Soft Shell ammo box and the LULAs

SAW Drum Pouch-Bandolier Combo

Think of this as a soft shell ammo box. For those who don’t know, SAW stands for Squad Automatic Weapon; a fully automatic, suppressive fire weapon with a fast rate of fire. This pouch holds 200 rounds (usually 5.56 or 7.62), which are fed through the side opening to the gun via a chain that the rounds are on. Instead of putting a SAW drum magazine in it, put in a bandolier with your ammo inside.

http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd-bds-tactical-modular-saw-drum-pouch.cfm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USGI-223-cal-VIETNAM-WAR-AMMO-BANDOLIER-5-56mm-NOS-/110646167966#ht_3182wt_1114

Now, to fully understand how this works, I need to introduce one more thing: Stripper Clips. Stripper clips are a piece of metal that 10 rounds slide onto. This allows for an organized, quiet and quick access system for your primary weapon ammo. The added advantage of using this with a bandolier is most bandoliers come with cardboard inserts. These inserts go between each filled stripper clip so the rounds don’t clink against each other. If you don’t want to use the inserts, you can squeeze 2 or 3 more clips into the pockets of the bandolier. The fact that the bandolier is folded up tight against itself in the drum pouch keeps the rounds from making noise anyway.

With that said, we need to put it all together.  First, load up your stripper clips with your primary weapon’s ammo. Then, put the filled clips in the bandolier. As far as I know bandoliers come in either the 4 bigger pocket or 7 smaller pocket versions. You should be able to fit around 150 total rounds (15 clips) in either one. Now, you won’t be able to fit 2 entire bandoliers into the drum pouch. However you can take a second one, cut it in half (so you have 2 big pockets or 3 small ones depending on the bandolier) and you should have enough room to pack in that smaller bandolier with your sidearm ammo or a few more clips of your primary. 2 or 3 pockets should be able to easily fit 90-120 rounds. Just depends on what size caliber (9mm vs. .45) sidearm you are using. Still, that’s 8-12 magazines worth of ammo depending on your mag size.

And don’t worry shotgun lovers, I didn’t forget about you. The SAW pouch works with your extra ammo as well. Grab a few pullout trays and you’ll be good to go. These trays carry 18 shells each and the drum pouch can carry a total of 3 trays. That’s 54 shells in an organized and discreet carrier ready to go at a moment’s notice. If you also have a shell saddle on your shotty and a shell holder sling, you will have plenty of ammo to reload with.http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd-bds-tactical-shot-gun-shell-pull-out-tray.cfm

The other huge benefit of this system is it takes advanage of any backpack you bought with MOLLE webbing on it. The SAW pouch attaches to MOLLE platforms. So, you can hang the SAW pouch on the outside of your bag saving you a ton of space inside. 

Last thing I want to share with you guys is the actual recharging of your expended magazines. Many people who go to ranges or camps will tell you refilling your magazines is time consuming and it hurts your thumbs. In a situation where you need to quickly reload and go, you don’t have time put in one bullet at a time by pushing them in with your thumb. That’s where the LULAs come in.

StripLULA

As you probably guessed from the name and/or picture, this piece of gear works in conjunction with the stripper clips you have in your bandolier. This tool is amazing. It clips onto your AR-15 magazine and allows you to push in 10 rounds from a stripper clip in the blink of an eye. As you will see in the video below, it also works without clips so you can push in 10 rounds that you manually feed into the LULA itself. This is the quickest way I know of to recharge a magazine that can fit in your pocket. If you know of something else, please let me know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLCRJka3CN0

UpLULA

Last but not least, the LULA for handgun magazines. Same idea in regards to being an awesome piece of gear that makes your life easier, however it’s a slightly different process since handgun magazines are differ from rifle ones. Although it doesn’t feed in multiple rounds at once like the StripLULA, it still speeds up your recharging time and keeps you from having to push the rounds in with your thumb. I’ll let the video explain the rest on this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zos_7e-c4t0

Hope that helps everyone cut down on weight and clear out some space in your BOB for when shit hits the fan. Every ounce saved goes a long way especially if you are going to be on foot for awhile. 

Be Prepared. Be Smart. Be Incognito.

                                                (8bit) Brandt

Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 4

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 4

In previous blogs I’ve stressed the importants of keeping your torso free of gear. Wearing too much gear on you does three things: First, you are broadcasting to everyone you have a lot of things to help you survive and more of a reason for them to attack you. Second, if another human or zombie attacks, you are going to be encumbered by all of that gear on. Lastly, it’s more things for someone else to grab onto in a confrontation. So where do you put all of your essential gear then? Simple. A backpack.

Backpack

Here is what a backpack should have: It needs to be super durable, have a large carrying capacity and, most importantly, it needs to look like a normal bag. Some people go a little crazy when it comes to bags and think they need to go military style… Bad Idea. It may not seem like a big idea if you are wearing normal clothing and keeping on the down low.  However, it will stick out like a sore thumb in a city if you are carrying around a camo military style backpack. Even more so if you ARE wearing normal clothes. It’s just one more thing that could separate you from the masses of survivors and make you a target… If you can ignore the risk altogether, do so by carrying a normal looking bag.

BDS Tactical 3-Day Pack

This is the kind of backpack I would carry. It has the shape of a normal school style bag but has a lot of awesome features. It has a capacity of 3100 cubic inches so it can fit a ton of items; it comes in colors that are NOT camo (black being my preferred choice), has a slot for a 100oz water bladder and it has MOLLE webbing so you can hang extra things on it. The waist strap is removable or you can tuck it in which is nice. Some people may argue the MOLLE webbing is military. True, but it doesn’t have near as much as most military bags and I think the normal shape and color off-sets it enough to justify having the extra storage/MOLLE option. http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd-bds-tactical-three-day-pack.cfm

On a side note: What is the obsession/logic behind camo? Seriously think about that. Camo is made to help whoever is wearing it blend into the environment similar to the camo pattern. It tricks the mind and blurs the human shape into the surroundings thus keeping you concealed. If you are in a city, which is made up of mostly concrete, brick, and metal…. How does wearing multicam or ACU prints help hide you? Even if you had on UDC (urban digital camo) or A-TACS, you will stand out walking amongst others and people will think you are Military/Police personnel, which is illegal like I mentioned in a previous blog if you are not. You will definitely stick out MORE wearing any other camo pattern in a city because you don’t match anything in your surroundings and are just drawing more attention to yourself. In an urban environment you should wear neutral colors that let you hide in plain sight; blend in with the people around you and make people pass over you. To me that makes more sense then looking like a tool wearing woodland camo in the middle of New York City.  That is unwanted and stupid attention that could have easily been avoided.

/Rant

Be Prepared. Be SMART. Be Incognito.

                                                (8bit) Brandt

The right to a healthy body. The right to equality.

Everyone has heard about Rush Limbaugh’s slut remark towards Sandra Fluke… It’s been big news for a while now… but almost everyone who has heard about it has only heard either Rush’s outburst or the news companies/politicians who have a negative and, arguably, radical viewpoint on the situation. My question to the people who are angry at Fluke: Did you watch her 10 minute opening statement to Congress and actually know what it is she was asking for, or have you solely been going off what the media has portrayed? If you answered “no” to watching her opening statement… why are you casting stones at her? You obviously missed the point and here’s why.

1)   At no point in Fluke’s appeal did she say insurance companies need to cover contraceptive medicine for pregnancy prevention.

2)   She was asking for UNSUBSIDIZED PRIVATE companies to cover contraceptives, not federally funded companies. This means taxpayers are not “paying for women to have sex”…so that card the media has been trying to play is unwarranted and untrue.

Now I’m not saying, if you are mad at her, that your are stupid if you have only seen what the media has portrayed. The news is supposed to be unbiased and show the viewers the truth and going off what they say shouldn’t need to be scrutinized… Unfortunately that is not the case and, in this instant involving Fluke, I blame people like Rush Limbaugh. Because of his comment toward Sandra Fluke, the whole point of the message she was trying to send to Congress was lost. The media portrayed it as “Rush apologizes for calling female law student a slut because of proposal to have contraceptive medicine covered for sex’… Everyone’s reaction because of this, understandably, was to assume she was pushing for contraceptives to be covered to prevent pregnancy because that’s what contraceptives do.

This is a logical fallacy known as the Straw Man. Miss Fluke was trying to have contraceptives covered by insurance for the purpose of treating women medical problems such as ovarian cysts, crippling cramps, and heavy bleeding which can lead to anemia. Rush comes along and says, and I quote, “So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Femi-Nazis, here’s the deal: If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it… and I’ll tell you what it is. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch”… Does this sound ANYTHING remotely like what Miss Fluke was asking Congress? The fact that Rush somehow misconstrued what Miss Fluke said (and that’s assuming he watched her opening statement in the first place to KNOW what she said) and turned it into “she wants us to pay for her to have sex” is a Straw Man argument. He took, with or without knowing, what Miss Fluke intended and brought up a completely unrelated and untrue accusation. And, as much as I hate to admit it, Rush is influential and has power over the media.

This comment destroyed Fluke’s heroism that was her going to Congress and her message was lost in the turmoil. The proof is what is happening now: When you see conservative news stations and politicians talk about this “scandal”, it’s not about Rush twisting the words of Fluke’s intent, but about his “poor word usage” and how he was right to say that we should not allow contraceptives to be covered by insurance for the purpose to stop unplanned pregnancy. They are arguing and protecting a point that Rush made up and upholding it as fact! IF, and this is a BIG if, they were to have watched her statement to Congress they would know what they are arguing about is false. But they don’t… they continue to fuel this inaccurate and illogical idea Rush made up.

I know “they” is a very vague term and someone will ask whom “they” are who believe and uphold what Rush said…. So, here are some direct quotes from political figures and newscasters who are on the Slut Rush Bandwagon.

“I am astonished at the desperation of the Elite media (…) to decide that Rush Limbaugh is the great national crisis of this week.” –Newt Gingritch-

“You know he’s being absurd, but entertainers can be absurd.’ –Rick Santorum-

“It’s not the language I would have used.” –Mitt Romney-

“You want me to give you my hard earned money so you can have sex?” –Bill O’Reily

“It’s not a right under the Constitution to have sex.” –Monica Crowley-

“Students have the right to have all the sex they want. But do they have the right to play the victim when all of their birth control isn’t covered?” –Megyn Kelly-

All of these statements were made after Rush’s radio broadcast. None of these people came forward and said, or even knew, that Rush’s statement was false, illogical or a fallacy. The only thing they seem to believe was wrong was his word choice, or semantics; not his way of thinking or reasoning behind WHY Fluke went to Congress in the first place. They are supporting an idea that was made up, intentionally or unintentionally, and are attacking Fluke for it…. It doesn’t make sense to me.

Sadly, they are the people who are on the news. They are the people we turn to to tell us what is going and they are the ones passing along this false information to the rest of us and not checking their sources. So I understand why the viewers, readers, bloggers, etc would be outraged that a woman is trying to have the government pay for her birth control so she can have sex and not get pregnant… I would be outraged myself if this was true, but it’s not. Everyone who believes this and is upset or confused by Fluke is doing so based off faulty information.

This reminds me of the play called The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Short synopsis for those who never read it or don’t remember: People were brought to court, tried, and then hanged for witch craft during the Salem Witch Trails because of the false testimony of a group of teenage girls. The court cases themselves would have been sound… if any of the evidence, witnesses or stories were true or accurate. But they weren’t, and many people were killed and/or ostracized because of the false statements of the girls that everyone held up as truth… Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

To prove to your further that the conservative programming completely missed the point of Miss Fluke’s plea to congress; here is a summary and some quotes from that meeting because I actually WATCHED IT. How anyone could misconstrue her words as bad as Rush did is beyond me since she said absolutely NOTHING about contraceptives being used to prevent pregnancy.

In short, Fluke was advocating the coverage of contraceptives to help alleviate or stop medical issues that women face and the hardships they go through because institutes and insurance companies assume they only want it to stop pregnancy…

Side note: The fact that conservative programs pretty much did just that proves her point even more and saddens me that she called it… back on topic now.

Fluke went on to say that 65% of the women at her school were interrogated by university medical staff for the reason they wanted birth control and were called liars when they said it was for medical reasons. One of these women was a friend of Fluke. Her friend has polycystic ovarian syndrome and used contraceptives to stop cysts from forming. Even with written confirmation from her doctor about her health issue, the company denied her coverage multiple times. They told her they believed she was only using the contraceptive to stop unwanted pregnancy… They denied coverage even after she informed them she was gay and that unwanted pregnancy was not a feasible concern; it was strictly for medical reasons.

Fluke then stated that her friend could no longer afford the medication and stopped taking it. She then ended up in the ER because a tennis ball sized cyst on her ovary ruptured. Her friend had to have her ovary removed and is now facing the first stages of menopause… Her friend now faces not being able to have children through in vitro fertilization which she one day hoped to do… all because her PRIVATE, UNSUBSIDIZED insurance refused to cover her medication because they didn’t believe she would use it for medical reasons…

Fluke stated many other similar stories that women all over the country have faced because of the lack of coverage for contraceptives for MEDICAL purposes, not SEXUAL. One thing she said that struck home for me was after sharing a story of a woman who can’t afford contraceptives anymore. Fluke said “I sincerely pray we don’t have to wait until she loses an ovary or is diagnosed with cancer before her needs and the needs of all of these women are taken seriously”.

Does this sound like she was condoning premarital sex? Does this sound like she was demanding her birth control be covered so she could have worry free sex? No, it doesn’t because it isn’t. PERIOD. But what has the media been broadcasting? They have been broadcasting utter bullshit. I’m not saying they are doing it intentionally; I really do think that they believe what they are saying is true. That is what kills me the most. The fact that the media is feeding itself false information and running with it and then passing it on to their viewers hurts me.

Below is a link to the Congressional hearing with Fluke about covering contraceptives. If you have not seen it and have been going off of what the media has been saying… Do yourself a favor and watch so you can make a decision based on actual facts instead of the crock of crap the media has been spewing out. Listen to her words and see that she is not advocating what the media is accusing her of. Hold off on your speeches about ethics, taxes, personal responsibility and paying someone to have sex until after you see what she actually meant. Please.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlRC0nsjtKQ

Too Much Info Tuesday

“Teepee” Fire

This is the most common fire and the majority of people have seen it. Basic idea is to lean pieces of wood together in the shape of a teepee with the kindle in the center. Light the kindle, it catches the wood over it aflame and, boom, you have a fire. Pros: This fire is quick. Cons: This fire is quick. What I mean by that is this: The fire is easy to set up and get some flames started. The problem is that it burns out and loses heat quickly. This happens because of the shape/layout of the wood. Since it is teepee shaped and the wood is leaning against each other, it has to be perfectly balanced. When the wood burns the shape collapses. You have to constantly rebuild the teepee, poke the embers, and add more wood. This is a time consuming and wasteful process that doesn’t give you a fire that lasts through the night. When you need to make food, setup your tent, etc. you don’t have time to waste on a crappy fire.

The “Upside down” Fire

This fire layout is the way to go. For the same amount of wood used in the Teepee fire, it will burn longer, you will have to mess with it less and it will give off more heat. The key is in the layout of the wood. The upside down name comes from how it burns. In the teepee fire, the kindle is on the ground in the middle and burns the wood from the ground up. In the upside down fire, the kindle is set on top and burns the fire from the top to the bottom; hence the upside down idea. The other big difference is the wood layout itself. In the teepee, the smaller wood is in the center near the kindling and the larger pieces are leaning against each other on the outside. In upside down fire; the biggest pieces are on the bottom and each crisscrossed “layer” of wood gets a little smaller and a little closer together until you get to the kindling and tinder on the top. The benefits of the kindle being on top, the layers coming together at the top and the bigger wood on bottom are huge.

Benefits of Upside Down Fire

1)   For the same amount of wood used in a teepee fire, the upside down fire burns longer, burns hotter, and holds it shape.

2)   Burning hotter means it burns cleaner. This means there is less smoke so your fire isn’t as noticeable during the day due to heavy black smoke associated with lower temperature fires.

3)   Since you don’t have to mess with it and add wood as often, you have a fire that will burn longer through the night and you won’t have to worry about banking your fire to make it last until the morning.

4)   The layers burn through each other stopping all the wood from burning at once. The reason the layers get closer together at the top is so when one layer collapses, it falls on the slightly bigger one below and ignites that wood. That layer burns away and the pattern continues. By the time you get to the bottom layer, you have a huge pile of hot embers that ignite the logs at the bottom, which eventually make even more hot embers. These hot embers make it easy to start a quick fire in the morning to cook food or warm up.

Here is a video of a guy showing a perfect example of an upside down fire and how long it lasts. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing I’ll give you the summary. 3 layers with kindle and tinder on top, burned through the night and he was able to add some more logs to the embers in the morning to start another small fire. 10+ hours later he made ANOTHER fire. That’s legit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjBfzyz-xM8&feature=related Skip forward to about 1:00 to see him start building the fire.

Heat Reflection

Last thing I want to go over is how to get the most heat out of your fire. This is especially important if the temperature drops at nighttime to freezing or below freezing. Quick lesson on heat from a fire: They emit IR or infrared waves. Those waves hit us and we feel heat. However, some of the IR waves only hit the side of us facing the fire and a lot miss us completely. Something you can do to warm your backside is to hang a heat reflection blanket behind you. Heat reflection blankets have a foil like side that reflects radiant energy (body heat) back to the person it is wrapped around. You can use this to reflect the radiant energy from the fire as well. You can do this by hanging it from a tree or mounting it between poles/tree branches. This will reflect all of the IR waves back that missed you and it will hit your backside. You are now being warmed from both sides. This will also block the light from your fire a little bit more keeping your campsite from being seen from a distance as easily. You can build up rocks on the other side of the fire to reflect heat on that side back to you and shield the light some more. http://www.rei.com/product/407106/space-all-weather-blanket

Thank you for making it through the first TMIT.  Like most things that are over looked while preparing, this is a simple and intuitive idea, but it will save your life. Surviving an emergency situation isn’t all about having badass guns or crazy armor; It’s about being prepared for anything, including Mother Nature. If you can’t stay warm or feed yourself out in the wild… how do you plan on doing anything else?

Be Prepared. Be Smart. Be Incognito.

                                                (8bit) Brandt

Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 3

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 3

Today I’m going to focus on the head and neck. Pretty important area to protect and I have some cool pieces of gear that do that.

Hearing Protection

These are a 3 in 1 headphone system that is low profile. First thing is that they protect your hearing (duh) from high decibel sounds such as gunfire and explosions. The second (and coolest thing to me) is they have a built in mic that does this. The mic automatically blocks out any high decibel sounds while simultaneously boosting lower decibel ones. The lower sounds boosted are footsteps, heavy breathing, clothes rustling, etc. They also have an audio input jack so you can hook in your radio. They run on just 2 AAA batteries which give you around 500 hours of operation time. Pretty badass pair of cans that look like regular DJ headphones.

http://www.opsgear.com/index/page/product/product_id/1968/category_id/274/category_chain/26,274/product_name/PELTOR+Tactical+Sport+Hearing+Protector

Eye Protection

If you have to bash in a zombie brain or fire a gun while wind is kicking up dirt, you need your eyes protected so you can see what you’re doing. Some people will say to use goggles, which is fine by me. Any protection is better than no protection. My only complaint with goggles is they are uncomfortable and have a tendency to fog up. For me, personally, I prefer some large lens sunglasses; specifically these WileyX Pt-3 two lens sunglasses.  They fit tight to the face and have large wrap around lenses, which offer great front and side protection from zombie goo and general debris. They are also military grade. This means they meet the High Velocity Safety standard and the military’s Vo Ballistic Standard. They WILL protect your eyes. Other cool feature is they come with smoked and clear lenses so you can have eye protection in all lighting conditions without worrying about not being able to see. Can’t do that with goggles. http://www.opsgear.com/index/page/product/product_id/600/category_id/272/product_name/WILEY-X+PT-3+Two+Lens+Sunglasses

Neck Protection

           

One of the biggest veins in the human body is in the neck. If that get’s bitten into or cut… That is a very bad situation you don’t want to be in. So I offer you another great piece of gear from our friends at Blade Runner. This is a half balaclava with a drawstring you can use to tie it in place. It has a mesh-breathing panel over the mouth so you can breath but the rest of it is lined with Kevlar. Like the hoodie, it has reached an EN388, 6.2 blade cut resistance level of 2. The microfiber polyester outer layer is wind and water (or infected saliva) proof as well. The other things I like about it is the weight and how discreet it is. It is very light and, when not tied up, looks like a scarf. Full balaclavas will draw a lot of attention to you because you look like a burglar. Even when it is not tied into position, the half balaclava still offers you protection. Full balaclavas don’t have that ability. 

http://www.bladerunner.tv/neck-protection-p-844.html

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how to protect your head. Pretty simple stuff but it goes unchecked by some because of its simplicity. Any little gap in your armor is one more place for a zombie to take advantage of… Your head is no exception so guard it so people don’t have to shoot it.

Be Prepared. Be Smart. Be Incognito.

                                                (8bit) Brandt

Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 2

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 2

This blog will be over the importance of protecting your torso from zombie and human attacks alike while still keeping with the Grey Man idea. I’m going to show you some gear, give a brief description of them, and then close with how they all coincide with the Grey Man Theory; Max protection, minimal detection.

Slash Proof Hoodie

Created by Blade Runner in the UK where knife attacks are prevalent, these hoodies have a level 2 EN388, 6.2 blade cut resistance rating. Thanks to the 180-gram Kevlar lining, these hoodies can stop most knife attack slashes that occur during muggings and knife fights. This means you have a lightweight armor alternative that is on the down low and can help stop a zombie’s bite from ripping through your arm causing infection. Their bite may still hurt since… ya know… you’re being bit… but at least skin wasn’t broken and you aren’t going to turn into a dead head.

Chest Rig

A chest rig is a great piece of gear to have to carry all your combat and first aid items, walkie-talkie, knife etc. Only problem is it makes you look like military/police personnel, which (if you aren’t military or police personnel) is illegal. The one in the picture is a lil to bulky for me. The reason I chose it though was to show one of the main features I love which is the center chest pistol holster. The one I would actually use is lower profile with not as many bells or whistles. Pix further on.

http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd_bds_tactical_land_warfare_chest_rig.cfm

Multi Proof Vest

This is more for protection against other people. In a situation where people are probably going to kill you for the shirt off your back, you need all the protection you can get. Another product of Blade Runner, this vest has an NIJ protection level of II; it can stop bullets up to .357 JSP magnum and FMJ 9mm rounds going 1400 FPS and 00 buckshot. It is soft armor and only weighs around 4 pounds so it’s light. This can also stop attacks from edged weapon stabs using up to 16 Joules of force AND stops 100% of all slashes. http://www.bladerunner.tv/Ballistic_Chart.htm

http://www.bladerunner.tv/covert-vests-lightweight-bulletstabproof-vest-threat-level-p-834.html

Bring it all together….

So how does this work in conjunction with the Grey Man Theory?  It’s simple. You have all of your tools at your disposal in a discreet, easy to access set up and you have all the protection you need without broadcasting it. Wear the multi proof vest, throw on a shirt, put on the chest rig and wear the slash proof hoodie over that. When not fighting you can zip up your hoodie and look like a normal person walking the streets. However, as soon as shit hits the fan, you can easily access your weapons or, God forbid, take a bullet from the majority of the handgun and shotgun rounds you will face or a slash from a broken bottle.

The biggest concern I get from people when I talk to them about this set up is this: “But it looks funny wearing my hoodie over my chest rig/tac vest. I look like I’m obviously hiding something under it.” My response to that: You’re carrying to much stuff on your torso. The majority of your gear should be in a sturdy, weight-distributing backpack (which will be in another blog) that allows the rest of your body to move freely and look like you’re not carrying anything.

Here’s a picture of the chest rig I want. It allows me to carry 4 AR15 30 round mags (more than enough), 6 pistol mags, and a 7” knife while staying low profile enough that it doesn’t look funny under a hoodie. Combine this rig with the side body upgrade (picture to the right) that adds 2 extra pockets and a handgun holster, this is an awesome incognito setup. You can build your own chest rig here: http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd-bds-tactical-molle-vehicle-operators-chest-rig.cfm

Not convinced that it won’t look funny or will be hard to work with? Try it yourself sometime. If you streamline your rig to the essentials to surviving a short firefight, you would be surprised at how normal it looks. Here are some pics of me as proof.

Now, I’m 6’4” and around 215 pounds. This is a random hoodie in the size I normally wear.  Don’t believe I’m not wearing anything underneath it?

                               

Underneath the hoodie I am wearing a cross draw TAC vest with 4, 30 round mag holders and 3 pistol mag holders. In the cross draw holster I have a full size 1911. This setup is WAY bulkier than the rig I talked about earlier, and even this doesn’t look or feel weird wearing a hoodie over it. If I can pull off a bulky tac vest with a full size handgun; imagine how inconspicuous a low profile chest rig with a subcompact handgun would be.

There you go guys: My thoughts on how to protect your torso and arms and carry some gear. This system will allow you to become more inconspicuous to other survivors. You will look like an unarmed survivor making his way to safety and if the need arises where you have to protect yourself, you will have the element of surprise. If a zombie surprises YOU and tries to bite the arm you used to open a door, you will be confident in the knowledge the bite will not break skin and infect you. All of this while staying lightweight and streamlined, which will allow you to travel faster, travel further, and feel less encumbered by a mountain of gear.

Be Prepared. Be Smart. Be Incognito.

                                                (8bit) Brandt

Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 1

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 1

I’m thinking, for the sake of keeping people interested, I’m gonna do 2 or 3 different pieces of gear, ideaology and/or weapons per blog. Pretty sure if I did 5 blogs in a row about camping gear or clothing people would stop reading. So, I’ll mix it up.

Weapons

I know there are people out there who HAVE to have a firearm going into the Zombie Apocalypse. That’s fine by me. But some people go a little overboard and think they need a Gatling gun or rocket launcher or some other crazy weapon. My questions to those people: How do you plan on affording one? How are you going to run carrying a 250 lb M61 Vulcan rotary cannon? Did you know 100 20mm rounds that a minigun fires weigh over 20 pounds? No? That’s why I’m here. My vision of a weapon is a little smaller but still packs a punch.

My weapon of choice is a handgun, more specifically, a Glock. The gun in the pic is my favorite: A Glock 30, which is a .45 AUTO subcompact zombie stopper. Fits in your hand and has the accuracy and power of a full size .45 Glock. Let me tell you why I prefer a handgun and then I’ll get into Glock itself

      

       

Handguns

1)   Handguns are cheap: You can get a decent handgun for a few hundred bucks.

2)   They are light: An average semi auto handgun weighs around 1.7 pounds loaded.

3)   They are easy to hide: You can buy a compact or subcompact handgun and carry one without anyone every knowing.

4)   They are legal: If you go to classes and get a concealed handgun license, which I highly recommend, you can carry your weapon on you, HIDDEN, without getting in trouble with the law.

Equally important is this helps you look like a normal, harmless person trying to survive. This is one of the facets of the Grey Man Theory. You look unimposing and can hide in plain view. However, the moment someone comes up and tries to take your supplies or hurt you, you have the element of surprise and can pull out your weapon to defend yourself. Best part? You can do this LEGALLY since you have your CHL.

Glock

1)   They are accurate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWgYIef1ZUE skip to 8:10…The Glock he is using is stock… ‘nuff said.

2)   They are built like tanks: http://www.theprepared.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=90 The Glock in that article had been buried in dirt, mud, cement, and submerged in salt water. It was ran over, thrown on the ground and even SHOT. It still fired accurately. That’s what I’m looking for in a gun. Especially in a situation where I might not be able to clean it properly on a regular basis.

Gloves

Your hands are important and are vulnerable to a zombie bite during close encounters. You need a good pair of gloves that protects your wrists and hands. The Wiley X combat assault gloves do just that.  Made of FR treated goat leather with a Nomex-Kevlar blend, they are durable, fire retardant and slash resistant. Although they are made of leather, they are supple and thin enough to give you great finger dexterity and “feel of touch” so you don’t compromise controlling your weapon. They also have injection-molded knuckles for added protection and striking power. Zombies and knives alike will have a hell of a time getting through these. http://www.botachtactical.com/wicacoasgl.html

So there you go; your first look about what I think about when it comes to gear selection. I hope this was helpful and gave some ideas of your own for what your arsenal needs. Thanks for reading.

Be prepared. Be Smart. Be Incognito.

                                                (8bit) Brandt