Hornady is expanding their ammunition offerings in 2015. One of the products will be the new “American Gunner” line. I recently came into a couple of boxes of the stuff from another gun writer who was in one of my classes. (Thanks Tom!) Continue reading
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”- Charles Dickens Continue reading
Although I did not get to venture through the halls of splendor and witness the new hotness of every gun, gear and gadget, I did have the opportunity to look at a few items that piqued my interest.
I like clever and ingenious. When someone looks at the mousetrap and says “I can do it better” that excites me. I had the pleasure to sit down with some of these designers and take the opportunity to learn more about their nifty new thing.
First off, the Leupold D-EVO (Dual-Enhanced View Optic) http://www.leupold.com/tactical/scopes/d-evo
Ruger GP100 Wiley Clapp.
In today’s modern age, the polymer framed high-capacity pistol is what you will most likely find in the holsters of law enforcement officers and concealed weapon permit holders. Does this mean that the medium framed double action revolver is obsolete? Is the revolver still relevant? Can it meet the needs of the self-defense shooter if he or she is capable? Having carried a wheelgun as a duty weapon in a previous life I believe it can. The Close Quarters Pistol class put on by Hardwired Tactical Shooting (HiTS) seemed like the perfect venue to test my theory. Continue reading
Custom Gen 3 Glock 19 EDC with MDFA Kydex Carry Gear
Given recent incidents involving Active Shooters and current threats we all face, I rethought my EDC weapon selection. While I enjoy the 1911 platform and shoot it well, the ammunition capacity and ability to mount a WML were lacking. Continue reading
How much do you shoot using one hand only?
The art of one handed shooting is just that….an art. The benefits from learning to shoot with only one hand are pretty self evident. There are lots of scenarios where we find ourselves potentially with only one hand available. Those include injury to one hand, holding open doors, shielding loved ones, holding on to a lead for a K9 for those of us that are/were handlers at one time or another. Continue reading
Photo courtesy Wilson Combat.
Beretta is bringing back in my opinion the best Model 92 pistol they ever made………the 92G series.
In an announcement on their Facebook page on November 4, 2014, Beretta announced that they were bringing back a couple of “classic” 92 series pistols. One of these pistols is the 92G. The 92G is for all purposes the same reliable, accurate service pistol that the military M9 is. With the major exception that the decocker/safety is a decocker only. I find this very important and believe this is the gun that the military should have bought. The major detractor of the “decocker/safety” is the ability to inadvertently put the weapon on safe anytime you manipulate the slide. For those living in a cave who have not shot the Beretta, this can lead to turning the gun into a non-functioning paper weight. I’ve seen shooters over the years, and in some cases experienced shooters, accidentally push the safety/decocker down, and then pull the trigger two or three times before they realize what they have done and fix it. Some instructors/schools have come up with doctrine to train around the decocker safety to keep this from happening, but to me the 92G is a much better deal. The decocker on the 92G is the same as on its M9/92FS sibling, it is just spring loaded to the fire position.
BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE!!!!! The picture above is credited to Wilson Combat’s website. It is a collaboration between Wilson Combat and Beretta. It is a special run of Beretta 92G Brigadier pistols.
For more information, check out Beretta and Wilson Combat.
I purchased my first pistol chambered in 357SIG in late 1995 or early 1996. It was a SIG Sauer P229. I had purchased it after reading about the cartridge/gun combination in Velocity magazine. I bought the gun and loved shooting it. After a while, it became really expensive to feed, and it was traded for something else to which I don’t remember what. Over the years, I have purchased guns chambered in 357SIG, kept them a while, and traded them off or sold them. I have always been enamored with the cartridge, but the not the cost. Continue reading
Here of late, I have been involved with some interesting conversations on active shooter problem solving. I will acknowledge up front that this thought process is somewhat flawed, and borderlines on the academic. I will also acknowledge that I don’t have all the active shooter answers. The answer I think we all can agree upon is the fact that good guys with guns is the answer to the active shooter/mass homicide problem. Continue reading
So, I was able to get my hands on a full size Sig P320 to do an evaluation on and I have to say I’m in love with this gun. Now is that anyway to start an objective review…probably not. You know how this story will end. Let me show you how I got there. Continue reading
I had a fellow in a class back in the spring who showed up in head to toe multicam. He wore a shemagh, a plate carrier, Oakley gloves, and Salomon boots. He carried a state of the art LWRCi rifle, complete with BAD lever, 45 degree sights, EoTech and magnifier.
He had a very narrow stance, and when he fired more than a couple shots in a string, he would begin to rock back throwing his shots out of the 3×5 card at seven yards during rapid strings. Continue reading
As first reported midweek by SIGforum.com, SIG Sauer has announced that a 10mm version of their venerable P220 will be released at the SHOT Show in January.
The fascination with a 10mm P220 first started with Bruce Gray of Grayguns, Inc, who accepted a challenge that the P220 10mm conversion “couldn’t be done”. Bruce made limited conversion runs of all steel P220 .45 ACP pistols to 10mm. This was a painstaking task as it took quite a bit to get the pistol chambered in .45 ACP to run the 10mm reliably.
The P220/10 will be have both SAO and DA/SA configurations, and will be available in 4.25 and 5 inch lengths. It will be based upon their all steel P220 Elite series of pistols as it is being reported.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am here today to share with you a trick that the “BIG SCHOOLS” don’t want you to know. If you don’t want to shoot better like a NAVY SEAL in just two hours, please leave this blog now. This is for those who are serious, for those who want instant improvement in their practice. This one “Weird Trick” discovered by a stay at home mom wanting to learn to defend herself from the upcoming zombie apocalypse. Please, stay until the end of this blog if you are serious.
This one “weird” trick is called PRACTICE. There are no slick fixes. There are no pills, no potions that will take a D class shooter, and make them a Master class.
It seems the “ONE WEIRD TRICK” “HOW TO LOSE BELLY FAT WHILE EATING PIZZA THREE MEALS A DAY” or “FIND OUT THE REAL REASON OBAMA WANTS YOUR GUNS” meme has started to lurk into the firearms community. The sideshow barker lures you in with an instant cure for diabetes from an ad showing a Jelly Doughnut. Or warns you that “For those not serious about defending your family with the tricks of real world special forces operators need to leave this video now” all the while showing a bearded, multicam clad meat eater with his face blacked out.
I get that the firearms community has been hawking stuff for years with the claim of making us better and faster. Variations of the sights that I call the “Alien versus Predator” sights that claim that it makes you faster on target. Yet, every special ops unit and top tier competitor I know is using standard sights. Some with a fiber optic front, some with a standard front blade. If these huge, colorful sights that come together making an homage to the pharaohs were so good, you’d think they’d be on every gun in USPSA,, and CAG would order 500 sets of them. Apparently, these folks haven’t discovered how fast these sights make you.
There is no magic fix other than practice. The more you dry fire, the more you practice, the better you will become. Say it with me, the faster you will become. Recently, I had a buddy of mine who is just getting back into shooting USPSA after a lay off come to me with a question. At his last match, he won his division by a hair. He said that he sucked, but everyone just sucked a little more than he did that day. He was concerned that some of the younger guys were faster than him. He was sure that he was too slow, and wanted help putting a plan together to get faster. I asked him when the last time he devoted 15 minutes to dry firing and he replied “Oh, I have not practiced in months”. There your problem, you’ve got mud in your tires.
We as a nation seemed to be fixated on quick fixes. Time and practice makes us better.
The one “WEIRD TIP” is the same that it has been for decades. Practice. Train with a plan. Dry Fire. You’ll like the results.
What’s not to like, free and on line.
“a legacy of advancing tactical excellence in law enforcement training. Our mission is to arm law enforcement with the tools and knowledge to survive and win real-world encounters. We maintain a laser focus on delivering cutting edge articles on tactics, firearms and officer safety to law enforcement of all ranks nationwide. We achieve this through our roster of leading topic experts and our long-standing reputation of integrity and commitment to law enforcement.”
Current Issue
“Officer Down” column (last article link below in list) — a must read comprehensive analysis of an OIS, with a buffet of food for thought. This one has particularly important lessons for traffic stops and other encounters where repeated challenges are issued to a non-compliant. In one case where a non-compliant subject was holding a weapon, a federal appeals court said: “We accept for the present purposes that, once past Sergeant Carr, Montoute never turned to face him again, and Montoute never actually pointed the sawed-off shotgun at anyone. But there was nothing to prevent him from doing either, or both, in a split second. At least where orders to drop the weapon have gone unheeded, an officer is not required to wait until an armed and dangerous felon has drawn a bead on the officer or others before using deadly force.” The case, Mountoute v. Carr, is here.
Kyle Dinkheller, EOW 1/12/1998: The dashboard video is here. Watch it and then read the column. As Rod Serling would say, submitted for your approval: Repetition makes good practice, but in the real world, use it at your own risk.
Disclosure: PM once (IIRC, in a prior century) sent me a box of 45 Auto +P Federal® Premium 230 HST, for free. I have most of the box left.
Stay safe, whether in or out of uniform.
For the early part of my on again/off again relationship with the Glock pistol, I had fits that I could shoot those little bitty, caliber and half sized groups at seven yards with repeatable boredom. The problem I experienced, along with many others it seems, is that the group was consistently to the left of point of aim. I am a right handed shooter.
I started becoming a serious student of the Glock seven or eight years ago due to work. I fought it, aimed to the right for qualifications, and drifted sights as a solution. The most frustrating thing is that when ball and dummy drills are introduced, no movement would be observed in the front sight. It drove me crazy.
Then about six or so years ago, I was helping out with a cadet class at the state police academy when I observed the same thing with a group of cadets. Right handed shooters were grouping left, and left handed shooters were grouping to the right with no visual clues during ball and dummy drills.
I went home and began to isolate parts of the shooting sequence to see if I could not figure it out. Eventually, holding the gun with only pressure on the front strap and back, I began to hit point of aim/point of impact. Eventually, I found out that I could death grip the gun as hard as I wanted as long as I only placed grip pressure squarely on axis of the front strap to the back strap with no side loading.
Some people have called the problem “Glock milking”, or simply milking the grip on a Glock with the strong hand. I don’t believe the terminology is quite right as milking will manifest itself in some sight movement during ball and dummy drills. This is not the case with introducing side load into the strong hand of the pistol.
Some folks have successfully countered the issue with stronger pressure on the support hand of the pistol. It does seem to be hit and miss, however.
All I try to do is this. With the strong hand, I place a moderate amount of grip on the pistol to support it out in front of me. The support hand fills in the gaps and provides 360 degree pressure on the gun. I put just enough pressure front to back that a magazine of shooting will leave a checkering imprint on the meat of my my palm under the thumb. I also found that in placing pressure front strap to back strap it gives me extra lock out on the strong side wrist, stabilizing the gun shot to shot for faster sight return.