Triangle Tactical

Back in August of 2013 we received word that the NC State Highway Patrol was having some extraction issues with their M&P .357 pistols, and they were supposedly working with S&W to fix the issue. I saw a post over on Carolina Shooters Club this afternoon saying that a members son, who is a SHP officer was recently issued a Sig Sauer 226 in .357Sig.

I’ve confirmed with a handful of SHP officers over the past hour or so that this appears to be happening. I also know a handful of Michigan State Police officers who have been issued the Sig 226 in .357Sig for a number of years, and they have always had great things to say about the Sig as a duty weapon. I do hope that the department spends some money on additiona

A SC man was the victim of a home invasion while he was in the shower recently. He got out of the shower, retrieved a firearm, confronted the home invaders firing a shot in the process.

A Cameron man called authorities Wednesday after firing a shot at would-be burglars inside his residence.

He said he was taking a shower about 3:20 p.m. when he heard a noise coming from his living room. He said he grabbed a gun before investigating.

As he entered his living room, he saw a man standing there. He fired a shot to scare the subject off.

The intruder ran out and around the side of the house, the homeowner reported. At that point, the resident noticed another man outside.

Luke shooting an SBR (machine gun) in Manton, MI in 2012

It’s no secret that I grew up in northern Michigan. Spent a lot of time hunting and fishing, and trying to sort out the absolutely wacked firearm laws up there. For years the state had handgun registration that required taking the proof of purchase of your pistol to the police department to register it (I’d really like to see the number of handguns sold vs. the number that were actually registered). Rifles that were perfectly legal under Federal law may have been too short under State law, and required registration under what many called a “Michigan Pistol”. Until very recently suppressors were not in the cards for Michigan residents, and even to this day, it’s not possible to own a Short Barreled Rifle or Shotgun in the state.

This is changing, hopefully this week.

Do you have an old AR hammer sitting around?

After a little discussion over on the Triangle Tactical Facebook Page on whether or not an AR hammer would work as a cool beer opener, my friend Max posted up this picture of an old AR hammer he had sitting around. He said it took a little grinding to make it work, but now he has a cool beer opener for the man cave.

I think I’ll be making one with some sort of braided paracord lanyard through the hole.

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In Episode 73 of the podcast, Ben and I talked about the Winston-Salem gun buyback, and how one of the people interviewed at the event mentioned that he was selling a shotgun that had been passed down in his family for generations, and that it hadn’t been shot in probably 40 years, so he decided to sell it at the gun buy back. I was stunned that someone would just get rid of a family heirloom for $100, but I guess that’s the way things go.

Years ago when I was probably 12 or 13, I received a funny looking Christmas present from my Grandpa. I remember pulling the wrapping paper off the the box, to see a cardboard box labeled “Truck Step”. My first thought was that I wasn’t even old enough to drive, and that I didn’t own a truck, so what in the world would I do with a truck step? Well, with all of my extended family looking on, I opened the box to find an old .22 rifle inside. I don’t think I could have been more excited!

I’ve had the rifle si

As a concealed carrier, it’s inevetible that you will find yourself in a place where you end up leaving your gun in your car. Taking some steps to secure it, rather than just leaving it in he glove box can be the difference between losing your gun (and putting it in the hands of a bad guy) and keeping it.

Ben mentions this great video about breaking into cheap gun safes, and how to upgrade them to make them much more secure.

The News:

Winston Salem, NC held a gun buyback thos past weekend at the fairgrounds. Unsurprisingly most of the guns they took in looked like absolute garbage (and weren’t worth the $100 offered) with the exception of a couple of 1911′s, an SKS, and maybe a nice “wall hanger” side by side shotgun.

The Utah legislature passed a bill changing some wording in the law clarifying that the act of open carrying a handgun is not disorderly conduct. Not exactly sure what happened to lead up to this, but it’s a welcome change for Utah residents I’m sure.

Ares Armor (the same guys fighting the city over their b

1. Sorry for the lack of good content this week! I came down with the crud Saturday afternoon after the Steel Challenge match, and I was totally out of commission for until late Tuesday. Fever, sore throat, cough, headache, etc. I’m a wuss when it comes to being sick, and I was down for the count.

2. Cleaning guns sucks, especially when I don’t have any Brakleen. I used to clean handguns after every range trip, then I started cleaning them every 500rds or so, and now, I clean them… sometimes. About the most they get when they do get cleaned is a blast with Brakleen, a couple patches down the barrel, and a few drops of oil. I’m lazy.

3. I’m not a fan of “DWI” checkpoints. Seems like once every couple months or so I have the displeasure of rolling through one. Fortunately, with the exception of one checkpoint, every time I’ve notified that I’m packing, that’s the end of my interaction, and I’m on my way. Coughing and hacking my lungs out probably helped tonight too.

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Link for rss readers.

This is from the past weekends inaugural ZSA Steel Challenge match at The Range in Oxford, NC.

The post Ben Shooting Steel Challenge appeared first on Triangle Tactical.

Open carry is generally illegal in Florida, but the folks pushing for more rights down there aren’t letting that stop them from holding some open carry rallies in the state. As it turns out, Florida law allows for some exceptions where open carry of a handgun is legal, and one of those exceptions is while fishing.

The open carry folks in Florida are taking full advantage of this, by organizing open carry fishing events in the state. Apparently this has been going on for some time, but this is the first I’ve heard of it.

Florida folks, find out more at Florida Open Carry.

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Do you have house rules for guns? I’ve got a couple that I implemented a long time ago, and I still follow:

No chambered rounds in the house.

I started this way back when I first started carrying concealed. I was somewhat inexperienced with handguns, and it made me feel better to have an empty chamber when home. Years and years later, I still pop a round into the chamber on my way out the door, and pop it back out when I get home.

No exposed trigger guards on pistols that aren’t in the safe.

This one comes from the same time frame that I mentioned above. If I have a handgun sitting nearby, it’s always in a holster. I don’t really know why I do this, but I never leave a pistol sitting out unholstered.

Do you have any ‘house rules’?

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The past two weeks have been trying for pro-gun folks. We’ve been bombarded with mass hysteria after mass hysteria and as it turns out, none of the things were worth getting hysterical about.

There still aren’t any gun confiscations in Connecticut. I personally don’t think it’s going to come down to that, and there isn’t really anything pointing us in that direction. Let’s calm down and keep an eye on the situation, but before we start screaming “Molon Labe!” let’s wait until something actually happens.

Facebook didn’t really change their gun policy, they just restated it and said that they will be enforcing it. That’s fine, their website, their rules. This is my website, and I do what I want here. (BTW, I called it.)

There’s nothing currently stopping the importation of cheap Russian ammo. The rumors were flying late last week the supply of cheap 7.62×39 was drying up, either because Obama was banning the importation of Russian ammo, or because the Russian government was not going to allow it’s export any more. Some were even claiming that they have secret “industry so

How much capacity do you require in a carry sized singlestack 9mm pistol?

A couple nights ago I had my Springfield XDs 9mm, and S&W Shield 9mm sitting on the coffee table as I was comparing and contrasting them. I guess that I hadn’t really noticed that while being just about the same size, the XDs 9mm has the ability to carry an extra round in the extended magazine over the Shield.

It seems like most manufacturers shoot for the 7+1 number in their pistols. The new Walther CCP on the other hand looks like it’s going against the grain a little with a standard 8rd maga

We had the opportunity to go shoot the inaugural ZSA Steel Challenge match at The Range in Oxford, NC on Saturday. This was the first steel challenge match for both Ben and I, and we both had a great time.

Steel Challenge is great for a number of reasons:

1. On paper, it looks boring, however once you actually shoot a stage, you see that there is a lot going on within the short stages that are challenging
2. It’s great for new shooters
3. You can shoot pretty much any pistol you may own

We both had a great time, Ben took 1st overall (I took 11th) and it was a lot of fun. I’ll definitely be back.

Housekeeping:

Donate to the show at about $1 an episode ($4/monthly)

The News:

Walther announces their new CCP pistol. It looks like a cool little concealed carry pistol on the surface, and as we hear more, it sounds like it borrows the “delayed gas blowback” system from the HK P7, which should make it a sweet shooter.

The Washington State House and Senate have approved a bill to allow short barre

Saturday, March 8, 2014:

• GSSF at Caswell Ranch
• IDPA at H2O Fowl Farms
• ZSA Steel Challenge at The Range

Sunday, March 9, 2014:

• GSSF at Caswell Ranch
• ZSA USPSA at ENC Firing Range
• IDPA at The Range
• Steel Challenge at Ant Hill

Ben and I mentioned on episode 71 of the podcast that we might head down to H2O Fowl Farms, but that was before our friends at ZSA announced their new Steel Challenge match, so I think we’re both going to head up to The Range for some Steel Challenge on Saturday. If you are looking to get your feet wet in competition shooting, this match would be a great place to start! Hope to see you at The Range!

The post

Looks like Walther is getting into the singlestack 9mm concealed carry pistol market with the new Walther CCP:

It looks like it’s just a hair longer than the Springfield XDs and S&W Shield, and the thumb safety looks a little better done than the Shields safety. The grip is a little taller than the XDs and Shield, but the CCP comes standard with an 8 round magazine, compared to the other two pistols 7rd magazines.

I’m not in love with it, but it looks like a nice compromise in size. I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on one.

The post Walther CCP – New Singlestack 9mm appeared first on Triangle Tactical.

Some time ago, I shot a quick video about how I fly with a firearm in my checked baggage, and every year about this time I get a couple questions from readers on this topic, so I thought I would revisit it once more. I’m not linking to the video, because I was really fat back then, and it’s somewhat embarrassing…

click to enlarge

I tend to go above and beyond the TSA and airline regulations in a couple ways, just to make it easier for me, and less stressful for the ticket agent who may be uncomfortable.

Please keep in mind, this isn’t a list of the regulations, just a list of the things that I do above and beyond the TSA and airline regulations. Find the TSA regulations here, and search your airlines website for their regulations on flying with a firearm.

• Field Stripped Pistol: This isn’t required, but I do it for a couple of reasons: