Importance of having magazines drop free from all of your guns

It’s Chip McCormick magazinesreally a good idea to test all of your magazines out and not leave them in their new packaging.    We recently had a recall on Magpul Generation 3 pmags after several Police Officers complained to us that they were not dropping free from their AR15 rifles.  I personally asked them to bring them back in and tested them out myself in my LWRC M6A1.   All of the mags I tested out hung on me and I went on AR15.com and found several people complaining about this on youtube.com and other places.   Obviously Magpul was pumping out magazines without doing a very good quality control.   I also found that several of the AK magazines I had for various guns I owned did not work in all of my AK rifles.  Didn’t know until I pulled them out of storage on a range day.

Even if you are stocking up on pistol magazines you really should take them out of the rapper and do a quick magazine drop test.   I own several 1911 pistols and various brands of 1911 magazines did not drop free but all of my Chip McCormick magazines did.   Many competition shooters want longer base plates on their pistol magazines because they can grab them and pull them out while moving through a course.  I’ve seen the look of shock on some first time IDPA shooters when had a gun on an angle or where using inferior “range mags” that weren’t there CCW mags.  Don’t buy the cheap stuff because there are sometimes unintended consequences to buying second rate magazines.

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1911 Range review on gun magazines

Wilson Combat MagazinesI have several 1911 handguns that I have run over the years and still prefer the GI M1911 styles with some slight changes like the sights.   I’m a big fan of the Trijicon HD or high definition sights because they are so much better than the traditional tritium sights.  Much brighter in the day time, too.  I’ve messed around with the Glock 30 and the Glock 21 but I find the Glock 21 to be entirely too big of a handgun for CCW and just something so well balanced as the 1911 just can’t be beat.  The Sig 220 is a close second but the trigger pull differences between a single action and a SA/DA is considerable if  you are looking for first hit accuracy.  I love my Sigs but they are not going to be as consistent with the first shot being so much hard to pull.

Wilson combat makes a lot of gun parts for the 1911 and  you can customize this gun in just about any way you want.   Hand sizes can vary so customization of a firearm is important but the one thing that I find constant is my Wilson Combat Magazines are always going to be running in all of my 1911 handguns.  I prefer the 8rd ETM magazines because they feel a little stronger and with the numbers being printed on the bottom of the magazines its easy to keep a track record of my magazine rotations when I am shooting IDPA or other competition events.  I’ve also noticed a much better knock down ration with 45acp ball ammo on steel plates and that’s really just what is so good about the 45acp.

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Review on Original Swat Chase Series

Most of you kn1312-2ow that I have bad feed and I am not always the best source for giving good opinions about various tactical gear because I just can’t always use it in the manor that it is meant to be.    I have been wearing the 1232 boots for about 4 years and noticed some production chances that have really cut back from the small number of complaints about the boots to ZERO.   The Original Swat boots have a stitched toe that was previously just glued on and this gives it more durability for kicking into objects.   In this industry you aren’t just running and sometimes have to kick in a door or kick a bad guy down on the ground.   I’ve seen people break zippers on some of the Original Swat boots and I heard there is a production change to the new 2013 production but those complaints were few.

The YKK zippers and the designs have gotten even better and Original Swat pays far more attention to backing their products than most customers.   I am now wearing the Chase Series Original Swat boots and the traction on these is far superior to the  that I was wearing before.   When you are choosing a Police Boot  you do have to think about traction because there are many different pros and cons of each style.   Some people want safety toe and others don’t and if you want Waterproof boots you probable aren’t going to be wearing them in the hot summer.  Lace up or side zip are also things you need to decide on.   The 1151 coyote boot is a very eye catching product we like to keep out on display because it’s the least tactical looking color but still has applications to people working in the Industry.

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Tactical Nylon Gear response from customers

We enbulldog gun casesdlessly have customers walk in our doors and ask us simple questions that always need follow  up questions.   Tactical gear is so specific to the job that is being done that we really need to know what you want before we can give you an answer.   Questions like ” I need comfortable holster” are so general and preference driven that we can’t really answer that.  Some of the more comfortable holsters are usually the leather/Kydex hybrid holsters but some people just find that too cumbersome to put  on that they give it a pass.  I’ve used the Galco Kingtuk holsters for a Sig 228 for over a year and it has not broken while several other kydex holsters I’ve used have broken on me.

Nylon gear can be broken down into two categories when it comes to marketing, MADE in the USA and NOT MADE in the US.    People look at some nylon gear and thing it’s too expensive so they go for the Bulldog gun cases or sometimes Uncle Mikes.   All of these brands have their pros and cons but it sometimes just boils down to your personal preferences and your budget.  I’ve used gun socks and the economy gun cases as well as some of their pistol rugs and I basically feel like a spent a few bucks at a grocery store instead of feeling like I walked  out of a jewelry store.  Cell phone cases, wallet id badges and range bags be very different and it’s up to you if you want a bug out bag or a pistol or rifle oriented product.

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Ballistic Eyewear and fit issues

smith optics elite eyewearIt amazes me the improvements and advances body armor has made over recent years and how the military issued stuff has trickled down to Law Enforcement and Civilian use.   Plenty of people that have money carry guns and sometimes want body armor because being have a certain amount of money opens you and your family up to home invasions, hostage taking and kidnapping.   People that live in the limelight are also sometimes the targets of some of the professional criminals and total wack jobs.   All you have to do is look at what happened to John Lennon and the background of the person behind the attempt at killing President Reagan.   Ronald Reagan was actually suppose to be wearing a bullet proof vest on the day he got shot and choose  not to have it on that day.

Police Officers are often called to the scene of dangerous situations and you don’t always hear about all of the casualties that can occur besides stabbings and shootings.  Sometimes Police end up with Hepatitis C if they got stuck with a needle or lost an eye because they didn’t have ballistic eyewear on like the Smith Optics Elite eyewear  that we have been carrying.   The tactical sunglasses we sell are very well received by local Law Enforcement because they can walk in our store and try them on.  All of the 6 tactical sunglasses we sell have different fit and it’s not one of those things you just buy online.   We have a very high satisfaction level from our customers that are wearing them.

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More Tru-Spec outwear and tactical clothing for Winter 2013

2673-1We just had our Tru-Spec Rep in our store and he showed us several of the items that we did not currently stock.   It’s funny that customers tell us they are afraid to order certain things online, and we tell them “we are the same way when it comes to bringing in new inventory”.   We see new tactical clothing products listed on some of our distributors websites but all it is at first is an image and a bunch of words.  We still don’t know what the big deal is about various tactical jackets or winter clothing because it’s not until somebody walks in our store or gives us positive feedback on a softshell jacket, parka, or rain coat that we actually take a serious look into whether or not we should stock it.   The 24/7 Series is a very good product line but it still has some room for grown.  Various camouflage patterns have come and gone and now just about everything is going multi-cam.

Digital pattern and some tradition camo patters are still available from Tru-Spec but we are watching that closely.   The TruSpec outwear is really geared more towards law enforcment becaues of the badge designs but the Softshell tactical jackets have a much broader appeal.  We offer Free Shipping on orders over $150 and now have a rewards program running on all of our product and with the Tru-Spec line, we offer a free 1 time exchange.   There are varying degrees of warmth for each of these items but a medium weight jacke that keeps you dry and is of good quality is not that common.   We see lots of military surplus gear but even though TruSpec has a military look, the quality is much better than what you’d get at a traditional Army Navy store.

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A common issue when ordering clothing online

Tru-Spec shirtsWe get probable 3-5 customers a day calling us on the phone and asking about the clothing we sell and how it will fit them.   We have various sizing charts but they are different for each brand that we sell.   I wear a large part of the clothing we sell, and I see big differences between the fit even if my sizes are all the same.   I always like the Woolrich Elite line but the fit of the shirts was a little off  for my body type with the shoulder lengths.    We tested out some of the 5.11 tactical shirts and the 5.11 t-shirts which many of our Police Officers know and wear but we are very picky about what we stock because we don’t sell clothing to just weekend warriors we sell clothing to people that  aren’t going to want to deal with discomfort if they don’t have to because they all know that body armor is almost always something they want to get off as soon they are back in the Office and no longer out on deployment.

In regards to the entire Tru-Spec product line, there are differences in the fit of the various uniform and 24/7 Series shirts.   Some people in this industry need to have their Tru-Spec shirts tucked in and have a tighter fit on the shoulder while others may have a more relaxed style like the 24/7 Polos, the tactical polos and the performance polos are very well received and I personally  have not had any shrinkage problems.    The Polyester cotton rip stop shirts are lightweight and ultra lightweight designs and you really may want to take a trip to our tactical store to really  understand how they will feel and fit you.   Everyone’s torso and arm lengths can vary and if you don’t know already, you’ll want to do a walk through before you buy  online and have to deal with returns or exchanges  with online purchases.

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Fobus and Glock issues

Fobus holstersWe recently got some negative feedback about a Fobus holster we sold to a customer and then went back to Fobus’ customer service to find out what the issue was.   Apparently there are some fit issues with the different Generations of Glock guns and Fobus holsters so now we have to be more cautious about selling them to customers that walk in and buy them for Glocks.   The gun will fit into the holster but the amount of force you need to do to “click” it into the holster and then draw it out is excessive.   If you put a hair dryer to the holster and edge something in it you can soften the holster up to get it to fit properly but that’s a headache for a first time Fobus holster customer.  In 2013 we’ll probable bring in more of the Fobus E2 holsters because there is more adjustments you can do with the tension.

Fobus holsters are the first paddle holsters we suggest to customer if they ask for a paddle holster because after that, you normally have to move up to the $40 dollar range and usually that means a sale for the Safariland holsters.   I do like Fobus holsters myself and they are great for winter carry and I normally carry a larger frame gun in the Winter and this is a much more comfortable way to carry instead of IWB.  The Sig 226 in .357 Sig is my preferred gun for winter because the more penetration through clothing is something that many of my Law Enforcement customers suggest because of all of the statistics on what happens when bullets go through clothing.

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Keeping your light on your gun but switching holsters

safariland holstersWe  have a lot of Cops come in here and ask us for paddle holsters that hold the TLR-1S flashlight.   Some of the Pennsylvania State Troopers have recently switched to the Glock 21 but they are using the Surefire X300.   The holsters are going to be different depending on the light you use, but it’s a royal pain for them to have to show up in court and have all of their duty gear on them.   We  had a lot of requests for these holsters and started stocking them.  The problem with dealing with the Safariland product line is that it tends to be on the expensive side and some of the small time dealers don’t stock the real fancy holsters and rarely stock duty gear.

The Safariland 6280 is the most common duty holster in our neck of the woods but it’s not a good CCW or off duty holster.  Nobody wants the rention even if they like Safariland holsters because the duty gear with the retention hood is meant to protect the Officers gun from being used against him or for flying out of his holster during a pursuit.  The Safariland 5188 is the Glock 21 holster that is getting the most use around here and it does work with the Surefire X200 light if you are using that.  Think about the holster you really are looking for before you pickup some odd ball flashlight that nobody makes a holster for.

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Major Changes to lubrication and gun grease

gun cleaning suppliesLots of gun owners are starting to realize that they should consider using a form of gun grease on their firearms.  Now that so many people are using .308 rifles the heat and friction rates are much higher than 5.56 guns.    Long term storage and larger mechanical parts means harder banging and clanking around and it’s not just the guys that had the Springfield M1A rifles that still use gun grease.   I have been looking for a good gun grease for a long time ever since my Colt gun grease started running out.  We found out about the Slip 2000 gun grease after becoming a Slip 2000 dealer and I have used it on all of my AR15 recoil springs to smooth out the action and also to get rid of that AR15 gun ping that makes the firearm sound like sometime of BB gun.

With all of the Sig and FN SCAR Rifles becoming more and more popular, it’s not just M1A vs FAL as far as durable and reliable 7.62 MM guns.   I have been cleaning out all of my old gun cleaning supplies and bringing in new stuff.  Frog lube is another lubrication we hear about but it’s really up to the customers what works best for them.  M-Pro7 has greatly improved it’s product line and we are moving further away from the old Hoppes #9 that probable 90% of gun owners have used in the past.  The best thing about many of these lubricants is they are also as good with rifles as they are with handguns.  The gun grease are not sticky and thick like they use to be.

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