Archive for July, 2012

Have enough guns? How about more upper receivers for your AR15?

I don’t think you even need to worry changing calibers if you want something different than a 556 upper.   I’ve seen guys turn an M4 Carbine into a varmint rifle with a snap of two pins on a lower receiver.  The real thing to look out for is changes in calibers, namely to a 5.45×39 upper.   Many times I’ve seen guys skip the hammer spring change and end up with a light strike issue with Russian ammunition. We sold a ton of the Smith & Wesson 5.45×39 uppers a few years ago but for some reason they just don’t seem to be available.

 

The LWRC M6Ak was a one off novelty deal which died a quick death and no word if it’ll ever happen again.
Right  now the biggest selling upper receiver we have are the Adams 5.45×9 uppers.  I had a customer take apart his gun side by side to my AR15 complete upper receivers and compare the piston differences.  There is a difference and I still love my LWRC M6A2 but this gun was a next best thing and a best thing for a 5.45×39 upper.  You still can’t beat the cost of ammunition for these guns and the  caliber does have a better reputation than the 30 caliber AK.   I’ve known guys that took hits from the AK it has so much energy that it just zips through you and the Russians finally caught on that the 5.56 was a better combat caliber.

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Woolrich Elite goodies on clearance

last year we picked up a  ton of discontinued Woolrich Elite products but had a shockingly bad winter sales for outwear.   One of our favorite things about the Woolrich Elite product line is that the fabrics they use are very well made.   For a company that has been around for over 180yrs, they must have some secrets that have kept them in the business for so long.  These were originally marketed as a CCW sweatshirt, but they really don’t have any features that are concealed carry friendly other than the fact they are cut a little long.

We picked up a large quantity of these and since we had such a warm winter, they didn’t sell so good so we’re trying to make room and clear them out.  We have a large international and domestic customer base and these Woolrich Elite sweatshirts are being sold for 50% below what we use to sell them for.  Even though it’s hot as hell here in Pennsylvania, we know there are customers in Canada, Alaska and Afghanistan that might wants these.   Check out or clearance and sale section as well as the new Woolrich Elite Series tactical products like the Twill Jacket.

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Gun cleaning is simple so let’s not over complicated it

There’s nothing wrong with having lots of gun cleaning supplies if you need it and you can definitely mess up a firearm by using the wrong tools.  In all honesty, I have many gun cleaning brushes and tools that I have absolutely no idea how or what to use them for.  I picked up some of the Otis gun cleaning kits and at first found them a little frustrating to use because I could get the same grip on the wire as I could with a cleaning rod.  I realize there are compact advantages to using this system and for any military or long hunting trip they makes sense.

Some scraping tools are necessary for cleaning out the chamber of your AR15 because that gun is hands down the biggest pain in the ass to keep clean although sometimes people over clean them.   I like to have a atleast one Hoppes boresnakes for all of my rifles because when I get my rare range time in, it’s  not fun to have to spend more than about an hour to clean my guns and I’m of the type that needs to clean them after every time I take them out.   I have used break free clp for most of the time but for long term storage of firearms that aren’t going to get used for 6 months or more I am using the M-Pro7 gun oil because it seems to stay on better.

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Hard to find an upper you like?

We get a lot of window shoppers at our store and the one thing we pride ourselves on is that we are already very competitive with online sales that when people walk out of our store and look it up on Google or Yahoo, there is a really good chance they see our store listed there.  For many gun shops they tend to not make much money off of guns and ammunition that they really need to make money off of other things.  Some of those things like gun accessories, optics, holsters can be marked up 10-15% beyond what an online dealer might have but people are getting frugal with this economy.

Wilson combat magazines are one of those things that you don’t see in many stores but we are one of the best sources online for those.  When it comes to AR15 uppers the Noveske complete uppers are our recent hot sellers and the standard models are flying out the door.  There are many things like this that people want to hold in their hands before they lay their money down and gun grips, rifle stocks and gun accessories are not all that common in a fishing and hunting store.   Stop in our new Broomall PA location for the best source in tactical gear.

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5.11 bags

Lots of people have been calling about the improved version of the 5.11 Rush 72 backpacks.   There apparently was an improvement to the design that you can view for yourself on Youtube.  Youtube really is a great source of information about products.  I’ve seen some really good reviews from people that just like doing it and great manufacturer rep info.

In the last few years I have purchased a few firearms and instead of looking up the assemble and disassemble specs, I just looked it up on Youtube.   You have to be careful what you see there because it’s not all true, but the 5.11 bags like the Rush 72 Backpacks seem to be getting a lot of noise.  We’ve sold many of them in recent days and I’ll wait for customer response about how much they like them.

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Glock 17 still running strong

There have  been many firearms that took a big chunk of the Glock sales away from Law enforcement but not everyone that tried to replace glocks were happy.  We watch the number of guns that end up being recalled about a year after getting into service.  First it was the XD models then it was a few others.  The reality of firearms is even though they are tested out and may work, things happen out in the field that are hard to predict and when something fails too much, it’s time to fix the problem or else someone else will pick up on it.  Glock seems to have shot themselves in the foot with the Glock Perfection and then coming out with a Gen 4 that made them look like jackasses.

We know that not everyone likes the grip angle of Glocks, but if you want something that is going to run in adverse environments, needs lower maintenance than many others, you aren’t going to beat a Glock.   The other thing to think about is the availability of parts and magazines and Glock magazines are not going to be hard to find.  You can find them  used at gunshows or online auctions and it takes very little effort to replace magazine followers or magazine springs.  The caliber interchangeability of Glock firearms also makes it worth owning more than one.

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Bushmaster response to magpul pmags

I have a bushmaster XM15E2 that was my first AR15 that I purchased almost 10yrs ago.  I got it just to fit in with the crowd of people that were harping on me for owning a Mini 14.  I still love my Mini 14s and I’ve gotten far more out of them than most people get.   I’ve done plenty of reloading tests with the gun and gotten MOA with several of them.  The 62SCBT round seems to be the best all around bullet for  my Mini 14s and I usually get close to 2 MOA with a cool barrel.   The 1-9 twist is probable the most common twist rate for .223 guns.

The thing that made me move on from the Mini 14 were the amount of stories coming from serious trainers and shooters that said they “never saw one make it through a class”.   That meant something and I picked up the Bushmaster XM15E2 and some magpul pmags along with several USGI 30rd magazines.   I have seen a lot of malfunctions on firing ranges with the GI magazines.  I guess because they were so cheap but going from Mini 14 PMI magazines to USGI magazines just didn’t make sense.   The Magpul Pmags pretty much resolved the flimsy USGI magazines durability issues.

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Another thing people find hard to shop for online

The thing that made us decide on moving our business from just being an e- commerce business was the demand for something local.  So many people think that Amazon and Ebay have done away with the brick and mortar stores, but this is actually not true.  We’re very much in the understanding that many people prefer to get something from a local business but most people go where they get something for the best price.  There is a battle brewing over internet sales taxes and while many companies have escaped sales tax, the chickens have come home to roost on this one.

We probable have about a 5% return or exchange rate on our clothing but we probable have a considerable percentage of people that never buy from us because they are afraid of getting their sizes wrong.  Recently we had guys order insight flashlights online and only found out after we shipped the product that we were less than 30 minutes from them.   After he realized the light was not what he wanted  he drove back and wanted the Streamlight flashlights instead.  Just being able to hold something in their hands, whether it’s a light or a pair of boots, being able to try it out first is a big deal.

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It’s not all about goggles and glasses

There are many options that are not as bulky as your typical tactical or ballistic goggles.   Some of the ballistic eyewear product lines aren’t that different from each other, other than what part of the Country the person making the purchases gives his or her approval for.   We have people walk in here all the time that are looking for cheap shooting glasses and we have some of those on the wall for $10.  When it comes to serious shooting, though, you want to keep your glasses in a case so they don’t get messed up sooner than they are suppose to.   All gear and accessories will wear out, but the Smith Optics Elite division has a warranty service that will repair your eyewear if you get it scratched or damaged except for the frame.

Right now the biggest rave amongst our eyewear are the boogie regulators.  Everytime we bring up these  Smith Optics Elite eyewear  we hear a wise crack about the boogie, but these fast on and off goggles are getting out amongst our local bike patrols and motorcycle cops.   I’ve tested them out myself and I’m still not sure if I like them more than my Aegis eye shields.  I very much like the newer Aegis eyeshields because the fit is a little tighter even without the head strap.

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Best deals on tactical footwear

We have been running a really good promo on some of the closeouts on the Original Swat footwear.   We were at the Atlantic City Police and Security Expo and got to showcase the new chase low 1312 boots and the new version of the tactical sneakers the Chase Low 1310 which replaced the previous style the 1230 footwear.   There is a considerable difference in the feel between the Style 1230 and the Style 1310.  According to what I read was the company thought they could do a better job and it’s pretty obvious they did.   The sole of the shoe is lighter and seems to flex better and doesn’t feel as flat footed.

The Chase Low 1312 is the lightest tactical boot in our inventory and we’ll see what our customer feedback is about the design.  What we’re hearing from the company Original Swat boots is that this boot along the rest of the Chase low series are the new Athletic line of footwear.   It is always possible to lighten something and we know this from what has been the trend with the AR15.  The  one thing we will want to see is if this boot as as solid as the rest of the Original Swat footwear line.

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