When you look around today in police holsters, we see a lot of plastic. Polymer pistols are the new norm. They offer a lot. Durability, weight reduction, increased mag capacities in some cases. This always has not been the case. The metal pistol ruled the scene for a while, before Gaston set the world afire. Continue reading
The Colt M45 is fitted with a National Match Barrel which yields very good accuracy. I shot this group at 20 yards, standing, freestyle. I was fighting a nasty flinch from all the function testing earlier.
Earlier this week, Hilton published a series of articles that gave us a detailed look at the Marine Corps’ new M45. This begs the question, how does it shoot? Those of us who’ve been around the 1911 platform know it is a finicky gun that requires a dedicated end user and strict maintenance schedule if it is to be relied upon. Many 1911 style guns on the market won’t even work well out of the box. So how does the Marines’ new 45-caliber pistol fare? Continue reading
The geometry of the M45 guide rod head is quite similar to the GI version. The protrusions are the same diameter according to my digital calipers.
Recently, there has been a bit of interest regarding the dual recoil spring system included with the Colt M45 CQBP. The spring system is designed to improve the service life between replacement cycles, though the Marine Corps still specifies that the springs be replaced at 5000 rounds. This spring setup is not completely new, as a similar setup is used in the Delta Elite, albeit the guide rod in that system is polymer. So the question remains, can we expect the system to work if put into a standard 1911? Continue reading
I recently attended the SIG Sauer Academy – Close Quarter Pistol Operator Course. This one day class was taught by Todd Rassa. Todd is a Sig Instructor and also has his own training company Tactical Defense Readiness Concepts. He also works for a large municipal Police Dept. I had been to SIG twice in the past for armorer classes and had been impressed with the facilities and staff. In the two years since my last visit, they have been busy. It’s almost worth the trip there just to see the Pro Shop. (Leave Your Credit Card At Home).
Geissele’s new G2S trigger offers the same feel and function as their popular SSA trigger at a significant savings.
Readers of this site know by now that most of the contributors here are big fans of the Geissele High-Speed Triggers. A few weeks back, MSW writer Joe wrote a review of the Super Dynamic 3-Gun Trigger. And earlier this week, Scott Ballard reviewed the Super Tricon Trigger. The major downside to the Geissele trigger systems is that once you have one in your rifle, you want one in every one of your M4 rifles. Continue reading
MagPul’s iPhone Field Case offers a good compromise between functionality, protection, and a low profile. Here it is shown above in Foliage Green.
The smart phone has become as much of an important part of everyone’s “everyday carry” as car keys, flashlight, folding knife, and handgun. While MagPul has established itself as a household name in the tactical market, MagPul’s iPhone cases have even become a favorite of mainstream iPhone users that have no knowledge of MagPul’s “tactical” products. This is simply because it’s a great case.
One of my complaints about most of the “hard use” iPhone cases on the market is that they make the otherwise sleek iPhone into a bulky, heavy mess. Protective plastic screen covers detract from the attractive, high resolution display the iPhone is known for. For those who need extreme protection against dust and immersion in liquid, look to the LifeProof Case. For those who want good protection against everyday bumps, bruises and drops, the MagPul’s iPhone 5 Field Case is a great choice. Continue reading
Every once in a while we have guest instructors come in to the Academy and teach their particular take on things. It is a nice perk of the job to be able to meet many of them and hear what they have to say on the various topics we all deal with on a daily basis. Several weeks back Jeff Gonzales of Trident Concepts stopped in to teach their Advanced Carbine class. Other than having taken his class and met him a few times, I barely know Jeff, so I spend my time in the background listening to the conversation. What came up during one lunch conversation was a discussion about AR platform rifle triggers and the new design TriCon had worked out with Geissele Automatics. The Super TriCon Trigger. Continue reading
The Trijicon SRS or Sealed Reflex Sight mounted to my 10″ SIG 516.
I had an opportunity pop up a few weeks ago that allowed me to get my hands on the new Trijicon SRS (Sealed Reflex Sight). The 1×38 MIL-spec sight is about as rugged as they come. It is a parallax free, reflex sight with a large 38mm aperture for maximum visibility in a short body. The 1.75 MOA red dot has dual power illumination with 10 brightness settings. 3 of those are NVG compatible. The AA battery is mounted in line with the bore and assisted by the top mounted solar cell panel. The large buttons for adjusting the brightness levels are located on the sides of the housing and are easily manipulated with or without gloves. The overall build quality of the sight is what you would expect from a company such as Trijicon. The sight is robust with a housing so rugged that seems like the demonic offspring of a fire hydrant and a manhole cover. Continue reading
To most people, a “match trigger” in a AR15 platform belongs on a rifle with a 16 to 22 inch precision barrel. During the course of my career I have shot the normal GI trigger that I was given. During sniper school the precision platform opened up to me, but the desire of a nicer trigger didn’t really bleed down to my other carbines until I shot a friend’s Geissele trigger a few years ago. I have since tried many “match” triggers of all types and from numerous companies, never really finding something I liked enough to warrant the additional funds.
I shoot a lot of 1911 like most of the other contributors on this site and personally use primarily a flat blade trigger. This preference of a flat trigger has bled down to my bolt guns as well. I learned that Geissele was producing a flat blade trigger and I had to try it, so I ordered 1 of every model ( Super Dynamic 3 gun, Super Dynamic Enhanced, and Super Dynamic Combat). Continue reading
The Grayman Satu Folder shown above is not a small knife. It is shown here alongside an Emerson CQC-10 for comparison.
If you’re anything like me, you have a fetish for sharp pointy objects. Around Christmas time last year, I received a Grayman Satu Folder to evaluate alongside the various knives I have used for everyday carry. For those not familiar with Grayman Knives, they are handmade in the USA using premium materials. The blade is ground from Crucible Materials Corporation’s excellent CPM S30V, a corrosion resistant steel known for its toughness and edge holding. This model features dual solid titanium scales, as well as a titanium pocket clip.
We currently issue the PPI Operator vest at work. We’ve been looking at and testing various vests, and plate carrier rigs for our next vest replacement which comes up in 2014.
In comes the “PIG” (Patrol Incident gear) plate carrier from SKD Tactical. (http://www.skdtac.com/PIG-Plate-Carrier-p/pig.502.htm). One of my coworkers purchased this plate carrier, set it up and we started testing it. The first thing I noticed about it was the reasonable price. The carrier ran about $340 shipped. SKD’s website boasts that their product’s ship in one business day or it ships free.
The Mossberg 930 SPX Shotgun has several factory features which make it a formidable combat shotgun out of the box, but as with most weapons some modifications will better suit it to the user.
The 930 SPX is a semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun with 18 1/2 inch barrel, and is fitted with an LPA Fiber Optic front sight with Ghost Ring rear sight. The red fiber optic front sight is adjustable for elevation and shows up well in daylight and glows like a night sight when a mounted light is used. There are tritium front sights available for the LPA Sights. Having been in the situation of not being able to see a brass bead, trust me you want a visible front sight. The rear sight is adjustable for both windage and elevation and the click adjustments are well defined, and are clearly marked in white. The rear sight is mounted to the receiver on a Picatinny rail, which allows mounting a red dot sight if so desired. Both front and rear sights are protected by metal ears and are very rugged. The 930 SPX has a Choate extended magazine tube. Synthetic stocks with recoil pad and sling studs front and rear round out the package.
Left: Raven Concealment’s Vanguard 2 for Glock pistols. Right: A pre-production Vanguard 2 for M&P pistols.
Back at SHOT Show 2012, our friends at Raven Concealment unveiled the latest incarnation of their Vanguard Holster. For those not familiar, the original Vanguard was a minimalist holster design that eliminates the bulk of traditional holster designs, but still provides the safety of a holstered pistol. The original design was essentially just a trigger guard cover with a paracord lanyard to act as a static line. Continue reading
Sure Fire X300 Ultra mounted on author’s duty Glock 35
I am a flashlight nerd. I admit it. I’d almost go to meetings like any other addiction if it was offered. I am constantly on the hunt for the next biggest and brightest thing. I’ve often stated that I am waiting around for the light to come out that has the same performance on the human body as to when the Germans looked into the Ark of the Covenant on Raiders of the Lost Ark. Real old Testament stuff.
So when James Otto of Otto Firearms contacted me and stated he had the new Sure Fire X300 Ultra in stock finally, I broke out the plastic and one was on its way. Continue reading
These BriteStrike lights are an affordable solution for those needing a tactical style pocket light.
I was busy spending a nice afternoon watching some streaming videos on the Panteo Productions web site (shameless plug) and came across one of the instructors using a BriteStrike hand-held white light. At first I thought, great, another $300 flashlight that does what every other one does. However in this case I was pleasantly surprised. As I was checking out the BriteStrike website, I found their Blue Dot line of Mil/LE lights and decided they looked good enough to try. Two days later, I had both BD-198-MH and a BD-180-MH lights in hand and ready for me to abuse. Continue reading