Howard Linett

WE PUT SOURCE VAGABOND SYSTEMS’ “ON-THE-MOVE” HYDRATION SYSTEM TO THE TEST

Israel is an arid land. Much of the country is desert; the Negev in the south, the Judean in the east. Its only rains during winter, generally mid-November to late March. The rest of the year there is strong sun, temperatures in the high 90’s and low humidity, except on the coast where the heat and humidity remind one of Washington, DC in August. Natural sources of fresh water are negligible. You Must Drink Frequently Or You Will Dehydrate!

Given the climate, it is no wonder that Israel has its own domestic backpack-style flexible water carrier. SOURCE Vagabond Systems, Israeli creator and manufacturer of world famous Adventure Sandals^TM, has for the past several years been producing what it simply describes as “the Next Generation of Hydration Systems.” My family and I have been testing several of the company’s designs on day and multi-day hikes and during training exercises. Over the past seven months we’ve used these hydration systems under conditions ranging from the onerous heat and humidity of Israel’s Mediterranean Coast to the burning sun and parched expanses of its Dead Sea shores.

The models used in our evaluations were from the BodyPack series. Included were a Propack with a 2.5 liter (85oz.) water reservoir, a Packer with a 3.0 liter (102 oz.) flexible canteen from its military line and a Trailer, a 10 liter (2.65 gal.) multi-purpose insulated container.

Next Generation Design: The folks at SOURCE Vagabond Systems had lots of experience with water carrying/drinking systems and with backpacks from their military service and from the traditional, post-military service, six month long international backpacking trek upon which almost every Israeli embarks. It was this real world, hands-on familiarity that first led the company’s management to the conclusion that a better hydration system was needed. Their own personal experience also provided the R&D team with the knowledge of what needed inventing, what needed improving and what needed leaving alone because it wasn’t broke.

Foremost, they decided, a new water bladder needed inventing. First generation hydration systems used urethane or polyurethane for the water pouch material. Besides being expensive, these materials imparted a decidedly bad plastic flavor to water carried in them. That was unacceptable. Also unacceptable were first generation push-pull and bite valves. The R&D folks wanted truly “hands-free” drinking, and without the need to constantly, both bite and sip, at the same time while “on-the-move.” (Please not jokes about walking and chewing gum at the same time.) Lastly the development team decided to improve upon the design of first generation filler caps, to make them more secure and functional. The following are the results of the team’s work. My family, the members of my Police Civil Guard Sniper Unit and I can vouch for the outstanding job the R&D team did.

Next Generation Components: A entirely new, unique water bladder was invented. It is constructed using a proprietary, advanced PE (coextruded polyethylene) film that has glass-like surface qualities. This FDA approved material is used as the inner layer of a genuine multi-layered laminate bag. It neither imparts nor inherits tastes from/to liquids. Stored water will keep for weeks without getting stale. The PE film has one further characteristic that recommends it. Because of its special molecular structure, it is easily to clean and keep free of fungus, bacteria and mildew.

This revolutionary laminate bag needed toughening. It was utilizing DURABAG^® technology for which an international patent was awarded. The result was a container that withstands extreme crushing and collapses as the liquid inside is used, thus taking up minimum space when empty. The inner reservoir is replaceable at very low cost compared to replacing a bladder made of first generation “plastics.”

Next came creation of the RAPID VALVE^TM, actually a “draw valve” that replaced the more familiar bite valve. Its development required the combining of modern industrial valve concepts, engineering using advanced Cad/Cam software and state of the art molding technology. The RAPID VALVE^TM works just like a straw delivering a steady unrestricted, full capacity flow of liquid. Just sip. When you stop, it seals itself -- no dripping. “On-the-move” drinking, hands-free, even while breathing heavily is matter-of-fact.

The final specially updated component of the hydration system was the filler cap. It was designed big, 1.6 inch (40mm) in diameter. Better for inserting ice cubes and ease of filling. The cap was engineered to be air tight, low profile and locked closed with a quick 180-degree twist.

Common to all SOURCE Vagabond System designs are sown-in “refilling handles” to ease filling and prevent spills. Drinking tubes are covered. The tube is positioned conveniently inside a shoulder-strap of all backpack designs. In the flexible canteen line, the delivery tube comes with a clip already attached. The DURABAG^® technology insulates liquids keeping them cold or hot for hours, with a temperature tolerance from freezing (32 degrees) to hot (176 degrees).

These hydration systems, in Israel we call them flexible and collapsible canteens, are comfortable to wear, to slip into your backpack or your sniper rifle dragbag. I first learned about them from some of the Recon Unit and Spec Ops fellows who joined our Unit at a couple of range practice sessions. I figured if this “flexible canteen” was good enough that these guys spent their own money on them, they were good enough for me. Truth is, I have experienced one problem with these hydration systems, keeping my daughters’ boyfriends from “forgetting” to return them after the outing.

U.S. Tactical Supply, 2786 Three Lakes Rd, Albany Oregon 97322
Tel: (541) 928-8645 or Toll Free: (877) 928-8645
Website: www.ustacticalsupply.com

U.S. TACTICAL SUPPLY’s Sniper Data Log Book:
Good Enough to Even Get Me Organized!

Confession. I am anal-retentive about recording data, but I’m a disaster when it comes to keeping my records organized and useable. Truth is, that conceptually as a sniper I knew I had to record every shot and the circumstances surrounding each. However I knew the inherent limitations of my police issue sniper rifle and would not take a shot beyond what I knew the weapon could reliably do. I had a Mauser 98Kar that would shoot 3 MOA groups as often as it would shoot 1 MOA groups. The lack of consistent accuracy provided an insurmountable mental disincentive and excuse to using data. So why really deal with the bother of organizing? But record? Of course, every trip to the range, every shot fired, without exception, compulsively.

I carried a 3”x5” spiral bound notepad in a small, ziplock clear plastic bag. Sometimes I would use the pad to record all the conditions influencing each shot, drawing in the target, hold and hit. Each trip to the range would begin with a new, clean page. More often than not I simply recorded everything on an empty box of whatever Lot of ammunition we were shooting that day. Doing so saved me needing to record the ammunition Lot Number, it was already written on the box! What could be better? Plenty!

Israel is small, but geographically diverse from a sniper’s point of view. Within a reasonable drive from Jerusalem, our Unit encounters significantly different conditions. One day we may be shooting in dry desert conditions, well below sea level close to the lowest point on earth. The next time we might be shooting several hundred meters above sea level in 70 percent humidity. The position of the sun and our weather are major factors to consider as we change back and forth between winter (cold and rainy) and summer (Hot and dry-desert and Hot and humid-coast). Temperature can change as much as 40 degrees between sun-up and sundown. If you do not have good records which allow you to check back to the last time you fired in these conditions in this geographic area, and you do not have a buddy around to ask (who has got accurate, organized records) your first shot misses more often than not. Period!

My rededication to keeping organized records, not merely recording data, came in August 2000 with the arrival of my ArmaLite AR-10(T), a rifle that shoots better than I can shoot it. My new rifle gave me an opportunity for a “fresh start.” I embraced the opportunity with all the fervor of one reborn with religion.

For six months I tried to “do it myself.” I carried a clipboard with my own, personally drawn sniper data range card which combined a little from U.S. military manuals, our Israeli Police Civil Guard Snipers’ Logbook and John Plaster’s The Ultimate Sniper. My record keeping was more precise and better organized, but lacked flexibility as our Unit began changing drills and exercises. I decided that my ballistic tables, tools-of-the-trade and all my special notes should be kept together with my records. So those items went into their own ziplock bag which I clipped to the clipboard, which itself went into a Big clear ziplock bag with the onset of wet winter weather. This was not a good method; a conclusion at which I arrived, in particular after discovering the impracticability of “my system” the first time I used it on a Unit operation.

OK, I thought to myself, I need a better receptacle for my growing amount of paper records and other sniper aids. I looked for a smallish sized three-ring type notebook and a fully closeable (by zipper) cover for it. I could not find anything other than exaggeratedly overpriced and impractical leather portfolios or day planners. Then I discovered U.S. Tactical Supply’s - T.R.G.T Sniper Data Book. Actually one of the members of our Unit discovered it on the Internet and brought it to my attention. I got one, together with the cover Tactical Tailor makes for it. I’m glad I did.

The Sniper Data Book itself is compact, but not small. It is green and black, colors that fit in the environment. It is held together by a heavy-duty black, coated spiral wire across the length of the top. The pages are printed on both sides, so when the you leave the book fully “open,” rather than folded back on itself, you actually have two full pages with which you are working. The pages flip easily and are made out of that special greenish waterproof paper. A very nice feature you’ll appreciate the first time you’re using the Sniper Data Book and it starts to rain, like happened to me a few weeks ago while in position in East Jerusalem.

Inside the Sniper Data Book you are provided with just about everything you need to build the individual ballistics of your rifle. You are provided with a goodly number of pages for recording Cold Bore Data and every factor influencing each shot. There is a Zero Summary Chart to record your Zero according to distance (by 50 meter or yard increments) and temperature (F/C together in 5-degree F increments). This particular summary chart is a big help if like me, you think in Fahrenheit (American) but get reports in Celsius (Israeli and everywhere else). Zero according to temperature is critical in our work environment, especially in the Judean Desert, where as I’ve already noted, the change over a day can be dramatic.

Data Card sheets, all with the same straightforward format are provided for Zero (square target), Bullseye Target, Stationary (standing man) Target, Unknown Distance (with a distance range card on back of the previous card), Moving Target Data and Moving Target Lead Summary. Each card records Place, Date, Time, Rifle/Scope, Ammunition, Temperature, Distance, Altitude, Humidity, Barometric Pressure, Mirage, Light and Wind. If there is any info that needs to be recorded for which U.S. Tactical Supply has not provided, I have yet to find I need it.

Next you are provided with what you need for work: Observation Log, Field Sketch and Range card pages, and plenty of them. You do not want your range dope and your “work papers” separate. You want everything together including the Barrel Log (provided) for keeping count of all shots fired and all tables, charts, formulas and exterior ballistic data you have accumulated. All those separate pieces of laminated and plain paper, stuck in that ziplock bag of mine. No more. It is all supplied for you on nice, waterproof pages as part of the Data Book. Radical an act as it was for me, the supplemental material U.S. Tactical Supply was so complete, I actual threw-away my ¼ inch high stack of papers.

The Sniper Data Book includes quick, easy to read charts for using a Mildot Reticle, every table needed to convert Standard to Metric and visa versa,

Range, Moving Target, Wind and Angle of Fire formulas and data and Range estimation tables in both Mils to Yards and Mils to Meters. There are extensive Human Target Dimensions in inches and mils and a Target Dimensions Chart for your own data. There is also a quick reference chart including Deviations from Zero for Temperature, Attitude and Angle of Fire. Lastly there are Bullet Drop and Wind Drift tables for various 7.62x51 bullet weights/loads.

The Tactical Tailor cover stands up to heavy use and well thought-out. It opens like a book with a quick unzip of the zipper (one of the best I’ve ever seen). Otherwise the cover fully encloses (i.e., nothing falls out and gets lost) the Data Book and provides an array of various size pockets. There is plenty of room for pens, pencils, ruler, a couple of laminated charts, angle and range estimating aids, notepad, calculator and a spare battery for the laser rangefinder. Zipped-up it fits comfortably in my range bag, deployment backpack or dragbag. It has gone with me on rooftops and on the ground in East Jerusalem, at the Western Wall, Zion Square and “in the field.” It is exactly what I had needed and wanted. It is what we call, “good stuff.” Several members of our Unit bought it on their own. Between us we have used it for several months. We found nothing lacking and so far no one has figured how to improve it.

U.S. Tactical Supply, 2786 Three Lakes Rd, Albany Oregon 97322
Tel: (541) 928-8645 or Toll Free: (877) 928-8645
Website: www.ustacticalsupply.com

The older I get the more I value simplicity. Perhaps it is because my mind can no longer handle complicated matters. Or perhaps benefitting from the wisdom that is alleged to come with age and experience, I am now able to distinguish function from gimmickry. Whichever, I know what I need a product to do. I want ease of use, not “bells and whistles.” I want a dragbag that provides protection for my rifle, allows quick access and equally quick “pack-up and git.” I want it tough, resistant to the elements, with a few pouches for essentials and shoulder straps that disappear when I use the handle. I want a dragbag that works together with my other gear, not that conflicts with or tries to replace that gear. I’ve discovered Tactical Tailor’s Dragbag gives me what I want.

For the past four months I’ve used the dragbag designed by Tactical Tailor’s CEO Logan Coffey, with insights and refinements by Dan Hirayama, Logan’s resident sniper. (There is much to be said for having designers who have and are real users of the product they design. Its that experience factor at work again.) Their dragbag has gone with me on well over two dozen operations of diferring types. It has been up shaky ladders and through narrow openings onto rooftops, on hurried climbs up 8 flights of stairs and surprise “forced marches” (our transport failed to materialize) across downtown Jerusalem and over walls, through thick brush and head-high thorns getting into positions on the ground.

The dragbag is designed to hold a scoped rifle up to 50” in length. It holds my Armalite AR10-(T) with Leupold 4.5x14 Tactical Scope on Badger Ordnance Ultra-High Rings comfortably and securely with three quick and easy “snap-in clip close/open” tie downs and a padded crown cover. The bag is lined with dense closed cell foam rubber. So are its three exterior pockets. In the field I have not babied the fully loaded bag and the padding has protected the rifle/scope and the optics I carry in the pockets. It doesn’t replace my hardcase which is thrown (sometimes literally) into the back of the police van for the trip to/from the range with everyone else's stuff on top of it, but then it is not intended to.

The bag is fashioned from 1000 denier Cordura Plus nylon material which has held up remarkably well, briers notwithstanding. It has 2” nylon webbing lining it’s underside for extra “drag-protection.” If anything it hasn’t picked-up as much dirt as I would have liked. A couple of slaps of my wife's hand gets off enough “field expedient indigenous camouflage” for it to be allowed (thrown) into the car’s backseat. Twice it rained (light/moderate) for a couple of hours while I was exposed on a rooftop assignment. I was pleased to discover that the dragbag shed water. It and everything inside it stayed dry.

Tactical Tailor’s dragbag does what I want a dragbag to do and without the need for an instruction manual. So far I can’t think of how I would improve it.

For further information on their Tactical Drag Bag and other products you can visit: www.tacticaltailor.com or contact them at:

Tactical Tailor, Inc.
10203 Lakeview Avenue, Southwest
Lakewood, WA 98499
Tel. 253-984-7854
Fax. 253-984-6696

Better Shooting Through Technology

“You must to let me try that” was the enthusiastic greeting I received in broken English from “A” the moment I entered the range. Until that evening I had avoided trying out the LASERGRIPS I had acquired for my Sig 226. I had read and understood the simple, straightforward and brief instructions that came with the set of grips. Nevertheless, I figured that installing “the laser” and sighting it in would be trying. Wrong!

I decided to wait until I was at the gun shop and indoor range where our Israeli IPSC team holds its weekly practice before attempting to put-on “the laser.” The task amounted to nothing more difficult than changing grips. I borrowed a screwdriver and removed the two screws holding on each half of the original handgrips. After inserting the two nickel-size batteries (included) into the left half of the LASERGRIPS, I put them on. They fit perfectly - no interference with the de-cocking lever – so I replaced the four screws and tightened them down. Installation complete!

Steve, in charge of the shop/range for that evening, had installed a set of LASERGRIPS for someone who had brought a pair back from the States. “Use that spot on the wall for an initial check of your zero,” he directed. “I measured it out myself. Stand here, line-up your sights on the spot and press the ‘button’ on the grip.” I followed orders and a spot of bright red light appeared about an inch above the spot at which I aimed. “That’s it, you’re On. The other one was the same way, sighted-in right out of the box except for minor fine tuning.” Steve’s pronouncement was made with the not often heard sound in his voice of his being impressed. “Go shoot,” he ordered.^*

I now encountered my only problem with my LASERGRIPS, everyone has to try them, significantly cutting down on my personal practice. “A” had noticed the CRIMSON TRACE box on the shop counter and read the Owner’s Manual. Surfice to say he “works in Close/VIP Protection” and his proficiency with his pistol is literally a matter of life and death. He waited in ambush for me to join our group. “Please let me try. I’ll even use my own ammo.” The Supreme Concession, how could I refuse? At least before the session ended I was able to fine tune my newly installed high intensity laser sighting system at 50 feet as suggested in the owner’s manual. Fine-tuning was easy, just like zeroing a riflescope.

Since that evening I’ve carried my LASERGRIPS enhanced Sig 226 all day, every day, for the past 6 weeks. I have practiced with it a dozen or more times under all manner of lighting conditions, inside and outside. It has held its zero, a fact friends in the States told me I could rely upon based on their experience with their LASERGRIPS. From point-blank range to a distance of about 20 yards my bullet will hit within an inch of where I place the red laser light; within 3 inches at a distance out to around 40-45 yards. I expect I would be able to report somewhat better results if I cut back on coffee and bittersweet chocolate.

Last Friday shooting at white paper targets in the bright High-Noon sunlight of the Judean Desert was the sole time I could not see the laser spot. In normal and low-light conditions my LASERGRIPS are simply close to awesome. Put the red dot on the spot you want to hit, maintain correct shooting principles and out to the limits of reasonable use of a handgun you hit your mark (or hit close enough in the world of real shooting). In low-light conditions focus on the red point of light on your target, not “over your sights” to your target and you even preserve your night vision.

Sometimes my wife teases our children. A few weeks before I installed my LASERGRIPS my wife played a prank on our younger daughter, age 17. My wife directed the red light of a key chain laser pointer from the $1.00 Store (I remember when it was the Five & Dime) through the keyhole into my daughter’s bedroom one evening. Turned out not to be so funny. My daughter thought it was one of Yassar Arafart’s Force 17 terrorist snipers seeking out a target. It took my daughter several hours to get over the paralyzing fright. I can now truly imagine how seeing the red point of light from my pistol on someone’s person might immediately end any normal altercation – without my having to fire a shot.

Neither my wife nor daughters, who technically know how to shoot pistol, will practice with my handgun, notwithstanding where we live. This sorry state of affairs continues to exist even after I taught them not to worry about being unable to work the slide and chamber a round, because if there is magazine in the Sig there will be a round in the chamber. That is the reason the pistol has a de-cocking lever. I worried that should one of them ever find herself in a situation in which she need to use my Sig 226 to defend herself, she could not be expected to hit her target except by pure chance.

Fortunately that is one situation about which I no longer worry! Thank you CRIMSON TRACE and I really do mean it. I have now been able to convince the women in my life to at least join me in some at home dry-fire “laser” practice. Cock hammer, press laser button, put point of red light on target and squeeze trigger. I have no doubt that should any one of them ever have the need to use my pistol, she will be hit her target.

I keeping with my policy of full-disclosure on the products I evaluate, be advised I am not passing this handgun sighting system on to my sniper unit for distribution to one of our volunteer members who has a Sig 226 for his or her use. It is too important to the ability of the women in my life to defend themselves. I am keeping it!

* Shortly after I wrote this product review Steve was riding to work on a bus that was blown-up by a homicide/suicide bomber. He lived but is grievously paralyzed.

Crimson Trace Corporation, 8089 S.W. Cirrus Drive, Beaverton, OR 97008
Tel. (503) 627-9992
Website: www.crimsontrace.com

Recently I obtained one of the first My Tighe production folders. I admit my interest was the shape of the blade. The fact that it had a mechanism to aide me in opening it, interested me not the least. I had tried such mechanisms before and they amounted to little more than what I judged "gimmicks."

I really did not know what was about to happen the first time I opened my My Tighe. My thought was on how the blade would look. I expected the knife would open as I pushed the thumb stud. So I was not looking at what I was doing, not at all paying attention. My thumb nudged the thumb stud and Whoop, the knife was open! Whoa, I just missed my wife's arm. She is use to my always cutting myself, but needing to bandage her would have definitely been a "sleep on the couch" affair. I immediately Emailed Eric Bremer, CRTK's President and admonished him to "Put a warning on the box!"

I immediately Emailed Rod Bremer, CRKT President, admonishing him to, "Put a warning on the outside of the box."

In the time it took to close the knife and open it a second time, it became my all-time favorite folding knife and the knife I now carry.

I have tested my share of "switch-blade" knives. Those made by Benchmade work exceptionally well. Problem is as far as I know, you may only carry them in two States. Many work. Many made by other companies work. Some have a "springy," twangy feel on opening. But my hand is placed in a less than normal position to "push that button." Not so with the OutBurst Actuator. It opens solid, strong and incredibly fast. My hand remains in a natural, ready position.

This April I was Stateside, invited to be a member of a DHS Counter-Terrorism Focus Group. I took my only down-time on a Sunday - to visit a Virginia gun show. One of the exhibitors had a CRKT OutBurst Actuator knife. I did my own market survey asking passersby to try all the assisted opening knifes the exhibitor had, CRKT's last. Result was 1000 percent preferred the CRKT!

Rod Bremer, President, CRKT wrote back to me expressing his gladness about my not having to sleep on the couch. About the OutBurst Actuator he said, "It is so simple yet effective I wish we would had discovered this years ago." I could not agree more.

Columbia River Knife and Tool, 9720 S.W. Hillman Ct. Suite 805, Wilsonville, Oregon, 97070, Web site: www.crtk.com

My daughter-in-law, son and I were invited to Easter Dinner at the home of close friends. Everyone pitched-in to help prepare the food and bring it to the table. The rack of lamb proved to be a challenge. Even after sharpening, not one of our host's kitchen knives, including several more than moderately expensive ones, was up to the task of carving that rack-of-lamb.

My son always carries a folding knife. He uses it, often and hard, day-in and day-out. All knives wear-out on him. The blade dulls and the pocket-clip bends out of shape. It is not a matter of if, but of when; as quickly as three weeks, perhaps six.

I have developed a respect for blades made of D2 steel. I had a new Benchmade Model 710D2. The D2 designation means the blade is crafted of D2 steel. I turned the knife over to my son on Easter Sunday. I figured that would be a true test of the tuffness and durability of a Benchmade folder and of the ability of its D2 steel blade to hold an edge.

As I sit writing this note, Easter was about six weeks ago. I have since returned to Israel. My son has periodically updated me on the condition of "his" Benchmade D2 folder. He uses it daily to cut more stuff than I care to list. As of last evening (our time - morning his time) the blade remains sharp enough to perform all cutting tasks. The knife barely shows any wear. The only care he has given it is to wash it off in the kitchen sink and let it dry in the dish-rack.

Benchmade Knives, 300 Beavercreek Rd, Oregon City, OR, 97045,
Web Site: www.benchmade.com

It was easier than you could imagine. In fact it was the easiest sight I ever mounted and zeroed. Michael Beltran, Aimpoint’s Law Enforcement and Government Sales Manager, sent me an Aimpoint CompM2 to try on my Israeli Police issued M1 .30 caliber Carbine. My USGI Carbine is older than I and could have actually been carried my father in the Pacific during WWII. The new optic has turned it into a modern sidearm.

The User’s Manual said that the sight came with the red dot centered. It did. Out-of-the-box I mounted the sight using the Weaver Wide Black Ring Michael had considerately included with it. At our sniper unit’s Friday morning practice I set up a target at 25 meters. Resting the Carbine on a beanbag on top of an ammo box, I set the red dot at the lowest brightness at which I could see it in the bright midmorning Israeli sun. I fired four rounds. The center of the four shot group was about an inch left of the bullseye, dead center. I adjusted several clicks Right and an equal number Up (no different than with a sniperscope) because I wanted a zero an 1½ to 2 inches high. My five shot group was right on. Nine rounds and sighting-in finished!

Eye relief and sight height were perfect for the Carbine, on both my WWII M1 and on a friend’s new IDF M16-M4. I did not need to worry about cheek-weld or sight alignment to hit the target. Just center the red dot and fire. With the ballistic curve of .30 caliber ammo, at 2 inches high at 25 meters, I am good out beyond 100 meters. So far I have encountered only a single problem with the sight. Everyone wants to try it, which leaves me doing more rifle cleaning than shooting.

Aimpoint Inc., 141 Mariah Ct., Chantilly, VA, 20151, Website: www.aimpoint.com

I’m an Israeli Police Civil Guard Sniper Instructor, regularly operational with our Jerusalem Unit. It took 4½ years of battling the Israeli bureaucracy to get a permit for my own rifle, an ArmaLite AR-10(T). Earning my doctorate in law took less time and effort. I use a third generation Springfield-Armory 6x20x56 Mil Dot Military Model scope. At 100 meters it allows me to use a .30 caliber hole as my target. The scope is mounted with Badger Ordnance rings. An A.R.M.S. rail provides extra elevation for real long distance Border Police military sniping. A Harris 6x9” bipod, Badger Tactical Latch and Tactical Tailor Dragbag complete the package. My equipment is as good as it comes, top of the line. It has to be.

As a police precision marksman I may fire only to preserve life. My shot must be perfect. It will likely be taken at one of the holiest places in the world. I miss, error or am mistaken, not only are innocents dead and I’m on trial, but I may also have started the next Middle East War. I need the best precision ammunition I can get.

Israel prohibits private rifle ownership. MATCH grade ammunition is not available for purchase. Importing ammunition is a bureaucratic nightmare, prohibitively so. Reloading is a felony. You use the domestic ammunition police purchasing supplies. With all that is riding on my shot, that simply is no good enough.

On March 12th I joined the range practice of the Border Police sniper course students to whom I’d lecture the week before. I needed to sight-in my rifle after mounting the scope using the A.R.M.S. rail. At 100 meters I used police issue ammunition to get on the paper and “close.” The target is from the last six (6) rounds I fired, fine tuning. Upper three holes are police ammo. Lowest hole is three (3) rounds of Black Hills 175 gr BTHP MATCH. The target speaks for itself.

The beam of light they deliver simply can not be comprehended without being seen. It is the brightest hand-held battery powered flashlight beam I have ever seen. At least 10 times stronger than anything else I have ever tried.

A SureFire is a duel purpose accessory. It provides not only penetrating illumination, but also stunning brightness. It is literally a non-lethal weapon. I always thought that using a flashlight offensively, 2 “D” or larger, meant smacking it against someone’s head. If only a small, 2 “AA” size was in hand, then the terrorist’s temple was the target for a hard, swift aimed strike. Either of these hits are potentially, even predictably fatal. Jerry Head of SureFire’s Training Institute taught me otherwise. All it took was a split second.

Standing in a brightly lit exhibition hall entrance area with the summer afternoon Virginia sun shining in, Jerry suddenly shined a small Model P6 in my eyes from about 8 inches away. I was not merely temporarily blinded, I was stunned. My reaction was physical. I was disabled, pure and simple. I needed a couple minutes to fully recover. I learned my lesson. My advice? You can not do without a SureFire. Period.

I have some survival advice for those of you who travel by airplane in the event your aircraft “goes down,” if you survive the impact (Crash).

As an Air Line Pilots Association Contract Administrator/Attorney it was my responsibility to represent the pilots of the air carriers I was assigned, including if there was a crash. That worst nightmare became reality around 01:30 one mid-January morning. A passenger carrying commuter aircraft crashed. I represented the airline’s pilots. The telephone call waking me came at about the time CNN arrived on the crash sight. As I dressed to rush to Dulles Airport I watched the firefighters trying to contain the blaze that engulfed the building the aircraft hit.

Over the next several months the National Transportation Safety Board conducted its investigation. To the extent the interests of the airline’s pilots were involved, so was I. I learned much more than I ever wanted to know about a crash with fatalities, but what I learned is nothing less than lifesaving. I now share what I learned with you.

Before the aircraft crashed, its wings were “knocked-off” by trees. Like a missile the plane struck and penetrated an unoccupied factory building. The passenger carrying portion of the aircraft, its fuselage, ending up pretty much intact, in pitch-black darkness inside the factory. The pilots died on impact, but the passengers survived the crash. Immediately the aircraft and the building began to burn. Blinding, asphyxiating smoke began to fill the aircraft’s passenger compartment. Soon after, flames began to engulf the aircraft and building. Passengers were alive, some not even particularly injured in the protective cocoon of their seat. They just need to unfasten their seat belts, get up and get out of the plane. Those that did, lived, those that did not, died. What was the life and death factor? The survivors explained that flames from the burning building illuminated a hole in the fuselage. The fire burning outside the aircraft provided enough light that the survivors could see from where they could get out and they did. That simple.

Do not bet your life on the plane’s emergency lighting working after a crash. Neither the lights that illuminate the interior, the ones over the Exits or the light strips in the floor should be expected to function. Especially at night, even if you have memorized where your “nearest exit” might be, making your way to it and finding it will be a superhuman task in the mass hysteria and pitch black, possibly smoky environment of your downed aircraft’s interior.

I heard the survivors’ description of what it was like inside the plane after the crash. It truly sounded as I image Hell must be like. But were it not for those hellish flames showing them the way out, the survivors would have died. Since that moment I have never gotten on an aircraft without having on my person a flashlight on which I was willing to stake my life. If you have been smart enough to buy my book, you are smart enough to follow my example.

I carry a SureFire Model 6Z. It is lightweight and ultra-compact, fits almost concealed in my hand. It uses two 3-volt lithium batteries. It is brighter than one of those searchlights that use a large square 6-volt battery. So far flying out of various American airports and several foreign ones, I have never had a problem taking my little flashlight with me. I keep it in my briefcase along with pens, tape recorder, spare batteries and the like. I frequently have to explain what it is, sometimes opening it up and showing that it contains batteries, but so far nothing more. As soon as I board my flight and get to my seat my SureFire goes from my briefcase to my pants pocket and stays there until I’m safely off the plane. If my aircraft ever goes down and I survive, I cannot think of anything more important and still legal to have on my person.

SureFire, LLC, 18300 Mount Baldy Circle, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Toll Free: 800-828-8809 Website: www.surefire.com

Those who know me well, say my real religion is firearms cleaning. The “How To” and the “With What” of sniper rifle cleaning is a major portion of each Israeli Border Police course I teach. But one cleaning skill eluded me. I never could master the technique of putting paste on a patch and working it back and forth in my rifle barrel. The patch just did not seem to be keeping enough paste in contact with the lands and groves. Mops did not work any better than patches. I did the best I could, but I was far from satisfied.

One Email and ten days later I had a .30 caliber jag and a supply of both kind of VFG’s pellets, plain felt and felt with brass “grit.” They work perfectly. I need say nothing more.

VFG can be contacted at:
          Vereinigte Filzabriken AG,
          Giengener Weg 66,
          89537 Geingen
Phone: +49 (0) 7322 144 0

Problem Number One: Ammunition in .45 caliber is not readily available in Israel. What I could find seemed underpowered, undoubtedly from years of improper storage. My normally reliable 1911-A1 continuously jammed during IPSC practice. It needed help.

Militec, Inc, 11828 Pika Drive, Waldorf, MD 20602, Phone:877-222-5212
Website: www.militec.com

As of the last week of 2007 Israelis are returning to the days of sealing tape and plastic. The Israeli Defense Forces Home Front Command (Civil Defense) is distributing a new booklet explaining how to select an interior room and turn it into a “sealed room.” Now, minus the familiar gas mask kits (the government took them away), plastic sheeting and a damp rag under the door constitute the average Israel family’s protection from a WMD attack. The IDF’s plan is to prepare now and avoid the last minute rush. The public has told to begin purchasing sealing materials and to start stocking-up on bottled water, batteries, canned goods, etc. Just freaking wonderful.

Once you seal yourself in, if you have done a workmanlike, life-saving construction job, your air supply is limited by the size of your enclosure. Expect to loose electricity. Power will go off. You need light, but a flame will use up your precious limited supply of oxygen while poisoning it.

Thankfully there is a solution, LazerBrite Micro-Lanterns! One LazerBrite will easily light an entire room and you have a selection of colors.

It is easy on batteries. They should last a long time. There are the size and weight of a quarter so having, even carrying several sets of spares in your pocket is convenient. The lanterns can be used in a variety of additional ways. A LazerBrite Micro-Lantern really does serve multiple functions, including being a wide-angle flashlight and a focused spotlight.

Being someone who has been deadly serious emergency preparedness and survival gear since earning his Eagle Scout rank, I rate the LazerBrite Micro-Lantern as close to a perfect lighting solution as perfect can be. I have several and I make sure each of my children, now off on their own living away from home in both the United States and Israel, have their own.

Tactical Lighting Solutions, LLC, 471 S. Main St. #1, Moab, Utah 84532
Phone 435-259-3117 Fax: 435-259-7005
Email: contact@lazerbrite.com

SOG's Trident

TF-5

This past summer (edit. 2006) I developed a consuming interest in "assisted opening" folding tactical knives. Checking catalogs via the Internet I found that my friends at SOG Specialty Knives and Tools of Lynnwood, Washington offered several models with their S.A.T. - SOG Assisted Technology. I contacted SOG's Chris Cashbaugh and explained that I would very much like to tryout a S.A.T. tactical folder. Chris sent me a SOG Trident [Sea, Air & Land] TF-5. It has a Desert Camo color Zytel Handle, a 1/2 serrated 3.75 inch AUS8 Stainless Steel Blade and weighs 4.5 ounces. I have carried it regularly over the past four months. I have used it hard. I have not given it TLC, but it has not minded. It has performed and continues to perform flawlessly.

Handle Features
Incorporated within the handle of the Trident Model TF-5 is SOG's "Groove." It actually is a grove in the handle, which safely exposes a 1/2 inch of the blade's edge when the knife is closed. You use the Groove to cut cord and webbing, and if you are like me, you have also used it to cut wire, tape, cloth, paracord, strapping and more. It works great.

Cleverly alined tiny diamond shapes cover the handle's finish. It is SOG's new "Digi-Grip." There are also serrations (SOG calls them scallops) front and back on the top and underside of the handle. Together the elements work well, especially when my hands have been cold and the handle has been wet. There is a reversible clip incorporated rather uniquely in the handle's butt. The position allows the entire knife to be concealed inside my waistband and I feel less of the clip pressing into my palm.

Blade Deployment and Security
The S.A.T. - SOG Assisted Technology is simple and fail-safe. Just push the thumb stud about 30 degrees and an internal spring takes over. Snap the blade is fully deployed and locked open. There is even a safety, out-of-the-way towards the back of the handle to keep the blade from accidently opening. The safety works! The locking mechanism is SOG's patent pending Arc-Actuator. As the blade opens a bar locks into the back of the blade preventing it from closing. Pulling back on the Arc-Actuator's button located close to your thumb unlocks the bar and allows the Trident to be closed. It also works, well.

The Blade
As with every SOG knife I have ever seen or used, the blade on the Trident came out-of-the-box shaving-sharp and it has held its edge. The swept-up shape of the Trident's blade provide lots of cutting edge for powerful cutting. The blade's serrations work. The blade's copper color has held-up remarkably well. SOG holds the record for manufacturing the blade that took me the least time to cut myself. I had not even managed to remove the SOG Outline from its plastic-wrap covering and I was calling to my wife to, "Bring me a band-aide."

Reality Check
Kidnapping anyone they might be able to trade for their murderous, blood-on-their-hands comrades in Israeli jails is a terrorist priority. I live in what some folks my call a "high-risk" neighborhood. Within sight of my home, a mere 10 minute drive away is Ramallah, the terrorists' snake-pit headquarters for the West Bank. My neighborhood's proximity to the terrorists has resulted in tragedy, more than once.

My schedule and weather permitting I jog daily with Ming, my four year-old 80% Pointer 20% Rottweiler. We stay in the neighborhood, but parts of the road we jog are out of sight, "isolated." There is always the potential for a "quick-snatch" attempt. I've had that experience of being the Snatchee once or twice. A knife deployed with quickness, surprise and maximum aggression will chase away the chicken-shit Snatchers. More often than not the SOG Trident is clipped inside the waistband of my sweatpants when we go jogging. It is so light every once in a while I'll pat it just to assure myself it is still there.

U.S. TACTICAL SUPPLY’s Sniper Data Log Book:
Good Enough to Even Get Me Organized!

Better Shooting Through Technology

A Shinning Light in a Dismal Darkness

There are few firearms as proven reliable and lasting as the 10/22. It has a rotary magazine that keeps the rifle’s compact figure from having bulges. A scope can easily be mounted on it. It is lightweight. It is accurate.

U.S. TACTICAL SUPPLY’s Sniper Data Log Book: Good Enough to Even Get Me Organized!

Better Shooting Through Technology

A Shinning Light in a Dismal Darkness

There are few firearms as proven reliable and lasting as the 10/22. It has a rotary magazine that keeps the rifle’s compact figure from having bulges. A scope can easily be mounted on it. It is lightweight. It is accurate.

U.S. TACTICAL SUPPLY’s Sniper Data Log Book:
Good Enough to Even Get Me Organized!