Avoid the legalities and carry mace, too

Kimber Pepper blasterThere are plenty of reasons to carry some level of self defense weapons and sometimes it’s better to consider your firearm a secondary weapon and your primary as the less lethal.  Recently there was some debate about how well pepper sprays and mace work on animals and it was quite a conversion.  A person from the animal control ward came in here an mentioned that the pepper sprays were better on animals while another said that they are not good on dogs.  Some animals just become so worked up that it doesn’t really matter if they are blinded or not, they might just start barking and biting when they become blind.

The thing you need to realise about pepper sprays and mace are that it just gives you the opportunity to get away from someone, but doesn’t mean it will get them off of you.  I have strongly recommended the Kimber Pepper Blaster devices for self defense because they are shaped like a firearm and can be easily pointed after retrieving from a pocket.  The shelf live is amazing and  you get what you pay for.  No need to worry about flip tops or flip caps when deploying these.

Top

Emergency responses and packing your car for the “what if” situation

recon sleeping bagsSeveral years ago there was a national tragedy here in Pennsylvania where a simple snow storm caught too many people on a major highway that emergency responders were not able to get to all of them.  There were so many cars and so much snow on the ground that plowing was impossible.  People sat in their cars waiting for help as the snow piled deeper and deeper.  Something like this caught everyone off guard and there were politcal fallout from it, but, the real problem was nobody had any backup plan for this and they should have.

I’m a big fan of keeping emergency survival blankets in my car because people don’t realize that sitting in a car and idling is only going to give  you about 8-12hrs of heat and energy and then you will have lost your heat source.  Something  like the recon sleeping bags  like the recon 2 are all you need for a basic SHTF car break down where you might be better off using that an waiting for help rather than depend on your car heater keeping you warm.   The Recon 2 is so small that it hardly takes up any room  in  your trunk and is a great investment.

Top

Expanding our product line based upon customer feedback

Tru-Spec softshell jacketsWe are expanding our tactical clothing line towards Law Enforcement products in 2013.  We have a really good location for many of our police departments and it’s really all about logistics.   This year we have brought in some of the Tru-Spec Extreme Assault Suits which is something we really didn’t know about until we were asked to bring them in.  There are always slight functionality differences between these and other manufacturers that each department might want, but you never know until they ask for it, or walk in and ask us about them.  Having a shoulder or arm pocket that Law Enforcement can use when identifying a person or persons that have a warrant out for their arrest.

Fabric and materials really matter depending on the work you are doing.  We ran a promo on the Tru-Spec Softshell jackets this past fall and they were very popular with our customer base.  They are more useful and practical since they are a Fall and Spring jacket and give you a level of water resistance that other jackets don’t have.   Here in our parts of the Country we can get a  lot of rain in cold and warm temperatures and being able to adapt to whatever you wake up to in the morning means having a very diverse wardrobe.

Top

Holsters, comfort and holster and angles

fobus holstersIt was a recent discussion in our tactical store that angling a holster forward really was more about FBI guys that were sitting in their cars and didn’t want the grips to dig into their seats.   I have had some issues drawing my pistol in this angle because sometimes I’ve felt my fingers get way too close to the trigger and slip.  Roto holsters give you a little bit of flexibility and we all know how hard it is to get a holster to fit you without trying it out for awhile.   If you are in a car you may want a forward leaning angle and if you are standing most of the time a straight angle.

There have been times I carried full sized autos and if I had my Wilderness 5 stitch instructor belt on I didn’t have any issues with the weight, but with the wrong belt, it would sag.   I am a big fan of the Fobus holsters product line, and not because they are my favorite, they are the easiest and best holster to start out with.  Their paddle holsters are very inexpensive and always the first thing we sell to someone who is taking their first firearms training course.  Paddle holsters are easier to adapt to than dealing with break  in periods with far more expensive leather or customer kydex holsters.

Top

Always a debate when it comes to lasers and lights on firearms

crimson trace laser grips for saleThere have been many advancements on firearms and the biggest changes we have seen in the laser 2yrs are with the Flashlights we sell.  Surefire and Streamlight have had several upgrades of the same flashlights and what a G2 Flashlight is now is not anything like what it was 8yrs ago.  Battery life is also improving and this year we saw the first ever  solar/battery powered optics.  Lasers is just about everywhere now, on law enforcement lights like the TLR and the Viridian laser light combos.  I have found good use for the Crimson Trace laser grips on my smaller sidearms.s

If you have a little .380 or even a revolver the laser grips add more comfort to guns where regular sights really are really worth much.  Once you go small on a firearm the side radius isn’t going to do much more than point and shooting will and the Crimson Trace laser grips for sale are going to be a bonus.  Confidence in what you carry is very important and lasers, if trained properly, can be deployed the same way you would use a flashlight.  A constant on with a laser may not be a good idea for home defense because it can give away your position but like all devices, training to  use it properly is important.

Top

Generation 3 Magpul Pmags hitting the market

magpul 30rd pmags for saleThis year was a year to remember and it looks like the famed Magpul Pmags are enemy number 1 of the anti-gun crowd.   It’s amazing to watch people demonize an object and put down the blame that 10rds vs. 30rds has any impact on gun crime.   We’re hearing from Law Enforcement customers that are annoyed the things that they need are becoming so hard to get.   Given that we here at Rogue Elite have the gift of foresight, get ready for the Magpul pmags that are going to end up back in stock on all of these gun auction sights. The panic buying is over and it’s time to replace your old AR15 magazines.

Standard Capacity magazines may be affected in certain States and shockingly in Colorado where Magpul is most likely going to have to relocate.  I got to hold the new Magpul 30rd magazines for sale at a convention in South Carolina a few weeks ago and got the whole low down on them.  I have no idea why the United States Government doesn’t have these as standard issue.  Now that any of the fit arguments are over Magpul as a company should be considered an asset to our Nation and not be getting kicked out of a State.

Top

Still seeing the 1911 being used in Law Enforcement

chip mccormick magazines Today we had a police officer mention firearm retention during arrests and why the Blackhawk Serpa holster was his preferred gun holster.   Another Officer mentioned that he still used a 1911 because he liked the idea that if someone was unfamiliar with this firearm that even if they got it in a struggle they might not be able to shoot it.   There are always different scenarios that you can run with, with each tactical or mechanical device and you use.  Training and gaining muscle memory is something that is hard to change and it’s very hard to jump back and forth with firearms and be proficient.   I suggest consistency is more important and will make you less prone to making errors.

There are reasons I love the 1911 and reasons I don’t use it as a primary sidearm but if I did carry it, I would probable have to put in more range time to remember to disengage the safety every time.  If you are looking for reliable and consistent 1911 magazines for under $30 the best one I use is the  8rd Chip McCormick magazines called the Power Mag.  I have never seen a reason to  not use 8rd magazines although I think the 1911 looses it’s balance with 10rd magazines.   The 10rd Power Mags are very popular for competition shooting so again, it’s also about training and adjusting to the firearm or device.

Top

Some changes to the Smith Optics Elite product line

Smith Optics EliteSmith Optics Elite is a our primary safety eyewear in our store and online.  We have a full line of their sunglasses as well as their goggles.  The Smith Optics Elite turbo fan is our number 1 swat team goggle and the new LoPro goggle is something that our military personnel use for night vision.   There are profile and fit differences between many of the eyewear products that Smith Optics has out and their product line is another one of those that people hate to buy  online because they want to know how it feels and fits and shelling out $100 for something like this is too much for people to handle so we know we have to stock them here in our Broomall PA showroom.

People can over rate eyewear but for people that actually work in the industry know that there are quality differences and accidents and mishaps occur as well as every day hostilities. Along with our newest products like the Boogie Regulator and the smith optics elite tactical sunglasses there is the Echo and the Compact Aegis eyeshields.  There is also an Asian Fit for the obvious customers.  There is also a dual ballistic lense for the tactical goggles as well as multicam.    This year Smith Optics Elite has introduced a new frame for the eyewear that has a camo look to it.

 

Top

More feedback from customers about the optics they are buying

Trijicon TA01NSN for saleWe’ve stepped into the Law Enforcement Supply market this year and have had many new products come in that we would never have expected to have.   The Easy Unlocking Tools have come in and some of our local police departments have asked us to keep them around.  Other things like police badges and patches are new to us but it’s interesting how happy people that they don’t have to buy these things online and pay for shipping.    There are lots of things that we have that Law Enforcement and Military personal wear out or use up and need a local pickup point.

Recently we had some good feed back from local competition shooters and from a security detail that had come back from over seas.   The Trijicon optics that they were using were the well know Trijicon TA01nsn for sale in our store and all of these optics were purchased in our store.   It’s cool to see items like this get purchased and come back to us several months or years later completely banged, beat up, and still working with lots of stories to tell.   The Trijicon optic is probable the best priced ACOG since the iron sights add lots of use to the gun without much of a price increase over the TA01 ACOG.

Top

The Wilderness belts hold up, end of story

I’m not going to go off and bash 5.11 products but they are a monster of a company and have so many products out there, that I can’t really say that they are the best, or that they are the worst, at what they do.    They sell watches, flashlights, and many EMS and military style shirts, pants and footwear that I think they are doing entirely too much and losing focus.  It’s a multi-million dollar company but there flashlights and watches don’t have a great reputation and I wouldn’t spend my money on those, the same goes for many of their belts.

The only product that we probable will never replace in our inventory are The Wilderness instructor belts.   They have been the best selling guns belt and The Wilderness belts that are a 5 stitch 1.5 inch are very common on firing lines.   We’ve tried several belts already that were similar but the paint chipped or they frayed sooner than they should.  You do have to be very careful about how you measure yourself for these belts, many people are spoiled with elastic waistband pants and don’t really know what there true sizing is.  You do need to measure  yourself and we have that on the product image display.

Top
1 … 55 56 57 58 59 … 194 Page 57 of 194