It can be extremely difficult to find backcountry travel advice that works for me. Much of the prominent outdoor gear advice outlets have been hijacked by ultralight hikers. I actually like ultralight gear and appreciate their minimalist approach. However the gear and skills necessary for ultralight through-hiking on established, well traveled trails often has little to do with backcountry travel on remote, unsupported trails or off trail completely.
I like to find a handful of sources that I can trust as a starting point for my own skill and gear acquisitions. The Hill brothers at Hill People Gear have become one of those sources. They share their knowledge on a few different venues but one of the easiest to consume is the Longhouse Instructional Series on YouTube.
The series is available in a handy playlist that I came across this morning when looking for their Land Nav video to share with a friend. I highly suggest this series for anyone who is looking to improve or validate their outdoor skills and gear.
This article is about an exceedingly simple and safe way to control your AR (or AR pattern) rifle during movement in the backcountry. This is not a sexy technique. This is probably not even the right technique for some user groups. This may not even be original to me (though I didn’t learn it from any other source). This is just something that works.
The Problem…
Moving through areas with a lot of brush or areas that require a lot of bending over to pass through, your slung AR can swing on its sling or interact with your surroundings or your own gear in strange and unsafe ways. This is doubly true in winter when you wear heavier layers and you are more likely to do things like ducking under trees bent over by snow load. Snow can turn even wide, well maintained trails into a backcountry travel experience.
This magazine was ejected by brush into about 12″ of powdery snow. If it had not hit my shin, I would have never known. Movement in difficult to travel places does weird things to your gear.
I enjoy snowshoeing in winter for exercise and adventure. Just this winter alone, I have seen someone’s selector swept to the fire position and I’ve had my own magazine ejected. Both of these events happened while moving through or under natural impediments and by no intentional interaction on the user’s part. Sometimes it is the brush itself that causes the problem. Sometimes the user’s gear causes the problem when the rifle dangles and rubs against the wearer while they move.
This also starts to get a little bothersome when you think of what your muzzle is doing while you navigate these kind of obstacles. It may be swinging across your feet and legs or dipping into the snow. Neither of which are safe.
My Solution…
There is a natural solution to this problem… just maintain some control of the firearm. This can be difficult when traversing difficult terrain but it must be done. The conventional wisdom is to maintain a firing grip with your strong hand but, truth be told, I want my strong hand free for work when doing things like holding back branches that would otherwise go at my eyes, hanging onto the something during a steep side traverse, or stabilizing myself with a third point of contact while I duck under low limbs.
What I do is simple. I use my support hand clamped around the back of the receiver where it meets the buffer tube. I hold the rifle here and use my thumb (and my middle finger too if I have an ambi safety) to hold the selector in the safe position. I also apply some very slight downward pressure at this point on the rifle which, when using a two point sling, automatically rotates the muzzle up and to the side so it doesn’t dangle across my legs or dip into snow. The more downward pressure I apply, the higher the muzzle rotates.
It even works in heavy gloves or mittens! You can see where I grip the rifle. What you can’t see is my thumb blocking the safety on the back. This AR also has an ambi safety so I am controlling the selector with my middle finger as well. Even with slight downward pressure, the muzzle is held out away from my legs.
This technique blocks the safety, controls the muzzle, and keeps the rifle from swinging all at the same time. It also keeps all my digits away from the trigger guard and allows me to immediately free my support hand should I start to fall because my hand is coming in from the top of the rifle. Controlling my AR in this manner has become second nature to me.
Wrap Up
This article is already way too long considering I am just talking about a way you can hold your slung AR with one hand. Honestly, it is such a simple thing that I hesitated to even write about it. I can see how some user groups would be hesitant to take their firing hand off the rifle but that isn’t me. I’m just a guy in the woods. This works.
Maybe I need to come up with a catchy name for it like… the “North Idaho Reach Around”. Nah.
RE Factor Tactical and GTGConsult have collaborated on a new target – the GTG Baseline Target. Read on to learn more…
The GTG Baseline Target is the brainchild of GTGConsult, a premier training company based out of Denmark. The target was designed by Ebbe Wolff, a 15 year veteran of the Danish Army and the lead instructor of the company.
The GTG Baseline Target is one of the best paper shooting targets for anyone looking for a training solution that offers multiple training scenarios. The shooting target offers both traditional and non-traditional overlays that allow you to run a wide variety of pistol and rifle shooting drills, tests and exercises.
For more information on GTGConsult visit: https://www.gtgconsult.com where you can also find and download a wide variety of shooting drills specifically supported by this target.
– Developed by GTGConsult – 23 x 35″ – Printed in the USA
Kit Badger’s Ambush Targets V2.0 (KBAT 2.0) are now available. These targets are visually similar to the original KBAT with the important difference that the V2.0 is represented with a side profile.
Everything that made the original KBAT a good target is still intact. They can still be printed on standard 8.5×11″ paper. The KBAT V2.0 maintains the heavy outline for the main target area and the lightly rendered anatomy reference lines so they they essentially disappear when viewed from a slight distance.
If you are looking to add some weight to your ruck without tearing up your pack or your back, check out the Padded Weight Pockets from Shaddox Tactical. They make three sizes for 20, 30, and 45 pound weights. These pouches are designed around GORUCK plates (or similar) to mount via PALS webbing inside GORUCK bags but they can also fit other bags.
These pouches are constructed from two layers of 1000D Cordura Nylon with closed cell foam padding between layers. The top flap is secured with Velcro and features a Velcro/PALS field for attaching small pouches or moral patches.
