ModernServiceWeapons

Ok, in reality it has been a few weeks with the M&P Shield, including a couple range days. I am generally a proponent of carrying as close to a full size service pistol as possible, even for off-duty/plain clothes work. But I also understand that there is reality, and sometimes it is just too impractical to attempt to conceal a Glock 19 and still be appropriately dressed. In this role, and that of a second gun, the M&P Shield is certainly a viable choice.One of the more controversial features of the Shield is the addition of the low profile, strong side only thumb safety. For certain types of carry, including in the pocket, the thumb safety provides some peace of mind. Having grown up with the 1911, this feature is not a deal killer, but if you aren’t used to dealing with a mechanical safety, this will require some training for the manipulation to become second nature.

The pistol itself is quite shootable. The take-up was smoothed over a bit by Hilton before I received it, but the break is as it came f

I like to cycle through my training guns periodically so that I stay fresh and well rounded.  Right now I want to concentrate on Glocks, so I figured that I would start off by getting some data on the trigger pull weights.  Every Glock user knows that the standard pull weight of the factory trigger is listed as 5.5 pounds.   To test this, I gathered up four Glocks from my safe (two Gen4 19′s, one Gen4 17, and one Gen3 19) and went to work with my Lyman digital trigger pull gauge.

The gauge has been checked against a digital weigh counter scale in our office which weighs to 0.0001 ounces, and has shown to consistently be within 2 ounces of this scale.  Each of the four triggers was weighed ten times with the gauge engaging the center of the trigger shoe, and the average pull of each of the four guns fell right between 7 pounds even and 7 pounds 3 ounces.  While we didn’t quite get that 5.5 pounds as advertised, the pull weights were quite consistent and… Glock like.

Those who “sleep peaceably” in their bed must on occasion (and really short notice) rise to become “rough men ready to do violence” in defense of their castle.  (Hat tip to George Orwell).  Home invasion is perhaps the most frightening and dangerous of all violent crimes (it is committed out of public sight usually without fixed time/escape constraints and innocent occupants, often women and children, are rarely able to flee).  It is becoming somewhat commonplace during daylight hours and at night in both urban and rural neighborhoods.  Examples include two of the most horrific in memory, from Florida, (here) and (video here), one from Connecticut (here), one from Maine, an old one (here), and recent ones wh

My GAP built Surgeon actioned 6 Creedmore with Vortex Razor 5-20 scope

The amazing thing about the firearms industry currently is the vast array of options a person has to modify his/her weapon to their tastes or preferences. This variety is not limited to the adult Lego® of the firearms world, the AR15. There is now also a great market of accessories and options for precision bolt action rifles that’s growing rapidly. The biggest mistake I see many new shooters make with their first bolt action rifle purchase is making the assumption that all rifle stocks or chassis will fit everyone. This is sadly not the case. Each individual shooter’s length of pull, cheek structure, hand size, forearm length, and a number of other factors play into each shooter’s fit to a stock. There is always someone more than willing to tell any new shooter that the stock or chassis that they have is the only way to go. More often than

It should not be a surprise to anyone that it is difficult to get consistent supplies of ammunition these days. Unfortunately, that means that the quality of what is being fed into our guns might be a bit (lot) lower than it has been for a while.

It has been several years since I’ve worked on a pistol that suffered a ka-boom. Last month, a personally owned Gen 3 Glock 22 came across my bench at work after one of those events. The owner had been firing frangible rounds from a commercial reloader. I ended up having to replace the internals in the slide.

Case head is gone, tear at 3 o’clock and formed to the feedramp.

Got to go back to the 90′s this week and shoot this vintage SP89 which had been converted into the MP5K-PDW as a registered SBR.  Neat gun and fun to shoot.  I went full on 90′s and folded the stock, mounting the gun by pushing against the sling tension only.  If you remember the old HK International Training Division calendars, there were always pics of dudes with balaclavas and no helmets running the MP5 variants with just tensioned slings.  It was possible to get decent multiple round hits on a B/C zone torso steel out to 15 yards (running 2 or 3 rounds on each of 3 targets) or running a plate rack with just the tensioned sling, but clearly we have learned that stocks are a better solution. Good times!

I always enjoy coming up with new drills to test my skills.  Currently in my training rotation is a FDE Gen 4 Glock 17, which has the stock trigger.  It is no real treat to shoot the stock setup at speed or distance, so naturally I combined both into one drill.

At 15 yards, draw and fire one head shot (IDPA or USPSA target, entire head), perform a slide lock reload, and fire one head shot.  Par time is 5 seconds.  My best run of 5 was the one still on the timer above, at 4.14 clean.  Scale the time or the distance depending on your skill level so that you are running this clean, no misses.

By accumulating benchmark drills with known distances and par times, you have a quick metric to evaluate your current performance or new changes to your gear – pistol, sights, holster, etc.  Now get out and train!

A properly managed sling eliminates snag hazards in confined spaces.

If you have ever deployed a long gun from inside a vehicle, you’ve probably figured out that the sling is quite the headache.  It’ll get wrapped around your legs, the steering column, the shifter, seat belts, the list goes on.  It is a simple matter to manage the sling with a bungee cord wrapped around your stock.  I have seen folks use masking tape or rubber bands to allow a quick tear away option, but the addition of about 8″ of shock cord from Supply Captain provides a permanent solution that is always with your rifle.

Wrap the shock cord around the stock twice and overhand knot the two strands together. With the cord positioned to the rear of the stock, I find that it does not touch my face when the gun is mou

SF’s EP3 sonic ear defenders. You can leave the channel open to hear what is going on around you or you can plug the channel for the best hearing protection. The case and retention cord are included.

I have been spending time this year using the Surefire’s hearing protection. Thus far, I’m pretty happy with them.

The EP-3 is the two-flange model with an opening that can be used either open or closed. The design is such that it assists in blocking noise over 85db. SF says they have a 24db reduction rating with the plug in place. The canal will accept earpiece tubes that work with most the portable radios in use with public safety and government. They also have a retention cord for hanging around your neck.

I had the distinct pleasure of traveling to the Way Of The Gun training facility recently to train with Frank Proctor.  Frank operates his facility out of Eastaboga, Alabama, which is near Talladega, Alabama for those of you that follow racing.  Frank’s facility is still pretty spartan, as it appears that construction and additions are a daily event.  But, the layout is pretty ingenious as he offers a training area and a public range area to the local community.  Frank is going to have a world class training facility.

I struggled a bit with writing the review on this class, as much of what I wrote seemed cheesy and even down right fan-boyish.  Frank teaches a solid program that revolves around process oriented marksmanship.  The idea that if you focus on the process of running the gun, the hits take care of themselves. He has a great method of instruction that is building block based. His mindset is also outstanding.  Frank is a big fan of maximizing economy of motion, and backs it up with good logic based technique.<

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, I finally received my M&P from the custom run by my buddy Hilton at 10-8 Performance. For those who don’t know, from time to time, 10-8 Performance releases a small run of M&P pistols built to their specs. These runs typically sell out in minutes; fortunately, there are usually a couple runs a year for the dedicated few who wish to own one of these fine pistols.

The feature list is available on the 10-8 Performance website, but I will go over the major ones here: full top and side slide serrations and 10-8 logo machined by ATEi, slide refinished by ATEi, full trigger workup with Apex parts by Hilton, 10-8 Performance front and rear sights, full frame texturing and match barrel hand fit by Hilton. My M&P had a couple of special features added as a favor that isn’t typically available (don’t ask). This includes the Apex polymer AEK trigger and a base pistol with a thumb safety.

While the new 1:10 twist barrels have improved ac

With LED technology seemingly improving by the minute, I am always on the lookout to make my daily loadout lighter and smaller without sacrificing utility. Recently, Hilton sent me Surefire’s E1B (thanks Scott!) and after a couple weeks of carrying and using it, I can see why it is Hilton’s choice in an EDC plainclothes flashlight.

The E1B is a powered by a single CR123 lithium battery and pushes out up to 200 lumens of light. A two stage pushbutton on the tail cap selects between 5 and 200 lumens. Runtime is reported to be 40 hours at 5 lumens and over an hour at 200 lumens. I haven’t run mine long enough to wear out the battery. Light output, however, is clean and what we have come to expect from SureFire. The handheld is short and lightweight, and the clip makes it pretty convenient to carry. The head of flashlight is a little big for some carry applications (like dress clothes) but for day to day carry in cargo or utility pants it is fine.

A twist of the tailcap will give you constant on at either o

I often find it depressing to see that a photo of a box of new AR magazines or a random photo of a pistol gets a ton more traffic than an article about a great new drill or training concept.  Sadly, our industry is driven largely by the accumulating of doodads, and less so by the using of the doodads.  The shaky photo from above was posted to my Instagram yesterday, and was taken after a workout incorporating the SIRT and a variety of exercises (I suppose that explains why it was shaky).  If you are remotely serious about your firearms and defensive skills, you should be expending more effort figuring out ways to train rather than making up excuses why you didn’t.  Cut a few minutes off your web surfing today and spend that time dry firing, practicing manipulations, or hitting some PT.  You will never regret the time invested into making yourself better, faster, or stronger.

SSI Maleficus. Photo courtesy SSI website.

I’m a gun guy. Like most “gun guys”, I tend to focus mostly on guns, with mild amusement found in other forms of self-defense tools. Most “other than guns” items I have come across barely get me to raise an eyebrow, let alone warrant spreading the word among my friends, let alone spreading the word via the internet. However, a few months ago, I came across a custom knife maker who was enough different than others that not only did it catch my eye, intrigue my curiosity, and help lighten my wallet; but it has also proven to be quite functional in my layered protection program. At last count, I had somewhere around  30-40 high end folding knives, another 10-15 fixed blade field knives, and at least 5-10 small fixed blades for concealed carry. Of those, no less than 5 are full custom knives by some of the bigger names in knife making today. Still, none were re

In the computer world there is an unofficial “law” first coined by Intel co-Founder Gordon E. Moore, that basically states that the amount of semi-conductors placed on a silicon chip (how much information that can be processed) will double every two years. The guys at Surefire must be in to computers, because just as I was getting used to my 500 Lumen fury and my 750 Lumen R1 Lawman, they upset the status quo with the new 1,000 Lumen P3X Tactical. I know that some other companies have crossed the 1,000 Lumen threshold already, but I trust that Surefire is going to work every time I press the button, that’s not something I can say of some of the after market add ons and competitors that I’ve had experience with.

Measuring in at 6 5/8