Recent Events
20 Sept 01 What do we make of recent events? “I now understand how the sons and daughters of mighty warriors can be converted to sheep. First, you disarm them. You scare them by telling them life is far too dangerous for them to ever think independently or attempt to accomplish anything by themselves. Then, […]
(December 2000 Quips)
4 Dec 00 The incompetence of the management of the NJSP is beyond description! This is from a friend in the NJSP: “Even we can’t believe this! The latest delay on the issuance of our new S&W M99 pistols is that the department is now going to, at great additional expense and delay, retrofit decocking […]
(November 2000 Quips)
6 Nov 00 A friend with a large PD in the Midwest just related this incident, which happened last week: “We had a group of new officers on the pistol range, and they were into their second day of training with their issue SIG P228s. At the time, we were asking them to draw the […]
(October 2000 Quips)
2 Oct 00 I’m here at the IALEFI (International Association of Law Enforcement firearms Instructors) Convention in Tampa, FL. New information: >Glock is no longer shipping guns to dealers in the State of Maryland. There is much confusion over that state’s new gun regulations, and Glock has given up trying to understand them. Other manufacturers […]
(September 2000 Quips)
4 Sept 00 This from a friend who does a lot of rifle training (AR-15) within his department: “The only aluminum magazines that failed during our class were those manufactured by Cooper. Sanchez magazines should also be avoided. All steel magazines we have seen are garbage. We have had the best luck with Colt and […]
(August 2000 Quips)
5 Aug 00 This with regard to the successful conclusion of an altercation, from one of my students in Atlanta. This text is illustrative of the importance of having your defensive subroutines well thought out in advance and well trained in: “Last week I was walking our dog through a small condominium complex that abuts […]
(July 2000 Quips)
3 July 00 A sagacious observation from a friend who is a training officer with the State Patrol: “While we were sitting around the picnic table with relatives, my sister (who has never handled a firearm in her life) asked for the mustard bottle (squeeze type) to be passed. I complied with her request and […]
(June 2000 Quips)
1 June 00 Confirmation from another friend in the Philippines, this one serving with an American bureau advising local police: “They do prefer twenty-round magazines for the reasons mentioned. Most of the M16s here were manufactured over twenty-five years ago, so there can be considerable play in the magazine well after seating/reseating magazines so many […]
(May 2000 Quips)
2 May 00 From a friend in the Philippines: “Over here, to get a license to even possess firearms and ammunition, you have to get ‘clearances’ from the local court, the mayor, and the local police. In addition, you need clearance from the Directorate of Intelligence of the National Police. After that, you need proof […]
(April 2000 Quips)
1 Apr 00 Sellier & Bellot 223 ammunition: At an Urban Rifle Course today in Texas, a student brought a case of S&B 223 ammunition for his AR-15. The case was sealed when he arrived. It was new, factory ammunition. Right away, he had problems loading and unloading his rifle. It took a while for […]
(March 2000 Quips)
1 Mar 00 Clarification: A number have asked why I used 90gr 9mm ammunition instead of what I have often said I prefer in that caliber, 115-124gr bullets. The reason is that in a suitcase one can get more rounds in the lighter bullet weight than would be the case with heaver bullets. Sometimes non-tactical […]
(February 2000 Quips)
3 Feb 00 What’s hot? What’s not? As is my habit at the beginning of every new year, I quizzed retail gun store owners in Florida and Texas (where I’ve been doing courses the past three weeks) with regard to which guns are hot sellers and which are dogs. Here is the general consensus: The […]
(January 2000 Quips)
2 Jan 00 This from a friend in the Midwest: “I just participated in a local IPSC match. The pistol match was nothing remarkable, but there was a ‘side shoot,’ a ‘close range’ rifle match. I had not planned to shoot a second match, but since there WAS a rifle in my car…….. The course […]
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23 Dec 99 I just received this from a friend who is a Trooper with the State Police. All Troopers with this agency have been issued rifles (AR-15s), but they are supposed to be kept in the trunk of the beat car. Here is his solution: “I must have spent over a half hour experimenting […]
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11 Dec 99 This from a senior training officer with a large State Police Department: “From 1993 to this year our agency used 40S&W Beretta 96D (self-decocking), NP3-finished pistols, each issued with three, ten-round (metal baseplates) magazines. This year, those pistols were replaced with Beretta 96D Brigadiers, each issued with three, eleven-round (polymer baseplate) magazines. […]
Follow-up
9 Dec 99 A follow-up from a friend in the federal system: “I had something similar happen to me during a student demonstration on the subject of pistol reloading. I was using a Browning Hi-Power, and this was overseas, so all the equipment we were using was old and poorly maintained. In this case, the […]
Catastrophic failure
8 Dec 99 This is from a friend who is one of my range officers in a Midwest police Department: “Last week, one of our officers was shooting our qualification course with his Beretta 92F. During a reload, he popped the flap on his magazine carrier and, when he went to pull the magazine out, […]
From a LEO friend on the East Coast
24 Nov 99 This is from a LEO friend on the East Coast. It shows that rational behavior on the part of erstwhile normal people is something upon which you can never depend: “While working in _______ Maryland, we got a call that an individual in the back of a pickup truck was waving a […]
It works!
23 Nov 99 Good individual tactics work! This is from a friend in the Northwest who just completed one of our Courses: “I was at an intercity gun shop. As I stepped outside the building, I noticed two men slovenly dressed and grimy, nonchalantly leaning up against the building. As I walked past them and […]
S&W P99
22 Nov 99 I have a chance to work with the S&W P99 pistol. The copy I have is a significant improvement over the Walther model upon which I commented earlier in the year. Most notably, the link is much shallower, now very similar to that of a Glock. I think this pistol may have […]
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.
