Re-arranging the furniture on your AR

AR15 Complete Upper ReceiversIn this business we can see who the obsessive compulsive people are and who the clean freaks are, but we also know how hard it is to know what work for  you.   We normally do a lot of listing but giving our 2 cents about the products we sell is why we are here.   Magpul firearm accessories is a good product line to consider purchasing although we know there are a lot of good products from VLTOR, Tango Down and many others. It’s very easy to over accessorize and the reality checks in when the gun becomes too heavy.   Some events we have attended were proof to this because we saw bipods and flashlights taken off firearms because of how much weight they were to lug around and how hard it was to clear corners depending on where you placed the accessory.

 

There are cool things you can use to their designed effectiveness but just like gun holsters, a lot of us have a pile of stuff sitting in a box, somewhere in our home that we aren’t using anymore.   The brilliance of the M4 design is that customization can easily occur and if you own an AR15 and want something different all you need to do is buy another AR15 Complete upper receiver and be able to use it with just a few pin snaps.   The Magpul MOE handguards are very easy to put on but you’ll need to measure your present hanguard to make sure you know if  you have a Carbine, Mid-length or a rifle one.  There are always tools you can get, (Tapco makes them) that can make most AR15 modifications easier.

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Contrast is a good thing when aiming

Trijicon night sightsRecently a local Police Department told their Officers to not wear white t-shirts because it would be considered a target indicator for a bad guy and everything has to be black.    While some might laugh at this, it’s can be true depending on your risk factor.   There was much debate years ago with the Eotac vs Woolrich Elite lightweight operator pants because the Woolrich Elite pants, no matter what color pant you choose, had a strap by the lower ankle pocket that had a black strap on it.   If yo had Khaki pants, there was a black strap, if you had OD pants there was a black strap and many customers that were deployed in Iraq complained about this and went with the Eotac brand.   Think it’s stupid?  If you don’t understand, the point of camouflage isn’t always to hide the entire body, it’s also to help breakup what part of your body to aim at.  If you tell them where your center mass is, that’s where they are going to aim.

In regards to getting a good sight picture with handguns and rifles, moving away from black iron sights on a handgun is going to be beneficial.   Most self defense shootings occur in low light and lots of people are switching to Meprolite sights and the Trijicon night sights for their sidearms.   Several Police Departments are ordering their Glocks with Meprolite green front and rear, but the Trijicon High Definition sights have out sold them 10 to 1.    Glock sights are probable the easiest sights to change and locally we have a gunsmith that can do the change for about $35.   The Trijicon HD or High Definition sights are going to get picked up by your eyes in bright light and low light far better than relying on your factory sights that might only give you a white outline.

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Get a grip if you haven’t already!

Hogue gripsEveryone has a different way of getting the job done, which is why the best firearm instructors always train, realizing, that not everyone will do things the same way. One way to profile for getting good firearm instruction is to listen to the attitude of the guy who is teaching.  Teaching “a way” is the correct attitude and saying “this is the only way”.    There are different shooting positions and shooting stances and not every one will work for you in every situation.  Another thing that seems to have put the military and Law Enforcement community into a reality check, is that, adjustable stocks on rifles,and adjustable back straps on firearms is extremely important of you are going to have an operator become effective and proficient.

Gun accessories and tactical gear can help an operator get the job done, but the firearm whether it is a rifle or handgun needs to fit properly. Many gun manufacturers are starting to catch on to this, but Hogue grips have known that factory grips on many firearms just don’t cut it. Having rock solid control of your firearm in a Defensive shooting situation is extremely important and knowing that your bullets are hitting the same place because your control is all there, can mean winning the fight. Hogue gun grips can work on your AR15 or your Sig 220 or any of your Glocks.  The 1911 is still very popular in the military and LEO community and Hogue pistol grips go hand in hand. You will notice better control and felt recoil in your hands by upgrading to these and they look and feel great on revolvers. Finger groves are available for some models.

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Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic

Aimpoint Patrol Rifle OpticWe sold a boat load of Eotech sights last year and probable because I, personally, am a big fan of that zero magnification optic.   The MOA circle and the 65MOA circle really gets picked up by my eyes and I never feel inhibited when engaging multiple targets.   I’ve done quite a few optic tests at my gun range and really learned a lot in this last year pertaining to the Trijicon, Eotech and Aimpoint optics.   Being that I am a firearm instructor it’s actually more fun for me to bring new shooters or less experienced shooters to the range and see how they learn.   I’ve done tests with AK variants and AR15’s and time and time again ended up with shooters choosing an M4 Carbine over the AK.   Usually a 50yd iron sight test and differences in hit counts between each.

I won’t let this turn into an AR15 vs AK debate, but I find it hard to argue that a less trained operator will be better with an AK than an AR15.   Recently we started stocking the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic has a staple optic for those looking for a red dot optic under $400 that comes with a mount.  Mounts can complicated decisions on optics especially when people see that it might start at a $140-$400 decision, just for a mount.   Aimpoint has had the red dot market for a long time because their optics have been field tested for a long time with military coming back from War and buying the same optic for their personal firearms.   The Aimpoint Patrol Rifle optic has several night vision settings as well as other variable power settings.  I highly recommend looking into getting a magnifier because you will increase your ability to identify targets as well as engage more accurately at 300yds + if need be.

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The Problem with lasers on firearms

crimson trace laser gripsThis is post is for the novice shooters out there because anyone in Law Enforcement is going to find this out on the first training day.   Lasers have improved greatly over the years and I personally haven’t changed the batteries in my j-frame Crimson Trace laser grip in almost 4yrs.   Lasers should hardly be used and a great asset for small firearms that have a short radius, most .380 guns or compact firearms.    Lasers are used in movies the way a new shooter might thing they are but they are not going to improve your accuracy.   All you need to do is have someone “try” to hold it directly on the target and just watch how much it  shakes and bounces.

Lasers are probable used as pointing devices or high lighting targets more than they are used for precision.  One thing that has changed in recent years, especially pertaining to Crimson Trace Laser grips for some autos is they are now mounted higher on the grip and if you buy the correct model, they are aligned more with the bore not off the side of the grip.  The best location for a laser grip is above the bore or directly below it.    For rifles, I’ve seen operators have deteriorating scores when transitioning from iron sights to laser sights, so just like flashlights, learn to use it the appropriate way.   There are some good training DVDs and online videos on the Panteao Productions – Make Ready library so if you want to check those out before you accessorize too much.

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Heroin it’s all over the place, and our sales for frisk gloves are up

turtleskin glovesThis is one of those things that really bothers us when we get phone calls from Police and our sales for certain products go up, it’s good for us from a sales point of view, but it’s incredible disturbing when we hear from Police that “heroin is everywhere”.    I  had a friend that was in our store last year that told me he’s never seen it like this before and aside from the Celebrity overdose stories (that happen every year) everyone in the medical industry from ambulance drivers to hospitals, all know when the bad batch of heroin is in the area.   I have some harsh opinions about people that are willing to risk in-taking someone elses chemistry skills.  Sure it’s somebody’s son or somebody’s daughter, but it’s also somebody’s son or daughter that has to risk getting stuck with a needle every time they frisk someone or have to look through a bag.

There are big differences between all of the protective gloves and we always know that people want dexterity because now that I-Pads, I-Phones and keyboards are an everyday thing, you need to be able to function with your gear.   We deal with a lot of glove manufacturers from Hatch to Damascus to Warwick Mills, and the Turtleskin gloves seem to be the product line that has gained the most in the last 3 years.   Corrections departments have been calling  us all the time because every other dealer seems to  be out of stock of these and the production never seems to keep up.   It’s rare to have  a product take off like this but has recently been very well deserving of a top seller.

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A Tactical Store that stocks stuff for women

Original Swat bootsWe all know that there are some pretty tough women in Law Enforcement, Military and even some women that’ll kick your ass in IDPA.   One of the biggest complaints we had from women 10yrs ago, when we first got into the tactical clothing industry was that all of the stuff they had access to was mens tactical clothing.    Every once in awhile we might be sold out of a certain womans pant style or boot style,  and they’ll happily walk out the door with mens pants or boots and just tough it out.   Without turning this into an anatomy course on why women can’t wear the same clothing as men all the time, just be glad that there is a steady market out there geared towards women in Law Enforcement, Security and competition shooting.   Just look at the pink AR15 accessories Magpul has out.

Recently we evaluated our footwear line and cut out styles that didn’t move as quickly  but put in more of the Original Swat footwear for women.  There aren’t many color options in the tactical boot line, but let’s be real, the majority of Original Swat boots are going to be for people that need to wear black boots.   The new Chase Series footwear are available in tan and we will be testing those out to see if they sell as well as the 1152F side zip boots did.   It seems that just like the men, women prefer side-zip boots over the tradition 9inch lace up boots.   There is also a chase low style for women that will be listed shortly.

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The good thing about the Safariland product line

Safariland holstersThe good thing about Safariland’s product line is they probable have the best selection of CCW and Duty holsters for the majority of medium to large frame firearms.   My experience with them is they are not outrageously priced and can be a bit on the heavy side, but at least you can get a holster.   Now that so many people are getting compacts and sub-compact firearms for off duty, it is an issue that takes a lot of patience and research to find a holster and probable 10% of the time we just tell  our customers they might want to look into getting a custom kydex holster instead of buying a factory made holster and finding out they don’t like it.    We have been stocking more and more of the Safariland holsters for Glocks and Sig Sauer handguns because so many people, including our own State Police are using the Surefire  X300 on their Glock 21s and want an off duty holster that also holds the light.

Safariland probable has the best holster fit guide where you just click through the questionnaire and answer things like, Manufacturer, caliber, barrel length and if you want a light.   There are more left handed Safariland holsters than the Blackhawk Serpa product line and you can also use a non-xiphos flashlight in them.   The xiphos flashlights are really a bad idea and I can’t name a single person that likes the light, let a lone the Blackhawk Serpa/Xiphos  combination.   I saw a holster design last year for a new Flashlight option from Blackhawk but it was not available for many firearms and is an endless issue for Police or Citizens trying to use the same gun.   If you are using or want a Streamlight TLR1,TLR2 or Surefire X300U, your best bet is to research the Safariland product line.

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AR15 Complete Upper Receiver Piston designs

adams arms uppers9We get phone calls from customers maybe 1 out of every 500 we sell that ask us things that we thought were obvious to them when they purchased an upper receiver from us, but it didn’t click with them.  The reason your LWRC upper receiver came with a buffer spring is because YOU NEED to replace the buffer spring when  you go from a direct impingement design to a short stroke upper receiver.   The same thing happened we sold the Smith & Wesson 5.45×39 upper receivers and the LWRC M6AK uppers.   All of the 5.45×39 uppers we have sold so far came with a new hammer spring because you need more energy to strike the primers on the 5.45×39 ammo that most people were shooting.

We have been a parts dealer for LWRC for a long time now and still very big fans of their product line especially after taking a tour of the manufacturing facility.   In the last 2yrs we have to say the Adams Arms company has done a very good job of getting a durable piston design that is different than LWRC but seems to be well received.    All of the Adams Arms Uppers we sell are complete upper receivers and their 5.45×39 uppers have been the most hunted upper receiver in the last year.  If you look at the cost of the 5.45×39 ammunition in comparison to the 5.56 in cost, there is a big difference and  you’ll get the money back  on the upper receiver you purchased in just a couple thousand rounds.

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European firearms and trying to find replacement magazines

promag magazinesWe recently heard about a change in several of our Factory magazines, from Glock to Walther, there have been changes to the material and designs.  Some of our customers may not notice the difference, and in all honesty, sometimes we can’t tell the differences but they are there.  Some of the Beretta Factory magazines have gone up a few rounds with their stand capacity magazines.    I’m not sure of all of the changes that are taking place, we usually find out from our customers when they are the first to find out or someone asks for the new version of a mag.  Recently we’ve been getting  a lot of calls about Walther and CZ magzines and if there are any alternative manufacturers.

We’ve sold a good bit of Walther P99 magazines and recently we have moved several Promag Magazines for the CZ.   Today I had to do some research for a customer on Promag Magazines and find out if a CZ 75 PCR would run the  CZ75 magazines and Promag couldn’t give me a definite answer since they didn’t have the technical info on the gun, this seems to be the story every week around here because there is always some new variant of a firearm and nobody knows what “other” magazines will work with it or what holster they should by.   See previous blog posts about researching firearms and their ability to be accessorized or the availability before you buy.

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