1 Long gun, 1 Pistol and 1 Knife

Saw this over at SHTF Blog and have been thinking about it ever since. We talked about our top 3 guns previously but the jump from 3 to 2 is a lot.

Pistol- Glock 19. A great compromise between conceal ability and capacity/ shootability. Also you just don't get any more common than a Glock 9mm. Though a Glock 17 would be fine also as the two aren't that different in size.

Long Gun- AR-15 with a CMMG .22 conversion kit. This is arguably gaming the question but since it is just a spare bolt and a magazine I don't think it is too ridiculous. I think arguing the technicality that the lower is the part and saying I would also have a 6.8 or 300 blackout upper would be gaming things. 

A narrow second place would be a Remington 870 with both long and short barrels. The Remington 870 is very versatile but the AR's ability to shoot .22lr gives a pretty good option to put meat into the pot. While you cannot LEGALLY hunt medium-large game with .223 I believe with decent shot placement and the right ammo it is a viable option.

Knife- I am sticking with knives as a discrete tool category and thus not slipping into machete's or hatchets or whatever. The knife would definitely be a fixed blade with a 4-5inch blade. The good old Ka Bar came into my mind but it is a bit too big for most tasks. Of knives I currently own the Pathfinder Trade Knife would be the best candidate. Of knives that are out there the new Benchmade Bushcrafter seems like a darn good candidate. I definitely want one and will eventually make the purchase.

Anyway those are my pistol, rifle and knife choices. What are yours?

RE: Bags in EDC Contest

Received a comment about the rules for our EDC Contest today that is worth addressing.

 First lets review the full rules:

The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal. Looking both at broad tools (pistol, folding knife, light, multi tool, etc all) and specifically digging into the this vs that of a Wambanger 29 vs a Doohickey A3.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

The Details:

The contest will run from today until 31 January. Typically I would have it run for a month but I want to give a bit more time since lots of folks are doing other things from Christmas through New Years. Still I wanted folks who might be off work and have some spare time to have the opportunity to knock out their entry thus the extra week.

As discussed above a submission will be a picture of the stuff you personally carry around on a normal daily basis with high regularity as well as a blurb/ essay discussing the stuff and it's role. I'm talking on your belt and in your pockets not in the car or some bag that generally travels near you but actual on body cary.

[Edited at 9:22 on 12/24 to include. Received a good question. Purses can count for women. They are a terrible way to carry defensive weapons but that is another topic. Honestly just didn't think that through when writing the rules. Guys I am still not including the Murse/ man bag/ Jack Bauer satchel or whatever. Life is not fair and you can call it sexist if you want. The reason is that women have their purses a pretty much all the time out of the home, probably at a higher percentage than active CCW holders have guns, while guys have some awkward bag that might go into the car occasionally.]

Note that I said a normal day and with high regularity. Don't try to impress folks by exaggerating. I do not want to know what your ideal hypothetical EDC is but what actually goes with you to the grocery store, movies or mom's for dinner. It would be a real upward battle to convince me you carry a Glock 34 with 3 17rd mags plus 4 33rd mags, a snubby .357 with 4 speed loaders, a 12" bowie knife, boot knife, a swiss army knife, an IFAK, a GPS, a lensastic compass, a pocket survival kit, a USGI poncho, an IFAK, an extendable baton, a mace, a taser, 3 of those lifeboat rations, binoculars, a multi tool and some other stuff on your person every day. Ethical issues aside I will call it like I see it if somebody seems to be exaggerating.

I'm not going to be specific about format for the picture or blurb/ essay. If the stuff doesn't open on my windows PC I will reply saying it needs to be changed to something that works on my computer for it to be entered into the contest.

I usual edit guest posts for OPSEC, spelling and grammar. To help contestants out I can (if they want) help with editing by looking a submission over and sending it back with some thoughts to help in the editing process.

Submissions will be made via email to theotherryan@yahoo.com. 

Winners will be picked by voting in early February. Details will follow as I firm this part up in the coming weeks.

I reserve the right to change prizes, contest dates or whatever else for any reason. Also I reserve the right to disqualify a contestant or even a winner for any reason, can't see why I would do this but things happen.

If there are any questions or I need to clarify something please let me know so that can happen.

Onto the comment:

 "I read the rules and understand that purses are allowed for women but I would recommend rethinking about men possibly carrying a backpack or even a shoulder bag. I have a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old and for the past 6 years I have always had on me a daddy shoulder bag that carries all of our gear, to include EDC. And when I travel to work, all my EDC gets transferred to my day pack which is sitting right at my feet at work. Just some thoughts."

After thinking about this all day I  have got to stick with no man bags. The first reason which was my original reason is that most men who have these bags do not really carry them around with high regularity.  Women carry their purses at a higher percentage than the most serious CCW holders pack heat. Guys just don't do this with their murses or whatever sort of maxpedia tactical whatever. Check discretely on a guy who supposedly carries a man bag all the time randomly and he likely will not bat enough to be in the big leagues. You may be the exception but that still doesn't disprove the rule. Also women's clothing and fashion is such that they have a harder time fitting this stuff into their pants and shirt pockets so it ends up in the purse by default.

The second reason I thought of today is that would be a different contest. My observation is that prepared women usually have the things a prepared man would have in his pockets in their purse full of normal woman stuff. A prepared mans bag is a whole nother topic.

I have a EDC/ get home bag and it is chock full of great stuff. There is a pathfinder trade knife, a leatherman, a knife sharpener, a steel bottle and cup, an IFAK, a boo boo kit, water purification tablets, 550 cord, a compass, a headlamp, a small led light, lighters and a fero rod, about 2k in calories, a survival blanket, a boonie hat and probably some other good stuff. The point is that comparing that as well as things I could keep in my assault pack vs what another guy keeps in his jeans or cargo pants really isn't apples to apples.

So no man bags are not allowed. The EDC/ get home bag could, or even probably will, be a different contest down the road. Honestly I do not have a way to know if this stuff lives in your pockets or takes up a small part of a diaper bag/ whatever. If the stuff fits in your pockets and for whatever reason occasionally goes in a bag take a picture and send it in to my email theotherryan@yahoo.com. Hope that seems reasonable to everybody.

EDC Contest: What's In Your Pockets?

I've been hinting at a super sweet contest for awhile now. Some things ended up delaying it but no matter, here we are.

The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal. Looking both at broad tools (pistol, folding knife, light, multi tool, etc all) and specifically digging into the this vs that of a Wambanger 29 vs a Doohickey A3.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

The Details:

The contest will run from today until 31 January. Typically I would have it run for a month but I want to give a bit more time since lots of folks are doing other things from Christmas through New Years. Still I wanted folks who might be off work and have some spare time to have the opportunity to knock out their entry thus the extra week.

As discussed above a submission will be a picture of the stuff you personally carry around on a normal daily basis with high regularity as well as a blurb/ essay discussing the stuff and it's role. I'm talking on your belt and in your pockets not in the car or some bag that generally travels near you but actual on body cary.

[Edited at 9:22 on 12/24 to include. Received a good question. Purses can count for women. They are a terrible way to carry defensive weapons but that is another topic. Honestly just didn't think that through when writing the rules. Guys I am still not including the Murse/ man bag/ Jack Bauer satchel or whatever. Life is not fair and you can call it sexist if you want. The reason is that women have their purses a pretty much all the time out of the home, probably at a higher percentage than active CCW holders have guns, while guys have some awkward bag that might go into the car occasionally.]

Note that I said a normal day and with high regularity. Don't try to impress folks by exaggerating. I do not want to know what your ideal hypothetical EDC is but what actually goes with you to the grocery store, movies or mom's for dinner. It would be a real upward battle to convince me you carry a Glock 34 with 3 17rd mags plus 4 33rd mags, a snubby .357 with 4 speed loaders, a 12" bowie knife, boot knife, a swiss army knife, an IFAK, a GPS, a lensastic compass, a pocket survival kit, a USGI poncho, an IFAK, an extendable baton, a mace, a taser, 3 of those lifeboat rations, binoculars, a multi tool and some other stuff on your person every day. Ethical issues aside I will call it like I see it if somebody seems to be exaggerating.

I'm not going to be specific about format for the picture or blurb/ essay. If the stuff doesn't open on my windows PC I will reply saying it needs to be changed to something that works on my computer for it to be entered into the contest.

I usual edit guest posts for OPSEC, spelling and grammar. To help contestants out I can (if they want) help with editing by looking a submission over and sending it back with some thoughts to help in the editing process.

Submissions will be made via email to theotherryan@yahoo.com. 

Winners will be picked by voting in early February. Details will follow as I firm this part up in the coming weeks.

I reserve the right to change prizes, contest dates or whatever else for any reason. Also I reserve the right to disqualify a contestant or even a winner for any reason, can't see why I would do this but things happen.

If there are any questions or I need to clarify something please let me know so that can happen.

Now I am going to do an example of what a submission could look like based on my EDC. Not saying you have to stick to it exactly the goal is just to give a better description of what a submission might look like.

Submission XX: Ryan from Arizona

From the top.

Pistol- Glock 19 with Trijicon night sights. I think it is a great carry option because it is concealable but shoots almost like a full sized handgun. Other than the night sights it is bone stock. It holds a Glock 19 mag with 14 rounds of JHP in the mag and 1 in the chamber.

Holster(s)- I showed two because they both get regular use. The Galco paddle holster typically gets used when I will be wearing a vest or some sort of sweatshirt/ jacket that covers it up. This holster sits at about 2 o'clock just in front of my right hip. I really like that it is easy to put on and take off but attaches securely to a belt with these little plastic ridges on the paddle.

The one on the left is a Bianchi 100 Professional and it sits right about 12:30 Appendix Inside Waistband (AIWB). This holster is typically used when I will be wearing lighter clothing. Both are fine options for their place.

Mag Pouch- Blackhawk single mag pouch. They are available from Lucky Gunner and Airsoft Atlanta for a bit under $20. It is a bit bulky but retention is good, the clip is solid and it seems quite durable. Inside the pouch is a second Glock 19 mag. Some folks carry a G 17 mag as a reload because it holds 2 more rounds. I've tried that and the extra length hurt in terms of concealment which I dislike.

Knife- Benchmade Griptillian. I like this knife a lot. It cuts like crazy and holds an edge very well. The customer service is head and shoulders above any other knife maker I have dealt with. May get a new knife (probably for my next birthday) but it will probably be a Benchmade.

I have tried carrying a second knife on my weak hand side as a 'get off me blade' but don't really feel it is needed for my everyday life. Am already about as close to a batman belt as I want to be.  Also I do not carry a multi tool. Probably use them 2-3 times a month which does not justify it being on my person. Do however have one in my EDC/ GHB backpack and another in our primary vehicle.

Light- The light is an LED Lenser AAA. I like that it is small but dislike that it seems to run through batteries like Charley Sheen through hookers and cocaine. Have regularly found it dead despite very rare use (probably less than 20 minutes ave) and weekly battery rotation. Probably going to replace it with a Streamlight.

Lighter- A bic lighter with a few ranger bands wrapped around it. It gets used very rarely as I am not a smoker but I think a lighter is essential to carry. The knife and lighter are really the core of my 'survival' type stuff in terms of EDC. With them I can do a lot.

Chapstick- Self explanatory but important in very dry Arizona.

Phone- A China Mart Tracphone. It does everything I need (calls/ texts) and has no contract. If I talked on it a lot the slightly higher cost of minutes would matter but since it's rarely used that isn't an issue.

Wallet- The usual ID and cards as well as cash. I try to have at least a hundred dollars cash on me all the time.

Not shown:
Keys- Dunno why they missed the pic but nothing special there.

Belt- A good belt makes carrying a pistol much more comfortable than it can otherwise be. I use a heavy nylon 'rigger belt'. Many folks make these and they are mostly the same. The one I'm using was made by Spec Ops; no particular attachment there it was simply conveniently available when I needed a belt.

Clothes- I am sure to have a hat and decent shoes when leaving the house. Generally I wear pretty functional clothes but obviously that varies based on what is going on.

The End.

Hope that helps clear up what sort of thing I've got in mind.  Yours doesn't need to be exactly like this.  Just wanted to give an idea and talk about my EDC.

Of course you are welcome to ask anything about my EDC and I'll do my best to answer. Now get to work on your submissions.

Merry Christmas,

Gear Updates and Random Thoughts

The LED Lenser has been living in my pocket for awhile now. I did an initial review awhile ago and need to add to it. I have to change one thing. The feature where the beam is adjusted by the front piece is in addition to a normal lefty loosy righty tights (AKA wide to narrow beam) style. It allows you to easily go from a big beam to a small one which is pretty nice. On the downside this thing sucks through batteries like crazy. I have changed them twice and rarely use this light and only then for short periods. Not a huge deal as we have some AAA rechargeable batteries but if it was going to be used for a long term emergency that would be a consideration.

I am really liking the Benchmade Griptillian. It is a great design and still really sharp after cutting up dozens of boxes during the move as well as just about everything else that has crossed my path. The only problem with this knife is it has got me having some knife lust. I was jonesing for an Emerson pretty hard back in July and told myself if I still wanted it in a year then maybe.

Almost pulled the trigger on a war belt awhile back. For reasons I cannot recall it didn't happen. Since then I put together some stuff that was already here and have done a lot of thinking. I am probably going to run a generic rigger belt with a kydex holster, the RAT 3 and some mags. It also occurred to me that I used a battle belt (albeit an older model) years ago and ditched it for various reasons. This stuff could either be held in place with zip ties (I suspect) or as I am doing right now just keep it on a pair of pants. An IFAK could go in a cargo pocket and that's about it. A light would be nice so I need to pick up a spare one to live there. The mag pouch I am using right now is a Condor Double Kangaroo. It isn't entirely ideal but the price was such it could be tagged onto another order.

Fiddling around watching Hoss USMC's youtube channel I saw a pretty cool leg rig that is an HSGI/ Chris Costa collaboration.

This setup looks pretty awesome. The way I see using it is very high more like a belt pouch attached by some clips than low like a leg panel. The advantage I see of that setup is it could go off or on as needed. I see this sort of setup functioning like a war belt but without a whole lot of MOLLE I will not need. Also being able to use a holster I already have and upgrade a piece at a time appeals to me. It is something I could see myself actually using on my normal belt with a kydex holster in a Katrina like scenario or in conjunction with a plate carrier and chest rig as a full on crazy time load out. I went to pick up one of those Costa leg rigs but they are sold out so that will have to wait awhile. That is just as well because it's been an expensive week anyway.

 For a home defense or anything short of a full on mad max type scenario carrying 2 spare pistol and rifle mags seems like plenty to me. That is 3x15 round pistol mags and 3x30 round rifle mags AKA a lot of ammo. One way or another a home defense type fight will be over way before then.

Still waiting on the rifle plates. Apparently they have a 4ish week delay which could have been made more clear at the time of sale but otherwise is not a huge deal. Well it isn't an issue unless I need them now at which point I'm hosed but that is unlikely.

Anyway that is where my gear situation is right now. I am pretty happy with how things are coming together.

What have you tried lately that is working well? What have you tried lately that is not working for you?

A Great Movie, a Great Blade and Dirty Fun

I watched Acts of Valor this evening. Not sure what to say about it exactly. Watching a movie where the uniforms, equipment, weapons handling and tactics didn't make me repeatedly face palm was quite nice. Glad I bought it.

I have been carrying my cool new Benchmade Griptillian 551 for about a week now. It is still a bit premature for a full review but I only have good things to say about it. Until I got this knife benchmade is the only major manufacturer I hadn't owned. To be honest the price point was higher than I was willing to go for a knife. Two things have changed in that regard. The first is the griptillian model(s) which come in around a hundred bucks instead of more like $150+. Secondly since getting out of school and starting a real job my situation has changed over the last few years. I don't buy knives I would hesitate to use or would be stressed to replace if they were lost or stolen. The dollar value of that has come up over time from about $50 to $100. Between those two now I have a benchmade folder.

Today I needed a part for our vehicle. Without sufficient time to order it online and well I like saving money. Naturally this led me to the junk yard. I forgot to dress down sufficiently for the occasion and had to be careful not to get oily grit or grease on my clothes. Not that they are fancy or anything but worn out jeans and an old t shirt would have worked better. Anyway after some looking I found the part. I yelled to the guy working there who was going about his work to see how much he wanted. I saw his hand go up and it looked like he was saying 5. I said I would leave the money in the office and then he made an exaggerated wave. Turns out he was telling me to just take it. So that was pretty cool.

Going even further from any sort of point I have been enjoying ale's a lot more lately. Can't wait to get back to America and start brewing again. Also hummus is pretty awesome and relative to other comparable options healthy and guilt free.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

In addition to kicking butt at the weight pile I am feeling better than I have in a long time. Looks like I may have finally kicked that cough. I am excited to start kicking butt at running. Some other good stuff happened this week.

I ordered a Benchmade Griptillian as part of my birthday.

From Chinook Medical

*ITEMS ORDERED:

Qty: 4 Item: 02122 Price: $3.67 - Nasopharyngeal Airway, 32Fr

Qty: 4 Item: 05157 Price: $5.55 - Tourni-Kwik TK-4 Combat Tourniquet
Qty: 4 Item: 05131 Price: $6.01 - Israeli Emergency Bandage - 6"
Qty: 3 Item: 02189 Price: $12.71 - Tension Pneumothorax Decompression Needle, 3.25"
Qty: 4 Item: 05143 Price: $1.45 - PriMed Compressed Gauze Bandage

Qty: 1 Item: 05166 Price: $39.99 - QuikClot 1st Response 50g (3 pack)

If the contents didn't show I am putting some IFAK's together. Anyway it was a good week here.

What did you do to prepare this week?

Lazy Day Randomness

I stumbled to an interesting blog called Rocky Mountain Preparedness that is new to me. It looks pretty good and if you are open to following another blog this might be a good one.

Survivalistblog linked to an excellent post on 10 Brand Name AR-15's under $700. You will see Bushmaster, Smith and Wesson and Olympic Arms models on the list. This brings up a very valid point. It is not necessary to spend a ton of money to have a good functional AR-15 that will serve you well. High end guns by folks like LaRue, Daniels Defense and Noveski (sp?) are probably great. I am not knocking those guns or trying to take anything away from them. They are almost certainly more accurate, have better fit and finish and may even be more reliable than standard and budget models. However most folks just don't have 2k or more to spend on a rifle. I sure don't have that kind of coin. If your funds are limited and will remain so for the foreseeable future it would be better to spend that extra $1,300+ on some mags, ammunition, something to carry your mags and training than on more gun.

Apparantly I am a right wing terrorist. My ideas of individual liberty and  “believe in the need to be prepared” are the reason for this.  Here I was figuring that I am a pretty boring family guy but apparantly I am doing all sorts of interesting right wing terrorist type things. [The most interesting thing that has happened here in weeks was Wifey and I betting on whether the brown thing across the floor was poop or a piece of cookie. It was not cookie and I lost a buck. Aren't toddlers fun.] Why am I even slightly suprised about this ridiculousness. Hat tip to Rural Revolution for the find.

Handled a Benchmade Griptillian today. The grip is nice and that axis lock is sure sweet. Their customer service is pretty much reputed as being awesome. I would have bought it but it wasn't the specific model I favor. May have to pick up one of these.

That is about all that is going on right now. I hope you all had a great Independence Day.