tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81483918226791103722024-03-13T19:43:33.920-06:00Rocky Mountain AdventureHiking, Backpacking, Fishing, Geocaching and Photography in the Rocky Mountains and beyond.RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-70565140786628162892024-01-21T16:55:00.001-07:002024-01-21T16:55:05.007-07:00My Medic TFAK Overview<p>If you are like me, you spend a lot of time in the woods, at the range and in locations where medical attention may be slow to arrive. It is important to have a safety plan in place when you are in a situation that could result in injury and a lack of support. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RsvdvZrRRhs" width="320" youtube-src-id="RsvdvZrRRhs"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhp5APFy0a0pWK3M4haD_4ddHmmAiuwmTwfZwyFohINCrmyEDs7-yQKIZsn0LMA4iJucfetWP_oSgbr8wlBKn9FpIwamT6sqpRwSza1rsy2oqMV0GdK7k__X2wM_UwF_0bMTsXm_DdoowTeZYXlgI5AKS5yNmrhPy_Z5MeCDmCAXZ-a_gJmqIOlI3EyGNL" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="1061" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhp5APFy0a0pWK3M4haD_4ddHmmAiuwmTwfZwyFohINCrmyEDs7-yQKIZsn0LMA4iJucfetWP_oSgbr8wlBKn9FpIwamT6sqpRwSza1rsy2oqMV0GdK7k__X2wM_UwF_0bMTsXm_DdoowTeZYXlgI5AKS5yNmrhPy_Z5MeCDmCAXZ-a_gJmqIOlI3EyGNL" width="240" /></a></div><p>I have a couple different first aid kits. I have a small lightweight, basic kit that I take backpacking. I have a MyMedic <a href="https://bit.ly/4274Lwh" target="_blank">MyFAK Large</a> for the car. But, I also wanted a kit that was in between those sizes and was ideal for potential GSW injuries or serious lacerations, but wasn't as big as the MyFAK Large. After talking to the folks at MyMedic I decided on the TFAK, or Trauma First Aid Kit. </p><p>For bleeding, the <a href="https://bit.ly/47IFppQ" target="_blank">TFAK</a> includes a RATS tourniquet in a easily detached pouch, compressed gauze, an emergency pressure bandage and quick clot. For dealing with airway trauma it includes two chest seals, a CPR shield, rubber gloves and a nasal pharyngeal airway kit. It also includes a pack of their ZZIPS, EMT shears, a sharpie and a tool kit with a penlight, tweezers and a whistle. See the contents spread out in the photo to the right. </p><p></p><p>Another nice perk of purchasing from MyMedic is the video training course that they include with the kit. While I would suggest that everyone get some basic first aid and CPR training, MyMedic offers videos that teach you how to use the equipment in their kits.</p><p>I picked this kit as a small trauma focused kit to use for the range and other activities with a higher risk for puncture or laceration wounds. You can see in the video above that I picked the bright "inferno" color to make sure the kit is easily visible at the range or if I'm digging in the back of a car or in a pack for it.</p><p>If you want to purchase a TFAK or any other kit off of <a href="https://bit.ly/45rWaoL" target="_blank">MyMedic</a>, use code "adventure20" for 20% of your order.</p><p>If you need a first aid kit with more to offer, check out my video below for the MyFAK Large. I carry this kit in my car for range trips, backpacking, hunting, hiking, etc. It doesn't always go with me in a backpack, but makes a great kit for a wide variety of potential uses. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tGZiWSlQHeg" width="320" youtube-src-id="tGZiWSlQHeg"></iframe></div><br /><p><br />For more on first aid, check out the post below:</p><p><a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2021/09/september-is-preparedness-month-what.html" target="_blank">September Is Preparedness Month</a><br /></p><p>What do you use for your first aid kit? Did you build your own, or buy a ready made kit? Let me know in the comment section below:</p><p><br /></p>
<script src="https://classic.avantlink.com/link.php?merchant_link_id=03dc95ba-9ff4-40e1-87a6-c3804a23984e&affiliate_id=79601f1c-d8ea-4746-bd62-3f788cd3fa2b&website_id=219c5fcf-c04e-44cf-ae72-58ff20548f36&open=_blank" type="text/javascript"></script>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-86779488873134864542023-09-28T13:28:00.000-06:002023-09-28T13:28:07.337-06:00Setting Up A Remage Barrel for PRS<div>This is an old post from the black rifle blog. As I get closer to shooting out the 260 Remington barrel I installed for my first PRS match I figured I would repost this here:</div><div><br /></div>For several years now I have been thinking about competing in long range practical rifle competitions. I read a lot about the matches and the equipment involved and would tell myself that I needed a better rifle, scope, stock, etc. I would talk myself out of trying the competitions, constantly doubting that the equipment or skills that I possessed would be adequate. Earlier this year I decided to just go for it. I already had a 308 rifle with a decent scope, I just needed to go out and do it!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheyenne Precision Rifle Match</td></tr>
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I started earlier this year by attending some local matches. These matches involved shooting at distances from about 200 yards to 800 yards from a variety of different positions. I did a previous match report from the Cheyenne Mountain Precision Rifle Match. You can click on the picture to the right to see that match report.<br />
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Although I really enjoyed the local match format, I was really hoping to compete in some of the larger matches that involved movement between multiple stages, higher round counts and more challenging conditions. There are a number of these matches around the country and when looking into this type of match, the Precision Rifle Series clearly stands out.<br />
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The Precision Rifle Series has evolved in the last few years to incorporate a number of the long range matches that were occurring throughout the country and put a national ranking system in place. Similar to an IPSC or IDPA type competition series. These matches occur throughout the year and are located all over the country. I've been watching the event list for a while now and after watching the registration open for the Battle of Breakneck in Nebraska, I decided to give it a go.<br />
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I signed up for the match intending to use my 308 rifle (pictured above) and just go and experience what it was like. As the match got a little closer I started to really feel like shooting 308 would put me at a strong disadvantage. I ultimately decided to switch to a 6.5mm caliber. There are several 6.5mm cartridges that use the same bolt face as the 308 and are popular in long range competition. I narrowed my choices down to the 260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor and the 6.5x47 Lapua. <br />
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With time counting down to the Battle of Breakneck I had to figure out how to get my rifle chambered in the new caliber, buy reloading components and have time to work up a load before the match. After a lot of back and forth, I decided using a gunsmith to rebarrel my rifle was not going to fit with my budget or time table. I would try out a "Remage" conversion that uses a barrel nut, similar to Savage factory rifles. While many people don't feel like this option is on par with a quality gunsmith installed barrel, checking various sources online I found that there have been many people reporting good groups from the Remage conversions. I decided for the time being I would do the Remage conversion. Once I shoot the barrel out, or decide to move up to a custom action, I will have to rethink Remage vs. gunsmith cut barrel.<br />
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Next came the hard part, deciding what caliber to use. I won't get into every little detail about the choices I mentioned above, but suffice it to say that each of the calibers has advantages and disadvantages. Overall, they have very similar performance. While I was looking at components, I noticed that the brass and bullets for each were in and out of stock at most of the major online retailers and the local stores. I was consistently checking <a href="http://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/2014/04/use-ammoseekcom-to-find-instock-ammo.html">Ammoseek</a> a couple times a day. Ultimately my decision would be heavily influenced by the availability of components and an in-stock barrel.<br />
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In the end I decided on a 260 Remington. This offers slightly higher velocity than the other two options I mentioned, has excellent Lapua brass and I was able to find all of the components in stock with time to work up a load. Mile High Shooting had plenty of the brass in stock and I was able to drive by the store and pick it up in person. Northland Shooter Supply had a 260 Match barrel and all of the tools in stock, ready to ship.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rifle with new Criterion Remage barrel installed.</td></tr>
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I ordered the barrel and tools to install it on my Remington receiver. The factory barrel was a pain to remove, but once it came off, it was easy to install the new barrel. I took my time with the Go and No-Go gages to make sure that the headspace was set just right. I also had to do some inletting to the Bell and Carlson stock that I am using. The Remage barrel nut is larger in diameter and the varmint profile from Criterion Barrels was a little larger than the factory varmint contour of the 308 barrel.<br />
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With everything installed I hit the range four weekends in a row, shooting an OCW workup load for powder charge, another for seating depth and then two separate trips to longer ranges to get the DOPE dialed in out to 1000 yards. I am not the greatest group shooter, so I hesitate giving specific group info, but overall I would say that the factory 308 averaged just over 1" 5-shot groups. I had some as small as .4," but then I would have days where I had a hard time shooting less that 1.5" groups. Although I haven't spent a lot of time shooting groups with the new barrel, I would say that it is shooting closer to .75" on average. I will have to see if that improves with some more time and some different bullets and powders.<br />
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Confirming the long range drops was somewhat difficult. The first weekend I went out to a range with multiple different steel targets at 400 to 1000 yards in 100 yard increments. It seemed like a great range to confirm drop. Unfortunately the wind and mirage were heavy that day and due to the long grasses at the range, it was nearly impossible to spot misses. I was able to leave fairly confident of my drops out to about 700 yards, but couldn't spot hits or misses any further than that. It might have worked a little better if I had someone else with me to help spot, but working on my own, it was a frustrating trip.<br />
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The next weekend I went to another range that had a wide variety of targets at 600 yards or closer, and then just a couple at 1000. This left a hole at the distances between, but there was not nearly as much mirage or wind and thanks to shorter grass and a lot of dirt, my misses were much easier to spot. Those conditions combined helped me to get better feedback about my shots and I left the range confident in my drops out to 1000 yards. <br />
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Although the Density Altitude at the range I shot at was close to 9000 feet, the Battle of Breakneck is located at less than 4000 feet of elevation. I used JBM Ballistics and the actual DOPE I used out to 1000 yards to make data cards out to about 1200 yards. Using the Density Altitude info that JBM Ballistics provides, I copied and pasted the info into an excel and tweaked to get the look I wanted for the drop cards. I then printed out cards for 1000 to 10,000 feet of DA in 1000 foot increments. I laminated the cards and punched a hole in the top so that the correct card could be put on my scope as needed.<br />
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With the new barrel installed, sighted in and trued ballistic cards printed, I figured I was as prepared as I could be for the match. The forecast didn't look promising, with 20-30 MPH wind gusts, rain, snow and cold temperatures. I loaded up the camper and my wife and I headed to Nebraska. <br />
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<script src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US"></script></div>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-30816014583528870132023-08-17T12:00:00.005-06:002023-08-17T12:00:00.137-06:00Using Density Altitude for Long Range ShootingI decided to bring this post over from my old blog. Let's take a look at using Density Altitude for calculating ballistic drop when shooting long range targets. If you've read some of my previous posts about long range shooting, you'll notice that I generate drop charts based on 1000 foot Density Altitude intervals and use those for my shooting adjustments. I don't actually calculate the drops for each individual shot or shooting station with an app. So let's start here: <br />
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<b>What is Density Altitude?</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking DOPE at the NRA Whittington Center<br />
Notice the Kestrel for checking Density Altitude</td></tr>
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So what exactly is Density Altitude? First off, here is the definition according to Wikipedia: <br />
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<span class="_Tgc"><i>Density altitude is the altitude relative to the standard atmosphere conditions (ISA) at which the air density would be equal to the indicated air density at the place of observation. In other words, density altitude is air density given as a height above mean sea level.</i></span><br />
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So what does that mean in basic terms? There are several factors that affect how dense the air around you is. The two biggest factors are your altitude above sea level and the temperature. The higher in altitude and the higher the temperature, the lower the pressure. </div>
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When you fire a bullet, the ballistic coefficient of that bullet is a representation of how much drag the bullet has as it pushes through the air. The more dense the air, the more drag there will be. Conversely, if the air is less dense, there will be less resistance. So a bullet fired at 1000 yards at sea level on a cold day will need more scope adjustment to hit the target than one fired at 10,000 feet of elevation and 90 degree temperatures. </div>
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What Density Altitude does is simplify those numbers down to one equivalent reading. It takes into account the temperature, altitude (based on barometric pressure), humidity, etc, and gives you a number that takes all of it into account. It was originally (and currently) used by pilots to be able to calculate the lift that they would generate for a certain airport altitude and weather conditions. <br />
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<b>How do I calculate Density Altitude?</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8B16IMfrqh8/WDQBzGho5RI/AAAAAAAAFns/F1ESWxEUrLEIctatzGXQCWnnERVPYLP3gCLcB/s1600/Density%2BAltitude%2BCalculator.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8B16IMfrqh8/WDQBzGho5RI/AAAAAAAAFns/F1ESWxEUrLEIctatzGXQCWnnERVPYLP3gCLcB/s320/Density%2BAltitude%2BCalculator.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.crh.noaa.gov/epz/?n=wxcalc_densityaltitude" target="_blank">http://www.crh.noaa.gov/epz/?n=wxcalc_densityaltitude</a></td></tr>
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There is an easy and a long way to calculate Density Altitude. Obviously you can use the formula to calculate Density Altitude as long as you know each of the required inputs for the formula. The official NOAA Density altitude calculator can be found at the NOAA site, link under the picture to the right:<br />
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In order to use the calculator, you will need to input your temperature, station pressure (not corrected for altitude), and dew point. It will then calculate the station pressure for you in feet or meters. I have used this method a number of times to calculate the Density Altitude after shooting, based on my log. I have also used it in locations were I have cellular service. Unfortunately, unless you have a weather meter, you may not have correct information. Most of the time the weather updates that you get to your phone may not be exactly accurate to your location, depending on how far the weather station is from your shooting position.<br />
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Some shooting log books have a simple chart that gives you a graph of altitudes and temperatures and lets you look up an approximate DA for your altitude at a given temperature. While these may not be quite as accurate, they will still get you very close to the right number and may be adequate for short to medium ranges.<br />
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The easier method is to use a weather meter, such as the Kestrel, that calculates Density Altitude directly. After asking other shooters for the DA for months, I finally broke down and ordered a Kestrel from Amazon. I didn't order the fancy ballistic model, but ordered the newer 5000 model with Bluetooth link. <br />
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The Kestrel 5000 is currently the lowest end model that they offer that still provides you with Density Altitude. You can still obtain readings for wind speed, temperature, dew point, barometer, station pressure, etc, but you can also output a DA number specifically. This made it much easier in the match I shot at the <a href="http://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/2016/06/sporting-rifle-match-report-nra.html" target="_blank">NRA Whittington Center</a>. I simply checked the DA at the beginning of the day and a couple times throughout the day and I was able to make sure that I was shooting the correct DA card throughout the match. This helped me to stay on target, even though I was shooting a match at an elevation several thousand feet lower than where I initially checked the DOPE on my rifle.<br />
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<b>Why use Density Altitude?</b><br />
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So why would you want to use Density Altitude when shooting? The answer is simplicity. While there a lot of great ballistic programs and phone apps, it is not always convenient or appropriate to rely on an electronic device to generate your shooting drop. When I first developed a load for my <a href="http://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/2016/05/my-first-prs-match-new-caliber.html" target="_blank">260 Remington</a>, I trued the drop information out to 1000 yards and printed up cards for DA in 1000 foot increments. I used those cards in April at the <a href="http://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/2016/05/battle-of-breakneck-match-report.html" target="_blank">Battle of Breakneck</a> when it was cold and snowing, took the same cards to the NRA Whittington Center during the summer heat and have shot several of the local Cheyenne Mountain Precision Rifle matches using those same cards. As long as I can get the Density Altitude reading from my Kestrel, or earlier on by asking another shooter, I have been accurate in 30 degree to 90 degree weather and at various elevations. <br />
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While I am certainly not discounting the convenience of being able to pull up ballistic drop to the exact conditions you are shooting, or being able to true the data throughout a day of shooting, using a phone before every stage at a match may not be practical. During the Battle of Breakneck, the constant rain, wind and snow made it difficult for the guys that wanted to use their phones. A few were using waterproof cases, but I also saw guys with their phones in Ziploc bags or trying to use their body to shield the phone from the weather.<br />
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This can also be very beneficial for hunters. While I wouldn't shoot as far at an animal as I do at a steel target, the Density Altitude of where I hunt can vary several thousand feet during a day. Where I live and hunt in Colorado, it is possible to change 2,000-3,000 feet of elevation during the course of a day. The morning may also be 10-15 degrees, but warm up to 50-60 degrees during the afternoon. By printing out a DA chart for the distances you are willing to take an ethical shot on an animal, you can laminate it or attach it to your stock and know at a glance what your drop will be for the current conditions.<br />
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So do you use Density Altitude measurements for shooting, or do you calculate all of your drops using a ballistic app or program? I am interested in hearing your thoughts below:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">This post features Affiliate Links, by clicking on the links and purchasing products through Amazon you get the same price and help support this blog.</span>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-5972405404774445022023-08-12T14:48:00.000-06:002023-08-12T14:48:12.498-06:00Vortex Optics Sunslayer Hoodie Review<p>Getting deep into the summer and with plenty of the US in a heat wave, I was pretty excited when ExpertVoice was running a campaign for "experts" to test out the new Sun Slayer Hoodie from Vortex Optics. Expert Voice is a company that sets up pro deals for workers in the retail industry, first responders and military veterans. Once you are approved for the site, you have access to discounts on a variety of different companies. Vortex Optics is one of those companies and I have used that relationship to not only test out some products free of charge, but I have also purchased several scopes and some range finding binoculars using the discounts. </p><p>The Sun Slayer Hoodie review just happened to come shortly after a multi day backpacking trip along a couple segments of the Colorado Trail. I was using another, slightly heavier long sleeve shirt to limit my exposure to the sun, wishing I had a shirt designed for lightweight sun protection. Vortex Optics sent me the Sun Slayer Hoodie for free to test out and review, but did not set any limitations or guidance on what I could or should say about it.</p><p>Opening up the box, I noticed that the shirt was soft and felt comfortable, although the fabric was a little heavier than I expected. The fabric provides a UPF 50 sun protection and Vortex states that it is not only wicking, but is an antimicrobial fabric that pulls moisture of your body while inhibiting bacteria growth. This should help reduce the odors from repeated use. Overall, the fabric feels comfortable and has a decent amount of stretch.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9yFzxfBz9y0" width="320" youtube-src-id="9yFzxfBz9y0"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>A couple other additions that I liked included the addition of thumb holes in the sleeves to maximize the coverage of your arms and hands when out in the sun. There is also a chamois material sewn into the inside hem of the lower right portion of the shirt. This is an interesting touch that gives you a proper cloth to wipe off sunglasses without just using the shirt itself. I haven't owned a shirt with that and I like the idea of it for a lot of summer activities, especially fishing, where you want to make sure your polarizing sunglass are clean.<div><br /></div><div>Check out the <a href="https://bit.ly/3KBTQ6v" target="_blank">Vortex Sunslayer at Sportsman's Warehouse</a> to pick up one for yourself.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, in the handful of times I've worn the shirt, I only have a couple potential concerns. One, is that the fabric may be a little warmer than some of the other sun shirts out there. So far it hasn't been overly noticeable, but I do wonder about how it will compare on really hot days. The other thing I will be watching is the overall durability. I have another long sleeve from Vortex that I got several years ago and it has had some issues with the fabric pulling pretty easily when I catch it on something rough. </div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, like most of the products from Vortex Optics this shirt seems to be a good value for the money. I will definitely continue to put it through the paces over the next few summers to see how it holds up and to protect myself from the sun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let me know in the comments below if you have used this shirt and what you think of it.<br /><div style="text-align: right;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=rmavia-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B09GS9BG68&asins=B09GS9BG68&linkId=8628f59c2b26bdee0d43cc9d11fd0dc7&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Check out my review on the Vortex Crossfire HD rangefinder here: <a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2022/05/vortex-crossfire-hd-rangefinder.html">http://www.rmadventure.com/2022/05/vortex-crossfire-hd-rangefinder.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Or check out some of my other Vortex video reviews:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3yPZq9ElTq0" width="320" youtube-src-id="3yPZq9ElTq0"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>
<script src="//www.avantlink.com/product_ad_widget/paw.php?pawid=169485&pw=268521&output=js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w5WKku6IdHE" width="320" youtube-src-id="w5WKku6IdHE"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5M31Bux4dwI" width="320" youtube-src-id="5M31Bux4dwI"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NOLxw2IO_n4" width="320" youtube-src-id="NOLxw2IO_n4"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MK9yZ-Nt91Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="MK9yZ-Nt91Q"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8r8xSwApGaY" width="320" youtube-src-id="8r8xSwApGaY"></iframe></div><br />RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-53668212822184290952023-06-09T16:54:00.001-06:002023-08-26T15:49:27.701-06:00Eform Wait Times Update<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When the Eform process was updated to include Form 4 transfers we were told by the ATF that we could expect wait times around 90 days. I bought a suppressor at the end of 2021 that was submitted under the expanded Eform process at the beginning of 2022 and experienced a wait time of 99 days. While that seemed like a promising beginning, those wait times have only gone up from there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the video below we take a look at the current status of the wait times in June of 2023:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KNX3X_QYqQs" width="320" youtube-src-id="KNX3X_QYqQs"></iframe></div><br />
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You can check out the original video on the 99 day wait here:<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3zExXqR_cAc" width="320" youtube-src-id="3zExXqR_cAc"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Is it worth submitting an Eform for an SBR:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aBD4PeWyi4A" width="320" youtube-src-id="aBD4PeWyi4A"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://classic.avantlink.com/click.php?tool_type=ml&merchant_link_id=43e81271-91d6-41de-ba01-a12904505b77&website_id=219c5fcf-c04e-44cf-ae72-58ff20548f36" rel="sponsored" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" height="336" src="https://classic.avantlink.com/gbi/3b3250a4-1c69-4622-aba2-bfa731775635/43e81271-91d6-41de-ba01-a12904505b77/79601f1c-d8ea-4746-bd62-3f788cd3fa2b/219c5fcf-c04e-44cf-ae72-58ff20548f36/image.png" style="border: 0px;" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p>
RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-86665005147024434522023-05-27T17:41:00.002-06:002023-05-27T17:41:17.574-06:00Fifth Circuit Injunction Against ATF Pistol Brace Rule<p>On May 26th, 2023 the Firearms Policy Coalition posted that the Fifth Circuit clarified an Injunction Pending Appeal in the case against the ATF regarding pistol braces, Mock V. Garland. They stated that the injunction applies to FPC members, Maxim Defense customers and the individual plaintiff's resident family members. </p><p>The FPC has been working to fight the ATF ruling that most firearms using what was previously designated a pistol brace is actually a short barreled rifle. That ruling would potentially make felons out of millions of owners of firearms that have been legal for years. Since I don't typically give legal advice or opinion on this blog, I encourage readers to check out the FPC website for more information and to get involved, you can check out the article here: <a href="https://www.firearmspolicy.org/fifth-circuit-clarifies-that-its-injunction-against-atf-pistol-brace-rule-covers-fpc-s-members" target="_blank">https://www.firearmspolicy.org/fifth-circuit-clarifies</a></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgH8X1KmrDfa8pHk7fiaUALyDNgTY6TDB9i4V2PHygzfDaofER_qcs9GTWmXJjVf2332VGeZhv3FgZO9VqRxzqK2yuksH4rwHrFkOt1OfbYwdt2aeNlG6_NOa45kVXNQVeGppQNklGhcpaO4KFnXEQ1G1371HigIS1HhNlJS5PDsYt64teuwBZ0DU9sA" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgH8X1KmrDfa8pHk7fiaUALyDNgTY6TDB9i4V2PHygzfDaofER_qcs9GTWmXJjVf2332VGeZhv3FgZO9VqRxzqK2yuksH4rwHrFkOt1OfbYwdt2aeNlG6_NOa45kVXNQVeGppQNklGhcpaO4KFnXEQ1G1371HigIS1HhNlJS5PDsYt64teuwBZ0DU9sA" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bit.ly/3OF9bGd" rel="sponsored" style="text-align: left;">Take Off Brace Sale</a></td></tr></tbody></table>I actually saw this story in an e-mail from Rainier Arms before anything from FPC. With the injunction in place, they are currently selling off a lot of the braces that were pulled off of pistols in their inventory. <p></p><p>See the photo and link at right as an example, they are selling a take off SBA3 brace for $79.92 as of the date of this post. Especially if you submitted Form 1 paperwork for your pistol it could be a good price on a slightly used pistol brace. </p><p>I also recommend checking out the FPC and supporting businesses like Rainier Arms that are staying on top of gun rights and fighting to keep them. Without those groups and the citizens that are writing their congressmen and staying active in the fight for the second amendment we would see the lose of even more of our rights. Colorado recently buried an assault weapon ban due to massive public backlash, check out that article here: <a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2023/04/2023-colorado-assault-weapon-ban.html">http://www.rmadventure.com/2023/04/2023-colorado-assault-weapon-ban.html</a></p><p>And if you missed it, here is my previous post on the ATF ruling: <a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2023/01/atf-ruling-on-braces-2023.html">http://www.rmadventure.com/2023/01/atf-ruling-on-braces-2023.html</a></p>
<a href="https://classic.avantlink.com/click.php?tool_type=ml&merchant_link_id=32056578-654b-4dee-8b61-ca11c2736e10&website_id=219c5fcf-c04e-44cf-ae72-58ff20548f36" rel="sponsored"><img alt="" height="90" src="https://classic.avantlink.com/gbi/7614c6a9-9343-418a-9fab-5db64d366e41/32056578-654b-4dee-8b61-ca11c2736e10/79601f1c-d8ea-4746-bd62-3f788cd3fa2b/219c5fcf-c04e-44cf-ae72-58ff20548f36/image.png" style="border: 0px;" width="728" /></a>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-5007685457218844712023-04-22T13:51:00.000-06:002023-04-22T13:51:17.629-06:002023 Colorado Assault Weapon Ban DefeatedOn April 20th, 2023, Colorado gun owners were able to count a win in the gun rights arena. A proposed assault weapon ban that had been gaining tracking was defeated during a session that went into the evening. Thanks to messages and e-mails sent to local representatives and over 500 people showing up to the capitol to support gun rights, the assault weapons ban died in place.<div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYNl3RZoaCeR3ZLrDb34uzRkLReVg6R8tXciwumXkidrhBWTKbIl1Kv_I2imyZYPGeIvdrgMrxneG7LCtvSA7WuAQv9KRWX4o0_ozco6A3dG6JZkMRZ_czBJbcVHaGuJxh7NIf1kly0IGYyjo1g1Fw8jN69dFTQYxUIUosvBNdg7b_QQwD9mu7o-3laQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="882" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYNl3RZoaCeR3ZLrDb34uzRkLReVg6R8tXciwumXkidrhBWTKbIl1Kv_I2imyZYPGeIvdrgMrxneG7LCtvSA7WuAQv9KRWX4o0_ozco6A3dG6JZkMRZ_czBJbcVHaGuJxh7NIf1kly0IGYyjo1g1Fw8jN69dFTQYxUIUosvBNdg7b_QQwD9mu7o-3laQ=w640-h488" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://www.nraila.org/articles/20230420/colorado-assault-weapon-ban-defeated<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />With anti-gun legislation showing up across the country, it's important for gun owners to get involved in contacting their state and federal legislators. This is another example of the power that the peaceful gun owning community can have on proposed legislation that is based on fear rather than real data. In the article linked above, the <span style="background-color: #666666;">"<span face="adobe-text-pro" style="font-size: 16px;"><i> NRA encourages lawmakers to tackle the real issue of crime, instead of focusing on law-abiding gun owners</i>."</span></span></div><div><span face="adobe-text-pro" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="adobe-text-pro" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<script src="https://classic.avantlink.com/link.php?merchant_link_id=0c9535f1-e7f4-48a1-84ae-e5f8c5fc2c05&affiliate_id=79601f1c-d8ea-4746-bd62-3f788cd3fa2b&website_id=219c5fcf-c04e-44cf-ae72-58ff20548f36" type="text/javascript"></script>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-9127678027873055662023-02-18T08:00:00.002-07:002023-02-18T11:48:06.332-07:00Supporting the Fight Against the ATF Rule on Pistol Braces<p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvox8ArBjz2fu10MMp26nkA-vTw68xWWPmd9to8XJd_Nd2PLp_ryuoiBaAZ2bJTBB2ibFThLsj0RCbKZ89td1Sx8ePSpynPMpnMS1lCSltltneJPZQa1RaBcxrVyLveU_jL0R8UC1gz5dj1A1P4RBIiusIWjiOP8YvlpSvb99PQHiGBG-__xbSgmMPeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="931" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvox8ArBjz2fu10MMp26nkA-vTw68xWWPmd9to8XJd_Nd2PLp_ryuoiBaAZ2bJTBB2ibFThLsj0RCbKZ89td1Sx8ePSpynPMpnMS1lCSltltneJPZQa1RaBcxrVyLveU_jL0R8UC1gz5dj1A1P4RBIiusIWjiOP8YvlpSvb99PQHiGBG-__xbSgmMPeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FRAC Files Federal Suit on pistol braces</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Since posting a couple weeks ago about the ATF's pistol brace ruling, several organizations have started fighting back through legal action against the ATF. See the photo to the left for one example from the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition. </p><p><br /></p><p>I received an e-mail from Palmetto State Armory a few days ago that was sent out to each of their prior customers. They have come out with a stripped AR-15 lower with a brace etched into the design. They have stated that they will donate $10 to the FRAC for each of these lowers that sold. As of February 17th, the lowers were in stock and $60, which isn't a bad price for a stripped lower, especially if it will help protect our 2nd Amendment rights. You can pick up the lower here: <span style="color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://bit.ly/3XvCpYN">Palmetto Brace-15 Lower</a></span></p><p>I would definitely consider finding a way to help support our rights. Whether you use a pistol brace or not, every time we lose access to a firearm component it is a step down a slippery slope that could end in confiscation. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQuwG2e67l_1Zde4ZOkrDpUmHxQEkA6fqHmTQzCBcqkmLlXBJGI6NOYm9Oelab8rMEMaOHofHPkvwjhZCL1Vqdym6YzVjGlJt7Beb6t0DOGAsmQDp9_jElhemx_J1QtdLyL5ZKJMU1SC5JDX4x9M0D48tiYNLEdrIHDcZNfMydb39tzTyxZyIITrbQAQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="1134" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQuwG2e67l_1Zde4ZOkrDpUmHxQEkA6fqHmTQzCBcqkmLlXBJGI6NOYm9Oelab8rMEMaOHofHPkvwjhZCL1Vqdym6YzVjGlJt7Beb6t0DOGAsmQDp9_jElhemx_J1QtdLyL5ZKJMU1SC5JDX4x9M0D48tiYNLEdrIHDcZNfMydb39tzTyxZyIITrbQAQ=w640-h298" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bit.ly/3XvCpYN" style="text-align: left;">Palmetto Brace-15 Lower</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><br /><br /></p>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://classic.avantlink.com/link.php?merchant_link_id=4ba67098-6f3e-49b1-8722-d62ad0e6d826&affiliate_id=79601f1c-d8ea-4746-bd62-3f788cd3fa2b&website_id=219c5fcf-c04e-44cf-ae72-58ff20548f36&open=_blank"></script>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-71303196813402619152023-01-20T17:41:00.000-07:002023-01-20T17:41:09.029-07:00ATF Ruling on Braces 2023<p>On January 13, 2023 the DOJ submitted a final ruling on pistol braces providing a reversal on previous decision defining pistols with braces as still a pistol. The new ruling will cause millions of pistols to be considered Short Barreled Rifles unless the firearm is modified with a longer barrel, the brace removed, or registered as a Short Barrel Rifle (SBR).</p><p>While the average gun owner has 120 days to make the modifications, or register the firearm as an SBR, there have been significant concerns that this is potential first step towards a national firearms registry.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6nrc35O5VHq9E0MnMIrLCgaGvJYwWzuLmCAxFReEV0zdPyJaSGCJesq5vwCuRH05OD5nW5TGcpKWB3A61yMDYTMEmiBc1VZyxMItibujwZDeNE4ln3Q9ysyqdABLW0x4t9u3E1KeiUrxxZF5XMirYgnLil8FXAjmZX3vtwa3cElDZjqI_qfK1m7ZGoQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1331" data-original-width="2051" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6nrc35O5VHq9E0MnMIrLCgaGvJYwWzuLmCAxFReEV0zdPyJaSGCJesq5vwCuRH05OD5nW5TGcpKWB3A61yMDYTMEmiBc1VZyxMItibujwZDeNE4ln3Q9ysyqdABLW0x4t9u3E1KeiUrxxZF5XMirYgnLil8FXAjmZX3vtwa3cElDZjqI_qfK1m7ZGoQ=w640-h416" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>While this blog has generally steered away from the politics of the anti second amendment agenda, it is important that gun owners are aware of this new rule change and how it may affect the firearms that in your safe. While I do own two SBRs, it knowingly registered those to build a specific firearm. In stark contrast, millions of gun owners have purchased firearms with pistol braces with the understanding that the ATF has recognized those guns as pistols. </p><p>I highly suggest you stay up to date on this topic if you own braces, or even if you are just concerned with the precedent that this change will set. Check out SilencerShop and the link below to follow their discussion of the rule change and the potential SBR registration if you choose to follow that route.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuH77cYPNSfx--wdWW4_RrgG7PPDNRqjnCoAPHfoY9o75LZ8zI7znsjs3BGp-K4GzTvsOGz-eKvijDDVUpAw0sAYDrxU9TdlISwtUcZKCoHQrnLdHuH2birxM1rUfNHjjCXputh3GWmsTLewtxM3kjWbjAE7L2QBHOgxZE4_3-qgNtPpvItAgFU_AHIw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="1500" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuH77cYPNSfx--wdWW4_RrgG7PPDNRqjnCoAPHfoY9o75LZ8zI7znsjs3BGp-K4GzTvsOGz-eKvijDDVUpAw0sAYDrxU9TdlISwtUcZKCoHQrnLdHuH2birxM1rUfNHjjCXputh3GWmsTLewtxM3kjWbjAE7L2QBHOgxZE4_3-qgNtPpvItAgFU_AHIw=w640-h234" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.silencershop.com/blog/post/atf-ruling-pistol-braces-2023">https://www.silencershop.com/blog/post/atf-ruling-pistol-braces-2023</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />You can also take action through the Firearms Policy Coalition. They have set up a contact page that will let you contact your local senators and representatives. You can find their contact form here: <a href="https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=18427">https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=18427</a><br /><br /> Let me know what you think of the ruling the comment section below:</p><p><br /></p>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-25933437986278301072022-08-28T17:54:00.001-06:002022-08-28T17:54:05.230-06:00SwampFox Slide Assembly<div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCbnGhkUY9HGdvKK-o0b5ZZ5T-O-7RvSqCB2DZaD9vg_-S4I5k6igF_BzXs0pSoC8wiuIfUUXlUTgrFBomFl97lWF4ATer1MDhQANkm8PwYYIX9_uOFBNVSHIJmSCbodCV4rf6c_BwJkHSpokYuNPyvR1vzVufdmw1VVv69_zkEMQ1BmhG4xU54gHkw/s4032/F81612EC-8606-4E20-9751-A5F1298EB023.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCbnGhkUY9HGdvKK-o0b5ZZ5T-O-7RvSqCB2DZaD9vg_-S4I5k6igF_BzXs0pSoC8wiuIfUUXlUTgrFBomFl97lWF4ATer1MDhQANkm8PwYYIX9_uOFBNVSHIJmSCbodCV4rf6c_BwJkHSpokYuNPyvR1vzVufdmw1VVv69_zkEMQ1BmhG4xU54gHkw/s320/F81612EC-8606-4E20-9751-A5F1298EB023.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Welcome to the third post in this series. It's time to assemble the slide and put this gun together. Previously we finished the Lone Wolf Lower, installed the parts kit and now we will take a SwampFox slide and put it together with a Brownells Glock completion kit. If you want to see the other posts in the series, check them out below:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/2022/01/lone-wolf-freedom-wolf-80-lower-build.html">Lone Wolf Freedom Wolf 80% Lower Build</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2022/05/lone-wolf-freedom-wolf-lower-parts-kit.html" target="_blank">Lone Wolf Freedom Wolf Lower Parts Kit Installation</a></li><li><a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2022/08/swampfox-slide-assembly.html" target="_blank">Assembling the slide parts kit.</a></li><li>Test firing and overall review.</li></ul><p></p><p>This will not be a super detailed assembly post. If you need to know the entire process, I suggest looking up a complete build as this is my first attempt at building a Glock clone. I chose a Swampfox Wolverine slide for a couple different reasons. I have been running a Glock 17 MOS with an RMR for several years now and wanted to stay with a red dot option. I also wanted to try running the red dot with the iron sights in front of the optic. The Wolverine slide was a decent price, had the sights in front of the dot and came with a set of fiber optic suppressor height sights. And with a discount through ExpertVoice it was a really competitive price.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiU-QeHUWyt3NAFS0mXcPhGrbiN_70ahXjXy_2a_U2Ba1TGlqPOz4KCUKCXMv6Q_lqH_UtojnILyQDTLjlmPWrwKGB55F5E0FpuPD-oiCZAkjZBK4ctQuDRJALf9aKi6W1RIEdaLeQ59ZiM-FezAAg_Qn0-SDQiJQw1W8A8tkRIu6yr3tkANQwXC_e5A/s4032/1B968AD0-00EE-4203-B48A-02CE60D27BAE.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiU-QeHUWyt3NAFS0mXcPhGrbiN_70ahXjXy_2a_U2Ba1TGlqPOz4KCUKCXMv6Q_lqH_UtojnILyQDTLjlmPWrwKGB55F5E0FpuPD-oiCZAkjZBK4ctQuDRJALf9aKi6W1RIEdaLeQ59ZiM-FezAAg_Qn0-SDQiJQw1W8A8tkRIu6yr3tkANQwXC_e5A/w240-h320/1B968AD0-00EE-4203-B48A-02CE60D27BAE.jpeg" title="SwampFox and parts ready to assemble" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With Brownells <a href="https://bit.ly/3wDOL6t" target="_blank">Glock parts kit </a>laid out, I started the process of putting the slide together. Take a look at the photo below. It shows the firing pin, spring and extractor spring pieces lined up for assembly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PMUBZVFzrtNMw9bbsgyk4D4-yoIEnyOh1CiJ7g5LHtfgJIgSXrTSE8DHUDn2ubUQbaRuLsF2Sx2DEE0F7YFvScsqEiTxpJ76IqtlCw195j5AOP3rS-zMNMdceTXQYL2LHAsKPdqwUEgLw0T-p2dJtAUbshDC4BiLeQcot5ykSF5v6UESvHt166ykYA/s4032/5DB42F43-869F-443A-B1CA-43631ADB7018.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PMUBZVFzrtNMw9bbsgyk4D4-yoIEnyOh1CiJ7g5LHtfgJIgSXrTSE8DHUDn2ubUQbaRuLsF2Sx2DEE0F7YFvScsqEiTxpJ76IqtlCw195j5AOP3rS-zMNMdceTXQYL2LHAsKPdqwUEgLw0T-p2dJtAUbshDC4BiLeQcot5ykSF5v6UESvHt166ykYA/s320/5DB42F43-869F-443A-B1CA-43631ADB7018.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Below is the installation of the firing pin safety and spring. The spring should be facing the top of the slide, which in this photo is down on the table.</div><div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV-8rhCMd7KrrcWVV-5j1q54tAhjVgvKKsYWVEcAxLiLRBeu_d08BTFbpgnynLlut7Vdi-jRLh2i62aABk9lwiKL9JzHN2x3BX4MEJmMMjSCBSTNUm4Ktak5MCQm2LJE4nZquza3ICGWWXZs24ahOmTEQDQV3dVw_Lvk3Dh7EYlxNI7DUJUs8-r63NA/s4032/DAF6ABE2-A3C4-4CB9-A1C2-E267768DA85A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV-8rhCMd7KrrcWVV-5j1q54tAhjVgvKKsYWVEcAxLiLRBeu_d08BTFbpgnynLlut7Vdi-jRLh2i62aABk9lwiKL9JzHN2x3BX4MEJmMMjSCBSTNUm4Ktak5MCQm2LJE4nZquza3ICGWWXZs24ahOmTEQDQV3dVw_Lvk3Dh7EYlxNI7DUJUs8-r63NA/s320/DAF6ABE2-A3C4-4CB9-A1C2-E267768DA85A.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next, while holding the firing pin safety down, the extractor can be installed and should be held in place with the firing pin safety.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil81l7xNEZvB2LUOk2aPtn1tYv3MgWr6gjGz1DxrhqtCog1AvAOlVN-qNAafEiRrVPl7M7T6s0dx7UgBu8t4MG46XOxd6HUJzP8cdKhXjBj9GMwqrdnnjPwUvC5CHQ9mJr1osY8nTB9f2LJP5MvX31nyZZJZaZ6_-pb_DasrYGyCoi_dQez6p9BjeioA/s4032/7A97EABB-2256-499D-8C48-52B9690C9B3E.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil81l7xNEZvB2LUOk2aPtn1tYv3MgWr6gjGz1DxrhqtCog1AvAOlVN-qNAafEiRrVPl7M7T6s0dx7UgBu8t4MG46XOxd6HUJzP8cdKhXjBj9GMwqrdnnjPwUvC5CHQ9mJr1osY8nTB9f2LJP5MvX31nyZZJZaZ6_-pb_DasrYGyCoi_dQez6p9BjeioA/s320/7A97EABB-2256-499D-8C48-52B9690C9B3E.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next install the parts for the extractor spring and firing pin. See the photo previously that showed the order of the parts, also below is the black plastic spacer pictured below.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF8MlKxeQAS6z4hnVSCuJ2t2rEPhqDi_gvT2bF1goy2JyG_RZHluqHrmWIqY6S7WVSj3v3qtarjsdfd4WrNSuS_CtLMreUUNdL_PuGus_2CsihzHJfUbYOwIV1DGs3pYfSTDwhoSu1JjT2V3emPfWZVgqgYDvBFTbzCkp0jcrDywIXY32mx4FeCo9rA/s4032/D39189A9-050A-403A-BDDE-5F1BA9338611.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF8MlKxeQAS6z4hnVSCuJ2t2rEPhqDi_gvT2bF1goy2JyG_RZHluqHrmWIqY6S7WVSj3v3qtarjsdfd4WrNSuS_CtLMreUUNdL_PuGus_2CsihzHJfUbYOwIV1DGs3pYfSTDwhoSu1JjT2V3emPfWZVgqgYDvBFTbzCkp0jcrDywIXY32mx4FeCo9rA/s320/D39189A9-050A-403A-BDDE-5F1BA9338611.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>With everything aligned and installed as shown above, insert the slide plate as picture below. You will have to press the springs in as you move the plate, but it is a pretty easy process.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMudEknMtO8ZBS7WXgfbRq4eowGODY1Wyx0bH3bMB2FYbTdPhGbcW7ZIi0jtwwjUlIUiFcflJDHIOZN9GbJXZFfwUN3RsDargicBNg0bs0C8SbV8VYaqr1zTRTWWdFzeUfI7qSzIcWu-n-kmSdke0_gOfpwElL8ugQPLKF2XkHESxGRL3y_R-BpOzEg/s4032/51F021A3-D1DD-4552-94AB-962604145035.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMudEknMtO8ZBS7WXgfbRq4eowGODY1Wyx0bH3bMB2FYbTdPhGbcW7ZIi0jtwwjUlIUiFcflJDHIOZN9GbJXZFfwUN3RsDargicBNg0bs0C8SbV8VYaqr1zTRTWWdFzeUfI7qSzIcWu-n-kmSdke0_gOfpwElL8ugQPLKF2XkHESxGRL3y_R-BpOzEg/s320/51F021A3-D1DD-4552-94AB-962604145035.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />Once you have those pieces installed you just have to install the sights and put in the barrel and recoil spring just like a normal field strip and re-assembly. I forgot to take photos of the sight assembly. Ideally you would use a sight pusher to install the rear sight properly. The Swampfox and some other sights come with an aluminum tool that allows you to gently tap the sight into place. In this build I used a<a href="https://bit.ly/3PYKBge" target="_blank"> SilencerCO threaded barrel </a>from Brownells and replaced the plastic recoil spring that came with the parts kit for a <a href="https://bit.ly/3KrZMNW" target="_blank">Lone Wolf Stainless Guide Rod</a>. For magazines I bought a handful of the <a href="https://bit.ly/3CDNv7b">Glock GL9</a> Glock magazines. Finally, the pistol is topped with a <a href="https://bit.ly/3AqHI2h" target="_blank">Holosun 507c X2</a> to take advantage of the RMR footprint, but at a little lower price point.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now that the pistol is all set up, the next post in this series will talk about shooting and running the gun. And as a spoiler, there were some issues that came up...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<script src="https://classic.avantlink.com/link.php?merchant_link_id=02a7e0f0-5cc2-4c6e-aa40-2cfbca9e6e28&affiliate_id=79601f1c-d8ea-4746-bd62-3f788cd3fa2b&website_id=219c5fcf-c04e-44cf-ae72-58ff20548f36&open=_blank" type="text/javascript"></script>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-85696752022260294882022-06-20T10:00:00.006-06:002022-06-20T10:00:00.144-06:00ETS C.A.M. Universal Loader for Rifles Review<p>Last year I picked up an MP5k clone made by PTR Industries. I have really been enjoying the gun, I even registered it as a Short Barreled Rifle and put a stock on it a few months after owning it. One day I was walking through a local Murdoch's and noticed an ETS Universal Loader for rifles. I noticed that they said it could be used for pistol caliber magazines in addition to rifle calibers. They claimed it would work with 9mm, .223, 300 blk, 5.45x39, 7.62x39 and 308. I figured that loading my MP5 magazines and potentially Colt SMG magazines easier would be worth the price, so I bought it to try out.</p><p>MSRP for the C.A.M loader is $30, which is pretty close to the price of a MagLULA loader, which is around $25. I already had a MagLULA for the Colt SMG magazines and another for pistol magazines. It works great, but you load one bullet at a time and for the Colt SMG or MP5 magazines you need a specific loader for each magazine type. The C.A.M. loader doesn't lock onto the magazine, but it does give you the option to use one loader for most double stack rifle magazines.</p><p>First off, I typically throw all of my reloaded pistol ammo in bulk boxes, so I had to find some factory ammo sitting around to be able to strip the rounds properly. You can single feed the rounds from a bulk box onto the loader, but you lose some of the speed of using a speed loader. With a factory 9mm box you can run the loader length-wise and pick up 10 rounds at a time. Once the rounds are on the loader, you use the handle to push them down into the magazine. If you hold the magazine into the speed loader as you pick up rounds and have the handle ready to use, you can load a 30 round magazine in a matter of seconds. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="372" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/63d1w8WqsIM" width="447" youtube-src-id="63d1w8WqsIM"></iframe></div><p><br /></p><p><b>First Impressions</b></p><p>When I first tried this with the MP5 magazines I was expecting it to work OK, but potentially have some issues with getting the last few rounds in. With MP5 magazines from HK and ETS I found all 30 rounds went smoothly and quickly into the magazine without an issue. After one range session I was sold on the speed loader and picked up some plastic 9mm boxes to be able to store my reloads.</p><p>Since this was a "universal loader" I wanted to try as many other options as possible to see what worked and what didn't. Sticking with the 9mm theme, I also loaded some Colt SMG magazines and tried out some borrowed CZ Scorpion magazines. I then tried loading 223 into Magpul and USGI style magazines and finally loaded some 6.5 Creedmoor ammo into 308 pattern Magpul magazines. Overall, the loader worked well with everything I tried. I'll mention a couple quirks with the Scorpion down below and unfortunately I didn't have any 7.62x39 or 5.45x39 options to test out.</p><p>It's been over a year since I bought the loader and I am very happy with it. It primarily gets used for the MP5 magazines and the occasional Colt SMG magazine. With a handful of magazines, several boxes of ammo set out and just a couple minutes I can have hundreds of rounds loaded. </p><p><b>Complaints</b></p><p>I have had a couple issues. The narrow MP5 magazines work really well, but the fatter Scorpion magazines, primarily those from Magpul can be a pain. You have to have the Magpul Scorpion magazine lined up just right for the rounds to feed smoothly. This isn't a major issues, especially after you try it a few times and get used to where to line up the magazine. </p><p>The second issue I have had is with 308 sized ammo. There are two grooves that pick up ammo, a small and a large. The small grove works for 9mm, 223, etc and is deeper in the loader. The larger groove is towards the outside edge and is for 308 and large case heads. When I first bought the loader I could run 308 or 6.5 Creedmoor rounds into a Magpul AR-10 magazine with ease. Since I don't normally use those magazines, I didn't try it again until making the YouTube video above. When I tried it for the video, I noticed that the larger channel barely allowed the rounds to move and I couldn't get them all the way down to the magazine. I'm not sure what caused the issue, but it looks like the bottom portion that holds the magazine in place is bent in, creating a gap too narrow to feed larger rounds. </p><p><b>Conclusion</b></p><p>Overall, I've have been very happy with this loader for what I bought it for. It has worked great for 9mm and 223 magazines. If you are wanting to load 308 case sized ammo, I'm not sure if this will work as well for you.</p><p>Have you used this loader, or do you prefer a different one? Let me know in the comments below.</p><p><br /></p>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-16380560187782666272022-06-02T14:02:00.003-06:002022-06-02T14:02:31.886-06:0090 Day Form 4 E-File<p style="text-align: left;">Tired of waiting a year to get your suppressor? In December of 2021 the ATF opened up the e-file system for Form 4 transfers by individuals and trusts. Claiming 90 day transfers, what does the system really look like? Take a look at this review and the video below to hear my experience with the e-file Form 4 and my 99 day approval.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfXFy3ZDKUSRAQus8Ew9dwb4ixwmT5yjKWZvFo7NgN0_u1xa_glxngCa_ODp1TWoOgKh4Oxx3YLzOSBa6KN3jIRf4L-ndzF-usJQglXFO_L9pveAozVP_Qx-x2k-LiKxCEumt5Qu1W9OI-pmS5PtRpmK62fEx2VqJ5KKesAmScybtQK1p_UwowzXDtw/s1102/99%20Day%20Form%204%20Efile.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfXFy3ZDKUSRAQus8Ew9dwb4ixwmT5yjKWZvFo7NgN0_u1xa_glxngCa_ODp1TWoOgKh4Oxx3YLzOSBa6KN3jIRf4L-ndzF-usJQglXFO_L9pveAozVP_Qx-x2k-LiKxCEumt5Qu1W9OI-pmS5PtRpmK62fEx2VqJ5KKesAmScybtQK1p_UwowzXDtw/s320/99%20Day%20Form%204%20Efile.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p>Over the past several years I have purchased several suppressors and had to wait anywhere from 4 months to just over 13 months to get the paper Form 4 approved by the ATF. As a comparison, you have been able to build a suppressor with the Form 1 e-file process for a few years. In fact, I have created 2 SBRs with the Form 1 process and both were within a couple days of a 30 day approval. That's a huge difference compared to the current wait of nearly a year for paper Form 4s. See an older video towards the bottom of this post that talks about the Form 1 process.</p><p>Around the Black Friday shopping season last year (2021) I decided to take advantage of the SilencerCO buy one get one sale to buy a second Omega 300 suppressor. Not only would this allow me to avoid swapping a hot suppressor at the range, but I would get a free SilencerCO Octane. I bought the suppressor through Silencer Shop and was contacted about e-file. The ATF was claiming that the e-file system for Form 4s would be available in December of 2021. </p><p>Silencer Shop asked if I was interested in waiting for the e-file system to come online to submit my Form 4, or if I would rather just submit the paper form and get it started. I looked up the trends on paper Form 4 and noticed that they were running about a year from submission to approval. The ATF was expecting and Silencer Shop was pushing a 90 day approval time frame. I figured there may be some difficulties and a mass submission as they started, but decided that I would probably still come out ahead compared to the year long wait.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="343" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3zExXqR_cAc" width="412" youtube-src-id="3zExXqR_cAc"></iframe></div><br /><p>As expected there were some issues with the ATF getting the site up and then being able to keep it up and running as thousands of people submitted tax stamps. Added on to that, there was some learning curve for Silencer Shop and my local dealer to figure out the proper way to submit the form online and have me as the customer certify it from my end. Ultimately, it wasn't until January 27th that the dealer completed the Form 4 and it was officially in the hands of the ATF. </p><p>As I've been through the Form 4 process a few times before, the next item of business was to sit back and wait. Finally, on May 6th I received an e-mail from the ATF that my Form 4 was approved and a PDF of the tax stamp was attached. About an hour later I received an e-mail from the dealer that they received confirmation that it was approved and I could come pick up my suppressor. </p><p>All together it took 99 days for the stamp itself to be approved, or about 5 months total if you count the wait before the actual submission of the paperwork. When I checked the trends for paper Form 4 approvals at the beginning of May, it looked like they were taking around 10+ months for approval. So even with the two month wait, I still received approval in about half the time as I would have with a paper submission.</p><p>Overall, I was pleased with how much faster the approval took. A couple weeks after I picked up my Omega 300 I was notified that the BOGO Octane from SilencerCO was at my dealer. We submitted that second e-file about a week ago and I am curious how long it will take for this second suppressor to be approved.</p><p>Have you used the e-file process yet? Are you more interested in purchasing a suppressor with the reduced wait time? Let me know in the comment section below.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aBD4PeWyi4A" width="508" youtube-src-id="aBD4PeWyi4A"></iframe></p><p></p>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-88188994432419173312022-05-31T10:00:00.002-06:002022-08-28T17:52:15.835-06:00Lone Wolf Freedom Wolf Lower Parts Kit Installation<p>In this post we are going to install a Lone Wolf lower parts kit into a Freedom Wolf 80% frame. The last post covered completing the frame and getting it ready to install the parts. You can check view the series here:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBnSLLK3Ap6eKA8lfyQwqa_ztvsuGdCgTOjPK9qbOPZuHQN-vF7BNy0cdcB2zRG0FuBE9FKAM7pAsZc-2Z5mazBjAwgbL4awV_5bmtzrhg0xnQKrus0JKGkAl2EueIP3hKOQ9QqnvGQr-3Sjn-maHELKTVFxtt3uu0CVwNja0x2f21ZuWruoLZPA8Jw/s4032/IMG_2758.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBnSLLK3Ap6eKA8lfyQwqa_ztvsuGdCgTOjPK9qbOPZuHQN-vF7BNy0cdcB2zRG0FuBE9FKAM7pAsZc-2Z5mazBjAwgbL4awV_5bmtzrhg0xnQKrus0JKGkAl2EueIP3hKOQ9QqnvGQr-3Sjn-maHELKTVFxtt3uu0CVwNja0x2f21ZuWruoLZPA8Jw/w320-h240/IMG_2758.HEIC" title="Freedom Wolf 80% Lower Parts Kit build" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><ul><li> <a href="https://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/2022/01/lone-wolf-freedom-wolf-80-lower-build.html">Lone Wolf Freedom Wolf 80% Lower Build</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2022/05/lone-wolf-freedom-wolf-lower-parts-kit.html" target="_blank">Lone Wolf Freedom Wolf Lower Parts Kit Installation</a></li><li><a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2022/08/swampfox-slide-assembly.html" target="_blank">Assembling the slide parts kit.</a></li><li>Test firing and overall review.</li></ul><p>As I mentioned in the previous post, I'm not going to make this a complete how to. There are others out there if you need details for every step, but this will go through the general installation. The Freedom Wolf takes mostly Gen 3 lower parts, but some, like the magazine release is a Gen 4 part. Also, a lot of the lower parts kits out there don't come with the locking block that you need. You can piece together what you need, but I decided to use the kit that comes from Lone Wolf as it comes with all of the right parts. You can get it from Lone Wolf here: <a href="https://bit.ly/3IAWC8C">LWD Frame Completion Kits for Timberwolf</a>. I ended up buying mine through Rainier Arms for about $10 less than from Lone Wolf: <a href="https://bit.ly/3nXVVhF">LWD Frame Completion Kits for Timberwolf</a>. Rainier doesn't have it in stock as often, but they offer it a little cheaper.</p><p>I started off by installing the small spring for the slide takedown lever.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-gZ5I3cjquhardSLEuvKJx9yupMZYlcPrvRtI8RcLLZ0CHWG824-29fcZBfXydNX6ggONTH6XMlu0SARTI-vZpgUwBjAu8ySwu00Sxqq3QRhV04FIxZs7gPbzy2q_Ok281dlmO6cAsPu_A_dkSGnlIbb9o9itB-kvSm26S82NTknEwYQQdm9enqSWQ/s4032/IMG_2760.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-gZ5I3cjquhardSLEuvKJx9yupMZYlcPrvRtI8RcLLZ0CHWG824-29fcZBfXydNX6ggONTH6XMlu0SARTI-vZpgUwBjAu8ySwu00Sxqq3QRhV04FIxZs7gPbzy2q_Ok281dlmO6cAsPu_A_dkSGnlIbb9o9itB-kvSm26S82NTknEwYQQdm9enqSWQ/s320/IMG_2760.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p>Make sure the spring is pressed all the way down, then hold it down as you slide the takedown level into place:</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiuanQ-ts_AUUaMY82SGNW5afW6Myy0Wh5CYbTMyGucNpVG_08rwKEPXQItmpJnpGwzAV3CxAVX-Cyq5tcBU3FrSmjkx2wQQ246pm6Dl2E1esw4l_jdqVeXVe6gZ8deip7JVQN8I48CsMtYyOEkMZg948y_12_qg4QWFWk3NnBkLlaIe7kfTCqKcXcCQ/s4032/IMG_2761.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiuanQ-ts_AUUaMY82SGNW5afW6Myy0Wh5CYbTMyGucNpVG_08rwKEPXQItmpJnpGwzAV3CxAVX-Cyq5tcBU3FrSmjkx2wQQ246pm6Dl2E1esw4l_jdqVeXVe6gZ8deip7JVQN8I48CsMtYyOEkMZg948y_12_qg4QWFWk3NnBkLlaIe7kfTCqKcXcCQ/s320/IMG_2761.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Next I installed the magazine release, first by installing the spring into the magazine well and holding it out of place while I inserted the release. It's difficult to get a great picture, but here is an idea of it:</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZmXxXk1rrfCKbaXcHsWyRnzuZoh3LJJ8JElXA_7QRuqybtcROYmYm9vgEf93uVT2XEi4C4dy-X9R-VpRvKW5Nex9iuZ1ckPl1QCLvgSQyl5EnqYfGtlN1wz_aBzza_PHeHTvJcxtx74cPYZeVwsHQtBxJ18nszLoNNOAsAiWIJWgz-IIEyuu-AG9qA/s4032/IMG_2759.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZmXxXk1rrfCKbaXcHsWyRnzuZoh3LJJ8JElXA_7QRuqybtcROYmYm9vgEf93uVT2XEi4C4dy-X9R-VpRvKW5Nex9iuZ1ckPl1QCLvgSQyl5EnqYfGtlN1wz_aBzza_PHeHTvJcxtx74cPYZeVwsHQtBxJ18nszLoNNOAsAiWIJWgz-IIEyuu-AG9qA/s320/IMG_2759.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: left;">The Lone Wolf parts kit has an adjustable trigger stop, which has to be installed before the fire control assembly is installed:</span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77HvMiIHuMhXpl6S2eAze6cjfA9Xu6lloEy_EQ6779nRiTXXHuktQ7IE_eHKsOLnIRWPUdzoqmWq7oRyG2shqAhAf2eflS93na3Q7Kwx05XVwPnfG2avv7aEc2S1wjgpKdlxYfWzxYbTrAMOiFPbtdn9YjaE3OkwiDQ8OeSUYypVgiR2YTFvYEsuPAA/s4032/IMG_2763.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77HvMiIHuMhXpl6S2eAze6cjfA9Xu6lloEy_EQ6779nRiTXXHuktQ7IE_eHKsOLnIRWPUdzoqmWq7oRyG2shqAhAf2eflS93na3Q7Kwx05XVwPnfG2avv7aEc2S1wjgpKdlxYfWzxYbTrAMOiFPbtdn9YjaE3OkwiDQ8OeSUYypVgiR2YTFvYEsuPAA/s320/IMG_2763.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: left;">Since this isn't designed to be a complete guide, you may have to look up the detailed assembly steps, but it should look like this before it goes in the gun:</span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVYF_kZDXDqb1C62s_iTXrRTe8Nu65Eskc5fu98wUgpqPld9xEM6qfk2Sa7qPbSqYjHpEzHoZF-kQDTT440em9EGvMl1kaIafvlWu5W2pTdlLy3BcuAuyMXRv3SmFFwHtFl65CkAeYwk3GBsk7Z8uy9M6VWm8oxS4FkMZFUrYBcQ89RbT6kqpkHaRxg/s4032/IMG_2764.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVYF_kZDXDqb1C62s_iTXrRTe8Nu65Eskc5fu98wUgpqPld9xEM6qfk2Sa7qPbSqYjHpEzHoZF-kQDTT440em9EGvMl1kaIafvlWu5W2pTdlLy3BcuAuyMXRv3SmFFwHtFl65CkAeYwk3GBsk7Z8uy9M6VWm8oxS4FkMZFUrYBcQ89RbT6kqpkHaRxg/s320/IMG_2764.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwhk8q4OLbeyAn1GuzZIjyyFQV6dD1glxPWTbSmAfDBjxBa79pgqwmZkSrdGTkOM62nWH7jftyhOrW3Ts-9ME_GqQnmvovDS8M1eK4O8wsl9qVYlDxPMAog_3rCHQCVs5QosAbhGWEqSgXmm_Hm6J2J0Q7XEtBZnm2hfc6CW40vOsHmxtXkztgM8FfQ/s3410/IMG_2765.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1714" data-original-width="3410" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwhk8q4OLbeyAn1GuzZIjyyFQV6dD1glxPWTbSmAfDBjxBa79pgqwmZkSrdGTkOM62nWH7jftyhOrW3Ts-9ME_GqQnmvovDS8M1eK4O8wsl9qVYlDxPMAog_3rCHQCVs5QosAbhGWEqSgXmm_Hm6J2J0Q7XEtBZnm2hfc6CW40vOsHmxtXkztgM8FfQ/s320/IMG_2765.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With it assembled, install it in the gun and pin it in place:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhU6Qg8oy7fTK4DTcfsLsh7UkJReTxF9r__sXLs_fg5xByh9z79o5hWAAMUswHtle35NqIk8JMj6t2hYkG6dnfGHzbneSKPG00IMosSZcTi31P5CWe3z68kwZdHF83DrUZmWV4aa9dFWOgW2BMAgg_gC560-0oKwXRjJ5EN-P8OVcNtWOZN90_D6_SI=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhU6Qg8oy7fTK4DTcfsLsh7UkJReTxF9r__sXLs_fg5xByh9z79o5hWAAMUswHtle35NqIk8JMj6t2hYkG6dnfGHzbneSKPG00IMosSZcTi31P5CWe3z68kwZdHF83DrUZmWV4aa9dFWOgW2BMAgg_gC560-0oKwXRjJ5EN-P8OVcNtWOZN90_D6_SI=s320" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">I installed the locking block and pinned it in place with the trigger:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3JVUUe4i5rE3zNHXKOgCZnnSua2OjdykjS-GHp108dSHYn11gX3MG2bPrjWRJeIThlfciwNkLvhXWFQsmZ-oAeC-H-abHlXMlUn89jfmWyvUpfTZ9wPRPrhdyEsMiANPOFq2HAaj2dDOp7qMStJ99vG8KZg_jwl-I-Cdvflq2Q01BLPsCCH2Ip1j2=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3JVUUe4i5rE3zNHXKOgCZnnSua2OjdykjS-GHp108dSHYn11gX3MG2bPrjWRJeIThlfciwNkLvhXWFQsmZ-oAeC-H-abHlXMlUn89jfmWyvUpfTZ9wPRPrhdyEsMiANPOFq2HAaj2dDOp7qMStJ99vG8KZg_jwl-I-Cdvflq2Q01BLPsCCH2Ip1j2=s320" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEVTZAdFRoMmiLLrMf0oNj9MuzaQYMVwiL6WqKnDm79v8YoTSVXSecx1EZbmHuBXZ4WIwxmw6afYy3Y-cIcXvOzH0wJqI2S_Xi1pblPv5MIzGDIcCbvTrd4pDJkbWAQ8G_THI_Utu-ue7sRX1Dh61lsQjAkOr_Xhx33wGgiXj73ht2CX8QgCjQY3Nkg/s4032/IMG_2769.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEVTZAdFRoMmiLLrMf0oNj9MuzaQYMVwiL6WqKnDm79v8YoTSVXSecx1EZbmHuBXZ4WIwxmw6afYy3Y-cIcXvOzH0wJqI2S_Xi1pblPv5MIzGDIcCbvTrd4pDJkbWAQ8G_THI_Utu-ue7sRX1Dh61lsQjAkOr_Xhx33wGgiXj73ht2CX8QgCjQY3Nkg/s320/IMG_2769.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">For the next step I didn't get a good picture, but you install the slide stop and spring and pin that in place.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTt6IJj8Ls7q9UX6U1xzZLSbk7OF-gt7LCqm36td-OWHN7EdCYTmXzsKea8fYmKGm5i1HOXYCuQ-VwnhyZr5Wx6eoSOuDJUAbnKjqrpRZlBaMF8kvjFGGXiH3rR2b0hAnHIO3kYBSYssNqm0pyNs-7GS7IIXUjhf_XzZGJSRlctncM-hnQlVvdQMR6Hg/s4032/IMG_2770.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTt6IJj8Ls7q9UX6U1xzZLSbk7OF-gt7LCqm36td-OWHN7EdCYTmXzsKea8fYmKGm5i1HOXYCuQ-VwnhyZr5Wx6eoSOuDJUAbnKjqrpRZlBaMF8kvjFGGXiH3rR2b0hAnHIO3kYBSYssNqm0pyNs-7GS7IIXUjhf_XzZGJSRlctncM-hnQlVvdQMR6Hg/s320/IMG_2770.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With all of the lower assembly parts installed, it's time to install your upper assembly of choice. In the next post in this series I will be assembling a Swamp Fox slide to complete this build. Then we will take it out for test firing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Take a look at the links at the top of this post to see each of the posts in this series. Have you used the Lone Wolf lower parts kit, or Freedom Wolf 80% lower? Let me know in the comments below.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/16057/719237/208437/268521/image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="728" height="78" src="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/16057/719237/208437/268521/image.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-73939464827273658942022-05-20T10:39:00.000-06:002022-05-20T10:39:54.684-06:00RTS Tactical Advanced Sleek 2.0 Plate Carrier Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HA_iGK5kYKh51KrZIVHAewbnHVL5eQTlATomr-Rk_t7InL_VQUFktI1yGpV6VmYstDIoHinGfopkMrnKbe-iTcsZ8Q2Z6ufn2QnGRMz444vPt7ZyzOhmxDXQOsJQKcOb5LtePqktJnyugFXuLbIUMVHn1kgxNVotYQTFZWZmrqe7DTV1A_vNDX3J7Q/s1102/C8111627-DD24-42C9-A66C-1460C1366C50.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HA_iGK5kYKh51KrZIVHAewbnHVL5eQTlATomr-Rk_t7InL_VQUFktI1yGpV6VmYstDIoHinGfopkMrnKbe-iTcsZ8Q2Z6ufn2QnGRMz444vPt7ZyzOhmxDXQOsJQKcOb5LtePqktJnyugFXuLbIUMVHn1kgxNVotYQTFZWZmrqe7DTV1A_vNDX3J7Q/s320/C8111627-DD24-42C9-A66C-1460C1366C50.png" width="213" /></a></div>Looking at buying a plate carrier, but you want something lower profile than the typical flak jacket looking vest? RTS Tactical just released their Advanced Sleek 2.0 Plate Carrier that provides a lower profile option, more along the lines of concealable body armor. But this carrier still accepts level III+ and level IV ballistic plates for protection against rifle threats. Let's take a look at this new carrier and what it offers.<p></p><p>To get started, RTS Tactical sent me this plate carrier to review. They didn't provide any other compensation or requirements, just asked for a review. </p><p>So, taking a look at <a href="https://bit.ly/3MvRYuL" target="_blank">this carrier</a>, a few things stood out immediately. The plate carrier appears to be very well made and it looks comfortable to wear. The carrier holds smaller trauma plates and has a breathable cordura mesh on the inside of the vest that allows the plates to stand off your body for airflow. </p><p>The carrier has a sleek exterior, unlike many other carriers that have MOLLE attachments for pouches and accessories. The Advanced Sleek 2.0 carrier only has velcro on the exterior. Patches at the top and bottom are for the strap system. Both the front and back have patches of velcro for identification or morale patches depending on your need.</p><p>The waist straps are wide and have plastic covered ends that make for donning and doffing of the vest extremely easy. The straps also have very clever pouches sewn in that can hold two AR-15 magazines per side, or two pistol magazines and a rifle magazine per side. You could also use the pouches to hold other accessories such as a tourniquet. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="342" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xjMQJJVp2vc" width="412" youtube-src-id="xjMQJJVp2vc"></iframe></div><p>The straps to sit a little high, so it will help with concealing magazines under a jacket, but could cause some reach issues for users with limited shoulder mobility. It is also somewhat difficult to get magazines back into the slots, especially pistol magazines that have elastic loops within the larger magazine slot. This isn't much of an issue to me, as with a concealable plate carrier you probably will not need to stow magazines once they are deployed. </p><p>The slots for installing the armor plates use a large flap with rubber loops on the corners. This allows for easy opening of the velcro flap, but the large patch of velcro gives a very secure hold for even the heaviest plates. In dozens of open and close cycles as I test out the carrier, I did not notice any deterioration of the velcro surface.</p><p>Another feature that I really like is the cordura mesh on the back of the plate carrier. The mesh has a spongy yet firm feeling that allows it to hold the armor away from your skin, allowing more airflow through it than a typical carrier that only uses a thin layer of fabric between the plate and your body. Anybody that has worn armor for a shift or deployment knows that it typically gets hot and sticky very quickly. Although I haven't worn this carrier for a shift, the testing I have done with it so far shows that the mesh helps to keep the temperature more tolerable and your shirt drier.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/18005/864297/208437/268521/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="300" height="600" src="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/18005/864297/208437/268521/image.png" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p>As for plates, I tested the carrier with some ceramic plates that I had on hand. A 7"x9" front plate and a 8"X10" back plate. There was a little extra room in the carrier, but not a lot. Ceramic tends to be lighter than steel, but I found the carrier was very comfortable with the plates in it. Armor steel plates would be heavier, but I'm confident they would also be comfortable.</p><p>RTS Tactical makes several other plate carriers that offer MOLLE attachments, larger plate areas and even side plate options. The Advanced Sleek 2.0 carrier certainly isn't a replacement for those larger carriers when you can afford the bulk and weight of a complete carrier. It does, however, give you the option of rifle rated level III+ or IV plates in a compact package that can be worn under a light jacket or thrown over concealable body armor.</p><p>If the concealability and low profile fit your mission, I think this carrier is worth considering. At <a href="https://bit.ly/3MvRYuL" target="_blank">$129.99 on the RTS Tactical website</a> it is a high quality carrier for the money. If you need a complete package, RTS Tactical also has kits that include the <a href="https://bit.ly/3FWs1Cl">carrier and armor</a>.</p><p>What do you use for armor? Let me know in the comment section below:<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-80448584905403853262022-05-02T08:00:00.023-06:002022-05-02T08:00:00.163-06:00Vortex Crossfire HD Rangefinder<p>Last week Vortex Optics released several new rangefinders with HD glass. I had the opportunity to test out the Crossfire HD rangefinder when it was released. The Crossfire HD is the entry level to HD glass in Vortex Optics. The glass quality is definitely on par with higher end optics, but overall the price is still affordable to a lot of users. Let's take a look at the features of the Crossfire HD rangefinder.</p><p>Vortex announced this rangefinder with an MSRP of $269.99, but as is typical with a lot of the Vortex products, the actual street price is about $199.99 at places such as <a href="https://bit.ly/3ORdrQn" target="_blank">EuroOptic</a>. This is a competitive price for a rangefinder that is rated for 1400 yards on reflective targets and uses HD glass. I can tell you my old rangefinders before I switched to the Vortex Fury HD rangefinding binoculars had glass that left a lot to be desired. </p><p>Before we take a look at the specs, check out my video on the Crossfire HD here:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="341" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3yPZq9ElTq0" width="410" youtube-src-id="3yPZq9ElTq0"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/14619/596391/208437/268521/image.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="160" height="600" src="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/14619/596391/208437/268521/image.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Now, let's take a look at some of specs:</p><p>Max Reflective Range-<span> </span>1400 yards</p><p><span>Tree Range-<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>950 yards</span></p><p><span><span>Deer Range-<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>750 yards</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>Minimum usable range- 5 yards</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Weight-<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>4.8 ozs<span> </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Dimensions-<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>4"L x 1.3"W x 2.9"H</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p>Field of View- <span> </span><span> 367 ft @1000 yards</span></p><p><br /><span>You can see more info about the actual distances that I was measuring in the video above, but overall their projected numbers are pretty accurate. I couldn't quite get to 1400 yards on a building, but I was getting at least 950 yards on trees and open field areas. The more expensive rangefinders in the Vortex lineup will offer longer effective distances, but for most hunters and shooters the near 1000 yard tree ranging distance should be plenty. </span></p><p>The display is a red LED display that is adjustable for brightness. The default brightness in the middle might be a little dim for some eyes, especially if there was a lot of snow on the ground. Fortunately, I found that the brighter settings were plenty bright enough for pretty much anything you will need.</p><p>There are two ranging modes available, a Horizontal Component Distance (HCD) and Line of Sight (LOS). The HCD mode uses the distance and angle to give you an equivalent total distance. This is a yardage that your bullet or arrow "thinks" that it is flying. It allows reasonably accurate shots out to around 800 yards without having to calculate the angle of the shot.</p><p>If you want to be more precise, the LOS mode gives you a reading of the straight line distance and angle up or down towards the ranged target. This allows you to add your own specific angle compensation.</p><p>There is also a first and last mode. If there is grass, branches or other objects around what you are trying to range, you can use these modes to get a more accurate measurement. If the animal or target that you are trying to range is in front of grass or trees, use the first mode to get a range to the target and ignore what is behind it. If you are trying to range an elk through the trees, use the last mode to get a distance to the furthest object.</p><p>Even though I prefer rangefinding binoculars, I really like what the Crossfire HD rangefinder offers in such a small light package. This is a great option for an archer, or shooter that doesn't need the range or ballistic software of some of the more expensive options out there. If you want to check out the Crossfire HD at EuroOptic use <a href="https://bit.ly/3ORdrQn">this link</a> to take a look at support this site. It doesn't cost you anything and helps me to fund other reviews that aren't provided by the manufacturers. </p><p><span>If you're interested in rangefinding binoculars, check out my video on the Vortex Fury HD here:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="309" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5M31Bux4dwI" width="372" youtube-src-id="5M31Bux4dwI"></iframe></div><br /><span><br /></span><p></p>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-77404328239650663232022-04-25T09:00:00.015-06:002022-08-28T17:52:46.235-06:00Lone Wolf Freedom Wolf 80% Lower Build<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">80% pistol lowers have been around for a few years now and have a following for a variety of reasons. Some like them because the frame is not serialized and does not require a transfer through a dealer. Others simply like the changed geometry and grip angle compared to a stock Glock pistol. And finally, if you are going to customize your handgun, starting with an 80% frame lets you customize every single part that goes into the gun.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have considered 80% builds for several years, but when I have looked into the cost and the time involved, I put off the project time and time again. Most 80% builds are not going to be cheaper than just buying a stock Glock off the shelf. You might be able to get close if you source the absolute cheapest parts that you can find. But those cheap parts are more likely to cause reliability problems and take away some of the joy of making a custom gun. I also worried about making a mistake with the drilling and filing, or just having issues with reliability due to the variety of parts that were installed.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last Black Friday I received an e-mail from Rainier Arms advertising the Lone Wolf Freedom Wolf 80% lower for $50. The listed MSRP is $150 and currently you can find the lower on the Rainier site for $100 here: <a href="https://bit.ly/3rLzmOp">Freedom Wolf 80% Lower</a> For $50 I decided it was a worthy winter project to try out. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/16437/719513/208437/262493/image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="60" data-original-width="468" height="60" src="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/16437/719513/208437/262493/image.jpg" width="468" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This post is going to talk about the completion of the lower drilling, filing and gluing. I've decided not to make a step-by-step guide as there are already several posts and videos about it. Instead I'll show a few photos from the build and some thoughts about the process. In following posts I will discuss:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul><li> <a href="https://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/2022/01/lone-wolf-freedom-wolf-80-lower-build.html">Lone Wolf Freedom Wolf 80% Lower Build</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2022/05/lone-wolf-freedom-wolf-lower-parts-kit.html" target="_blank">Lone Wolf Freedom Wolf Lower Parts Kit Installation</a></li><li><a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2022/08/swampfox-slide-assembly.html" target="_blank">Assembling the slide parts kit.</a></li><li>Test firing and overall review.</li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div>The Freedom Wolf completion process is different from a Polymer 80, which is probably the most common and popular 80% Glock style lower out there. I haven't built a Polymer 80, but in watching videos and reviews for both, the process has some significant differences. Most notably there is less plastic to remove, but instead of oversized slide rails to pin in, the Lone Wolf design relies on smaller rails that are glued into place and end up looking more similar to the Glock Design. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first steps are to remove some of the plastic that is blocking the area of the locking block and two areas along the guide rod. Here is the initial image before clean up with the areas that need to be removed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOM13rL9YAQ4RCsi1kuABo4-0GjFQH2iYLxK5kRLRIsjxumiMpvDY6sQvHYmTLPb3aL6wx4LQ1il5ohJoApPgQRdQJlgaF_YnUdRFkjatceqc20a8oIgIjMMWxROH5r5Y5fR1mUszHrHAr2O1NnCage_oKHkic925rU9y8_Sa4fYlok9jgLmtb0i_q=s2100" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="1574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOM13rL9YAQ4RCsi1kuABo4-0GjFQH2iYLxK5kRLRIsjxumiMpvDY6sQvHYmTLPb3aL6wx4LQ1il5ohJoApPgQRdQJlgaF_YnUdRFkjatceqc20a8oIgIjMMWxROH5r5Y5fR1mUszHrHAr2O1NnCage_oKHkic925rU9y8_Sa4fYlok9jgLmtb0i_q=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was able to remove most of the plastic with a pair of needle nose pliers. The plastic tabs broke off fairly clean, with some mass along the frame and on the bottom that needed to be cleaned up. Some files and a dremmel are handy for the final touch up. Make sure you go slow here and don't remove too much material. Here is a photo with the tabs removed via pliers. You can see there is still some material, primarily towards the bottom that needs cleaned up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSdQv76qfI8flFzZ3Ldt0UxM_-Dh5ayDk3MwQFPONMHwufOV69skFr1OUi_pnanHRR4FnrX0RtmhbGCm8kLNYh0mq_w9Lp8Un8PNefuxJfhHH4ilFKBsaYv-rUNPZhxfPViiXGrS6k5hYZPfsG2ObIh_ocTcAwr8HPsZZ6iYzvEEYQVu7zFI8tHQjh=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSdQv76qfI8flFzZ3Ldt0UxM_-Dh5ayDk3MwQFPONMHwufOV69skFr1OUi_pnanHRR4FnrX0RtmhbGCm8kLNYh0mq_w9Lp8Un8PNefuxJfhHH4ilFKBsaYv-rUNPZhxfPViiXGrS6k5hYZPfsG2ObIh_ocTcAwr8HPsZZ6iYzvEEYQVu7zFI8tHQjh=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With the internal tabs removed and cleaned up, it's time to drill. The frame comes with a jig and two drill bits. 3mm and 4mm. According to the instructions, you have to make sure that the jig is fully installed and they recommend using a drill press and a vise to hold everything in place. The vise was definitely helpful, just make sure you don't tighten it too much and cause the frame or jig to deflect. I saw several complaints in the reviews that the jig didn't seem to be secure and users were concerned that the frame could move around. I drilled out two frames, one for me and one that my brother bought at the same time. Both of the jigs locked into place on the openings for gluing in the slide rails and seemed very secure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQNMxb48A5qwN2KjWLWkY9vzZNxLO86Vbpoom-EFSOffbvx5gY9uvs12LPV6NoSXIlwfXBlEpstx_byHOl9QUbML2hmYwqUXmdi2appWUR04GiYI9ldqJpzk-ewWfV4bBomjRPIvT7kBATnx-LUoRkdGdJkSZiLavl3NOL1Sap2zqAQG7N_zR3FTrK=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQNMxb48A5qwN2KjWLWkY9vzZNxLO86Vbpoom-EFSOffbvx5gY9uvs12LPV6NoSXIlwfXBlEpstx_byHOl9QUbML2hmYwqUXmdi2appWUR04GiYI9ldqJpzk-ewWfV4bBomjRPIvT7kBATnx-LUoRkdGdJkSZiLavl3NOL1Sap2zqAQG7N_zR3FTrK=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did not clamp the vise down and as you can see below I quadruple checked the alignment of the drill bit with the hole before powering on the drill press. Once I was completely confident that the bit was aligned, the drill was turned on and I drilled half way through.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfUfCvEFjGzKqjd7x0VsVc_R6Fin0AKE8HAt7H3-Lak8T34d0cmyVt0sfH_rCT6bIX8FpIGOc6b3hkMc9PVioPeOemngpCpj0CsRqR4QkzGY8nYhR-hIYc9keIqLF10To9dKPVLRr5H00YCHn1sCHZxZ3JaY8NI60W_B_xbHiuUJ6Q53AJrpIblkfW=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfUfCvEFjGzKqjd7x0VsVc_R6Fin0AKE8HAt7H3-Lak8T34d0cmyVt0sfH_rCT6bIX8FpIGOc6b3hkMc9PVioPeOemngpCpj0CsRqR4QkzGY8nYhR-hIYc9keIqLF10To9dKPVLRr5H00YCHn1sCHZxZ3JaY8NI60W_B_xbHiuUJ6Q53AJrpIblkfW=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>After drilling out the two frames, I would not recommend trying this with a hand drill. The instructions recommend drilling halfway through the frame from each side and not drilling all the way through from one side. When drilling the hole through the rear of the grip frame, the jig doesn't contact the frame where the hole will go. This means that as you pass through the jig, there is a decent amount of space that could cause a hand drill to bite into the plastic at an angle. With the drill press this isn't as much of a concern. </div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzxdIcvU9cFuwZNmxaDjMgQ7rlidqqtarKY0TEmkeJMy8v9t5gcylrq0qdPJUpQlbqsAQHK93YPcYxYVQmNK-0H24AEIbIlG5fablxcBydXjxaqFKbiwf6LOiSn0Y6VHEeG03xFleCUtK4NiKIwWURHo5iE_miO6KO7LRk0WcIQC0-l2q1WKNA2Sht=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzxdIcvU9cFuwZNmxaDjMgQ7rlidqqtarKY0TEmkeJMy8v9t5gcylrq0qdPJUpQlbqsAQHK93YPcYxYVQmNK-0H24AEIbIlG5fablxcBydXjxaqFKbiwf6LOiSn0Y6VHEeG03xFleCUtK4NiKIwWURHo5iE_miO6KO7LRk0WcIQC0-l2q1WKNA2Sht=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With all of the holes drilled, it is time to install the rails. There are four rails, one for each side, front and back. The shape is pretty obvious for front and back and there is no left or right for the rails. You will have to pay attention to the left and right of the pieces of plastic that are installed over the rails in the back, as they are specific. Here is the back space.</div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyzEL30_uOCUmQqQagXZDDzc7p-HLvNIMJ9bcijZe34V0pJa0FD38pGW6-8hYKnbqr6yeAo_HLDS7qUbCFbTF92UTtGirIJgx9OvCuBDZBUeWPGrVvXRYTYHLJUFmF7JTy30MR0PGmVZln2lDkGU8r9lbBcA68xKUArM21yVsqikrrtr7mzWvLM3Am=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyzEL30_uOCUmQqQagXZDDzc7p-HLvNIMJ9bcijZe34V0pJa0FD38pGW6-8hYKnbqr6yeAo_HLDS7qUbCFbTF92UTtGirIJgx9OvCuBDZBUeWPGrVvXRYTYHLJUFmF7JTy30MR0PGmVZln2lDkGU8r9lbBcA68xKUArM21yVsqikrrtr7mzWvLM3Am=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There is an included epoxy that helps to have a small paintbrush to install. They claim the glue is quick drying and that absolutely appears to be the case as the brush would start to harden in between rails that I installed. You start by spreading the epoxy into the space for the rail and then pressing the rail into place. Make sure that you install the rails facing out! This is important to ensure that they actually hold the slide. Below you can see the installed front slide rail. You can see that the shape of the bottom helps to hold it in place. There are also lego style holes that allow some additional lock up between the frame and the piece of plastic that is installed over the metal.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2o94SEQqGfGXp-GvgNXnwK_qQRG0kW1JgoCrD_zheI8O7iNGRBRRtMvX-t7wl6qHlWvkikWOS3sZ_XnGWOYMA5kOM9r2g_KBWztI7oRxO7bG4sKqonNBafWe113Bs5p3-gxHzJJd-bQ6wikBfErhNVBjHc8wAyPdDMQXCtANDqlQlITnArka5SXbV=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2o94SEQqGfGXp-GvgNXnwK_qQRG0kW1JgoCrD_zheI8O7iNGRBRRtMvX-t7wl6qHlWvkikWOS3sZ_XnGWOYMA5kOM9r2g_KBWztI7oRxO7bG4sKqonNBafWe113Bs5p3-gxHzJJd-bQ6wikBfErhNVBjHc8wAyPdDMQXCtANDqlQlITnArka5SXbV=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now that the metal piece is glued in, you add more epoxy and install the plastic piece over it. I have seen some complaints that people don't like the way the plastic pieces are still visible once they are glued into place. You do see the outline of the installed piece. On mine the front pieces fit flush and the back have a very small area that is raised and you can feel if you run your finger over it.</div></div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinvU3hrihWvrrmajSBTIgnH85y-mAXZ0KdJdOuIoNLhiogi_VtffgE6Rk0IsTx--0QqV4dDLi0GmfWYsLdFaH3e-jAbFYRzoJB6fLp-0CQJ8ittbC0xAUPECWVT-TrMinRiIB2kEOzODOcA2ZoyCtBUpXB4LcTsDCaql9Rbeezh-g8Ht9AYlp3nlea=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinvU3hrihWvrrmajSBTIgnH85y-mAXZ0KdJdOuIoNLhiogi_VtffgE6Rk0IsTx--0QqV4dDLi0GmfWYsLdFaH3e-jAbFYRzoJB6fLp-0CQJ8ittbC0xAUPECWVT-TrMinRiIB2kEOzODOcA2ZoyCtBUpXB4LcTsDCaql9Rbeezh-g8Ht9AYlp3nlea=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br />With the pieces glued in and left to cure, the basic completion of the lower is complete. We will take a look at installing the lower parts in the next post. I was very happy with how easily the parts installed and how well the holes were lined up. <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/16057/719237/208437/262493/image.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="728" height="90" src="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/16057/719237/208437/262493/image.jpg" width="728" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The following post will discuss the installation of the slide parts kit and then next will be a post about the reliability and function of this build. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you have any questions about the process let me know in the comment section below. This is my first attempt at an 80% lower build, so if you have any helpful tips for others completing their own builds, add those to the comments as well.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /> <p></p></div>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-20959719339501081282022-04-10T12:52:00.002-06:002022-06-11T13:24:57.138-06:00Christensen Arms MPR Hunting Rifle<p>A couple years ago I bought a new rifle to serve as a mix between a hunting rifle and a match rifle. After getting used to AR-15 rifle ergonomics and bolt action rifles with chassis, I wanted something similar for a hunting rifle. At the same time, it was important for me to be able to shoot with a suppressor while hunting or at the range. In order to keep the weight down in a precision rifle that can support a suppressor, I knew that a carbon fiber barrel would be the best option. After a lot of research on different rifles that were available or options for building my own, I decided to give the Christensen Arms Modern Precision Rifle, or MPR a chance. This is a chassis style rifle with Christensen Arm's proprietary carbon fiber barrel, their own Remington 700 clone action and a Christensen Arms chassis made with aluminum and carbon fiber. Check out the full review below: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e_uGeYPgllA" width="320" youtube-src-id="e_uGeYPgllA"></iframe></div><br /><p>In the above review I had some issues with extraction and talk about Christensen Arms sending me a replacement extractor and spring. I have replaced both and continued to use it, even taking an Antelope with the rifle in really dusty, dirty conditions. So far I haven't had any more issues with extraction or ejection. Check out the video on that below:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/soCCbb4bH5U" width="320" youtube-src-id="soCCbb4bH5U"></iframe></div><br /><p>I bought my Christensen Arms MPR from Sportsman's Warehouse. Use this link to check the rifle out: <a href="https://bit.ly/2Hz281x">https://bit.ly/2Hz281x</a> I liked the rifle enough that I bought a second one in 6.5 PRC last year, which I’ve already used to take a cow elk and a mule deer buck. I have the pair set up with the same model scope so they feel very similar, but the 6.5 Creedmoor vs 6.5 PRC gives me a couple options for different, but similar ballistics.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/14619/596331/208437/268521/image.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="160" height="600" src="https://www.avantlink.com/gbi/14619/596331/208437/268521/image.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /><script src="//www.avantlink.com/link.php?ml=886509&p=208437&pw=262493" type="text/javascript"></script></p><p>This site does use affiliate links. They don't cost anything for you, but if you click on the links it helps fund these gun projects and allows me to create more videos and written content.</p>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-65935495166236506612022-03-22T11:50:00.000-06:002022-03-22T11:50:27.114-06:00Future Content and the Direction of this Blog<p>When I first started this blog I wrote a mixture of posts on outdoor activities from hiking, fishing, photography and geocaching to shooting, hunting and gunsmithing posts. I noticed that there was very different engagement from the readers that came for some of the hiking posts, to those that would read the firearms or hunting related posts. I decided to split this blog, leaving the generic outdoor topics here and migrating the firearms and hunting related posts to <a href="http://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/">http://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/</a> </p><p>The second blog did okay, but hasn't received as much traffic as this blog seems to. Over the last couple years I have found that I don't have a lot of time to write and post content, so I am torn as to which site I will post content to. My interests lay in the middle, with a variety of outdoor pursuits that don't just focus on firearms or hiking/backpacking. Those subjects can attract very different crowds, which are not always very positive towards each other. </p><p>I don't consider myself a survivalist or prepper, but I would say that the totality of my interests and hobbies probably align more with that community or group that any other specific personality. For example, I started to get into Ham radio as a way to have a communication option when I am backpack hunting elk in wilderness areas that have zero cell phone reception and very few other people around. Those pursuits have encouraged me to get more into bicycling as a way to improve cardiovascular fitness, try Summits On the Air (SOTA), as a way to mix hiking and Ham radio and pursuing long range precision rifle competitions to increase the range I am comfortable taking a shot in a hunting scenario.</p><p>I have also noticed over the last couple years that many of the visits to this site and the sign-ups to my e-mail list are more spam related than actual individual readers that engage in the content. I'm still interested in writing at least occasional content, but have decided that I want to merge this site and<a href="http://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/"> http://theblackrifle.blogspot.com/</a> back together to more accurately reflect my own personal interests and to make it easier to find the time to write without splitting interest between different sites.</p><p>If you are reading this and/or receiving this through the e-mail notifications and don't want to stick around, no hard feelings. If you are interested in staying subscribed and continuing to read the articles that I write, please let me know what you want to see more of. I have thought of a variety of topics, from hiking, backpacking, fishing, hunting, shooting, long range precision competition, radio communications and more that I have dabbled in over the last few years. </p><p>I have several ideas of posts that I will write over the next few weeks and months, but I will also start bringing some of the posts from the Black Rifle blog over here so that more of the content is together in one place. I will also look at the formatting of the site and will try to start updating it and maybe even move away from the basic Blogger formats that are so consistently used throughout the internet.</p><p>Let me know what you want to see and I will try to start generating more content that matches the interest of the readers of this site.</p>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-62077751971636191392022-03-12T13:14:00.003-07:002022-08-08T16:54:53.082-06:00Introduction to Summits On The Air (SOTA)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJncUK7fmH87eMrHyKfD4UtLQNO9RDO4cYA7LUBC6PUUD2Qtb64wlLAFciAIbfmUoBOW_NVoA6e1jgZE6oSdX-DFoQ0gR4ptfUxgEeA6itKTi7ikvBCJz5-06wG-rs9i9B1Qfz4uhInt-ZYGBhEFtjtxVULVW3uxthJgLswHU0R9m5CPYpbJgUGk7gSA=s1102" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJncUK7fmH87eMrHyKfD4UtLQNO9RDO4cYA7LUBC6PUUD2Qtb64wlLAFciAIbfmUoBOW_NVoA6e1jgZE6oSdX-DFoQ0gR4ptfUxgEeA6itKTi7ikvBCJz5-06wG-rs9i9B1Qfz4uhInt-ZYGBhEFtjtxVULVW3uxthJgLswHU0R9m5CPYpbJgUGk7gSA=s320" width="213" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">A<span style="font-family: Calibri; text-align: center;">s an avid
outdoorsman, a large part of my initial interest in Ham radio was in having a
means of communication available in areas that were remote and lacked cell phone
coverage. As I studied for my exam and
learned more about the uses of Amateur Radio, I discovered a portion of the
hobby called Summits on the Air or SOTA.
Summits in the Air is an awards scheme that rewards
"activators" who climb mountains to make radio contacts and
"chasers" that talk to the activators from any location, to include
other mountains, while mobile or even at their home shack. This gives everyone the opportunity to
participate, no matter their physical ability or skills in the wilderness. Let's take a look at the SOTA website and see
how to activate or chase a summit.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"></p><br /><div style="text-align: left;">First off, if you
want to officially participate as an activator or chaser, you will need to
create a free account at the SOTA website, <a href="https://www.sota.org.uk/">https://www.sota.org.uk/</a> I would highly suggest checking out the
website to take a look at the official rules.
From there you can sign up for an account, log your activation or chase
logs, check out the various peaks, etc. </div><p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">How to Activate a Summit</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">Since there are mountains throughout the world, SOTA summits are broken down
first by an "association" then further refined into regions and summit
numbers. Let's take a look at a local mountain for me, Mt. Bailey. The association for Colorado is
W0C, the peak is in the front range region (FR) and based on the total height,
Mt. Bailey is the 62nd highest peak in the region. The designator for the peak is therefore
listed as W0C/FR-062. You can view the
specific page for Mt. Bailey here: <a href="https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/W0C/FR-062">https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/W0C/FR-062</a> </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">That page will show you the summit
identifier, altitude, number of points for an activation, the latitude and QTH
locator, give you options to view the peak on Google Maps, aprs.fi and other
mapping sites. It also shows the total
number of activation and displays the call signs of the latest 5
activators. It also allows other users
to write notes or link to other websites that can help explain where to park,
what route to take to the summit and other notes.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">Just how many peaks
are included in the SOTA database? Colorado alone has 1,797 summits that can be
activated for points. </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">Let's take a look
now at the points and how to activate a summit.
Each summit is given a point value from 1 point to 10 points. These vary based on the elevation of the peak
and relative difficulty to climb the peak.
Not surprisingly, all of the Colorado 14ers (peaks 14,000 feet or higher in
elevation) are worth 10 points, whereas a lower elevation peak like Mt. Bailey
is worth 4 points. In order to activate
the summit the activator has to be within a contour line of 25 meters or about
82 feet of elevation of the summit. You
can't be next to or attached to a vehicle and you have to make at least 4
contacts via a simplex connection. Any
band or method you are licensed to use is fair game. It is common to see VHF, UHF and HF contacts
and those may be voice, CW, Single Side Band or even data modes. The activator simply calls CQ for as long as
they want to stay on the summit and working through any of the frequencies they
want to work. </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">Most of my SOTA
attempts have been using VHF and I simply check to see that a calling frequency
isn't being used and call CQ. I typically use 146.52 FM and have contacted a number of hams that are listening to
the calling frequency and aren't specifically familiar with SOTA. For each summit that I log the required 4
contacts during an activation I receive points.
Each summit can be activated once per year and there are bonus points
for activating during the winter.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">In order to increase
your chances of reaching your required 4 QSOs, you can go to </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><a href="https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/">https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/</a> and
post an "alert" as depicted in the picture below. An alert lists the approximate time, your
call sign, the peak you will be activating and the frequencies and modes that
you plan on attempting to use. This
allows chasers to know when you will be activating so they can be
listening. You
can also add notes that warn that your time window is approximate, or that they
can watch you on APRS to see you approach the summit. I have activated APRS on my <a href="https://www.bridgecomsystems.com/collections/amateur-handheld-radios/products/anytone-at-d878uvii-plus?ref=AdventureCO" target="_blank">Anytone 878</a> so
chasers can see where I am at on aprs.fi as I hike towards the summit.</p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=rma02-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B08ZYXHZWW&asins=B08ZYXHZWW&linkId=fede8e32244bf712b1ab7877579c6b1d&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></p><p></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><br /></p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Check out my summit report from activating Mt. Bailey here: </span><a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2020/04/mt-bailey-my-first-sota-activation.html" style="font-family: Calibri;">http://www.rmadventure.com/2020/04/mt-bailey-my-first-sota-activation.html</a><br /><p></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTpnfpFO8ybKg7092WEqgjmotO3ndEh7-IKL9olQuxk5rfMNqEPiE6uHXDkw5PE__LcKwchKXASYFvIX6F4q4hdSDaxsVPVue_-ea0_GRFn_pfLMMW08lcuyP-RQf27mi1V8yrsfg3WjLRtCaJQ_5pmL1N3RdFyasNGYuDQGus2Y9-v9NfPxUTBebcqA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="1883" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTpnfpFO8ybKg7092WEqgjmotO3ndEh7-IKL9olQuxk5rfMNqEPiE6uHXDkw5PE__LcKwchKXASYFvIX6F4q4hdSDaxsVPVue_-ea0_GRFn_pfLMMW08lcuyP-RQf27mi1V8yrsfg3WjLRtCaJQ_5pmL1N3RdFyasNGYuDQGus2Y9-v9NfPxUTBebcqA=w640-h314" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">How to Chase a Summit</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">The other side of
SOTA is the chaser. There can't be an
activator if there isn't a chaser on the other end. Any ham can be a chaser, they don't even have
to know about SOTA to count. They just
have to make a contact with an activator and preferably share a signal report
in both directions. I have made contacts
with several local hams while on Mt. Bailey and most of them have not
officially logged the contacts on the SOTA website.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">If you are
interested in trying to chase, a great resource is to check out the SOTA Watch
site at <a href="https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/">https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/</a>. In the photo below you can see the default
view for "spots." These are
chasers that had a conversation with an activator and are logging the call sign
of the activator, the peak, time and frequency used to allow other chasers to
have an idea of what frequencies to use to make their own contact. In the example below you can see a variety of
contacts using VHF, HF and not only FM voice conversations, but several CW and
SSB contacts as well.</p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAyDHqAI-KY-ZgkhO821Uhcma2Rbj1r8cZkQtNli2Z84vnisCd8GDyfk8qOvmZ9S3sB0RpzBBmlbPTdQODTn-zB03HaN-syqRWo55ljUfPptrPHq6PBzOQ-sD9GYui2R-ZjXdKZ0Z3cm4n-qADQozrKmdqEXjJ-BmEclRZNRRfB_KIAjrjbJHUGJzFaw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1890" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAyDHqAI-KY-ZgkhO821Uhcma2Rbj1r8cZkQtNli2Z84vnisCd8GDyfk8qOvmZ9S3sB0RpzBBmlbPTdQODTn-zB03HaN-syqRWo55ljUfPptrPHq6PBzOQ-sD9GYui2R-ZjXdKZ0Z3cm4n-qADQozrKmdqEXjJ-BmEclRZNRRfB_KIAjrjbJHUGJzFaw=w640-h314" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">By checking the
spots and adding one of your own, you can see who is currently active and be
more likely to tune to the right frequency at the right time to talk to an
activator. As a chaser you get points
for each activator that you talk to. You
can only get points for a particular summit once per day, but unlike the
activators, chasers can get points from the same summit multiple times per
year. </p>
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<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What to do with the points?</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">So what do you get
with the points? Nothing really, just
bragging rights. You can use the SOTA
website to see who the top activators and chasers are for a certain region. There are some digital rewards for certain
milestones, such as receiving 1,000 points as an activator or chaser. There are also recognitions for activating or
chasing a certain number of regions. As
a fundraiser there are awards that you can order from the website to display
your accomplishments in your own ham shack.
But in the end, SOTA is really more about getting out into the
wilderness and connecting with others through amateur radio.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">If you are
interested in activating or chasing, check out the links above to get more
familiar with the rules and procedures for logging your contacts. </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;">Whether you activate
or chase, I look forward to making a SOTA contact with you soon!</p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in;"><a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2020/04/mt-bailey-my-first-sota-activation.html"> </a></p><br /><p></p></div>
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<script src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US"></script>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-83192644643793550272021-09-27T20:47:00.003-06:002021-12-02T15:09:26.335-07:00September Is Preparedness Month, What First Aid Kit Do You Use?<p>September is National Preparedness month and a great time to take a look at what preparedness means to you. You don't have to be a prepper to want to make sure that you are ready for possible emergencies that you or your family may face. From major national disasters, to a car accident on the way to work, to power outages due to a storm, there are many events that are easier to endure with a little prior planning.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nD00RT9F7UI/YUuxnqbhIaI/AAAAAAAAPWw/fzJKiIt-d0oERhzjcGU5OT2CTUBP6NDvQCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/APC_0286.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nD00RT9F7UI/YUuxnqbhIaI/AAAAAAAAPWw/fzJKiIt-d0oERhzjcGU5OT2CTUBP6NDvQCPcBGAsYHg/s320/APC_0286.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be prepared with the MyMedic FAK Large kit.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Depending on where you live, time of year, etc, there can be be a variety of potential emergencies that you could face. One of the most basic pieces of equipment common to almost any emergency situation is have a quality first aid kit. This can vary in size and complexity based on your own training, type of emergency you expect to face and the amount of time it would take emergency responders to reach you. A first aid kit could be a few band aids and simple supplies or a large and complicated kit.</p><p>I only have some basic medical training including first aid, CPR, tourniquet and AED, so I won't be recommending specific kits or supplies for your use. It is important that you look at your specific situation and come up with an idea of what you would need in your own kit. I live in a rural part of Colorado, but commute to the Denver area for work. I also try to spend a fair amount of time in the backcountry hiking, hunting and backpacking. Many of these areas don't have cell phone service and my only options for communicating are Ham radio, or potentially a satellite messenger. </p><p><script type="text/javascript" src="//www.avantlink.com/link.php?ml=985497&p=208437&pw=268521&ctc=Holiday Sale"></script><br /></p><p>Most of the first aid kits that I have used have been pretty simple kits that fit in a backpack and allow me to treat minor injuries. I've been putting the kits together myself and largely guessing on what I think should go in them. Recently I got a chance to check out a MyMedic kit that they sent me to try out. MyMedic has a variety of kits from the fairly small and compact <a href="https://bit.ly/3kOBOS1">Solo</a> to the <a href="https://bit.ly/2XXq9I1">My FAK Large</a> that they sent me. Before I go further, I did get the kit for free, they did not require me to say anything specific about it. Also, the links that I am using are affiliate links, so if you use them to make a purchase I will get a small cut, but it doesn't change what you pay. They also gave me the code "Adventure20" for my readers and views to save 20% off their orders.</p><p><script src="//www.avantlink.com/link.php?ml=974885&p=208437&pw=268521&ctc=Black Friday" type="text/javascript"></script></p><p><br /></p><p>To see what the <a href="https://bit.ly/2XXq9I1">My FAK Large</a> kit contains, take a look at the video below:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tGZiWSlQHeg" width="503" youtube-src-id="tGZiWSlQHeg"></iframe></div><br /><p>As I mention in the video, this kit is large enough that you aren't going to be taking it in a backpack when weight is a concern, but it is great for throwing in a vehicle and being prepared for all sorts of emergencies. </p><p>I have been looking into additional medical training, specifically courses like wilderness first aid and classes designed to teach you how to be prepared as you wait for responders in areas where that response may be delayed. <br /></p><script src="//www.avantlink.com/link.php?ml=948993&p=208437&pw=262493" type="text/javascript"></script><div><br /></div><div>Remember, use the code "adventure20" for 20% off your order.</div><div><br /></div>What is your level of training and how do you set up your first aid kit? Let me know in the comment section below.RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-74453224947429052712020-04-29T11:57:00.002-06:002022-06-23T15:46:29.292-06:00Mt. Bailey, My First SOTA ActivationTowards the end of 2019 I decided to study to get my Amateur Radio license, or Ham license as it is frequently called. I took the test in January of 2020, passing my Technician and General exams and becoming a newly licensed Ham radio operator. Like many others before me, I started with an inexpensive handheld radio and made some initial contacts through simplex channels and the local repeater.<br />
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As I researched ham radio and binge watched YouTube videos about the subject I found an interesting portion of the hobby called Summits on the Air, or SOTA for short. SOTA is a mobile version of the radio hobby and involves "activators" carrying their radio equipment to the top of mountains and sending out calls, which are answered by "chasers." This gives people the opportunity to participate, whether they are physically able to hike to a mountain top or not. Points are assigned to both the activator and chaser based on the height and difficulty of the peak.<br />
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Having grown up hiking, backpacking and spending time in the woods, SOTA seemed like a great fit and opportunity to mix exercise and exploration with radio. I live in the area of Bailey, CO and quickly found that there are at least a dozen SOTA peaks within view of my house. The closest, Mt. Bailey, is basically in my neighborhood and a relatively easy hike.<br />
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I set out creating an account on the SOTA site, <a href="https://www.sotadata.org.uk/en/">https://www.sotadata.org.uk/en/</a>. From there I made the decision that my cheap handheld radio was probably not ideal, but I might as well give it a try. On my first attempt I posted my plans to the SOTA watch site and hiked up the mountain with my family. I attempted to get contacts for about an hour and a half, finally leaving the summit with 3 contacts. Unfortunately, the minimum number of contacts or QSOs to receive points for an activation is 4.<br />
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About a week later I decided to make another attempt. This time I sent out an e-mail to the local Park County Radio Club <a href="http://www.ab0pc.org/">www.ab0pc.org</a> and announced on the local repeater that I would be up at the summit. When I made it to the top I quickly contacted three club members via the simplex channel 146.52. Over the next hour I made another 4 contacts as far away as Broomfield and Parker, CO. This time I had 7 contacts, making it my first official SOTA activation!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dhPkV1tkUfc/Xpx_fMat88I/AAAAAAAANLQ/5CTMGGhIf9EYyAFn5E9RD51_AB82gUEYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2020-04-19%2B10_41_49-Morning%2BHike%2B_%2BHike%2B_%2BStrava.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1555" height="183" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dhPkV1tkUfc/Xpx_fMat88I/AAAAAAAANLQ/5CTMGGhIf9EYyAFn5E9RD51_AB82gUEYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2020-04-19%2B10_41_49-Morning%2BHike%2B_%2BHike%2B_%2BStrava.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Short hike up Mt. Bailey. There is an easy trail to the top.</td></tr>
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Here are a couple notes on the activation: There is a small parking lot off of Burland Drive for Weakland Fawks Park. I didn't notice any signs indicating that it is a trailhead for Mt. Bailey, but there is really only one trail and it leads directly away from the parking lot and towards the obvious mountain above you. This hike is about .5 miles and 380 feet of vertical gain to the summit. The trail is well defined and as you can see from my track to the right, has multiple switchbacks to ease the short but steep climb. As you approach the antenna towers at the top, you will want to leave the trail right before the small bridge that spans the cables leading to the antennas. There isn't a well defined trail at this point, but if you leave the trail to the right and head west you will reach the summit after just 40 yards or so. The summit is directly next to the antenna tower, but you can drop down a little to the north and west to get away from any radio interference and find some protection from the frequent winds.<br />
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I have gone up and activated the peak again since then, even though I can only get the points once in a calendar year. The relative difficulty of getting simplex contacts over the mountains into the front range has caused me to spend many hours researching other radio and antenna options. While I have the ability to use HF radio, thanks to passing my General exam, I haven't decided on an HF radio that would be light enough to carry into the mountains. I have ordered a lightweight Yagi antenna that should at least provide a little more reach to my signal and make a few more QSOs possible.<br />
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For now, I continue to wait for the snow to melt and spend a fair amount of my free time researching radios, new summits and planning what to attempt next.<br />
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If anyone is interested, I can post a follow up that goes into more detail about the SOTA program and what it means. I am no expert on it at this point, but it might help answer some questions that people may have.<br />
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Have you heard of or participated in SOTA before? If you've read this blog for the general outdoor content in the past, are you aware of or involved in Ham radio? Let me know in the comments below.<br />
<br />RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-14780737676671382292019-03-16T11:33:00.000-06:002019-03-16T11:33:10.199-06:00Exploring Dinosaur National Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've grown up in Colorado and have been fairly fortunate to spend many weekends and family camping trips exploring the various mountainous wild areas in the state. But, just like many families, we tend to have the familiar areas of forest or lakes that we like to visit and tend to return to the same or nearby areas year after year. I have been looking for new areas to explore and yes, they are new to me, certainly not undiscovered. </div>
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Recently I was looking through some photos online and saw an amazing cliff face with stars above it. I dug into the location a little more and discovered that the towering cliff face was Steamboat Rock in Dinosaur National Monument. I had certainly heard of Dinosaur National Monument, but realized I had never actually visited the park and I really didn't even know much about it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://parrphotography.smugmug.com/Galleries/National-Parks/i-CgqdzPs/A" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Steamboat Rock at sunset from Echo Park" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Galleries/National-Parks/i-CgqdzPs/0/7b90e333/M/Dinosaur%20National%20Monument-2-M.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise above Steamboat Rock in Dinosaur National Monument.</td></tr>
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I started using Google to research the park more and planning out how to get to Steamboat Rock to get some sunrise and sunset photos. I was even hoping to get some cool star photos, but unfortunately the moon was almost full during the weekend I had available and it would be up pretty much the entire night, rising just before sunset and setting just before sunrise.</div>
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Through the research I was impressed at just how large and remote the monument is. Most of the area is only accessed from a select few roads that go into the interior of the park. And of those roads that do go closer to the Green and Yampa rivers, some are dirt roads where 4x4 or high clearance vehicles are recommended. </div>
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In order to get close to Steamboat Rock, you have to enter the canyon area of Dinosaur National Monument from the edge of the small town of Dinosaur, Colorado. From there, it was about a 30 minute drive on paved roads, then another hour of high clearance dirt road to drop down to the river. The road travels through two very steep canyons and when it gets wet they say that the road is the consistency of peanut butter and impassable. The roads were dry when we went through, but I could definitely see how it would be difficult when wet.</div>
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As the road gets closer to Steamboat Rock and the confluence of the Green River and Yampa River, it travels through a narrow canyon and drops into Echo Park. This area is a large basin surrounded by cliffs. There is a small first-come first-serve campground that was only about half full on the weekend we visited. There is a place to launch or retrieve rafts if you have a permit and a ranger house. There are also trails that go along the river in either direction from the road. Those trails skirt the edge of the rivers and are not well marked.
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My son and I tried some fly fishing along the Yampa river, but despite seeing a handful of fish surface for bugs, I couldn't entice any to take a fly. Since we were there in June, the water was flowing fast and cold thanks to the typical melting of the snowpack. Although my son briefly waded in a sheltered, slower section of the river, it was a little too cold for him to spend much time in the water.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Harper's Corner Trail, Dinosaur National Monument</td></tr>
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We spent two nights at the Echo Park campground at the base of the impressive cliffs. There were a few other campers, but the adjacent sites remained empty. The second night we went up to Harper's Corner and hiked out to get an impressive view from above Steamboat Rock. As the sun set behind us, the impressive rock formation was lit with a range of orange, red, purple and blue as the last light faded into darkness. </div>
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As the name implies, Dinosaur National Monument is known for Dinosaur fossils that were discovered on the west side of the park. Those fossils were located in the area of an ancient river that resulted in thousands of bones being deposited in a very concentrated area. The fossils that have been recovered from that site have been sent to museums all over the world, including the Smithsonian. <br />
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Earl Douglass discovered the fossils in 1909 and led the efforts to excavate and preserve the fossils. He ultimately had the vision of leaving a section of the fossil bed intact in a way that visitors could come and actually view the fossils still in place in the rock and soil that they were discovered in. Today visitors can come and see hundreds of bones still in the rock, even touching some of the larger fossils that can handle it.<br />
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While we only had a short weekend to explore this remote national monument, I have already decided this is a place I will have to return to. It also goes to show some of the amazing parts of Colorado that can be missed if you stick to only exploring the parts that you are familiar with.</div>
RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-36096078317894466532018-03-21T07:28:00.001-06:002018-05-19T11:00:49.125-06:00Sunrise On St Mary’s LakeOn the east side of Glacier National Park St Mary’s Lake dominates the initial drive along Going To the Sun Road. The lake comes into view shortly after entering the east entrance of the park. You can drive along the lake, or stop at the St Mary's Visitor Center and take a shuttle. At just over seven miles long, this is the second largest lake in Glacier National Park, after <a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2018/03/sunset-on-lake-mcdonald-glacier.html" target="_blank">Lake McDonald.</a> St. Mary's Lake lies about 1500 feet higher in elevation than Lake McDonald on the west side. As a result, the glacier fed waters tend to be colder.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise over Goose Island, St Mary's Lake, Glacier National Park</td></tr>
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We visited Glacier National Park in two parts. We spent the first few days on the west side of the park, drove up to Banff National Park for several days, then returned along the east side of Glacier National Park. The truck we used to pull our camper was a little too big to drive all the way up Going to the Sun Road, so we ended up taking the shuttle up to the top, once from each side of the park.<br />
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As we drove along St. Mary's Lake, the bus driver would talk about each of the stops and what trails or viewpoints were available. There was one parking area that we passed that was not a regular stop, but the driver mentioned that from that viewpoint you could see up the St. Mary Valley and he believed it was the most photographed view in the park.<br />
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The next morning my family wanted to sleep in and I decided to get up early and take some photos. I ended up stopping to check out the view that the bus driver had mentioned. Before sunrise, there were only two other photographers in the parking lot, which had been completely full the previous day as the bus drove by.<br />
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There were fires burning to the west of the park and the resulting haze made it difficult to see the furthest peaks at the end of the lake. I do think that the haze added some additional orange and red colors to the sunrise that morning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and very little wind.<br />
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I stayed and took photographs until the sun rose higher in the sky and more people started to show up. I drove back towards camp, stopping to take a few more pictures along the way. As I made it back to the camper my wife and kids were waking up and I was just in time for breakfast. Although I really enjoyed our trip I was already making mental notes to return when there wasn't so much smoke and a little earlier in the summer when there would be more snow on the mountains.<br />
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<script async="" src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=51d63dcc-319f-41c8-a486-a85965586759"></script>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-35313532168448555852018-03-16T13:42:00.000-06:002018-03-16T13:42:25.177-06:00Sunset on Lake McDonald, Glacier National ParkAt ten miles long and a mile wide, Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park. The lake is an impressive 472 feet at it's deepest point. This was one of the first points that we stopped at on our trip to Glacier. For such a large, glacier fed lake, it was actually a fairly comfortable temperature for wading through the smooth small rocks along the shore. As I set up to take some photos of the sun setting on Lake McDonald, my kids waded around in the water.<br />
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As you can see in the picture below, there was a lot of haze in the area due to numerous wildfires burning in Idaho and Montana during the summer of 2017. We had also planned the trip near the end of July hoping to a avoid snow and potential bad weather while towing a camper from Colorado to Canada and back. In hind sight, I think we should have gone a little earlier, probably around mid to late June. I think we would have been able to see more snow on the mountains a little earlier in the summer.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset on Lake McDonald- Glacier National Park</td></tr>
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Check out the last post on <a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2018/03/mount-goats-in-glacier-national-park.html" target="_blank">Mountain Goats near Hidden Lake</a>.<br />
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Although there are fish in the lake, there are not a lot of nutrients in the water, so Lake McDonald is not a major destination for fishing. We did see a couple people trying their luck with spinning gear, but I didn't see anyone get any bites. On the west side of the lake, near where the above picture was taken, there is a national park service campground.<br />
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About 5 miles to the east is the historic Lake McDonald Lodge, which was built in 1913-1914. Even if you aren't planning on staying at the lodge, it is worth walking through and checking out the gift shop to see the hunting lodge inspired architecture.<br />
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Other recent posts:<br />
<a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2018/02/snowshoeing-in-mount-rainier-national.html" target="_blank">Snowshoeing Mount Rainier National Park</a><br />
<a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2018/02/fresh-snow-in-mount-rainier-national.html" target="_blank">Fresh Snow in Mount Rainier National Park</a><br />
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<script async="" src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=0f06b957-8e36-4eac-b0de-89f838809a8a"></script>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148391822679110372.post-49083045595501792102018-03-09T09:49:00.001-07:002018-03-09T09:49:20.784-07:00Mount Goats in Glacier National ParkLocated in Montana at the border with Canada, Glacier National Park is a 1,583 square mile wilderness area with jagged peaks and icy, glacier fed rivers. Established in 1910, Glacier National Park is home to breath taking mountain peaks, amazing wildlife and abundant wildflowers. During the summer of 2017 my family planned a multi-week camping trip that would take us through Glacier National Park and on to Banff National Park in Canada. Often referred to as the Crown of the Continent, this ecosystem encompasses the the Continental Divide from Montana into the southern Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia.<br />
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Although we have visited Yellowstone National Park several times, we never drove further north to visit Glacier or Banff. We initially planned to travel to Yellowstone during 2017, but quickly had the thought that we should extend our plans further north and explore some of the most amazing National Parks that we hadn't yet stepped foot in. We set aside time, bid for vacations from work and set dates at the end of July to beginning of August.<br />
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With camper in tow, we traveled nearly 3,000 miles through some of the most amazing scenery in the world. I have grown up in Colorado and love the mountains and high altitude playground that we have in our backyard. The amazing thing to me is how visiting the Rocky Mountains in another part of the country can look so similar, yet so different. <a href="http://www.rmadventure.com/2018/02/snowshoeing-in-mount-rainier-national.html" target="_blank">Mount Rainier National Park</a> was another place that I remarked how the forest surrounding a 14er could be so much different than the 14ers I have climbed in Colorado.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://parrphotography.smugmug.com/Galleries/National-Parks/i-dvHNbtG/A" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Galleries/National-Parks/i-dvHNbtG/0/c87b4f73/M/Glacier-Banff-30-M.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain Goat Nanny, Glacier National Park, Montana.</td></tr>
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In some ways, Glacier National Park seemed similar to parts of Colorado. Here on the edge of Canada, however, the peaks seemed more jagged and imposing. They edges of the mountains were steep and cut off, evidence of glacier activity carving out the valleys that we were now driving through. Something that I found slightly amusing was the fact that many of the peaks, despite their impressive appearance, were relatively low in altitude in comparison to many of the mountains of Colorado. </div>
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We rode one of the park service shuttles up to Logan Pass, which sits at a somewhat low elevation of 6,647 feet above sea level. While that elevation barely encompasses the foothills around Denver, walking out from the visitor center at Logan's Pass, you are most certainly in an alpine environment. In fact, the highest peak in Glacier National Park is Mount Cleveland at 10,479 feet. That is about the elevation I would expect to start seeing the alpine environment back here in Colorado, but further north at the edge of Montana and Canada you see glaciers and barren slopes. </div>
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One of my favorite animals to see at higher elevations are Mountain Goats. Though not very big, these majestic white mammals are best suited to cold, harsh climates. It is very rare to see them at lower elevations, so most people only ever see wild Mountain Goats when visiting remote and high altitude parks like Glacier, Banff and Rocky Mountain National Park. </div>
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Around Logan's Pass and while hiking to Hidden Lake, we were rewarded with dozens of mountain goat sightings, including several goat kids with their mother, or nanny. Several of these goats were accustomed to the thousands of tourists that regularly travel the trails along Going to the Sun Road. We had several, like the one pictured above, that seemed to be perfectly comfortable walking within a few yards of the trails and the people on those trails. I was able to get the photo above and the one below with a simple <a href="http://amzn.to/2BMgPsG" target="_blank">Canon 15-85mm IS lens.</a> Using a wider angle lens and walking so close by these amazing animals gave me the opportunity to get some awesome photos with dramatic views in the background.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://parrphotography.smugmug.com/Galleries/National-Parks/i-phBRsXb/A" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Galleries/National-Parks/i-phBRsXb/0/812f248c/M/Glacier-Banff-29-M.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain Goat Nanny and Kid, Glacier National Park</td></tr>
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If you decide to head up to Logan's Pass, I would definitely recommend either going very early, or taking the park service shuttles to get up there. Because we were traveling with a camper and had driven to the park with a full size pick-up, we were too long to drive up to the visitor center our selves. Although I would have liked getting to the top earlier for better light, it was nice riding on the shuttle and being able to actually look at the view as we drove up. Once at the top we noticed that even by 8 or 9 in the morning there were lines of cars trying to get into the parking lot and find a parking spot. It was certainly nice not having to worry about that, but I have a feeling that if you were arriving at the top in time to photograph the sunrise, you would probably not have any issues finding a spot.<br />
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There were also throngs of people milling around and through the visitor center. Each time a shuttle or tour car would come by, even more people would pile out. We decided to walk to Hidden Lake, which is about a 5.4 mile round trip from the visitor center. Most of the hike is fairly easy, but the last part of the trail drops steeply to the lake, which of course, means an initial steep climb back up to the top of the ridge on the way back. The trail starts out with a number of boardwalks and wide paths designed to keep visitors off of the fragile alpine ecosystem. We were luck enough to spot a Grizzly Bear on the edge of treeline a few hundred yards from the trail.<br />
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As we continued along the trail, those large groups of tourists started to get thinner. Few people were able, willing or interested in actually traveling the length of the trail to Hidden Lake. I would estimate that somewhere around 1/4 to 1/2 of the people on the beginning of the trail made it to the overlook over Hidden Lake. Maybe 1/10th or less of the people actually continued on pass the overlook to actually hike down to the lake.<br />
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When we made it down to the lake it was clear, with a turquoise hue and very cold. We say on the edge of the bank with our feet in the water for awhile, enjoying the beautiful landscape surrounding us. A few, more adventurous hikers were jumping into the lake, but few swam far in the frigid water. We had a Billy (male mountain goat), materialize out of the trees behind us and lay down under a tree a mere 30 yards away.<br />
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After awhile we decided we should probably head back. We were getting close to the time that the park shuttles stopped operating for the day and we certainly didn't want to get left at Logan's Pass with no way to get back down. The start of the climb up from Hidden Lake was hot and steep. We powered through it and were able to enjoy the much easier stroll from the overlook back to the parking lot. The hike to Hidden lake is a popular hike, but we still enjoyed getting out away from some of the bigger crowds and seeing a part of the park that was just out of reach from the roads and parking lots. </div>
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<script async="" src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=0f06b957-8e36-4eac-b0de-89f838809a8a"></script>RMadventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18361614976542152677noreply@blogger.com0Glacier National Park, Montana, USA48.7596128 -113.7870225000000323.2375783 -155.09561650000003 74.2816473 -72.478428500000035