Category Archives: Review

Dark Star Gear AIWB “Casual Carry”

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SP101 w/Pachmayrs in DSG Casual Carry. Corbon 357 Magnum 125gr DPX in Safariland Comp I.

 

I can admit that I am guilty of just grabbing a snubby, a speedloader and my keys to run errands.  I’m not promoting the practice.  I recently went  almost exclusively to carrying Ruger as my revolver of choice.  A Wiley Clapp inspired SP101 bumped my longtime custom 642 out of the rotation.  That meant I needed a new holster to tote my little blaster.  A thread on Pistol-Forum lead me to Dark Star Gear.   DSG bends some pretty nice Kydex with some interesting options.  The DSG AIWB “Casual Carry” with its simple design and optional toothed spring steel IWB clip seemed perfect.  Just one problem.  DSG didn’t list my little SP101 as an option.  So I emailed Tom of DSG and asked if he could make one for me.  A few emails back and forth to make sure he had found the correct molding prop and I was getting a holster made.  Tom was great to deal with and only asked that I pay up front due to having to purchase the molding prop for the project.  Knowing I had the HiTS Close Quarters Pistol class coming up Tom bent over backwards to get my holster shipped in time.

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Robar to the Glock Rescue

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Robar grip work, 10-8 sights and mag base pad, slide work done by Mars Armament. Axe is an RMJ Shrike

It would be safe to say that the Glock as a pistol is almost, or dare I say as big an “icon” as the 1911. Glocks are being used by law enforcement and military personnel all over the world as well as being one of the best selling pistol manufacturers in the US. A good majority of gun owners, especially those who frequent shooting courses or instruction, all seem to own at least one Glock. With its popularity comes an exploding aftermarket with an endless list of companies making parts or modifying/machining the guns themselves. Some are worthy of mention and many are hacks with a hot piece of metal deforming the frames almost to the point of failure on unsuspecting owners looking to emulate the professionals for a fraction of the cost. I personally had a Glock stippled by a friend, and while not a hack job by any means I found the texture too aggressive and didn’t quite know how remedy it without just buying another frame. This is the point where Robar comes in. Continue reading →

Gear review: PHLster holsters

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Yes, there is another great alternative in appendix holsters. In my quest to find a great appendix holster, I’ve search and tried pretty much all that’s is out there..until a friend recommended to me a new holster from a Philly area company called PHLster (pretty catchy).

I tried two of their holsters for my Glock 19.  One, full size named the Access and the other, more minimalist called the Skeleton.  Both are inside the waistband and designed for appendix draw.

I’ll start with the more minimalist Skeleton.  I was very happy when I opened the package and saw my thoughts realized in a holster without me talking with the designer.  On my last holster review (The Q-Series) I liked the fact you could carry with basically a trigger guard cover and some belt retention device (clip or strap).  The benefit of the Q-Series was the ability to re-holster the firearm.  Of all the choices (at that time) I couldn’t find anything as good…until now. Continue reading →

AWERBUCK REDUX : MORE WARRIOR WISDOM

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I previously posted “Louis Awerbuck Remembered” (HERE). (Click on the book above for the link to the Kindle at Amazon).   I wrote there I might have more gems to relate.   As promised:

  • If you have the time, go for the potentially most effective target area. If you don’t, get whatever meat and bone you can get, and maintain continuity of fire until the deadly force threat is gone. Continue reading →

Robar NP3 AR15 Bolt Carrier Group

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If you have more than a couple rounds down the barrel of the AR15 platform, you should know the system works but isn’t necessarily the cleanest. For anyone who actually shoots their gun instead of keeping it clean and pretty, the cleaning of the bolt carrier group in particular is always a fan favorite. Your choices are to soak it in solvent of some type of spend a good amount of time with a scraper of some type trying to break through the layer of fossilized carbon built up around the gas rings on the bolt. This is where aftermarket finishes and treatments have come into play in recent years in an effort to battle the carbon buildup. I have never been a fan of the flashy silver bolt carriers shining through the ejection port of a AR. I made a habit of writing them off as flash as my AR’s had always run just fine without them. Continue reading →

Buy Once, Cry Once

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I seem to keep learning the same lesson, over and over again.  Buy once, cry once.  The lower light is a Streamlight 600 lumen.  I picked it up at a bargain of $50.  I liked it a lot, and at the time my Surefire’s were all 200 lumen.  After a little bit of T&E, I mounted it on my issued HK416D.  I trained and used it at work for about a year without issue. Continue reading →

LOUIS AWERBUCK REMEMBERED

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1948-2014
Warrior, Artist, Philosopher

  Who wouldn’t want to be remembered with words like these:

Stubborn, single-minded, articulate, knowledgeable, independent, moral, inquisitive, interesting and accomplished .   .  .

That’s what Robbie Barrkman wrote of Louis Awerbuck (his friend of 35 years) on his Robar Guns website, after Awerbuck’s death in June 2014.  (The entirety of the heartfelt tribute is HERE).   Awerbuck’s Yavapai Firearms Academy, with a summary of his resume, is HERE.  A 2008 interview of Awerbuck, where he answers well-posed questions on life, death, and equipment, is HERE.  Another one, rather well-known, “Interview With A Madman,” is HERE.  An interesting commentary on his death, evidencing Awerbuck’s appreciation for warrior history and philosophy, “Requiem For A Soldier,” is HERE.  It is said that he was fearless, but carried a high capacity 1911 as a primary, and a Glock 19 as backup. Continue reading →

SHOT Show: My Highlights

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Hilton covered Raven Concealment’s new Eidolon, but it deserves another mention here. In a world where most simply imitate, Raven Concealment continues to innovate and turn new ideas into great products. The Eidolon is an ambitious new design and concept, and we look forward to running this new holster.

Over the past week or so, Hilton has done a great job covering most of the notable new items that had relevance in our world. As he mentioned, over the years we have learned that this annual congregation of the shooting industry is far more about maintaining and developing relationships with great people rather than obsessing over the coolest new swag being passed around.

But still, this blog is about equipment. So in addition to what Hilton posted, here are a few products that also deserve mention, in no particular order: Continue reading →

Dollar Ammo Club? Check out SendMeAmmo.com

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SendMeAmmo.com guarantees regular delivery of top rate ammunition at a reasonable price.

With all the goings on in today’s politics, I am constantly reminded of the tenuous nature of shooting as a hobby. Looming regulations combined with increasing demand for copper and brass drive many folks to hoard ammunition simply when it is available, let alone when it is cheap. Only recently has 9mm production caught up to demand. Not long ago, .223 Remington went for as much as $2000/case on Gunbroker during the height of the scare in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting. Building up a stash of spare ammo was really the only effective way to insulate yourself from the ever fluctuating supply and demand of practice or hunting ammunition. Until now. Enter: SendMeAmmo.com.

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The 357SIG Cartridge

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I purchased my first pistol chambered in 357SIG in late 1995 or early 1996.  It was a SIG Sauer P229.  I had purchased it after reading about the cartridge/gun combination in Velocity magazine.  I bought the gun and loved shooting it.  After a while, it became really expensive to feed, and it was traded for something else to which I don’t remember what.  Over the years, I have purchased guns chambered in 357SIG, kept them a while, and traded them off or sold them.  I have always been enamored with the cartridge, but the not the cost. Continue reading →

A SHORT ESSAY : WINNING IS EVERYTHING . . . AND THE ONLY THING

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From “No Second Place Winner” (© 1965), by William H. (“Bill”) Jordan (p.101):

“There is no second place winner in a gunfight!  That sage remark is of unrivaled importance to an enforcement officer. Nothing he can buy from a life insurance firm takes the place of his ability to shoot fast and accurately. Storebought insurance will make his wife a rich widow, but it will be someone else who helps her spend the settlement. Not too attractive a proposition from the masculine point of view. The kind of life insurance he can buy with competent gun handling ability is obviously much more practical.”    [You can read/download Jordan’s book, HERE].

MSW posts urging weapon reliability and “get out and train” (whether specialized classes with the been there done everything hardcore trainers, shooting drills on the clock on your own, physical conditioning, and yes, competing) really speak to one thing, winning a life threatening encounter.  I wanted to write a post to put out my long-held lament on the subject.  It strikes me often: I see streets named after and plaques honoring LEOs killed by the gunfire of evildoers.  (I was casually acquainted with several of the deceased LEOs, and a bit more with a couple).  But I never see what would inspire and make me feel much better —  a street named after an LEO who WON a gunfight.  So here it is, to be filed under the CAN element (mindset) of my paradigm on deadly force. Continue reading →