Jeff Mau at the Insights Training blog discusses magazine pouches.

Some people wonder why they, as a private citizen carrying a concealed handgun, should carry another magazine of ammo. Yes there’s always the chance you’ll need the ammo, but more so it’s because something might go wrong. Magazines are prone to failure or other odd things happening, like you hit the mag release button under stress and it’s easier to reload from a known location than trying to find where the magazine is on the floor (and able to be re-inserted… the ammo didn’t nose-down in the magazine upon impact).

I use a Comp-Tac combo pouch. It allows me to carry one reload and my flashlight in known locations. I have no trouble concealing it, or at least if I can conceal my gun I can also conceal the pouch. However, there are times where circumstance does not allow me to wear the mag/flashlight pouch (it’s technically OWB, I carry the gun IWB). For times like this, I can still carry a spare magazine in my Desantis Magpacker. Using an in-the-pocket mag pouch helps to keep the magazine properly oriented in a known position for assurance when drawing it, plus it helps to break up the outline of the magazine in your pocket.

Whatever magazine pouch approach you use, be sure to practice with it. This is especially important with something like the Magpacker, because different pants can behave in different ways. Maybe the pocket mouth is tight to get into so it’s slow to get your hand in there. Perhaps the pocket mouth is too open and when you draw out the magazine the Magpacker comes with it (I’ve gotten in the habit of having a snap/flick when I draw the mag so if the pouch does come with it gets flicked off onto the ground).

I am wanting to buy a Comp-Tac Beltfeed. That would be great for IPSC Production competition, but also be great for training sessions where you need a lot of ammo on the line.

My buddy C is affiliated with Wilson Combat. I forget what exactly his title is, but something like a field rep.

Bill Wilson sent him two guns to play with, shoot, and let other people shoot. One was a Wilson AR in 6.8, the other was a Wilson Spec-Ops 9. I got to fondle the 6.8 on New Years Eve and let me tell you that is a sweet gun. High quality. Awesome trigger. Then lots of little fine points, like how the edges on the rails were not sharp, the way the handguards fit. So many little fine details. Just quality stuff, folks.

Anyway, C let me borrow the Spec-Ops 9 and today I got to shoot it. I was out at KR Training for some one-on-one time with Karl, so he shot it too.

It’s an interesting gun. It’s certainly in the 1911-form factor, but in 9mm. It also has more of a Glock-like grip than a 1911-like grip. I think the grip feels a bit chunky in my hand, but it’s not too bad. It also felt a little snappier to me than my XD, not sure why (could have been the loads we were using). I didn’t like the 3-dot sights on it, but if it was my gun that’d be an easy enough change. Of course, the 1911-style trigger is sweet.

My only real trouble with this gun? The price. The price listed on Wilson Combat’s website is $1995. I personally can’t see dropping the 2 grand on such a gun. If this is to be a defensive handgun well… I’m going to abuse it. It’s hard for me to want to abuse something I spent $2000 on. Furthermore, what if I was involved in a defensive shooting and the gun had to be held for evidence or some such thing? For me, to damage or lose a $2000 gun would really suck. Is the gun worth $2000? That’s subjective and for you to decide for yourself. For me, it’s a non-issue as I don’t have $2000 to spend on a gun anyway. 🙂

Still, we had some fun. Shot paper, and shot steel. Click on the images to watch a video. Shooting I think an 8″ steel plate at 10-15 yards (didn’t measure). WordPress.com doesn’t jive with embedding/streaming QuickTime movies, so this is the best I can do. Click and watch!

Anyway, fun gun. Glad I had a chance to shoot one. Thanx to my friend C for loaning it to me, and thanx to Bill Wilson too!

Updated: I should clarify my position on this gun.

I think it is a fine piece of craftsmanship. Any Wilson Combat product I’ve handled has been top of the line. There’s a great attention to detail in the work they do, and the quality and care shows in their products. I would be proud to own any Wilson Combat product.

That’s my problem: I can’t own one. Oh I’ve got the money that I could buy one if I wanted one, but it’s a difficult purchase for me to justify. I mean, is this gun worth $1000-$1500 more than my customized Springfield XD? What am I getting for that extra grand, and is that something I can justify in my scheme of “is it worth it”? As I said above, I wouldn’t want to carry the gun due to the cost of it. And for that money spent, I could buy a couple other guns, or a lot of ammo, or a lot of training.

The gun fills a niche, no question. It gives you that 1911 form factor (which is ever so sweet), in 9 mm, and a lot of ammo capacity in a solid, high quality package. What else out there can give you that?

For me, it’s really just a financial/economic thing. Your situation is probably different.

Updated 2: Karl’s basic take on the gun: “it’s like a 1911 equivalent of a Glock 19 – basically the same capacity, caliber, size, weight”.

The Jan/Feb 2010 issue of Front Sight Magazine, the official magazine of the USPSA, has an article looking at the equipment used in Steel Challenge.

When considering this information, know that Steel Challenge is the fastest shooting competition in the world — it’s all about speed and accuracy. Thus the top competitors are always going to use equipment that maximizes their ability to shoot as quickly and accurately as possible. This article lists the results from an equipment survey from the Steel Challenge World Championship. Here’s how the Iron Sights broke down, by manufacturer:

Bo-Mar — 10
Dawson — 6
Warren — 5
Heinie — 3
Tactical Solutions — 3
Hi-Viz — 3
Millett — 3
Dan Wesson — 1
Trijicon — 1
ATS — 1
Tripp — 1
Tru-Glo — 1
Wilson — 1
Burwell — 1

People looking for better sights for their defensive handgun? Consider the above information. It doesn’t matter if you’re shooting in action competition or shooting in self-defense, you still need to shoot quickly and accurately. Replacing the sights on your defensive handgun is one of the least expensive but high-gain modifications you can do to improve the gun and your shooting ability.

Due to the great ammo shortage of ’09, a lot of people were looking for other ways to keep up with their firearm training.

One of the biggest things was to switch to shooting a .22. This is evident by the slew of .22-based firearms or conversion kits that hit the market in the past year, especially in the EBR market.

While there’s a lot of benefit to using a .22, it’s not a perfect substitute. Just like while dry fire is a fantastic training tool and something you should regularly, there’s just some things it cannot do. ToddG takes a look at what training with a .22 can and cannot do. My only disagreement is on failure drills… it’s .22 LR and you’ll probably get to practice a lot of those. 😉