s also small enough to fit in your pocket, but not too small to lose.

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Lights that don’t go out

I’ve been involved with several gun clubs that ran various competitions.  My favorites are always the Carbine events.   Every year we get to see who the best shooters are and almost every year, the guys that show up with the most expensive guns are not the ones with the highest scores.   If you got money to blow there’s no reason you can’t buy what you want, but operator caused malfunctions are the #1 reason I see guns go down.

I’ve had a love hate relationship with my Eotech rifle scopes.    I love how easy the reticle is to pick up when shooting, but I hate how hard it is to nail targets beyind 100yds in low light because of how the reticle obscures the targets.   I’ll never forget my first 100yd shooting experience with my Eotech where we were shooting steel plates.   I couldn’t see any of the 3 inch plates with my Eotech at 100yds.   The shade of the trees darkened the targets and when I shot with iron sights, I could clearly make out the plates.   Battery operated optics are something that will surely go extinct in the not too distant future.

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The move away from red to green

I really don’t have a problem shooting with regual optics in low light, but I’ve never been in the streets for combat missions in low light.    I’ve done plenty of hunting in the early mornings and since I could clearly tell that some of my lower end optics really sucked as far as brightness, I still got the job done when the sun came up.   I never liked many of the red dot reticles because the red dots all seemed to blurry to me.   I guess its a disadvantage for those of us with good vision, but I found the blurry bright red dots annoying.   They tend to obscure targets because they are either too big or too hazy.

Trijicon ACOGs are well known for their reliablility and clarity and for their unique illuminated reticles.   I find many in the gun community like the fancy reticles, but I still prefer my reticles small and thin.    The only time I don’t mind a larger reticle is with the Eotech rifle scopes, but that is only for close up fighting.   Trijicon has also discovered that the green illuminated reticles are preferred by military and law enforcement because the human eye picks up the light better.    Very interesting.

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Tools and accessories and practical uses

There are plenty of things I’d love to throw on an M4 that would be fun to try out, lasers, grenades, IR, night vision ect.  but the reality is I really don’t need those, and with how much battery usage I would be using, I don’t really want to have to tack on another accessory that is gonna fail on me when I should really just operate with out it.    Battery life can vary depending on the type you use, but there have been big improvements in the last couple years.   The problem I see with people using lasers outside of their homes is that the laser is set for where the POI is at a fixed range and people that are less trained don’t realize that it’s not really going to improve your accuracy.

Rifle offset on the AR15 is something that needs to burn into a novice shooters head.  I can’t think of too many other firearms that have an offset like that and for close range fighting, especially in a hostage situation, you can easily miss your opponent and hot the wrong person.  Laser Grips Laser usage at close ranges, that are adjusted for POI within close ranges can be a help if you are using your home defense weapon, but for using lasers outside of your home, the bullet won’t hit where the laser dot is and is really just a guide.

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Folding knives and camping

I have a few knives that have been passed down through a few generations.   Most of them look like they were used in Boy Scouts.  Some were Bowie knives that must have been fun to use, but were really an over kill.   Not that there is anything wrong with it, but carrying those around all the time made a  kid feel cool, but mostly likely got in the way.   Recently I got out to do some nature conservation and decided to spend the weekend at a State Park.    We weren’t allowed to bring in our own firewood which I normally do, just because I like to know that I’ll have good dry wood for cooking in need be even if the weather isn’t good.
At the gate of the park, we picked up a few bundles of wood, we took it back to camp and I brought out my Columbia River folding knife and slashed open a bundle that was shrink wrapped and tied with a rope.   I’m still not sure what tactical knives are, but this one works for me.  A co-worker of mine was tugging and pulling on his stack and had trouble getting it undone.    Everyone likes to bring knives for cooking, but even just a simple folding knife in your pocket can be very useful.   Whenever your camping, there is room for you to pack a knife.

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Fall hunting and tactical vest

While the Field Vest has a military or tactical look to it, I find this kinda changes depending on the colors you are displaying.   The Lizard Pattern camo is an obvious military style look, but I find hte brown and OD green colors help moderate the look.   The vest looks very simliar to the Field Jacket except without the sleeves.   We are running a sale on them so look it over and pick one up before they are all gone.

 

Eotac has had their products on the market for barely a year and a half now.   I remember walking the Shot Show grounds in 2009 and wondering if yet another tactical clothing company was going to survive and here we are almost 18 months later and they are still cutting into the market.   The new A-tacs apparel should be out before SHOT Show in 2011 and we’re really itching to get a  hold of it.   One of the Eotac products that was new for 2010 is the Eotac Style 103 Field Vest.   The Field Vest work really well for hunting, too.

 

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CCW and thinking ahead

The Boy Scout motto is BE PREPARED.   When we accept our responsibilities in carrying a firearm, one thing we have to be aware of is making sure that we are concealing our weapons and not overdoing it.    There are a few placed in the Country where you may be fined if anyone spots your concealed firearm, and although I think the vast majority of criminals aren’t looking for citizens with guns, it’s best to not advertise it.   I’ve found that over the years of carrying duty size weapons on the job and CCW are different for me.   I’m not too comfortable carrying double stack spare magazines around all day.

Something to consider while carrying a CCW gun is, it is good to always have a backup magazine available, but don’t go overboard in carrying gun magazines.   Statistics show that most gun fights occur with shots fired being in the single digits.   Knowing how to retreat from a gun fight is more important than carrying tons of ammo and expecting to stand your ground.

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Mounting an optic and locking it down

Just like every other accessory or firearm, there are pros and cons of any tool.    The novice attitude towards firearms is that a certain firearm is better than another just because they spend more money on customization.    I’ve seen guys with Kimber 45acp that couldn’t hit a plate at 15yds and guys with a Mil-Spec 1911 hit a plate at 100yds.    There are always variables when it comes to accuracy and tolerances, but it’s more than likely all about the skill level of the operator.

When  you are discussing the topic of which rifle scopes are better than others, the real issue would be about the clarity and reticle type and the durability.    I have read so much BS when it comes to rifle scope durability because most of that is from improperly mounted optics.   I’d say 75% of the time I pick up a rifle that is not my own, the rifle scopes are canted or the rings are not loctited.    If you don’t have a scope that is leveled properly, your hold overs are going to be shooting to the left or right of your target instead of dead on, high or low.   You’ll have a heck of a time trying to practice your accuracy because your elevation adjustments will cause your windage to change.  Reliability with an optic has more to do with how you mount it and lock it down than the price you paid for it.

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Aim, hold and squeeze only gets you so far

Everyone learns to shoot at different levels, and we all basically figure it out at some point, but the fundamentals for shooting will always be the fundamentals.    There always little add ons that we can do when trying to improve our shooting skills and for those familiar with competitive shooting, without using a sandbag or a bipod, a good rifle sling can give you far more stability than just a good grip.   You have to learn the positions you need to get into and how to adjust your sling to the correct length, but I have watched people improve their off the bench accuracy dramatically.    You will get very good windage control if you are setup properly.

 
A new era of rifles are upon us, the M4 Carbine is probable the most commonly accessorized rifle out there, but there are some really well thought gun slings for it.  Blue Force gear rifle slings are probable our biggest sellers and have lots of good references from those in the sandbox.I always suggest quick detach slings because being that the M4 Carbine is meant for CQB, you may get in a situation where you are getting snagged or someone gets a hold if you and detaching yourself from your gear may mean getting away.   You may have to do some slight modifications to your AR15 when  you switch your traditional rifle sling over to a different configuration.

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