If you say Off Roading to different people, it’s going to mean different things. And I don’t pretend to be an expert at anyone of them, but I’ve tried them…
Rock Crawling has never had much appeal to me. Fighting your vehicle over obstacles may be fun for some… Twisting axels and drive shafts and blowing your tire’s bead off the rims… no, I don’t consider that fun. Sure, it’s fun to watch others do it. But I’ve never been tempted to do it for sport. I’ve done it a couple times out of necessity in my Bronco or my Scotsdale… but I only did it to get out of areas I got into and had no other way out of. No, I’ll avoid rock crawling as much as possible.
I’ve never liked Mudding either. Sure it can be fun, but it can get you stuck tighter than anything else. See, the Earth doesn’t like Mud Boggers and Mother Earth strives to punish them… Sucking them down ever deeper into her grasp. I was once stuck for over 14 hours when I went Mudding with some folks in Washington State. We were so stuck, a couple of us had to hike out to find Search and Rescue. The Rescue vehicle showed up, pulled them out (While me and another fellow hung out at the Rescue Station and waited for them to make it back) and then got stuck them selves. That cured me of all my desire for Mudding. And then as further punishment, the Mud will get into your axles and bearings and everywhere else it can cause havoc and if you don’t get it washed out good – will act as a grinding compound to eat your vehicle alive. No, no thank you.
Now then there is Overlanding. This is my kind of off roading. Overlanding is about traveling. It’s about going some place, not just getting through some thing. The way I see it, Overlanding has a point. A destination as well as the journey.
I see a lot of Off Road vehicles guys are setting up and a lot of them just make me scratch my head. What are they set up for? To me, it seems they are set up for looks only. Some look like they could be set up for Mudding or Rock Crawling until you look closer. Few are set up to be an actual Bug Out Vehicle, yet that’s what their owners are saying they are. I’m sorry, but Jeep is cool with your 454 on a stock 18 gallon tank turning 44″ tires isn’t going to get you much distance, so I hope you are not Bugging too far Out.
To me, a good Bug Out Vehicle has to be a good Overland Vehicle. Imagine it this way… You have to get from one coast to the other, without going on a Freeway or passing through a city and avoiding as much population as possible, and avoiding Points of Entry along the way. Now plot that course out. You may have to take some trails or fire roads. You may have to cross open BLM Land. Forestry Trails. Follow power line trails.
Okay, let’s get serious here. Think about your Zombie Plan. Your SHTF Plan. Your Bug Out Plan… Where are you Bugging Out too? How are you going to get there. Now think about who you are taking with you. Okay, now think about what you are going to need. Now think about how you are going to take that with you. Yeah, just having a 4×4 isn’t the solution. You may not actually need a 4×4. If your plan is just “getting up into the mountains”… You need a better plan.
This is where Overlanding has some good value. It’s like a how we go to Shooting Courses to learn the art of gunfighting… but for Bugging Out. Get out there… get into the wilderness. Get away from Wi-Fi. Disconnect from things. And put yourself to the Bug Out Test. By actually Bugging Out for awhile.
Man, I do miss my Chevy Scotsdale 4×4 right now.
Category Archives: Gear
Adjustibility
Adjustable stocks. It started there. Length of pull. Comb height. That’s all fine and well. But now user adjustable is going everywhere. Is this a good thing for the average shooter?
It’s bad enough watching someone who should be more squared away, constantly playing with his stock length and his sling… I’ve watched guys play with their adjustments more than actually pulling the trigger. More than drilling the Fundamentals. More than their effort in making an accurate shot.
Now there is this thing: The Effin-A. A user adjustable muzzle brake. Now, the more I think about this… the more I can see the appeal. Think of all the excuses you can use for poor shots. What I’m seeing is a whole lot of ammo used testing and tweaking – and that’s good. That’s a lot of practice going on and I like that. It certainly has it’s place. Maybe. For guns no one else is making a brake for. (Is there such a thing now days?) Being able to tune the brake to what you want. If you are a competitive shooter and know your gun better than you know your spouse’s erogenous zones… Maybe this is for you. Then again, maybe not.
For me… I’ll buy a Battle Comp and have it installed properly and call it good and not have to worry about futzing with the muzzle brake and I can concentrate on my shooting. Of course, I’m the same guy that set his adjustable stock to how he wanted it a long time ago and has never moved it since. I don’t like playing around with my weapon like that. In fact, it annoys me. My Battle Comp was engineered very well to start with. In fact, it was engineered pretty much perfectly. Why would I want to mess with that?
What do you guys think of this?
Pride and Fowler Scopes.
Pride and Fowler Scopes.
PFI has sent us a couple rifle scopes. Looking through the PFI RR800-1 – right next to the Zeiss 3.5-10 Conquest… Brighter? The Zeiss is a little bit brighter. I’ll give it that, but not by much.
This is the Zeiss. 1 inch tube, second focal plain etched reticle. It’s a good scope and it works very well. Clear? The PFI unit is just as clear. Crisp sharp contrast… this is great glass. It uses a 30MM tube which allows for a naturally sharp image because you are not bending the light as much to force it through the smaller tube.
I tried to take the photos as carefully as possible to make the images look as close to each other as I could. You will notice that on the same power settings, the PFI does bring the target in closer. If you zero the Zeiss at one power setting, and then change the power setting, the ballistic marks are going to mean different things. This is the problem with ballistic reticles in scopes that use a second focal plain reticle. You have to either use them at the max setting or at a factory specified… usually 10 power if it isn’t at max. The First Focal Plain reticle, or “FFP” is a big advantage for the PFI over the Zeiss.
Notice the reticle zooms as the scope zooms.
This allows the reticle to maintain proper relation to the target and allows the ballistic plex to be used regardless of power setting. HUGE advantage in the field, I can’t stress this enough. You could be overwatching a field of fire and you need to look at something that is close up, or you need a wider field of view… so you back the power down. Or you need to zoom in to something to get a closer look, so you crank the power up… Well, the PFI scope is accurate whereever you have it.
Now I also noticed something… as I mentioned before… see the 3.5-10 Zeiss is no advantage over the PFI’s 3-9. Because when I set them both to 4 power, I had to bring the Zeiss almost up to 5 power to get it to magnify at the same level as the PFI. So really they are about the same level regardless of what the dial is indicating.
The Zeiss had a better eye relief by about a half inch – but this is not a problem considering these are mostly going on .308s and the like… not .300 Win Mags. Recoil isn’t going to cause the scope to kiss you… because there just isn’t enough of it. PFI is working on a Magnum scope for magnum velocities and trajectories… but it isn’t out yet. Soon.
Now the biggest difference… The PFI is $595. The Zeiss is $725. That $130 difference… I really don’t see 130 dollars worth of difference to get the Zeiss here. Especially since the Zeiss’s reticle can only be used properly at full magnification. Being completely objective – The PFI wins. And I’m saying that even though I’m a huge- HUGE Zeiss fan. This is not what I was expecting.
Now, you guys know I had to buy a whole new rifle because I liked this PFI scope so much. I picked a Remington 700 XCR Compact Tactical rifle in .308. Not only did I buy that rifle just for this scope, but I took this combination to LRI, for some advanced training. You can read about that here. To sum it up, the PFI system is a true winner, and I’m completely sold on it.
Now that I am a dealer, it is my pleasure to offer these outstanding scopes to you guys.
G-Code’s Blood Stripe Series
G-Code is running a very special, limited run of what we call our “Blood Stripe Series”.
Check them out here.
Proceeds from this limited offering are going to support the MARSOC Foundation.
These are really sharp looking. Very distinctive. Black Tactical Fuzz over blood red Kydex.
These are only available for a few days. So, support a great cause, and get a very cool piece of gear in return.
MacBook Pro
I have turned to the Dark Side. I acquired a MacBook Pro. In fact, I’m using it right now. Can’t you feel the elevated smugness?
Overall my impressions are very positive. It’s new and shiny and mysterious. Everything is an adventure of discovery… such as “Where the hell did my video download to?” And “What is OSX Maverick?” And “I keep hitting the wrong key!” This is going to take some getting used to… but I’m digging things about it. A lot.
Such as the fact that my Drift HD camera I was so excited about getting earlier this year, finally allows me to edit with audio. Before, no matter what I tried, I could never get the audio track. Seriously, the audio track disappeared. I tried 5 or 6 different Converters to change formats and such, with no luck. Huh, iMovie opens it, edits it, and guess what? I can hear it. Imagine that. So this is going to allow me to deal with HD movies all the better. I’m excited.
Other things about the Mac, well, I’ll learn to get used to them. Such as a sudden desire to sip Chai Tea and sneer at Muggles.
This is the 13 inch one, because I prefer a laptop to be more compact… it has the latest OSX version on it. An I7 Processor, and has a ton of Ram and Gigs and can basically is the envy of all the other MacBook Pro owners who does not have the latest and greatest. Carrying it out of the store, there was bowing going on. “Yes, you filthy masses… I have the Shiniest Apple.”
Egads, the Mac Effect is already turning me… I suddenly must go to a Starbucks, occupy a table, and roll my eyes at everyone coming in.
Cheap Kydex.
I really don’t get how some guys can get all worked up over cheap kitchen table made Kydex holsters that are the size and shape of the spade end of an Entrenching Tool, or a License Plate. To make them more hipster, some guys are putting optional accessories on them to dress them up. I’ve seen Star Wars character faces, facial hair and eye wear options. I’m not kidding. I find that to be comical. And sad.
A holster should be just a holster. It holds the gun in a ready position until you need it. And you should be able to forget about it until that very moment. And when you do need it, you shouldn’t have to think about the holster at all. A holster in this regard, should be like your Pants. Easy deployed and ejected in an easy and rapid fashion, and be comfortable enough that you are not reminded constantly that you are wearing them.
I really like this.
I really like this. This is a G-Code OSH holster, which is enough right there to be like “I’m down with that.” But what makes this one interesting is that it’s Gray Kydex that’s been stained/dyed black on the surface to leave a Pattern. Pretty much any logo or design you want within 1 color limits.
The stain is soaked into the kydex so it’s very tough any only deep scratches will dig down to the gray substrate. Which means you can rock this rig for years and that design will still be there.
We are looking at how possible it would be do offer this as a production option, with the logistics and costs. I think this is cool as hell, but logistically a nightmare to set up. There are also technical issues to overcome within the web store for allowing a limited number of any one item to be sold. I’ve got it all figured out, but need to come up with a way to test it to make sure it works right without screwing everything up.
HSGI M24P Day Pack
Our friends at High Speed Gear gave Jesse one of their new M24P Day Packs to try out. He’s been using it for a few weeks now and is impressed. Tough zippers that don’t get hung up. Tough stitching everywhere. Handle and and straps that are anchored solid. Very well constructed pack. Molle where Molle is useful. Patch area up top for Motopatches. Good size for every day use without being too small, big enough for what you need for a day. Great pack. Hung my 92FS on it using a GCA87 and an OSH-RTI holster. Carried it just fine… Did that to test the weight bearing. I could see putting all sorts of stuff on there. Extra pouches or medkit. Set it up for what you need for fast access.
From the Web Store:
High Speed Gear is proud to introduce our new M24P Day Pack. HSGI simplified and refined this design from their original “Moose” pack line. The design provides a basic, but incredibly tough pack that retains features capable of meeting the needs of military personal, law enforcement officers, and civilians alike.
The M24P is large enough to carry sustainment gear, extra ammunition, medical supplies and other gear for a rapid deployment, but is small enough to provide versatile storage options. The internal compartment has 2 large mesh pockets that can fit a large armor plate.
Dimensions: 14.50”L x 10”W x 5″D
Volume: 725 Cubic Inches
Fits up to 10″x12″ armor plate
1000D ConstructionMade in USA
HSGI Lifetime Warranty
HSP / G-Code D3 Carrier
Something wicked this way comes.
Buy it from the most innovative and most copied holster company, G-Code. What is it?It’s a Leg Rig. Chest Rig, Thigh Rig, Molle Rig… Whatever you need it to be it that day. And change it the next. No one has anything like this on the market. But watch how they are all going to scramble to ape it.
Lucid HD7 Gen 3 FDE
I’ve tested the original Lucid HD7 and found it to be most excellent. One thing that continues to impress me is the unit’s ability to handle recoil. Even after much pounding on an AR, the POA/POI was not changed from when it was zeroed to where the last accurate shots were placed. Granted this was a short test, only 300 rounds, but I’ve seen slight shifts on some other red dots in this price range. The first Gen HD7, I beat the hell out of it on many different hard recoiling guns. I have the impression that the Gen 3 is every bit as tough, if not tougher. The optic I used to run on my personal AR has been an EOTECH, and has been for years. This Lucid HD7 has replaced that Eotech. Because of a couple advantages. A, more precise aiming reticle and B, much longer battery life. The Battery life really pushed it over the top for me. Long lasting, common battery type is a WIN for me. I only have a couple flashlights that run those Surefire 3 Volt Batteries, so I don’t buy them very often. And when I do I usually order them or pick them up when I am in certain stores. AA Batteries can be had anywhere, cheap, and I have them around the house. This commonality is an advantage. With the Lucid, I’ve never had to wait until the sporting goods store opens to get my Red Dot to power on again. I’ve had that problem with the EoTech.
The Gen 3 version has some worthy improvements.
1. Turret Caps.
2. Better Reticle Patterns.
3. Better Clarity and Brightness.
While the price may have come up a bit on the Retail side – it didn’t come up much and it remains the best optic for an AR under $400. I’ve seen these got for as low as 219.99 and as high as 249.99.
Overall – These sights are a Win. Buy one!