Blogging will be light today.
IDPA Quote of the Day
“A gamer is what IDPA Marksmen call IDPA Masters”.
I shot coffee out of my nose at that one. Because it’s both funny AND true. I had a similar conversation with an SO at a local club match, we were discussing how to assign procedural penalties (3 seconds) vs. failure to do right (20 second) in situations where taking the procedural could give someone an advantage over other shooters. He said to me “if his classification says ‘Expert’ or ‘Master’, it’s probably a failure to do right.”
Confirmation bias in firearm selection
Read the following statement from a commenter on the post below about revolvers as self defense weapons:
The female shooters I have instructed also seem to prefer revolvers far and away above compact and subcompact semi-autos of all stripes.
Before I continue with this, I want to establish something – I am by no means picking squares with any of the commentors that disagree with my opinion, but I want to point out a thought I had earlier today. Whenever I see comments like that, where an instructor is saying that “most of my x students (where ‘x’ = some common characteristic such as gender, height, left-handedness, etc) prefer y gun type” my first thought is that I’m running into confirmation bias on the part of the instructor. Take for example the oft-repeated “women that are new shooters should get a snub nosed revolver”. I am on record as saying in many places that this is a terrible idea, because snub guns are wretched difficult to learn to shoot well. How that bias affects me is when I’m talking to a newbie shooter about what gun to select, I am going to unconsciously steer them away from the compact revolvers towards a gun that I feel is a better platform. Then if I say “all my shooters pick Glock 19s so ergo Glock 19s are the best guns for newbies” I have thus demonstrated confirmation bias.
I wonder then how many new shooters pick sub compact revolvers not because they’ve made an informed choice, but rather because the bias of their instructor has directed them towards a particular gun? I’m not saying that the instructors do it out of malice or incompetence, but rather because they genuinely believe that gun x is the best for demographic y, without necessarily evaluating the actual person standing in front of you.
Again, this isn’t taking shots at anyone – the scope of my “introducing newbies to firearms” is usually done via email or friends that are considering their first gun purchase. But for just a moment, let’s take an honest look at the snub nosed revolver and see if it really stacks up as the “optimal” defensive firearm. And I say that to you while I’m carrying a j-frame myself.
I’m guilty of this myself – I often push people towards what I believe to be the “best” firearm for personal defense, when I fact I should be encourage people who are shopping to get out there and shoot guns until they find one that they like and that works for them. Carrying a gun doesn’t do you any good if you cannot get lead on target during a dynamic critical event; the bottom line is that only hits count. But to build that proficiency, you have to train with your carry gun whether it’s a 2 inch j-frame or a 5 inch 1911 – only hits count.
Hello, new 3-gun shotgun
Assuming it runs of course, the new ATI 12 gauge AR15 pattern shotgun seems like a 3-gun winner.
Charter Arms on revolvers
Via Handgun Hourly, I’m directed to a white paper released by Charter Arms on why you should carry a wheelgun for self defense. Now, it’s no secret that I’m a fan of revolvers for competition and concealed carry; as I write this I’m wearing a Smith & Wesson Model 60 Pro Series, and of course I shoot revolvers exclusively in competition. However, there are some things in Charter’s white paper that absolutely need to be addressed, including one line that actually made me laugh out loud. The funniest line in the whole paper was this:
While it makes for interesting macho conversation to talk about filling a drug filled attacker with lead or blowing their head off with bird shot (if their head is a watermelon)
I laughed. That’s quite obviously a direct shot across the bow at the Taurus Judge, and kudos to Charter for pointing out how ridiculous some of their advertising for the gun is. Anyway, on to the rest of the article.
Revolvers are quickly recognized as guns even by dumb bad guys. The revolver communicates that this is a real gun and not something else like a can of soda, etc
I fail to see how a Glock 26 or a Smith & Wesson M&P doesn’t do that exact same thing.
There is little doubt a revolver is loaded and many times the threat/attacker will see it’s loaded by simply looking at the cylinder and seeing the ammunition in it.
If a fight has ever been stopped because some dirtbag looked in the cylinder and saw the bullets I will eat my hat right here. I am pretty sure that all Johnny Sumdood sees when you point a gun at him (any gun) is the muzzle pointed dead amidships.
Revolvers are quick and easy to operate. Simply draw, aim and fire. No switches or tricky functioning, stoppages or other malfunctions; they will work when they are most needed!
So is a Glock. Or an M&P. Or a Beretta 92D. Or a Ruger LCP. Or a Springfield XD(m). Or a blah blah DAO/Striker Fired/whatever.
Any trainer will tell you that revolvers require less training than semi-autos to fire competently and safely thus making them the best firearm for the average citizen for self-defense purposes.
I guess they didn’t ask Tiger McKee about that. In all seriousness though, revolvers, especially snub nosed revolvers are in fact more challenging to shoot well than a full sized pistol such as a Glock or a 1911. Their short sight radius and heavy trigger pull make a 2 inch wheelgun something that is going to require even more practice to master than a compact auto pistol.
Shooters at any level do NOT buy a short-barreled compact revolver to take to the range and plink, hunt or shoot targets with. Yet people will talk and blog endlessly about so-called “excessive recoil,” short barrel sight radiuses, etc. as though target shooting, plinking and hunting are why the person initially bought the compact firearm in the first place. Their technically irrelevant remarks relate to snub nose revolvers with the same credibility as comparing a Ferrari to a dump truck.
Actually, we make those comparisons because we know what we’re talking about. Seriously, the paragraph right before this in their white paper they say that people don’t practice enough with their compact semi-auto carry guns, so they should carry a revolver because it requires less practice! Dammit Charter, I’m trying to be nice here, but that’s just not smart. Seriously, ask anyone that shoots lots of bullets for blood or money and they’ll tell you that wheelguns are harder to shoot effectively; and as mentioned later in the white paper only hits count. That means that even with your 2 inch snubbie, you need to go to the range and actually burn up rounds so that if/when you need to use your firearm to defend your life, you’ll have the necessary skills to get the hits you need.
I swear I’m not trying to pick on Charter Arms here – I have a lot of respect for the fact that all their guns are made in the USA, that they try to keep their price points down, and that they’re making an affordable defensive firearm. But if you’re going to write a piece about how “revolvers are awesome”, it would probably behoove you to actually talk to some revolver shooters, or people who actually carry these things before you do.
New (to me) gun blog
At Handgun Hourly – pretty cool stuff.
Reloading is an inherently dangerous activity
Protip: When your reloads do not fit the chamber correctly, trying to brute force them is a stupid idea than can result in serious injury.
Fine gun leather
Don’t forget to check out Gun Nuts Radio’s episode on the custom gunleather crafted by The Holster Site!
Smith & Wesson M&P Pistol named "Best in Class"
From the S&W press release:
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 10, 2010) — Smith & Wesson® Corp., the legendary 158-year old firearms maker, announced that the company’s Military & Police (M&P) pistol was recently named “Best in Class” for 2009 by Gun Tests Magazine. At the end of each year, Gun Tests Magazine surveys the work of its testing staff to review those firearms endorsed by the magazine’s testers. The “best of” selections are a mixture of the original Gun Tests evaluations and other information the editorial staff compiles throughout the year. For 2009, the Smith & Wesson M&P9 pistol earned the title of “Best in Class.”
“One of the things that separates our awards from many others is that we don’t accept advertising,” said Timothy H. Cole, Gun Tests Publisher. “By doing this, consumers have confidence that our Best in Class selections are the result of head-to-head evaluations and that the outcomes aren’t influenced by anything else.”
During the magazine’s evaluation of the M&P9 pistol, which was originally covered in the May 2009 issue, the test team was highly complimentary about the design and function of the polymer pistol. The evaluators cited that their first impression of the M&P9 was that it felt extremely comfortable in the hand, was well balanced and was pleasantly devoid of extraneous controls and levers.
Ray Ordorica, the magazine’s senior technical editor, who was the original author of the May 2009 article, was quoted saying “The M&P9 provided as our test gun came in a large case with two different grip inserts to make the backstrap larger or smaller. We liked it as it was, so we left it alone. The sights were fixed, and excellent in all respects. With the M&P9, there will be no cut hands from stovepipe drills. Another nice touch (there were many) was the wavy cut of the slide to form the serrations for slide retraction. The matte-black slide was stainless, and the polymer grip was hefty enough that the gun didn’t have a top-heavy feel even when empty.”
Throughout 2009, the M&P Pistol Series delivered strong results in diverse market sectors. In the law enforcement division, the M&P pistol continued positive growth with several full-department conversions including the Detroit Police Department, North Carolina Highway Patrol, Raleigh Police Department, Tampa Police Department, Milwaukee Police Department, Albuquerque Police Department, Washington State Patrol along with multiple state agencies and sheriff departments. Currently, over 500 U.S. police departments have approved or adopted the M&P pistol for duty use. Likewise, the M&P pistol was used extensively and with great success in numerous national, state and local sanctioned shooting matches. Engineered to become the handgun of choice for global law enforcement and military personnel, the M&P pistol design is based on input from numerous law enforcement and military organizations. The M&P Pistol Series is available in both full-size and compact models and is chambered in 9mm, .357 SIG, .40 S&W and .45 ACP.
USPSA Revolver Technique
A reader emails: “Caleb, I shoot revolver in USPSA and I’m looking for a way to improve my times. What should I practice to get faster?”
The one word answer to your question is this: reloading. Shooting a revolver in USPSA isn’t like anything else, because you’re limited to 6 shots in a world of 8 shot arrays a lot of the time. To draw a parallel to military aviation, a friend once told me that flying a modern fighter jet meant that when you took off, you were basically out of gas, and when you landed you were REALLY out of gas. Shooting a revolver in USPSA is a lot like that inasmuch as when the string of fire starts, you need to reload, and by the time you’re done shooting you’ve probably reloaded 437 times for that one stage.
Now, this tip doesn’t apply if you’re not already shooting mostly a-zone hits at speed – if you’re not doing that yet, then focus on accuracy and trigger discipline first. But if you’ve got the shooting portion of the game pretty well in hand, spending a lot of time focusing on your reloading skills is going to give you a good payoff in improving your times. Especially focus on reloading on the move with your revolver; if you’re in a USPSA stage and you’re moving and not shooting, you need to be loading. The goal should be to have the revolver loaded, cylinder closed and ready to shoot by the time you reach your next shooting position.
Again though, don’t practice reloading at the expense of your regular practice. Rather incorporate static reloads though the use of training drills and moving reloads into your regular practice. I try to get 10-20 “clean” (no fumbles) reloads into every practice session I do. A good way to do this is that every time you administratively juice up your gun, load in the manner that you would during a match, focusing on good technique and control.
I’m not saying that you’ll be Jerry Miculek fast, but tuning up your reloads is a sure fire way to make any COF, be it IDPA, USPSA, or ICORE go quite a bit faster.