Get ThinBlueFlorida via Email
Search ThinBlueFlorida.com
Follow ThinBlueFlorida.com!
Popular Articles
- Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 Laser Batteries
- KA-BAR TDI Knife Review: Unsafe for Duty
- Review of the New Kahr Arms CM40
- XS Express Sight Set for the Bodyguard 380
- Update to LAPD Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 Review
- The One-Ass-To-Risk Story
- New Charter Arms Pitbull .40 S&W Revolver Review
- New KA-BAR TDI Hinderance and Hell Fire Knives
- RNC Will Bring Delegates and Officers to Tampa
- Benchmade Knives 175 Adamas CBK Push Dagger Review
Category Archives: Technology
New Crimson Trace Products for 2013
One of the first booths we hit at SHOT Show 2013 Media Day at the Range was Crimson Trace Corporation. CTC’s Media Relations Manager Iain Harrison showed us a few of their new-for-2013 products. It was so cold, my pen did not write, but the lasers fired up just fine. Green laser! There I said it. Crimson Trace, ironically, is now in the green laser business. Several models are now available, with more variation in the manufacturing pipeline. CTC’s green lasers will come in trigger guard, rail-mounted, backstrap-mounted, and grip replacement systems. Mr. Harrison showed us a currently available CMR-203, which fits pistols wearing M1913/Picatinny or Weaver rails. Ours was … Continue reading
TrackingPoint Update from SHOT Show 2013
I was able to see the TrackingPoint Precision Guided Firearm in action firsthand at the SHOT Show Media Day. On the long range, I watched as a novice shooter got behind the Surgeon rifle and Networked Tracking Scope, then hit a 962 yard shot on his first attempt…uh, Wow! TrackingPoint had an iPad streaming live video next to the .338 Lapua rifle. Bystanders were able to watch on the screen as the shooter “tagged” the distant piece of steel and then let the microprocessors work the dope. The Guided Trigger will only allow a shot to be fired when the scope and tagged target are optically aligned. The rifle operator … Continue reading
DDupleks Kaviar 26L Frangible Shotgun Ammunition
The Latvian gentlemen from DDupleks Ammunition were demonstrating their Kaviar 26L frangible shotgun “slug” at SHOT Show 2013 Media Day at the Range. The 12 gauge round is designed to dump its energy into the immediate target without over-penetration. The DDuplexs rep shot a water jug at 15 yards with the Kaviar. A Kel-Tec KSG was used for the test. This is from the DDupleks website: Combined material shotgun slug for training and LE purposes. Slug expands and fragments only after hitting the target and provides energy transfer immediately without
Posted in Firearms, SHOT Show, Technology
Tagged Frangible Ammunition, Police Shotgun, SHOT Show
Leave a comment
TASER International Introduces New X26P
A TASER International press release announced the introduction of their latest Conducted Electrical Weapon, the new X26P. The X26P uses the company’s latest technological advances and design combined with familiar ergonomics from its popular predecessor, the X26. New electronic architecture takes the X26P out of the analog era and into the digital one, like its sibling the X2. The old X26 used a gas tube spark gap and a fixed energy discharge, while the latest version moves to a solid state arc controller that measures and adjusts the electrical output. Other improvements include extended battery life, increased logging of usage data, and an IPX2 rating for weatherproofing against rain and … Continue reading
TrackingPoint to Introduce Precision Guided Rifle Scopes
The Consumer Electronics Show, one of Las Vegas’ biggest conventions, is happening this week. At 140,000 attendees, CES is twice the size of the SHOT Show. For all the myriad gadgets and electronic toys being shown at CES, I thought this was one interesting bit of technology with future law enforcement potential. TrackingPoint, Inc. builds precision rifles in Austin, TX. Their latest advance is the patent-pending Intelligent Digital Tracking Scope, a kind of Heads-Up Display for a rifle. This advanced scope calculates a firing solution for the shooter, as it takes into account wind speed and direction, humidity, ballistic drop, parallax, incline and cant of the weapon, and other factors. … Continue reading
U.S. Fire Arms ZiP Pistol
The U.S. Fire Arms ZiP pistol blurs the line between toy and real gun. We recently received a safety BOLO for this odd looking .22 cal. LR handgun. It uses Ruger 10/22 magazines. The ZiP can certainly be mistaken for a futuristic toy gun. I wouldn’t want to get hit with 10 CCI Stingers out of this thing, though! The largely polymer ZiP has a 5.25″ barrel and is 7.5″ long overall. The action is single action, striker fired. Its reported weight is just under 16 ounces. The ZiP pistol can also be configured as a short-barreled rifle with the add-on stock. They call the modification a BattleZiP Survival SBR … Continue reading
Intrepid Networks “Sting” Police Technology
If there is one thing I have noticed that is lacking in our tactical operations and drug busts, it is a solid situational orientation to our ground assets in a fluid incident. For example, when coordinating a buy-bust takedown you may have multiple units working within the scenario: narcotics officers, confidential informants, SWAT members, uniformed patrol, heck, throw in a K9 team or two. Each of these personnel has distinct function, but often no one knows exactly where the other one is in relation to the target. Intrepid Networks, with roots in Central Florida, has designed their Sting software platform as a way to increase law enforcement’s situational awareness and … Continue reading
Posted in Florida Companies, SWAT, Tactics, Technology
Tagged police technology, SWAT Round-Up
Leave a comment
Vendors Row at SRI
Half a day is not enough time to spend checking out the vendors at the SWAT Round-Up International. I arrived at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office firearms range with two of my agency’s assistant team leaders. Even during years we don’t attend, we try to make it over to the outdoor vendor row under the range roof. In our line of work, it is important to stay abreast of new products and technologies–it can save lives. The emphasis for this trip was to look at both vehicle and personal armor options and at replacement guns for the aging HK MP5’s in our arsenal. I’m always surprised at how close the … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms, SWAT, Technology
Tagged SRI, SWAT Round-Up International, Vendor Row
Leave a comment
New ArmaLaser TR1 Touch-Reflex Laser Sight Review
Gainesville, FL-based ArmaLaser, Inc., is best known for their Small Block laser sighting system which features a “touch activated” switching system. If you have not seen the video where they drop their gun-mounted laser 100 times from 10 feet onto concrete, I have included it below. Yeah, the laser still worked. A couple of months ago, I saw a gun magazine ad for a new ArmaLaser product in the works for the Kel-Tec P3AT/P32 series: the TR1 Touch-Reflex Laser. I liked its sleek look. Although the Small Block has its own touch activated switch and rugged construction, I can’t seem to get past its chunky profile. I’m shallow. ArmaLaser’s new … Continue reading
Police Technology. Meh.
There have been many technological changes in the last quarter century that have made the copper’s job…different. Not always better, but certainly not the same. When I started out, our duty belts held a .38 cal. revolver (S&W M64), 2 HKS speedloaders, large Motorola MT500 portable radio, handcuffs, and rings for a full-length Monadnock PR-24 sidehandle baton and Mag-Lite. My agency made the switch to Smith & Wesson 669 9mm semi-automatics pistols in 1987. The firepower on a patrolman’s belt has definitely increased. We got hi-cap magazines for the S&W autoloader that topped off at 15 rounds. Forty-six rounds of 9mm sure beat 18 slow-to-reload wheelgun shots. My issued handgun … Continue reading
Bushnell Marine 7X50 Binoculars for Law Enforcement Use
Surveillance is a daily component of the job as a law enforcement officer. A good pair of binoculars and the understanding of how they work are essential to the task. Bushnell’s Marine 7X50 binoculars are outstanding in this arena. Why? That requires a little explanation. Tech alert: if you don’t want to learn about how binoculars work, too bad. A binocular optic enhances our vision by magnifying the light that enters our eyes. Binocular vision means having two eyes arranged for stereoscopic viewing, which gives us depth perception. The magnification power of a binocular is the first number, say, 7 in 7X50. These binoculars have a 7 power (7X) magnification … Continue reading
Evolution of the Police TASER
There is no doubt that one of the most significant technological advances in law enforcement over the last twenty years has been the development and deployment of Electronic Control Devices (EDC’s) for less lethal suspect management. The father of the modern EDC was the late Dr. John “Jack” Higson Cover, Jr., a nuclear physicist and NASA scientist. He envisioned an electric weapon that could immobilize a person without the harm of a firearm. In 1974, Cover patented an ECD named after the 1911 novel Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle—hence the name TASER. Cover’s original TASER Systems TF-1 was classified as an NFA Title II weapon by the BATF based … Continue reading
Posted in Taser, Technology
Tagged Air Taser, Electronic Control Device, Karbon Arms, PhaZZer, Police TASER, Police TASER Review, TASER International, TASER M26, TASER X2, TASER X26, Tasertron, Tom Swift and the Electric Rifle
Comments Off on Evolution of the Police TASER
Crimson Trace Lasergrip LG-405’s For Your BUG Revolver
Most cops are not gun guys or gals. I know from talking to them. I was showing my unloaded Smith & Wesson 442 Centennial Airweight back-up gun to a co-worker, when a few others happened into the office. “How does it turn on? ” “Is it accurate?” “Are they expensive?” I felt like I was showing them a Ray Gun from 1950’s science fiction. “Careful, lads, it’ll blast a hole clean through that wall!” I run Crimson Trace Lasergrips on my Smith & Wesson J-frame revolvers. My choice is the LG-405, which has slightly shorted hind quarters when compared to the longer gripped LG-305. The smaller butt on the 405 … Continue reading
Visit to Venture Ballistic Composites Shield Factory
I was in Pinellas County yesterday to visit the manufacturing plant for Venture Ballistic Composites, Inc., a maker of bullet-resistant shields for law enforcement and the Military. Venture’s President Todd Garrett talked shop and showed me their proprietary method for building ballistic shields. He even demonstrated this by building one from the ground up while I was there. Very cool! No photos, please–trade secrets. Venture Ballistics is a strongly anchored Florida company that uses American made products and buys from vendors within 50 miles of the shop. Garrett said their aim is to produce shields which exceed NIJ standards for protection, are lightweight, and are affordable. In the first year … Continue reading
M.R.A.P.S. Level III Ballistic Shield for SWAT
I was having lunch with some SWAT officers from an adjacent agency during a break in training a few weeks ago. We regularly cross-train with other local tactical teams to share info and problem solve. While we were talking equipment, they said they had just purchased several rifle-rated ballistic shields. When I asked which make, they said, “M.R.A.P.S.” I had seen the M.R.A.P.S. Level III shield at SHOT Show 2011. Baker Ballistics, LLC manufactures the shield. Baker Ballistics’ Director and CEO, Rick Armellino, gave the BlueSheepdog crew and me a demonstration of the capabilities of their Mobile Rifle Armor Protective Shield on the show floor. I was pretty jazzed about … Continue reading