Category Archives: Finishes

Robar to the Glock Rescue

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Robar grip work, 10-8 sights and mag base pad, slide work done by Mars Armament. Axe is an RMJ Shrike

It would be safe to say that the Glock as a pistol is almost, or dare I say as big an “icon” as the 1911. Glocks are being used by law enforcement and military personnel all over the world as well as being one of the best selling pistol manufacturers in the US. A good majority of gun owners, especially those who frequent shooting courses or instruction, all seem to own at least one Glock. With its popularity comes an exploding aftermarket with an endless list of companies making parts or modifying/machining the guns themselves. Some are worthy of mention and many are hacks with a hot piece of metal deforming the frames almost to the point of failure on unsuspecting owners looking to emulate the professionals for a fraction of the cost. I personally had a Glock stippled by a friend, and while not a hack job by any means I found the texture too aggressive and didn’t quite know how remedy it without just buying another frame. This is the point where Robar comes in. Continue reading →

Robar NP3 AR15 Bolt Carrier Group

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If you have more than a couple rounds down the barrel of the AR15 platform, you should know the system works but isn’t necessarily the cleanest. For anyone who actually shoots their gun instead of keeping it clean and pretty, the cleaning of the bolt carrier group in particular is always a fan favorite. Your choices are to soak it in solvent of some type of spend a good amount of time with a scraper of some type trying to break through the layer of fossilized carbon built up around the gas rings on the bolt. This is where aftermarket finishes and treatments have come into play in recent years in an effort to battle the carbon buildup. I have never been a fan of the flashy silver bolt carriers shining through the ejection port of a AR. I made a habit of writing them off as flash as my AR’s had always run just fine without them. Continue reading →

3000 Rounds Later- The Smith and Wesson VTAC 2

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A couple of years ago, I purchased a Smith and Wesson VTAC  M&P15 from a coworker.  It became one of my favorite rifles pretty quickly. The rifle was spec’d by Kyle Lamb, head dude in charge over at Viking Tactics and is street ready.

A few months ago, I walked into my local gun shop and they had a VTAC 2 in stock.  I handled the rifle, and after some internal debate, I became the new owner of the VTAC 2. Continue reading →

Photo of the Day: AR15 Bolt with Robar NP3

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At the suggestion of my good friend Freddie Blish, I recently sent out a mil spec AR15/M16 bolt to Robar Guns for their NP3 Finish. Though I have known of Robar and their NP3 for decades, I really didn’t know much about the finish other than it was based on electroless nickel. A quick phone call to Freddie got me up to speed. The Cliff Notes version is that the Robar Companies spend most of their resources fulfilling industrial contracts, including plating of critical aircraft components for the military with many of the same finishes seen on their firearms. And Robbie Barrkman is no stranger to custom guns, as he was the original gunsmith for Jeff Cooper at the American Pistol Institute a.k.a. Gunsite.

Freddie highlighted the benefits of the latest iteration of NP3, including extreme corrosion resistance (1000+ hours of salt spray resistance), embedded PTFE in the coating makes it self-lubricating, exceptional abrasion resistance without being excessively hard so as to cause abnormal wear on softer parts that mate up to the coated surface. The coating is also easy to clean, and in most cases fouling will wipe right off the surface. What does this mean? Freddie expects that my bolt will have an enhanced service life and asked me to shoot the gun completely dry to see how long it will run before failure. This is a completely foreign concept to me as I keep my AR/M4 platforms wet with lube as a matter of practice, but I will grit my teeth and do as instructed. Results will be posted here.

 

ROBAR/10-8/MSW GLOCK17-PART 4

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Robar/10-8/MSW Glock 17 After 2000 + Rounds

This 4th and final installment of the Robar Glock review will focus on the overall modifications and how they effect the performance of the pistol. For those who are looking for a “I ran it over with my 4×4 and then tossed it out of a helicopter review” you will be disappointed. However the pistol is a working gun and is not a “Safe Queen”.

Since receiving my Robar modified Glock almost three months ago, I have carried it everyday, taught 6 classes with it, which included demonstration drills, shot 2 IDPA matches and shot it during several training sessions and allowed several students to fire it as well. During that time the pistol has fired over 2000 rounds, of which over 1500 have been reloaded ammunition.

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ROBAR/10-8/MSW GLOCK17-PART 3

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Robar/10-8/MSW/Glock 17 External Modifications.

This part of my review will feature the external modifications preformed by Robar on the project Glock 17. The modifications include refinishing the slide in PolyT2 Gunmetal Gray. Forward cocking serrations to match the factory rear serrations. Tri-Fit Backstrap System with 3 interchangeable backstraps. Rounded and textured triggerguard. High Grip Modification. Small Beavertail. Full Grip Texturing. Fitting a 10-8 Front Tritium Sight and a 10-8 .156 Rear Sight.

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Wilson’s Tactical Elite: Now and Back In The Day

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With permission of WC, here’s what a Tactical Elite looks like now in its basic configuration.

Meet the Wilson Combat (WC) Tactical Elite (TE), a really nice full size 1911 with a unique flanged cone barrel.  The claim of softer recoil and faster shot-to shot-recovery (due to almost two ounces additional weight) is not a false boast.  I base this on the comments of friends who have shot my TE, and from personal experience.  There are a couple of pistols in WC’s expansive current offerings I now might like better, but that in no way diminishes this rather unusual iteration of the 1911.

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Paint: A Guide to a Practical Finish for a Working Gun

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Paint.

It wasn’t all that long ago that if you wanted your rifle colored to break up the distinctly black outline of Gene Stoner’s creation, you grabbed a can of Krylon, and did it yourself. Of course, some painful lessons were learned along the way about which parts should not be painted, and how best to keep paint off of those parts. Thanks to the internet, and communities of “gun guys” popping up all over it, some were able to avoid the early pitfalls, and come through the Kryloning of a high dollar investment without many vulgarities escaping our lips.

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