In my research and experience, certain characteristics have emerged in a reasonably-priced training rifle optimized to the 25-meter ranges commonly found at indoor and outdoor ranges. Keep in mind, there is no specific “correct” rifle, but these common characteristics seem to make for a better experience for the majority of shooters.

They include:

●     .22 LR chambering

●     Semi-automatic operation

●     A 1.25-inch G.I. cotton or nylon web sling, as used on the M1 Garand

●     Sling swivel studs

●     Quick-detachable (QD) sling swivels

●     U.S. military-style aperture sights

●     At least two detachable magazines with a minimum capacity of 10 cartridges, each

●     An enhanced magazine release (Where needed)

U.S. military-style sights, a G.I. sling and an extended magazine-release lever turn a base-model Ruger 10/22 into a Liberty Training Rifle, though they can add significant cost to the platform.

Two rifles in particular seem perfect for modifications into this training-rifle platform, and it will come as little surprise that one of the semi-automatic .22 LRs favored for conversion to an LTR is the Ruger 10/22, in both rifle and carbine configurations.

The 10/22 is an obvious selection, being a very popular rifle because of its relatively low cost, good accuracy potential, modularity and immense aftermarket support. They vary from off-the-shelf rifles to highly-tuned precision variants retailing for more than $1,000.

Common additional modifications made to 10/22s include the previously mentioned extended magazine release, an automatic-release bolt hold-open, an aftermarket extractor and a tuned or aftermarket trigger.

A full list of modifications can easily double the price of a 10/22-based training rifle, however, and the added cost has played a role in the emergence of the Marlin Model 795 as a cost-effective alternative that will still deliver exceptional performance without much customization.

Based on the Marlin Model 70, which is itself an offshoot of the tube-fed Marlin and Glenfield Model 60s, the Model 795 is not blessed with the wide array of aftermarket parts that you will find for the 10/22. There are fewer stocks, no diverse aftermarket of barrels in various sizes, configurations and materials and fewer cosmetic options.

What the Model 795 does boast is out-of-the-box accuracy many claim is superior to a factory Ruger 10/22 and most other.22-caliber semi-automatics. This accuracy is attributed to a consistent, time-tested trigger, but more so to Marlin’s proprietary Micro-Groove barrel, which uses 16 small rifling grooves to impart spin on the bullets, instead of the four to eight grooves found in similar rifles (factory 10/22 barrels use six grooves). Less deformation by the many shallower grooves means the bullet keeps its shape better and flies straighter.

When modified to training-rifle specifications, a Marlin Model 795 can still be less expensive than an unmodified 10/22, making it a good choice for shooters on a budget.

When equipped with recommended training-rifle features—such as a 1.25-inch G.I. cotton or nylon web sling, QD sling swivels and U.S. military-style aperture sights—a shooter can have an training-rifle-spec Marlin 795 for roughly as much as he or she could expect to spend for a base-model 10/22.

Which is “better” between the Marlin 795 and the Ruger 10/22 as a training rifle? That depends entirely upon the shooter.

Physiologically, all base-model rifles are developed around the measurements of a mythical “average person.” If you are drastically taller or shorter, have appreciably longer or shorter arms, less than average flexibility in your shoulders, back, neck, etc. or specific physical maladies, you might legitimately perform better with a rifle that has a custom stock or other enhancements, and the aftermarket is going to favor the 10/22.

Likewise, if you want to have a firearm to tinker with—swapping parts out to make the same base gun a tactical or benchrest rifle—the 10/22 is also going to be your better option.

For those with average physical dimensions and a smaller budget, however, the Marlin 795 provides a cost-effective training rifle offering all the accuracy you’ll need to improve your marksmanship skills.

Both variants—and other semi-automatics that can be built to these standards—provide a tool for quality marksmanship training at reasonable prices, while still emulating the post-and-aperture sight picture used on American military rifles for the past 100 years.

You can spend more money learning to master the basics of marksmanship shooting centerfire ammunition, but any variant of this concept is a smart shooter’s more economical choice.

Nine days out of 10, my daily routine starts with the percussive abuse of an alarm clock before I shower, make coffee and head into the world to deal with the terrors of suburbia. I’m not an elite operator with hundreds of hours of combat experience or thousands of hours of training under my belt. I will never emerge from still tannic waters like the Swamp Thing, nor from the howling storm in the dead of night to bring rough men to rougher justice in a foreign land.

Without Uncle Sam’s deep pockets or the constant threat of combat, I could never justify spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on high-end optics and nearly as expensive mounting systems. Instead, I wanted glass that can handle rattling around in the back of a truck, shrug off the occasional drop or come out of the safe after months unattended to work intuitively, without my having to think about them at a moment’s notice.

Fortunately for me, Vortex Optics makes the StrikeFire, a solid and dependable tube-based red-dot sight aesthetically similar to the vaunted Aimpoint Comp and 9000 families, at somewhere between 2/3 to 1/2 the cost. A complementary piece of equipment meant the extend the range of the unmagnified red-dot, Vortex created the VMX3, a 3X magnifier equipped with a nifty and dead-simple flip-to-side (FTS) mount.

Don’t expect me to claim that the StrikeFire/VMX3 combination is close to being on par with the visually similar Aimpoint with its magnifier, or the EOTech Holographic Weapons Sight and its 3X magnifier. They aren’t made to fit the same roles, and Vortex Marketing Manager Mark Boardman never made any claim about Aimpoint or EOTech being direct competitors in the high-end combat-optics market.

What Vortex does with the StrikeFire is give shooters a solid and dependable 30 mm tube-style red-dot sight that is weatherproof, not SCUBA-capable. They’ve created an optic that can rattle around in a truck’s toolbox as it goes down a rutted farm road without danger of losing zero or failing, even if it may not necessarily work if dropped 300 feet out of a helicopter (I’m sorry, I couldn’t test this exact scenario because my Blackhawk was getting detailed).

Like the StrikeFire, the VMX3/FTS mount combo is visually appealing and entirely functional within the range of normal everyday use and abuse a civilian could expect to heap on an AR-15. It wouldn’t be my first choice in day-after-day 120-degree heat, nor in months of Arctic cold, but if I’m at either of these temperature extremes, my first thought will be to fire my travel agent.

The StrikeFire comes in two flavors: a 4-MOA red-dot and a 4-MOA red/green-dot. Each comes in your choice of low rings or an ultra-high mount. The low mount works well for carry-handle ARs and most other rifles with a Picatinny rail, while the ultra-high mount provides an absolute co-witness with iron sights on flattop ARs. I tested the red/green version with the 30 mm ultra-high mounts, which has an MSRP of $229.

My Templar Custom MCWS was the test-bed for the StrikeFire/VMX3/FTS combo. I mounted the StrikeFire first, finger-tightening the mount before using a flathead (slotted) screwdriver to crank the nut down an extra quarter-turn to make sure it wouldn’t shake loose. The folding backup iron sights (BUIS) were kept up just long enough to note that the StrikeFire’s dot co-witnessed as claimed, and the irons appeared to be roughly centered. The BUIS went down and it was time to work.

Like most red-dots in this price range, the “dot” isn’t a perfectly round and crisp image like you’d expect on some high-dollar optics, it’s more of a 4-MOA blob of converging dots. In this particular sample of the StrikeFire, the green-dot presented itself as a pair of touching circles in a horizontal figure-8 with a slight bit of barely noticeable vertical lens flare at the brightest daylight setting. The red-dot presented a similar picture, but without the lens flare. These minor imperfections seemed notable for about as long as it took for me to write about them, and weren’t a factor at all when it came to using the optic.

One thing I did notice about the color of the dots is I had a strong personal preference for the green dot in all light conditions. The red dot washes out during daylight at even the brightest settings, while the green dot was easy to pick up regardless of the environment. The StrikeFire even has one-touch night-vision settings in other colors, which would be excellent for hunting use in dawn/dusk conditions, or in darkened interiors. Unfortunately, I don’t own night-vision equipment, so I’m unable to provide any critique of how the scope functions with real NVGs.

Adjusting the dot’s position was dead-simple. The horizontal and vertical adjustments are hidden below screw-on caps to protect them from accidentally being knocked out of alignment, and a coin—preferably a quarter—adjusts the dot’s position ½ MOA per click. The StrikeFire has a 100-MOA maximum vertical and horizontal adjustment range, though I profess that I can’t think of a single reason for a close-range 4-MOA optic to need that much travel. Sighting in was simple, and the perfunctory box test worked as expected.

The VMX3 “tripler” is a solid application of a simple concept. Red/green/fuschia/mauve/etc.-dot scopes are generally close-range optics used for close-quarters out to a practical maximum range of 150-200 yards, depending on the shooter. A magnifier like the VMX3—shockingly—magnifies the image, making the target appear that much closer and enabling a bit more precision. It extends the practical range for the average Joe to perhaps 300 yards. Considering most dot/magnifier combinations are mounted on 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem. rifles, that range limitation is as much a function of the cartridge’s optimal range and the 4-MOA dot size as it is the scope.

The VMX3 has a simple twist focus on the end of the ocular bell that is just tight enough so that it won’t shift out of focus easily. Vortex added a nice touch to the VMX3, in that it has windage and elevation adjustments to help center the magnifier behind the scope. Such an adjustment of the magnifier doesn’t affect the impact point of the shot, but it can improve the overall sight picture. This magnifier is of solid construction, and frankly, there isn’t a whole lot more to expect out of a low-power magnifier. The base model VMX3 comes with a simple 30 mm bolt-on Picatinny mount.

If anything in the VMX3 is truly surprising (other than solid utility for the price), it is the quality of the flip-to-side (FTS) mount in the VMX3/FTS mount combo (MSRP: $319). Far from being a cheap knock-off, it is a high-quality, near bomb-proof American Defense quick-detach mount. While Vortex markets the StrikeFire as a home-defense and competition optic for civilian grades of abuse, the American Defense is top-notch military-grade gear.

Together, the StrikeFire red/green-dot 30 mm tube-style optic, VMX3 magnifier and FTS mount are an economical, but solid optical package designed for recreational shooting, law enforcement and home defense.

You can spend more…but why would you?

Luckily, the market has responded in the past few years with a wide range of reasonably priced commercial optics designed for the AR platform, and you don’t have to break the bank to get them.

Firefield, Leatherwood and Weaver are just three of the companies that have addressed the needs of AR shooters desiring reasonably priced scopes, and they have each done so in a unique way. Nikon also has some great choices, which ShootingIllustrated.com has covered in the past.

As the least-expensive scope in this review, the Firefield 1-6×24 mm 1st Focal Plane Illuminated Riflescope packs a ton of performance in a shockproof, waterproof 30 mm-tube scope with an MSRP of $215 and a street price about $30 below that. It comes with mounting rings, flip-up lens covers, a lens cloth and a limited lifetime warranty.

It was the only scope I tested with both red and green illumination options, and has five levels of intensity for each color. The eye relief on Firefield is excellent, and assists in tracking moving targets at lower levels of magnification. On the higher-magnification settings, the first focal plane hashmarks are set in mils to assist in ranging, though the .5-MOA adjustments are designed for practical ranges, not extreme distance shooting.

The scope does a solid job of gathering light in normal daylight conditions despite its small objective lens, and any fade in light transmission at normal ranges (inside 200 yards) under changing light conditions is mitigated somewhat by the illumination options.

The windage and elevation adjustments were audible and tactile, and the target-style turrets were simple to adjust by hand—ultimately my chief concern. When being run in a 3-gun match or hunting in thick brush, the scope’s turrets are prone to being occasionally bumped into things, and this could result in the zero being thrown off. One could just as easily argue, however, that this style of turrets could be an advantage for a range-testing various loads or for varmint hunters needing to quickly adjust the scope for targets at different ranges. Other than that minor quibble, the Firefield packs a solid feature set into a reasonably priced package.

The Weaver Kaspa 1.5-6×32 mm is another AR-optimized scope that runs around $200 at retail and gives you a good value for your buck. As the “32” suggests, the 32 mm objective lens gathers more light than the more traditional 24 mm objective of most low-power 30 mm-tube AR scopes. When combined with the fine Ballistic X reticle, it provides a great sight picture with very sharp images.

The Kaspa’s .25-MOA lockdown turrets, combined with the holdover reticle optimized for range estimation and performance with .223 Rem. 55-grain loads out to 500 yards, means a “set it and forget it” option exists for those shooters who like to zero their scopes at a known distance and use the ballistic holdover hash marks instead of dialing in windage and elevation. For shooters who prefer to dial in their shots, the turrets can be used without tools by pulling the turret knob up (or out) and making the desired adjustments.

If there is a downside to the Kaspa, it may be the lack of power to the red illuminated reticle. Only the center of the reticle is lit (which is actually my preference), but the claimed 11 levels of brightness leave something to be desired, with the perceptible levels of brightness between each setting so small as to be almost indistinguishable. Even the highest setting proved to be difficult to see in daylight. Weaver should perhaps consider offering fewer and more distinguishable brightness levels.

The Weaver isn’t designed for close-quarters battle, but the Kaspa is an excellent scope for the AR shooter who primarily uses his rifle for mid-range hunting or range work, as the fine crosshairs of the Ballistic-X reticle lend themselves to precision shot placement.

The third scope I tested pushes the boundaries of what you could consider a “budget” scope to the breaking point, ringing in at more than $300 retail. Unlike the general-purpose Firefield and target/hunting-focused Weaver, the Leatherwood 1-4×24 mm CMR Tactical has a military heritage that traces itself back to the scopes on American sniper rifles during the Vietnam War.

The CMR isn’t as bright as the larger-objective Weaver, but it is still very good for a scope with a 24 mm objective. Externally, the CMR features zero-locking turrets that prevent the scope from being knocked off zero, but still allow for minimal adjustment in the field. The CMR has an illuminated, green circle-dot reticle over a range-finding horizontal crosshair and drop-compensating, lower-half partial crosshair calibrated to mil-spec 62-grain 5.56 NATO and 147-grain 7.62 NATO ammunition.

The one quibble some may have with the Leatherwood’s illumination is it does not precisely and evenly overlay the etching over the circumference of the circle. I found this to be a non-issue that did not affect the scope’s performance in any way, but it may be annoying to perfectionists.

The CMR’s circle-dot really shines at the lower magnifications of 1X and 2X where it can perform as a both-eyes-open dot sight for the acquisition of close range and moving targets, while the 1-MOA dot works beautifully at 3X and 4X for precision shots. Frankly, I think the range-finding 1-mil hashmarks on the horizontal crosshair are great in theory, but likely to be ignored by most recreational shooters who tend to shoot at known ranges or who prefer to guesstimate range.

There you have it: three variable power scopes optimized for the AR platform that won’t break the bank, and which will perform or outperform the practical needs of most AR shooters at the short to medium ranges at which the platform works best.

The first thing I noticed about the XR9-S after opening the box was the pistol’s compactness. The 3.35-inch barrel ends just in front of the trigger guard, and it was quickly dubbed the “noisy cricket” by my wife, who compared it to fictional gun of that name carried by Will Smith in the movie “Men in Black.” Palm-sized but rated for a steady diet of +P 9 mm ammunition, the nickname stuck.

The next thing that jumped out at me was the pair of follower-free “backward” magazines that each carry seven rounds buried nose-down, instead of the traditional nose up position. The ultra-short length of the gun and unique bullet position in the XR9-S’s magazine are due to fact that the magazine rides under the pistol’s barrel. To chamber a round, you rack the slide as you would on any other semi-automatic, but what occurs inside is entirely different.

When the slide comes back, a twin-clawed lifting linkage grabs the rim of the top cartridge in the magazine and yanks it violently rearward before pushing it forward into the chamber. When the long double-action-only trigger is pulled, the empty cartridge begins moving back with the recoil—and so does the next cartridge in the magazine, pulled backward by the lifting linkage. The empty case is extracted and tossed free at the rear of the stroke, at which point the fresh cartridge has cleared the magazine and is ready to enter the chamber when the slide returns forward. It’s a fascinating mechanism that really only found commercial success in the heavy machine gun designs of Hiram Maxim and John Browning.

But enough about the mechanism… how does it carry, and how does it shoot?

Carrying the Boberg was a dream. Sitting in an adapted leather IWB holster, the 17-ounce gun (unloaded) disappeared under a T-shirt, and if I’d had the pistol for a longer review period, it would have been the perfect “pocket 9” in one of the dedicated fabric or leather pocket holsters made for the gun. At least five different manufacturers make holsters for the pistol in various configurations ranging from belt to pocket to ankle holsters, so finding a holster to fit your carry style should not be a problem.

My range trip with the XR9-S was what you might call an “interesting” experience.

After teasing the RSO with the backward magazine full of 115-grain Remington UMC MC (metal case, or FMJ) I racked the slide to chamber a round. Having played with the mechanism and dry-fired the pistol repeatedly before chambering the first round, I was perhaps overconfident in the extremely light pressure needed to rack the slide, and short-stroked the first round.

Instead of lifting the bullet robustly to enter the chamber, the short-stroke lifted the cartridge exactly parallel with the bottom of the chamber and drove it forward into the chamber wall. It was a failure to feed of a kind I’d not encountered before, and it was about to get weird.

I tried to re-rack the slide, but the mechanism was jammed. I removed the magazine and started trying to free the stuck cartridge, which was a neat trick considering there is no slide-lock on the pistol (nor is it possible to add one because of the gun’s design), leaving just one hand to try to poke or pry the cartridge free. Ultimately, I was unable to free the cartridge by finger pressure alone, but was able to use a tool to push the round nose-down enough to clear the chamber and the jam. After robustly re-racking the slide, the cartridge loaded flawlessly, I re-inserted the magazine and began shooting.

The XR9-S trigger is a long double-action-only affair well suited for the sort of deliberate self-defense work for which the gun was designed, with a predictable feel that tempts shooters to “stack” the trigger  for precision shots (though Boberg himself says you shouldn’t). There is no short reset point as there is on many pistols, and the trigger must be returned all the way forward to fire the next round.

Firing the XR9-S is a dream. The sights are very serviceable for a pocket pistol (though I might suggest making night sights standard on a pistol of this type), but what really stands out is the recoil, or rather, lack of it. Pocket 9 mm pistols have long earned the reputation of being punishing to fire, because of their light weight, short barrels and the relative power of the 9 mm cartridge compared to the “true” pocket-pistol cartridges like .380 ACP.

Recoil of the Remington UMC load felt surprisingly and pleasingly much less than expected, and I fired four magazines through the XR9-S flawlessly, without the first bit of recoil “sting” that can develop when shooting other lightweight handguns. I then shifted to 124-grain Federal Hydra-Shok personal-defense rounds. Any concerns I had as to whether the hollow-point bullet would chamber were quickly put to rest, and the self-defense load delivered an insubstantial change in recoil impulse. I fed a box of the 124-grain ammo through the XR9-S without incident, then moved to a box of higher-velocity, lighter-weight Federal Guard Dog 105-grain expanding full metal jacket (EFMJ) ammunition, which was slightly snappier than the other two tested loads, but was by no means unpleasant to shoot.

After finishing the defensive loads, I returned to the Remington UMC to finish off the box, and once again caught myself short stroking the slide. The result was another jammed round that required the use of a Leatherman to push the nose of the cartridge down and re-rack the slide after dropping the magazine. Feed from shot to shot remained flawless.

I noted that I tended to shoot the gun low (perhaps due to how I was using the double-action-only trigger), but the gun easily kept everything I fed through it at “minute-of-man” accuracy, shooting both two-handed and one-handed, unsupported. I saw no need to test the XR9-S for pure accuracy, as that is not the purpose for which the gun was designed.

Overall, the fit, finish and quality of the all-black “Onyx” edition of the Boberg XR9-S was top notch, as you would expect from a pistol with an MSRP just less than $1,000 and a street premium that boosts the actual retail price substantially higher.

The jamming of the pistol, however, was disconcerting. While it appears to be due primarily to operator error and unfamiliarity with the gun’s design and function, the fact that it requires some sort of a tool to clear the kind of jam I experienced was terrifying, especially considering this is a fighting handgun designed for point-blank, last-ditch self-defense.

Would I rule the XR9-S out as a defensive weapon because of these jams? After much consideration, I don’t think so. The advantages of the Boberg’s light weight, low-recoil, small physical envelope, ability to handle a steady diet of +P ammunition and general suitability as a pocket pistol outweighed what I view to be primarily a training issue.

My first holsters as a young gunnie were of the “one size-fits-most” variety; generally lower-quality nylon holsters. From there I graduated to poorly-finished and thin split-grain leathers that weren’t comfortable, shifted position, collapsed upon the the draw and quickly fell apart.

Once kydex and other polymer holsters came out, I was finally content. Sure, they weren’t beautiful—they had no warmth or character. But they worked without fail, and that was enough for me. Later on, when leather-backed polymer-hybrid holster designs came out, I was thrilled, and they have been my go-to holsters for several years now. Besides, I carried mostly inside the waistband (IWB), and was more concerned with fit and function than aesthetics.

A quality, affordable leather holster simply wasn’t on my radar until I kept seeing one name pop up again and again on the Internet. If you’re an avid reader of gun blogs, the name Dragon Leatherworks might ring a bell. Dennis Badurina has made holsters for quite a few of the top gun bloggers, asking for nothing in return save an honest review of the holster on their blogs. This non-typical approach to marketing has paid off well, as the universally positive reviews—to which he links from his website—consistently speak of a quality, well-made product.

Shortly after a friendly conversation with Badurina, a Quantum IWB-OWB combination holster arrived at my door.

At a base price of $90, the Quantum was only $20 more than my favored Crossbreed SuperTuck, and it added the ability to reverse the clips and wear the Quantum outside the waistband (OWB) for those occasions where I didn’t want to carry concealed.

Many shooters flock to Dragon Leatherworks because it has options that go well beyond “base,” and Badurina didn’t send over his base model. Instead, I received a functional and rugged work of art.

The Quantum I received was black with a burgundy burst (a $5 option). An exquisite stingray leather inlay (an additional $40) with a black leather border brought the price up to a still very reasonable $135.

An initial inspection showed the Quantum to be of solid, heavy-duty full-grain leather, unlike lesser leathers used in some IWB holsters that collapse as soon as you draw your pistol, requiring an awkward two-handed re-holstering. The stitching of the holster and rich evenness of the dye showed first-rate craftsmanship and added to the character of the Quantum. The personal attention to detail that went into creating the holster was obvious.

My question about the Quantum was whether or not one holster could be used satisfactorily both as an IWB carry holster—where the pressure of the belt and sweat of the body can become a factor—and as an OWB holster, where dings and scuffs can reveal where manufacturers skimped on the quality of dyes and finishes. Comfort, of course, factors into both equations as well.

Molded to fit my 4-inch Springfield Armory XD 9 mm, the Quantum-as-IWB was stiff at first, but gave just enough to be comforting, if not comfortable. I tend to wear my holster at the four-o’ clock position behind the right hip, and the steel clips held the holster firmly in place. The Quantum cinched the gun in tight, and I could wear it with just a T-shirt as a cover garment. The “wings” of the holster were absolutely rigid and did not allow the gun to shift at all, while the holster mouth was very resistant to closure. This is imperative in a fighting holster (which IWBs necessarily are), where using both hands to secure your handgun may not be an option. The draw angle is almost perfect for where I chose to carry the pistol, and the draw itself was relatively smooth once I practiced with it a bit.

If I had one suggestion to make about the holster, it would be to scoop the front .5 to .75 inch of the holster to speed the draw just a tiny bit, as I seemed to be dragging the front sight just a hair upon drawing. That may very well be a shooter issue and not a holster issue, as I have that same problem with other holsters as well.

As an OWB holster, the Quantum is allowed to strut itself as a true trophy holster. It looks like it was made to be admired, and indeed, everyone I showed it to seemed very impressed by its rugged good looks. My one small suggestion for a future version of the holster is to have an an option to build in belt loops into the Quantum’s wings so the clips can come off entirely for those who prefer a belt-secured holster. I hasten to add this is purely a matter of preference; the spring steel clips held the Quantum securely in place and made it preferable for me as someone who likes to be able to remove or put on a holster without threading it through a belt.

The Quantum held up without complaint through the steamy North Carolina summer into the fall, and is still going strong in January. It turned out to be resistant to sweat and scuffing alike, a testament to the quality of the leather used and how it was constructed. Badurina’s goal for Dragon Leatherworks was to provide made-in-U.S. craftsmanship at a reasonable price.

I’m planning on having Badurina build both a Fugly and a Talon holster for my new Detonics MTX-H, so feel free to count me among the converted.

I’ve been wearing one off-and-on as the weather dictates for the past month, and I’m impressed so far. Unlike a lot of “tacticool” clothing, the SIG Sauer jacket is very unobtrusive. Even to the discerning eye, it looks like nothing other than the ever-popular heavy canvas field or chore coats offered by all sorts of clothing manufacturers, and more than one person asked me if it was a Carhartt.

Like the Carhartt comparison implies, the SIG jacket is sturdily built. Mine came in black, and is made of 100 percent heavyweight cotton canvas with a smooth nubuck leather collar and a warm no-pill fleece liner. The jacket seemed sized a little large, and the sleeves run a little long, something that turns out to be a plus with my wingspan. The fleece liner actually cuffs inside the jacket to stop wind from blowing up the sleeves, which is a thoughtful plus, as are the gathers on each hip that can keep drafts from coming in the jacket from the bottom. The Concealed Carry Jacket closes with the wearer’s choice of a heavy-duty zipper or buttons (or both).

The outside of the coat has one zippered pocket on the left breast and two handwarmer pockets, but the selling point of the SIG Sauer jacket has to be the two huge velcro-sealed interior pockets, one on each side.

When I say the interior pockets are huge, I am not exaggerating in the slightest. During one weekend chore jaunt, I carried my new Detonics MTX .45 ACP  in the left pocket (for a right-hand draw). Knowing I might be sitting and waiting a while at one of my stops, I put my Kindle e-book reader in the other. I suspect I could easily have replaced the Kindle with an iPad or even a small netbook without too much trouble. Like Jonah’s whale, the SIG Sauer jacket seemed willing to gobble up just about anything I could throw at it. Most importantly, it did so while distributing the weight well, and without giving anyone any indication of what was inside.

I haven’t yet had the opportunity to wear the jacket in a downpour, but it has kept me dry in short, across-the-parking-lot jaunts through light rain without any problems. It should turn away snow equally well. I think I’d consider giving it a waterproofing treatment soon, so it holds up to the more severe and damp weather that tends to hit us in late winter and early spring.

If I have one concern about the SIG Sauer Concealed Carry Jacket, it is the sturdy, foot-long hook-and-loop cavern-covers that keep the interior pockets closed. While the strips ensure your gun will not take an embarrassing tumble to the pavement, the strength of the hook-and-loop lockup means opening the pocket to get to the holstered handgun within is a two-handed job.

There is also the fact that being such a sturdy and warm jacket, it is something that you will almost certainly have to take off if you are indoors for any length of time, and if you put the jacket down or hang it up, you are no longer in control of your handgun. Of course, the same holds true for all kinds of off-body carry including briefcases, handbags or fanny packs.

These minor quibbles aside, the SIG Sauer Concealed Carry Jacket does just about everything right. It retails for less than competing jackets in this class and has comparable or better construction than most other models. Plus, it adds massive internal pockets and gives you the option of carrying a sizable handgun (and/or other cargo) unobtrusively in multiple types of holsters. There are perhaps other jackets that can perform as well, but few do it as economically. 

I anticipate wearing mine for years to come, whether or not I happen to be carrying a handgun inside.

The minimalist, high-mobility philosophy has carried over into gear selection for my AR-15s as well. I want something that can carry a shooting-class load of four to six magazines and keep them out of the way of the pistol holster and pistol magazine pouches worn on my belt. A few extra pockets for a magazine loader or a folding knife are fine, but that’s about it.

Simple, fast, light and out of the way—I want a chest rig. It is, in theory, just a couple of pouches strapped to your chest, held on by webbing that goes over your shoulders and around your back. It fits close and rides high enough to leave your belt free for other gear.

I was fortunate enough to get a quartet of chest rigs from Blue Force Gear, Viking Tactics, Mayflower Tactical and Esstac to test. Each model is a solid bit of gear, with its own unique strengths and design ideas, showing something as simple as a chest rig can become almost anything you need it to be.

The biggest part of the Blue Force Gear Ten-Speed M4 Basic Load Chest Rig is its name. It’s an ultra-light, bare-bones rig, consisting of not a lot more than six elastic pouches sized for AR magazines or anything else of comparable size you can cram into them, including knives, compression bandages, pistol magazines or small radios.

While lightweight and form-fitting, the Ten-Speed is rugged enough for anything I would ask it to handle as a chest rig, and the elastic pouches holds magazines tight without needing a cover, snaps or bungies. The AR-pouches fit standard 20- and 30-round aluminum magazines, Magpul PMags, and one of the most difficult magazines to fit in a pouch, the Lancer L5. The L5 is one of the best functioning magazines on the market, but the ridged mag-well stop molded into its body is tough to fit in many magazine pouches. The Ten-Speed is also small and light enough to be worn under outer garments by covert or plainclothes operatives, a claim few other manufacturers can make. Simple and comfortable, the Ten-Speed, will fit the needs of most civilian AR shooters.

The Viking Tactics MOLLE Chest Rig is lightweight, cool, comfortable and incredibly adaptable due to the two-by-seven rows of MOLLE webbing sown across the front of the rig’s four AR-15 mag pouches, and three-by-two MOLLE webbing sown on each side. You can attach additional pouches of your choosing to customize the basic lightweight VTAC rig into almost any configuration.

This rig rides very close to the body with nothing to stick-out or snag, and the bungie cord holding each mag in place is topped with a sticky, synthetic-leather tab like you might find on wide receivers’ gloves. It is among the most adaptable lightweight chest rigs on the market, and will excel in competition, carbine classes and active-shooter scenarios, as well as for military operators in scenarios where light weight and speed are critical factors.

Mayflower Research and Consulting’s LE/Active Shooter Chest Rig is far more complex than either the Viking Tactics or the Blue Force Gear models, but then, it was designed with a specific, difficult mission in mind. Built for law enforcement officers as a quick-donning-scenario vest carrying the equipment cops need when responding to a shots-fired situation, it has pouches designed to carry four 5.56 NATO magazines, two pistol magazines, a patrol radio, a baton, an OC canister or flashbang, and it adds three small general-purpose pockets in the front.

The H-style harness has channels to route radio antennas and wires, or they can be used for hydration tubing. It can be stripped down and mounted to the front of a Mayflower Low-Profile Armor Carrier.

The fourth chest rig I tested was the one with the most obvious infantry-centric focus in its design. The Esstac Bush Boar A1 is an example of split-front chest rig that focuses on a modular approach.

While the three preceding chest rigs were designed for the basic four-magazine load-out more common to civilian and law enforcement scenarios, the Bush Boar holds up to six M4 magazines in a unique internal pouching system, whereby the magazine pockets ride on the inside of the chest rig’s body while MOLLE webbing lines the exterior. Variants of the Bush Boar can carry two more or two fewer magazines, and the pouches themselves can be swapped out so you use the same chest-rig body with attachments and only need to change the magazine pouch panels as you transition among weapon systems, making it the most versatile of the chest rigs tested and perhaps the most utilitarian for shooters who own both AR and AK-pattern rifles.

The rig I tested came with the company’s Boar Padded Harness as well, which makes sense on a heavier rig like the Bush Boar designed for long-term abuse. It provides a padded, one-piece harness system with modular sleeves that install on either shoulder strap (one non-slip sleeve, one PALS sleeve and one hook-and-loop sleeve), modular PALS on the back for pouches or hydration and a drag handle.

Each of these chest rigs excel in the specific mission envelope for which it was designed, while retaining enough core functionality to suit a wide range of general purpose applications.

In a potentially life-or-death scenario like a home invasion, both criminal and homeowner have advantages and disadvantages. When it’s your home, however, wouldn’t you prefer to maximize your tactical supremacy? U.S. PALM has decided the advantage should decisively go to the defender… or rather, the Defender.

Instead of grabbing your gun and running to the sound of a broken window or kicked-in door, put this vest on first, and you’ll gain a psychological edge from the knowledge that you are at least somewhat protected.

The Defender is a simple body armor concept, perfectly executed in rugged black, MultiCam, coyote brown or Ranger Green 500D Cordura nylon. A single, IIIA, soft body armor panel (available in large or extra-large) covers the vital chest area, riding on a pair of padded, adjustable shoulder straps. A simple wrap-around strap cinches the armor around your midsection. Best of all, you are “good to go” in about the time it takes to read this paragraph—or about 5 seconds.

The basic back panel is unarmored, but it can carry a second armor panel if the user so desires. In addition, the soft armor can be swapped out for most 10×12-inch Level IV hard-armor plates in both the front and rear, giving the user multiple-shot protection against even rifle fire.

The Defender variant I have on hand is the Handgun Defender. It mounts a universal holster (which fits most pistols, with or without an attached weaponlight) atop three universal handgun mag pouches (one on the right, two on the left). The magazine pouches could also conceivably carry a tactical flashlight or pepper spray canister without any problem at all. The vest also has a small admin pouch at the top of the vest.

U.S. PALM makes other Defender variants, including three models designed to carry rifle magazines for the AR-15, AK-47 and .308 Win.-chambered semi-automatics like the AR-10.

In addition, the company offers a MOLLE version on which you can add your own pouches, and a slick version without any pouches at all for wearing beneath clothing.

All Defender vests feature a common rear panel with a MOLLE strip across the back (not a bad spot for your IFAK or tourniquet), and two pouches ideal for carrying emergency supplies. The single-panel Defender weighs just 1.6 pounds, while the dual panel model tips the scales at 3 pounds.

The single 10×12.5-inch armor-panel vests retail for $199 ($249.99 for the 11×13.5-inch XL version), and the dual-panel variants with front and back Level IIIA  panels retail for $99 more ($124.99 more for XL), which makes the Defender series a steal when it comes to body armor.

It must be noted that the Defender lacks the wrap-around side protection of many soft-armor systems typically worn by military and law enforcement personnel, but that is by design. The Defender series was conceived for those who do not need to wear a vest all the time, but who may need to don one quickly. Home defenders also tend to know what direction home invaders are coming from, and a homeowner in a good defensive position is is mostly likely to be facing the threat, head-on.

Another possible alternative for those who like U.S. PALM’s armor concept—but feel they simply must have side protection in a relatively quick-donning vest—is the Desert Tracker Plate Carrier, which was originally designed to address a specific law enforcement problem.

Police officers in the American Southwest face desert heat that can be every bit as deadly as a criminal’s bullet. As a result, they’ve sometimes chosen not to wear body armor to minimize the possibility of heat stroke or heat exhaustion resulting from wearing heat-trapping body armor for long periods of time in the desert sun.

U.S. PALM’s Desert Tracker features a front vest panel designed to carry a SAPI or ESAPI rifle plate, and sides that can carry Level IIIA  6×6-inch soft armor for added flank protection. The back of the vest is open for ventilation, and the shoulder straps, front and side panels are lined with a moisture-wicking mesh on padded backing. It is available as either a MOLLE version, which is what I have for review, or with three double-magazine pouches holding six AR-style magazines in total. Colors offered include MultiCam, Ranger Green, coyote brown and an Italian special operations desert camouflage pattern called CB62 that works very well in the American Southwest, where this plate carrier was designed to operate. The only issue some civilians may have with the $249.99 Desert Tracker is it comes as the plate carrier only, with the user needing to provide armor of their own.

Both the Defender series and the Desert Tracker provide purpose-built armor carriage for specific customers, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone else making equipment that hits these niches at such attractive prices.

As a civilian far away from the desert, relatively unlikely to come upon a cartel gunman crossing the border with an AK-47 in hand, I admittedly don’t have the need of the Desert Tracker. But, we buy car insurance, medical insurance and home insurance hoping that we’ll never have occasion to use them. The Defender just makes sense as part of your conflict insurance—an insurance plan that includes your firearm(s) and training. Understood with this context in mind, the most surprising thing about the U.S. PALM Defender is that a lightweight, easy-to-use and relatively inexpensive armor vest has taken so long to arrive.

The goal of the MCWS was simple; create an accurate AR-platform rifle that allows the user to quickly switch between three calibers for different requirements.

As is befitting an AR, it comes with a 16-inch 5.56 NATO barrel, but also features a same-length, quick-change 6.5 Grendel barrel and a .50 Beowulf barrel, each with their own dedicated barrel nut, gas-tube assembly and stainless steel WCI muzzle brakes. Alexander Arms turns the 1:20-inch twist, 416 stainless .50 Beowulf barrel, while the 1:8-inch twist,  416 stainless 6.5 Grendel and 4140 Chromoly Vanadium 5.56 NATO button-rifled barrels are turned in-house by Templar Custom.

The MCWS shines because of a rock-solid, fast-detaching 18-ounce handguard designed by Templar that releases with the quick twist of a wrench on two captive 5/32 Allen screws. To change between the .50 Beowulf and the 6.5 Grendel, one loosens the screws with the included Allen wrench, and then removes the handguard off the rifle toward the front. The case-hardened black-oxide barrel tool included with every Templar handguard is then used to loosen the barrel nut, which can then be spun off by hand. To complete the caliber switch, you simply pull the barrel free by hand, put the new barrel assembly in place, and reverse the steps. It takes only a little longer to do it than it does read about it.

If switching between one of these calibers and the 5.56 NATO, you’ll also need to switch out the bolt—the 5.56 uses one bolt, while the Grendel and Beowulf share the other. That again is a simple operation, though the operator needs to exercise some common sense and remember if you’re switching calibers on a rifle that has just been fired, the bolt and barrel can both be extremely hot.

So the rifle can switch calibers. That’s neat and all, but how does it shoot? And does it throw mounted optics or BUIS out of alignment when the calibers are changed?

Those were the questions running through my mind driving out to the range, which were only momentarily sidetracked by the distinctive two-tone Desert Snake DuraCoat finish applied to the rifle, barrels and optional EOTech 556.A65/1 holographic sight.

The rifle was set up with the 6.5 Grendel, and we zeroed the EOTech at 50 yards from the bench using a Harris bipod for stability. Then, we took aim at a 6-inch swinging steel target on the 150-yard line.

I’d never though of using a red-dot or holographic sight at ranges much beyond 50 yards, since they are designed as close-range optics. That said, when you could make out the white-painted swinging steel from the light-tan sand berm behind it, the Templar rang the bell consistently as long as the shooter did his part. Recoil from the 6.5 Grendel was negligible thanks to the WCI brake.

Then came the real test: Would the MCWS hold zero when we switched out the 6.5 Grendel barrel and bolt for the 5.56 NATO versions?

It took just a couple of minutes to change the rifle’s calibers and bolts, and I once again took aim at the 6-inch circle of steel 150 yards away.

The trigger broke cleanly, and the spray of sand on the berm behind the target told the story.

“Miss,” called my spotter, aka Mr. Obvious. What he couldn’t tell me was precisely where the bullet hit so I could make adjustments. After two more shots off the the left, I aimed at the right side of the 6-inch gong, and was rewarded with a hit. A following string of three shots confirmed that even after switching to another caliber, the shift in point of impact (POI) was only about 4 inches at 150 yards. A 4-inch variation in POI at 150 yards would seem to be acceptable for most practical applications, especially when you are factoring in variables such as different bullet weights and velocities.

The MCWS was originally conceived as a system for specialized military and law enforcement use, where an operator might need to clear a building with a short 5.56 NATO barrel and then transition to a 6.5 Grendel for an overwatch or designated marksman role, or to the .50 Beowulf for vehicle checkpoints, close-in work against body armor-wearing opposition or any other mission where a huge, slow hunk of lead is the preferred projectile.

The MCWS is available with user-specified options from Templar Custom in a selective-fire (semi- or full-automatic) variant for law enforcement and military customers, or as a semi-automatic-only for the rest of us. The latter would be a phenomenal hunting package, capable of taking everything from varmints to North America’s largest and most dangerous game.

Pricing for the MCWS hasn’t yet been set, and will vary depending upon user specified options. Contact Bob Reynolds at Templar Custom: (877) 878-2334, bobjr@templarconsultingllc.com.

Accidents, assaults or event the very rare catastrophic failure of firearms or cartridges can leave a shooter broken and bleeding.

In each of these instances, a simple medical kit optimized to stop bleeding can mean the difference between a trip to the hospital and a trip to the morgue. Do you have the right kind of equipment on hand to provide first aid until the paramedics arrive?

Individual first-aid kits (IFAKs) continue to evolve. Most were originally designed for Soldiers to treat battlefield trauma at or soon after the moment of wounding. Military-grade IFAKs can be found just about anywhere these days, from eBay to Amazon.com to sporting goods and military surplus stores, but what do we actually need, and how much training does it take to save a life?

R. Allen Hester, director of research and development for Tactical Medical Solutions, gives a enthusiastic “Yes!” to the idea of civilians carrying IFAKs, noting, “We have received many testimonials from range owners and recreational shooters that have used our equipment to treat and stabilize victims of accidental shootings until the casualty could be evacuated, generally after extended times due to distance from facilities.”

Former Navy SEAL medic Chris Heben is also big on the idea. In addition to his time in the service as a medic, Heben went on to become a physician’s assistant in civilian life and became the co-founder of Medical Security International (MSI), which specializes in trauma-related medical care and training geared for law enforcement, the military and industrial safety.

I asked him the same question I asked Hester: Should civilian shooters consider carrying an IFAK?

“Absolutely,” he said. “92 percent of wounds in combat are extremities… guys bleed out.” He also pointed out that with more than 4 million Americans on blood thinners, hemorrhage control kits are a smart idea anywhere people gather, whether at is a shooting range or in a workplace.

In the event of a wound producing moderate to severe bleeding, a properly stocked IFAK and someone with minimal training can keep the victim alive until professional medical care arrives.

The problem with IFAKs is they come in a bewildering number of sizes, shapes and price points. Heben helped me cut through the confusion to focus on the essential elements so you can purchase a prepared kit or create your own IFAK.

A basic bleeding-control kit can use as few as three simple items.

• Self-adhering compression bandage
• bleeding-control gauze
• tactical tourniquet

Each of these items can play a vital roll in slowing or stopping blood loss from moderate to severe injuries prior to paramedics arriving on scene.

Self-Adhering Compression Bandage

Compression bandages are designed to be directly applied to the wound, slowing blood loss and allowing the body time to start clotting and stop the bleeding. They can be used alone on moderate injuries to control bleeding on the extremities or to hold hemostatics (such as the bleeding-control gauze) in place.

Recommended compression bandages include the Olaes Modular Bandage, the ever-popular “Israeli” bandage and the the CoFlex Bandage, which is a combination of a foam-pad dressing and cohesive non-stick bandage capable of significant compression.

Bleeding-Control Gauze

Hemostatic (blood controlling) gauze is a technological leap forward from the simple cotton pads once used to treat severe wounds. It uses gauze impregnated with materials that rapidly accelerate clotting, even in severe wounds. The most common forms of clotting agents are clay- or sand-based and chitosan, which comes from shellfish. While compression bandages excel on wounds to the extremities, they don’t work well on wounds to the head, neck torso or groin. Hemostatic gauze can be placed against shallow wounds or packed into deeper wounds to control the most serious bleeding.

QuikClot is a popular brand of bleed-control agent you can commonly find based upon the sand/silica/clay clotting model, but MSI recommends chitosan-based products because they promote more rapid clotting. HemCon is one chitosan-based hemostatic now used by the U.S. and U.K. militaries due to its fast-clotting and anti-bacterial properties. Celox is another chitosan-based product worth considering.

Tactical Tourniquet

Catastrophic wounds to the arms or legs are best treated by the proper placement/application of a tourniquet. Many modern tourniquets are designed to be operated by one hand, and are cranked down tight enough to stop arterial and venous blood flow. While some civilian doctors are leery of the permanent damage that can come from a properly applied tourniquet, significant limb damage will generally not occur within two hours of application.

MSI recommends the SOFTT, though the Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) is also very popular. Hester noted that an off-duty police officer recently used a TacMed SOFTT-NH to save a motorcyclist’s life after the rider had an accident that severed his leg.

Training

Even if you don’t seek out training, putting the three crucial items in a shooting response kit—self-adhering compression bandages, bleeding-control gauze and a tactical tourniquet—is a good idea. You may not have the expertise to use them yet, but someone at the site of the injury might. Many doctors, nurses and paramedics are shooters, too, and while they certainly know how to handle catastrophic injuries, they may not have the proper first-aid materials with them while they enjoy a day at the range.

Firearm owners interested in self-defense understand the critical role proper training and practice play, and it’s the same if you will be the one using gear from your IFAK.

The appropriate level of training needed to use an IFAK correctly is a sticky subject. Unlike American Red Cross Basic First-Aid and CPR courses, there is no universal, formalized curriculum. A good start is with Red Cross Basic First-Aid. The odds are good once you attend the class your instructor or fellow classmates will also know about advanced courses available in your area. Specialized training in the use of use of tourniquets and hemostatic dressings can also be found online (MSI offers a “First 30” self- and buddy-aid class).

Essential kits can vary in price from less than $50 to more than $100, which is still less than many of us spend on ammo for a single weekend’s range session, making it a common-sense bit of front-line insurance.