Musings about bail out bags - pt1: From the nightstand to grab bag (i.e. grab it during bump in the night or when the FD makes you leave because of fire)

Lots of folks have a "night stand" gun. I do. But what happens when you need to be mobile with the pistol? Do you go around/out with it in hand? Depending on where you live that may not be such a good idea.

I usually have a holster nearby but pajamas don't make a good platform. A possible solution? The "man bag"....I have posted about my Maxpedition Fatboy Jumbo a few times now and maybe I am just trying to justify its expense, but I am finding that it comes in more handy than just as a quick way to pack a pistol while walking the dog in the summer (and carry dog treats and water). It makes a great "grab bag."

Think of this scenario--there is loud knocking at your door in the morning. A voice says: "This is the Fire Department, you need to evacuate your house immediately!" -- Glancing out the window you see a fire truck hooking up houses to your nearby hydrant.

I give you this example because it happened to us. Our next door house was on fire and the fireman said that we were potentially only a minute or two away from our "flashing" and being in flames too!

We literally grabbed pants, jackets, shoes and anything important into the safe on the way out. My Glock 23 on the night stand came with me in my Maxpedition. Along with a couple spare mags (and dog treats and poop bags).

Luckily, the FD came in time to put out the fire and save our house from "flashing." The neighbor's house was not so lucky. It was condemned from fire/smoke/water damage.

But what if our house had caught on fire? Scary thought but it could happened through no action of our own. As much I like my Maxpedition it would not make a good bag if we had to stay in a hotel overnight (or longer).

Thus, IMO the next step is the 24hr bag (or variation like the 72hour bag). So, that's next...

http://www.promatic.biz

These guys offer some really nice really equipment -- club level.
They offer a 5% discount for instructors and shooting groups.

As an instructor you are eligible to join ProMotive.com. It is an outdoor industry related group that offers training/discounts from quite a few companies (around 100).  It is free and you join a "team."  The group you need to request is "Tactical Instructors." If you need an invite let me know, I can send one.

Here is an invitation link: Promotive

They offer discounts on a variety of manufacturers, mainly outdoor sports type gear.

There are a few but a few that I remember off the top of my head are: Woolrich Elite, Eberlestock, Gregory, Gerber, SOG, Crimson Trace, Leupold, Bushnell, Big Agnes (camping), Camelbak,  Helly Hansen, Spyderco, Fenix, NovaTac, WigWam.

The only disadvantage is that availability of products and pricing really varies from vendor to vendor.

Membership is free so check it out!

Another one that I am not sure how I missed until now.

Here is the website's link: http://www.crimsontrace.com/Home/WhyLasers/Training/NRACertifiedTrainers/tabid/300/Default.aspx which has a lot of cool info.

But here is the actual pricelist: CTC-NRA-Purchasing

It is 40% MSRP.

Also offers a discount that you must sign up for. Here is the link to request the info: http://www.lasermax.com/Service/LEMilitaryNRADiscounts.aspx

Sorry, I do not actually know what the discount is.

From Philsohn and his website: http://woodinvillearesgroup.org/Inst...Discounts.aspx
Here is a link to the discount they offer: http://www.viridiangreenlaser.com/dealer/discounts/

Sorry, I have no idea what it works out to actually be.

Don't know how I missed this one up until now...

Aimpoint_2011_NRA_Instructor_Form

Good news! I have confirmed that the 2009 Price list is still valid (that means that they haven't increased prices in two years!)

Mossberg Fundraiser 2009 order form

Should be renewed, however last year's website discount code has been disabled.
Query sent.

I have conrmed that it is active this year with Blackhawk. It is a web coupon code from the NRA Shooting Education Newsletter, issue 44: Winter 2009. It is  good for 25% off. I have confirmed that it does work.

The only thing is that it is off full retail. You can find similar pricing from Botach Tactical or OpticsPlanet and get free shipping too. Blackhawk does have fair shipping though ($5 for a CQC holster and an adapter for UPS Priority).

Thanks to Marc for providing this request form from Rossi:

RossiYHEP