Minnesota company Real Avid offers effective products for gun hobbyists
Walk into any firearms shop or sporting goods store around the country and you’ll see the red, black and white colored displays with the “RA” crest on end caps and in aisles. Real Avid has made taking care of your firearms easier and more convenient since 2008. And like most provincial Minnesotans, I take comfort in knowing that they are a Minnesota company! They are “one of us.”
My first Real Avid product I purchased was a Bore Boss — an ingenious little bore snake kit that is self-contained and fits in round housing no larger than a softball. I owned a rifle and shotgun cleaning kit, but the plastic cases that contained all the small pieces were broken and did not seal and the cleaning rod was segmented and needed assembly. The Bore Boss was a simple but effective dive into what I think Real Avid is all about — making a better mouse trap as well as bringing the same question to my mind — “Why didn’t I think of that?!”
Real Avid is doing well in its market share by mastering layouts. You’ll see their shelves and end caps in sporting goods stores and recognize their products. If you are a gun “do it yourselfer,” whether you build or tinker with guns, maintain guns, or customize your guns with aftermarket accessories, they have products for you.
If you are like me and you have some optics that are worth more than the guns they are mounted upon, you may opt to move those optics around on your firearms. It can be a pain to get those riflescopes lined up, but the Level Right Pro makes the process much easier. A level turret does not always ensure a level reticle, and the Level Right Pro helps you make sure your reticle is level as well as your turret.
Using the Level Right Pro, you can project your reticle and ensure it's lined up on a grid pattern screen. You can also see if anything moves as you tighten your scope down. Check your manufacturer’s torque specifications and adjust accordingly, then take your gun to the range to get fully zeroed in, adjusting minute of angle or milliradians to make your point of aim match your point of impact.
If you want to bore sight your rifle, check out the Viz-Max Bore Sighter that was just released this year. It is a powerful magnetic attachment that sends out a strong green laser dot for maximum visibility. The cap for this tool doubles as a chamber flag to ensure nothing is in the action. You will be able to bore sight your rifle much easier with this tool.
Gun builders have never had it so good. The Master Gun Vise is a do-it-all, ball-and-socket style vise. The vise includes a leveling knob with a bubble level for fine adjustment, removable jaws with grooved sleeves and pads, and best of all, this vise can handle up to 100 foot pounds of torque by means of a pinable ball and socket setup. I can work on anything from my grandfather’s heirloom rifle to a modern sporting rifle build.
Need to set your screws on optics or other firearms parts assemblies to manufacturer’s recommendations but do not want to strip them out or overtighten them and risk damage? Get yourself the Smart-Torq driver set. The driver has a clutch that slips if you exceed the torque allowance. Simply set your maximum torque and you can safely apply it to the screw or bolt in question.
Do you build on several gun platforms? You are going to need tools specific to gun takedown and assembly. Pin punches, crowfoot wrenches, vise pads. You need an Armorer’s Master Kit Pro. This is Real Avid’s top seller, to both professional gunsmiths but most importantly to hobbyist gun builders. You will not be without the tools needed to build or take apart firearms with these kits.
The other do-everything kit gun hobbyists need is the Smart Drive Gunsmithing Kit. This kit has 90 pieces with a driver that has a jeweler’s spin top, an LED light that illuminates everything you are working on, a magnetic bit holder, and an extra grip for more control. All housed in a magnetic parts tray that ensures you will not lose anything. This kit has every style bit you could encounter on firearms, made specifically for guns rather than hardware stores. Don’t tell my other gun buddies, but this is the gunsmith bit driver and kit that you’ll want to use for everything around your house.
If all you are doing is giving your guns a good cleaning, Real Avid still has you covered, just like they did for me when I started with their Bore Boss cleaning snake. Try their nickel cleaning brushes; nickel has low hardness and will not scratch your guns but will give them a good, thorough cleaning of accumulated carbon, grit, and anything else you’ve accumulated in the field, a good barrel scrub, or for new barrels, a better break-in. Real Avid sells a differently designed cleaning patch with more area and offers a foaming solvent cleaner that reveals a superior clean. Want to clean your guns easier, faster, with less headache? Try using a few products from the Real Avid cleaning and maintenance line.
In short order, Real Avid has grown leaps and bounds in products offered and visibility in the marketplace. Real Avid is the Snap-On of gun tools. Or maybe the Swiss army knife of gun tools when it comes to their kits and one-piece tool cores and multi-tools. Their multi-tools are every day carry objects for riflemen or shotgunners. Real Avid has everything you could need and things you did not know you need but love when you use them!
— This is the opinion of outdoors columnist Scott Mackenthun, an outdoors enthusiast who has been writing about hunting and fishing since 2005. You can follow him on Instagram @scottmackenthun and on Twitter @ScottyMack31.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Minnesota company Real Avid offers effective products for gun hobbyists
