Gear

Police officers, competitive shooters, and military units train with air guns. What do they know that you don’t?  It is safer and cheaper than live fire while measurably improving performance. There is no better way to teach trigger control and reduce anticipation of recoil. The cost of range training is more than just the ammunition. We must also include vehicle mileage, targets and range fees but perhaps the most precious resource consumed is time.

Kestrel weather meters are ubiquitous on the firing line at many matches and have become the gold standard by which every other weather meter is judged.  Recently I set my data cards down and I brought myself into the 21st century by getting a Kestrel 5700 Elite w/ LiNK.  The 5700 Elite raises the bar over anything else I’ve found on the market by providing a world-class weather meter combined with an integrated ballistic computer good for any caliber with a maximum range measured in miles.

By Doug Larson Some readers will remember seeing first-run episodes of such westerns on television as The Rifleman and Gunsmoke. A common firearm seen in most of them is the lever action gun. And back in the days depicted in these television shows and in western movies, the lever action was used for hunting, shooting [...]

by Mark Miller I have been to some bad places around the world and have seen bad things happen. When I lived on the Gulf Coast, I went through the aftermath of several major hurricanes. I now live in a rural area near a volcano and maintain a wide selection of weapons. When I hear [...]

It doesn’t matter if you’re out hunting, on the range practicing, or driving down the highway, when chaos strikes, it strikes fast. One missed step along that ridge, a ricocheting bullet off a steel target, a distracted driver, a slip of a blade, and you can find yourself in a life and death situation. Beyond gun safety, first aid training is more useful than any other training you could attend, though most of us put it a ways down the list of our planned training.

With the right organizational system and the right bag, all of these fit and travel easily with room left over for a laptop, A/C adaptor, some papers and a book. Sure, it’s a lot of stuff, but that’s how I roll. With that, here are my top five important pieces of gear.

Magpul has been reaching into every corner of the firearms industry, so the release of a bipod probably shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. What is a surprise, it looks like it might be pretty good for the price.

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.