If you’re anything like me, you have all kinds of tools, patches, swabs, solvents, and favorite rags for cleaning your guns. I’m old enough to remember when there was but one way to clean a gun – Hoppe’s No. 9, a firm brush, and lots of patches. While those items are still within easy reach on my bench, I have also been happy to embrace new ideas – especially if they save me time or money! The folks at Swab-it have a product line that they say does just that. Gun Tips and Bore Tips are foam swabs that come in many shapes and sizes and are engineered to provide superior cleaning and easy re-use. I put an assortment of these swabs to the test.
Justin Opinion
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The Walther PPQ M2 5-Inch—A Born Match Gun – Video Review
Updated: February 9, 2014The Walther PPQ 5” is one of the coolest looking handguns I have ever held, at least in the scope of today’s fashion. It is basically the tricked-out black rifle of the handgun platform. From the squared-off pyramid-shaped slide that sports deep angled cocking serrations front and rear, down past the ambidextrous slide stop levers that are extra-long and can be operated by most shooters without having to alter their grip – to the oddly unique but comfortable backstrap of the grip – decorated in a paisley texture. The angles of the polymer frame that lead toward the front accessory rail look like they might belong on the newest Stealth aircraft. All that would be enough to qualify as “cool looking” in any showcase, but Walther had to go over the top. To maintain the weight of the slide so that the 9mm round would continue to operate the pistol reliably, it was necessary to take some weight from the front of the slide. This is nothing new, and we’ve seen Glock and Springfield Armory do the same with their long-slide match guns. Walther’s engineers cut ‘port holes’ into the top of the slide, three on each side. These oval slots in the slide reminded me of a classic old Buick Roadmaster the first time I saw one. They are there for an engineering purpose, but they turn the “cool factor” of the gun up to 11 on the dial. Finishing touches included tapering the nose of the slide in significantly where it overhangs the frame and cutting a large hole where the guide rod travels during cycling.