Columns

Though Tim Kennedy is still an active duty Special Forces sniper, he puts a great deal of energy into Sheepdog Response. The organization conducts training for civilians, law enforcement, military personnel, and first responders. The objective is to provide practical, real world, effective techniques in armed and unarmed combat.

This week we got a chance to look at the XDM OSP. The OSP is a 4.5 inch duty size gun that comes out of the box with a Vortex Venom on top.

You are well trained, but there is always something you don’t know.  You get out and move to the passenger side of the Lexus.  Your hand goes to the butt of your pistol without even thinking and you are halfway to the Lexus and you hear, “he’s been shot.” You jog the rest of the way and when you look inside all you see is blood.

Can you use deadly force to protect property? Most of the time you cannot. However, there is an instance where deadly force can be applied to protect premises. Do you know what it is?

Not far into my journey to reloading, it became obvious I was going to need some case prep tools. Never one to shy away from keeping Visa in business, I decided to go big from jump street rather than piecemeal the products along the way. I picked the biggest and baddest options available from Hornady.

Possibly the biggest advantage of a shoulder holster is the ability to carry guns of various shapes and sizes. Depending on the cover garment, they allow very fast access to the gun. Check out my top five shoulder rigs.

Competing in the Extreme Tough Man Division of the Mammoth Sniper Challenge is a test of both shooter and gear. This 3-day event held each January requires competitors to carry all their gear 25+ miles between stages and campsites, camp out, and engage precision rifle targets out to 800+ yards. Many of the lessons learned are applicable to hunting and backcountry scenarios. Here are a few of those I discovered over the years.

Developing and eventually truing your ballistic data is going to start at the zero range. Getting a solid zero for the rifle is essential.  I prefer a 100 yard zero for my precision rifles because at that short of a range the environment is going to have a negligible effect on the bullet.

The M&P Bodyguard 38 combines modern construction and features with the tried-and-true. It’s a slick 5-shot revolver chambered for .38 Special +P.