Brian Nelson has a great review of the STI GP6-C, which is the competition model of STI’s imported polymer pistol. Brian looks like someone that is going to be a force to be reckoned with on the practical shooting circuit in years to come.
Quote of the day
Tam has a most excellent quote from the Textbook of Automatic Pistols, which while spoken directly about the Broomhandle Mauser also reveals a deep insight into the “gun culture” that has been a part of American society since we first pushed in to the frontier.
The American market is a very critical and exacting one, and there is a long tradition behind it which regards a pistol as first and foremost a fighting weapon, which means above all handiness, balance, and the feel of an arm for quick shooting. To-day, in America, as of old, the man who carries the gun, policeman, criminal, or private citizen, carries his life in the chamber, as it were, of that gun; and he must get there first with it if he is to walk the streets again.
Any honest study of American history reveals much the same – a country founded on gunpowder (and a little help from the French) where the firearm, and the handgun especially occupy a special place in our collective history.
Factory .38 Special for competition
We’ve talked previously about the dilemma that .38 Special shooters face when looking for competition ammo that makes the appropriate power factor for their game. The short recap is that most factory loaded.38 Special ammo doesn’t make “minor” power factor, so competing with ammo that is “legal” is often difficult to do. I have scoured the internet for loads that do make power factor, and here’s what I’ve come up with for people that can’t reload but want to shoot! For a load to qualify, it’s factory stated muzzle velocity has to give it a power factor of at least 125 (mv times bullet weight divided by 1000).
- CCI Blazer 158 grain FMJ +P
- Remington Express 158 grain LSWHP +P
- Sellier & Bellot 158 grain JSP
- Black Hills 125 grain JHP +P
- Aguila 158 grain JHP +P
- Hornady 158 grain XTP
- Magtech Guardian Gold 125 grain JHP +P
- Sellier & Bellot 158 grain FMJ
- Prvi Partisan 158 grain LRN
- Winchester 158 grain LSWHP +P
- Magtech 158 grain JHP
- Fiocchi 158 grain LRN
- Fiocchi 158 grain FMJ
- Sellier & Bellot 158 grain LRN
- Cor-Bon Performance Match 147 grain FMJ
This is by no means an exhaustive list, as there are several loads from Cor-Bon and DoubleTap that make the power factor as well, although those are “defensive” loads and are probably more expensive than what the average IDPA shooter wants to pay for ammo. From looking at the list above, I see that the Euro .38 loads seem to be loaded a lot hotter than their American counterparts, or the Euro factories are misrepresenting their MVs.
If I were picking off that list, I’d buy the Fiocchi 158 grain LRN or the Prvi Partisan 158 grain LRN. Both of those are good, solid loads and should perform quite well out of a Ruger GP100 or a Smith & Wesson 686. The lead round nose bullet is the easiest bullet to get into the cylinder quickly, and since those loads are clocking in around a 140 power factor they will have more than enough knockdown juice to take down the most stubborn of pepper poppers.
Make sure to chronograph any load you plan to use in a major match before you get to the match! There is nothing worse than travelling to an IDPA match only to find out that your .38 Special bullets are making a 120 power factor and that you can’t compete.
The saga continues
After battling with the strain screw in my 625 and finding out it had been ground down by the previous owner of the gun, I had gone ahead and installed the strain screw from my 8 shot S&W 627 in the .45 ACP 625, which then gave the 625 a smooth 10 pound trigger pull that lights all the primers I can find. However, the 627 was stuck with the shortened strain screw which didn’t put enough tension on the mainspring to light factory ammo reliably. Last night, I received more parts from Brownells to continue the project – I ordered a Wilson Combat Mainspring, and two replacement strain screws to get the gun going.
After installing the Wilson Combat mainspring with the shortened strain screw, I noticed that at times I would experience knuckling, where the revolver would bind due to the strain screw not being long enough. So I took the Wilson mainspring out and replaced it with the Wolff Power Rib spring and the replacement full length strain screw. After getting everything installed, the trigger pull on the 627 is now right around 9lbs, which should be sufficient to light primers with everything installed correctly. I’m going to head out to the range today and test it on a batch of Remington UMC 130 grain ball ammo.
I hope it works. I’m tired of screwing around inside these guns, especially since last night I slipped with the screwdriver while putting the sideplate back on and managed to scratch the side of my gun. That’s more of an annoyance than anything, since competition guns tend to get pretty beat up anyway; but they’re supposed to get beat up from shooting, not from me constantly taking the sideplate on and off!
Gun Nuts and NRA Annual Meetings
Click here for the download of last night’s show where we talked about the upcoming NRA Annual Meetings. And yes, I’ve actually tested this download, so I know that it’s actually working this time (so no wrestling with BTR support) which means you’ll be able to get the streaming episode or the .mp3 file.
I’m very much looking forward to the NRA Annual Meetings this year, first off because I missed SHOT SHOW, but also because it gives me a chance to see some people I don’t get to see all that often. There is going to be a pretty significant collection of bloggers there as well – Breda, SayUncle, JayG, and many more! Additionally, NRA gives me the opportunity to handle the guns and gear that I’ll be testing and reviewing throughout the year.
To listen to last night’s episode, hit this link or head over to 
to download it for your iPod and other portable media devices. Ultimately though, the best reason to go to the NRA Annual Meetings is the people. Because it’s open to NRA members, it gives you the opportunity to directly interact with the firearms and accessory manufacturers that are making the products that you’re carrying to a match, to the range, or to defend your family. If you’re in the Charlotte area and are an NRA member, I cannot encourage you strongly enough to go.
If you see me on the show floor, say hi! I’ll be there all day Saturday and for a little bit on Sunday, so if you see a midget sized tornado of activity wearing a Gun Nuts Polo Shirt, it’s probably me so stop me and say hello. I’d love to meet you and talk for a bit!
There’s no episode next week as I’ll be travelling, however on May 25th during Bianchi Cup week we’re going to have an awesome show: Team Glock will be joining us live on the air to discuss Bianchi Cup and their success as competitive shooters, so don’t miss that show. In the meantime, make sure to check out the Gun Nuts Gear Shop and join the Gun Nuts Facebook Page to stay on top of all the breaking news and information!
History's Top Shot Play & Win Sweepstakes
This is pretty cool, actually. Top Shot on the History Channel is teaming up with XBox Live to help promote the show and get video gamers into real life shooting. Check out the contest details here!
They also have a video posted on the Top Shot Facebook page which is pretty cool, features three of the cast and some cool high speed camera shots of things getting hit by bullets.
BJ Norris Single Stack Nationals
BJ Norris, sponsored shooter for Team S&W finished 6th at the 2010 Single Stack Nationals. He did this shooting Minor power factor with a S&W 1911DK .38 Super. BJ’s a big believer in shooting Minor PF for Single Stack, as it allows you to have two extra rounds in the gun which can eliminate a reload at times. Whether or not the trade-off in minor scoring is worth the extra ammo is something you’ll need to determine for yourself, but BJ certainly makes it look easy.
Gun Nuts Radio: NRA Annual Meetings
Tonight’s Gun Nuts Radio is focused on the NRA Annual Meetings in Charlotte, NC that are coming up this weekend. I’ll be making the drive down Friday and then providing live coverage on Saturday and Sunday from the convention floor…but I want to know what you want to see at NRA! So join me tonight at 9pm Eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts to tell me what parts of the show you’re interested in seeing. Smith and Wesson, Taurus, Glock, you name it and I’ll do my level best to get coverage for you!
So join me tonight at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts at 9pm Eastern time – call in at 347-539-5436 to talk about the upcoming show and the guns and gear you’re interested in seeing, or email me at [email protected] with your questions and comments. Also, if you’ll be attending the annual meetings in Charlotte, feel free to drop me an email or say “hi” if you see me!
Pictures from Gunsite
You may have noticed the new header, and if you like it than you have this guy to thank for it. Along with that image, Didrik took a boatload of pictures for Crimson Trace at the Gunsite event I attended last year. Crimson Trace was kind enough to forward a couple on to me. Here’s the full version of the new header image which you can click to view full size. 
It’s one of those pictures that when I look at it, I think to myself “Self, why can’t you take pictures that awesome” and then I remember it’s because guys like Didrik have devoted an entire lifetime to the art of photography. The other really good picture from Gunsite is here as well, and again it’s an excellent picture. I like action pictures, so it’s no wonder that the running man picture is my favorite of the pictures.
Of course, what’s really important to everyone isn’t the pictures themselves, but the gear! Because hey, let’s face it – we do this because we like guns and accessories.
- The Rifle: Smith & Wesson M&P15 MOE Flat Dark Earth
- Optic: Trijicon ACOG Model TA11-G – this is a 3.5 power ACOG with the green donut reticle set for .223 ballistics
- Magazines: Magpul PMags
- Mag Holders: Blade-Tech AR15 mag pouches
- Sling: Magpul MS2 Sling
- Foregrip: Crimson Trace MVF-515 Light/Laser combo
Thanks to Crimson Trace and Didrik for the great pictures – makes me look like I actually know what I’m doing with a carbine in my hands – which is something that the excellent Gunsite instructors had already taken care of…in 3 days in Arizona I learned more about being a rifleman than I had in 20 years before that.