We’ve had a range of products show up for evaluation: some are firearms, there are tools and protective gear as well.
Ruger Security-9
In the weeks since the last exposure in the wires, the Ruger Security-9, a value-priced “compact” 9mm standard capacity hammer-fired auto, has made several range trips. I worked at a variety of distances and got it “on-paper,” so to speak, at a recent outing for law enforcement retirees, shooting it on the state’s annual requalification.
I shot the gun on one outing at 50 yards on a reduced silhouette. I found that I had to hold under the target to hit it and that I was tending left as I do with nearly every new semiauto these days.
I tried the Wizard Drill using USA Forged steel-case 9mm. Failed on time at 10 yards, passed all the rest. Hits still tending noticeably left.
Then it was Justin Dyal’s 5-yard Roundup, yielding 94/100 but going over time on the dominant hand only stage. That was a fluke and all on the shooter, not the gun.
On the Kansas law enforcement qualification, found here, the Ruger Security-9 shined as a possible carry gun. The course includes moving and shooting, three-shot strings, shooting with either hand, shots fired from the draw and from low ready. Ten rounds of the fifty are shot from the furthest distance, 25 yards.
That course being the easiest, it was no surprise that I maxed it with the Ruger, using Federal “Aluminum” case ball ammo. I was hitting my pace with the Security-9, after having shot it quite a bit – though I still tended left as I got back in distance. My original conclusion, posted after first contact with the new value-priced defense gun has been supported by my work with it since.
“I’ve worked in environments where folks struggling to make ends meet still assessed a need for self-protection and a desire for recreational firearms. It looks like the Ruger Security-9 will provide an option for those folks – and for people who just appreciate a good deal.”
Real Avid: Mission Specific Tools and Gear
I received a number of items from this company, an outfit that’s only recently come to my attention. The first, largest item is called a Universal Smart Mat. Costing under $20, it’s a large, long mat – a cleaning mat for all your guns. This 43” x 16” padded mat is large enough for disassembled guns and includes an attached parts tray to hold your pins, screws, and springs so you don’t lose them. Not that I’d lose small parts.
Not me.
According to the maker, “The oil-resistant surface allows you to clean your gun without ruining the kitchen table.” This is something I’ll not try but will gladly take their word for it. Regardless, it’ll keep the contaminants off the bench. At the extreme left side of the mat, they thoughtfully added a “safety first” warning – including checking the piece to ensure it’s clear and a warning to clean firearms in a well ventilated area. Good advice and a handy maintenance mat.
They also sent along the Accu-Punch Hammer & Punches kit. The hammer face can be changed between steel, brass, rubber and nylon, a handy touch. Ten steel pin punches are labeled for size and feature rubber gripping rings. The pin alignment tool holds tiny pins in place so you can seat them without seating some of your fingerprint into the hole with the pin.
To help keep that heater clean, you need brushes and picks to get into the crevices and recesses. Real Avid makes a kit of Accu-Grip Picks & Brushes. Non-scratching, non-marring, the Real Avid-style gun cleaning picks and brushes help you “dig gunk out of the places that even the sun don’t shine.” Four brushes include nylon, bronze phosphor, and a combination SMART BRUSH.
To clean the bore, Real Avid’s Bore Boss is described as the first “ever self-storing, easy-feeding, clean-pulling, field-ready, hassle-free, pure-genius bore cleaner.” Available in a range of calibers, you can punch the bore at the range and store the Bore Boss in your range bag without leaving a mess everywhere. The case doubles as a handle for pulling the mop/brush through the bore and as secure storage, keeping contaminants inside. The cleaning cable is 32” long for rifles and shotguns and the braided mop is 8 ½” long for handguns.
The ‘crossover’ Glock, a hybrid of the G17 (full-size) frame and G19 (compact) slide, is still here, still getting work. My last experience with it on the 5-Yard Roundup, among other courses of fire, reinforced that my compromised grip means sight adjustments. I took it along to the retired cop annual requalification and reunion. One of the range officer-youngsters, a Glock armorer, took the Glock sight adjustment tool to the slide of the G19X. I’d marked the right side of the dovetail in the slide with a pencil.
He pressed the sight over to cover the pencil mark. I took fifty rounds of Federal Aluminum along and shot the state course with the X-Ray. The target is pictured – not the prettiest cluster I ever shot but easily the best of the bunch that I fired over the past several range trips.
It’s apparent that the sight-pusher did the trick. The troops broke into a stash of personally-owned 9mm and shot Glock’s pistol themselves. They certainly seemed impressed with the X-Ray and I heard one of them mutter “going to have to get one.”
Yes, I know. “Concealment, lip over the magazine floorplate, the color, blah-blah.” I get it. The Glock 19X isn’t for everyone. For some of us, it’s truly the Glock “Commander” version – a soft-recoiling, accurate-shooting, “Glock reliable” sidearm. We’ll dress around the frame length for the advantages.
Safariland’s Liberator HP Hearing Protection
I was happy to hear about the Safariland U.S.-designed and manufactured Liberator HP advanced hearing protection headset for shooting, hunting and industrial applications. Their superior TCI brand featured high-dollar technology and design as well as its high-end tactical communications. The Liberator HP headset offers “dual mode electronic noise compression and active noise cancellation with industry-leading sound localization for maximum situational awareness and sound detection” – for everyday consumers.
A dual cell battery compartment, adjustments for ambient noise cancellation (constant racket) as well as range use, the Liberator HP runs on one CR123 battery – but can function with a pair of easily-found AAA batteries. Still not cheap at nearly $260, one can ask what your hearing is worth – you can find active ear pro cheaper.
You can’t find it cheaper with this feature set. As to durability, we’ll see. I have a set and know where there’s another set to be routinely used. I’ve had the chance to use the Liberator HP twice since its arrival. So far, it’s a matter of ‘learning the device’ to get best use. The clarity of the amplified ambient sounds is great. Likewise, it dampens the racket of even the short-barrel Springfield Armory SAINT Pistol (7.5” barrel 5.56mm) on an outdoor range.
I’ll keep you posted as time goes on, but so far it’s top drawer.
- - Rich Grassi