More fun working in the ghetto...

[Aglifter]

OK, so things have "heated up" a bit in the neighborhood - bomb squad had us locked out today, while the cops raided a meth lab behind the plant. (There was some violence last week, and again yesterday which has gotten the cops more focused on our new crop of scum.)

So, my current thoughts, as far as immediate steps I can take, are:

Go back to wearing contacts

Red dot or laser? I believe NPR has a red dot on his G20 - have you ever carried it in/out of freezing environments? I don't spend that much time in the mix room, anymore - so I'm not as concerned about corrosion, as I am with coming out of the freezer, etc, and it being fogged over.

[Netpackrat]

It's the in and out of the cold that will cause optics to fog/freeze up. It is pretty common when hunting in cold temps, to leave one's rifle outside the tent (if heated), or on the front porch if staying in a cabin. Not only for the optics, but because of condensation freezing on the mechanical bits.

I haven't carried the G20 in the cold; that is mostly my woods gun and I don't get out much in the winter. I eventually realized I had made a mistake in putting an optic on the G20 rather than the G29 that I actually carry most of the time, and I bought a second slide for the G29 and had it modified for another RMR just like the one on the G20. But, I only got it back a few weeks ago, and haven't taken it to the range to zero it yet, so I am still carrying with the iron sight slide at the moment. I went with the second slide because I wanted to be able to carry in the workshop without screwing up the optic due to chemicals, sparks, slag, etc.

[arctictom]

Welcome to our world , any thing that can fog will, also use synthetic lubs only , the other stuff will cause problems. And yup use contacts if possible , open sights and glow in dark sights work best. Scopes , lasers, etc test the hell out of them first , befor use .

[308Mike]

Welcome to our world , any thing that can fog will, also use synthetic lubs only , the other stuff will cause problems. And yup use contacts if possible , open sights and glow in dark sights work best. Scopes , lasers, etc test the hell out of them first , befor use .

That's VERY GOOD info to know *IF* you're headed into that kind of environment (which we hope to in the next few years)!!!!

[Termite]

Ag: since you are working in a chilled environment, consider soft body armor also. Besides protection, it would also act as insulation under a shirt or jacket.

[Yogimus]

M-68-s handle fogging very well. -60 to 80 degrees and back again hasn't been a problem, even after the damned thing gets buried in the snow.

[308Mike]

Ag: since you are working in a chilled environment, consider soft body armor also. Besides protection, it would also act as insulation under a shirt or jacket.

I can testify from personal experience that soft body armor makes EXCELLENT insulation against cold weather (not so well against hot weather). MANY times I've gone out on patrol without my heavy jacket (but it was in the trunk) simply because I was wearing my body armor - otherwise I would have been shivering (and I was wearing my long-sleeved shirts - HIGHLY UNUSUAL 'cause I HATE long sleeves). One time, working a concert (I believe it was Ozzie Ozborne), and we were working the steps outside the doors when the concert let out. One dickhead started beating his "girlfriend" once they got outside the doors, and we went to her aid. She was getting the crap beaten outta' her, then we showed up. I grabbed the turd around the neck and started bending him over backwards across the hand-rail to keep him off balance and began to choke him out - EXCEPT I WAS WEARING MY "TUFFY" JACKET. I pulled, squeezed, and pinched against his neck until my arm ached and still he fought on!!

And then guess what???? His "girlfriend", the one he was previously beating the shit out of, started screaming that we were KILLING HIM and encouraged the growing crowds to help rescue him (and we just wanted him to stop fighting so we could take him into custody) - but my choke-hold was COMPLETELY ineffective due to my heavy jacket lining. We continued to fight for several minutes, the crowd gathered and became increasingly hostile, we started catching bottles and other objects while other officers responded to our call for assistance (this was LONG before extended microphones and transmit buttons), and it started turning into a mini-riot and FINALLY the Calvary showed up to help extricate us along with our prisoner. We both had to duck a few bottles, and my arm was sore for DAYS after trying to squeeze this turd out (without causing damage to his trachea). I mean, if my jacket was off, I coulda' popped his head off his shoulders with as hard as I was squeezing.

My long-sleeved jacket prevented me from being able to perform what I needed to get done.

EVER SINCE THEN, I REFUSED to wear anything long-sleeved (other than my shirts) while in uniform. I would MUCH RATHER be cold, and even shivering, than run into that situation again, where I couldn't choke someone out when I REALLY needed to!!

To this day, I still hate long-sleeved shirts and lightweight jackets. I'd much rather wear a vest.

Soft body armor does a TREMENDOUS job of helping retain body heat!! It's one of the reasons I was able to not wear long sleeved jackets (or even shirts) even during the mild San Diego winters. I always KNEW if I was ever headed into a fight while wearing my Tuffy jacket, I'd shed the thing before we would get into it - and had a badge patch sewn over my badge-holder strip with the eye-lets on my uniform shirts, so they couldn't say I wasn't wearing a badge and they had no idea I was a cop.

I COMPLETELY understand why cops back east and down south don't wear their full body-armor panels. They don't breathe, they retain HUGE amounts of body heat, and you need to wear shirts UNDER your vest to help keep you cool and ventilated even when you feel like you're overheating - DUE TO THE VEST. When you finally get back to the station and take the damned thing off, LOTS of guys will stand in front of the HUGE locker-room fan(s) to help cool off all the sweaty shirts STILL STUCK TO YOUR BODY which were worn UNDER the vest.

Personally, I always wore tank-tops under my vest. Over my vest, I always wore a regular round-neck t-shirt, then my uniform shirt. Sometimes, I wore 2 tank tops under my vest, to give my body more breathing room between my body and the vest.

Vests are GREAT to not only stop bullets, but also to help keep you warm (when needed) - ESPECIALLY when you have to wear it for at least 10 hours a day!!!!! And yes, it CAN get cold here in San Diego (especially along the water), and THAT COLD tends to go right through your clothes - EXCEPT for the vest!!! There were times when I didn't need to wash my tank-tops for a week simply because it was so cold I didn't sweat, and didn't need to change them out (especially since I wasn't wearing my jacket(s) after the incident when I couldn't choke the turd out (and my arm was sore for almost a week 'cause I was squeezing so hard - AND I *WAS* properly aligned to his neck - I checked when he wasn't going out as he should have).

And yes, I HAD choked out MANY people prior to this incident, but this one time I was unable to choke out my suspect. It is (and remains), the ONLY time I was unable to do so in over 15 years of LEO street duties. And it was all because of the cushioning of my jacket arm.

Soft body armor DOES help keep you warm!!! Get it. Use it (daily). And take care of your vest and outer garments. They WILL help save your life, AND help keep you warm on cold nights/days/storms (with appropriate rain gear).

YMMV!!!