The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
Gear loadout is nearly at the top of the list when it comes to mission planning. You check the board and see when you muster, what you are assigned to and what gear you are required to bring. Even before that a lot of thought is given to what type of personal gear to include […]
Choosing a Mini knife for the mariner, outdoorsman or hunter is difficult. I am fortunate to work as a bosun on a research vessel and I deal with a multitude of different types of ropes and lines in a variety of sizes. For mariners, knives are an extremely important part of kit, small and compact preferred. Ideally, […]
Taken individually, the draw stroke, trigger position, hand position, body posture, breath control, and sight focus are easy to work on. For example, if you’re not worried about anything but focusing on the front sight of your pistol (unless you’re like me and have started working towards using just a red dot on your pistols), […]
In the arena of handguns, no gun enjoys as great of a mystique or quite so strong a passion as John Moses Browning’s M1911. Truly, this pistol is one of the first mass-produced handgun styles that brought the idea of field maintenance and shootability to the end user in quite this way. Previous examples of […]
The guys at Vanquest are in a very competitive backpack/Go Bag market. Let’s face it, there are many companies that offer quality products that meet the requirements of the grunt, the student, or the regular 9-5 Joe. If you are like me, I have tons of little stuff that I use frequently. I use a […]
Talking with Vietnam vets is always a learning experience. They are a truly remarkable bunch of guys who accomplished a lot with very little. Â I am fortunate to know a SEAL who did some time during the heyday of Vietnam. Reading stories about the Brown Water Navy and SEAL/UDT Platoons in books were great but […]
If you’re reading this, you probably carry a firearm either for self defense or for duty.  And, if you’ve been around the internet for more than five minutes, you know that on just about any forum you go to, someone somewhere is going to tell you what caliber you should be carrying. Interestingly, very few […]
Many people regard Heckler and Koch as one of the best firearms manufacturers in the world. Their rifles and pistols have earned a reputation for being reliable and sturdy under the harshest of conditions, and have been for longer than even Gaston’s Miracle Pistol. A favorite of the US Navy and law enforcement around the […]
Gibbs’ Rule #9: Never go anywhere without a knife. Knives in this day and age are about like cards or hand tools: Everyone and their grandma makes them, and you can buy ’em for just about any price you can think of, at any store you can name. I think even the girl scouts are […]
Micro Red Dot sites are an interesting animal. Tiny enough to truly be useful on a pistol, these sites come in a wide variety of types, designs, reticle designs and sizes, and quality. In fact, with the growing desire to replace iron sights on everything with a red dot site, more vendors than ever are […]