Click here to see what they’re talking about

To your sharpest mind!

When arterial pathways shrink and fluid levels rise, blood has to force its way through tight spaces—a very dangerous combination!

But did you know, there is 1 common everyday food that triggers BOTH of these issues at once, causing your blood pressure to surge?

Which food is the #1 WORST for your blood pressure (tightens blood vessels & increases blood volume)?

A. Cottage Cheese
B. Peanut Butter
C. Eggs
D. Salt (not the answer)
E. Cold cuts/deli meats

click here to discover which food to eliminate immediately.

But what if the water sitting in your glass right now is doing the exact opposite?

Surprisingly, renowned heart surgeon Dr. Steven Gundry recently uncovered some very disturbing data surrounding many popular bottled water brands...

As it turns out, certain rogue impurities inside so-called “pure” filtered/spring water can trigger fatigue, brain fog, sluggish metabolism, and even worse, digestion issues & endless bloating...

The good news? You don’t need to purchase an expensive filtration setup or throw out your current water supply.

Dr. Gundry has developed an easy-to-follow, 17-second water trick you can do today before your next sip to boost hydration, and jumpstart your overall vitality, starting now...

This trick has also been shown to help drop unwanted inches from your trouble spots... a pretty nice side benefit!

>> Try Dr. Gundry’s 17-second water trick before your next glass

If you drink water daily, taking a moment to review this quick & important health report is vital.

>> Watch Dr. Gundry’s full update here

According to recent research, this “healthy” supplement has been linked to heart attacks.

Which one do you think it is?

Make your best guess below:

1. hydrolyzed collagen

2. Greens Powders

3. Whey Protein

4. Vitamin D

This is important to know…

When you’ve made your choice, (click here) to see if you guessed correctly.

I’m not going to lie… it sucks.

But what I hate even more is not getting an email about something important or from someone who I chose to receive messages from.

I now have to go through my email everyday and delete all the spam but I also have to go through my junk/spam folder and make sure I didn’t miss any messages.

To be honest, I would rather just get everything in my inbox and then delete what I don’t want. It saves me a step.

In the past month, I have found an emails in my spam from my doctor, my retirement account, an old friend, and I can’t tell you how many good deals I missed out on from companies that I signed up to receive their email.

The real truth is that most of the people who signed up for this list won’t even see this email because it mostly goes to their spam.

Why?

Because some machine decided so.

I can’t fix the world of email…

But I can fix one issue.

I can make sure you don’t miss out on any deals we come across.

We run Tactical Deal Finder which sends out one text per day of the best deals we can find. We also send out free guides and other free stuff.

These deals are sometimes short lived and you may never see them by email and by the time you do they could be gone.

You have my promise that you wont receive a ton of texts. We stick to one text per day and you can stop receiving them by replying STOP at any point.

I suggest signing up. Get a weeks worth of messages and if you don’t see a deal that you like in that time or that doesn’t interest you, then just reply STOP and you will never see another text from us.

Sign up here - https://tacticaldealfinder.com

Thanks and have a great rest of your day.

Greg

IS A DEADLY STRIKE COMING TO AMERICA’S POWER GRID?

Can you keep your family safe when the lights go out?

Former CIA Director stunned listeners with a stern warning...

An attack on America’s infrastructure would “blackout the national grid and other life-sustaining critical infrastructures for over a year. Killing 9 out of 10 Americans by starvation and societal collapse”.

In fact, attacks on just nine of the nation’s 55,000 electrical substations could result in coast-to-coast black-outs, plunging millions into darkness for up to 18 months. Terrifying.

OUR GOVERNMENT IS WOEFULLY UNPREPARED

They ignore dire warnings from national security experts about our vulnerable power grid. Warnings of physical, electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) and cyberattacks...

And who suffers? YOU and your family.

Imagine a blackout lasting months. Your life would be frozen in time right at the moment your power fails. An entire country plunged into darkness.

Without a generator, your fridge, electric range and microwave would be dead. All the food in your fridge and freezer – spoiled.

That’s why many Americans are taking matters into their own hands and are securing their own solar powered generator.

Solar generators are a smart choice because they produce an endless supply of life-saving electricity when you need it most – and without gas, fumes or noise.

Our top recommendation in portable solar generators is the Patriot Power Generator 2200X.

THIS breakthrough solar generator is safe enough to use inside. And never needs gas, ever.

And you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you and your family have a safe, reliable and easy-to-use source of backup power. To survive a blackout, storm, grid-down event... or worse.

It’s why the Patriot Power Generator was recently featured on Fox & Friends...

FOX & FRIENDS FEATURES BREAKTHROUGH SOLAR GENERATOR

Fox & Friends featured a breakthrough solar generator right before a “polar vortex” sent thousands of Americans into total darkness.

Skip Bedell recommended it as the perfect gift to prepare for winter storms.

And then BOOM!

Demand surged and 4Patriots sold out of generators.

Then a massive ice storm hit the nation. The folks who were fortunate enough to claim their silent, fume-free solar generator were thanking their lucky stars.

Because despite power outages, rolling blackouts and bone-chilling temperatures...

Those who acted fast and got their 4Patriots solar generator had peace of mind and could power critical devices like lights, space heaters, communications, critical medical devices and even fridges and freezers.

Sadly, those who didn’t prepare were left to hope and pray the lights came back on soon.

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SEE THIS BREAKTHROUGH SOLAR GENERATOR IN ACTION!

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• And it can even power your FRIDGE!

It was designed to safely and dependably meet your power needs. And best of all, it harnesses the power of the sun to keep a state-of-the-art lithium-iron-phosphate battery charged, so it delivers life-saving power for FREE.

Unlike other generators, you’ll never run out of gas. You’ll have a power supply that you can recharge endlessly. And its portability is a huge advancement over chunky gas generators, or home-installed systems.

You can take the Patriot Power Generator 2200X with you if you are forced out of your home. You’ll have an ample supply of AC electricity available to power your fridge, freezer, or medical devices.

Even your coffee maker... power your cell phones, computers, radios... and so much more. You can even use it to power an electric blanket to keep you warm.

NO DEADLY FUMES, AND SILENTLY STEALTHY

The Patriot Power Generator 2200X is a completely self-contained system that silently provides up to 2,200 continuous watts of totally FREE, renewable power. And it’s so easy to use a child can use it.

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PLEASE DON'T WAIT

P.S. Thanks to your support, we're able to provide support to important charities that help American veterans and their families. Charities like Fisher House, A Soldier's Child Foundation, Team Rubicon and Operation Homefront.

I’m about to save you from the daily torture of:

→ Overpriced coffee shop lines

→ Weak office swill that tastes like dirty water

→ Bulky machines that hog your counter space

→ Being caffeine-dependent on everyone else’s schedule

What if I told you there’s a coffee maker smaller than a water bottle that brews better espresso than most $3,000 machines?

Meet the TacRight Coffee Maker™.

This isn’t some gadget. This is a 20-bar pressure tactical brewing system that fits in your backpack.

Want proof? Here’s what happened when field instructor Mark D. tested it:

“This thing is incredible! I use it every morning on job sites and camping trips — smooth espresso, no electricity, no fuss. Easily the best portable coffee maker I’ve ever owned!”

Here’s why this little beast is dominating:

✓ Brews perfect espresso in under 60 seconds

✓ No outlets, cords, or waiting required

✓ 12 full cups per charge (USB-C rechargeable)

✓ Military-grade construction survives anything

✓ Compatible with pods AND ground coffee

Normally $80. Right now? 50% off for the next 500 customers only.

Secure Your Portable Coffee Make Now

Do the math: At $6 per coffee shop visit, this pays for itself in 15 days.

After that? Pure profit in your pocket.

Grab yours at half-price before they’re gone

He calls them “diabetes death drinks.”

And according to Dr. Scott Saunders, UCLA Medical School, over 25 years in practice, they’re quietly making blood sugar problems worse for millions of people who don’t realize it.

One of them is probably in your refrigerator right now.

In a new presentation, Dr. Saunders names all three, explains why they’re so damaging, and then shares what he calls “10-second insulin resets”, techniques that can start working tonight using ingredients from your kitchen cabinet.

He’s helped thousands of people get their blood sugar under control using the same approach, many after years of struggling on medication that wasn’t delivering results.

If your numbers haven’t moved the way you hoped, this is worth 15 minutes:

This is a great knife to add to any collection and can be carried in a number of ways so that no one will even know you have it.

If you are interested, act now. The last time they offered these they ran out of stock in 2 days.

Click Here to get one for yourself (or for anyone really) today.

…and increase your risk of heart attack by 42%.

I know that sounds crazy.

But it’s true…and it’s happening to millions of Americans right now.

See why this affects you, even if you drink “filtered” water:

Click to watch before this page is taken down.

Here’s the scary part:

Even though water should be good for your heart…

Most tap water today is loaded with invisible toxins, like PFAS, arsenic, and chlorine.

These chemicals trigger free radical damage inside your body…

That’s how people with “great health” still drop dead from sudden heart attacks.

If you drink water, you need to see this

Why?

Well, aside from zero side effects and zero co-pays…

New research shows that gently decompressing your spine with airbag traction can:

● Relieve the nerve pressure causing sharp pain down your leg

● Create space between compressed vertebrae so discs can breathe again

● Loosen up years of stiffness in as little as 30-minutes

It sounds strange. But it makes complete sense when you understand what’s actually causing the pain.

Most back pain and sciatica isn’t a muscle problem. It’s a compression problem.

Your vertebrae have settled too close together, your discs have lost height, and your nerves are getting pinched.

Pills don’t fix compression. Stretches don’t fix compression…

Only decompression fixes compression.

And now there’s a simple way to do it lying on your couch at home.

Just inflate this gentle airbag under your lower back…

It lifts and separates the vertebrae, adds soothing heat, and resets tight muscles all at the same time.

Folks are feeling the difference in their very first session.

Think it could work for you?

Test it out for yourself:

The “airbag trick” that’s helping thousands finally get lasting sciatica relief

Here’s what doesn’t get said out loud.

Now that an IPO of SpaceX’s size has landed, the listing was the smallest part of the story. The real story is the forced index rebalance that follows — and it’s happening now.

Pension funds, ETFs, mutual fund families, sovereign wealth — they all still need to buy in. To buy in, they have to sell something first.

That “something” is sitting in your retirement account.

You don’t get notified.

You see it later as slightly different holdings and slightly worse performance, and you call it “the market.” It’s not the market. It’s positioning.

One asset can’t be rebalanced out from under you — because it doesn’t sit on a fund manager’s books to begin with.

Physical gold. Self-directed IRA. Outside the banking system.

SEND ME THE FREE 2026 GOLD GUIDE

Our free 2026 Gold Guide walks you through exactly how to do it — tax-free, penalty-free, in days.

SEND ME THE FREE 2026 GOLD GUIDE

_{Reagan Gold Group does not provide financial, legal, or tax advice. This information is for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments carry risk, including loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Consult your licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.}

When things go sideways, food is the first thing people panic over. The shelves empty out fast, and most of what’s left won’t keep or won’t feed you right.

>> See The Survival Shake

The Survival Shake is built for that moment. A full, balanced meal in a shake that stores for the long haul and is ready whenever you need it. No cooking, no fuss, just mix and drink.

And it’s not just for a crisis.

It’s the fast meal when you’re on the road. The backup when the fridge is empty. The thing you grab when there’s no time to cook.

It earns its spot on the shelf long before any emergency.

Keep it in the pantry, the go-bag, or the truck. When a normal meal isn’t an option, this one still is.

>> See The Survival Shake Here

No hyaluronic acid. No cortisone shots. No surgery. No knee braces.

They simply rubbed 1 natural mineral into their knees before bed… and woke up feeling like they had brand-new knees.

Years of grinding, throbbing, bone-on-bone pain in their knees and kneecaps, GONE, just by feeding their starving knee joints what they’ve been missing.

So if you’re sick of limping every time you stand up, popping ibuprofen like candy, or avoiding stairs because every step feels like bone grinding on bone…

Tap below to see the “1 mineral rub” for bone-on-bone knee pain:

⇒ Rub this 1 mineral on your knees to relieve years of bone-on-bone pain

That’s the spirit behind Man’s Library:

Over 1,500 guides and manuals covering the skills that separate the capable from the unprepared.

Inside, you’ll discover:

• Firearms training & tactical drills

• Outdoor mastery: navigation, fishing, trapping

• Survival know-how for any situation

• Craftsmanship & home repairs

• First aid & emergency prep

• and so much more we could never list it all in an email

Why waste time scrolling through half-answers online when the entire playbook is waiting for you — organized, tested, and ready to use?

Check Out The Man’s Library Now

P.S. Opportunities favor the prepared. Start building skills that last a lifetime — and enjoy the confidence that comes with them.

The NEW Boar by MCG Tactical comes with an 18-piece set of caliber guides that adapts it to ANY caliber, no matter if you’re using a .17 HMR or a 12GA slug.

And not only are batteries included, but this bad boy packs a premium lithium battery that’s USB rechargeable.

And to make this deal a total no-brainer, I’m picking up the shipping and handling.

So start saving money on ammo AND getting the best zero of your life today while I’m running this limited time sale!

Get your MCG Boar 54% OFF here (Free S&H)

You know the scenario – you’re woken up by a noise in the middle of the night. You’re a bit disoriented, wondering if it was the cat knocking over a vase or someone is in the house. But you can’t ignore it; the kids are asleep and you’ve got to protect them. So you get out of bed to check it out. You have to see if someone is in the house, and if th…

Read more

When and if you are every caught in an active shooter situation, I’m sure that your target won’t be a round black dot on a white background, just sitting there waiting for you to hit it. Yet that’s the way that most of us practice. When the time comes and we have to do it for real, it’s going to take more than just the ability to put steel on target…

Read more

Grab any modern pistol, right out of the box, and you’ve got a decent firearm. Today’s firearms manufacturers have refined their designs and manufacturing techniques to the point where even the “cheaper” brands provide good quality and accuracy. But is that enough? Should we be satisfied with how our guns come, out of the box?

Most gun owners leave their pistols just as they come from the factory. There’s actually nothing wrong with that; most guns are not only well-made, but come out of the factory accurized, with the sights dead on. Probably one of the biggest mistakes any of us can make is to mess with the sights, before becoming proficient in the use of that gun. More than likely, we’ll adjust the sights off and end up having to readjust them later.

Personally, I’m not one to leave my guns as they come from the factory. I feel there’s a very good reason for this. That is, guns come from the factory prepared for general shooting use; in other words, plinking or going to the range for sport shooting. They probably do not have the accessories needed to make them ideal for competition or self-defense. Therefore, it only makes sense to add these accessories, personalizing your pistol and preparing it for what you intend to use it for.

True competitive shooters tend to do this; but those of us who carry for self-defense don’t. At the most, we’ll do a little bit of cosmetic customization to our guns. But as far as I’m concerned, those cosmetic modifications are unnecessary. I’d rather put my money into making my gun ready for use.

This is a Free special Report. We publish mostly paid content with the occasional free post. We would like to post everything for free but we have to pay for costs somehow and don’t want a bunch of ads everywhere…. WE HATE ADS (sorry didn’t mean to scream)

If you would like to join as a paid member, it is only $5/month and you get all of the special reports but you also get other benefits.

Subscribe now

Modifying Your Own Guns
One question that many people might have is whether or not they can modify their own guns or they need to hire a gunsmith to do so for them. That’s a good question. A lot depends on your personal ability to work on mechanical devices and what tools you have available to you. Most modifications merely require changing out parts. So, if you have a decent workshop and some decent ability to work with hand tools, there is no reason why you can’t make these modifications yourself.

That’s not to say that they will all be easy. Some are easier than others, and the same modification which is easy on one gun, can be extremely difficult on another. Changing the sights on a Springfield XD or XDS can be extremely difficult, even though the procedure is essentially the same as changing them on a Glock.

The difference comes from the fact that the dovetail slot on the Springfield is machined a touch tighter than that of the Glock. But this difference is significant enough, that you will not succeed in changing the sights on a Springfield, unless you put the gun into a solidly mounted vice to drive out the existing sights.

You can find a lot of videos available online, showing how to make the changes we’re going to talk about in this article. I would recommend watching more than one, as each instructor has their own slant on things and one might give you some insight into the process that another might leave out. The more information you have, the easier it will be to make any of these changes.

Competition or Self-Defense?
Before you go anywhere in modifying any gun, you have to decide what purpose you are customizing it for. Generally speaking, there are two basic modes you might consider; self-defense or competition. While there are others, such as to be a survival gun, that’s really still a self-defense issue.

There are some modifications that you might want to do for either case; but most modifications fall into one or the other. Take optics, for example. There is absolutely no need for tritium sights in a gun range. But there is a huge need for them in self-defense situations, many of which happen around twilight, when it’s difficult to see the iron sights on a gun.

Can you set up a gun for both purposes? Yes… and no. Yes, you can set it up in such a way that it would be useable for both competitive shooting and self-defense. It comes from the factory that way, to some extent. But no, it will not be ideal for either situation. That’s the key; we’re talking about optimizing the gun for a particular purpose, not just making it usable for those modifications.

Start with the Right Gun
Modifying a pistol to make it more usable has to start with the purchase of the right gun. Not all handguns lend themselves to modification. This isn’t so much due to the design of the gun itself, but rather, the availability of aftermarket parts. Some gun platforms are more popular, giving rise to a greater number of aftermarket parts manufacturers providing parts for them, than others.

A little bit of time online, researching the availability of parts for a particular firearm, will tell you everything you want to know. Start out by making a list of every modification that you think you might want to do to that gun, and then look to see if parts are available. If they aren’t, then you have to decide if that modification is important to you or not.

The two handgun platforms for which you can find the widest range of parts availability are the Glock and the Colt 1911. Glocks are particularly easy to find parts for, because all of their pistols are designed off of a common platform. Couple that with their popularity, both in civilian and law-enforcement circles, and you have a sure formula for parts manufacturers.

Cosmetic Alterations
This report isn’t about cosmetic alterations and I’m basically going to ignore them. There’s nothing wrong with customizing the look of your favorite pistol, if that’s what you want to do. But those changes aren’t going to make it any more usable or accurate. So as far as I’m concerned, they are unnecessary. You don’t need my advice as to whether you should have your pistol refinished with Cerakote or need a custom-engraved slide cover plate.

I’ve seen some cosmetic alterations to guns that I really liked; they made the guns look good. But I’ve never spent even one dollar on doing any cosmetic alterations to any of my guns. I’m much more interested in how well my guns do what I need them to do. Maybe someday I’ll have enough extra cash lying around that I’ll change my tune on that. But for now, I’m more interested in functional changes.

Trigger
Perhaps the single most important modification you can make to any pistol is the trigger, specifically the trigger pull weight. It is a commonly accepted fact that a lighter trigger pull helps increase accuracy. That lighter trigger helps with trigger control, reducing the chances of pushing the pistol off target, while pulling the trigger.

Please note that a lighter trigger pull will not eliminate problems such as jerking the trigger or anticipating recoil. All it can do is help with the amount of force needed to get the trigger to break, which in turn makes it harder to “push” the gun off target by pushing the trigger too hard.

Trigger modifications are common for target pistols, with some competitive pistols having trigger pull weights as low as 0.5 lbs. However, this is not a common modification on guns carried for self-defense. Most people who carry for self-defense are afraid to carry a gun with a light trigger pull, because they are concerned about firing prematurely. There’s a simple solution to eliminate that risk though; don’t put your finger on the trigger or even within the trigger guard, until you are ready to fire. Keep it alongside the trigger guard until that time.

I have modified both my Glock 17 and my Springfield XDS (my carry gun), giving them lighter trigger pull. The Glock now has a 3.5 lb. trigger pull and the Springfield has a 4.5 lb. In both cases, that single change improved my accuracy, without sacrificing any safety. The only reason I have not done that modification to other pistols I own is that I have not found the appropriate spring kit yet.

There are some pistols for which you can modify the spring weight, without having to change out the springs. Specifically, the Colt 1911 sear spring can be adjusted to lighten the trigger weight, simply by bending the sear spring, which is located inside the back of the handle, underneath the main spring housing and backstrap safety.

Originally, the Colt 1911 specification called for a minimum 5 lb. trigger weight. This was the required minimum weight for those used in military pistol competitions. However, by adjusting the curvature of the spring, something that can be done by hand, that trigger weight can be dropped down to give you a 3 to 4 pound trigger pull.

There are also replacement triggers that you can get, with either provide a larger trigger surface or a smoother trigger action. Both are worthwhile, as they make it easier to get a consistent, accurate shot.

Grips
Not all pistols have replaceable grips. Specifically, the modern polymer framed guns are unlikely to be designed in such a way as to allow the grips to be changed. I can’t change them on either my Glock or my Springfield. I’m stuck with what came from the factory.

However, my trusty Colt 1911 is a metal-framed pistol. The original grips on it are installed with screws, making them easy to remove and replace. I’m not sure of the original material, but it was something like phenolic (a resin-based plastic). I’ve replaced my grips with rubber ones, which provide me with a much more secure grip on the gun.

Most of the grips available for the 1911 are cosmetic only, which really doesn’t matter. If you want to change them, then go ahead and do so. On the other hand, changing the grips for something that improves your ability to hold onto the gun, like rubber, is valuable.

This change is especially valuable on smaller-framed guns, which are much harder to hold onto. The Ruger LCP, a .380 caliber picket gun is designed to be a pocket gun, easily hidden in the front pocket of a pair of trousers. Even though it only fires a .380 cartridge, which many people feel is underpowered for a self-defense gun, the light weight of the gun makes it tend to try and jump out of your hand from the recoil. If it were possible to put rubberized grips on the LCP, it would be worth it.

Oversized Controls
While pistols are precision devices, they really have very few controls. Basically, all you’re going to find on any pistol are:

•    Trigger
•    Hammer
•    Slide lock
•    Magazine release
•    Safety

Actually, you’re not going to find all those controls on all pistols. Glocks, for example, don’t have a hammer. Revolvers in general aren’t going to have slide locks and magazine releases. Nevertheless, this is the maximum number of controls you can expect to find.

Typically, firearms manufacturers design their products with relatively small controls on them, going for a more streamlined design, which is unlikely to catch on clothing and holsters. That makes sense. At the same time, those smaller controls are harder to operate, especially in the heat of an active shooter situation, where your fine motor skills will be reduced by the adrenalin coursing through your system.

With that in mind, adding oversize or extended controls to your handgun makes sense. These oversized controls are easier to use and allow for faster manipulation of the firearm, most specifically faster magazine changes. These are fairly easy and inexpensive modifications to make, usually requiring nothing more than removing a pin and changing out the part.

Barrel
Changing the barrel of a firearm has long been part of the accurizing process, especially for competition firearms. Competition or match grade barrels are machined to a higher tolerance than factory originals. Making barrels out of stainless steel or chrome plating the bore are other methods used to maintain the accuracy and consistency of these barrels.

While these sorts of changes might make a difference for those who are looking to make a smaller than one-inch group, it really doesn’t make much difference for those who are shooting for self-defense. I typically shoot a one-inch group with my personal Glock, which still has the factory barrel. Most self-defense shooting is not done at a distance where this is going to make much of a difference.

Slide
Along with the barrel, some competitive shooters go for an after-market slide. There might be several reasons for this, such as ventilation slots cut into the barrel or better grips on the barrel for racking the slide. A lot depends on the specific slide that you are looking at.

Ventilation slots are cut into the slide to allow the barrel to cool quicker. This is important if you are putting a lot of rounds downrange in a short amount of time. Twenty rounds, fired in rapid fire, will generate enough heat to cause the barrel to expand, thereby affecting its accuracy. This can be an issue for some types of competitive shooting, as well as in a self-defense situation where you find yourself in a prolonged battle.

However, most self-defense situations are three rounds, fired in three seconds. That’s it. With that being the case, the ventilated barrel really isn’t accomplishing much. Nor is the idea of having a slide with special grips machined into it, allowing you to rack the slide easier. Unless your gun jams, you shouldn’t have to rack the slide at all.

Magazine Well Adapter
Competitive shooters often install a magazine well adapter to the handle of semi-automatic pistols. This is a flared piece, intended to mount to the bottom of the handle, providing a guide for inserting magazines into the gun. Designed for quicker magazine changes in competitive shooting, it is fairly common amongst those who do tactical shooting, as fast magazine changes are a part of that type of competition.

But is this a useful or necessary modification for real-world tactical shooting? That depends a lot on the shooter. I have not installed one of these on any of my pistols and I don’t have any problem making fast magazine changes. But then, I’ve done a lot of dry-fire practice in making those changes, usually while watching a movie, so that my mind is on other things.

The only thing I can see wrong with this modification, is that it makes it harder to conceal a pistol, as it makes the butt of the pistol’s handle larger. That’s the big reason why I haven’t made this change. However, this is very much a situation where personal opinion and personal ability come to play. If you can change your magazine faster with a well adapter and you can still conceal it under your clothing, then by all means, install one.

Optics
Deciding on the optics you want for your pistol is probably the single most complex decision you’ll make in modifying your pistol for use. Typically, handguns come with iron sights. More and more are coming with white dots painted on the sights, making them somewhat more visible, especially when shooting at a dark colored target.

But that doesn’t really help at night, or even at dusk, when lower light levels may not reflect off of the white-painted dots, especially if you are facing into the sunset, rather than away from it. At those times, something more is needed. Considering that a large number of crimes are committed at dusk, when the lighting is low, changing to sights that can be used in low light is one of the most important modifications you can make to your carry pistol.

Fiber-Optic Sights
Fiber-optic sights are designed to absorb the ambient light and direct it to the ends of the fiber; one of which is pointing back at the shooter, replacing the white painted dot I just mentioned. As such, they provide much greater visibility in low light, specifically at twilight, than normal iron sights or even iron sights with white dots painted on them.

Typically, these sights will be made with a different color dot for the front sight, than for two dots used on the rear sight. That is a distinct advantage, as it provides a ready reference while brining the gun in line to shoot. There is no way to accidentally misidentify the dots and have the front sight off to one side, rather than between the rear sights.

However, fiber-optic sights are limited, in that they need ambient light to work. While it can be argued that you shouldn’t shoot, if you can’t see, the reality is that they are somewhat limited in situations where you might use a tactical light in conjunction with the gun.

Tritium Sights
Tritium sights employ tritium, which is a radioactive gas, in tiny glass vials, rather than the fiber-optics just discussed. This provides clear visibility of the dots, even in full darkness. However, the tritium sights are all one color, not the opposing colors of fiber-optics.

I personally have tritium sights on all of the handguns I might use as carry guns, if they are designed with the ability to change sights in mind. The Ruger LCP I mentioned earlier doesn’t allow for this, as well as many other compact or subcompact gun designs. The difference in cost between fiber-optic and tritium is small enough, that I feel it is worth paying the extra for tritium.

There is one disadvantage to tritium, which must be taken into consideration. The tritium itself has a limited life. Tritium has a half-life of 12 years. So, after 12 years the sights will be half as bright as they are new. After another 12 years they will be one-fourth as bright. So, they should probably be changed sometime between 12 and 20 years after installation.

Reflex Sights
Reflex sights, otherwise known as “red dot” sights, gained in popularity when the military started installing them on the M4 infantry rifle. It is a very common to find these installed on AR-15s; at least for those who can afford them.

While not common, these reflex sights do exist for pistols as well. I’ve seen them mounted on both Glocks and 1911s, and I’m pretty sure that they are available for a number of other common pistol models. They can even be installed on guns which aren’t designed to have replaceable sights, but that requires drilling and tapping holes into the slide.

While a reflex sight is extremely easy to use, especially when trying to acquire multiple targets quickly, they are generally worthless in low-light situations. So, while I would love to use one for competitive shooting, I’m not so sure I’d like to have it on my carry gun.

Laser Sights
There’s a lot of controversy about laser sights for a defensive gun, with most firearms instructors coming down on the side of being against them. Their basic complaint is a valid one – what do you do if the battery dies? You will suddenly be without the ability to accurately aim your gun, because you’re dependent on a piece of technology that failed.

The simple solution is that if you’re going to use laser sights, you need to practice both with the laser sights and with the iron sights (better yet, tritium sights). That way, you’re able to continue shooting accurately, even if your laser sight fails.

The other complaint against laser sights is that they provide the bad guys with the information that you’re pointing a gun at them, even farther away than the sights help you aim, just like a flashlight will. This is also true, as anyone seeing a red or green dot of laser light show up on or near them in going to instantly know what it is. That probably won’t scare them off, but it will make them seek cover.

Proponents of laser sights say that they allow you to keep your eyes focused downrange, where the action is happening in front of you. That’s valuable as well, as one of the things you have to do accurately is identify friend from foe, so that you can make sure you shoot at the right target.

I have laser sights on all of the pistols I regularly use, along with the tritium sights. But I do it for a totally different reason. I do it because my eyes aren’t all that good. Unless I am wearing my computer glasses, I can’t focus my eyes on the front sights of my pistol, with the pistol at arm’s length. So, if I am wearing my outdoor glasses, having a laser sight provides me with a means of aiming my pistols accurately, although I mostly wear my computer glasses and use the tritium sights.

One thing I would highly recommend, if you are thinking of putting a laser sight on your pistol; that’s to get one that is grip activated. What that means is that there is a small switch for the laser, which is activated when you grip your gun normally. This will change your grip slightly; so it will take some getting used to. But it will eliminate the extra step of having to turn on your laser sight. In an active shooting situation, that couple of seconds could be critical.

Tactical Lights
The last accessory I’d like to mention is tactical lights. You see these more and more in cop shows and action movies. Many of the more modern pistols are designed with a rail below the barrel and in front of the trigger guard, for the installation of such a light. So, the question naturally arises, should you put a tactical light on your pistol?

The problem with using any tactical light is that they allow the bad guys to know about your presence, long before they allow you to see the bad guys. So, while it might be necessary to use the light in order to find the bad guys, your light might attract their fire as well.

There is a solution to this problem… or at least a partial solution. That’s to only use the light intermittently and then immediately move, before they can shoot at your light. This requires a light with a momentary switch, located where you can reach it with your support hand, while still holding your pistol correctly. That’s better than using a separate tactical light, as you will have a better grip on your pistol, improving your shooting.

So, I’m personally in favor of tactical lights; but I caution about learning to use them judiciously. Don’t just turn it on and use it to search for the bad guys. Merely turn it on momentarily and move quickly, in case you draw fire. Use what you saw in the “snapshot” while it was on to plan your next move, whether that it to take a shot or move to another vantage point to take another look.

We Americans go through an incredible amount of ammunition every year, mostly used in sport shooting and practice. By comparison, the amount of ammunition used in hunting is minuscule.

But not all shooters buy their ammo; there have always been a number of shooters who reload it. When ammo became scarce during Obama’s presidency, this became the only wa…

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