Tax season is once more upon us, and I'm maybe in position to actually pick something new up finally? It's been a long, long time since I acquired anything new. At present I have a few thoughts in mind for what to snag if it's in the budget after trying to pay down all my bills.
Option 1: Cheap Pocket Pistols
I'm signed up with Operation Blazing Sword, although I haven't been contacted for training as of yet. The areas I operate in have people with fancier qualifications (which I honestly should go for myself) and/or areas that are just kinda empty. At any rate, if I have someone come to me for training, and they have specific want to defend themselves, my typical advice of "Glocks are the honda civic of guns; a little spendy for brand name but you know they're boring, practical, and reliable" isn't of much help to those without the ~$600 for a new Glock. My remedy for this is to buy a grab-bag of cheap stuff, Hi-point (maybe with carbine), kel-tec, etc. Stuff around $200 or less. I can get two for the price of something nicer, but I get the benefit of being able to give a true recommendation of stuff based on my own experience with it.
Cost: ~$200xQTY
Option 2: 10mm Auto Glock
Glock now has the G40, 10mm auto with longslide and 15 in the mag. This gun makes me suspicious that Glock has been peering into my brain. I want two of them, but one will suffice for not-stupid purposes (I have no dominant eye, right eye aligns with right hand, left eye with left hand, which means that I can dual wield effectively and even aim two pistols down sights at once with a little coordination). Non-stupid purposes include cold weather carry after I pick up a new long-coat, and carry up north in bear country.
Cost: ~$600
Option 3: PLR-16 or other piston drive intermediate-rifle caliber pistol.
I've long had a fondness for giant rifle-pistols, which seem to have picked up the moniker of assault pistols by people that hate black guns. I've discussed my fondness for stupid guns before, but now I actually have a specific purpose for it and some advancements in technology make it only ridiculous, not stupid (mostly). I've got armor that mostly serves as exercise weight, and would like to pair it with something stronger than my Glock 26 if I need gun and don't have time to get the AR-15 out of the gun locker. The smaller size means it's more easily stashed with the armor, possibly even strapped to it in a holster, widespread reflex sights make it easier to aim, and SBR 5.56 now exists tailored to optimizing in short barrels to get the power to the bullet instead of blinding/deafening/setting-on-fire everyone in the vicinity because only half the juice went into the bullet. No pistol brace, probably a pull-sling style notstock.
Cost: ~$400?
Option 4: Bulletproof coat or vest
BulletProofEveryone has some nice looking coats with NIJ IIA or IIIA inserts. I want armor, even though I'm good at avoiding being stupid places doing stupid things with stupid people. If nothing else, I miss the bonus strength and fitness from carrying a heavy backpack everywhere. This was going to be a birthday present to myself already, but wasn't in the budget. Specifically, the Logan overcoat, which includes protection for the upper leg. Alternatively, they have a nice looking softshell, or I might just snag a low profile vest that fits under my loose work shirts.
Cost: $379 (IIA) or $429 (IIIA) for the Logan, $200-600 for vests
Option 5: Expand/improve rifle armor
I have a nice basic plate carrier with curved front plate and flat back from AR500, but it's just not up to snuff. The carrier doesn't hold tightly enough for me to move vigorously in it, which I would expect to do if I actually were to NEED the armor, and also need to do for workouts while using it as an unnecessarily badass weighted training vest. Furthermore, I want to add an abdominal armor panel, side panels, and make some custom DAP panels that hold the curved 6x8 panels along the outside of my upper arms. Picking up a helmet also seems useful, I may just snag a military surplus steel one because the good ones have similar protection against handgun rounds and lack of protection against rifles, and it's $25ish for a surplus steel helmet vs. $180 or so for a PASGT.
Cost: Varies with panel/carrier.
Option 6: Assorted accessories
This probably still includes a surplus helmet, because cheap, but also handles things like getting some much needed glass for the rifle (currently uses BUIS as main sights), a replacement stock to balance the weight out, some new P90 mags for the AR-57 upper I bought ages ago and immediately lost mags for in a series of moves between apartments, possibly stuff to build a second lower so the AR-15s and AR-57 can be their own separate guns (putting the regular carbine stock on the AR-57 because it's not going to sell for anything and no point leaving it un-attached). Alternatively, buy a second lower with the Magpul UBR attached. I could also do with a proper fighting knife, a grappling hook because reasons, trauma kit stuff, and the like.
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