Month: June 2012

Carrying the Shield – an update

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I’ve been carrying my M&P Shield for a few weeks now.

I thought it was time to give an update on the carry side of things.

As a reminder, the reason I’ve chosen to carry it for a while is as an experiment. The reason we’re looking at the Shield is to gain first-hand knowledge if it’s recommendable as a handgun for carry and personal protection. On the surface it pans out pretty well, but it’s new and needs some mileage. So I opted to try it and see how it goes.

There’s a saying (I believe attributed to Clint Smith) that a carry gun should be comforting, not comfortable.

Well… at least for me, I find the M&P to be comfortable, not comforting.

It’s very comfortable. It’s small, it’s thin, it’s light. In my Comp-Tac MTAC holster worn IWB at 3 o’clock, the Shield just disappears into my side. Of course, this is with the flush/compact magazine. There’s no butt butting out, bumping into things, making clothing look bumping or odd. Truly, I can forget the gun is there… well, I don’t because it’s been rather a humid and hot June and so the holster sometimes sticks to my skin thus when I bend I remember the gun is there. But it’s the holster, not the gun, you see. I can sit in a hard-backed chair and there’s no gun butt smacking into the seat back, or causing things to have to shift around. I can lay on the floor and there’s almost nothing uncomfortable or bumpy.

So it’s a VERY comfortable gun to carry. At least for me.

But honestly, I don’t find it very comforting.

Previously I discussed the Shield’s capacity problem. At practical best, it’s a 6+1 with that flush mag. Get an M&P9c and you’re getting 12+1, but the tradeoff is a slightly larger gun which may be defeating the purpose. Of course, a full-sized M&P9 gets you 17+1 (16+1 really, since you should down-load the magazine by 1). But gee… 16 rounds in the magazine vs. 6… almost 3 times more ammo. And it’s a lot easier to do a speed reload with a full-sized gun, or at least, for someone with my size hands. See my most recent write-up about shooting the Shield.

I guess I just don’t feel like it’s enough gun.

‎”I have interviewed an awful lot of people after a gunfight. Not one of them has ever said to me, ‘I wish I’d had a smaller gun with less ammunition in it.'” – Tom Givens

And that’s the thing. You choose to carry a gun because you understand there may come a time in life when you’ll have to use it. In every aspect of our lives we (should) strive to be the best, to have every legitimate advantage possible so as to improve our chances of success. Why would you desire to intentionally handicap or cripple yourself? especially in a matter of life and death? If you can carry a larger gun, you should. And frankly, many people choose small guns for carry because they eschew comforting for comfortable.

Some will say “well, how much ammo do you need?” Well, I don’t know. And because I don’t know, I’d rather have more than less. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

That all said, I don’t think the Shield is a bad gun. I think it has a role. For me, it’s somewhere between my snub and my full-size. That is, my snub is my backup gun, but on rare occasion is pressed to be my primary/sole because I need as much concealment as possible. Otherwise, my choice and preference is to carry my full-sized gun. But there are times when the full-sized is too much for the situation and I could see the Shield filling the role. So, at the end of this experiment the Shield won’t be going into cold storage, but it may collect a little dust since it will not be my primary. But I will still bring it to appropriate KR Training class because I think it may have a role as a primary for some.

And that’s the thing… circumstances are different for everyone. The initial appeal of the Shield was as a possible solution to the “small/weak hands” problem we see in classes. There are some guns out there that fit small and/or weak hands, but usually those guns are also of variable or questionable quality and fitness for serious purposes. Could the Shield fit and be fit? So far results are promising, but it’ll take many people and much time before we can really say. Still, I’m high on the Shield for this purpose.

As for me, I still like it. It has a place, but it just won’t be part of MY regular use.

I’m going to switch back to my uncomfortable but more comforting full-sized M&P9.

DR Performance Practice Deck for iOS version 1.1 Now Available

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The DR Performance Practice Deck for iOS version 1.1 is now available.

Lots of good things in this update, the biggest news being score tracking is now available.

Please spread the good word!

Thank you for your support.

One punch too many

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Via KR Training’s Facebook page I get this story:

Mike Archambault told KMSP-TV that his longtime friend, Brian Vander Lee, was at a restaurant in Andover on Saturday when a stranger at another table asked him to be quiet.

“He did a Superman punch,” Archambault recalled. “Brian went back, feet up in the air, and the guy landed on top of him and his head bounced off the concrete.”

Archambault said the suspected fled the scene and Vander Lee was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors performed emergency surgery for bleeding on his brain.

Full story.

The assailant is a Sergeant on the Minneapolis SWAT team, but that doesn’t really matter other than you’d think a police officer would know better than to assault someone. In the end, he’s still human and who knows what led him to act this way, but we all make mistakes.

The point I wish to make is one I’ve made before about “unarmed”. Just because someone is “unarmed” doesn’t mean they are not dangerous. Just because someone is unarmed doesn’t mean they cannot do serious damage — Brian Lee has had 2 brain surgeries and is on life support. Yes, you can be put in fear of your life by someone that is unarmed.

The presence (or lack of presence) of a weapon is orthogonal to the threat and ability for harm.

2012-06-18 workout – Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 11, Squat/Bench 1

/ hsoi

Cue: tight.

“Week 1”

  • 5 reps – Squat (working max: 270#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x110
    • 1x5x135
    • 1x3x165
    • 1x5x180 (work)
    • 1x5x205
    • 1x7x230
  • Asst. #1 – Chin-ups (supersetted with Squats)
    • 6 x 5/4/3.5/3/3/2.5 x BW
  • 5 reps – Bench Press (working max: 220#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x95
    • 1x5x110
    • 1x3x135
    • 1x5x145 (work)
    • 1x5x165
    • 1x8x190
  • Asst. #2 – Back Raises (hands behind head)
    • 3 x 15/15/10 x BW
  • Asst. #3 – DB Bench Press
    • 3 x 10 x 100
  • Asst. #4 – Face Pulls
    • 3 x 12 x 75

I’ve been reading and studying more on how to improve my technique. Some EliteFTS articles, some stuff from Andy Bolton, and some other articles that I could find. Yes… thinking about driving my neck back into the bar really helped. In all my squat sets today only the 5th and 7th rep of the last set had some sort of falling forward. I was most pleased, but boy it made that last set tough. Still, I’d rather have a good tough set than and easy sloppy, or even a hard sloppy.

The other cue, especially from reading Andy’s stuff, was about keeping tight. This is a BIG thing I need to work on in all my lifts is the whole-body tightness. The place to work on it? All the lighter sets, even the warm-up set with an empty bar. I strove to do this on bench press today too, but gee… I’ve felt so “natural” with bench compared to the other exercises that I haven’t worked it as much, but alas that’s beginning to show. I just need work on everything. 😉 And you know, I think about looking for a good coach… maybe not full-time, but at least a good seminar or a couple private lessons to firm things up. Who knows.

Certainly I’m going to do all my assistance work as a circuit, as that seems to work well for me in terms of pumping me up a bit more and getting me in and out of the gym faster, because 2 main lifts takes up a LOT of time.

Onwards we go.

More Shooting with the M&P Shield

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At this past Saturday’s KR Training class, my M&P Shield saw some more action and had a few hundred more rounds put through her.

First, I’ll say, installing that Apex Tactical hard sear was a good decision. It really helps improve the Shield’s trigger. I cannot wait for Apex to put out their full trigger kit. Note that I don’t believe Apex is officially supporting this configuration… I’m doing so at my own choice and risk.

The first bit of action was lending it to a student. She shot it well, but it did give me some pause. First, one reason for the Shield is for folks with small hands. But as she showed me, even the Shield can be big for some hands. This student’s hands were alright for the Shield, but it was on the cusp of being big for her (in terms of proper gun fit and trigger reach). She told me she actually owned a Shield, but didn’t like it as much because it was snappy and hurt to shoot, or at least, hurt more than shooting her full-sized M&P9. This makes sense, and that’s a reality of a smaller gun: lighter in weight, the gun thus cannot absorb the recoil and so you get to feel it. These are the tradeoffs.

Apart from that, she managed alright… the lack of magazines and lack of capacity made using it in class tough. I really hope S&W will sell magazines soon, and that they won’t cost a fortune.

After class was over and everyone cleared out, I spent a couple hours doing some shooting on my own. I just wanted to shoot because I had the opportunity, but I also wanted to do some more work with the Shield to evaluate how it worked for me.

I shot numerous drills and standards, including some of the standards from the Rangemaster Instructor course, Paul Howe’s standards, the KR Training 3 Seconds or Less drill.

Overall the shooting went well, but I can make some comments.

Draw

My draw was slow. I was drawing from concealment, and I just felt like my arms were made of lead and I couldn’t get the moving fast enough. I used a shot timer throughout and most of my first shots were taking 1.5 to 1.7 seconds… and I felt so slow. So for the most part, I think it was me.

But I did notice on numerous draws that my grip was not solid. Was it because the size/shape of the gun? That when my hand met grip there just isn’t much to grip because it’s so short and thin? Or could it be because I’m just not used to it, after so many years of coming down on a full-sized grip? So many times I found myself, hand hitting grip, and then fiddle-farting for a moment or two to ensure solid grip. That’s going to take a tenth or two-tenths of a second. In the end tho, I chalk this more up to the man than the tool.

Reloads

Reloads were just hard. On a full-sized gun, everything sticks out so it’s easy to get into the magazine well and slam a new mag home. It’s even easier to let an empty mag drop free. But on this gun — and I strove to shoot with the flush-mount mag, only using the extended mag as the reload — everything is “in”, nothing sticks out. So when I press the magazine release button, I have to release my grip on the gun, gripping it almost like I’m trying to daintily hold a fancy champagne flute, so I can get my palm out of the way so the magazine can drop free. Then seating the new magazine is difficult because left palm meets right palm unless again I’m way out of the way. Then seating the magazine can be a bit of a challenge. Finally I have lost so much of my grip I have to reacquire it all over again and ensure I don’t rush and fumble and blow the first shot post-reload.

And it just adds up to precious time being spent in a way that I don’t prefer.

But this again isn’t the gun, it’s the person. The lady that shot the gun in the morning? I reckon she’d not have these same problems because her hands just don’t “consume” the gun like mine so.

Trigger

This is the one that really bugs me.

I have noticed when I shoot the gun weak-hand-only (left hand), sometimes the trigger hangs up on something and will not fully depress and the gun will not go bang.

That’s…. bothersome.

It only happened once today (and blew an otherwise perfect run on a test, argh!), but it’s happened to me enough times in dry practice too.

Frankly, that it happens once is one time too many. At least, for a piece of life-saving equipment.

I’m not sure what’s going on with it, why the trigger is hanging up like that. But because it doesn’t always happen and seems to involve the “angle” at while my left index finger is pressing the trigger and maybe “pulling” or “pushing” it into something well… this is not the man, this is the machine that’s at fault. The trigger should NOT require me to have to press it “just so” in order for the gun to work. There’s something wrong.

And if I remember correctly, this did happen before I installed the Apex hard sear, so I don’t think it has anything to do with that change or part.

Capacity

I’ve touched on this before, but gee, it really made things go slow. With only 6+1 (plus 7 in the extended mag for a reload), I would have to reload after almost every string since most required more than 3 shots. It got really old, things went really slow. It will be partially remedied when/if S&W ever starts selling magazines, but even still, a couple of the drills I had to modify because I just didn’t have enough ammo period.

On the one hand, having 17+1 in my full-sized M&P9 really helps with the administrative side of things. On the personal defense side having 17+1 means you can handle a lot more. While I just shot drills, that I couldn’t manage 2 strings in a row is a bit bothersome… what if that equates to having to deal with 2 bad guys in a row?

My Finger

Get this.

The day after, I noticed the pad of my right ring finger was hurting. There were a couple “white dots” on it, a hint of purple, and the pad was very tender… like it was bruised.

I realized it was due to the Shield. All that shooting with the flush magazine and how my fingers then wrapped around and interacted with the gun during recoil. It just beat the dickens out of my finger.

Never had that happen before.

It’s not a horrible thing, but when a primary activity in your day is typing, and a secondary activity is grasping things, well… you get a constant reminder of it being there. It’s annoying.

Conclusion

All in all, I shot well and did a lot better with the Shield than I expected. I did find myself mashing the trigger more due to the ergonomics of the gun. I haven’t touched my full-sized gun since I started this Shield experiment, but I really should go back and see how it goes. I hope I didn’t pick up too many bad habits, and I hope I can undo my trigger mashing. I didn’t think to bring the full-sized M&P with me so I could do some side-by-side comparison, but I now wish I had.

The trigger problem bothers me.

So I’m warming up to the Shield in some respects… but I’m still not sure it’s right for me.

Sunday Metal – Metallica

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Yes, more Metallica. Deal with it.

Covering Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page”

Love the original. I dig what they were trying to do with this video, but I don’t really like it. Kinda takes away from the original song, but also adds to it in its own way.

AAR – Handgunning: Beyond the Basics @ KR Training, 16 June 2012

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I can write this on the same day, because today was only 1 class: Handgunning: Beyond the Basics.

This is a great class, and I wish more people would take it. The only people who should NOT take this class are complete beginners. But if you’ve got any amount of experience beyond being a rank beginner, you should take this class… maybe take it more than once. We even had one gentleman in class today, who was returning to shooting guns after a 30 year absence! Great to have him back. 🙂

This class really focuses on fundamentals that matter to handgun shooting regardless of context: competition, self-defense, or just that you want to shoot cans off the fence faster and better. Like I said, this class is good for everyone and maybe even take it more than once. I found myself listening to Karl’s lecture and taking some notes to myself on things to work on that I hadn’t worked on in a little while.

The big take home? trigger control and sight picture (including follow-through). Trigger control is #1. If you can press the trigger smoothly, you’ll do great, even if you have crappy stance, crappy equipment, crappy everything else… if you can press the trigger smoothly and have the sights lined up, you’ll do alright. You’ll do better if you have better equipment and better everything too, but trigger and sights are key. The students of course couldn’t master this in the 4 hours of class, but they now know what to do and hopefully will practice.

Dry fire folks… don’t forget it. Even 10 minutes a day will do you well.

Today’s class saw a wider variety of guns than usual, but as usual those running DA/SA guns, big guns that don’t fit them, and other such things well… some people hopefully are going to the store soon. 🙂

One interesting thing tho was the M&P Shield. One lady in class had rather small hands. She was shooting an M&P9 with the small backstrap, but that was too big. We tried one of Karl’s 1911’s that are set up for small hands, but even that was having issues. I am still in the midst of my experiment carrying the M&P Shield, so I had that on my hip today and lent it to her for the remainder of class. To my surprise, the Shield was on the cusp of being too big for her too! Yes, small hands. I think the Shield will be her best bet, especially with the improvement in technique she picked up today, of what guns are available to her. Karl mentioned she might even want to consider a .380, not that we generally recommend those but they can be smaller and could work. The key is proper fit, because having a cannon you can’t manage isn’t going to be as effective as a pea shooter you can shoot awesomely.

On the Shield… I’ll have more comments on that later.

Weather was hot, thus the 1 class… but a good day.

Show Me The Data

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Facts. Funny thing they are.

Data is funny too, since it helps to reinforce Truth. Or at least, it should help to dispel falsehoods.

Those that don’t like guns like to tout that “more guns equals more deaths”.

I’ve yet to see their data that backs up this claim AND that stands up to scrutiny.

But then there’s Linoge, analyzing the data and the data shows that no, more guns does not equal more deaths.

So there you go… there’s the facts, there’s the data, there’s the hard evidence. I know the Truth may be hard to swallow, and I know this Truth may not help your agenda nor support your personal bias. But what are you interested in? Truth? or something less?

Can you carry…

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Can you carry an AR-15 pistol concealed in the state of Texas?

In short, an AR-15 pistol is a firearm designed to be like a handgun/pistol (fired with one hand, not shoulder-mounted), to have a profile akin to a handgun (e.g. very short barrel), but to have components and setup based upon the AR-15 pattern of rifles. So it’s not a rifle, it’s a pistol, but it’s well… yeah, a little bastard child. 🙂

I hadn’t thought about this before, probably because it’s not really a useful firearm and really able to be carried concealed (it’s still kinda bulky and big), but someone asked and I thought it’d be interesting to look into it.

So… let’s see.

Texas GC §411.171 – (5) “Handgun” has the meaning assigned by Section 46.01, Penal Code.

OK…. let’s look in the PC.

Texas PC §46.01 – (5) “Handgun” means any firearm that is designed, made, or adapted to be fired with one hand.

Now, I didn’t do an intensive scrubbing of the Texas law code and IANAL and TINLA. But given it’s about a Texas concealed handgun license, and given what the Texas legal definition of a handgun is, and given what an AR-15 pistol is… well yes, I suppose you legally could carry an AR-15 pistol as your choice of concealed handgun in the state of Texas.

But just because you legally could doesn’t mean you practically should.

And I’m not going to speak for Karl, but if someone shows up to KR Training handgun class with an AR-15 pistol seriously expecting to take the class with that firearm, I at least am going to vote for sending the person home. 🙂

 

Considering some workout adjustments

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Just read this EliteFTS Classic article: The Eight Keys, A Complete Guide to Maximal Strength Development.

Tons of great stuff in there, but a few take-homes for myself.

1. hanging leg raises

I hate doing this exercise, but I love what it works and how compound a movement it is. It doesn’t just work my abs, but works my whole body. I hate doing it, but I love the results. I also love that while I’m still only going knees to shoulders, I’ve gotten so much stronger at this. I’m still waiting for when I can do 3×10 across, but I’m working on it and getting there.

But as you may have read, I keep having this ugly problem with my right shoulder/deltoid area.

So… I might try something else: pulldown abs. Here’s a video:

There’s lots of other “how to” videos out there, but I’ll do it like the powerlifters do it.

And I figure why not try this. I haven’t done it, I don’t know what it will bring, but I know that the hanging leg raises bring “bad pain” so hey… what’s the harm in trying this and seeing what comes of it, y’know?

2. squat weak points

The article has a section about squat weak points. It talks about falling forward:

You may also have allowed your head to drop down. Your body will always follow your head so you must keep your head back. Notice I didn’t say up, but back. Watch the eyes of any great squatter as he rises out of the bottom. Through the blood clots you’ll see his eyes are focused up and he’s driving his neck back into the bar. Even the guys you think are looking down are still driving their head into their traps.

This is something I hit upon some time ago, trying to feel “chin in”… pulling my head “in”. They have a better way of putting it, driving his neck back into the bar.

One technical reason is not rising with your chest first out of the bottom. You’re rising with your hips first. When your hips flex first your chest will always go forward. You have to think of rising with your chest first and squatting the bar back, not up. If you have the bar driving back it’ll travel in a straight line instead of going forward. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line and this is how the bar must travel.

The gym owner notes that I’m falling forward. Could it be weak abs? It is possible, but as I’m examining my body through my heaviest squat sets, it seems more a technique problem. I’m driving my hips up first, like Rippetoe teaches. BUT Rip also maintains you have to keep your chest up. I think I’m not doing this. THAT could be a weak lower back, or just that I’ve got shitty technique. Right now, I’m thinking shitty technique because I’m not feeling the torso musculature being activated or working and saying “oh shit, I’m too weak to move this”. So it COULD be weak, but I think it’s technique.

I think a key here is “squatting the bar back, not up”.  And I notice when I engage my arms and press up with my arms out of the hole, that helps too, not just because it takes some weight off, but it’s keeping that vertical groove. I also realized that I need to have my arms in a closer grip on the bar so my upward press is a press… that strains my elbows some, but it’s alright.

So it’s a bunch of things here, and I need to really keep these cues in mind and see what difference they make. I’m about to start the next cycle, so squat weights will be “light” — a perfect time to hone form.

—–

You know what it is?

The journey.