All posts tagged 9mm

Boresnake life span, are they worth it?

Are they worth it?  Do they hold up to heavy use?   I have the same 22 caliber bore snake and it has been used in 22LR rifles, AR15 rifles, M4 Carbines, AK74 and Mini 14s.   The same bore snake is approximately 6yrs old and probable gets used about  50 times a year.   I usually run the snake through the gun about 2 times.   I may only need to do it once, but i’m use to using cleaning rods and just get in the habit.   I almost only use Break Free CLP on my firearms, and the occasional grease application, and gun cleaning is now simple.

Cleaning revolvers is probable easier than some semi-autos because there is nothing you really need to disassemble.   I have been using the Hoppes boresnakes for rifle the majority of the time because handguns just don’t seem to be that much of a hassle and I’m really not that worried about how clean the barrels are for any particular accuracy reason.    When it comes to cleaning out a bolt action rifle like a Winchester M70,  It sure does make a difference in cleaning time when you do a one, two, and then just wipe the gun down and put it away.   If you clean the guns often, from my experience there is very little worry about hard to clean areas.

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Otis butt stock cleaning kit

The first time I ever got a hold of an Otis gun cleaning kit I was kinda overwhelmed with the amount of brushes and tools that were in it.   It was a universal rifle and pistol cleaning kit and I was kind of bothered by how much stuff was jiggling around inside the pouch.   I know now that this was a little more than what I really needed, but once I figured out how to use the kit and what all of the tools were for all of the other cleaning kits from Otis were easier to use.   This is from someone that started out with a bolt action 22LR rifle and a Hoppes gun cleaning kit from K-Mart.

The gun cleaning that I have grown to hate usually is from the AR15 direct impingement guns I own.   I have heard numerous firearms instructors tell me that there is such a thing as too much cleaning, and knowing exactly what parts to lube and clean on an AR15 is the key to firearm maintenance.   The Otis gun cleaning kits I use now are specific to the firearm I am cleaning. Hoppes boresnakes have served me well, but getting into the parts of an AR15 especially the locking lugs is difficult without an AR15 brush designed for that type of chamber.  There are times you will need to literally scrape the locking lugs of an AR15 and Otis has the tools and gun cleaning kit for your needs.

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Some say that a shoulder rig isn’t good CCW

Some say that a shoulder rig isn’t a good way of concealing a firearm, but I’d have to say that I think it’s the most comfortable way to carry a medium size auto.   There are considerable differences in the fit of each should rig, but I have actually found that Bulldog and Uncle Mike’s have made some really nice holsters that are very inexpensive.   If you are wearing a good gun belt you won’t have any bunching up where the straps latch on and if you are carrying a firearm in the winter, this can help free up the room around your belt line and give you some other jacket options that aren’t full length.

Galco gun holsters are still making the popular Miami should rig, but I’m not a big fan of the horizontal holsters.   These are banned at most of my CCW courses because it’s hard to actually use the holster and not sweep someone behind you if you are on the firing line.   I prefer to carry large size Sig Sauer pistols when I know I will be wearing a jacket full time and I like to carry them in something other than inside the pants gun holsters. I have recently picked up a Sig 229 in .357 Sig that I hope to get some good practice time in.  I don’t think it’ll be much of a big change from going from a Sig 228 9mm to a Sig 229.   There is a noticeable amount of weight but a whole bunch more punch.

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gun parts and tools and thinking ahead

I recently got myself into a situation with a CCW gun wear a magazine that was stored for a long time ended up not functioning properly even though the springs in it were fairly new.   I believe the Sig 239 pistol magazine had less than 100rds through it when it was left loaded for approximately 2yrs.   I’ve heard debates about single stack pistol magazines holding up better than double stack magazines,  but I’ve come to the conlusion that it is NEVER a good idea to leave a full loaded rifle or pistol magazine for more than a few months.   It’s best to rotate your carry ammo especially if you are cleaning  your sidearm fairly often.   After about 3 chamberings of any ammo, the ammo really should be used and not loaded back into a firearm.  Bullet separation is something that will eventually happen, and the last thing you want your gun to do in a defensive situation is to blow up.

I highly recommend getting a gunsmithing video on dissassembling or assembling your firearms so that you can familiarise yourself with firearm maintenance.   A big problem I have run into when doing maintenance is having the right tools to actually take guns apart and replace hammer springs and firing pin springs.   A Glock pistol is probable the easier to take apart and for just about $5 you can pick up glock dissasemble tool to replace any Glock parts you think you need replaced.   Do a search on youtube to see if you can find any free instructional videos, but also check with AGI or the manufacturer because there’s a good chance something is posted from the factory reps.

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New tools new tactics

Whenever we run a novice student through a carbine course, one of the first things we teach them after the basic saftey and shooting techniques is barrel sight offset.   Since so many people are using AR15 type rifles, there is a considerable distance between the place where a scope points its crosshairs and where the bullet is going to impact at close ranges.   Something like a Trijicon ACOG gives you a good idea of what people mostly use and we show crosshairs pointing at a dot and where the bullet hits approx 2 inches below that.   This really only has a purpose in showing a shooter what could be applied is using a firearm in self defense in a hostage type situation.

Since lasers have been improving and prices are coming down, we see them showing up more and more on handguns.   While I suggest people take a look at the price they are paying for them and do a lot of research on the durability of the product, a whole new can of worms emerges when sighting in your crimson trace or lasermax laser sights.   Depending on how your laser is mounted, there will be a windage offset that needs to be known.  Crimson Trace laser grips on revolvers can project from right above the grip area or there is a newer style that projects next to where the barrel line is.   Each have their pros and cons, but there is still an offset.   With new tools, there are always slight changes that need to be made to insure an operator knows that with distance, bullet impacts change.

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Belt holsters and pocket guns

gun holstersI highly suggest that when people are carrying  a firearm, even if they are not carying  a backup firearm, should at the very least have atleast one other item on them that they could consider using in a defensive application.   Some may sound funny, but if you were a bad guy, getting a set of car keys jammed in their face or having a belt buckle being used as a pair of brass knuckles or a whip is not something they would want to be hit with.   If you are carrying a pocket gun, and don’t have the ability to comfortable carry mace or another less lethal weapon, try using a belt that has a slightly heavier than normal belt buckle and remember that you can always use it as a whip if need be.

The best CCW methods are hinderance in other situations.    Something like an ankle holster would be a good backup method or white collar environement where someone in an office environement or seated postion may find it practical.    Driving in a car while dressed up and heading to a wedding may make you look like a nice juicy target for a theif who spots your wifes diamon earings and may target you for a car jacking ect.    Ankle carry can be good in these types of situations.   Pocket carry is probable the most pratical and easiest to access, but you are most likely shooting one of the smallest capacity or caliber firearms.   Ankle gun holsters are completley impractical if you are going to be doing a lot of street walking and trying to pull a firearm from your ankle in the middle of a hostile situation is something I don’t even want to think about.

 

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Police trade in getting fixed up

glock barrelsI think more than half the guns I have picked up for my collection were police trade ins.    CDNN investments is always one of the best places to find used handguns.   If you are a Glock, Sig or Beretta gun lover.  Check out their yearly catalog for used but hardly shot guns.    I picked up a Glock 17 a few month ago and like many of the guns that are trade ins, this gun had mostly holster wear on the outside.    One of my friends got one that was much more worn especially around the barrel.   While something like barrel wear has to be analyzed closely, it rarely is much of a concern to me.   Many of the used firearms you find in gun shops probable have less than 500rds  through them and the reason they look beat up is because of the holsters that they were used with and the fact the owner didn’t clean them very well.

I have a few rifles that were not maintained as well as others and you can see the difference in firearm wear after a few thousand rounds.   My friends Glock 17 did show signs of not being as accurate as mine so I did suggest he look into getting a new barrel.    For another $150 or so, you will get your accuracy back and from my experience, most glock barrels can just be dropped in.    Even though there is much to back that Glocks do not need as much lubrication, it’s still a good idea to maintain your firearms, mostly to reduce the amount of wear and tear.    I’ve seen huge variations in Beretta 92FS barrel wear just because I could tell the operator was not lubing their pistol correctly.   I’m also a big fan of using small amounts of grease in specific areas of handguns just because it grease doesn’t dry up or slide off as easily.

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Training with primary and secondary mags

Gun MagazinesPromag and Mec-Gar make decent magazines, I wouldn’t suggest them as primary magazines, but factory new magazines can be pricey.  I would suggest regardless of which number of magazines you are normally carrying, keep 3 or 4 range mags for each handgun you own.

Whenever you get to the point where you are putting hundreds of round down range to train for work of for your concealed carry firearm, you may want to consider getting some secondary gun magazines for training and blasting and save your primary magazines for carrying.   I would strongly suggest that you put enough rounds through your primary mags but there’s no need to burn those out too fast.

 

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