Freestate Training Academy

Birchwood Casey Perma Blue (Gun Bluing)  — Steel Finish Perma Blue  is a cold bluing compound  designed to chemically produce a blue-black oxide finish on steel . It’s not paint or coating  — it reacts with steel to form a thin black oxide layer similar to traditional bluing used on firearms. Bluing both improves corrosion resistance and restores worn finishes. There are two common forms : Paste  (slow, controlled, and durable) Liquid  (faster acting, easier for larger areas)

Let me start by saying that I was skeptical at first about how the Hydro Dipping process was going to achieve such detailed finishes. After a few attempts and some trial and error using a test piece I ended up loving the finished product. I chose the standard two-piece AR-15 hand guards to dip for this project because we have a few that have sat here in the shop for some time now and if I had messed them up, it would be no harm and no foul. In my opinion anyone looking to try

The Laser Ammo Sure Strike Shooting Drills Card Deck  is a deck of cards , each printed with a unique shooting drill  you can perform using: A laser training cartridge/system  (e.g., Laser Ammo, SIRT, LASR, or similar) Or even a live firearm on the range  (just follow safe procedures) Or dry-fire practice  with an unloaded weapon Cards include a variety of tasks such as: ✔ Accuracy & precision drills✔ Timed engagements✔ Movement and reload drills✔ Multiple target scenarios✔..

The firearm I was thinking of when prompted to with this discussion is the H&K VP9 handgun. I have carried this pistol for years for self defense purposes and only ever had to draw it once when living in Baltimore Maryland to defend another person in a tough spot. Thankfully I did not need to use it that day, but I was confident it was going to work when I needed it.

I feel it is important to talk to the customer and get as much information as possible before handling the firearm in question. This sounds easy but most of the time the customer has no idea what type of malfunction they are experiencing or even the name of the gun or part they think is broken. For example, if a firearm has a failure to feed the customer may come to you and say something like “I can’t get the ammo in the gun” or “I racked it, and nothing happened”. In my expe

The Magpul BEV Block – AR15/M4  is a dedicated vise block designed for AR-15-pattern rifles , engineered to hold both upper and lower receivers  securely in a bench vise while you: Install or torque barrel nuts Install muzzle devices Assemble or maintain upper and lower components Work on handguards and gas systems Clean or perform armor-level maintenance Unlike simple magazine-well blocks, this tool engages the barrel extension directly  and can also be flipped over to suppo

The LaserPET II  is a stand-alone electronic target system  built to improve your shooting fundamentals through immediate visual, audible, and numeric feedback . It detects laser hits  from compatible laser training cartridges — most commonly Laser Ammo SureStrike™  units — and tracks performance across multiple training programs. Unlike simple static targets, the PET II responds to shots , displays performance metrics, and engages you in a structured way  so dry-fire practic

The spray on bluing I found was on amazon and is made by Duracoat. Most of the spray on options I was looking at were very different then the bluing solution in the bottle that you would use on bare metal. After reading a few customer reviews on this product specifically, most loved the end result but compare it to more of an epoxy coating rather than a chemical reaction produced with the Perma Blue. I think I would talk to the customer about what they want the finished produ

With regard to the ammunition and whether or not it is the issue there are a few ways to determine the problem. First, I would ask the customer where they got the ammunition and how was it stored. This tells me if they bought it from the factory or if it has passed hands a few times before being fired. It also tells me if moisture has gotten to the ammunition causing it not to fire. It may be factory ammunition and they may store it correctly but if not bought from a reputabl

Well, I can say I had fun looking this one up and to answer the last question first, yes, I do believe it is worth spending the money to add this service to my shop. Now, like anything else you do it is worth spending a little more up front to get the right equipment for the job. I was able to find things like the Wheeler brand Jeweling fixture that was incredibly cheap and selling for around $35 for the fixture but it had some pretty bad reviews. However, after watching a fe

The Henry Mare’s Leg  is a lever-action pistol  based on Henry’s well-known Big Boy / Big Boy Side Gate  lever-action rifle series. It’s essentially a shortened rifle (about 25″ overall  with a 12.9″ barrel ) built to resemble the iconic “Mare’s Leg” used by Steve McQueen on TV, but manufactured from the ground up as a pistol  to comply with U.S. firearms law. Henry Repeating Arms+1 Unlike rifles with a cut-down stock (which would require a tax stamp), Henry’s version is fact

When setting up a prep area in my gunsmithing shop I would have a separate area just for prep. This area would not need a ton of space. I would make sure I had enough space to work on more than one firearm at a time but still keep parts from getting mixed up or lost. Prepping the parts in order to add a finish to them may require different processes depending on the type of finish and how it is applied. One of the most important chemicals required for most prep work is a degr

The Blackhawk Ambidextrous Safety Selector  (often sold as the Offset Safety Selector  in ambidextrous form) is a drop-in replacement safety lever for AR-15/M4 platforms  that gives you true ambidextrous control  over the safety position. It’s designed so shooters can manipulate the safety from either side of the rifle without changing their grip or hand position . This is an upgrade over a standard single-side safety , which only allows easy manipulation with the strong hand

Admittedly at the start of this I had no idea how this was achieved but I had seen it a number of times while working for a few different live fire facilities. This is the process of adding carbon to low carbon steel creating a hard outer shell while leaving the inside tough but malleable. Doing this adds durability to the firearm but not so much as to make the entire steel component brittle and vulnerable to breaking. Animal bones were used back in the day to achieve this bu

The Birchwood Casey Touch-Up Pen  (sometimes branded Super Black Touch-Up Pen ) is a small applicator pen filled with black paint  intended to conceal minor cosmetic blemishes  on: Black anodized aluminum parts (AR-15 receivers, handguards) Painted firearm surfaces Accessories like flashlights, scopes, knives, and tactical gear It’s built like a marker with a chisel-point felt tip  for precise application. First Impressions & Ease of Use Application ✔ Simple to use — just cle

I believe this is still going to depend on the make and model of firearm you are working on. For example, with most single action revolvers the cylinder will not move until you quarter or half cock the hammer but with the Ruger Black Hawk single action revolver once the loading gate is opened the cylinder will rotate even though the hammer is all the way forward. On occasion I will get shooters with new Heritage Rough Rider single action revolvers that tell me it will not fir

The customer brings me a Colt® Python® and explains that the hammer will not reach full cock and falls prematurely.

The customer brings you a Ruger® New Model Blackhawk® and claims that it doesn’t fire when he pulls the trigger. He says that the hammer seems to be working; it locks back, and it falls when he pulls the trigger.

The customer has brought you the following Winchester Model 1897. It’s clean and well oiled, but very worn. The customer explains that when she works the action, the hammer doesn’t stay back – it simply moves forward with the action. You confirm this by attempting to work the action yourself.

Unbeknownst to the customer in Part 1, the Winchester had a badly worn firing pin and would not have fired, if he had tried. I will be using my answers from Part 1 to respond to the following prompts.