Almost Missed It!

3 year Blogoversary is today!

Went to the range to try Manda's new pistol, now a house full of people over watching James Bond.  Good day.

M&P22 First Look

I took some time today to field strip Manda's new gun and take some shots of the insides and some comparison shots with the "real steel" M&P9.

Overall-

Obviously, the hole in the muzzle is smaller on the little one, and you can make out the barrel nut that holds the barrel assembly together.  It is the same setup as the Walther P22, unsurprisingly, and P22 thread adapters work if you plan to use the M&P22 as a suppressor host.

The slide on the 22 seem to have slightly sharper corners than the 9, and the polymer is smoother, as well as the finish on the slide being somewhat different, more of a satin black than the 9mm's finish.

Triggers-

Externally, they're pretty much a match.  Both have the hinged bottom half that acts as a trigger safety, and feel the same against your finger.  Internally, there's a bit of difference in how they work, which I'll get to in a bit, however the end product is a better feeling trigger than what S&W is putting in the centerfires (primarily due to the striker system.)  Take up and break are near the same as my M&P9 with Apex parts installed, although a little lighter; but where it really shines is the reset.  It's audible, tactile, and about 3,879 times better than the centerfire's trigger.

Sights-

The sights are similar, but obviously not identical.  The 22 is cut similar to the 9mm's, however there is only a single white dot on the front sight blade, and the rear is adjustable for elevation, as well as the normal drift adjustment for windage.  Elevation adjustment is a nice touch on a .22lr, given the inconsistencies common in different .22lr manufacturers.

Thumb Safeties-

The 22's thumb safeties are actually slightly further rearward than the centerfires, which causes MandaFern to have difficulty getting a good high thumbs forward grip, since it's just barely too much of a stretch to ride the safety for her.  It's not a show stopper, and on the M&P9 and my 1911, her thumb instinctively goes where it belongs.

Another con (for me) is that it has a magazine disconnect "safety," and it doesn't seem to be as easy to defeat as the centerfire's is.

Disassembled-

Takedown is a bit different on the two guns, the 22 requiring the slide to be fully forward, and the takedown lever needs to be pulled out about halfway from the frame, then takedown is consistent with most blowback pistols I'm familiar with (pull the slide to the rear, then up and forward off the barrel.)

Now we can start to see some of the internal differences between the S&W centerfire M&Ps and the Walther built .22lr version.  Most notably, the barrel is fixed to the frame, held in place by the barrel nut pressing against a barrel shroud and tensioning it against the frame, identical with the barrel system on the Walther P22.  The rimfire pistol also does not have a captured recoil spring, unlike the centerfire guns.

The barrel extension has a nice little ramp cut in to help with feeding-

and the magazine definitely shows the Walther rimfire heritage-

M&P22 on left, P22 on right.

What surprised me about the M&P22 however, is that it is not a striker fired gun like the centerfires, or a DA/SA like the Walther, but is actually a fully shrouded Single Action hammer fired system.

No wonder the trigger feels good!


Hopefully we'll have a chance to get out this weekend sometime and get some rounds downrange and see how it feels and shoots.

Sig P224 Ad

Found by Guns Holsters and Gear.  The P224 is essentially a cut down, sub-compact P229.

Teaser Shot!

More in depth look tomorrow, but for now...

It's her gun, so she got to choose the background.  Penguins rock anyway.

It's not mine, but MandaFern's very first purchase!  (It's always good to know the girl you're dating isn't a criminal or anything.)

I'll get more photos (inside and out) tomorrow, along with some comparisons with the "full size" 9mm, and the P22.  Ok, maybe not the P22 tomorrow; it's filthy and I need to do more research into what is and isn't the same on the those two guns.

.40S&W Rhino Coming

Will be at 2012 SHOT.  More info at Gun Nuts Media.

Would any Ladies like $300 to put towards a Self Defense Course?

If yes, head over to A Girl and Her Gun and get in on the drawing.

Click*

My brain is stuck dry-firing.  I'm on the morning shift today, and my blogger is broke.  Check back later I guess.

Israeli Bandage Application

Good little refresher video from PerSysMedical (h/t to SSD) on various ways to apply the Israeli Bandage-



I keep one in my range bag, and one in my blowout kit on my vests (personal plate carrier and my Army one.)  They are pretty amazing little things.
(Just a reminder, while a good video, this is no replacement for proper medical training.)

Want...

I've been practically eye-humping this rig from ATEi for the last week or so...

From ATEi's Facebook page

Minus the laser (just not a fan of the CTC setup on the M&P...)
May just have to save up while I'm gone...

New Year's Eve

I've gotta work overnight, so it's not really hitting me as anything special aside from meaning I'll go through twice as many checks as normal the next couple months from writing the wrong date down...

Thankfully MandaFern rocks and decided to knock out a sweet sweet dinner for me before I head out for the night.

Since it's Wisconsin, cold and snow doesn't mean jack-

She managed to grab some giant freakin' shrimp at a seafood sale at the supermarket yesterday (along with scallops and steak)... and I mean GIANT shrimp-

That's over a pound of shrimp... all six of 'em.

So "Tactical Dinner Pics" Go! (If you're on ARFCOM, you'll understand...)

Pan-seared scallops, grilled Colossal shrimp and steak slathered in saute'd mushrooms and onions with some rosemary baby red potatoes on the side.

Dessert (Tiramisu)-

I am now thoroughly stuffed and not sure how I'm going to make it until 7am... but hey, it was worth it.

See you next year!

UBG Holsters Canute Review

A few months back Nate from UBG Holsters asked if I was interested in reviewing some of his work.  With Concealed Carry right around the corner here in Wisconsin, I was definitely in the market for some IWB holster options and jumped at the chance to try out some good leather while I was at it.

I settled on the Canute model for my M&P9, and Nate sent one out to me a couple weeks later.  As a note here, I stressed that I was in no rush, as it would still be at a few months or so until I could actually carry it outside of the house.  Despite this, he still had it put together and in my hands a couple weeks later.  Having sat through a half-year wait for a Raven Concealment Systems rig a couple times, getting a hand built leather holster in a fraction of the time was a welcome treat.

The Canute is a typical IWB holster, featuring a full body shield and widely spaced belt loops with “pull the dot” style snaps, allowing the user to put the holster on or take it off without removing their belt; a welcome feature for those of us that must enter “posted property” on a daily basis.   The Canute also has a 22-25 degree forward cant, something I’ve come to appreciate for added concealment and a smoother draw when wearing the holster in the 4-5 o’clock position.

The model I chose is a plain, no frills black leather holster (other colors and even exotic skins are available) with no reinforcement around the mouth.  The leather is nicely finished and thick, and overall construction is top-notch.  The holster is molded to your specific gun, and my M&P9 fit well right out of the box (a little tight at first, as is expected with leather, but it loosened up quickly.  Instructions for break-in are also on their website.) Retention is still positive after a month of use, never has it felt like my gun was moving or about to fall out of the holster. 

As mentioned, the back features a full sweat guard/body shield to protect both the gun’s finish and your body from any pokey bits or sharp edges on your gun.

The only issue I’ve found so far with the full size body shield is that my thumb-safety occasionally snags on the top edge.  The safety does remain engaged, but it is something to be mindful of when reholstering.

As you can see, the holster is holding up well after a month of almost daily use, including snapping and unsnapping the loops a couple times a day on average.  Granted early winter in Wisconsin isn’t going to be severely torturous compared to summer on a big sweaty guy like me, it’s still reassuring to see practically no finish wear on the outside of the leather, and only a small amount of wear inside where a reference spot of grip-tape on the frame of my gun rubs during the draw (eventually I’ll most likely pull the grip-tape and stipple that spot though, and I think that will reduce the amount of wear it has on holsters.)

The belt loops are probably my favorite feature of the Canute, both due to their spacing, and the ability to remove the holster without undoing my belt.  Even with a full size duty pistol with 17 rounds of ammo in the mag, the loops spread the weight out well, and help spread the bulk of the rig out along the beltline, aiding in concealment.

Obviously, how well the holster conceals is very important with an IWB holster, and the Canute does so wonderfully.  I don’t know of many other holsters I’d be confident in trusting to hide a large gun under as little as a t-shirt, but the Canute excels in that department.

I wore a similar outfit at my family’s Thanksgiving day gathering (button-up cotton shirt instead of the T) and either no one noticed, or if they did they didn’t say.  A few days later I was talking to my dad about good concealment clothing, and asked if he remembered the shirt I was wearing that day;

“No, but I don’t regularly check out your wardrobe…”

“Well did you notice the gun I was wearing all day either?”

“…No.”

I figure if a house full of people familiar with you don’t notice it after a full day, it’s got to be good to go.

If you like what you see, UBG Holsters is offering free shipping with coupon code "gunsncoffee"

Fine print! UBG did provide the holster in this review for a reduced price.  Does that change my opinion? Hell no. This holster's good shit.

Top 20 Monty Python Sketches

The "Holy Grail" of sketches for their 40th Anniversary.

I'm rather partial to... pretty much all of them.

Amazon

Whenever you guys click an Amazon link on here, and buy something, I get a cut of the profits.  True to past experience, December is usually my big sales month, and this year is no exception.

This is awesome, and I thank you guys immensely.  I found out recently that I've been selected for a one-year deployment starting next summer, and despite my strong preference towards printed books, I think it'll be better to break down and pick up a Kindle Touch in the not-so-distant future and load it up with books, rather than ending up shipping a footlocker full of paperbacks around the world.  So far you guys have ordered enough stuff to cover a little over half the cost in kick-backs from Amazon.

(Don't worry Larry, I'll still be getting hard-copies of all your future books.  I've got an autographed copy of everything so far, would hate to have an incomplete collection!)

How Many Rounds Do You Carry?

And why that many?

A couple weeks ago MandaFern took her CCW course (provided free through Wisconsin Carry, Inc.) and I tagged along, both for morale support, and because (generally) any training is good training and I treasure gathering viewpoints and training techniques from any source I can.

At a few points throughout the course, the instructor (an avid 1911 fan) voiced his negative feelings towards people carrying wonder-nines with super-high capacity magazines.  One of my typical carry guns is my M&P9, fully stoked with 17 rounds in the mag, and a spare 17 round magazine on my support side.  Amanda knows this and nudged me a little when he mentioned it the first time.

I grabbed my pen from my pocket and scribbled down on her notes "'Coyotes' travel in packs" semi jokingly.  While this is a valid point, my other standard carry piece as of late has been my Smith & Wesson 442 J-frame revolver.  Typically with a speed strip of five rounds in my watch-pocket of my jeans and a speed-loader in my coat pocket.  That loadout has less rounds total than one magazine in my M&P.

Do I feel undergunned carrying that few rounds?  No, not really.  Despite my coyote comment, we live in a small enough town that large gangs of thugs are not really a threat.  .38spc+P is a proven round, and the most likely threat I'll ever face around here is an overzealous convenience store robber or the like.  I don't ever see myself being sucked into a running gunfight through downtown Stevens Point.

So why carry 34 rounds of 9mm when I carry the M&P?  Why not save some strain on my belt and leave the spare at home?  I should be able to deal with any likely threat with 17 rounds, right?

Simple.  The biggest Achilles's Heal of any semi-auto weapon system is the magazine.  Add to that the fact that just about any malfunction drill on a semi-auto pistol involves stripping the magazine out to relieve pressure on the action.  If something goes south inside my gun, it's much easier to grab that spare mag, where I know it is, than look all over for the half a mag I tossed in the dirt while fixing my gun.  And since I'm going to carry that second magazine, I may as well fill it up to capacity.

December Sets Record for Gun Sales

With a few days left in December, the FBI reports the number of background checks has already topped the previous one-month record -- set only in November -- of 1,534,414 inquiries by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System also known as NICS. Almost half a million checks were done in just the last six days before Christmas.

Neat.  Also of note-

Data recently released by the National Center for Health Statistics shows that in 2008, the number and per capita rate of firearm accident deaths fell to an all-time low. There were 592 firearm accident deaths (0.19 such accidents per 100,000 population) in 2008, as compared to 613 accidents (.20 per 100,000) in 2007. (h/t SayUncle)

Yup.  Gun ownership way up, gun accidents way down.  The Brady Bunch is probably rocking back and forth in a corner sniveling...

Shelley on Holsters

More importantly, what she looks for.

I've got to agree, a quality holster is a great thing.

Tuesday

Those Blasted New Fangled...

...Single-point Slings.

What's old is new.

Next few days

May be light around here.  Will be traveling for family get-togethers and the like.

In case I don't get a chance, Happy Holiday from G&C.

More Magpul Shotgun Pics

From Magpul themselves.  Guess they gave in since they made enough of a splash and put them up on the site.  Currently they're only for 12 Ga. Remington 870s.



Stock



Forend

I'd definitely want to handle the stock before buying one, but the forend looks pretty good.

Prometheus

I'll be there.

20 ga. for Home Defense

Beyond Buckshot - A Look at 20-gauge Rifled Slugs for Self-Defense in the Smoothbore Shotgun

Well worth a read.  One of the reasons I picked up a 20 gauge is knowledge similar to this quote-

When compared to a 12-gauge, the 20-gauge delivers 75% of the lead with a recoil that is 40-50% less.  This is equivalent to the ballistic force of being hit with two .44 Magnum rounds simultaneously.  In addition, the reduced recoil of the 20-gauge is conducive to accurate, rapid shots.

The Hobbit

First official trailer is out-



I've always like The Hobbit more than the trilogy.  It seems more "story" and less "history text."

It could be that I grew up watching the classic animated one, but I'm really happy to see it coming back to the big screen.

Madison 5 Awarded $10,000 Judgement Against City of Madison/Madison PD

For immediate release:

On September 18, 2010 five law abiding Wisconsin residents were peacefully
having dinner at a Culver's Restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin. These 5
individuals, who were legally openly carrying as provided by Wisconsin law had
finished their dinner and were preparing to leave the restaurant when they were
unlawfully detained by a mass of Madison police officers.

Despite the absence of reasonable suspicion or probable cause of any crime or
violation, Madison police illegally demanded identification from the men under
the threat of arrest if they did not comply. 2 individuals who chose not to
comply with the illegal action of the Madison police were subsequently arrested
and cited for obstruction. 2 days later those unlawfully issued citations were
rescinded and all 5 men, even those who complied with the officers illegal
demands were issued citations for disorderly conduct.

On May 5th of 2011, the frivolous disorderly conduct charges against all 5 men
were dropped.

Wisconsin Carry, Inc. a non-profit corporation dedicated to protecting and
advancing the right of Wisconsinites to carry in the manner of their choosing,
open or concealed, filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Madison and the 5
Madison Police officers who participated in the unlawful detainment and
treatment of these 5 individuals. A copy of that lawsuit is available here:

http://www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/Madison5/lawsuit.pdf

Today a judgment of $10,000 against the City of Madison and 5 Madison police
offers was agreed to by Wisconsin Carry, Inc. and our 5 co-plaintiffs. This
judgment will be entered into the record of the Federal District Court, Western
Wisconsin.

A copy of the judgment agreement can be viewed here:

http://www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/Madison5/Doc_10_Acceptance_of_OOJ.pdf

Wisconsin Carry will continue to employ and "all of the above" approach to advancing and protecting the right to carry in the manner of one's choosing in Wisconsin. Included in those methods are lawsuits, grass roots legislative activism, public education/awareness, free concealed weapon license training, and every other effective measure.


Carry On,

Nik Clark
Chairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
www.wisconsincarry.org
nik@wisconsincarry.org
www.facebook.com/groups/wisconsincarry
www.youtube.com/wisconsincarry
www.twitter.com/wisconsincarry

Magpul Shotgun stuff??

Something sprung a leak...

Guess I may be back to my 12ga 870 watch.

Random Gun Pron

Always a good time.

I'm part of the 1%...

...of Wisconsinites who applied for their CCW Permit in the first six weeks.

 In less than six weeks, 56,000 people applied for a permit under Wisconsin's new concealed carry law and thousands more bought handguns, swamping the state agency handling the required background checks.

The applicants so far amount to about 1% of the state's population, and very few of them have been rejected for a permit. The number of state background checks for handgun purchases is also up more than 50% for the year - another sign of the large numbers of people taking advantage of the new concealed carry law.

Kim Jong Il is Dead

The Norks have officially announced it.

Stickman Website Launched

Amazing gun photog and fantastic gear reviewer Stickman has launched an official website.

Right now it's just a simple splash site linking to his Facebook and Flickr account, but it's worth checking out if you like awesome pictures of awesome gear.

Mo' Molle, Mo' Problems

EMT meets MilSim



Genius.