Gear Assessment

February 23, 2012
By

Since I do want to shoot more matches this year I’ve been reviewing my gear and realized there are a few things that I need to take a serious look at before I head that way. Most of my gear is a conglomeration of items that have more or less been acquired over time or found lying around Gun Nuts headquarters. Since I want to start taking my training a little more seriously in the coming months it’s important to me to make sure that all my gear is properly in order.

For example, mag pouches. I don’t have a standardized set of magazine pouches. I have a bunch of magazine pouches, some of them are double, some of them are single, some of them are BLACKHAWK!, some are Bladetech, some are Comp-Tac, some of the Comp-Tacs are black and some of the Comp-Tacs are red. I think it’s fair to say this has truly been a case of “What’s lying around Gun Nuts headquarters”.

When it comes to holsters, I have my dropped and offset and my Praetor Defense holster. While the Praetor Defense is an excellent carry holster and has worked well for local IDPA and USPSA matches I should probably switch to the dropped and offset just to make things easier on myself.

Switching to my dropped and offset holster and standardizing my magazine pouches will also let me set up my CR Speed Belt and just leave it, since I can use my Praetor Defense holster for IDPA or carry. This means not only is my gear in the same spot every time, but it makes it easier to transport. When I’m getting ready for a match I can just velcro my belt around my range bag and be good to go.

I figure if I’m going to do this I might as well try and do it right, standardize my gear and make it as easy as possible for myself. There’s no point in adding unnecessary challenges.

This entry was posted on February 23, 2012 at 09:34 and is filed under Team Gun Nuts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

3 Responses to Gear Assessment

  1. Twinkie on February 23, 2012 at 11:58

    Can’t you use a DOH for IDPA? They are legal for women, provided they aren’t too dropped or offset.

    As a lady, I’m interested in seeing/hearing your take on DOH holsters specifically for competition use. Any one maker in particular you like?

    • Shelley Rae on February 25, 2012 at 08:50

      I love DoH holsters, they’re so much easier to use and they are legal for IDPA. My only problem with the DoH holster for IDPA is finding a cover garment to hide it that doesn’t fit like a tent. (Not that that’s easy anyway.) The rule of having to be able to life your arms straight up while still having the holster hidden applies with a DoH and it’s been difficult for to find something function-able that I can still reasonably maneuver in.

      I own mostly Blade-Tech holsters, although I wouldn’t turn down anything from Comp-Tac or Safariland. Blade-Tech seems to have fit my needs and been available so that’s what I have!

      Let me know if you have anymore questions. You can always email me at shelley@gunnutsmedia.com!

  2. Twinkie on February 25, 2012 at 21:24

    Thanks for the reply, Shelley! I’m fairly new to IDPA and so I’ve not thought about the need to cover the holster with my arms up… I’ve got a long torso as well so that won’t help.

    I tried on some Comp Tac holsters today at my FLGS and I was really impressed. Very good quality, great retention to the belt with the paddle versions, and very fast draws. Shame they don’t make them for less popular guns.

    Good luck on your competition season!