How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [91]
One lower-technology alternative to starlight technology is a tritium-lit scope, such as those made by Trijicon. The half-life of tritium (a gaseous isotope of hydrogen) is 11.2 years, meaning that through radioactive decay they have one-half of their original brightness after 11.2 years, so the practical effective life of a tritium scope is 22 years, and the practical effective life of tritium iron sights is more than 33 years.
Selecting and Assembling Web Gear
There are umpteen opinions out there on web gear, so take the following as just one man’s view. Although they are currently all the rage, I am not a fan of load-bearing vests. I still primarily use the old tried-and-true ALICE gear, although I have upgraded from the traditional Y-suspender harness to the more heavily padded Eagle Industries Ranger H-harness.
The new modular MOLLE vests are more versatile than the older-generation Woodland camouflage vests that have stitched-in magazine pouches, but I prefer having nearly everything handy at belt level. I’ve found that it is slow and cumbersome to get magazines in and out of pouches that are any higher than my solar plexus.
Adding body armor to the equation changes things considerably, since full interceptor body armor (IBA) with a modular/ integrated communications helmet (MICH) weighs anywhere from nineteen to twenty-five pounds, depending on sizes and how many add-on pieces—such as upgraded small arms protective insert (SAPI) plates—are included. And keep in mind that those figures do not include the weight of ammo, magazines, a full hydration bladder, and various gadgets. When you’re wearing non-concealment body armor, a load-bearing vest/carrier does make sense. Talk to the folks at BulletProofME (bullet proofme.com) for details on getting set up with body armor, pouches, and hydration systems that are practical and comfortable. Fit is crucial with body armor, so talk with an experienced dealer with a big inventory and responsive customer-service policies that can fit you properly.
For a brief overview on the older ALICE-generation U.S. military web gear, you can visit snipurl.com/hnd4h. Greater detail can be found in “Care and Use of Individual Clothing And Equipment” (FM 21-15), which can often be found at Amazon.com, MidwayUSA.com, GR8Gear.com, and LoadUp.com.
The majority of ALICE and MOLLE items are interchangeable—meaning that in most instances you can clip an ALICE magazine pouch onto a MOLLE vest, or attach a MOLLE pouch onto an ALICE belt. Don’t worry about mismatched colors or camouflage patterns. Practical civilian survival “ain’t a beauty contest.” In real-world camouflage, randomness is a good thing. Anyone who tries to tell you that all your gear has to be color coordinated is a poseur.
Both ALICE and MOLLE gear are available from a variety of Internet vendors.
Holster, Sling, and Web Gear Recommendations
It is important to think through how, where, and when you will need to carry or access your guns on a day-to-day basis. How will you carry in your car, on your tractor, on your quad, or on your horse? How will you carry a pistol if you need to conceal it? How will you carry in foul weather? What will you carry when gardening or doing other chores? How and when will you carry accessories such as cleaning kits, bipods, and spotting scopes? What other items will you need to carry in the field that will also need to be kept handy, such as binoculars, flashlights, night-vision gear, and GPS receivers?
I cannot overstress the following: You must tailor a full web-gear rig for each of your long guns. This should include a USGI LC-2 web belt, Y-harness (or H-harness) type padded suspenders, two ammo pouches, a couple of first-aid/compass pouches, and a canteen with a cover. Granted, you can carry only one long gun at a time, but odds are that you will be arming a lot of family and friends