Equipment

This post is several months overdue. Between 2021 and 2022, I had a lot of conversations and read a lot of articles. I noticed a distinct trend that shotguns were making waves, and there was a growing interest. I decided to finally fill the glaring hole in my collection and dive into the world of shotgunning. But where to start?

The DMR and SPR platforms are gaining a lot of popularity again. I wanted to take a minute to walk through the history of the rifles as well as my personal templates and build suggestions should you want to go down the light precision rabbit hole for yourself.

I’m rounding out descriptions of my load bearing equipment configurations. We’ve covered the MInuteman Harness, the Rifleman Rig, and now the General Purpose Patrol Harness-otherwise known as the Run & Gun rig that I’ll be using for tactical biathlon competitions and other things.

The battle belt is a sort of modern iteration of the classic ALICE gear that served the US military from the 70s through late 90s. But there are some significant differences, particularly in the type and amount of load that the belt handles. In this post, we’re going through some basic guidelines and a suggested layout for developing your own minimalist fighting kit.

A while back, I did a primer on magazine pouches, and one of the topics I mentioned was managing your ammunition supply. This is the follow-up where I get into some specific advice for beginners about working through your equipment and positioning your magazines.

The Rival is Canik’s first competition-focused gun and is supposed to be ready to compete in USPSA, IPSC and IDPA out of the box. This is close to true, as that box is loaded with accessories.

There was a time where ammo was cheap, but those days are gone. The CoolFire Trainer allows you to train with your carry gun for the price of cheap .22lr in the comfort of your own home and on your own schedule. But after nearly 18 months of ownership, do I think it’s worth it? Let’s discuss.

When you talk about electronic hearing protection, most people either think “cheaper” like the ubiquitous Howard Leights or “Super Expensive” like Peltor Comtacs and Ops-Core AMPs. Today I’m looking at another American-made option you might not know about, the Otto Noizebarrier Range SA.

As part of revising my load bearing equipment, I’ve continued building on previous versions to create something I’ve dubbed the Rifleman Harness. It’s a heavier load bearing equipment configuration for longer duration away from home.

Since you and I aren’t part of a well-organized, funded, and supplied group who can issue common equipment to everyone, it makes the most sense that your radio brings the most flexibility that you can get. In this post, I want to quickly touch on what I think is the best “all around” radio for the prepared citizen. We’ll touch on digital mobile radio (DMR) and the capability it brings along, as well as a few alternatives.

The Swampfox Trihawk is a 3x magnified prism optic intended for tactical usage by law enforcement and prepared citizens. It sports a best-in-class field of view, great optical clarity, and battery-powered illumination. At about a quarter of the price of an ACOG, will it become my go-to recommendation for people looking at prism optics? Let’s take a look.

To start off a series of reviews concerning 3x prismatic optics, I wanted to start with the current king of the 3x hill, as it were. The TA33 has been around since 2007, and is well known among enthusiasts. Let’s run down what makes this model so interesting, how it works up close, and where its age is starting to show.