Purchasing a firearm goes beyond just buying a gun. What a lot of new owners don’t know is that properly owning a firearm also means owning a number of accessories and different types of gear to maintain and optimize their firearm.
We will be going over some of the gun gear you should own with your first firearm. And why it is important to have that gear.
Essential Gear For New Firearms Owners
To make things easier, we are going to separate the essential gear into two categories: weapon accessories and shooting gear. The difference between these is that an accessory deals predominately with the gun itself, while the gear is part of the gun’s support system.
Weapon Accessories
Weapon accessories are generally mounted on the gun and are used to store it during use or improve the overall functionality of the gun itself.
Flashlight/Weapon Light
While it might not seem like an important piece of gun gear, a flashlight is an incredible accessory to have, especially if you have a gun for self-defense. Flashlights and weapon-mounted lights allow you to see into dark areas during the day and night. This allows you to determine if something is a threat or not, which helps avoid accidents and serious injury.
A handheld light is the bare minimum you should have with your firearms. It should also have enough power to reach more than a handful of feet in your general areas to ensure you can identify people, animals, and locations easily.
Rifle Sling
A rifle sling is one of the basic accessories your rifle needs. This is because the rifle sling acts like the holster for a rifle. It makes it easier to carry for long periods and helps secure the rifle to you so it isn’t left unattended when you are out in the field.
Rifle slings are one of the more negotiable essentials when it comes to gun gear, but if you intend to use the rifle a lot, the sling makes a world of difference.
Handgun Holster
If you’re getting into concealed carry, a handgun holster is a necessary piece of gun gear, especially for a semi-automatic. The holster is as much a storage device on your person as it is a layer of safety.
Good holsters completely cover the trigger guard and/or hold the cylinder in place, preventing the gun from accidentally firing. This applies differently between semi-autos and revolvers, but the basic concept of security remains the same.
Upgraded Sight
Whether it is iron sights or some sort of mounted sight, getting an improved sighting system for your guns can increase the ease of aiming. For some models, this means replacing the iron sights or modifying them for visibility. For others, this could be getting a red dot or a magnified optic.
How the sight is upgraded depends on your intended use. The sight upgrade that is good for quick shooting may not be the best option for precision. However, this comes down to the individual sight/optics.
Shooting Gear
Not everything gun-related is tied to carrying and shooting the gun. Other aspects of gun gear apply to maintaining the gun itself.
Cleaning Kit
You should have at least one cleaning kit for the gun you have. It should have cleaning tools for the appropriate caliber of the gun, tools for removing carbon build-up, and the appropriate style of gun lubricant for your firearm.
Some gun models prefer liquid or oil lubricants, while others function better with greases. All of this combines into the ability to clean and maintain the gun so it does not experience unnecessary wear, which can result in it breaking.
Cleaning kits can be gun-specific, or they can be larger, more universal styles. Having one specifically for your primary firearms is a good idea. This can be supplemented by more universal kits for hobby guns or to lend out to others.
Spare Parts
Gun parts are a necessary addition to your gun gear. Think of them like the spare tires of the gun world. Firearms are machines that wear down over time. Some parts wear out faster than others, and it’s more affordable to buy a few spare parts than an entirely new gun.
Things like springs, firing pins, and even gun bolts are all good things to keep on hand, depending on the style of your firearm.
Spare Magazines
Some firearms, like handguns, come with one or two magazines right out of the box. This is a good start, but if you intend to practice with the gun regularly, you need to invest in some spare magazines.
This is because magazines can wear out over time and can have defects that cause them to not work properly. If you only have one or two magazines and one breaks, then you have a paperweight instead of a firearm. Generally, 4-10 magazines are a good baseline amount to start with. This depends on your budget and the price of the magazines.
Magazine Loader
Whether you have a handful of magazines or a lot of magazines, loading them using just your hands will get tiresome very quickly. A magazine loader can help speed things along and save on your hands.
There are a number of options available, from tabletop models to simple devices that mount on the magazine. Find one that matches your magazine style and ammunition caliber, and you will be good to go.
Anti-Lead Soap and Cleanser
This is often overlooked by new gun owners, but this is one of the most important pieces of gun gear and shooting gear. Anti-lead soaps and cleansers should be on hand so you can clean your hands and some of your equipment off after a shooting or range session.
This helps prevent lead from getting into your system and causing lead poisoning. While you should get tested every so often to ensure you are not building up lead in your system, using these cleansers will help mitigate your lead exposure after shooting.
Final thoughts
While you don’t need to have everything all at once, building up your gun gear over time will help you get the most out of your firearms and ensure that they are running and used properly.
If you have any other questions regarding quality parts or accessories, please reach out to us, and our experts will be happy to help.