Because people will fly three hours from Japan (where you can’t own guns) to a US Territory for Shooting Vacations. Guns are cool.
IDPA Stock Service Revolver
I shot the IDPA classifier match yesterday with Tam which by itself would have been worth a post or two, but I was also shooting my Smith & Wesson 686SSR for the first time as well. I wanted to get classified in Stock Service Revolver Division for the upcoming IDPA season as well as get some trigger time on the gun I’m planning on shooting in ICORE’s Retro Division. The 
gun itself is a 4 inch Smith & Wesson 686 with a slab sided barrel, red ramp front sight (more on that later), wood stocks, chamfered charge holes, a trigger overtravel stop, and generally a pretty nice double action trigger pull. The single action trigger breaks around 4 pounds – that’s pretty much irrellevant though, because this gun won’t have a single action mode for much longer.
I shot the classifier using my Blade-Tech holster, which interestingly enough fits my N-frame revolvers and this smaller L-frame. For speedloaders, I used the nearly ubiquitous HKS style speedloaders instead of the more “competition” popular Comp-III loaders. The reason for this is that I discovered I was having the occasional “yard sale” with the Comp-III loaders. Since I first started shooting a wheelgun with a moonclip gun, my desire is to grab the speedloader as close to the main body of the loader, aka the part where the bullets are. When doing this with a Comp-III loader, I’d sometimes hit the release at the top of the loader and fling my rounds all over the planet. Loading with the HKS loaders is very similar to loading with a moonclip. You grab the loader by the black part, not the silver knob, drop the whole loader into the cylinder then twist the knob and flick the loader away. In practice I can hit a 3.5 second reload using this method, and on the range I averaged about 4 seconds on reloads. Not great, but not terrible all things considered.
The actual classifier match didn’t go poorly, although I dropped way too many points on the 7 yard stage because I was pushing too hard for speed. The first three strings on the classifier are all 2 shots to the body and one to the head from the holster. My average time for those strings was 2.56 seconds, which is great…except that I dropped a head shot on the first target! You can’t do that at 7 yards and expect to still make Master class, and I didn’t. While my raw time was smoking fast, coming in at 86.23 for shots fired, I had to add 23 seconds(!) for points down, putting my overall classifier score at 114.23. That’s good enough for Expert class, which I should be happy with, but I know I can shoot better.
But how did the gun do? Just fine. Despite shooting smoky CCI Blazer lead ammo, extraction stayed positive and rounds continued to drop into the gun pretty handily. The only part of the gun I’m not really in love with is the red ramped front sight. I generally prefer post sights on my guns, and the red ramp sight is huge, I mean absurdly huge. At 20 yards, the front sight basically obscures the entire target, and the rear notch doesn’t let a whole lot of light in around the front sight. I’ll probably end up switching out the front sight for something a little faster that shows a little more light on the sides of the post. Other than that, I’m completely pleased with this gun. For a gun I’d never fired before, going out and shooting Expert on the IDPA classifier is pretty cool – I’ll just need to practice more!
Note: The S&W 686SSR was provided to me as a Testing and Evaluation gun by Smith & Wesson. At the end of the T&E period I liked it so much I decided to buy it instead of returning it.
Guns in Parking lots fight not over yet
And I don’t just mean in my comments – here’s the release from our friends at NRA:
Indiana: Emergency Powers/Workplace Protection Headed to the Governor, but the fight is not over!
Please Contact your legislator and local rural electric company!
As House Bill 1065 passed in the Indiana State House on Thursday, March 4, several groups began attempts to undermine NRA efforts by amending other bills still alive in the General Assembly to water down the NRA legislation. Leading the charge are the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana Rural Electric Association, who unsuccessfully attempted to amend an omnibus bill, HB 1086, which would have diluted the language already headed to the Governor’s desk. Their amendment would have made sweeping exceptions to the prohibition on employers from firing employees who safely and lawfully store their firearms in their privately-owned locked vehicles while on an employer’s property. HB 1065 already contains exemptions for Chemical and nuclear facilities deemed to be significant homeland security risks, power-generating electric facilities, schools, child care centers, and domestic violence shelters. The Rural Electric and Chamber strategy is to add further exemptions to neuter the intent of the legislation. The NRA fairly and competently negotiated the exemptions and those attempting to add to the exemptions did not adequately justify their desire to further erode our second Amendment Rights.
Please contact your legislator now and respectfully request they oppose any attempt to change the Emergency Powers/Workplace Protection Act. Also call your local rural electric company to urge their association to stop their attempts to trample on your Second Amendment rights!
Let’s make sure that attempts to water this bill down by the Democrats in the Indiana house fail!
Gear discounts for students
From the USPSA Press Release:
SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. — The Scholastic Steel Challenge (SSC) has partnered with another firearms industry leader, electronic hearing protection manufacturer EHP, to offer SSC participants significant savings on the entire EHP line of products.
EHP is the latest company to sign on to support the new youth shooting program, and as an SSC partner, will offer a 40% discount off the retail price on any EHP product which includes sizes for junior and adult shooters.
The Scholastic Steel Challenge is a national team-oriented youth shooting program developed by the Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA) and funded in part by a grant from the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The program is open to young men and women ages 12 to 20 and offers them the opportunity to compete as a four person team for a national title in the action pistol discipline of speed shooting.
Already the program has received support from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Smith & Wesson, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network, Glock, Action Target and EOTAC which have committed over $150,000 in funding and product.
“The Scholastic Steel Challenge is an important new initiative to bring young people into the exciting world of the shooting sports, which is why EHP has committed to supporting the program. Any shooter will tell you that protecting your hearing is a key component of the overall safety and enjoyment of the shooting sports and we’re proud to help SSC participants safeguard their hearing on the range today and in the future,” said Denny Snyder, president of EHP.
“Protecting the hearing of our young shooters is so important and we’re very pleased to partner with EHP to do just that,” said Scott Moore, director of SSC. “EHP offers a wide range of electronic hearing protection that parents can count on for the safety of their children, and at a price families can reach.”
For more information on the entire EHP product line please visit www.ehphearing.com. For more information on the Scholastic Steel Challenge, and the Steel Challenge Shooting Association, please visit www.ScholasticSteelChallenge.com.
Thank you Hoosier gun owners
Yesterday afternoon, thanks to all your phone calls and emails to the Democrats in the Indiana House, HB 1065 passed out of the rules committee it had been sentenced to die in with a 9-1 vote, and then later in the day passed the Indiana House 74-20. The bill is now on its way to Gov. Daniels’ desk for his signature, which will ensure that law-abiding gun owners cannot be unjustly targeted for discrimination by their employers.
Thank you again to everyone that called, wrote, and emailed their representatives on this critical piece of legislation. Also, thanks to our hardworking friends at the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association, and last but CERTAINLY not least a huge Thank You to our tireless advocate from the NRA for all the blood, sweat, and tears poured into this bill.
A little more IDPA rules
To clear things up about this post where I’m rightfully deriding IDPA; I am not opposed to them ruling that .38 Short Colt out of a .357 Magnum revolver is not allowed. I actually approve of this ruling, because based on what IDPA sells itself as, it’s the right ruling.
My problem is solely with how the “ruling” came about. It’s not in the IDPA rule book, and it’s not published on the official IDPA website at www.idpa.com – instead it’s on a little known and unofficial web forum dedicated to IDPA. IDPA can and should make whatever rules they want to preserve the integrity of their sport, I’m 100% in favor of that. However, those rules should be easily found and readily available for anyone looking to try IDPA.
I have my issues with USPSA’s rulebook and the way they do things, but one thing that USPSA does well is make sure that official rulings are published on the official USPSA website. IDPA needs to get with the program on that. Seriously, it’s not hard: put up a section at www.idpa.com that is labeled “rule updates” or something like that, and then just publish all this stuff in there.
Blade Tech adds new products
Blade-Tech has added a new line of kydex reinforced belts for competition and concealed carry to their excellent line of products. I use a Blade-Tech holster paird with a Blackhawk belt for IDPA competition and I cannot say enough good things about it.
PUYALLUP, WA, MARCH 10, 2010: As a part of Blade-Tech’s push to expand its product offering, it is proud to introduce theLooper Belts Series of U.S. made, Kydex®reinforced premium cow hide leather belts.
Blade-Tech has made a name for itself by making some of the best thermoformedplastic holsters available on the market today. The same high quality material that is used in many of their holsters gives the Looper Belt Series its structure and vertical rigidity. The belts are made not to flex or breakdown under the weight of a weapon worn for concealment or competition.
The seemingly casual looking design of the belt helps with overall concealment of a carry weapon. The Looper Belt Series of quality belts by Blade-Tech are lightweight and are produced in such a way as to eliminate stretching for the life of the belt.
Initially, Blade-Tech will offer the belts in black and a rich chocolate brown. Both belts will have theirexterior leather dyed in such a way as to help prevent surface discoloration that can occur from frequent wearing of a holster.
Blade-Tech’s Looper Belt Series ofquality reinforced belts will be available for sale on their website: blade-tech.com and will be coming soon to an Authorized Blade-Tech Dealer near you. Current M.S.R.P. Looper Belt Seriesbelts are $44.95 each.
Like I said, I’m a huge fan of Blade-Tech products. I’ve bought and paid for every piece of Blade-Tech gear I own, and will continue to use them exclusively for IDPA!