ND!

18 May 08

ND/injury, from a friend in TX:

"I was a student in a carbine class today when a fellow student puta pistol round (40S&W hardball from a G22) through his right leg. It entered near the crease at the front of the right hip and exited out the back of the leg six centimeters above the knee. He departed in an ambulance. Not much blood from either hole.

The student was transitioning from carbine to pistol. His normal draw was interrupted by his chest-mounted ammo pack. His reaction was to convulsively clamp down. The pistol functioned normally and ruined the rest of his day!

The chest-pack was a new piece of kit for this student, and he had never run with it before today. Adding it apparently changed everything!

I don't know which style of 'register' position forhis trigger finger he was employing, if any. Apparently, it did not suffice to keep his finger off the trigger!"

Comment: Familiarity will breed contempt/complacency! We handle loaded guns every day, and it is easy to forget the appalling, irreversible damage of which they're capable.

New gear, when added to one's repertoire, needs to be carefully integrated and tested at low speed, before going all out.

NDs can happen to any of us! Our Art is fraught with danger. Risks can be " managed," but are never eliminated. No one enjoys a "risk-free" life!

/John

Ruger LCP

19 May 08=20

Beta Test on Ruger's LCP, from a friend in TX:

"A wide variety of ammunition was fed through the gun, over 250 rounds, and the little Ruger performed without stoppages. Reliability doesn't appear tobe an issue.

My trigger gauge only goes up to eight pounds, and the LCP's trigger is well in excess of that. Your really have to want to shoot it!

The pistol is sleek, light, flat, compact, easy to breakdown for cleaning. Fit and finish are surely adequate. It is well suited as a back-up pistol and for rigorous, concealed carry.

Now, for the bad news:

After the trigger is pressed through, it can be let out a nominal 1/4 inch, and a noticeable 'click' can be felt and heard. When the trigger is re-pressed from this click, the hammer falls forward with no discharge. The trigger must be let all the way back to full extension and then re-pressed if a subsequent shot is to go downrange.

The LCP only comes with one magazine. Additional ones must be ordered separately. Sights are rudimentary, as you noted. The front sight is particularly difficult to distinguish from the slide from which it protrudes."

Comment: On balance, the LCP looks to be an adequate back-up pistol, and it represents an improvement over the similar Kel-Tec 380.

I strongly recommend carrying two (or more) guns when one carries guns at all. The Kel-Tec 380, and now the LCP, make carrying two guns genuinely doable for may who have found the practice inconvenient up until now.

/John

Carry Guns for Women

19 May 08

At a Women's Defensive Handgun Course in IN last weekend, our cadreor female students showed up with six-shot revolvers, five-shot snubbies, SIG 239/DAKs, and S&W M&P/Compacts.

All ran fine, and, as part of their training, each woman had the opportunity to shoot all the other guns there, plus a G19 and my SA/XD.

Interestingly, the most popular pistol among my female students was consistently the 9mm M&P/Compact, with the smallest of the grip options. All loved its trigger, it smooth, rounded-off profile, ergonomics, soft recoil, and most thought they could carry it concealed.

Least popular were the five-shot snubbies. Many like the small size, but, in actual use, sights are difficult to use, triggers are long and heavy, reserve of cartridges is very limited, and reloading is slow and maladroit. Most of the woman who brought snubbies said they were talked into buying them by clerks at gun shops.

At least one of my students purchased an M&P/Compact on the spot, right there at the gunshop/range where we were conducting the Course. Several more indicated they intended to follow her example.

Most gun manufacturers have, until relatively recently, overlooked the female/concealed-carry market. I'm not sure S&W marketed the M&P realizingit would be so well received by women.

The exception is Kahr, which has gone after that market, with success, from the beginning.

/John

Rifle ND

19 May 08

More rifle hazards, from another colleague:

"A recent student at one of our Carbine Courses nearly put a round through his own foot as his slung M-4 discharged a single round into the ground at his feet.

He was wearing a water-bladder on his back, as so many do these days, and the hose and rubber mouthpiece dangled down his chest, as is customary. His M-4 was also hanging in front of him from a single-point sling. Contrary to instructions, the manual safety was "off."

He bent over to pick up an empty magazine lying on the ground. As he did, the rubber mouthpiece somehow got inside the trigger-guard of his rifle. As he stood back up, the mouthpiece put sufficient pressure on the trigger to persuade the rifle to discharge.

The student was taken completely by surprise! With an astonished expression on his face, he immediately put up his hands to show the rest of us that they were nowhere near the trigger.

It took us several minutes to figure out what had happened, and we're even more insistent now that all slung rifles have their safety levers in the"on" position!"

Comment: A slung rifle is not the equivalent of a holstered pistol! Modern pistol holsters protect the trigger and trigger guard, so that, any time the pistol is fully seated in the holster, it cannot be made to fire.

No so with a rifle! A slung rifle is always free to move about and has an un-shielded trigger and trigger guard. Buttons, toggles, and other items of clothing, even mouthpieces (as we see in the foregoing), can put pressure on triggers and cause slung rifles to fire, absent any intention of the carrier. And, not all of these potential AD-generators can realistically be excluded/removed from our outer clothing.

Thus, those of us who carry slung, loaded rifles need to pay particular attention to the status of the manual safety. Unhappy incidents like the one described above are nearly all completely preventable!

/John