Top Shot

More photos from Top Shot

Posted on by Caleb

This is kind of a weird experience for me, as I don’t normally visit “reality TV” websites – but at the same time that’s where more pictures of Top Shot have popped up.  A lot of these are shots from actual episodes, including at long last a picture of me that doesn’t involve a slingshot in any way, shape or form.

Caleb Top Shot AR15Yes, that is an AR15 (I didn’t know they had those in California) they even managed to get a piece of spent brass flying through the air.  Needless to say, I like this picture a lot more than any of the PR photos out there so far.

Top Shot premieres June 6th on the History Channel at 10pm Eastern time!  For West Coast viewers, your cable provider may air it at 7pm or 10pm, so make sure to check your listings and set your DVRs for awesome!  Top Shot is going to be a great ride, and if you guys enjoy watching it half as much as I enjoyed being a contestant, then it’s going to do very well indeed.

Ruger

Ruger SR40 coming?

Posted on by Caleb

Rumors rumors everywhere about Ruger offering their popular SR9 pistol in .40 S&W format.  The .40 S&W is obviously one of the most popular cartridges out there, and the Ruger SR9 has done very well at retail (Gen1 Ruger SR9 pictured at right) so it makes sense that Ruger would offer the gun in .40 S&W.

The other thing I’d like to see would be a longslide verison – ala the M&P Pro series or the Glock 34, but while Ruger has come a long way in recent years towards making modern firearms, I don’t expect them to run in to the loving embrace of competition shooters just yet.  However, there are people turning in good results with Ruger SR9s on the IDPA circuit; now that they’ve been out for a while you’re starting to see guns with 10-20,000 rounds on the frame and they’re still running very well.  I was hesitant on the SR9 when it was first introduced, but seeing numbers like that makes me feel better about it – and makes me want a .40.

shooting

Comp-Tac Deluxe Pro Competition Kit

Posted on by Caleb

This is a great idea from Comp-Tac – it’s a kit that has everything you need from a belt/holster/mag holder standpoint to start shooting IDPA right out of the box.  The Comp-Tac Deluxe Pro Competition Kit comes with everything you see in the image (except for the gun and actual magazines), so right out of the door you’re getting a range reader holster, double magazine pouch, and one of Comp-Tac’s kydex reinforced belts.  Purchased separately, the gear here would cost almost $200, but if you buy the package it all comes for $175.

This is the rig I’m going to be using for the Quest for Master Class series as well.  Since the goal of the series is to use guns and gear that might be reasonably purchased by an IDPA newbie, this combination seems like a logical fit for that.  And because I want to keep the series “pure”, I’ll be buying this rig with my own hard earned cash-money.  I have high expectations though, as Comp-Tac comes highly recommended by everyone I know that uses their gear!

Uncategorized

Gun Nuts Tonight

Posted on by Caleb

Check out tonight’s Gun Nuts Radio!  Tonight’s topics include the recent Bianchi Cup results, the upcoming HAVA Charity Auction, Top Shot on the History Channel, and of course: your calls!  The number is 347-539-5436, and of course you can also email the show at [email protected].

That’s tonight at 9pm Eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts, your online home for all the best in shooting sports, guns and gear!

Uncategorized

Quest for Master Class: Next gun

Posted on by Caleb

After June, phase 1 of the Quest for Master class will be complete.  I have my Enhanced Service Revolver Master tag, and the three major matches I’m shooting with my 625 in June will round that one out.  The question is what do I start with in July?  I have three options, Custom Defensive Pistol (.45 ACP), Stock Service Pistol/Enhanced Service Pistol (9mm, and I’m going to use the same gun for each), and final Stock Service Revolver (.38 Special revolver w/speedloaders).

I’ll shoot whatever you guys want me to shoot next.  Remember, the whole thing is going to be shot with guns that people actually carry, which will be revealed once rounds go downrange!

Once the Quest for Master class series is complete, we’ll start in on the Pistol Caliber Carbine evaluations.

Uncategorized

Happy Memorial Day

Posted on by Caleb

I hope that today you will spend the day with friends and family, that you will cook out, drink beer, and generally enjoy the fruits of liberty.

I also fervently hope that you’ll remember why you’re free to enjoy that beer, and that we owe a great debt of gratitude to the men and women who have laid down their lives so that we may continue to prosper.

rifles

Pet peeve

Posted on by Caleb

A little background – I am in love with the Magpul AFG, or “Angled Fore Grip” for rifles.  When used correctly, it really does use the body’s natural mechanics to help absorb recoil and improve follow up shots.  The important part is “used correctly”.  The AFG is designed to be positioned as far forward on the rifle as possible and with your hand as high on the bore as possible.  Here’s Magpul founder showing the textbook rifle and hand position for the AFG.

Click the image for the full size version, but you can see that his hand is way forward on the rifle and the AFG is as far forward as possible.  This allows the shooter to use a grip similar to a “thumbs forward” pistol grip on their rifle.  I tried this out for the first time at Gunsite, and it is faster in transition and in my opinion also helps mitigate felt recoil.

And that’s what brings me to my pet peeve.  I have seen pictures floating around of AFGs positioned way back next to the magazine well and people trying to hold them like it’s just the bottom of the rifle.  Why even bother?  Unlike a vertical foregrip where the positioning and usage is open to interpretation, the AFG is pretty much at its most effective the way the designers intended it to be used.  So why put it on your rifle if you’re not going to use correctly?  Is it just because it says “Magpul” on the side and you think “Magpul” makes you a better shooter?  If you don’t understand the body mechanics of the part of the shooting style it uses, it won’t help you.

Okay, that’s the end of my rant.  But seriously though – don’t buy gear if you don’t know how to use it.  Some gear is neutral in that it supports a variety of styles and skill levels.  Not all gear is neutral, and some is designed to be used in a very specific fashion.  If you have specific use gear, make sure you know how to use it first, okay?

Bianchi Cup

Bianchi Cup Results are in

Posted on by Caleb

Here are your final results for the 2010 Bianchi Cup, broken down by division.  Commentary on the other side of the results.

Open:

  1. Doug Koenig, 1920-179x
  2. Bruce Piatt, 1918-183x
  3. Kevin Angstadt, 1918-169x
  4. George Mowbray, 1918-151x
  5. Tony Holmes, 1916-159x (way to represent Indiana, Tony!)

Metallic:

  1. Robert Vadasz, 1904-146x
  2. Rob Leatham, 1894-153x
  3. Troy Mattheyer, 1892-127x
  4. Jason Koon, 1866-114x
  5. Greg Davis, 1861-105x

Production:

  1. Kyle Schmidt, 1856-121x
  2. Enoch Smith, 1835-123x
  3. Dave Sevigny, 1833-119x
  4. Phil Strader, 1819-102x
  5. Vance Schmid, 1812-100x

Women’s Overall

  1. Jessie Abbate, 1906-163x
  2. Julie Golob, 1894-131x
  3. Vera Koo, 1891-141x
  4. Jodi Lyall, 1878-137x
  5. Margaret Reese, 1857-124

Commentary

First off, I would like to congratulate all the winners on bringing home trophies!  Randi Rogers, fresh off her appearance on Gun Nuts Radio successfully defended her Production Division women’s title as well – that’s two wins in two years at Bianchi Cup, and she’s not showing any signs of slowing down.

As far as Production division itself, the results kind of came as a shock to me.  Dave Sevigny finished third with an 1833, which while higher than his score last year wasn’t enough to overcome Kyle Schmidt of Team Safariland.  Jerry Miculek shot Production this year with a revolver, and finished in 6th place, and BJ Norris finished in 12th place.  Any of those guys will tell you that Bianchi is a wildly different game from USPSA, Steel Challenge, and IDPA – the emphasis on extreme accuracy and trigger management means that it’s not “business as usual”.  Take for example KC Eusebio in Open division.  KC is one of the fastest guns in the world, holding multiple world records in Steel Challenge, 2 World Speed Shooting Championships, and is always a threat to win the USPSA Nationals – yet here at the Cup he placed 69th in Open Division.  This isn’t a slam to his skills, just pointing out that Bianchi is a very different game.

Speaking of Open Division, Doug Koenig won his bajillionth championship (I think this is either 12 or 13) continuing his and Bruce Piatt’s absolute dominance in the sport of NRA Action Pistol shooting.  Unlike previous years though, it didn’t come down to the x-count, as on the mover Bruce shot an 8, which meant that Doug’s perfect score of 1920 was the winning score regardless of “x-hits”.

Back to Production – the field was deep this year in Production division.  S&W fielded three shooters, and owned two spots in the top 10.  With over 50 shooters competing in Production division, which is almost double last year’s totals, it looks like NRA has hit on a winning formula with the Production division.  Circumstances allowing, I’ll be back at the Cup next year to go after my first 1700 – I’ve got a year to practice now!

Uncategorized

TV for Gun Nuts

Posted on by Caleb

Right now, I’m absolutely hooked on two TV shows for completely different reasons. The first show is Justified on FX which is available on Hulu; this is basically everything good about TV. It stars Timothy Olyphant as US Marshal Raylon Givens. The show follows his adventures in law enforcement and his tangled relationship with his former best friend turned criminal. Plus the good guy has a bitchin hat.

But the real reason to watch the show aside from the excellent writing and acting is the gunhandling. Olyphant acts like he’s held a gun in his hands, which makes sense because according to rumors he’s an undercover gun nut himself. It’s not just his character though – when one of the supporting characters used a shotgun, she actually held it tight to her shoulder like you should! Madness, I know. Anyway, if you’re not watching Justified, you should be.

Now, the other end of the spectrum is a show so bad, so over the top that it crosses back over in to “good”. What do I speak of? Why none other than “Deadliest Warrior” on Spike. The premise of the show is to “simulate” what would happen if “x” got in a fight with “y”. Battles have included ninja vs. Spartan, Jesse James against Al Capone, Green Berets against Spetznaz, Maori vs. Shaolin monk, and so forth. The show’s hosts collect “data” by having experts (and meatheads in some cases) demonstrate the weapons of each historical opponent on ballistic gel dummies full of stage blood, butchered pigs, cow ribs, etc. It’s all quite theatrical and culminates in the computer guy feeding the data (which is never revealed) in to his simulation which then sims out 1000 battles between the two opponents. The winner is the one with the most wins out of 1000, and you get to see the winner in a re-enactment of sorts of the battle. Like I said, it’s over the top and insane. Their knowledge of firearms is abysmal, and while their experts do what they can, there are just a lot of ridiculous shenanigans that occur.

But the show is FUN. Ultimately, that’s what is important, because the show embraces itself and rolls around in its own loving embrace of its ridiculous cartoon violence. And for that, I love you, Deadliest Warrior on Spike.