Thanks to @HawkinsSecurity for bringing this photo to our attention. The officer behind the sign has a 33rd extended glock magazine in what looks to be a Glock 19 fitted with a Glock weapon light. I do not have any context as to why they are aiming so high nor why they are deployed. It may be the same officers that arrested the Paris massacre mastermind Salah Abdelsam by French and Belgian authorities.

I am a bit of a fan of Firstlight USA’s lights when they first came out with the Tomahawk a few years ago. I have a Tomahawk MC and Tomahawk NV in my flashlight collection. I got their new Torq LE to see how it compares to the Tomahawk. The concept of the Torq is similar to the Tomahawk line but with a few changes. Somewhat like SureFire and their Nitrolon series of handheld lights, Firstlight USA made the Torq out of polymer. They also changed the power consumption and updated the light with a more efficient LED that runs on 2x AA batteries.

Brite Strike Technologies Inc. recently announced a new rechargeable flashlight that is designed for tactical use. Called the Rhight Duty Light, this new hand held torch claims to be very durable and bright while offering the convenience of being able to charge it in a vehicle or building.

Not long ago I wrote a review of the first non-holster product Kinetic Concealment introduced to the market. This was the KC green laser. At the time I mentioned KC would be introducing an LED white light and green laser combination. The LC-1 has just been introduced.

Kirsten Joy Weiss got a chance to play with and review the Israeli CornerShot. The CornerShot has been around for over 10 years. It has been used in such movies as Wanted, Red, and The Expendables 3. It was even used in Season 3 of Top Shot. For those not familiar with the system, it is a giant stock for a pistol with a hinge. The front end holds the gun and has a laser, light and camera array. The camera feeds video back to the stock portion and you can view it via folding screen. This gives the shooter the ability to shoot from complete cover. Compared to traditional shooting from cover or using some sort of prism device like the Accutact Anglesight where some part of the shooter is exposed like the shooting hand and forearm.

At the recent SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Olight introduced a new tactical flashlight called the M1X Striker. The new flashlight is a “defensive adaptation” of the company’s M18 Maverick flashlight.

It’s a sentence I hear on each and every hunting trip taken for work: “Do you have a flashlight?” Then comes the debate regarding which flashlights are better, which ones last the longest, which shine the brightest beams, and which provide the best quality colored light depending on the need it fulfills. The quest for a good flashlight is not unlike the quest for a good knife or a good holster: it’s influenced by personal preferences and use, but a truly great flashlight is just that.

GSM Outdoors recently announced a new hand held light it is offering under the Cyclops brand. The new CYC-300WP is configured in a spotlight form factor and offers a combination of durability and long run time with an affordable price.

Streamlight Inc. announced a new handheld flashlight that is said to throw 2,200 lumens. The new light, called the Protac HL4, is an extension of the company’s existing Protac line that includes a wide range of “tactical” light options including a USB rechargeable and a tiny AAA flashlight.

Streamlight, manufacturer of various weapon lighting and laser systems has announced that the previously introduced TLR-6 combination laser / light is now available in a Universal Kit. The new kit includes adapters for 18+ sub-compact handguns.

My EDC is a Sig Sauer P938. I like the size and with the factory 7rd extended magazine it feels like a compact.

Winchester was founded in 1866 and as you all know the legendary company is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. That celebration kicked off at SHOT and will be continuing throughout the year. Next on the celebration agenda is an anniversary safe which was part of the company’s booth at SHOT Show this past January.

SHOT 2016 was an amazing experience. Below are some pictures I took during SHOT show. This picture set will feature the most innovative products that I PERSONALLY saw. This will be my last SHOT related article. Going back to gear and gun reviews for the rest of the year. A big thank you to TFB readers for following this picture series!

First-Light is a small U.S. company that has some pretty cool lights which have a lot of utility in a number of venues.

Swinging by Quantico Tactical (who are apparently big fans of TFB by the way, thanks guys!), I noticed what I thought a first were chem lights, a fairly common military item.  Upon closer inspection, it was a unique and versatile “modular light system” called Lazerbrite.  When I say versatile, I truly mean that these lights cover a ton of bases for civilian or military needs.  The inventor of the system was at the booth, and was kind enough to take the time to walk me through the systems functions.  Here a sampling of what it can achieve:

SureFire released their new cell phone case earlier this month. The case will dock with the FirePak. The FirePak has two LEDs and puts out a whopping 1500 lumens. The FirePak can also act as a phone charger backup battery. SureFire has an app that you use to pair the FirePak via Bluetooth. The app will allow you to control the FirePak. You can pair it as a flash for your camera. You can set the FirePak and control its brightness remotely. MSRP is $249 for the FirePak.

Streamlight is now offering two rail mounted lights specific for rifles. The PROTAC Rail Mount 1 and the PROTAC Rail Mount 2 join an impressive catalog of products. The PROTAC Rail Mount series have a mount machined on to the main body of the light and include a pressure switch. The most interesting feature about the PROTAC Rail Mount series is the PROTAC Rail Mount 1, which features Streamlight’s Dual Fuel Design. The PROTAC Rail Mount 1 can take a CR123 battery or an Alkaline battery.

I am not sure how ABC news knows this is the Raid on El Chapo but it is certainly not GoPro nor is it raw footage. First you can see that the video is edited from different cameras. The shaky camera is actualy a Contour camera attached to the side of one of the guy’s helmets. He does not appear to be shaking at all so I think his Contour is on the fritz.

Found this gem on Facebook. The solider is using an M4 variant with what looks like a Trijicon Acog, PEQ, and possibly a SureFire weapon light. It goes without saying that this is dangerous and should not be attempted. However I do commend the skill set of the soldier that made these shots. It is rather close range but I would not want to be the guy holding the soda cans. Please do not try this at home.

Leapers announced the company upgraded its Grip Light for 2016. The new and improved Grip Light jumps up to a rated output of 400 lumens. According to the company, the light has a flood focus and will run for more than three hours. The light runs on two CR123 batteries and has a QD lever locking mount. The unit has a suggested retail price of $64.97.

A report by Janes Defense has highlighted the purchase of 24 additional 5.56x45mm HK416A5 rifles and four 7.62x51mm G28 (HK417) rifles by Portugal for their Rapid Reaction Brigade (SOF). This is in addition to 18 rifles in November of 2014, and 22 HK416s in February of this year. This recent purchase brings the total amount of HK416s to 64 that have been reported to the media, or essentially enough for a reinforced platoon. Now, seeing that these purchases are more or less in sets of 20, I’m assuming that each batch is going to a separate and new team of their SOF, with each team retiring the service rifles they had before, at the rate that they are going with now. The rifles come equipped with a number of goodies, to include bipods, PMags, Aimpoints, AN/PEQ 16s, suppressors with Manta M700 shrouds, and the picture appears to have a high power optic with Accuracy International scope caps (not sure if these are made by AI, because I’ve seen Schmitt & Bender scopes with AI adjustment caps). Barrel lengths are ranging from 14.5 inch barrels for some batches and 16.5 for others. It is interesting to see a number of features on their weapon systems that imitate some American tendencies. Such as the PEQ16s, zip tieing their attachments, and their choice in accessories.

Phuc Long of Firepower United made a parody of Disney’s Be Our Guest, the famous song from Beauty and the Beast. He re-wrote the lyrics to reflect options to accessorize your rifles. You can hear his accent fade as he forces a faux French accent. I think Phuc Long is the Asian equivalent of FPS Russia. They are simply characters that these guys personify for flair, their accents are over the top and unrealistic for those who are familiar with people who do have legitimate accents. Regardless of the faux accents, the content is funny and entertaining.

(Unless otherwise stated, the information in this review is based on my own observations and measurements, not the official specifications.)

If you’ve ever hunkered down in a blind or against a tree at night hoping to spot incoming game before they spot you – hoping not to miss them entirely – you understand the need for a good flashlight. Not a flashlight that floods the woods or field with a bright white light that would definitely scare off all the game in the area, that is, but one that helps you see without being readily detected by wildlife.

Solider Systems got a sneak peek at the new SureFire Sidekick. For those of you who have been following SureFire’s latest releases, you will notice a recurring theme in their lights. They are re-purposing the technology from their 2211 wrist light, Titan AAA, and XC1 light. They all have the same specs and look to have the same LED technology. Just put into different hosts. Now they appear to have taken some features from the wrist light and turned it into a key fob. The packaging says it has a wide beam. So you get a really wide beam but at the compromise of distance. Actually if you look at the specs of the Titan Plus, it is pretty much the same as what this new Sidekick can do except the Sidekick appears to have longer run times. Possibly with the larger body they can fit a lager capacity battery. I am sure we will see it next month at SHOT Show.

I saw this on Instagram and it was also posted on AllOutdoor.com

Recently, myself and three friends attended a course taught by Wes Doss called Lights, Sights, and Lasers Tour in Wabash, Indiana. We’ve blogged about the course before on TFB but this will be an in depth review of the course materials covered and the courses of fire. The course is completely free and offered to Law Enforcement officers and members of the Military, provided they are in an Active or Reserve capacity. Law Enforcement doesn’t just include the typical cops on the street, but also Bail Bondsmen, Federal Firearms certified pilots (we had a civilian airlines pilot that flew Airbus 330s for a living in the class), and other such jobs that fall under this category. Now, unfortunately, if you aren’t in one of these categories, you cannot take the course. But, certainly read this review because there is a vast amount of knowledge and different learning attitudes that you don’t have to take the course to contemplate about and understand. In addition, every bit of information learned in the course is completely applicable to civilian concealed carry, and general situational awareness at night. That being said, although the course is for LE/MIL, it is overwhelmingly directed at Law Enforcement. This is more than evident in the fact that most of the students in the class were police officers. In fact, apart from myself and two other Reserve friends (Army, Marine Corps) and the pilot, everyone was Law Enforcement.

The Daily Mail has an excellent group of photographs concerning an elite Scotland Yard unit that was set up before the Paris attacks, but has increased its tempo of training to counter such attacks as in Paris. Britain has this thing known as SFOs, or Specialist Firearms Officer, and these guys have “CT-SFO” on their vests, which means “Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer”. Essentially SFOs are the only members of British Law Enforcement that can carry firearms on the job.

Continuing their theme for immediate release of a laser to match a pistol (a’la R51), Crimson Trace has announced the release of their LG-479 laser system for the new RM380 handgun. Touted as the result of “behind the doors shared details” between Remington and Crimson Trace, the new system is a standard red laser with grip pad activation.

You make a good number of friends over the years in the gun industry. One of those friends, Josh Sykes, not only works in the marketing end of the industry but has a company of his own named Kinetic Concealment. Up until now Josh has been designing and making holsters but today he contacted me to let me know he is branching off to design and sell lasers for rail mounting as well as white light/green laser combos for pistols and finally a mini red dot sight for pistols.