Prepping Items I Found at NRAAM

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography

& is used with permission.

For those who may not speak acronym, NRAAM stands for National Rifle Association Annual Meeting. It's called the Annual Meeting instead of a convention (even though I've called NRACon in the past) because it's more than just a convention: members are elected to the board, voting members decide the future of the organization, and during election years the NRA decided which candidate it's going to endorse.

But honestly, I avoid all of the politics because there's just so much to see and do on the convention floor. This is my third year attending, and just as in other years I was unable to experience everything that there was to offer -- even though I was there for three whole days!

If you haven't attended I heartily encourage you to do so. Admission is free if you're a paid member of the NRA, or if you have press credentials. In my case, I had both!

This post will be about items of interest to preppers. A separate post on my other blog will deal with non-prepping items, such as guns I found pretty or cool or humorous.

.22LR Reloading Kit

Every prepper has heard that .22LR is great for a bugout gun because the round is easy to find and great for subsistence hunting, but we've also heard that we need to stock up on ammunition because it's completely impossible to reload rimfire ammo outside of a commercial venture.

Well, the Sharpshooter 22LR Reloader begs to differ. For a cost of $64.95, you get everything you see in the picture to the left, including detailed instructions on how to make primer compound from match heads.

Alternately, if you'd rather use pre-made primer compound than make your own, you can buy a package good for 2,000 shots for only $19.95.

Here's an up-close look of the multi-purpose crimper and bullet mold. The crimper is nearest the hinge (center), followed by a 25 gr solid point bullet mold, and then a 38 gr round nose mold furthest from center.

All three BCP bloggers who engage in reloading (Lokidude, Chaplain Tim, and Firehand) are interested in this kit, so hopefully we will have reviews for our readers soon.

The percussion cap can be seen
just above the shadow at bottom.
My apologies for such a poor picture. 

Primer Cap Maker

Not yet for sale, but still in development, is a device for making primer caps for black powder guns. Similar to the old Tap-O-Cap system, all that is needed is the kit and flat-ish bit of aluminum from a soda can. Add your own primer (or use their primer compound, above) and you have a percussion cap.

As this item is only in pre-production, no firm price has been listed. It is however expected to be in the $45 - $55 range.


Glock 17 Carbine Conversion Kit

I expect this will cause some disagreement among our readers, who will no doubt point out that if one wants a pistol-caliber carbine there are many good products on the market like the Beretta Cx4 Storm, Kel-Tec Sub-2000 or the MechTech upper. Truth be told, all of these arguments are quite valid. However, the Glock Lock, Stock and Barrel kit has an advantage over the others: it is lighter than a carbine and easily breaks down to fit into a bugout bag. At $299, it's also cheaper than all of those options.

If you already carry a Glock 17 daily, then adding this kit to your BOB increases the versatility of your firearm. If you don't, a Glock 17 added to your bag is still smaller and lighter than a carbine.

I saw Oleg Volk taking one of these kits home; I will be quite interested in seeing what he thinks of it.

30-round AR-15 magazines for $10

That got your attention, didn't it?

It's true: these polymer magazines are made by Amend2 and normally sell for $15, but Gamaliel Shooting supply is selling them for $9.95 (plus shipping if you order online).

Now I understand that readers' initial reaction may be "What's wrong with them?"and I can't fault you for that. What I can tell you is this:

1. One of the people at the booth competes in 3-gun competitions where a jam results in people losing. He (I've forgotten his name -- sorry!) uses these magazines hard and hasn't had a problem with them. 
2. I went ahead and bought 3 of them, If there's a problem with them, I'll be certain to let you know. 

The LaserMax Spartan

Finally, keeping in the spirit of "How can they sell them so cheaply", we have a laser that ought to fit any pistol with rails that only costs $99 for red and $149 for green. 

Yes, I do mean ANY pistol: I saw them mounted on a staggering variety of guns at their booth as so I believe their claim. The system works using a rail positioner placed in the pistol slot that is then adjusted with a hex wrench. 

I consider this Blue Collar for two reasons:

1. The price. This is the cheapest I've ever seen a pistol laser. If I didn't know LaserMax's reputation for quality (yes, I'm biased; I probably can't fairly review their products any more), I'd think it was junk too. But I know these people and I know they make good products. 
2. In an emergency or a survival situation, every round matters and shot placement is vital. A properly tuned, easy to see laser will help you put your bullets on target and help you conserve ammo. 

I have made arrangements to get one of these to our own David Blackard for testing and review.