Category Archives: Gear

Gear

Lubes

11 Comments

TFB reports that Froglube is Coconut Oil.
Fireclean is Canola Oil.
zMax is Mineral Oil.
Other lubes are petroleum oils.
Other lubes are synthetic oils.
Or oil blends.

Here’s my take:   Use whatever product that you feel works best for you.   If you like Frog Lube, use the Froglube.  Just because someone ballparks what the base oil is doesn’t negate the fact that the oil had been doing what it says it does and has worked well for you.  Nothing’s changed.
Yes, zMax is based on a mineral oil.   No, you are not going to get the same results using baby oil from the grocery store.  Why not?  Because the company took that mineral oil and ran it through some more refining processes and changed it.
Same with Frog Lube.  That’s not just plain coconut oil.  They added some components to it to take away the delicious flavor for one thing.  Trust me.   They also did something to make it smell like Kermit’s Ass.  And to keep it from congealing at lower than room temperature.   Coconut oil might be the base, but it no longer acts like it.  Trust me – My wife and I use Coconut oil for all kinds of things.  It’s great stuff.
The Fireclean though, I will not use any more.   Not even on my knives.   Not because it’s Canola… But because it gets sticky.  One of the shotguns I changed the stocks on, I had lubed generously with Fireclean… a year ago.  I’ve not worked with that gun since then.  You know what I found?
An action that did not want to move.
It was gummed up like it was full of pine pitch.    It took me about 3 Pink Floyd songs to clean it up and lube it with Breakfree CLP.
BREAKFREE!   I hate Breakfree!

So I’m not using Fireclean anymore because of the results, not the materials.  But yes, the materials did contribute to extended results here.

Still… Use whatever you like.  Just use it.   Because even if your choice of oil sucks – it’s a hell of a lot better than no oil.  And that’s a fact.

Gear, Training

Strikers and Soft Holsters – A Negligent Combination

6 Comments

We see articles like THIS (Warning: Link shows a gnarly wound on a bloke’s arse) from time to time.  Where a fellow was wearing his gun in his holster and there was an Accidental Discharge.  I’m not calling in Negligent, because the people were generally not doing anything wrong…. Accidents CAN happen, though they are Rare.  99% of the time it is Negligence, but not here.  More on this in a moment…

This sort of an accident almost always involve two things:
1.  A striker fired pistol.
2.  A generic fit soft holster.  Most of the time made of Neoprene or Nylon, but also sometimes of some form of softer leather.

This is a bad combination, a Striker in a Soft Holster.  If this is your carry combo – I would recommend you change it because I believe that it’s dangerous.  Flat out dangerous.   Also dangerous are the use of Minimalist Holsters… any holster that covers only the trigger guard, or strives to be as small and light as possible.    Some of these holsters can break during use, some can let objects get into the trigger guard…. and none of them protect the gun in any way, shape, or form.
There was one guy getting into a car wearing his Striker in a softer type leather holster where the holster its self rolled into the guard so when he sat down, it discharged.  Another guy just leaned against a counter and it went off.  So yes – these guns can “Just Go Off” when you are packing a Striker in a Soft Holster and you are not paying attention.
Really I’m coming to the opinion that if you do pack a Striker fired gun in a Soft Holster – or a Minimalist Type Holster – You are being Negligent.   There is no valid reason in my mind to do so.  You are either too cheap to buy a decent holster, too ignorant to look for something better, or you are packing something different enough that there are no other holster options out there.  Which makes me think maybe you shouldn’t be packing it yet.

GET GOOD GEAR.  A Holster is a crucial part of your Weapon System and if you don’t have a good holster – then yeah – Your ass is Negligent.

Gear

Four of my Favorite Folding Blades +1

9 Comments

To me, my Carry Knife is just as important, if not more so, than my Carry Gun.  Because I USE my carry knife for all kinds of things… even things in a manner not recommended by the manufacturer.

Here’s four of my favorites.  More importantly, these knives are the ones that are most special to me.

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Continue reading Four of my Favorite Folding Blades +1 →

Crusader, Gear, Government, Training

Conflicted

120 Comments

I’ve been struggling with this subject for some time.   Not just the subject, but even if I should post this.   Publishing my thoughts on this – feels dangerous.  But the First Amendment is backed up by the Second.  So here it is:

Here’s the thing.   Sometime ago I observed a TSA Agent going about her business of providing Security Theater at the Airport.  She was Muslim, and wearing her traditional Muslim head-covering.   My knee-jerk reaction was that of anger.  It was her people are the reason why we have the TSA now.  Why we have to take off our shoes at the Airport.
But what got me even more angry – was that I got angry about that.  Damn it!  I’m not racist.  I never have been.  I’m not against anyone of a different faith than mine!  I’ve been wired against Hate all my life!
You see, I swore an Oath that I took and still take very seriously.  To protect the constitution.  To protect those that believe and say things that I might disagree with, but I’ll fight to the death to protect their right to say it.   That includes Muslims who wish to worship Allah and hold to the beliefs and practices of Islam.
Here’s another thing.  I’m a Mormon.  One of our Articles  of Faith says:

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

We know what it feels like to be looked down upon for being different.  Mormons were driven out of their homes, several times.  Our church built homes only to be forced to leave them.  We built a whole city, only to be forced to leave it… A new temple that took so much sacrifice to build.  (Nauvoo) We only got to use it for a little while.  The Hayes Administration tried to block Mormon Immigrants.  A Governor declared a genocide on us.   If you study Mormon history, you find you are studying persecution and abuse for a very long time.  One of my own family was murdered for simply being Mormon.

So when we hear people speak like how Donald Trump is speaking, a part of us feels sick inside to see this happening again, even to another people.   It’s wrong, and all of my upbringing is against it.

And yet, there is a part of me that agrees with Trump’s assertion that we should hold off until we “figure out what’s going on” as he said.  Is holding off until we have a viable vetting process such a bad idea?  President Jimmie Carter did just that.  Yet when Trumps says that, he’s a badguy?  I don’t get that.

Continue reading Conflicted →

Gear, Weapons

Adams Holsters Texas Rig

7 Comments

20150730_150111 20150730_150137 20150730_150156 20150730_150213I’ve now spent 24 hours with my new Texas rig from Adams Holsters. I wore it last night, and I’ve been wearing it since I put on my pants this morning. What a great rig. Simple. I like that. I don’t need or want a complicated holster. I don’t want a system. I want a simple scabbard. This IWB rig is just that. The leather is beautifully finished and well formed. My Ruger SP101 pops into place and pops out like this was Kydex or something. Retention is not an issue because of that fit. The Clips are made of a spring-steel and are quite solid. I’m not worried about bending them like I am on other holsters. Comfort? Yeah, it’s comfortable. Concealable? Extremely. Last night I wore this rig and my gun with just a T-Shirt over it and I asked my wife if she could see it.
“No, I can’t… even knowing what to look for, there’s no bulge even.”
I’ll not tell you the rest of the conversation about her looking at my bulge… But the fact remains this rig keeps the gun very concealed. It holds the gun very tight against the body.
Comfortable… Concealable…
This is everything you want in a concealment rig.
http://adamsholsters.com/

Gear, Training

The Lead Trojan Horse.  

8 Comments

Lead contamination is dangerous situation that we shooters all worry about – or should be worried about!  I work at an indoor range.   We go to great pains to make sure that exposure to lead is as minimal as possible.  Every day we clean each range bay, and we use state of the art HVAC and air filtration systems to keep the air clean.  Not just to make the range comfortable, but to keep everyone safe as they enjoy their experience.
Lead particles can get everywhere.  In your hair, your clothes, all over your guns, and all over your hands.  We always encourage our patrons, guests, and friends to wash their hands after shooting.  But there is one area that gets neglected, that we don’t think about.
Our Range Bags.
Think about it.  It’s right there on the firing line with us.  We go into the bag all the time for ammo and magazines… and it’s catching some of everything we throw down range.  Powder and Powder Residue, Brass at times… and lead particles.
As dirty as your hands can get, you grab that range bag.  Then, you go and wash your hands, and then you grab your range bag again to take it to the car.  At home, you wash your clothing, shower, and then you grab your range bag.  Your hands could be getting contaminated with lead even before you shoot for the day.
Let me ask you this; when was the last time you cleaned your range bag?  You don’t have to answer that.  I’ll be honest.  I don’t think I’ve ever cleaned my range bag!  How much lead have I been bringing into my home?
Make cleaning your range bag a part of your shooting schedule.

Gear

The best of the best of the best optics, Sir.

7 Comments

If I could have my pick from the magic bag of glass carried by the Optics Fairy, I’d have to pick ELCAN.  No question.  These guys are the Swarovskis of fighting optical gunsights.

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Super clear, super bright… Everything you want in a high quality scope, all wrapped up in a super strong Combat Optic.  Wide field of view with no distortion.  Longer eye relief than competitors… wider eye box.  And a reticle that allows for extreme shooting precision.  It really doesn’t get any better than this.

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This version has a simple 1x to 4x switch.  Zoom, or No Zoom.  So the mechanism is very sturdy.    So much so it makes a Leupold seem fragile.  One of the reasons it’s so strong is that the elevation and windage adjustments are outside of the tube, and internal like most scopes…. Even the mighty Trijicon ACOG.

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Illumination is a big fat dial that fast and easy to use.  And you can see there, it’s got a set of iron sights on top.  This is probably the finest magnified combat optic you can get.

Elcan offers a bunch of variants  1-4, 1-6, yada yada yada  all good… all awesome.  There’s even a 5-20 coming out – but you gotta be Delta Mega Force to get it right now.   The only downside to these optics – is price.  They are expensive.  By expensive, I mean they are the cost of a couple really decent AR-15 rifles.   But there really and truly is nothing better to put on top of your AR-15 rifle.  But is it worth it?
If you can afford it, absolutely.  One thing I’ve learned… good optics are a force multiplier.  They can make or break your success in the field.  I’ve seen it hunting… I’ve seen it in force on force operations.  If you can see your adversary before he sees you, you win.  If you can aim precisely at a target you can see clearly, ID that target and place your shot, you win.  Good glass is critical.  I’ve tried to use cheap class.  I can see the target with naked eyes or with my binos – but can’t see the target in the scope.  It’s happened.  I’ve also seen great glass in the field and on the range go belly up because the scope just wasn’t strong enough to handle the mission.  (Swarovski Optics)  ELCAN has the optical quality and the strength.   Seriously, this is business right here.  Nothing’s better.  If you can afford it.

 

Gear

BOLT LUBE by ZMAX

29 Comments

10487246_10205167478719975_6131840037654178969_n  Testing out a new product from ZMax.  This bounced off my desk the other day and I’ve put it to the test.  I know there are some great gun products out there already, and I know we all have our favorites… So I’m pretty dang jaded when it comes to some new latest and greatest gun care product.
However, ZMax is different.  ZMax has a long history of working lubricants for the automotive industry.   And a lot of that in racing. They have some serious Lubricant Engineering chops.  So when I saw this stuff, it raised an eyebrow.  If these guys can help race engines perform better and longer… a gun oil should be real easy for them to do right.

So I’ve been testing it since I got it.  My 1911, one of my 870 Tacticals and a few other things are now lubed and coated with ZMax’s “BOLT LUBE”.    My 870 is gleaming darkly with it, and the 1911 feels like its been pampered.  I am genuinely impressed so far.  And honestly, nothing has actually impressed me since Slipstream and FIREclean.

Some of ZMax’s claims are going to take some time to sort out.  But others I’m seeing evidence that it does just as advertised.   The oil is thicker than most new gun oils.  It really does stay where you put it.  Other oils can run like water… Such MPRO-7’s gun oil.  This stuff is different… It’s slick in a way that can only be described as creamy.
You can usually feel rather quickly if a gun oil is going to work for you or not.  This stuff works.    I don’t know anything about the Micro-Lubricant part of the label.  I’ll have to talk to them about it, but there’s something to it.

The BORE Cleaner and Conditioner seems to work just fine as well.  It’s hard to test a cleaner when my guns are already clean.  But I used it on some other things and it cleaned the metal quite nicely, leaving the surface with what feels like a micro-film of some sort of lubricant.  That’s probably the “Conditioner” part.

The site talks a lot about “soaking into the metal”.   And I’ve yet to see metal soaking a fluid in like a sponge, but I know what they are talking about.  Penetrating into the microscopic nooks and crannies that are only seen under an electron microscope.  That’s where moisture can get, so that’s where corrosion starts.  Getting in there with whatever micro-lubricant they have is a good thing.

I have high hopes for this product.  It has a solid foundation and history behind it.  While it’s a new product, it didn’t just pop out of the blue.     I’ll keep you guys posted on how it tests out the more I use it.

20150316_122516UPDATE:   Tested further in my Beretta 92FS.  Let’s put it this way.  I’m sold on it.  As I said before, “I gotta talk to these guys.”  Well, I did.  I talked to them.  Zmax is HQ’d at the race track, and I met the fellas there at the 4 Wide Drag Strip.   Okay, first off… 4 wide drag racing?  That’s just bananas.  I will be getting tickets to that.  You want to see more power launching than that – You’ll have to get on an Aircraft Carrier.    In talking with the Zmax crew – I discussed this with them.  “Just what is in Zmax that makes it work different from other lube?”   Pretty much the answer was in Molecule size.  Here’s what they said, “If a normal oil molecule is, say, the size of a basketball.  Then the the size of the Zmax molecule is the size of a ping pong ball.”  It’s 80 times smaller.  That’s how it penetrates into the metal, lifts carbon off, keeps carbon from sticking.  That’s the secret.  That is legitimately impressive.  In my Beretta?  Well, my Beretta was already slick.  The feeling as I said before?  Creamy?  That’s the feel in the Beretta.  But there’s a difference.  Not only does it feel so smooth… But it’s not bleeding oil.  The oil stays put, as advertised.
Pretty much – Bolt Lube by ZMax does what it’s advertised to do.  That’s also impressive.
A bit more though that is not advertised.  It works better when it gets hot.  Which makes this IDEAL for all your Class III applications.  In and on suppressors and full autos.  Any gun that you are going to run hard… get hot.  That’s where the ZMax comes into it’s own.

Gear

What’s your Destination?

12 Comments

Guys, I’m sick and tired of the Bug Out Bag and Bug Out Vehicle posts.  Do you know why?  Because you don’t have a Destination and a Plan on how to get there.
If you don’t have those two things… Your Bug Out Preps are utterly useless.   You are prepping for Failure.

Do you have a Destination?   Is that Destination prepared and ready to receive you?   Do you need to make any stop to pick anyone else up on the way?  Okay, where will that person be if they are not at home or work?  What’s your Plan B?  Do they need help in their Preps so when you do come in for a Dust Off, are they going to be ready to go?

What’s your Route to your Destination?  What if there is a Road Block at various choke points on that route?    What’s your alternative route?  Be it road closures from MIL/LEO or Natural Disasters, such as flooding or snow… You need to plan your route according to your capability.

Do a Dry Run on your Bug Out Plan.  Load your Shit up like it’s Real and Roll out.    How are you going to load everything you are bringing?  Do you have ROOM for everything and everyone you are bringing?  All your Ammo.  All your Food.  All your Water.  Any Meds. And whatever else it is that you can’t live without.  Can you get it all in your cool little Jeep?  Do you need a Trailer?  Can you actually pull your trailer on your route?

If you don’t have answers to these questions, you’ve not prepped for shit.  You might have a nice Day Pack and Load Out and a Trauma Kit… But you are not ready to Bug Out.   You are not Prepped.

Gear, Training

Am I a Dark Prepper?

18 Comments

“You’re not a Prepper.  You’re a Dark Prepper.”
This was thrown at me some time ago and I dismissed it off the cuff… And for some time I’ve been thinking about it.  A Prepper is a guy that gets all the stuff he’s going to need to survive and stockpiles it and hordes it.  So I guess the Dark Prepper, or Anti-Prepper is different in that has preps are so that he can go get what he needs through the use of force.   So the accusation has some clearly dark meaning behind it.  Here’ the thing though.
It’s true.
But not in the way they or you think, but yes, basically it could be said that I am in fact a Dark Prepper.   I’ve laid out all my prepping plans in Uprising USA.
Here’s the plan.
1.  Secure your HQ.
2.  Secure your local area.
3.  Secure your People.  Your Friends, Family, Loved ones… Those that may need help.  Elderly, Young, Infirm.  Make sure everyone is okay and has what they need to survive.
Now here’s where it gets gnarly…
4.  Secure additional assets and supplies to insure longevity.  Food, Medicines, other supplies and equipment.

Now where I differ from the truly Dark, is that I would not use force on those that have the assets we’d be looking for.   Force would be only to defend.   This is all pretty clearly laid out in Uprising USA.  Moving further, in Uprising UK, there is a scene where assets were taken unknowingly from another survivor who hid when they came to get it.  When it was discovered that someone had a claim of ownership to the property, the person was fairly and justly compensated for what had been taken and an amiable conclusion was reached.

So really, maybe, I am not a Dark Prepper.  Just a humble procurer of that which sustains life… an amicable prepper.  A beneficent prepper.  A Magnanimous prepper…

My new Plan since I’m on the East Coast?  Not giving away any details, but it involves a large comfortable boat, all my pals and fam, and a long cruise to someplace nice.