Over the years, carrying a concealed firearm has become fairly easy for me with little worries of someone seeing my handgun. For the long-time carry crowd, carrying a firearm daily becomes second nature but it’s not always easy for everyone right out of the gate. There are oftentimes growing pains as well as lessons to be learned before it’s easy to carry a handgun. With the recent explosion in new gun owners, I have received a ton of questions about how to carry without worrying, so let’s dive into the world of worry-free carrying.

Bob Nosler, CEO of Nosler Inc., has published an autobiography titled “Born Ballistic”. The new book continues the story started by Nosler Inc founder John A. Nosler in his “Going Ballistic: The Life and Adventures of John Nosler” book. The Born Ballistic book was written in collaboration with outdoor writer and TV host Gary Lewis who also helped John Nosler writing the Going Ballistic.

I know my lane – if you are looking for a 300BLK or rimfire suppressor, I can probably point you in the right direction. But, if you want to see in the dark, I’ll hand you off to someone like Nick C. who, if he can put down his LEGO Millennium Falcon long enough, has enough night vision expertise to outfit a platoon. So, when it came time to talk with our friend Steve Lemenov from ATN Corp, I asked some pretty basic questions about thermal imagery and traditional night vision. ATN Corp manufacturers a wide variety of feature-rich imaging solutions that are affordable for the average shooter. Their new clip-on thermal imagers have really caught my and I hope to dive into a night time pest control series as time permits. Enjoy the listen.

Tyrant Designs has been busting out the aftermarket accessories this year and has just released their latest set of precision CNC machined pistol parts. The Tyrant Designs Glock 17 Gen 3 Magwell has a couple of new features like their custom crosshair patterned screws, and compatibility for Generations 3 through 5 of Glock’s 17, 22, 31, 34, 35, and 45 handguns. The new Tyrant Designs Glock 17 Gen 3 Magwell is available now for $69.95 from the Tyrant Designs website. Color options include black, red, gray, blue, gold, and machined aluminum. The colors for the crosshair patterned mounting screws are either black or gold.

Last January, just after GunFest, James Reeves visited KelTec and Chad showed a new SUB2000 featureless kit. Well, it is out now and I bought it out to check it out. Let’s take a closer look.

We all know the importance of proper hydration. H2O is a life-giving chemical compound, without which the human body can’t survive. It only takes a matter of days without new liquid hydrogen oxide intake for your organs to start failing. Death by dehydration is a gruesome way to go, and exacerbating factors like heat and physical activity or sweating can accelerate the problem. Any experienced shooter knows that if you’re going to an outdoor shooting range, taking a training class, going out on a hunt, or engaging in other active pursuits around the shooting sports, make sure to have plenty of water! But what if you want a different refreshing beverage, one that comes in a can or a bottle? Though alcohol and shooting are inadvisable (despite what you may have heard about family reunions/Christmas celebrations/children’s birthday parties in Texas), wouldn’t it be useful to quickly and conveniently access your favorite flavor of La Croix or pop the cap on a Topo Chico? Fortunately, thanks to the magic of 3D printing, the Etsy storefront PrintedLifeShop has some solutions for you.

“You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension”. This quote (though unconfirmed) has been historically attributed to Nikola Tesla, from way back in 1898. I don’t recall ever reading reports that Tesla could actually see the future or travel into it, but now I suspect that this may have been the case. It seems highly likely that his dread warning of future horrors must almost certainly have been in reference to this exact item. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen: some disturbed denizen of the Gunternet’s darkest corners has produced what may very well be the most disconcerting, unnerving, horrifying gun-related item ever to exist. Your eyes do not deceive you. In that cover image, you are looking at an iron sight manufactured to look like… *sigh*, there’s really no way to put this tactfully… like Garfield the cartoon cat’s asshole. I’ll take “Heinous Phrases I Never Thought Would Have To Be Written” for $800, Alex.

If you run a light on a long gun, odds are you’ve wrestled with cable management issues before. Although these headaches can be circumvented by only using a clicky tailcap, or buying a Cloud Defensive OWL, these types of solutions won’t work for every gun or every shooter. Sometimes, you just need a remote switch – and that means cables. In the past, keeping your wires in place has often meant using velcro, tape, or zip ties. Unfortunately, most of these cobbled-together setups come with their own problems. Cloud Defensive’s REIN weaponlight actually provides a solid cable management solution built right into their remote switch’s mount. However, in most cases and with most other makes/models of lights, additional routing/securing hardware would be exceedingly useful in preventing snags or damage to your light’s wiring. Enter Arson Machine Co., with their WireGuide cable management system.

While sometimes the process of cleaning our guns can be quite cathartic, at other times it can be a chore. Especially if you’re an armourer cleaning dozens of guns at a time regularly. Infante, a New Jersey-based company that specialises in ultrasonic firearms cleaning, explains their technology.

While I was at The Gathering at the Sawmill event in South Carolina, I was able to speak with the owner of Ryker. Ryker has developed a novel shooting method dubbed the “Ryker Method” which aims to reduce fatigue on the shooter and provide a more natural shooting position when interfacing with their weapon. Ron Holmes, the inventor and President of Ryker, came up with the concept of the Ryker Grip (also known as the FIST grip) and Ryker Sling in order to aid him while shooting with an injured shoulder.

At SHOT Show 2020 Recover Tactical debuted their 20/20 Glock Stabilizer Kit and Holster for 9mm and .40S&W Glock models with a rail. These kits are really easy to install, they deploy quickly, and they’re affordable. The 20/20 Stabilizers for the Glock start out at just $99.95. They’ve since released their  MG9 Angled Grip and Glock Mag Holders and optics mounts to go along with the 20/20 Stabilizers.

As far as I’m concerned, you can never have too many stickers. This is especially true if they are high-quality, gun-related stickers. StickyBolt is a UK-based sticker company that has produced some cool stickers for people like us. Luke C. wrote up their last drop here on TFB. This is Drop 5, which is made up of three distinct packs: Modern Arsenal 2.0, Ammo, and Reloading Rations.

Axeon Optics presents the new MPL1 pistol light with 300 lumens output. Powered by one AAA battery, the light can be set at various flash modes as well as constant on. With a very tempting price, it looks like it would fit both the rail of the pistol and everyone’s wallet. According to Axeon, there are already several holsters that work with it.

When it comes to firearms and gear organization, I am an extremely neat freak. If I had unlimited cash and space each and every one of my guns would have its own weapons locker full of all its related accessories, ammunition, and kit. Sagewood Gear has released a much less expensive idea with their Clip Hangers which fit right into inexpensive pegboard as opposed to more costly Slatwall or store wall kits.

At the Palmetto State Armory event The Gathering at The Sawmill, I was able to get a chance to look at and shoot at KRATE Tactical’s deck of cards. By deck of cards, I mean steel targets with each of the suits that you’d normally find in a deck of playing cards. The targets are self-resetting, can handle both rifle and pistol calibers.

Clairvoyance Solutions has just introduced its flagship product, a weapon-mounted light cleaning solution that works in just a couple seconds without damaging your weapon-mounted light. As an added bonus, the cleaning solution is made from 100% safe chemicals for the skin and is non-toxic.

It wasn’t long ago that if you wanted a light on your rifle, it was SureFire or nothing. With their company history stretching back nearly a half-century and key innovations in weapon-mounted flashlights beginning as early as the 1980s, it’s not hard to see why they were the kings of this particular hill for so long. In recent years, however, the market for tactical illumination has exploded. Usage and demand have soared, and as a result, many younger companies have arisen to challenge the SureFire giant. While this process has given us a veritable ocean of lesser products, it has also featured some phenomenal lights from other manufacturers. While SureFire still offers many excellent weaponlights, they no longer sit alone on the top shelf of this realm. For my money and from my experience, two companies, in particular, have emerged as the most capable direct SureFire long gun light competitors, in the majority of applications: the PLH and OKW models from Modlite, and the OWL and REIN lights from Cloud Defensive.

Blue Force Gear has noticed that several counterfeit examples of their slings have been showing up in online marketplaces and in the hands of their customers so in an effort to prevent unsuspecting customers from purchasing a counterfeit Blue Force Gear sling they have notified customers to be on the lookout for fake versions of their slings.

Those of you who are heavily invested in the bolt action rifle game will no doubt be familiar with the Masterpiece Arms Bolt Action Mount. The Bolt Action Mount is a precision machined scope mount meant to mate high-performance rifle optics with Picatinny-equipped rifles. Masterpiece Arms have just announced a few new enhancements to their Bolt Action Mount.

One of the most frequently upgraded parts of Kalashnikov rifles is the stock. Although there is a variety of aftermarket stocks designed to fit the standard AK rear trunnions, the use of adapters that allow attaching AR-15 buffer tubes or Picatinny rail compatible stocks has also become quite popular drastically expanding the possible stock options for the good ol’ AK-47 and its derivatives. JMac Customs recently came up with a new family of products designed for attaching various stocks to AK rifles. This product line consists of rear trunnions called Modular Rear Kalashnikov Trunnion (MRKT) and stock adapters that are attached to each other via a new mounting interface called Infinity Mount.

If you’re into the full-gear style of training, you’ll be pretty familiar with the concepts of both dual and single-channel communications setups. There are currently only a few viable setups available on the market for linking your radio to a headset suitable for duty use. Safariland has just debuted their new Liberator Single and dual-channel headsets.

Brown Star Concepts (BSC) is a new company that has entered the market of firearm accessories with a product called RapidTac foregrip. This grip consists of two main components – the semi-circular base ring and the grip itself. The ring is mounted to M-LOK or KeyMod handguards/rails and the grip can be rotated 180 degrees around the ring and be fixed at any point on the ring. Let’s take a closer look.

Mossy Oak and Nomad are two of the biggest names in the hunting industry. The companies have teamed up to create their exclusive Shadow Leaf camouflage apparel line that is available just in time for Turkey season. Shadow Leaf will be available on Mossy Oak’s vests, pants, gaiters, shirts, and hats.

If you’re worked at all with suppressors on quick detach mounts, you’ll know that after a day of heavy use you can end up with a stuck suppressor if you haven’t cleaned your adapter recently. Surefire has come out with their Adapter Carbon Scraping tool (ACST) to make the chore of cleaning your adapter quick and simple. The ACST is designed for high-use environments where carbon buildup can happen fast and deep cleaning isn’t convenient.

Having a small hand axe as a part of your backpacking or camping gear is a great idea. Not only are you getting a lot better bang for your buck when compared to even a large knife, but you’re also saving your knives from a lot of touching up later. Halfbreed Blades has just released their newest CRA-02 Compact Rescue axe made from a single piece of K110 (D2) Tool Steel.

Just over 2 years ago MDT acquired the CKYE-POD bipod from Ckye Thomas, owner of 406 Bullets. As you can see below MDT’s R&D has been busy developing and tweaking the base of this bipod and the Gen 2 is now ready.

Brave Castle has just launched their website with new and restocked Load Bearing Nylon Solutions Equipment now available. In addition to the load-bearing equipment, Brave Castle also has patches, stickers, and lifestyle clothing available. Brave Castle has pistol-compatible pouches as well as 5.56 30-round magazine pouches available in addition to various other configurations with different equipment.

Modular Driven Technologies has released a new version of their vertical grip called MDT Vertical Grip Elite. They claim it’s the most adjustable grip available for the AR-15 interface. The new MDT Vertical Grip Elite has two models. One is for Standard Chassis Rifles and the other is for AR10/15. To the best of my knowledge, the previous version (which I have and use on my Ruger Precision Rifle) was never compatible with the AR platform. The new design has a pocket for the detent spring in the top of the grip for a standard AR10/15 safety.

Kevin O’Brien of KT Tactical Design has introduced his patent-pending Glock 43X and 48 frame modification. The Balanced Rail System is a permanent modification for the Glock 43X/48 that is supposed to reduce recoil as well as add rail space on the bottom of either of the handguns. The Balanced Rail System also serves as an added safety measure as a place to rest your trigger finger when not prepared to fire.

Shooting rests are a great tool to have for almost every range trip especially if accuracy is your aim for the day. Birchwood Casey has five new shooting rests for 2021 which include the Alpha, Bravo, Echo, Foxtrot, and Tango rests each with their own specific set of features and specialties.