A2's Armorer Services

Deputy Cook with "Shakira"

      One of the things that Appropriate Action will be branching off on will be armorer services for assault type weapons. This will include repairs and custom modifications to the clients specifications. There are not many people in my neck of the woods that do this kind of work AND have the experience on how it is utilized on a daily basis. I have run across rifles and shotguns that folks have worked on for officers and deputies and ask "WTF were you thinking? This is something off of a movie set or airsoft catalog."
  
      I am an AR-15 and Remington 870 certified armorer and have been handling the tools of the trade for years in one profession or another, so you won't be handing your tools to Bubba Jay and Roscoe to get them worked on. I have all the tools needed to get the job done so that every goes together smoothly. No huge mallets will be pounding metal. I plan on getting a certification as a Mossberg and Glock armorer as soon as time and resources allow. I'm not afraid to also work on the Kalashnikov family of weaponry.

Author's own patrol rifle "Gretchen"

    To start the process I meet the client at a location of their choosing with my laptop. There we will pick out what they want to have done with their firearm. Not sure what you want done? No problem. I will take a small survey of how the client will utilize the tool the most. You don't have to be a Space Shuttle door-gunner to have a good setup. You may want to have just a self defense tool or a means to dispatch Coyotes past 300 yards from your work truck. This is only limited by your imagination and your pocket book. Before everything is done the client will have a rough sketch of what their dream machine will look like.  Once the parts are ordered and have arrived I will take possession of the gun and get to work on it. I do this work in my spare time from my night job so depending on the level of work needed it may take me at least a week to get it back to you.

"Gretchen" on the way to stage for a narcotics search warrant

       I try to do a little extra for you when I take a weapon off of your hands. After the main works is done we will laser bore sight to get you on paper and do at least a 5 round test to ensure that the weapon functions well. Once that is done I give it a thorough cleaning and re-lubrication with a oil of the clients choice or FrogLube. I do not accept payment for the work done until the client is satisfied with the work done.

A look at Battle Rattle

      Let's tick off the Gear Whores (a term of endearment I promise) some more when it comes to some ideas on equipment you train with or you may think you have with you if things go bad. And when I say "go bad," I don't mean the next American revolution or the aliens (the space invader kind) come to your neighborhood trying to harvest your brains. I'm talking about that instant threat of great bodily harm or death for yourself or a second person or persons.

        At home when things go bump in the night will you throw on your battle belt and armor to go outside to check it out? If you train to do that then that is fine. I give good odds you will not even think about that equipment if you have children in the house you have to worry about. First of all this equipment takes time to put on. That is time someone you don't want in or around your home to move around and get to where you don't want them. Odds are if you wore your battle belt or SAPI plate carrier to the ballgame or supermarket you might get the attention of local law enforcement. I'm not saying that it is illegal to wear such things (check your state laws). However, don't complain when the boys and girls in blue ask to talk to you and see WTF.

     I am all for having the right gear for the right job. I'm all about some nifty gadgets and cool little gizmos to make things  tacticool. They do have their purpose during certain situations. I do enjoy exterior magazine pouches, chest rigs, body armor, thigh rigs, Multicam fatigues, and the like. I own ALL of those things and have used them during my regular jobs over the last 15 years. My current profile pic has me in such a getup.

      I don't condone a lot of tactical gear usage in my private citizen classes that they would not use in everyday life. As a matter of fact, when I teach I'm usually in a pair of jeans and appropriate seasonal clothing you would see everyday people in. I use concealment holsters and magazine carriers. 90% of the time I demonstrate all of my handgun usage skills from concealment. Even in my carbine classes I hang the weapon on it's sling and throw magazines in my back pocket. My Remington 870 (my bump in the night gun in my bath robe) has a full reload of ammunition on it in different forms. This is because this is the way you are going to utilize these tools in your daily life if needed. If you train to pull magazines from your vest or battle belt you hand will reach to the same place under stress. I'll give you an example. While I worked overseas my pistol was on my right thigh every time I was outside of the wire. When I came home there was one time right after I had to shoot an animal that was a threat to one of my kids. I was in my own yard. I reached for my thigh and grabbed air. Oh Flip where is my gun? I hadn't transitioned myself to the fact that my pistol had migrated back to my civilian life inside my waist band. Luckily I was quick enough to realize I goofed and got the growling dog broad side.

     On the opposite side of the coin. If you TRAIN to wear your battle rattle for certain situations because you EXPECT trouble to come your way then that is not a bad idea either. There are folks out there that do nothing but train in 30 pounds of equipment and run through the woods. To end this I can say that a lot of folks equate having the most tacticool stuff means that they know what they are doing with weapons manipulation. You can have a vest with everything but the kitchen sink on it and not be able to perform a speed reload to save your life. You can have level IV armor all day long and still get shot dead because you didn't use proper cover to protect the rest of you. The main thing is common sense and deciding whether you want to attract attention to yourself.

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Tim Davis, Jr. is a full time law Enforcement Professional, martial arts, and a part time firearms instructor. He has firearms experience spanning over 15 years ranging from several schools in advanced tactical response, running a Law Enforcement Tactical unit to time spent in Afghanistan working with their law enforcement program. Tim is the co-owner of Appropriate Action in Englewood TN. 

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