Uncategorized

Caleb vs. the internet

Posted on by Caleb

I love the internet, and for good reason – I derive a portion of my income from writing for and on the web.  However, you constantly see the same things repeated over and over in gun forums; and for some reason these things keep getting repeated over and over and over and over and over until it reaches the point where I see someone write something and it makes my head hurt.  In the same vein as talking to a therapist about your feelings, I shall write about the wretched things the internet has continuously told me.

The best gun for women’s self defense is a snub nosed revolver

You can actually hear my teeth grind when I hear this.  Really?  The best gun for someone that is presumably a new shooter is a gun with stout recoil, a difficult to manage trigger pull, and sights that are almost non-existent?  GENIUS.

All training is good training!

No, no, no.  Taking a class from Bob’s School of Gunhandling isn’t the same as taking a class from Gunsite.  Training is good.  But make sure you check out the school/teacher that you’re getting training from, because if they seem like they’re too good/tactical/to be true, there might be a reason for that.

Birdshot should be used for home-defense to avoid overpenetration

This is a great idea, if your goal is to give a potential home invader a skin rash.  Using birdshot, which has dramatic and shocking impact on a paper target or a watermelon on a person is completely contrary to the mechanics of wounding with projectiles.  If you want to reduce your risk of overpenetration in a home defense situation, learn to shoot better.

Racking the slide on a pump shotgun is an effective badguy deterrent.

What, really?  People still believe this?  Look, I keep my HD shotgun stored with an empty chamber (cruiser ready) because it’s a safer way to keep the gun stored than with one up in the chamber and the safety on.  I sincerely doubt that the badguy would ever hear me rack the slide, because if the alarm goes off the first thing I’m doing is putting one in the chamber.  Noises do not have magical powers, unlike in the movies.  You know what will stop a badguy?  A face full of buckshot.

100 rounds is an acceptable break in period for a new semi-auto pistol

If you’re only going to shoot that one brand of ammo that you ran 100 rounds through your gun with, sure.  Otherwise, keep shooting your gun.  When it finally breaks, now it’s broken-in.

That’s all from today’s edition of Caleb vs. the internet.  I’m sure I’ll be able to find more ridiculous things that make my blood pressure shoot up in the next few weeks!

Uncategorized

Gun Nuts Tonight: Chicago Gun Ban

Posted on by Caleb

Are you curious about the implications of the Chicago Gun Ban case heading to the Supreme Court?  Would you like a better understanding of how Chicago’s gun laws impact the nation, and my great state of Indiana?  Would you like to get some great knowledge from an expert on the political struggle for our right to keep and bear arms?  Then tune in to Gun Nuts Radio tonight at 9pm Eastern!  We’ll be joined by Ashley, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association who will discuss the Chicago case, Indiana’s gun laws, and other gun law/gun control topics with us.

As always, the show airs at 9pm Eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts – if you have questions for myself or Ashley, call in to our listener line at 347-539-5436 when we open the line to callers.  Gun control and the political fight against it is the topic for tonight, and with recent events I believe that we’ll have plenty of topics for conversation on the show.  Don’t miss us at 9pm Eastern time at Gun Nuts Radio!

news

If you only read one thing about Ft. Hood

Posted on by Caleb

Read Rich Grassi’s column in today’s Tactical Wire.

Trail gun? Yes. The 5.7x28mm cartridge is only slightly more powerful than the 1959-issue .22 WMR, Wichester Magnum Rimfire, also known as the .22 Magnum. When I say slightly, I mean slightly. Barr Soltis, reporting on Chuck’s page, noted that the 5.7 is only about 21 foot-pounds energy more energetic than the .22 Magnum, keeping format similar (SMG to rifle, auto pistol to revolver). Of the loads Hasan would have been able to get, the most kinetic energy his gear could have yielded per round is around 216 fpe.

handguns/revolvers

Do you dream in black & white?

Posted on by Caleb

I do.

From s-w 625

The neat thing about B&W is that it preserves the finer details of the shot – you can see that my 625 is filthy from all the shooting recently, but at the same time using a couple of filters you can add a little bit of haze around the edges for that “dreamy” feeling. Although Oleg Volk I ain’t, I’m getting better at this “still life” stuff.

shooting/sports

2009 shooting season

Posted on by Caleb

Shot the November IDPA match at ACC last weekend.  Just a regular club level match in beautiful weather, in the mid 60s and sunny all day.  I realized that counting the State Championship match, I’ve shot my S&W 625 in just three IDPA matches, two of which have been in the rain.  Once in July in the rain, once at the State Match in the rain, and then this last Saturday in gorgeous weather.

I’m actually really happy with last week’s match, as it’s the last match I’m going to shoot before taking a month or so off from being gone every weekend shooting.  I feel like it’s important to close out “the season” on a positive note, and last week’s match was definitely the high note of my revolver shooting season.  That marks the first time I’ve gone out to a match and felt like I shot the gun well enough to actually deserve the classification score I shot with it.

Attitude is important in training – last year, I finished up the 2008 season on a rather dismal note, which I felt like haunted me into 2009.  I had a very “Peyton Manning-esque” year, in that I generally shot very well in club matches, but couldn’t necessarily bring the whole package together at major matches.  I did well enough in majors this year, but out of 5 majors that I shot, only at the IN State Steel Championship did I feel like I shot to the best of my ability.

That’s also why it’s important for me anyway to take a month or two off from the shooting sports each year.  It gives me that all important reflection time, to look back on what I did well and what I did poorly in 2009 so that I can better set the table for success in 2010.  My main focus in 2010 starting in February is going to be on Bianchi Cup and getting my skill set in order to improve on my 15th place finish in Production Division from last year.  I’m also going to stick to revolvers as my primary gun; the more I shoot revolvers the more I enjoy it.

However, the most important lesson that came out of the 2009 season for me is how radical the shooting sports community is.  In 2008, I shot IDPA seriously for the first time, took a class from Todd Jarrett thanks to the generosity of ParaUSA and Blackhawk, and competed in the Indiana State IDPA match.  2009 was really my first full season of action pistol shooting, and what has never ceased to amaze, impress, and humble me is how truly open and welcoming this sport is.  I constantly harp on how amazing it is that in this sport, an average joe like me can rub elbows with the Tiger Woods’ and Michael Jordan’s of our game, ladies and gentlemen like Dave Sevigny and Julie Golob – and be treated with respect and courtesy.  It is truly a unique function of this sport that it is populated in large part by class acts.

2009 was a great season, all things considered.  I have learned more about shooting in this year than I have in the past 15 years, and I have made some great friends through shooting.  If you came out to a club or state level match at Atlanta Conservation Club this year, I want to personally thank you for contributing your time and money to helping grow our sport in the State of Indiana.  More than anything, I am immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished at ACC in this past 2009, and am greatly looking forward to 2010 and what the future holds for Indiana shooting sports, for myself, and for the industry and games as a whole.