No. It flippin isn’t. Some days are awesome, other days are a pain in the ass, and it’s still nice to unplug every now and again.

So I went solo backpacking across Costa Rica, saw the capital, the Pacific coast, the cloud forests, volcanoes, and the Caribbean coast. It was a good time, and I’d go back again. Because I’m a work-a-holic, I also couldn’t resist visiting a gun shop, snapping some photos, and writing about the gear I used on the trail…

What did you take?

For two weeks, I lived out of this rucksack. The Tasmanian Tiger Mission bag was large enough to hold all my gear, but small enough that I could still sit with it on the bus rather than stash it underneath. I met two Canadian’s from Ottawa who had their bag stolen this way, so I definitely felt vindicated for my obsessive “kit never leaves my side” mentality. Additionally the two main pockets feature some simple internal divisions that let me make sure things like the umbrella, camera, and binos were always in the same place when I looked for them.

From a security standpoint, it was great to be able to lock the main compartments of the bag at the zippers, and still have an accessible rear pocket for little “need it now” bits like maps, guides, paperback books etc. The isolated vented pocket was also great for transporting damp clothing. Things don’t dry out in Costa Rica, but they do start to smell if you don’t give them some air. Having multiple handles on the top & sides of the pack also makes a big difference when you’re frequently shouldering & unshouldering, or shifting all your worldly possessions around you while you wait for a taxi-boat that may or may not be coming.

Because I am the hugest nerd you know, I also opted to take a wide-brim hat with me into the rainforests. The Tilley Had is Canadian-made, easily the most money I’ve ever spent on a hat ($80) and the most comfortable thing I’ve ever worn on my head. Tilley is pretty good at explaining themselves for why they think they’re hat is awesome, and I honestly was a little skeptical when I first put my money down.

But for field use: I’ve never had such a good solution for sun & rain. The wind cord only came into play once, and I was damn glad I had it.

I was there in rainy season, so the travel umbrella, pack cover, and stealth suit raincoat saw almost daily use. The stealth suit is easily one of the simplest pieces of kit I own, but damned handy. Made by Peerless Garments in Winnipeg, it’s an adaptation of the Canadian Forces goretex liner, converted into a standalone garment. Are there better pieces of technical clothing? Undoubtedly. But the stealth jacket offers a light, compact rain jacket that’s a step above the “pocket ponchos” that inevitably before stuffy suffocating feeling garments. Even when walking several kms in a heavy downpour with ambient temperature around 24 degrees C, the stealth suit was comfortable.

In the world of the Canadian Forces, apparently the stealth suit is designed to be worn under garments as an additional waterproofing layer, which explains why it has no pockets. I used it as a quick-on quick-off rain layer that I could store next to the pack-cover in the bottom of the mission bag. The rain could be threatening for hours, then start and stop at the drop of a hat.

What did you do?

Appropriately touristy things. I ziplined, I learned to surf, I kayaked the coast and mangrove swamps, I explored the cloud forest, I skinny dipped, I spent a lovely weekend at a lovely country house, I read paperback books, I drank in bars, I met a good many interesting people, I saw a wealth of wildlife. I intentionally tried to live outside the camera for a while, do more seeing with my eyes and focus less on capturing the experience.

Because really, I want a vacation to be about enjoying that time and place, not recording every moment to bring back and post-hashtag-share with you. No offense.

I also saw a sloth up close and personal. Bask in its glory.

What route did you follow?

I figured with 2 weeks, I wanted to see some of the country, but probably couldn’t manage all of the country. I booked spaces through AirBnB, which meant if I wanted to change my schedule at the last minute, I wouldn’t lose more than $20-30 a night. My first day I stayed in Alajuela and explored San Jose, then visited Jaco on the Pacific coast. I found Jaco very touristy (a town made up entirely of hotels, bars, and trinket shops) and left early in favor of Monteverde. The cloud forests and night tours of Santa Elena & Monteverde were fantastic, and I would definitely go back.

After 3 days there, I took a boat across Lake Arenal to La Fortuna at the base of the volcano. The hot springs in La Fortuna far exceeded my expectations based on previous visits to Canadian hotsprings. The addition of natural stones and a full bar cannot be understated. A weekend around the pool at a San Carlos country house rounded out an excellent time in the interior.

After that it was a long bus ride to Cahuita, a Caribbean coast town south of the port city of Limon (a place foreigners should take caution in) and on the North side of the national park that ends in Puerto Viejo. The Caribbean coast was a much more relaxed environment, and after one night in a slightly uncomfortable AirBnB, I opted to splurge and booked into a guest house run by a Quebecois couple. It was a good choice to round out the trip. I could easily spend closer to a full week on the Caribbean coast, and would love to paddle down across the national park.

But what about the guns man?

In San Jose, while looking for the pre-columbian gold museum (it’s underground) I stumbled upon a tiny gun shop downtown called Armeria Rex. Which is as good a name for a gun store as I can possibly imagine. Inside, their stock was almost exclusively handguns and handgun accessories, with a small selection of shotguns. Firearms are almost exclusively for home defense down there (crime is an issue, particularly in the capital and some poorer neighbourhoods) and once you’ve acquired the proper license to own a firearm, that doubles as your license to carry it.

While the salesman there explained that they have substantial taxes when importing, they can bring in firearms from all over the world. The entire country seems to work on a dual currency system of Costa Rican Colones and US Dollars, and this shop was no exception. They’re prices weren’t nearly as ridiculous as I was expecting. Ballpark $600 for a Baretta M9. And only $700 for the Vz61 that caught my eye. This Vz61 was a milsurp retrofit that had it’s full auto components welded up. It was the only “rifle-like” thing in the shop in that it had it’s folding stock intact. They also sold 32 ACP ammunition there, as well as a wide range of holsters and general sporting goods.

I noticed a wide variety of armed guards across the country, from everything to generic security at the local super market, to the Federal police checkpoints with full plate carriers. Drop leg holsters are still very popular down there, and I noticed a handful of insecurely retained handguns. Lots of Jericho pistols, Browning Hi-Powers, and Beretta Px4s. Not nearly as many Glocks as I would have guessed.

Apparently its possible for a foreign resident to legally acquire their firearms certificate down there and carry concealed. Only sanctioned police and security can carry openly. Personally I know a few friends who winter down there and would be very curious to learn more about that process.

We now resume your regularly scheduled Canadian firearms content…

Correction! The C9 LMG is made by FN, not Colt Canada. Derp.

Colt Canada, formerly Diemaco, has made a limited number of their monolithic uppers available to Canadian civilian shooters. I picked up one of their “blemished” units back in October and have had a great time shooting it.

These upper receivers that came to the civilian market were overrun from a military contract, possibly with the Danish Army. They were sold without charging handles or bolt carrier groups, but did feature a 15.7″ cold hammer forged barrel and a C9 flash-hider.

The IUR is part of the C7/C8 upgrade program and offers a free floated barrel and rock solid handguard for mounting accessories and optics. We did see a new M-LOK version called the MRR at Shot Show 2016. Complete versions of the Modular Railed Rifle are expected to be available to Canadian civilian shooters this summer.

Stay tuned! Each companion piece will take us into deeper detail on it’s system and topic. And if you have any specific questions about NV gear and the dark, let me know!

Q: I’ve read that thermals have a useful lifespan before something or other inside wears/burns out?

A: Not so! Thermal cores run forever unless you point them at the sun and leave them there. They manufacturers warranty them for a decade.

That’s image intensifier tubes you’re thinking of that have a lifespan.

Different people generally peg an I2 tubes life at 10,000 hours runtime. That means if you were using them for 5 hours a night every single night, that’s 5 and a half years life on that tube.

Q: What are your thoughts on a black and white image vs the traditional green? Some have told me that the contrast is not much different and is there a “wow” factor difference between FOM 1600-1799 vs 1800-2000? I guess what I am asking is it worth the $1500.00 difference. Thank you

A: The White Phosphor versus traditional Green Phosphor isn’t exceptionally meaningful. It’s just an alternate tone, not a distinct advantage. Anyone telling you that WP tubes have better contrast or are better in sync with your eye’s evolution have bought into the marketing.

There’s nothing wrong with WP. I’ve got one and I like it. But there’s no serious advantage either.

I’d say the higher figure of merits are noticeable only if you’ve looked through a lot of NVGs and spent more than 5 minutes continually looking through one. But they are noticeable. Personally I think $1500 is a lot of money for a little upgrade, but if you’re gunning for the best why not get the best?

Q: I am finally in a spot to get myself a nice expensive weapon sight that can allow me to see in the dark. I know that I will be spending 5 -10 grand. I have done some research on night vision products. I know little about thermal imaging however. What’s the best bang for your buck? What’s a more useful tool or is it situation based? I like the fact that thermal can see through fog.

Also do you recommend a weapon, hand or head mounted unit?
-Nate

A: I wrote parts of this article when I worked at Scout Basecamp, a company which sold night vision and thermal. I don’t work there any more and from what I understand their night vision offerings are no long so robust, but they are a major place to get thermal. If you’re looking for NV in Canada there are a few Canadian companies who retail stuff and one major mil-spec manufacturer: GSCI.

From a technological standpoint there are very different things happening when you use thermals compared to running an NVD. But there’s also some decisions to be made about what might work best for you, depending on what you are asking your equipment to do.

Night vision intensifiers are amplifying the existing light. This means that the tube inside of them is enhancing light that is barely there and filtering it through a series of photon replicating micro channel plates to your eye. There’s a lot more going on in there, but the key idea is that an NVD takes the light already present and makes more of it.

Thermal imagers on the other hand use a microbolometer to detect the infrared radiation emitted by objects around you. When infrared radiation is focused onto the uncooled detector, the heat absorbed causes changes to the electrical properties of the detector material. These changes can be compared to a base value and used to create a thermal image. The key advantage here is that thermals will highlight and differentiate the environment regardless of light. Rather than brightening the image, they are reading the radiation which produces a spectrum of different heat levels.

Most western militaries issue their soldiers with NVGs of some kind, as the ability to conduct operations at night has proven a major advantage in all recent conflicts. Thermal units have come down dramatically in price, more than 50% in the past ten years to the point that they are similarily priced to night vision units.

Those expensive long distance thermal units do have the benefit of reaching further than any hand held night vision device. A decent FLIR unit can effectively detect a man sized signature well past 500 meters, while most night vision scopes are only 3X or 5X magnification. There’s nothing in the lineup of traditional nightvision devices that will do long range like the BTS units with their telephoto lenses.

*This is the important part* Night vision devices are better for close range awareness and navigation though. Because all these units are sensitive to IR light you can use a variety of tools like beacons, strobes, friendly indicators, and IR lasers that are only visible to people wearing nightvision. Thermal units only identify heat, so they don’t care which uniform your wearing, but they can pick out a camouflaged person from their surrounding instantly. They are ideal for detection, but limited when it comes to identification.

FLIR units are also easier to pickup and use. Make sure they’re charged, and that’s pretty much all the maintenance they need. There’s no finicky focusing like the first two generations of NVDs, and no light restrictions at all. This means they also aren’t constrained to night-time activities. As an outdoorsman, FLIR can have multiple roles in your pack: As a scanning tool, as a confirmation tool, and as a night navigation unit.

Some thoughts: No matter what you pick, the biggest limitation will be your nationality, not your wallet. If we were in Texas I’d encourage you to spend $8,000 and get yourself a decent PVS-14 and a Thermosight RS. That would give you everything you’d want all at once. But we’re in Canada, so you’re going to have to make do with what you can find available here.

Some key questions you have to answer for yourself are:
Do I want to move under NVGs, or observe a scene from a static position?
Do I need my low-light solution to be integrated with a firearm?
What will my primary use for this device be? What auxiliary uses might it have?

Q: First thanks for the great response, I can tell you I will be picking your brain for a while. In a nutshell I answered your questions above. Any chance you could recommend a few rigs from the high high end of equipment to what will get you by?

Do I want to move under NVGs, or observe a scene from a static position?

-Most like from a static position. I see a equal value tho in moving, so both!

Do I need my low-light solution to be integrated with a firearm?

-Yes

What will my primary use for this device be? What auxiliary uses might it have?

-Navigation
-Target Identification
-Destroying Threats

Regards,

Nate

A: Nate, the next question for you is: What kind of range do you need to shoot at?

If you’re under 100 yards, I’d suggest a helmet mounted monocular and an IR laser. If you’re over a hundred yards, I’d recommend a helmet mounted monocular and a semi-permanent night optic on your rifle. Something like a fixed 4x or 5x, or a clip on system if you’ve got the rail space. Clip ons require more real estate and are heavier, but also have the big advantage of not interfering with your zero, cheek weld, eye relief, etc.

For the navigation side of things a helmet mounted monocular really is the best solution. But remember that phrase has two other words in front of monocular! You’ll need to find a helmet and a mount.

So lets build an affordable kit:

Protec Bravo Helmet: $89
GSCI GS-14 Gen 2 dovetail mount: $2699
Armasight 4x Orion with IR Illuminator: $649
Dovetail Arm: $70
Helmet shroud and Flip Up Mount: $200 new, but you can find them at lots of military surplus stores for less. Best deal I ever got on one was $15

So that’s put you at just over $3700 with two fully functioning devices if I’ve done my math right. However you might find that dovetails not as stable as you’d like, and that the Orion really need regular assistance from that IR illuminator to be worth anything. And maybe the GS-14 isn’t a true 40 degree field of view, which can make life just a little bit harder when you’re moving around.

Protip: when night vision is working well, really well, then it feels like a spotlight only you can see. The rest of the world is still there, but you move this “illuminated point” over it by moving your head around. That’s what integration is supposed to feel like.

Now lets build an expensive (but not gucci) kit:

Ops-Core Bump Helmet: $300
A pair of PVS-14 Monoculars: $7000
Dual Bridge Mount: $600
Wilcox Flip Up Mount: $400
DBAL with IR: $1500
CO-MR Clip On: $2195

So there you’re right at $12K, and you’ve got 3 top notch night vision devices in a very solid setup.

Beyond that, you get into Horta territory where you’re building fusion devices and spending astronomical sums of money. He’s a crazy guy.

If you haven’t, you should spend an hour or two looking around TNVC’s web store just to get an idea of how much good stuff is out there. But do so with the understanding that they will never, ever ship to you. They take ITAR very seriously.

That’s it for now! If you have any questions yourself don’t hesistate to get in touch with me.

I was lucky to scoop up a membership back in January and have spent most of the summer shooting at the new site! You can see CDTSA events and apply for membership on their website: http://www.cdtsa.ca/

Essentially, I’m looking to clarify NVGs and compare what you get for your money with different technologies. So I will be examining both image intensified and thermal night vision units, looking at a budget and mil-spec example of each. Expect lots of photos, videos, and a few words from me.

I’ll also talk about some beginner mistakes made with different forms of night vision, and examine scenario specific equipment. Getting the right gear for working in the dark is all about the kind of work you’re doing.

I’ve seen a few low light courses and instructors run very successful programs, but completely ignore the opti-electronic devices that are increasingly available. There’s nothing wrong with white light, but there’s a whole other world happening once you enter the IR spectrum. Stay tuned…

Developed with the Canadian Forces through the Soldier Integrated Precision Effects Systems (SIPES) project.

A bullpup design that features the ability to install either a three round 40 mm grenade launcher, or a 12-gauge shotgun.

The next phase will feature a TrackingPoint style system to automatically detect targets and assist in engaging them.

You can see them test fire several types of munitions below. Watch for the 5.56 ejection!

There’s some obvious similarities between this system and the US’s early OICW program. Although the article describes this prototype as being lighter than a conventional C7 & M203 combo.

You can read the full text at Defence Research and Development Canada

The Pistol:

The Shotgun:

Confession time. I’ve never cleaned my Akdal Mka 1919. I put it through the break in, tinkered with the mags to make them run reliably, and sprayed lube inside the beast. That’s it. This gun runs so well I am loathe to change anything. I shudder just at the thought of popping the Razor red dot off and losing my slug-zero. My initial instinct when I was thinking about the Crimson Trace match was “lasers on everything.” But as I look at the stages, and think about trying to put a laser on a clay target, I feel a light and a red dot is a better option for the “close-enough” shotgun.

I’ve busted out a piece of equipment from my very first gun: the barrel clamp light mount. It’s not pretty, but it lets me put a light on the end of the 1919 without needing any picatinny (which would require a firebird precision replacement fore-end) For lights I’m using a Klarus MODEL that I won off the Gun Owners of Canada Forum back in April.

The Rifle:

Being my perpetual favourite, I opted to bring the Tavor with me rather than borrow a stage gun. I’ve done some big changes here to make it “more 3-Gun” and less combat rifle. I noticed everyone in my squad at the MGM Ironman used Seekins Precision rails on their AR-15s. The wide flat-bottom hand guards locked in tight when it came to stabilizing against barriers. There were definitely 9-hole walls where I was resting the barrel of the Tavor on the obstacle. Not ideal. So I dropped cash on a Midwest Industries XL hand guard, and added a single section of key mod rail to put a light on the fore-end.

The same debate as the pistol: I’m unsure whether to leave the Ares Armor compensator, or put a fancy Surefire 215 Flash Hider on there to keep the fire-balls down. Side by side comparisons of the two reveal a pretty substantial difference in flash, but I’m not certain how much it matters here. For a light on the Tavor I’m using an offset mount as close to the barrel as I can get, with a surefire defender in there to illuminate down-range.

This all sounds good, but of course there’s one major curve ball with the Midnight 3 Gun: Lots of stage guns.

I know I’ll be shooting an FN AR-15 with a thermal sight on top, a suppressed glock, and a PWS piston-gun with a suppressor as well. There’ll be a mossberg 500 and a few other surprises waiting. These aren’t hard guns to shoot, but they’re not my guns, and that’s one more unknown factor. Plus you know . . . the grenade launcher and the select-fire systems. That’s just part of the fun! To steal and turn a phrase: “F**k it. We’ll do it live. And in the dark!“

I start shooting Wednesday the 13th, and I’ll be writing about it here and on The Firearm Blog.

]]> http://tv-presspass.com/gear-for-the-midnight-3-gun-invitational/feed/ 0 http://tv-presspass.com/introduction-to-the-tasmanian-tiger-trojan-rifle-carrier-pack/ http://tv-presspass.com/introduction-to-the-tasmanian-tiger-trojan-rifle-carrier-pack/#respond Wed, 07 May 2014 22:13:08 +0000 http://tv-presspass.com/?p=815 Continue reading Introduction to the Tasmanian Tiger Trojan Rifle Carrier Pack →]]> Rifle packs are a great way to carry a gun, especially if you’re climbing up trails and over hills.

I’ve been using various carriers for years, but at the start of 2014 I received a new and unique system: the Tasmanian Tiger Trojan.

The Trojan has a lot to offer as a rifle carrier, and after a few months of using it I can see myself retiring some of my older packs.

At its core: the Trojan is an ultra-flexible rifle carrier, that can be adapted for different distinct uses.

There are two primary parts to the Trojan: an assault pack, and a rifle scabbard.

The assault pack has a large interior compartment with included camera-case-style velcro dividers and 8 interior pockets. On the outside of the pack, you have a large flat zip pocket on the front, and four small compression straps at each corner. There’s a rubberized handle on the very top of the pack, and a velcro section for attaching whatever patches your mission or vanity requires.

External elasticized water bottle holders and drinking tube vents on each side round it out as a proper hiking pack. This uses the same carrying system and shape-able internal aluminum frame as the Mission Pack, which has excellent shoulder straps and a small hip belt. I’m a thin waisted guy, so I appreciate the elasticized strap retention, which I’ve always preferred over the velcro-rolls common on other straps.

The scabbard has molle up and down both sides, a reinforced end, and a butt cover that attaches via velcro and buckles. A set of 4 molle binding straps snap the scabbard in between the assault pack’s carrying system and it’s main pouch. The molle straps mean you can move the scabbard up or down, and even remove it entirely.

When you remove the scabbard, you can zip up the assault pack to remove the dead space, and make sure the load of the main pouch is against your back where it belongs.

The scabbard itself has its own set of shoulder straps that are hidden when inside the main pack. They also attach via molle, and while they’re only flat strapping, they do have a functional chest strap and allow you to carry the rifle scabbard alone. There’s also a molle threaded handstrap on the scabbard, which I opted to transfer over to the side of the assault pack.

If there was one thing I could change about this pack: I would add a second one of those hand-grips onto the other side of the assault pack. I like having handles when tossing packs like this into the back of a vehicle.

But the flexibility really starts to shine when you look at all the different ways to use all these different carriers and straps.
For one trip, we took a .308 rifle alone in the scabbard, but attached a small utility pouch on the outside that held all the ammo Jess and I would shoot that day.

I took the Trojan pack without a scabbard to Shot Show this year, and used its interior dividers and pockets as a great camera and sound bag.

I can carry my mags, lunch, spotting scope, and a folding stock Vz58 in the completed trojan without needing to use the butt-cover. The scabbard is deep enough to cover the entire rifle, but if I want to keep it accessible: I can insert the gun with the stock unfolded and retrieve it without unshouldering the pack.

I’ve also taken the flat molle carry straps and attached them to an old unused shotgun scabbard. Suddenly this thing that was collecting dust in my gear closet is a great way to carry my Russian M44 carbine in the bush.

I have a wide variety of guns, and take them to all kinds of different places. I know the Trojan is going to see a lot of use this summer because its flexibility means that I can quickly and easily make it the right solution for a given trip.

If you want to see some footage of the pack in action, I also put together a youtube video:

]]> http://tv-presspass.com/introduction-to-the-tasmanian-tiger-trojan-rifle-carrier-pack/feed/ 0 http://tv-presspass.com/magazine-pounch-akdal-mka-1919-ten-round/ http://tv-presspass.com/magazine-pounch-akdal-mka-1919-ten-round/#comments Wed, 23 Apr 2014 16:12:01 +0000 http://tv-presspass.com/?p=819 Continue reading When Magazines Get Big: Pouches for the Mka 1919 Ten Rounder →]]> The Akdal Mka 1919 is a wild shotgun with massive magazines unlike anything I’ve ever shot before. Carrying them can be something of a challenge, as they’re much wider and much longer than your standard AR-15 magazine.

Take a look at the side by side photos. From left to right you’ve got a LAR-15 10 round pistol magazine, a 30-round Magpul M3 Pmag, a 40-rounder Pmag, then the massive 10-round Mka 1919 magazine, and lastly the standard 5-round Mka 1919 magazine.

The 5 rounders fit beautifully into my Tasmanian Tiger single-mag shingles. These soft pouches are made for AR-15 magazines, but I’ve fit all kinds of off-size magazines in there before including Vz58 .223 magazines and now the fat Mka 1919s.

The 10 rounders present a different problem though. Even HGSGI Tacos, the Holy Grail of mag carriers, struggle in the face of a full-size Mka 1919 magazine.

But I’m kind of guy who’s got an overflowing gear closet, and the determination to make something work. My solution?

The Tasmanian Tiger Communication pouches  I originally bought for my  Garmin Rhino GPS set can be retrofit to take the Mka 1919 mags. Tasmanian Tiger designed these to be as adjustable as possible to fit a wide range of radios .

These are quite cleverly made: essentially two strips of material with hook-and-loop panels control the depth and width of the pouch, while a double bungie-snap reaches over, and can be adjusted by length to go over or around different antennas.

After some strategic sizing, and stretching the included bungie retainer to its max, I’ve got a pouch that can keep a Mka 1919 ten rounder in place. I used an extra malice clip in addition to the integral molle mount to make sure nothing is flopping about, and so far things seem good.

This setup has survived stairs, sprints, and burpees, but we will have to see if it continues to hold firm through range trips and the competition itself.

The big 10 rounders I bought actually required a bit of gunsmithing before they’d even lock into the gun properly. So they’ve certainly been an unusual experience. But they’re a huge part of what makes the Mka 1919 such a fun solution.

Astonishingly, some custom shops in the US make 23 round magazines. I can imagine that going prone with one of those behemoth isn’t an easy transition.

Next I have to figure out how I want to tape, label, and separate my magazines into slug and target loads. Stay tuned!

 

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