Noticed a couple blog posts around the intertubes regarding first time shooters, and more importantly, how much fun they had.
It's no stretch to say that introducing new people to the shooting community is by far the most fun I ever have at the range (and that's coming from somebody who's spent quality time with Ma Duece and a full can of government funded ammo...) The overwhelming sense of accomplishment in helping show that guns are fun, and not scary, helping someone gain the self confidence and empowerment of an effective means of self defense, and, most rewarding, that giant ear-to-ear grin that comes after that first shot with a serious gun. All fantastic feelings.
I think I'm overdue for taking some newbies out to the range...
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911
100 years ago today, the US Army adopted JMB's .45 caliber automatic pistol as the standard sidearm for it's soldiers.
The M1911 has since evolved, however the basic design remains one of the most (if not the most) pistols in use today. Not too many other designs can claim that sort of a following (and the bulk of the ones I can think of are JMB designs of some sort...)
Not much else to say that hasn't already been said about it, so I'll just toss up some 1911 porn from the blog archives.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Rip Shears
Saw these over on SSD, it's a seatbelt cutter that attaches to a pair of EMT shears-
Solidly in the "why the hell didn't I think of that?" category.
It just really caught my eye since I'm trying to figure out a good way to pack all the crap into this new fangled CLS bag the army issued me, including two pairs of those type of shears and a separate Benchmade safety knife. It would be pretty nice to just have one of those attached to the pair in the front tear-away pocket on the bag...
Solidly in the "why the hell didn't I think of that?" category.
It just really caught my eye since I'm trying to figure out a good way to pack all the crap into this new fangled CLS bag the army issued me, including two pairs of those type of shears and a separate Benchmade safety knife. It would be pretty nice to just have one of those attached to the pair in the front tear-away pocket on the bag...
Taurus Conversions on the Horizon?
A little tidbit of info from Guns, Holsters, and Gear:
"Although Morrison said he would not reveal any of the new products, later while he was talking about ammo price increases, he made mention of being able to shoot .22 LR ammunition in Taurus pistols with the same trigger pull, etc."I don't have any Taurus handguns, but I think the idea of a .22lr conversion kit is a good one.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Don't try this at home.
Surefire Hi-cap mag (x5) and a slightly modded M4 (heavy barrel and non-standard gas tube.)
A regular gas tube would melt into a pile of molten goop after that.
Surefire has done some mods to the design to hopefully get better reliability in more ARs (they were originally designed around Colt M4s.) Unfortunatly this means the release date is pushed back to the end of June.
(h/t Gear Scout)
A regular gas tube would melt into a pile of molten goop after that.
Surefire has done some mods to the design to hopefully get better reliability in more ARs (they were originally designed around Colt M4s.) Unfortunatly this means the release date is pushed back to the end of June.
(h/t Gear Scout)
Tiny Sniper Rifle
is Tiny.
It's popped up in a few places around the blogosphere this morning, but it's too cool not to mention. I mainly like it because my Dark Heresy character has the 40k equivalent. (Started with a "Roth Pattern Lasgun," which is a bullpup, and payed the Thrones to have it upgraded to a Long-las. Yes, I'm a geek.)
It's popped up in a few places around the blogosphere this morning, but it's too cool not to mention. I mainly like it because my Dark Heresy character has the 40k equivalent. (Started with a "Roth Pattern Lasgun," which is a bullpup, and payed the Thrones to have it upgraded to a Long-las. Yes, I'm a geek.)
Bore Snakes
On sale at Amazon. I tend to keep a couple of the major calibers in my range bag, and .223 type ones on board my ARs (plenty of room in an A2 stock, and the Magpul ACS stock has just enough room to cram one in.) It's nice for blasting a little CLP down the bore and following up with the snake.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Weather...
Freezing rain, sleet, and lighting so close it scrambled the radio in my car on the way home. I had to chip off at least a quarter inch of ice on the windshield just so I could get going, and thankfully I made it home before it got too covered again (the wipers are still under about an inch...) And I have to work at 7am. Welcome to spring in Wisconsin.
Tactical Tailor Mini-MAV
A while back I was looking for a small rig to carry a few AR mags and a couple handgun mags. Nothing complex, just a way to carry ammo and avoid the gear overload a full out load bearing vest can generate. A good chest rig.
A while back I snagged a Chinese AK chest rig for under $10.
It's a great set-up, in theory. Three 30 round AK mags, and four grenade pouches. I don't regularly carry grenades, so those pouches are usually empty though (except when I dressed up as an Afghan for Halloween. Then they were great for my wallet and cell... Man-Jammies don't have pockets...)
Most importantly, it's simple, and hold just enough for a quick response scenario. I actually tend to keep it in the trunk of my car, as a WASR makes a great trunk gun. My only complaint is that there's no way of swapping out at least a couple of the grenade pouches for a couple pistol mag holders of some sort without extensive modification of the rig (OK, not that extensive, but not MOLLE convenient.)
So I decided that I wanted a small rig for 3-4 AR mags, in single holders (ever try going prone with double pouches?) and at minimum, one spare double-stack 9mm mag. MOLLE is great, since modularity is dang nice, and if I were to switch from an AR to something else, I would only need to swap pouches instead of the whole rig.
So I poked around the ol' interwebs, and in a mildly round-about way, came to the Tactical Tailor's web store. Tactical Tailor was not a new name to me, and I doubt to many others. They've built up a good reputation for putting out quality American made gear, and backing that gear with great service.
What was new to me was their "Mini-MAV" chest rig platform. A simple MOLLE platform slightly smaller than the trusty Chinese rig, but sporting a ton of improvements. So I ordered me up some Multicam goodness and looked forward to the brown truck of happiness dropping it off in a couple weeks.
First impressions are everything, and the Mini-MAV did not disappoint. Read more after the jump-
A while back I snagged a Chinese AK chest rig for under $10.
 |
| It's the best photo I can find... but it's a rather ubiquitous item. |
It's a great set-up, in theory. Three 30 round AK mags, and four grenade pouches. I don't regularly carry grenades, so those pouches are usually empty though (except when I dressed up as an Afghan for Halloween. Then they were great for my wallet and cell... Man-Jammies don't have pockets...)
Most importantly, it's simple, and hold just enough for a quick response scenario. I actually tend to keep it in the trunk of my car, as a WASR makes a great trunk gun. My only complaint is that there's no way of swapping out at least a couple of the grenade pouches for a couple pistol mag holders of some sort without extensive modification of the rig (OK, not that extensive, but not MOLLE convenient.)
So I decided that I wanted a small rig for 3-4 AR mags, in single holders (ever try going prone with double pouches?) and at minimum, one spare double-stack 9mm mag. MOLLE is great, since modularity is dang nice, and if I were to switch from an AR to something else, I would only need to swap pouches instead of the whole rig.
So I poked around the ol' interwebs, and in a mildly round-about way, came to the Tactical Tailor's web store. Tactical Tailor was not a new name to me, and I doubt to many others. They've built up a good reputation for putting out quality American made gear, and backing that gear with great service.
What was new to me was their "Mini-MAV" chest rig platform. A simple MOLLE platform slightly smaller than the trusty Chinese rig, but sporting a ton of improvements. So I ordered me up some Multicam goodness and looked forward to the brown truck of happiness dropping it off in a couple weeks.
First impressions are everything, and the Mini-MAV did not disappoint. Read more after the jump-
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wish in One Hand...
Despite how much you hope, there don't seem to be magic elves that are nice enough to come edit photos for you while you're sleeping.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
"Snort!"
Hey, CNN, since this war was half your idea in the first place, can't you at least go 72 hours before switching sides?So glad I didn't have a mouthful of coffee at that point...
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Shiny!*
Apparently Raven Concealment Systems have made some improvements since my last order.
First impressions - the profile of the M&P makes for a much more secure feel to the holster than the Sig (more bits on the left side of the gun to provide texture) and the soft loops are a massive improvement over the "paddle clips" of old.
I'll get some more pictures and more words in the next couple weeks at some time, but to sum it up, at first impression, the wait was well worth it.
*Been watching a bit of Firefly as of late...
Friday, March 18, 2011
"Always Have a Knife"
Robb Allen is finally learning the lesson my Grandfather taught me nearly 20 years ago, the title of this post. I can forget my phone or wallet at home, and it's a mild inconvenience, but I feel naked if I don't have my pocket knife. Needless to say, I hate flying (how am I supposed to open the dang peanuts!)
There's just too many reasons to carry a good pocket knife.
There's just too many reasons to carry a good pocket knife.
Die Snow...
I had to drive a couple dozen miles to the next town north for a dental exam (apparently the DOD doesn't contract any of the dozen or so dentists in town...) and between the warm-ish temperatures and light rain, all the vast fields of snow were generating some pretty impressive banks of fog.
It made interstate driving kind of suck, but seeing the steam rising up off the snow made me think of the snow's soul rising up from it's melting body, and I'm rather ok with the idea.
On a side note, since I was close, I ducked into Gander Mountain to drool (being effectively broke, I wasn't in any real danger.) They had a basic black ACR there, and the guy behind the counter didn't even know what it was, and they had the front sight mounted backwards, but it was a lot lighter than I expected. The price tag made me laugh though. Also fondled a S&W .380 Bodyguard. If I do decide to pick up a tiny .380, that'll probably be the one, it felt pretty good in my hands, and has the full compliment of pistol controls, and the laser is a fantastic idea on a tiny gun with tiny sights like that.
It made interstate driving kind of suck, but seeing the steam rising up off the snow made me think of the snow's soul rising up from it's melting body, and I'm rather ok with the idea.
On a side note, since I was close, I ducked into Gander Mountain to drool (being effectively broke, I wasn't in any real danger.) They had a basic black ACR there, and the guy behind the counter didn't even know what it was, and they had the front sight mounted backwards, but it was a lot lighter than I expected. The price tag made me laugh though. Also fondled a S&W .380 Bodyguard. If I do decide to pick up a tiny .380, that'll probably be the one, it felt pretty good in my hands, and has the full compliment of pistol controls, and the laser is a fantastic idea on a tiny gun with tiny sights like that.
Warp Speed 5 Captain!
Is not the speed to reholster in. Caleb talks about the importance of holsters, and most importantly, why "speed reholstering" is bad.
He also touches on the concept of the "hard stop" after shooting. It's a good idea, and I think including a "search and assess" in with that is a good habit to get into.
He also touches on the concept of the "hard stop" after shooting. It's a good idea, and I think including a "search and assess" in with that is a good habit to get into.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Let There Be Light
I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of a white light on a defensive gun. One of the biggest reasons people don't is because it can make the gun more difficult to conceal.
Well, holster makers are catching up.
Well, holster makers are catching up.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Just Another Reason
Coffee is a thing of wonder and deliciousness. Studies show it may reduce the occurance of strokes.
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