Kewl Accessorization (and meat)

I've had a Remington 870 12 Gauge for quite some time, but it has spent a lot of time in the safe.  It makes it to the range a lot because it's just lots of fun.  What it hasn't done is operate in the capacity of a home defense firearm.  "Why?" you say.  "It is one of the most venerable man-stoppers made."  Yes, I do agree.  They have their place in home defense and can be an immediate show stopper.  However, I do not employ anything for home defense in a serious capacity without one of these:

This is what was under the tree today.  I've been seriously looking for a good set-up and just haven't gone for it.  I've even had stuff in the cart on-line, but just not bought it.  It wasn't at the top of the spending list.  Mrs. 45er asked for a list, so I forwarded her the links I had favorited.  I'm liking this set up.

It is an Elzetta mount (which is constructed very well) and a Primary Arms light.  The light is nothing special, just really darn bright.  Primary Arms says 420 lumens and from the purple spots in my vision, I might agree with that.  It's just a single stage light with a click on and off tail cap.  Simple.  You can pulse it on if you want, but I really wanted a light with click-on function since this is a pump gun.  I really need a constant on function because I don't want to be trying to find the pulse switch every time I rack the slide.

It stands off a bit from the barrel, but I'm ok with that.  I didn't want to put a mount on with a rail and then another mount and then clamp the light.  That's a lot of stuff to get loose.  This is a specifically dedicated light mount and there are a heck of a lot of screws holding this on.  I will be taking it out this weekend for some testing.  Fun.

Now, on to the next bit of fun from this week.  I was wandering through a local store and saw some camo wrap on a display.  Nothing special, I thought, until I started looking at it.  It is basically like medical wrap.  Not the old Ace bandage from days past.  This is latex embedded so it sticks to itself.  It also gives a secondary advantage of making the gun you are wrapping a little more "grippy".  Here is the result on my stainless Remington 700:

For perspective, there is a picture of the same rifle at the bottom of the page.  The product is called Camo Form from a company called McNett.  It isn't cheap at $15 a roll.  One roll is supposed to wrap a rifle, mounts and scope.  I'm not a professional at this, so I didn't have a lot left for the scope.  I used what I had.

This is a pretty cool product.  It's re-usable and can just be washed in water and hung to dry.  One of the issues with my stainless rifle is it's super shiny.  Mostly that isn't an issue, but when I am stalking or sitting in the open I'm extra conscious of the potential shine there.  This will help a bit, I think (and it looks kinda cool).

Now, for something completely different:

The Elk is done!  It wasn't cheap, either, but it was worth it.  On the left there is the pencil stick (think skinny dried sausage), in the middle is jalapeno cheese summer sausage (yum) and the right is salami.  We also got regular summer sausage and jerky.  The look on my face was probably hilarious when my dad brought these in the house.  I was thinking something like the little chub of meat you get in the store, you know, about 10 inches long.  The summer sausage and salami was probably 2 feet long or better.  When you thaw one of these babies, you'd better have a dinner party planned or a platoon to feed.  Oh, and it tastes incredible.

Gunsafe Light

When I first got my safe, I played around with options for lighting and then pretty much gave up.  I just used little touch lights that never would stay stuck to the right place inside and I always carry a light in my pocket so it wasn't a big deal.  Well, today we were shopping and I saw some lights that caught my attention.  One of them was a "puck-light."  Just a round light that was activated by touch or could be switched to a photo-sensor.  Oh, very cool, so I thought.  Then I saw another light that interested me, but it was motion activated.  Hmmm, which one to get?  Mrs. 45er pointed out that it might actually be, I don't know, DARK when I really need to access my safe and grab something, so maybe a motion detector would be better.  Right there, that's the kind of thing I'm supposed to think of.  I call it a tactical brain-fart.  Thank goodness Mrs. 45er has spent entirely too much time (don't click here) hearing me go on and on about such things.

So, this is the one I decided on:

It was tough to find without the part number, so here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Rite-Lite-LPL905M-Wireless-Multi-Directional/dp/B003VPXCJM

and this is what it looks like inside:

Of course, as I left the store with the light, I wondered how the (don't click) motion sensor would actually work.  I've had bad luck with such things in the past.  It turns out, this works really well.  You can set the light to stay on for 30 or 60 seconds after the last motion is sensed.  The part I really like is the swivel on the light, which lets me direct the light down through the rifle (don't click here) slots.  This is important, since my AR is usually kept in the lower part and isn't long enough to fit up through the slots.

Viewed from the lower part of the safe through a gun rest

I can see them perfectly when it is set up this way.  I think I will go get another one to mount on the other side of the safe.  I'm pretty pleased for less than $10.  And, to be clear for the FTC, I bought this.

Speaking of a Light in the Dark

I am a huge (HUGE) proponent of the usage of white light.  We all talk about "carry" and it generally refers to our carry firearm.  I've seen some discussion of EDC (Every-Day Carry) and a lot of times it will include a light, but not always.  Why not?  

Many years back I was floundering for a way to carry my existing lights as part of my every day options.  At one point, I brought a Surefire G2 Nitrolon in my pocket.  Now, this is best suited for a nightstand or (maybe) weapon mounted light.  To say that it was uncomfortable and bulky for a day on the town would be an understatement.  At one point, I even stopped into a local gun store and came out with this:

Holy Bulk, Batman!

I immediately began making jokes about the bat-belt that my waist was becoming.  In addition to an IWB holster with a Glock 23, a spare magazine in an OWB kydex holder, my cellular phone (smart phone no less, so the size of a small dog), I added this to the mix.  I could tell right then it was an immediate no-go.  I stuck it on my vest instead and switched from trying to make what I already had work to attempting to increase the inventory of lights that I possess.  I love Surefire.  This is where I say that Surefire has nothing to do with me posting this and I'd be shocked if they even know I exist.  I know that Streamlight, Fenix and others have various offerings with attached clips as well as other manufacturers that make clip on holsters for your favorite light.  Just make sure and get one from a reputable company and look at some reviews.  I started to do some research of my own and decided on the E1B Backup (pictured at top).

What an immediate difference this thing made.  It is short and fat (insert crass joke here).  It fits perfectly in your hand and, more importantly, perfectly in my pocket (though sometimes a little rough on the fabric).  The clip option is no different than what you would use for a folding knife and offers immediate access by your weak side hand.  It immediately became and every-day carry of mine.  My work attire is "business casual" and it doesn't stick out at all.  As a matter of fact, with some styles of dress pants it's almost hidden completely:

So, why, you ask would you need to carry a light when you leave for work in the morning and come home before dark?  "Oh, so many reasons" would be my answer.  Let's talk every-day stuff.  This light doesn't do too bad for only using one battery (1.3 hours on constant high and 37 hours on constant low setting).  I still burn through the 123A batteries on this thing due to constant use.  I buy them by the box from Surefire to get them at a much better price.  I do know that lights are beginning to trend back to the AA option for ease of finding the battery, but for this stubby little guy, the 123A is really a part of the design that makes it work.  I use this every day.  You know how you use that knife of yours all of the time and don't know why anyone would go without one?  After you carry a good, low-profile light for a couple of weeks, you'll think the same thing.  "Regular" uses include; looking at computer wires under your desk, looking into the back of a supply cabinet in the house, taking out the trash after dark, or even hooking up the Christmas lights under the tree (yes, that was me this year), it's always there.  But back to the serious question of why you should carry a white light.  You can't shoot what you can't see.  You can't identify a bad guy vs bystander that you cannot see.  Plain and simple.  When the power goes out (or is cut) in a building it's daylight outside, but pitch black in that cubicle farm with no windows where you work.  One day on a whim you decide to meet up with the significant other for dinner after work instead of going home.  Walking out of the restaurant, it's completely dark now.

As I mentioned above, I started trying to carry the Nitrolon because of a very specific situation.  Mrs. 45er and I had started going to movies during the day when she was off of work and I had taken a day off to be with her.  Sure, it's 100F in the summer in Texas and too bright outside to go out without sunglasses, but it's pitch black in that theater.  My "what if" bell was going off like mad.  This light only has a few options, but that is ok with me.  It has a tail cap that you can push lightly for pulse on/off and push to click for constant on.  The first push turns the light on at the 110 lumen setting, a quick second touch turns on the 5 lumen setting for battery saving every day use.  I still find myself using it at the high setting for most things.  I just like a lot of light.  So, you have pulse at 110 lumens, pulse at 5 lumens, constant on at 110 lumens, constant on at 5 lumens and "off".  I don't consider "off" an option, but I'm not in marketing/advertising.  I am a real fan of a strobe option, but that wasn't a deal breaker for me on this one.

So, what was my point?  This turned into more a "review" than what my original intent was, which is carry a light.  Make sure it is any good, comfortable light that is reliable and makes sense for you and your situation.  You'll find it entirely too useful and it might just save your skin.  We always say "carry your gun" but you can't defend yourself if you cannot see your threat.  Carry your light, too.