If you carry a gun on a daily basis, outside of a uniformed position, I have a question for you: Do you carry the gun you shoot the most? Being a competitive shooter myself I find that I am often lacking in practice time for my real gun.
For many years I have shot a Glock 17 in IDPA. This gun has had untold thousands of rounds put through it, but my S&W J-frame has not had even 1,000 rounds sent out of it. Obviously this presents a problem with proficiency. I am much better with the Glock 17 than any other gun that own, but I don’t want to carry a full size gun all the time.
This leads me to a thought that isn’t perfect, but it makes sense especially if you find yourself shooting one system a lot. If you are a twice a year shooter, you can’t hit anything anyway (want to find out how good you are? go to a local IDPA, IPSC, GSSF match. very humbling for me). I propose that you take a smaller gun in the same family. If you like the 1911, try the officers model. If you like the Glock 17 try the 26.
The reason that this could save your life is repittion. You will default to habits from the range whenever you find yourself in a stresfful situation. By having the a gun that has the same controls in a familiar place, you will give yourself a much greater chance of a successful outcome. You will also be a better shot.
If you think about it, it would be like Kobe practicing with a Nerf ball all week and playing with a regulation ball on Sunday. Doesn’t translate to success. The Nerf ball might be more fun, more forgiving and generally easier to manipulate, but it won’t make you a better player. Practice like you plan to play.
We had an officer shot this week in Nashville who remains in the hospital. By all accounts he was a good guy trying his best to do a good job. While on a routine traffic stop, he was shot in the worst place; the side of his vest. I am sure there will be many reports filed and lessons learned, but I want to remind all of our LEO’s to work extra hard this week on situational awareness.
Many of you are familiar with the color code concept. Walk around in condition yellow they tell us. We all here it, but it is good to be reminded that whatever you call it, you must never take your guard down. Make sure that you do thorough pat downs. Make sure you have had enough rest for that midnight shift. Make sure you aren’t talking to a loved on the cell phone.
Situational awareness is more than traffic stops, uniforms and tactics. It is a decision to live your life that way. Once you have made that choice your odds of going home at the end of the shift just increased. Stay alert. You only get one chance!
By the way, they found the two men responsible. Luckily for the them, they were not apprehended in the same manner as they chose to employ. Best wishes to our LEO’s, and a heartfelt thanks.
An item not getting a lot of attention is the XS sights line of Big Dots for the Ruger SP101. We would have been unaware of this sight, but a customer brought it to our attention. In fact, when we called a distributor about it, they said XS didn’t make a sight for the SP101. However, after talking to XS, we were told that it was the same sight that is made for the S&W J-frame models.
When our package arrived from the distributor it was clearly marked for the S&W J-frame and the Ruger SP101. We will putting pictures up in a few weeks of the SP101 customization, but in the meantime if you are interested in adding a tritium big dot to your J-frame or SP101, contact us. The sight runs about $70.
This video reminds us all why you need to keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire. Can you imagine the conversation that took place later? Luckily no one was killed, but it could have had a terrible outcome. When you are at home, at the range, or on the job, mind your trigger finger.
From time to time we are asked to supply an extended mag release for a Glock. In this video we are going to show you two options which we think will really help. One is a custom modification we do in the shop. The other is from Ghost. Both of these will cost you $20 installed, so you won’t be out a lot, but they will make a big difference in your reloads.
Check out the pictures below the video when it finishes.
We recently had the opportunity to test the Woolrich Elite Lighweight Pants. These pants have all the features that you need in tactical pant, but they are made from a lighter material to make them comfortable for those in hotter climates.
No doubt Woolrich had operators in mind who have to play in the sand box on a regular basis, and these pants fit this mission well. They are made from 1.5 ounces less thick material than the regular version, but other than that they are identical.
We tested these pants for several weeks including shooting several IDPA matches in them when temperatures rose above 90 degrees. We found them to be very comfortable and free moving when performing any task associated with action shooting.
One feature we particularly like is the back pocket which has a smaller pocket inside it for a wallet. Many pants in this category have a back pocket that feels as big as a rucksack. Having a smaller pocket was nice for wallets and other items that you don’t want floating around.
Even those these pants are considerably lighter, they appear to be durable and hold up well for their intended purpose. If you are going to shoot outside this summer, but don’t want to wear shorts, these pants should be considered.
When Glock introduced small guns, they thought the Glock 36 would be a great addition, and for certain segments, it really is the right answer. We have already profiled the Glock 30 SF in Part 1, but it will be helpful to understand all of the differences in these guns, because this is the only caliber where Glock offers two different versions of a compact frame.
The Glock 36 has slim profile which makes for easy CCW. It holds 6 rounds plus one. It is still a stretch to get to the trigger correctly if you have small hands, and the slim profile feels like you dont’ have that much to hold onto when you are getting familiar with the gun.
The one caveat to remember with this gun, is that almost everything on it is different. Extended mag releases are hard to find without modifying the frame, and it in general accessories are easy to come by because it seems like this gun doesn’t enjoy the popularity of its larger cousin the 30 and 30 SF.
The only down side I experienced when I shot this gun is that it felt like my pinky finger on my shooting hand was getting pinched between the magazine and the frame during recoil. Please remember that I have small hands, and this might not affect those of you with average to larger sized hands. The pain wasn’t enough to make me stop shooting, but it might prevent me from taking the gun out for a 200 round session at the range.
The obvious plus side to this gun is that it is easy to conceal, a pleasure to shoot in terms of recoil management, and it is lighter than a Colt Commander or defender.
If I had my preference, it would be for the 30 SF. I like the full feeling grip that has been shortened, and 4 extra rounds is an added bonus since it really doesn’t change how the gun will be carried. The only time it would nice to have the 36 over the 30 SF would be if you like IWB (Inside the Waist Band) carry.
This is an interesting concept for those of you looking to have your home defense shotgun at the ready. The obvious flaw to this is that if you have children in the home, you essentially have given them a very dangerous toy, but the manufacturer also states this at the end of the commercial. Let us know what you think. Like or hate it?
The NRA recently published a great article on our friend David Sams. Dave works on all types of guns, but is famous for his accurized conversion of the Beretta 92 when no one was doing it.
While he draws tons of attention from the world of Bullseye shooting, he is also well known for his custom 1911’s, custom rifles and AR pistols. Dave is a great builder, but more importantly he is a great man. Read the article and you will see that his knowledge of these weapons is unbelievable.
Congratulations Dave. We at MCC wish you contiued success, and appreciate all that you have meant to us as a friend.
No doubt you are familiar with our affection for the Glock pistol by now. If you have any questions you need to know that we think they are great. In the midst of their greatness, there is one issue that has been problematic for some shooters; namely that the large caliber (45ACP and 10mm) Glocks didn’t fit smaller hands.
That has now been remedied with the SF line of Glocks. The new Glock 30 SF may be one of the best new additions to the Glock line in history. It holds 10 rounds, is very concealable and manages the 45’s recoil very well.
In a recent range test, we found the 30 SF to be one of the few new guns out on the market that really got us excited. It was easy to shoot quickly and accurately. Running through some IDPA drills, the gun performed great.
The most surprising thing was recoil. You would think the lighter frame would make recoil an issue, but it was not any more noticeable than a full size 1911. There are many thoughts on why this phenomenon exists including the idea that the polymer frame flexes in your hand to lessen the blow. I am no scientist, but I can tell you it was pleasant.
About 3 months ago we did a custom job on a 30 SF in which we did our carry trigger job and added XS 24/7 sights. As you know, these sights are hot right now. People just can’t get enough. Our customer reported loving the combo of the Glock 30 SF paired with the XS sights.
If you are looking for a new defensive handgun and have been put off by the original 30’s size, we highly encourage you to check out the 30 SF. We think you will be pleasantly surprised.
I just got this today and thought I would share it with you. Woolrich makes cool clothes, but they also do a lot for the men and women of the armed forces. This throw would make a nice Christmas present for anyone on your list, and it would give you the satisfaction of knowing your [...]
One of the things that amazes me the most when it comes to new gear are the advancements that have been made in the area of illumination. When I served as an LEO we carried two flashlights, one for illumination and persuasion, and one for serious tactical illumination. The mag light was used for illumination and [...]
Massad Ayoob is considered to be one of the leading trainers in the world. He trains law enforcement and civilians, but what makes him different is that he can actually back up everything he says with his shooting. In fact, he holds the master ranking in all 5 IDPA classes. Since we have been getting [...]
There exists a wide gulf in my house when it comes to the clothing that I wear. My wife and I were headed out to dinner Friday night with some family members. We weren’t going to go anywhere out of the ordinary, and it wasn’t designed to be a really nice dinner either. Something along [...]
As I am sure you know, the weather affects many things in shooting. A cartridge left in the sun during the summer will build pressure adding another variable to the shot. This is why so many precision shooters keep dope books (not that kind, dope means information in the shooting world) for every rifle that [...]
