I've been keeping myself pretty busy in these weeks of enforced home confinement. Apart from blogging and writing, my normal staples, I've been sorting out a lot of
junk what I call 'valued possessions' and
Miss D. calls 'stuff' in the garage. I've tossed several garbage bags full of outdated or unneeded things, and I'm now in the process of going through storage boxes and totes. My basic principle is that if I haven't needed or used something in the past year or two, why keep it? Tools and essential spare parts we keep on principle, of course, but the rest of pile is shrinking daily. We may be able to make room, in the next month or two, for the workbench both Miss D. and I need.
I've also been cleaning, checking and upgrading AR-15 and AR-10 rifles for friends. Trends change, and some folks want to update their weapons in line with the latest 'fashions' in the
3-gun community. Personally, I'm not sure that's a good idea unless you want to play games. In my (albeit not recent) experience in real-world military and civilian combat scenarios, simplicity usually beats complexity, and hard-wearing, tough equipment is better than finicky gizmos that are too easily bent out of alignment or even knocked off the gun altogether. (There's a reason the US military still orders its standard M16 rifles and M4 carbines with a fixed
front sight base -
it's tough! It can take being knocked against doors when entering or exiting vehicles, or the rifle being dropped, and retain its setting. The same can't be said for many folding backup sights, often preferred by sporting shooters because of their smaller size, lighter weight and 'tacticool' look.)
At any rate, I've been buying parts such as upgraded triggers, sight bases, and some red dot sights. Vendors such as
Brownells,
Primary Arms,
CDNN and many others are still operating, and able to ship their products to you at home. Unfortunately, other vendors may
claim to be operating, but are very poor at communicating and taking far too long to process and/or ship orders, despite stating on their Web site that items are in stock. (Yes,
Acme Machine, I'm looking at you!) I suggest being careful before placing orders, and making sure - if necessary by talking to the vendor and getting confirmation in writing - that they have stock and can ship it timeously.
I'm setting up a gun cleaning station, and will be tackling one or two firearms every day until I've been through my entire collection. Some haven't been fired in a couple of years, and could use lubrication and general maintenance on principle; and some that I have shot have been neglected due to other demands on my time, and are overdue for a cleaning. Plenty of work ahead there! I'm also sorting out my ammunition reserves, to make sure I know what I've got. Fortunately, I've been keeping them well stocked, so I'll be able to shoot for the next few years, if necessary, before having to resupply. The
current ammo drought won't be a problem.
What are you doing with the extra time on your hands while you're practicing "social distancing" at home? Tell us about it in Comments, so we can see what we're all up to.
Peter
