Recently in Gear Category

Press Release:

Don't climb down...send the TreeTalon!

Bucksport, ME - We've all done it...dropped our release, a glove, a grunt call while perched in our tree stand. Which leave us two choices - do without for the remainder of the hunt or unhook your safety belt and climb down risking that we'll spook game. TreeTalon solves this problem quickly and quietly. Now you can get your item without getting down.

With the Tree Talon You simply pull back the arm or "Talon"' and cock it at 90 degrees. Lower the unit so it lands next to your dropped item. Once the TreeTalon hits the ground, the impact activated "talon" grabs your dropped item for you to pull back up! TreeTalon is strong and built to hold up to 35 lbs. You can even use TreeTalon when first climbing into your stand to haul up your bow or pack or to lift tree stands.

With an adjustable "foot" at the bottom of Tree Talon you avoid grabbing leaves and other forest litter when picking items up. An internal rubber bumper stifles noise when the "Talon" closes, while a serrated edge and specially designed teeth enhance grip on objects.

or to lift tree stands. Pick up your gloves, arrows, releases, hats, calls, facemasks, binoculars, packs, etc. Virtually anything you didn't mean to drop.

Don't go hunting without your TreeTalon. For more information visit www.treetalon.com.

I can see how this would be quite useful if it works as advertised. They note that you shouldn't use it to retrieve loaded firearms, something I was going to point out.

LULA Strip Clip Loader From Butler Creek Makes Loading Stripper Clips A Quick, Easy Process [.pdf]

Overland Park, KS -- With the popularity of black rifles, surplus ammo is the most economical way to practice on the range. Because most surplus ammo is sold on stripper clips, shooters have to transfer the rounds from the strip to their rifle magazines. This can be a tedious and painful chore, particularly in cold weather. Strip clip loaders can make it easier to load magazines but most are big, bulky and hard to handle.

The new LULA Strip Clip Loader from Butler Creek solves the problem. Like most LULA loaders it is small, lightweight and simple to use. It is designed to work with AR-15/M16 rifles and .223 ammo. It is made from a durable, reinforced polymer plastic, is about 1/3 the size of similar loaders and will fit easily into a range bag or pocket. With a little practice, a shooter can load 30 rounds in about 12 seconds. Suggested retail is $30.

I mentioned this back during the SHOT Show but hadn't managed to get a good picture. Here's Tapco's FUSION Grip:

Notice that the sides of the grip are flattened to allow better attachment of light tape switches.

I haven't tried it out, but it looks like a good idea.

Here's a simple guide, with pictures, to using stripper clips with AR-15 magazines.

This is the first entry in the How To category. I'll be posting links to various gun-related how-tos, and even making a few of my own.

If you've got a good how-to or know of one that you think GunPundit readers would benefit from, let me know.

In case you missed the gunbloggers covering this:

Firearm and hunting gear sales grew 4.1% in 2006, to $3.7 billion, to reach the number two spot in national athletic and sporting goods sales. This forced golf, at $3.66 billion, down into third place. Only exercise equipment had bigger sales than firearms/hunting gear.

You probably didn't hear about that on the evening news.

And I wonder how they count dollars spent on this for their 222mm flash hider or muzzle brake:

The Bloom Automatic Golf Ball Launcher easily attaches in seconds to your standard Yugo SKS 59/66, AR-15, FAL, CETME/G3, and MAS 49/56. Other rifles with a 22mm flash hider or muzzle brake will work as well.

See this article at Surplus Rifles for more on the Bloom Automatic Golf Ball Launcher.

Lessons on Body Armor

Plus discussion of .223 vs. 5.56 NATO in the comments.

Caliber: .223/5.56 NATO
Upper: Forged A4
Barrel: Chrome Lined 16" Wilson Chrome Moly, 1:9" Twist
Muzzle Device: RRA Tactical Muzzle Brake / 1/2-28 Thread
Gas Block: RRA Flip Front Sight Gas Block Assy
Trigger: Two Stage Match / Winter Trigger Guard
Safety Selector: Star
Rear Sight: PADS Flip Rear Sight
Pistol Grip: ERGO SureGrip
Hanguard: RRA Half Quad Free Float Mid-Length
Buttstock: Magpul CTR Stock
Weight / Length: 8.4 Pounds / 36.75 Inches
Accuracy: 1.5 MOA at 100 Yards
Included: One Mag, Safe Case, Manual, Warranty
Price: $1,445.00

I checked out the Elite Comp a bit at the SHOT Show and it looked good. I was particularly intrigued by the Half Quad free floating handguard, which is faceted aluminum in the back and rails up front.

The Half Quad Mid-Length handguard sells for $130.

Repel Insect Repellent Giving Away Ultimate Getaway for Country Music Fans

Got this in the inbox:

Country Music fans who love live concerts, unique events and autograph opportunities have a chance to win the ultimate entertainment event this summer, courtesy of Repel Insect Repellent and the Country Music Association.

In the "Repel CMA Music Festival Sweepstakes", one lucky winner and their guest will win a grand prize paid trip to Nashville, TN with two tickets to the 2008 CMA Music Festival, air travel, hotel accommodations and more. The total grand prize is valued at over $3,000.00.

2008 CMA Music Festival, held June 5-8, brings together more than 400 Country Music artists and celebrities in downtown Nashville for an annual celebration of the love affair between Country Music artists and their fans.

University of Nevada, Reno:

Police are warning of a serial rapist-killer on the loose and are asking women to avoid situations that will put them at risk. Rape whistles have been distributed to female university students.

Whistles.

About to be raped? Just whistle. Call time-out. See how easy that was?

Maybe someone can distribute yellow flags to female university students so that would-be rapists can be penalized 15 yards for illegal use of hands.

Via Say Uncle, who says: Unreal.

Caleb notes that whistles aren't completely worthless:

A rape whistle falls into the first tier of defensive implements, and is less useful than a good pair of sneakers and skill at sprinting. If campus security wants to issue rape whistles, that’s fine. Good for them. But if you’re going to send them out, make damn well sure that everyone who gets a whistle is 100% aware of their limitations.

Whistles can definitely be a good thing to have in a tough spot and you should have one in your "grab-n-go" survival kit, but don't count on one to save you from an immediate threat.

Sebastian calls whistles A False Sense of Security. Exactly.

Also, in my book good shoes are always a must. A lot of times people (including my wife) wonder why I'm wearing the shoes I'm wearing instead of sandals or slip-ons or even why I'm wearing shoes at all. I always say "What if I have to do something?" Though defending yourself is a right that I fully support and encourage, sometimes (usually, even) the proper defense is to put as much space between you and a threat as you can as quickly as you can.

But again, good shoes and the ability to run often won't be enough. And what's the university going to do? Offer all female students a new pair of Nikes?

I guarantee that some of the university's female students are now carrying guns, no-gun policy be damned. Every time there's a college serial rapist at large we see large numbers of girls packing heat. Though often untrained, we haven't seen any shootouts at the OK Corral from these women, have we? Even though the main argument against concealed carry on campus is the likelihood of students recklessly shooting up the place, we haven't even seen that from unlicensed and untrained students in the past. At least not that I'm aware of. So why should we expect it more from trained carriers?