Your dad deserves the best; make every day Father’s Day

by John C. Krull

 

The Gun Mag Production Manager There seems to be a Hallmark card for every occasion. Most of them I don’t agree with and don’t celebrate or observe in any way. But there are two non-political, and non-religious holidays that I believe really serve a purpose. As I write this we are celebrating one of them, Mother’s Day, May 12 this year, and it also happens to be my brother Justin’s 50th birthday, who was born on Mother’s Day 50 years ago.

Father’s Day was first inaugurated in Spokane, WA, at the YMCA, and was founded by Sonora Smart Dodd. Its first celebration was on June 19, 1910.

My parents are both gone now but I do think of them and talk with my siblings about them on these two special days.

Fathers can be special. They teach us how to do so much. They help form our opinions and beliefs from our beginning days. So it is only right to not only honor them in some way but to also present them with some token of our appreciation on this day as a thank you for all they have done for us. So here goes with some suggestions on what your gun owning father might to happy to receive.

The next few items are all from Brownells (200 S. Front St., Dept. TGM, Montezuma, IA 50171; phone: 800-741-0015; online: brownells.com).

All the items are related to either gun care, gunsmithing or gun cleaning.

Often you need special tools to modify or enhance one of your firearms or you need to take it apart to repair or clean one of them. I have found that Brownells has the tools in stock and ready to ship when you need something.

I also believe that many gunowners to some extent fancy themselves as being amateur gunsmiths.

Last year when I renewed my NY state dealer’s license I also chose to check the gunsmith box, therefore becoming a legally licensed gunsmith.

What I needed now was more tools then I previously owned. I own several Ruger 10/22s so one of the first things I got was a video that goes into disassembly/reassembly of the Ruger 10/22 rifle. It can be so much easier to follow the instruction on the video and learn to disassemble a gun in the order that they show you rather than just going willy nilly. You will probably get the job done but with a lot longer period of time and with a lot more frustration than you wanted.

There are many other videos on other makes and models of guns including the SKS, Remington shotguns, and Mossbergs. These videos cost somewhere in the range of $16 to $32.

Something that I wanted was one of Brownells’ canvas gunsmith long work aprons. I have ruined far too many shirts by getting cleaning solvents and oils on them while working on a gun.

I’ve learned my lesson. Why not get one of these aprons before you ruin another shirt. They are priced at about $35.

They also have a very long neoprene apron that can be worn when bluing or working with acids.

Many jobs require you to remove and install several different types and sizes of pins and roll pins. Brownells has the tools for doing both.

Just for roll pins alone there are several different sizes of punches and a couple of different types. I’ve been using roll pins primarily to pin the collapsible stocks on AR-type rifles, so that they can’t move. Once we get the stock set to the size that the customer desires then we have to install roll pins in New York state because the politicians don’t trust us to have AR-type rifles with a movable stock. This rule only applies to semi-automatic rifle, it is okay to have a collapsible stock on pumps and bolt action long guns. To start the installation of a roll pin you can use a roll pin starter punch. This will prevent damage to either the roll pin, the punch or the gun. These punches come in several different sizes so you might be better off to buy them as a set rather then buying them individually.

This goes for the roll pin holder punches also. They come in different sizes and can be bought individually or as a set. The set that I got has seven different sizes. Another option that Brownells offers is their roll pin punch set. This set contains 19 different punches and is available at a cost of $104.99 with an additional $10 for a bench block to hold them neatly on your work bench.

While talking about roll pins, there is a kit available that has 850 pins in it, in 8 different diameters and at different lengths. This kit has a price tag of $64 and will pay for itself if you use many different sizes. What I did was buy four bags of replacement roll pins in two common sizes and two different lengths with either 36 or 24 pins per bag, at a cost of $5 per bag.

This has served me well and has so far fulfilled all of my needs. In the future I’ll stock up on more as I have the money and the need.

It seems that Brownells has an economical way for you to do most anything that you need to do. Whether it be buying tools, parts, or accessories.

Other really useful tools are their extra large bench blocks. These are made of a material that won’t mar your gun. In the past I had usually resorted to drilling holes into a piece of maple wood that I have, which can work, but the bench blocks work better. Here is what they have in the online catalog about their bench blocks: “Extra size and weight helps keep these blocks where you put them and the big face eliminates much of the ‘balancing act’ when you’re driving pins. Cannot mar even the most highly polished surface.

Two different models. Green is for rifles and shotguns, drilled with four through holes for easier pin removal and disassembly. Convenient, center ‘V’  holds cylindrically shaped parts steady so they won’t roll. Blue is for revolvers and pistols. Larger through holes and partial ‘V’ holds pistol barrels for easier link pin installation and removal. Can be drilled or modified with hand tools; will not melt when machined.” I have the blue pistol block which I’ve been able to use on both rifles, pistols and revolvers.

The blocks only cost about $19 each and are well worth it.

There are several operations performed on firearms that require that holes be drilled and tapped. Brownells has put together a Drill & Tap Kit that has most, if not all, of the drills and taps you will ever need to install sights and scopes, among other accessories. This kit contains the proper drills and carbon steel taps with a T-handled tap wrench to do the jobs right. They also include a bottle of Brownells Universal Do-Drill to use during the drilling and taping operations. This kit costs $122 but will pay for itself with just the installation of a few scopes. Replacement parts are available for those times when you break off a tap in a hole, and it is probably going to happen sooner or later if you do any amount of work.

To get a real feel for the amount of items that you can find at Brownells you need to visit their online catalogs.

They have their main catalog, which in the paper version is 688 pages long, and they have several specialty catalogs like their 1911 catalog and their AR-15/M16 catalog. Just in the last few weeks they have come out with a new specialty catalog devoted to personal defense. The number of items available is truly mind-boggoling. If none of these items suggested will suit the need of your father, I’m sure with just a little browsing you will find something that will fill the bill.

Another really helpful item I ordered from Brownells was a Baby UpLULA.

This is a device that will help you load your smaller magazines, .22 caliber to .380 ACP. I have several other devices that are used to help me load magazines.

 

It just makes the job so much easier. The Baby UpLULA will cost you about $33.50 and the wear and tear that it saves on your thumb will be most appreciated.

That’s gonna be it for Brownells for now. I think you should have the idea by now that they have a lot of stuff.

Good stuff. Stuff that your dad or any gunowner can use and would be glad to receive.

Next I want to introduce you to a book that I just got in the mail last week. I was on one survival website that led me to another website. I ended up at the website of Creek Stewart. Now I don’t know why I hadn’t heard about this author/ instructor before now because I do a lot of surfing of the web on preppers and survival websites. There are a lot of books on Bug-out Bags. I’ve even done several articles on them. The commercially available ones always are a good start but always need a lot more gear to make them servicable. There are also a lot of books, articles and pamplets telling you what you need in your bug-out-bag, but they don’t tell you what you are supposed to do with the gear, where to get it, or how to use it.

Finally I have found a book, written by Creek Stewart, called Build the Perfect BUG OUT BAG. Not only does Stewart tell you what you need, but why you need it, where to get it and how to use it. The book is 208 pages long and is full of useful pictures. You know what they say about pictures being worth a 1,000 words. They can be.

The book contains 19 chapters and goes from getting to know the bug-out bag and how to select the proper pack, followed by chapters on fire, food, water, shelter, first aid, tools, protection and self defense, even bugging out with pets; not necessarily in that order.

I think this is the first time that anybody has really said anything about bugging out with pets, other than that you need to do something with them.

Being a card-carrying Red Cross shelter manager I know that we aren’t allowed to let you in with pets. Personally I wouldn’t be able to go without my dogs. I have packs for them so they can at least carry their own food.

Stewart’s book is $16.99 and can be ordered from his website, which is willowhavenoutdoor.com. He also has a new book out, The Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide, but I haven’t read it yet so we will save that for another time.

The last item I’m going to tell you about is one that I just found out about a couple weeks ago and it just arrived last week. Cowboy action shooting is getting bigger every year.

It seems—that and it is quite appropriate— that Colt 1911-style pistols are showing up more and more. Safariland (13386 International Blvd., Dept.

TGM, Jacksonville, FL 32218; phone: 904-741-2500; online: safariland.com) has just introduced a new holster, the Bianchi Cowboy Wild Clearwater Rig for Colt 1911-style pistols.

The pictures accompanying the press release showed an amazing looking piece of leather work. It looks even better in person, holding my Colt 1911 Gold Cup.

The holster and belt can be purchased separately, and are made of premium-grade vegetable-tanned fullgrain leather. The holster is lined with full-grain leather for a smooth and rapid draw, while the belt is suede-lined to maintain holster position on the waist.

The holster features an adjustable belt loop that allows for 35-degree forward or rearward cant, allowing for a customized draw. The holster can be worn strongside or cross-draw carry. I think I’m going to go for the cross-draw. The belt is 2.25- inches wide with tapered ends and has the option of having loops for .45 calibers ammo.

Both the holster and belt are available in brown or black. The MSRP on the complete rig is $230 but the holster can be bought for $110 and the belt for $120.

They are well made, pretty to look at and very practical.

They are worth the dollars you would be investing.

That’s it for this Father’s Day. I hope that it has given you some ideas other than a tie or another pair of socks for your dad. He really deserves the best.

When talking to any of these distributors or manufacturers be sure to tell them that John at TGM sent you.