Some thoughts on what happened after a year of the panic buying

Spikes Tactical Upper ReceiversWe don’t get the phone calls from the panic buyers anymore because things seemed to have calmed down.  The thing we dealt with a year ago were all the people price gouging on Magpul Pmags and on AR15’s.   Some people were completely off their rockers and lacked the foresight to know the political climate we were in, that no major so called “assault weapon” bill was going to pass.   I know some many people that were buying 2-3 guns, sometimes for their sons because they thought they might not get them in another year.   Well, that’s not going to happen without a revolution in this Country and considering how many people just armed themselves, it’s a little too late to try and pursue new gun laws when everyone practically owns everything.

We always dealt the the customers that were very particular about what they wanted and when you are dealing with the “gun build” guys or gals you will get specific product numbers.  One little gem that we found in the AR15 complete upper receiver sales are the Spikes Tactical Upper receivers.   All of the upper receivers we sell are complete uppers because that’s  how most people are going to want them.  Sure you can save some money buy doing parts kits, but you gotta know what you are doing otherwise the “Franken Gun” term will apply.   There are still plenty of customers buying A2 style uppers with standard plastic handguards, but the real high demand with spikes are there STU5025-R2s with the QD sling attachment points and the very lightweight rail systems.

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Online Firearm Instruction, you can’t beat it

Firearm Instructional VideosIn recent years there have been a lot of really good firearm instructional videos come out from Magpul, PDN and Pantaeo Productions.   I own just about all of the DVDs I can get my hands on because there have been plenty of family members that I know that were looking into buying their first firearm and I didn’t have time to train them myself, but I went through my collection and handed off some of the ones that I thought were the best.  There is plenty of options to pick from but the Pantaeo productions series has really taken off and expended into areas Medical and Combat Mindset.   This is REAL hardcore training and after watching some of these, and you will understand that owning a firearm isn’t about plinking, there are some evil people in the world and sometimes the only thing that will stop them is a good person with a gun.

Not all of these videos that we sell are so heavy,  there are videos that are good for anyone looking into getting into IDPA or Competition shooting as well as videos on night vision applications.  There have been plenty of times I almost felt like I could skip through some of the chapters in the Firearm Instructional Videos that I own but the simple things like “Adminstrative Loading and unloading” are probable the most common mistakes that I have seen and those kinds of mistakes can be fatal in the real world and I always watch through them.   There have been instructors that I personally have blackballed because I have watch stuff that I refuse to sell because I think they are bad.

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Fast target acquisition and indoor and outdoor lighting situations

We always do a lot of listing to our customers because considering how technical this industry is, and considering that nobody that works here has been in the Military for 25yrs or been a firearms instructor for that long, we don’t have the experience to witness all of the gear being used and all of the situations that things have occurred.   The best way to learn is to listen and ask questions so you can comprehend what is going on.   One of those things is learning about the situations that many of our local Police Departments go through.   The statistics are that even if you are carrying an AR15 Carbine, you are still most likely to be in situations that are well within handgun ranges.HHSII-2

Moving form indoor sunlight to low light or total darkness, and then turning on a flashlight could be a total of 4 different lighting settings and depending on what optic you are using, it can become a total mess trying to see through you’re optic.   Optics that cut it tend to be Eotech Sights and Aimpoint sights and sometimes you are just better off sticking with Iron sights.   The next issue is finding power setting with your optic that gives you a comfort zone.   Try doing it with your Eotech and see how annoying high power settings are in low light even though it might be good in bright sunlight. If you are thinking about a night vision compatible optic, if you like Eotech’s you’ll have to think ahead for the NV compatible versions, if you want something simple, go with the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optics.

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Changing parts instead of changing firearms to adapt to your personel preferences

Wilson Combat Parts9There are always going to be people with different hand sizes and different length of pull with rifles and handguns.   One of the smartest things gun makers have done is selling firearms with different back straps so customers can figure out which will work for them by just changing the issued back straps.    Smith & Wesson and Glock have all done this with the M&P and Gen 4 Glocks.    Certain issued firearms like  the Beretta 92FS and 1911 all have complaints from some people just because they don’t feel right or are too big.   Well, for all of the people I know that own 1911 handguns, from Les Bauer to Colt M1911A1’s, not a single person I know has the same grips or sights on theirs.

I have taken that step of customizing my 1911s to adapt to my tastes, but still keeping somewhat of a GI look to them.    Hogue finger groove grips and Wilson Combat Parts are a good way to get the gun the way you want it to be.  Learn the mechanics of the firearm and Wilson Combat parts like different weight recoil springs (depending on the 45acp bullets you want to shoot).   The Wilson extended slide release was a big deal to be as well as the extended base pads on my Wilson Combat Magazines.   There were changes I could make to my gun griping that made me more accurate with this platform.

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Less lethal devices aren’t talked about enough

Kimber Pepper BlasterThere is a lot going on in  the news about the Knock Out game and various self defense shootings and race.   There is a problem in our society where the truth can’t be told but the media and Politicians use it for their way of stirring people up for their own political gain.    It really is sad how the real picture, is Americans are turning on each other.    The 2nd Amendment is there, but the life altering impact on using lethal force is something that is not discussed enough.    Florida is the focus much of this conversation but those that carry firearms for self defense should seriously look at what the cost of using a firearm vs using some of the modern less lethal options.

Some of our hottest selling pepper sprays, both stream, gels and fog are still the keychain devices, I guess it’s just a comfort but it’s really  not the best option.   We aren’t all going to be able to carry a 4oz bottle on a duty belt like many law enforcement do, less lethal force devices like the Kimber Pepper Blaster have a very long shelf life and if you can get over the price, this is an extremely practical devices that is about the size of your average .380 pistol.   With all the issues going on in society, I’d much rather hear a defendant say they attempted to use less lethal force but had to use a firearm, thinking ahead and being prepared is never an old idea.

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Sometimes people are “that far behind” in gear

hoppes boresnakes90I’ve been using Hoppes boresnakes for probable more than a decade and never looked back.  I’ve got fragments of about 5 gun cleaning kits that had something good in them but also several things that broke and got tossed away.   Don’t ask me where my 3 piece 22LR gun cleaning rod went because the story isn’t pretty.   Paying attention to the caliber variables with gun cleaning patches is important, and that’s where many mistakes can be made.  If it’s too thick of a patch from being folded over it can get stuck and too small of a patch doesn’t clean properly.   Boresnakes are general very broad for useage and I use the same boresnake for my Marlin Model 882 22Mag that I use for my AR15.

I’ve messed around with Otis gun cleaning kits but the biggest negative I’d say about those are that the parts tend to fall out or move around.  It’s a great portable gun cleaning kit, but Hoppes Boresnakes don’t take up space and you can easily store them in the packaging you purchase them in.   I keep a small bottle of Slip 2000 EWL in my “Go Bag” and my basic gun cleaning supplies, like a cloth to wipe the gun down and a 22 Cal boresnake.   You can get shorter versions of the snag for handguns but I usually fall back on using a pistol cleaning rod.  There are always trade offs with these things and not everyone will use gun cleaning supplies in the exact same way.

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Shooting in undesirable environments

Elite Survival Systems Epsilon shooting matSure we know the positions, squatting, shooting prone, but not only will you become uncomfortable after a period of time, stress builds up and it will have an impact on your ability to stay focused.    I’ve seen a lot of shooting mats in the past and they can be made out of a rug, foam sleeping mat or anything you want to make out of it, but weight and portability can be an issue.   I have an older Elite Survival Systems Ultimate Snip drag bag that works well with my DSArms STG58 and also is large enough to open up and give me some ground support if need be, but I decided to add the Epsilon shooting mat to my personal inventory after I got to hold on in my hands last  year.

The 2 things that sold me  on this item are that being 6’3″  I need a large shooting mat that I could use that my legs weren’t hanging off it and second, the fact that this folded up like a briefcase and didn’t curl up when It was deployed on the ground.   The Elite Survival Systems Epsilon shooting mat goes for $159.99 with free shipping and also has enough molle attachments and support that makes this also capable of holding a lot of gear.   I store Binoculars, spare magazines for my AR15 as well as handgun magazines and a mosquito net.   If you’ve shot off the ground you know how knees and elbows get torn up when you’re down in the dirt, but that doesn’t happen to me anymore because I bring this to the range with me and use it when desired.

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Your rifle barrel length doesn’t tell us anything

Elite Survival Systems gun casesWe deal with a higher class clientele than most gun shops deal with.  The higher quality optics like Aimpoint, Trijicon and Eotech with the bring in a different crowd and we specifically target “Made in the USA” products.   It’s hard to get away from imported products, but if you actually monitor the manufacturing process, a great many of the products that say “Made in China” may only have been assembled there even those American Made parts are in  it.  We’ve found that people are willing to spend a bucks more because walking around in a Police Department with Made in China back packs or gun cases is somewhat disturbing.

The AR15 is the most common firearm in the Country right now and everyone from 18yrs old to 75yrs old are getting their first firearm.     When it comes to shopping for gun cases, it’s hard to justify putting a $1200 or $3500 firearm in a gun case that costs $35 and expect it to protect in transport.  Our chosen tactical nylon product line and gun cases are the Elite Survival Systems gun cases.   One needs to measure the entire overall length of the firearm when it is collapsed to be able to shop for a gun case.   Flash suppressors and buttstock extensions can add several inches to the factory OAL and it’ll be easier if you know this before you shop/

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Co-witness, flip up front, and rear sights

Magpul sightsIn this business there is always going to be a considerable amount of research to do unless you are buying based on experience.   It’s always a good idea to ask people that are using the equipment or call a manufacturer to get suggestions.   We sell a lot of sighting systems from Red dots, crosshair, donut and chevrons.   There are different ways to use lines and dots to gather information about range estimations and about different lighting situations.   Iron sights have been around a long time and there are, even with iron sights, different sight pictures for different reasons.  About 20yrs ago I started seeing more and more optics on AR15s and seeing “glass” on military weapons was just starting to become common.

After about a decade of optics being used, I started to see more and more people putting backup iron sights on their ARs and the optics started trending to zero magnification.    All those heavy barreled AR15s with ACOGS were nice, but that platform had it’s disadvantages at close ranges.   Magpul has been around for a little over a decade and the Magpul sights are being sold “with” a great many AR15 manufacturers.  Its seems their product line, and ingenuity, has been widely accepted.   Using red dots or Eotech sights gives you speed but anything with electronics built into it can fail, and having a flip up rear sight  isn’t going to add much weight or get in the way of your optic usage.   Front sights seem to be somewhat of annoyance to some people when using optics which is why, depending on you AR15 configuration, you can get one “without” the traditional front post sight.  Personally, I am not bothered by this and would rather have a fixed front sight rather than have to flip up two sights if an electronic optic goes down.

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There’s a reason these can be expensive

Desantis holstersSticker shock just goes with this business, people that have no idea why things are priced the way they are but it’s extremely rare for me to personally say something in this industry is over priced.  Recently several customers have told us they had issues with certain weapon mounted lights and all I could tell them is there is a reason why people spend another $100-$200 for Surefire flashlights over some of the lesser expensive weapon mounted lights.  In the 10yrs we’ve been in business nobody has returned a Trijicon ACOG saying it won’t hold zero and the glass fell out.   I’ve had it happen to me personally with 2 optics, but both of those were under $200.

The same is going to go for firearm holsters and I can tell you from personal experience that I have broken, and had plenty of inferior holsters before I started increasing my investment amounts.   I’ve had plenty of broken kydex holsters in my life but have not ever had any Leather Desantis Holsters break, tear, or rattle.  There are plenty of magazine pouches I’ve used where once they were broken in, the mags started to rattle and it was just downright annoying.   A customer recently returned a Don Hume holster that had the finish peal off it but I told him that’s why they are $20.  The closest Desantis holster to that design started at $54.99 and nobody returns them because the colored peeled off.

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