Nice day at the range today. Was shooting with a friend and we were using our .22 conversion kits in our AR’s to practice fast sight pictures and shots. She wound up having a .22 case do a double feed that was stuck in the receiver quite solidly. I was about to use my pocket knife to try and pry it out when she stopped me and told me that she had a tool in her bag for prying out stuck cases in AR’s. Now, there are all sorts of tools out there for that sort of thing. Heck, Gerber even sells a multitool that incorporates such a tool as one of its features. But, apparently for about a buck at any paint store you can get one of these:
And…it was darn near the perfect tool for the job. Live and learn.
Spent about four hours at the range doing drills with the .22 Glock and the Ruger MPR with the .22 kit. Also sighted in the new dot scope I put on a Ruger takedown. And I function tested a P95DC that I picked up a few weeks ago.
Most interesting was some kids (and I mean kids…like college age kids) showed up on the same range with a host of dot-sighted Glocks. This gave me a chance to get some opinions about Glock MOS vs third-party milled slide, RMR vs Holosun vs Acro, etc, etc. The short version is that it looks like optimum result will be achieved by getting the RMR on a slide that has been milled out specifically for it rather than using Glocks MOS and plates. I need to research it more, but I think that’ll be the direction I’m going…at least until I get some more research done that points me in a different direction.
All in all, a fun and productive day at the range. Getting into the habit of doing a bit of gun workout every week seems to be paying off in terms of enjoyment.
Home Depot usually has a bucket of them at the paint counter for free. Don’t be greedy, only one or two (per visit, lol). I have a bunch of them set up with a paracord lanyard and a glow-in-the-dark bead.
I have a couple those in my range bag… saw the tip on some page couple years ago… those are getting harder to find, most paint stores give out these super cheap can openers now…
from everything I’ve read or listened to concerning plates, the best option is not having to use one… second best option is not using the Glock plates… find a good reputable company… me, I wanted something that mounted without plates and I won’t need to spend extra for taller sights…. and I didn’t want my slide cut to fit something I may not like in the end…
She stopped you cause she already had a tool in her bag for just such a gun malfunction issue. A magyver type of girl is a keeper, a bonus feature above and beyond appearances or any dowry enticements. Keep the readership posted on your rmr project route, as that is a good subject topic for fan base readers to also pursue for upgrades.
Stay in shooting practice so as to stay frosty during the spicy.
My bag of tricks is a never-ending surprise!
But thank you for the compliment.
I own an RMR, an SRO, an ACRO, and an EPS. THey each have their features and tradeoffs.
The Trijicon SRO fits the same footprint as the RMR but has an AMAZING site window that makes using a MRDS a joy.
The tradeoff is some added height and a marginal sacrifice in ruggedness, which is something to consider if you’re crafting your SHTF pistol. But for general carry and speed of target aquisition, the SRO is very hard to beat.
There was an SRO in attendance and I got to try it. Big window, lotsa field of view. BUT…for the rough and tumble of the apocalypse, Im thinking a closed emitter is the way to go. Last thing I want is blodd,mud, or dust bunnies working their way onto the emitter and making the thing less functional.
This. The unit should have a robust shroud, or durability engineering feature built in. Because we eat yummy crayons and need stuff built grug stout. I would forgo view port size or other feature elements to have a drop tested or milspec thru the wringer tested unit for the end goal of an apocalypse collapse no moar boats shipping goods unit to last long time g.i. rather than a range bunny square box flat ground standing merely a plinker unit. Go combloc robust level of goods and long range viable serviceability, so as to Stay Frostiest.
Agree with the sentiment on closed emitters, but I’ve seen several tubers testing them in rain. They all ended up with moisture inside.
For those who have a CMMG conversion kit, Brownells has this repair kit at a good price https://www.brownells.com/gun-parts/rifle-parts/rifle-upper-lower-parts-kits/ar-15m16-22lr-bolt-rehab-kit/. Good spares to keep on hand.
Also check out http://www.righttobear.com. They have a lot of .22LR AR parts, including what appears to be house-branded CMMG parts.
Weekly range time is always good. I try to get out once a week to check things and make sure I can still hit a fly at 100 yards.
Sounds very productive. I had read late last year about that paint opening tool use for removing shells from receiver – GOOD TIP ! Not only inexpensive but fits a range bag or rucksack pocket handily for quick uses.
I’ve thought about red dot sights on a carbine and am trying to narrow down to one. The durability question is my only hold-out, but latest Middle East conflicts seem to confirm these sights are U.S. soldier tough enough. I’m not a LEO or military member, so am playing catch-up big time. Thank you for bringing up the topic.
I’ve been very pleased with the Sig ROMEO8T on my JAKL, and the ROMEO4T on my MP5.
The Sig Romeo’s may be the best value optic out there. Aluminum housing, motion activated on/off switch, easy to sight in and adjust and a good price point.
Thank you both for your information above. I will definitely check these out.
You will not be disappointed with an RMR and it ability to take a pounding and keep a zero. The only drawback if one is to consider it drawback is you will have to remove the optic from the slide to replace the battery.
Looks like the RCR is what I want. Closed emitter and top-load battery. Same footprint as RMR. https://www.trijicon.com/products/subcategory/trijicon-rcr-reflex-sight
FTW, that little doodad was always known (humorously) as a “church key”. I’ve got at least one.
If you take and grind down the sides of the flattened bit so the tip is the same width as the round part, it’s also the perfect tool for poking through the slot in the back of a Ruger DA revolver to pop the trigger group loose.