Gear Reviews

A couple of years ago, I decided I needed something larger than my bedside fast-access handgun safe. I inherited a couple of worthless pistols from my father’s estate, and I loved them more than anything else I owned. My bedside safe offered no real fire protection. Its size and relatively light weight made my little safe a convenient way for a crook to carry my valuables out of the house. So I went in to see my FFL. The refrigerator-sized safes that lined the floor of the shop were visually impressive. Yet the visual impressiveness was short lived. When I knocked on their sides, they rang like old tin garbage cans. They were bigger, but not much better than what I already had. I needed a real safe. So what actually makes a safe worth buying? Let’s take a look inside a Liberty.

Otis Technology makes a multitude of cleaning products and cleaning systems for firearms and optics. They offer task specific cleaning systems for Sporting, Law Enforcement, and Military applications. All OTIS products are made in the USA at the company’s facility in Lyons Falls, NY. One of the latest products, the RIPCORD one-pass cleaning device, was featured in the OTIS Technology display at the 2014 SHOT Show.

The RIPCORD is a pull-through-the-barrel dry cleaning system. Each end of the RIPCORD has a coated brass tip that is clearly labeled with the intended caliber. These tips feature 8-32 threading so they can accept most standard cleaning accessories like brushes, bore mops, and patch holders.

When I first got into shooting there wasn’t the wide variety of scopes and reticles to choose from that we enjoy today. While the elements that make up a riflescope haven’t changed in many years, the technology and features have changed and continue to do so. I believe that we’re now at a point where there is literally an optic for just about any shooting activity to meet just about anyone’s budget. Hunting scopes probably have the largest market share when it comes to the total number of optics sold, but they also have the fewest features to offer the shooter. The typical hunting scope is a pretty simple affair with covered turrets and a simple duplex reticle for aiming. For most shooters, this arrangement works well for those shots that don’t fall outside of 200 yards across the fields or in the backwoods. However if a shot has to be pushed past that distance, the only choices are to apply some Kentucky windage and hope you know the drop of the ammunition well enough or to attempt to close the gap.

This year, Burris released a new line of hunting scopes called C4Plus that provides options for shooters looking for more versatility from their optics in an affordable package. Featuring two popular variable magnification ranges, custom bullet drop compensating knobs, quality glass and a new reticle specifically designed for wind compensation, these scopes have the potential to reach past the hunting scope market. At first glance it appears that Burris has done its homework in the design and layout of these scopes, so lets take a closer look.

The Handi-Racker is a small plastic block (available in several sizes) that fits over the slide of your pistol, on the muzzle end, and allows you to push the frame of the handgun to rack the slide rather than having to pull the slide itself. This simple change of motion and force will enable nearly anyone, regardless of age, strength or condition to work the action of a pistol. As I demonstrated in my review of Handi-Racker, it is also highly effective in clearing a jammed gun.

Thanks to modern manufacturing processes, today’s rifles have accuracies of one to two minutes of angle right out of the box. However, if you want to realize that potential, you’ll need a scope that’s in the same ballpark. The hard part, of course, is deciding which of the multitude of scopes in the marketplace is best for you. After all, they all look pretty much the same. But when you look a little closer, the differences begin to emerge. I don’t generally get too excited about scopes, but as an astronomy buff and licensed optician, when I get to use an optical instrument of this caliber, it’s hard not to get excited.
Meopta, an American family-owned, multinational company with headquarters in the US, has been building scopes since 1933. Although the company is not well known here, you’ve certainly heard of some of the premium scope makers it has built scopes for. The point is, Meopta has a lot of experience manufacturing top-of-the-line scopes.

Liberty Ammunition recently reintroduced its Civil Defense line of ammunition in new packaging. Coinciding with the new packaging, the line was extended to include 380 Auto. Another notable change is that the 45 ACP load is now labeled as a +P load. These two loadings join the previously released 9mm +P and 40 S&W to complete the Civil Defense line-up.

Liberty proclaims the Civil Defense line to be the “World’s Fastest Handgun Rounds”. Published velocities range from 1500 feet per second for the 380 Auto up to a blistering 2000 feet per second for the 9mm +P and 40 S&W. Last year, I tested the 9mm and 40 S&W just after they were introduced (as Halo Point) and verified velocities exceeding 2100 feet per second from both loads when fired from 4.5” service length barrels. I was very curious to see how the Civil Defense bullets would perform at the lower velocities published for the 380 and 45.

Introduced at SHOT Show 2011, the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic (PRO) entered the competitive red dot market with a host of features designed specifically for the Law Enforcement Officer (LEO). Aimpoint, which has been in the red dot business since 1974, took its years of experience as well as input from LEO professionals to create an optic that is optimized for the LEO mission field and the LEO wallet. The features of the PRO are vast, and while Aimpoint has other red dot optics in its product inventory that may appear comparable, none could match the MSRP of $440.

The catch, at the time, was it was specifically made for LEO and could only be bought from an authorized Aimpoint Dealer. Of course with that kind of price point for a top-notch optic, everyone wanted to get his hands on one (or four). The general public was initially frustrated by the lack of availability, but Aimpoint wanted to make sure the LEO community was the first to get the PRO. Some civilians (like me) were able to get the PRO from other sources a few months down the road, but pickings were slim and disappeared very quickly. Eventually, like everything, the mystique of the optic and its “unobtainable” status faded away. Aimpoint now offers the PRO as part of its commercial line, available to the American shooting public. Even as we enter 2014, the Aimpoint Patrol Optic is still one of the most affordable, well-rounded and robust red dots on the market. I have used red dot optics that are lighter and smaller, but for my money it is hard to beat the PRO for what you get.

In 2007, Aimpoint set the bar high for the micro red dot sight (MRD), which was then new to the market. Until then, military grade red dot sights were fairly large, consisting of a wide 30mm tube with a battery compartment slung off the side. While very effective in combat and in the civilian hunting and shooting sports, they added bulk and weight to the firearm. This proved cumbersome, especially for competition shooters mounting red dots to their pistols. When Aimpoint launched its Micro Red Dot series, it took all the reliability, durability and long battery life of its proven larger red dots and crammed it into a small, light-weight package.

Originally Aimpoint had three micro models, the T-1, H-1 and R-1. All three shared the same physical dimensions, weight and operating controls, but they were intended for different applications. The T-1 was designed primarily for a military and law enforcement application, while the H-1 and R-1 were intended for the American hunter and competition shooter respectively. As the R-1 has been discontinued and the primary difference from the H-1 is the color (silver instead of black), this article will only address the T-1 and the H-1. The different specifications between the T-1 and the H-1 are their availability of night vision settings, operating temperature ranges, water resistance and color. The military and Law Enforcement T-1 has four night vision settings and is rated for operation in -50 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also submersible to 80 feet. These extra features come at a premium, and the T-1 commands a higher price point than the H-1. The H-1 looks like the more expensive T-1, but it lacks the night vision settings, has an operating temperature range of -20 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and is only submersible to 15 feet. The H-1 also has more distinct manufacture and product markings than the T-1.

If you’re anything like me, you have all kinds of tools, patches, swabs, solvents, and favorite rags for cleaning your guns. I’m old enough to remember when there was but one way to clean a gun – Hoppe’s No. 9, a firm brush, and lots of patches. While those items are still within easy reach on my bench, I have also been happy to embrace new ideas – especially if they save me time or money! The folks at Swab-it have a product line that they say does just that. Gun Tips and Bore Tips are foam swabs that come in many shapes and sizes and are engineered to provide superior cleaning and easy re-use. I put an assortment of these swabs to the test.