I received some parts in the mail yesterday from Bravo Company USA (BCM) that I ordered for the AR upper build, and unfortunately I forgot to load the picture of them I took last night. I went ahead and picked up BCM's own bolt and carrier set so that they're matched; normally I like to keep the bolt the same brand as the barrel, but right now there's not a single Daniel Defense bolt out there. Reading about the BCM bolt and carrier, they fire one high-pressure test round with the bolt and then do Magnetic Particle Inspection to look for any cracks or flaws. This gives peace of mind that the bolt won't fail when you need it most, which is worth it in my book for the ~$30 extra you pay for it.
I also picked up a BCM Gunfighter charging handle, the medium latch one, and to say I'm impressed is an understatement. I will be buying one of these for the little-AR-from-DPMS, and every AR I own thereafter. Super piece of gear. I did a comparison by feel of a standard charging handle vs the Gunfighter, and the Gunfighter is much more solid, slick, and really does feel like you're side-charging the gun. For $44 it's a bargain. With that said, a Mil-Spec charging handle will do the job, and has been in combat, but the added grip given by the Gunfighter and mental insurance that it has more metal to it and won't break when you're yanking on it is worth it. Also, if you're running a scope on your AR, it's really helpful to be able to charge the gun from the side vice doing the two-fingers manipulation using your index and middle finger which is a pain. Go here if you want an in-depth review of the BCM Gunfighter charging handle that includes comparison pictures to a mil-spec one, and here if you want to see visual confirmation of a failed mil-spec charging handle.
Next up is an optic, and then I'll be putting rounds downrange.
Showing posts with label Equipment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Equipment. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Dropping the case
The Marine Corps and Army are developing new caseless and case-telescoped ammunition that, when partnered with a new light machine gun also in development, could significantly cut the burden on troops in combat. And perhaps more significant than that, in the coming years this revolutionary ammo could drive production of the Corps’ next service rifle.
Back to the story though, the concept of caseless ammo is not new, and the challenges associated with it are well known. First thing to understand is that when a brass cased cartridge (or plastic shotgun hull) is fired inside of a chamber, it seals off the expanding gasses at the chamber end which aids in velocity of the projectile down and out the muzzle. Caseless ammo has to overcome this hurdle. Secondly, when the case is ejected, it takes heat with it -- which it's good to expel the heat and all, but it also is mechanically complicated to have an ejection system in the first place, which is a major cause of malfunctions. So that part is a double edged sword. You may have heat problems (almost certainly), but you should have a huge boost in reliability since there's no expended case to eject, and less moving parts in the system. The remedy for the heat issue may be in the use of a modern propellant, and I have no idea on how they would tackle the gass-sealing issue.
The main reason though for caseless ammo consideration is a reduction in weight. This also is a double edged sword because, as veterans will attest, a reduction in weight in one area translates to an increase in weight in another. Guaranteed. You read it in articles all the time about "reducing combat weight for the poor overburdened Soldier," but that's all just a bunch of bullshit in reality. Somewhere, in a secretive and non-descript room in a huge five-sided building, some heartless yayhoo with an evil laugh has a magic number bayoneted to the wall that shows the total average weight an 18 to 20ish American male in good physical condition can carry for four days without dying from exhaustion, and they approve a certain amount of weight above that number. The upside is that you get to tell the Warrior that the reduction in weight will be filled with a corresponding increase in killing potential -- that will go over well, or at least much better than telling him or her that the weight will be made up for with sandbags or some other equipment -- batteries -- that won't be as useful for slaying enemies.
I'm all about caseless cartridges. In fact, I'd kinda like to try my hand at reloading them, considering my addiction and all. Instead of resizing brass cases until my fingers bleed, I could be molding my own rounds out of putty-like propellant on a miniature pottery wheel. . . . like in Ghost! It would definitely be better for my nails!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
All hail my dorkiness
Dorkiness isn't recognized by spellcheck, by the way. Anyhow, because I have very little shame, I give you some pictures of the epi-pen holster I made:
In the wild:
The 1/4" holes in between the two epi-pens are for one half of the rivet dies to pass through, which sandwiches the neoprene support between the holster body and a flange that rests against my sock. The holster is reasonably comfortable, at least for the next few weeks or months until I have the time to make a better one. This one was done on the fly, with little to no planning, but now I have a better idea on what would work. Retention is by the way of friction (no screw to tighten), and it's very secure. It stays put and doesn't wander around my ankle; that's more than I can say about my old method of sticking one of the pens in my sock.
The important thing is that they're both on me at all times, so my main requirement is met. There's lots of "stuff" in between the liquid medicinal goodness and the 98.6 degrees of my leg -- epi-pen cartridge, case, kydex holster, neoprene, kydex flange, sock -- so I should be within the temperature excursion requirements. It's secure, so I won't lose them, so that's another requirement met.
I don't suppose that there's a market for such a device, especially since I didn't make it out of platinum and hang a bunch of charms and stuff from it, or border it in faux barbed wire. People can be so fickle. Hey, why are you laughing? Are you laughing at what I just said, or are you. . . . oh. . . .right. Yes, I'm a dork. But where are your epi-pens?
In the wild:
The 1/4" holes in between the two epi-pens are for one half of the rivet dies to pass through, which sandwiches the neoprene support between the holster body and a flange that rests against my sock. The holster is reasonably comfortable, at least for the next few weeks or months until I have the time to make a better one. This one was done on the fly, with little to no planning, but now I have a better idea on what would work. Retention is by the way of friction (no screw to tighten), and it's very secure. It stays put and doesn't wander around my ankle; that's more than I can say about my old method of sticking one of the pens in my sock.
The important thing is that they're both on me at all times, so my main requirement is met. There's lots of "stuff" in between the liquid medicinal goodness and the 98.6 degrees of my leg -- epi-pen cartridge, case, kydex holster, neoprene, kydex flange, sock -- so I should be within the temperature excursion requirements. It's secure, so I won't lose them, so that's another requirement met.
I don't suppose that there's a market for such a device, especially since I didn't make it out of platinum and hang a bunch of charms and stuff from it, or border it in faux barbed wire. People can be so fickle. Hey, why are you laughing? Are you laughing at what I just said, or are you. . . . oh. . . .right. Yes, I'm a dork. But where are your epi-pens?
Monday, March 5, 2012
Needful things
Having owned all sorts of magazine and utility pouches in my time, I concluded that virtually all of them fell short of my expectations, so I thought I'd do something about it. First, to give you an idea of where I'm coming from, I should describe where I find magazine/utility pouches (hereinafter "pouches" or "mag pouches") to not meet my requirements.
Almost every one I've used tries too hard to tilt the top of the magazine in towards the body to aid in concealment. This is great and all, if it didn't cause the corners of the magazine to poke into my flabby bits, making me take the thing off because of discomfort. Only one pouch I've encountered -- a Galco DMC -- does not do this, but instead lets the magazines cant outward, making the fact that I had 34 rounds of ammo readily apparent. The most uncomfortable pouch(s) I've come across was the Fobus paddle type; I have many of them, and every single one of them felt like I was spearing a gladius into my love handles when putting them on. The single Glock mag pouch was fine when it held a shorty Glock 26 magazine, but was unbearable with a tall Glock 17 magazine.
Two mag pouches that work great and are very comfortable are the FIST Double Mag Pouch, and the Bladetech Single Magazine Pouch with Bladetech clip. Both of these beasties do the unthinkable: they hold the magazine completely vertical, so it doesn't rip open your gut or tent your shirt. The only problem is that I don't rock a 1911 anymore, so that's a no go. With that piece of Bladetech praise out of the way, the Tek-Lok mag pouches from Bladetech are an abomination; getting the Tek-Lok clipped on is like trying to feed a mangled fork down in between your belt, and when you get it locked down the mag pouch slides back and forth on your belt. That's a no go. The Safariland Model 74 is an awesome mag pouch, but again stabs the corner of the magazine base plate into my side.
So in the end I decided to make my own to my requirements:
They are fast to put on.
They stay exactly in the spot on my belt I clipped them to.
They are a PITA to take off, so they won't come off when I don't want them to.
They can be worn OWB or IWB.
They are cheap as dirt.
They don't stab me, so they can be worn indefinitely.
My Leatherman Wave pouch came apart like a two dollar watch a few years ago, and I haven't found a suitable replacement since. The one above took me no time at all to make, and is easy to put on and holds the Wave tight.
You can literally order a ~$7 sheet of .093" kydex from Knifekits.com and, using your wife's hairdryer (or a heat gun), make ten of your own in about 20 minutes. I cut mine out using a bandsaw, but that's because I'm lazy; a razor knife works fine. I just heat up one side at a time and use something flat like a couple of pieces of wood to make the 90 degree angles. Tweak it with some heat and an empty magazine until you get it to hold like you want.
I have a template from the one I came up with if anybody wants it. Just shoot me an email if you do and I'll send it, or if I can remember I'll post it online this week.
Almost every one I've used tries too hard to tilt the top of the magazine in towards the body to aid in concealment. This is great and all, if it didn't cause the corners of the magazine to poke into my flabby bits, making me take the thing off because of discomfort. Only one pouch I've encountered -- a Galco DMC -- does not do this, but instead lets the magazines cant outward, making the fact that I had 34 rounds of ammo readily apparent. The most uncomfortable pouch(s) I've come across was the Fobus paddle type; I have many of them, and every single one of them felt like I was spearing a gladius into my love handles when putting them on. The single Glock mag pouch was fine when it held a shorty Glock 26 magazine, but was unbearable with a tall Glock 17 magazine.
Two mag pouches that work great and are very comfortable are the FIST Double Mag Pouch, and the Bladetech Single Magazine Pouch with Bladetech clip. Both of these beasties do the unthinkable: they hold the magazine completely vertical, so it doesn't rip open your gut or tent your shirt. The only problem is that I don't rock a 1911 anymore, so that's a no go. With that piece of Bladetech praise out of the way, the Tek-Lok mag pouches from Bladetech are an abomination; getting the Tek-Lok clipped on is like trying to feed a mangled fork down in between your belt, and when you get it locked down the mag pouch slides back and forth on your belt. That's a no go. The Safariland Model 74 is an awesome mag pouch, but again stabs the corner of the magazine base plate into my side.
So in the end I decided to make my own to my requirements:
They are fast to put on.
They stay exactly in the spot on my belt I clipped them to.
They are a PITA to take off, so they won't come off when I don't want them to.
They can be worn OWB or IWB.
They are cheap as dirt.
They don't stab me, so they can be worn indefinitely.
My Leatherman Wave pouch came apart like a two dollar watch a few years ago, and I haven't found a suitable replacement since. The one above took me no time at all to make, and is easy to put on and holds the Wave tight.
You can literally order a ~$7 sheet of .093" kydex from Knifekits.com and, using your wife's hairdryer (or a heat gun), make ten of your own in about 20 minutes. I cut mine out using a bandsaw, but that's because I'm lazy; a razor knife works fine. I just heat up one side at a time and use something flat like a couple of pieces of wood to make the 90 degree angles. Tweak it with some heat and an empty magazine until you get it to hold like you want.
I have a template from the one I came up with if anybody wants it. Just shoot me an email if you do and I'll send it, or if I can remember I'll post it online this week.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
SmartCarry Holster Review Illustrated
I've had a SmartCarry holster for the P30 for over a month now, and I have enough data to give a good review. There's lots of reviews out there, but I wanted to make it as inclusive as I could. For ~$50, there's not a lot of risk in buying this holster, and I think for the price it's a smokin' good deal.
I ordered a standard model from their website; I didn't go through a 3rd party to order it, and it took three days for it to get here from Florida. The SmartCarry is made from denim with a waterproof backing and seams made to prevent snags.
For the magazine pouch, to adjust for the height of your spare magazine you use a safety pin. That's all it takes. Fishing down the front of your britches for your magazine when you're at slide lock is another matter, but we'll get to that in a little bit.
This holster is worn below the belt. It works so well at concealing because it has its own belt built in; it's made from elastic and fastened around the waist with velcro. Because of this, there's no clips or loops on the belt around your pants, so there's no trace that you've got anything on you, and on top of that you can tuck your shirt in. Also, because it's in front of your body, there's no printing when you bend. Here's what it looks like hiding it under your pants:
Now, the directions say to secure the SmartCarry's straps around your "hips" so that when you pull up your pants, your belt line sits around your "waist." That is probably correct for some folks, but that's not how it works for me. I do not have an ass to speak of, so my belt and pants slide down until it stops on the only structural part in that area, which is my hips. That is what I consider to be my "waist." The gut that I have accrued over the past few years has formed a shelf above this waist, meaning that I can't make a new waist any higher than that. What I do is strap the SmartCarry straps just below my hip bones, and pull my pants up over them and I'm good to go.
In these pictures I'm wearing 5.11 Covert Cargo pants which work nicely with the SmartCarry. If you look closely under my belt loop on the right side of the picture as you see it (It's on my right as well. The pictures were all taken in the mirror) you can see the only printing you can expect with this holster with a full sized handgun, which is a slight bulge. If your pants sag down throughout the day this bulge will be more apparent as the entire grip will be right up against the belt. I give my pants a quick hike when I stand up from sitting for awhile, and it's good to go. If you're wearing this holster at work with an I.D. badge, clip it to the belt loop above the bulge and it's not an issue.
If you wear a tucked in shirt, definitely wear an undershirt because the velcro on the straps in the back will chafe. Tuck the front of your overshirt behind the SmartCarry, and I would advise tucking the back of your overshirt OVER the strap in the back because it has a tendency to ride up throughout the day, especially when you sit down.
You wouldn't want someone to notice a huge black strap sticking up!
Yeah, I've got the pregnant belly-hold thing going on there in that last picture. So sue me.
They make smaller SmartCarrys for the micro pistols. For fun I thought I'd show you how well this holster would conceal a mouse gun: here's what it looks like hiding a Kahr PM9 9mm with its 3" barrel:
There's no bulge at all. I could wear this holster with the PM9 to the gym under running shorts and nobody would have a clue.
Something most of the reviews on the internet don't mention is that while this holster works great with the right pants, it can go all wrong if you wear the wrong ones. Trust me on this. You have a lot going on in this region of your body as it is: a shirt, undershirt, underwear, pants, and belt are competing for room with a holster, magazine, and pistol. Make sure there's enough room for everybody or some of your softer bits can get mashed when you sit down, and your skivvies will bunch up when you walk.
First, you don't have to go out and buy pants with a larger waist size; keep the pants you already have and use them. Definitely try all your work pants on with this holster beforehand to find the ones that work best. What you need to be concerned about is that your pants have a deep enough crotch. If the distance between the top of your pants and the crotch is short, when you sit or bend down the muzzle of your gun will print this massive, blocky bulge that is sure to startle your co-workers at the water cooler:
Sorry about the mega crotch shot, but somebody had to do it. I don't recall the brand of pants in the above picture, but I got them from Kohls. The front of your pants shouldn't be tight or you'll end up looking like you're wearing a diaper. Or a gun down your pants. Pleated pants do help to get rid of the bulge, as do darker colors:
I wore this under LA Police Gear Operator pants yesterday in front of my family, who all know I carry, and told them to guess where I was carrying while I lifted my jacket, and they had no idea. A full sized gun just disappears. Somebody mentioned in a forum somewhere that you can wear the SmartCarry appendix style and tuck your shirt in over it:
It works okay that way, but wouldn't be my first choice. I didn't check retention like that either, so I can't speak for how well it would hold my gun while a scumbag was kicking me on the ground. Since there's no retention strap, I have to think the gun would come out in my shirt.
The SmartCarry is comfortable when you sit and when you drive. That's a big question that comes up. For me, if my pants have sagged down some and I don't hike them up before I sit, the back of the gun's slide will hit my belt, and my belt will collide with the shelf that my gut makes, which is uncomfortable but only takes a quick adjustment to fix. To prevent this I hike my belt a tad before sitting down and it doesn't happen. Driving for an hour or two, I don't have any issues or need to make any adjustments. It's like I have a 26 oz. weight sitting in my lap. No problem. When walking, I can feel the edges of the holster slightly, more so while walking up stairs, but it's not a concern. I think I could run comfortably wearing this, but I'd have to test it to be sure before hitting the treadmill at the gym.
Bathroom breaks are something to talk about. For a trip to the urinal, just follow the instructions that come with the holster and you'll be fine. There's a piece of the holster underneath the magazine and safety pin that's not occupied by metal, and you can use that to your advantage to gain that extra half inch of comfort. It's the sit down bathroom trips that are easy: again, do what the instructions say - pull your pants down and pull the holster, gun and all, up to your chest and let your shirt come down over it. It takes a moment to do this, and in the slight chance some sicko is watching you do your business, there's nothing showing and you still have quick access to your heater in case Tangos kick in the stall door.
Another concern is how fast the draw is. What good is having a pistol on you if you can't get to it, right? I went out yesterday and did some draws while on the timer so that my dear readers would know. Oh, the things I go through for y'all! While I did forget to bring a standard IWB holster to get some comparative times for (AIWB I average around 1.6 seconds), I managed to get lots of draw times on the SmartCarry, and I was impressed. I've done some dry fire at the house, but this was the first live fire I did with it. I warmed up with 50 rounds from the draw before going for time, and when I started recording times I went for 33 rounds single firing from the draw. My slowest time was 2.95 seconds, and my fastest time was 2.14 seconds, with an average of 2.54 seconds. I was shooting at an 8" steel target at 7 yards with 115 grain Federal FMJ rounds out of the P30, and was wearing the LA Police Gear Operator pants with 5.11 Operator belt, tucked in T-shirt and unzipped jacket.
From my notes, I had one draw that snagged on the front sight which pulled the holster out of my pants. The time during that draw was still 2.59 seconds, so it wasn't critical. I also fumbled a draw - from my notes it was because I'm a moron, and not a fault of the holster. The time on that one was my slowest draw at 2.95 seconds. With the snagged front sight, I found that if I didn't draw the pistol straight up, but canted the butt of the pistol down towards my foot, the sharp edges of the front sight would grab the inside of the holster and pull it out of my pants. Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire. That will keep that from happening. My technique for drawing was to hook the thumb of my support hand into my waistband, minimizing the amount of flesh which would obscure my draw, and then reach down with my gun hand and grab/draw the gun. Keep the grip angled in towards the body during the draw or you'll hit the butt on your belt, which will foul you up. Also, I found it helpful to suck in my gut some so I didn't bang my hand on my gut shelf thingie. A pro tip: before you go to the range for a practice session, trim your nails and file the edges so that they're not sharp or you will tear your gun hand up on your support hand thumb nail.
I did not try any weak hand or strong hand only draws, and I think they would be challenging without a lot of practice. One thing that bothers me about this holster is if I'm holding a child in one arm -- will I be able to draw? It would certainly take longer than a draw from AIWB holster. I'll have to practice that one and find out (not with a living child, of course).
I found two ways to re-holster: pull the SmartCarry up out of your pants, holster the gun, and then tuck it all back in; or, do a reverse of your draw by hooking your waistband with your support hand thumb and reaching in with your gun hand. Just be sure you're watching/paying attention or you can miss the gun pocket on the holster (it's cloth and doesn't stay open) and drop your gun down your pants. Then you can't tell your friends you're a smooth operator. Going for the spare magazine is something that needs to be practiced, as my reloads were an abomination. The hard part is that you have to grab the spare magazine with your support hand, and not with the assistance of your gun hand. Also, your shirt may be fouled up from the initial draw, so there's that to contend with, too. All in all though, you have the option of a reload which is normally not available with deep concealment carry.
In summary, I'm a big fan of the SmartCarry. It's the most concealable way to carry a full sized handgun with spare magazine in comfort if you want to carry without any chance whatsoever at exposing your gun. The draw is obviously slower than IWB carry, but is comparable to pocket carry and you have the option to pull a fighting pistol instead of a mousegun. For me, it won't take the place of AIWB carry, but it works well for day to day carry. There are people on forums who say it doesn't work for them, and that may be true, but for $50 you would be well served to give the SmartCarry a try.
I ordered a standard model from their website; I didn't go through a 3rd party to order it, and it took three days for it to get here from Florida. The SmartCarry is made from denim with a waterproof backing and seams made to prevent snags.
For the magazine pouch, to adjust for the height of your spare magazine you use a safety pin. That's all it takes. Fishing down the front of your britches for your magazine when you're at slide lock is another matter, but we'll get to that in a little bit.
This holster is worn below the belt. It works so well at concealing because it has its own belt built in; it's made from elastic and fastened around the waist with velcro. Because of this, there's no clips or loops on the belt around your pants, so there's no trace that you've got anything on you, and on top of that you can tuck your shirt in. Also, because it's in front of your body, there's no printing when you bend. Here's what it looks like hiding it under your pants:
Now, the directions say to secure the SmartCarry's straps around your "hips" so that when you pull up your pants, your belt line sits around your "waist." That is probably correct for some folks, but that's not how it works for me. I do not have an ass to speak of, so my belt and pants slide down until it stops on the only structural part in that area, which is my hips. That is what I consider to be my "waist." The gut that I have accrued over the past few years has formed a shelf above this waist, meaning that I can't make a new waist any higher than that. What I do is strap the SmartCarry straps just below my hip bones, and pull my pants up over them and I'm good to go.
In these pictures I'm wearing 5.11 Covert Cargo pants which work nicely with the SmartCarry. If you look closely under my belt loop on the right side of the picture as you see it (It's on my right as well. The pictures were all taken in the mirror) you can see the only printing you can expect with this holster with a full sized handgun, which is a slight bulge. If your pants sag down throughout the day this bulge will be more apparent as the entire grip will be right up against the belt. I give my pants a quick hike when I stand up from sitting for awhile, and it's good to go. If you're wearing this holster at work with an I.D. badge, clip it to the belt loop above the bulge and it's not an issue.
If you wear a tucked in shirt, definitely wear an undershirt because the velcro on the straps in the back will chafe. Tuck the front of your overshirt behind the SmartCarry, and I would advise tucking the back of your overshirt OVER the strap in the back because it has a tendency to ride up throughout the day, especially when you sit down.
You wouldn't want someone to notice a huge black strap sticking up!
Yeah, I've got the pregnant belly-hold thing going on there in that last picture. So sue me.
They make smaller SmartCarrys for the micro pistols. For fun I thought I'd show you how well this holster would conceal a mouse gun: here's what it looks like hiding a Kahr PM9 9mm with its 3" barrel:
There's no bulge at all. I could wear this holster with the PM9 to the gym under running shorts and nobody would have a clue.
Something most of the reviews on the internet don't mention is that while this holster works great with the right pants, it can go all wrong if you wear the wrong ones. Trust me on this. You have a lot going on in this region of your body as it is: a shirt, undershirt, underwear, pants, and belt are competing for room with a holster, magazine, and pistol. Make sure there's enough room for everybody or some of your softer bits can get mashed when you sit down, and your skivvies will bunch up when you walk.
First, you don't have to go out and buy pants with a larger waist size; keep the pants you already have and use them. Definitely try all your work pants on with this holster beforehand to find the ones that work best. What you need to be concerned about is that your pants have a deep enough crotch. If the distance between the top of your pants and the crotch is short, when you sit or bend down the muzzle of your gun will print this massive, blocky bulge that is sure to startle your co-workers at the water cooler:
Sorry about the mega crotch shot, but somebody had to do it. I don't recall the brand of pants in the above picture, but I got them from Kohls. The front of your pants shouldn't be tight or you'll end up looking like you're wearing a diaper. Or a gun down your pants. Pleated pants do help to get rid of the bulge, as do darker colors:
I wore this under LA Police Gear Operator pants yesterday in front of my family, who all know I carry, and told them to guess where I was carrying while I lifted my jacket, and they had no idea. A full sized gun just disappears. Somebody mentioned in a forum somewhere that you can wear the SmartCarry appendix style and tuck your shirt in over it:
It works okay that way, but wouldn't be my first choice. I didn't check retention like that either, so I can't speak for how well it would hold my gun while a scumbag was kicking me on the ground. Since there's no retention strap, I have to think the gun would come out in my shirt.
The SmartCarry is comfortable when you sit and when you drive. That's a big question that comes up. For me, if my pants have sagged down some and I don't hike them up before I sit, the back of the gun's slide will hit my belt, and my belt will collide with the shelf that my gut makes, which is uncomfortable but only takes a quick adjustment to fix. To prevent this I hike my belt a tad before sitting down and it doesn't happen. Driving for an hour or two, I don't have any issues or need to make any adjustments. It's like I have a 26 oz. weight sitting in my lap. No problem. When walking, I can feel the edges of the holster slightly, more so while walking up stairs, but it's not a concern. I think I could run comfortably wearing this, but I'd have to test it to be sure before hitting the treadmill at the gym.
Bathroom breaks are something to talk about. For a trip to the urinal, just follow the instructions that come with the holster and you'll be fine. There's a piece of the holster underneath the magazine and safety pin that's not occupied by metal, and you can use that to your advantage to gain that extra half inch of comfort. It's the sit down bathroom trips that are easy: again, do what the instructions say - pull your pants down and pull the holster, gun and all, up to your chest and let your shirt come down over it. It takes a moment to do this, and in the slight chance some sicko is watching you do your business, there's nothing showing and you still have quick access to your heater in case Tangos kick in the stall door.
Another concern is how fast the draw is. What good is having a pistol on you if you can't get to it, right? I went out yesterday and did some draws while on the timer so that my dear readers would know. Oh, the things I go through for y'all! While I did forget to bring a standard IWB holster to get some comparative times for (AIWB I average around 1.6 seconds), I managed to get lots of draw times on the SmartCarry, and I was impressed. I've done some dry fire at the house, but this was the first live fire I did with it. I warmed up with 50 rounds from the draw before going for time, and when I started recording times I went for 33 rounds single firing from the draw. My slowest time was 2.95 seconds, and my fastest time was 2.14 seconds, with an average of 2.54 seconds. I was shooting at an 8" steel target at 7 yards with 115 grain Federal FMJ rounds out of the P30, and was wearing the LA Police Gear Operator pants with 5.11 Operator belt, tucked in T-shirt and unzipped jacket.
From my notes, I had one draw that snagged on the front sight which pulled the holster out of my pants. The time during that draw was still 2.59 seconds, so it wasn't critical. I also fumbled a draw - from my notes it was because I'm a moron, and not a fault of the holster. The time on that one was my slowest draw at 2.95 seconds. With the snagged front sight, I found that if I didn't draw the pistol straight up, but canted the butt of the pistol down towards my foot, the sharp edges of the front sight would grab the inside of the holster and pull it out of my pants. Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire. That will keep that from happening. My technique for drawing was to hook the thumb of my support hand into my waistband, minimizing the amount of flesh which would obscure my draw, and then reach down with my gun hand and grab/draw the gun. Keep the grip angled in towards the body during the draw or you'll hit the butt on your belt, which will foul you up. Also, I found it helpful to suck in my gut some so I didn't bang my hand on my gut shelf thingie. A pro tip: before you go to the range for a practice session, trim your nails and file the edges so that they're not sharp or you will tear your gun hand up on your support hand thumb nail.
I did not try any weak hand or strong hand only draws, and I think they would be challenging without a lot of practice. One thing that bothers me about this holster is if I'm holding a child in one arm -- will I be able to draw? It would certainly take longer than a draw from AIWB holster. I'll have to practice that one and find out (not with a living child, of course).
I found two ways to re-holster: pull the SmartCarry up out of your pants, holster the gun, and then tuck it all back in; or, do a reverse of your draw by hooking your waistband with your support hand thumb and reaching in with your gun hand. Just be sure you're watching/paying attention or you can miss the gun pocket on the holster (it's cloth and doesn't stay open) and drop your gun down your pants. Then you can't tell your friends you're a smooth operator. Going for the spare magazine is something that needs to be practiced, as my reloads were an abomination. The hard part is that you have to grab the spare magazine with your support hand, and not with the assistance of your gun hand. Also, your shirt may be fouled up from the initial draw, so there's that to contend with, too. All in all though, you have the option of a reload which is normally not available with deep concealment carry.
In summary, I'm a big fan of the SmartCarry. It's the most concealable way to carry a full sized handgun with spare magazine in comfort if you want to carry without any chance whatsoever at exposing your gun. The draw is obviously slower than IWB carry, but is comparable to pocket carry and you have the option to pull a fighting pistol instead of a mousegun. For me, it won't take the place of AIWB carry, but it works well for day to day carry. There are people on forums who say it doesn't work for them, and that may be true, but for $50 you would be well served to give the SmartCarry a try.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Cooking with CTone
I used to think I couldn't cook to save my life, but this weekend I discovered that I have some talent. In this case, I'm not talking about cooking food; I'm talking about cooking plastic!
Like a black hole, I've been pulling in all sorts of tools for a special project that I've been working on for about half a year, and while I was at it I picked up some tools for making kydex holsters. I successfully made three holsters this weekend, though I only have pictures of one. This is the second holster I made, this time for the P30 -- here is the inside piece of kydex sitting with it in the kydex press while the outside piece cooks in the oven:
The first holster was for a PM9, and the learning curve told me to block the ejection port and tape it with blue painter's tape. I tried to get a picture of the inside of the oven, but it came out kind of gross, so I deleted it. After the piece cooks for 8 - 10 minutes (270 degrees worked best for me), I slid the piece off the bottom of the flat cookie sheet and onto the press, quickly sat the gun on the pencil marks I made, and locked it down:
Here's what it looks like when it's done cooling, which takes around 10 more minutes:
I cut two pieces, leaving an ear on the front side to fold over for a "wedge" to tuck the grip for AIWB carry:
As you can see, there's plenty of definition from the molding. Too much, actually; you have to work the piece over carefully with a heat gun to fine tune it, because if you don't the gun will be stuck fast. It's easiest to mold each side by itself so you have time to possition the gun properly and get a good mold. The two halves are held together with rivets, and to do that you need rivetting dies which I used with an arbor press. I really should have taken pictures of that process, which I'll have to do with the next holster I make. Once the two halves are riveted together, I trim them to shape on a bandsaw and rough finish the edges with a belt grinder and a 120 belt, finishing up with a file and some hand sanding:
Not the greatest picture, I know. I took that one first thing this morning in my dark kitchen as the youngest Beast slept several feet away in the Swing of Peace. There's a bit more to it than acounted for in this post, but I assure you it's easy (except for belt clips; those are a PITA). You can make a kydex press with some lumber, a couple of cheap hinges, and a yoga mat, but this press wasn't too spendy, so I went that route. Basically, for the price of a decent kydex holster, I have all the tools I need to make as many holsters as I want. Cooking is fun!
Like a black hole, I've been pulling in all sorts of tools for a special project that I've been working on for about half a year, and while I was at it I picked up some tools for making kydex holsters. I successfully made three holsters this weekend, though I only have pictures of one. This is the second holster I made, this time for the P30 -- here is the inside piece of kydex sitting with it in the kydex press while the outside piece cooks in the oven:
The first holster was for a PM9, and the learning curve told me to block the ejection port and tape it with blue painter's tape. I tried to get a picture of the inside of the oven, but it came out kind of gross, so I deleted it. After the piece cooks for 8 - 10 minutes (270 degrees worked best for me), I slid the piece off the bottom of the flat cookie sheet and onto the press, quickly sat the gun on the pencil marks I made, and locked it down:
Here's what it looks like when it's done cooling, which takes around 10 more minutes:
I cut two pieces, leaving an ear on the front side to fold over for a "wedge" to tuck the grip for AIWB carry:
As you can see, there's plenty of definition from the molding. Too much, actually; you have to work the piece over carefully with a heat gun to fine tune it, because if you don't the gun will be stuck fast. It's easiest to mold each side by itself so you have time to possition the gun properly and get a good mold. The two halves are held together with rivets, and to do that you need rivetting dies which I used with an arbor press. I really should have taken pictures of that process, which I'll have to do with the next holster I make. Once the two halves are riveted together, I trim them to shape on a bandsaw and rough finish the edges with a belt grinder and a 120 belt, finishing up with a file and some hand sanding:
Not the greatest picture, I know. I took that one first thing this morning in my dark kitchen as the youngest Beast slept several feet away in the Swing of Peace. There's a bit more to it than acounted for in this post, but I assure you it's easy (except for belt clips; those are a PITA). You can make a kydex press with some lumber, a couple of cheap hinges, and a yoga mat, but this press wasn't too spendy, so I went that route. Basically, for the price of a decent kydex holster, I have all the tools I need to make as many holsters as I want. Cooking is fun!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Raven Concealment Systems Vanguard 2
There's a thread at Pistol-Forum.com and a thread at ARFCOM covering this new holster. It's meant to be for AIWB carry, but would probably work just fine anywhere on the belt, as well as for other modes of carry. The ARFCOM thread is far less understanding towards the VG2, as there are many naysayers there that pooh-pooh AIWB carry in general. It's kind of like clicking on a "show your watch" thread and finding a bunch of morons posting pictures of their iphone.
Looking at the VG2, it seems to me that they were trying to make the original Vanguard holster adjust for ride height and give it better retention. It's the same thing I was going for with my modified Zack holster, but better executed.
The VG2 is also tuckable, and that's a big deal when you can get it, and with a projected cost of $40 or less it's a bargain. I'll have to try one before too long.
Looking at the VG2, it seems to me that they were trying to make the original Vanguard holster adjust for ride height and give it better retention. It's the same thing I was going for with my modified Zack holster, but better executed.
The VG2 is also tuckable, and that's a big deal when you can get it, and with a projected cost of $40 or less it's a bargain. I'll have to try one before too long.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
US Army uniform insanity
The Army is again looking at changing the camouflage pattern and uniform for combat. There are some really crappy patterns in there that they're looking at, which means that that's what the Army is likely to chose if the past tells us anything.
The Marine Corps did it right with the Woodland and Desert digital camo, as they realized early on that one pattern does not work in every environment. With that, the uniform is designed well, is rugged, and feels like pajamas compared to the starched Woodland BDU. If you've never had the pleasure of wearing the Army ACU, it's a shitty piece of shit; quite literally the opposite of the Marine Corps uniform. Going to the Multicam pattern was a smart move overall, I think, but now the Army is poised to piss away more funds on camouflage pattern trials.
The Marine Corps did it right with the Woodland and Desert digital camo, as they realized early on that one pattern does not work in every environment. With that, the uniform is designed well, is rugged, and feels like pajamas compared to the starched Woodland BDU. If you've never had the pleasure of wearing the Army ACU, it's a shitty piece of shit; quite literally the opposite of the Marine Corps uniform. Going to the Multicam pattern was a smart move overall, I think, but now the Army is poised to piss away more funds on camouflage pattern trials.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
TAC TV
I finished up the two part series last night where Larry Vickers torture tests two Glock pistols: a 3rd gen Glock 17 and a 4th gen Glock 17. While there are countless stories and posts of people torturing Glocks and AR15s, Larry Vickers' tests are epic and educational. There was no disappointment in both the Glock 17 tests, or the Daniel Defense carbine tests; the rifle from the latter test I personally saw at this year's Modern Day Marine Convention, and it looked like hell. I took a cellphone pic, but it turned out to be blurry.
***Spoiler alert: if you want to watch the video and find out for yourself what the outcome was of the Glock 17 tests, take a hike.
There were some of the usual tests, like freezing the pistols in water, burying them in dirt, tossing them in muddy water, and running them over with a truck. All in all, they never failed to fire. In part 1, Larry had the truck run over both of the loaded magazines on concrete. That was telling; the magazines bulged a bit, with the 4th gen magazine baseplate looking mangled. They still fired great, and I note that each pistol used the same magazine for all the tests. Another interesting part is when Larry shot the pistols with #8 shot from a shotgun at 15 yards. It stippled the polymer grips, but didn't break them. Both guns were thrown (loaded, for every test) from a helicopter at 500 feet, and as can be expected, both guns ran fine when they were recovered, and right before that test they were both thrown from a moving vehicle onto gravel. Besides being scratched up, the guns were fine.
The test that separated the men from the boys, so to speak, is when Larry detonated 30 lbs of tannerite about three feet away from a mannequin with both pistols holstered. The decision was made to have them in kydex holsters because this is how cops and the military transport their sidearms. A coffee cup sized jar of tannerite makes a decent sized explosion, and the Glock employees who were present for this test were obviously not prepared for the size bang that they got; it was enough to turn a car into a john boat, if it had been done that way. It took the crew awhile to find both guns -- the 3rd gen fired just fine; the 4th gen's slide had come partially off, which took a minute to get back on, and the trigger was blown away. Larry cycled the slide a few times, loaded one round, and fired the gun using a multi-tool in lieu of the trigger. Very impressive.
It's possible that other firearms can take this sort of abuse and still function, but it's telling to actually see it, which is good advertisement for Glock. When the conversation of guns turns to "torture test", usually the image of Glock comes up, since Glock owners gleefully beat them up just to find out what it takes to make them stop ticking. I've found this thought process applies to Cold Steel knives as well; there are plenty of hard core knives out there that will take punishment, but Cold Steel does a comprehensive test on all their knives every other year. Say what you want to about it, but Glock and Cold Steel definitely put their money where their mouth is, and I continue to support them.
***Spoiler alert: if you want to watch the video and find out for yourself what the outcome was of the Glock 17 tests, take a hike.
There were some of the usual tests, like freezing the pistols in water, burying them in dirt, tossing them in muddy water, and running them over with a truck. All in all, they never failed to fire. In part 1, Larry had the truck run over both of the loaded magazines on concrete. That was telling; the magazines bulged a bit, with the 4th gen magazine baseplate looking mangled. They still fired great, and I note that each pistol used the same magazine for all the tests. Another interesting part is when Larry shot the pistols with #8 shot from a shotgun at 15 yards. It stippled the polymer grips, but didn't break them. Both guns were thrown (loaded, for every test) from a helicopter at 500 feet, and as can be expected, both guns ran fine when they were recovered, and right before that test they were both thrown from a moving vehicle onto gravel. Besides being scratched up, the guns were fine.
The test that separated the men from the boys, so to speak, is when Larry detonated 30 lbs of tannerite about three feet away from a mannequin with both pistols holstered. The decision was made to have them in kydex holsters because this is how cops and the military transport their sidearms. A coffee cup sized jar of tannerite makes a decent sized explosion, and the Glock employees who were present for this test were obviously not prepared for the size bang that they got; it was enough to turn a car into a john boat, if it had been done that way. It took the crew awhile to find both guns -- the 3rd gen fired just fine; the 4th gen's slide had come partially off, which took a minute to get back on, and the trigger was blown away. Larry cycled the slide a few times, loaded one round, and fired the gun using a multi-tool in lieu of the trigger. Very impressive.
It's possible that other firearms can take this sort of abuse and still function, but it's telling to actually see it, which is good advertisement for Glock. When the conversation of guns turns to "torture test", usually the image of Glock comes up, since Glock owners gleefully beat them up just to find out what it takes to make them stop ticking. I've found this thought process applies to Cold Steel knives as well; there are plenty of hard core knives out there that will take punishment, but Cold Steel does a comprehensive test on all their knives every other year. Say what you want to about it, but Glock and Cold Steel definitely put their money where their mouth is, and I continue to support them.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Hornady Critical Duty
Huh huh huh. . . . .'duty'. . . .huh huh huh huh.
Yes, I'm a child.
I saw this stuff this weekend on Guns & Ammo TV where Patrick Sweeney and Dave Emary from Hornady's engineering department ran them through the FBI's test protocol. It's pretty impressive. A major hangup for some folks regarding the Critical Defense lineup is that it's not designed to pass these tests, but the Critical Duty lineup looks good to go. It does remedy the problem of hollow point ammo clogging up with denim or other materials and failing to expand because it has the Flexlock tip in the nose just like Critical Defense ammo. It's also not a bonded bullet; the core is mechanically locked to the jacket using a deep groove, which is the same concept of the non-bonded Remington Golden Saber bullet, but better executed. From what I saw on the show, the expansion is not as dramatic as some of the other defensive ammo on the market, which is probably why it was so uniform with penetration.
It is being tauted as "Law Enforcement Ammo", but at least it's not emblazoned on the box, not that I can tell anyways. For 9mm, there's a standard pressure and +P offering in 135 grains, with both of them being more towards the hot side. The 175 grain 40 S&W load seems to be rather warm as well.
Here's more from Shooting Illustrated.
***ETA -- Hornady has some additional information on their website where they compare Critical Defense and Critical Duty. I note this:
Yes, I'm a child.
I saw this stuff this weekend on Guns & Ammo TV where Patrick Sweeney and Dave Emary from Hornady's engineering department ran them through the FBI's test protocol. It's pretty impressive. A major hangup for some folks regarding the Critical Defense lineup is that it's not designed to pass these tests, but the Critical Duty lineup looks good to go. It does remedy the problem of hollow point ammo clogging up with denim or other materials and failing to expand because it has the Flexlock tip in the nose just like Critical Defense ammo. It's also not a bonded bullet; the core is mechanically locked to the jacket using a deep groove, which is the same concept of the non-bonded Remington Golden Saber bullet, but better executed. From what I saw on the show, the expansion is not as dramatic as some of the other defensive ammo on the market, which is probably why it was so uniform with penetration.
It is being tauted as "Law Enforcement Ammo", but at least it's not emblazoned on the box, not that I can tell anyways. For 9mm, there's a standard pressure and +P offering in 135 grains, with both of them being more towards the hot side. The 175 grain 40 S&W load seems to be rather warm as well.
Here's more from Shooting Illustrated.
***ETA -- Hornady has some additional information on their website where they compare Critical Defense and Critical Duty. I note this:
Critical DUTY™ handgun ammunition is built to meet the needs and requirements of LAW ENFORCEMENT and TACTICAL PROFESSIONALS, as well as those law abiding citizens who prefer a full-size handgun for their personal protection and demand superior barrier penetration and subsequent terminal performance.*
Friday, December 2, 2011
What he said
There is a review at Military Morons covering the Vicker's magazine release and slide stop. I've recently put both of these products on my Glock 17 and 26, and find them to be an excellent. Glock should really put both of these on their guns in the factory; they're indispensable. I like my Glocks to have commonality of parts so that they feel the same, so all modifications are done the same for both.
I have large hands, and even I can't reach the stock Glock magazine release without changing my grip. The Vicker's mag release is just long enough that I can dump the mag without changing my grip, but not long enough to inadvertently drop the mag if the gun is placed on its side on a flat surface. Installation is about as easy as changing a memory card in a camera.
On stock Glock pistols, there is what they call a "slide stop", as Glock firmly recommends using the overhand method to charge the gun with a cartridge from a freshly inserted magazine. The slide stop can be used to release the slide, but it's very hard to do, especially under stress. Glock also has an aftermarket extended slide release that you can add to the gun, and it works very well -- too well for folks like myself who are used to a "high thumbs" grip from shooting 1911s. This grip can cause either one of the thumbs to be in contact with the slide release, which often results in the slide not locking back when the magazine runs out; and for me, it also causes the slide release to ride against the slide, inducing malfunctions. The remedy is the Vicker's slide release modeled after the Smith & Wesson M&P slide release.
Installation of this part takes a whopping minute or so with the use of a punch to press out a pin. Piece of cake. It's very unobtrusive, and yet is very easy to get to when you're dropping a locked slide on a fresh round. I'm a big fan. Both of these parts combined cost less then $30 dollars, and I highly recommend them.
I have large hands, and even I can't reach the stock Glock magazine release without changing my grip. The Vicker's mag release is just long enough that I can dump the mag without changing my grip, but not long enough to inadvertently drop the mag if the gun is placed on its side on a flat surface. Installation is about as easy as changing a memory card in a camera.
On stock Glock pistols, there is what they call a "slide stop", as Glock firmly recommends using the overhand method to charge the gun with a cartridge from a freshly inserted magazine. The slide stop can be used to release the slide, but it's very hard to do, especially under stress. Glock also has an aftermarket extended slide release that you can add to the gun, and it works very well -- too well for folks like myself who are used to a "high thumbs" grip from shooting 1911s. This grip can cause either one of the thumbs to be in contact with the slide release, which often results in the slide not locking back when the magazine runs out; and for me, it also causes the slide release to ride against the slide, inducing malfunctions. The remedy is the Vicker's slide release modeled after the Smith & Wesson M&P slide release.
Installation of this part takes a whopping minute or so with the use of a punch to press out a pin. Piece of cake. It's very unobtrusive, and yet is very easy to get to when you're dropping a locked slide on a fresh round. I'm a big fan. Both of these parts combined cost less then $30 dollars, and I highly recommend them.
Monday, November 21, 2011
I dig this multi-use shovel
The pun. . .the puuuuun!
Anyways, The Crovel looks like a solid piece of gear to own for when the zombies attack while the world ends, or if you just got your XTerra stuck in the mud during a thunder storm. My truck is outfitted with a machete, an axe, and a WWII folding shovel that my Opa had on his back when he was in Korea (I don't know if he had it with him on Normandy, but I wish I had known to ask). It would be handy to have all of those tools combined into one.
Anyways, The Crovel looks like a solid piece of gear to own for when the zombies attack while the world ends, or if you just got your XTerra stuck in the mud during a thunder storm. My truck is outfitted with a machete, an axe, and a WWII folding shovel that my Opa had on his back when he was in Korea (I don't know if he had it with him on Normandy, but I wish I had known to ask). It would be handy to have all of those tools combined into one.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Appendix IWB on the cheap
I've been experimenting left and right with affordable ways to appendix carry a handgun, and I've had a decent amount of success. Here's some stuff I've been messing around with:
Click the pictures to make them bigger, and also feel free to browse my growing four+ year old collection of pictures at Photobucket.
The Bladetech Nano (top left) for my Glock 17 is a well made holster, and is suitable for AIWB carry if you're not too concerned with concealment. It's very thin, light, and the attachment loops are spread apart which keeps the profile thin for waistband comfort, but it also doesn't tuck the gun's grip in towards the abdomen. I've tried to modify it to make it conceal better, and I have one more idea, but so far I've struck out. I think it set me back about $35, and for that price it's a steal.
Next to a plain old Bladetech IWB holster that I've modified, you can see the difference in the belt loops and that there's less holster overall. Keeping those loops out to the side makes a big difference, as the amount of thickness stuffed in between your belt and jelly roll is minimal:
I've had great success with the Bladetech IWB, and I had to do some more modifications since my last post. I've now mounted the plug/spacer/old-rubber-piece-from-a-rifle's-buttstock directly to the holster, instead of to a strip of leather, and it works better, but the screws holding it on are dragging on the trigger guard. Back to the drawing board.
The DeSantis Sof-Tuck I got on sale at Midway for $15, and it's a very sturdy and well made holster. It is a bit thick, as the tuckable J-hook piece adds material between the gun and the waistband, but it does hold the Glock 26 well:
I recommend the baggie-over-the-gun-stuffed-in-the-holster trick to loosen it up a bit. I didn't get any concealment pictures of it with the Glock, but you did see the same holster a few days ago with a Kahr CW9.
The Zack holster is still good to go. I've modified it a bit so that I can put the gun on and take it off the belt without unholstering the pistol. This is done as a margin of safety, as unholstering a gun and laying it on the car seat next to you while you jack around the front of your pants is not exactly the safest idea:
I've even modded it since that picture was taken by drilling new holes in the back of the belt clip, near the top, and running the cord through there. The gun sits at a perfect height in my waistband, doesn't move around, and is still tuckable for concealment if you so desire:
A word of caution here: because the Glock 26 has such a short slide, it can pop up out of your waistband if you have a spare tire around your guts. Since there isn't much slide down inside the pants, if you push your gut out while bending over down to the ground, there is enough leverage against the grip to potentially shove the whole piece out of your belt. I can make it do this, but I have to try to make it happen. It's a double edged sword -- the Glock 26 conceals so well in this holster because the grip is short and doesn't stick out, and the Glock 17 is way more secure because its longer slide gives opposing leverage preventing it from coming out, but it doesn't conceal as well because the grip is longer. I wear my pants low enough that the gun sits just below my gut, so in effect my jelly roll becomes a retention device, so I can make the Glock 26 work.
I also found an AIWB holster where I didn't expect it: inside my pocket. I was thinking about the Remora holsters the other day, which don't expose any clips or loops or such, and it struck me that the DeSantis Super Fly is basically the same thing, so I gave it a whirl:
I'm happy to report that it works perfectly. I left the detachable shield thingy on it to give more traction, and was careful when tucking it that I didn't jam my shirt up underneath of it, so that if I had to draw it it would yank the whole thing out. I did have all day comfort without any movement or loops showing, so there's another option for carry. I have one of these also for the Glock 26, and I'm going to give that a go to see if it will work.
So there it is. Cheap AIWB solutions. It's a dirty job, but someone has to throw themself onto the alter of concealment. Folks, it's not easy trying on holsters all day, taking pictures of your crotch in the dirty mirror in the kid's bathroom, but I do it for you, dear readers!
Click the pictures to make them bigger, and also feel free to browse my growing four+ year old collection of pictures at Photobucket.
The Bladetech Nano (top left) for my Glock 17 is a well made holster, and is suitable for AIWB carry if you're not too concerned with concealment. It's very thin, light, and the attachment loops are spread apart which keeps the profile thin for waistband comfort, but it also doesn't tuck the gun's grip in towards the abdomen. I've tried to modify it to make it conceal better, and I have one more idea, but so far I've struck out. I think it set me back about $35, and for that price it's a steal.
Next to a plain old Bladetech IWB holster that I've modified, you can see the difference in the belt loops and that there's less holster overall. Keeping those loops out to the side makes a big difference, as the amount of thickness stuffed in between your belt and jelly roll is minimal:
I've had great success with the Bladetech IWB, and I had to do some more modifications since my last post. I've now mounted the plug/spacer/old-rubber-piece-from-a-rifle's-buttstock directly to the holster, instead of to a strip of leather, and it works better, but the screws holding it on are dragging on the trigger guard. Back to the drawing board.
The DeSantis Sof-Tuck I got on sale at Midway for $15, and it's a very sturdy and well made holster. It is a bit thick, as the tuckable J-hook piece adds material between the gun and the waistband, but it does hold the Glock 26 well:
I recommend the baggie-over-the-gun-stuffed-in-the-holster trick to loosen it up a bit. I didn't get any concealment pictures of it with the Glock, but you did see the same holster a few days ago with a Kahr CW9.
The Zack holster is still good to go. I've modified it a bit so that I can put the gun on and take it off the belt without unholstering the pistol. This is done as a margin of safety, as unholstering a gun and laying it on the car seat next to you while you jack around the front of your pants is not exactly the safest idea:
I've even modded it since that picture was taken by drilling new holes in the back of the belt clip, near the top, and running the cord through there. The gun sits at a perfect height in my waistband, doesn't move around, and is still tuckable for concealment if you so desire:
A word of caution here: because the Glock 26 has such a short slide, it can pop up out of your waistband if you have a spare tire around your guts. Since there isn't much slide down inside the pants, if you push your gut out while bending over down to the ground, there is enough leverage against the grip to potentially shove the whole piece out of your belt. I can make it do this, but I have to try to make it happen. It's a double edged sword -- the Glock 26 conceals so well in this holster because the grip is short and doesn't stick out, and the Glock 17 is way more secure because its longer slide gives opposing leverage preventing it from coming out, but it doesn't conceal as well because the grip is longer. I wear my pants low enough that the gun sits just below my gut, so in effect my jelly roll becomes a retention device, so I can make the Glock 26 work.
I also found an AIWB holster where I didn't expect it: inside my pocket. I was thinking about the Remora holsters the other day, which don't expose any clips or loops or such, and it struck me that the DeSantis Super Fly is basically the same thing, so I gave it a whirl:
I'm happy to report that it works perfectly. I left the detachable shield thingy on it to give more traction, and was careful when tucking it that I didn't jam my shirt up underneath of it, so that if I had to draw it it would yank the whole thing out. I did have all day comfort without any movement or loops showing, so there's another option for carry. I have one of these also for the Glock 26, and I'm going to give that a go to see if it will work.
So there it is. Cheap AIWB solutions. It's a dirty job, but someone has to throw themself onto the alter of concealment. Folks, it's not easy trying on holsters all day, taking pictures of your crotch in the dirty mirror in the kid's bathroom, but I do it for you, dear readers!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Small pistol AIWB
A couple of weeks ago my brother showed me his Kahr CW9 in its new DeSantis Sof-Tuck, and I tried it out to see how it would fare carried AWIB. I did a hasty shirt tuck, and then my brother took some pictures:
It sure is purdy! Comfy, too!
I could carry that thing all day like that with no problem. In the first picture you can spot the J-hook, and the slight bulge under my belt. Again, I just jammed the front of my shirt into my britches rather quickly for the picture; I'm sure I could do a better job of hiding it if I tried a little harder. Also, the CW9 shot great. I only put a few rounds through it, but it's certainly more shootable than my P3AT.
As an added bonus, I thought I'd include this picture as evidence of why you shouldn't shoot CB Long rounds out of your 10/22:
Oooops.
Immediately after that picture was taken, my brother then noted something I did not know: in order to punch a cleaning rod OUT of the barrel of a Ruger 10/22, you have to remove the barrel. That's not an option here because the barrel is fit so tight into the receiver that I don't think I can ever take it off. I don't know about you, but when I learned to clean a gun -- any gun -- I was taught that it's best to push the dirt and fouling and stuff from the breach end out of the muzzle, and not the other way around. I've also learned that you can count on engineers at Ruger to design shit like they're retarded, so this doesn't surprise me. The only other option is to drill a hole in the back of the receiver so that you can take the bolt out and get a cleaning rod in there, which is what I did.
Awesome job, Ruger. You build a rifle that has to have a hole drilled in it to clean. Morons.
It sure is purdy! Comfy, too!
I could carry that thing all day like that with no problem. In the first picture you can spot the J-hook, and the slight bulge under my belt. Again, I just jammed the front of my shirt into my britches rather quickly for the picture; I'm sure I could do a better job of hiding it if I tried a little harder. Also, the CW9 shot great. I only put a few rounds through it, but it's certainly more shootable than my P3AT.
As an added bonus, I thought I'd include this picture as evidence of why you shouldn't shoot CB Long rounds out of your 10/22:
Oooops.
Immediately after that picture was taken, my brother then noted something I did not know: in order to punch a cleaning rod OUT of the barrel of a Ruger 10/22, you have to remove the barrel. That's not an option here because the barrel is fit so tight into the receiver that I don't think I can ever take it off. I don't know about you, but when I learned to clean a gun -- any gun -- I was taught that it's best to push the dirt and fouling and stuff from the breach end out of the muzzle, and not the other way around. I've also learned that you can count on engineers at Ruger to design shit like they're retarded, so this doesn't surprise me. The only other option is to drill a hole in the back of the receiver so that you can take the bolt out and get a cleaning rod in there, which is what I did.
Awesome job, Ruger. You build a rifle that has to have a hole drilled in it to clean. Morons.
That song is playing in my head again
It's the song they call Tinnitus, played by a band called IneverworehearingprotectionwhenIwasyoung. It goes like this: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
When I was a kid, all I did was shoot guns. All day. I had several counties of woods and fields to wander and hunt, and that was what interested me. Even before I could drive I was competent with big magnum rifles and handguns, and had taken down countless deer with a 7mm Magnum and a .300 Winchester Magnum I borrowed one hunting season. When I was in High School, while all the cool kids were out getting liquored up and partying, I would be proned out on mom's dining room table with a Marlin Glenfield Model 25 sniping crows in the back yard out the back door. It made me a decent marksman, but it also gave me substantial hearing damage.
Back then hearing protection came in the form of foam plugs, or dad's cigarette butts. Either way, to keep the song from playing after you broke a shot you had to completely block out ambient sounds, which was not desirable if you wanted to also be able to hear your quarry. Spending so much time in the woods, I never wore hearing protection at all for more than half my life; and because of that I have recurring tinnitus.
It happens randomly several times a month and usually goes away within an hour or two. Not this weekend, though; I woke up Saturday morning and my left ear was ringing so bad that it made my hearing in both ears almost non-existent, and continues now as I write this post. My wife came home from work and was wondering why the hell I had the TV blaring so loud. I could barely hear it, like I was underwater. My kids would be talking to me not two feet away and I just couldn't make out what they were saying. It gets really bad like this several times a year, and can take a week or two to go away.
In my youth, I knew damn well I was damaging my ears with all the gunfire, but I didn't care because I thought I was tough. Now I see what a moron I was, and I wish I could go back in time and kick my own arrogant ass, then sport the dollar or so for some ear plugs. Idiot. I'm right handed, which means my right ear is turned slightly away from the muzzle when I shoot, so it's the better ear of the two. Both ears are bad enough that I had to get a waiver to get into the Marine Corps and Army National Guard because of a wide range of sounds that I could no longer detect, which shouldn't be the case for anyone under 60 years of age.
These days there are electronic hearing protectors that amplify ambient sounds, but cut out the gunfire. When you shoot, instead of the muffled "pop" that you hear with foam plugs, the electronic muffs let you hear the shot as if it was normal, but your ears are spared only the most damaging pitch. On top of that, they're affordable, so there's no reason in the world not to buy a pair and use them, even in the woods while you're hunting. I noticed that with my cheapo pair of Peltor tactical muffs, I can hear distant sounds clearly as if I were there that I cannot hear without them. They'd be a huge advantage in the woods while hunting, and would also keep the worst of the gunfire from making your ears play that song that you cannot get out of your head, ever.
When I was a kid, all I did was shoot guns. All day. I had several counties of woods and fields to wander and hunt, and that was what interested me. Even before I could drive I was competent with big magnum rifles and handguns, and had taken down countless deer with a 7mm Magnum and a .300 Winchester Magnum I borrowed one hunting season. When I was in High School, while all the cool kids were out getting liquored up and partying, I would be proned out on mom's dining room table with a Marlin Glenfield Model 25 sniping crows in the back yard out the back door. It made me a decent marksman, but it also gave me substantial hearing damage.
Back then hearing protection came in the form of foam plugs, or dad's cigarette butts. Either way, to keep the song from playing after you broke a shot you had to completely block out ambient sounds, which was not desirable if you wanted to also be able to hear your quarry. Spending so much time in the woods, I never wore hearing protection at all for more than half my life; and because of that I have recurring tinnitus.
It happens randomly several times a month and usually goes away within an hour or two. Not this weekend, though; I woke up Saturday morning and my left ear was ringing so bad that it made my hearing in both ears almost non-existent, and continues now as I write this post. My wife came home from work and was wondering why the hell I had the TV blaring so loud. I could barely hear it, like I was underwater. My kids would be talking to me not two feet away and I just couldn't make out what they were saying. It gets really bad like this several times a year, and can take a week or two to go away.
In my youth, I knew damn well I was damaging my ears with all the gunfire, but I didn't care because I thought I was tough. Now I see what a moron I was, and I wish I could go back in time and kick my own arrogant ass, then sport the dollar or so for some ear plugs. Idiot. I'm right handed, which means my right ear is turned slightly away from the muzzle when I shoot, so it's the better ear of the two. Both ears are bad enough that I had to get a waiver to get into the Marine Corps and Army National Guard because of a wide range of sounds that I could no longer detect, which shouldn't be the case for anyone under 60 years of age.
These days there are electronic hearing protectors that amplify ambient sounds, but cut out the gunfire. When you shoot, instead of the muffled "pop" that you hear with foam plugs, the electronic muffs let you hear the shot as if it was normal, but your ears are spared only the most damaging pitch. On top of that, they're affordable, so there's no reason in the world not to buy a pair and use them, even in the woods while you're hunting. I noticed that with my cheapo pair of Peltor tactical muffs, I can hear distant sounds clearly as if I were there that I cannot hear without them. They'd be a huge advantage in the woods while hunting, and would also keep the worst of the gunfire from making your ears play that song that you cannot get out of your head, ever.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Modern Day Marine 2011
I skipped over the stuff that I've already covered from the last several years, as I'm not able to post 50+ pictures anymore due to time constraints, and that I'm still using my phone's camera instead of something more suitable.
Walking in the door, I encountered the FN USA booth in all its SCAR glory. I snapped a picture of this prototype bolt action rifle that looks like it's made to compete with the Remington XM2010 ESR:
With the lighting in the buildings the way they are, it's tricky to get a good picture. I didn't get any information on the gun, just the pictures; although I do note that this rifle is impossibly heavy. Many of the firearms at the convention are waaaaay too heavy, as if the manufacturers could care less about weight at all while they mill out receivers from massive steel and aluminum billets. Marines are accustomed to carrying too much stuff, so I guess it's all good.
The next thing I saw was this weapon sight for the M2 BMG "Ma Duece:"
It's a 6x48 Trijicon ACOG Machine Gun Optic with a Reflex on top for when there are so many bearded bad men coming at you, you can't take them all out at 1,500 yards and have to resort to close range work. I like it! It's about time somebody took advantage of the M2's 2,000+ yard range and skipped over the irons for something more video game-like.
I got a pic of an XM25 model, with a 25x40mm round for scale on how big of a round it fires:
I've heard that the XM25 is a fight stopper, and most of the Soldiers carrying it opt out of carrying an M4 also, with just an M9 on their hip. As the rep at the booth told me, operators of this weapon note that insurgents don't mind the snap of 5.56 rounds overhead at distance that much, but when stuff starts blowing up behind the rocks they're hiding behind, and eardrums start bursting, they decide that they've had enough. He also said that there have been clear reports of enemy killed with it.
Advanced Armament Corp had a booth at the event, and I got a picture of this 5.56 suppressor that they purposely ran about 40 rounds of 7.62 through to see what it does. That's 28 bullets lodged in the baffles and it was still working:
Wouldn't want to be the test guy shooting that one!
AAC is making them smaller and smaller, too:
For those interested, Steiner has a 1-4x24mm riflescope that looks awesome and feels solid:
The scope has an illuminated reticule, with a stop in between each level of brightness so you don't have to click all the way through to be at the brightness that you want. Also on display was one of their 4-16x50mm scopes mounted on a new varient of the Sako TRG:
Again, the rifle is sweet looking and I'm sure it's a shooter, but it weighs a ton!
Colt is now showing off their 7.62 rifles in MARPAT desert, just for the Marines:
Sorry about all the blury pictures, but I have to include Colt's monolithic rifle:
A cadet was groping it at the time, and I got the picture that I got. Many cadets ruined many pictures while I was there, and they roamed about in massive, isle clogging droves, asking questions and such at every booth.
At H&Ks booth I fondled a MP7A1 while nervously waiting on the two reps there to berate me for daring to touch their wares while not being a uniformed operator:
I closed my eyes and pictured riding around the mountains of Afghanistan on quads shooting terrorists, just Dusty and I with our trusty MP7A1s, before dragging out the suppressed Barret and helping out some SEALs in close contact on another mountain. . . . and then I snapped back to reality and walked over to CRKTs booth. They have a new lineup that takes assisted opening knives to another level.
The thumstud on the knife is kind of like a safety of sorts, and when you press it in towards the blade and give it a nudge it snaps open like an auto. Assisted openers normally require you to manually open the blade like 30% or so before the spring takes over and finishes opening it up, but the new system from CRKT takes a bump once you click that thumb stud:
They had several different models to look at, but I only got to handle the one.
Again with the blurry pics because of a cadet wanting to handle what I was taking a picture of, I give you a US made, multicam clad, fully functional RPG-7:
Notice the 1913 rail with folding sights.
There are some other crappy cell phone pictures in this folder if you're so inclined, such as the Daniel Defense rifle that Larry Vickers torture tested on video a month or two ago. Click on any of them to make them bigger and search my Photobucket folder.
Walking in the door, I encountered the FN USA booth in all its SCAR glory. I snapped a picture of this prototype bolt action rifle that looks like it's made to compete with the Remington XM2010 ESR:
With the lighting in the buildings the way they are, it's tricky to get a good picture. I didn't get any information on the gun, just the pictures; although I do note that this rifle is impossibly heavy. Many of the firearms at the convention are waaaaay too heavy, as if the manufacturers could care less about weight at all while they mill out receivers from massive steel and aluminum billets. Marines are accustomed to carrying too much stuff, so I guess it's all good.
The next thing I saw was this weapon sight for the M2 BMG "Ma Duece:"
It's a 6x48 Trijicon ACOG Machine Gun Optic with a Reflex on top for when there are so many bearded bad men coming at you, you can't take them all out at 1,500 yards and have to resort to close range work. I like it! It's about time somebody took advantage of the M2's 2,000+ yard range and skipped over the irons for something more video game-like.
I got a pic of an XM25 model, with a 25x40mm round for scale on how big of a round it fires:
I've heard that the XM25 is a fight stopper, and most of the Soldiers carrying it opt out of carrying an M4 also, with just an M9 on their hip. As the rep at the booth told me, operators of this weapon note that insurgents don't mind the snap of 5.56 rounds overhead at distance that much, but when stuff starts blowing up behind the rocks they're hiding behind, and eardrums start bursting, they decide that they've had enough. He also said that there have been clear reports of enemy killed with it.
Advanced Armament Corp had a booth at the event, and I got a picture of this 5.56 suppressor that they purposely ran about 40 rounds of 7.62 through to see what it does. That's 28 bullets lodged in the baffles and it was still working:
Wouldn't want to be the test guy shooting that one!
AAC is making them smaller and smaller, too:
For those interested, Steiner has a 1-4x24mm riflescope that looks awesome and feels solid:
The scope has an illuminated reticule, with a stop in between each level of brightness so you don't have to click all the way through to be at the brightness that you want. Also on display was one of their 4-16x50mm scopes mounted on a new varient of the Sako TRG:
Again, the rifle is sweet looking and I'm sure it's a shooter, but it weighs a ton!
Colt is now showing off their 7.62 rifles in MARPAT desert, just for the Marines:
Sorry about all the blury pictures, but I have to include Colt's monolithic rifle:
A cadet was groping it at the time, and I got the picture that I got. Many cadets ruined many pictures while I was there, and they roamed about in massive, isle clogging droves, asking questions and such at every booth.
At H&Ks booth I fondled a MP7A1 while nervously waiting on the two reps there to berate me for daring to touch their wares while not being a uniformed operator:
I closed my eyes and pictured riding around the mountains of Afghanistan on quads shooting terrorists, just Dusty and I with our trusty MP7A1s, before dragging out the suppressed Barret and helping out some SEALs in close contact on another mountain. . . . and then I snapped back to reality and walked over to CRKTs booth. They have a new lineup that takes assisted opening knives to another level.
The thumstud on the knife is kind of like a safety of sorts, and when you press it in towards the blade and give it a nudge it snaps open like an auto. Assisted openers normally require you to manually open the blade like 30% or so before the spring takes over and finishes opening it up, but the new system from CRKT takes a bump once you click that thumb stud:
They had several different models to look at, but I only got to handle the one.
Again with the blurry pics because of a cadet wanting to handle what I was taking a picture of, I give you a US made, multicam clad, fully functional RPG-7:
Notice the 1913 rail with folding sights.
There are some other crappy cell phone pictures in this folder if you're so inclined, such as the Daniel Defense rifle that Larry Vickers torture tested on video a month or two ago. Click on any of them to make them bigger and search my Photobucket folder.
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