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 M&P Pistol, called the āShield,ā but it was not on display. The Shield sounds like a great pistol for people with hands too small to wrap around the grip of any double-column gun, or for folks (like me) who like small, flat concealed-carry pistols. Grip-geometry is not variable, as is the case with double-column M&Ps. Iāll have to see it at a later date!
Folks at Kahr tell me sales continue to be brisk, particularly of their PM9, CM9, and P380. Their āCā series is the less expensive line. The āPā series is the premium (and more expensive) line.
Springfield Armory recently introduced their single-column XD/M/S in 45ACP. I saw it earlier this year at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. It is similar to the G36, but smaller, flatter. I was told a 40S&W and a 9mm version will be out shortly. Again, small, flat pistols, in serious calibers, are attractive to bourgeoning numbers of concealed-carriers.
Range-giant, Meggitt, has acquired both FATS and Caswell, and their latest video-simulator is amazing, to say the least! The trainer can literally āadjustā everything, from effectiveness of weapons to lighting. The System I saw and experienced was astonishingly versatile indeed, but expensive!
A relatively inexpensive alternative is the Marksman Simulator. I saw it for the first time. You get impressive simulations, and the System can be set-up quickly, nearly anywhere, and it comes in at less than $2k!
Old friend, Dave Spaulding, showed me new pistol sights he has designed. They are manufactured by Ameriglo and are called CAP (Combative Application, Pistol). Similar to the old āBar-Dotā System, they feature a bright (blue-green) front sight with a self-illuminated dot in the center and a rear sight with a light-colored bar directly under the notch. I now have a set on my G23 (Gen4), as friends at Glock were nice enough to install them on the spot. Iāll be testing them and reporting back!
Starkey Industries had on display their expandable baton, called the GTL21. It locks into place solidly and collapses with the push of a button. No more beating on the cement!
LET (Law Enforcement Targets), makers of my paper-target design, the DTI19, are marketing a small trauma kit, called the Tac-Med. It is just the right size and contains nearly everything I recommend. At under $75.00, it is among the best Iāve seen.
Friends at International Cartridge tell me they still have a good supply of 223/5.56, but may not by the end of the year. When you canāt find any from sources your used to, IC can still take care of you. I use a lot of it, and it is good stuff!
An interesting note from the Glock Armorersā Course. Glock does not recommend any of the current generation of āgreenā ammunition. Iāve never liked any of it either, as Iāve found no-lead primers to be notoriously unreliable. Glock doesnāt like it, also for that reason, but theyāve discovered, in addition, that it rapidly erodes bolt-faces and firing-pins, not just on Glocks, but on all guns in which it is used! Looks as if there is currently no acceptable substitute for standard, lead-styphnate primers, and none is likely to emerge any time soon!
I teach a live-fire, Patrol Rifle Class tomorrow, but Iāll be back with more info on Thursday/Friday.
/John
