Quest for Master Class Part 3

The 3rd installment in the Quest for Master Class is up at Downrange.TV – check out for a dry fire drill you can do to practice your reloads with retention for IDPA matches.

Normally, we do the filming for the Quest on Sundays, this Sunday we had rain so that forced a change of plans from the normal shooting schedule to “hey, let’s do a dryfire drill”.  Follow the entire Quest for Master Class at Downrange.TV!

Gun Nuts Tonight: Gunsmithing with BJ Norris

Tonight’s Gun Nuts Radio we’ll be joined by Team S&W Shooter and professional gunsmith BJ Norris.  The show airs at 9pm Eastern time as always, and you’re welcomed to join us live by clicking over to www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts at 9pm Eastern for the live show!  For each 30 minute episode we take you inside the world of the top shooters and sportsmen in the competitive shooting industry, and tonight is no exception!  Join me live tonight at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts for the leading shooting sports and competition podcast on the BlogTalkRadio Network!

Honored American Veterans Afield Auction Update

We’ve got two auctions down on the HAVA Charity Auction, and right now we’re looking at a donation of $1650 to Honored American Veterans Afield after moving two of the 4 items.  The Mossberg 590A1 just sold today, and now the 3rd auction item is available!  This is a goody pack from Crimson Trace: an MVF-515 vertical foregrip worth $480, and a set of J-frame laser grips priced at $299.  The reserve is low, so get your bids in now!  I want this item to go for at least $400, because that will put us over the $2000 threshold on the auction, and with the last item being one that will blow your doors off, that’s a good place to be.  Put in your bids on the Crimson Trace Laser Pack now!

Time waits for no man

Despite still being in the depths of the Quest for Master Class for Stock Service Pistol and Enhanced Service Pistol, we do have another division coming up to get Master Class in come September.  That’s Custom Defensive Pistol, and it’s time to decide what we shoot it with.

To be honest, I’m thinking about doing it with “budget 1911s”.  Again, the goal of this is to shoot the thing with guns people actually buy, shoot and carry – not $1500 custom 1911s, right now I’m thinking about the following guns for it:

  • RIA Tactical: about $450
  • Taurus PT1911: $500-$650 depending
  • STI Spartan: $650
  • ParaUSA GI Expert ESP: $620 on Gunbroker

Again, none of these are what you think of when you think “High end 1911s”, and that’s kind of the point.  These are run of the mill guns that people buy and carry because the 1911 is still the most shootable centerfire handgun platform in the world, and people want that but don’t want to pay $1500 for it.

So think, debate, and vote in the poll to pick my handgun for the Quest for Master Class – Custom Defensive Pistol starting in Septemberish.

"Acceptable combat accuracy"

From my archives, a quote from a post I wrote making fun of all the “Extreme” Tactical schools.

Get ready for the next revolution in tactical advanced training! We’ll teach you how to wring acceptable combat accuracy out of your Hi-Point at EXTREME CQB distances, with hot contacts all the way out to battle tested ranges of 5 yards! STATISTICS have proven that gunfights are dynamic encounters between two or more people…WITH GUNS. Only STOGBHSY gives you the secret skills necessary to not just win, but DOMINATE your enemies in all gunfight battles.

Now, as a general rule I loathe the phrase “acceptable combat accuracy” because it’s completely meaningless.  It’s without definition, as what is and what isn’t “acceptable” changes based on the nature of the gunfight that you’re actually in.  To illustrate, let’s look at the world of IDPA shooting, as it provides insight into what is and isn’t acceptable.  For example, say you’re shooting a wide open array of targets at oh, 5 yards.  In that case “acceptable” accuracy for a six shot string would probably be 4 hits in the “-0” and 2 hits in the “-1” zone.  That’s because at 5 yards, the speed you can shoot that with is probably going to be worth taking the time penalties for the bad hits.

Contrast that situation with shooting at a mini-popper that’s partially obscured by a no-shoot – your definition of “acceptable” accuracy has just changed significantly, because the 5 second penalty for hitting a no-shoot is a stage killer in most cases.

The exact same logic applies to a dynamic critical incident, and a lot of schools don’t teach that distinction.  “Acceptable” accuracy with a single assailant at bad-breath distance is a lot different from acceptable accuracy at 5 yards, or 7 yards, or if they have a hostage, etc.  It’s important to remember that in your practice for a self defense situation that you may not always be shooting at a wide open target that’s facing you chest on.  I had this reinforced to me recently while watching SWAT TV – Louis Awerbuck was using his 3-d curved targets to demonstrate that with real people, target presentation won’t always be a straight on chest shot.  It’s a good lesson to remember and something to incorporate in to your practice.  Practice hitting tight shots on a time limit, push your skills.  One of my favorite things to do is practice hitting the head box of an IDPA target at 20 yards with a single shot from the holster.  My best time ever is 2.3 seconds.  Much faster than that and I throw a lot of misses.

That’s a good drill to try, actually.  Set up an IDPA target at 20 yards.  On the buzzer, draw from the holster and fire 1 shot in the head box of the IDPA target.  If you can consistently get hits in under 3 seconds, you’re in pretty good shape!  Also, this is why I’m not a fan of the “Big Dot” type sights for pistols.  At 20 yards, they’re markedly slower than a standard notch-and-post sight, and at close distances don’t offer an increase in speed over the flash sight picture.  The benefit to the 20 yard head shot drill?  If you can make a head box hit at 20 yards in under 3 seconds, you can hit the A-zone of a target at 7 yards in about 1.3 seconds.  Trust me.