Uncle just dipped his toes in the waters of competitive shooting – he went down to an area GSSF match, which is an excellent gateway drug into the hardcore shooting sports of IPSC, IDPA, and Steel Challenge.
Speaking of Steel Challenge, tomorrow night on Gun Nuts, we’re going to have a rep from Steel Challenge on the air with us to talk about the sport! Don’t miss it, we’ll be live at 9pm Eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts!
Do it yourself Burgers – the foodie equivalent of shade-tree gunsmithing.
IDPA is a go for Atlanta Conservation Club this weekend! I’ll be working as a Safety Officer in addition to shooting…I also designed one of the stages, so come out and shoot the match! Hit the link to ACC’s website for more info.
Update! The match for this weekend has been canceled, due to the range being under approximately a foot of water and rising. The next scheduled match at ACC is Steel Challenge on May 16th.
Everyone knows that economic times are kind of tough right now for everyone, myself included. That’s why when you’re looking at guns to shoot competition with, it’s nice to have a gun/guns that you can use in multiple shooting disciplines. That way, you save money on gear and can spend that money on ammo, which translates into becoming a better shot. When it comes to being able to shoot multiple disciplines with one gun, you cannot beat the humble 1911 in terms of versatility. A well made 1911 pistol with adjustable sights (no fiber optics for Wild Bunch, but they’re fine for everything else) in .45 ACP can compete in the following sports/divisions:
Now, it’s worth noting that for Wild Bunch or 3-gun you’re going to need a couple of extra guns, but the 1911 stays the same across the games. You can even use the exact same holster for USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge, 3-Gun, and Bowling Pins. I use a Blackhawk CQC for most competition shooting. Buy a bunch of magazines, mag holders, and .45 ACP ammo and get shooting!
You can also compete across multiple sports with plenty of other guns, but very few guns offer the multi-sport versatility of the 1911. You can even “mission” customize it for various sports using a TechWell magazine well system. The modular well allows you to put one of three different sizes of magazine well on the gun depending on what game you’re shooting. You can use the huge magwell for Limited-10 division, and then one of the smaller 2 magwells for Single Stack or Custom Defensive Pistol. Remove the magwell completely and you’re set for Wild Bunch.
It really is easy to get started in action shooting – and you don’t need to spend a fortune on gear to do it! One gun can get you into 5 different types of matches, all with divisions designed to make your 1911 competitive!
Because it’s Friday, here’s a poll for you. Everyone knows I watch a lot of TV, so here’s the question for the poll: If someone you cared about was murdered, which team of fictional detectives would you want investigating the case? If you pick “other” make sure you write the team in the box.
Let’s review the highlights of each team, shall we?
NCIS Team: Here you have a well rounded team consisting of four of the most stereotypical characters on TV, and yet you can’t but help love them. Sort of the “plucky underdog” of investigative teams, they always seem to solve and investigate crimes that aren’t anywhere near NCIS’s actual jurisdiction.
Charlie Crews and Reese frome “Life”: one of the more interesting teams. Cruise was framed for murders he didn’t commit, and during his time in prison got in touch with his zen side. A big plus is that it would turn out near the end of the case that the murder of your loved one would somehow tie in to the conspiracy that put him away.
Castle and Beckett from “Castle”: as mentioned in the poll, Nathan Fillion is there “for the ladies”. Although the chick that plays Beckett is pretty easy on the eyes. This is weirdest team, using some kind of combination of “author skills” and actual detective work. Bonus – you may get to hear Castle make inappropriate wisecracks about your dead friend!
The Batman: He’s the g**damn Batman.
As someone who shoots a lot of .40 for competition, I can wholeheartedly recommend you read Frank James’ post on reloading the .40 S&W cartridge.
Which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, since the Area 6 championship is in Glock’s backyard.
In the first USPSA Area championship of the season, team captain Dave Sevigny led Team GLOCK to victory at Area 6 by winning the Production division and Area 6 championship. Jessie Abbate won the High Lady Limited division and Area 6 High Lady title, while Randi Rogers won the High Lady Limited-10 title. The tournament was held at the South River Gun Club in Covington, Georgia on April 17-19.<
Also, if you read the whole presser, you’ll find that GlockUSA has a Youtube Channel, which is actually pretty forward thinking of them. One of the videos is of Dave posting the fastest match time (including Limited and Open guns) on the “Field of Steel” stage at the Area 6 championship. Dave’s using a Production gun, so that makes beating the Open guns and Limited guns even more impressive.
Team Glock will also be shooting Production Division at Bianchi Cup this year. Dave is (obviously) known for going FAST in IDPA and USPSA, so I’m interested to see how well he does in Bianchi Cup; where the emphasis is more on accuracy than speed. For the record, I think he’ll probably finish in the top 3 in Production division – you don’t get as good as he is without being accurate as well.
From M4Carbine.net, an officer safety release on the M&P 9mm pistols having issues:
FROM: XXXX 04/29/09 12:40:15
SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT BROADCASTANNOUNCEMENT TRAINING BUREAU
WEAPONS TRAINING
TO: ALL CONCERNED PERSONNELSUBJECT: OFFICER SAFETY ALERT – SMITH & WESSON M&P PISTOLS
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS HAVE FORCED A DEPARTMENTAL RE-EVALUATION OF THE SMITH & WESSON 9MM M&P SEMI-AUTOMATIC PISTOL AS AN AUTHORIZED OPTIONAL HANDGUN FOR SWORN PERSONNEL.
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, THE SMITH & WESSON 9MM M&P FULL SIZE PISTOL IS NO LONGER AN AUTHORIZED OPTIONAL ON-DUTY PISTOL.
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, THE SMITH & WESSON 9MM M&P COMPACT PISTOL IS NO LONGER AN AUTHORIZED OPTIONAL OFF-DUTY PISTOL.
SINCE FIRST APPROVAL AS AN OPTIONAL PISTOL ON DECEMBER 10, 2008, THE FULL-SIZED AND/OR COMPACT VERSIONS OF THE 9MM SMITH & WESSON M&P PISTOL HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED BY 49 SWORN PERSONNEL ON AND OFF DUTY. ONE OF THESE PISTOLS WAS DELIVERED NEW WITH AN IMPROPERLY MACHINED BARREL THAT WOULD NOT EJECT SPENT CARTRIDGE CASINGS. ANOTHER OF THESE PISTOLS EXPERIENCED A BARREL FAILURE IN MID-APRIL OF THIS YEAR. AFTER FIRING LESS THAN 10,000 ROUNDS OF TRAINING AMMUNITION. THIS PISTOL BARREL BROKE INTO TWO PIECES JUST AHEAD OF THE FIRING CHAMBER.
ADDITIONALLY, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF DEPUTY ACADEMY CLASS #XXX RECRUITS WITH ISSUED NEW SMITH & WESSON 9MM M&P FULL-SIZE PISTOLS HAVE EXPERIENCED PHASE-2 PISTOL MALFUNCTIONS, CAUSED BY SPENT CASINGS FAILING TO EXTRACT FROM BARREL CHAMBERS, DURING THE PAST TWO WEEKS OF TRAINING. CLASS #XXX RECRUITS WILL BE ISSUED BERETTA 92FS PISTOLS ON WEDNESDAY APRIL 29, 2009, AND THEIR M&P PISTOLS REMOVED FROM SERVICE.
PERSONNEL SAFETY AND RELIABLE EQUIPMENT REMAIN OUR PRIMARY CONCERNS.
DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS (removed for PERSEC) AT THE B.C. RANGE.
XXXXX X. XXXX, SHERIFF LRR/SNDG
I’m interested to hear what S&W has to say about this; from everything I’ve heard about the M&P 9mm pistols, this is extremely unusual behavior. A test sample of the M&P fired over 60,000 rounds before the slide cracked. Very interesting.
At the Firearm Blog. Also, he’s back to blogging, which is good because he always manages to dig up some pretty awesome gunporn.
Josh Sugarmann is a sad, sad panda. Why is Josh a sad panda? Well, it’s because his new man-crush hasn’t returned his calls for 100 days:
Yet on Capitol Hill and in the White House, the response remains for the most part muted. Citing the perceived power of the National Rifle Association, calls for increased gun controls are dismissed on Capitol Hill as being unrealistic. With the selection of Eric Holder as Attorney General and Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, President Obama made it clear that his cabinet choices would not be determined by who the NRA attacks on the covers of its magazines. And the administration did derail an NRA-backed effort to allow the carrying of concealed handguns in national parks. But now even AG Holder finds himself in the surprising position of citing the NRA’s catch-all solution to gun violence: enforce the gun laws on the books.
Poor, poor Josh. All dressed up and no one to dance with. You know, maybe when Obama fixes the economy, cures swine flu, wins the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, gives us all free health care, and then does whatever else it is that the left wants, maybe then he’ll get around to gun control. Don’t worry though, Josh – we still love you, albeit because you make us laugh.