Blowback

Seconding the PA 1-6x. I already have their 4x and their products are amazing for the price.

I just use synthetic motor oil. It's dirt cheap and always in my car. My rifles do get disgustingly filthy, but I'm fine with running dirty ARs, I like to taunt wisecracking AK fiends with my grossly caked BCG that just keeps on shooting, round after round of steel case (another thing they tend to think ARs can't do.) At the end of the day it just makes me that much more confident that when I finally clean all the gunk off my rifle will run without incident.

Reading this thread, I'm lead to believe I might be the only single guy on this forum (if not the entire sport.) My one-time pay-in in the form of an AR, a reserve AR, a cheap shotgun and a glock comes in at about $4,000. Then the ammo I have burned through so far to attain at least a modicum of skill for a beginner...probably another $2,000. And somewhere between $500 and $1,000 in random gear. This was all in the last 6 months or so. It took me a long time to save up the funds for all of it, and I'm already feeling a sharp need to cull my ammo consumption. I fear that unless I either magically reduce my costs or magically increase my income, I might not be in the game all that long...

I personally love Muscle Monsters for this. It was previously mentioned that supplementing energy drinks with food is best, and I would agree. But it's not always practical or possible with time constraints, etc. Since MMs contain protein, it's not really the end of the world if you've only got time to chug one before running off to get it on. I swore by these in the army when I didn't have time for a proper breakfast.

That's pretty crazy. Even after being in the Army I've never seen anyone do that. My muzzle brake leaves scorch marks on the concrete shooting benches at my range, and burned a hole through my range bag the one time I was dumb enough to try to use it as a support. When I practice shooting on my side it blasts all matter of dirt and debris all over me. And this is with a 20" barrel. I don't even want to think what it would do to fingers. Good catch. Was he using an SBR, or just a really pronounced Costa grip?

Yeah, that's part of the idea

Try tightening up the sling. With a tight 2-point sling, exerting forward pressure on the weapon will also have the effect of stabilizing it considerably, to the point where shots could theoretically be made accurately with barely any support hand assistance.

I get tendonitis flareups from time to time because my gym routine is really hard on my wrists. I find that a wrist brace tightened down during the most demanding exercises is invaluable. I frequently wear it during shooting as well now to make my wrists feel more "solid" with less pain, especially while manipulating long guns one-handed. Taking fish oil regularly will also help quite a bit.

I will apply my usual preworkout ritual: 30 minutes prior to match, I take my homebrew energy blend- 3 tbs tang 1/8 tsp hard rhino caffeine powder (about 300mg) 1/4 tsp potassium gluconate 1/16 tsp niacin (I put in 1/8 tsp or more for workouts, but the flush is distracting during shooting) 1/4 tsp taurine 1/2 tsp l-citrulline (increases circulation) an arbitrary amount of vitamin b-12 (I get some in the end of a straw and drop it in) 1/8 tsp pantothenic acid 1/8 tsp beta alanine (increases endurance) I find a can of Muscle Monster and a cheese danish to be a quick and effective light breakfast prior to high activity. I might also pop an 800mg ibuprofen if my joints aren't feeling great that day.

I agree with what the others have posted, I do a lot of pullups myself. I might also add hanging leg raises in large sets - having to hold your bodyweight with your arms for a long time, especially in a tensed position, will give you just about all the grip you need. I normally do a pullup, then hold at the top of the rep for 4 sets of 13 raises.