Wolf Premium Oil Review (All in one Gun Cleaner & Oil)

 

So let me be honest here…I hate cleaning guns. I know it’s necessary and important but I almost always find a way to “let” my husband do it for one simple reason-the smell. The solvent we use is intoxicating and overwhelming. I usually have to leave the house because it will lead to migraines and then the smell lingers for days inside. Cleaning them outside is pointless with all the dirt and dust flying around so I just have to suck it up and do it.

The first thing I did when I received the oil was open it up and smell it. I tried to smell anything but couldn’t. WHAT? You mean I will be able to clean my gun without my eyes burning or getting a headache? But would it work?

I decided to use the gun oil and cleaner on my Savage 25-06. It doesn’t get used often, maybe once or twice a year during doe management at the end of the season and I wasn’t even sure when it had last been cleaned but I knew I used it a few weekends ago on a doe. Previous reviews have said to use your original cleaner first and then try Wolf Premium Oils but after the aforementioned smell issues I had to pass on that and go straight for the Wolf Oil.

For a ‘clean-ish’ gun with only a few rounds fired in the last few years I wasn’t expecting much. I was impressed with the consistency of the oil; it wasn’t too thick but it also didn’t spill everywhere or get all over my hands when I was applying it to the cleaning patches. It absorbed well on the patches and didn’t require much oil. As I ran the patches down the barrel I was surprised to see the amount of dirt that kept coming out of it. 

 

After 7 patches I finally got a nearly clean one and was very satisfied with the lack of oil over everything around me. Sometimes things can get messy with spilled cleaners or solvents but even the 3 times I knocked over the bottle I didn’t spill anything so that was an added bonus in my book! The oil not only did its job cleaning the inside of the barrel and action but also helped remove all the build-up on the outside as well. 

Bottom line – the stuff works, it doesn’t smell, it isn’t messy, it’s Made in the USA and now I am actually excited to clean my guns without a getting a headache or passing out from the smell! Bravo Wolf Premium Oils, bravo.

Check them out here: www.wolfpremiumoils.com

Gun Safety - A Special Story

With youth hunting weekends and rifle seasons starting up in many areas I thought it would be appropriate to share a story about gun safety that a Twitter friend sent me. His name is David Ivy and you might know him on twitter (@BigDave1961). Instead of posting mounds of information on gun safety tips that can easily be found anywhere online I just want to share his personal story.

 

Take it and read it to your kids, your friends, and anybody who will listen. It’s a great way to start the conversation on gun safety. Educate your kids on guns, don’t try to hide guns from them without informing them what they are. Curiosity will be in every child’s head and they will find your guns or be around them at some point and education is the only way to ensure smart decisions.

 

Please do not judge David, his buddy or the actions in this story. This is real.

My hunting buddy took his 1st breath of air on March 23, 1990...while he's yet to figure out the big plan for his life we know there is one...

My buddy started tagging along with me fishing and hunting at an early age.  A young hunter in the making he had harvested some trophy bucks and awesome gobblers, before taking his required hunter education course when he was 11.

In early March of 2004, I purchased his birthday present, a Benilli turkey shot gun, but I left it at the local store knowing I would pick it up on the 23rd.  We were scheduled to turkey hunt with a close friend on the weekend following his birthday.

Life was good until...2:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 18th.  My buddy had gone to spend the night at a friend’s house the evening of March 17th.  Now understand I'm not knocking single moms, but the friend’s mom was single and not knowledgeable about firearms.

At 2:30 a.m. I answered the ringing phone to hear my son state that he had been accidentally shot with an unloaded .22 in the face, while playing video games. The friend’s mom wasn't able to talk to me as she was still asleep.  Petrified I asked my son if he had called 911, he replied yes.  He told me that he loved his mom and myself, and that he was sorry for fussing with his mom earlier the previous day. 

I told him we were on the way and to have the medics call us when they got there.  The home he was visiting was out in the county and the nearest hospital was just a small town medical facility. 

When we arrived at the hospital the ER personnel were kind and they advised us that he was stable and was going to be air lifted to the University Medical Center Pediatric Trauma center some 80 miles away.

When we arrived by ground at the Medical Center and he wasn't there we learned that turbulent weather caused the chopper to return him to the local hospital.  Finally after what seemed like forever an ambulance arrived, with my son being rolled in on a stretcher he gave me his thumbs up.  I think he could see the stress and worry on my face.

Shortly upon arrival at the Trauma Center a young doctor came in to perform a visual examination, which led to X-rays, etc.  The doctor was amazed that there was no apparent nerve damage, only broken teeth, bullet fragments in his jaw, and a broken jaw.  Surgery was performed later in the afternoon to clean up the jaw, and to wire his mouth closed. 

On Saturday afternoon he was released from the hospital.  I told the doctor about the birthday present that was to be picked up the first of the week.  His advice was simple, give it to him.  My next concern was that his mom was going to tell me to get rid of all the guns in the house, but thankfully that didn't happen.

On Tuesday night the 23rd we had a small birthday party.  When he opened the box tears filled his eyes.  We had to postpone his turkey trip a few weeks, the doctor said he shouldn't hunt until he was off the pain meds.

In late April we made that turkey hunt and with 2 big gobblers just out of gun range my buddy said “Dad I don't think I can do this”.  I said a little prayer that these birds would stay out of gun range so that he wouldn't feel bad about not being able to squeeze the trigger.  Later that morning back at the camp house some of the other guys took him out to the range to help him overcome his new fear.  About 30 minutes later he said “Dad I'm ready let's get a bird this afternoon.”

Later that summer he was invited to speak at a Jakes Day event on gun safety.  One could have heard a pin drop when he introduced himself and started his story with "my friend accidentally shot me" with an unloaded gun. 

I never questioned any parent(s) before that night about whether they kept guns in their house.  I never questioned whether they kept their weapons properly stored.  As you might imagine after that night I certainly asked questions and if the answers weren't right, I was a bad parent for keeping my son at home.

 

 

Unfortunately we weren’t able to obtain the pictures of the x-rays to show the damage but I think the facts of the story are powerful enough. Talk to your kids, educate them, and hopefully we can eliminate these kinds of incidents.

 

 

Doe-Licious Delight & Coyote Chaos

 

 As much as I love to bow hunt whitetail I encounter situations that require me to pick up a rifle. These are rare moments, especially when hunting deer, but that was the case this past January. An opportunity was presented to conduct deer management on some property in Deep South Texas & with over 5000 acres to cover in 3 days & plenty of tags to fill I knew I would have a rifle in my hand. There wasn't time to scout or set up good bow blinds and the land owner needed some doe herds thinned out. The land was going to be leased out for the following season & who could pass up an opportunity to fill our freezers & feed our family!

 Most of the hunting was done down long senderos and hitting up water sources so we tried to increase the challenge by taking long shots, usually 200+ yards each time.
 

Over the next few days we were able to put 6 doe in our ice chests & another friend filled his with 3 doe as well. Knowing we would be keeping some of the meat but also filling our parents & families freezers was very rewarding and being able to help out the land owner in the process. 9 doe may not be a big dent in the doe population but it could only help.



The 3rd doe I shot was  in the early afternoon and the weather was warming up so we field dressed her immediately so we could continue to hunt (this was actually one of the bigger doe I shot but the angle in the picture below made her look smaller-we were keeping her in the shade to keep her cool as well). We left the gut pile and headed out to finish checking senderos. We were making our way back to the area of the gut pile when we saw a big ol bobcat run off from the pile! It had not been more than an hour since I had shot the doe and the bobcat found his own dinner quickly and during daylight hours! We tried to get a shot on the cat but he was too quick for us!

In between filling ice chests we were always on the lookout for predators, pests, pigs and javelina to hunt. While driving around midday we headed to one of the water sources for some action. When we drove up over one of the damns we all spotted a coyote devouring an animal carcass.

The first shot from our friend was a miss but then my husband took a follow up shot while the coyote was on the run and he hit him. We quickly made our way over to him. This was turning into a team effort and since he was still alive (broken back) I then put two .40 rounds into his head. Dead coyote. As always I wanted pictures (have to share with y'all) so I drug him out of the brush & proceeded to take pictures. 

 

 As I laid him back down I freaked out! He started breathing and moving his mouth. At first I thought maybe it was just his body reacting to the shots and being held upside down but when we put a boot on his stomach he pushed it off with this breathing & started moving! A few more rounds in him finally led to his expiration. I would have thought 2 shots to the head would have sealed the deal but apparently I was wrong!

 

 This was one tough coyote & here I was holding him up taking picture while he was still alive!! The only comfort I had was that I had on snake boots that came up to my knees and 3 bottom layers of clothing! As you can see from the picture his gnarly teeth were well within range of latching onto my leg and leading to a whole mess of problems! Not the smartest moment I have had in the woods! 

 

 

The last morning of the hunt hubby and I were sitting together watching a sendero when we saw 2 doe come out. They were calm and relaxed and it was his turn to shoot; as he was getting set up for a shot at 180 yards we both noticed something else in the distance.

 Sneaking up behind the two unsuspecting doe were 2 evil conniving coyotes. We were about to witness them carry out their plan of attack from behind on the smaller doe and we were not about to let this happen. The doe had no idea the coyotes were sneaking down the road. As much as we wanted to get another doe on ice and meat in the freezer, we knew taking down these predators and saving the doe and future fawns was more important.

 So hubby turned his sights of his .270 to the coyotes and took a shot at 200 yards and dropped the first coyote in his tracks. He moved quickly to try for a shot on the second coyote but it had already made its way into the brush. The doe scattered as expected but we were happy to have destroyed that coyote and ruined their plan of attack!

 

 So yes the coyote in this picture was shot by my husband and not me, but he isn't as excited to take pictures as I am haha! However, that coyote was very smelly and my hands stunk for quite some time afterwards! 

 It was a great weekend trip of filling freezers, managing the doe population, taking down some predators and I even did a little javelina stalking with my bow that came up short. Now all of those doe are in our freezers and the freezers of our family. The land owner thanked us over and over but we were the ones who were extremely grateful for the opportunity to hunt, feed our family, and make memories to last a lifetime!

SOSGEAR Review – Custom Paracord Rifle Sling

 

SOSGEAR is a unique company that creates custom paracord products including gun slings, bow wrist slings, turkey totes, lanyards and more. Below is my review of the custom paracord rifle sling that I received. 

Durability/Function/Design:

 When I received the paracord rifle sling I was impressed immediately with the quality and bright saturated colors. The sling was solid and stiff, yet flexed and moved with ease. The loops and knots seem to work together for durability but provided enough flex to mold to my hands and shoulder. I am not familiar with the different techniques of ‘braiding’ or ‘looping’ but it appears that this pattern is conducive to more bending and flexibility for throwing over your shoulder, hitting the woods, and enjoying the comfort it provides.

 

 I used the sling in Deep South Texas recently while chasing pigs and javelina; as I was driving around the land there were times when I needed to jump out quickly to make a move and attempt to get in range of an animal and surprisingly this sling actually made that easier. My previous nylon/cloth sling would easily wrap around the shifter of the Polaris but the SOSGEAR sling did not sag or wrap around any components of the vehicle. This may not seem like a big deal but if you need to jump out and run after a pig you don’t want your gun sling getting hung up on gas pedal, shifter, other guns, legs or anything else in your way. (I am a bit clumsy so things like this are important to me!)

 I also put the sling to test while doing a great deal of walking and stalking on a pig hunt. The entire hunt was 5 hours long with multiple stalks lasting 30 minutes or more. The sling seemed to mold to my shoulder during the long walks and remained comfortable throughout most of the stalks. I have small hands and probably not the strongest shoulders so when I needed to grab it off my shoulder the sling fit right in my hands and my shoulders did not tire from the long stalks. The paracord material sits nicely on top of your shoulder and clothes and does not ‘cut or dig into’ your skin leaving marks. Although I have only had the sling for a few months its durability in warm & cool climates seems promising and will hold up for many years to come.



Reverse Positives?

 I don’t want to use the word negative or ‘cons’ in this review because the small concerns I had will not affect everyone and are not solely the owners misstep. There were a few times on the long stalks where there was a slight discomfort on my shoulder. I noticed that where the sling connects back on itself is a little thicker and slightly bumpy from the extra material but is necessary to hold it together. It did not bother me most of the time but occasionally would move to a certain spot that I could feel.

The only other concern I had was actually just a lack of communication between me and the owner regarding the type of ‘attachments or connectors’ (D-rings, buckles, loops etc) I had on my gun to attach the sling too. SOSGEAR used quality sling swivels but unfortunately did not fit on my pre-attached loops. I made a simple modification with black cables ties (zip-ties) to attach the sling in the same manner as some binoculars have them; problem solved and lesson learned.

 

As I said the only ‘cons’ were minor issues that will not affect everyone and can even be avoided with a few questions and answers during the ordering process.

 

 

 Overall Impression

 I absolutely love my custom paracord rifle sling. I loved the colors I picked out (which were true to color in the picture and in person) and SOSGEAR provides a wide range of colors to choose from that will appeal to everyone from little girls to grown men! The prices are perfect knowing the hard work put into each hand made piece and the friendly customer service is a rarity in today’s world.

Please check out SOSGEAR at: http://sosgearmt.com & Follow Chelsea & SOSGEAR on twitter & Instagram: @SOSGEARMT