Gear

Long-range hunting continues to gain in popularity. But just because you want to go long doesn’t mean dropping in bullets at 1,000 yards. Most deer hunters, for example, take their shots at 100 yards or less. Yet, if those same hunters could extend their range to 400 yards? Their chances at filling their tags would go up greatly.

While it’s not a perfect, crisp as a Pringle 1911 trigger, it’s close. Very close. For a striker-fired pistol, it’s extraordinarily good. The flat face took me a few rounds to get used to, but when I allowed my finger to rest naturally on the trigger, migrating toward the lower end of the shoe as intended with the resulting increase in leverage, I grew to like it. For the final analysis, I applied the Lyman trigger gauge once more.

As optics companies strive for ever better and cheaper scopes, a clear winner has emerged. The consumer. We live in the golden age of optics and weapons, as evidenced by this weeks test of the Leupold Mark 5. At a combined cost of under $4000 for optics and rifle, using .60 cent per round ammo, I was able to test a sub half MOA weapons system. Even 15 years ago, you would be lucky to match that at any price outside of a benchrest rig.

The pack is riddled with nice features. Inside, the back panel is set up for either Velcro- or MOLLE-compatible pouches. The side and rear panels have a foam insert to help it keeps its shape and protect your gear.

Do you carry a tactical pen? Why or why not? What do you love and hate about it?

Size matters, but when it comes to combat-ready firearms, smaller is often better. Compact weapons allow for easy maneuvering in tight spaces, which is an especially useful attribute in a home-defense firearm. Now, thanks to a favorable ruling from the ATF, Springfield has introduced two pistol-length versions of their popular Saint AR-15: the .556 and, more recently, a 300 Blackout model.

At any rate, I like the 19X so much that I bought the one that came in for review. And this week, I finally got around to the add-ons and mods I prefer.
First rattle out of the box, the sights that come as the only option on the 19X are weak sauce.

One of the biggest problems with these bubble levels mounted on the scopes or rifles was that you had to take your eyes off of the reticle to actually refocus on the bubble to see what the level indicated. The Send iT electronic level from Long Range Arms corrects that problem by using lighted LEDs to indicate when the gun is level.

I have plenty of experience with Altama, they made the best jungle boots around during my military career. As a retiree though, I wouldn’t be caught dead in a set. So it was rather surprising to find something as sexy looking as the Maritime Assault Boot in their catalog.