revolvers/Smith & Wesson

Revolver Boot Camp

Posted on by Caleb

Julie Golob has sent her S&W 627 V-Comp off to revolver boot camp at Apex Tactical to get slimmed and trimmed down for the upcoming ICORE season.  Here’s the gun itself, nicknamed Moose, getting ready to have a titanium cylinder fitted.

As you can see, this is going to be a mighty trick revolver, with extended cylinder release, titanium cylinder, and of course Apex’s top of the line action job.

Julie will have more updates on her blog as work on the gun progresses, and you can check out her blog by hitting the link in our sidebar here at Gun Nuts to take you there!

gun control

Starbucks to Brady Campaign: Sorry Charlie

Posted on by Caleb

It must really suck to be Paul Helmke right now.

Starbucks has brushed aside a request from a gun control advocacy group to ban the display of guns in its retail locations, saying it will abide by laws that allow patrons to openly carry unloaded weapons.

Hey, how do you know that your star is on the decline as a lobbying group?  Not even notoriously liberal companies like Starbucks are buying your bullcrap.  Like I said Friday, sucks to be you, Paul.

Also, I am no officially a dedicated Starbucks customer.  Way to be, Starbucks.  I’ll toss your beverages on muggers with PRIDE, now.

humor

Us and them

Posted on by Caleb

So apparently the President doesn’t know how to pronounce “Marine Corps” correctly. Many comparisons have been made to his predecessor’s inability to correctly pronounce “nuclear”.

The difference is that liberals spent the next 8 years harping on how stupid Bush was, whereas the Marines will simply shrug and get back to the important business of shooting smelly terrorists and other sundry badguys in the face.

IDPA/self defense

Is IDPA realistic?

Posted on by Caleb

That was a question posited over on TFL, which surely start the usual “IDPA IS TACTICAL AND USPSA WILL GET YOU KILLED” or the also popular “ALL GUN GAMES WILL GET YOU KILLED” debate.  The problem is that for anyone arguing any side of those points is that it’s just not that clear-cut.  However, to discuss the first point: no, IDPA is not realistic.  Paper targets do not shoot back, cardboard no-shoots don’t run towards waving their arms yelling “HELP ME” and obstruct your shot; the weird things that happen during a dynamic event don’t generally happen to mostly static targets on a pre-designed course of fire.  So no, in that sense IDPA is not realistic – but then again, neither is USPSA, Steel Challenge, et al.

I can now hear the tactical guys saying “See, I told you so!” and preparing to exult in their triumph over us game players.  The problem with all that is that anyone who is really honest with themselves about the gun games will be the first to admit to you that shooting USPSA/IDPA isn’t supposed to be tactical training.  It’s not.  No IDPA match will have you stacking in the door with your teammates, tossing flashbangs, and clearing a room – and it shouldn’t have these things because shooting gun games isn’t supposed to teach you tactics.  Shooting gun games does do something very, very important though – it teaches you to think with a gun in your hand under stress.  We all can’t afford to go to a force on force class, so shooting gun games provides a reasonable stress simulator to teach you to THINK with a gun in your hand.  Simple thoughts such as “did I hit that steel” suddenly become very important, because you have under a second to make the decision to take a second shot or to move on.  Opening a door becames a challenging task, because you know it will trigger a drop-turner that you’ve only got a half second to shoot, etc.

If someone tells you that IDPA will teach you tactics, they’re wrong.  It won’t, and it’s not supposed to.  IDPA is fundamentally a game, just like Bianchi Cup is a game.  You will have two kinds of people shooting IDPA matches, as well: people who are shooting with their concealed carry gear to practice and reinforce fundamental skills that might save their life, and people who are playing the game to win the game.  There is nothing inherently better about either of these schools of thought, because in the end both sets of people are putting rounds downrange and becoming better marksmen (and women) in so doing.

So to answer the question, no, IDPA is not realistic.  But shooting an IDPA match is a great way to practice certain skills that you may need to save your life someday.  I don’t know about you, but the ability to draw and put accurate hits on target in under 1 second might be pretty useful in a self-defense situation.

gun control

No guns in Starbucks?

Posted on by Caleb

So, the Brady Campaign in a desperate grab for some kind of relevance is trying to get Starbucks to ban the carrying of firearms in their stores.  Doesn’t the Brady Campaign know that a cup of Starbucks coffee by itself is more dangerous than some guns?

You know, you almost feel bad for the Brady Campaign.  They’ve had a rough year.  I mean they sent a note to Obama that said “I liek u do u liek me to check yes or no” and he checked “No”; so now they’re reduced to essentially begging a major corporation to alienate their customers.

Sucks to be you, Paul Helmke.

blogs/Things that are rad

Gun Nuts on your Kindle

Posted on by Caleb

Did you know that you can get access to Gun Nuts Media on your Kindle reader?  Now you can keep us right next to your favorite E-Books so you can fact check the gun info in your novels!

Also, if you’re looking for the top of the line in tactical range gear, the new fully customizable Gun Nuts Tactical Cap might be the thing for you!  Show your support for the number 1 shooting sports news and info podcast by getting your Tactical Cap today! Click the link below to order and customize!

Uncategorized

IRS Entry Shotguns

Posted on by Caleb

So you’ve probably seen by now that the IRS has procured a bunch of tricked out Remington 870 shotguns for their Criminal Investigative Division.  Reaction across the internet has ranged from “hey, that’s a cool gun” (because it is a pretty cool gun) to “whatinhell do they need those for” and then from our lunatic fringe the “OMFG the IRS is getting shotguns to shoot you in your sleep”.

I tend to fall into the “Hey, that’s a cool gun” department myself.  The IRS CID is just another alphabet soup LE agency that in this case reports to the Department of the Treasury.  They do have a pretty solid history though, as it was Treasury agents that brought down Al Capone and helped solve the Lindbergh kidnapping.  I guess I don’t get the outrage over them getting these guns – while I don’t support the militarization of police, if an alphabet soup agency wants to get some super-trick shotguns for their agents and entry teams, who cares?  If I were an IRS CID agent, I’d want a serious fighting shotgun too.

gun control

The things we deal with

Posted on by Caleb

So, Beretta has announced (and is actually shipping) the carbine kit to convert the Neos .22 pistol into a handy little carbine.  In and of itself, that’s pretty cool – the ability to swap barrels and add a stock to convert your pistol into a carbine is handy for a lot of shooters.

But no, this post is about the silly laws we have to deal with as firearms owners.  Say you buy this kit so you can convert your Neos back and forth.  You’re putting it together, and get the new stock all attached, when suddenly you’re interrupted by the phone/wife/kids/dog/etc.  You take care of business, and forget all about finishing the conversion on your Neos.  Congratulations, you are now in possession of an unregistered short barreled rifle.  If you then absent mindedly take said gun to the range without first putting the long barrel on, you will be transporting an unregistered short barreled rifle.

People ask for common sense gun laws, and I agree…but using my definition of common sense.  A common sense gun law wouldn’t throw someone in jail for years for putting a stock on their .22 and forgetting to finish putting the barrel on the gun.  These are the things we deal with as gun owners every day, though.  Navigating the byzantine gun laws and regulations all because we’re law abiding citizens that have no desire to end up on the foul side of Uncle Sam.

news/USPSA

USPSA Announces dates for Nationals

Posted on by Caleb

From USPSA’s press release:

SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. – The U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA), the national governing body for the sport of Practical Shooting in America, has announced the dates of their 2010 national championships. Divided into four events, the nationals are expected to draw more than 1,000 top-level shooters competing in a variety of divisions.

The USPSA National Championship dates are as follow:

April 28 – March 2 Single Stack Nationals

September 9 – 12 MultiGun Nationals

October 8 – 12 Open & Limited-10 Nationals

October 13 – 16 Limited, Production & Revolver Nationals

“The USPSA national championships are the pinnacle of the practical shooting season in the U.S. Not only do these matches draw the best American shooters, they also bring in several of the top international competitors,” said Dave Thomas, executive director for USPSA.

The first event on the calendar, the USPSA Single Stack Nationals, will take place April 28 through May 1 at the PASA Park ranges in Barry, Ill. In 2009 this event drew 270-plus devotees of the venerable 1911 pistol from which the match derives its name.

Next on the schedule is USPSA’s MultiGun Nationals which will take place in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club ranges September 9 through 12. The MultiGun championship draws close to 150 shooters and tests the competitor’s ability to engage multiple targets over a variety of field course stages all while utilizing the three firearm platforms: pistol, rifle and shotgun. The MultiGun Nationals will determine America’s best all-around shooters in the Open, Tactical, Limited and Heavy Metal divisions.

The USPSA championship season will wrap up with the back-to-back handgun championships which will also be held at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club ranges in Las Vegas. The Open and Limited-10 division matches will be held October 8 through 12 while the Limited, Production and Revolver division matches will take place October 13 through 16.

With over 600 shooters participating, the USPSA back-to-back handgun championships represent the largest gathering of shooters within the U.S. competing in the sport of Practical Shooting. The popularity of the match is such that nearly all of the 18,000+ USPSA members will battle for an invitation to the match. In addition to America’s top guns, the match will also draw some of the best shooters from South America, Europe and the Pacific Rim.

“The popularity of our national championships is due in part to the strong support we receive from the firearms industry,” explained Thomas. “Many of the biggest names in the industry partner with USPSA as sponsors, and any company looking for an avenue to effectively reach our membership and their estimated $50 million annual buying power can look no further than our nationals as the perfect shooter outreach opportunity.”

For more information on the USPSA National Championships and other major matches on the 2010 schedule, as well as the many sponsorship opportunities USPSA offers, please visit www.uspsa.org or call (360) 855-2245.

About USPSA: The United States Practical Shooting Association is a non-profit membership association and the national governing body for the sport of Practical Shooting in America. USPSA has over 18,000 members and more than 350 affiliated clubs which host weekly matches throughout the country providing recreational shooters with the opportunity to test and refine their shooting skills in a safe, competitive environment. USPSA is also the U.S. Region of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), which is comprised of approximately 67 nations. For more information, visit www.uspsa.org.