Woops...

Wow, I almost forgot about my blog. Ey, it happens I guess. So, I'm now on the other side of the States in Washington. Everyone is good. The animals are settled in, and the wife is working at the local retirement community. And I'm now ashore maintaining the arsenal of democracy. Not too bad...

Speaking of arsenals, the AK47 has left the fold but for a good reason. I hooked my buddy up (Masked Hobo, check out his great blog) with a much better deal than any dealer. (I'll get the mags to you soon buddy.)

And hey, it looks like Hobo and me are going to be back into the gaming swing of things with the soon to be released Red Dead Redemption. A non-linear western with an open free roam multi-player world? I am in. It's GTA in the Wild, Wild West. I need to find my soundtrack to The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly!

AR15 Loadout Update!

Well, it's been a while and the setup has changed a little bit.



I've added a Surefire G2 via a picatinny rail I had left over and a Daniel Defense Offset flashlight mount, put on a simple 2-point sling, placed the Redi-Mag back on, and bolted on a Magpul Battery Assist Device(BAD).

Surefire G2 on DD mount:


Redi-Mag and BAD:



I'm on the fence about keeping the Redi-Mag or not. It is a nice addition to the rifle and makes magazine changes much faster but the weight and and balance of the weapon is thrown off a bit. I think I'll use it if I get into competitive shooting but I think for range use, I'll stick with just using the BAD. I used the rifle with just the BAD, and while it's not a necessary addition to the AR I really like it a lot. I noticed my reloads are slightly smoother and I can get back up on target faster when using it rather than the usual bolt catch/release.

I also changed up my range gear a bit. I'm testing out an idea to use my vest to carry medical and admin gear while using the subload to carry ammunition:



I separated my medical gear based on immediate use and routine use. I will have to post about the kits later as I have used some sandwich bags to help retrieve only the supplies I want for a given situation.

As for what's next: A CMMG Inc. 22LR conversion kit and an EOTech 512 sight. The .22 kit is taking priority. It would be nice to shoot 1000 rounds without breaking the bank!

Long Hiatus...

Sorry about the long hiatus from the blog but I was a little busy:



I was in Yorktown, VA for 10 weeks at Gunner's Mate "A" school. I graduated the 18th of December and then went on leave. My wife and I are now making preparations to go to my next duty station in Port Angeles, WA. I'll be sporadically posting when I can. After February I will post on a more regular basis.

Well, I have a few things to write about tonight; and all on a good note.

First off, I got some more freaking gear. Yep, that's right. Yesterday while shopping for ammo I picked up a new hand guard for the AK. It was the same one that came with the rifle but had a few rails on it. I had to stop by the Cabelas on my way back home to finish off the shopping trip and picked up a pair of Surefire G2 flashlights and spare batteries. I slapped one of the G2s on a flashlight mount I had and placed it on the left rail of the new hand guard:



Bop!

Also while I was down at my ammo source I snagged some knee pads for cheap:



Pretty important for doing tactical rolls!

I forgot to mention a holster I picked up a while back. It's an Uncle Mike's Kydex for Glock 23s. Nothing special but worth the money:


I also added a new touch to my Blow Out Kit:



All in all, not too shabby:



Oh, and for your viewing pleasure I give you a video of today's range events. It's short but entertaining. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfuh0kBtzI4

Until next time, stay safe and be sure to get some lead down range!

The New Tac-Gear Is Here!

So my new gear was awaiting me in Maine once I got back. I popped open the USPS box and I received my HSGI Subload Single Mag Carrier and Rolly Polly Dump Pouch. The gear is very high quality and a much needed step above the basic gear I had before. The Subload sits nice and high and holds 2 AK/ 3 AR magazines plus up to four pistol magazines if you so desire. I rock with 2 extra mags for the G23. The other two pouches are home to a flashlight and cleaning kit. The Subload also had provisions for me to mount my combat knife behind the rifle mag pouch. Epic Win!

The Rolly Polly dump pouch is very well made. You can give it some abuse and it will be fine. It's big enough for my whole defense load, all rifle and pistol mags fit in the pouch. I should have bought one years ago.

The gloves and the holster were extras. I picked up the leather holster at Cabelas. I desperately needed a good IWB holster and so far so good. The G23 sits tight and the thin holster gives off minimal print.

The gloves are just something I picked up at Dick's Sporting Goods. I needed a pair dedicated to tactical use.

More pics to come. No range report yet but I'm sure there is going to be one soon. ;)

Canoe Trip

The wife and I rented a canoe for a couple of hours last time I was home a few weeks ago. We were at the Scarborough Marsh along US Route One in Scarborough, ME. It was a lot of fun and we both had a good time. May be once we are settled into a place, we can get ourselves a good deal on one. We'll see.

Check out a video:



There is another video but will have to wait till I get back home.

New Range Gear Incoming

Incoming new gear that is! I ordered up some new gear for the range bag. Over at SKD Tactical they have some nice, high quality gear for a decent price. They also offer LEO/MIL only products if you require that sort of product.

I ordered up a couple items I had been looking at for a while. The first is a brand new subload. I had one from UTG that I bought earlier in the year to research the idea of a thigh magazine pouch. I liked the concept and decided to upgrade to a better piece of equipment. I ordered up the HSGI Drop Leg Magazine Carrier, Single. Next I needed a new dump pouch so I added a RollyPolly Dump Pouch by Maxpedition to my cart.

The gear should be at my doorstep by the time I get back home to ME and I'll be sure to post a review of the pieces. It's primarily going to be range/competition/training gear. Couple it with the Chest rig I run and I'm sure the results will be interesting. Again, a full review will be in the works after I put the gear through some tests.