The Tactical Life

It’s a real shame Sig make a genuinely quality product, because they are a dreadful company to do business with.

@idaho I was speaking with some guys at Raytheon the other day, and there is a very cool 40mm laser guided, hand-launched rocket they are developing specifically for SF teams. Hopefully you might get your hands on one of these before too long. I’ve got some pictures I’ll look to take the geo-tagging off and upload. It’s a very cool bit of kit.

@Idaho (or anyone who has carried a gun for a living really), lets talk duty mag pouches for pistol. I’ve got the standard issue snap top leather pistol mag pouches on my belt. The snap on the top pouch is starting to get a little stiff. Of course, the boss will buy me a new one, but I’ve never really liked the idea of the snap top. If I’m reaching for a new mag, odds are I need it rightfuckingnow. The idea of fumbling with a snap does not appeal.

I’ve been looking at the Blackhawk open top kydex spring retention style, the safariland leather open top pouches, and the nylon Velcro flap top. I have no experience with any of them. It seems like yet another retention vs deployment issue. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Butting in, sorry, these appear to be solid. I’ve not used them. I use the snap top stuff like you.
But I’m considering buying up some drop leg and belt loop stuff from these guys. Have only done business with them one time, but since they had a holster to fit my Sig at <$40, I ordered one and saw their mag carriers…
BTW, for that Sig 1911, because of the rail, mist holsters that fit are by Sig or Mitch Rosen & start at $90. I’m close to a custom build leather holster shop who says they can easily put one together to accommodate it for when I have a light mounted…pretty handy and half the price of Mitch Rosen & others, although by no means inexpensive.

Anyway, for your mag carrier question, here’s a potential option maybe. And sorry for jumping in on a question for @idaho

http://aliengearholsters.com/mag-carriers.html

Peace!

A small attack, but I suppose we here in Canada have to be aware that terror isn’t just somewhere else. Luckily the officer wasn’t too badly hurt.

Geez, the clowns just keep on…
Article didn’t say where the jihadi was trying to stab the officer, but the Quran tells them to strike unbelievers in the neck, and I believe it wasn’t very long ago an officer was stabbed precisely there…

I’ve run open top for years. Specifically the Safariland double pouch in nylon for uniform/patrol. I run open top on my HSG drop leg for warrants. I’ve been in many foot pursuits, jumped fences, kicked doors, and gone hands-on without any issues. Whatever brand you go to, test it out and make sure there’s a good amount of tension for retention.

Currently in between flights, got side tracked to another location. Will be back in Afghanistan next week. access still limited.

First, I hope everyone’s family is ok and no one lost a loved one in Vegas. I get out of the 14th century for awhile and its the first thing I hear. Unbelievable

Second, All my respect to SWAT, Patrol, Fire, EMT’s and Emergency room staff for saving so many lives. When your “game” started you didn’t take a knee, you went in as you always do. You are always ready. Wish I could have been there with you, especially on the entry team, instead of being stuck in some remote village of goats and filth. First responders always do the “real work”. Respect.

Very, very nice. Congrats.

I have heard rumors, I haven’t seen one yet. Thanks. Also, if you are curious, go on Soldier Systems Daily and search for the new mechanized body armor/ load bearing armor. shades of science fiction.

Same with me. good advice, unless your SOP states you must carry snap tops/ cover tops for mags go for the open top. much less fumbling in critical situations. The only factor is weather, but, i wipe mine down after every day carry anyway.

Looking for some advice from the tactical folks! Wife and I recently got motivated to get a firearm for HD, after all the NJ paperwork was filled out and we got our IDs, started taking classes a couple months ago and fortunately there’s a solid range around the corner that I get to a few times a week. My new Sig P226 Elite was the first step, looking to expand the collection to make sure all my bases are covered. Would love some advice from the more experienced folks on where to go from here, here’s what I’m thinking based on my limited amount of searching around, again please feel free to chime in and give some guidance on brands, anything I’m missing, anything I don’t need, etc.

*Living in NJ, there is no carry allowed, so choices are primarily for HD and range practice. Also would take recommendations for a bug-out bag and “just in case” scenarios. Many thanks in advance!

-Shotgun - Not quite sure, wife and I are both 5’4" with relatively short arms. Tried a Mossberg Youth size 500 at the range and it felt pretty good for both of us. Tried a full size 20ga and was pretty painful to operate and hard to pump with my short arms.

-.22 rifle - Seems like a good idea for practice and cheap range time?

-AR - Not looking to build my own and don’t want to start going down the AR rabbit hole. Looking for something that is solid out of the box or that would benefit from small tweaks and additions, and possible optic recommendations? Some seemingly good options (again PLEASE feel free to steer in a different direction as I’m new here) are Colt LE6920, S&W Sport II, Sig M400. Trying to keep the budget ~$1,000, not looking for bells and whistles but want to be sure it’s quality.

-Anything else?

Thanks again in advance for any feedback! @s_afsoc - Love the scorpion!

I’m not sure I’d call myself that. Enthusiast might be a better word, but here I am in this thread so here are my $0.02.

-On the P226… Excellent choice on a fine firearm for your stated application. If you haven’t already, give some thought to your ammunition choice. Cheap ball ammo is fine for practice, but for home defense make sure you are using high quality hollow point ammunition. I use Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P jacketed hollow points, and so do many LE agencies. Whatever you choose, I recommend making sure you run at least several mags through your Sig to make sure it operates without error. Here’s an interesting article on the rationale, featuring your state’s backward gun laws!

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/08/mike-mcdaniel/hollow-point-ammunition-basic-rationale/

-On the Shotgun… If it doesn’t seem like a good fit, don’t think twice about moving on to something that is.

-.22 rifle… You are correct.

-AR… I am extremely happy with my S&W Sport II. $1000 gets you a rife and a very good optic, or a rifle and a lot of ammunition to practice with, or a rifle and another gun. Mine has run flawlessly for well over 1k rounds. I’m not a pro with it or anything, but the appeal of the rifle is that you don’t need to be. It is very easy and fun to shoot.

Enjoy!

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@twojarslave thank you for the feedback! Much appreciated!

Thanks very much, tried a wide variety to make sure I had a good fit as it’s quite a pain to get new handguns in NJ. For the ammo, I get my practice ammo from LAX, factory new, and for HD I have Hornady Critical Defense. With the hollow point restrictions in NJ, I don’t want to deal with the risk of driving it to and from the range or the store, but critical defense has a polymer in it, so even though it functions like a hollow point, technically it isn’t.

Awesome, thank you! My range has one available for rent, tried it a couple times and enjoyed it, very accurate and enjoyable. Thanks again man!

@robstein It sounds like you’re putting a lot of thought into this. Well done!

Here are my rifles. My AR has Magpul furniture on it, which it is not sold with. I’ve got an Aimpoint PRO on top of the AR, and it was $425 new. I think Sport II’s are under $600 on budsguns dot com right now, so there’s your $1000. It is a rugged, high-quality red dot with a battery that lets you leave the dot turned on for years. I’ve been equally pleased with the optic.

Next to it is a Ruger 10/22 takedown. I got mine for about $275 delivered, but I think it was on sale. Great to practice with, great for a bug-out-bag type of application, better than nothing for self-defense, and great for hunting small game. Assembles and disassembles in seconds with no tools. 10/10 cool factor. There’s a ton of really
great aftermarket stuff you can get for this too. Same with the AR.

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Man thanks so much for all the detailed info on your rifles and optics! Love the 10/22, I’m still figuring out if I should get the 10/22 or an AR style .22, the appeal of being able to break it down is pretty appealing and easy to carry in a bag if needed. Thanks again man!

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Also not an expert, just an enthusiast. Good choices in firearms. I would recommend spending money on ammo and training before buying a very many more firearms.

I owned a Sig P226 for a while and it was a fine pistol, but not exactly what I wanted. As it is a Steel Slide on an Aluminum frame, you need to keep it well lubricated to insure a long life. I would recommend scouring the web for videos. It’s a great pistol, take good care of it and it can literally last hundreds of thousands of rounds.

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You are already covered off on a duty caliber handgun.

A 22lr rifle is a great addition to your safe. It can be a semi auto or bolt action. Ruger 10-22’s are a very popular semi. Check out some of CZ’s offerings for a nice bolt action. Cheap practice and great for learning the basics, refining techniques.

A 22lr handgun will get a lot of use as well. Ruger make a nice one. Cheap practice and great for learning the basics, refining technique,…

A center fire semi auto rifle should find it’s way into your collection. AR patterned rifles fit the bill nicely. The ammo is relatively cheap and common. You can customize the rifle to your needs. Under $1000 gets you a very serviceable rifle. Colt, S&W, Bushmaster,…and other offer great products. I prefer a16" barrel with a retractable and a high quality red dot for general purpose.

A 12 gauge shotgun tends to be on most top 5 lists but if it doesn’t fit you or your needs, skip it. It you do decide to go this way Remington 870’s or Mossberg 500’s are solid choices. For HD/SD, stick with a 18" barrel.

One more base to cover in a general firearm library would be a quality center fire bolt action rifle. Unless you are getting into reloading or have a specific hunting purpose in mind, stay with a common round like 308 Win. It’s enough round to take all but the biggest game in North America and precise enough to varmint hunt. You can easily find everything from plinking to hunting to match ammo for it. The go to rifle in this space is a Remington 700. Pick one up in a varmint or police configuration and you’ll be able to grown into it for many range trips.

If you have more specific desires, my suggestions may change but this is a well rounded list. The rest is details.

All that said, unless you are racing to get something before it’s banned or need it for a class/hunt; consider spending as much $ on ammo and range fees as you spent on your last purchase before making the next.

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@Uncle_Gabby thanks for the advice! I’ll be sure to keep up on the maintenance.

I’m able to get to the range 2-3 times a week, signed up for a couple classes as well, I was planning on adding a long gun soon but maybe I’ll wait until I get through these classes and have some more experience.

@mixicus thanks for your input and great info, exactly what I was looking for.

Great advice, thank you. It’s enjoyable to get into it and want to start adding quickly. Currently just have the P226 and have use it a few times a week at the range with the bulk ammo from LAX. I’ll have to wait on the .22 handgun and file for some more permits. Any input on which long gun to add next?

Thanks for this input. After looking around some more, I am leaning towards a Colt LE6920, which seems like a good combination of quality parts and brand, range practice, just-in-case, and minimal bells and whistles. On GB I found new ones complete with Magpul furniture for $750, so for a couple hundred more than the M&P Sport, seems like a good way to go. Do you have a red dot recommendation in the $~200 area?

Thanks again!

The Sig P226, and all of their Aluminum frame pistols require far more lube than most pistols. People who didn’t know Sigs would tell me that my pistol was too wet, but they didn’t know what they were talking about.

I have owned a pistol since I turned 21, but it was just two years ago when I turned 37 that I got my concealed carry permit and got serious about carrying. I went through a phase of buying and selling pistols trying to find the right fit. If you buy used pistols, you can usually sell them for what you’ve got in them. For me it was cheaper to buy and sell than it was to rent. Of course follow all state and federal laws, and I would Internet stalk my buyers to make sure they were on the level first.

Anyway, once I became familiar with Sigs I found that a lot of used Sigs were showing signs of damage on the frame rails from inadequate lubrication. On the other hand if you take good care of it, it should last hundreds of thousands of rounds.

On AR15.com there is a thread about high round count rifles and pistols, written by a guy who runs a commercial range in Las Vegas. It’s a great resource, showing how many rounds a firearm can hold up two and how and why they eventually fail. He says the Sig P226 can run at least 250,000 rounds before failing.

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For a dot, buy quality and buy once. Stretch your budget to $400 and you can pick up an AimPoint PRO. There are other dots under that price but they can be sketchy. If $200 is your ceiling, look at the Vortex SPARC or StrikeFire

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