Looking for a red dot sight? Why not consider the RMR sights

There are plenty of reason to consider this small compact red dot sight.   Yes it is an expensive optic but we’ve seen Police Departments in our area remove optics from Police Officers in training when they showed up with red dot sights that were made in China or were know to be inferior.  Their exact quotes were that any sight that was not made by Trijicon, Eotech or Aimpoint it must be put under review and may not be approved.   We’ve seen most  police officers stick with whatever they could find in the $400 price range and that usually means an Aimpoint Pro or an Eotech, but many forget to consider the Trijicon RMR sights.  There are many different optics to consider but the RMR has a very long battery life and is very lightweight.

Fiber optics have their limits, battery powered optics have their limits and you have to train to fight if your optics fail you.   The Trijicon RMR sights we sell are flying out the door, primarily the RM08 green triangle.   One of the things you have to consider is the brightness of a red dot and not always the size.   A small red dot with a very bright setting may actually block your view as badley as a larger MOA dot.   Sometimes if you want precision you have to consider going to a lower power setting and not always worry about your red dot size.

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The differences between hand held flashlights, weapon mounted and lasers and applications

crimson trace laser grips I got a good course in flashlight uses yesterday when a very well known Police instructor showed me how washouts and white outs occur when entering a room, there is such a thing now as too much power candle power.  Everyone is getting shocked when they see the output from some of these new Surefire and Streamlight flashlights and probable 350 Lumens is about what the average Surefire or Streamlight flashlight can put out.   I got a good review of some of the Pelican flashlights and it’s pretty obvious that the technology has greatly advanced.   Having high output is useful outdoors but indoors it can be liability.   Having a light that has adjustable output with a high and low is a good idea.   Also, there are big differences between having a search light vs a point light on your firearm.   Now go back to thinking about how much light you really need.

I have an LWRC M6A2 that I’ve had around for several years and recently had to make some changes due to my angled foregrip cracking.  I have been looking over the Crimson Trace Laser grips and thinking about putting a laser  on  it.   Using night vision in outdoor environments is a real possibility for me and I’ve learned to use lasers as pointing devices when working in team situations.   Its much easier to put a laser on a door in a building to identify the threat rather than to yell out which color and how many doors down the threat is sitting in.  Clearing rooms in a house after a domestic call or an alarm goes off is probable one of the most dangerous things police deal with and knowing how to use lights and lasers in those environment is very important.

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IDPA competition shooters, where to start? We’ll tell ya!

Blackhawk Serpa HolstersJust had another local guy that was getting into shooting IDPA and was not sure where to start from.  We have been getting a lot of customers walking in here trying to figure out what the best holster was for them to get and we always start with the Fobus gun holsters.  Paddle holsters are easy to get on and off and Fobus makes a good product for in the $25 price range.  They are very good for open carry or winter carry.  When it’s time to pick out magazine pouches, we offer nylon, open kydex mag pouches and the Blackhawk single and double stack magazine pouches.  I personally like the Blackhawk open magazine pouches because they have a little bit of tention that keeps the magazines from rattling or coming out under certain levels of shaking.   I always warn people about open magazine pouches because sometimes people do lose gear when moving.

You definitely are not going to want any type of holster with level 2 retention but there is nothing wrong with the Fobus E2 type holsters because you can adjust the tension to your tolerance levels.  The Blackhawk Serpa holsters are more popular with law enforcement and it’s not safe for them to carry guns out in the open without level 2.  Lots of Police Officers get hurt on the job just from scuffles and it gives a little more comfort knowing that in a scuffle the gun is not going to come loose.  Most of the differences between Safariland ALS and the Blackhawk Serpa is about preferences, but they are all very popular with Glock owners.

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Compact sights that get the job done

eotech sights After you gain experience in Law Enforcement you realize that hits matter more than MOA groups.   I’ve been through so much training and had so much range experience that having an accurate rifle does not mean you are going to win a fight.  There are plenty of bad guys that can’t shoot for shit and they still can kill special forces guys if they spray enough gun fire at them.   Ricochet bullets can kill and even body amour mentions on the trama plates that they can cause ricochets so you know bullets don’t always fly straight.  The trend in recent years has been towards red dots and even though Trijicon, Aimpoint and Eotechs have been around for a long time, there are a lot of variations between all of them.  Many of our customers ask for advice but it’s really about what you want to see and  how you use them.

I personally have a strong preference toward Eotech sights and I’m a big fan of the Eotech EXPS2-0 sight.  I have been using Eotech sights for almost 8yrs and only had one battery issue, but wear and tear has to be expected and most of the big name companies have good warranties so you can send them  in for repairs.  My eyes still pickup the Eotech gun sight better than a red dot because red dots always seem to chase the targets to me.   The Eotech sights do have variations in reticles and for longer range engagements you may want the circle with the 2 dot system.  I am a big fan of the Eotech magnifiers.

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Elite Survival Tactical Messenger Bag

Elite Survival bagsRecently I decided it was time to get a lap top for my work because using a  phone still isn’t going to be the same as working off a lap top.   I still have to do trade shows and setup various conventions for customers and even though you can run credit cards off of your phone, it still is a pain in the butt to type and the number of typos I have seen makes taking customer orders a pain in the neck.   Recently we’ve been running various tactical training videos from Panteo Productions and using the DVD player hooked up to a computer monitor or TV very useful.  My biggest problem was how do I carry a lap top around with me without worrying about getting it wet.   One of my friends reminded me that the Special Forces Operators are carrying lap tops around with them in Afghanistan and there are bags out there that are waterproof.

It reminded me to check back to the Elite Survival Systems product line and I forgot about the Elite Tactical Messenger bags.   We have sold many of these to deployed soldiers and the Elite Survival bags we were selling do have an option for this.   The Elite Tactical Messenger bag was slightly more than $100 and the waterproof compartment will keep your electronics dry.   I also have molle locations to store magazine pouches or pockets to hold chargers.  I will be working on picking up several types of Solar chargers to test out and they should all fit into this large bag.   Apparently there is a a Blackhawk bag that is similar to this one but I will post reviews the more I get to use it.

 

 

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Streamlight Profession Series 2L

I have been looking to replaced my Streamlight Scorpion flashlight for some time now, but I didn’t really have a clue from where to start.   I see so many flashlights being sold as CCW lights, but I really can’t justify spending $100 or more on something that is easy to loose.   I’d rather tote a $40 flashlight that is just a bright, but I know where it is at all times and it doesn’t disappear.   You’re reading from a guy that has lost gear inside a few tactical vests before because it’s just too easy to do.

I walked into a local gun shop and checked out a few Streamlights and the reason I have stuck with this brand is because I’ve never had a real reason to go to anyone else.  Streamlight flashlights don’t burn a whole in your pocket and the Profession Tactical series has a strobe that I find fun to use on guests as well as use it for CCW.  The prices are reasonable and I didn’t have a very good experience with a Surefire G2 that I first mounted on an M4 Carbine.

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It is time to upgrade your gun cleaning supplies

Not everyone owns the same type of rifles as I do but whether you are a gun owner that owns lever action rifles or bolt action rifles, or you have a couple AR15 rifles, gun cleaning has changed for the better and you might want to consider disposing some of the products you have in your house just for your own health.  Gun cleaning lube like Slip 2000 and the new M-Pro7 are much more effective than CLP and they do not have any of the toxicity that CLP had.   I find it difficult to clean firearms with gloves on so I usually just avoid getting too much contact with solvents and then just wash my hands.  Well, after 20yrs of being around Hoppes #9 I think it’s time to move on and use something less dangerous for the next 20yrs.

I have boresnakes and single piece gun rods to clean most of my bolt action and semi-autos, but now that I have been using Slip 2000 I have used up all of my Break free CLP and moved on.   If you are interested in getting new gun cleaning supplies look into the Slip 2000 product line and you’ll have access to the Slip 2000 gun lube and for semi-autos the Extreme Weapons Lube is a primary on all of my AK rifles and my SKS rifles as well as my Bushmaster, LWRC and Spikes Tactical AR15 rifles.   I have not tried out all of the copper removers from SLIP 2000 or M-Pro7 but I have sent out a few tests to local police departments that have never even  heard of Slip 2000 but when I referenced that our Navy Seals are using it, they started to listen.

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3 Years of positive feedback on Tru-Spec womens pants

Tru-Spec womens pantsOne of the major factors in picking the Tru-Spec product line was that we had several negative experiences with some of their competition and even our 5.11 customers did not rave about the 5.11 Tactical Womens line.   We heard good things about The Tru-Spec 24/7 Series for women and the Blackhawk Womens line but Eotac as short lived and Woolrich Elite Series tactical ladies pants were a collosal failure and we had about a 75% negative review and return rate.  Those aren’t good at all and might be part of the reason the Woolrich Elite line fizzled out.   Trying to fit tactical clothing to women is going to be a lot harder and the cut of a tactical polo shirt is another thing we have to factor in when outfitting our local Law Enforcement.

The Tru-Spec ladies pants are the exact same pocket patterns as the men’s 24.7 Series but the cut is different.  We have several employees wearing the Tru-Spec womens pants and they all love them.    They are not high  on the hips like some companies have and they are not over-done like some of the competitors.   Sometimes you really can have too many pocket and that can just get annoying.   We have some out on wear tests with our customers but we already know that it’s a good product line.   We are outfitting almost all of the local Delaware County police deparments and the Tru-Spec product line is now our primary tactical clothing line.

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Accessorizing your guns? Think ahead because you might have issues getting a holster

crimson trace laser grips We have had several police officers stop in here and pick up new gun cases, because many of the cases they used in the past didn’t cut it when they started putting lights and lasers on them.    The same thing is happening more and more these days because so many people are putting lasers and lights on their guns that are constantly walking into our store with the problem of finding a holster.   Elite Survival Systems holsters are usually our quick fix because the tactical nylon companies are much further ahead of the leather companies when it comes to staying on top of all of the new guns that come out each year and they were the first company that made the LC9 with the Crimson Trace Laser Grips.

I have always had mixed feelings about using lights on firearms, on rifles I’m much more open but for handguns I think a hand  held light is a much safer option.    I did break down a few years ago and picked up a Crimson Trace Laser grips for my S&W 38 Special and I have been very happy with it.   It’s something I enjoy having with me in low light situations and also as a backup.  If I needed to take a 25yd shot I can clearly light up my target with it.   I have heard of absolutely zero durability issues with these and I have seen them on 1911’s, Glocks and Sig Sauer pistols for several years.

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More Positive Feedback in year 2 of the Tru-Spec product lines from the IAPC in Philadelphia

Truspec tactical pantsWe got to attend the International Association of Police Chiefs convention here in Philadelphia and it was another great way to listen to customers and hear what they are saying about various product lines.   Some of these conventions are really giant networking opportunities for us and a great way to learn about potential products we would like to bring into our inventory.  Some are computer software shows and others are basically gun shows but it’s always worth our while to attend these.   Blackhawk and 5.11 tactical are massive companies carrying a vast amount of products but not all of it the best.   We’ve seen several local dealers drop the Vertx line because it’s priced out of their customers price range and if we had to pick a winner this year, it’s definitely been tru-spec.

The Tru-Spec simple tactical line is going to fit you differently than the 24/7 series is but it’s also going to be far less money and the best thing to do is find a stocking dealer, which is what we are and try it on yourself.  I was not a huge fan of the TruSpec tactical pants when I first started wearing them because they are so different than the 5.11 tactical, Blackhawk, Eotac and Woolrich Elite Series tactical clothing lines that I was use to.  The shapes of the pockets and the pocket placements are absolutely designed for people carrying a knife or a flashlight.  The new gunny tactical pants has a slightly larger cut knife pocket for those carrying larger tools.   I wish they made them in more sizes because some customer did complain that the gunny pant wasn’t made in their size range.

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