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There are a few things I’ve wanted to mention for a while, but they haven’t really fit into any article I’ve written. And none of them are really worth their own article.
So I’m going to do this short, not terribly focused article to get them done.
Table of Contents
Where I get ammunition.
Obviously, I get some locally. Walk into the store, buy it, walk out. I also have a couple online sites I often use. I live in a rational state where ammo can just be shipped to me. The big deal here is shipping. Ammo is heavy so it adds up; the more you can get at once the better off you are.
I have a couple main spots:
- Palmetto State Armory has ammo, including some deals with spare mags thrown in.
- LuckyGunner.com is an excellent source; fast, reasonable shipping and good prices.
- Ammoseek.com is an aggregator; they look all over the internet and break things down by cost. Which is useful, but make sure you trust the site they’re sending you to. A couple seem a touch sketchy to me. You will likely have to create an account at wherever they send you.
After I get the ammo.
I need to put it into the magazines. There’s a gadget for that. There are sometimes cheap ones included with new guns now. They’re specific for the gun/magazine they come with. I think I have a few around here somewhere but I never use them.
These things really save your thumbs when you’re doing a couple hundred rounds.
Mine is the UpLULA made by Maglula. They don’t sell on Amazon or eBay, so you’ll have to go to more of a firearm or sports oriented store: I normally like either Cabelas or Brownell’s for this sort of thing. Local gun stores may also carry them.
And yes, it’s been used. A lot.
The reason I like this is that it’s not specific; it will do anything from single-stack 9mm to double-stack .45 ACP. It’s honestly better with double-stack; they’re wider and it’s easier to keep it positioned. It’s not hard with a single-stack; it requires a modicum of care to keep it lined up.
They do make an adapter for the bottom that will make 1911’s or other single stacks a bit easier: the 1911A1 aligner insert. I don’t really think it’s necessary, but maybe I should buy one and try it before I get too dismissive. 
Eye protection.
I normally just wear my sunglasses for eye pro. These are my current ones (Amazon link): Oakley Men’s Half Jacket 2.0 XL. My main reason for just using my sunglasses is that, living in Arizona, I tend to always have some on during the day. By doing this I’m practicing the way I’ll be carrying.
I like the Oakleys; they fit well and are comfortable. They also have swappable lens options. That’s a really handy thing to have; they’re easy to pop in and out as needed. My normal dark lenses are not really a good idea on a cloudy day. Yes. We have those. Oakley even makes some clear lenses if you’re shooting at night.
Prescription glasses, if you need them, are also normally more than sufficient for basic protection.
Ear protection.
I mostly shoot outdoors. Ear protection matters, but there’s less sound than at an indoor range where it’s bouncing back off walls, floors, etc. Even at formal outdoor ranges, there tends to be more space between shooters than at an indoor.
I mainly use these, from Amazon: Reusable ear plugs, bag of 100. I also honestly rarely re-use them. They’re certainly of sufficient quality and durability to use more than once, but I can be a pack rat at times so if I wasn’t careful I’d have a dozen of them cluttering up things in my car and house. They’re not that expensive; better to just get new ones every time.
As you can see, they’re individually wrapped in the big bag. I keep at least six or eight packets in my range bag. 
For indoor ranges, or if I’m taking a class where I need to hear instructions, I have some Howard Leight Impact Sport electronic ear muffs.
As you can see in the picture, they have an on/off switch that, while on, will allow “normal” sounds through. Like, say, the voice of the instructor teaching the class. That can just be turned off for indoor ranges.
Mag carriers.
I sometimes get a specific one, like the one I have for my CZ RAMI. I bought a Vedder holster for the RAMI and it came with a belt and magazine carrier. It works well for those magazines. And also CZ 75B magazines, which also work in the RAMI. Even though CZ’s site doesn’t list that combination as compatible. I’m not sure why; I’ve proven to my own satisfaction that work quite well.
I also have a Versacarry Element with a built-in mag pouch I’m pretty comfortable with.
However, when I’m carrying anything other than the RAMI or SP2022, I use a Pitbull Universal Mag Carrier. Like the UpLULA, this is capable of handling any magazine from single-stack 9mm to double-stack .45 ACP. It’s spring-loaded so it clamps down on the sides of the magazine, holding it securely. The pictures are of a 10-round P365 magazine, a1911 8-rounder, and a CZ 75 16-round 9mm.
The Pitbull can be carried both IWB and OWB. I normally do OWB; they’re so slender printing is not an issue and it’s a lot more comfortable. Especially that CZ 75 magazine. Note the metal lip. It’s not sharp, as such, but it’s not exactly comfortable on the skin after some time, either. I should probably look around and see if someone makes something for that.
Conclusion
There you have it. Kind of a hodgepodge article, but hopefully you found something useful in there. There are just a lot of little things to being a gun owner that we take for granted. Sometimes it’s nice to mention them to compare notes. If you have some different ideas feel free to leave me a comment.
I’ll be back to my more focused stuff by the next article.
See you then.
