TACCOM 2023 – Part 2

DAY 2

Day 2 opens with an opportunity to get an autograph from and photo with Lovie Malespin.

In keeping with the theme of all the cool experiences of TACCOM, I rushed over to SFRC to try their Transcend Robotics Vantage. These are used by SWAT teams for room clearing (though sadly the gas cannons were not installed).

Check out the remote on this thing!

It can climb obstacles in forward and reverse!

just gotta turn it around

and from a sideview vantage point

again look at the remote!

thanks again to SFRC for letting us try it…and also for letting me borrow the red gun yesterday

nice to see Ryan again…this time selling Viking axes

I’ll get back to guns and gear but for now, let me stick with more great experiences at TACCOM! Such as the Clarington Woods Airsoft range!

Funny, I was wearing the same shirt when I saw a real Stoner with grenade launcher

AR15 airsoft for us to try

I have shot airsoft before but it is still always freaky to shoot something with absolutely zero recoil

By this point Lovie moved over to the Range 519 Shooting Simulator, which was quite popular with attendees.

Show-goers got the chance to shoot against Lovie for prizes and also to get her autograph

Thanks for bringing the simulator to TACCOM Dean!

More shooting experiences…the Mantis booth was one of my favourites last year, glad to see them back.

Or how about virtual reality! Gaim has a past connection to Aimpoint…

great to meet the rep from Sweden and get the details on the Bluetooth module

Ok on to presentations! First up, Solomon Friedman, lawyer extraordinaire for gun rights.

Next up, Rod Giltaca and Tracey Wilson, who just flew in from the Conservative Convention in Quebec City.

Lots of seminars today….next up, Steve from Crusader Arms with a new product introduction

This should be a hint about the next presentation, which ended up being one of the coolest I have seen at a show!

Baden K—9 has been training dogs for the Navy Seals and other elite military units for three generations. First some background info from gen 2 lol

Next the dogs are brought out for some live demonstrations

First they demonstrated how dogs are checked for wounds, either in the field or when they come back from a mission.

Next to demonstrate the dogs’ composure, they had one dog walk over the other three. Not a peep from any of them. Astonishing.

Finally the bite demo! Here comes the perp

Guess who is next?

Hahahaha not me! I bet all my haters are disappointed they didn’t get to see me get mauled by a dog hahahaha.

I think they like Lovie!

Woah who is this guy in the audience

While I would love to have a service dog by my side, that isn’t really feasible so having some self-protection skill is important. To that end, Chris from Tirsia Tactical gave us an informative presentation on situational awareness…

Followed by a demonstration of his strategy of “moving off the line” when it is too late and the perpetrator has already entered your space

Thanks Chris!

And now a real treat for me! I have watched MANY of GrandMaster Oliver “Pintados” Garduce’s videos. He is incredible!

Thank you so much for your pre-seminar demonstrations, especially with the Karambit!

On to the presentation…an introduction to Filipino Martial Arts and the Pintados style

Next a live demonstration using various weapons such as double sword, single sword, cane, and staff.

Next an introduction to Modern Arnis, the sport version of Filipino Martial Arts.

That was great!

Ok back to gear. I was really looking forward to visiting Sportsman Group to check out the lineup of Cloud Defensive lights, which are reputed to be among the most powerful out there.

With super high Candela ratings, these lights have incredible throw and easily penetrate glass without dispersion.

One of the features I really like is the adjustable depth of the firing button. This is accomplished by removable rings.

Also being brought in by the Sportsman Group, the King Competition Pineshot shell carrier from Finland.

Another one I was anxious to see, thanks to Code of Arms great video, the Byrna Launcher. This non-lethal solution shoots .68 caliber round kinetic projectiles that can disable a threat from up to 60-feet away.

What you get in the kit

It’s available in orange

and grey

the business end

with serious stopping power

very intuitive to us shooters

Back this year with their great line up of smoke grenades, Enola Gaye Canada, this time accompanied by distributor TAGinn.

Love the grenade water bottle (yes, I bought one lol)

Cool helmet

I picked up a box of FBG4 flashbangs (which have to be orange in Canada)

And a box of Thunder Flash

I forgot to take a pic with the helmet so ended up coming back on Day 3 for that lol

Alright, I will close off Day 2 with one of my favourite booths of the show! I came back here A LOT and made several purchases lol. I am talking about the MGear booth of course!

First, congrats to MGear for getting a patent for their famous RFID modular wallet!

Some early prototypes on display

In case you are not familiar, the wallet allows you to attach different faceplates and tools, keeping everything in a secure compact package

MGear was also running the Holodeck again.

I got my 3-D action figure in 2019 and the technology has evolved quite a bit since then. Some examples on display

Look at that, Master Ken made it to TACCOM 2023 after all!

But the Filipino Martial Arts section was the best part of the booth for me! In addition to the ongoing demonstrations, it featured an incredible selection of authentic knives and trainers hand-made in the Philippines, including my favourite, Karambits!