Desantis Leather Holsters, Desantis Scabbards are excellent Holster Options

Desantis HolstersOne of the first things to factor in when you are looking for a  holster is security, your personal comfort and whether you want a quick on off holster.   I’m a big fan of paddle holsters for a reason, but we sell a lot of the Desantis Thumb Break Scabbards and the Desantis Speed Scabbard holsters.   Thumb break holsters are considered to be old-school to some people, but releasing a firearm this way is very natural, just look at all of the Safariland ALS holsters, the new Elite Survival Holsters and the 5.11 Thumb Drive holsters.   Desantis Leather is probable in the Top 3 Category for best looking or nicest looking leather.   I have holsters that are 15yrs old that even though they have wear, are still very sturdy.

There are plenty of IWB holsters to choose from but I’ve often avoided leather for IWB due to the climates I am usually carrying in.  There is some angle adjustability with these Desantis Holsters with a 3 slot option.  You can play with the different angles and learn why canted holsters can be good.   This is something I often suggest for Medium or Large Frame firearms like the M&P 9/40,   Sig Sauer P229, P226 or hopefully soon the Sig 320 which really has become popular.   Glock firearms are still very popular and these holsters good for Winter Carry or Detective work.

 

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You need a holster where do you start? I’d suggest Fobus Paddle Holsters

Fobus Paddle HolstersEveryone reading this lives in different temperatures and climates and our methods off carry are going to be different.   Here in Pennsylvania we have to change our carry options at least 2 or more times a year.  It’s hard to carry IWB in the winter if you are all bundled up and that’s when I consider shoulder holsters and usually paddle holsters, I often switch to a larger firearm.  In the summer, when it’s t-shirt and shorts time, it’s almost always pocket carry.  I got tired of having to worry about shirts printing, or body sweat building up on a firearm.

We have about a 9 questions check list that we ask customers when they walk into our store and ask about holsters, you really need to have some idea what you are looking for besides comfort because there are so many options.   If you just got your CCW, a good starting point are the Fobus Paddle Holsters, you’ll learn a lot the first couple weeks you carry and after that you can move on. They are usually in the $30-$40 dollar range.  Always verify holster fit with the model of your firearm.   We often get partial model information when we ask people what firearm they need a holster for.  For example: “what gun do you have?” and the response is “a Springfield XD” and several questions later they inform us it’s and XDS.

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Wilson Combat Magazines for Competition and magazine rotation

Wilson Combat ETM MagazinesOne thing I learned a long time ago, is magazine rotation and paying attention to round counts in firearms.  You don’t have to be exact but if you keep a reference to how you buy in ammunition, it will be a good way to know how much you put through your firearm.   I’ve been on firing ranges enough to see firearms fall apart, scope reticles spin, magazines dump ammunition and semi-auto firearms go full auto.  Those statistics are there and they will eventually occur at some point.  There are reasons why you need to always point a firearm in a safe direction because there are mechanical things that can occur that caWilson Combat 9mm Magazinesn and do happen.

Magazine and recoil spring replacements are inevitable and it’s best to stay ahead of the game before you find out at the wrong time.  You should consider having range magazines and having carry magazines and always ROTATE your magazines.  Wilson Combat ETM magazines have numbers on the bottom of the magazines that you can use to help you monitor usage.   I’ve never had issues using 8rd 1911 magazines and pretty consider that to be a standard capacity magazine even though 7rds use to be the common standard.

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Spring is right around the corner, Check out what’s new from Tru-Spec Tactical Clothing

Multicam PantsTruSpec Ascent24/7 Series Mens Tactical PantsEclipse Pants
We picked Tru-Spec several years ago to be our primary clothing line for a reason.   Our customer base appreciates a stocking dealer that has consistent sizing.  You do have to pay attention to the different fit and materials that all of the products come in because there are differences.  Some of the Multicam pattern BDU pants are different fits than the 24/7 Series.  You’ll know it when you move around and the pocket patterns are also very different.   I’m more of a fan of the boot cut pants and the NEW Ascent pant just based on the look, feel, and pocket patterns.   There are times I want to get my cell phone off my belt and access it in the open side leg pocket.  This seems to be a pattern that many other Tactical Clothing companies are designing towards but inconsistent quality control and availability are why we choose Tru-Spec over the others.

Now that Spring is right around the corner, there will be a trend away from the heavier cotton canvas style pants towards the Polyester Cotton Ripstop and the newly introduced Eclipse pant which is made of an extremely lightweight nylon material.  With the weather we get here in Pennsylvania, we can quickly go from Artic weather to 100F Summers.  Being able to wear the sames size 24/7 Series pants and just change up the materials they are made of helps keep your arrangement of gear, consistent.   I’ve lost and almost lost knives, flashlights and other devices because I had to move things around and they ended up falling out, so I’ve been slowly clearing out other brands and using more of the Tru-Spec Clothing.   We highly suggest trying out the Tru-Spec 24/7 Tactical Pants and the Tru-Spec Ascent and Tru-Spec Eclipse pants.

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Eotech Holographic Sights making some changes, Is it important to be able to remove an optic quickly?

Eotech Holographic Sights New Eotech Laser Battery CapAll you have to do is look at some of the real combat images and see that optics get shot off of rifles and sometimes concussion and shrapnel can damage an optic, for most of us this will probable never be an issue, but if you have learned to use a Carbine for defense purposes, how would you feel if your optic was dropped or hit by something and the lense was shattered to the point you couldn’t look through it, what if your optic had damaged electronics and it no longer functioned.   Sure you can send it in for warranty or repair, but what if you were in the middle of defending yourself or needed to hold off in attack or intruder.  Would you want to fumble around the house looking for a screwdriver or allen key to remove your optic?  I see Larue Tactical and Bobro Engineering mounts everywhere and they have outstanding reputations, but this year it looks like Eotech has discontinued a whole bunch of Holographic sights in their line for newer quick detach versions.

I was hoping there would be some major technological improvement to the battery useage but I still can’t seem to NOT like Eotech Holographic Sights.   I find the Eotech EXPS2-0 to be my favorite do to it’s size and especially, if you are using an Eotech Magnifier.  There are plenty of ways to get around buying the Eotech magnifier but there are definitely some quality issues.  I personally find the reticle to have improved clarity when using the model G33 Magnifier. The red dot market is changing and recently we have seen that L3 Inc has axed the  556, 553BLK, 553TAN, 516 and 517 for the new 518 and 558.  Also check out the new laser battery caps, there is a visible laser version and a civilian legal IR cap.

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Surefire Flashlights changing the way some weapon mounted lights are sold

Surefire M4 Carbine Lightm300-z68-bkThere definitely has been a trend away from using pressure switches and if you didn’t know, Surefire uses the term “tape switch” which is the same thing.   I’ve played around enough with the various Scout lights from the M300 Flashlights to the M600 Flashlights to know that I prefer not to use any tape switch because that brings in a whole issue with the way I presently have my primary M4 Carbine setup.   You have to mount pressure switches properly or they will pop off, tear off, or be exposed to bending and twisting that will inevitable cause a break in the communication between the pressure pad and the light.  Everyone has different hand sizes and the way you prefer to activate any device on your firearm is your call, but it looks like  Surefire Inc. has noticed the trend and removed the “tape switch” from some of their weapon mounted light packages.

One of the problems many run into when putting lights on a firearm is the mounting system, the Streamlight TLR1 and the Surefire X300 are easy picks, but if you don’t like those platforms and prefer a light with a push button activation, the Surefire M300 Mini Scout is our next best selling light due to it’s size and the mounting system.  We recently found out that some of the Surefire Flashlights like this have gone through another output advancement and will eventually be a 300 Lumen light.   2yrs ago this light was 110 Lumens, then 200 Lumens and 2015 production will be 300 Lumens, all this out a single CR123 battery.  Run time is always something to consider, but if you are looking for something with a proven track record and has gone through several upgrades will will have these available online and in our Pennsylvania Showroom shortly to check out.

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Streamlight TLR Flashlights, is there such a thing as too much?

Streamlight TLR FlashlightsThat is a question I’ve been wondering about and speaking to several Law Enforcement about it because they tend to do a little more hard use of weapon mounted lights and, from what I’m told, there are rules amongst them to not have more than 2 people using flashlights when doing an entry.   It’s a guy thing to want to accessorize the heck out of your AR15, but unless you might be using your Carbine in an outdoor situation, you absolutely should consider the fact that there is such a thing as too many lumens.   I’ve been very happy with about a 6yr history of using a Streamlight Polytac on one of my LWRC M6A1 Carbines which only had 130 lumens and it suited me well.   Now that LED technology has improved so much there aren’t very many flashlights below 200 lumens unless they have a high and low power setting.  Personally, I’d like to see something like the TLR1 series of flashlights have some type of high and low power setting on them.

What kind of options are there for very simple and lightweight carbine lights?  In my opinion it really comes down to the Streamlight TLR-1s which is a 300 lumen flashlight with strobe, the Streamlight TLR1 flashlights that is 630 High Lumens is the TLR1-HL,  and the Streamlight TLR2 which like the TLR1 is 300 lumens, but is a laser light combo.   For some reason we see a pattern of people using the TLR-HL light more on handguns than the TLR-1S.  There is about 1HR and 25 minute run time difference between the two, but since your average Patrolman is more likely to have a sidearm on them and be outdoors the TLR-HL seems to be a better option,  that could also apply to anyone that is CCWing and might be outdoors.  I would find the 630 lumen output to be an overkill for indoor use.  There is some good information on the Panteao Production Make Ready with Pat Rogers : Intro to the shoot house DVD where Pat, does some very good flashlight demonstrations in outdoor environments so check that out.

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Don Hume Leather Holsters you might find what you were looking for!

Don Hume HolstersAside from Fobus holsters, I have a large selection of Don Hume holsters from IWB holsters to the don hum JIT or (just in time) holsters.    One of the major factors in owning so many of them is the fact I’m not breaking the bank and they get the job done.    There are plenty of times I have a change of scenery and usually go to a small .380 pistol when where a suit and tie, or I switch to a medium frame semi-auto like a Glock 30.  The Don Hume H715 leather holster works well for an inside the waistband for the Glock 30 and I’ve owned them for close to 10yrs and they are still performing well.   One of the biggest problems we find with these holsters is they are not always available and certain firearm holsters can be unavailable for months due to the know fact that Don Hume Leather makes great CCW holsters.

Like many products it’s really about personal preference and one holster style may not be good for all firearms.   Every firearm can have a different balance to it and it will really come out when using clip on holsters.   I normally shy away from gun holsters that don’t have metal clips but Don Hume Holsters are one of the exceptions.   I  have had holster clips fail  on me  in numerous ways from flat out breaking, to clips being poorly designed and popping off a belt if  you move your body certain ways.   If you are looking for a paddle holsters, we usually recommend people start off with Fobus holsters, but if you are looking for a leather holster, Don Hume makes a great starting point.

 

 

 

 

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It’s not just about quality, proper mounting of rifle scopes is extremely important

Rifle ScopesI don’t know how many times I’ve been in gun shops or sporting good stores where I picked up a new or used rifle and noticed the reticles were not level.  I can see how if you are working at Dick’s sporting goods and a sales clerk is told to put a scope a rifle he might just throw it on, but every year I am on a firing range during October-November, I see a large group of hunters show up shooting paper plates with groups that I would consider terrible and they go home thinking it’s good enough.   Well it might be for a 100yd shot, but it’s an almost definite miss at 200yds and if you know your rifle optic is level, it’s all science and knowledge of ballistics that will make it a hit at 200yds.   If  you have a range finder and mark of territory when getting into a hunting position, just about any 30 caliber hunting rifle from 30/30 level action to a pump 30/06 can be effective well beyond 100yds.

I’ve done a lot of target shooting just using hold overs and in the real world this is probable a very effective way to learn to hunt and shoot instead of having to dial in MOA clicks which can cause you to lose out in an opportunity.   Having a good cheek weld have proper height scope rings can also have an impact on being able to quickly acquire a target.  I’ve never been a fan of large see through scope rings because in my humble opinion it can through off the balance of the rifle.   I mostly see that on lever actions but if it works for you, that’s your decision.   If you don’t have a level then just find an open area of  your home, lay your rifle down on pillows and find a table or flat surface that you can align your horizontal crosshairs on  your rifle scopes to.  This is how I’ve done most of my leveling and I’ve done well at 600yds without windage issues when I had to make scope turret adjustments.

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Tru Glow Red Dots, BSA Red Dots, Airsoft Optics, anyone have any suggestions?

BSA Red DotsIt’s kind of interesting how the airsoft market has been playing out, we get lots of kids showing up looking for Magpul accessories with their Mom’s, and right after that a SWAT guy will walk in and ask for the same thing.   Their’s nothing wrong with teenagers learning rifle skills and learning how to be a soldier and have fun doing it.   If you look through many of the origins of the paramilitary organizations from Boy Scouts, Sea Scouts and the Civil Air Patrol, learning to use a rifle was important.    If a Country has youth that know the basics in their mid teens, they can move on to military training quickly isn’t that a National Security asset?  There is so much cross over real world training that many Law Enforcement Departments are finding that this is far beyond blue gun training, and something they should consider putting into their training for Police Officers.   Even some of the private security companies are using airsoft.

I hear “better” things about airsoft guns as far as durability goes but a lot of bad things about various optics being used.   I have a hard time going too cheap,for red optics, but we have heard plenty of good things about BSA Red Dots for Airsoft as well as some of the TruGlow Sights.  I find the TruGlo 4 reticle and the BSA Red Dots called the Panaramic multi purpose  to be interesting because they seem to have a very light feel to them and wide field of view.   In real world situations I think a solid tube or housing is important but these seem to cut it for many.    Aimpoint recently came out with a slightly less expensive optic but not that much less than the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic, if you’re 16yrs old and you want to move from airsoft to an AR15 ask your Mom for an Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optics for Christmas and put it on your real gun when you’re older, but that’s just my opinion.     I’m also curious about the Vortex Red dots since they are a bout $200 and have a very good reputation on real firearms not airsoft.  I’m not much of a fan of the NCStar brand primarily because the whole Red Star thing. Any suggestions?

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