Condition: Yellowresponsible preparation, and fun, for an unpredictable world
Condition: Yellow - responsible preparation, and fun, for an unpredictable world
Condition: Yellow

EDC 2017

by Andy Rutledge 2 Comments

My everyday carry complement stays pretty consistent, but I do change out components and sometimes add or remove an item. Here is my current EDC kit, with notes to follow:

edc 2017

My EDC complement includes the following:

…and it all rides on or near a Core Essentials Trakline rigid-core EDC belt.

Yes, this means I’ve got 3 full magazines of 9mm on me at all times. We are at war and in wartime one never knows whether a life-and-death situation means a lone mugger or a team of trained terrorists in a public place. Might take a few rounds to get out (or get my family out) safety.

If you’re a responsible citizen, I hope you have a similar EDC complement, with at least a good pistol, backup mag, light, tourniquet, and at at least one knife. Hang as much of it as possible on your belt to keep your pockets free. Stay safe, stay trained, and be vigilant.

Dirty, One-Handed Training

by Andy Rutledge 0 Comments

Today’s training involved a lot of wounded-wing, one-handed manipulations. This means that I dropped my gun on the ground 60 or 70 times, getting it pretty dirty.

Glock 19 Gen 5, dirty

Glock 19 Gen 5, dirty

Partly I drop my pistol so that I can practice picking it up and reloading one-handed (because my other arm got shot and is useless now). So I draw out, put a round on target, “get shot in one arm” and drop the pistol, pick it up and then perform a 1-handed reload and put 2 more rounds on target with that one hand.

The other reason I drop my pistol here is to do a bit of a shakedown vetting of both the new Gen 5 pistol and the new Inforce APLc light. I want to see if anything can’t take normal, everyday punishment. I’m happy to report that everything held up just fine. Though I notice that dropping my gun tends to turn on the light most times. Not unusual, since the activation paddle gets pressed on the drop.

This is a staple drill in my routine, but it can be hard on equipment. I always do it with my EDC rig, but I let backup guns (same setup) take most of the punishment most of the time.

Three at Ten in Less Than Two

by Andy Rutledge 0 Comments

Working the Gen 5 G19 out of its new APLc-compatible holster. First time I’ve done holster work with the Gen 5 with its light. The holster rides very low, so while it conceals very well, my draw is a bit slower than I’m used to.

Here I’m just drawing from concealment as I move of the X and putting one round on each of 3 targets: middle, left, then right…in less than 2 seconds.

Yes, that third rep was a 100% miss. Happens when you push boundaries. That’s why it’s called training. 🙂

Compressed-Position Moving & Shooting

by Andy Rutledge 0 Comments

This drill is working a technique used in yesterday’s active-shooter class. It’s for fast moving and shooting in confined spaces, generally with up-close targets. In this position you don’t get a sight picture, so you’re relying on natural aiming with your muzzle tracking with your eyes as you turn from the waist (not the “hips” as I said in the video).

I spent this morning working this technique with various drills just to see how to maintain good accuracy without a sight picture. It worked out quite well. I was getting good A-zone hits to body and even the face.

It’s pretty intuitive and once you learn how to position your pistol and how big movements affect your accuracy tracking, it’s not hard to be effective with this compressed position.

Inforce APLc Light

by Andy Rutledge 0 Comments

For a while I’ve been a Surefire XC1 man and have that on both my carry gun and bedside-defense pistol. A strange anomaly I’ve discovered while training at the range (more later) has convinced me that something better might be in order. So I’m trying the next best thing–so far as size and functionality are concerned. Today my new Inforce APLc light arrived.

I’m putting this one on my new-ish Glock 19 Gen 5. I’ve ordered a holster to accommodate this new configuration and we’ll see how that works out, soon.

Inforce APLc

Rifle Ready Mount

by Andy Rutledge 0 Comments

Today I put up a wall-mounted ready rack for a rifle in my office. It’s a simple, padded bracket from Hold Up Displays. It mounts into a stud or into drywall (screws and heavy-duty drywall anchors included) and has a rubber-covered hanger bracket. Works like a charm and is still handsome when it’s unoccupied.

This is brand new, so I cannot report on its durability or just how well the bracket handles heavier burdens. Time will tell, but I’m very happy with it at this point.

Hold Up rifle wall mount

Actually, this is the orientation I prefer…

rifle wall mount

Pistol Drill: Four Shots, Three Ways

by Andy Rutledge 0 Comments

I spent a lot of time running this drill this morning; ran it probably 40 or 45 times. The video here shows my 3rd or 4th time through the drill, then my 34th time through the same drill. My shirt was much sweatier that last time. 🙂

The drill (on 6×12 steel at 25 yards)
– Draw from concealment (moving off the X) and put 1 round on target at 25 yards,
– run to 11 yards & change to support hand, 1 round,
– run back to 16 yards & change to strong hand, 1 round,
– run back to 25 yards, 1 round w/both hands
– par time is 16 seconds.