We’ve been wrapped up with banks refusing to service the outdoors industry, newly manufactured micro-medium-capacity autopistols and impending federal infringements on civil rights. Now, as it’s spring, it’s time to look at some of the gear that’s out there. While some of this arrived for evaluation, conditions have been such that there’s been little in the way of evaluation and more in the way of cataloging. You’ll see which is which soon.
First, something I ordered on recommendation of Mr. Chuck Haggard, legendary lawman. Health has been on everyone’s mind and I bought D-Wipe Towels from ESCA Tech, Inc. Unlike the alcohol handwipes for disease control, these towelettes have a “gentle pH balanced skin cleaning solution” which “neutralizes the static charges of metal dust while lifting and binding them to the fabric for quick removal from the skin without rinsing or smearing.”
That means it gets the lead off – and you know you shouldn’t be smoking, drinking or eating during shooting evolutions; using D-Lead is supposed to take all that junk off you before you can ingest it, lowering the chances of lead accumulations in the body – a noble goal. As I’ve been using these on the pitifully few range trips I’ve had, I can attest to the “gentle” nature of the cleansing solution they use. I can’t prove they work, but Chuck swears by them and I see no reason not to use it.
Followed by a cold-water wash (warmer water opens pores), it’s a good way to keep the lead monster at bay.
Late last year, I saw a CDNN ad that featured the Pro Mag GLK-A18: 18-round magazines for the GLOCK 44. I’m happy with the 10-round OEM magazines – and like most people, I’ve heard that Pro Mag is not always what it could be in the quality department.
The company website says it’s made of a proprietary DuPont Zytel based polymer and has a heat-treated chrome-silicon wire magazine spring.
After the magazine arrived, I loaded it with 18 rounds of Winchester Super-X – a bit of a chore – and put it back in the bag, locking it in the safe. It was early March before I got to the range. You’ll never guess what happened next.
I didn’t do a mag dump – even without ammo prices and availability, such flummery is meaningless unless I get some good out of each round fired. So, it was drills until the slide locked open on the last round.
I shot the “wobble zone,” “alignment error,” “close combat” and a walk back drill through that magazine.
It worked for all 18 rounds and locked the slide open. And that wasn’t a fluke. I did it again. Now I can’t speak to the longevity of the Pro Mag GLK-A18 magazines. Just that this sample of one worked throughout the morning. And I’m very glad to see that.
I received a set of Trijicon DI Night Sights from Trijicon. Now I’m not a big fan of fiber optic sights, but this set has a twist: the set comes with a tool to replace the filaments, the rear sight is the Trijicon HD variety, a favorite of mine, and the front sight has a tritium element forward of the fiber optic – keeping it glowing in the dark. A threaded retainer is used to hold the fiber in place; the retainer color matches that of the fiber – and various colors are available.
Sadly, with other personal projects going on, it was clear I wasn’t going to be able to fit the sights – the rear sight does require fitting, even with the new Real Avid Master Sight Pusher – which I’d not gotten to use yet. I asked shooting partner and former Ready for Anything Wire correspondent Mike Rafferty to see what he thought.
As I suspected, the rear sight had to be fitted to the slide, something he did carefully. As to the Real Avid Master Sight Pusher, he was impressed.
“It works great and will push a car. It takes a little longer to set up than most but supports the slide better than most. Still needs a scale to measure movement of whatever is being pushed. If it has one, I must be blind.”
I’d figured out that it was broadly adjustable, even to the small nub used to remove dove-tailed front sights. The topside handle and torque handle combine to make it powerful – even without locking it into a vise or using a ratchet to turn the handle. I also noted the lack of graduated lines to be able to see how far you’re moving the sight.
Still, it’s a bargain and is a valuable addition to any armorer or tinkerer.
The sights are bright and that HD rear notch is a sight for old eyes; wide open, formed in a “U,” it’s a nice space to center that bright front sight. Now to zero the piece …
For those who think cleaning firearms is a good idea, Otis Technology now offers their Professional Pistol cleaning kit specifically for GLOCK pistols. They even include a slide cover plate with a USA flag design. A magazine plate remover (a good idea) and their 8-in-1 T-tool includes about all you’d need to maintain your pistol. Being an Otis product, it uses their “breech-to-muzzle” cleaning protocol and adds a solid rod, a Ripcord Pull-through bore cleaner and Shooter’s Choice FP-10 CLP. The kit cleans 9mm, .40 and 45 pistols.
Next, I received examples of the Sentry Series 2 Hexmag. Meant for AR pattern firearms, the standard is a 30-round polymer body magazine. Made of a material described as POLYHEX2, it’s a professionally rendered item. Made in the US, the new ammo-feeding device has stripper clip guides, redesigned feed lip geometry for flawless function, a deeply cut magazine catch and a tool-free take down design for maintenance. The spring is heat-treated stainless steel.
It looks good and I look forward to trying it out. But apparently, they heard about my gun cleanliness habits. I also received a sample of the Sentry products I recall from years gone by: Tuf-Glide CDLP – cleaner, dry-lube, protectant – and a Tuf-Cloth. Not like the silicon-impregnated cloths of old, the Tuf-Cloth is a lint-free cloth that provides oil-free lubrication and protection. It displaces moisture and is safe for wood and plastic. I’d used them years ago.
Sentry has a selection of gun maintenance products – and more.
-- Rich Grassi