Over the weekend we had yet another Concealed Handgun Class and we were covering the subject of cleaning your handgun. We usually snicker when we read the NRA suggestion of cleaning after every time you shoot your gun. The instructors that help us at Valkyrie Defense Group are all guilty of going pretty long durations before our guns get anymore than just a wipe down. Let’s face it if I cleaned my guns every time I fired them my son would probably not know who I am. One reason I love instructing is when I am talking or answering questions sometimes I will have a little epiphany or in this situation a realization and when I do I try to make a mental note to come back here to share.
Yesterday talking about cleaning it hit me that I never carry a “clean” gun. I have this weird habit of when I clean any of my carry guns I will not feel right carrying it until I have shot a magazine through it to perform a function test. I want to be absolutely sure that the gun was put back together properly before I want to depend my life on it. The last thing I want is to clean my gun and head out into a situation where I need to defend my life with it and get a click instead of a bang in that critical moment. The new R51 is a gun that has me thinking this needs to be considered more and more for people.
When you re-assemble the R51 you must slip a small tab on the slide stop of the gun underneath this little spring. You must insert it perfectly parallel to the slide. If you tilt the slide stop upwards by as little as a 1/16th of an inch, if it rides above the spring, the gun will malfunction.
How about you? Have you ever thought about function testing your gun before you depend your life on it? Head over to the Facebook page and let me know if this is something that has ever crossed your mind or if you do something similar. While you are there make sure you give me a like to keep up to date on all the pictures of some of the projects I’m working on.
Subscribe and Share often,
BS
