Five Stocking Stuffers for the Gun Lover this Christmas

Looking for some stocking stuffers for the gun owner this holiday? D.S. has a few suggestions for you that wont break the bank:

Hex key and Allen wrench set

The first thing on this list should be a hex key and torx wrench set. This is a universally needed item on the range. The small set that you find at Harbor Freight or Walmart or Home Depot and Lowe’s will work. When screws come loose, they can make or break a range trip if you can’t make the repair.  As a personal experience, I was giving an AR of mine a deep clean. I took the hand-guard, gas block, and FF tube off to clean them. When I put them back on the gas block was not aligned properly. So my AR identified as a bolt action rifle for the day. With my tools I could have fixed that and had a good day shooting with my step dad. That’s less than 10$ item that could make or break your range day make sure your special gun person has a set just for his/her range bag. 

Wal-Mart and Literally Almost Everywhere – From $12.00 and up

Electronic Ear muffs:

Now that you are ready to hit the range with your small emergency tool kit that can fix most things, you need to be safe. And one item that gets under appreciated are Ear Muffs/Ear protection. I don’t mean that people don’t use them, but they don’t value them as highly as they should. Some people use ear plugs for protection, and some people use regular ear muffs. While those are all fine and dandy… and they work, I don’t think they work as well as Electronic Ear Muffs. I use the Walker Razor Slim Patriot series earmuffs that my wife got me for Christmas. I love them. They’re one of those items that a gun person on a budget would think, “I can buy a new stock instead, or more ammo, so I will just use foam plugs”. Let me stop you right there… Electronic Muffs are worth it. At around 50$ you have the ability to hear astronomically better than with just your ears. This is great if you are shooting with a friend and they need to get your attention, or if you are shooting in a class then you can hear the instructor. The Walker ear muffs dampen the sound of gunshots while still allowing you to hear voices, cars driving, people walking, snails crawling, you get the idea. They also have an AUX port, so you can jam to some tunes while shooting if you would like or you can connect to a radio and communicate, great for search and rescue if you volunteer for that because like I said, they amplify sound. The only downside about these earmuffs are they have only one microphone, so you cannot tell which direction the noise is coming from exactly, if that doesn’t matter, get these for the gun person you love because they will want to wear ear protection when going shooting now! 

Walker Razor Slim Folding Earmuffs – From $49

ALG trigger for AR or AK

Whether it’s an AR or an AK, if you favorite gun person has not upgraded their trigger yet, and you want to win their heart, get them an ALG trigger. ALG is the sister company to Geissele whom of which makes some of the best triggers in the world for Modern Sporting Rifles, so you know you’re getting good quality. Second of all, the ALG triggers in both my AR and my AK cost about 75$ each, so a little on the spendy side but well worth it. The AR trigger leaves a little to be desired when compared to the AK trigger. However that’s not a bad thing by any means as both triggers are excellent. The AR trigger AKA the ALG ACT, has a very short, smooth and consistent pull with a short reset. It comes with two springs. The light weight spring is around 4.5lbs of pull and the heavy weight spring is around 6.5lbs of pull. The AK trigger, also known as the ALG AKT, feels just like what I imagine a Geissele SSA-E single stage trigger feels like, that is a 250$ trigger for 75$ in an AK. It is a VERY short trigger pull at 4lbs or less, extremely smooth with an almost non existent creep and a very short and solid reset. If your favorite gun person wants a new trigger for their AR or AK, impress them with one of these triggers and they will be as happy as a fat kid in a candy store. 

ALG ACT and QMS Triggers for AR15 – starting at $51 dollars

ALG AKT for AK-47 – $65.99

Esstac KYWI mag pouches

Once your gun lover has everything they need for their gun, how are they going to carry their magazines around? It is an often overlooked thing, especially for those of us more worried about our rifle then carrying a few extra mags… but having a few extra mags on you while shooting can take training to a whole new level. I’m not talking about buying them a pair of cargo pants with 12 pockets. Those pants will be too small after the holidays anyways. Get them a KYWI mag pouch. They are by far the best bang for the buck. They can go straight on a belt, a belt with MOLLE attachments on it, or even a plate carrier. Having the ability to get a clean pull from a mag pouch versus having to pull from your pocket is a lot less frustrating while training. Having a dedicated mag pouch such as the KYWI also retains your magazine’s extremely well so you can be confident that while running around either a competition or just training they won’t fall out. A full review of the KYWI will be coming soon. BUY THEM! 

Esstac KYWI Series Mag Pouches – from $30 and up

Cherry Balmz Gun Grease

Goes on thick, stays thick, slick as snot, and you can’t get this stuff off your hands. It stays where you put it. Santa hat not included.

One key thing to keeping your firearm running reliably, is making sure it’s lubricated. Some people use gun oil, or motor oil or grease. Recently I was introduced to Cherry Balmz grease and I love it. I put it on my handgun and my wife’s and it reduced the friction so much that her M&P Shield feels lighter to pull the slide, same thing for my handgun; it is so slippery now that it feels easier to pull. I put it on my BCG in my AR, and it feels incredibly smooth. The other nice thing about grease compared to oil is that grease won’t eventually evaporate, it stays where you put it. It’s tacky,smells nice, and stays put. I like to keep my AR wet, I want to be able to look at my BCG and see that it is wet. With the oil I was using, no matter how much I put on the BCG, it would look dry in a couple of days. With the Cherry Balmz, it’s still wet a week after putting it on, and I don’t think that will change.  

CherryBalmz Black Rifle Balm – $16.99

Another awesome guest post written by D.S. for thenewrifleman.com