Monday, October 1, 2012

12-Gauge Chimp's First Ever Gear Review.

Hey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here with the first ever gear review in the sites history.

Now, I've done gun and knife reviews in the past and that's basically what I'm known for, but lately I've thought about expanding my site and doing different reviews in addition to the gun and knife reviews. I'll still be doing those since they're basically what makes the site, but I just wanted to try and review something that wasn't sharp and pointy or went bang.

On with the review.

As you all may know, I purchased my very first 1911 in February of this year ( I think I may have said March when I did the review, but looking at my records, I actually bought it in February.) Anyway, the gun came with smooth wood grips that were kind of slippery. So, I decided to replace them with something better. What I ended up with was a set of Ergo Grip brand 1911 grips in black. These things are awesome and really fit my 1911 well. Granted, I did have to trim some molding remnants off and trim down a sharp corner on the grips, but other than that the grips were fine. It was just a matter of personal preference. Not everyone will have to do what I did. Now, I haven't really tested the grips out at the range but a couple friends of mine are supposed to be headed my way at the end of the month, so I hope to have a field test done at that time. As for now, I'm holding off on giving the grips my seal of approval, but even though I haven't gotten out to the range, I'm fairly sure that I'll be giving the Ergo Grips my approval.

Also, here's another first for the site. I will actually be naming the shop where I purchased the grips from. Recently, I was in Albuquerque New Mexico on vacation and I stopped at a shop called "Kaufman's West", which is military surplus store based in Albuquerque. They sell mostly brand new tactical gear and other items, but they do have a pretty good amount of actual surplus stuff. Now, I had read some bad reviews on the internet about the store and I was a bit worried I'd have the same experience as some of the other reviewers. In reality, I had just the opposite experience.

When I walked into the store, I was greeted by an employee named Daniel, who would later go above and beyond to help me find a paracord bracelet big enough to fit my large wrists. When I had a question about the Ergo Grips, he directed me to another employee, who in turn directed me to yet another employee, who would later turn out to be the manager of the store. All three of them were very helpful and made me feel welcome in the store. I forgot to get the names of the manager and the other employee, but I'm sure if they read my site, they'll know who I'm talking about. After I decided to purchase the grips, I wanted to see if they had a left handed holster that would fit my 1911. I'm kind of weird when it comes to shooting guns as I shoot handguns as a left hander and rifles and shotguns as a right hander. This makes it a bit hard for me to buy handguns since few on the market are lefty friendly. That's changed a lot recently since more and more companies are making guns that are lefty friendly. Matter of fact, I found a company that makes a true left handed 1911. It's basically a mirror image version of the 1911 we all know. It's pretty expensive which is why I probably won't be reviewing it any time soon.

Getting back to the store, I found an employee stocking holsters and asked her if they had any left handed holsters for 1911's. She asked me what kind I was looking for and after she mentioned a few styles, I followed her to the wall of holsters the store has. She found a really nice Galco holster for me, which I sadly could not buy due to my lack of funds. We looked at a few more holster options and after we came to the conclusion I wasn't going to find one in my price range, I thanked her for her help and went off to look for other items on my list. I ended up leaving Kaufmann's with the aforementioned 1911 grips, a coyote tan paracord bracelet and an OD Green boonie hat which will replace my cheap desert camo one.

All in all, I enjoyed my experience at Kaufmann's West in Albuquerque and I will be back again one of these years.  The employees were nice and took the time to answer my questions to the best of their knowledge and the employee named Daniel, who I mentioned earlier, went above and beyond to help me find a paracord bracelet that fit me. When I told him about my site, he was interested in it and asked me to write down the site address for him so he could check it out. As I was writing down the site address, it occurred to me that it might be in my best interests to ask permission to write about the store. So, Daniel called the manager over and I explained what I wanted to do. I told her that I wouldn't write anything bad about the store, which is true since I honestly could not find a bad thing about the store. I received permission to write about the store and I kept my promise to them.

So, if you ever find yourselves in Albuquerque New Mexico , stop by Kaufman's West and check out the store. If you all are anything like your pal 12-Gauge Chimp, there's bound to be something that you'll like.

As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

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