Guest Post: You’re doing it wrong. Another article on gear…gun gear

You’re doing it wrong.  Another article on gear…gun gear. 

By Solomon Shorter

I know what you’re thinking right after you read the title.  Another guy that thinks he’s going to tell me what gun I need or the type of training I need to defend my family in a SHTF situation.

Nope.  Not me.  That’s a personal decision and all I can do is wish you well.

What I do want to touch on is gear.  In particular the stuff that you’ll be wearing when you’re trying to take care of business in those bad days that we hope will never come.

First off, think like a Marine…a Marine in training and not in constant combat.

 

If you take a look at the picture above you’ll see a common setup that’s all the rage today.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love my gear, but what you’re looking at isn’t exactly what I would recommend during the days of SHTF.  In the gun world we’re seeing a mixture of cultures.  You’re seeing the competition, combat, law enforcement, security and sports shooting cultures all swirling together.  Instead of providing solutions its causing confusion.  A quick critique of that setup goes a little like this.  The weapon is unprotected in that style of holster, the pistol mags are retained only by the tension of the fabric, the rifle mags are good to go but they’re also exposed to the elements, the first aid pouch is good and so is the utility pouch.  The knife is OK if you’re looking to use that for defensive purposes but its limited to only protect in a weapon retention scenario and not for utility tasks and as a final line of defense tool.

The above photo is of the popular “battle belt”. Below you see a chest rig.

 

Chest rigs are extremely popular today but have some of the same disadvantages as the battle belt.  They’re evolving too, at the beginning of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan they were high on the chest but as things have dragged on they’re getting closer and closer to the belt line.  That’s not by accident.  Troops have been suffering a higher rate of back injuries and many blame it on the chest rig.  But I haven’t gotten to the solution so let me get there now.  The answer is the old Alice Gear of Vietnam fame.

 

 

That simple belt that you see above holds a total of six M-16 magazines, two canteens and in the back you’ll find the old style medical pouch.  On the suspenders you can hang a full size utility blade such as a Ka-Bar which can be used as a last line of defense and if you replace the canteen with the Bianchi holster (which you can find for whatever full size pistol you own) then you’ll also have your side arm with you but protected from the elements.

 

The best thing about using the Alice style setup for your SHTF scenario, you can mod it to fit your needs, your equipment is protected, its miles more comfortable, its designed to be worn while doing actual work around the house or out in the field, it doesn’t place any additional strain on your back and last but not least its cheap.  Even if you buy new items, you’ll save money when compared to the new style gear that’s so popular today.  So cheap in fact that you can have a couple of sets of each piece for the price of one of those kydex holsters.

So think about it.  Sometimes the new style is not the right style when it comes to preparing properly for SHTF.

 

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The above post was an entry into the ModernSurvivalOnline Preparedness Guest Post Writing Contest.

First Place winner will receive:

• SafeGuardArmor.com is providing body armor – a Stealth Vest (White) B2 S1  vest
• a Deadwood Cook Stove from Deadwood Stove Company
• A Paladin Go Bag provided by SurvivalGearBags.com
• CampingSurvival.com is providing the following:
  • Lifestraw Portable Water Filter Straw
  • Medical Corps Potassium Iodide Pills - bottle of 90 pills
  • Alone in the Wilderness DVD
  • Foliage Green Paracord - 1000 foot spool

Second Place will receive:

• Cube Stove w/ 3 Month Fuel Supply from Directive21.com
• From Prepper Press - 5 preparedness books of your choice
• Old West Lawman’s Forgotten Memoir courtesy of http://www.oldwestlawmansforgottenmemoir.com/
• A TrustFire XML C8-T6 5-Mode CREE LED 1000 Lumen Flashlight along:
  • UltraFire 18650 3000mAh 3.7V Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery (Pair) + Charger Combo and
  • Ultrafire 2pcs 3.7v 18650 3000mah Rechargeable Battery

Third Place will receive:

• One Solo Stove provided by SoloStove.com
• The excellent book….Going Home by A. American
• The digital eBook manual “Sold Out After Crisis“

 

© 2013, Rourke. All rights reserved.

Source: http://modernsurvivalonline.com/guest-post-youre-doing-it-wrong-another-article-on-gear-gun-gear/