TYR Tactical

Archive for December, 2012

“The Cave” from HEIMPLANET

Sunday, December 30th, 2012

“The Cave” from UK-based HEIMPLANET is an inflatable shelter.

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This 3 person tent does in fact boast a fly but as the frame is inflated and then the shelter itself along with the fly hangs inside the frame, the construction is a little different than what you might be used to.

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At 11.9 lbs it isn’t exactly a lightweight tent but the concept is definitely interesting. There are in fact other airframe shelters on the market such as from NEMO Equipment but it’s great to see more companies getting into this business.

heimplanet.com/shop/en/the-cave

See Magpod at SHOT Show

Sunday, December 30th, 2012

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Visit Magpod in Booth #7309 at SHOT Show.

“Son of ALICE” Ruck from SpecOpShop

Sunday, December 30th, 2012

SpecOpShop,LLC and Down East Inc have teamed up to bring you the “Son Of Alice” ruck.

According to SpecOpShop, their new Son of ALICE is just like its momma, only hopped up on pockets. They’ve taken the classic ALICE design and modernized it, utilizing the Down East Airborne Assault 1606 frame.

It features 11 body zippered pockets and 2 Slot pockets for toolage. The hydration pocket holds 2 X 100 oz bladders and there is also an interior Radio pouch as well as 2 *Plus* pockets. The upper exterior pocket has 2 interior pouches and the lid is elasticized for a snug and weatherproof closure to main body. The main opening also incorporates a storm skirt for overload capacity and weatherproofing. Overall, the SOA includes 3 grab handles. The shoulder straps and sternum strap utilize ITW Snap-Dragons. They’ve even included 10 Accessory web strips for ALICE clips & pockets.

Capacity:
main body: 3500 in3 + pockets:
2000 in3 (pockets)
Weight: 8 lb. 6 Oz.
Material: 500D Cordura, body & reinforcements 400D Packcloth, extensions & linings

The SOA will be available immediately in Crye MultiCam, Pencott Series of Camo patterns and solid colors such as Ranger Green and Coyote Tan.

www.SpecOpShop.com

Forces Focus – FBI HRT circa 1985

Sunday, December 30th, 2012

This video, shot in 1985, shows the state of the art, at the time, for the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team. Equipment wise, this same gear was used by the point tip of the SOF spear as well.

Dark Bronze

Sunday, December 30th, 2012

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Dark Bronze from Joint Forces Enterprises. What do you think?

Canipe Correspondence – American Exceptionalism: When Did It Die?

Saturday, December 29th, 2012

I’m writing this from a hotel in Asheville, NC. I’m on vacation, and we went and visited the Biltmore Estate. For those of you who don’t know, the Biltmore is George Vanderbilt’s 250+ room, 178, 926 sq. ft. mansion on a 125,000 acre spread. 85,000 of those acres now form a major portion on the Pisgah National Forest. I’m not sure there is a scale to measure the opulence or just pure size of the place in practical terms a guy like me can understand. I walk around the place with my jaw dropped, that one guy built this and lived here. This was some guy’s HOUSE. That’s right, George Vanderbilt was single when he built the house, though he later married. George Vanderbilt was the grandson of “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt, often referred to as “The First Tycoon.” He started a shipping business with a $100 loan from his mother and turned that into a shipping and railroad juggernaut, amassing a fortune of over $100 million dollars (todays equivalent of $184 billion). Think Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook…multiplied by 7.

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Cornelius Vanderbilt shares the pages of history with names such as Carnegie, Rockefeller, Ford, Morgan, and others in a relatively small group of the uber-wealthy of America’s Gilded Age. Financier Samuel Insull, who made his many millions in the railroad and utilities business, said, “Aim for the top. There is plenty of room there. There are so few at the top that it is almost lonely there.” These men built the railroads, the steel industry, the oil and gas industry, the shipping industry. Not only that, most of these men gave immense sums of their fortunes to helping people.Their philanthropy almost matched their greed. There was a recent series on TV called “The Men Who Built America,” and that’s a pretty good name for it. America’s transition into industry was nothing short of epic. No other nation in the world could compare, due to the ingenuity, ethos, and sometimes ruthlessness of the American industrial empire. The progress made in America at that time is unmatched to his day. With the current state of our society and government, I don’t think we’re due to outdo them anytime soon.

The key was self-sufficiency in America, on a number of levels. The individual American family was responsible for it’s own well-being. People were not entitled to help from the Government without giving anything in return to society. Social programs were decentralized or non-existent. People in need were cared for by the community or Church. People who would not sustain themselves often weren’t cared for at all. You worked for yours back then, plain and simple. Or you starved. People were not dependent on the Federal Government for survival, for their basic human needs. On a larger scale we were a self-sufficient nation as well. We did comparatively very little in terms of a global economy, we met many of our needs ourselves. The political situation was a bit different too. We knew we were better than everyone else, and didn’t have to really give a shit about the rest of the world. I am fairly certain that Teddy Roosevelt and William McKinley never bowed to anyone, never gave aid and comfort to our enemies so as to not offend them, and never considered taking away the Bill of Rights from our citizens. Finally, that government stayed well out of the individual’s business in those days, at least by today’s standards of rampant micro-managing of the individual and business. Capitalism prospered as a system, and without any pseudo-socialist influence by Washington developed the United States into the most powerful and prosperous nation on Earth. That is the essence of “American Exceptionalism” as a concept. An individual with the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness, unburdened by socialism, tyranny or conscription, making a mark on history that is far greater than that of one man or company.

It’s kind of sad to see such a monument to American greatness, such a sign of the validity of our foundation as a country and our Constitution, such a symbol of the opportunity given to each and every American. I fear that our society has devolved to a point where so many people are supported by so few that it is almost not worth working hard anymore. As we have seen with our eroded base of industry and trade in the last few decades, you can’t have a capitalist economy that punishes making money. You can’t have a democratic society that rewards laziness either. I’m not sure if anyone will ever be able to ever build a house like this one again, but it sure would be nice if we got back there in some ways.

Gunfighter Moment – Pat McNamara

Saturday, December 29th, 2012

This is a great ‘hot topic’ debate issue. I’ve been in the middle of this one several times as have you. I like to debunk myths and research gimmicks. Through discovery learning, much can be learned.

The question of whether a zeroed rifle equals a zeroed rifle is one that I ask in nearly every course I run.

“Is a rifle that is zeroed for one shooter, zeroed for another shooter?”

You may have a very strong opinion here. So do I. My opinion is backed up by empirical data. I have vetted this question by having shooters in every one of my courses check the data by firing someone else’s rifle,…after it is zeroed. The data is the same 100% of the time.

The problem is, and the reason for the ‘Gray Area’, is understanding when a rifle is zeroed. I’d say a rifle is zeroed when the shooter can achieve consistent center mass 10 round, sub two minute (or even three minute) groups at a SR-1 target from 100 yards. Fair? If the shooter is consistent, say…, is achieving a score in the high ‘nineties’ with each group, this is not accidental. Fair? The shooter is consistently applying the fundamentals. The shooter’s cheek stock weld, eye relief, firing hand position, cyclic rate of breathing and trigger control remains the same with each round fired and from group to group. If the shooter is achieving all of these, I am pretty sure that the rifle is zeroed. I am also pretty sure that if I apply the same fundamentals, I can achieve similar results with that shooter’s rifle. If the shooter is using a red dot sight, I will use the sight as intended. If the shooter is using iron sights or a chevron as seen through some ACOG sights, I will need to ask the shooter where his point of aim is.

Patrick McNamara
SGM, US Army (Ret)


Patrick McNamara spent twenty-two years in the United States Army in a myriad of special operations units. When he worked in the premier special missions unit, he became an impeccable marksman, shooting with accurate, lethal results and tactical effectiveness. McNamara has trained tactical applications of shooting to people of all levels of marksmanship, from varsity level soldiers, and police officers who work the streets to civilians with little to no time behind the trigger.

His military experience quickly taught him that there is more to tactical marksmanship than merely squeezing the trigger. Utilizing his years of experience, McNamara developed a training methodology that is safe, effective and combat relevant and encourages a continuous thought process. This methodology teaches how to maintain safety at all times and choose targets that force accountability, as well as provides courses covering several categories, including individual, collective, on line and standards.

While serving as his Unit’s Marksmanship NCO, he developed his own marksmanship club with NRA, CMP, and USPSA affiliations. Mac ran monthly IPSC matches and ran semi annual military marksmanship championships to encourage marksmanship fundamentals and competitiveness throughout the Army.

He retired from the Army’s premier hostage rescue unit as a Sergeant Major and is the author of T.A.P.S. (Tactical Application of Practical Shooting).

tmacsinc.com

Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer some words of wisdom.

5.56 and .300 URGs Available from Ambush Firearms

Saturday, December 29th, 2012

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Who says people don’t hunt with Black Rifles? Get your 5.56 and .300 Upper Receiver Groups factory direct from Ambush Firearms. Manufactured by Daniel Defense, these are going to be a little different configuration than a standard M4 upper but they still include Cold Hammer Barrels.

ambushfirearms.com/shop/uppers