Therapy Thursdays

I have a tradition with a friend of mine where we occasionally get together on Thursday's and meet for lunch and do a little shooting. Yesterday was the first Therapy Thursday of 2008. Although the temperature was in the low 30's and the range was still covered in ice and snow we did not let the conditions slow us down one bit.

My buddy had a new MSAR STG AUG that he wanted to test. I have always thought that these were ugly guns but after spending some time behind the trigger their functionality is amazing. The balance is superb, even with the 42 round magazine and they weigh even less than a standard 16" AR-15. The gun came with a half power scope that worked fairly well although I think a red dot would be more versatile - particularly an Aimpoint T-1. This is certainly not a long range gun but I think it would be great in CQB situations - especially in a building.

The only negative comments I had was that it uses proprietary magazines (it would be nice if it used standard AR-15 mags) and the trigger has a long reset and fairly heavy pull. I did not have my timer with me but split times are much longer than a good AR.

I also brought out my new Kotonics AR-15 in 6.8 SPC to wring out but I'll leave that review for another post.

All in all it was a great day of good conversation and fine shooting.

I have always had a long-standing dislike for a lot of the cheap Chinese crap that is imported to the U.S. The flashlights from the Chinese manufacturer Fenix are a whole different story and maybe are a little peak at what the future holds?

The first light on the left is the T-1 Tactical. It uses (2) CR123 lithium batteries and has two modes – 225 lumens (with about 1.5 hour battery life) and 60 lumens with about a 10 hour life. With a thick stainless steel head and anodized aluminum body, this thing is built like a tank. The illumination comes from the new Cree C-5 LED and features a 50,000 hour life. It weighs in at 6.7 ounces with battery and has a recessed push button tail cap switch and the end is scalloped for CQB use. And trust me when I tell you that 225 lumens is absolutely blinding!

The L1D light in the middle uses one AA battery and also has two modes. The general mode has settings for 9, 40 and 80 lumens as well as SOS. The turbo mode has 90 lumens and a strobe mode. I used this strobe mode in FOF house clearing scenarios and I can tell you it’s very disorienting for the bad guy. It only weighs 2.1 ounces with battery. It utilizes the Cree 7090 LED.

The little P1 on the right uses one CR123 battery and has settings for 12, 72 and 135 lumens as well as a strobe and SOS. This tiny little light only weighs 1.2 ounces with battery and is small enough to put on your keychain and also uses the Cree 7090.

Each one of these had their own little niche. My T-1 is parked in my truck door, I’ve added the L1 to my duty belt as a back up and the P1 is always in my pocket. These lights put out a lot more light than anything Surefire or Streamlight offers in a comparable size and are priced in the $50 to $80 range. As a bonus they come with a nylon holster, lanyard and extra O-rings. If they turn out as durable as I think they are going to turn the whole handheld flashlight industry on it’s head.

High Noon "Bare Asset" holster review

High Noon “Bare Asset” Holster Review

I have to admit that for as long as I’ve been carrying a concealed handgun I have not been able to find an inside the waistband (IWB) holster that I liked. Every one I tried would dig into my side and would be very uncomfortable.

This has all changed with a friends’ recommendation to try the High Noon IWB holsters. I chose the Bare Asset model (and really, how can you go wrong with a name like that?) and had it in my hand 4 days after I ordered it. This holster is constructed of a very thin premium grade cowhide and features a 15 degree cant and a very solid steel belt clip as well as a tension adjustment screw. The clip fits my gun belt perfectly and does not move around at all.

This is the closest thing to wearing no holster at all and is very comfortable to wear either in front of the hip or behind the hip. The only negative comment I have is that it is so thin that it tends to collapse after drawing and this makes reholstering somewhat difficult. I guess it’s the one thing I’ll have to give up to gain the extreme comfort and conceal ability of this model.

Situational awareness

We had a couple of 16 year old girls come running into the Sheriff's Department the other night. They were very excited and explained they had been getting gas at the local station and there was a guy in a van who was just watching them. They said the guy gave them the creeps and they had the presence of mind to memorize the license number.

When they left the station the van started following them. At this point they decided to drive directly to the cop shop and file a complaint and at this point the van drove off. These two cute little girls were able to give me a detailed description of the guy, as well as the van with the license number.

I took down all of their info and then told them how proud I was of what they did and the fact was that they could not have have handled the situation any better. I remarked that in my experience most adults would not have done nearly as well.

The moral of the story is twofold. First, be constantly aware of whats going on around you whenever you are out in public. And secondly, please teach your kids how to handle strangers who show too much interest in them.