This is my very first blog post. I plan to do a series focused around my experiences with different firearm projects, the parts I’ve used, both good and bad as well as the various tools that while many times aren’t necessary, they make the end product much easier to produce. Of course my experience is just that, my experience, opinion and knowledge. I am not a professional, although I have a lot of background and depth. So a little background on me…I am a lifelong gun enthusiast…even back to when I was just a young lad at 5 years old, I remember following my dad around on some of his hunting trips. Marveling at the tool for the job, whether it be a shotgun, an old Belgium Browning Auto 5, a rifle like his Marlin 1895 saddle ring .44 magnum or a muzzle loader. I was always interested in what my dad was using to hunt and shoot. Unfortunately I lost my dad in 2017 unexpectedly, but so fortunate as both a child and as an adult to have such great influence from him. Truly would not be who I am today if not for my dad. One of my projects led to him getting a chance to shoot an old Japanese Type I rifle my grandad, his dad had brought back from the Pacific after WW2. That rifle was damaged during the shipment home.
So in my younger days I spent many of my days as a young lad roaming around the woods wearing surplus camouflage and other milsurp items like packs and belts. I even had some bayonets, although in todays society, it’d probably be frowned upon if a youngster was walking around dressed like that with a military bayonet. In high school is was a member of the NJROTC unit and was even part of their air rifle team. We shot postal matches which were a ton of fun. The local National Guard unit had a place set aside for us to shoot our matches. My fascination of all things military led me to join the Navy right after high school. Although my direct position wasn’t with small arms, I did qualify with various small arms such as the M14 and Beretta M9 I’m order to stand watch. I was also a part of the ship’s security force. After leaving the Navy after 9.5 years, my yearning to learn even more about firearms truly blossomed.
I started shooting some matches; service rifle, CMP and Garand matches. Reloading my own ammunition for matches was almost a necessity, so off I went…ordering a Lee Classic turret press from Brownells. I later picked up the infamous Dillon 550 to speed things up. Reloading my own ammunition taught me a lot, especially in regards to quality control and how important it must be. In the case of reloading…we all know what bad quality control can lead to…disastrous results. A gunsmith friend of mine was teaching an AR15 platform armorer and maintenance course in which I attended. I had already been tinkering and building some rifles at this point, so this was only natural to attend. There was never an AR15 task I would shy away from. Often times offering my help to fiends and family to build, modify or troubleshoot an AR only made sense to keep my knowledge base growing. Thoroughly enjoying the aspect of learning anything new that could be learned. So at this present moment, I feel that I have accomplished a lot, but there is still always something new to learn and experience.
For my tools and parts, the very first place I look has been and always be the good folks over at Brownells. I can’t tell you how much I’ve acquired from that great company in Iowa over the years, but it’s hard to look at any of my past projects and not find a part or a tool from a Brownells that has graced it. The majority of the tools that I’ll be discussing in this blog series will also be from Brownells, but I hope to hear from you as well what your experiences are and what tools/parts you recommend. After all, much of the enjoyment I have with the firearms community is learning something new! So sit tight, and I truly hope you can get something out of my experiences.
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