Fred Rowlands

Fred Rowlands Fred “Garfield” Rowlands is a 21+ year Navy veteran who spent his career in strange and diverse places like Diego Garcia, Wintering Over in Antarctica, the Southern Border, and Burbank CA. Has spent over 30 years working in Military Physical Security, Law Enforcement, and Private Security, and has “more luck than a cat has lives” supposedly. He now resides in NW Florida with his wife and a Great Dane named Layla.

SHOT SHOW 2024, Day One in the Rearview Mirror

The SOFREP team was on the ground and meeting people at Industry Day AKA Range Day here at SHOT SHOW 2024. Day one is an outdoor event held at the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club in Boulder City NV just outside of Las Vegas and what a day it was with plenty of guns and […]

Extended Magazines and New Earplugs or, How to Accessorize for Range Day

Never-ending magazines are just a thing from Hollywood but SGM has some extended magazines that allow you to shoot just a little longer whether you need to or not. These magazines are twenty-six-round magazines made for the Glock double stack .45 cal models. Imagine twenty-six .45 caliber bits of love all loaded into your Glock […]

The New Toy, if You Can Call a Glock 41 a Toy

I recently decided to swap out my Glock 21 for a new Glock 41 Gen 4. I was eager to see the difference in trigger pull and the slightly longer sight radius due to the longer barrel and its status as “Competition Size”. I had a brief chance to compare a Glock 21 model to […]

BCL MRX Bison, a Compact Scout Rifle That Delivers

Today we highlight one of our reviewers from Nova Scotia, Leland (Lee) Keane, a Retired Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman and his take on a bolt action rifle from a Canadian manufacturer that is very impressive. I have been looking for a “scout rifle” for a few years. I have used the Mossberg MVP Patrol in […]

Knockoffs and Generics, What Will the Internet Give Us Next?

With clowns to the left of me and jokers to the right, I’m stuck in the middle of knockoff central. Knockoffs have been around for decades, longer than I’ve been alive, longer than, well a long time. As long as there have been items that are in high demand and command a high price, someone […]

Buck 808 Talon, A Big Tool With Big Capabilities

Garfield’s “go-to tool” when dealing with brush, limbs, and small trees on his NW Florida rural property, and his Grandson’s favorite tool to steal away from him. Small enough to wield all day but capable enough to easily take on 3- and 4-inch thick cuts. https://youtu.be/hacm4KywPe0 When I bought this knife it was to try […]

My RAM Warlock Project, Part One

We Bought a New Truck! Yes, I said WE because as I dove head first into this venture I needed to be sure everyone was onboard with the decision! What drove that was the realization that my bank account and financial standing were going to be considerably LESS than I was used to, I mean, […]

We Hope You Don’t Pay a Lot for Those Knockoffs

The Folding Morphing Knockoff Thing From the Internet Knockoffs are the way of the world and, unfortunately, in today’s society if you have even a good product, someone somewhere WILL copy it. Some of these copies are good and sometimes even authorized, think the original Taurus model 92. But some are copies of a copy […]

The $40 Karambit Gift

Check out the latest video from Garfield as he takes a look at Knockoff’s this week. Being “the Gear Guy” had its advantages, honest! In this case, people just stop by and give you stuff to play with and review for the Internet, like a $40 knockoff Karambit that has a pretty design on the […]

Phase 5 Weapon Systems SLGBLK Single Point Sling, Adjustable Bungee Review

For those who like single-point slings, they don’t just like them. They tend to LOVE them. If you’re a two-point sling person, sorry, this review isn’t for you. I bought my Phase 5 Weapon Systems sling approximately five years ago and have used it on various long guns, with and without my vest, in various […]