Category Archives: Miscellaneous

And here is the “catch all” category for stuff that doesn’t have its own.

Princeton Tec Headlamp

by Woodsbum

Gunguy sent me a link to a Princeton Tec headlamp on Amazon that he had run across and was really loving. This prompted me to go ahead and grab one for myself. This is the Tec Quad 4 LED. Although I already have several and use my Black Diamond Storm for most of my non-grease related activities, this seemed like it would be a great second headlamp to toss into the truck or even use for tracking.

It really blew my mind to some degree that this came with red, blue, and green lens covers. This makes the light WELL worth the purchase. Here is why: depending on the lighting situation and ground color/environment you can use different colored light to find tracks much easier. If you don’t believe me, go try it. Sometimes white light works well, but if you put a green or blue light on the track it will suddenly materialize where you could only see little outlines previously.

Princeton Tec Headlamp

One thing you should know is that this model is not too unlike those issued to our Army personnel in their field gear. My son-in-law uses his all the time in the field and in garrison. This one is just slightly different than the issued model, but his supply will take these as replacement items if the soldier has to replace one.

Now mine seems to work very well although the ratchet thing that allows it to pivot does seem like it will wear out quite quickly. I have other lights that have done this and this Princeton is well on its way to becoming a flopping light rather than headlamp that can be adjusted. Only time will tell, but I do have that concern regarding the hinge.

Other than just messing around with it I have not had an opportunity to test it on a hunt or while tracking game. An upcoming hunt around Bumping Lake for elk will be its first, true test more than day trips. I am excited about the colored lenses, though. This feature may make this my new “favorite headlamp.”

All said and done, I can’t complain. It seems to repel water effectively, it is bright and has some beam adjustment. Like with all seals, I do recommend you use some sort of jelly or waterproofing on the seal of the battery compartment. Mine was really dry and I didn’t trust it without some lube. Overall, it is well worth the money paid for it and it seems to be a good “hunting” light that my Black Diamond just isn’t.

If I had to put a label of recommended or not, I would recommend it at this point.

Fixed My Posts

Leave a reply

by Woodsbum

I spent numerous hours this last week fixing my tags, SEO data, and formats of my posts. It amazed me at how much work many of the updates cause. Several of my older posts lost such things as carriage returns, spacing, formating and links, etc.

There are still a few links and pictures that have to be fixed, but I will get to that sometime next week.

This weekend I have several chores that I will be working on as well as some ammunition that I have to reload to get ready for hunting season. Several good things are coming down the line to include my work on finishing my Bushclass Intermediate certification and some projects around my house.

No rest for the weary……

Body Armor – Part 3

Leave a reply

by Woodsbum

Yesterday the UPS driver finally delivered all the boxes that were supposed to have been dropped off last Thursday. It only took an extra 2 working days due to holiday laziness. I guess I should actually be happy that it arrived at all with only 1 of the boxes having been opened up and rifled through. The reality of having received the latest addition to my body armor has made me a bit giddy. I am not sure how odd it is to want to sit at a desk all day in Level III plates and work on computers. HR would probably send me in for an evaluation.

This post is Body Armor – Part 3. If you are looking for Part 2 or Part 1 of the series you can follow those links to get caught up.

Since my first post, I finally have my AR500 plate kit that includes both front and back plates as well as 6×8 side plates.

My AR500 Deal

I originally picked up some ceramic plates that were 12×10, but they were WAY too small for my torso. These are 14×11 and fit much better. They also fill out the whole carrier pocket so there is less fabric flopping around the sides of the plate. The coverage is also MUCH better as is the overall fit with the thinner, metal plates. I felt like Raphie’s brother in A Christmas Story where he can’t even drop his arms.

Carrier and plates now

A couple thoughts on these plates and this carrier:

They are about 2x heavier than the ceramics I had. Even though they are 2 inches taller and 1 inch wider, this additional 30-ish square inches of steel vs ceramic adds a lot more weight.
The thinner construction actually allows more unhindered movement with the steel plates. All four plates are actually the same thickness of one ceramic plate.
Steel is a lot easier to deal with in regard to “being careful.” Ceramic can easily break or chip. These steel plates are much more sturdy and thus allow for easier transport without fear of damage.
My carrier with plates is almost the same weight as my daughter’s Army IOTV (current issue military body armor), maybe even a touch lighter with both all geared out.
As opposed to ceramic, these plates can withstand more shots. The tags alone on my ceramic state that it is rated for 3 hits and these plates are rated for 6. I am no rocket surgeon, but I think that is twice as much……

Here are a few pictures of the tags and the plates themselves. I do wish that the side plates were curved, but it really isn’t too big of a deal. I plan on wearing them upright and forward so as to create more frontal protection. This will also work well with the abdominal plates and carrier that I ordered. The IIIa will cover the rest of my side and kidney area. Although my back will not be nearly as covered as my front, I feel fairly confident that most bullet impacts I should fear if I really need this armor will be from the front. My kids are not THAT bad of shots and they like me so back armor is less important. If I keep a 2nd LT bar off my body, I should be fine (that was a joke in case you were wondering)…….

Side Plates

The plates themselves are rated to take 6 shots of 148 gr .308 (ok – 7.62x51mm) hits. If you were buying plates for a SHTF (Shyt Hit The Fan) type scenario, this might be a good choice. If you are buying it because you are the main protector of your family and you don’t trust that cops will show up in time to save everyone then these are perfect. Since I am getting this setup due to the later and not former reason, I think I have a winning combination.

Armor tag

I guess that everything really depends on your particular needs. Since I won’t be going into direct combat (hopefully) with mine, I think the $200 price tag for a complete set of plates is a great deal and I couldn’t be happier about it. Even if you use this equipment daily or regularly to protect you, I also think that this is a great setup. My daughter is actually looking at getting the Level IV version of these plates for her upcoming deployment. All the ceramic ones she has been issues are bulky and have cobwebbed edges, so at least she knows these will take a beating and still protect.

The next update in this series will either be when my side plate carriers come in or when I get the abdominal plate. Either way, I will keep you guys informed as I upgrade my load out.

UPS – Friday Madness

Leave a reply

by Woodsbum

For several years now I have been having issues with UPS. For some reason they have our entire building (business address) flagged as “Closed on Friday.” Considering how much I order from Amazon and other online retailers for personal purchases, let alone how much I order through our company, this is really a problem.

For over 7 years now we have been having the local hub “remove that note” on all “tenants at that property.” This is the exact verbiage that they use. The problem is that nothing gets fixed. Whenever I have to call to have a package tracked down I am told that “the driver flagged that address as closed on Friday.” There lies the discrepancy…. Is the driver, who adamantly denies having anything to do with it, lying about pushing Friday deliveries to Monday or is their supervisor lying about the system message? Either way they cannot fix the issue and get us our packages in a timely manner.

The funny thing is that this hub is also well known for not “receiving freight” in a timely manner either. They tend to not scan packages and let them sit for several extra days. It is easy to tell because the shipping will show that something left one location and didn’t arrive at another place less than 100 miles away for up to 4 days. That is one slow Pony Express ride. Carrier turtle maybe?

All this rant is because I was planning on doing a post on the Lee 50 BMG reloading kit that I got earlier in the week. Somehow it took 2 days for my package to be transferred 10 miles. This allowed them to pull their “Friday closure” crap and not have to deal with the box until at least Monday.

Now here is the kicker: I was told by the “supervisor” that the box was on a trailer and they “couldn’t find it and process it” so that I could pick it up personally. Hmmm…. Can’t find it and process it. This means that the box was NEVER TAKEN OFF THE TRUCK and they just entered a “Business closed on Friday” entry into the system. This has to be the case or they would not have to “find it and process it” to know where it was located. It should be sitting in a location that is ready for the next delivery route, thus easy to “find and process.”

UPS here is pathetic at best. I hope you don’t have to deal with them.

Bear Spray

Leave a reply

by Woodsbum

So many times I hear people talk about carrying bear spray versus a firearm when in a high predator area. Now, I agree with a lot of the research that bear spray is quite effective with regard to bears. It may or may not be the defensive weapon of choice. I do wonder how effective it is across the board with all predators and whether it should be a substitute for a gun or additional carry item.

Here are a few resources:

Shoot or Spray?
Living with Grizzlies
Using Bear Spray to Deter Mountain Lions
The Bear Necessities
WDFW Bear Spray Overview
MT FWP Effective Use of Bear Spray
Attacks by Cougar and Bear in US and Canada

Here are a couple observations that I gleamed from these resources:

You are more likely to be killed by a bear, but attacked by a cougar.
Attacks number higher overall (fatal and nonfatal) due to cougars.
Bear spray works well on bears, but “MAY” help deter cougars.
There is a huge push for bear spray for protection and guns have fallen out of favor.

In the articles, I can see how their scenarios play out better for use of bear spray. All the stories of attacks they use are close range charges where quick reaction and wide area of affect are the deciding factors in the encounter. There really was no mention of stalking or bears investigating your campsite. In those situations I have just fired a warning shot and the bear takes off. The same thing has worked for me with regard to cougars. Cats tend to stalk you and attack you from behind. They are ambush predators. The nice thing about cougars is that you can, a lot of times, smell them before you see them. There is definitely a musky, “death” smell for lack of better adjective when a cougar is around. This can help you out if you are being stalked.

No matter whether it be a bear or cougar that is messing with you, the statistics don’t cover a few things that the selected stories preach to support the author’s point of view. Each of the selected stories will lead you to believe that there is no time to think or react and you will be ambushed without warning. The reality is a bit different. Reality is that paying attention to detail, being extremely careful, and making sure to NOT be prey can give you some warning. It isn’t sure fire, but it is a start. This is a better approach than assuming you will be a victim. All about the situational awareness.

Now that I have ignored the anecdotal bedtime stories that support either spray or guns it is time to apply some common sense:

Bear spray works really well on bears.
Bear spray “may” help deter cougars.
Bears are VERY hard to kill.
Cougars are much easier to kill.
Bear spray holsters and quick draw options are available.
Pistol holsters are available in numerous quick draw options.
Guns can be used to signal in times of distress in a louder manner than a whistle. Bear spray can’t signal anything with the “pssssfffttt” sound it makes.
Guns can be used to feed myself in times of need. Bear spray just seasons the still alive menu item.
Guns are effective against 2 legged threats even when they are on drugs. Bear spray “may” deter a 2 legged threat.
Just the open carry of a gun “may” deter 2 legged threats. Bear spray is less likely. Studies on violent crime in cities supports this statement. If you wonder it’s veracity park a Maserati GranTurismo convertible full of gold on the street in South Chicago and see what wards off attacks best, guns or bear spray. I will stop by the hospital/morgue to check the bear spray results.

My personal opinion is that you should evaluate your situation and environment, then take the tools that will protect you in the best manner. No matter whether you choose bear spray, silly string or a S&W 500 each one has its uses and place. What I hope any reads took from this is that it doesn’t matter what you take. Just have great situational awareness, carry something to protect yourself, and don’t be negative because someone else chose something different.

Personally, I take a .44 mag or .357 in a cross draw configuration for quick access and a can of bear spray on a 550 cord “holster” in heavy bear areas. The extra weight I carry may just save my hind quarters……

Lastly, there was an incident in Alaska on Tuesday. It appears that someone stopped a charging bear with a pistol. The bear charged the guy from 20 yards away and was shot 5 times to stop it, then a final shot to finish it off. This is one of many pieces of anecdotal evidence that shows that firearms in the hands of someone trained will work to stop a charging bear. Ultimately, use what you want and are comfortable with as long as you are trained in its use.

Good luck and stay safe!!!