Robb would like residents of Florida to contact their state legislators to support important concealed carry reform in the Senate. Also, if you’re a resident of Florida to join and support Florida Carry.
For the 1911 fans out there
Just so you don’t think I don’t like 1911s or anything.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to address the concept of a “break-in” period for semi-automatic pistols. If your gun requires a “break-in” period, then it’s broken. The Colt came right out of the box and went through 3 tough days at Gunsite where it fired an unknown number of rounds in multiple hands, then it came into my possession where it’s fired over 600 rounds. All without a malf. Tam had a similar experience with the gun she took to Aim Fast, Hit Fast. Right out of the box, went for 1000+ rounds. If your gun needs a “break in” period before it’s reliable…you need a new gun.
Gun term of the day
Teacup Hollywood Weaver: How most people who have learned how to shoot from TV hold a gun. And now we’d like to welcome Jack Bauer to Gun Nuts to demonstrate the Teacup Hollywood Weaver stance
and grip. Take it away, Jack! Thanks Jack, that was great. I really appreciate you showing up to demonstrate the exact wrong way to hold a gun. Thanks!
Now, I say the above in jest, but the point I’m trying to make is serious. Do you see how Mr. Sutherland is holding his gun and standing? That is the wrong way to hold a gun. This isn’t a subjective “weaver vs. iso” thing here, this is just facts. The teacup grip is incorrect. Always.
I’ve been to Gunsite twice now. Even the school that teaches the Weaver stance teaches the thumbs-forward grip of the pistol, because it’s the best grip for recoil control. Here’s Gunsite instructor Ed Head demonstrating one of the two proper stances for a pistol.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a good picture of his thumbs, but I assure you that they are not “locked down”. His strong hand thumb is riding on the safety, and his support thumb is indexed just under the slide. Note how his hands come together to form the grip on the pistol, and that there isn’t any “air” between his support hand and his strong hand. That allows for much, much, much better recoil control that the Teacup Hollywood Weaver.
Humans are pretty good at mimicking stuff, which is where a lot of people have picked up bad pistol habits. If you’re going to mimic someone’s shooting stance though, don’t pick some hollywood idiot. Try imitating what this guy does instead.
User Malfunction
Here are some common reasons people ask range staff to fix their guns (or other miscellaneous range items), and what the range staff is actually thinking when they do:
“It’s shooting low and left, I need to adjust my sights.”
No you don’t. You need to stop slapping the trigger and flinching at every shot. Here’s a .22.
“It’s all over the paper, your ammo sucks.”
No it doesn’t. The factory Winchester I just sold you is fine. If you had listened to the range officer that just recommended you not use teacup Hollywood weaver while leaning backwards and rapid firing “the ammo” would be a lot more accurate.
“The gun is jamming a lot, you need to clean your disgusting rental guns.”
No I don’t. I do that every week. You need to stop limp-wristing my rental gun so the slide can cycle correctly. Here’s a .22.
“The rifle is hitting low, your scope is way off.”
No it’s not. Stop trying to shoot a .223 with a scope at a 10 yard target. Move your target out to 25 yards and it will hit spot on.
“The rifle is hitting high, your scope is way off.”
#@$*%& I wish people would stop adjusting the sights on the rental guns!
“Your gun bit me, now I’m bleeding.”
Gee, you mean you received slide bite from wrapping your support thumb behind the beavertail like I just told you not to?
“I’ve put 50 rounds through my 1911 to break it in and it’s still jamming. You sold me a bad gun!”
No we didn’t. Shoot it more. If you didn’t have the patience to wait for the tolerances to loosen up a bit you should have bought a polymer gun.
“I can’t hit a T2, I need a larger target.”
No you don’t. Shoot your target at 3 yards instead of 10. Here’s a .22.
“I’ve put 300 rounds through my Taurus and it’s always runs fine! You’re just telling people to try the SW M&P because it costs more!”
First of all, stop putting SW before M&P, either just say Smith & Wesson or assume I work at a gun range and know what an M&P is. Second of all… No, forget it, I’m not talking to you anymore.
Wheelgun teaser
Gun Nuts Radio: Travis Marsh, Top Shot Season 2
Last night we kicked off our Top Shot Season 2 interview series, starting with Travis Marsh. Travis was the first guy eliminated off season 2, and he came from the Blue Team (a note of some disappointment to me, to see Blue Team lose the first challenge), and last night we welcomed him on the air to talk about his experience on Season 2 of Top Shot. You can listen to the podcast here, or download an .mp3 version. As always, Gun Nuts Radio is available on iTunes by clicking the button below.
Like I said, that was our first in a series of Top Shot interviews. As the season goes, we’ll get each contestant on the show as they get eliminated, so make sure you head to www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts each Wednesday night at 7pm Pacific for Gun Nuts Radio, brought to you by GunUp.Com!
What is reliable?
In response to the 1911 post, a lot of people have asked me what I define as “reliable”. It’s a good question, because that’s a top that subject to a lot of arbitrary nonsense when it fact it really needs to be objective. So here are my standards for a “reliable” or semi-auto rifle:
- Out of the box must be able to fire 1000 rounds over the course of a single week without a failure, either mechanical or shooter induced.
- Over the course of 10,000 rounds, it cannot have a failure rate greater than 0.5% (50 failures in 10,000 rounds).
- Less than 10% of the failures can be operator induced (more on this below)
Those are my general guidelines for reliability. The 10,000 round standard is actually VERY generous, as the S&W M&P, HK P30, and HK45 have all been demonstrated to absolutely destroy that number. Modern, well made pistols are incredibly reliable straight from the factory. We live in a delightful modern age, so there’s no reason to bet your trophies or your life on crappy guns.
As far as the operator induced failures go, that’s a big pet peeve of mine. If a gun is set up in such a way that it’s easy to induce failures due to riding the slide stop, short stroking the trigger, or ejecting the mag and thus activating the magazine disconnect, than I don’t recommend that gun for self defense if my experience has show those issues. All of those examples above are from guns that I’ve shot that I don’t recommend specifically because they do exactly that.
Set standards for your guns. If your guns cannot meet the first criteria (1000 rounds of the box with zero failures of any type) I’d strongly urge you to consider a new heater.
Crimson Trace Master Series LaserGrips
One of the cool products at SHOT was Crimson Trace’s new Master Series LaserGrips for 1911 pistols. The Master Series provide the function of the standard laser grip, but with a high quality visual appeal for owners of high-end 1911s. Here’s a photo snapped with an iPhone 4 from the S&W/CTC media event back at SHOT.
The Master Series grips incorporate materials like G10 or actual wood to create the first laser grip that’s functional and very aesthetically pleasing. Here’s an excerpt from the press release on how the grips are made:
The Master Series starts with two solid stock blanks which are then CNC machined to tolerances of 0.002” to form the grip profile and texture. Skilled technicians carefully set the laser sighting module and instinctive activation switch package into the grips by hand and the entire package can then be easily installed by the end user. Simply remove the original grip screws, pull off the old grips and snap on the Master Series replacements.
Through the use of an ultra-compact diode module and inspired design, the Master Series is compatible with any ambidextrous safety on the market and features a new master on/off switch. This combination means that popular bobtail versions of the government and commander size pistols now also have Lasergrip option, allowing this easily-carried defensive handgun to benefit fully from the advantages of laser sights.
The Master Series LaserGrips should be available in early May, with an expected MSRP of $360.