Gear Reviews

It’s time for me to eat a little crow. Last week Brandon over at Monderno mentioned that Rob Pincus was having some failure to feed issues with his XDs 9mm, and I came out and said that mine had did it once, but after I ran a few rounds through the pistol, it never did it again. Guess what? It happened again. Here’s what happened: when loading the pistol, I inserted the magazine and pulled …

Ever since the release of the S&W Shield, I’ve been leery of the itty bitty thumb safety that was included on it. I really think the pistol would have been a winner had it not had the thumb safety added to it, but unfortunately S&W felt the need to include it. Time and again I’ve heard people say to just carry it with the safety off, but I’ve been concerned that it would be too …

I’ve been pretty outspoken against the grip safeties on the standard XD and XDm pistols in the not-so-distant past. I owned a XD fullsize for a time, and I felt that the grip safety was a hindrance, and made gripping the pistol uncomfortable. On the XD and XDm pistols the grip safety keeps the slide from being retracted without the safety being depressed. For some reason, I don’t like this, although I’m not really sure …

I reported several months back that I had purchased a Becker BK2 knife to pull bushcraft and woods duty. I found the knife to be a hefty beast, but immediately the slick plastic grip scales were a problem. I want this knife to do everything I need in the woods, and the slick handle just wasn’t cutting it for me. While it isn’t the ideal knife for all tasks, it’s certainly a good jack of …

For the past couple of years, it seems like everybody and their brother has been making these kydex pancake holsters and I’ve got to say, I think they are terrible. I shot my Glock 17 at the Shoot2Live IDPA match on Saturday, and the first holster I could scrounge up in the closet that fit it was a kydex pancake holster that I made some time back. You know the type, they look like this …

It finally arrived! After just over a month of waiting, my G-Code INCOG holster arrived for the Springfield XDs 9mm! I opted for the black/gray version, with 3-hole clips, and a full sweat guard. After rockin’ this thing for a few weeks, here’s my G-Code INCOG Holster Review: When I pulled the box out of the mail, I was surprised how small the box was. No matter, I quickly opened it up and removed the …

I’ve had the Springfield XDs 9mm for about a month now, and I’m still in love with it. It’s proven to be a fantastic little addition to my concealed carry lineup, and it’s a hell of a shooter too. I’m pretty particular when it comes to pistols, and sometimes the littlest things bother me about a certain handgun. This is really trivial, but I felt the need to share. The magazine baseplates on the XDs …

A couple months ago I picked up a “Grip Force Adapter” for my Glock 19 to hopefully rid myself of the slide bite issues I’ve been having with the pistol. For about $20 at my local gun shop, I grabbed a package that contained a smooth adapter, and a ribbed adapter. The Grip Force Adapters mount to the backstrap of the pistol using an elongated pin that goes through the trigger housing, and extends into …

A few weeks ago I picked up a 5.11 ATAC PLx flashlight to be my new EDC (every day carry) light. I’ve previously carried a Streamlight Stylus Pro, which served me well for a number of years but eventually the pocket clip wore out, and I ended up losing the light shortly thereafter. I really liked the form factor of the Stylus Pro, but instead of buying another one I decided to look and see …

After picking up the Springfield XDs 9mm yesterday, I was able to put about 50 rounds through it today. A friend of mine who works at a local range offered me a couple handfuls of 9mm that he’s picked up off the floor, and I headed into the range to shoot. First magazine was at 7 yards, and I literally had one enlongated hole in the target after 7 rounds. Second magazine was similar, as …