The Range/Firearm Maintenance Kit

Trigger Monkey

Ronin
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Apr 29, 2005
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    Winchester Virginia
    Everyone has their own take on a kit that they pack away to take care of things that come up on the range and this one is mine. It's evolved over the years and now sort of fills a couple of roles beyond simple firearm maintenance issues. It used to be that I carried the cleaning items and spare parts in the OEM Otis Tech "hockey puck" and then a separate pouch for my torque tools, and yet another for some misc. range items. Then I decided to consolidate most of that into one pouch that I could more readily throw into my pack or range bag. I went back to using a Tactical Tailor horizontal E&E pouch because it can be packed with quite a bit as you'll see and still doesn't take a bunch of room. For size comparison here it is next to a Magpul mag.

    range maintenance kit 5.jpg


    On one half I have "range" items.

    range maintenance kit 1.jpg


    1. Spare AA and AAA batteries (Kestrel and ear muffs mainly)
    2. Adhesive targets
    3. Foamies
    4. Duct Tape
    5. Butler Creek bikini scope cover. (flip caps break, get lost, etc...all of it has happened to me at one point so these are a get home sort of deal)
    6. Otis Tech bore thing (Use it as an impromptu ECI or borelight)

    At one point or another I've had to use everything there because I forgot ear pro, showed up and my electronic ear pro was dead, forgot targets, forgot my ECI, etc...

    In the center part I carry spare parts for my Remington 700 and AR-15 mainly. There are also some spare screws and fasteners. The zip ties are for fastening something down or making ECI's.

    range maintenance kit 2.jpg


    On the front of the other half are all the scope tools.

    range maintenance kit 3.jpg


    1. Assorted hex and torx bits
    2. 1/2" socket
    3. Long 3/16" bit
    4. Mini ratchet wrench
    5. Fix It Sticks All In One (This replaced my Borka kit for range use, so much easier to use one handed, compact, perfect for a kit like this)
    6. Assorted wrenches
    7. 1/2" Wrench section (Redundant but nice to have around)
    8. Vial of back up blue loctite. (It's sealed but once I break the seal I figure it's pretty much one time use because that cap isn't very secure)
    9. NF scope tool
    10. 2032 Battery
    11. Carson mini lens pen

    I've been using the Fix It Sticks All-In-One driver for a little bit and it's really starting to grow on me. Near as I can tell it's accurate and packs a lot of versatility into a small package. Before this tool, I would take my Wheeler FAT Wrench or Borka Tools set with me to the range but each had their issues. The FAT wrench was just huge so I needed a separate case for it and the Borka tool was smaller but it was tricky to use one handed at the shooting bench without drawing unwanted attention. The All In One kinda solves both of these issues given its small size and the ability for me to use it one handed to check the torque on fasteners. Shortly after I got it I was glad I had it when I realized that I'd forgotten to actually torque my scope mount to the receiver, I'd just snugged down the screws. Minutes later all four screws were torqued to 25 in/lbs and I was good to go, having saved myself from a potentially frustrating range trip.

    The last compartment holds most of my old Otis Sniper Cleaning Kit combined with some other Otis components.

    range maintenance kit 4.jpg


    1. Large and Small Cleaning Cables
    2. Large and Small Bore Obstruction Removers
    3. Large and Small Patch Holders
    4. Wire Pick
    5. Toothbrush Attachment
    6. .223, .264, .30, .38, and .45 Bore Brushes (.38 and .45 brushes also work as chamber brushes)
    7. Four rod sections
    8. CLP
    9. Small and Large patches
    10. Pin punch
    11. Scraper
    12. Q-tips

    Now, say what you want about Otis cables but in my experience they work well within a certain context. I wouldn't use one for regular cleaning but in the field, at a match, or at the range they do just fine. I've used the cable and components to pull many a fellow shooter out of a jam to push out stuck cases, bullets jammed into the lands, a stuck patch, etc...

    A trick I like to use if I need a little extra oomph is to attach some of the rod sections to the cable to give it more mass to help break loose whatever is stuck. One time at a match a guy had a case head separation but no one had an obstruction remover to remove the case that was still in the chamber. I jammed the .30 chamber brush into the back of the case with the short rod sections and pulled it back sharply. The bristles grabbed the inside of the brass and popped it out. That guy was able to finish out the match with different ammo.

    I still have room to add a few things if I feel the need too but I think I have it pretty well fleshed out for my needs.
     
    I do about the same, minus a cleaning kit. I do bring a grease syringe.
    It would be good to have a cleaning rod that comes in sections. I've gotten bullets stuck in my barrel at matches and had to borrow someone else's rod to bump it out.

    I like your organization. I throw all of my stuff in a pouch with one smaller pouch inside.
     
    A while back I was at a match and a guy in my squad was having major issues with his ammo. Turns out they're his handloads and for whatever reason bullets are getting stuck in the lands, getting pulled out of the case and dumping powder everywhere. No one had any gear but I had my kit so I was able to help get his bolt and chamber cleaned up. Used the cable and rod section trick to pop the bullet out and get him back up. The cable's also been used to pop out cases from a friend's rifle after his extractor gave up the ghost at an ASC match. That cable can actually be pretty versatile to clear issues.
     
    That is a great set up. I was looking at doing something similar. The pouch looks like the perfect size. Not too big and bulky, but you've managed to get everything in it. Thanks for sharing.
     
    Another excellent kit worth consideration is the Borka torque driver kit (BCK-JM) at borkatools.com, which sells for around $230. It simply has superior quality engineering, design, metal work, and a excellent compact soft case with thoughtful placement of all tools. I have been disappointed by many torque wrench kits, but not with Borka. Take a look at their site, or call Boris to discuss your needs.
     
    The Borka products are great, I have an early kit that I still use but for reasons I explained above I keep it at my work bench now. I do have a couple of updates to this kit. The small ratcheting wrench has been replaced with a Fix It Sticks modular T-handle wrench to give me some flexibility and extra leverage when needed for loosening or tightening fasteners. I added in a couple of 8-32 set screws so that I can string cleaning rod sections together to help provide extra reach or oomph to remove obstructions. I'm also throwing in a modified .223 bore brush that I bent at 90-degrees to act as a chamber brush for my 10/22 since the ejection port was too narrow to get a normal bore brush in there.
     
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    I sorta took what comes in the KAC SR25 cleaning kit (super fucking nice but it better be for $300+) and combined that with the DTA HTI kit and included a cable I made (whatever size nylon coated cable it is you can strip back and jb weld into a .22 Dewey female end --makes a cheap but quality pull cable) then threw a few parts in there. It's a little bigger than yours but I've got whole bolt assemblies in it and a few full size tools.

    I like that small torque wrench though, I need that.

    I used to keep a no-shit tool box in the truck but grew out of that.