All posts tagged Tactical Accessories

If you are looking for real CCW pants

I am now staring out the old Woolrich Elite CCW pants in style 4910 and the Eotac Style 204 pants and wondering why they disappeared and fell of the face of the earth when there is practically nothing else out there like them.   These were two of the biggest selling pocket carry CCW pants and since guns like the Ruger LCP have become so popular what kind of CCW pants do you where anymore?  I am very fond of the Tru-Spec 24/7 pants as far as comfort, but the pocket locations are a dead giveaway that you are carrying gear and probable a gun.

The Style 204 and 4910 pants were nice, but the back pockets were large enough to hold a 20oz bottle of water that it was also a giveaway that pants stored a lot of gear.   Not the Woolrich Elite Chinos, these pants look like they were bought out of a mens apparel store and you really have to take a close look at the hand pockets to see the tiny zipper that opens them up.   The zipper is very close to the Tru-Spec 24/7 pants but very much a CCW pant. They are not baggy like the 204 or 4910 pants so don’t expect them to be like that, but they will fit like normal pants do.

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Changing gear and changing gear

I recently got a letter from Magpul Industries about some of the new products and colors that are available for their gun accessories.   There are many M4 manufacturers out there that are making gun accessories that easily attach to a firearm, but I have already found out personally that they are not something you will want to take into combat.   If people stop and think about it, most of these products are pretty easy to pick out because they are cheap.   Mostly things like fore grips and flashlight mounts.

The age old, “you get what you paid for” is the reality of firearms especially combat worthy.   I’ve read lots of posts on gun forums about guns being “hobby” firearms from gun instructors because people trick them out and think they will hold up.   Magpul pmags are the number one selling AR15 magazine because they are tough and reliable.  Recently we started carrying more of the stocks, stock accessories and magazine accessories.  Be very careful that you don’t compromise your tactical vests or magazine holders when you chang out your floor plates because some tactical vests will not work with the changes.

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Preferences in tactical eyewear for work

I think it’s pretty obvious to people that go shooting with firearms that having eyewear or safety glass is important.  Those 22 caliber semi-autos are known for kicking out debris and all it takes is a little bad luck and your in the hospital with an injury.   The military found out in WWI that helmets could save lives and now our military has realized that ballistic eyewear, sunglasses or goggles can prevent injury.  There are a lot of things we know we can do to protect the human body, but being practical is what it’s all about.

The more gear you throw on you the more you are going to be weighed down, and one thing I have found out quickly is that many optics in tactical eyewear have blind spots for your visibility that I would not take them into combat with me.   The Smith Optics Elite Aegis Eye shield is probable your best range eyewear and fighting eyewear because it gives you the most visibility and the most coverage next to goggles.  Goggles will still give you limited visibility and the extra weight is not something you will want to have to carry around.

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Announcing that you are there with all of those things on your M4

There was always something that bothered me about the Trijicon ACOGS when they first started hitting the civilian market in the 1990s.   I couldn’t really figure  out why I didn’t like them at first and it wasn’t just that they cost as much as an actual Bushmaster AR15.   It finally dawned on me a few years ago when I was at a gun club, about 500yds down range and I saw the glint of someones rifle scope.   What i never liked about the Trijicon ACOGS was that the loun neon colors announced that you were there and it was my hunting instincts that were trying to tell me that.  When we are bow hunting we have on cover scent and camo but when you send the military into some parts of the world they have neon strands on their guns.  Something wasn’t right about that.

With all firearms and accessories there has to be a balanced achieved between prevailing in a fight and and not compromising your ability to defend yourself or take cover or concealment.   When it comes to using gun magazines, the hottest sellers are the Magpul Pmags with the window, but again, this is something that can announce you are there when the shiny brass cases are showing on the side of your black firearm  and the sun hits in on that perfect angle.   That is something that can be picked up from hundreds of yards away.  Flashlights, optics and gun parts can help you in getting your bullets on target but be careful they don’t compromise your ability for concealment.

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Did they take your Legos away from you too?

I have noticed for a very long time that there is a strong correlation between the guys that can’t stop accessorizing their M4 Carbines or AR15s and there previous childhood hobby of playing with Legos.  One thing that I always consider when putting something on a firearm is knowing if it is combat worthy or not.   There are a lot of things that are sold at gun shops and gun shows that are just downright trash, and others will hold up if you mount them properly.  Now that everyone has a rail or A3 model, you need to buy rails to protect them when not in use.

Now that you need new rail skins or rail covers, you have to pick out the pretty colors you, do you want Field Green, Dark Earth, OD Green,  Black or Tan on your M4 Carbine?   Magpul Pmags also come in many colors and sometimes people can get pretty particular about which colors they want.   I guess you want your gun to look nice when it’s pointing at someone.   I admit that it does get a little messy when you have mismatched color firearms parts and accessories, but as long as you don’t have rainbow colors on them it won’t be the end of the world.

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Looking for an axe to put in the car?

That may sound funny, but this is actually one of the biggest selling items we have in the tactical knives and edged weapons categories.   It’s funny to know that hundreds of years after people ran around fighting battles with battle axes ect, that people are still finding the need to keep an axe in the car.  There are plenty of times that LEO have to show up on the scene of an accident and break somebody out of a car or cut down trees or branches to search and rescue someone.     The SOG Fusion Tactical Tomahawk gives you something to chip with and on the flip side of it, you can use it to break glass.

I would highly recommend keeping something like this is your car because it’s a great thing to keep around for camping and for emergency situations.   There should always be something in your car for breaking open glass or cutting a seat belt.   SOG Knives has a broad spectrum of edged knives and weapons as well as utility knives that rival Swiss Army Knives.   Some of these are hard to shop for online, but stop in to the new Rogue Elite tactical store this fall and you will get an eye full of tactical knives for CCW, utility and Emergency applications.

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Putting flashlights on all of your firearms

Since we have been in the holster business, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the designs of holsters, many customers have unfortunately found out the hard way after buying a holster thinking it would work for their gun just because it says it is for a Sig 229.   Well there are many things that can change your holsters fit with a firearm, one of them is changing the sights, and the other is putting a light or laser on it.   There are plenty of good reasons to mount a flashlight on a firearms, but there are also reasons not to.    For Carbines and home defense weapons, yes, they can be helpful, but many people don’t realize that now that your firearm has a light, you better watch out that you are not violating an of the safety rules.

If you have to move through your home and you are using your gun mounted flashlight, you will be pointing the gun at everything your flashlight is.   Something like the Ultimate Retention Device from the now defunct Section 8 Tactical is a nice device and you can still get them from us.   These work very well with the Streamlight flashlights like the Streamlight Scorpion or Streamlight Polytac.   I’d give the edge to the Polytac or possible the Surefire G2 Flashlight.  The harder surfaces seem to grip the device a little better.

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As a former AR15 hater, I give to you the bringer of salvation

I spent an awful lot of my young adult years watching guys with loads of money show up at gun clubs and firing ranges with their fancy guns and bash anyone that had an AK, SKS or a Mini 14.  I was often ridiculed for owning a Mini 14 because according to most AR15 owners, it couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn at 100yds, but I was hitting 2 inch groups all the time.   These guys would always rave about how accurate the AR15 was and that they never had reliability issues, but I was always watching these guys clear malfunctions or blame magazines or ammo for all of their jams.  I will tell you that I got tired of the mentality and avoided AR15s for a very long time just because I could get the job done with a Sturm Ruger Mini 14 for just about every job I ever need it for.

I did notice that shortly after Pmags started showing up on firing ranges the amount of jamming I saw dropped by 99%.   I don’t know when the last time it was that I watched an M4 or AR15 jam that was  using Magpul Pmags.   These magazines are virtually indestructable.   I’ve seen youtube videos of guys driving trucks over them and they still worked.  I have heard of a few problems with them not dropping free from magwells of some manufacturers, but that’s a minor production issue and not really the magazines fault.   Even if you live in a un gun friendly State, you can still get 10rd magazines.

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Making a rifle into a DMR

The term Designated Marksmen Rifle has been around for a long time, but in the last 8yrs it has really made a comeback.   When the United States invaded Iraq, there was more street fighting and urban engagements that in the first Persian Gulf War.   I remember making some comments to a few friends about what we will see evolved with the military now that we actually have boots on the ground.   We expected to see the M16 replaced by now, but according to many sources, the piston driven versions of the M16 are in service in Special Forces and some branches.  Even rumors that the H&K 416 was used to kill Osama Bin Laden.

You can make any rifle into a Designated Marksmen Rifle.    In my opinion it usually means putting a higher magnification optics like a Trijicon ACOG or  Leupold Rifle Scopes on them.   If you have a good enough operator behind a weapon the standard M16A2 can be a very leathal weapon out to 600yds, especially with the right type of ammo.   There are some really good rounds for longer engagements, but the .308 is probable a better choice.  There are many times where a bad guy sticks his head out and it’s too hard to get them with an M4 Carbine.   The LWRC REPR is probable the nicest .308 gun designed for this role that is actually a few pounds lighter than it’s predecessors.

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Reasons to spend dough on gun cases and gun bags

Well, there’s many reasons, and it’s not all  about keeping your shit together.  There are plenty of nice assault rifle style bags, but you gotta watch what  you order online because you might find out that little M4 Carbine you have in your gun safe won’t fit in a gun case that is designed for that barrel length.  Your tactical flashlight, laser, optics and the list goes on can cause it to not fit in there.  I’ve had to carry some of my Carbines in a Elite Survival bag that was really designed for a sniper rifle because my smaller AK type gun cases wouldn’t fit them.   I took my flashlight on my LWRC M6A2 last week and tossed it in a case not realizing that the flashlight was floating around and could have damaged something.

Protecting your stuff can vary, if you want to drop it out of a helicopter, get and SKB gun case, but there are some fine gun cases like the Blackhawk gun cases that are really drag bags.   These gun cases can carry pistol, pistol ammo, lots of AR15 gun magazines and more.   It might be a good idea to research gun bags or better  yet, stop in a gun shop that carries them so you know exactly what you are looking for.   Having a gun bag that fits your needs may take some research because some gun bags an be pricey and ordering them online from just a  picture can be a headache.

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