I learned so much from my first 3gun match, but now, after a month has passed, I feel it time to boil down the data into a few simple lessons that other beginners might find useful.
Tales of a 3gun Beginner: Selecting a First Match
Get GunUp the Magazine, featuring the Guns of Lone Survivor!
The August 2014 issue of GunUp the Magazine is available today; hit up the iTunes Store to get your subscription and copy!
USPSA Shooting: HK VP9 on CM99-41 Works for Me
Raw points: 52
Time: 6.79
HF: 7.6583
National %: 74.6882
You are a bad person and should feel bad
Whoever did this to a classic Colt 1917 is a bad person.
I get the idea behind making a Fitz Special, but don’t do it a 1917 Colt. There are jillions of crappy old guns that you could do this do. Go buy an old Charter Arms or something. Found on Gunbroker, of course.
Ones that got away: Smith & Wesson 1937 Brazilian Contract .45 ACP
I’ve bought and sold a lot of guns. My co-workers have noticed that I don’t get particularly attached to guns, and as a result I’ll buy a gun, shoot it a little bit, get bored with it and then let it go to someone else. I’ve never really been into collecting guns for their value as collector’s items; other than a short period of time where I collected obscure Berettas. One of the cool guns I let go was an old S&W revolver; specifically a Model 1917.
The Model 1917s were produced as substitute guns for WWI when the Army didn’t have enough 1911 pistols to go around; chambered in .45 ACP and using half-moon clips to properly headspace/extract the cartridges. Smith & Wesson kept the gun in production through the 1950s, because it’s awesome. They also made runs of Model 1917s for the British military, chambered in .455 Webley, one of which famously was used by Indiana Jones to shoot a sword wielding Arab in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In the 30s, the government of Brazil ordered 25,000 1917s, which were identical to the standard available model, but stamped with the government crest of Brazil on the sideplate. Over the years, quite a few have made their way back to the states as surplus guns, and most of them are in pretty good condition. There’s something truly great about a Hand Ejector style wheelgun in .45 ACP with old school revolver sights, and mine was a dream to shoot. But like other great revolvers I used to own, my 24 year old self was a stupid jerkface and sold it, probably using the money to buy something dumb like a pair of Taurus Trackers (this actually happened, and I’m forever ashamed).
I’ve let three really good wheelguns get away from me:
- Smith & Wesson Model 1917 Brazilian Contract
- Colt Trooper MkIII from 1976
- A Webley Mk IV in .38/200
I do wish I could go back in time and tell younger, dumber Caleb that hey, maybe don’t sell those guns. They’re only going to go up in value, and you can always buy a Glock. There will be a time when the market completely dries up for sweet old wheelguns, and then I’ll be really sad that I let a .45 ACP 1917 go.
I always come back around to the wheel
One of the perks of my job is I get to shoot and carry a lot of different guns. In the past month I’ve shot some guns that aren’t even on the market yet; I’ve carried all kinds of guns, I have the HK VP9 on my desk. And yet when I’m not carrying something specifically to write about it, I always seem to end up right back here:
With a J-frame, in this case the excellent 640 Pro Series. I will add the caveat that I also tend to carry my M&P Shield a lot, it’s a true statement that Smith & Wesson guns get carried a lot around this house. But for whatever reason, I usually end up carrying the j-frame, and I think I’ve finally figured out what it is.
I don’t think I’m going to get into a gunfight. That’s really what it is. But I do think I might need to project force to defend my life, and a j-frame quite likely projects enough force to deter a crackhead from slicing me. Plus, I actually really like shooting this gun. It’s easy to run a box of 158 grain LSWC through it whenever I go to the range, the sights are good and the Delta grip is actually pretty nifty. I know that I’ll probably get killed by ninjas or something for not carrying a full size service pistol and three reloads, but whatever. If ninjas are going to punch my ticket, it’s going to happen.
This actually brings me around to something that’s interesting to me – a side effect of the growth in serious shooting culture. The internet has allowed people who are fundamentally serious about being good shooters to get together and talk about that, which is good. That means we can share ideas, techniques, and learn from each other. The side effect of that is I’ve noticed the growth of an idea that unless you’re carrying at least a Glock 19 with a spare mag, you’re not serious about CCW. I can even understand the idea behind it, because at its core it’s a sensible idea. You carry the most capable gun possible, because you don’t know what kind of fight you might end up it. I could conceal a Glock 19 all day if I wanted to…but I want to wear shorts and a t-shirt and not have to dress around the gun.
So I carry a j-frame. But I shoot this gun, a lot. I’ve even competed with it, and did pretty well at the IDPA BUG Match. Maybe I’m not serious about my self defense because I do carry a j-frame. Or maybe, the longer I do this for a living, the less I worry about what other people think of my carry rig.
brb, gonna go get killed by ninjas.
It’s time for #muzzleflash Friday
Here are the submissions from last week! Make sure to keep ’em coming for next week, email submissions to [email protected] or just hashtag #muzzleflashfriday on instagram and twitter. Here’s our winner, hit the jump to see them all!
Gun Review: Smith & Wesson 929 9mm Revolver
Today on our slightly longer than 90 second gun reviews, I’m reviewing the new Smith & Wesson 929 9mm Revolver.
President Obama bans import of Izmash/Saiga Firearms with Executive Order
This one isn’t paranoia, unfortunately. According to Executive Order 13662, one of the companies listed is the primary Russian manufacturer of Saiga shotguns and new AK pattern rifles. Bearing Arms has a great breakdown on what this means for you.
The short version is that if you already own a gun manufactured by Kalashnikov, you’re fine. If everything’s paid for you’re in the clear and can sell it on the secondary market. That about covers the legal side of things. What we’re more interested in is the consumer side, because there’s a historical precedent here that makes it unlikely we’ll ever see these guns in the states again. The import restrictions on Chinese manufactured firearms are still in place, and there’s nothing that makes me think that even if the troubles with Russia were to completely blow over tomorrow that these import restrictions would be lifted.
I actually share Tam’s concern even more: what about ammo? We are just now coming out of the ammo crisis to the point where 9mm is affordable and available again; I can buy 500 round bricks of .22 LR for 30 bucks, etc. I’d really hate to see the administration add Wolf and Tula to the list of companies subject to sanction. I like being able to buy a couple of boxes of cheap 9mm if I’ve miscounted what I need for a class or match. Needless to say, this is something that we’ll have to watch out for. Drying up the supply of cheap, steel cased rifle and pistol ammo would absolutely be a tough blow; and while it wouldn’t be the end of the world, I’m genuinely concerned that it could happen. I like having access to cheap steel cased 9mm for training; especially since I don’t reload.
Tales of a 3 gun Beginning: Ma Deuce
The last stage of my first day at the Freedom Munitions Memorial Match was filled with multiple 3 gun clichés. Firstly, they included a “pick-up gun”. A pick-up gun is a surprise firearm, often provided by a sponsor, which is meant to throw a shooter for a loop. Often the shots with the pickup gun are are not scored or they only affect one’s time. They are not usually anything one can prepare for, but they can be a great opportunity to get behind some pretty rare weapons. Also, we were provided ammo by the title sponsor for our shotguns, which was staged in a dump barrel.