The best survival and combat gear I bought in 2019 – Unsolicited, independent reviews from the Health Ranger

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An important diversion from the usual topic of health, nutrition and disease prevention:

Given that America is about to collapse into a raging civil war in 2020, it seems, I’ve been purchasing and testing out a lot of preparedness gear at the Health Ranger ranch. This year I found a few winners that really stood out from the other products I tested. So here, I’m sharing this list with you to spread the word about what works.

Importantly, none of the companies mentioned here have any idea this article is being published. I’m not compensated in any way for these plugs. None of the links here are affiliate links. It’s just 100% independent, honest product reviews with no ulterior motive.

If you’re into “stuff that works” and you want to skip the bulls##t, read this list:

The Proteus Jacket from Virtus Outdoor Group

I don’t recall ever getting excited about a jacket until I got my hands on the Proteus Jacket from Virtus Outdoor Group. They were having a sale one day, so I picked up this jacket, which is a combination of a totally standalone inner polyester jacket with an outer shell that’s waterproof and removable.

Sounds pretty typical, right? Wait until you try it. I noticed two things right away: 1) It’s surprisingly warm for its thickness, replacing jackets that are a lot bulkier and therefore less nimble. 2) The freedom of movement in this jacket is superb, making it ideal for those (like me) who carry concealed firearms or like to train outdoors, in colder weather.

Very quickly, this jacket became my “training jacket,” but from there it didn’t take long until I found myself wearing this jacket every time I went out, even just to do ranch work or go shopping. I even brought this with me during a recent rifle training class, and it worked beautifully for all the reasons mentioned here.

I find that I can wear this even in slightly-below-freezing weather. It keeps me warm down to about 26 degrees (F), at which point I’d want something thicker. But from 26 degree all the way to 60 or whatever you think requires a jacket of some sort, this Proteus Jacket is a solid performer.

The company, Virtus Outdoor Group, was founded by U.S. military veterans and is operated out of Knoxville, TN. Read the profile of David Wood here. All the guys who run the company sound like the same kind of solid, dedicated military professionals I typically train with. They demonstrate the kind of pro-America values that we would all do well to help support.

The only drawback to the Proteus Jacket? The price. It’s currently priced at $450, but I’m seen it on sale at better prices. See if you can sign up to the email list at Vogstore.com and wait for a special discount. That’s how I got mine for less. (At the moment of this writing, all these jackets are sold out… that’s an indicator of how popular these are among real-world operators.)

The next best thing would be the Helios Jacket at this link. It’s only $180 or so, but isn’t made for rain.

The next time they have a sale, I’m buying at least TWO more of the Proteus Jackets. They’re that good.

The Sig P365 pistol

In 2019, Sig Sauer released the perfect pistol for concealed carry. Known as the “P365,” this pistol was designed entirely around the geometry of a magazine that would hold 10 rounds of 9mm in the most compact format possible, achieving what you might call a “one-and-a-half stack” arrangement. The result is that the P365 is almost the exact same size as the Glock 43, yet the Sig carries 10+1 rounds instead of 6+1 with the Glock.

See Sig’s site at: https://www.sigsauer.com/products/firearms/pistols/p365/

I own both of these pistols, and the Sig P365 instantly made the Glock 43 obsolete in my household for the simple reason that anyone would much rather bring 10+1 rounds to a fight rather than 6+1.

Right away, the Sig P365 became my backup pistol, and I’ve carried it every day since. It also shoots with stunning accuracy, given its very small frame. Right out of the box, I was able to pick it up and drill 10 rounds into a grouping of about 4 inches from roughly 20 feet away. That’s all you can expect from any 9mm pistol, much less a super compact pistol.

The Sig is easier to disassemble than the Glock, and it comes with far better factory sights (at least mine did). Glocks are great and they’re super reliable, but the Sig is just better engineered from a smarter examination of the geometry of the ammunition itself.

I liked this super compact pistol so much that I’m considering purchasing a Sig P365 XL and possibly using it as my primary carry weapon.

One note: Personally, I recommend avoiding the “SAS” pistol models currently promoted by Sig for the simple reason that you can’t rack the slides using the one-handed “belt rack” techniques, since the SAS pistol slides have no protruding sights at all. The slides are essentially smooth on top, and that’s wrong. If you’re not training how to reload and rack the slides of your pistols with one hand (yes, even with your retarded “off” hand, too), then you’re not really prepared to survive a self-defense shooting.

The Ghost Gunner from Defense Distributed

You’ve probably heard me talking about the Ghost Gunner this year. This is the desktop CNC machine that allows you to purchase unfinished 80% lower receivers and turn them into finished receivers that can be built up into a fully functioning AR-15 using off-the-shelf parts.

I’ve been buying 80% lowers from Brownell’s, and they work great. The machine has performed flawlessly, and I’ve used it to manufacture my own AR rifles and AR pistols, both in 5.56 and 300 blackout. Everything I’ve built from the Ghost Gunner works just like mil-spec firearms.

No wonder the insane, lawless Left is totally panicked about the existence of the Ghost Gunner. They’re freaked out that people can use them to manufacture so-called “ghost guns,” because to the tyrannical state, the idea that someone might own a weapon of self-defense without the government tyrants knowing about it is absolutely horrifying. That’s exactly why you should get a Ghost Gunner and start churning out large numbers of rifles and pistols for your own self-defense. (It’s illegal to manufacture firearms for someone else unless you’re an ATF-approved arms manufacturer, so stay within the law and only make these for yourself.) New Jersey has already outlawed the machine, and other states are pushing to outlaw 80% lower receivers and other gun parts, so get one of these while you still can.

All the firearms I made with this machine were based on the GG2. Defense Distributed just announced the GG3 (Ghost Gunner 3.0), which isn’t shipping yet, but I’ve already put a deposit on one. They say the GG3 is much faster, although I haven’t seen one work yet.

The Ghost Gunner 3 requires a $500 deposit today, then another larger payment at ship time. (Prices may change, don’t hold me to it.) You can use it to mill out receivers for AT-15, AR-308, M1911 and Polymer 80 frames, although when it comes to Polymer 80, I’ve found it’s easier to just use a manual drill press.

Downside to the Ghost Gunner? It generates lots of aluminum shards from the CNC operations. Make sure you run a HEPA vacuum to clean up the workspace, and run a HEPA air filter in the room to suck up all the aluminum dust. You don’t want to inhale aluminum dust for lots of health reasons.

The best book for showing you how to build up your rifle after using the Ghost Gunner is called, “AR-15 Rifle Builder’s Manual: An Illustrated, Step-by-Step Guide to Assembling the AR-15 Rifle.” It’s available on Amazon and other book retailers. You’ll need some basic tools and some mechanical sense to complete a rifle. Fortunately, snowflakes can’t even change a flat tire on a car, so we have nothing to fear from them trying to figure out how to assemble a fully functioning AR-15. (Some of them still aren’t sure what makes it go “Bang!”)

Get your Ghost Gunner at GhostGunner.net

Here’s how to use anodized lower receivers with the Ghost Gunner so that all your guns don’t look like “bare metal”

I love the Ghost Gunner so much, I posted a video showing you how you can use anodized lower receivers in the machine by simply using a Dremel tool on six contact points. This video, of course, is hosted on Brighteon.com, the pro-2A video platform my company built so that we could post free speech videos without censorship interference from the criminals running YouTube. (Note: This method is not necessarily endorsed by the Ghost Gunner manufacturer. It’s kind of a hack. Use at your own risk.)

https://www.brighteon.com/a3011442-f0c3-4d91-9054-88c55f7a39a5

Watch and learn:

Really high quality rifle upper assemblies from CBC Industries

Once you make your AR-15 lower receiver using the Ghost Gunner, you’ll need some parts to finish out the rifle. One thing you’ll need is an upper assembly, which is an assembled combination of the AR-15 upper, a barrel, a hand guard, the bolt carrier group (BCG) and the charging handle (CH).

I’ve been buying these from a variety of places, checking out the attention to detail and quality of the manufacturing. In terms of getting quality for your dollar, one of the best manufacturers and retailers I’ve found in this category is CBC Industries.

You’ve never seen such careful attention to detail when it comes to product quality and packaging. Literally nobody packs their uppers for shipment better than CBC Industries. As someone who owns a product manufacturing and fulfillment warehouse myself — the Health Ranger Store — I was blown away by the attention to detail from CBC Industries and the way they pack and ship their upper assemblies.

So far, I’ve put two of their uppers into my training drills, and of course they’ve performed flawlessly. You can choose barrels with various twist rates, too, such as 1:8 or 1:10, etc. (If you don’t know what twist rates are, choose 1:7 or 1:8 as the best all-purpose solutions.) CBC Industries always has something on sale, offering really spectacular pricing for the kind of consistent quality that used to cost you triple or quadruple. Case in point: Bravo Company Manufacturing sells rifles (and uppers) at really high prices, and everybody raves about Bravo Company. I own two of their rifles, by the way. But functionally speaking, I’ve found no difference whatsoever in the application of their rifles vs. homemade rifles using Ghost Gunner receivers and CBC Industries uppers. Stated another way, you can make your own high-quality rifle for a whole lot less than what Bravo Company charges.

Yes, Bravo Company makes good s##t. But you can get just-as-good s##t for a whole lot less money. And besides, the real reason most people suck with rifles has nothing to do with who made them. It’s the fact that they haven’t drilled enough and haven’t mastered the basics of rifle skills. Owning a $2000 rifle isn’t going to make you awesome if you suck with a $500 rifle, in case you were wondering. And I own high-end rifles, too, like the Sig MXC systems. But if I need to put something together that I know I can run and maintain in the simplest way possible, it’s a Ghost Gunner receiver, a FailZero BCG (see below), a CBC Indusries or PSA upper assembly, and I like the Strike Industries Viper stock because it has the QD point in the right place, unlike the Magpul stocks which lack that QD point for some reason.

In any case, check out CBC Industries’ Upper Assemblies at this link. It’s good stuff.

FailZero Bolt Carrier Groups

I no longer run rifles with stock BCGs, which are usually “nitride” coated components that have a surprisingly high friction coefficient if you don’t keep them lubed correctly. Now, I run all my gear using “slick” metal components such as nickel boron (NiB) or DLC coatings.

One company that makes very reliable BCGs out of nickel boron is called “FailZero.” As explained on their website, “All critical parts are coated with EXO Nickel Boron technology that provides permanent dry lubricity, extreme durability and increases both wear and corrosion resistance.  Our patented Nickel Boron coating will reduce friction and improve the overall performance of your rifle.”

They’re not kidding. These metal parts are so slick, you could almost run them without lubrication at all (but don’t, because that would be stupid). In a practical sense, what these parts accomplish is allowing your gun to run better with less lubrication, or to run better even when all sorts of fouling starts to gum up your lubricants. For DI rifles (direct impingement), this is an absolute necessity in my opinion. I like DI rifles because they run harder and longer than gas-pistol rifles, at least in my experience with ARs. But they foul up more quickly. So you need a nickel boron type of BCG to keep it running well.

Or you could also just buy an AK, which runs no matter what. The AK is technically a much smarter design in terms of how it cycles and why it’s so reliable, even when fouled up with mud and sand. That’s why you don’t see many people promoting nickel boron parts for AK rifles… they don’t need them.

For ARs, however, go with a FailZero BCG and you’ll instantly improve your rifle’s reliability in all sorts of conditions. A typical FailZero BCG runs around $150, but you can find them cheaper during various sales and specials. Personally, I consider this a must-have upgrade for any rifle that you might want to use in a self-defense situation, such as home defense. If you’re betting your life on your rifle, make sure you’re using the right metals that will cycle when you need them most.

The Holosun HS 512C red dot sight

I decided to join a “fighting rifle” class recently, even though I normally don’t shoot with groups of students. During these classes, I like to try out new optics and rifle lights just to see what survives the class.

So I went with the Holosun HS512C for this class, along with an O-Light compact pistol light that I actually mounted on the front of my rifle. The Holosun HS512C is a really unique red dot sight that offers multiple reticles, allowing you to choose the reticle you like most. It’s also got “Shake Awake” technology which means the sight stays off until you move the gun around, then it comes back on when you need it, preserving battery life. Finally, it also has two solar panels mounted on top, providing backup power from sunlight to augment the on-board battery.

All those are great features, but what I really liked about this sight was the shape and profile. The sight’s unique shape prevents it from getting snagged on things like your rifle sling or cold weather clothing. I found the sight to be very maneuverable, especially when running bilateral drills where you switch the rifle from side to side to shoot from cover.

The intensity of the reticle also automatically varies based on the lighting conditions you’re experiencing, so it’s self-adjusting. (You can also turn that feature off if you wish.) The battery compartment comes with its own built-in latch system so you don’t need an extra screwdriver to change the battery.

The bottom line? The Holosun sight ran perfectly for the entire course, and it survived fully intact. I’ve run all sorts of other sights such as the Trijicon SRS, ACOGs, Sig ROMEO red dots, the Micro T-1 sights, etc., and frankly this Holosun HS512C just flat out works the best with the fewest annoyances. It comes on when you need it on, so you don’t have to mess around with buttons, and it turns itself off when you’re done shooting. As far as I’m concerned, the best red dot sight is the one you don’t have to fiddle with. That’s why from now on, I’m not buying any red dot sights unless they have something like “Shake Awake” technology so I can leave them on all the time.

Get details at: https://holosun.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=49&products_id=94

Get good gear and good training, because we are entering an era of left-wing violence and social chaos

The reason I’m publishing this article is because thanks to the lunatics on the lawless Left, America is now entering an era of extreme violence and social chaos. And if you think it’s bad now, just wait until Trump wins re-election in 2020 and the Antifa mobs fully activate.

To survive the zombie apocalypse of mind-numbed, left-wing lunatics trying to pull off a violent communist coup — which will go very badly for them, by the way — you will need the right gear to protect yourself and defend your nation.

Plus, I’ve got a selfish reason for promoting all this: The more zombies all of you take down, the fewer I have to dispatch when they finally make it to Texas. We all win when the crazed zombies are stopped. Think of it as a “group project.”

Want to watch some really good self-defense videos? Check out Brighteon.com, the free speech alternative to YouTube, which has an entire category of prepping and survival videos.

Stay safe, follow the laws, and be ready to defend your republic. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that the lawless, mentally ill Left is leaving you no other choice. You either surrender to their insanity or you draw a line in the sand and defend America.

Also check out GEAR.news for daily news updates on survival and preparedness gear.