Equipment

Articles examining firearms equipment, load-bearing gear, optics, accessories, tools, and practical equipment selection based on mission and individual needs.

Thoughts on Fighting rifles

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What makes a Great fighting rifle? Is it just reliability and the ever-present internet “MILSPEC” assembly and parts or is there something more?I have spent the better part of my adult life focused on fighting with a gun and over six years directly involved with how to use them effectively. During this time, I have … Read more

Low Power Variable Optics: The Close and The Far

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The world of Low Powered Variable Optics (LPVO) has bloomed in recent years with their increased use in both sporting and professional roles. Just about every optics company worth its glass has at least one LPVO and most have several to address either various price points or magnification ranges. This boom in optics has led to discussions over … Read more

“But it’s on the Internet! It Must Be True: Why Most ‘Ballistic Test’ Videos Fail to Accurately Show Body Armor Performance

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We will now continue our discussion on Body Armor from an earlier article. Specifically, we addressed some common terms that are used in ballistic testing of body armor: V0, V50, and Back Face Signature (BFS for short). The purpose behind this was to inform our discussion for this week’s topic: Why body armor test protocols have been established, and why … Read more

Gunslingin #4

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If you have been keeping up with the series, you know that we have talked positions and data. Now its time to talk about the spot where a ton of mistakes, plus failures in position and data cost time and money. The average match round for 5.56 is about $1 and in the PRS series … Read more

Gunslingin’ #3

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For this installment, I am going to talk about data. Now, I am not, nor ever claimed to be, one of the Sniper types. I am sure by the end of this some Sniper Steve will be sitting around going “Actually…” which is fine. This is a short version of how I obtained and confirmed data over the year. In that, some things that were never important to me over tens of thousands of rounds suddenly became important.  Applying these things will forever keep you out of arguments about zero distance and other shenanigans of the sort. I used the Applied Ballistics and BallisticARC apps.

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How do we Defeat a Threat Projectile With Body Armor? Science of Course!

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Last week, we discussed that if we need to purchase armor, we need to start with the ‘why’ behind that armor’s need. This week, we are going to continue that discussion by addressing how armor defeats a threat, how it is classified by the National Institute of Justice, and what it does and does not do … Read more

Gunslingin’ #2

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If you didn’t read my last article, hit it up here

As I mentioned before, the next few articles are going to be focused on the shooting I have been doing this year. I have been really focused on the Precision Rifle Series Gas Gun, specifically Tactical. I ran the series with a mostly stock Knight’s Armament Company Light Precision Rifle (LPR) and since the finale was canceled I can say now that I placed 5th in Gas Gun Tactical my first year. Gas Gun Tactical series was any rifle shooting 5.56 or 7.62 and is designed for people who want to work with their issued rifles.

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So you Need to Buy Body Armor? Start With ‘Why’

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Note: This is the first in a series of articles I will be writing on body armor and helmets. This article is geared toward the Law Enforcement community. However, the same principles apply for any organization that requires body armor as a part of their job description. 25 years ago this month, Rangers from Bravo … Read more