Reviews

During my military service as a Special Warfare Combat Crewman (SWCC), I spent the majority of my time on the water. I was a Rigid Hull, Inflatable Boat (RHIB) guy, meaning our high-speed boats were completely exposed to the elements. Salt water, sun exposure, hale, sandstorms and wind all ripped at our gear. Imagine travailing at high speeds, in the open ocean, in inclement weather while completely exposed. Think sand blaster.

One of the pieces of gear I always wore day in and day out during my time in the boat teams was my last resort belt. It is also commonly referred to a riggers belt. A riggers belt can come in all shapes and sizes with different materials and hardware, however they all have a hard or soft point to accommodate the attachment of a carabineer. This allows the wearer to clip onto a rescue line or rope using a variety of different methods.

Up until about a year ago, I exclusively used a Derlin action block much like the one seen here. Derlin blocks are useful but introduce other issues such as setup time, lining up pins, torque flex, etc. I often found the need to apply more than mil-spec torque to the barrel nut when installing a barrel and could visually see the upper flexing. It made be cringe but I didn’t know of any other option.

Florida based Special Ops Tactical (SOT) maybe a newer company in that they were formed just a few years ago, but they are certainly not new to the industry. SOT is the brainchild of Garrett Potter and Clint Hanson, who gained their experience working previously for Spike’s Tactical.

Bulletsafe is a manufacturer of affordable body armor and is the same company behind the ballistic panel inserts for backpacks that I have written about before. Prior to the backpack panel insert, however, their first product was level 3A soft body armor. Recently Bulletsafe offered us the opportunity to test it.

The brand name FERFRANS evokes images of professional-grade short barreled CQB/CQC rifles used by military units in various countries around the world. Created in 1990 by brothers Ferdinand and Francis Sy, the FERFRANS flagship is the Special Operations Assault Rifle (SOAR) which is configured in a multitude of barrel lengths and in a Direct Impingement as well as Piston configuration.

Like most of you, I enjoy kick-ass action movies. It is not uncommon to see classic James Bond or modern day Jason Bourne creeping up on some unsuspecting bad guy then eliminating him with a quick triple tap, where only the gentle “pfftt, pfftt, pfftt” is heard from their sound suppressed pistol. Or maybe they need to engage a target at distance with some high-speed, low-drag break-down rifle they piece together out of an unassuming backpack.

With Aero Precision being in my back yard, it made sense to take a trip down to see their facility and how they manufacturer their products from start to finish. You wouldn’t believe how inconspicuous the AERO facility is. When you arrive, you have to do a double take because the building is nestled into a small industrial complex in Tacoma, WA.

"Buy a shotgun… buy a shotgun," he said. Well, ok… but if you’re considering using it for personal defense, skip the double-barreled models and don’t take advice on using it from Joe Biden.