New American Truth

Truth be told, there’s a lot more I take with me each day than just a knife… or a gun and a knife and a lighter, but what we actually carry on our person isn’t the end all be all of daily preparedness.

What if all you had was what you were WEARING and your guns. What would that consist of? Naturally this is radically different depending on what environment you are, or you expect to be, in. Still, it seemed an interesting enough challenge to contemplate that I thought I’d share.

Off-body carry of a handgun – usually in a bag of some sort – isn’t the best option in terms of preparedness — you give up some weapon security and access time. But it is necessary on occasion. Sometimes the only other option is to not have a gun handy at all, and in some parts of the world, it may give you the option to suddenly “lose” an incriminating item.

The unit is light and compact enough that it can be conveniently carried by dropping it in a pocket (unless you wear your pants too snug for that). It drops easily into any purse or jacket pocket. It offers an effective option to your force response level for self-defense. It’s non-lethal and isn’t expensive.

Recommended by my good friend, Chief Bill Harvey, Gordon’s Masonic Jewelry specializes in hand-crafted rings serving the fraternity of Free Masonry.

For many years now I have preached about the need to build Bug out bags, Go Bags or – as I’ve now learned to call them – Get Out Of Dodge Bags (GOOD Bags). This week though, I am writing a review of a pre-packaged bag designed to provide a basic support system for two adults for two days (48 hours). Note that I said basic support system.

To analogize: In the tactical world, you release the slide on your pistol by grasping the slide, pulling it fully to the rear, and letting it go. That would be a gross motor skill. Using your thumb to depress the slide stop lever would be considered a fine motor skill. What Blue Force Gear has done with the RED Swivel has, in essence, put an emergency rip cord on your sling swivel.

The Troy OEM M4 BattleSling Mount is designed to be used with an included quick detach sling swivel with limited rotation. The quick detach sling swivel the M4 BattleSling Mount comes with has a large button in the center making it easy to use. The mount is made from 6061 T6 Aluminum and it has a hard anodized coating.

All-in-all, this is yet another well thought-out piece of kit from 5.11, and you can see the input of a battery of experts in its design and features.

Off-body carry certainly isn’t the best way to carry a firearm, but sometimes it’s either the only way to do so, or an intelligent choice given the trade-offs. Situations meeting one of these requirements for off-body carry can come up fairly often for many of us. Of course there is now a plethora of concealed-carry bags, packs, and what-have-you on the market, many well-constructed and ergonomically designed, and most with Velcro-panel concealed carry compartments.