Blindfolded Field Stripping

When I was in the military, it was part of the training.

So I'd say a couple folks have done it before.

Yeah, not too hard. only gun i own that i can't do blind is my ruger mk III, but those are fun even with your eyes open.

I can do my AK's blindfolded in under a minute. I couldn't put them back together blindfolded, though, due to some tricky alignments of the bolt carrier and the receiver cover. You need at least minimal light to do that final alignment.

the thought of blindfolded field stripping made me think of the movie, "In the Army Now", when the SF guy was field stripping and re-assembling his pistol and Pauly Shore thinks he can do the same and field strips his flashlight.

some even had to be assembled that way at the factories



looks like she's building a complete trigger housing assembly here

50 years later, I can still do it with a 1911, and probably with an M-1 Garand. As has been stated here, it was part of military training.

I'd think getting it apart would be a lot easier than getting it back together in most cases. With an AR for instance, you need to get the bolt lined up just right in the carrier to drop in the cam pin; you need to get the gas key lined up in the CH to get the BCG back into the upper, and of course you don't want to lose that tiny FP retaining pin.

Pistols; I think the hardest thing would be the ones that need the slide partially retracted to a specific point to push a pin out in order to get the slide off/on, like the 90's S&W's.

What is the point, really? Personally I wouldn't consider someone more manly just because they were patient enough to bumble through this blindfolded.

ny32182 said:

What is the point, really?

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Malfunctions happen at night too, and using your flashlight will give away your position.

It's not too tough unless a spring gets away from you!

Getting it back together is the important part.

Might be a few waves of chicoms or their cousins heading your way.

Blindfolded (or at night) is one thing. While under attack is something else altogether!

Yeah, not too hard. only gun i own that i can't do blind is my ruger mk III, but those are fun even with your eyes open.

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Oh man, you are so right about those Ruger MKs.


My regular shooters I could probably field strip blindfolded. Most of them aren't all that complicated.

Though I'm not sure why I would want to...

What is the point, really?

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Not sure either. I guess there are situations where it could come in handy and one could not simply grab another firearm. *shrug*

I say, cool if you can, no big deal if you can't...either way, how well can you shoot it?

what happens when derka sprays you in the face with OC spray and then leaves your M4 in a dismantled pile, need to know how to do these things......DUH

but seriously, mentioned already are all good reasons, night time malfunction's probably the most realistic, who knows but we sure train our privates that way, building muscle memory

It's all about building muscle memory, self confidence, and keeping the Boots in line. The remedy to the scenero is to keep your weapon clean or at the very least, not carry an AR. My gawd, the rapid reaction drill for an AR would make a break dancer dizzy! With an M-1 or AK you merely rack the action, swear loudly, point at baddies and pull trigger. If that fails fix bayonet and charge!

Did it in the military. It's just a way to show you are familiar with the weapon and build your confidence.

I did it often (and still do from time to time) with the PPK/S, which was my primary carry piece for a long time. At this point, it's a no-brainer. I'm currently carrying a P99C and can take that one apart and put it back together blindfolded as well, though not yet as quickly as I still can the PPK/S. It's a good idea to know your primary carry firearm well, IMO.

We did it on the A2 in bootcamp..and in Barracks duty and the Fleet, we did it routinely on the M60e3..was pretty good at it too....

SO yeah, nothing new under the sun..

Yeah, not too hard. only gun i own that i can't do blind is my ruger mk III, but those are fun even with your eyes open.

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Oh man, you are so right about those Ruger MKs

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Pffft, I detail-strip, detail-clean and swap out parts on my Rugers blindfolded with mismatched oven mitts on, you guys are wimps! Of course, when you've taken out the little bitty extractor claw and set it down, which one is the new one? (hint, the one that tastes bad is the old one)

Actually, I bet I could do a mkIII field-strip and re-assembly blindfolded with a few runs right beforehand so get it all set ... they aren't really that hard, the reputation they have online is amusing, perhaps I should run a $25/Ruger cleaning service for everyone who can't figure out the [strike]mystical[/strike]simple workings in there and how they interface.

tju1973 said:

We did it on the A2 in bootcamp..and in Barracks duty and the Fleet, we did it routinely on the M60e3..was pretty good at it too....

SO yeah, nothing new under the sun..

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Here, too.


During the down-time period before Team Spirit, we'd have blindfold drills in the barracks with the .50 cal. Not much else to do. And it was too cold to want to spend much time outside.

during our assembly in the dark drills, i found it funny when someone in the squad lost a spring. unless it was me.

"I like to hang upside-down blindfolded, then I take my gun apart and put it back together real fast before my nose begins to bleed."

-Major Payne