Shock can occur for a number of different reasons. Trauma, blood loss, severe temperature exposure, burns. Even emotional trauma can cause the body to activate this defense mechanism, but what is shock?
There are a few different types of shock, but basically, it happens when the body isn't getting the amount of oxygen rich blood that it needs to survive. When this happens the body begins to prioritize where the blood that it has left gets sent. It will stop sending blood to areas like the skin and digestive system where its not immediately needed for survival in order to continue sending it to the vital organs. For this reason you will note a pale clammy look to someone's skin if they are beginning to go into shock. You may also note their lips turning a bluish color and their eyes becoming distant or glazed over. They may be in an altered mental status as their brain is not receiving the required amount of oxygen (slurred speech, anxiousness or combativeness). Of course, shock can be treated for before you even see any signs of it. Just by knowing what causes it you are already aware that it is a possibility and should treat for it automatically whenever something serious happens until the victims condition stabilizes.
The most common type of shock you will encounter in a survival setting is hypovolemic shock. This means there is not enough blood for the heart to distribute. Usually caused by severe trauma resulting in massive blood loss. Although shock should be considered in almost any circumstance, it should only be treated after the initial cause. Always check your ABC's (airway, breathing, circulation) first. Treat any broken bones and blood loss but if a spinal injury is suspected do not move the patient. Once the initial treatment is done you can start treating for shock. Make sure the victim is comfortable and laying down. Loosen any restrictive clothing or jewelry. Since the body is no longer regulating its temperature the way it should be, keeping the victim warm is important. Cover them with a blanket. If they are outside in the elements and no spinal injury is suspected try to get another blanket or mat under them as well to keep them dry. Log roll the person gently while supporting the head to do this. If they begin to vomit or choke you can lay them on their side and manage their airway in this manner but otherwise have them lay comfortably on their back. Elevate their feet 8-12 inches to help keep the blood in the torso where its needed most by the vital organs.
Due to the lack of blood volume during this kind of emergency the heart begins to beat faster in an attempt to get more blood distributed. You will notice their pulse and breathing get rapid and weak. Because the heart will be working harder and harder its critical to keep monitoring your ABC's and be ready to perform CPR or rescue breathing procedures should their condition get any worse.
Cardiogenic shock is caused when the heart is no longer working the way it should. The volume isn't the problem here but the blood still isn't getting delivered. The treatment remains the same but keep in mind that you must always treat the cause first. Trying to stabilize someone who is in shock will be useless if they are still bleeding or if their heart is stopped.
People can also go into shock as a result of an allergic reaction. This may be marked by difficulty breathing, itching, swelling, and abdominal pain. Most who have allergies this severe will carry an epi pen, which is an auto injecting syringe that they will need. Many people are able to administer it themselves but if you think this is what is happening ask them where it is. You may need to give it them. Epi pens are usually administered in the thigh.
In any type of situation where it is possible to call for help, do so immediately. Most of the information here is based on a wilderness survival setting or situation where help may not be able to get to you. Basic first aid should always be a priority. Always remember ABC (airway, breathing, circulation), but during any serious injury begin treatment for shock before you see it. It could mean the difference.
Emergency services phone numbers worldwide:
999.....UK
911.....USA/ Canada
191.....Thailand
190.....Brazil
119.....Jamaica
117.....Phillipines
112.....Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Moscow, Romania, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Columbia
111.....New Zealand
110.....Japan
101.....Argentina
100.....Israel
080.....Mexico
000.....Australia
Monday, December 23, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Emergency first aid kits.
A lot of people are starting to realize that having an emergency bag (bug out bag, 72 hour bag), or whatever you want to call it is a good idea and there have been many articles and videos on just what should go into these emergency kits. While I could go on forever on this subject from what items to have or leave out to what brands are better than others, I have decided to write a brief article narrowing it down to one particular item, the first aid kit.
Now, everyone has a different idea of things that should be included in an emergency first aid kit but most agree on all of the basics. Bandages, gauze, alcohol pads, maybe an ice pack, but there is a huge difference between a first aid kit that you keep at home for your children's many bumps and bruises and a kit that you have in an emergency bug out bag. The key word here being "EMERGENCY".
Your bug out bag is a kit that you have put together to keep you alive in the most life threatening situations you can imagine. Weather you are lost in the woods or stranded in a vehicle off the road in the middle of nowhere, you need to rely on this bag and everything in it to get you home safe.
I have seen a lot of videos on "25 dollar bug out bags" or "budget 72 hour emergency kits". Not everyone has a great deal of money to spend on these things and I understand that but one area you do NOT want to cut corners is your first aid kit. People, please, do not buy a box of assorted band-aides from the dollar store and think you have a first aide kit in your bag. Any injury I end up with that can be taken care of with a band-aide is not an injury I am going to be that worried about. I am not saying you shouldn't have those on hand as well but what is a box of band-aides going to do for a gash that wont stop bleeding, a broken limb, a sucking chest wound. These are injuries that can and will kill you in a survival atmosphere if not taken care of properly. A million dollar store bandages will never take the place of a properly applied pressure dressing.
In an ideal setting, your first aid kit should be as complete and inclusive as the rest of your pack. Realistically, I know that its not possible to carry forty pounds of medical gear on top of the rest of your equipment, but here are a few must have's that I think everyone should consider.
1) Pressure dressings.....If you have a serious wound that has not stopped bleeding after ten minutes or so of applying pressure with gauze or clean cloth you have a problem. Pressure dressings are very cheap and every first aid kit should have a couple of them in it. If you don't have one you can make one a couple different ways. A roll of gauze can be placed (in its rolled up form) on top of the wound and then secured in place with an ace bandage. The roll will apply greater pressure than any bandage and the ace wrap will allow enough flexibility as to not cut off your circulation and essentially turning your dressing into a tourniquet. You can also use a maxi pad, yes you read that right. Maxi pads are super absorbent and designed to stop blood flow. Throw a couple of them in your first aid kit, it will come in a lot more handy than your spiderman band-aides. Here is a picture of what a Pressure dressing basically looks like.
2) Peroxide/alcohol.....I'm not talking about the little prep pads you get in kits that are great for cleaning up jr's skinned knee. I am talking about a bottle of alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. In the woods in a survival setting infection can be your worst enemy. You do not want to run out of this stuff. Dressings on serious wounds should be changed 2-3 times per day and should be cleaned properly each time. A whole box of prep pads wouldn't last 24 hours in this type of situation. You can get a bottle of isopropyl alcohol for a buck. Throw a couple of them in there.
3) Rolled gauze.....Beside the previously mention pressure dressing usage this stuff comes in handy much more often than the pads. Have a few pads in the kit as well for smaller stuff but the rolled gauze does a fantastic job of keeping things tidy.
4) Quickclot.....This stuff goes by different names but it is basically a powder that can be dumped onto a wound that immediately stops the bleeding by a chemical reaction. It wont be the cheapest item in your kit but it could potentially be a life saver.
5) Ace bandages.....You should have several of these in your kit in varying sizes. They are great for keeping a dressing in place without causing too much pressure and cutting off your blood flow to that extremity. They can also be used to hold ice packs in place or even make an emergency sling if you had to.
There are a few other items that don't need as much of an explanation that I feel are must haves such as a pair or two of latex gloves (less chance of infecting a wound you are treating), a pair of trauma sheers to quickly cut clothing away from an injury, finger splints, something you can make into a sling (large square cloth), and a bottle of ibuprofen or aleve (the anti-inflammatory affects help a lot with swelling, reducing pain in injuries like sprains which are very common out in the woods.
There are a million items that you can put in a first aid kit and everyones kit will be a little different. If you have allergies or are on medication of any kind you should obviously pack some of these meds in your kit as well if possible. (asthma inhaler, blood pressure meds, insulin and the like) and any over the counter antibiotics you can get, these items could make the difference between life and death in a survival setting. Other non essential but invaluable items to have may include sun block and poison ivy treatment. Personalize your kit for your own comfort levels but please include some of these essentials and prepare for the more severe side of first aid.
Now, everyone has a different idea of things that should be included in an emergency first aid kit but most agree on all of the basics. Bandages, gauze, alcohol pads, maybe an ice pack, but there is a huge difference between a first aid kit that you keep at home for your children's many bumps and bruises and a kit that you have in an emergency bug out bag. The key word here being "EMERGENCY".
Your bug out bag is a kit that you have put together to keep you alive in the most life threatening situations you can imagine. Weather you are lost in the woods or stranded in a vehicle off the road in the middle of nowhere, you need to rely on this bag and everything in it to get you home safe.
I have seen a lot of videos on "25 dollar bug out bags" or "budget 72 hour emergency kits". Not everyone has a great deal of money to spend on these things and I understand that but one area you do NOT want to cut corners is your first aid kit. People, please, do not buy a box of assorted band-aides from the dollar store and think you have a first aide kit in your bag. Any injury I end up with that can be taken care of with a band-aide is not an injury I am going to be that worried about. I am not saying you shouldn't have those on hand as well but what is a box of band-aides going to do for a gash that wont stop bleeding, a broken limb, a sucking chest wound. These are injuries that can and will kill you in a survival atmosphere if not taken care of properly. A million dollar store bandages will never take the place of a properly applied pressure dressing.
In an ideal setting, your first aid kit should be as complete and inclusive as the rest of your pack. Realistically, I know that its not possible to carry forty pounds of medical gear on top of the rest of your equipment, but here are a few must have's that I think everyone should consider.
1) Pressure dressings.....If you have a serious wound that has not stopped bleeding after ten minutes or so of applying pressure with gauze or clean cloth you have a problem. Pressure dressings are very cheap and every first aid kit should have a couple of them in it. If you don't have one you can make one a couple different ways. A roll of gauze can be placed (in its rolled up form) on top of the wound and then secured in place with an ace bandage. The roll will apply greater pressure than any bandage and the ace wrap will allow enough flexibility as to not cut off your circulation and essentially turning your dressing into a tourniquet. You can also use a maxi pad, yes you read that right. Maxi pads are super absorbent and designed to stop blood flow. Throw a couple of them in your first aid kit, it will come in a lot more handy than your spiderman band-aides. Here is a picture of what a Pressure dressing basically looks like.
2) Peroxide/alcohol.....I'm not talking about the little prep pads you get in kits that are great for cleaning up jr's skinned knee. I am talking about a bottle of alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. In the woods in a survival setting infection can be your worst enemy. You do not want to run out of this stuff. Dressings on serious wounds should be changed 2-3 times per day and should be cleaned properly each time. A whole box of prep pads wouldn't last 24 hours in this type of situation. You can get a bottle of isopropyl alcohol for a buck. Throw a couple of them in there.
3) Rolled gauze.....Beside the previously mention pressure dressing usage this stuff comes in handy much more often than the pads. Have a few pads in the kit as well for smaller stuff but the rolled gauze does a fantastic job of keeping things tidy.
4) Quickclot.....This stuff goes by different names but it is basically a powder that can be dumped onto a wound that immediately stops the bleeding by a chemical reaction. It wont be the cheapest item in your kit but it could potentially be a life saver.
5) Ace bandages.....You should have several of these in your kit in varying sizes. They are great for keeping a dressing in place without causing too much pressure and cutting off your blood flow to that extremity. They can also be used to hold ice packs in place or even make an emergency sling if you had to.
There are a few other items that don't need as much of an explanation that I feel are must haves such as a pair or two of latex gloves (less chance of infecting a wound you are treating), a pair of trauma sheers to quickly cut clothing away from an injury, finger splints, something you can make into a sling (large square cloth), and a bottle of ibuprofen or aleve (the anti-inflammatory affects help a lot with swelling, reducing pain in injuries like sprains which are very common out in the woods.
There are a million items that you can put in a first aid kit and everyones kit will be a little different. If you have allergies or are on medication of any kind you should obviously pack some of these meds in your kit as well if possible. (asthma inhaler, blood pressure meds, insulin and the like) and any over the counter antibiotics you can get, these items could make the difference between life and death in a survival setting. Other non essential but invaluable items to have may include sun block and poison ivy treatment. Personalize your kit for your own comfort levels but please include some of these essentials and prepare for the more severe side of first aid.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
The NFL's broken moral compass.
Recently the NFL denied Daniel Defense the right to air their commercial during the superbowl. Daniel Defense, (for those of you who don't know them) is a company that produces firearms, firearm accessories and parts, and clothing. The NFL stated that they could not allow DD to air their commercial because it violated the NFL policy on advertising guns. The policy states that the NFL will not promote gun companies in their ads but that companies or department stores that sell gun may advertise as long as they don't promote the guns or show them in the commercial.
The Daniel Defense commercial shows a man arriving home to his wife and baby, talking about how life is so much different since he has been back home (a shot as he is walking in his door shows us that he is a United States marine). He then talks about how he loves his family and has a duty to protect them, and that no one can tell him how he can do that. No gun is shown at all in the entire commercial except at the very end when DD's logo appears with the shadow of an AR15. For the record Daniel Defense offered to replace their logo with an American flag and was still denied.
So lets break this down...DD sells clothing and other items besides guns...they did not show any guns in the commercial and even offered to change their logo to please the ever rapidly devolving NFL...and yet they were still told that they could not show their commercial during the biggest sporting event of the year because the NFL feels like they have some kind of moral obligation that prevents them from promoting the defense of ones family? I guess they feel a lot better about promoting all the alcohol companies that make up for a large portion of their advertising dollars, or maybe they are saving that spot for one of the many violent video games or movies they advertise for. The NFL promotes safety by preaching about concussions every week, their millionaire employees need to be kept safe after all, but the defense of our families is too sticky a subject for the commissioner to get involved in. Well Roger Goodell, I would like to borrow a line from a Mark Wahlberg movie here to tell you that "your moral compass is so screwed up I'll be surprised if you can find the parking lot."
Ok, I will get down off my soap box now and just close by saying that when those of you who will be watching the game this year (I wont be) see the newest Grand Theft Auto game being advertised right after a Bud light commercial lets remember that our good friends at Daniel Defense were told our families safety violates NFL policy.
The Daniel Defense commercial shows a man arriving home to his wife and baby, talking about how life is so much different since he has been back home (a shot as he is walking in his door shows us that he is a United States marine). He then talks about how he loves his family and has a duty to protect them, and that no one can tell him how he can do that. No gun is shown at all in the entire commercial except at the very end when DD's logo appears with the shadow of an AR15. For the record Daniel Defense offered to replace their logo with an American flag and was still denied.
So lets break this down...DD sells clothing and other items besides guns...they did not show any guns in the commercial and even offered to change their logo to please the ever rapidly devolving NFL...and yet they were still told that they could not show their commercial during the biggest sporting event of the year because the NFL feels like they have some kind of moral obligation that prevents them from promoting the defense of ones family? I guess they feel a lot better about promoting all the alcohol companies that make up for a large portion of their advertising dollars, or maybe they are saving that spot for one of the many violent video games or movies they advertise for. The NFL promotes safety by preaching about concussions every week, their millionaire employees need to be kept safe after all, but the defense of our families is too sticky a subject for the commissioner to get involved in. Well Roger Goodell, I would like to borrow a line from a Mark Wahlberg movie here to tell you that "your moral compass is so screwed up I'll be surprised if you can find the parking lot."
Ok, I will get down off my soap box now and just close by saying that when those of you who will be watching the game this year (I wont be) see the newest Grand Theft Auto game being advertised right after a Bud light commercial lets remember that our good friends at Daniel Defense were told our families safety violates NFL policy.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Concealed carry tid bits
About six months ago I finally booked an appointment and took a course so that I could obtain my Maine concealed carry permit or CCW. I have been carrying every day since I have been able and thought I would share a few things with those who may be thinking about getting their permits, or maybe already have them and are fairly new to it like I am, so that they can evaluate what works best for them and their every-day lives.
First, I would like to point out that I was completely shocked, although not necessarily disappointed at how easy it was to obtain this permit in my state. Maine is a "shall issue" state, meaning if you don't have a criminal background or any other issues excluding you from being able to own or carry a firearm, they will give you a permit. They do require that you attend and "graduate" from a NRA certified home firearm safety course and complete the application through your local police chief before you may be able to carry a concealed firearm. In Maine the minimum to achieve this is a $65.00/ 8 hr. course with no shooting required. Easy enough right? After graduating the course, which is basically just showing you understand what the instructor is saying and showing you can hold a gun without putting everyone in danger, you must then get an application from your chief of police and pay another $35.00 filing fee. (Why does filing a paper cost $35.00?)
Once you have done this its just a waiting game. It took my permit about six weeks to come in. The town office/police station where I live called me personally when it arrived so I could go sign it in front of them. It was just an ordinary piece of paper stating my name and address and the name and signature of the chief of police. I laminated it myself so I wouldn't have to pay another $5.00 fee to get another one in three months when mine ripped or made a trip through the washing machine.
Now, every state has completely different requirements for this process so before anyone starts leaving me all kinds of nasty comments saying I am full of crap about how easy it is to get this permit, please realize this. (Yes, it has already happened) The info I am providing is for Maine only and it is to acquire a Maine only permit. I was told that thirteen states honor Maines permit but if you want a permit that's good for the entire country you will need to attend a more extensive course for more money.
Ok, now that all the details are out of the way we will get on to my actual experiences carrying. This is something that should be thought out before hand because you will begin to realize very quickly that the way you thought you might want to carry and the gear you dream about carrying every day begins to be a nightmare once you do. Once you make the choice to carry a firearm you should carry it every day, everywhere (within your legal rights of course) This means finding a handgun and holster that will feel comfortable, not just for a few days, but for everyday carry.
The gun/holster combo should be something that works no matter what your doing or how you are sitting. Some methods of carry feel great while you are standing and are horrible when you sit down. When I started out I carried on the small of my back. I found out very quickly that this was completely useless when I was sitting down and could possibly injure me severely if I was pushed onto my back. I have since moved to carrying on my strong side hip in the "4 oclock" position. (If your body was a clock with your belt buckle at 12 oclock. This position allows me to sit and stand without adjusting and even lay down on my back comfortably. The less time you have to adjust or remove your sidearm the better. If you spend a lot of the time on the road driving this may mean a shoulder holster so your weapon is not pinned to you by your seatbelt. The clothing you wear every day will have a lot to do with how you want to carry and you may want to buy certain items of clothing specifically for this. I bought a couple of lightweight open front jackets for this purpose. If your job requires you to wear blazers or sport coats then the shoulder holster may be ideal. Also please check with your local laws because while it is perfectly legal to carry open in Maine, some states do not allow it and if your concealed handgun becomes not so concealed you can get in trouble for it.
If you choose to buy an "inside the waistband" holster be aware that these take time to break in. It may not be very comfortable at all at first but it will eventually conform to your body's angles and contours and soon , if your gun isn't a brick, you should barely know its there. I also recommend carrying a spare mag, flashlight, or whatever other every day items you may carry in the same spot on the other side as to offset the weight on your hips a little. (You would be surprised how much this helps). Depending on how fitted your clothes are to begin with you may want to buy pants a size bigger so you are still comfortable after the thickness of the gun has been taken up.
Try not to carry in spots you may perspire a lot (small of back for men). Wiping down your gun all the time is a pain and unnecessary if you place it right. This is also why many people opt to carry stainless steel guns that don't rust or corrode as easily.
Whatever way you chose to carry, carry that way all the time. Get used to it. Practice unholstering and drawing on target (with an unloaded weapon) so that if and when you ever need to it will be second nature. You may think it would be easy to know where you are carrying but if you carry in different places all the time when the fight or flight response kicks in and you have seconds to react you don't want to draw a blank and reach for your gun to find out its not there today.
Well that's it for now, I will share more things as I learn them and hopefully I can help someone who is just figuring it out for themselves. Please train with your firearm and be safe, there are already way too many people giving us gun owners bad names, lets not help them out.
First, I would like to point out that I was completely shocked, although not necessarily disappointed at how easy it was to obtain this permit in my state. Maine is a "shall issue" state, meaning if you don't have a criminal background or any other issues excluding you from being able to own or carry a firearm, they will give you a permit. They do require that you attend and "graduate" from a NRA certified home firearm safety course and complete the application through your local police chief before you may be able to carry a concealed firearm. In Maine the minimum to achieve this is a $65.00/ 8 hr. course with no shooting required. Easy enough right? After graduating the course, which is basically just showing you understand what the instructor is saying and showing you can hold a gun without putting everyone in danger, you must then get an application from your chief of police and pay another $35.00 filing fee. (Why does filing a paper cost $35.00?)
Once you have done this its just a waiting game. It took my permit about six weeks to come in. The town office/police station where I live called me personally when it arrived so I could go sign it in front of them. It was just an ordinary piece of paper stating my name and address and the name and signature of the chief of police. I laminated it myself so I wouldn't have to pay another $5.00 fee to get another one in three months when mine ripped or made a trip through the washing machine.
Now, every state has completely different requirements for this process so before anyone starts leaving me all kinds of nasty comments saying I am full of crap about how easy it is to get this permit, please realize this. (Yes, it has already happened) The info I am providing is for Maine only and it is to acquire a Maine only permit. I was told that thirteen states honor Maines permit but if you want a permit that's good for the entire country you will need to attend a more extensive course for more money.
Ok, now that all the details are out of the way we will get on to my actual experiences carrying. This is something that should be thought out before hand because you will begin to realize very quickly that the way you thought you might want to carry and the gear you dream about carrying every day begins to be a nightmare once you do. Once you make the choice to carry a firearm you should carry it every day, everywhere (within your legal rights of course) This means finding a handgun and holster that will feel comfortable, not just for a few days, but for everyday carry.
The gun/holster combo should be something that works no matter what your doing or how you are sitting. Some methods of carry feel great while you are standing and are horrible when you sit down. When I started out I carried on the small of my back. I found out very quickly that this was completely useless when I was sitting down and could possibly injure me severely if I was pushed onto my back. I have since moved to carrying on my strong side hip in the "4 oclock" position. (If your body was a clock with your belt buckle at 12 oclock. This position allows me to sit and stand without adjusting and even lay down on my back comfortably. The less time you have to adjust or remove your sidearm the better. If you spend a lot of the time on the road driving this may mean a shoulder holster so your weapon is not pinned to you by your seatbelt. The clothing you wear every day will have a lot to do with how you want to carry and you may want to buy certain items of clothing specifically for this. I bought a couple of lightweight open front jackets for this purpose. If your job requires you to wear blazers or sport coats then the shoulder holster may be ideal. Also please check with your local laws because while it is perfectly legal to carry open in Maine, some states do not allow it and if your concealed handgun becomes not so concealed you can get in trouble for it.
If you choose to buy an "inside the waistband" holster be aware that these take time to break in. It may not be very comfortable at all at first but it will eventually conform to your body's angles and contours and soon , if your gun isn't a brick, you should barely know its there. I also recommend carrying a spare mag, flashlight, or whatever other every day items you may carry in the same spot on the other side as to offset the weight on your hips a little. (You would be surprised how much this helps). Depending on how fitted your clothes are to begin with you may want to buy pants a size bigger so you are still comfortable after the thickness of the gun has been taken up.
Try not to carry in spots you may perspire a lot (small of back for men). Wiping down your gun all the time is a pain and unnecessary if you place it right. This is also why many people opt to carry stainless steel guns that don't rust or corrode as easily.
Whatever way you chose to carry, carry that way all the time. Get used to it. Practice unholstering and drawing on target (with an unloaded weapon) so that if and when you ever need to it will be second nature. You may think it would be easy to know where you are carrying but if you carry in different places all the time when the fight or flight response kicks in and you have seconds to react you don't want to draw a blank and reach for your gun to find out its not there today.
Well that's it for now, I will share more things as I learn them and hopefully I can help someone who is just figuring it out for themselves. Please train with your firearm and be safe, there are already way too many people giving us gun owners bad names, lets not help them out.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Wrap it. Grip it. Shoot it. JBG gun grips
I would like to let all you gun owners know about a great product I tried out recently from JBG gungrips. JBG makes cutom grip panels for just about any firearm you can imagine and they fit perfect! My most recent project was a Mossberg 500a pump shotgun that needed some repair. I bought it for fifty dollars and refinished it in black with a shortened barrel but the clear coat didnt create a great place to grip the stock. It was so smooth that it was almost slippery if your hands and the stock were not completely dry. I looked all over the place for some kind of solution until I found JBG.
They make self adhesive (and these things are adhesive!) grip panels for your firearm which have a sandpaper type feel to them for an amazing grip. They are completely removeable without tearing up your paint or finish and they are one of the most affordable gun accessories on the market. Here is a picture of the shotgun stock with JBG gun grips on it.
I have to admit, I was a little aprehensive at first about how permanant these grips would be but they are made from a type of adhesive that is both extremely sticky and easy to remove if needed, and what a grip! This shotgun stock went from something I was nervous about holding onto if my hands were sweaty to something I dont think I could let go of if I tried. From handguns and assault rifles to special purpose shotguns, JBG has it all and you will not find a better price on any kind of gun grip on the market. I am thinking about ordering a variety of them just to have on hand. If there is something you need that you dont see on their website you can email them, they are great at getting you exactly what you need. Go check them out!
They make self adhesive (and these things are adhesive!) grip panels for your firearm which have a sandpaper type feel to them for an amazing grip. They are completely removeable without tearing up your paint or finish and they are one of the most affordable gun accessories on the market. Here is a picture of the shotgun stock with JBG gun grips on it.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
WASR GP 10/63 project.
I bought a WASR GP 10/63 rifle a while back (luckily before the surge in semi-auto rifles began) and figured I would make it a rainy day project since I can almost never leave anything alone. For anyone who doesn't know what this rifle is, it is an AKM variant modeled after the original AK-47 design. This rifle is made in Romania using surplus parts from actual Romanian military rifles. Originally these weapons were shipped to the United States during the Clinton era "assault weapons" ban, which was from 1994 to 2004. During this time 30 round double stack magazines were banned and so these rifles were made with narrow magazine wells to accept 10 round single stack magazines. Century arms imported them and replaced several parts with american made pieces to comply with the federal regulations. These rifles were known as the 10/63...10 being the magazine size and 63 being the year of the design. The newer versions of this rifle are known as the GP 10/63 for "general purpose" and are not to be confused with the originals which developed a reputation for being cheap weapons. It is true that the price of one of these WASR's is significantly lower than many other brands of AKM, but there are several reasons for this. First, the romanian made AK variants far outnumber any other country's design and are imported much more, obviously driving the price of the rarer models up. Second, the WASR rifles come with the bare minimum in order to keep prices low. This rifle did not come with a strap, extra magazines, or carrying case and the wood parts of the gun are unfinished. This saves the consumer quite a bit of money because it costs the manufacturer less to make it.
I wasn't smart enough to take before pictures so this is a picture of a WASR GP 10/63 I found online. You can see that this person has a strap on thiers but mine came without one and the wood was sanded to about 80 grit.
The first thing I would recommend to anyone who buys one of these is to seal or finish the wood to prevent it from rotting. This isn't very expensive and improves the life of your weapon tremendously. I chose not to use any stain on mine but instead replaced the handguard with an aluminum quad rail and gave the butt stock several layers of spray on Rustoleum clear coat after sanding it down to 400 grit. This spray dries quickly and offers a layer of protection from dropping damage or water. Next I bought a couple cans of ultra flat camo paint and colored the top cover, quad rail, rear sight block, and magazines. I then gave those parts the same clear coat treatment I gave the stock. I also added a muzzle break to the barrel. The rifle came with a barrel nut welded onto the muzzle so I had to break through the weld and clean it up to attatch the new part. Here are a few after pictures.
The rifle itself was 530 dollars (probably more now) and with another 10 dollars in paint and a little sandpaper it now looks like this. The black rubber grip sections you see on the forward and pistol grips are made by Manta-rail and the rail covers which I have in olive drab and black are UTG. As usual , feel free to email or comment any questions and I will be glad to help out.
I wasn't smart enough to take before pictures so this is a picture of a WASR GP 10/63 I found online. You can see that this person has a strap on thiers but mine came without one and the wood was sanded to about 80 grit.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Spikes Tactical ST-T2 Buffer
I recently purchased this product for my Bushmaster xm-15. My rifle is a 16" with a carbine length gas system. While being compact and very easy to move around with, one of the flaws carbine systems have been associated with is a more violent reaction within the upper reciever due to higher gas pressures than that of a full length rifle system. This is because the expanding gases have less distance to travel before reaching the action, thus hitting it with more force. This more violent action sends the bolt carrier back at a higher rate, having more impact on the buffer and causing more stress to the buffer spring. Most companies dont consider this when making their carbines and install the same parts they install in their rifle systems. As a result, these carbines sometimes suffer premature malfunctioning of some of the internal parts. Spikes tactical has solved one of these problems by creating the ST buffer. Instead of solid weights shifting around inside this buffer, Spikes uses high density tungston powder to create a smoother shift in weight. These buffers come in three different weights to completely customise the effect it has on your carbine. The one I purchased was their middle weight, the ST-T2. This buffer is heavier than the standard carbine buffer which makes it harder to throw backwards by the bolt carrier, minimizing the harmful effects. It is also constructed of solid billet aluminum so there is no chance of it falling apart. It functions flawlessly in my carbine after hundreds of rounds and seems to also lighten the felt recoil due to a smoother reaction within the buffer tube. If you are looking for a great product at a reasonable price, try it out. Spikes also combines usefulness with a very cool look (see picture). These can be purchased in many places including Spikes Tactical's website, Ebay, or many other AR-15 parts retailers.
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