SIG SAUER - Never Settle

Archive for March, 2010

PNT X.A from Kitanica

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

As you can see from recent posts, there is a lot of innovation going on in what could be considered the commercial side of the tactical market. Kitanica has long been on the leading edge of clothing design. Their latest creation, the PNT X.A not only epitomizes their design creed, but also comes in at a price point that is much more in reach to the average guy. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t cheap. But then again, the PNT X.A features quite a few innovations you won’t find with other brands. A niche brand? Perhaps, but isn’t that what this is all about? Most of the features are quite evident in the graphic. Hopefully, they will add additional colors beyond Black to their palette.

Kitanica's Pant X.A

Made in the USA from US materials, the PNT X.A is available from www.kitanica.net.

If you want to know more about Beej Cronin, the powerhouse behind Kitanica, the folks over at www.tacticalpants.com caught up with him for an interview.

Vickers on the AK

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Vickers Tactical has posted a series of videos focused on the AK family of weapons on their Youtube channel. They have proven very popular with enthusiasts of the Kalashnikov as of late. Compiled of footage from the TV Show “Tactical Impact“, be sure to check them all out.

3-D Rubber Patches

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

3-D Patch from Hazard 4“Progressive Tactical” is Hazard 4’s motto. A new division of Civilian Labs, Hazard 4 made their debut at SHOT Show and we were impressed with what we saw. Most of their products fit in the unique column but their 3-D Rubber Patches are simply sublime. If any one product could sum up what is Hazard 4, this is it. This isn’t yet another embroidered patch. Instead they are manufactured from rubber and feature raised lettering and features a hook back to make them easy to attach and remove from your equipment. Available in Black/Grey, Coyote, or glow in the dark. The Infidel patch seen here is joined by the American flag as well as the Hazard 4 logo. Go to www.hazard4.com and check out their entire line of new products.

Redi-Mod Inspection

Friday, March 26th, 2010

If you use the Redi-Mod from Blue Force Gear on your carbine like I do then you might want to pay close attention to the information they passed to me today.

Customer Service and Product Performance are top priorities at Blue Force Gear. It has come to our attention that Redi-Mods we provided between November 5, 2009 and March 22, 2010 may have magazine catches which are insufficiently staked. While this condition has no effect on the host weapon reliability or safety, the magazine catch on the Redi-Mod itself could work its way loose over time causing the spare magazine to drop free unexpectedly. If you purchased a Redi-Mod between the dates above, we would like to inspect and re-stake your Redi-Mod (on an as need basis) to ensure that it continues to function properly. We will perform this inspection and re-staking at no charge and will pay ground shipping both ways. Customers who received Blue Force Gear Redi-Mods in the affected date range should email returns@blueforcegear.com or call 877-430-2583 to receive exact return instructions.

The Redi-Mod is an excellent modification to the highly popular Redi-Mag designed to keep a spare mag right where you may need it. On the weapon and next to the mag well. It’s stuff like this that makes me proud to be associated with Blue Force Gear who stand behind their product.

Magnum Field Testers

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Magnum boots has launched a new website to host boot reviews. This is a great opportunity if you are a Magnum boot user to not only provide feedback directly to the company but also to score some free schwag.


This is a good example of a review. Visit www.magnumboots.com/us/fieldtesters if you think you have what it takes to become an official field tester.

Vanguard Thermal Suppression

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Unleased Tactical has introduced a new thermal suppression technology. Pretty much everything I can release in the open is in the graphic below.

Vanguard Thermal Suppression from Unleashed Tactical

Several styles of garments are available to authorized users. Interested parties should contact Unleashed Tactical.

Introducing NET TAC

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Larry Vickers has long been interested in offering a one-stop resource for those who want to purchase is signature products as well as those that he uses himself. With his demanding training schedule it was a project that had to stay on the back burner. However, he recently teamed with Duke Creative, a company earning a well deserved reputation for excellence in developing e-commerce solutions for tactical companies.

“I’ve been wanting to start an e-commerce site for a while now and have never had the opportunity to do so. Now that I’ve partnered with a webmaster knowledgeable in tactical gear, he agreed to start and manage the store for me; a no-brainer situation considering the success he’s brought to other e-commerce websites,” said Larry Vickers, renowned tactical trainer.

Net Tac is up and running and featuring products from Blue Force Gear, Daniel Defense, EOTAC, and TangoDown.

www.NetTac.com

Marine Corps Seeks Additional .45s

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

MARCORSYSCOM has issued a Sources Sought Notice for the “M45 MEUSCOC pistol.” Yes, it’s a typo, but a humorous one. Perhaps it will now forever be known as the beloved “Moose Cock” pistol. Also, I’m not real sure where the whole M45 nomenclature came from. There is already an M45 in the system and it is a protective mask. From a logistics point of view it isn’t real smart to give two items the same nomenclature especially when both may be used by the Marine at the same time. This could lead to some real headaches. Also, dear reader, please do not take a look at this story and run to tell your buddies that the Marine Corps is dumping the “crappy” M9 (hey, there’s another example of two arms room items with the same nomenclature but I’m pretty sure the Army screwed that one up) and adopting the .45. That isn’t what is going on here. They are looking at a max of 4,000 pistols. However, one major issue with this Sources Sought is that the Marine Corps is considering transitioning maintenance to the contractor. This is a major sea change for this pistol which has been traditionally worked on at Quantico.

Here are the specs from the sources sought:

The Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) is seeking sources to replenish stocks and meet increased demand for its M45 MEUSOC pistol. There is an interest in a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) pistol. MCSC is also investigating moving to a full or partial Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) model. The pistol’s operating environment is characterized by high usage in training, rough handling and environments on deployments, and limited access to repair and maintenance resources during high tempo operations. MCSC may procure up to 4,000 units, of which half will be in heavy use/deployed to combat theaters at any given time.MCSC may be interested in a pistol with the following draft characteristics:

Semi-automatic, .45 ACP caliber. Single stack magazine must hold at least 7 rounds. It is desirable that the pistol function with the Marine Corps .45 ACP 7-round magazine (NSN 1005-01-373-2774) used in the current MEUSOC pistol. Pistol must have an accessory rail meeting MIL-STD-1913 specifications to mount accessories. It must have a grip safety and an ambidextrous manual safety which are operable by users wearing cold weather and NBC gloves. It has dull, non reflective surfaces and uses standard military colors. It must lock the slide or bolt to the rear after the last round in the magazine is fired. It has a beveled magazine well to facilitate rapid loading. The pistol has a lanyard loop attachment point.

It can hold a five shot group to an average of no more than 4 inches by 4 inches at 25 yards. It should be no more than 9 inches in length and weigh less than 4.5 pounds with empty magazine. It has a consistent trigger pull of 5 1 pounds. The pistol can demonstrate reliability of an average minimum of 300 rounds between stoppages and 5,000 rounds between parts failures. Magazines should remain serviceable for at least 3,000 rounds. The pistol will perform reliably after being subjected to standard MIL SPEC environmental tests, drop tests, and temperature extremes. The pistol must demonstrate “drop in” parts interchangeability, with no milling, filing, or fitting required. There shall be no degradation in performance after parts are exchanged. The pistol is resistant to corrosion and chemicals, and is compatible with current military approved small arms cleaning, lubrication, and preservative and storage agents. The pistol must be marked with an Item Unique Identification (IUID) marking, as defined in MIL-STD-130M.

Interested parties have until 16 April to answer the Sources Sought Notice. Exact questions and instructions are available at www.fbo.gov.

Thanks to The Firearm Blog for the heads up on this.