Are you an NRA member? Think you have $2500 ArmsCare insurance coverage for your firearms, as a benefit of membership? Well there’s a catch. If you fail to ACTIVATE your NRA insurance, your claim will almost certainly be rejected if you suffer a loss. The NRA insurance webpage states:
“As a benefit provided by the National Rifle Association, [members] are automatically eligible for $2,500 ArmsCare Firearm Insurance. This firearms coverage … must be activated to take effect.”
Many NRA members are not aware of the activation requirement. That’s not surprising, as there’s no mention of this in many NRA membership solicitations. While the activation clause is disclosed in printed materials mailed to members, we bet that a large percentage of NRA members are not aware that their NRA insurance is essentially useless until “activated”. Just signing up for an NRA membership (and paying the dues) is not enough. You must activate the insurance or your claims can be rejected. Even if you have been a dues-paying NRA member for decades, you need to activate your insurance.
This is the real deal. Forum members (with current, active NRA memberships) have had 2013 gun loss claims rejected because they had not “activated” their NRA insurance. Don’t suffer the same fate. If you are an NRA member, you should activate your ArmsCare insurance right now. Don’t delay. Your NRA ArmsCare insurance won’t become effective until you activate it!
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Do you own one or more AR-platform rifles? Need to fix and service critical components in the field? Then you should check out the new AR Platform Multitasker Tool sold by Brownells. This handy gadget has enough functions to keep MacGyver happy. It has hex wrenches for scope rings and LaRue mounts, front sight tool, a Castle Nut spanner wrench, a pin punch, and even a carbon scraper — something every AR owner can definitely use.
In addition to these gun-specific tools, the Multitasker includes a knife blade, pliers, and a magnetic bit driver with ten bits. The cleverly-designed tool folds up to fit in your pocket. For a further explanation of all the tool elements, and an explanation of how they work (with many good photos), see the Multitasker Review on Ar15news.com.
Brownells AR Platform Multitasker Tool Features:
Non-slip G10 Scaled Grips (either matte black or tan)
Billet Pliers (D2 tool steel — CNC milled)
Carbon Scraper with Radiused Tip
3/8″ Hex for LaRue Mounts
1/2″ Hex for Scope Rings
Magnetic Bit Driver (1/4″) with M16A2 FSP Adjuster
Dual-Lug M4 Castle Nut Spanner Wrench
Pin Punch (3/32″) with 8-32 male thread for Otis cleaning kit
D2 3″-long Tool-Steel Knife Blade
Combo Flat Screwdriver and Bottle Opener
Pocket clip (removable)
Kit with 10 Hex Bits for commonly used AR accessories
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We’ve had some problems with our venerable RCBS Chargemaster (overcharges that display incorrectly, even after a second weighing), so we decided to dispense one grain low and then trickle up on a Lab Scale with the latest Magnetic Force Restoration (MFR) load cell technology. Though still quite expensive, MFR scales respond very quickly and accurately, so they are ideal for trickling. To optimize the trickling process, we acquired an Omega 2-Speed Powder Trickler. This $69.95 gadget works great with an MFR scale, allowing you to quickly and easily “finish off” charges with extreme precision — no more than a couple of kernels variance in your load. (With a typical extruded powder, a tenth of a grain is four to five kernels).
Omega 2-Speed Trickler
Most reloaders have used a manual powder trickler at one time or another. However, they can be frustrating to use for a variety of reasons — e.g. the tube is too short, or the trickler is too low, or the unit isn’t stable enough, or the unit doesn’t hold enough powder.
Well, the inventors of the Omega 2-speed Powered Powder Trickler have considered all those practical shortcomings in existing tricklers, and built a superior product — a “better mouse trap.”
Every aspect of the battery-powered Omega 2-Speed Trickler (from Dandy Products LLC) shows smart thinking. First, hopper height can be adjusted from 1/2″ to 5.5″ high. The tube is long enough to reach the middle of large-footprint electronic scales. And the outer end of the tube is cut at an angle, so you can see the powder kernels as they flow out — no more surprise clumps that raise your charge 0.3 grains. The powder hopper itself is bigger than most, holding a full 1000 grains. That lets you load all afternoon without having to constantly replenish your trickler.
There is also a vinyl-clad, yellow “tuner” weight. You can slide this back and forth on the arm to adjust the powder flow. Once you get it set for your choice of powder, with a little practice, you can dispense one to two kernels reliably with a single, quick touch of the Omega’s dispense button.
In practice, the Omega trickler is easy to use. It is reasonably fast, while being as precise as anything on the market. The unit is controlled by a two-button control pad, with a black button for slow feed and red button for fast feed. You can use the fast button to load the bulk of reloading powder and then use the slow button to maximize the accuracy of your load. The control pad is connected to the dispenser by a 24″ cable. That two-foot cable run allows plenty of trickler placement options on your bench. Watch the video review below to see the Omega Trickler in use. (Review by UK-based “1967 Spud”).
Review of Omega Two-Speed Tricker
Omega User Comments
Posting on 24HourCampfire.com, JasonK gave the Omega Trickler high marks: “This thing rocks! It can trickle fast, it can trickle slow, it can drop a kernel or two at a time. After ordering my Omega I quickly shopped for an Acculab VIC-123 scale, accurate to within .02 grains.”
Another Omega user, In2Deep, writes: “You can actually tap the low-speed button and drop kernels while watching the scale. After a little practice it only takes a few seconds to trickle up a load. Using an Acculab 123 scale, it can drop charges that repeatedly read down to around 4 one-hundredth’s of a grain. It turned out to be a tool that really works and saves time. There are rubber feet on the unit and surprisingly it does not cause interference with the digital scale which is often mentioned as a problem with most of the vibratory tricklers. Not many products are even worth the time to do a testimonial but this is a winner[.]”
Forum member Barry O (aka TheBlueEyedBear) has been using an Omega Trickler for a while, and he currently has a second-generation (upgraded) unit on his bench. Barry likes the unit, with some reservations. Barry tells us: “it took me some time to get used to it. One main gripe is the length of time it takes to get the thing primed and ready to dispense powder. But after that, not too bad. I still use my trusty tweezers for fine tuning loads.”
Thanks to Boyd Allen for suggesting this product for review.
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Many NRA members are not aware of the activation requirement. That’s not surprising, as there’s no mention of this in many NRA membership solicitations. While the activation clause is disclosed in printed materials mailed to members, we bet that a large percentage of NRA members are not aware that their NRA insurance is essentially useless until “activated”. Just signing up for an NRA membership (and paying the dues) is not enough. You must activate the insurance or your claims can be rejected. Even if you have been a dues-paying NRA member for decades, you need to activate your insurance.
Omega 2-Speed Trickler
