Cart
0
You may also like
Remember, if you don't look cool you'll die. Of course that's not true but many people definitely fall down that rabbit hole when they first start out in the gun world. While we haven't been a gun store for 20 years, we get a lot of foot traffic from people who are entering the firearms world or trying to expand their knowledge and skills. Often times people understand red anodized parts on their guns don't make them a better shooter, or that their fabric Uncle Mike's holster is not good for everyday carry. Sometimes people will buy those items, and get dragged on social media for their lack of knowledge and that causes the change. In this article we'll delve into items that we recommend first time gun owners and those who are trying to expand their skills.
An OTIS Compact Cleaning Kit
Glock is one of the few brands who include a cleaning rod and brush when you buy a firearm from them, but that's not nearly enough when cleaning a gun. Many times people get into guns and they never clean them. It is paramount that when you buy a firearm and start shooting that you learn how to take apart the firearm (field stripping) and be able to clean the firearm's mechanical parts. There are plenty of options for firearms cleaning on the market and we happen to sell the kits from OTIS, a government contractor for cleaning kits. The OTIS cleaning kit is compact and fits in any range bag or mounts to a very small MOLLE footprint to have anywhere on or in your kit. The OTIS cleaning kit has been issued to all branches of the military due to their durability, size and relative low cost.
A Black Hills Designs Extract-R AR-15 Multitool
Piggybacking off the cleaning kits, many times having a specialized tool for takedowns, adjustments or carbon scraping will save you time, effort and the pain of doing it with your hands. A good multitool like a Leatherman or Gerber is a great option, but many times they will not have everything you need (you could make those work though) and a more specialized tool would be better. Gerber makes a great AR-15 multitool that we have once in a while but we also stock some smaller, do-it-all options from Black Hills Designs (Red Clover Gear) and B5 Systems. Both of these tools feature castle nut wrenches, hex bolt tools (for optics) large or small flat heads for optic adjustments, and carbon scrapers. The Extract-R from Black Hills has AR-15 malfunctions in mind while the B5 multitasker focuses more on in-a-pinch maintenance. Both are compact in their own rights and can fit anywhere in your kit.
A Blue Force Gear Vickers 2-Point Sling
One of the best things you can buy for that new fancy black gun isn't an optic, light or anything close to that. A good sling will do you much better than all the other fancy stuff, you should still buy an optic and a light (a quality one, don't buy O-Light/Temu/etc.) eventually but make sure you do some research first. A good sling shouldn't break the bank, depending on the rifle, you may have fixed mounts built into the gas block or butt plate but you may need mounting hardware as well. We only recommend two point slings (one points have their place, just not on AR-15s) as you have the most range of motion with one as well as the least amount of slack off your body. We sell the Blue Force Gear Vickers Sling that has been adopted by the Marines and the Army as well as the the Viking Tactics VTAC sling which is our personal favorite. Both of these slings have been tried and true on many different weapons throughout the Global War On Terror.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of things we recommend when someone first buys a firearm and comes to us. We have a brick and mortar store here in Alexandria Virginia where we carry a full line of Magpul parts and accessories to include PMAGs, grips and mounts that we do not sell online. We also have a rotating inventory of cases from Magpul, Pelican and other brands that don't break the bank. We hope this helps you to making a decision on your next step towards being a well rounded firearm owner.
