Initial Thoughts on FIREClean

So I am sure many of you have seen the review that I did about Froglube last month, one thing that I did not post was that Froglube does not work very well on NiBx BCG's. I found this out on the last trip I took out to the range. I loaded the magazine up, charged the AR and sent the first round down range. While that first round went down range the excess froglube that was on the BCG sprayed out of the upper from any opening that it could, my face was covered in it. That was the last time I will use Froglube on a NiBx BCG.

In steps FIREClean, when I had contacted them about my giveaway they sent over a little extra for me to use and review. I had been hearing and seeing a lot of great things about it, and I had been curious to try it out. So when they sent the extra bottle to me I was more than excited to try it out.

I took my BCG out of my AR and cleaned off whatever was left over from the Froglube before and gave it a nice cleaning and lube using FIREClean.

I will say this, I am extremely impressed by how well it cleaned the grime on the BCG and even helped to lighten up some of the staining that I was seeing from use. Although the BCG wasn't super dirty I still took a before and after picture of the bolt, and you can see the difference between them.

The NiBx was slick before but now it slides out of my hand if I'm not gripping it tight enough. When installed in the upper it glides really smooth.

I am really looking forward to getting some range time and run a few hundred rounds down range and see how easy it is to clean the rifle up afterwards. Once I have done that I will post up another report on it along with before and after pictures.

90% of Households...

I am sick and tired of this push for "Universal Background Checks", every time I hear anything about it there is always mention that 90% or more of American households are in support of having universal background checks. Now hold on just a second, just a few days ago I asked on my Facebook page how many of the people following the page had been involved in these "polls" that come up with the 90% statistic, and I wasn't surprised to find out that 135 of the responses were no.

So where does this 90% of households support universal background checks come from? Well in my opinion it's a made up statistic that is being touted as "fact", because when you use the word "fact" the unenlightened tend to believe whatever follows that.

This morning I got up and checked thegunwire.com and saw that Mr. Gabby Giffords had released a video that he had made when he went in to purchase the .45 handgun, and subsequently saw the AR-15 that he was also going to purchase (which the store owner has now reversed). In this video he is trying to prove that background checks are too "easy" and that they should take longer than 5 minutes. However he is an ex-astronaut who has never been convicted of a felony, who doesn't use marijuana, and is a legal resident of the US. How long does he think a background should take? 10 days like California? He says in the video that the shelves are a little barren at the gun shop and the guys working there told him it was because of the rush on firearms, which of course he says "I don't understand why" either he is dense to what is actually happening, or he is a terrible liar, I am going with terrible liar.

Now how does making a law abiding citizen go through more stringent background checks, more red tape, and wait longer to purchase a firearm stop criminals and the mentally ill from acquiring a firearm? I mean a criminal is willing to break the law no matter what, so what is going to stop them from going out and acquiring a firearm illegally? If they are going to use it for a crime I am pretty sure they don't care about doing a background check.

These common sense gun laws like banning high capacity magazines, the assault rifle (weapons of war) ban, universal background checks, etc. are not common sense at all. Rather they are aimed to slowly dissolve the second amendment rights that we are guaranteed, effectively making it harder and harder to protect you and your family.  If the rush on guns and ammo says anything it is screaming that American's do not want gun control, yes there are some Elites out there who would have you believe that the majority of America is for gun control, and banning assault weapons and high capacity "clips", but American's are not for this.

We are still in for the fight of our lives against the legislation that is being proposed, this will not be a quick and easy fight on either side. We cannot let our guard down for one second, we must continue to pay attention, and keep letting our legislators know that we will not give another inch. If they are willing to ignore us and continue on with the push for more citizen, I mean gun control, make it clear that you you will do everything you can to vote them out the next time they are up for election.

Why I Carry

Ever since I applied and received my Concealed Carry License I have been asked why it is that I feel a need to carry a gun with me. Many times that question is followed with "There's not a whole lot of crime that happens where we are, so what makes you feel unsafe?".

My response for the longest time was "I carry because I can." and I would leave it at that. However there have been many times that I have reevaluated my reasons for carrying, and I can honestly say that I don't see a single reason not to.

The way that I see it we live in a fallen society that has lost sight of the value of a human life. Everyday we hear of how someone was attacked, wether the attacker(s) had used a gun or bare fists is besides the point. The fact is that someone wanted to either do grievous harm, or wanted something that the victim had. There are no "safe" places when you begin to realize and understand that evil exists in this world, and can at any time decide that it is your turn to be terrorized by it.

So I now answer the question "Why do you feel a need to carry a firearm?" with a question that I hope makes the person asking think long and hard, and that is "Why allow yourself to be a victim in a society that is plagued by random acts of violence?".

The fact is that we are the first responders to violence that could possibly directed at us at any moment. We can either choose to be a helpless victim when faced with the possibility of physical harm, or we can choose to take a stand and protect ourselves. I have heard it time and again from many different sources, the police cannot be there to protect you, they are only able to make it there to take a report or try and save someone's life who has already been injured. I for one want to have a fighting chance, and I want the ability to be able to protect my wife and son if anything were to ever happen. As it has been said many times before a gun levels the odds against you.

In closing I pose this question to all of you. Why do you carry a gun?

Deep Concealment Rig IWB Holster

As many of you know I recently lost my source to the awesome Kydex holsters I was having made, but I don't blame him for taking time away from making holsters because family comes first.

So I had to start searching around to see what other companies were still small, and had a short turnaround time since there were 2 new guns heading into my collection. When I put the feeler post out there that I was looking for a new holster maker you guys and gals offered up some great options and I appreciate it very much.

This holster was made by Rogers Custom Kydex Holsters, it is smaller operation but the turnaround time isn't obscenely long as it is with some of the other manufacturers out there. Also the communication is awesome every question that I had was promptly answered, this is always a major plus when working with a new company.

I decided to with the Deep Concealment Rig for my M&P Shield since I prefer to carry IWB the majority of the time, it is just easier to conceal in every season. When I had talked with RCKH and let him know what it was that I had been looking for in an IWB holster he highly suggested the DCR, and I am glad that he did.

The holster is very small but not so small that it feels inadequate to carry the Shield, it is in my opinion just the right size. There have been other IWB holsters that I have seen that were huge for such a small gun and I have never really understood why they were made that way.

The J-Hook placement and single screw attachment are perfect for me to adjust the holster to where it is the most comfortable for me to wear throughout the day. The J-Hook itself is tough and seems like it will hold up for a very long time, even with practice drawing and holstering.

The retention of the holster is perfect, the gun requires just enough pull to get it to release from the holster, not so much that it requires you to yank really hard but not so little that it "falls" out of the holster. Right now my holster is a little tight when I put the gun in it but I am sure that over time that will change a bit and it will require a little less force to go in.

The fit and finish show that there was plenty of care put into the making of the holster, there aren't any rough or sharp edges to be found. The overall attention to detail lead to a very well made holster, that is comfortable to carry and doesn't dig into your body.

Overall I am very happy with this holster so far, I will be doing a follow up review for it here in a month or so to report on how well the holster is holding up and if there are any issues that I run into. However at this point I can say that I would use Rogers Custom Kydex Holsters again when another gun makes it's way into my collection.

Remington 870 Magpul Stock

Recently I had the opportunity to pick up a Remington 870 Tactical from my not so local gun shop. When I was there I had looked at the 870 that already had the Magpul Stock and Forend, I liked the way that they both felt when holding the shotgun, however I didn't care too much for the price being $349 more than the tactical. So I skipped the 870 that was loaded with the magpul parts and stuck with the basic tactical 870.

Since I had liked the Magpul parts so much I began checking to see how much it would cost me to get them and install them myself, and after doing a little searching around I found that Amazon had the best deal on them (especially if you have Prime). To order both parts it is $135 shipped via 2 day shipping, which for the tactical 870 that I picked up would put it at a total of $485, which isn't too shabby for an extremely reliable shotgun and some awesome Magpul pieces on it.

Installing the stock:

The installation of the stock was extremely easy, I just removed the old factory stock and installed the Magpul stock. Adjusting the length of pull is simple, there is a screw on the left hand side of the stock that you remove and then pull the rubber butt plate back and out, there are 4 total "spacers" that take the L.O.P from 12.5" to 14.5". While the spacers don't blend into each other it doesn't bother me since they are only there for function.

First impressions:

I will say that my first impressions when removing the Magpul stock from the factory box were that it was solid and very well made. When compared to some other plastic/polymer stocks that I have seen at stores the Magpul is built like a tank, it has some weight to it but not so much that it is an inconvenience  or annoying. I am very pleased with the finish of the stock, and I feel that it is on par with every other Magpul item I have owned.

Range time with the stock:

Last week I had the opportunity to run out to the range a run around 50 or so shells through it with the new stock installed. Even though I need to add one more spacer to stock it still felt great, the butt pad that comes with it does a great job of absorbing the recoil. I ran a few slugs and a lot of bulk federal shells, and the amount of recoil that I felt with this Magpul stock was significantly less than what I had felt with the factory stock.

The cheek weld that I have using it with the standard front bead is perfect, but I am sure that if I toss on a rail and a red dot I will want to add one of the cheek riser setups that they offer. For now though the way that it is setup works just fine.

Shellback Tactical COBRA belts

Ok so for a long time I was using a belt that was very old and badly needed to be retired, but I always had a hard time bringing myself to spend the money on a quality belt. When I finally spent the money on one I went with OSOE's Cobra belt off of the recommendations of a few forums and reviews, I was happy with it when I got it and the quality was pretty good but not as good as some people had raved. Yea I may have gotten one that wasn't up to snuff but it just felt like it wasn't the quality I had been led to believe it would be. So I kept looking for the same style belt but from a different company, and like before I had a really hard time bringing myself to spend the money on one. Then recently AR15News.com posted that Shellback Tactical had Cobra belts in stock and there was a sale on them, so I placed my order for one.

Let me say that the shipping time from Shellback Tactical was phenomenal, from the time I placed the order to when it arrived in the mail it was a week and a half. That was more than impressive to me since many of the other sites had lead times of 3-4 weeks to make the belt and then ship it out, and if many of you are like me it's hard waiting to get new items that you ordered.

The first thing that I noticed when I removed the belt from the packaging was that the stitching was very clean, no loose fibers or ragged ends. The belt itself was much more rigid than the OSOE belt that I had and the overall construction of it just felt like it was better quality.

When wearing a holster on the belt it does great, it holds the loops of the holster tight enough to keep it from shifting yet allows me to change the position of the holster as needed without having to completely loosen the belt. When using an in waist band holster the belt keeps it in place and holds the J-Hook steady when drawing my M&P Shield.

The belt is stiff but not so overly stiff that it is uncomfortable, and honestly most of the time I don't even really notice it almost like it is just meant to be there. The original belt I ordered had impressed me so much that I sold my OSOE and ordered the SBT Cobra that comes without the D-ring.

Shellback Tactical's pricing is also extremely fair when compared to many of the other companies out there, and their shipping rates are very reasonable. Overall I am very happy with both of the belts that I own, and when it is time to replace one of them I plan on ordering another one from SBT.

Safe for now?

Today I have seen it announced on many different news sources that Harry Reid has turned down Dianne Feinstein's AWB bill, even though this is a "win" it is a small win. We are still facing multiple other bills that are written to limit our Second Amendment rights, while the Assault Weapons Ban was one of the biggest concerns that we as a community have had it was just a part of the major assault on our rights. Also as I said in a post the other day, right now they are bringing the most ridiculous and restrictive bills forward as a sort of "Shock and Awe" tactic to get the Second Amendment community up in arms and then bring forward another bill that is more of a "compromise" which will still bring more restrictions to our rights.

I have also been paying close attention to the bill that is currently waiting to be signed by the Governor of Colorado, and if there is one thing that all of the controversy there has shown me; is that many legislators believe that they know what is best for their constituents even when their constituents are telling them what they really want and know that they need. This is something that is very scary to me because it shows that there are legislators out there who are no longer afraid of the people and the power that the people have, that makes them very dangerous.

I am curious to see where this all goes from here, and what sort of compromise bill ends up being brought forward in the very near future.  As I say in every post, continue to make your voice heard and let the legislators know where you stand.