Warbelt Fun
Thanks to the joy of the internet I got to look at a lot of other people’s setups. One of the more comprehensive and interesting threads is the Ultimate Battle/Scout Belt Thread; formerly Sigboy Scout Belt over at Zombie Squad. Folks seem to go in two directions. Some basically do a modern version of the old school LBE. These folks are running 4+ rifle mags, 2+ pistol mags, a holster, a knife, some admin pouches, maybe a canteen or two. These folks definitely run suspenders, often big padded H type ones we remember from the LBE era. Other folks use it more as a beefed up pistol belt with some mags, a holster, etc. Depending on their body type and how many mags they are running these folks may go with a thin set of suspenders or not. These folks will typically use a chest rig or run additional pouches on a plate carrier if needed.
So I have been thinking this could be a good way to go. I am definitely going to fall into the second group. I will rock the gear but I am not so sure about the big ole MOLLE belt. I have seen setups like this on a normal rigger belt. Just a pistol, 1-2 spare mags each rifle and pistol and maybe a knife. To me the idea of having what basically amounts to a pistol belt set up for the range, home defense and times where I want a gun but don’t need a full load out is appealing. Also something that would work as part of my overall setup instead of a whole nother rig appeals to my cheap side.
I still have to do some thinking on the matter but this is my plan. An ATS or HSGI war belt, two double taco mag pouches (though the cheaper condor rig I just bought may fill the role in the short term due to cost), a holster probably from Safariland, a knife, maybe a small admin pouch to hold a compass, etc to fill out the level 1 kit, and possibly a minimalist trauma kit.
Are you running a warbelt? If so what type and how do you like it over just a pistol/ duty belt?
Warehouse Raid
While I was home I checked out the warehouse. Almost everything was just fine. A medium (not dripping) coat of oil has kept things just fine except one piece on one gun. The suboptimal piece of metal was given some TLC, oiled up and put away.
Last time I was home I had to dig all around to find mags, ammo, etc for the weapons I carry/ use while home. I decided to take an ammo container and put the stuff I want while home in it. The contents were 3 glock mags, an IWB holster, an OWB kydex holster, 2 boxes of 9mm JHP, 4 rifle mags and a few hundred rounds of ammo. It worked perfectly. I grabbed a Glock and the box and was good to go. When we went on a longer trip I loaded up a couple mags and grabbed the rifle.
I noticed that I need to add a knife to the box. Not having a normal EDC knife was kind of annoying. Sticking a knife in there would let me have one here and just grab it with the other stuff would be convenient.
If you have a cache or keep some guns with a friend or whatever it might be a good idea to put the stuff you would want to pull out first thing in a convenient and accessible location.
Wall Street Occupiers, Crony Capitalists and Shoulder Holsters
Our good friend Hermit left a couple of comments which I feel like replying to on the main page. It also brings us to other points worth talking about.
This whole Occupy Wall Street protest thing. I am completely ambivalent about it. Moreso I think some of the regional spin offs are just stupid. Instead of standing around and bothering productive people they should do something to better their own circumstances.
To this recent post “Quote of the Day” Hermit said “I was thinking I’d like to go throw some molotovs at Goldman Sachs myself. The more I think about getting screwed in 2008, the more I think I should start learning the words to “The Internationale”.”
I can definitely see his point. This is one of those times where there are multiple complaints which can be logged against a group from different angles. I do not think they are bad people because they make a lot of money like the protestors do. However it is quite apparant to me that at least some folks involved knew what was going on and were “Shooting the Moon” so to speak. Like Enron but on a massive scale. I think there are/ were some issues of crony capitalism, fraud and such going on. I don’t know much about securities and banking laws but to me it is pretty apparant that some bad stuff was going on. Lots of people should probably go to jail.
There is a saying that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and sometimes (if just temporarily) that is true. However other times the enemy of my enemy is also my enemy. To me this whole Wall Street protestors thing falls into that scenario. I am not a fan of crony capitalism and the fraudulent practices which it leads to but the last thing we need is more government involvement (which breeds more crony capitalism) and socailist redistribution. I do want change but not the change these protestors are advocating, if they can form a cohesive enough message to even say what they want.
On my recent post about Appendix Carry Hermit asked if I prefer it to a shoulder holster. The simple answer is yes. I carry IWB because it lets me wear a normal shirt (albeit a loose one) and conceal a compact sized pistol comfortably. This lets me wear a slightly modified version of my normal attire and carry.
Shoulder holsters require a relatively heavy (not a light shirt) over garmet like a windbreaker, vest or a warmup jacket if not a coat for concealment to work. I could go for a vest but for somebody my age (as Hermit has noted older men in the south wearing vests is common) a vest, particularly a 5.11/ photographers type vest screams I am concealing a gun. They do have a place in my book as they bring a couple of benefits. First they do not require pants with a belt to use. This is an advantage sometimes as you can just toss one on, cover it up and be discretely armed. Also they are particularly good for long drives and carrying particularly heavy handguns.
Thoughts?
Appendix Carry- Day One
While I have been overseas I have thought about a lot of things in a more abstract fashion. Appendix carry is definitely one of the things I have came to see the benefit of. It makes for a very fast draw and has retention benefits also (particularly in concealed carry, open is another discussion). Today I tried it for the first time.
I was carrying a Glock 19 in a Bianchi 100 professional holster with a generic probably worn out rigger belt. I liked it a lot. [It is worth noting that folks who carry appendix seem to wear their pants a bit higher than I normally would. This puts your piece more in your abdomen than all around your hips and legs and private parts. For this style of carry to work pants need to be right about belly button height not 2-3 inches lower where they naturally fall on my hips.] I enjoy that my handgun is in front of me and easy to conceal yet ready to quickly draw if need be. Previously I was carrying at 6 oclock in the small of my back which is easy to conceal but makes for a sucky draw and poor control.
With my pants a bit higher than normal for me this method of carry was reasonably comfortable. I found it better to have it at 1230 (think of your body divided up by clock hours where 12 oclock is belly button and 6 oclock is butt crack) where things were soft instead of out to the side where there were more bones involved. Sitting was not uncomfortable as my handgun was bumping against soft tissue, only bending down to pick something up past a 75-90 degree angle was mildly unpleasant.
Don’t buy into the myth that you need to have a tiny waistline to carry this way. I am certainly not morbidly obese but you are also not going to see my stomach oiled up in a magazine advertisement any time soon. In that regard I probably fall into the average range. Unless your gut is huge if you buy pants and a belt that fit this should be a viable carry method.
I like this method for concealed carry because I think it has a lot of advantages. I may post more thoughts on this subject later. Hope you have a nice day,
-Ryan
SERPA Holsters
I mentioned SERPA holsters in a post about equipment soldier’s use and got a couple comments about them. They more or less matched up with some relatively recent reporting of people having negligent discharges when using the holsters. So here are my thoughts.
When I first saw them I thought it was a gimmicky idea and would be a flash in the pan. Man I got that one wrong, I totally missed the pulse of a community I am a part of. Before anyone asks personally I do not like SERPA holsters. Maybe it is for the best that I do not buy individual stocks. The reason I do not like SERPA holsters is that they have a method of retention that uses the index finger. I am used to thumb break and open top friction type retention holsters. I have a lot of muscle memory in thumb breaks and just pulling the darn thing out is pretty much as easy as it gets. My personal experience is that in times of stress and fatigue we revert back to muscle memory. I can’t get over visions of myself trying to pull the darn thing out and pressing random stuff with my thumb only for it to stay fast in the holster. They work fine I guess but I see no reason to stray from what I am used to. That sums up my strictly personal opinion on the matter.
As to the SERPA and negligent discharges I find little to no reason to buy into it. Sure you have to extend your finger to draw the weapon but personally I draw that way anyway as it puts my hand where I want it. I index my finger along the frame above the trigger until I want to shoot something. If you don’t stick your bugger picker into the trigger guard and go flopping it around wildly the darn gun probably will not go off. That is strictly a software issue (in your darn head) not a hardware issue, at least in the way you might think.
It reminds me of when a couple of big PD’s (back east, NY I think) switched to Glock’s some time back and had a few embarrassing high profile negligent discharges. Those Glock’s were not faulty in any way. They fired when some cop stuck his finger into the trigger guard and pulled the trigger, intentionally or not. The reason is that the new hardware (the Glock’s) exposed a weakness that had always existed in those shooters. Those cops grew up on double action revolvers (and had maybe spent a short period using DA/SA auto’s but let’s not get sidetracked from our current side track). Not that you should but one could walk around with their finger on the trigger of one of those old DA duty guns all day long, about no way you could fire it off by accident. Now a Glock is another matter as they have a substantially lighter trigger pull than a DA revolver. I sort of see the same thing with SERPA holsters in that a new piece of technology is exposing weaknesses in shooters fundamental weapons handling.
Without doing a ton of research I suspect two things are involved in this supposed chain of ND’s. First after people hit the release button instead of immediately indexing their finger they unintentionally keep it bent and are applying pressure onto the holster as they draw. When the weapon clears the holster this pressure brings their bent finger into the trigger guard with disastrous results. The second (which I suspect is the root cause) is folks who are trying to proverbially run when they should be walking or jogging. I would bet that if the same shooters (prior to these ND’s) were asked to draw their pistol and then fire 3 rounds at a target in no particular hurry they would be fine. However if they are out of breath, trying to run while shooting at 3 targets simultaneously and be cool like Quick Draw Delta Dan or Speed Shooting SWAT Jimbo you can get disastrous results. As for why they are SERPA holsters part of it is probably that they are immensely popular with the “I’m going to go to super cool guy class” types. Also the training issues we talked about before. At least that is what I suspect.
As to classes banning SERPA’s I bring you the 8 pound NY trigger AKA avoidance instead of training. NY decided that too many cops were having ND’s so they got a substantially heavier trigger made. Banning SERPA’s is avoidance of hardware that may be less forgiving of a particular weakness than other hardware.
I have never seen, though have heard of from 1 reputable source (fanboy’s in forum’s do not count) about a SERPA holster locking mechanism jamming. I have never seen an ND which was related to a SERPA holster.
In closing if you own and like the SERPA holster then by all means keep using it, just don’t stick your trigger finger into the trigger guard unless you mean to. No hardware will solve that problem.
Equipment Soldiers Use
I was asked about this and figured it would be a slam dunk easy post. Everybody likes gear and writing about what I know is just too easy. Wrong, the thing is that when you are so used to something it is just what it is, as opposed to significant or noteworthy. If asked a very specific question about gear I can talk for a long time but looking at our whole organization is difficult because it is what I am used to. In any case I will do my best.
Slings- Almost everyone uses some form of a two point sling. Those who do not go with the generic issue two point typically purchase an adjustable two point sling. There are so many makers and models to choose from that you rarely see the same one twice. No clearly defined trends except two point adjustable. Once in a blue moon (less than 10%) are one points with a few of the two to one type floating around. Some folks who carry M16’s still use the three point but that is mostly because they are issued.
Holsters- The Blackhawk Serpa series is heavily represented and has a distinct majority, I would estimate almost 2/3rds. The rest is split between Fobbit’s with shoulder holsters, various other kydex type holsters, assorted leather and nylon jobs. Some quality products from name brand companies and some generic poorly made junk.
Knives- Almost everyone carries some form of a one hand opening type folder of some make or model on their person. Most are midsized 3-4 inch blades and made by major manufacturers such as Gerber, Spyderco, SOG, Benchmade, etc all. Whatever happens to be selling in the PX/ Clothing and Sales had a slight lead but in terms of knives we are totally all over the place. Of the remainder a few carry piece of junk one hand opening folders, a few carry big (5in+) sheath knives and there is a totally random tiny minority like me and my medium/small belt knife. You see a few more sheath knives attached to body armor or kit but not too many. However I would wager almost every soldier has a decent sized knife (often a KaBar) in a duffel bag or a tuff box.
Multi Tools- Everybody has one (if just because they are issued) and they are usually Gerber’s because that is what sells at the PX and is issued. Some live on belts, others on kit and most in rooms or rucksacks.
Boots- Not as many Danners as a few years back. Maybe it is that we are spending more time in hot climates or maybe that the Army is finally issuing some decent kit to us so folks don’t need to go out and buy that. Lots of light boots with soft soles are worn by Infantry and SOF guys. I wear Altima ExoSpeeds though I have heard the new Nike’s are nice and some folks like Rockies or Oackley boots.
Socks- Some folks wear various commercial hiking type socks but more just use the issue ones.
Bags- The Army really got it right with the new small framed molle ruck. It is an awesome 72 hour type bag. This saves young soldiers a $150+ purchase that was almost a requirement to function and I am happy for that. You still see the odd Blackhawk or Camelback or Tactical Tailor type 72 hour bag carried by someone who has been around more than a couple years though.
Belts- People either wear the standard issue tan belt or go out and purchase a riggers belt from somebody or another. All the ones that are not Chinese junk are functionally equivalent as far as I can tell. For those carrying a holster a stiff riggers belt is very helpful.
Cold Weather Gear- Thankfully again this is an area where the Army has gotten their act together. Soldiers do not need to go out and spend hundreds of dollars any more for the cold weather stuff they need. We are issued lots of fleece, gore tex and thermal clothing to stay as comfortable as possible.
Water carrying- Most folks have a camelback, generally issued but you see an aftermarket pouch (typically the better more molle compatible one) occasionally.
As a disclaimer I should note that products sold in our clothing and sales/ PX get a huge boost in purchases and thus use. Young soldiers often do their shopping within walking distance and because of our busy work hours (and laziness) many folks just get what is convenient. This accounts at least in part for the trend towards Serpa holsters and a Gerber multi tools.
To be honest I can’t really think of anything else but if you have a specific question I can probably go into a lot more detail.
What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?
I got a bit of ammo this week. 2,200 rounds of .22 long rifle, 45 shotgun slugs and 3 boxes of rifle ammo. Also got a chance to inspect our firearms battery and do some maintenance (more on that tomorrow). I unpacked and inspected a bunch of stuff and much to my pleasure everything was as it should be. Going to finish the repacking as soon as I get to the store for some one gallon plastic bags.
I saw a couple M1 Carbines for sale.
Put a new collapsible buttstock on my AR. It took a second to figure out and getting that little spring in right and the plate down was annoying but it didn’t take 5 minutes. My rifle is now nice and as it should be. Also that means I have a spare buttstock and buffer/ buffer spring lying around which never hurts.
Started using a Biachi 100 professional to carry my Glock 19. This deserves its own post at some point but to skip ahead a bit, if you like carrying IWB then order one. It is a very nice holster at a very good price.
Been making an effort to keep up with current events better. I have been off in the woods so much that it has gotten out of my routine. I try not to get all doom and gloom but it is good to stay abreast with current events. I don’t need to spend an hour reading the news but 15 minutes a day is probably a good idea.
Merry Christmas!
What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?
The early part of the week I was busy with work. Did some good training which I may talk about later. Also I read most of a book on investing. Got home late Friday. Saturday I decided to inventory a bunch of stuff including our cash and precious metals. I had a pretty good idea what we had but now I know exactly.
Put another 20 Euro’s into our foreign currency reserves. Also I counted and divide up all of our Euro change. Going to change in E30 at my next trip to the bank and put it into the reserves also. It is amazing how change can add up, especially since there are one and two Euro coins as well as 50 cent pieces.
Ordered a 1,000rd case of 9mm Federal 115 gr JHP from Lucky Gunner for $350. The price is usually $380 which is very competitive already but it is on sale for the awesome price of $350 until the 16th. The holidays are definitely an expensive time of year but if you are a bit light on defensive 9mm ammo and have the cash to spare this is a great deal. Also I was pleased to see that they don’t stick it to you for shipping. It looks like they just pass on the actual cost of shipping and forgo the punitive ‘handling’ charges.
Personally I store 3 tiers of ammo for defensive rifles and handguns. The first is real premium stuff (Federal Hydroshok’s, Corbon, etc), ya know the kind that costs around a buck a bullet or more. Stocking up is really cost prohibitive so I just keep a few boxes of this stuff. Next is the more generic type of JHP or soft points. This stuff probably isn’t quite as good as the real high dollar ammo but it is at a price where I can actually afford to stock up on it. Certainly I would be better off loading this stuff than ball and it doesn’t usually cost that much more. This is the Walmart white box hollow points and the like. Lastly is cheap ball ammo which I store mostly for practice.
I also purchased a nice two point adjustable sling. Did some looking and ended up purchasing a Vickers Padded Sling. For most folks a generic sling works fine but I have recently found them to be wanting. As I spend a lot of time carrying a rifle the added utility and comfort should be well worth the $52.
Ended up reordering a Biachi 100 professional holster for my Glock 19. Thought I had got one already (sometimes unfamiliar websites are finicky AKA I am just stupid) but when I went to check on the order it said I didn’t exist. Reordered from another site and actually saved $16 which was an added bonus. Hopefully it will get home soon enough to use it at home.
We are headed home for the holidays which I am looking forward to. Haven’t been home in awhile so it will be good to be able to see everybody. It looks like I am going to be able to spend some time with my co author’s Ryan and Chad which I am excited about. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like it will be the three of us. However between getting a bit spread out geographically, varying travel/ work schedules and grown up type life commitments we have to take what we can get.
The manager of the warehouse which receives and stores stuff for me said I am going to have my own early Christmas just opening everything. I will have to pick up some ammo cans and properly store the ammo in them. Also I need to organize spare parts in some meaningful way. I am definitely looking forward to shooting.
Considering it was a short week in terms of prep time I am pretty happy how it turned out.
What did you do to prepare this week?
What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?
We had a pretty darn good preparedness week. First we went and got a bunch of extra formula for Walker which was really good. We already had a stash but now it is a pretty solid stash. Next I put a small Gerber folding knife onto my keychain. I just about always carry a knife anyway but knowing that if I am out of the house I have at least one knife won’t hurt. Next time I go to the clothing and sales I will get a small led light to go on there also.
After a lot of consideration I decided that instead of getting body armor at this point I am going to take care of a couple things that have been on the list for a long time and a couple recent additions to the list that we can just really use. I ordered a Bianchi 100 Professional IWB holster for my Glock 19. I really wanted a good holster for it to carry while I am home on leave. I have holsters (full sized Glock size) that fit the 19 but not perfectly. The difference between a real good fit and an OK fit is readily apparant in concealed carry.
When it comes to ancillary equipment for my AK I have been way off of my own desired levels (for a rifle like this 3k roounds and 20 mags) for a long time. For awhile it wasn’t really even on the radar and after that it has been towards the bottom of the list. It has been on the list for awhile now and the ammo was even on this years New Years Resolutions or at least the first round of them. I should also be able to get a full case of 9mm JHP ammo by years end. So I went ahead and ordered a case of 7.62×39 JHP Wolf ammo and 10 Eastern European surplus mags to round things out. I will go home and toss that stuff into an ammo can and aside from picking up a couple boxes now and then to go shooting not need to think about it.
Also I went out and ordered a brand new ECWS 3 Piece Sleep System. Now both Wifey and I have one. We have a couple other sleeping bags floating around but these things are a really good piece of kit.
I feel relieved to have the AK setup finally meet my own rather ambitious standards. Especially given that AK stuff is almost universally imported it gives me a lot of peace of mind to know I have a comfortable amount of ammo and plenty of mags put away. Before I had enough mags and some ammo for me to use but not much of a margin for field loss or helping a friend. Now I have that margin. Having another serious sleeping bag coming into the inventory is sure a good feeling.
I am going to let our Awesome Ammo Giveaway Contest go for a few more days as technological issues and life have put it, despite my best intentions, a bit onto the back burner. Seriously it amazes me how many people will gripe and complain about how expensive ammo is and how they can’t afford it but won’t put forth a little bit of effort to get a solid chance at willing a half case of the stuff for free. If you don’t own any of the calibers you could stand to win (9/40/45) then enter anyway and sell or trade the stuff and buy something you want.
Also if you want extra special reader points (redeamable for all kinds of great prizes and trips) then please mention this blog to a friend, family member, gun buddy or like minded individual. Send them a link to your favorite post or just the blog itself or tell them our name and let them look us up on google.
I have some awesome stuff in store for next week so stay tuned. Got one in my head about staple cooking. Another one about chest rigs and gear. Maybe one about knives too. Probably something or another about money or home finances. Best of all you just might hear from Wifey.
Kit On My List
Stuff I want to get over the next few months:
1. A good chest rig
2. A shoulder holster for a Beretta 92FS (for convenient carry on the COP/ FOB)
3. A cold steel push knife
4. A Tactical Tailor double mag pouch
5. An M4 spare mag butt stock pouch
6. A Wolf Hook Sling
If you’ve got any of this stuff that you want to get rid of or sell please send me an email.
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