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Protect Your Firearms and Improve Their Reliability

Written by Charleen

Protect Your Firearms and Improve Their Reliability

firearms oil and cleaner product by AMSOIL - Stop and prevent rust

_by David Hilgendorf | September 29, 2023

One in three Americans owns a firearm, and they need their guns to perform flawlessly when called upon. The moving parts on firearms must be cleaned and lubricated to ensure top performance and long life. It’s important to perform regular maintenance on your firearms to improve their reliability and protect them whether in use or in storage.

In an emergency you need your firearm to be without issues so you can easily take care of business.

Firearm owners typically fall into at least one of three categories.

  • Hunters typically own shotguns to hunt waterfowl or upland birds and rifles to hunt larger game.
  • Collectors and Sport Shooters own diverse types of firearms for recreational shooting, including shotguns, rifles and handguns.
  • Firearms Professionals & 2nd Amendment Patriots, including citizens tired of crime, open borders, ex military, law enforcement, gunsmiths and firearm safety instructors, work with diverse types of firearms as part of their job.

Nothing ruins a hunting trip or day at the shooting range quicker than a malfunctioning firearm. Firearms are often stored for extended periods and then subjected to field use in all sorts of environmental conditions. Opportunities to clean and maintain your guns while on a remote hunting trip are rare.

Even worse – that criminal is breaking into your house or threatening you while you are in your car. Happens every day so you want that firearm to work when it’s desperately needed.

The best solution is to clean and protect your firearm after every use, to make sure it’s ready to go the next time you need it.

AMSOIL firearm products are designed to provide outstanding firearm protection in the most demanding conditions. We’ve performed extensive testing in a variety of handguns and long guns and in our chemical lab to ensure our products provide enhanced protection, performance and reliability and are compatible with all firearm materials.

Clean, lubricate and protect

AMSOIL Synthetic Firearm Lubricant and Protectant guards against damaging corrosion better than a leading competitor’s product. It lubricates to prevent blockage, jams and wear, to extend gun life and help keep firearms working properly for generations.

  • Outstanding performance in both hot and cold temperatures
  • Lubricates and protects firearms to prevent blockage, jams and wear and help extend product life.
  • Specifically formulated to provide superior performance in firearms

AMSOIL Firearm Cleaner and Protectant is an aerosol cleaner and protectant that penetrates deep into hard-to-reach components, effectively cleaning residue from all surfaces and protecting guns for safe long-term storage.

  • Penetrates deep into hard-to-reach components
  • Cleans fouling and powder residue from all firearm surfaces, reducing misfires and increasing reliability
  • Protects guns against corrosion for safe storage and preserving performance, reliability and value

Applications

AMSOIL firearm products provide premium protection and performance in rifles, handguns and shotguns, and are safe to use on all metals, woods, composites and rubbers.

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What’s the Best Hearing Protection for the Gun Range?

Written by Charleen
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What’s the Best Hearing Protection for the Gun Range?

Mark Nyholm|

Summer weather is finally here, at least for us in the northern half of the U.S. and Canada. The longest day of the year, June 21 – the summer solstice – has come and gone. As someone pointed out to me, we’re on the backside of long days here in Sioux Falls and they are only getting shorter. “Kind of depressing,” I said.

This can only mean one thing: we are losing precious minutes at the range to sharpen our skills. Whether you are a single-projective guy/gal sharpening your skills beyond 300 yards or you’re deep into the trap or sporting clays season, get out there and take advantage of the long days.

What? Hearing protection?

One topic of scrutiny and personal opinion is hearing protection. If you don’t wear shooting hearing protection, shame on you. Ask anyone in his or her elder years about hearing. You may have to speak up or repeat yourself, like I have to with my father. He or she will tell you long-term abuse of your ears is no fun in your golden years.

Unfortunately, everyone you talk to about the “best” hearing protection will give you a personal “best” answer. That’s why there are so many options for hearing protection. Wade with me into the deep end of the pond and we’ll cut through the “insider-baseball” information and try to simplify.

It’s all about decibel reduction

The end game with shooting hearing protection is decibel reduction. The greater the decibel reduction, the better.

What’s the threshold for protection? According to OSHA, a conversation is about 60dB and the threshold for pain is about 140dB. Anyone exposed to 85dB for more than eight hours must wear hearing protection. Exposure to about 110dB for just one minute can cause permanent damage.

What is the decibel level of a firearm?

  • Probably 95 percent of firearms produce more than 140dB
  • Even a simple .22-caliber rifle is about 140dB
  • Big-bore firearms and shotguns can produce more than 175dB

What was the threshold of pain again? You got it – shooting a firearm without ear protection puts you in harm’s way.

Now that we know what our ears can take, what is the best way to help protect them?

When shopping for hearing protection, look for its Noise Reduction Rating (NRR).

Every product marketed to help protect your ears and reduce noise has this rating. The higher the number, the better. If the product doesn’t list the NRR, stay away from it. Most of the cheaper foam ear plugs offer decibel reduction in the low 20s to low 30s. That’s not bad for the cost.

But be careful – the NRR assumes the plug is seated completely in your ear. Ineffective seating is the largest issue with these plugs, and most people don’t use them properly.

Simple foam ear plugs are fine for inexpensively protecting your hearing (if used correctly). Quite frankly, though, I don’t understand spending $3,000 on a firearm and only $1 on a 10-pack of ear plugs. What costs more, good ear protection or the hearing aids you will be buying in your elder years?

Custom-fit ear plugs are better

If you are looking for the Cadillac of foam-insert ear protection, look for custom-fit ear plugs. They come with instructions to insert the provided material into your ear and wait. The material dries and forms to your ear. They provide their claimed NRR since they fit properly into your ear. Instead of about $0.25 a pair, they cost around $15 a pair. But that’s still cheap for what they do.

Noise-canceling ear muffs

Looking for the best hearing protection available? Noise-canceling ear muffs are about the best you can get. They come in a range of qualities and prices, from about $20 to more than $100.

They electronically measure and dull sound in fractions of a second. Many allow you to hear a normal conversation while wearing them. When the bang goes off, however, they immediately compensate to protect your ears. You’ll find many brands out there with lots of options. Like to listen to music while shooting? Many options have you covered.

Beware the bulk, though

Although noise-canceling ear muffs are likely the best and most convenient, they are also the most bulky. Many people don’t like all that bulk at the side of their head as they shoot at the range or on the sporting clays course.

I could continue go on. The reason this topic is so complicated is because every ear is shaped differently and everyone has his or her preference.

In the end, find something that combines comfortable with the highest NRR rating you can find. A brand I like has the slogan, “Protect it, or lose it.”  I couldn’t have said it better.

As always, happy shooting…and be careful, especially with those ears.

Get AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants for your Firearms

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