Guns

Stop a semi-automatic pistol’s slide with your hand

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

Via Every Day, No Days Off a video that demonstrates grabbing the slide of a semi-automatic handgun will disable the gun.

The chambered round will of course fire, but that’s all you’ll get. As well, it doesn’t take much; he put a single finger on the back of the slide and while it hurt it was enough to disrupt the slide. Demonstrates that if you want your semi-auto to operate, the slide must be able to operate 100% smoothly and unobstructed.

From that I take two things:

  1. If you’re in a FUT/CQB situation and someone pulls a gun, grabbing can take the gun out of commission… at least as soon as the chambered round is fired. This applies to the attackers gun, as well as your own gun.
  2. It’s why I prefer a revolver for “in the coat pocket” carry.

That said with revolvers, let’s see if this guy perhaps makes the same sort of video with a revolver. That would certainly bring about powder burns, but I wonder if you could stop the double-action rotation of the cylinder. I’m not willing to risk my fingers/hand or revolver to find out. 🙂

Random reloading stuff

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

After dinner last night I finished reloading 30 rounds. .223 Remington, Barnes TSX .224″ 62 grain, CCI #41 primer, used Remington brass trimmed to 1.750″, COAL of 2.250″, all with Varget powder. Started at 25.1 grain and loaded 5 rounds each at 0.1 grain increments (5 @ 25.1, 5 @ 25.2, etc.). Goal is to take the AR to the local indoor range, shoot at 100 yards for the tightest groups I can. See which shoots the most accurate and smallest group, and that will be what I settle on for my AR hunting load. To me, that will be “good enough” for taking down a Texas deer or a hog. Load up at least 50 of that one. Take it to the rifle club, put it on the chrono, and get the scope zeroed. Rifle club has 200 yard range and I should try it at 200 yards as well as that’s the maximum range at which I think this load would be OK at in terms of hunting and terminal ballistics (yeah on paper can go more, but 200 yards is the most I’d feel OK with, at least at this point).

BTW, I called Barnes a couple weeks ago to ask if they had 5.56x45mm NATO reload data. Guy on the phone said no not yet, but apparently that data is coming. Barnes website says they’re working on data manual #5 so maybe it’ll be in there. That’d be cool. Mostly it provides some known recipes, especially for flirting with safe pressures.

I bought some used .38 Special brass off a guy. Should arrive sometime this week. When I get it I’ll probably load another couple hundred rounds of my .38 Special recipe. I think the Lock-n-Load press was dropping 3.7 grains of Titegroup instead of 3.5, which likely explains why when I tried the loads they had a little more snap to them. Before I load these up I’m going to double-check all the press settings and go from there. I figure as long as the LnL is set for .38 I might as well get a few hundred more cranked out before I switch.

Because yes, I need to switch to work up a 9mm load. You see, Tom Givens of Rangemaster is returning to KR Training as a guest instructor teaching his Combative Pistol 2 course. If that course requires 1500 rounds, I need to get a load worked up and probably aim to load 2000 rounds. I need to get crankin’ on that; even with the progressive press it’s still going to take a while to crank out that many. I should have enough primers, powder, and cases, but I need more bullets. For cases, I’m going to use all the harvested range brass I have; it’s unlikely I’ll recover any brass from this class so I might as well use “throw-away” brass and reloads in the class. Keep all my new factory ammo and then “once-fired brass” for myself and use that at practice sessions between now and then. I tried Titegroup once, and that recipe was really weak, but should provide a good starting point. Titegroup jug says 4.8 grains with a 115 gr GDHP and COL of 1.125″ is a max load, so the load I had was below the 10% less starting point. If say I use my previous recipe with 4.4 grains, the gun cycles, things come out OK, I’ll probably just skip too much experimenting and go with that. I don’t need to spend forever on this one…. just need a load that runs and isn’t too ugly.

If all goes well, I can get all this done in the next week or two. The .223 loads are ready to go. .38 brass arrive this week and I can get a couple hundred rounds going fairly easily. Then do some preliminary 9mm setup and experiments. Once I have a fair lot of each load, off to the range to try them all out and see how things shake. Fun fun fun!

Who knew?

/ hsoi

Had a very draining day at work today. Nothing necessarily bad, just had many things going on at once, lots of things to coordinate, people to wait on, things to do, and was doing it non-stop for a very long day.

After all was done I sat on the couch with Wife and Kids for a bit and talked, then went into the garage. I spent about 30 minutes in there taking 30 pieces of .223 Rem brass. Resize and decap. Trim. Clean the primer pocket. Debur and chamfer the mouth. Prime. Just getting the brass all ready to load my next round of .223 hunting load experiments. I’ll probably add powder and bullets after dinner.

But who knew it would be so relaxing. It was just a nice way to unwind from the day.

Magazine Pouches

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

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 Private Lesson

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

Today I had a private handgun lesson with Karl Rehn of KR Training.

I asked for the lesson because I know putting a set of highly-trained eyes on me can help me watch for things I’m doing but may not be aware of, and where I can improve.

The shooting part of the lesson mostly involved using the Central Texas Standards. Go check it out. On paper it may look easy, but it’s not. Karl can shoot 100% on it. Me, I’ve got work to do, but I knew that and that was the point of today. The question is, what exactly do I need to do.

I won’t bore you with all the details, but I will state a few things:

  • I’m back to “dipping” when I draw. That is, when the hand goes down onto my gun to draw it, I dip in my knees. When I pull the gun up and out of the holster, I straighten up. I’m not as pronounced, and certainly it’s good to drop my weight a bit, but the coming up needs to stop. The interesting thing is I haven’t been doing this in dry fire practice. Maybe it’s something about Karl’s range. 🙂
  • I was shooting left. I could tell from reading my front sight that I was shooting left. I could tell from feeling my cheek on my right shoulder that I’m still affected by my recently discovered (bad) habit of doing that, and thus everything was lining up for me to shoot a little left. It’s all the benchrest rifle shooting I’ve been doing lately.
  • I need to get on the trigger during the presentation.
  • Karl showed me a more advanced technique for the draw, in terms of what happens with the left hand. I like.
  • I need to get faster on the draw.
  • When I practice my draw, I need to break it down into two steps and be more “L” shaped in my movement “arc”.
  • I need to be faster on my reloads. I need to get to the magazine faster.
  • When I practice my reloads, remember to keep the pistol vertical when dropping the mag (to ensure it drops free), then cant the gun to match the natural angle created by your left hand as it brings up the new magazine.
  • Stop yanking the trigger. Time pressures got to me.

Things to practice, either in live or dry fire:

  • Burkett reloads
  • I can try reloading like Tom Givens suggests, it works out the same, really, but it just adds dropping the magazine to the Burkett reload drill
  • Moving and reloading, but finger doesn’t get on the trigger until you’re on target.
    • The maxim is to prep the trigger as the gun goes on target. This holds always (advanced technique).
  • Buy some “Blue Guns” magazines (or apparently the Beretta mags work, with a little modification) to help practicing these techniques (since they have weight to them)
  • Two-step draw, up and out
    • Clap your hands, left already canted
  • Shooting groups at 15 yards, 25 yards, 35 yards, 50 yards
  • Shoot the Central Texas Standards with no time limits/pressures. The goal? Shoot it 100% clean. If you can shoot it 100% clean, that shows you have the marksmanship abilities to shoot that stuff, so now it’s a matter of speeding it up. Start shooting at 7 yards and work the drills backwards; again, no timer. Once you get to the point that you can’t shoot the string clean, that tells you where you need to start working, focus there.
  • Shifting the gun to the weak hand (from a strong-hand draw), the draw is the same, and when the hands clap at your chest you should have your thumbs pointing skyward and you can just roll the gun from one hand to the other. A little more finger on the trigger.

Some of the above may make sense to you, some may not. It’s mostly notes for myself.

I’ve got a lot of practice ahead of me. Especially since Tom Givens is coming back to the area on October 23-24, 2010 for Combative Pistol 2. That’s an intensive course, and I better have my shit straight before I walk in there. About 9 months away, I have no excuse.

Wilson Combat Spec-Ops 9

/ hsoi / 7 Comments

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.

Karl shooting the Wilson Spec-Ops 9. Ah, recoil!

Me, shooting the Wilson Spec-Ops 9 (note the ejecting brass).

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!

Karl shooting steel with the Wilson Spec-Ops 9 -- CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

Me shooting steel with the Wilson Spec-Ops 9 -- CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

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”.

Fastest Iron Sights?

/ hsoi

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.

Limitations of training substitutes

/ hsoi

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. 😉

I don’t get it.

/ hsoi / 8 Comments

I don’t get it.

They claim to be so much better than us.

They claim to be above it all.

They claim we’re paranoid and engaging in unnecessary and unsafe behavior.

Then they act like this:

Send me your home address and I’ll come to your house and punch your fucking face in. Unless you are a pussy who can’t fight without a gun in his hand.

and this:

Jim, say what you will. If you did this to a member of my family, I’d nail you to the front of your own home, slice your gut open, and tie you up in your own entrails. Then I’d go to work on your family.

I don’t get it.

I don’t see how that makes you better than me.

I don’t see how that makes you some morally and intellectually superior, more evolved, more elite person.

But it does demonstrate why some of us choose to be prepared to defend ourselves. Because it is obvious there are violent people out there with poor impulse control.

Reasonable restrictions

/ hsoi

See? Reasonable restrictions on Sudafed sales. It’s for the children. Sure seems to be putting a halt to all that meth production, and making a lot of legislators feed good about themselves…. at least until they catch a cold themselves, I guess.