Mounting optics on rifles
21 May 12 Last weekend, at an Urban Rifle Course in the Midwest, a student brought a Ruger Mini-14 with a Trijicon optic forward-mounted on a rail. Unfortunately, the rail was anchored, via four shallow screws, into the plastic forend. The rifle itself ran fine, but optic and mount were wobbly and unstable, and, not […]
Incident
17 May 12 “It’s not being fast, nor even accurate, that counts most. It’s being willing. Most men, regardless of cause or need, are not willing. They’ll blink an eye, or draw a breath, before they pull the trigger. I won’t!” Ageing frontier gunfighter, John Bernard Books (played by John Wayne), in the 1976 feature […]
Follow-up on hammer-fired and striker-fired pistols
14 May 12 Follow-up on hammer-fired and striker-fired pistols, from a friend and design-engineer: “Hammer vs striker design differences are a good showcase for the slippery topic of ‘engineering design-tradeoffs.’ Comparison of hammer-fired ignition systems and striker-fired ones graphically demonstrates at least one critical design difference: Hammer-fired handguns have firing pins with relatively loose radial […]
Timely warning, from a friend and Instructor
10 May 12 “Yesterday included a trip to my gun-club and draw-and-fire drills with M&P, Glock, and XD. My XD failed to fire several times. Primers were dented, but apparently not enough. Dented rounds fired on a second attempt, so striker impact-strength was obviously on the ragged edge. I called a friend, and he immediately […]
Interaction between CCW-permit holders and police
9 May 12 In a recent YouTube presentation, I saw a “school solution,” purporting to show the “ideal way” for a legally-armed citizen to interact with police, in this case during a traffic-stop. The depiction, as is usually the case, was a mixture of truth and error. It shows the citizen being courteous, polite, and […]
Safety Procedure
4 May 12 One of our Instructors, a woman, recently participated in a recreational shotgun training program. It was a clinic on Sporting Clays, taught by a highly-respected, veteran player. I don’t consider myself an expert, nor even particularly knowledgeable, on this kind of shotgunning, and I thus probably should have attended myself! During the […]
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2 May 12 “Slavery degrades people to such a point that they come to like it” Clapiers FL Gov Rick Scott, modern-day hero! The Republican National Convention is scheduled for the end of August in Tampa Bay, FL. As with all such political events, rallies, protests, “marches,” et al will be seen in great profusion. […]
Observations
2 May 12 “There are only two tragedies. One is not getting what you want, and the other is getting it. The last is much the worst.” Wilde At a Pistol Course on the East Coast last weekend, I had a number of new students, all with guns they had recently purchased. I was meeting […]
“Living It,” or just pretending?
26 Apr 12 These telling comments from an LEO friend and instructor: “I’ve started routinely asking my colleagues, ‘Are you ‘Living It?’’ We have completely incorporated ‘going armed’ into both our personal and professional lives. We are always ‘armed and dangerous,’ always alert, always ready. When we come to the range, we go, without delay, […]
“Use Enough Gun”
25 Apr 12 “Use Enough Gun” The title of a book by famed Washington Socialite and African big-game hunter, Robert Ruark, first published in 1952. Ruark died in London in 1965. Yesterday, two courageous NYPD patrol officers were involved in a protracted gun battle with a single felony suspect in Harlem (30th Precinct). Suspect was […]
Open Carry
24 Apr 12 Just got a note from an LEO friend in WY. In uniform, and on normal patrol yesterday, he was enjoying lunch at a local café. While there, several IPSC competitors, openly armed with holstered pistols (condition not known), also walked in for lunch. There was apparently a pistol match going on nearby. […]
Concealed Carry
23 Apr 12 Since WI’s concealed-carry law was signed by Gov Walker last year, it was estimated that 125,000 applications would be approved the first year. That number has almost been reached, and it has only been six months! Leftists, with the all-too-willing complicity of the media, naturally predicted a sharp increase in violent crime. […]
SIG’s “E2″ Grip
21 Apr 12 Friends at SIG have just upgraded my SIG/229/DAK (40S&W), installing their new, one-piece “E2″ Grip. No more grip-screws! The four screws that heretofore secured grip-panels to SIG pistols (and that had the annoying habit of backing-out, coming loose, falling-out, and subsequently getting lost) have been eliminated. The E2 grip is screwless! The […]
Marksman System Video Simulator
18 Apr 12 Many have asked how to find the Marksman System Video Simulator Web Page. It is at imarksman.com I did a live-fire Patrol Rifle Instructor’s Program this afternoon, under the auspices of ILEETA, at the wonderful Lake County SO Range in Russell, IL, near the WI State Line. We had an overflow crowd, […]
ILEETA, 2012
17 Apr 12 Vicki and I are currently attending the 2012 ILEETA (International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association) Conference at a Chicago suburb. We do our best to attend every year! Today, I toured the vendor/display area. Items of note: S&W was conspicuous by their absence! We all wanted to handle their new single-column […]
Concealment
12 Apr 12 There are three levels of concealment: Casual, Rigorous, and Total. A pistol in a waistband holster, covered by an outer-garment, is an example of “casual” concealment, and that, or something similar, is the preference of most of us who carry daily. However, with the current spike of interest in personal-protection pistols, many, […]
Ammunition shortage, once more!
9 Apr 12 “God ordered motion, but ordained no rest.” Vaughn We’re in a pivotal election year, and the level of national unease and nervousness is even higher than it was four years ago (and campaigning is just getting started)! Intensity will increase, right up to the national election, and probably beyond. Between now and […]
User-Level Pistol Maintenance
5 Apr 12 Reputable pistol manufactures all recommend, at the user-level, regular field-stripping, cleaning/lubricating, and inspection of parts for excessive wear and breakage. However, the only part all manufacturers suggest be regularly replaced, regardless of outward appearance, is the recoil spring (or spring-assembly). Most say recoil-springs need replacing at 3,500 rounds. On Gen4 pistols, Glock […]
Little Parts
3 Apr 12 At a Pistol Course two weeks ago, a student on the firing-line indicated that he was having problems with his G17. I asked him to holster the pistol and step off the line. Normally, in this circumstance, students are expected to instantly transition to backup pistols and then finish the exercise. However, […]
Political content
31 Mar 12 In my Classes I do my best not to include political, nor religious, persuasive content. I surely have strong opinions in both categories, but that is not what my students come to me to hear about. I welcome to my classes all good and decent people, and I have serious students from […]
Gun industry legends Dave Spaulding, Massad Ayoob, Mike Boyle, and John Farnam join Fernando Coelho to dive deep into the history of the gun industry, shedding light on how firearms and firearms training have transformed over the decades. They discuss the dramatic shift from traditional print reviews to the digital age of internet forums, social media influencers, and YouTube personalities of the industry.
