Weapon and Gear Reviews

   BOLT ACTION RIFLES

MOSIN NAGANT - Venerable, tried and true. A serious weapon in a powerful cartridge.

                                                    SEMI AUTO MAGAZINE FEED RIFLES

AR-15 - Bushmaster's version of the civilian model of the M-16, our current U.S. battle rifle.

CETME - The forefather of the H&K 90-series rifles.

VEPR II - American engineering meets Russian practicality. The result: an accurized AK variant.

L1A1 - The choice of over 70 different countries for a battle rifle.

SKS Sporter - Chinese made SKS rifle that accepts AK mags.

Daewoo K1 - Pre-ban Korean rifle inspired by the M16.

                                                      HANDGUNS

Smith & Wesson Model 66- A true American classic wheel gun, in man-stopping .357 magnum.

Springfield Armory 1911 A1 V16 - Springfield armory's longslide version of the classic G.I. .45.

Kimber .45- Worth the ducketts.

Hi-Point .40-How Good Can a $160 handgun be?

You, yes, you, can submit a review of your favorite (or not-so-favorite) weapon to be posted here. Just e-mail it to:

Webmaster@michiganmilitia.com. Try to follow the format of the above reviews, please. Thanks.

Here, we will begin posting reviews of gear that we use or recommend. Feel free to send us your reviews.

GEAR REVIEW BY BISHOP

Gear Reviews

Submitted by Bishop, June 11, 2003

LULA Magazine Loader / Unloader

I have two words to say about this device: "Get one!".

Blackhawk Industries S.T.R.I.K.E. Omega Vest

I've had this vest for a few months now and I have both positives and negatives to share with you.

First the good. Obviously this is a well-made vest. The Blackhawk name says that. It is covered with MOLLE webbing attachment strips that let you put your pouches in almost any configuration you like. I have four GI Mag pouches (two mags each) and two GI canteen / utility pouches. One of these holds my canteen and the other has my first aid and some misc. items. I put a field dressing pouch on the left shoulder and my butt pack on the back. Additionally, you can hang your web belt from the bottom of the vest. On there I have my holster, and an additional canteen as well as my fighting knife.

   

This vest lets you carry this gear easily and in great comfort. The weight is distributed nicely and everything stays tight to your body when you want it to. This gear is also quieter than most LBE I've listened to, probably because there is much less gear bounce when running. The shoulders have rubberized pads for you rifle and some d-ring attachment points as well. If you want, you can carry a hydrastorm or camelbak in the back of the vest too. Having gear across your midsection is bonus protection from the bad guys and doesn't interfere when in prone at all. In fact, I find it easier to access my mags from this location on my body. The MOLLE system eliminates all those metal clips too so you don't feel like you're lying on nuts and bolts all the time.

Now for the downside. This vest is hot. I suppose most vests are, but I didn't realize how much sweating I was actually in for in this thing until our last field training. I am seriously considering hanging it up for the summer and using a belt/suspender system so I don't die of heat stroke. This is a three season item in my opinion or for short assault missions at most in the summer. I can't imagine putting this thing over a flak jacket or wearing it all summer. The other thing I don't like about it is that it is a one-size fits all vest. I'd like to see S/M/L/XL offered as vests don't allow as much adjustment room as traditional LBE. Someone bigger than me will be at the outer limits of it's usable range and the very skinny guys and gals out there won't be able to wear it snug enough to benefit from its quiet maneuverability. The last complaint I have is for vests in general, not just this one. It's not always easy to carry a rucksack because everything is right there on your upper body. You can't just raise or lower your suspenders and make room for a ruck like you can with traditional LBE.

Of course I have to mention that this vest is not on anyone's low-budget militia list. I look at it this way though. Most guys (me included) have no problem spending a grand (or more) on a quality rifle with mags, ammo, optics, carry case and various accessories. Add a quality sidearm and maybe another cheaper rifle or two and you've got a lot of cash in your guns. Why not spend at least a quarter as much on the gear you wear on your body 24/7 while in the field? I have a much more personal relationship with my boots, my pack and my LBE than I do with my rifle, but for some reason it's hard for a lot of us to justify getting the best we can afford. Also, I've had a lot of luck shopping on e-bay. If you're patient and can wait for the good deals, they're out there. You don't need to pay the MSRP on this gear if you don't want to.

-Bishop

GEAR REVIEWS BY JOHN PFEIFFER:

Here, we will begin posting reviews of gear that we use or recommend. Feel free to send us your reviews. You don't have to be John Pfieffer to send a review, it just looks that way....

The Surefire Way

by John Pfeiffer


Tactical lighting. A word combination that years ago would have elicited a "huh?' response from most law enforcement and military personal, guarantees even a nod of acknowledgment from many laymen, hobbyists and hunters with no need or serious use for the combination. Tactical lighting: Extremely powerful and long range lighting used to locate and/or blind the enemy in a low light situation.

Since the advent of lanterns and flashlights, functioning after dark has
been unacceptable without some form of artificial lighting. Over the past
century, battery and crank operated flashlights have been the norm, but
short of direct A/C or generator powered lights, most have been either
weak or short lasting lights with limited ability in a emergency, search
and rescue or tactical situation.

Although companies such as Maglite, Streamlight, Ray-O-Vac, Coleman,
etc. have manufactured flashlights that are more powerful (and require
more batteries) than the standard kitchen/camping light, not until
Surefires' entry into the market, was there a highly efficient, powerful
and rugged light stuffed into a package hardly larger than most penlights.

A company whose former claim to fame was the military version of their new civilian lasersight, exists only to provide the finest in lighting for professionals who require maximum performance in their handheld flashlights. Requirements for durability, output, ease of use and handling were deemed by the owner and lighting aficionado of Surefire.

While the majority of handheld lighting companies do not exude effort or fundson development of the flashlight (Hey! you push the switch and it lights up - what more do you want?), Surefire is in constant flux on their light designs, always improving the art of lighting.

It all starts with a Xenon Gas filled lamp and an ingenious reflector system. The Xenon bulb is a long lasting rugged bulb that is similar in design to aircraft landing light bulbs. It is designed for maximum output and longevity. The optimized reflector system used by Surefire ensures
that there is no bulb or filiment "shadow" in the beam. There is no need for a "beam shaper" on a Surefire. When a Surefire is activated, you will be rewarded with a pure white, intense and solid light with no dead areas such as those seen on a Maglite.

The Xenon lamp is 20 times more costly than a standard flashlight bulb. It is also 20 times more powerful. 20 times is an understatement since the bulb can actually produce up to 70 times more output than a standard bulb if additional voltage is provided. The required 123A Lithium cells cost about $1.25 each at the Surefire website (about $2-$4 less than most other sites or locally) and will power most Surefire lights for up to or over an hour. Some Surefire LED models will run for several hours on 2 cells.

The Surefire line of flashlights cost from just under $30 to over $500 for the weapon mounted systems. The sweet deal of the lot is the $28-$34 G2 Nitrolon with high impact molded plastic housing and 60 lumens rated lamp. It will operate for 60 minutes on two 123A cells. At around $45 for a G2 Nitrolon and a 12 pack of Lithium cells, the Surefire system is a hard one
to ignore for those under whelmed by what other flashlight manufacturers have to offer.
 

Visit the Surefire web page for more info about these fine tactical lighting options.

The Royal Robbins 5.11 tactical vest

by John Pfeiffer


The Vest Test

I've conceal carried on and off for years. Lately, I've been back into the "carry on" mode, not because of increased threats including terrorism, but because I have the God given born right to carry personal protection on myself to protect life, limb and family, in addition to liberty and happiness, which isn't possible without the Second Amendment and common sense.

I've carrried through the years wearing the most uncomfortable holsters and rigs imaginable. After agonizing over how to carry my pistol concealed while maintaining comfort and mobility all those years, I settled on a Galco shoulder holster which was comfortable and allowed easy
access to my gun. Unfortunately, removing my jacket during a Chili's lunch get together or in someone's residence (granted they were aware anyway, but the wife or significant other may not been), was impossible without at least one individual freaking out and pointing at me as if I was a broke day trader with an incredibly high debt ratio and a bad attitude.

Earlier this year I discovered the recently released Royal Robbins 5.11 tactical series of shirts, pants and vests. I was ecstatic that they would produce civilian style garments that would allow me to hide a small armory on my person without others being the wiser. Finding a decent review of the 5.11 vest, let alone an actual vest locally, proved to be fruitless. I finally gave in and mail ordered a Khaki vest in 2XL. I had to know for myself if this was the vest of my dreams.

I found that the 5.11 vest was far better than all the previous ranger vests and photographer vests that I had owned through the years. Those were great for carrying everything short of a full sized pistol. Many were too thin for concealed carry and "printed" (where the outline of the pistol
is visible), which was embarrassing, especially when everyone but you was aware that your pistol was hanging out plain as day. Many vests are too short and cause your waistband mounted holster to peek out when you bend over or raise your hands over your head. I've told more than one CCW hombre that his "pearl handled six gun was a showin' " while shopping or at some other public location. My, how red we turn when informed.

Personally I don't care if someone carries their .45 in a side holster out in the open for all to see, as long as there's a retention device on the holster. However, "etiquette" and "state law" dictate that to be inappropriate. By the way, I'm being facetious about the state law part. In any case, we have to "hide" our firearms as to not "threaten" or scare the majority of the sheeple, um... populace. We wouldn't want to "brandishing" any weapons in public, would we?


The cure (well, at least in weather below 80 degrees). By no means a heavy winter vest, the 5.11 is not the most comfortable garment for hot summer use. Exactly the reason for me to purchase the vest in black AND khaki! ^_^ The vest is made of a cotton canvas fabric and is very durable. It comes with an amazing seventeen pockets! All but two are useful - more on that later. Two of the larger pockets are hidden in between the outer and inner front layers of the vest. Those two hidden pockets are the very reason that I purchased the 5.11 vests.

Both hidden pockets measure approximately 12" X 14" and contain a semi-rigid 6" X 8" velcro loop covered plate which hangs on triple 10" X 1" velcro hook strips sewn onto the inside inner layer. Each of these plates can support several items such as holsters, mag or flashlight pouches that have velcro hook material attached. These pockets have three short pieces of velcro on the edge of their 11" openings to keep the pockets closed and hidden. While a long velcro strip along the
opening would totally conceal what is in the pockets, it would hinder access under time constrained conditions (for instance when you're whipping something out to show another individual that you would prefer to stay in a state of existence on this earth, and are not ready to
"go to Valhalla, do not pass Go, do not collect $500". Life isn't a Monopoly game folks (except maybe to the rich), you can't have at it in a bad situation if you can't get to your "MPR" (malicious person rehabilitator).


The pockets:

There is a very deep inside pocket with short velcro strip on the left side of the vest that is large enough for a passport, map, etc. I have used it on occasion for a small 9mm pistol when I didn't have time to load up the hidden pockets.

On the front right side of the vest are 2 lower velcro flap pockets capable of storing two AR-15 magazines each, an additional lower left mag/shotgun shell velcro flap pocket with storage for several pistol magazines, 2 mid chest (one zippered, one velcro'd) pockets that can hold various
flashlights, keys, folding knives, etc., and three upper breast pockets with open tops that can be used for smaller items such as pens, keys, or poptarts (messy but easy to get to). In my case, a Surefire E2e flashlight resides in one of the upper pockets at all times.

On the back of the vest there is a large map pocket flanked by deep elastic topped pockets to each side. The elastic pockets are large enough to hold one liter bottles of water or any other favorite tasty beverage. There is also a inside back pocket capable of holding a map or documents.

The most useless pockets on the vest are the side pockets. They have a very small ledge which allows items to evict themselves over time. If you assume that it takes a lot of motion or activity to achieve this, think again. They don't retain objects near as well as the other "utility"
pockets. I guess they're OK to place your hands in on a cold day. Considering how useful the other pockets are, I'll ignore the side pockets as annoyances that may disappear in the future or perhaps evolve and grow zippers or deeper ledges before they're useful.


Shoving 20 lbs. of Glock into a 5 lb. vest.

On the evening that I received the vest, I wasted no time in jamming every conceivable firearm and knife into it. Much to my amazement (and disappointment) I easily concealed a Glock 19, Glock 30, two Glock 17's, three Glock 19 mags, two Glock 17 mags, one Glock 30 mag, a 33 round Glock 17 mag, a Cold Steel 6" tanto folder, Cold Steel 6" SRK fixed blade tanto, a 4" Gerber Applegate/Fairbairn folder, 2" CRKT boot knife, 1" Victorinox Swiss Army knife, two AR-15 magazines and an M&M topped Rice Crispy treat into the vest. It was HEAVY. I don't mean "cool" heavy. Just HEAVY. You wouldn't normally carry that many items, but after sauntering into the family room and asking the wife how I looked (what do mean, you're wearing a vest? So what?) I am convinced that no one in public would ever notice the amount of gear that I had crammed into the 5.11 vest.

Overall the 5.11 Vest is a massive leap of in tactical textile over previous iterations of the venerable ranger vest. While it may not suit the true traveler or photographer because of it's additional weight and thickness, it's the very best available at this time to those who want
to carry a large amount of items without resorting to a fanny pack or rucksack. On a scale of 5 to 11, I rate the 5.11 tactical vest a 12.

I got mine from: http://www.ombps.com/ I used "tactical vest" as a search string.
They have quite a few more photos of the vest Selling price is $49

 

Real Fast Food for Real Fast People.

by John Pfeiffer


While MRE's and water are important items for the modern Mountain Biker, Hiker, Militiaman, Explorer, or U.S. Warrior to have in their pack while out of range of home, base camp or
civilization, there still exists a need for sustenance that can be downed quickly without the hassle of stopping. A full meal can't be replaced by a small portion eaten on the run, but when under
duress or a time limit, you're lucky to have even one hand free to do anything other than grip a bike handlebar, rock outcropping, tree branch or handy dandy battle rifle.

During the 90's, there was a huge growth in "extreme" sports such as mountain biking and rock climbing to add to the standards such as road biking, hiking, cross country skiing and running.
Most of these sports require the need to refuel both hydra and solid sources on the go. If there is no time to stop and rest, there's no time to eat a full meal.


If you can't stomach it...

A full meal wouldn't be the best choice if only a short stopover was available. Exerting effort while your stomach is digesting a major meal can cause even the most fit people to experience
discomfort, cramps or an outright cardiac attack. 

Keep in mind that during digestion, a large portion of your blood supply is diverted to operate your digestive system. It's the main reason outside of over eating carbohydrates that you may
feel so tired after a full meal. A full stomach is not the best situation for your heart to deal with when it's attempting to supply your extremities' muscles with the oxygen rich blood that they need to function. When both stomach and muscles are fighting for fuel, someone loses and it's usually you.

Those extreme sports of the 90's brought us the on-the-go food that we needed (even though we didn't realize that we did at the time). Snack type granola bars, protein bars, power bars and
superwhambamthankyou bars popped up all over the place, all quiping reasons that they were the best "booster" food available. Many were quite tasty. Some were downright nasty.

The tasty bars had sugar, lots of yummy carbs and large doses of artificial flavor, color and MSG-dyclorate-hydrophoximentazine. OK, I'm, just kidding about the MSG-dyclorate-hydrophoximentazine. It doesn't exist, but you know what I mean. There's lots of junk in the tasty bars. As for the nasty bars. They have lots of "natural" ingredients such as soymeal, artificial color, more soymeal, some sort of chocolate tasting garbage, MSG-dyclo... wait, that was the other bar. OK, so most bars out today are junk. Artificial tasty/nasty junk. That's why many of us spurn anything short of a sugar laden granola bar when confronted with a choice of candy bar or "nutri-bar".


Clif Notes:

Clif Bars came into existence nearly a decade ago, after years of testing by an avid climber/mountain biker in search of the perfect booster food that could be eaten like any other food bar, but without the nasty taste or bevy of artificial ingredients to enhance flavor. A
blend of organic brown rice syrup (similar to corn syrup), oats, various soy and rice elements, real fruit. flaxseed and fiber, Cliff bars were immediately embraced by the extreme sports folks and have remained near the top of the list of most used in-motion foods.

A Clif high carb fruit/oat bar isn't much easier to eat than the other bars, or even much easier than a MRE (if you've ever eaten one while squeezing it out of it's pouch while you're walking - a messy proposition), it IS a smaller portion with a high carb and natural sugar content that can
get you that extra hour of energy that you need. 

Gel power

OK, so the Clif bars are great if I don't want to rip into a MRE or outright stop to make camp and bake cookies. What if I don't have time to munch on a fruity, limp wristed, mommas boy soy bar? I'm a macho, damn it all to Hades, warrior of the weekend and I'm looking to put holes
in things other than my underwear. I eat Rambo for lunch and spit 50 cal bullets. I ain't eatin' no sissy munchy bar!

Enter the Clif Shot energy gel pouch. Containing 100 calories, 20+grams of carbohydrate, caffeine, potassium and sodium, it's a way of singlehandedly (pun intended), getting a quick boost that will kick in within 30 minutes and keep you going for another 30. The Clif shot
pouch has a quick tear off top and can be totally emptied with a crushing squeeze of your macho man-sized fist. Squirt 32 grams of "Sonic Strawberry" into your mouth (don't worry, no one's watching), and you're ready to take on Delta Force and the Denver Broncos. Just stay away
from green Kryptonite.

Although many people (including me) are adversely affected by large amounts of caffeine, Clif Shot only has a small amount. There was just enough in the pack that I tested to make me take notice.

I haven't tested Clif Shot in the field, but some heavy training at Stasa or Mud Creek should give more insight into its potential. I believe this may be the best quick fix for fatigue during training yet. If it works for extreme sports such as climbing and mountain biking, it should work for
extreme patriot sports such as "Capture the UN flag", "Take the hill... before the government deems it an off-limits biosphere zone " and "Operation: Toss me to the ground and stand on head because I'm not complying to your unconstitutional demands and I'm driving a white
Ford truck that looks somewhat like a white van that the anti-social pissed-off white supremacist terrorist trained KKK sniper must be driving because someone think that's what they saw... maybe... kinda".


Cautionary note:

There is no food that can substitute for rest when you are totally exhausted. Fatigue can be fought, but no carbohydrate/protein food or drink can bring you back from the edge of total breakdown (well, nothing except perhaps nasty drugs like speed or PCP). When you're
near collapse, rest and consolation by teammates is what you really need. Pushing yourself past your limits is fine, but to push further using food, drink or drug is insane. Always pace yourself and use caution in determining what your limit is. We're not all Supermen. Well... OK. I am. But that's just the Viagra talking.

Clif Bars and Clif Gel are available at www.clifbar.com, and maybe your local drugstore.