We are in unprecedented times with the coronavirus that is sweeping across the world. Many of us have taken extra precautions to ward against it by purchasing more groceries, additional backstock of medicine, and are staying home from work (self-quarantining ourselves) if our work has not already been closed. Before we truly dive into this week’s topic, we at Tyrant Designs want to say that we hope all of you reading this are in good health, remain healthy, and are safe throughout this entire ordeal. Never in any of our lifetime’s have we witnessed schools being closed, countries being on lockdown, and the eerie unknown future that is before us.
We do not believe everything is gloom and doom though. As Americans, we always band together and triumph over any adversity that comes our way, and this will be no different. As gun owners, there are several things you can be doing to remain vigilant and even more prepared if you are finding yourself bored at home and not knowing what to do after taking all of the standard precautions. For one, you can do a complete inventory and spring cleaning. Go through every firearm you own and do a complete cleaning of them. This would include simple field strips of pistols and other platforms to ensure that your next trip to the range, or in the event of defense, that everything is free of debris, obstructions, and will work as intended. This also includes cleaning your optics with a dry cloth so reticles and red dots are not fuzzy. This might seem very mundane and obvious, but if you have more time to yourself being at home it is a great time to accomplish this.
You also may want to take an inventory of your firearms and ammunition. This could include accessories you might want to buy that you have been putting off. Maybe you cannot quite reach your magazine release with the greatest ease. It might be time to write that down and order an Extended Magazine Release for your Glock (which Tyrant Designs stocks). Going through your ammunition, you might realize you are way lighter on 5.56mm NATO/.223 Rem than you previously thought. Well, write that down, too. If you can order these things online or safely leave your house to visit your local gun store, you will have a “grocery list” compiled of things you may have neglected to remember or have been putting off.
Another thing to do if you find yourself at home with a lot of free-time is to do methodical yet meaningful dry-fire practice. Some people think that just yanking the trigger a bunch during commercial breaks of your favorite TV show counts, but it does not. Make sure to have a smooth trigger press. Feel the take up of the trigger, the build in resistance, a potential wall, the break, observe your iron sights to see if you are shifting in any direction, keep the trigger pressed, re-rack the slide, and feel the trigger reset. A confident, skilled shooter is intimately aware of how their trigger reacts just like a professional car driver knows how their vehicle’s engine responds. Let dry-fire practice be meaningful.
While none of us foresaw this situation of the coronavirus evolving into what it is now, we should make the best of it. Spend time with your family, be thankful for what you have, stay healthy, and as gun owners you can try to practice your skills from home, clean your weapons, and take an inventory of what you have to be even more prepared for the future. As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below. We love it when you participate in our articles and keep the conversation going!
