Primary Weapon Systems - .30 Compensator Review

I was expecting big things from this product, especially considering the price point. It ended up being a replacement for a linear comp that was not all that I was hoping it would be, at least not for my 300BLK loads (might be more effective on a .308 due to the higher gas pressure).

Good Stuff: First off this is a very well made item. The finish is impeccable and it ships with a shim kit to tune it to your specific rifle. At the range, it took almost all of the muzzle rise out of my 16" light contour 300; to the point that my double taps are just as fast as with a .223.

Bad Stuff: Obviously, the price is a little prohibitive for the average shooter. Unless you really need to reduce some serious muzzle rise and recoil, this may not be the product for you. Also, make sure you loktite the shit out of it. I used blue loktite initially and whether it was the heat or the recoil or what, it came loose after about 100 rounds. Replaced it with red, and no problems since.

Overall: Very effective comp that just happens to be very attractive on the end of an AR. Given my experience, I would not hesitate to buy another.

Winchester Fiber Optic Shotgun Sight

I was originally going to dish out a bunch of cash for Trijicons offering in this category until I happened to be in Walmart and noticed the little Winchester sight. It cost me about 10 bucks.

The good stuff: So far the sight holds tight to the rib of my 11-87 very well. It appears to be some average stamped steel, so I don't know whether that will change over time, but for low price I can stomach buying a couple of spares. Plenty bright for range and competition, particularly in sunny conditions.

 The bad stuff: you get what you pay for. Considering the price point, I imagine I will be replacing it at some point.

Overall a good little gizmo. I haven't been able to find it online, so it might be a Walmart only kinda thing, but thats not really the end of the world. A widely available, low cost fiber optic sight?! Oh no, the horror lol.

Nordic Components Sotgun Barrel Clamp

I used this to replace the stock Choate barrel clamp that just felt weak and flimsy in my hand. I didn't get the model with the rail section on it because, quite frankly,  I just don't need it.

Good stuff: The fit is very good. The screws are a little stiff going in, but that's not an issue since I dont really want them coming out under recoil. After 500 rounds fired, the things still holding like a rock.

Bad stuff: a little expensive, but not the end of the world. If you want rock solid performance, you are going to have to pay more than you would for a cheepo clamp.

Overall a great product.

Nordic Components Low Drag 12ga Follower

This is the Nordic Components low drag 12 gauge follower. This will be another short post because its a pretty simple part.

The good stuff: I originally was using the stock Remington follower, but after seeing how thin the plastic was and dealing with a few tricky reloads, I ended up popping in the follower that came with my Choate extension tube. Talk about a major downgrade! The little polymer sucker jammed up even more than the stock Remington follower! I started looking around for something that would be more robust, yet move easier inside the tube. Long story short, this was the answer and it works like a charm!

The bad stuff: I got nothing. Sorry.

Overall, this didnt speed up my reloads at all, but it definitely make for a more fluid push into the tube. No jamming, no hesitating, the sucker just works. Good product.

Daves Metal Works Oversized Safety

This will be short and sweet because frankly its pretty simple and I'm really only writing this because I'm bored out of my skull. Once again, this is relevant to the Remington 11-87, so bear that in mind if you have a different brand of shotgun.

This is a pretty straight forward mod. Knock the stock safety out from the left side of the frame. There is a spring inside the trigger frame that will fall out, and as far as i can tell there is not much need for it with this part. The only issue I had is that the fit is extremely tight, so you have the option to either reduce the diameter or bore out the trigger frame to fit. I chose to take some steel wool and polish down the surfaces, and that seem to help immensely (its not perfect yet, but its functional enough for what I need it to do; further polishing will be in order as I have time and/or get annoyed at this particular part).

Overall: A nice addition, but not strictly necessary. Makes it easier to pop the safety off without disturbing your shooting grip, but its not all that tough to pop the stock safety off before assuming that grip either. Call it a luxury upgrade. lol

Daves Metal Works EZ Loader

Ok, I know this is nothing particularly new in the firearms world, but Ill throw my thoughts in there as well (in typical cynical, sarcastic, profane fashion). Basically what this little gizmo does is make it easier to quickly load shotgun shells into your magazine tube. I have the one that fits my Remington 11-87, so that is what my experience and observations are geared towards.

Good Stuff: Once I got this little sucker installed, I saw an immediate decrease in reloading times. The stock Remington loading gate is a hell of a lot smaller and harder to hit on the run, to the point I was having to drop the gun off my shoulder and load with my strong hand (something I wasn't thrilled about). Also, the stock button makes it nearly impossible to execute a TWins or Quad load, a serious disadvantage in this day and age where most people can drop 8 rounds into the tube in under 6 seconds.

 I have read about many people trimming the front end down to avoid sticking shells or fingers in the action, but I have yet to encounter that problem. I am in the process of transitioning to TWins style loading, so the extra length doesnt really phase me that much and actually provides a smoother transition of the shells into the tube. But thats just my experience.

Bad Stuff: This fucker is a serious pain in the ass to install if you don't know what you are doing or don't have the patience to do a careful job. The diss-assembly is straight forward, but the factory roll pin is flattened to keep it in place and must be filed/dremeled on one end to allow removal. Installation of the EZ loader requires you to file down portions of the shell carrier and takes a good deal of time to do correctly (the spaces in question do not lend themselves to a dremel, so a good jewelers file was my tool of choice).

If you are in any way unsure of your ability to complete this operation, you would be better served by sending it off to DMW for installation instead. It beats the absolute shit out of me why they wouldn't offer a fully assembled trigger assembly with it already installed, but I guess that is their privilege. Still, would be a hell of a lot easier if they would offer a slicked up plug&play assembly and you could save your stock trigger group for the spare parts box in case of a malfunction.

 Overall: Great mod if you need to load quickly. Pain in the ass to install. If you have some common sense about you and are good with hand tools, then by all means give it a try. Otherwise, just send the fucker in and let the pros do it.

AR Stoner Extended Scope Mount

I was in the market for a mount for a lower end beater kinda scope, and ran across this option on midway (near as I can tell, AR stoner is basically MidwayUSAs in house store brand line of products. Good stuff if you're on a budget). I was originally going to go with a larue QD mount, but money being a bit tight on this build, I decided to find a more permanent mount that I could just dedicate to that particular upper receiver (which was a good call, since this thing was tricky to get installed and I don't feel like fucking with it anymore).

There are 10 screws holding this little bastard together, and the construction is remarkably simple; just two halves that clamp together over rail and scope all at once. Remove all the screws and dry fit the mount around the scope (you should be doing this with your mounts before installation anyway) then slide the mount onto the rail and adjust your eye relief, before leveling the crosshairs. Tighten the two large screws to 20-25lbs, then insert and tighten the four smaller screws below the scope ring. Lastly, make sure everything is kosher and tighten the top four screws. Simple, right? Lol

Turns out, after a trip to the range, this little "cheap" scope mount is solid as a piece of granite. The simplicity of the design (so long as it is used correctly) reduces the number of ways for this mount to fail, and does just as good of a job as some products costing two or three times as much. I don't know how they managed to price this fucker so low, but god bless their accounting department!

Choate Tactical Rifle Stocks - Drop in Review

Seeing as my .308 savage has been delivering some exemplary performance of late, I decided it was time to invest in a bit of a stock upgrade. I don't have the budget to justify something like a mcmillan or AI stock, so my choices fell to Choate or Bell and Carlson and frankly I like the looks and the molded in bedding block of the Choate a lot more than the other option. The wrist and butt of the stock are hollow as well, another important feature I will elaborate on a bit later.

Thus far this rifle has been used almost exclusively for longer range target kinds of things (mostly steel shooting, but also the occasional spray paint can or light bulb) and, continuing in that vein, it was time to add a little heft to the overall package.First step was an overhaul of my shooting peripherals (front rest got a new sand bag with heavy sand, new rear bag also with heavy sand, harris bipod with some goodies, a few handloading gadgets to wring just a little more out of each shot...) which turned out to be very easy and very modestly priced. With the local stock of Benchmark drying up a number of months ago, I also made the big jump to Varget for all my .308 loads; I'm not convinced that this is a good thing,as the groupings for these new loads are sufficient but not particularly remarkable. Time will tell...

At any rate, since this baby is making her living alternately riding the bags or astride a bipod, there would be no harm adding a bit of heft to the back end in order to balance out that heavy contour varmint barrel. Step one, I got ahold of 4lbs of lead weights (medium sized split shot fishing weights this time, since there was a sale at the local wally's) and what I thought to be a sufficient volume of epoxy. This would turn out to be a wildly inaccurate estimate, but would turn out ok in the end.

Step 2, pop the recoil pad and spacers off the back and the cover off the base of the grip (all this is done before installing the barreled action or the magazine, mind you) and pumping a small amount of silicon window sealer into the bottom of the hollow in the wrist of the stock (this is done because there is space for the epoxy to flow into the butt; sealing it alleviates the mess and hassle).

Step 3, mix enough epoxy to halfway fill the inside of the grip and poor it in. Add lead weights up to the level of the epoxy. Continue filling depending on your intended final weight; I filled the whole thing with lead, but if you prefer a bit less weight or a center of gravity a bit further to the rear you can minimize the lead in the grip and fill the empty space with silicon. Replace the grip cover.

Step 4, secure the stock tip down in a padded vise preferably with a good work light overhead or a bright flashlight. Again, mix enough epoxy to fill the butt about half way then add weights. If you are filling it all the way to the tippy top like I did, make sure you have enough epoxy to do the job. I ended up using almost 16 fluid ounces by the time it was all said and done, so plan to buy extra. Even if you arent filling the whole thing with weight, make sure you fill the voids in the stock in one of two ways.

1. You can fill the whole thing with epoxy up to the level of the side sling attachment points (there is a bar running through the middle that will hold the weight/epoxy in place through any recoil).
2. Fill half the butt with epoxy and weight and allow it to cure over night. Fill the rest of the space with silicone or some other filler. the tricky part of doing it this way is that your center of mass is a lot further forward than the first method, though you end up with a much lighter rifle.

Step 5, allow everything to set and cure, then reattach the spacers and recoil pad before installing your barreled action. All said and done, this package floats around the 14lb mark (rifle, glass, mounting hardware and bipod), rides the bags very comfortably and the muzzle disturbance on recoil is much, much more agreeable.


Good stuff: This is a very good budget level stock that can be easily accurized and modified by someone with a knowledge of hand tools and a modicum of common sense. It is not meant to be the end all varmint or tactical stock; it is a mid-level upgrade from an okay-ish factory stock, and in that role it performs beautifully. I won't say it stands up to a Mcmillan or other high grade custom stock since I have no significant experience with those, but it is still comfortable to shoot and the price tag is much less painful for us lower-middle class shooters. The anschutz style rail on the forend is a nice touch, with lots of options for bipods, hand stops and what-have-you.

Bad Stuff: If you're going to do the lead and epoxy trick, remember to plug the gap between the grip and the butt. I forgot the first time out and made a royal fucking mess of my work bench. The molding is a bit of a pain if the manufacturer didn't happen to be doing a good job of checking quality control that day; the stock I received had the bedding block molded into it alright, by which I mean the fucking thing was covered in molded plastic that I had to carefully remove with a razor to achieve a tight fit with the receiver. Also, note that the forend is much much wider than your average sporter; even compared to the factory varmint stock I had been using, this thing is freaking huge (to the point it dictated placing an order for a new sand-bag for ye olde front mech rest).

Overall: Good mid grade stock. Nothing that's going to win championships, but for the odd day at the range or a friendly local distance shoot it is perfectly at home. Won't break the bank, and it hasn't hurt the accuracy I had before the upgrade, plus the added weight and significant change in center-of-mass makes it much easier to handle at the range. At 14.5lbs I sure as hell wouldn't take it hunting with me, but for a day of plastering the 500m+ steels, it will do just fine.

300 Blackout - At long last, a review!

I specifically waited a while to see how this cartridge would take in the current market, but it is finally time to take it out for a spin. Having been a long time sucker for the venerable .30-caliber variety of projectiles, this was right up my alley, but the final clincher was being able to form the brass from .223 or 5.56 brass (something I have absolutely no shortage of). I therefore set about rounding up reloading supplies and upper receiver parts.

First Impressions: When I first started reading about this round, I was immediately skeptical of its published ballistics, particularly the effective range and the velocity. How the hell could this little case hold enough powder to drive a 110 to 135 grain projectile beyond 2,000fps? I get that most of the loading data uses pistol powder to make up for this reduced capacity, but with such fast burning powder it raises the risk (and the severity of the consequences of) loading mistakes, while also reducing the safety threshold for OAL. Don't get me wrong, I know that so long as you stay within the safe range of the published data, you should be just fine; the simple fact is that the safe range for this particular cartridge is less than one grain when loading with H110.

Loading Bench: I have to say, this is one of the most fun cartridges that I have ever reloaded. Initially, trimming the .223 cases down to length was a royal pain in the ass, but eventually i got smart (or lazy, depending on your perspective) and snapped up a harbor freight benchtop 2" chop saw. First I removed the cheap-o vise that came with it and replace it with a home made jig to chop every case to the same size (in this case, I was chopping them just below the neck, to about 1.40" to allow room for error). To make things easier on my sizing die, I did a quick deburr on all the cases before grabbing the sizing wax and sizing the whole lot. Now it was time for a quick spin on the case trimmer, a date with the chamfering and deburring tools and finally a good cleaning in walnut media.

One issue I did note was that the partitions in the .223 ammo boxes I was using to store the cases are actually higher than the sized 300 BLK cases, making it difficult to remove any single case. Anyway, loading was a breeze. I've never used H110 before, but it meters very well in my powder dispenser.

The Rifle: I wasn't about to plunk down the money for a commercial upper or a full up rifle, so I ended up building my own. This being a relatively light recoiling round, I ended up going the direction of an ultra-lite AR upper to slip onto the lower from another of my rifles. I manage to get my hands on an AR-Stoner lite contour barrel, a DPMS slick side upper (my personal preference, for simplicities sake and because it fits very tightly to a rock river lower) Yankee Hill Gas system parts and a Midwest Industries rail system.

At the Range: I started out testing a series of 110gr Vmax loads along with a number of 135gr SMK loads. I was initially expecting the SMKs to be the real tack drivers (based on previous experience with .308s and .223s) but was surprised that a few of the little red tips printed very respectable sub-moa groups (best group was .85"!), while the match kings hovered around the 1"-1.25" area. Not bad at all out of a little 16" carbine!

Now for the bad bits: My biggest issue was a huge number of double feeds and failure to extracts with the SMKs. At first I thought it was something wrong with the gas system (not quite lined up perfectly?) but after stripping it down and re-aligning it, the problem persisted. After some trouble shooting, the culprit revealed itself: The hydraulic buffer system I had installed was slowing the bolt carrier enough that it was not cycling fully. The first symptom was that the bolt didn't lock back on an empty magazine, with double feeds being the eventual result of my not correcting the problem. While this never occurred with the Vmaxs, I believe it is because there was a larger charge of powder behind the little hornady bastards that gave them just a little more gas pressure to cycle fully.

Another thing I noticed is that chopping and resizing the thicker lake city 5.56 brass was a bit more dicey than the bulk box federal I ended up using exclusively. The 5.56 brass that I did end up with was very tight in the chamber, making extraction very difficult; likely will not be resizing surplus brass too 300 BLK again.

Overall: Love it. This little bastard is a great addition to the gun safe, especially for someone who reloads. Being able to chop and resize shot out .223 brass makes makes it a very good value to anyone who handloads, while the standardized caliber (.308) makes it easy to find bullet options. The AR platform compatibility is perhaps its best feature overall, and makes the 300BLK a very sturdy chamberings that is likely to outlast many of the other fad cartridges that have come on out in recent years.

Gerber Silver Trident Knife - Hands on Review

I've had my eye on one of these for a very long time. The only thing standing in my way was the insane price they used to command, but at long last I was able to pick one up on clearance for a little over a hundred bucks. Normally, they run about $200 online (after shipping charges).

Good stuff: The grip is perfect. The texture is exactly what I was hoping it would be, and the girth of the grip itself lends itself to those of us with larger hands (something I constantly wish my benchmade knives had as well). The blade is well constructed and the serrations are sharp as hell. The balance is about as close to perfect as it gets for this kind of knife.

Bad stuff: I really don't have any big negatives here. The plastic tab on the sheath that hooks over the cross bar is a bit tight, but I imagine it will loosen up some with use.

Overall: Love it. Dunno if it's worth the MSRP, but if you can get it on sale under $150 its a VERY nice knife for that price.

Kiowa Assault Boot - Review

This is the one of several new designs available through a company called "Tactical Research" (basically a cheaper, foreign subsidiary of Belleville. Think American stratocaster versus Mexican stratocaster; it does the same shit, just the people who are doing it don't speak any English). Long story short, I needed new boots and these looked decent (notice I didn't say 'great'), the price was right at a hair under $100, and the online reviews seemed favorable. A couple weeks in and I'm not totally sold on these things, but I'll start the commentary now and fill in the gaps down the road if anything changes. Once again, I'm not going to re-post the factory specs or any of the marketing; if you want that shit use Google, otherwise I'm sticking to the meat and potatoes here.

The good shit: Overall these boots seem to be well constructed. I'm a little concerned about the sheer number of pieces in the whole construction possibly creating more weak points than is necessary, but so far no issues. The insoles are very comfortable (though the outer sole will be addressed in a moment. Not thrilled...) and the metal eyelets built into the underside of the leather is a cool feature. The sizing is a little off (I wear a 11.5 regular, and these are about a half size big) but that's not too uncommon with inexpensive boots. There aren't any major blister points that I've noticed thus far, so that's definitely a plus (obviously I will continue to break them in and see what happens, but at least on this front it's looking good).

The shitty shit: The outer sole pisses me off. I'm not going to sugar coat it. The working portion of it is actually smaller than the outline of the boot itself, which makes it feel a little wobbly at first. For an in-garrison boot, this wouldn't be much of an issue, but as soon as I put them on I started having field-exercise rolled-ankle nightmares. It just doesn't feel stable at all, and I've already pulled out my old S2Vs so I don't have to use these fucking things anywhere outside of the office. The toe cap is a little ghey looking as well; it gives this overall appearance of some kind of pointy genie shoe that I'm not a big fan of.

Meh: I have a couple personal gripes, but they're not really detractors. The padded ankle makes tucking pant legs a pain in the ass. Everything is soft and smooth and doesn't keep the pant leg tucked in at all, so you will sepdn 10-15 minutes a day re-blousing your pants. If you get these, I highly recommend blousing straps instead. The laces that come with the boots are the puffy thick kind that you have to tighten one eyelet at a time, and I ended up replacing them with 550 cord for a bit slicker texture. I'm a little concerned that the sole is not stitched to the upper in anyway (everything is glued/laminated/whatever you want to call it). I don't know if this will be stronger or not, but it just makes me uneasy.

Overall: This boot is okay. Not something I'm going to rave about, because frankly I will probably not be buying a second pair of these. Still, it's an acceptable boot that is perfectly sufficient for normal day to day ops. The lower price tag (They can be had on sale for around 80 buck) is a plus as well, but I would not be caught dead with these things on my feet in any situation I might potentially twist/roll an ankle, because they will make it 100% worse.

Magpul PMAGs - Hands on Review

Seriously? If you really need to read a review on PMAGs, you need to get out more. There's nothing bad I can say about them.

Good Stuff: It polymer, so the feed lips are less prone to bending under pressure from loaded rounds. The follower is anti tilt, and less likely to jam than your standard NATO magazines. 1000% easier to disassemble for cleaning than the standard mags as well. Lots of colors make me happy too :)

Bad Stuff: Nothing. The price is about 3 times better than anything Smith and Wesson, Glock or Springfield armory put out, so really cant complain.

Overall: Buy them. Now. Seriously.

Apex Tactical Competition Action Kit - Hands on Review

Installed this in my M&P9 a while ago and have been holding off on a review to see how it would break in. I won't go into too much detail about whats included in the kit since you can read that on Apex's homepage. Not here to repeat information, sorry. Couple thousand rounds later, and here it goes...
Good Stuff: When they say this kit drops the trigger pull to a smooth, crisp 2.5lbs they are not elaborating in any way shape or form. Mine weighed in at a consistent 2.65, but the smoothness of it caught me off guard to a point I thought impossible. It feels impossibly light.

I don't think it has tightened up my groups at all, but the speed with which I can dish them out is dramatically enhanced. We're not talking a matter of milliseconds, we're talking whole seconds.

The bad stuff: As with all M&P's, the length of the trigger pull continues to be a pain in the ass. Now that Apex has brought their Forward-Set Sear to market, I may have to look into it as further improvement over my current set up.

Overall: Not bad at all. Makes the M&P trigger pull a dream at the range. As the manufacturer cautions, don't EVER EVER EVER try to conceal carry a firearm with this modification on it. I haven't had any issues at the range, but under stress in the real world you sure as hell don't want this light of a trigger. May be overshadowed by the Apex FSS kit, but that doesn't mean this is a bad product.

Nosler Custom Competition Bullets - Hands on Review

I was looking around for some lower priced alternatives to my much beloved match kings for regular range use, and these fit the bill. I have only used the 155 and 168 grainers thus far, but the performance was pleasantly surprising. Since the 165gr SMKs out of my Savage print .38moa groups at 100 yards, stabilizing into a tidy .35moa at the 500 yard line my aim was for these lower end bullets to at least hold a half inch.

The good stuff: After a little tweaking, both the155 and 168 varieties did just that. Turns out, these are a good budget bullet for the shooter with tight purse strings.

The bad stuff: It is definitely a bargain bin looking bullet. Most of the 250 bullets in each box had very noticeable discoloration and blemishing, though it seemed to be purely cosmetic. Not the end of the world, but still something that bears noting. I haven't fiddled around enough to completely wring all the accuracy out of them, but I get a feeling there's going to be swiftly diminishing returns at around .4moa.

Overall: Bargain bullet, good accuracy for the price. Definately some clear limitations, but I can live with it. It will slam a steel target or a paint can from 500 yards, and that's all I really need from them at this point.

X-treme Grip Firearm Grip system - Hands on Review

I won't go too in depth on this one because, well, there's really not a lot to it.

Good Stuff: Maintains grip very well. I bought the "Sand" textured version, and though I'm sure some shooters would disagree with me, I found it to be very comfortable (i attribute this to my M&P grips fitting my hand very well, with very little wiggle room to cause irritation from rubbing against the "sand"). The whole package has enough laser cut outs to cover pretty much the entire grip frame. I opted to just cover the areas shown in the picture because that's what i have found works best for me in the past, but you're more than welcome to go wild.

Not great stuff: A bit of a mess to install. Instructions recommend using a heat gun and applique roller for best results, and I wish I had done that. I applied it by hand, and while 85% of the grip is perfect, there are a few small spots that tend to pop up a little while in the safe. Not the end of the world, but again 20/20 hindsight.

Overall: Very nice product. Provides a very solid grip.

Storm Lake Threaded M&P Barrel and Carver Custom Compensator - A Hands on Double Whammy

I pride myself on doing the research and shopping around so I get the best bang for my buck. Firearms products are no exception, so when I started thinking about compensating my Smith and Wesson M&P9 the first thing I did was hit the internet.

This particular combination stood out to me for a number of reasons. First, its milled to compliment the natural lines of the M&P; obviously form should always follow function when it comes to firearms, but I just can't bring myself to mount a Dawson Precision lego block on the front of my otherwise attractive firearm.  Nothing against Dawson, I know they make great Glock toys, but I just can't do it.

Anyhoo, once the barrel was clean and the loctite was cured, it was time to hit the range for a real test. The results actually amazed me (not an easy thing to do these days). I tried a variety of factory and handloaded ammo, and surprisingly the one that gave me the best groups and greatest reduction in muzzle climb was <gasp> Winchester fucking Whitebox. None of my initial handloads where really geared to a compensator, so I see some serious load development happening in the very near future.

This is the video from the 20 yard line on a head-size steel plate. Given that I'm not Jerry Miculek, this was the fastest I've done this particular drill with a full caliber handgun, and in fact this time rivals some of my .22lr runs. With some load work and a little practice, I hope to cut a few more seconds off.

Good things: Very effective at reducing muzzle climb. I love the aesthetics.

Not so great things: Kinda wish there was a better way to secure the comp than with threadlocker (set screw, cotter pin, i dunno) because cleaning the thing without taking the barrel out of the slide is a royal pain in the ass. Had lots of carbon buildup in the ports as well, but I also screwed up by not oiling the comp before shooting (stupid me, I know. 20/20 hindsight...). Fortunately, i discovered a few drops of bore gel and a few q-tips (plus bunches of patience) do a good job of cleaning up the mess.

Overall: Like it. With a performance boost like this, I can live with a little headache at the cleaning table. Worse things have happened.

Brookwood Inn, Rochester New York - Gloves Off Review

Ok, I'll spare you the rant over why I was all the way up in Rochester or how it turned out, and try and give a fair review of this establishment. Its right off the tollway on the right, so its almost impossible to miss it. My first impression of the Brookwood Inn was a moderated level of luxury. The lobby is nice with flat screen TVs playing news or sports or whatever the desk staff decide on and comfortable furniture. There is a small computer/printer set up on a balcony overlooking the lobby with okay computer access, and the hotel also offers free Wifi (more on that later). There is a small resaurant/steakhouse/breakfast buffet just off the lobby. I didn't end up dining there for a number of reasons, other than to enjoy the complimentary breakfast buffet (lots of baked goods,good coffee and a waffle iron was enough to keep me happy. If your standards are higher, then keep em to yourselves).

The rooms are well maintained and about a half (maybe three-quarter) step up from your average economy fare. Note: I did not stay in one of the exclusive theme rooms they have at the front of the hall, so don't even ask. They looked very nice when housekeeping had them open to clean, but beyond that I got nothing for ya. 

The Good Stuff: Probably one of the best complimentary breakfast deals I have seen at a hotel. The room I slept in was clean and well maintained. The bathroom is pretty straight forward (no frills, but not the end of the world) and the shower is roomy. All the staff I encountered where perfectly polite and helpful (something less and less common these days) which always motivates me to see the brighter side (although silver lining is sometimes a better description) of a hotel. There is a small pool and hot tub on the premises, and noth are not too shabby. I have to applaud them for their fitness center, as it probably has better equipment than many peoples local YMCA or 24 hour gym (albeit few machines, but what did you expect).

The not so good stuff: Aside from one thing (which I will address in a moment), I really didn't have anything bad to say about the Brookwood Inn. I have lots of little critiques. The Wifi is slow and would boot me about every 45 minutes. The hotel information book I found in the room is pretty sparse on the information and not too helpful with some of the details. The rooms are oddly numbered (the higher number rooms are actually on the lower levels, so pay attention to directions from the person at the desk). Vending machines are arranged kinda comically (soda machines are on the bottom floor? seriously?) but the proximity to a number of gas stations weighs that out to a certain extent. 

Now for the bad news: The price. A basic guest room is going to run you somewhere in the range of $120-$150 per night. This is before you tack on meals or any other kind of extra service. I can only imagine what the luxury rooms cost (Strike that. I don't want to know). I get that its a nice hotel, but that's still an insane price. Just my $.02.

Overall, the Brookwood Inn is a great little place. I enjoyed my stay (the hit to the pocket book, not so much) and (if you decide to stop in) hope you do as well.

Fort Polk AAFES Gun Counter

 I guess this doesn't fall into my normal 'Fuck You Louisiana, so I'm giving it its own segment.... "FUCK YOU AAFES!!!".

I've had a couple of dealings with the gun counter at the local aafes establishment and have come to this conclusion: government wages do not buy subject matter experts. My first major issue was when the clerk at the counter tried to tell me that the sight on my special ordered H7R handi rifle was not missing, but in fact was intended to be mounted with a scope. Funny thing was, it had a front sight on it already and holes where the rear sight should have been mounted. Strange how that works out... Anyway, since I had to put money down to get the thing ordered in the first place (and was planning on putting a scope on it anyway) I dropped a complaint in the feedback box and left it at that. Didn't help that deer season was only a efw weeks away and I couldn't wait any longer to get into my load development.

Next incident involved a Taurus pistol. In this case, they let me hold the display model, but not the one in the box that I was actually taking home. Little bit paranoid, but in the wake of the shootings at Ft Hood I guess I understand. Not the end of the world. Get the thing home however, and no one has even bothered to clean the thing off a little. There was so much grease on this gun, I had to break out a whole roll of paper towels to get the thing cleaned up. Not a massive issue, but still an attention to detail thing that should have been addressed at the store (some on, every other gun place I have been to around here cleans their shit before selling it, and this is fucking Louisiana!! Should be ashamed of yourselves AAFES...).

Last straw was the new clerk at the counter trying to explain the merits of the .22lr in a home defense scenario. I know that gun counter folks are wide ranging and tell all kinds of tales, but that's seriously bordering on the irresponsible. The last thing I want is for some random army wife to get into a situation where she thinks that little .22 is going to save her life and it doesn't follow through (because I'm telling your right now, 95 out of 100 times its going to be insufficient). Anyway, long story short, I'm taking my business somewhere else (Like Nichols). Shits sake, I'll even go back to Star Pawn or Walmart before I go back to the Px.

FUCK YOU AAFES!
sincerely, me

Pelican Rifle/Gear Cases - Hands on Review

I've been using Pelican cases for my duty weapons and gear for a number of years now, but finally broke down and got one to fit a couple of my own personal weapons. They survive deployments and training TDYs without a hitch, and if you can afford them its 100% worth the money.

Good Stuff: One of the toughest products I have ever had the pleasure of using. I can honestly that I have never seen one of these cases fail, despite deployment and training stresses and general heavy military use. It is a touch heavier than some other cases, but considering the much better durability (and the fact that it has wheels for the weak-armed individuals out there) its a non-issue. My personal case came with the solid foam, which I custom cut to hold a couple of rifles (which saved me a few bucks) but you can also get custom made foam inserts from the manufacturer.

Bad Stuff: It would be irresponsible of me not to mention the price here. This level of protection doesn't come cheap, so your looking at a couple hundred dollar investment.

Overall: Probably don't need a Pelican case for the occasional trip to the range or once a year trip to deer camp. However, if you have some serious travel (airline or otherwise) in your future or will be seeing some tough conditions, then Pelican is definitely worth it. A couple hundred dollar investment will protect your couple thousand dollar rifles, and you will be happy. The end.

AT&T Wireless of Western Louisiana

In a rare double-whammy edition of 'Fuck You Louisiana!' I will be exploring the merits (or in fact, the lack there of) of AT&T Wireless in the central and especially western portion of Louisiana. Now don't get me wrong, every other cell service has garbage service out here, but AT&T is the only one who boasts of having decent service; at least Verizon and the rest can be honest that they don't serve this nasty ass hick region.

We waited 8 months of the last year with garbage phone service because AT&T swore they where installing 3G for the area. One year later, my phone has started saying "3G AT&T", but it's funny... service is just as slow and crappy as it ever was. They offered us a 3G Microcell (basically a mini hot spot that runs off your internet), but it hogs up so much of my already slow internet (see previous rant about suddenlink) that I have to make a decision between internet/Netflix on my xbox or good cell service. This is bullshit people; utter bullshit. Is it really that hard to install sufficient cell phone towers in an area to provide good service? Or have you been serving Lousiana for so long that you've started to take advantage of people like everyone else in this godforsaken shithole of a state? Anyway, I digress.

Fuck You Louisiana!
sincerely, me