Sage Dynamics - Citizen Response to an Active Shooter - Force On Force AAR

When I found out that Aaron Cowan of Sage Dynamics was teaching a force-on-force class about 30 minutes from my house, I jumped on it.  Citizen Response to an Active Shooter was hosted at ForceTEC in Cleveland, NC.  The site was originally an old school, then a YMCA, before being bought by ForceTEC.

Day one started at 9am.  I brought donuts.  Buzzing from sugar and caffeine, the mood started off light but quickly changed.  Aaron played a 16 minute video of the entire Columbine school shooting with 911 audio spliced in.  Personally, I hate watching stuff like this.  The same goes for horror/slasher movies.  I’m fine with war/crime movies, or videos of bad guys getting smoke checked, but hearing the screams of innocents disturbs me far more than seeing people killed on screen.  I wanted to reach through the TV and strangle the two pieces of shit, strolling around and casually pumping rounds into victims.  Everyone in the room shared the same conviction. 

With the seriousness of what we were training for established, Aaron spend the rest of the morning going over active shootings, more specifically the shooters and how we deal with them.  The common aspect was how motive was academic and that the only profit in an active shooting was causing death itself.  He did a section on critical anatomy which was familiar to anyone who has taken his classes before, or watched his videos on the subject.  The next block was on how our bodies respond to stress in a life threatening situation.  I experienced everything he talked about once the scenarios were underway.  Tunnel vision, time distortion, increased respiration and heart rate, the uncomfortable almost electric feeling of adrenaline, and how this would all lead to the degradation of my shooting and problem solving skills.  Finally, he went over the Simunition system.  He provided us with ammo, a sims converted AR15, and four sims converted Glock 17s, one with an RMR.  He went over safety and the limitations of sim weapons, including an accuracy check.  We broke for lunch, and returned to the classroom after sanitizing ourselves of guns, knives, and car keys. 

From Sage Dynamics Instagram

After double checking ourselves for real weapons, we donned our protective gear (masks, neck bibs, padded vests, long sleeves, gloves, and groin protection) and were broken up into three groups of four.  One group consisted of role players, one was the bad guys, and one was the good guys.  The good guys were separated from the rest of us for each scenario, and wouldn’t know who the bad guy or guys were or how the scenario would start.  The bad guy(s) wouldn’t know who the good guy was either.  The scenario was repeated until all four members of the good guy group had finished, and then a new scenario was setup for the next group.  For the first day, the scenario was in a doctors office.  For one group, the good guy started in the back exam room, and the bad guy entered the lobby and started shooting. 

For my scenarios, I was equipped with the RMR'd G17 and attached my TLR1-HL.  I used my EDC holster and mag carrier.  The only real difference to my EDC Glock 19, was that we couldn’t load the magazine past 13 rounds or the guns would malfunction.  The bad guy started in the exam room, and started shooting shortly after I checked in with the receptionist.  One of the artificialities of sims is knowing that something is going to happen.  I walked in much more alert that I’d normally be.  The other role players would try to distract me with questions, arguments, or simply positioning themselves uncomfortably close.  My eyes were darting all over the room and I'd probably be seen as a madman if I’d been acting that way in real life.  I heard a shot from the rear and moved toward it with gun drawn.  The people in the waiting room ran in front of me toward the exit, two men ran toward me from the hallway, and I had to quickly identify them as threats or not.  I yelled for them to show me their hands.  I only remember seeing their hands and body language.  Unfortunately, it’s impossible to read facial expressions due to the masks.  I saw a figure emerge from the back room.  Even with adequate overhead light, I couldn’t make out the blue gun in his hands.  I didn’t think to activate my weapon light.  I heard his first shot, saw the muzzle flash, saw a nickel plated shell bounce off the wall, and felt something hit my shin.  I shot before I had my arms at full extension, finally seeing the red dot on his chest after what felt like an eternity.  I tracked and shot him to the ground, then moved in to secure his weapon.  Attempting to clear it one-handed with gloves on did not go as smoothly as I’d hoped.  I also didn’t think to top of my gun with a fresh magazine.  I had fired 11 of 13 rounds but didn’t remember shooting that many.  With the shooter down, I yelled “Call 911!” to no one in particular, and I felt stuck, trying to think of what to do next.  I was concerned with possible threats down the hall, when I should have improved my position and started considering law enforcement response and rendering aid to the wounded.  Reviewing my GoPro video, I was happy to see a few things I got right.  My muzzle and trigger finger discipline were good, and I instinctively moved toward a bookcase for “cover”.  However, the particle board bookcase wouldn’t stand up to real bullets, my shots were nowhere near as accurate as I can shoot on paper, and I’d have probably been better served working to my right, using the wall corner for concealment.  I also should’ve been more specific regarding what information was being relayed to 911. From the time I heard the first shot, to when the shooter was down took less than 9 seconds.  The entire scenario was over in 90 seconds.

As a role player or bad guy, it was easy to watch the scene unfold and know what to do next, but as the good guy, there was immense pressure to perform and make the correct decisions.  While getting shot as the good guy didn’t end the scenario, it reinforced the idea that gunfights are absolutely terrible.  I took one unlucky round to what would have been my femoral artery.  As the bad guy, I was able to land a few headshots on the good guy, simply because the pressure was off.  One thing I had difficulty with was shooting innocents though.  Even as the bad guy, I would shoot over their heads or at the floor, only aiming for the good guy when he presented himself.  I was instructed to go down after a solid head shot, or 2-3 good shots to the torso.  That didn’t mean I had to stay down.  In some cases I chose to “bleed out” while in others I kept fighting from the ground.  Once the scenario played out, Aaron would call “out of role”, and then let the student explain what he saw and his actions.  Aaron would provide insight into what was done well, why,  and what needed to improve.  His feedback was honest and direct.  He didn’t sugarcoat our mistakes, but wasn’t overtly harsh either, even with the students who had shot the wrong people.  We all understood that failure was an important part of learning, and that no one could be harder on us than ourselves.  By the end of day one, we all had a few welts and bruises, and a few band-aids were applied.  The running joke is that in sims you get stung by bees.  Mistakes made in force-on-force became solid lessons.  I didn’t realize how much more I had to learn, and we still had another day to go.

After class, most of us returned to our respective hotels, showered, and met up at a local chain restaurant.  We ate, swapped stories, and talked about our experience in class.  While many of us had just met, we spoke like long time friends.  One of the local alumni even joined us for dinner even though she couldn't attend the class.  This has always been a constant at Sage classes.  Sage Dynamics students make up some of the best people and shooters I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.  

The next day started like the previous afternoon.  We stripped ourselves of weapons and jumped back into scenarios.  Yesterday was “training wheels”.  The complexities would increase today.  Multiple shooters and the rifle were now in play.  If getting hit with pistol sim rounds felt like bees, the rifle felt like wasps.  We started in the cafeteria which was laid out like a small café.  As a bad guy, I got to try out my acting abilities.  I was to sit down, and act like a guy trying to psych himself up.  Nothing too dramatic, but enough to catch the attention of someone paying attention.  I got up, walked to the counter, drew the handgun, and “executed” the cashier.  I then started firing indiscriminately until I saw the good guy draw his gun and emptied my magazine toward him managing to hit him in the mask.  I ran behind the counter, reloaded and popped up like a lunatic, spraying his cover(concealment), while stepping out from behind the counter.  I felt a few hits to my chest and fell backward to the ground firing as more rounds snapped into the wall behind me.  My gun locked empty as a volley of rounds hit my thigh and head.  The good guy recovered my weapon, directed people to call 911, identified himself as the good guy, and got people to the exit when Aaron called the scenario.  Even as the bad guy, I learned from each incident.  I saw how easy it was to get pinned down, and how foolish leaving cover for the sake of aggressively attacking could be.  On the flip side, my initial hail of gunfire gave me a huge advantage until I ran out of ammo.  I saw how getting to behind cover/concealment first might be a better option than going straight to your gun, and how aggression can briefly regain the initiative.  In this way, force-on-force gives you a way to experiment.  There were some situations where we might be more likely to just sit tight or even retreat in real life.  In FonF, you can take chances you normally wouldn’t take, gaining valuable insight.

In my scenario, I heard a shot outside the restaurant and immediately drew my firearm.  With no threat present, the role players reacted to me like I was the bad guy.  I now had to deal with an unruly and frightened crowd for what felt like minutes.  In reality, about 10 seconds later, the shooter appeared in the back doorway dual wielding a rifle and pistol.  My first few rounds hit him square in the chest and I drove him back out the door.  This time I reloaded from slide lock, used my light, and held the corner.  My reload was awful.  I grabbed the mag backward and felt like I was moving underwater.  I moved to better cover, and when he reappeared, I shot him several more times, tracking his head to the ground.  I was more assertive this time, directing individuals to tend to a wounded man, and another to call 911, before directing everyone who could walk to escape, and then call 911 myself.  After ending the scenario, we talked about how I had pulled my gun unrealistically early had this been real life.  A single loud noise this close to 4^th of July could just be a firework, car back firing, or if indeed a shooting, an isolated incident.  Without a clear threat, I should have made my way to a better position before clearing my gun, but I had “gamed” the scenario.

In another scenario, I was instructed to enter a hotel lobby with the rifle, with a second shooter a few seconds behind me.  As I was being engaged by the good guy, he was so focused on me that he didn’t check the direction I came from down the hall, and was shot in the back eight times by my accomplice.  In another, one student didn’t hear Aaron identify himself as police and engaged him in a shootout.  In two other instances, a hostage was shot by the good guy.  We took every one of these lessons to heart.  One big takeaway was after a student initially engaged the shooter, drove him into a room, backed off, and waited.  There was no pressing need to move forward and take down the shooter.  We were reminded that our goal is to deny the shooter access to more victims.  Obviously, incapacitating the threat is a great way to accomplish this, but just stalling them can also save lives until help arrives.

In my last scenario, I was in line for a movie when someone opened fire on the cashier.  I moved to my left to clear the line of bystanders, but they all moved as well, crowding around me and blocking my arms.  I found out later they were told to do this to see how I’d react.  I pushed the guy in front of me down and shot at the shooter one-handed, before getting my support hand on the gun, activated my light, and shot him to the ground.  At slide lock, I spun away as I backed down the hallway, checking behind me while reloading.  I fumbled the magazine against my vest and dropped it on the floor.  Cursing, I got my gun back into action, and made my way back to the shooter who was now seemingly deceased.  I slid his gun away, then looked up and down the hallway convinced there would be a second shooter.  I forgot to secure the weapon which was now laying next to the sims rifle which I also never saw.  I moved back into the hallway and backlit myself to the entryway behind me, a ripe target if someone had been there.  I assessed for wounded, yelled for 911 to be called, and finally improved my position before calling 911 myself.  Scenario over, the bad guy commented on how my light temporarily disorientated him even under the normal lighting conditions.  Score one for having 800 lumens.  Reviewing my GoPro, I never saw the innocent man running behind the shooter.  While I didn’t hit him, I could have just as easily done so.  While I scored multiple hits, I have no idea which of my shots were on target.  Just as before, I can’t recall seeing my dot until after I started shooting, and my one-handed shooting felt slow, like I was dragging my fingers through concrete.  

The class came to an end shortly after.  We were excited to learn that Aaron would be returning some time early in 2019.  He encouraged us to continue training, but to seek out instructors other than himself.  Red patches were handed out, one of which I received, and the coveted Black patch went to the top student.  With real-life fast approaching, we all headed out.  I spent the next few days decompressing, and as mentioned before, it took a few days for some of the lessons to fully sink in.

Bite mark from a rifle wasp.

Many of the things I learned I already knew, but experiencing them first hand reinforced them.  The adage of gunfights lasting 3-rounds, 3-feet, and 3-seconds is B.S., as is having too many lumens.  Nobody wished they had fewer rounds or less light once scenarios kicked off.  I learned how hard wired I am to not hurt people who don’t deserve it.  Even while playing a bad guy I felt conflicted.  I had to shoot one person point-blank in the chest to start a scenario.  Even though he was wearing a thicker vest and wouldn’t even feel the shot, I hesitated for a split second.  I had no qualms about shooting the bad guys multiple times in the face though.  I learned that I need to improve my one-handed shooting, smooth out my reloads, and work on my accuracy at speed.  I learned first hand how quickly an incident can occur, and how little time there is to actually think.  I learned how my mind and body react to stress, and that I can work through it.  I never once saw my iron sights and I still default to high center chest shots instead of the head at close ranges where headshots are possible.  My fine motor skills didn’t so much degrade as they were overridden by an intense desire to be fast.  My movements felt sloppy and frenetic.  Quick draws from concealment are great, but getting in a better position may help you live longer.  In a perfect world, we’d see the shooter and take him down before he fires a single shot.  The reality is much more sobering.  The shooter probably won’t make himself known until it’s too late to save the first victim(s).  In one scenario, the good guy was shot in the back at the very start.  It also gave me insight on how a potential bad guy might carry out an attack.  As I participated in the next weeks 4th of July festivities, I found myself taking just a few seconds to take note of my surroundings and who was around.  

My GoPro proved invaluable.  While I forgot to turn it on a few times, being able to review most of the scenarios allowed me to dissect any lessons that could be picked out.  Just as Aaron had said, my memory of each scenario was incomplete, especially in the first 48 hours afterwards.  Having the GoPro video made it easy to piece together what I did right and wrong.  The other students and I shared our videos freely with each other.

The class also reshaped my understanding of violent encounters.  Whomever brings the most violence the fastest usually wins.  Violence itself is not a bad thing.  It’s simply a description.  A tornado is violent but doesn’t carry the evil connotation society has given it.  Being able to focus an unholy amount of violence onto a bad person is something that needs to be practiced ahead of time.  Just thinking about it isn’t good enough.  Saying how you’re going to hit a home run isn’t the same as actually swinging the bat.  

A force-on-force class should be taken as soon as possible by anyone once they are proficient with their defensive handgun.  FonF is both a laboratory and a proving ground.  I can’t think of a single live-fire class where I’ve learned more about myself as a shooter and as a person.

Eaton Tactical Innovations – Gunformz Pelican 1720 V14 Foam Insert

Judgement Drill

Last fall I flew to South Florida for Sage Dynamics’ Home Defense class.  Flying commercial meant buying an appropriate case to transport my firearms and accessories.  Considering that I’d have the monetary equivalent of a gently used Civic in the case, I wanted to keep everything as organized and protected as I could.  After fumbling with the usual DIY methods, I discovered the semi-custom foam inserts from Eaton Tactical Innovations.  I wrote about my experience with them here: Eaton Tactical Innovations - Pelican 1720 V3 Foam Case Insert 

Fast forward a few months, and I had signed up for another Sage Dynamics class.  This time, Defensive Rifle with Jon Dufresne.  Located at the Ross Lake Plantation in Georgia, I’d be making the trip via a 7-hour car ride.  I planned to pack my dedicated practice/training pistol, my suppressed 11.5” SBR and a 14.5” upper.  I would mainly use the SBR for night vision shooting/pig hunting and swap to the 14.5” upper for the class.  Looking at my Pelican 1720 case, I figured it had enough room for everything to fit with the right insert.  Browsing ETI’s website, I noticed a lot more foam configurations for Pelican cases, as well as Pelican Storm and more the budget friendly Plano cases.  The inserts are now known as Gunformz, and they have also expanded their lineup of inserts for the bottom foam layer, for magazines and pistols.  I found the 1720 V14.  It features a main compartment for an assembled 14.5” or longer rifle, a cutout for an 11.5” or longer suppressed upper, one pistol cutout, and various pockets for accessories.  This was nearly exactly what I needed.

 

Gunformz AR 1720 V14

I received the insert in under a week.  I removed the insert from its black plastic shipping bag, grabbed a thin bladed utility knife, and began freeing the sections of foam from their cutouts.  After a bit of trial and error, I had trimmed a few sections manually to account for my rifle rails, pressure pads, and muzzle devices.  I then  filled the remaining compartments with a spare pistol mag, pistol suppressor, sling, muzzle blast shield, and my Dbal A3.  I did however run into a small snag with the pistol cutout.  I neglected to take a close look at the position of the pistol slot.  It’s very close to the top of the insert, with no room for slide mounted optic.  This wasn’t a huge deal since I was driving, but if I was flying commercial I’d have had to pack my pistol with a checked bag.

Checking ETI’s website and found a 1720 bottom layer insert, the ARBL 1720 V2.  It holds 5 rifle mags, 5 pistol mags, and optic equipped handgun.  Unfortunately, I was leaving in a day, but placed the order knowing I’d need it in the future.

Once I had everything in its place, I had some difficulty closing the case.  The rifles are wider than the thickness of the top foam.  While I did cut pockets to clear my rifle mounted lights in the factory lid foam, having the second upper near the latches required pressing hard on the lid to close the latches.  The last thing I did before leaving was order a replacement convoluted (eggcrate) foam panel for the lid.

All day Saturday, the foam was exposed to the Georgia heat and humidity.  We were constantly brushing off the loose, sandy soil from the range mixed with sweat, sunscreen, and bug spray (OMG the gnats!).  Day two ended with heavy rain.  I was thankful for the non-moisture absorbing closed cell foam and remembering to bring a pair of beach towels.  (It always rains at Sage classes.)

 

Blasters

I returned from the class late Sunday night, and my wife (probably rolling her eyes at yet “more gun s**t”) had left the 42” long black plastic package in my office.  I noticed one change from my current bottom foam insert.  The rifle mag cutouts are precut for 30-round AR15 magazines as well as larger AR10 magazines.  Since I now run compensators on my pistols, I did have to enlarge the pistol cutout, but I had to do the same on my V3 insert.  At least with my configurations, the pistols aren’t directly under any of the wider parts of the rifles, so I don’t have to worry about the optic buttons getting pressed.

 

Gunformz ARBL 1720 V2

Once again, I’m impressed with not only the performance and durability of the inserts, but at 1/5 the cost of a custom insert, the value is excellent.  At $64.99 on Brownells, the cost is comparable to a solid replacement foam piece and a hot wire cutter without any of the hassle.  And now that these are available for inexpensive Plano cases, I’m going to pick up a lighter duty 36” Plano rifle case for general range and road trip use.

"Gun Bunny" pic

BattleWerx Glock Battle Slide w/ RMR Cut Review

Fourteen weeks.  That's how long my slide was gone.  But before you conclude that that's an awfully long turn around time for some slide work, BattleWerx was in the middle of moving their entire operation to a new building.  I also specified a black nitride refinish, which typically adds up to three weeks no matter who you send it to.  They contacted me right after I placed my order to let me know there would be a delay.  I wasn't in a hurry, so I boxed up my gen4 G19 slide and shipped it off.

Last year I attended Sage Dynamic's 2-Day Vehicle Defense class.  Shortly after drooling over some of the other students guns, I decided I wanted a no-compromises gun for training and EDC.  As much as I liked my Unity Atom slide, I knew a dedicated milled slide would position the RMR lower and further back on the slide, reclaiming some of the lost sight radius when mounting irons forward of the optic.  I also wanted more than five lines of front serrations and a more robust finish.  While I've had excellent results from JagerWerks (four slides so far) BattleWerx sprung up on my radar when they introduced their anti-flicker plate for the RMR.  A raised boss on the plate mean I don't have to use electrical tape, hot glue, foil shims, or any other other remedies to prevent my RMR dot from flickering if the battery shifts.  They only have four slide packages. Battle Slide and three flavors of Gripper.  While all are functional, the Battle Slide looks fantastic while doing so.  One key difference between the BattleSlide cut and the others is the way the cuts are milled.  Instead of a square endmill which leaves perfect 90 degree corners, the BattleSlide is cut with a radiused end mill, leaving a profile more like a table-top ramp.  You can see a close-up of the profile below.

Serrations milled with a radiused bit.

The result isn't as sharp or aggressive as traditional square cut serrations, but the forward raked chevrons provide plenty of grip.  While the slide corners are chamfered, they still allow my Safariland ALS holster to lock on the ejection port corner, and the trapezoidal cross section of the top serrations allow the ALS hook to glide over them instead of catching on them and getting worn down.

Another difference is the method in which they secure the RMR to the slide.  Most RMR cuts are designed to secure the RMR at the front and rear of the body.  Though commonly used, two raised bosses at the front of the pocket are unnecessary since the recoil forces are distributed by the body of the RMR.  BattleWerx and a number of other companies instead mill raised indexing posts that are threaded for the RMR screws.  This allows the pocket to be cut deeper while also providing more threads for the screws to engage.  This allows the BattleWerx RMR cut to be 0.020" deeper than the traditional method.  This moves the RMR closer to the boreline, fractionally reduces weight, and compensates for the .010" thickess of a sealing plate.  The RMR and sealing plate are easy to align due to the threaded posts as well during installation.  A drop of Loctite and firm turn of the allen wrench are all that's needed to lock down the included mounting screws.

The black nitride finish is perfect.  While the nitriding is outsourced, the preparation is not.  The flats and edges are sanded by hand to ensure no burrs or milling marks.  The slide arrived with a new striker channel installed.  I completed it with a Blacklist barrel, 10-8 sights, and OEM internals before reuniting it with my frame.  Racking the slide, and feeling how smooth it glides over the rails and trigger connector, I decided I would probably never Cerakote my slides again.  Cerakote can add more thickness to a treated part than nitride.  This was most evident at the breechface and striker plunger hole on some previous slides.  The barrel and plunger would hang up slightly until the Cerakote wore away.  While Cerakote supposedly provides more corrosion resistance, nitride is tougher and more innately slick.  The gun cycles when dirty and bone dry, even with a full sized suppressor.

I've run this gun as my EDC, training, and HD gun.  It's sighted in for standard pressure 147 Gold Dots at 15 yards and has run a few thousand runs of Lawman 147 and 115 AE without a single problem.  Last fall, I ran it hard along side my CZ P-10C and PWS MK111 at Sage Dynamics Defense in the Home with boring consistency.  Recently, I added Agency Arms new 417 compensator and experienced follow-up shot nirvana.  

HD setup.  Reliable with stock recoil spring.

Fast forward to today, and I have another slide on its way to BattleWerx.  I recently became enamored with Glocks gen3 RTF2 frame.  I had one done by JagerWerks (Yeti package), but my second slide and Ameriglo GL-429 sights are heading straight to BattleWerx for their Gripper package with RMR cut (irons forward) and of course, black nitride.  I chose the simpler Gripper package because I didn't want top serrations to interfere with my ALS holster (they are cut square on the Enhanced Gripper) and I found myself using the rear sight/RMR body to manipulate the slide anyway.  I still wanted front serrations, just in case, and to offset some of the additional RMR weight.  Fortunately, BattleWerx has completed their shop move, so lead times are back down to normal.  I should only have to endure a five to six week wait.  Until then, I have my BattleSlide to keep me company.

Gripper slide from BattleWerx (stock photo)

TR Holsters - P-10C Light Bearing OWB and New Belt Loops

It was time to give my tan P-10C some love.  My black P-10C lives in a Kryptek Raid OWB kydex holster from TR Holsters.  This is my IDPA/USPSA rig.  My EDC is a soon to be RMR'd fde P-10C that spends its days AIWB.   I'm signed up for a Sage Dynamics Home Defense class in November revolving around working a carbine and pistol in a shoot house, I'll need an OWB holster since AIWB would be somewhat impractical.  I don't want to tear up my competition holster, and it doesn't have a provision for a light anyway.  The solution, an OWB holster for my P-10C/TLR1 and double mag carrier in Multicam from TR Holsters.

The kydex is 0.080" thick and the holster is constructed with the same excellent finish and attention to detail as I've seen previously.  The gun/light combo fit a little tighter than I'd like for a range or competition holster, but not so tight that I couldn't get a clean draw without the holster pulling my pants up to my armpits.  I figured it would loosen up a bit with use.  Since this holster doesn't have active retention, I like the extra security in case the grip hangs up on obstacles, my sling, or other gear.  The mag carrier does have a tension adjustment screw, which I adjusted tighter than my competition setup.

My schedule being what it is, I couldn't get to the range for a few weeks, but that didn't mean I couldn't do some testing.  I loaded everything onto my Ares Gear Aegis belt, and spent Labor Day catching up on yard work in the August sun.  I mowed my lawn and edged the fences and sidewalks.  I also replaced a sprinkler head, re-staked some landscape edging, hand pulled a few dozen weeds, trimmed the hedges, spread a few bags of mulch, and refreshed the kid's sandbox.  Other than a few odd looks from the neighbors, the day was uneventful.  Everything on my belt was covered in a mix of soil, sweat, and mulch.  Even after rolling over top of them a few times, my pistol and magazines didn't move.

"Yard Work" Carry

Later in the evening, I examined the kydex for wear.  As expected, there were a few scratches in the MultiCam, but I didn't see any evidence of cracks in the holster, carrier, or belt loops.  After cleaning everything off, I started experimenting with TR Holsters new belt loops.  These are similar their standard injection molded loops, but the body side is angled about 25 degrees.  They allow the wearer to adjust the entry and exit angles of the belt, effectively changing the curvature of the holster to better fit different body types.  These can by combined as the user sees fit for better comfort, or to slightly alter the angle that the holster sits against the body.

Standard Loops

Angled Loops for less curve

Angled loops for more curve

After trying several combinations, I found that using a straight loop in the rear and an angled loop up front works best for me.  I did the same with my other IDPA holster, also from TR.

My preferred combo

TR OWB holster with angled front loop

Obviously, suburban homeowner activities aren't a true test, but family, work, and two freaking hurricanes were conspiring to keep me off the range for a while.  I finally got some outdoor range time a few days ago.  In preparation for my upcoming class, I practiced weak shoulder carbine drills, and non-dominant eye shooting with the pistol.  I'll also ran through some austere positions (supine, urban prone) to further test the durability and function of the holster.

I didn't drive over them with a truck or anything unrealistic, but I did run them pretty hard.  The holsters held up perfectly.

Eaton Tactical Innovations - Pelican 1720 V3 Foam Case Insert

ETI 1720 v3 with HD class gear

Next month I will be travelling to Florida for a Defense In The Home class by Sage Dynamics.  This is a live fire course that will take place in a shoot house.  For most rifle classes, I'll bring a suppressed rifle, class handgun, and EDC handgun.  Since this is an HD focused class, I also wanted room for a pistol suppressor.  Since I don't have the time to drive the 13 hours, I'm going to have to fly commercial.  This will be my first flight with firearms, and considering I'll be packing NFA items, I won't be leaving anything to chance.

The first step was to file my form 20s (permission to travel with NFA items) with the ATF.  I received my approval in 30 days.  Second was a case to secure my guns.  The industry standard is the Pelican case, and I wasn't going to risk $10k worth of equipment by saving $80 on a cheaper case.  I chose the 1720 model.  I wanted a case that was large enough to carry up to a 16" AR with suppressor and two RMR'd pistols.  Case in hand, the next step was to cut out the foam insert to keep everything from bouncing around.  I didn't want to use pick-and-pluck foam since it absorbs moisture and degrades quickly over time, leaving black dust particles everywhere.  It also looks like a Minecraft level when done.  I watched a few videos on YouTube, broke out my electric carving knife and went to work on the factory foam insert.

Pelican Foam - Functional but ugly.

Pelican Foam - My guns deserve better.

Keeping the knife perpendicular to the foam as it flexed and squished in my hands was a royal pain.  I'm normally pretty handy, but the results speak for themselves.  It would work, but considering the time and expense up to this point, it looked shoddy and I didn't want to cheap out now.  I also doubted if the soft foam would hold up long term and there was still the problem of moisture soaking into the foam.  Next I tried a Kaizen foam insert.  I found an over-sized sheet on Amazon, trimmed it to fit the case, and then cut the pattern for the guns.  But the layers didn't peel away cleanly when doing large sections like for the buttstock and pistol areas, leaving chunks of foam in an uneven mess.  The cutout bottoms looked like the surface of a cratered moon.

Kaizen Foam - from buttstock section

Kaizen might be fine for organizing tools in a drawer, but in this application it looked half-assed.  Most of the pics I've seen online don't show the cutouts up close, and they often show the finished cutout with equipment inserted, masking imperfections.  For a truly professional look, custom foam inserts are available online, but cost nearly as much as the Pelican case.

As luck would have it, a few days later, Jon Dufresne (one of the instructors who will be teaching the HD class), posted a video and write up on the ETI 1700 V3 case.  I went to ETI's website but was disappointed to find that they didn't offer a similar version for the 1720.  I sent an email inquiring about a 1720 sized insert and received a response from the owner, Frank Eaton.  He said that the insert I was looking for was already in production and would be available the following week.  He sent me a Paypal invoice and 3 days later, my insert arrived.  It was wrapped in a simple black plastic sleeve to minimize shipping costs.  $73.99 in total.  Compared to the $58 I spent on the Kaizen foam, this is an awesome value.  A .58" thick solid foam insert serves as the bottom, while the 1.15" main insert is CNC water-jet cut for the guns, magazines, and other accessories.  The larger cutouts have 1/4" sections that are left uncut, requiring the user to trim them with a razor or utility knife.  This keeps them from popping out during shipping.

ETI - Rifle Cutout and Optic Pucks

ETI - Pistol Cutout

ETI - Rifle Rail Pucks

The gun compartments have mostly pre-cut sections for longer barrels, grips, optics, lights, etc.  The sections can be removed simply by trimming away the last bit of retaining foam.  I simply laid my guns over the cutouts and removed the offending blocks.  I only had to manually trim the foam to fit the steep angled Magpul K grip and a section for the second pistol's RMR.  I removed an extra barrel section to accommodate my 14.5" rifle with suppressor, but saved that piece to re-insert when using the shorter gun.  Being able to leave the suppressor on my rifle means I can utilize the suppressor compartment for my pistol can or additional rifle mags.  The utility compartments can hold cleaning kits, NV, and IR lasers.  There is an oval shaped hole behind the pistol grip that I couldn't see an obvious use for, so I threw in my LDAG.  The last optional step is to hot glue the 1" thick cutout section to the 1/2" thick base pad.  I skipped this step since I don't know what sections I might want to remove in the future.

First and foremost, this insert just works.  All my items are well protected.  Not only is everything safe from rough handling and the elements, but the closed cell foam doesn't retain moisture.  I can appreciate that after my last rain soaked class.  The versatility of the pre-cut pucks, means I don't need another insert just to change out equipment.  The cost is only marginally more than blank foam from Pelican or Kaizen, and nearly identical to Pelican's pick-and-pull inserts.  Subjectively, the presentation value is off the charts.  Opening the case feels professional and businesslike.  As an added bonus, the foam guns make neat training aids.  My 4-year old loves them.  

"Nerf" guns

I only wish the insert had more rifle magazine storage.  I try to bring at least six magazines to a training class to minimize reloading downtime, and to have extras if one gets compromised in some way.  TSA regulations allow ammunition to be packed as long as it is stored in factory boxes or loaded in magazines.  (American Airlines does NOT allow ammo to be stored in magazines.)  Pelican cases have a 1.5" thick foam pad in the lid, and two 1.5" foam pads in the main compartment.  The bottom foam seemed like a lot of wasted storage space.  I sent an e-mail to ETI asking if they had considered producing a base insert with shallow cutouts for magazines.  A day later, I received an email stating it was being considered, followed by another e-mail with this photo asking me if I'd like one of the first runs.

Photo from ETI e-mail

A few days later, and $46.99 poorer, a familiar black bag was waiting on my porch.   To keep costs down, ETI only cut the mag compartments for 30 rounders.  Trimming them to secure a 10 round magazine was no problem, nor was adding clearance for my MagPod equipped magazines.  This brings my total rifle mag count from 2 to 9, and pistol mags from 7 to 11.  Unfortunately I can't fill every magazine with ammo since it would put me over the 11 pound ammo limit set by the TSA.  Nine 30-round mags of 55gr .223 and 100 rounds of 9mm keep me a few ounces under the limit.  Since I haven't yet glued the upper layers together, I have to remove all my gear before lifting out the upper insert, but it's a small price to pay to be able to pack everything in a single case.  Considering baggage fees, it pays for itself in one round trip.