revolvers/training

Revolver training par notes

Posted on by Caleb

One of the great advantages of modern training in the firearms industry is that there is a considerable volume of information available for shooters. If you’re trying to set metrics for your improvement, there are top tier shooters and trainers that post par times for drills and skill tests.

cougar magnum (300x225)

But what if you’re a revolver shooter? I know, the obvious answer is to ditch that archaic gun in favor of a design that slightly less than 200 years old. However, there are shooters out there interested in power-leveling their revo skills, and it’s not easy to find information on good par times for some revolver specific skills. In the interest of helping, and creating good information I’m going to be sharing a lot of revolver training notes here on Gun Nuts through this year of the wheel. That way, in 3 years when someone else gets it in their head to go shoot revolvers a bunch, they’ll at least have somewhere to start.

We’ll look at a few standard drills over the course of the year:

  • D2 @ 10 yards (draw fire two shots from concealment at 10 yards)
  • 1r2 @ 5 yards (fire one shot, reload, fire 2 shots at 5 yards)
  • Bill Drill at 7 yards from concealment (draw fire 6 shots)
  • Dot Torture (increasing distance as necessary, currently 5 yards)

We’re going to run every drill from consistent concealment with an IDPA OWB holster concealed under a vest. That will give us the ability to compare times at the start of the year to times at the end of the year. Here is a list of the current par times for each drill, with the format of Drill Name – Total par: split breakdown.

  • D2 @ 10 Par – 175: 1.50/.25
  • 1r2 par – 3.75: .25/3.25/.25
  • Bill Drill par – 2.75: 1.50/.25/.25/.25/.25/.25
  • Dot Torture Current Distance to Clean: 5 yards

One of the things I’ve ALWAYS struggled with is a slow first shot from concealment. 1.50 first shots from an IDPA concealment garment is pretty slow, and I should realistically be looking t be closer to 1.25 or 1.20 on the reg. That being said, one thing you won’t see me practicing is one-shot draws from the holster, because I believe those can give you a false sensation of your speed. If all you need to do is take one shot, you don’t need as good a grip as you would if you’re drawing to actually start a course of fire.

Hopefully, providing these drills and par times from training sessions through the year will provide future revolver shooters with a good place to start to get some par times to work with. I’ll be the first to admit my times are on the slow side, and I could definitely stand some trigger time to work my skills up. One of the great advantages of a revolver though is that any drill I can do in live fire, I can simulate in dry fire. Endless trigger pulls!

Good luck in 2014, and train strong.

Uncategorized

Gun Nuts to interview Brandon Webb at SHOT Show

Posted on by Caleb

By now, many of you have seen Brandon Webb’s response to my article about his views on gun control. If not, the article is available at SOFREP. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to do so. I disagree with much of Webb’s response, but I believe that a huge part of that is because we’re approaching the issue from two completely different viewpoints and backgrounds.

Image courtesy MSNBC
Image courtesy MSNBC

I’ll admit my first article on Webb was written with an antagonistic tone, because that’s sort of what we do around here. I am looking forward to interviewing Brandon, because it’ll give us an opportunity to actually hash out the issues face to face. It’s easy for two guys on the internet with big egos and big web followings to get into a pissing match with each other, so in order to avoid that we’ve both chosen to take the high road on this one and talk it out. That’s a rare thing in this modern age where internet shouting contests have replaced discussion.

We’ll give you more details on the interview and where you’ll be able to find it once the time and final details are hammered out. Until then, keep it here on Gun Nuts for the best of shooting sports news and info.

gun control/gun shopping/gun stuff

Mis-informed Gun Owners that I’ve Met and Liked

Posted on by Gabby

20140106-094451.jpgAt a New Years party, about an hour after the count down, boyfriend and I found ourselves sitting around a fire with our hosts. They are smart folks, long time friends and deeply rooted southerners (which is why the following conversation surprised me). As will happen around SHOT Show time, my brain is in complete gun-mode, therefore (and I’m not even sure how it happened) the conversation turned to firearms. Our hosts and the other guests may have baited me into a debate by saying,
“I hate guns!”
“I have them, but I wish I didn’t.”
“I wish we could be rid of them all!”

Continue reading →

IDPA

Training for the 2014 IDPA Indoor Nationals

Posted on by Caleb

Last time I shot the IDPA Indoor Nationals was 2011, which is depicted in the above video. In 2011 I shot CDP using a Gen 4 Glock 21, and ended up finishing 4th Master. Not too shabby, especially considering it was my first Indoor Nationals.

This year, I’ll be returning to the match, shooting my favorite division and squadded with a couple of the biggest revolver beasts to ever spin a wheel. Let’s take a look at my plans for training for the match in the next month and a half.

Continue reading →

news/Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson® Expands Performance Center™ and Pro Series Lineup With New Mix of Competition-Ready, Hunting and Self Defense Revolvers

Posted on by Caleb

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 2, 2014) — Smith & Wesson Corp. today announced that the master gunsmiths of the legendary Performance Center™ have once again elevated the perception of the classic wheel gun through the introduction of four new one-of-a-kind revolvers. Blending hand craftsmanship with new-age technology, the Performance Center by Smith & Wesson™ has broadened its lineup of precision revolvers with new competition-ready, hunting and personal protection models. For 2014, the Smith & Wesson Pro Series has also been expanded with the addition of a new revolver designed to bring a ready-to-go competition package in 9mm back to the company’s portfolio of high-end firearms.

Averaging over 23 years of service in the historic Performance Center, the master gunsmiths at Smith & Wesson continue to develop hand-cut, hand-fitted and hand-tuned revolvers with an unmatched level of precision. Known throughout the industry for their uncompromising dedication, experience and meticulous production techniques, the Performance Center continues to bring about new revolver innovations appreciated by the most serious shooters, hunters and collectors.

New introductions for 2014 include:

M929 “Jerry Miculek Signature Model” – A 9mm competition revolver inspired by the mind of world-renowned, multi-record holder Jerry Miculek and built by the legendary Performance Center.

Built to the specifications of Smith & Wesson Champion Jerry Miculek, the Model 929 is a high-tuned 8-shot 9mm revolver developed for the competitive shooter. The revolver has a 6-1/2 inch barrel and an overall length of 12.25 inches. The stainless steel frame and a titanium alloy cylinder help keep the weight down to 44.2 ounces. Other popular features of the 929 include a glass bead finish, removable compensator, chrome trigger with stop, cylinder cut for moonclips, Jerry Miculek signature, chrome teardrop hammer and ergonomic synthetic grips. The Model 929 also features a Performance Center hand-tuned action for a one-of-a-kind single and double action trigger pull.

M686 – A classic, time-tested .357 Magnum® revolver enhanced with popular self-defense features made possible by master gunsmiths at the Smith & Wesson Performance Center.

Manufactured as a high-end personal protection revolver, the Performance Center Model 686 is a 7-shot .357 Magnum® revolver with a 2-1/2 inch barrel that features an unfluted stainless steel cylinder. The revolver has a stainless steel frame, custom wood grips, adjustable rear sights and a red ramp front sight. With an overall length of 7.5 inches and an unloaded weight of 34.6 ounces this 7-shot revolver is easily concealed until needed. The Performance Center 686 also features a glass bead finish, chrome trigger with a stop, chrome teardrop hammer, a precision crowned barrel, cylinder cut for moonclips, and of course a Performance Center hand-tuned action.

M629 – A purpose built hunting package for those who seek to combine the notorious .44 Magnum® cartridge with the gunsmithing ability of the Smith & Wesson Performance Center.

For dedicated handgun hunters and .44 Magnum® enthusiasts, the Performance Center Model 629 delivers a 6-shot stainless steel revolver with an 8-3/8 inch fluted barrel. The revolver is standard with an unfluted cylinder as well as two picatinny style equipment rails placed on the top of the frame and in front of the cylinder rod. The Performance Center 629 also has a glass bead finish, chrome teardrop hammer, chrome trigger with stop, custom wood grips, adjustable rear sights with an Orange Glow Blade front sight and a Performance Center hand-tuned action. The M629 is designed to handle the heaviest .44 Magnum loads as well as the lightest .44 Special loads. The revolver has an overall length of 14 inches and an unloaded weight of 59 ounces, making it a perfect companion in any hunting situation.

M460XVR – A true multi-caliber and multi-purpose revolver built by Performance Center master gunsmiths on the durable Smith & Wesson X-Frame.

The new Performance Center 460 XVR is a 5-shot revolver chambered in the powerful .460 S&W Magnum®. The revolver features a 3-1/2 inch barrel, an unfluted stainless steel cylinder, HI-VIZ® fiber optic green front sight, and an adjustable rear sight. The revolver has a stainless steel frame, glass bead finish, a chrome trigger with stop, a chrome teardrop hammer and a Performance Center hand-tuned action. With an overall length of 10 inches and an unloaded weight of 59.5 ounces, this compact .460 S&W Magnum is a welcome addition while in the pursuit of dangerous game.

M986 Pro Series – A Smith & Wesson Pro Series 9mm revolver ready for any course of fire.

Bridging the gap between standard production and the Performance Center, the new Model 986 Pro Series adds yet another 9mm revolver option to the mix. Manufactured with a 5 inch barrel, the 7-shot 9mm revolver has a Patridge front sight, adjustable rear sights, and a stainless steel frame. The revolver has a titanium alloy cylinder, which helps keep the weight of the revolver down to 34.9 ounces. The 986 also features a glass bead finish, a precision crowned barrel, cylinder cut for moonclips, comfortable synthetic grips and a lighter mainspring for an improved double action trigger pull.

For more information on these and other models from the Smith & Wesson Performance Center and Pro Series line, please visit www.smith-wesson.com.

About Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: SWHC) is a U.S.-based leader in firearm manufacturing and design, delivering a broad portfolio of quality firearms, related products and training to the consumer, law enforcement, and military markets. The company’s brands include Smith & Wesson®, M&P® and Thompson/Center Arms™. Smith & Wesson facilities are located in Massachusetts and Maine. For more information on Smith & Wesson, call (800) 331-0852 or log on to www.smith-wesson.com

news/self defense

Let’s Talk Terminal Ballistics: Bullets do strange things

Posted on by Tim

A while ago in a post about head shots I wrote the following:

“People think of head shots as being instantly fatal, but if you look around you’ll find plenty of examples of people who have survived a bullet to the head…especially if the shot came from a handgun.”

The news provides one of the most bizarre examples of this you’re likely to ever find. A couple of muggers accost an innocent citizen, who obeys their orders and hands his stuff over only to be shot anyway:

“The man complied, but as the muggers were taking his valuables, including a mobile phone, one of them pulled a handgun and shot at him. The bullet struck his face, bounced off, then hit one of the other robbers, 16-year-old Clifton Chatman.”

First off, let’s stop and recognize that these two muggers shot a perfectly cooperative victim. We hear over and over again from the gun control dullards that the proper survival strategy is to comply with the demands of violent felons. The assumption is that if you obey the bad guy, he has no reason to hurt you. This presumes bad guys to be rational actors which they most certainly aren’t. Of course, if you listened to Ballistic Radio’s interview with William Aprill, you already know that. The gun control dullards are as woefully incorrect about practical responses to a violent assault as they are about the utility of armed school resource officers to combat school shooters.

Relying on the moral recognizance of someone who is pointing a gun at you is a particularly poor survival strategy. The most effective way to ensure you’re not shot in the face by some violent felon is to shoot him first. Resistance with a firearm has proven overall to give the best shot at coming out of a violent felony alive. Here endeth the lesson…

As for the circumstances of this story, shooting somebody in the head and having it bounce off of his skull and hit your buddy with enough oomph to kill him…well…that’s Murphy for you.

As I mentioned in the head shot post referenced earlier, the skull is essentially evolutionary armor designed to protect the most important bits of our anatomy. The forehead is a curved armor plate designed to dissipate energy away from the precious cargo of the cranium. If you punch somebody in the nose, you can break it. If you punch somebody in the forehead you’re more likely to break your fist than to deal any significant damage to the other guy. Many handgun bullets (especially FMJ) are going to have a hard time penetrating the armor plating of the forehead unless they hit at just the right angle.

This news story reminds me of an anecdote from a police officer friend who rolled to a burglary call at a convenience store to find the owner sitting on the ground with a bloody cloth held to his head. The owner was robbed. The robber hit him in the head with the pistol and while the man was on the ground reeling, the robber climbed on top of him and shot him in the head at close range. The .45 ACP FMJ bullet from a Glock 21 hit the owner in the forehead at a bit of an angle, followed the curvature of the scalp to essentially make a U turn, and then flew up into the ceiling. It’s believed that the round narrowly missed the guy who fired it. It sounds pretty fantastic and I was skeptical of the tale for a long time, at least until I started hearing similar anecdotes about bullets and skulls from other reliable sources.

Bullets are capable of doing some very strange things. That goes double for occasions where they are fired at hard round objects like bowling balls or, in this instance, a human skull. I don’t know the specifics of the injury to the honest citizen in this incident, but if I had to take a wild guess I’d assume he was hit in the forehead and the bullet did some Matrix quality stuff after that to result in a lethal injury to one of the would-be muggers.

Our readership isn’t comprised of violent felons looking to execute perfectly cooperative victims for giggles, but even so there are perhaps some things to think about we can take away from this unfortunate (for the innocent citizen who was shot in the head, anyway) incident. If a bullet can bounce off of someone’s face and go on to kill another person, we should maybe reconsider rocks on the berm at our range, or that piece of steel that’s badly pitted. Bullets do strange things, so let’s not assume that the unlikely won’t happen with the bullet we’re firing.

editorial

2013 Gun Nuts Year in Review

Posted on by Caleb

It’s that time again; the time where I phone in a post with a series of boring lists talking about most popular posts, traffic, and fun things like that!

Gun Nuts Vital Stats 2013

  • Visitors: 2,503,536
  • Pageviews: 7,551,163
  • Pages per visit: 3.02
  • Best month: January 2013

Traffic was down a little bit from last year, which was a result of much of the 2012 archive being destroyed when the site was compromised early in the year. Despite the loss of content, we were able to recover and post a strong 2013.

Most popular posts

  1. 9mm NATO vs. 9mm Luger
  2. You are not an operator
  3. Curing the Tactical Turtle
  4. The ammo shortage is not a conspiracy
  5. Who “needs” more than 10 rounds?

9mm NATO vs. 9mm Luger is going on five years old, and it’s still one of the most popular posts I’ve ever written here. It’s well indexed in google and actually contains decent information, which probably helps a little bit.

Gun Nuts Top Referrers

  1. Facebook: 250,000+ visits
  2. Twitter: 38,000 visits
  3. Say Uncle: 28,000
  4. The Gun Wire: 25,000
  5. View from the Porch: 18,000

It’s worth noting that as usual, Google was our top referrer with over 500k visits coming from search traffic. With that in mind, here’s our final category:

Gun Nuts Top Search Terms for 2013

  1. Gun Nuts/Gun Nuts Media
  2. ammo shortage 2013
  3. Jessie Duff
  4. springfield xds 9mm
  5. gunbroker

Thank you to everyone who read, clicked, and shared articles from the page this year. It was a great year for us, and we have a lot of excellent stuff to look forward to in 2014 coming for you.

Remington

Remington Model 51

Posted on by Caleb

The big news today is the launch of the Remington Model 51, a single stack 9mm designed for self-defense and concealed carry. Big Green’s pistol division, based out of North Carolina is dropping the first original pistol design from Remington in…quite some time.

Remington Model 51 Mock-up
Remington Model 51 Mock-up

Here are the vital stats on the gun:

  • Weight: 20 ounces
  • Operation: Single action, delayed blowback
  • Barrel length: 3.4 inches
  • Capacity: 7+1
  • MSRP: $389

I first saw this gun in November at NASGW. One of the first accessories available for the gun will be a Crimson Trace LaserGuard, which you can see depicted on the mock-up pistol in the image. I’d like to say that I’m cautiously excited for this pistol, simply because it’s nice to see something new on the market when it comes to defensive handguns.

As with any new gun, the most important factor in success will be availability. Remington has already said that the new Model 51 won’t ship until February, but when it does there should already be holsters available from big name manufacturers such as Galco and Comp-Tac. It remains to be seen if Remington will be able to ape the success of Ruger or S&W when they launched the SR9 or the Shield – guns were shipping the day of the announcement in those cases, eliminating the potentially dangerous enthusiasm gap.

Truth be told, with an MSRP of under $400, I can’t think of a good reason to not buy the Remington Model 51, even if just for curiosity’s sake. A single stack, single action defensive pistol with an aluminum frame and an internal is so obscure it’s practically wearing thick rimmed glasses and a mustache. Perhaps the intended market of the new Model 51 isn’t gun enthusiasts, but rather gun hipsters. “My carry gun? Oh, it’s a Remington 51, you probably haven’t heard of it.”