For the OC experiment, I wanted to practice what I preach. That means a proper retention holster. Yesterday, I wore a Galco M4, which was a pretty good choice, but the narrow paddle was uncomfortable for all day wear. I remembered that I had a spare ALS for a 1911 sitting around, so I put a Safariland paddle on the ALS and am now using that. It’s more comfortable, and the on-belt retention is better, but the smaller release on the ALS gives up a bit of speed to the Galco.
One of the favorite topics of the #yessallwombyns crowd is rape. Rape is an evil crime. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum we can all agree that rape is bad. Everybody who isn’t a scumbag criminal would like to see it end. The difference is that conservatives live in reality where human nature and history demonstrate that wishful thinking is useless, and libprogs live in a fantasy wonderland where the idea of fighting back against rapists is somehow bad and the real problem is that somebody just needed to teach rapists not to rape. – Larry Correia
Heckler and Koch is sending us a VP9 for review. First off, that’s awesome, because this is the first HK pistol I’ve been genuinely excited about in a long time. I like the hammer fired guns, but they never really clicked with me. I guess if I’m getting a gun with a hammer on it, I feel like it should say “Beretta” on the slide.
However, the VP9 has me excited. The first reason is the price point. From HK’s website: “Suggested retail price of the VP9 is $719 with projected availability of July 2014.” That puts this at $200 cheaper than the P30, and makes it a direct swing at other guns in the market. HK has also confirmed that sights for the VP9 are the same as sights for the P30, so if you want to change the sights to a different type your existing P30 sights will definitely work on the VP9.
The trigger pull on the VP9 has been highly touted as well; with shooters who’ve fired it comparing it to the excellent trigger pulls on the Walther PPQ and Sig P320. The gun comes with the grip customization features of the P30, and also accepts the same magazines as the HK P30. Additionally, Taylor Freelance mag extensions will work on the VP9 according to web reports, meaning you can expand the capacity up to 19+1 if you’d like.
It’s not often that I get legitimately excited about a gun. Every now and then something comes along that really does seem like a game changer. No, polymer striker fired guns aren’t new; HK isn’t new, but a striker fired HK at a price point that makes it competitive with other guns in the market? That’s a game changer right there. If this gun holds up to the legendary HK rep for reliability and accuracy, it could really shake things up.
Yesterday was my first day actually open carrying a gun around real people. I took the dog for a walk in the park, like I do every day. But today it was different, because my mind was screaming at me the whole time “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU’RE CARRYING A GUN OUT IN THE OPEN WHERE GOD AND EVERYONE CAN SEE IT THIS IS WEIRD.” Contrary to popular belief, I am not so desperate for attention as to want negative attention, which is what I sure I would attract. Of course, nothing of the sort happened, and anyone that did look at me was looking at the dog anyway, because let’s face it the dog is awesome.
I’ve been carrying a concealed firearm for over a decade now. I’m sure that when I first started, it might have felt unusual, but I can’t honestly ever recall it feeling like that. Open carry on the other hand feels weird because no matter which way you slice it, you are doing something that is not a common practice, and you’re doing it in such a way that anyone who is casually observant can notice.
The other thing I found myself doing was mentally rehearsing what I’d say to the police if they did stop me; and in that I realized I have a couple of goals for any encounter with the police while open carrying:
Of course, I didn’t encounter the police, and basically no one noticed.
The only other thing of note that I did after yesterday was change my gear. I switched Galco M4 holster for a Safariland ALS, also for a 1911. The ALS paddle is a lot more comfortable for all day wear than the Galco’s paddle, which is narrow and can dig into the hip after a few hours. In comparison, the Safariland wears much better and distributes the load of a full size pistol a lot more evenly. Tomorrow I’ll have another update, which I hope will be as boring as this one.
BENSALEM, PA- Fobus Holster and Mission First Tactical are pleased to welcome Matt Smith on board to serve in a dual role as the Director of Sales and Operations for both brands. Matt brings over nine-years of experience to the position, with an extensive background in the outdoor industry and a focus on the shooting sports, in particular. Previously, Matt held the position of shooting buyer at United Sporting Companies. His prior years of experience in sales development were in the banking industry.
“Matt has an excellent track record of understanding the needs of the dealers, major retailers and distributors,” Gordon Edelman, MFT’s CEO commented. “His drive and passion for this industry, coupled with his experience, will greatly enhance our current efforts while expanding our business.”
Mission First Tactical designs, manufacturers and markets their tactical accessories worldwide.
www.missionfirsttactical.com
First Samco Inc. is the exclusive USA distributor of Fobus Holsters. www.fobusholster.com
Dealers and Distributors are invited to contact Matt Smith at 267-803-1530.
About Fobus Holsters: Fobus Holsters were first developed in Israel for the Israeli military and special services. As a leader in injection molding polymer technologies, Fobus developed the first lightweight and durable retention concealed carry holster and continues today to be the standard-bearer for innovative holster design. www.fobusholster.com
About Mission First Tactical: Mission First Tactical (MFT) designs and develops select USA Made rifle/carbine accessories specifically for the Military, Law Enforcement and Civilian markets. The MFT team has over 75 years of industry experience in taking concepts to front-line deployment. From the beginning MFT’s mission is to develop leading edge products for individuals operating in harm’s way. Success for every operator’s mission is Mission First Tactical’s intent. www.missionfirsttactical.com
Battlelink™ Buttstocks, Engage™ Pistol Grips, React™ Grip Series, Torch™ Laser & Light Mounts, E-Volv™ Attachments are trademarks of Mission First Tactical, LLC. All company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective sources.
WEST VALLEY CITY, UTAH – June 2, 2014 | Beginning immediately, consumers will be able to purchase SilencerCo’s market-leading firearm sound suppressors and accessories through one of the top premium distributors in the gun industry.
Eurooptic – known as the largest online vendor of premium scopes, sites, accessories and firearms – recently began carrying all of SilencerCo’s innovative products, which represents their exclusive investment in what has become the fastest growing segment of the firearms industry
“Our partnership with Eurooptic is complementary to our other channel relationships in that it connects us with a new group of customers and dealers who are after higher price-point products like premium optics and premium firearms,” noted Josh Waldron, Chief Executive Officer for SilencerCo. “Our silencers and muzzle devices are a natural fit with the rest of the brands Eurooptic carries since we offer the best performance backed by best-in-class customer service.”
SilencerCo entered the market in 2008 with the goal of creating innovative products and one day mainstreaming the use of sound suppressors. SilencerCo’s products are now available on Eurooptic’s website. All NFA rules apply.
About Eurooptic:
Eurooptic began in the late 90’s as an online retailer specializing in European premium sport optics. Today their product offerings have diversified considerably with a consistent focus on offering the best performing products available.
About SilencerCo:
Founded in West Valley, Utah in 2008, SilencerCo started with a belief in the fundamental premise that firearms don’t have to be loud and has now become the market leader in sound suppressors, muzzle devices, and related products. By investing in innovation, customer service, organic manufacturing, advocacy, education, and talent, SilencerCo is now focused on making firearms hearing safe for all hunting and shooting applications, making products that have never been made before, and making the buying experience a better one.
Here’s a close look at the damage from the .223 round. It’s not my best shot, to be honest. I missed the spine and creased the mag, but the bullet clearly tumbled and took out that big chunk out of the front. The spring on the inside of the mag was also all kinked up from where the bullet creased it.
The shotgun test and the pistol test were mostly just clowning around, but this was actually impressive. I couldn’t believe the magazine held together, and also held all the cartridges correctly and fed them. I was genuinely impressed by this result.
We’re releasing this one early, because I honestly couldn’t wait to get it out there. Part 3 of the Battlemag test has me shooting one with a .223, with pretty impressive results. Next week I throw one into the fires of mount doom.
Mike Seeklander, who is both a serious competition shooter and a top notch defensive trainer has an excellent article up about the differences and similarities between training to fight vs training to compete. Most interesting for our purposes is the link between gun manipulations and success in a self-defense incident. From the article:
Marksmanship and Manipulation Skills – Similar
This is one area where the training is relatively similar. When training for a shooting match, the goal should be to increase the speed and accuracy that a given target can be hit in a variety of circumstances. Those skills are directly usable in a gunfight as long as you do your research and have an understanding of the potential side effects you may experience that will change the way those skills are applied. An example might be the visual distortion you might experience that would prevent you from focusing clearly on the front sight of a handgun in a fight due to stress and adrenaline (although I have spoken to several gunfighters that have stated they relied on a clear front sight focus to hit their attacker). Generally speaking though, increased marksmanship and manipulation skill can be obtained through similar training.
I strongly encourage everyone to read the rest of the article, as it’s a great look at the important differences between fighting and competing. It’s interesting that what we focus on here, the fundamental skills, apply across the board. A punch is a punch, a kick is a kick, and getting fast, accurate hits on target is important whether you’re competing or fighting for your life.
When was the last time you saw a firearms error in a movie? Some of us are better able to overlook these gross over estimations of firepower than others; I’ll admit, I’m not such a person. We’ve all seen those sequences when a single shot from a cop’s side arm, knocks a bad guy off his feet and over a car. What about those scenes when an automatic weapon has no muzzle rise and bullets hit all the intended targets? We know it’s complete fiction, but does the average joe?