Guns

Ladies can pack in style

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

It is awesome to see more women accepting responsibility for themselves and their own safety.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the number of women who got their concealed handgun license grew by 65 percent between 2006 and 2010, the latest year that data was available.

But it always bugged me that their carry options were so…. crappy. Women have different contours than men (thankfully!), and many wish to dress differently too. Thus it changes what’s available to them. Off-body carry is always an option, but I know from my years of wearing a fanny pack (even before I carried a gun) that options out there suck.

And yes, I still have ideas for making better fanny packs… someday I’ll get on it.

But looking at purses available for women? Geez… they all were horrible. I mean, maybe they were functional, but they had almost zero fashion or style.

I’m happy to hear this is changing.

From the article:

Lucky Squashbuckler – I like these. Unique designs, and nothing “screams gun”. Cute stuff here.

Gun Supply Store – These look nice as well. I like the leather options. More subdued style than the Lucky Squashbuckler ones.

Woolstenhulme Designer Bags – seems like somewhere in between, with good fashion sense.

Really, this is a lot of variety of styles, designs, and appeal. I bet you’ll find something here to like and that’s functional. And I bet if you don’t, these companies all seem open to feedback so I’d say contact them if you don’t see something that quite fits your needs. What’s the harm in asking?

I’m just happy to see more options like this coming to market.

M&P Shield, and capacity

/ hsoi / 11 Comments

The first thing about the Shield is capacity.

Maybe it’s because I came about in the age of the Tupperware Wonder Nine (i.e. Glock, etc.), with double-stacked magazines and manufacturers constantly one-upping each other in the capacity race well… I guess I like having ammo. But it’s more than simple “more”. Do some math. When you start to look at crime and gunfight statistics, you bode well to have more ammo. For example, Tom Givens‘ student incidents have ranged from 1 to 11 shots fired, average of 3.4 (if memory serves). So sure, the average can be handled with a 5-shot snub revolver, but what if you’re that guy that needed 11 rounds? Or what if you get to be the trendsetter and need 12 or more? If you think having more ammo is a bad thing, then why don’t you choose to go around with just 1 round? Capacity is good. The whole “better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it”. Be prepared. You can’t go get more ammo in the middle of a fight. And so on.

And so, going from my 17+1 full-sized M&P down to a 7+1 Shield… I feel naked, I feel like I’m taking a chance, gambling, playing odds that I don’t know if I want to play. Rational or not, it’s the feeling I get. OK, I could use the “extended” magazine and get 8+1, but honestly, if you use the extended magazine and carry IWB, then you’re almost the same size as the full-sized so you might as well carry the full-sized. Or at least, that’s how things fall on my body. It’s not exactly the dimensions of the full-sized, in terms of what “sticks out” from my hip, but it is close enough for me that it just about negates the benefit. But that 7 round “flush” magazine and the gun disappears into my side.

Here’s the thing.

You can’t really load these magazines to capacity.

Oh sure you can, but then try seating the magazine. It’s hard, because there’s a lot of backpressure on the magazine spring. To make it worse, put one in the chamber, reload the magazine to capacity, and NOW try to seat the magazine (so you get your 7-8 + 1 capacity). It’s near impossible to seat the mag. I have to clamp down really hard in a non-standard way to get the magazine to seat, and I’ve almost had a finger slip into/onto the trigger a couple of times when doing this just because it’s such a struggle (and I’m not a weak guy). I then worry about the backpressure and spring tension and if I could expect the magazine catch to fail and the mag come flying out of the gun at a most inopportune moment.

But more than that? I worry about potentially needing to perform a reload under pressure, and if it’s THAT hard to seat the magazine, that I won’t get it seated under pressure because you really have to push (struggle?) HARD to get it there. Some might say to give it a hard slap, but that won’t even do it; furthermore, that’s complicated by the fact you may not get a flat hit on the magazine basepad because of the gun’s short grip and that your palm will likely be in the way.

The only remedy I can see? download the magazine by one. This is a standard operating procedure for magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds (e.g. I load my M&P9 mags to 16), but generally sub-10-round mags you should be able to load all the way up.

Nope. Just not so here.

So really, the Shield effectively becomes a 6+1 and 7+1.

Still better than a pointed stick.

But some might argue that it’s not much better than a snub revolver. Well, I would say it is. It’s still a bit more ammo. It’s got better sights. The trigger is going to be shorter and lighter, easier for those small/weak hand people (I’ve seen people who can’t work a snub trigger, even my improved snubs with their Verne Trester action work). But of course, YMMV.

So keep this in mind if you opt to use the Shield for carry. Sure you CAN load the magazines all the way up to the manufacturer’s stated capacity, but SHOULD you? I say no, because it’s hard to seat the magazines when they’re full. Download them by one, and just accept that’s how it goes.

Carrying the Shield

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

So I bought that S&W M&P Shield, but I haven’t carried it much. Oh sure, I wore it a bit in the beginning to get some initial impressions, but after that and a few range trips it’s mostly sat. I guess the novelty wore off. 😉

Truth be told, I bought the Shield for 2 reasons. First, I bought it for teaching. At KR Training we see a lot of students with small and/or weak hands, and I wondered if this might help those people. So far, it’s panning out well in the area, and I’m pleased. I’ll continue to bring it to classes like our Basic Pistol 1 & 2 to let people shoot and use as a loaner, if they fall into that “small and/or weak hands” niche. Second, I bought it because I thought I might have personal need, but so far that need hasn’t panned out.

The thing is, if you’ve got a choice, why choose the lesser? The Shield (in 9mm) has 7 round and 8 round magazines… so at best you get 8+1, whereas a full-sized M&P gets me (in theory) 17+1. Why would I choose 8 if I could have more than twice that? Of course, context and situation dictates, but like I said, if you CAN choose the greater, why wouldn’t you? And so, I’ve been carrying my full-sized M&P because I can.

That said, I think in the interest of science I’d do well, especially as a service to students, to carry it a bit more and see how it pans out. Or the real way to read this? I bought a holster and mag pouch from Comp-Tac and they’ve been sitting on my desk untouched for a month, so I need to finally do something with them. 😉

Of course, I’ll write about how things go. Stay tuned.

An ode to the snub

/ hsoi

Seen over at Unc’s place, a wonderful poem about the snub nose revolver.

Cute for sure. 🙂

But it does point out why revolvers, specifically snubs, still have a place in our modern “plastic gun” world. I still say that snubs are not beginner guns, but they have a place.

Speaking of which… the KR Training crew had some discussions about BUG training (since most of us carry one, typically a snub), and on July 28, 2012 will be offering our first “Defensive Pistol Skills – BUG” course. If you carry a BUG — and if you don’t, why not? — it’d be a course worth taking.

Class is done — Now what?

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

After students leave a KR Training class, of course we implore them to practice what they learned. The day after class, run through your notes, do some dry practice. This will help with immediate retention of class material. Then continue to run through it in the days after class to maximize retention, even if all you can do is read notes, memorize, and do a little dry work at home. Retention is important.

But once you manage that concrete retention, what do you do to apply those learned principles in your practice?

Claude Werner has a good article about how you should practice after training.

A general outline:

  • Gather information
  • Recreate incidents
  • Prepare a practice plan
    • Drills
    • Scenarios
  • Document your results and plan your next session

You must read the article for the full skinny, but I wanted to touch on a couple of points.

When it comes to drills, it is important to measure your skill. To measure, you must have a way to measure it and then a way to keep track of it. There are numerous ways to do this. You could pick up a book like Steve Anderson’s dry fire book. You could attend some of KR Training’s new Skill Builder courses. You could use the DR Performance Practice Deck for iOS (once the update with Scoring is released… soon, I promise!). Or just look at various handgun drills or handgun standards (3 Seconds or Less is good, or maybe your state’s CHL test). Get a timer. Get a log book. Shoot things that challenge you, and include coverage of skills you’re good at and skills you need work on (that’s more important). Shoot the drills and keep track of your progress so you know where you lie. As Claude wrote:

Test yourself on your baseline and measure your results. By setting a baseline and testing it each time, you get an idea of where you are in your state of training. As your skill progresses, you may find that you want to adjust your baseline, but without a baseline, you have no idea of where you are in your training. Many times people tell me that they’re “good with a pistol,” but when I ask them what that means, I get a vague response like “I can hit the target every time.” If you’re serious about personal defense, that’s not much of an answer.

But a bigger thing to take from Claude’s article isn’t just how to shoot drills, it’s how to apply those drills. Keep an eye on the crime that happens around you. Learn what you can, study it. The more you know, the better you can address the problem. Reading things like your local police blotter can be useful.

Class is a time to acquire new skills and information, but it’s up to you to utilize what you got from class after class is over.

KR Training May 2012 Newsletter

/ hsoi

The KR Training May 2012 Newsletter is available.

Biggest news is the schedule for the rest of 2012 is up. Classes have been filling up fairly quickly, so my recommendation to you is to sign up as soon as possible.

Imagine that, it works

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

5th grade student finds a gun on the school playground. (h/t JayG)

Why haven’t you heard about this? Because the only way this would have been covered by the national media is if the child shot himself or worse (better? ratings, y’know) started shooting up the rest of the students.

But instead, the child followed safety procedures — you know, the ones taught by that evil NRA in their dastardly “Eddie Eagle” program. Stop. Don’t touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult.

And so, it wasn’t reported. It’s not “newsworthy”.

I applaud the child. I applaud the school for allowing the program to be taught to all students. If all the anti-gunners really cared about saving lives and “won’t someone think of the children”, they’d appreciate such programs for just such a reason. You can hate guns all you want, but the reality is they are around and no ban will ever eliminate them (criminals will always have them). So the best way to keep kids safe is through education… because for some reason we believe education is so vital, yet this seems to be one area where some believe ignorance is preferrable.

*sigh*

Mrs. Groundhog goes to the range

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

You might know who Mr. & Mrs. Groundhog are from Mr. Groundhog’s blog.

I had the pleasure of meeting them last month when they came out to KR Training.

Numerous things in life delayed the write-up about the visit, but Mr. Groundhog just posted his write-up of the day.

And according to this picture…

… there apparently was a moment in class when I was teaching Mrs. G. the “Von Erich Claw”. 🙂

Negligent shooting in Bastrop County

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

A woman was shot by a stray bullet while changing her child’s diaper in her Bastrop County home Saturday morning, police said.

Full story here, (h/t Brian)

This was “accidental” in that it appears there was no intent to harm anyone. But, if the facts of the article are correct, it wasn’t an accident, it was negligence … or ignorance about what a “safe direction” is.

Four men were found shooting on a nearby property and are suspected of firing the errant round that hit Jones, among a few others that hit her home and her husband’s car about 9:20 a.m. Saturday, Dezarn said.

Adel Mandavi, 26, Pouyan Mandavi, 21, Hani Zahrooni, 23, and Mani Zahrooni, 23, all of Austin, have all been charged with deadly conduct, a third-degree felony and remain in Bastrop County jail Sunday, according to jail records and Dezarn.

“They didn’t have a proper backstop. (They were shooting at) just a clump of trees that had fallen over,” Dezarn said. “They were just kind of blasting away.”

They didn’t have a proper backstop, just shooting at a clump of trees.

Another article covering the story says they were shooting at a “deer box” (or maybe she said “beer box”? I listened to it a few times and couldn’t tell). Either way, cardboard certainly won’t stop a bullet nor will plywood that is commonly used to make deer blinds.

I think it’s time to go back and read this article on “what is a safe direction”.

The key here is where the bullet will come to rest. A clump of trees is not a solid object that can stop a bullet (not like a 15′ high mound of dirt). And it would seem numerous bullets did not come to rest.

Unfortunately the 4 men are now charged with a felony, and they won’t be able to own or shoot a gun again (if convicted). They’re all also pretty young, and the rest of their lives forever altered.

The Rules exist for a reason. While I certainly advocate getting as much education and training as possible, if nothing else please follow the core rules, be they the NRA 3 Rules or Col. Cooper’s 4 Rules. They’re there precisely to prevent situations like this.

Installing an Apex Tactical Hard Sear in an M&P Shield

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

While Apex Tactical Specialties hasn’t officially released trigger parts for the M&P Shield, they have released some research information. One key tidbit is the sear is the same as the full-sized M&P’s.

This bodes well.

So I picked up an Apex hard sear and set about installing it.

It’s pretty easy.

First, watch this video made by Randy Lee of Apex:

While that’s for the full-sized M&P, it’s MOSTLY the same. And really, it’s not too hard to do if you have some patience and the right tools. Yes, you need the right tools.

Some differences.

The Shield has a thumb safety, so that mechanism will be part of the mix. I don’t know what it’s like on a full-sized M&P, but on the Shield it does wrap around the sear assembly so it will come out. Because of that and how the trigger bar inserts into it, you will have to do a little finagling to wiggle the assembly out of the frame. Be careful, don’t bend/break your trigger bar! And also be mindful to look at how the bar end inserts into the assembly so you can put it back together correctly.

You will also need to take the safety bar off the assembly, because of how the sear pin works. Taking it off isn’t hard. Don’t force anything. If you look at the assembly you’ll see how the bar can be moved around, dropped down through some slots, and then gently “twisted” off the assembly. Again, there should be NO need to force anything. Just look at the assembly and work slow and easy. You should be able to figure it out.

This is needed because one end of the sear pin has a cap on it, which ends up being under the safety’s thumb bar. Thus why you need to take the safety bar off. But then getting the pin out is easy. And do as Randy says and shows in the video – keep the assembly upright!

When you have the factory sear out, compare it to the Apex sear to see what’s different. It’s so slight, but makes such a big difference.

Reassembly is the opposite of disassembly, and when you try to work the assembly back into the frame, if it’s hard do NOT force it. Chances are you don’t have the end of the trigger bar back and into the assembly all the way. Check that, and once it’s all the way inserted, the assembly should drop into the frame easily. Apart from these few little things, it works like the video.

Again, NOTHING should be forced in any of this procedure. And if you screw up your gun, it’s not my fault. If you don’t know what you’re doing, if you have any doubts, take this to a gunsmith. I assume no responsibility here for you or your stuff.

But now that it’s back together?

Oh my.

It’s a big improvement.

There’s not that hard wall of a trigger break point, and it certainly doesn’t take as much effort to pull. I don’t have a pull weight gauge, but I’d say the improvement was along the lines of what Randy shows in the video (e.g. a 4-5# trigger). It’s still a bit gritty, but it’s certainly more pleasant to use. I am very curious to see what else Apex does in their “Shield Carry Kit” to improve the trigger.

I’m pleased, and can’t wait to try it out at the range.