Constructing a War Rig

 

No, not that kind of War Rig….

I recently wrapped up an ongoing project to finish all of my “ESG” or Essential Support Gear (The rigs I use to haul mags and other swag).The 2 main rigs that I use are Chest Rigs and a War Belt. I also have Mag Bags (also called Tactical Diaper Bags or Bandoleers) packed to grab when I have to BUG out in a Survival type situation.

Now God knows there are PLENTY of  other resources out there on the websites and forums by the gear whores on this subject, so I am only gonna show you what I use and then you can tweek it however to meet your mission specific needs.

1. Chest Rigs

Now at the moment, I have two main chest rigs:

My Primary FIGHTING Chest rig is a Gen 1 Shihan which holds (4) AK Mags. There are (4) Pistol mag pouches located in front under the two flaps. In these I keep a multi-tool and light and depending on how I am loaded out, I can keep 2 G21 Mags or a spare folding knife and a swedish fire rod. The radio pouch on the left can also fit most cell phones and what looks like a 7.62 mag pouch on the rights is actually my blowout kit. This Shihan rig also has storage in the back for various small items like pad and paper.

 

My DM (Designated Marksman) Chest Rig, an ATS Tactical 7.62 Modular which holds  (4) AR-10 (.308) Mags,  The dual pistol mag pouch on the left can carry either (2) G21 mags or a Surefire G2 and a Multi-Tool. The black radio pouch on the right is identical to the one on my Shihan and can carry most cell phones. My Blowout kit is the small utility pouch on the front. This particular rig also has a middle pocket to store small items that is accessible by pulling two tabs apart.

The one perk with having a rig for each fighting rifle is it keeps your ammo and mags in one location and it also makes it much more “grab n’ go” in the event you have to BUG out.

Being that both of my chest rigs are toting .30 Caliber mags is it does not take long for the rig to start getting REALLY heavy. That being said, 3 to 4 Mags is typically all I tote in either. In both rigs I have the option of using one of the mag pouches as a holster that my G21 will fit in perfect, but that is only if I am not going to wear a war belt or standard holster.

So, beside the mags, what else should you carry on a chest rig? Experience has taught me to go with the “minimalist” school in regards to “other” gear, strictly because I have learned that before you go out into the field, having all this stuff hanging off of it SEEMS like a good ideal, but wait until you are a few hours into training or a long 10 mile hike and you will definitely be re-thinking that “great ideal”. That being said, besides lots of Mags, I typically try to have One of the following: Blowout Kit, Multi-Tool, Flashlight, Radio/Cell Phone. And if the mission calls for it, a couple of extra pistol mags.

Blowout/IFAK 

Of all the “other” stuff on your rig besides mags, this is the one piece of kit you should dedicate a tremendous amount of forethought and finance too. I am gonna spend some time on this talking about the contents and positioning and when you are finished reading this, you go do the same with yours!

Going into the field or the fight with the minimum amount of medical gear to patch either yourself  or your buddy up with could mean the difference between making a trip to the ER or the morgue. As far as the contents of the kit, depending on how big a pouch you want to carry, you can do a simple “Blowout” (or Individual First Aid Kit) that will have everything you need to patch yourself up with, while a “Trauma” kit will have more stuff to treat more than one person. Obviously, if you are working in a Small Unit capacity, your Medic will have a fully stocked Trauma kit, while every man will have his own IFAK/ Blowout kit. Now it should be said here that your kit’s contents should reflect your mission. In other words, if you are going to a 3-day rifle course, in addition to your blowout you should also pack a simple “boo-boo” kit with band-aids, antibiotic ointment, insect bite creams, sunburn ointment, etc. For those of you that have trained in the field regularly, you know that comfort items like the ones mentioned can mean the difference between having a good training experience and a bad one and squeezing every bit of usefulness out of that few hundred dollars you just laid down for training!

You can do a DIY  blowout/IFAK kit fairly cheap and easy, or my buddy Mark over at E3 Solutions has one pre-built that works great.

The PTK 1.0 contains:

• Package of Quickclot
• SWAT-T Tourniquet and Pressure Dressing
• EMT Shears
• 4×4 Gauze Pad
• XL Nitrile Gloves

While some folks prefer the CAT Tourniquets, I think the SWAT-T is better for lone application, which in essence, is what the Blowout kit is designed for. The only thing I would add to this kit to cover all your “oh shit” scenarios is an Israeli Trauma Dressing from County-Comm. That 4×4 Gauze Pad may work as a napkin, but it sure is not gonna cut the mustard if you spring a major leak!

 

Another piece of kit you might consider adding to your Blowout or Trauma Kit is a Rescue Hook. I have used this one from Benchmade for years. Rescue Hooks tend to foul less than EMT Shears, are safer for the patient, and are also quicker to use in a vehicle extrication (cutting seatbelts) if the need arises. Obviously, they are excellent as gear cutters as well and can slice through leather boots and other tough materials, like cordura and canvas, with ease.

Positioning

Being able to access your blowout kit on your rig is paramount obviously. I have seen some guys place it at their 6 o’clock right over their ass, and other place it on their sides. They key thing to remember in blowout kit positioning is what is called the “Diver’s Triangle”

The Diver’s Triangle is the area between the shoulder blades and the belt buckle. The ideal here is, regardless if you are face down in the dirt or hiding behind an engine block, your Blowout kit will be easily accessible. Worst case scenario is due to bad positioning, (like behind you or on your side) you have to expose yourself to enemy fire to access it..not good. We are trying to plug holes, not create more of them.

The War or Rifleman’s Belt

These are a great option for folks who don’t want to run a chest rig or maybe for somebody who wants to run a chest rig and have the extra gear spread out for weight distribution. There are many varieties and flavors out there, most all of them basically based on the same pattern. A word of advice here: Be sure and choose a belt with a very soft inner liner and a sturdy inner belt. Remember, you are wearing this thing over your existing belt (think of it as a duty belt) so it has got to hold up and be comfortable to boot.

This is my Padded War Belt  from ATS Tactical. It is still “Under Construction” as I am slowly adding pouches I deem necessary. The next addition will be a few 7.62 mag pouches. The belt comes with 4 ITW Suspender Loop-Locs, so seeing I already had a pair of Spec-Ops Combat Belt Suspenders, I rigged me up some quick release buckles and whammo. ATS Tactical also sells some suspenders that are ready-made to drop in and use though if you don’t wanna go that route.

The Holster I am using is also a 5.11 VTAC LBE. It is one of the simplest and best built holsters I have found for training. I like the “Slickstick” system 5.11 created for all their MOLLE gear; it is so much easier to mount and take off than the individual straps with snaps! The kydex black sheath to the right of the holster is a Wilson Combat Cop Tool, although very practical to have, I plan on mounting a small fighting knife, maybe my Blackhawk Crucible, as soon as I can get a kydex MOLLE sheath made for it. Other than that, I have a Multi-Tool, Flashlight, Camebak 2L Water Bottle, Dual Pistol Mag Pouch and my Blowout Kit.

The blowout kit pouch I am using comes from ATS Tactical also. It is their SOF Bleeder Pouch. It is perfect size to fit everything you would need and more. Plus the pouch is designed as a “rip away” in the event you need to get the kit off the wounded so you can work on him without having to move him around unnecessarily.

So there it is, quick and dirty. Remember: Mission Drives Equipment, so always look at your gear in that light and adjust accordingly. If you are going to a 2 day Rifle class, you do not need to gear up like you are a Tier 1 Operator in Kunar Province; on the flip side, you always want to outfit your rig to be COMBAT EFFECTIVE in the event you do have to fight for your life when society eventually shits the bed.

Stay Frosty Gents!

Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!

 

Ammo Field Test: Freedom Munitions .223 60gr VMAX

Finally got out to the back 40 to Test out Freedom Munitions .223 60gr VMAX Load.

The 60gr VMAX Load is a Polymer Ballistic Tip Round that comes screaming out of the barrel at 2975 fps with a muzzle energy of around 1229 ft. lbs. At 100 yds the FPS drops to around 2698 with a muzzle energy of around 970 ft lbs.

A fun fact for you: This is the preferred round for the Vertex Helicopter Feral Hog Eradication/Control Program. The round is flat shooting and hard hitting!

The Weapon I was using was a Bushmaster XM-15 10.5″ Barrel Enhanced Patrolman’s AR Pistol. It has quite a few mods, but the sights are Magpul MBUS’ and a Truglo Red Dot.

I started out from a bench rest position at 100 yds with a “Dirty Bird” target just to see where I was at. As you can see with this three round group, 1 MOA is not a problem.

Covering those holes up with markers, I then tried some offhand standing shooting at 100 yds, as expected the group opened up, but not much! With this 5 shot group, I averaged just a hair over 1.5 MOA.

Covering those holes up, I did a “quick-up” Contact Drill. This is where I start with the weapon at low ready and then as quickly as possible, mount the gun and engage. I always do this drill with no set number of rounds, but typically never exceed 5. Here I put 4 rounds in a “zipper” pattern, with the first 2 almost touching and the other two in a nice vertical string. The ideal is to “Zip” the target starting at the sternum and working up, putting as many rounds in the vitals as you can.

Next I moved out to 150 yds and changed targets this is LE Targets DT-ANTQ-A. I like these because of the varied numbered colored shapes (great for Discretionary Command Drills) and the main target has the vital organs outlined. This 5 shot group was shot offhand while doing another “quick-up” Drill. Though the “groupings” seem larger here, you should remember that this is at a further distance and also this was a COMBAT drill, not a Marksmanship Drill! Note almost all the rounds hit a major organ and 3 of them hit the spine.

Covering those holes up I moved on to a “Controlled Pairs” drill at 150 yds. The first two were center punched and I broke protocol and sent three down for the head shot, putting the first two right on top of each other.

The last drill I did was a standing to prone drill at 150 yds. The first round as a head shot with the remaining 3 taken from prone. They averaged 1.5 MOA.

Overall, I had ZERO malfunctions with the ammo. It fed smoothly and ejected cleanly. I would like to take all the credit for the accuracy, but obviously the ammo was superior! Well Done Freedom Muntions and Hornady!

I would not hesitate for a second to use this as a hunting or self-defense round in my AR.

Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!

 

The New Glock G40, Gen 4, aka “GlockZilla”, A 10mm Masterpiece

USA – -(Ammoland.com)- At SHOT Show 2015, Glock unveiled a new pistol that flew a bit under the radar as people were clamoring for a Glock Carbine or a single stack 9mm.

That pistol was the Glock G40 Gen4 in 10mm with a 6″ bbl and 9″ slide with the company’s new MOS option (modular optic system).

We might still be waiting on the carbine and the single stack came out just prior to the NRA show earlier this year in the form of the Glock G43 Handgun, so we decided to try out the G40.

This model is the most powerful Glock pistol in existence and the biggest one the author has handled (the G41 in 45 ACP is the same size); so much so that we started calling it GLOCKZILLA at the beginning of the test period.

About the 10mm Round

For those who are unfamiliar with the 10mm round, here is a short history.

10mm Round

Dissatisfied with the performance of the 9mm cartridge in the 1970s and 1980s, a round was sought that would replicate the ballistics of the 357 Magnum round in a semi auto pistol. The result was the 10mm, but due to the pressure of the round, most existing platforms could not be used.

A larger framed pistol based on the CZ75 was the first candidate (known as the Bren Ten) and the 1911 frame was adopted in the form of the Colt Delta Elite in 1987.

When the FBI decided to adopt the round, Smith & Wesson adopted their double action 45 pistols to chamber the round in 1989, Glock followed two years later with their G20 Pistol.

Alas, the agents of the FBI found the recoil too harsh and a new round was created (40 S&W) with a reduced load and a shorter case that allowed the round to be chambered in 9mm sized pistols.

The 10mm cartridge would have perished, had it not been for a large fan base that cherished the qualities of the round for hunting and the sheer power factor of near Magnum handgun performance in a semiautomatic pistol.

Read the Remainder at  Ammo-Land

Gear Review: County-Comm’s Cage Pocket LED Light

 

It is often said it is the smallest things that can make the biggest difference in an emergency situation. Packing that pair of jumper cables before that road trip or that extra bundle of toilet paper perhaps. But it goes without saying that having a small and inexpensive light source wherever and whenever you need it is not only practical and helpful, in an emergency situation it is downright MANDATORY! and once again the good folks at County-Comm have provided a solution.

The Cage Pocket LED Light is one of those devices that exemplifies the word “utilitarian” to a tee.

As the description from County-Comm’s website states:

These CAGE LED pocket lights were specially made at the request of an emergency communications group. These are not your standard pocket lights and they’re 2x brighter than previous models with a clear natural color white LED. The bright white LED causes the body to glow a natural smoky color when it is being used.

Has a locking click on / click off user friendly unterface.

( Simply press the center of the light and it stays on until you click again )

No doubt that these will be winners for Halloween and beyond.

Black Oxide Split Ring As Shown Included.

For those of you that have been through a natural disaster or maybe operated out in the field away from the power grid, you know the extreme importance of having reliable light sources on your person. The prepper mentality when it comes to lights has always been one of “spread the love” or “spread your resources” so you don’t have to depend on one light for everything. This not only goes for reliable flashlights, but also small, pocket lights like the CAGE LED. You can literally put these little boogers everywhere you think having a light source would be important, which when you start thinking about it, is a whole lot of places!

Some examples off the top of my head:

• House Key Keychain: so in the event the porch light is not on, you are not fumbling around playing that really fun game of “I hope it fits the lock”.
• Kids Backpacks: one because it looks cool and two, it actually can come in handy one day.
• Bug-out-Bag..Yeah, I don’t think I need to give a reason.
• Medical Pack: Because if you need something in this pack, you most likely don’t wan to be looking around for a light.
• VBOB: Yeah you could change a tire by the light of one  of these if you had too!

 

I have a CAGE LED attached inside my Laptop Bag and it has been very handy as I am always looking for something in the bottom of my bag at odd hours 🙂

 

I also have one on my Range Bag. 

 

And what BOB would be complete without a CAGE LED on the exterior?

And one inside your Med kit too…

 

Overall, the best features on these is they are 2x as bright as the previous model, so they are plenty bright to do most task and instead of the momentary switches like most LED lights of this type typically have, the CAGE LED’s have the more practical  “clickable on/off switch” to truly make these hands free and more user friendly. As I said, I changed a tire with one of these at 10pm at night, so make sure you put one in your VBOB!

County-Comm has really priced these very reasonable, so there is no reason the average prepper could not pick up a couple of boxes of these.

So enough chatter, go out and get yours today and light up the darkness!

Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!

Ammo Field Test: Freedom Munitions .45 ACP 230gr XTP Hornady

 

Freedom Munitions recently sent me their .45ACP 230gr Hornady  XTP Hollow-Point load to field test for you guys.

Just as a little background, here is a break down of Hornady’s XTP Bullet, to put it bluntly, she is one nasty  round and I DO NOT want to get shot with it!

From Freedoms ballistics data page this round leaves the bbl at 890fps with 405 ft lbs. of energy.

I did the test with my trusty Glock 21SF, the Target I used was  a Paul Howe CSAT, The Range was 15 yds standing, which might seem a tad far for a pistol, but I wanted a good medium distance just to get some baseline data.

 

 

I fired an entire magazine, 13 rounds, for a G21SF. The first cold bore set was to the head, I fired 3 rounds right next to each other right above the square. The following two rounds were a bit spaced, impacting to the left and 3″ below the square. I then moved to center of mass, as my sights settled dead center of the box, my first round went exactly where I was looking and punched it center. The following three shots were rapid and hit below it in a string left to right. The next four shots were errant and spaced, but still within the “kill box”, the first three vertically strung up the left side and then an errant shot to the right. The biggest “gap” between groups was 3″, although in combat pistol shooting I find the ideal of “groupings” and making “smiley faces” asinine, but since this was a field test, I included it 🙂

Overall, I was extremely pleased with the ammo, it fed extremely well. Not one Failure to Fire or Failure to Eject. Had even powder burn on all rounds, and as an added bonus, this ammo is extremely clean; almost no residue in the barrel after a few mags…so much for that “dirty, cheap” stuff, huh!

As this is a Self-Defense Round, I would have liked to do some penetration testing, but I just did not have the equipment at the time. In the future I plan to do some interesting “DIY” Penetration testing with these field test, just to give you guys a rough ideal what this stuff will do to soft (and hard) skinned targets, so stay tuned.

Until Then…

Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!