Guns

1911 dreams

/ hsoi / 12 Comments

The 1911-style pistol.

It’s something I don’t have, but something I want.

Yesterday my interest was renewed yet again due to that race gun. I spent some time last night drooling over the STI website trying to figure out what model I’d want someday.

Then this morning I read about new guns from STI.

And about Ruger making a 1911.

And Taurus debuting a 9mm 1911.

Just a day for 1911’s.

The fact I’ve got a bunch of .45 ACP bullets and brass and other .45 ACP-related reloading gear, but no .45 ACP gun in which to use it… gosh Honey, I really need to give them a home. 🙂

Passed up a deal?

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

I was at my local Cabela’s to pick up some last minute hunting items and also check out the reloading supplies (no primers, but I picked up some bullets). On my way out I always like to stop into the Gun Library to see what’s there.

Today had something interesting.

There was an STI race gun. Used, of course. It was a 2011. Not exactly sure what model as there was nothing stamped on the left side of the slide and the right side had only the STI logo. Totally decked out as a gaming/race gun: chambered in .38 Super, C-More sight, big old mag well, big old mag release, compensator, awesome trigger. It was tricked out to the gills, ready for IPSC open competition.

For only $999.

Consider that the MSRP of a race gun from STI can run at least $3000 or more, that basic STI 2011’s are $2000 or more, that $1000 for a used tricked out race gun seemed like the deal of the century.

I didn’t have a lot of time so I just saw it in the showcase, looked at it for a few seconds, then had to pay for my stuff and get home. But it nagged me all the way home:

1. Wow, that seems like a great deal.

2. Wow, that deal seems so great, it’s almost too good to be true. I mean, if they’re selling it for $1000 used, how much did they buy it for? There’s got to be a catch.

I got home and was emailing foo.c about it. I couldn’t stand it any more and went back to Cabela’s. But even on the drive I had second thoughts, bad enough that I pulled over and called foo.c to talk about it. I figured it was worth giving it a fair shake to see what it was about.

I got back there and looked at it. Asked the guy to take it out of the case so I could fondle it. Yeah, trigger was sweet. It was evident it was a very used gun. Looked down the barrel and you could see the wear. Sales guy said that his boss was able to shoot it and said “it was a tack driver” (whatever that means in this context). I asked how he was able to shoot the gun and apparently the seller was a regular customer and boss and customer went out shooting before the sale and boss was able to try out the gun. So I had as much information as I could get. I needed an opinion. I called Karl. We spoke for about 10 minutes. There’s no question that, on the surface, it’s a bargain deal. The reality is if it’s going to be a .38 Super race gun I must reload for it. Or I could get it rebarreled in 9mm. Karl made some generous and helpful offers, but bottom line was while the tag might say $1000 the gun was likely to need some work and who knows what the cost would be. Plus if I had to reload well… while reloading is happening, it would push up the need to buy a progressive press, which I wasn’t prepared just yet to buy.

While I was on the phone, the gun was placed into the back office and salesguy helped someone else. The issue that someone else had was rather time consuming, but that was good because it gave me a lot of time to think while saleguy was helping him. I noticed a couple guys in the back office that weren’t in Cabela’s employee shirts but seemed to be “relevant” to the office. They were fondling the gun so I went over and joked about not getting too attached to the gun I was about to buy. Talked with one guy that said he’d love a rig like that for shooting hogs (awesome) and then another guy said something that I didn’t quite catch. But it was something that led me to believe there was something wrong with the gun… not that they were selling a brick, but that the gun had some problem that was repaired or fixed or rebuilt or something… something that gave me the impression as to why the price was so low (not just the fact it’s an old gun with a lot of wear). The way the conversation in the small group was going I didn’t get exactly what he said, but the vibe was enough.

So while I waited for the salesguy to come back to help me, I kept hearing this voice in my head saying “don’t do it”. Ever since I laid eyes on the gun it kept smelling of “too good to be true” and there just kept a nagging bit in me. I think the only reason I cared to entertain it was because it appeared to be a great deal.

Maybe it is.

But I passed it up.

I’m sure the gun is OK. I’m sure it shoots fine for what it is. If dropping $1000+ wouldn’t be something that made me cringe, I’d buy it. Of course, if I could toss around $1000 without flinching then I’d also be able to just afford a brand new STI without flinching.

I have to also consider other things, like wanting to buy a progressive reloading press. Spend $1000 on a gun? or on a press? The press then lets me reload a lot, which means I can shoot a lot, which means I can get better. Hrm… I think that route is better.

Furthermore, I haven’t even been able to start competition shooting! There’s always been something confounding it. It feels strange going straight to an open gun, but the only reason I was considering it was purely because it looked like a once-in-a-lifetime deal. I didn’t feel like I “deserved” such a gun at this stage of things.

So well… at least as of this afternoon there’s (still) a used STI race gun sitting at Cabela’s (tho it’s not on their Gun Library website yet for some reason). I feel OK in my decision to walk away from it. I may kick myself because on paper it looks like a great deal, but I just had that feeling that in the long run the deal would have turned out to not be so hot. Besides, I think there are better ways for me to spend my money right now.

So THAT’S how you say it

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I’ve shot a bunch of their ammo (a lot if their .308 Winchester 168 grain match stuff, especially), and I’ve always wondered how you pronounce Prvi Partizan. Now I know.

And knowing is half the battle!

 

If only we could too…

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

Look at what I saw in my backyard a couple weeks ago:

Mind you I live in the city of Austin, tho obviously not downtown. There’s some flood control plots that run behind my house and coupled with the few hundred undeveloped acres connecting through (again, all for flood control and other “naturalization” stuff by the City), yeah we get all sorts of critters including deer and coyote. But for a city deer, he’s pretty good looking, isn’t he? Of course the majority of the deer we see on a daily basis are does and fawns or much younger bucks, but still the deer population in my backyard is pretty healthy. Over the years we’ve watched the same does come around, watched their children be born and grow up. And the deer population grows, unchecked.

The City seems to grant this is a problem. City of Austin recently passed an ordinance outlawing the feeding of deer. I know other similar legislative attempts have been made to control the deer population. Trouble is, the deer are oblivious to the hard work of our legislators. They don’t see your pretty flowers and landscaping as improving your house’s curb appeal… .no… the deer just see it as food. And the deer problems increase, because there’s a lot of this food about. The only threat to these deer are all the SUV’s driven by soccer mom’s with mobile phones glued to their ears. Unfortunately that’s not enough of a control measure.

Seems allowing hunters to hunt in urban areas is working to control the deer population. Whodathunkit?

I can understand people getting their panties in a wad over firearm-based hunting within city limits. But why not bow hunting? Mr. Buck above wasn’t but 25 yards from me. Certainly proper guidelines could be set down and the deer population could be better regulated. Furthermore, if the hunter didn’t want the venison, I’m sure the Capital Area Food Bank would be happy for the donation. Hell, Austin being Austin, I’d even find it acceptable if they made it a requirement of getting the “within the city hunting permit” to donate at least half of the meat to the CAFB.

But for now, all I can do is dream… and watch the deer play in my backyard. Hrm. Now if I could just get some buffalo roaming and antelope playing out behind my home too.

Home Invasion Defense Tactics

/ hsoi / 10 Comments

Reading Caleb’s post reminded me of something from a couple weeks ago.

A friend of mine was home alone. She heard some noises upstairs, it freaked her out a bit so she fetched the gun and kept it on the table next to her as she worked. Eventually she was freaked out enough that she opted to leave the house. Later she was given advice that she should have cleared the house because she knows how to do that.

IMHO, that wasn’t the best advice. Maybe she does know how to do it, but that doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do. I also don’t think that leaving was the right thing either.

Best thing? Hunker down. Call the police.

The main question to ask yourself is: “is this worth dying for?”

To go clearing the house could be inviting trouble. You don’t know what’s there and it could be a bigger problem than you’re able to handle, especially if you’re alone.

To leave the house could be a problem too, as you don’t know what’s going on. Maybe someone did break into the house and now there’s dude #1 in the house and dude #2 outside keeping watch while dude #3 is set with the getaway car. You don’t know what’s going on so again you could be walking into trouble.

But what if it’s nothing? Wouldn’t that be a waste of time for the police? Perhaps, but what if it’s something?

Are there cases that you should leave your position? Yes. For instance, a loved one is elsewhere in the house and the trouble appears to be in their general vicinity. In the end it just depends upon the situation and asking yourself “Is it worth dying for?”.

Father Son Time

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Work ran late tonight. Consequently I wasn’t going to make my martial arts class in time. *sigh*

So let’s make the best of it. I headed to the garage to fiddle with the reloading gear. 🙂  Since it’s a single-stage press I’m going to set it up for one task, then do as much of that task as possible. In this case, put a 9mm resizing die on there and go through ALL of my 9mm brass and deprime and resize it.

As I got rolling, Wife and Kids came home. Oldest saw what I was doing and came over.

“Can I try?”

“Sure.”

Gave him the basic instructions to move the handle through its full range of motion. Don’t rush it. Got to point out a few things, teach him a few things. Even encountered a Berdan primed case and got to show him the difference.

Oldest just sat at the press, putting in an old case, cranking the handle, taking out the reshaped and deprimed case, lather, rinse, repeat. He just kept doing it with no signs of stopping. Seemed happy doing it too. So I set about better organizing everything on the bench, sorting some things out, cleaning some things up.

Oldest just kept working the press.

We talked. Cracked jokes.

I took over for a bit. I stopped for some reason then Oldest snaked his way in and started working the press again. Go figure.

I eventually cut back in. Gave him my tub of non-usable brass and told him to get a pair of pliers out and crush them to ensure they don’t get used. He had fun with that. Told him to get the big pliers out for increased leverage and he really had fun with that. 🙂 I worked the press, watching him squish brass with glee and listened to him explain to me the differences between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class levers. I know what they are, but it doesn’t matter as I’m not listening to him to learn about levers… I’m just listening to him because he’s my Son and has something to say.

And so there we were in the garage. Father and Son. Talking, joking, working, playing… and sometimes just sitting in silence.

Oldest asked me if I was having fun reshaping the brass. I said that I was neutral about it. It’s repetitive, technically it’s boring. But I know it’s going to be good work and serve a useful end, so I’m good with it all. But that really, what I was enjoying more than anything was just spending time with him.

He seemed to like that.

I think I liked it more. 🙂

 

Which to get

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I’m all agog. <— click it. You know you want to hear it.

What with yesterday’s reloading session, I’m all excited about reloading. I wish I didn’t have to work today so I could just sit in the garage and try things out. Thankfully, a lot of my work today has been “hurry up and wait” so while I let something churn away I can Google and read.

It’s evident that my single-stage press will drive me insane eventually. If I want lots of handgun rounds for practice, I really need a progressive press. So the question becomes, what to get. The big players are the Dillon Precision 650, Hornady Lock-N-Load, the Lee Load-Master. There are others out there, like RCBS’s Pro 2000, Lyman has stuff (website down at the time of this writing), but Dillon, Hornady, and Lee seem to be the “big 3.” At least, if Google results are to be believed.

So it’s cool to find that a guy wrote up a good comparison piece on the big 3. You can read it here.

Foo.c sent that PDF to me some time ago, and I read it, but I knew nothing so I couldn’t really evaluate what was being said. I mean, was the guy just biased? Or just how straight up was the review? It did seem to be straight up given how things panned out, but still I had no knowledge with which to evaluate. But with the bit of experience I had yesterday, including seeing things going wrong, re-reading that PDF makes a lot more sense now.

Furthermore I found a lot of reviews, like this one at arfcom. As I’d read reviews today I’d find myself going “yeah, that happened to me with the Dillon, so I know what he’s talking about.” The issues with primers, the little details with the retention pins, all the powder measuring and adjustment mechanisms. Lots of little details. Not knowing any better I just experienced the 650 and said “well, that’s annoying, but that’s how it goes.” Then I read how the Hornady Lock-N-Load works and how it seems to have been designed to address those little annoying nits. Then I read about Hornady problems but then I read how they fixed it. For instance, the latest little nag seemed to be that 9mm rounds wouldn’t eject well (9mm is important to me) unless you did a bunch of work on the ejector wire. But now the LnL has a new EZject™ system that supposedly takes care of all that. Seeing Hornady listening to customers and striving to improve their product is a good sign.

I still don’t know what I’ll get, and for now I won’t be getting anything because I’m determined to start out learning the gear I have. But I know for the volume of handgun rounds I want that I’ll eventually want a progressive press, so I’ll start looking around and learning what to get. I’ll admit I’m leaning towards the Hornady Lock-N-Load based upon what I’m reading compared to my experience with the Dillon. More research needed.

 

Safety Glasses For Those Who Wear Glasses

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

I wear prescription eye glasses. I have worn glasses since I was 6 years old. On the whole I like that. I’ve had thoughts about getting contacts or the corrective eye surgery, but in the end glasses are fine for now.

One problem I’ve always had with glasses is when partaking in an activity that requires additional glasses, usually safety glasses. Most safety glasses that claim to fit over prescription glasses often don’t. Or maybe they roughly fit but the safety lens rests against the prescription frames so they get scratched or don’t fit well or rest in odd ways that get very weary on the nose. Then when it comes to shooting and you need to put on ear muffs, the arms of the safety glasses often bow outwards thus keeping the muffs from making a tight seal. If it’s not one thing it’s another.

Being a Life Member of the NRA, I get their mailings including emails. The NRA Store emailed me some weeks back and I saw the answer to my problems: NRA OTG Shooting Glasses. I ordered 2 pair: 1 for outside, 1 for inside. The appeal isn’t just supporting the NRA, but knowing these glasses were made and chose for sale because they specifically address the needs of shooters.

When they arrived in the mail I immediately tried them on. I was thrilled. They were comfortable, even on my big head. There was no contact between my prescription glasses and the shooting glasses, so they rested well on the bridge of my nose. The arms actually come in near the ear so they are close to my head and thus ear muffs have no problems. The arms are also a little longer thus sit comfortably behind the ear: a lot of shooting glasses I’ve tried just don’t get far enough behind the ear (or maybe it’s my big head). They hug close to the face, thus working well at keeping any flying debris away from my eyes.

I finally got to try them out yesterday. The sunglasses were wonderful to have because they are well… sunglasses and it was a sunny day. They didn’t slip, they didn’t move. They felt good to have on. I didn’t necessarily get to try out their impact resistance, but the reason I desire to have them on was because testing reloaded ammunition… who knows what might happen.

All shooters should wear eye protection. Prescription eyeglasses are better than nothing, but lack protection on the side. Plus if they do get damaged, it’s an expensive replacement (not to mention you’ll be out the glasses until you can get them replaced…can you drive home from the range?). These NRA OTG Shooting glasses were $19.95 + shipping, so well worth the inexpensive cost. No more just using my prescription glasses. I’ll probably even use the clear lensed version for anything around the house that might require eye protection. I’m happy.

Much ado about reloading

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

I blame foo.c for starting the ball rolling. 😉

He kept prodding me to start reloading. I saw the sense in learning to reload my own ammunition, but it wasn’t something I wanted to start right now as I’ve got enough irons in the fire. Then exodus (docbot) had to sell stuff, and I got the deal of the year on his entire reloading setup. I picked all the stuff up, shoved it in the garage, and left it sit until I had time to deal with it. A few weeks ago I got productive and rearranged the garage, including making nice with the reloading setup. Now I was ready to go, just needed the knowledge. I read through the Speer Reloading Manual #14 and got the basic idea, but there’s no substitute for someone teaching you.

Enter Karl Rehn of KR Training.

Yesterday some emails were going around regarding ammo. In the end Karl asked me what I was doing Sunday (today) and said to come out to the range and he’ll teach me. So that’s what I did. This was not the way I planned to spend my Sunday, but I had an opportunity to learn how to reload, and to learn from Karl. I couldn’t pass up such an opportunity!

I hopped on my motorcycle (bonus! got a bike ride) and rode out. After doing a few chores we got down to business and Karl showed me how to get things going. We used a Dillon Precision 650. Karl explained the process and how things go. I had lots of questions and as always Karl answered every one and explained to my satisfaction. He would then demonstrate, then let me try, then correct, and so on. I had brought some of my own bullets and cases, so using his powder and primers I was able to crank out about 200 rounds or so of my own.

I also got to see how things can go wrong. For instance, there were some squibs, so I got to hear what they sounded like. The first loads of my stuff weren’t strong enough and so every round caused a stovepipe. We increased the powder charge and things worked great. I got to see how various issues in the reloading process can happen and how to resolve them. So it was very informative to not just learn how to do things but to see things go wrong and learn how to correct them.

As I neared completion of my rounds I noticed that I had started to get a good feel. I could feel if something was wrong and was able to correct it before it got to be a (bigger) problem. I had a good groove on how much pressure to use, how to work the down stroke and the up stroke. Seating the primers gave me the most trouble because sometimes I might not have completed the upstroke all the way, but eventually I got it. I probably could have reloaded a few hundred more and been just happy to do so.

So what wasn’t great about the day? Seeing how great a set up Karl has. 🙂  From a well-stocked reloading room, to the ability to just walk outside and test things, then walk back in and tune up, to a nice progressive press. Gosh, how nice! I only have a single-stage press and will have to drive quite a ways to test out my loads. I guess this puts me in the market for not just a progressive press, but also some land out in the country. 🙂

I also took my factory Springfield XD-9 Tactical to try the loads out. I figured if something went wrong, let the factory gun blow up instead of my Springer Precision customized model. Going back to that factory trigger and those big fat factory sights makes you appreciate the custom work. I expect the Tactical model will become customized, probably turn into a competition gun.

Now all I need to do is try the reloading out myself using my own gear. I still need foo.c to come down to the house and help me get set up all the way. But for now, I feel I have some basic idea of how to get around and do things, so I’ll probably go play in the garage and see what I can do. The basics here are pretty easy, a lot easier than I thought it would be. I can also see how this can be a very interesting hobby, almost an art and a craft to come up with that ideal load.

Karl, thank you for taking the time and trouble to show me. I appreciate it!

All Hail Great Customer Service

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

What follows is a story of great customer service.

I use a Comp-Tac Minotaur MTAC holster. It’s seen a lot of wear and abuse but still works great. I’ve wanted to get a second holster to have as a backup, plus being leather-backed having a second allows me to rotate. I know you don’t always have to rotate leather goods, but given the sweat and dirt this holster will encounter, it’s nice to be able to swap in another holster while you take the one out for some maintenance. So about a month ago I purchased a second MTAC.

As noted, I didn’t immediately wear the new MTAC but conditioned/protected the leather. Then, the holster sat on the shelf because I had other things to tend to. A couple weeks ago I finally got to trying it, but when I did I noticed the Kydex shell had problems. I emailed Comp-Tac, they issued an RMA, and I sent it back.

So far, this is good customer service. It’s been easy to obtain their products, turnaround is quick, if the customer isn’t satisfied they immediately work to remedy it.

Here’s where it goes from good service to great service.

I knew about when the returned package would arrive (sent parcel post, so no tracking). Soon after it arrived I received an email saying my order was being worked on. Next day I get a phone call from Comp-Tac. They were calling to explain that some of the things I saw as bugs were in fact features! For instance, how the “opened up” the covering of the magazine release was a feature because some people wanted to be able to drop a magazine without unholstering. I don’t see the point. The XD has an ambidextrous magazine release so just reach to the other side. But I did point out a legit flaw in how the front/top edge of the Kydex was curled and thus the front sight was hooking. I explained everything, he agreed with me, but I could tell a little reluctantly. Nevertheless, what came of it was really cool. You see, he certainly listened to all of my concerns and desires and said “we’ll take care of you.”

A few days later (sent USPS Priority Mail) I get my new holster. And yes, it was totally new. I expected just the shell to be returned but I received a new leather backing as well. I examined the shell and noticed they made the shell to address my issues. The top part of the shell, relative to the top of the gun’s slide, was now “taller” and there was no curve at all. It was a straight channel with a good amount of clearance. Furthermore, they cut the slide shell longer (it’s a hair longer than my original MTAC slide shell) so it’s covering the front sight with no chance of snagging. I even tried my stock XD-9 5″ and it had no problem on the draw. The magazine release is fully covered and fits nice out of the box; on my original shell I had to Dremel it slightly so it didn’t cut into my fingers when I gripped the gun. One minor nit is the “retention button” is a raised dot on the Kydex that “locks” over the trigger guard to help with retention… it doesn’t have as much “click” when fully holstered as the original does and I see why. But this is a minor point as it’s not really necessary for an IWB holster. Other shell changes, like that it sits just a hair higher above my belt and has that “lip” on the front edge supposedly to help with reholstering, they don’t seem to cause any practical problems.

All in all, I’m very happy with things.

The holster is currently disassembled, the leather having been conditioned, and in a few days I’ll reassemble and start to wear it to see how it goes.

This ranks as great customer service because they were fully responsive to the customer’s concerns. They made every effort to satisfy the customer, even going so far as to do a little custom work to get it done. I also can bet this had to cost them some money because essentially they made 2 holsters for me. I don’t know how much of the returned holster they can salvage for reuse/resale. But they certainly have a loyal customer in me, willing to tell the tale and spread the word about what a good company they are to do business with.

Comp-Tac. Good products. Great service. Happy, loyal customer.