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One More Thing


My friend USMC 1LT Almar Fitzgerald, shown above as he graduates from IOC back in 2003, was killed by an IED in Ramadi back in 2006. Allow me to distract you from your gear pursuits for a moment to tell you about an event and a scholarship that will honor Fitz and other Americans that sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

The National Wreath Across America Remembrance Ceremony is an annual event that was started at Arlington National Cemetery by a Maine businessman, Morrill Worcester, in 1992.  Every year national cemeteries across America receive wreaths, and one person is chosen to represent each branch of service.  The ceremony is held simultaneously across America on the second Saturday in December.  Former Citadel Cadet, 1 LT Almar L. Fitzgerald, USMC, of Lexington has been chosen to represent the US Marine Corps in the 2011 Wreath Across America.

The ceremony will be held at Florence National Cemetery this Saturday, December 10th, at 12 Noon EST.  Florence National Cemetery 803 East National Cemetery Road Florence, SC 29506. Phone: (843) 669-8783.  You can contact Laurie Stokes, the Volunteer Location Leader, at (803) 446-6478 or stokeslk@msn.com for detailed information.

A memorial scholarship in honor of Almar has been set up through Lexington School District One’s Educational Foundation.  Memorial donations are tax deductible and may be given at anytime.  It is open to anyone that would like to help keep his memory alive. Donations in any amount are appreciated.  Checks or money orders can be made payable to the Lexington County School District One, 1LT Almar L. Fitzgerald, USMC Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Donations may be sent to The Lexington County School District One – Educational Foundation, 1LT Almar L. Fitzgerald, USMC Memorial Scholarship, P.O. Box 1869, Lexington, SC  29071.

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I’m pouring one right now in honor of all those that worked toward your demise but never got to see it.

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Olin Corporation, through its Winchester Division, is recalling six (6) lots of its RANGER® 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point® (PP) centerfire rifle ammunition (Symbol Number RA223R2).

Lot Numbers (last four characters): DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, and DK51

Through extensive evaluation Winchester has determined the above lots of RANGER® Law Enforcement ammunition may contain incorrect propellant. Incorrect propellant in this ammunition may cause firearm damage, rendering the firearm inoperable, and subject the shooter or bystanders to a risk of serious personal injury when fired.

DO NOT USE WINCHESTER® RANGER® 223 REMINGTON 64 GRAIN POWER-POINT® AMMUNITION THAT HAS A LOT NUMBER ENDING IN DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41 or DK51. The ammunition Lot Number is ink stamped inside the right tuck flap of the 20-round carton, as indicated here:

To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the Lot Number. If the last four characters of the Lot Number are DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41 or DK51 immediately discontinue use and contact Winchester toll-free at 866-423-5224 to arrange for replacement ammunition and free UPS pick-up of the recalled ammunition.

This notice applies only to RANGER® 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point® centerfire rifle ammunition with lot numbers ending in DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, and DK51. Other Symbol Numbers or Lot Numbers are not subject to this recall.

If you have any questions concerning this RANGER® Law Enforcement ammunition recall please call toll-free 866-423-5224, write to Winchester (600 Powder Mill Road, East Alton, IL 62024 Attn: RA223R2 Recall), or visit our website at www.winchester.com.

We apologize for this inconvenience.

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Merry Christmas from Grey Group Training, Smartwool and the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance! The trio are donating 3000 pair of Smartwool Hiking Medium Crew socks to servicemembers that are deployed or deploying to Afghanistan.

Their plan is ship the bulk of the socks overseas for distribution by their NCO mafia. What’s left will get doled out to orders shipped to APOs and walk-ins at the Fayetteville store pro shop that come in and say the magic words “Can I store some stuff at your place?”

These pricey Smartwool medium hikers came in at the top of our sock review rankings. It’s great to see someone giving away top-shelf goods. If all these guys were after was publicity, they could have gotten it with a much cheaper pair of socks. For that, I award them +1 publicity and +2 Karma.

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Did you guys catch Dwight sporting the MARPAT Camelbak Ambush in The Office season premier?

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Flying with firearms can be a hassle, but it’s pretty rare that we hear about guns getting stolen by baggage handlers. Well, today the internet is awash with reports of Benjamin Netanyahu’s security detail’s Glocks getting stolen at JFK Sunday. The New York Post has the best report so far, saying the Prime Minister and his security team landed at JFK on Sunday. Their bags were taken from their El Al flight and meant to be transferred to their connection on American Eagle to Washington, DC.

But, the guns didn’t make it to DC according to the Post. The pistols were supposed to be transferred from a diplomatic pouch and into a Pelican case for domestic travel. They quote investigators surmising the guns, 4 Glock 17 pistols, were lifted at JFK and the empty Pelican case purposely misdirected to Los Angeles by the thieves. Putting the luggage on a cross country flight meant the crime would just be considered lost luggage ’till the luggage was tracked down and opened. Apparently this is a TTP for luggage thieves.

I had to chuckle when I saw the BBC somewhat gratuitously describe the 9mm as “powerful”.

New York Post: Search continues for missing guns from Netanyahu’s luggage
BBC News – US airline ‘loses Netanyahu bodyguard guns’
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403 Forbidden
For all of you that have noticed PEO Soldier’s Web site is down, we received a note from them today saying they hope to have their Web issues resolved by the end of the week. Luckily, we can still go to their Facebook page.

No explanation was offered. I assume it was caused by one of two things: A rodent chewing on a wire or downtime while PEO feverishly Photoshops a newly chosen camo pattern into all of the existing photos in advance of the camo decision.

UPDATE: They are back with no changes to the site.

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TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images

TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images

Rick Maze is reporting that Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the powerful and controversial chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for defense funding, died Monday.

Murtha died at 1:18 p.m. at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., where he had been hospitalized for an infection following gallbladder surgery.

Murtha was on the GearScout radar for his efforts to change the camouflage pattern worn by troops in Afghanistan from UCP to anything that works better. He was responsible, directly or indirectly, for bringing all kinds of defense-related money and programs into his district.

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121009at_gun118

My comrade Colin Kelly shot a photo of this cleanly split .300 WinMag Mark 13 barrel that went all “Acme Gun Company” during the first USASOC Sniper competition held last week at Fort Bragg. The failure occured while shooting factory loads on a flat range during an evolution with no movement that could have caused a barrel obstruction.

Take a guess in the comments.

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stickman_logo

GearScout is pleased to introduce our newest contributor, Stickman! Stick is going to keep you gun guys up to speed with reviews and news.

Stick earned a few stripes during his 8 years in the military, and now splits his time between catching bad guys as an inner city police officer and shooting photos of tactical equipment. With 18+ years on the police force, he’s become a weapons and tactics instructor, an armorer for Glock, Colt, and Remington firearms, and a pretty much the last guy you want interrupting your waffle house holdup.

As far as the screen name, we’re down with that. The guy works in a big city, has made a few bad people go away and has earned the healthy paranoia. We’re willing to indulge because we know the guy, we know some of his friends and he backs it all up with his deep industry knowledge and man-in-the-stack gear reviews.

Welcome Stickman!

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