Archive for November, 2015

Firearm maintenance and upgrades with Wolff Gun Springs

Wolff GunspringsMuch of firearm reliability is about the person operating it properly, gun lubrication, ammunition and magazines.    I would normally say that ammunition is extremely important because the cheaper stuff tends to run dirty and the longer a firearm runs dirty the more likely it is to have it jam. Lubrication is a close second but not all firearms need the same lubrication, I.E. bolt actions and lever actions.  I first found out about Wolff gun springs after one of my 1911s starting to have issues feeding.  Some of the rounds weren’t chambering all the way and it was primarily because the recoil spring was long overdue to be replaced, all parts will eventually break and wear out and there is always a point that you should just take the spring out and toss because it’s only a matter of time before it causes a malfunction.

Sometimes it pays to ask questions whenever you’re on a firing range with the guy that shows up with 3 or 4 1911 pistols and has target sights on his gun and does a lot of reloading.   He told me about Wolff gunsprings and I’ve never looked elsewhere for replacement springs.   They have a very large inventory for rifle and pistol recoil springs, hammer springs and magazine springs, from my experience most gun magazines can be fixed and not tossed away unless the magazine feed lips are fatigued.    Rotating your magazines and keeping a rough round count and replacing the magazine springs when you think you are getting to that point of malfunctions is called “proper firearm maintenance”.

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Magpul MBUS Flip up sights, know your gun and research what to buy

Magpul MBUS Flip Up Sights                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             There are plenty of other options out there to choose from for flip up front and rear sights for your AR15, but probable 95% of our flip up sight sales are all the Magpul ones.  I think many gun manufacturers know that after spending money on a firearm, then choosing and optic, not many people feel the need to spend $200 on a front and rear sight combo which makes the Magpul MBUS sights such a staple in this industry.  For under a $90 you can get a set from Magpul and I rarely hear of anyone complain about them.  With the many variations of AR15 designs out there, there are some pitfalls that people run into when picking out rear and front sight though.

When you are choosing a rear sight, you need to be aware that if you are intending on putting on an optic like a magnifier, you have to make sure it’s going to clear, many times people end up having to get another lower profile rear sight, I know I had that issue.  For front sights, if you have a gas block, make sure you get the Magpul MBUS flip up sights like the Pro sight or you’ll find out real fast that you won’t be able to zero your rifle properly and if you didn’t figure that out soon enough, you’ll end up melting your front sight off if you heat up your gun on a firing range.   Know your carbine and what all the variables are and don’t just think you need any front and rear sight.  We never like to run out of these in our Showroom because they always move so fast.

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Eotech Mini Red Dot Sights, Vortex, Burris and Trijicon Red Dots

Eotech Mini Red Dot Sights                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               It makes a lot of sense to have a red dot sight on your handgun because after all, remember how easy it was to use your Laser Tag gun?  Yes, that did have a red dot built into it and it was fun and easy to shoot.   Most people think red dots are for rifles when in all reality, it’s because putting a red dot optic on a handgun is often a hassle and needs a gunsmith that most people don’t want to deal with the fact that they need a gunsmith and have to wait for it to get done.  We sell a lot of rifle and pistols sights and reference a local gunsmith so they can have them get put on fairly quickly.  Another hassle of having optics on your handgun is trying to find a holster that will mount the gun properly and protect the sight.   Other than that, it’s going to be much easy to hit moving targets and acquire them with an optic.

I will say that the vast majority of my experience is with the Trijicon RMR optics and they have a proven history of working, but just like we are seeing red dot prices for rifles come down, with companies like Vortex  $200 red dots and even Trijicon coming out with a commercial market $450+  red dot, people have found that companies like Burris and Vortex are really taking a chunk away from Trijicon with their own product line.   I will say that track records really matter because there is always going to be a failing point.  The companies that have ties to the military have the longest history of putting stuff out that lasts but there are always going to be pros and cons and definitely educate yourself on the warranties before you buy.   Eotech Mini Red Dots are also something to consider checking out but it’s always nice to find a place that you an look through before buying.  With sights like this there is always one that works better with your eyes and that’s how you should choose them.

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We are a stocking Slip 2000 Gun Lubricant dealer and there’s a reason why

542We hear about Frog Lube, Fire Clean, M-Pro7 and know there are a lot of things that people can choose from to upgrade what they have in their basement.   Slip 2000 products are something that I personally endorse after dealing with a Special Forces group that was shopping in our store and told us they used this in Afghanistan.   Many of the older gun lubes like Rem Oil that everyone seems to have somewhere in their home, just won’t cut it with high rates of fire out of a semi-auto rifle.  Rifles more than handguns have to worry about these things because putting 300rds of 5.56 through a rifle is going to burn off an inferior firearm lubricant and you’re going to have metal to metal and rapid deterioration caused by friction.

Another thing we have delved into is the Slip 2000 725 Cleaning solutions that we have switched several police departments over to for their Ultrasonic cleaners.   There’s nothing better than getting local phone calls from customers that said they saw us on the Slip 2000 dealer listing and were glad to find a local dealer that stocked this stuff.   Buying gallons of cleaning solution or spray bottle is a pain in the next to ship unless you buy the 4 gallon cases and shipping charges can be high due to the weight.  We’re still running our Slip 2000 Sample promo so stop in and ask for it when you are here.   I highly recommend running your new AR15 build with Slip 2000 EWL and also consider the Slip 2000 gun grease for long term storage or for hammer springs or other high friction areas.  If you use the right firearms lube you’ll notice that after thousands of rounds, the gun won’t be worn down as bad as someone who’s cutting corners.

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Trijicon Night Sights and High Definition Sights a great for young and old eyes

Trijicon High Definition SightsThere are plenty of good companies out there that are making night sights or high definition sights for firearms.  Whether you have 30/30 lever action, shotgun or a Glock 43, there are several companies like Meprolight, Tru-Glo and Trijicon that can get the job done.   I have heard some people complain about certain sights breaking on them but in all honesty you really do have to watch your gunsmith reputation or watch how you put them on.  I’ve seen sights break because someone that didn’t know what they were doing put stress on the sight while they were trying to push it on a dovetail and it ended of breaking on the firearm, at the range, most likely due to cracking.

Glock handguns are very easy to change sights on, one of the benefits of having a company design something right in the first place.   Even if you have good eye sight you should consider checking out the Trijicon High Definition Sights  because they work really well in daylight and I really don’t even like referring to them as night sights.  They are available for all of the Glock pistols as far as I know, even the new Glock 42 .380 handgun and the Glock 42.  There aren’t a lot of SKU numbers that you have to research either, The GL101 sight works on 85% of the Glocks and Glock 20, 21, 29, 30, 36, 41 are the GL104 and the Glock 113 sights for the 42 and 43.

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The Kimber Pepper Blaster II a primary instead of a backup

Kimber Pepper BlasterThere are plenty of reasons to consider carrying a firearm for self defense, but once you educate yourself on how effective firearms are in self defense, you’ll realize why sometimes tasers and batons are more effective in close ranges than wondering if a 124gr Gold Dot is going to shut down a bad guys central nervous system.   I have seen one stop shots and I’ve seen nut jobs on PCP take shots to the head and still keep coming.   Pepper sprays don’t always incapacitate and even tasers can miss or not work.

I’ve been a big proponent of pushing people that carry firearms to also educate themselves on modern first aid and to also consider carry less lethal options as well as firearms.   Many of the CCW clothing and tactical apparel we sell makes carry flashlights, knives, pepper sprays and firearms very easy so why not consider something like the Kimber Pepper Blaster something you should consider carrying as a primary self defense weapon, with less liabilities of using deadly force, and has an effective shelf life of about 5yrs.

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Viridian Lights and Lasers and customer sales data

Viridian Lights and LasersWe’ve seen a huge surge in customers looking for night sights and lights for handguns.   There’s good reason for this and night sights and high definition sights have greatly improved and many of them are great for even daylight.   When it comes to lasers, there are still some people frown on putting lasers on Glocks or Sigs or whatever it is they have in their home, but there’s nothing wrong with it or inhibiting if you train to use it properly.   Even though I’ve seen the difference between green lasers and red lasers at distances, for handguns, I don’t see much difference due to the fact you are at much closer ranges.

Lasers can build confidence for less trained shooters but I’ve found learning to point and shoot works if the student has the time to hit the range with me.  Viridian lights and Lasers have been around for a long time but I don’t know as many people that use them as much as I know Crimson Trace.   They have a broad enough product line for the majority of Glock handguns like the Glock 26, Glock 27,  Smith & Wesson M&P Shield and Sig 238 so they are obviously marketed towards Concealed Carry.  We have several Special Forces customers that said they are using the laser light combos on their Glock 17 handguns and claim that 224 Lumens is optimum for the work they do.   Not everyone needs the laser light combos so if you have night sights already and just want the laser, definitely check out Viridian Lasers

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You can blind fold me and I’ll tell you I have a Kershaw Knife in my hand

Kershaw KnivesIt’s not always just about the blade, it’s how you are intending to deploy it and how it fits in your hand. If you can flip it open or grip it properly, then it’s not the knife for you.  Many of these tactical knives or EDC knives are very different in contour and design and its yet another one of those things many people like to see before they buy.   Kershaw seems to be at the top of the pyramid as far as quality and name recognition and they have been often known to work with other companies to build unique designs.  They are one of the top gift knives that wives or girlfriends come in our store looking for around Christmas time.

Some of the Kershaw knives we sell are are that that expensive like the Kershaw Cryo assisted knives but they have very small blades about 2.75 inch blades to a little over 3″ in relation to the size of the grips.   Nothing wrong with that but I prefer a blade like the Kershaw Ken Onion blackout with a 3.25 Blade.   To each his own but in this industry blades, handles, materials all can vary but you are going to get a lot of use out of anything made by Kershaw.  For those of that do a lot up in the mountains camping the Kershaw Camp 14″ Machete can be very useful and not something that an EDC knife can do.

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New Stuff from Spike’s, we can have your Spikes Tactical Upper Receivers built anyway you want!

Spike's Tactical Upper ReceiversThere will be a switch over at Spike’s shortly with the new Magpul M-Lok handguards but we have been selling other Spike’s configurations for years so it’s not earth shattering that the older MOE handguards are going to be obsolete.  Just an FYI, Magpul is still going to be selling the MOE rail sections for a long time to come but if you are looking for an AR15 Upper Receiver for your next build or as a secondary upper receiver, you might want to do some research on what is out now.   The thing that always impressed me about Spike’s Tactical was their own rail designs,  they are a lot lighter than they look, do also already have their own M-Lok Rail Sections, available in  SPIKE’S MLOK 7″ RAIL, SPIKE’S MLOK 9″ RAIL, SPIKE’S MLOK 10″ RAIL, SPIKE’S MLOK 12″ RAIL,   and SPIKE’S MLOK 13.2″ RAIL.

Building AR’s is the way of the future, buying a stock gun and spending $100 on accessories is a waist of money and Spike’s, after 3yrs is still the number one manufacturer that all of the people that come in here are looking.   Spike’s Lower Receiver parts kits are in high demand and if you want to make things easier you can buy a Spikes Tactical Upper Receivers in a configuration you want, or just call or email us and we can have Spike’s customize it for you.  We’re getting a lot of orders like that for our New Jersey customers that need different flash suppressors, bayonet lugs ground down ect.   We feel sorry for them but we can get the job done for you.   We are also carrying the  Spike’s 300 Blackout upper receivers now.

 

 

 

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Allen Endura Locking pistol cases, Allen Gun Cases are an inexpensive problem solver

Allen Gun CasesI have a lot of different type of gun cases, some of them are just for transporting firearms to the range, Allen Gun Socks, Allen Assault Rifle cases and Allen Endura Scope Rifle cases that I primarily use for transporting bolt action rifles with hunting optics.   Any gun case is better than no gun case because a simple slide across the trunk of your car can mean gashing your rifle stock or putting a crowbar through the 40mm scope objective lense.   While locking guns in gun cases doesn’t mean it’s going to reduce the chances of it getting stolen, it prevents people from accessing it unless you open it for them.   I’ve seen plenty of times where a kid or a family member walks over to a gun case, on a firing range and pulls out a rifle and finds out the gun is not pointing in the direction it’s suppose to.

Nylon cases can vary in price from $12 to a couple hundred and can offering varying degrees of padding for protection but there’s nothing wrong with keeping it simple.  I’m a big fan of having a case for each rifle I own just so I can tag it so I know my stuff is organized and I can transport any firearms I want to the range and not end up wrapping it in blankets like I see some people do.  There are some better things you can buy like the Allen 3 Gun Competition case since that seems to be an ever growing sport and many of our customers have trouble finding even just double rifle cases.   We just listed several new Allen Gun Cases to the list so check out what is new.

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