5.11 Tactical's TKO Ratchet, puts power where you need it on the range.
One of the things we never seem to have when zeroing a scope are tools to loosen/tighten mounts or adjustment knob set screws. 5.11 Tactical has just the tool to help, the TKO Ratchet Kit. At $19.99 it is an affordable wrench kit that can save a trip to the range.
The first item that sets the TKO Ratchet Kit apart from others is it’s a ratchet. Next is its size, it literally will fit in the palm of your hand. Finally all the eight pieces of the tool kit fit into a MOLLE compatible holder just larger than a silver dollar.
All of the bits and tools fit this handy belt/MOLLE case.All of the tools fit into this convenient case so they are easy to find.
So what all does the TKO Ratchet Kit have for the shooter? Obviously there is the dual direction ratchet driver. Unlike other ratchets, this one can be used as a small pry bar and bottle opener. Next are the tools, six hex bits included: Phillips #2, Torx 10, 15, 20, SAE 3/32” and 7/64”. There is a punch for pins on polymer pistols and a magnetic locking bit extension.
All six of the bit heads have the size clearly marked.
When 5.11 designed this tool kit they knew these six bits would not cover all screws and bolts. Smartly, they sized the bits in ¼” pattern so other common firearm’s tool bits would fit. This means when you don’t have a special wrench for a Mosin-Nagant’s receiver screws that are known for being a bear to loosen. You can use the 5.11 TKO to get better leverage on a screw than that of a standard screwdriver handle will give you. In the end you will have fewer stripped heads and fewer headaches caused by loosening/tightening a screw.
The ratchet with extension gives you more torque on stuck screws.
At first I questioned the idea of a pry bar. Then I realized you can remove a receiver from the stock and not risk bending a screwdriver or knife. The end can also help open your slide or AR bolt if you have an extracted case stuck.
The ratchet also is the pry bar/bottle opener.
The pry bar can be used to lift the pull tab on an energy drink or pop can. When you get older and injuries to your hands catch up with you those tabs can be a pain. The bottle opener comes in handy for old school bottles of pop or an adult beverage after you are done shooting. I find the TKO comes in handy in the tight confines on my RV too.
Over the years I have used some nifty pocket tools, 5.11 Tactical’s TKO Ratchet Kit is one of the best. It is compact, versatile and definitely useful. If you are an outdoorsman, shooter, hunter, camper; it is a worthwhile investment.
Weather-Resistant USB Rechargeable Light Features 325 Lumens, Hands-Free Options
EAGLEVILLE, PA, April 27, 2021 – Streamlight®, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance lighting, launched the ultra-compact Pocket Mate®, a weather-resistant, USB rechargeable personal light that delivers 325 lumens and features convenient hands-free options.
Small enough to carry in a pocket, the Pocket Mate features an anodized spring clip that attaches to zippers or key chains, and clips onto hats, visors and clothing for hands-free use.
“Versatility, brightness and USB rechargeability make the Pocket Mate the perfect easy-to-carry light for any situation—hands-free, in your pocket or attached to your person,” said Streamlight Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Michael F. Dineen. “The Pocket Mate produces incredible lumens and beam distance for a light this size.”
The Pocket Mate is powered by a bright white LED that offers high and low modes. On high, the Pocket Mate delivers 325 lumens, a 76-meter beam and a 20-minute run time; on low, it provides 45 lumens, a 28-meter beam and a run time of 1 hour. Both modes run for several hours of intermittent use.
Featuring a lithium polymer battery, the light charges from any USB power source and includes a charge status indicator. The light’s multi-function pushbutton switch is recessed to prevent accidental turn-on.
The new light is constructed from an impact-resistant polycarbonate and a machined aluminum frame. Measuring 2.0 inches long and weighing 0.5 ounces, the Pocket Mate is rated IPX4 for weather-resistant operation and is impact-resistance tested to 1 meter.
Available in silver, red, blue and pink, the Pocket Mate has an MSRP of $35.00, and includes a Two-Year Warranty.
About Streamlight Based in Eagleville, PA, Streamlight, Inc. has more than 45 years of experience making tough, durable, long-lasting flashlights designed to serve the specialized needs of professionals and consumers alike. Since 1973, the company has designed, manufactured and marketed high-performance flashlights, and today offers a broad array of lights, lanterns, weapon light/laser sighting devices, and scene lighting solutions for professional law enforcement, military, firefighting, industrial, automotive, and outdoor applications. Streamlight is an ISO 9001:2015 certified company. For additional information, please call 800-523-7488, visit streamlight.com or connect with us on facebook.com/streamlight; twitter.com/Streamlight; instagram.com/streamlightinc; linkedin.com/company/streamlight-inc./; and youtube.com/streamlighttv.
“Hey man, you got a package from Aero here.” With those words, my friend and local gun store owner granted me a massive smile. My EPC was in. I received a full AR15 kit courtesy of Aero Precision and knew whatever else I had planned for the day was canceled. I had a gun to build and shoot, and enjoy, and now write about.
Putting The EPC Together
I received everything in pieces and needed to build out both the upper and lower. This turned out to be a simpler build than most. Everything about the EPC is simple. The upper doesn’t have a forward assist or dust cover, and the proprietary last round bolt hold open is installed already. The lower has the magazine release installed, and the trigger guard is integrated.
The lower also features a threaded bolt catch roll pin and a threaded takedown pin detent recess. This eliminates those feisty roll pins and makes installing your parts very simple. Aero’s Atlas rail system took no time to install and is rock solid. A torque wrench, and a few punches, and some Allen wrenches were all I needed.
That being said, I lost my automatic center punch, so I haven’t staked the castle nut just yet. However, it’s on nice and tight, and my automatic center punch is en route now.
One interesting feature is of the lower parts kit is the reinforced trigger pins. Direct blowback guns pour pressure into the gun, and these reinforced trigger pins allow it to stand up to the extra stress.
Range Time Pain Time
With the way ammo prices are right now, I’ve been shooting a lot of 9mm, so my long gun shooting has been shotguns and PCCs. Aero’s EPC came at the right time for me. Ammo wise, I stacked up some classic Winchester white Box, some Tulammo, Winchester Forged, and even a mag’s worth of 124-grain JHP SIG ammunition.
Since the EPC takes Glock mags we gotta have a lineup of the various Glock magazines on the market. I have some classic Glock OEM, ETS, Magpul, and KCI magazines to see what functions and what does not. Once we were loaded up, I needed to zero my Swampfox Blade 1x prism to the gun. It was a quick and easy 25-yard zero that would carry me out to 50 yards and even out to 100 yards with the reticle’s design.
Laser-Like
Accuracy with the EPC was rather impressive. When zeroing, I had a supported position, and my groups were nice and tight. Mil-spec trigger seems to be a spectrum these days. I’ve had lots of rifles assign the mil-spec moniker to their triggers, and they all vary from each other. Aero’s is nice and short with zero slack. You got a stiff wall that’s smooth to overcome before you get the bang.
In the standing, my groups at 25 yards were consistent and small. At 25, I made my small 4-inch gong spin around the beam with a few successive shots. Back to 50 yards, I landed enough dings fast enough to sing a song on the 6, 8, and 10-inch gongs. I also scored successful headshots on my VTAC target, all from the standing. In a good supported kneeling position, I rang the 4-inch gong consistently enough to stroke my ego.
At 100 yards, we are really wringing out the majority of practical range we can get from a 9mm. Using the bottom stadia of my chevron reticle, I hit the 10-inch gong and 25% IPSC target from a supported position most of the time. Man-sized targets got an unhealthy dose of lead poisoning in the chest and torso area without much difficulty.
Thump Thump
As a blowback 9mm AR, there is some recoil to be expected. Not an absurd amount, and from a 16-inch barrel, it’s less than a 5.56 in a comparable platform. At the end of my barrel is a VG6 Gamma 9mm that also takes some bite out of the recoil. The same goes for muzzle rise.
Firing a 9mm through a 16-inch barrel is a rather pleasant experience with minimal muzzle rise as is. With the VG6 Gamma 9mm, there is basically zero muzzle rise. There is just a little movement when you shoot. When you start slinging lead at an accelerated rate, you won’t have issues controlling the EPC.
Ergonomically my setup is quite light for a rifle. A lot of weight is shaved in the front via the Atlas rail system. It’s skeletonized to a near extreme degree. It’s M-LOK compatible with a full-length top rail. As a blowback 9mm, you are dealing with a hefty buffer, 7.7 ounces, to be correct. This situates a good bit of weight to the rear and makes everything nice and balanced.
Ensuring you can properly reload was clearly a priority with the EPC. The magazine release is big and massive and designed to function with Glock-type magazines without changing the AR 15 style ergonomics. Add in the flared mag well, and popping magazines in and out becomes rapid and easy. Lastly, the big appeal to the EPC is a last-round bolt hold open compatible with Glock mags.
A sub-three-second reload takes hardly any skill, and getting closer to two seconds isn’t tough either. The bolt release is exactly where it’s supposed to be and with the massive Aero Breach charging handle manipulations are rapid.
How’s It Eat
The Aero Precision EPC has turned out to be both reliable among different brands and types of ammo and magazines. My first day was a mere 100 rounds, but then the weekend hit, and I hit back. Enough, so my neighbor complained. Keep in mind my nearest neighbor is a mile away.
I let loose a symphony of 9mm pills of various weights and qualities. Fun fact, 147 grain 9mm is almost quiet from a 16-inch barrel. It went through everything without tapping out from steel cased, hard primered Tula to filthy and dry Winchester Forged. Say what you will about blowback actions, but they aren’t very picky. This includes some reloaded stuff in blister packs that I don’t ever remember buying.
In my mind, I heard ka-ching ka-ching with every shot and magazine’s worth of ammunition. Yet, it was still worth it. I had one failure to feed—a round of Tula whose projectile had sunk into the case. With the price per round being the way it is, I couldn’t believe the audacity of this Eastern European garbage.
Another ‘failure’ came from KCI magazines. The follower failed to rise with Winchester Forged a few times. The ammo is crap, and the magazines are cheap, so I won’t complain much.
Ping Pow Pew with the EPC
The Aero EPC proved to be quite the fun little PCC. Mine is the full-sized USPSA ready version, but uppers with shorter barrels exist for pistol and SBR options. Aero Precision might have taken their time getting the EPC to market, but that time taken has proven to be well worth it. Give the EPC a peek if you’re looking for a refined but affordable and easily customized AR 9mm platform.
The Supreme Court of the United States is taking up it’s Second Amendment case, and in my opinion they picked an excellent one.
While there are a myriad issues we would like to see SCOTUS bring the hammer down on, especially in areas where the regional circuit courts simply bolster the prevailing attitude of the locals, that is unrealistic. While it was cheap for New York to conveniently fix their transport law and avoid the hard gaveling they so richly deserve on the issue, and they avoided by doing so, it appears their time has come.
The law at issue in the case, New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Corlett, is similar to gun-control measures in other states. To receive an unrestricted license to carry a concealed firearm outside the home, a person must show “proper cause” – meaning a special need for self-protection. Two men challenged the law after New York rejected their concealed-carry applications, and they are backed by a gun-rights advocacy group. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld the law, prompting the challengers to appeal to the Supreme Court.
On the bench is what are commonly referred to as “May Issue” carry permits, a legal standard that a few states still hold to that gives the state unlimited space to deny their residents the right to defense of themselves outside the home. They do so by making the resident show ’cause’ for why they need a permit to defend themselves and carry a firearm to do so. This effectively prevented anyone who did not have clout with their local officials, or at least a business reason like handling large amounts of cash for deposit, from getting a permit. You have to prove you are under special or specific threat outside those normal risks the public face, even though those risks are very real, which is defeating the purpose of carrying since demonstrating that heightened risk may mean you needed the firearm yesterday… Threats come quickly, and government offices move ponderously… no more so than when those offices are headed by people opposed to the notion they are charged with processing.
May Issue is an unfair and highly subjective policy. It is a policy that engenders cronyism and preferential treatment. It is a policy that laughs at notions like ‘objective standards’ and it willfully violates the rights of state residents who live in those states, using the lower regional courts to shield them as the lower courts toss it to SCOTUS to (eventually) rule on the notion.
That time is now, and we can hopefully look forward to a substantive win as ‘Shall Issue’ becomes the national standard, not simply the majority prevailing standard. Where if you meet the legal requirements to carry a pistol, meaning you have no legal prohibitions against doing so, than no subjective criteria will block you from applying for and obtaining a permit. Your right to carry, absent legal prohibition for a criminal offense or mental diagnosis, will be sustained. Period.
Even Illinois went with a shall issue system after being forced to implement a carry permit, as the sole remain state who had held out against allowing their residents the right to conceal a firearm at all. It says a lot about what the powers in Chicago saw as the writing on the wall and allowed Springfield to enact that Shall Issue emerged. Granted they still made it fairly arduous, but it is an objective standard.
While this won’t give us national reciprocity, it is the largest step in that direction, a crucial step and one that can squash one of the most egregious gun control hold outs that have been allowed to remain unchallenged.
Objective standards of CCW permitting is not too much to ask. Not forcing your law-abiding citizens to shill out a ‘reason’ for you to trust them with their right of arms is only right. Using “public good” or “public safety” is an atrociously weak argument when permit-less and shall issue states abound and they are not rampant blood filled wastelands of the apocalypse, in fact their crime trends seem to follow the same logical progressions as anyone else.
Shall issue, nationwide. Hopefully. It certainly looks like the typical spots are terrified of the outcome, judging from a few headlines.
EV (battery-powered) bikes open up new ground for sportsmen because they can go uphill for miles–where bicycles cannot –all while remaining legal for trails, unlike motorcycles. And unlike those gas-smelling two-wheelers, these Kats are deathly quiet!
Of course the rider can pedal if he or she wants exercise. But the rider always has the option of punching the throttle if his legs feel like noodles and he just wants to get back to camp.
In this episode of BullShooters, JJ finally gets out of his hermit-like existence during the corona virus era and goes turkey hunting in Illinois, where he tests QuietKat’s lineup of EV bikes.
Watch as he calls in a giant longbeard then bikes it out of the woods.
Gone are the days of using three different pieces of glass when engaging an animal or a target. Using your binos to find the target, switch to range finder to range the target, get your data, now to your rifle glass to finally engage. Targets can be lost or move all within that time frame. The Vortex Fury HD Binoculars and Rangefinder cut that time down in half allowing you to find the target, range your target, and get your data all within the same piece of glass.
The Furys are ready to use right out of the box. They are shipped with the Furys, CR2 battery inside, chest harness, comfort neck straps, objective and eyepiece lens covers, and lens cloth.
Capabilities
Ranging
The Furys feature both last and best ranging modes. It also includes Horizontal Component Distance (HCD) mode for angled ranging and scan ranging for ranging while scanning across an area. The product manual features descriptions for each ranging feature and when is the best time to use each mode.
Range Reflective
5-5000 yards
Range Tree
5-2400 yards
Range Deer
5-1600 yards
Note: The reticle when ranging can actually be used for more than point and lase. The sub tensions are measurements. While scanning and ranging you can use those to measure your intended target. See below.
This is how it will look in your right eye piece. Range on bottom, data on top, wind on right side.
Data
After either linking your Furys to a Kestrel, Garmin, or the Vortex Fury app and inputting your gun info and ballistics into said app, you now can correctly use ballistic mode. In BAL (ballistic) mode after measuring the distance to your target your specialized elevation and wind will pop up in the glass. This can be shown in yards or meters.
Data is powered by Applied Ballistics. The same ballistic solution that is in many kestrel products.
Environment
The Vortex Furys include everything you need to read your environment and input it into your ballistic solution. The Furys will read and display temperature (Fahrenheit and Celsius), barometric pressure (Mercury or Millibars), and wind speed (MPH or MPS). This is all only available in BAL mode and can be measured by clicking the measure button while in the certain displays or by opening up your Fury AB App.
Note: The Fury environmental sensors are inside of the Fury Chassis. Due to this your Furys may need some time to acclimate to its surroundings depending on if it is a drastic change. You do have the option to manually enter the evironmentals and push them to your Furys. See the video below for more information on doing that.
Wind
Everyones biggest enemy. The Furys are a great tool for capturing the wind. It offers both full crosswind mode and wind bearing capture mode.
The full crosswind mode will be standard when recieving the Furys. Within this mode the Furys are under the impression that the wind is coming from either the 9 o clock or 3 oclock position. You can then enter the wind speed into fury which allows it to populate your wind hold at various distances when measuring.
In wind bearing capture mode the Furys will do the work for you. This mode will capture the wind direction no matter which way you are facing due to its internal compass. Convienently, there is an individual wind bearing capture button on the binos. Stand directly into the wind and press the capture button. The degree for which direction the wind is coming from will populate within the Furys. Then input the speed and you now have your wind hold data.
Options for Linking
There are many options to link these binos to your favorite ballistic finder. The Vortex Fury HD 5000 AB’s are compatible with a Kestrel with Applied Ballistics, a Kestrel without Applied Ballistics, and the Garmin Foretrex.
Specs
Magnification 10x
Objective Lens Diameter 42 mm
Eye Relief 16 mm
Exit Pupil 4.2 mm
Linear Field of View 321ft/1000 yds
Angular Field of View 6.1 degrees
Close Focus 18.5 feet
Interpupillary Distance 58-72 mm
Height 5.8 inches
Width 5.0 inches
Weight 32.4 oz
Optical Features
HD Optical System Optimized with select glass elements to deliver exceptional resolution, cut chromatic aberration and provide outstanding color fidelity, edge-to-edge sharpness and light transmission.
Dielectric Coating Multi-layer prism coatings provide bright, clear, color-accurate images.
XR™ Fully Multi-Coated Proprietary coatings increase light transmission with multiple anti-reflective coatings on all air-to-glass surfaces.
Phase Correction Coating on roof prism models enhances resolution and contrast.
Construction Features
ArmorTek ® Ultra-hard, scratch-resistant coating protects exterior lenses from scratches, oil and dirt.
Rubber Armor Provides a secure, non-slip grip, and durable external protection.
Fogproof Nitrogen gas purging prevents internal fogging over a wide range of temperatures.
Tripod Adaptable Compatible with a tripod adapter, allowing use on a tripod or car window mount.
Options
The Vortex Fury comes in three options and the price is right on all of them. Many aren’t switching over to an all in one binocular and rangefinder due to the high price it takes to purchase. Vortex however put out a quality piece of glass for a very fair price.
As always, Vortex offers their lifetime VIP warranty. Very Important Promise. If your Furys are damaged or defective simply contact customer service and you will be taken care of. If the product cannot be repaired you will be given the same equipment in perfect condition.
To Set Up
The first thing that was done after receiving the Furys was to ensure that they turn on and set them up for the proper focus. Following the product manual online made it super easy. After downloading the Vortex Fury App information was then taken from my kestrel and input into the Fury app such as height over bore, twist rate, etc. After all information was manually input into the app, the App and the Furys were then connected using bluetooth. Deciding to link Furys to the Fury App instead of the kestrel is due to the Fury having all of the math and environment elements already inside internally so the constant link up is not needed. After ensuring the Furys were on the range mode that was needed for my shooting application (best range mode) and verifying the data output was correct the Furys were ready to use. It all took about a half hour to do the set up.
The term in the title carries quite a bit of emotional baggage, doesn’t it? As it should. No one wants to see statistics on the deaths of children. Except for the gun-grabbing left who toss such numbers about like confetti. And except for the fact that the numbers they toss are wildly misleading and show their craven disregard for actual facts.
Warning – I feel a rant coming on.
Editor is declaring Alert Condition: RED
The statistics of gun-grabbers rarely separate out “gun deaths” as a result of criminal activity, law enforcement intervention, or self-defense, or even suicide. The age for the term “child” can go up to 21 or higher if organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics gets involved.
That means that the death of the 13 year-old who was out running the streets with a gun at 3AM is included in those stats. As is the death of the 16 year-old knife-wielding foster child. And every teenaged armed robber who is killed by a homeowner in the middle of the night in self-defense. Not to mention the teenaged gang members who murder each other and innocent bystanders with impunity nearly every day in places like Chicago.
Those are all “child deaths”. Except without context one is led to believe that toddlers are dying in the streets, and it is all the fault of the cops and the NRA.
Yet we rarely hear about the actual children killed in actual criminal violence. Those tragic stories rarely last in the news cycle and the children’s names are rarely chanted by marchers – because their deaths don’t fit the narrative and are thus not politically useful.
As a pediatrician and a gun owner this both enrages and saddens me.
WHERE are the parents? WHERE is the community? WHO are the ones who are allowing these “children” to grow up parentless, rudderless, and amoral such that they turn to gangs and crime and murder?
It’s not me or my gun-owning friends and it’s not the NRA who are at fault. This is a FAMILY problem, a SOCIAL problem, and a CULTURAL COMMUNITY problem, not a gun problem.
WHY is the community only active and marching AFTER the fact? Where is the community outrage and intervention BEFORE something tragic happens? Where is the guidance and life-shaping for these young people?
I am frankly fed up with taking the blame for the inaction and failings of others, and having fingers pointed at ME as a lawful firearms owner every time someone else’s lifelong series of bad choices results in a nearly predictable tragic outcome.
It’s not that I don’t feel badly for the grief of the families involved, but where were they for their kid? Where was the parenting? Where was the cultural and spiritual community support for that kid BEFORE something happened?
“Support” and marching AFTER the fact does jack. Stop blaming other people for the problems you yourselves have caused. Clean up your own communities. Mold your own children in the way they should go. Stop abdicating your responsibility and moral duty and BE the PARENT!!
I feel like a senile old lady yelling at the clouds :-(
Rant off.
Editor’s Note: The deliberate obfuscation of circumstances is in narratives that don’t fit the agenda are the greatest sin in media, in my opinion. It’s okay to have an agenda, to have goals, to have things that you as a writer or you as an organization would like to see come to fruition through policy, community efforts, or as agreements between companies and groups around the nation and around the world.
That is fine.
What isn’t, what undermines your credibility even if more than an agenda driven bias is obfuscating trends and circumstance that don’t fit your narrative in order to exploit them. A 17-year-old gunned down by a 16-year-old, or a 14-year-old, or blown up by a 12-year-old or a 10-year-old, is not a “child gun violence” death. It isn’t a stat to be swept into duct-taped together pile of barely correlated events based upon a wide age bracket. It may be the death of a young man or young woman, due to suicide, due to homicide, due to criminal violence between organized groups, or due to terrorist insurgent action. It may be any of those… but it isn’t a “child gun violence” statistic.
Undermining the argument by inflating the numbers through poor correlation does nothing but make any salient points you may have lose their value. We can’t talk about a reasonable strategy to reduce suicides among you people or reduce accidents through better safe storage education and strategies if you come to the table lying.
If you say its 4,000, and we know the number is 400 in context, why should we go further in that talk? We aren’t on the same page because one of us isn’t grounded in reality. If we both know the number is 400 incidents and we both know the goal is 200 incidents within 2 years, and then 100, and then as close to zero as we can make it, that is something we can have a reasonable “common sense” conversation about.
It’s like COVID, conversations about COVID are all over the map on there basis in reality. The folks who believe its a myth are every bit as wrong about the whole situation as the folks who believe that your chances of being hospitalized are 50% plus if you catch it (It’s a 1-5% hospitalization rate by the way) and neither of those groups can come to the table for a reasonable conversation about it.
Gun control policy suffers a similar problem, although much more heavily skewed onto the side of the ignorance of the anti’s. Every one of the policies, magazine bans, “assault” weapon bans, UBC’s, licensure, all of them sound like they are coming from the same fools who believe COVID hospitalizations are at 50%. It isn’t a sustainable conversation. It isn’t even a conversation worth having, unless there is an audience around to illustrate the foolishness too.
In the wake of the Ma’Khia Bryant shooting by Columbus Police, there has been an astronomical amount of grade-A idiocy spewing forth from so many (except the experts) on all the things that ‘could have been done’ in the scant seconds a responding officer had to evaluate the domestic event they were responding to.
In those seconds, Bryant’s last words were spoken, shouted rather, so loudly that cameras across the street (as well as on the officers) picked them up clearly, “I’m gonna stab the fuck out of you, bitch!”
WARNING GRAPHIC
New video from a different angle shows the moments leading to the fatal shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant when she was lunging at another woman with a knife pic.twitter.com/h6kqFntb5Z
The incident lasted 11 seconds, from when the officer got out of his patrol car until Bryant had charged another young woman to stab her. The officer fired, saving the girl in pink from sprouting the red, potentially spurting, holes Bryant was attempting to make in her.
Bryant made her final declaration about 4 seconds after that officer had gotten out of his car. It’s fairly evident he’s trying to figure out who is doing what in those few seconds. One of the involved people onsite is seen trying to restrain Bryant, they likely saw her start charging with the knife, causing Bryant and them to fall. Bryant gets away from the restraining individual, gets back up past the officer who is seen trying to start managing the whole near crowd, and moves to stab the girl wearing pink… The officer draws, fires, and Bryant drops before she can carry through on her final declaration.
It was a brutal, close, fast, and violent incident.
And then you have this…
Apparently casual knife fighting is just an okay thing.
Eons of knife fighting, it’s okay. We don’t need the cops to intervene in the ongoing act of attempted murder, think of the eons of knife fighting teenagers! Knives are only used in 3 to 4 times as many murders every year as rifles are, think of the eons!
Why go to the gun?
Simple, it is the safest option in that situation.
Especially for the girl in pink, who the officer saved, it was the safest option to minimize her risk of death or injury from Bryant. Anyone arguing for another option must admit that allowing the girl in pink to be maimed or killed by Bryant, or at the very least drastically increasing her chances of being maimed or killed, is part of what your are arguing for. You must accept that allowing that girl to be stabbed is part of what you are demanding. You are arguing that officers, victims, and bystanders must increase their risk of death or injury in order to safeguard the hostile person or persons to a greater level.
This is some seriously next level victim blaming, that because the person who was attempting to do the killing/maiming was killed they are now the victim while the person who was being assaulted and the officer who saved her are now at some combination of “at fault” because… ?
Ma’Khia Bryant was the individual who’s safety mattered the least in those 11 seconds. The girl in pink she was attempting to filet, the other individuals around the vehicle, and the officer who did not have any active support from other officers at the moment, were all higher priorities to keep safe than Bryant. The best option was the option the officer used. It was the only option that was likely to prevent the girl in pink from sprouting new bloody holes. Bryant was already moving, already stabbing, and already in physical contact with the other girl pinning her to the car.
A verbal command to Bryant would have resulted in the girl in pink being stabbed. Switching to a taser (and possibly having that fail for a number of regular reasons) would have resulted in the girl in pink being stabbed, and taken too much time so probably stabbed more than once. Running to restrain Bryant, who was out of reach, would have taken too much time and the girl in pink would have been stabbed and the officer would now have voluntarily entered knife fighting range with a person already fighting with a knife while his gun was in his hand… The only decision that could have, and did, stop the girl in pink from being stabbed while her back was pressed against the car and she was physically restrained by Bryant, was the officer shooting Bryant. Even then the likelihood the girl in pink might have been stabbed at least once still existed, it was simply the option most likely to turn out the way it did.
Using a less effective option would have been willfully negligent to the immediate threat to the girl in pink, not simply the officer. Tackling or trying to physically restrain Bryant, who had already broken away from someone who tried that, would bring that person into stabbing range and make them an immediate likely target for stabbing too. Without overwhelming available restraint, which the responding officer wouldn’t have begun to be able to use for another several seconds (and thus several stabs to the girl in pink, or himself) it would have been negligent of him to try and grab Bryant… or tase Bryant, or pepper spray Bryant, or verbally command Bryant to stop and drop the knife. Those actions only work if there is a reactionary gap to safely do something if Bryant doesn’t comply or involuntarily comes under control, there was no such time available.
It is unreasonable to demand the officer risk injury or death, especially to victims and bystanders, when a more effective option exists. Risks taken to safeguard the individual who is the threat of injury are not the priority. If the person who tried to restrain Bryant, at great personal risk themselves, had attempted to again or any of the others had attempted to, then the situation would have been different.
But that didn’t happen, none of the things that could have changed the reactionary options happened. Bryant was unopposed in her assault against the girl in pink and the officer acted in the safest and most effective manner for that girl, himself, and the bystanders. Bryant voluntarily removed herself from considerations for her safety.
“jUsT Sh0ot dA KniFe!”
No.
Without getting into how monumentally improbable that act is to succeed in even an ideal knife or melee weapon scenario (one where there is some time and space to try it), just look at the angle from the body camera.
Look! At! It!
If the officer shot the knife, or the hand, or the arm holding the knife and missed (highly likely given accuracy against a small erratically moving target) or the bullet passed through the arm or hand, the officer would be shooting the girl he was trying to stop from being stabbed. The likelihood of hitting the girl being stabbed would go up further as the knife and the arm holding it are rapidly moving toward the girl being stabbed. Bryant is trying to stab her, shooting at the thing that is moving towards and is already dangerously close to the person you are trying to save is a terrible idea. Shooting another arm or leg are almost equally terrible ideas.
The only thing that was likely to work, and there was no guarantee on that even in the last second available before pink girl became pink and bright red girl, was what happened. Bryant was killed while trying to kill or cause great bodily injury to the girl in pink. Her age doesn’t change that, nor does her gender, nor does her ethnicity, nor does the ethnicity of the officer.
But… I suppose an officer could stop and ask, “Excuse me ma’am, are you legally an adult of 18+ years or is this one of those teenage knife fights that we should ignore? Oh, you’re 16? Carry on then.” That seems like it would have ended poorly for the girl in pink, like all the other proposed alternatives.
Your “solutions” mandate harm…
I’ve written about this when “police reform” topics come up quite often, and I agree on many points that policing does need reform, but many proposed ‘improvements’ in policing brought forward would require officers to accept a potentially life changing or life ending injury to themselves or somebody else before they use force to intervene. The proposal is to require that the injury or death trying to be prevented occur before stopping it…
Multiple proposals amount to that sole conclusion, officers must accept physical injuries to themselves or somebody else before responding with injurious force. Not the potential for injuries (such as a suspect being armed and moving a weapon into position to cause harm) but to actually injure or kill someone, usually the involved officer, and then continue to do so before the officer responds.
In what other profession is that an acceptable injury standard? In what other profession must a debilitating injury be sustained before an effective countermeasure can be used? We don’t demand that level of risk imbalance from our combat troops, why for ourselves at home? Why for our police officers? Imagine demanding a construction crew to not move out of the way of a falling object. That somebody had to be hit by, and hurt or killed by, the falling object before anyone was allowed to move. That is the absolutely asinine level of injury sustainment we are talking about, because the injurer is acting deliberately and will likely also be injured in the response when it comes to use-of-force.
With the current climate surrounding police policy reform the way it is, I understand why this event jumped to the spotlight… I just am astonished by the mental gymnastics involved by the non-expert international discussion participants who insist Bryant didn’t need to be shot…
I argue that from the reasonable perspective of the girl in pink, that was the safest thing that could happen.
The authors cite a review from the sociology literature finding that starting small, local organizations focused on community improvement led to crime reduction. More specifically, they found a significant reduction in violent crime and murder. In describing these results they underline the generally known but often overlooked fact that in the US the rate of crime has been going down for more than twenty years.
On a much more negative note, the editorial accompanies a preceding piece in the same journal bewailing the misery allegedly caused by guns—you know, those nasty metal things that think and act on their own. The editorial is rife with the term “gun violence,“ used with the same degree of thought show by cartoon parrots saying “Polly wants a cracker.“ It’s almost as though violence is OK as long as it’s not “gun violence.“ Presumably Cain wouldn’t have killed Abel it he didn’t have that assault rifle. And the authors hope nobody remembers Lizzie Borden.
Their editorial begins in a fashion familiar to those of us who keep an eye on anti-Second Amendment publications. They tell us about what they see as the high rate of “gun homicide“ and “gun suicide“ in comparison to other countries. Of course they don’t compare the US rates to those of every other country. In such a comparison the U.S. rates are low. No, they pick eight other countries for comparison, out of the world’s 193. Would it be cynical to believe they chose those eight knowing that their rates were particularly low?
In the next sentence they talk about deaths “caused” by guns (even though we know they’re caused by people using guns) as being “a uniquely U.S. crisis”. A more objective observer might see it as not a crisis (apparently no one sees 600,000 cancer deaths a year as a crisis) and not unique to the US. To pick a handy comparison, what about people in Mexico being killed by folks with guns? And, by the way, that’s a country with strict laws on firearm possession. The idea of a crisis is also undercut by the steadily declining U.S. homicide rate noted above.
A few lines later the authors note, no doubt honestly, that when they think about how to deal with what they believe to be the crisis: “a first consideration is inevitably laws andlaw-enforcement.“ While they bemoan the difficulty of passing new legislation to restrict the right to keep and bear arms, a more reasonable perspective is that in many ways the system is working and our constitutional rights, to a considerable extent, remain protected.
Indeed, the authors hold that “the scientific and medical communities can no longer be at the mercy of US state and federal legislators”. How many of us would sign up to live in a country run by “the scientific and medical communities” instead of elected representatives? They see these groups having to take second place to elected officials as a “forfeiture.”
This is the stuff of which horror films are made.
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—Thomas E. Gift, MD is a child and adolescent psychiatrist practicing in Rochester, New York, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical School, and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
Here we are, a year into our two weeks lockdown. Many of us refuse to give up on our ability to train, which drives many of us to train at home. Firearms training at home limits us to a degree, but if you think you can’t retain or even build skills at home, you have another thing coming. Seriously, firearms training at home can be more than dry firing at a light switch for 15 minutes a day.
There are lots of methods, and we’ve talked about some. However, let’s talk about a few pieces of gear you can use at home to train. Equipment that can spice things up and make your firearms training at home much more dynamic and exciting.
1. MantisX
Dry fire firearms training at home completely changed with the advent of the MantisX dry fire device. Pop this bad boy on your rail, and you can receive feedback on everything from your trigger press to a poor grip. Dry fire is likely your at-home focus, but the MantisX measures live fire performance as well.
With the app, you get a metric ton of information that allows you to make corrections and identify faults. You can use the device on handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Plus, it can measure your draw, your gun swing, and more. There is even a series built into the app that walks you through a variety of training techniques.
2. Laser Dry Fire Cartridge
Laser dry cartridges also make dry fire training a lot more fun. These are some of my favorite training devices for firearms training at home. They look like a cartridge and squeeze into the chamber. When the firing pin strikes the rear, it shoots a little laser. The laser provides instant feedback on where you are aiming and where you are hitting.
Numerous targets and apps allow you to also capture where you are shooting and give you a reactive target system. Some are simple as apps that are aimed at a paper target that can detect the laser shot. Others are dedicated targets that do the same. They make firearms training at home a whole lot more fun.
3. PTS Barricade
Training for cover can be done with walls inside your home, but true barricade training is tricky. Good luck getting your significant other to allow you to drag in a Viking Tactics barrier. Instead, check out the PTS Barricade devices. The PTSB Lite corrugated plastic barricade, in particular, is the way to go for firearms training at home.
This little barrier weighs 2.7 pounds, has four barrier ports, folds up for easy storage, and is perfect for use inside and out. It’s perfect for both dry fire practice and live fire practice. The PTS Barricade system is perfect for training in the kitchen, the bedroom, on wherever else you can set a barrier up.
4. Replica BB Gun
Umarex and SIG Sauer absolutely rule the air gun market. SIG obviously just makes replicas of their guns, but Umarex makes replicas of tons of company’s guns. Both companies build 1:1 air guns that fit and function with holsters, mag pouches, and more. Models with reciprocating slides make it easy to learn to track sights, work reloads properly, and even practice repeated trigger pulls.
As far as fun goes, it’s hard to beat these BB guns for fun firearms training at home. Setting up a little BB gun range is easy to do and is perfectly safe as long as you have a simple backdrop. You can practice drawing and engaging, reloads, and combine it with your PTS Barricade to get some proper training in.
5. TRT Tap Rack Dry Fire Training Aids
If you want to do a little firearms training at home on the cheap, then the TRT Firearm Training Aids are a great investment. For ten bucks, you get devices that squeeze into your magazines and prevent the follower from engaging a last round bolt hold-open device.
The purpose is you can faithfully practice tap rack bang drills and reloading drills accurately. Since the bolt doesn’t lock to the rear, you can easily replicate the motions of the slide or charging handle. These devices are made for automatic pistols and rifles that use AR 15 magazines. They are super cheap and super handy.
Getting Your Reps In
Getting a little firearms training at home can be as fancy or as simple as you choose to make it. Having options will often increase the fun, and if it’s fun, you are more likely to pursue it. I’ve been using all of the above options, and there is something great about being able to train in pajama pants while listening to Joe Rogan’s Podcast. Hopefully, I’ve given you folks some food for thought on how to make your quarantine training a little more fun and more dynamic.
There was a time when I thought I was a little crazy. You see, everyone in the Marine Corps dreaded hikes. I didn’t, I hated long runs, but hikes were rather enjoyable. I think it was my large frame and long legs that made hikes much easier for me. What the Marine Corps calls hikes the rest of the world calls rucking. Today we are all talking all about rucking and why you should be rucking.
What’s Rucking?
Rucking is pretty dang simple. Strap some weight to your body and get out there and start walking. The difference between rucking and hiking in the ordinary world is slight but important. Hikers explore nature, take trails, and explore for fun. Ruckers focus on the exercise portion of walking with weight.
Benefits of A Ruck
First and foremost, like any form of exercise, rucking builds strength. Strapping weight to your body and walking with some enthusiasm will strengthen both your legs and back. It’ll make them nice and strong, and you’ll feel it in your calves, hamstrings, and lats.
Oh, also, don’t forget you’ll be working on your cardio here. Your heart will start beating fast, and when you walk at a brisk pace, you’ll be burning some real calories. Almost as much as running, roughly 3/4s of the same calories depending on the speed of the run and ruck.
Plus sometimes you see cool parts of nature.
At the same time, you aren’t killing your knees near as bad a run does. When you run, you are placing up to 12 times your body weight on your knees with every step. With rucking, you are placing roughly three times your body weight on your knees with each step.
We prepare for bug-out scenarios with gear, but rucking prepares you with the physical ability to bug out. It’s a valuable skill. You’d be surprised how many great runners get a good surprise when they strap weight on their bodies and hit the road on a ruck.
What To Ruck With?
You got two total options when it comes to rucking. The first and most common is the use of a backpack. Backpacks and hiking packs make up the majority of rucking packs. Personally, I think Jansport makes a good backpack, but I probably won’t ruck with it.
An old school Alice pack with an external metal frame is a very affordable option to start. I’ve been using my Rush24 2.0 pack, and it’s been a very comfortable option.
Packs from Mystery Ranch and Tactical Tailor offer you a very high-quality, professional-grade pack. You can pack a lot more weight in a backpack once you get nice and strong.
Alternatively, instead of a pack, you can get a weight vest. A weight vest distributes the weight across the body and is honestly more comfortable for long hauls. I use a weight vest more often than a pack. To me, it’s easier to use and less likely to cause injury. Packs can cause injuries when worn incorrectly. However, weight vests tend to be more expensive.
How Do I Ruck?
It’s pretty simple. Put on some weight, start walking, and try to do it fast! Okay, so there can be more to it than that. I advise starting with very little weight and learning how to wear your pack. You can use weights, sandbags, purpose-built rucking weights from Go Ruck. Heck, ammo cans full of sand work well.
Start with 15 pounds of weight and a 1-mile walk, see how it feels and add the weight as necessary. Like any form of exercise, you use progressive overload to get stronger. Start with a mile ruck and see how you feel. Make sure you’re hydrated and make sure you consult a doctor before you begin any exercise program.
Training to a standard exists for a reason. How can you measure progress without a standard to work against? So, who sets rucking standards? Well, believe it or not, the U.S. Forest Service has an excellent standard for wildland firefighters.
To A Standard
Wildland firefighters with federal, state, tribal, county and even private outfits have to conform to this standard to serve on federal wildfires. It’s known as the Work Capacity Test.
The Work Capacity Test (WCT) has three levels to it, the Light, Moderate, and Arduous.
The Light WCT, or Walk test, requires no additional weight and requires the Rucker to move 1 mile in 16 minutes. It’s not too bad and a great place to start your rucking adventure.
Next, we have the Moderate, or Field Test, which requires a 25-pound pack and a two-mile ruck that has to be completed in 30 minutes or less.
Finally, we got the man maker, the Arduous, or Pack Test, which requires a 45-pound pack and a three-mile ruck that has to be completed in 45 minutes or less.
Some of these sound easy, and when I was a few years and tens of pounds away from the Marine Corps, I thought I could still kick the Pack Test’s butt. I proved myself wrong and remembered conditioning is critical.
Work your way up to the arduous and take your time. Rushing it will get you hurt. You wouldn’t try to bench 225 on day one of the gym, right? Well, don’t try to rush to the top of the pack test mountain either.
Ruck Up
Grad, some weight, find a good flat road and move your butt. Find a good podcast you like and fire away. It’s peaceful, gives you that much-needed ‘you time, builds strength, sheds fat, and makes you better prepared for disaster scenarios. So get to rucking!
Vertx is a company known for making clothing and equipment that enable professionals to do their jobs while keeping an everyday look and staying comfortable.
Now more than ever we are seeing women in the same positions as men yet not having the equipment to accomplish their jobs and stay under the radar. Insert the Vertx Womens Lifestyle Collection..A collection of pants, shirts, jackets, and packs that keep our women professionals stylish and able.
Some favorites from the current releases within the collection..
Finally right? The Burrell Stretch Jeans provide an attractive fit while still being stretchy and comfortable. It has many features including keyring and lanyard anchor point in both front pockets and dual rear yoke pockets that are large enough to fit a cell phone or magazine. The material is made with COOLMAX All season which allows you to stay cool and dry during your lifestyle activities.
The always loved side thigh pocket and covert forest green look on the Kesher Ops pant makes this pant a go to for any environment. These pants feature the same climate controlled COOLMAX All Season material and the perfect amount of stretch. Featuring rear pick-pocket prevention wallet traps and hidden E&E pocketing these pants will help you blend in while keeping you and your equipment secure.
Your next favorite warm environment jacket. This lightweight breathable jacket allows you to stay protected unbeknownst with vertical zippered pass-throughs in the hand pockets for EDC. When dealing with the warm climate but ready for harsh weather the Fury Hardshell Jacket is made with VaporCore technology, fitted hood, and long tail that keeps your back covered.
The Kesher Pack, a pack that can be ran as a backpack or converted to a right or left handed slung pack. No matter the stylish appeal the Kesher Pack brings the same accessibility and equipment acceptance that Vertx is known for. Accepting ballistic panels providing numberous carry compartments this pack gives you safety and security. The well known Vertx Tactigami is also accepted by the Kesher Pack.
https://vertx.com/kesher-pack
Stay tuned for individual product reviews from a female..
Welcome to GAT Daily. If you clicked on this headline to see if we were talking about yet another shooting in the United States, the answer is no.
We aren’t talking about particular shootings so much as we are talking about headlines. It is well known that a large section of the consumer market only consumes the headline of any given informative or opinion piece, an even larger segment only consume the headline and maybe a paragraph or two… so this is the last paragraph some of you will read. That’s fine, we’re all busy folks and I hope you will swing back later.
But for those reading on,
Shootings in the News
You may have noticed an astonishing increase in the number of shooting related headlines permeating the news. If you did, that is deliberate. People click them because tragedy sells, it grabs attention, at the very least seeing the headline sparks a tiny bit of memory and the consumer can ‘fill in the rest’ without reading.
Both getting the click and showing the headline have value for various entities. Especially media entities who are agenda aligned, like perhaps a network noted for being decidedly anti-2A (but they assure you they aren’t, they’re just ‘reasonable’), but that’s hypothetical… obviously.
If you click, they get the view. They can even get that view while accurately (or reasonably accurately) portraying an event below the headline. They don’t need to overly dilute the story, they did so in the headline and more people consume the headline. So for every person that read and understood the event from the piece, multiple people based their understanding of the event solely on the headline they read.
These entities will capitalize on the power of their headline. They will use that headline to shape the formative thoughts about an event, even as they accurately portray the events in the follow-on narrative, even as that narrative calls into question the particular and sometimes rather misleading context of the headline itself. That headline shaped more thoughts than the rest of the piece.
They are weaponizing the headline so that you, Joe & Jane Public, will fill in rest based upon previous context from other cognitively linked events and formative context.
This is actually a fairly tame example of what we are discussing. Other headlines immediately thrust this into the spotlight as another mass shooting, similar to FedEx. “9 Children Shot…” is another variant I’ve seen that is a little more leading, from People.com.
Yet – No arrests have been made and the sheriff, Mike Tregre, said that “not one” witness has given authorities a formal statement about what happened.
Hmmm, why would that be? This happened in front of 60 people and yet nobody is talking?
More than 60 people were gathered at the party when an argument broke out between two groups with an ongoing feud, authorities said.
[when an argument broke out between two groups with an ongoing feud]
Ah, there it is. This was a gang fight. Oh… sorry, gang is a “charged” term, I meant this was a fight between two groups who are known to be hostile toward each other usually due to competition and rivalries linked to criminal activities. The ‘children’ involved were all teens, with the exception of a 12-year-old wounded in both legs. There was one 13-year-old that may yet qualify as a ‘child’ in the maternal and paternal sense (the one People headline is trying to invoke), but the remainder were 14 to 17 years old. That age where people can be tried as fully cognizant adults for what occurred.
So in that case, with all that context, with a working understanding of what happened (two groups had beef at the same party and things got bloody/territorial/score settling, a far from unheard of event) why would People headline it “9 Children Shot and Injured at Birthday Party” and “12-year-old” gets a ton of emphasis too.
Those are factual statements in the headlines… from a certain point of view (thanks there Obi-wan), however the formative initial impression is drastically different than the contextualized reality.
For every person who clicks, reads, and understands, they can get ten (actually far more when you look at click-thru metrics) who will see the headlines and simply assume some variation of, ‘Oh no, somebody attacked a kids birthday party! It’s all this gun violence! Kids are being shot at birthday parties! We must do something!!‘ and that thought is far more valuable, when pushing gun control legislation.
It is profitable to make you, the consumer, imagine it was a bunch of small children in conical birthday hats who were gunned down with no provocation. It is less profitable, towards certain goals, to convey that this was two groups who got into a fight, with a known history of conflict, and that nobody who witnessed the event is talking to authorities about it. Likely because they are all connected to the participants in the fight enough that they would rather take care of the aftermath ‘in-house’ as it were, instead of involving the repercussions associated with law enforcement.
Law enforcement involvement is clearly not welcome or desired in this instance, that is abundantly clear. But we didn’t get a headline along the lines of…
“9 teens wounded by gunfire in a fight at 12-year-olds birthday. No witnesses speaking to police.”
With two short sentences, that conveyed a very accurate summation of the events and painted a picture for all those who won’t click on the story. A fight occurred, it occurred between young people, guns were used, 9 young people were injured. Anyone with an extra neuron to rub against the first one can put together a reasonable image of what took place. The only lacking element from my headline is that the youngest person injured was 12, not a teenager yet. Who’s birthday party, or rather how old the child whose party it was, is not very relevant to the event.
9 kids injured at birthday party in Laplace over the weekend
Nine wounded, two still hospitalized, in birthday party shooting
9 Children Shot & Injured at Louisiana Birthday Party, 2 Still Hospitalized
Those three actual headlines do not convey the event in nearly so accurate terms, they pick an exploitable fact about the event to shape public opinion. Kids or Children were shot at a birthday party. This is to provoke a very deliberate image.
This image, Children at a birthday party. Via kffm.
This is the same common obfuscationary practice that has led to such rampant distrust of “mainstream media” but it continues to shape public perception. Anyone reading the story realizes the source was less than forthright in their headline, as in the headline did not preview and shape the story and the reading of the rest filled in the details. Instead it ‘subverts your expectations’ or some such and you’re left realizing, ‘oh, that’s what they meant by “children” shot at a birthday party’ by the end of the reading.
This is the news, we don’t need to bury the lead in a little mystery or creative misdirection in order to report it… unless that creative misdirection serves a public opinion purpose. Saying nine children got shot at a birthday party conjures a more raw and evocative image than saying nine teenagers and a twelve-year-old got shot during a fight and nobody is snitching to the cops. These writer/reporters know that, that is why headlines read the way they do. This is why it seems like we are having an insanely violent spring full of shootings. (fun fact: violence has always trended seasonally, especially in areas where winter is prohibitively cold)
Outlets like Vox, People, and CNN are open advocates for more gun control, so they have additional incentives to grab onto every story they can where it is possible to bury the lead and evoke the public perception to push the agenda they seek. It’s also why coverage isn’t even. The more easily emotionally exploitive events, like the FedEx and Massage Parlor slayings, get more traction than something like the Phillip Adams multiple-murder/suicide.
It’s why teenage toughs who got into a gunfight spat at a neighborhood party for a 12-year-old got reported as, “9 Children Shot…” instead.
NOTE: I know this is over a month behind, but they sold out and should be getting their restock shortly… if not sooner!
Fort Worth, TX (March 15, 2021) – XS® Sights is pleased to introduce the Remington® 870 +2 Magazine Tube Extension Kit for easy do-it-yourself installation. This lightweight magazine tube extension increases the capacity of standard Remington 870 shotguns by two shotshells and allows for the mounting of additional tactical upgrades. The kit includes a factory detent removal tool, a 45” Wolff® 12-gauge extended spring, and the +2 extension tube.
“This is a great product for shooters looking to expand the versatility of their standard four-shot 870,” said Zack Kinsley, Marketing Manager for XS Sights. “We have sold the tool to remove the factory detents for years and decided to provide a complete system that is simple, lightweight, and allows for personal preference tactical upgrades while installing the tube.”
Made from 6061 aluminum that is hard coat anodized, this one-piece tube weighs less than traditional steel tubes. The tip of the extension has wrench flats enabling an easier grip while attaching the tube. The flats also offer shooters the ability to use an adjustable wrench to get a snug fitment. Measuring six inches in length, the extension will not extend past a 20-inch barrel on a traditional four-round capacity shotgun tube.
The tube is machined to accept standard barrel clamps to allow for more support and provide the option of a sling attachment point. A short Picatinny rail can also be added to the clamp for mounting a tactical light or other preferred accessories. While built to work with the factory follower, aftermarket upgrades also work. Tested brands of clamps and followers include Vang Comp®, Nordic Components®, and Wilson Combat®.
Covered by XS’ No Questions Asked Lifetime Warranty.
Retail Price: Around $80.00 For more information, visit www.xssights.com.
About XS Sights XS Sights is known for making the fastest sights in any light. For more than 20 years, the XS team has created some of the most innovative sights on the market today for pistols, rifles, and shotguns. Whether used for personal defense or hunting, these sights are designed and built to be the absolute best for their specific purpose. American Made. Texas Proud. 2A Strong.
With the absolute insanity of demand outpacing supply like the proverbial tortoise falling behind the hare, project have been late to release. But like the tortoise, the releases are coming slow and steady. Magpul is dropping their pistol braces, the BSL and the BTR, into the wild at last. Offering us another highly excellent option to make AR pistols, and a poignant dig at the pistol brace garbage that is set to roll out of the White House in the near future.
Our BSLand BTR Arm Braces were released on Friday and are now available online at Magpul.com and they’re shipping to retailers now. With classic Magpul aesthetics, the BSL and BTR are compatible with Mil-Spec carbine receiver extensions and employ easy to use adjustment mechanisms. With integrated QD cups and M-LOK compatible slots, they provide ambidextrous sling mounting options that enable stabilizing sling tension to be applied for better control of your firearm.
Features
Toolless, single-handed adjustment
Acts as a stabilizing accessory for one-handed firing
M-LOK compatible slots for additional sling mounting options
Ambidextrous rear QD cup allows sling tension to be applied while firing to improve stability
