Uncategorized

Mall Cops: Mall of America

Posted on by Caleb

Caleb does TV blogging that is only tangentially related to firearms.  I sat down and watched an episode of this truly dreadful show last night.  I am not kidding, there is a TV that is dedicated to the rent-a-cops servicing the Mall of America.  Now look, mall security is important and I’m sure mall cops provide a valuable service (although I’ve never utilized it, whatever it is).  The problem is that mall cops aren’t cops.  I found myself watching the show and every time they would detain someone, I’d end up yelling at the TV “and then you wait for the real police!”  Plus, every time one of the rent-a-cops would use the word “arrest”, my brain would die a little bit.  Mall cops can’t arrest you.  They’re not real cops.  Unless your mall is one of those malls that has actual sworn, armed police officers in it, mall security cannot arrest you.  In fact, they can’t even detain you if you don’t want to be detained!  The worst that mall security can do to you is ask you to leave the mall premises.  Which, if you don’t do, they can call the cops.  The real cops.  With badges and guns.  The real cops who can actually arrest you.

Thus, I’m watching this last night, and the mall security guys detain some dude.  I’m almost yelling at the screen, because this guy is just standing there, allowing himself to be detained.  I wanted to shout “DUDE JUST LEAVE THEY CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU” because the guy in question had not committed a crime.  He was just a weird dude that was using the free makeup samples on himself.  Which is certainly weird, but not a crime.

The moral of the story?  Unless you’re actually committing a crime, mall security can’t do diddly to you.  I hate this show, because the last thing we need is more rent-a-cops with a sense of authority and entitlement that they didn’t earn acting like petty dictators when they get a tiny bit of power.  Although I will say this about the Mall of America security staff – they’re about 100000% more professional than any TSA screener I’ve ever encountered.

Comp-Tac

Carry

Posted on by Caleb

And here’s the other half of the package from Comp-Tac, the CTAC concealment holster.  The CTAC is a tuckable IWB holster that uses the clips positioned fore and aft of the holster to provide much more stability than many other IWB holsters.  It’s a dramatic step up from the previous IWB holsters I’ve been using, and after only a day of carry I can also say it’s a lot more comfortable.  The weight is much more evenly distributed across my belt, and most importantly the two clips keep the holster in the exact same position.  No need to adjust every time I stand up!

Comp-Tac/Ruger

Competition

Posted on by Caleb

Speaking of Comp-Tac, these are the components of the Deluxe Pro Competition kit, minus the belt. These are a Speed Paddle holster, and a double magazine pouch.  And yes, they are bright red.  I have a jillion black/olive drab/coyote tan holsters and mag pouches, and frankly they’re quite boring.  The red is lively!

I tried the holster out on a few dry runs, and I have to say that the short barrel of the SR9c coupled with the speed cut on the holster make it fast.  I mean really, really fast.  We’re talking sub 1 second to target fast.

The mag pouch is pretty awesome as well.  One of the things I’ve been practicing are my tactical reloads/reloads with retention.  The mag pouch is actually wide enough and forgiving enough that it’s fairly easy to slam an empty mag into the mag pouch.  IDPA occasionally requires a reload with retention, and my technique is pretty fast – the mag pouch will help.

I can’t wait for July so I can actually get started running this package in competition!

Glock

Quick, someone loan me a Glock

Posted on by Caleb

So, the USPSA Section Match has been moved to July due to the fact that the range is underwater.  This is real sad.  However, I remembered from an email that there is a Glock Shooting Sports Foundation match this weekend in Indy.  That means I could go and shoot something just to stay in practice, and possibly have a shot at winning a free gun as well.

The problem is that I don’t currently own any Glocks.  I had a pretty awesome G24 that I sold a while ago (which I wish I hadn’t done) but currently find myself without a plastic pistol to shoot their match.  So uh, anyone in the Indy/Metro area want to loan me a Glock and a few mags?  I can supply all my own ammo, of course.

Humorous note: if the Brady Campaign is to be believed, I should be able to pick up a Glock off the street corner, just lying there, or perhaps run over to my local gun-tree and pluck a freshly grown gun off the branches.

Update: Got it taken care of!

ammo

So that's how it happens

Posted on by Caleb

One of the visually cool things that you get when you shoot a lot of steel are these little bullet snowflakes – the bullet pancakes after hitting the steel leaving these little fused fragments of lead and copper jacket just hanging out.  The delicious lead candy snacks I’m holding are all from a 230 grain .45 ACP FMJ bullet – it’s kind of cool to see how much energy is expended when they hit that steel target to reduce the projectile down to a fraction of its original weight and size.

While cruising the Brian Enos Forums this morning, someone in a thread about shooting JHP at steel targets posted a link to the following Youtube video, which gives a really cool visual example of exactly what happens to that bullet when it strikes a steel target on its way to creating the bullet snowflake you see above.

Pretty neat.

Top Shot/USPSA

Shiny

Posted on by Caleb

My buddy Iain from Top Shot got himself a new heater for competition.  That’s a Witness Limited in .40 S&W, which as Iain describes it (in his English accent) is “21 rounds of 40 cal goodness, all steel & wood like a real pistol should be. Weighs a freakin ton…”

Iain, in addition to being a top notch competitor on Top Shot is also a dedicated 3-gun shooter in the Trooper division, which makes him a certified badass.  For Trooper, you have to lug all the gear you’re going to use in a match ON YOUR BODY – literally carrying thousands of rounds of rifle, shotgun, and pistol ammo, several guns, spare parts, tools, etc – all without the aid of a cart.  The new Witness Limited is an upgrade from Iain’s previous match gun, the Witness Match – also in .40 S&W.

I’m jealous of your new toy, buddy.

Bianchi Cup

$100,000 Production Bounty

Posted on by Caleb

One of the more interesting pieces of info to come out of this year’s Bianchi Cup was Larry Potterfield’s announcement of a $100,000 prize for the first person to break 1900 with a Production gun at Bianchi Cup.  For the two people that don’t know who Larry is, he’s the owner of MidwayUSA, and a huge sponsor of Bianchi Cup and the shooting sports in general.  This is a pretty cool prize, and it shows Larry’s commitment to growing action pistol and the new Production Division as well.

For those that don’t know how Bianchi scoring works, the match consists of exactly 192 rounds.  No more, no less.  Each shot has a maximum value of 10 points, for a perfect match score of 1920.  With an 8 inch 10 ring, that score is often achieved by shooters in the open division, who can use electronic sights, barricade wings, and other mechanical enhancements for their pistol.  No metallic division (similar to Limited) shooter has ever shot a perfect 1920, although a few have come very close.  In the 2009 Cup, three metallic shooters were over the 1900 mark, which had never been done before.  The Production winner in ’09 shot an 1806, and in 2010 the Production winner shot an 1853.  As you can see, scores are getting better – but to shoot 190 perfect shots out of 192 is a tall order.

I think that this will drive more “Pro Shooters” to Bianchi’s Production Division.  That’s a good thing, because as the Pros go, so goes everyone else.  With Dave Sevigny and a big chunk of Team S&W shooting Production, it will be interesting to see how many big names land in that division next year with $100,000 on the line for a near perfect performance.  It will test both the skills of the shooters and the mechanical accuracy of their guns – a good Bianchi gun should be able to shoot 2-3 inches at 50 yards, and with the addition of allowing match barrels at the Cup for Production, I think we’ll start seeing 2 inch Glocks and other guns.  The 2011 Cup and the $100,000 Production Bounty are definitely going to be interesting…and I think I’ve got my next goal after the Quest for Master Class!

Top Shot

Gun Nuts Radio: Meet Brad Engmann

Posted on by Caleb

That’s right, last night on Gun Nuts Radio it was my pleasure to have my friend and fellow Top Shot contestant Brad Engmann join me live for the 30 minute broadcast.  Brad talked about his experience on Top Shot, the tension we’ve seen on the Red Team, and what it was like to go to back to back elimination challenges.  For the people out there ripping Brad, I suggest you give this a look – a chance to hear what he has to think without the editing!  For the full episode, click here.  The episode is also available in .mp3 format.

If you like what you’re hearing on Gun Nuts, be sure to join our fan page.  It’s the main location for Gun Nuts Radio information, as well as info on projects that we’re involved with such as The Quest for Master Class, and the upcoming HAVA Charity Auction.  Check out our fan page here.

As always, last night’s episode is available for the dedicated army of iPod/iPhone listeners by hitting this link to take you to Gun to get your download. I have to give a lot of love to our apple products users, because they make up a HUGE portion of our weekly downloads at Gun Nuts, and without you guys we wouldn’t be able to do projects like Top Shot, Quest for Master Class, etc.

Don’t forget to hit up the Gun Nuts Gear Shack for all your tactical goodies, but most importantly listen to Brad Engmann on Gun Nuts Radio talking about Top Shot!