by N.C., Survival Blog:
(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)
Flashlight
I bought this from Gunsite’s pro shop where they have a couple of options. I bought their bottom of the line (but still expensive to me) Fenix PD36R V2.0 Rechargeable Flashlight for about $100. I agonized a bit over this decision, I did not normatively carry a flashlight and I was not planning to begin carrying one. When I started researching I found that Flashlight guys are like Watch guys, they speak their own language and very quickly start spending huge amounts of money for the model that’s “just right” for them. Because none of them are “just right” they wind up with dozens of models. I didn’t want to do that.
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Ultimately, I said “I don’t know exactly what type of night shooting we’ll be doing. The models that Gunsite sells will be adequate for their training applications”. I was right. It’s a good flashlight, I do carry it now. Makes me almost wish I had jumped up to their SureFire Stiletto lights that are flatter and more comfortable in the pocket. Almost.
I will share here what I learned from instructors about flashlights to help you with your choice: “50-to-100 dollars in decent brand will get you a good light”. They went on to mention that the two big dogs are Streamlight and Surefire. They generally expressed preference for simplicity: more light is good and “on off” switch is all you need. Don’t agonize about multiple modes and understand that the strobe functions are mainly useless. More light is better than less. You can always cover the head or use the edge of the light if you need less.
A brief aside about Weapons Mounted Lights: The instructors all like WML for home defense guns but are not huge fans for using them on handguns that you carry. Not everything you need to see also needs to be shot. Legally speaking, pointing a firearm at someone is assault with a deadly weapon, and possibly a brandishing charge as well. So, even if you have a WML, you also need a regular light. For the younger crowd, there’s nothing wrong with WML. Gunsite doesn’t hate them. However, the low-light shooting you will do in the 250 course requires a regular flashlight which you’ll need as well. You might as well learn what they are teaching here.
Personal Protection Equipment
We’re using firearms, so eye pro and ear pro are non-optional. We’re also in the desert, so you really want some darker eye pro as your main here, though you do want a pair of clear eye pro as well for the indoor simulators. This is all stuff you should already have if you are shooting. The one aspect you might not always be wearing is the hat, you do need one for standing in the desert.
You’ll be wearing eye pro, ear pro, and a hat constantly. Whatever mixture of eye pro, ear pro and hat you choose must be comfortable and stable. They could all be individually fine but fail working together. The ball cap advantage is that it plays well under ear pro. The boonie hat advantage was that it played well over ear pro. The area I wish was better for me was how my eye and ear pro interacted. Sunglasses can break the seal around your ears or push uncomfortably into your skin, neither is ideal.
Make sure that your eye pro, hat (or hooded shirt), plays well with your ear pro. If it’s slightly uncomfortable but bearable, I would say spend some money to get a better solution. Being slightly uncomfortable for a couple hours is one thing, being slightly uncomfortable for at least 4 hours a day for 5 days in a row is another thing entirely.
Eye Protection
I used a pair of Wiley X tactical sunglasses I got at a friend’s recommendation. It was 60+ bucks a few years back. I generally don’t wear sunglasses and I generally don’t want to spend that much money but I needed a pair of sunglasses for driving and I thought I might as well “buy once and cry once”, especially if I could then use it for marksmanship. A nicer pair of sunglasses really makes a difference in what you see. The bump from 20 dollars to 60 dollars is significant and worth making.
Ear Protection
I used a pair of Walker’s Razor active hearing protection ear muffs. I got them at Fleet Farm on sale for about 40 bucks. If you don’t have electronic hearing protection, then get it. Seriously. The advantage of not having to take them on and off as constantly and still hear spoken instruction is practically a “superpower”.
Hat
Again, we’re in the desert, so you need a hat. Most people wore ballcaps and that was fine. I did see more than one burned neck this way. I wore a boonie hat that I got as a gift. It worked fine although it did make me stand out, there’s a little bit of social cost there. Really though, if you have a boonie hat or an Aussie hat, if you can’t wear it in the desert, why do you have it? I saw a fair number of the lightweight hooded shirts which is an alternative to a hat.
Packing Clothes
Clothes are part of your Personal Protective equipment. I highly recommend light colored, lightweight, long sleeved shirts. I asked an Arizona native if outdoor workers ever wore shorts and short sleeves and he said that they didn’t. Take your cue from them. If it’s covered by fabric you probably don’t need to put sunscreen there.
