Red Dots on Handguns, Why not, Trijicon RMR Sights and Burris Red Dots

Burris Red DotsWe saw the trend about 2yrs ago when everyone was calling us up looking for the Trijicon RM08-G sights.   It’s a great sight to put on a Trijicon ACOG and the clarity and precision is outstanding, but part of our customer base are competition shooters and even some Tactical Teams from local Police Departments have them on their firearms.   The hardest part about putting red dots on handguns is finding a good gunsmith that isn’t going to mess it up.  I’ve seen crooked optics on handguns before so make sure you do some research or go be referral before you send your gun off to be setup.

There are plenty of other options for users these days, just like we’ve seen Vortex clean up on potention Aimpoint customers, we are seeing a lot of demand for the Burris Red Dots, especially the Burris Fast Fire 3.   Like many red dots, there are different sizes of dots and they do make a difference.  The Fast Fire III is available in 3 MOA dot or 8 MOA Dot.  In general I suggest smaller dots for rifles and larger ones for handguns.   From My point of view, a dot too large can obscure your but at close range it’s easier to pick up and place on a target and for most people, much better than using iron sights, the only other issue you may run into is finding a good holster for it.

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CRKT Knives, The M16 Knives

M16-14SFGCRKT M16 KnivesI don’t consider Myself a knife guy, but I know enough between crap and quality.   I’m not the type to go out and drop $200 on a knife but I know there are plenty of people that do.  I have found great use for always having a good knife on me, for cutting seat belts, opening boxes, and God forbid, self defense.  I got a lot of experience working an NRA convention for the guys at GATCO or Great American Tool Company, and learned a lot about knife sharpening.   It can be very frustrating to sharpen a knife and find out a few weeks later the darn thing is dull and won’t cut through re-enforced packing tape, if that’s the kind of knife you have, you might want to increase your price range for your next buy.

I have found a winner and according to our sales data, The Columbia River Knive & Tool company makes a great selling knife for us.  The CRKT M16 Series knives come with different blades, Combo Edge, Plain Edge, Black Zytel or Titanium Nitrade.  The only negatives to this knife I’ve found are that the screws that hold the clip on will probable need locktite on them because they come loose otherwise, the only other negative about this is that if you drop it when it’s in the folded position, they can open up on their own.  On the plus side they are very easy to flip open and probable one of the best folding knives to carry even though fixed blades are for the most serious individuals.

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Smith Elite Boogie Regulators and Boogie Sport Googles

279Boogie Sport IgnitorThere are a lot of these items that can have multi-purposes and since Smith Optics is already well established in the Ski and RX eyewear market, it’s an easy add on to be in the Military and Law Enforcement market.   I have been wearing the Smith Optics Elite brand for over 4yrs and I am very happy with their Warranty and products.   Ballistic eyewear should be viewed in much the same way that body armor is.  Even though a company may put a rating of protection on their product it doesn’t mean that it is going to hold up to that.  You have to remember that quality control is a big part of putting a top of the line brand out there and if they cut corners, and you’re the person that finds out about it at the wrong time, you be spending the rest of  your life with that injury.

The ANSI Z87.1 rating is much higher than what other brands claim and I’ve heard enough war stories about people losing an eye when an IED went off 100yds away that this is something you just don’t skip.  Even in competition sports, fragmentation occurs and having full coverage is very important.   The Smith Elite Boogie Sport is something that I do pack away in my range bag when I know I’m going to be on the move, and it is a far superior design to the Boogie Regulator which from my point of view is on it’s way out the door.  The straps on the Boogie Sport are more comfortable and the venting is much better.   I’m a big fan of the ignitor lenses and often have to explain to people why the red tinted look is very good for range use.   It helps eliminate glare and also cuts through air on the hazy humid days.  For $60 there is little to worry about for sizing, just do some research on what lense color you want.

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5.11 Partners with Bladetech for the 5.11 Tactical Thumbdrive holster

5.11 Thumbdrive holstersWe have yearly cycles of sales for certain products in our store, or we get asked about the same products every time there is a graduation from a Police Academy.   There is a mad rush of people graduating that need all of the basics, they may not have their duty gear yet but they know they need an off duty holster which usually is one of the following, any Glock 9mm, Glock 45 or Sig 229 or Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm or 40 cal.   Those seem to be the most common firearm holsters every year because that’s what most of their employers are issuing.  “I just need a retention holster” or a “Level II” they say.

I’m all about letting the customer choose what they want, but if there is any hint of them being a Novice,   I push them away from the Blackhawk Serpa Holsters,  I personally think the Safariland ALS is a better starting point although the holsters are very heavy,  One other holster we have considered stocking are the 5.11 Thumbdrive holsters.  Using your thumb to release your firearm is a much safer approach  than using your index finger.   We also noticed this year that Elite Survival Systems is releasing a Thumbdrive holsters and we will do a thorough comparison between the two in the future.   Definitely consider these 3 for Level II retention, Safariland ALS, Blackhawk Serpa, and the 5.11 Thumbdrive holsters.  Bladetech worked with for their level II and it seems to be a very well accepted holster.

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Gun Makers, Bladesmiths and Swordsmiths and Windham Upper Receivers

Windham Complete Upper ReceiversThere is always going to be politics in firearm discussions but the eyes of many are being open now that the anti-police mentality is starting to backfire.  A free society is an armed society and when good men have the ability to defend and protect, whether they are uniformed Police or protective father’s or husbands.  Sure there are people that are arms dealers that do not care who they are selling weapons too and the result is what you see going on in the MiddleEast and other 3rd world Countries, but here in America, gun makers should be respected like Bladesmiths and Swordsmiths.   Back in the day if you made a sword that broke, it meant losing your life and your wife or all of your possessions were now in the hands of Ghengis Khan.

The ability to put a bullet on an X is the same science that puts a Satellite in orbit around Jupiter, Eugene Stoner, John Moses Browning were all extreme intelligent engineers and there are many like that in the industry today.  One thing I have noticed is there are several “creators” that started Companies, got out of the business and then came right back and started another.  Windham Weaponry was started by one of the Founders of Bushmaster Firearms and one of our most consistent selling Complete upper receivers are the Windham Complete Upper Receivers. Sometimes people can make a living doing things they enjoy and sometimes its cool to buy products from Companies that have that much heart.

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Pocket Carry Options keep expanding but not everyone considers it

I never tKahr Magazineshought about carrying a pocket gun when I first started carrying a Colt 1991A1 and a Beretta 92FS.   At first I started out with a should holster but when summer came, fanny packs or small of the back were the only good options although I did try IWB with the Colt 1991A1 for a little while.   Most people think of pocket guns as 32acp or 380 but I have to make the Official Announcement that that era is far over.   There are so many durable 9mm pocket guns and Kahr Firearms has been extremely popular for 9mm pocket guns.  The .380 ballistics have come such a long way that it’s not what it once was.

Not enough people consider pocket carry and we hear about it every day in our store.   People are always having trouble picking a holster out but pocket holsters seem to be very generous as far as fit and it’s not that hard to find a good one. The Ruger LC9 was popular but we see more people buying the Smith & Wesson Shield and Kahr is always a given.  We do sell magazine holsters that will work for Kahr Magazines like the Kahr PM9 and I highly recommend carrying them.   There are several pocket holsters from Elite Survival Systems as well as revolver speed loader and single magazine pouches.

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Watch what you use in your gun cleaning supplies

542Just like many things out there, you do have to be very careful what you use when cleaning your firearms.  There are gun cleaners that will strip every bit of grease and grime off your gun, but you better remember to lubricate it again.  People forget that there are many mechanical pieces of metal in motion and if they don’t function correctly you’re going too shorten the life of the part or have an unreliable firearm.   I’ve been on the range enough times to see and hear differences in timing and cycle rates when firearms are lubricated correctly but not everyone will know to look for it, I guess it comes from having a musicians ear.

You may want to consider different gun cleaning supplies for different firearms.  Bolt action rifles, semi-auto rifles, handguns, revolvers ect.   There are always those hard to reach parts like the chamber of an AR15 and if you don’t have the correct chamber brush, it’s very hard to clean.   Revolvers are another thing,  I still use q-tips on some of my firearms especially on revolvers, I often find that cleaning the cylinders is very difficult with just cleaning patches.  It also does matter what type of ammo you use.  Also, remember that cleaning too much can damage a firearm, little things like guide rods can prevent damage and maintain accuracy on a rifle.

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Do your gun magazines work in your firearms?

Gun MagazinesThere are plenty of people out there that stock piled various firearm magazines in the last 2 years, especially after the Connecticut shooting when everyone thought that President Obama would have the Political climate to ban the AR15.  I won’t ask all of you reading this, to raise your hands if you actually thought that would happen. I found it embarrassing to watch people panic.  I had a friend who recently picked up his first AR15 a Colt 6920 and got a pretty good deal but it looked like it was sitting around for awhile from a Y2K panic buy, apparently the seller had large quantities of magazines for sale and he asked if  it was a good deal.

I told him to buy whatever he wanted but if he was buying large quantities of them he better test them out before he thinks they are all going to work in his AR.   Gun magazines are like wine, they need to be store properly, and all are made on different dates.  There is truth to the fact that a Magpul Pmag will not be durable 30yrs from now just based on it’s material break down, and metal magazines won’t if stored properly, but how bad is your outlook on life if you have to worry about that?  If you got a good buy on bulk magazines take atleast a half dozen of them and test them on the range and make sure they drop free, rotate the magazines when you use them, and when they need to be tossed out, open up the packaged ones and test them out again.  Don’t expect the brand spankin newly wrapped magazines to work, I’ve one too many times seen people have issues with magazine dropp

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Some Experience with the Vortex Magnifiers

VMX-3T-2TI’ve got a little experience with the Vortex Magnifiers that I can give some comparison and feedback for anyone interested in one.  First things first, and even our Vortex Rep said to us, these aren’t combat or military optics but they are pretty darn good.    I was able to compare the an Eotech Gen 3 and the Vortex, as well as My own older Eotech Gen 2 Magnifier.   I’m probable going to sell off My Gen 2 at some point because it’s pretty obvious to me that the lever you push to let the spring loaded release just begs to break.  I often say to people when they start mounting stuff on their firearms that “every screw comes loose and every part can break” and the fewer parts and screws you have the less you have to fail. The Gen 3 is kind of clunky but it just seems to be a better idea.

Now back to the Vortex option,  we get a lot of calls from people asking us if these are as good as the Aimpoint magnifier or the Eotech, after playing with Vortex 3mx-3t  I have to say that it seems to be all about the mounts, the clarity differences was almost zero, I did find that the eye relief was better on the Vortex magnifier than the Eotech but not by much, maybe 5% difference.  These make excellent target identifiers so you don’t have to call a cease fire on the range, just flip the magnifier over and you’ve got 3x.  These have been hard to keep in stock and several local Police Departments are giving us feedback about them so I’ll probable post a follow up at some point.

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Safariland Holsters vs Blackhawk Serpa

DG_6378_black_zoom_interiorSafariland Glock HolstersIn the years we have been running a retail operation we have all the sales data to tell us what our customers are continuing to use.  There are always new guns coming out like the Sig P320, Sig P227,  and Glock 42 and Glock 43.  People are coming to us about getting holsters from companies like Blackhawk, Safariland, Desantis and Galco.  It’s normally 9-12 months after a gun comes out, that the holster manufacturers come out with product and that’s always based on gun sales data and demand.   If you buy a Sig Sauer pistol or a Glock, you’re probable going to find more holster options but the more features you want with a holster the fewer your options are going to be.

When it comes to holsters with retention,  people have easily adjusted to either the Blackhawk Serpa holsters or the Safariland ALS holsters.    I tend to let people pick what they want, but if they are new to carrying a firearm, I do voice My issues with the Blackhawk Serpa design.  I’ve used them for years but just like putting Magpul B.A.D. levers on AR15s, you have to pick a mode and stick with it.  Muscle memory is extremely important for safety and under stress, if you’ve never trained for it, is going to nab you in the butt.   I’ve seen people draw firearms from holster and watch them spin in the air because they didn’t have a good grip on it, there are plenty of Youtube.com videos showing gun accidents with the Serpa, and there are also plenty of people that put a 124gr hollow point through their hand when disassembling a Glock.   It happens when you aren’t disciplined and money can’t buy that,  thumbreak holsters aren’t as common now that there is so much to choose from but I’d definitely lean towards the Safariland ALS holsters to start with, they are a bit on the heavy side but they work

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