Continues....
...with Comments about the November
2003 Front Sight rifle class near the end of this page...
To make this a little more interesting, I've
decided to open the floor for questions. This isn't as
interactive as it should be. The following questions were derived
from actual questions asked in other settings, in NRA classes or at the
range, or at dinner
with our "Friday Night Group."
We'll start with a tough, but typical question.
Q. What is the best handgun to buy for home defense?
A. This is a classic example of asking the wrong question for the right reasons. There are many things that go into making your home more secure. The last and maybe the least significant item on this list is a firearm. So, before reading the part of this answer that talks about guns, take the NRA's new Personal Protection class and pay close attention to the lesson on "strategies" for home protection. Working back from the very rare worst case situation where you were in a safe room with a shotgun and a bad person got into your house and was coming through the door of the safe room and you called the police and warned that person and had to fire the shotgun and the shotgun failed to fire and a rapid malfunction clearance didn't fix the problem and...you had to resort to a handgun to protect yourself or your family, chances are you neglected something that could have prevented the handgun from being needed or used at all.
That was a very long sentence, but there's a point to be made. A handgun, ANY handgun, is useful only in the very last resort when a bunch of other better solutions either didnt' work or were not implemented in time. You protect your home and yourself in layers, or "zones." The first zone is the exterior of the house. There are things you can do there to keep bad people out and let good guys in to catch the bad people. Take the NRA class and get the details. The next zone is inside your home. There are things to think about and take care of inside the house. The last zone is your safe room. Take the class. Learn about safe rooms.
So, all else has failed and someone is crashing through a door AFTER you called the police, and shouted multiple warnings. Now we get to the gun part. Get a shotgun. A shotgun doesn't have to be expensive, unless you shoot skeep and trap and want to impress your shooting buddies. The Mossberg 500 or "Maverick" models are great, and you can get one just about anywhere. Go ahead and get a 12 gauge. If you learn to shoot it right, and use "low recoil tactical" ammunition, it won't hurt. Remember that you have to AIM all firearms, and shotguns are no exception. At any distance you'll shoot inside of a house, the pattern of a shotshell won't spread much. You have to AIM a shotgun. Remington 870s and Mossberg 590s and Winchester models are all ok. These are all pump shotguns, so remember that if you want to shoot the gun more than once, you have to cycle the action ("rack" the slide). There's nothing wrong with having a semi-auto shotgun. In a home defense situation, the semi-autos just cost more without adding a lot of value. Not everyone agrees with this by the way, but the people who don't agree are wrong and just haven't realized it yet.
Semi-auto shotguns are great when the ducks are flying overhead, or so I've been told.
When you have the shotgun bought and paid for (shotguns on "lawaway" don't work well because they're still at the store), take some training! The local trap and skeet club is not the place to learn to hit targets in a doorway at close range. Pay the money, get a certificate, and go to a school like Front Sight in Nevada and take a tactical shotgun class. The difference between a trained and untrained person with a shotgun is the difference between night and day, or, come to think of it, the difference between life and death.
So, the shotgun went click and misfired, and you cycled the action and it misfired again, or you managed somehow to get two shells competing for the same space (double feed; action still open; not going to work for awhile; what a layman calls a "jam"). In other words, the bad guy is in the doorway and the shotgun is not going to make any loud noises. Now, and only now, is the pistol needed.
By the way, there is no excuse whatsoever for getting into the situation just described. Get a decent door that will keep someone out. Guess what? These doors cost less than shotguns!
If a pistol is needed, then step 1 is to trade the pistol in and get a revolver. Get a revolver that shoots a large diameter cartridge: .45 ACP, 10 mm, .44 Special, etc. Wait, you say. What about the "stopping power of the .357 Magnum as demonstrated in the Goat Killing Tests? Good question. Do you want to be deaf forever? You do? Good, then shoot a .357 Magnum indoors. You will lose some hearing when the shotgun goes off in a confined space. Chances are you'll lose a lot of hearing when a powerful pistol goes off in the same area. Why the big caliber revolvers when all of the gun magazines talk about hot 9 mm rounds that work 97.35 percent of the time? Because Murphy's Law says it won't work and those percentages could be bogus and unscientific anyway.
If you shoot somebody with a handgun, unless you get real lucky, they are not going to do anything other than continue what they were doing before. About the only thing you can do to hasten the moment when they stop being a threat is to put a lot of large holes in them and hope for the best. This is neither legal or scientific advice, by the way. Take the NRA class and get the legal advice from a lawyer.
If you feel better because you have a Mossberg 590 with a Vang Comp barrel and tritium sights and a lithium battery powered flashlight, and an 5 shot S&W Model 696 .44 Special ready to go, that's great. I wouldn't mind having some of that stuff, too, because it would be useful for competition - except for the 5 shot .44 Special revolver. I don't think there's an IDPA or IPSC class for those.
Now to the next question.
Q. What is the best handgun to buy for personal protection outside the home?
A. Here we go again. Are you subjected to a lot of threatening situations outside the home when you engage in certain activities or go to certain places? If so, stop doing those activities and don't go to those places again! All right, granted there are some things and some places and some people we just can't avoid, but the first rule of protecting yourself is to avoid situations and people who might prove to be bad for you. When, after all is said and done, you do feel threatened, leave your gun in its holster and RUN FAST to get behind something that will stop bullets. You cannot be hurt in this place, at least until you can look around and find a similar place farther away and RUN over there, and keep going. Lions don't chase their prey unless it's necessary. Bad guys are just as lazy. Later, you can tell your friends and family 1) you were scared to death, 2) you ran as fast as you could, 3) you didn't have to shoot anybody, get arrested and pay for at least two lawyers and lose your house in the process, and 4) you survived and can tell this cool story.
There may be that one in a zillion instance where no matter how well you prepared, or how far you ran, you couldn't do anything else or run any father, and the threat was so great you had to shoot a gun at somebody. Do you want a pistol or a revolver? Doesn't matter. Both work in these situations. After you've flipped a coin on which one to get, put the coin back in your pocket and get a Glock. Glock makes a lot of models. Get an uncompensated non-competition model in the largest caliber you can handle. Hint: the Model 20 is big and fires the 10 mm cartridge. All the other models are a compromise, but all of the other models are better than nothing. If you choose a 9 mm, go and pay the high cost of a high capacity magazine. I don't care what the experts say, you may have to fire more 9 mm rounds than you would fire other calibers in similar situations.
Why a Glock? Easy. Glocks are well made, reliable, simple, accurate and last a long time. Of course, there are other brands that can make similar claims. Want another reason? The FBI issues Glocks, and the majority of police departments in the US issue Glocks. If these guns didn't work, some other brand would have this kind of market share.
If you get the pistol, take the training! Front Sight (yes, I am an alumni and member) has handgun courses. If you want to get a revolver, make sure it's reliable. Hint: S&W seems to be making some pretty good products these days. There is a school of thought that says the revolver is obsolete in today's world. That could be true, but the numbers suggest otherwise. Many armed conflicts occur in 3 seconds or less, at a distance less than 3 meters, and only 3 shots are fired. With most revolvers, that leaves two or three remaining rounds. If there is a lull when you can reload, RUN AWAY and reload somewhere else.
[More Q&A is coming. Check back for updates.]
1996 Model 19-7 "K Comp" .357 Magnum Revolver
Return to the Home Page.
We'll start with a tough, but typical question.
Q. What is the best handgun to buy for home defense?
A. This is a classic example of asking the wrong question for the right reasons. There are many things that go into making your home more secure. The last and maybe the least significant item on this list is a firearm. So, before reading the part of this answer that talks about guns, take the NRA's new Personal Protection class and pay close attention to the lesson on "strategies" for home protection. Working back from the very rare worst case situation where you were in a safe room with a shotgun and a bad person got into your house and was coming through the door of the safe room and you called the police and warned that person and had to fire the shotgun and the shotgun failed to fire and a rapid malfunction clearance didn't fix the problem and...you had to resort to a handgun to protect yourself or your family, chances are you neglected something that could have prevented the handgun from being needed or used at all.
That was a very long sentence, but there's a point to be made. A handgun, ANY handgun, is useful only in the very last resort when a bunch of other better solutions either didnt' work or were not implemented in time. You protect your home and yourself in layers, or "zones." The first zone is the exterior of the house. There are things you can do there to keep bad people out and let good guys in to catch the bad people. Take the NRA class and get the details. The next zone is inside your home. There are things to think about and take care of inside the house. The last zone is your safe room. Take the class. Learn about safe rooms.
So, all else has failed and someone is crashing through a door AFTER you called the police, and shouted multiple warnings. Now we get to the gun part. Get a shotgun. A shotgun doesn't have to be expensive, unless you shoot skeep and trap and want to impress your shooting buddies. The Mossberg 500 or "Maverick" models are great, and you can get one just about anywhere. Go ahead and get a 12 gauge. If you learn to shoot it right, and use "low recoil tactical" ammunition, it won't hurt. Remember that you have to AIM all firearms, and shotguns are no exception. At any distance you'll shoot inside of a house, the pattern of a shotshell won't spread much. You have to AIM a shotgun. Remington 870s and Mossberg 590s and Winchester models are all ok. These are all pump shotguns, so remember that if you want to shoot the gun more than once, you have to cycle the action ("rack" the slide). There's nothing wrong with having a semi-auto shotgun. In a home defense situation, the semi-autos just cost more without adding a lot of value. Not everyone agrees with this by the way, but the people who don't agree are wrong and just haven't realized it yet.
Semi-auto shotguns are great when the ducks are flying overhead, or so I've been told.
When you have the shotgun bought and paid for (shotguns on "lawaway" don't work well because they're still at the store), take some training! The local trap and skeet club is not the place to learn to hit targets in a doorway at close range. Pay the money, get a certificate, and go to a school like Front Sight in Nevada and take a tactical shotgun class. The difference between a trained and untrained person with a shotgun is the difference between night and day, or, come to think of it, the difference between life and death.
So, the shotgun went click and misfired, and you cycled the action and it misfired again, or you managed somehow to get two shells competing for the same space (double feed; action still open; not going to work for awhile; what a layman calls a "jam"). In other words, the bad guy is in the doorway and the shotgun is not going to make any loud noises. Now, and only now, is the pistol needed.
By the way, there is no excuse whatsoever for getting into the situation just described. Get a decent door that will keep someone out. Guess what? These doors cost less than shotguns!
If a pistol is needed, then step 1 is to trade the pistol in and get a revolver. Get a revolver that shoots a large diameter cartridge: .45 ACP, 10 mm, .44 Special, etc. Wait, you say. What about the "stopping power of the .357 Magnum as demonstrated in the Goat Killing Tests? Good question. Do you want to be deaf forever? You do? Good, then shoot a .357 Magnum indoors. You will lose some hearing when the shotgun goes off in a confined space. Chances are you'll lose a lot of hearing when a powerful pistol goes off in the same area. Why the big caliber revolvers when all of the gun magazines talk about hot 9 mm rounds that work 97.35 percent of the time? Because Murphy's Law says it won't work and those percentages could be bogus and unscientific anyway.
If you shoot somebody with a handgun, unless you get real lucky, they are not going to do anything other than continue what they were doing before. About the only thing you can do to hasten the moment when they stop being a threat is to put a lot of large holes in them and hope for the best. This is neither legal or scientific advice, by the way. Take the NRA class and get the legal advice from a lawyer.
If you feel better because you have a Mossberg 590 with a Vang Comp barrel and tritium sights and a lithium battery powered flashlight, and an 5 shot S&W Model 696 .44 Special ready to go, that's great. I wouldn't mind having some of that stuff, too, because it would be useful for competition - except for the 5 shot .44 Special revolver. I don't think there's an IDPA or IPSC class for those.
Now to the next question.
Q. What is the best handgun to buy for personal protection outside the home?
A. Here we go again. Are you subjected to a lot of threatening situations outside the home when you engage in certain activities or go to certain places? If so, stop doing those activities and don't go to those places again! All right, granted there are some things and some places and some people we just can't avoid, but the first rule of protecting yourself is to avoid situations and people who might prove to be bad for you. When, after all is said and done, you do feel threatened, leave your gun in its holster and RUN FAST to get behind something that will stop bullets. You cannot be hurt in this place, at least until you can look around and find a similar place farther away and RUN over there, and keep going. Lions don't chase their prey unless it's necessary. Bad guys are just as lazy. Later, you can tell your friends and family 1) you were scared to death, 2) you ran as fast as you could, 3) you didn't have to shoot anybody, get arrested and pay for at least two lawyers and lose your house in the process, and 4) you survived and can tell this cool story.
There may be that one in a zillion instance where no matter how well you prepared, or how far you ran, you couldn't do anything else or run any father, and the threat was so great you had to shoot a gun at somebody. Do you want a pistol or a revolver? Doesn't matter. Both work in these situations. After you've flipped a coin on which one to get, put the coin back in your pocket and get a Glock. Glock makes a lot of models. Get an uncompensated non-competition model in the largest caliber you can handle. Hint: the Model 20 is big and fires the 10 mm cartridge. All the other models are a compromise, but all of the other models are better than nothing. If you choose a 9 mm, go and pay the high cost of a high capacity magazine. I don't care what the experts say, you may have to fire more 9 mm rounds than you would fire other calibers in similar situations.
Why a Glock? Easy. Glocks are well made, reliable, simple, accurate and last a long time. Of course, there are other brands that can make similar claims. Want another reason? The FBI issues Glocks, and the majority of police departments in the US issue Glocks. If these guns didn't work, some other brand would have this kind of market share.
If you get the pistol, take the training! Front Sight (yes, I am an alumni and member) has handgun courses. If you want to get a revolver, make sure it's reliable. Hint: S&W seems to be making some pretty good products these days. There is a school of thought that says the revolver is obsolete in today's world. That could be true, but the numbers suggest otherwise. Many armed conflicts occur in 3 seconds or less, at a distance less than 3 meters, and only 3 shots are fired. With most revolvers, that leaves two or three remaining rounds. If there is a lull when you can reload, RUN AWAY and reload somewhere else.
[More Q&A is coming. Check back for updates.]
Glock Model 20 (10 mm)
April 28, 2003 - spring is here at last, and we had an all classifier IPSC match at the "orchard" today. I planned to take a Glock Model 17 (9 mm), but a new Glock 20 was back from Glock's warranty department so I took that instead. Using Blazer ammunition 200 grain ammunition, I was able to enter the Limited 10 class and do pretty well. When a 10 mm bullet hits a metal plate, the plate goes down right now.
And the results are out! The Model 20 was instrumental in my placing in the top 60 percent again. Wow. There were 32 shooters at the match and I was number 18. That could be the top 70 percent, but it was still pretty good.
New Production S&W Model 64 .38 Special Revolver
April 28, 2003 - spring is here at last, and we had an all classifier IPSC match at the "orchard" today. I planned to take a Glock Model 17 (9 mm), but a new Glock 20 was back from Glock's warranty department so I took that instead. Using Blazer ammunition 200 grain ammunition, I was able to enter the Limited 10 class and do pretty well. When a 10 mm bullet hits a metal plate, the plate goes down right now.
And the results are out! The Model 20 was instrumental in my placing in the top 60 percent again. Wow. There were 32 shooters at the match and I was number 18. That could be the top 70 percent, but it was still pretty good.
New Production S&W Model 64 .38 Special Revolver
1996 Model 19-7 "K Comp" .357 Magnum Revolver
It's almost time for another trip to Front Sight,
Nevada. This will be the fifth class I've attended there (4 Day
Defensive Handgun twice, once with a Walther P99QA and once with a
Glock 19; 1 Day Submachine; and 4 Day Tactical Shotgun). I've
signed up for 4 Day Defensive Handgun again, but this time I'm going to
use a revolver. The "K Comp" shown just above these words was
made several years ago by the Smith and Wesson Performance Center.
I saw one at the NRA Annual
Convention in Nashville, Tennessee and have wanted to try one since
then.
Take a close look at the picture. Just in front of the
front
sight is a single port compensator. A compensator is nothing more
than a hole in the barrel that allows gas to escape above the gun.
This
keeps the muzzle down and reduces recoil a little bit. It also
creates
a big flash in low light situations. The back-up revolver for
Front
Sight is the Model 64 with the Hogue Bantam grips. Both guns will
be used with .38 Special ammunition.
Revolvers are different from Glocks, so even though I've been through all of the class exercises before, the grip, trigger control, and sight picture will be different. Reloading will be very different, because the revolvers use speed loaders (see the movie "Magnum Force" for a great shooting match scene where Clint Eastwood and his fellow actors use speedloaders).
May 17, 2003 Dateline Pahrump, Nevada....
The second day of the four day defensive handgun class is over. At this point the students are able to present and fire their pistols at distances up to 15 yards with some degree of accuracy and speed. Many of the students in the class are taking this training for the second time. In my case, this is the third time around for the "4 Day Defensive Handgun Course," and, as noted above, the first time with a revolver. It's one thing to write about planning to do this, and another to report on the actual events. Thanks to some very bad communication with Blade-Tech (they sent a holster for the Model 64/65 instead of the Model 19...), I had to use the Model 64 the first day of the class. In a stroke of luck, the Front Sight Pro Shop had a Blade Tech holster for the Model 19 with a 4" inch barrel. Not a problem. The holster is just too long, but that doesn't matter a bit. The holster might be used for a full size Model 19 some day, or a Model 66 (same thing in stainless steel). I managed to get through the basics on the first day of class with the Model 64, and switched to the "L Comp" the morning of the second day. I'll bet the class would have been just as much fun with the Model 64, but I guarantee there has not been one single dull moment with the "L Comp." The secret to success to far has been the Jet-Loader speedloaders from Austria. Every one of the five that I brought has been thrown onto the gravel at the range many times without the slightest problem. The Jet-Loader is a great piece of gear.
Here's an example of how the revolver and the Jet-Loader can be superior to the typical semi-automatic pistol. There is a major malfunction that any auto pistol can encounter. It's called by various names, but the generic problem is that there is a round in the chamber, or an empty case, and there is another cartridge trying to occupy the same space. The gun stops working and the basic "tap, rack, flip" that clears other problems doesn't work here. With the Glock, for example, the way to fix this is - look, lock, strip [the magazine], rack, rack, rack, insert [a new magazine], rack, and come back up on the target and decide if another shot is necessary." This takes awhile. With the revolver, if you get two clicks in a row, you dump the empties from the cylinder, take out a Jet-Loader and put six new cartridges in the cylinders, close the cylinder, and point in. The revolver is back in business faster than the auto pistols.
This begs the question, if the worst thing that can happen to a pistol with good ammunition is this major problem, and the worst thing that can happen to a revolver with good ammunition is 1) a misfire, or 2) having fired all the rounds in the cylinder, then the revolver is going to be out of the worst case situation much faster than a pistol. How profound is this? More than just a little bit profound if you ask me.
It is always easier to take a training course with a lighter caliber pistol or revolver so you can learn the basics without being beaten up with 10 mm or .357 Magnum loads in practice. With this in mind, I've used .38 Special ammunition in both the Model 64 (which is all you can use in a Model 64) and the "L Comp." The compensator (hole in the barrel that lets gas escape upward to reduce muzzle flip and recoil) on the "L Comp" works even with .38 Specials, so what sounds like a "double tap" with a pistol is in fact two aimed shots with the revolver.
A good question at this point would be, "is this fun or what?" The answer, "you bet."
It's May 21, and this year's annual 4 Day Defensive Handgun Course is history. Bottom Line? Revolvers, yes!
Take a quick look up the page and note there are rubber Hogue Bantam grips on the Model 64 (the picture I took, not the picture from the S&W Web site at the very top of this page). Imagine these on the K Comp revolver. That's the setup I wound up using for the final three days of the class. The right Blade-Tech holster did not show up in time for the class, so I used the Model 64 the first day, then on Saturday I found a Model 19 holster that worked with the Performance Center revolver. When I got back from Front Sight, the correct holster had arrived from Blade-Tech. It was a minor screw-up. I still like Blade-Tech.
There are more comments on the Front Sight course here.
Once the equipment problems were sorted out, I wound up carrying an interesting collection of gear: the revolver, of course, four Jet-Loaders in Velcro type pouches, and one Jet-Loader in an open top speedloader holder. In addition to the speedloaders, I had several Bianchi "Speed Strips" here and there to top off two or three rounds. Whenever I fired four shots, or whenever I was in doubt about how many rounds had been fired, I always dumped whatever was in the cylinder and filled it up again. That worked out pretty well.
Kydex holster are tough on the finish of a gun in a desert environment. Whatever dust is there will wind up on the surface of the Kydex, and that's an abrasive to the gun. The good thing about Blade-Tech revolver holster is that you can loosen the adjustment screws and get very close to the feel of a Kramer leather holster. All revolvers, in my opinion, should be carried in Kramer holsters. Blade-Tech is fine. Kramer is as great. I know there are others who make revolver holsters, but between Blade-Tech and Kramer I've never had a problem.
Revolver are more difficult to shoot well than Glocks. The long, heavy double action trigger pull is a challenge and must be done right every single time. This point cannot be emphasized enough.
There was a time when I came a bit too close to parting with the Model 610 10 mm (and .40 S&W) revolver, and I'm glad I didn't. After learning to shoot the revolvers at Front Sight, I'm better trained and might even be able to shoot the 610 in competition some day.
More Revolver Stuff....
Smith & Wesson Model 696 .44 Special
The ultimate "retro" revolver has to be a .44 Special. Smith & Wesson made a model 624 and I had one, but it was an "N" frame 6 shot gun and that's a bit large to carry - even with a 3" barrel. A couple of years ago S&W came out with the Model 696, which uses an "L" frame and a cylinder that holds 5 rounds. The 3" barrel makes it easier to conceal. Here's something to think about. Most people are well off with a 5 shot .38 Special with the right ammunition (something in +P with an expanding bullet). With the Model 696 you get the same number of shots, but the bullets are bigger. The .44 Special was loaded to some interesting velocities as a precursor to the .44 Magnum, so it is possible to get a higher velocity load in .44 Special that does not stress the shooter or the gun. Too much recoil and it takes longer to get the front sight back on target. Too little recoil and the bullet does not work as well.
The Model 696 has adjustable sights. There are pros and cons for adjustable sights, but with a cartridge that can have so many different loadings, from "cowboy" loads to some hot loads, the adjustable sights are handy.
Here's the real reason for getting the Model 696. This Web site is now being written in Idaho. Elmer Keith is from Idaho. Elmer Keith made the .44 Special famous. Living in Idaho and not having a .44 Special revolver just wouldn't be right.
Will the 696 be used for IPSC? No. There are no speedloaders for the 696. Will the 696 be used for IDPA? No. There are no speedloaders for the 696. Will the 696 be used for protection against large Idaho based animals? No. That's what the Glock 20 (primary back-up) and Glock 29 (secondary back-up). Back-up to what? A SHOTGUN, of course. When will the 696 be used? Answer: when it's time to have some fun! It's a .44 Special which means it has a big bullet going downrange and knocking things over, but doesn't have a lot of recoil.
On the other hand, there will be a few boxes of CorBon and Speer Gold Dot .44 Special ammunition around just in case.
Tomorrow (June 14) is the day for a regular IPSC match in near Idaho Falls. I'm going to take the very reliable S&W Model 64, a few boxes of American Eagle .38 Special ammunition, and this time I'm going to try to fix my "speedloader problem." At Front Sight and at a subsequent IPSC match in Virginia, I dropped a couple of speedloaders before I had a chance to use them. I didn't run out of ammunition, but didn't like having to pick up good ammunition from the ground after the stage was completed. So, this evening I may have invented something to solve the problem. Here are a couple of pictures...
Revolvers are different from Glocks, so even though I've been through all of the class exercises before, the grip, trigger control, and sight picture will be different. Reloading will be very different, because the revolvers use speed loaders (see the movie "Magnum Force" for a great shooting match scene where Clint Eastwood and his fellow actors use speedloaders).
May 17, 2003 Dateline Pahrump, Nevada....
The second day of the four day defensive handgun class is over. At this point the students are able to present and fire their pistols at distances up to 15 yards with some degree of accuracy and speed. Many of the students in the class are taking this training for the second time. In my case, this is the third time around for the "4 Day Defensive Handgun Course," and, as noted above, the first time with a revolver. It's one thing to write about planning to do this, and another to report on the actual events. Thanks to some very bad communication with Blade-Tech (they sent a holster for the Model 64/65 instead of the Model 19...), I had to use the Model 64 the first day of the class. In a stroke of luck, the Front Sight Pro Shop had a Blade Tech holster for the Model 19 with a 4" inch barrel. Not a problem. The holster is just too long, but that doesn't matter a bit. The holster might be used for a full size Model 19 some day, or a Model 66 (same thing in stainless steel). I managed to get through the basics on the first day of class with the Model 64, and switched to the "L Comp" the morning of the second day. I'll bet the class would have been just as much fun with the Model 64, but I guarantee there has not been one single dull moment with the "L Comp." The secret to success to far has been the Jet-Loader speedloaders from Austria. Every one of the five that I brought has been thrown onto the gravel at the range many times without the slightest problem. The Jet-Loader is a great piece of gear.
Here's an example of how the revolver and the Jet-Loader can be superior to the typical semi-automatic pistol. There is a major malfunction that any auto pistol can encounter. It's called by various names, but the generic problem is that there is a round in the chamber, or an empty case, and there is another cartridge trying to occupy the same space. The gun stops working and the basic "tap, rack, flip" that clears other problems doesn't work here. With the Glock, for example, the way to fix this is - look, lock, strip [the magazine], rack, rack, rack, insert [a new magazine], rack, and come back up on the target and decide if another shot is necessary." This takes awhile. With the revolver, if you get two clicks in a row, you dump the empties from the cylinder, take out a Jet-Loader and put six new cartridges in the cylinders, close the cylinder, and point in. The revolver is back in business faster than the auto pistols.
This begs the question, if the worst thing that can happen to a pistol with good ammunition is this major problem, and the worst thing that can happen to a revolver with good ammunition is 1) a misfire, or 2) having fired all the rounds in the cylinder, then the revolver is going to be out of the worst case situation much faster than a pistol. How profound is this? More than just a little bit profound if you ask me.
It is always easier to take a training course with a lighter caliber pistol or revolver so you can learn the basics without being beaten up with 10 mm or .357 Magnum loads in practice. With this in mind, I've used .38 Special ammunition in both the Model 64 (which is all you can use in a Model 64) and the "L Comp." The compensator (hole in the barrel that lets gas escape upward to reduce muzzle flip and recoil) on the "L Comp" works even with .38 Specials, so what sounds like a "double tap" with a pistol is in fact two aimed shots with the revolver.
A good question at this point would be, "is this fun or what?" The answer, "you bet."
It's May 21, and this year's annual 4 Day Defensive Handgun Course is history. Bottom Line? Revolvers, yes!
Take a quick look up the page and note there are rubber Hogue Bantam grips on the Model 64 (the picture I took, not the picture from the S&W Web site at the very top of this page). Imagine these on the K Comp revolver. That's the setup I wound up using for the final three days of the class. The right Blade-Tech holster did not show up in time for the class, so I used the Model 64 the first day, then on Saturday I found a Model 19 holster that worked with the Performance Center revolver. When I got back from Front Sight, the correct holster had arrived from Blade-Tech. It was a minor screw-up. I still like Blade-Tech.
There are more comments on the Front Sight course here.
Once the equipment problems were sorted out, I wound up carrying an interesting collection of gear: the revolver, of course, four Jet-Loaders in Velcro type pouches, and one Jet-Loader in an open top speedloader holder. In addition to the speedloaders, I had several Bianchi "Speed Strips" here and there to top off two or three rounds. Whenever I fired four shots, or whenever I was in doubt about how many rounds had been fired, I always dumped whatever was in the cylinder and filled it up again. That worked out pretty well.
Kydex holster are tough on the finish of a gun in a desert environment. Whatever dust is there will wind up on the surface of the Kydex, and that's an abrasive to the gun. The good thing about Blade-Tech revolver holster is that you can loosen the adjustment screws and get very close to the feel of a Kramer leather holster. All revolvers, in my opinion, should be carried in Kramer holsters. Blade-Tech is fine. Kramer is as great. I know there are others who make revolver holsters, but between Blade-Tech and Kramer I've never had a problem.
Revolver are more difficult to shoot well than Glocks. The long, heavy double action trigger pull is a challenge and must be done right every single time. This point cannot be emphasized enough.
There was a time when I came a bit too close to parting with the Model 610 10 mm (and .40 S&W) revolver, and I'm glad I didn't. After learning to shoot the revolvers at Front Sight, I'm better trained and might even be able to shoot the 610 in competition some day.
More Revolver Stuff....
Smith & Wesson Model 696 .44 Special
Smith & Wesson Model 64 .38 Special
The ultimate "retro" revolver has to be a .44 Special. Smith & Wesson made a model 624 and I had one, but it was an "N" frame 6 shot gun and that's a bit large to carry - even with a 3" barrel. A couple of years ago S&W came out with the Model 696, which uses an "L" frame and a cylinder that holds 5 rounds. The 3" barrel makes it easier to conceal. Here's something to think about. Most people are well off with a 5 shot .38 Special with the right ammunition (something in +P with an expanding bullet). With the Model 696 you get the same number of shots, but the bullets are bigger. The .44 Special was loaded to some interesting velocities as a precursor to the .44 Magnum, so it is possible to get a higher velocity load in .44 Special that does not stress the shooter or the gun. Too much recoil and it takes longer to get the front sight back on target. Too little recoil and the bullet does not work as well.
The Model 696 has adjustable sights. There are pros and cons for adjustable sights, but with a cartridge that can have so many different loadings, from "cowboy" loads to some hot loads, the adjustable sights are handy.
Here's the real reason for getting the Model 696. This Web site is now being written in Idaho. Elmer Keith is from Idaho. Elmer Keith made the .44 Special famous. Living in Idaho and not having a .44 Special revolver just wouldn't be right.
Will the 696 be used for IPSC? No. There are no speedloaders for the 696. Will the 696 be used for IDPA? No. There are no speedloaders for the 696. Will the 696 be used for protection against large Idaho based animals? No. That's what the Glock 20 (primary back-up) and Glock 29 (secondary back-up). Back-up to what? A SHOTGUN, of course. When will the 696 be used? Answer: when it's time to have some fun! It's a .44 Special which means it has a big bullet going downrange and knocking things over, but doesn't have a lot of recoil.
On the other hand, there will be a few boxes of CorBon and Speer Gold Dot .44 Special ammunition around just in case.
Tomorrow (June 14) is the day for a regular IPSC match in near Idaho Falls. I'm going to take the very reliable S&W Model 64, a few boxes of American Eagle .38 Special ammunition, and this time I'm going to try to fix my "speedloader problem." At Front Sight and at a subsequent IPSC match in Virginia, I dropped a couple of speedloaders before I had a chance to use them. I didn't run out of ammunition, but didn't like having to pick up good ammunition from the ground after the stage was completed. So, this evening I may have invented something to solve the problem. Here are a couple of pictures...
The basic Uncle Mike's six cartridge holder, designed
for people who want to reload one round at a time when there's no hurry
at all, and the JetLoader, designed for people who want to reload
revolvers as fast as possible without using moon clips, may be the
solution when paired up as
shown. Tomorrow's match will tell the story. All I did was
to
put two of the cartridges in the speedloader into two loops in the belt
holder.
The fit is snug, and the belt holder should work on the belt or
on
a pair of suspenders.
The new invention worked! I have no idea what my scores were on the 6 different match stages (4 USPSA classifiers and 2 field courses), but the speedloader holder worked fine. I wound up putting the buckle of the "instructor belt," one of those cool looking belts we wear to shooting maches and nowhere else, on my left side about even with the top of the front pocket. This allowed me to put two of the Uncle Mike's cartridge holders "front and center." Each of these holder held two speedloaders. Since I load the revolver with an HKS speedloader before the stage begins, I always had 24 rounds ready to reload once the stage got started. I had a couple of problems with the actual reloading, but that was nothing more than a skills problem on my part. The speedloader holders kept the speedloaders right where they should be, even during the "field courses" which involve moment between shooting positions.
We were having too much fun to take pictures, but one of the stages deserves a few comments. One of the targets was about 35 meters away from the shooter. This is Long Range for pistols as far as I'm concerned. This is "in range" for shotgun slugs, because if your threat is at 35 meters and you've run out of places to run and hide, a shotgun slug works very well at 35-75 meters and beyond. Regardless of the logic involved, the stage called for us to shoot at the distant target 12 times. All 12 of my shots hit the target. The hits were not all "A zone" hits, but all would have had some effect in a real world situation. At 35 meters you want to use the bad person as a berm or backstop to ensure stray rounds don't hit good people who are out shopping and have no interest in your problems.
The S&W was flawless all day. This is a great gun. As the typical reader of this Web might must have realized by now, the search for the ideal handgun appears to be never ending. Glocks, by virtue of their elegance of design and reliability, are always going to be near the top of the list, but the term "Glock Perfection" is a semi-oyxmoron; they're not perfect, just almost compared to everything else out there except maybe, just maybe new production, or Performance Center S&W revolvers!
Italics should be used with caution. In this case, the need for emphasis was so great that there was no choice. Granted, you do have to suspend diebelief a lot to imagine a situation in which a 6 shot .38 Special revolver would be the equivalent of a Glock 20 loaded for bear, but a certain amount of nostalgia is allowed to creep into every hobby. Revolvers, compared to Glocks, are harder to shoot, and require all sorts of different techniques for key skills like trigger reset. With a Glock, any Glock, I would have gotten better hits at 35 meters. The revolver is just more of a challenge, so it's also more fun - for those who equate "challenge" and "fun."
Fresno, California. Upscale at last.
St. Anthony's, Idaho. No place for Spring Break.
...and now back to the regular topic.
Friday at the Idaho Falls Silhouette Range.
A busy schedule has led to a backlog in testing several new
guns. This past Friday (September 5, 2003), I was able to get to
the Silhouette range west of Idaho Falls and check out two "new"
(unfired until then) guns. One is an FN FAL .308 rifle and the
other is a Smith and Wesson Model 696, a 5 shot .44 Special
revolver. The S&W revolver worked great. The FN FAL
needs to be adjusted for the ammunition used in it, by adjusting a gas
tube. More research is needed, but that's the fun of having
something new and different.
The new revolver worked great. I had three different types of ammunition available, Speer Gold Dot, Speer Blazer (same 200 grain Gold Dot bullets in each, and CorBon 165 grain .44 specials that appeared to have Hornady bullets. The Gold Dots, from either the regular or Blazer cases, were very accurate. the CorBons impacted a little lower, but that's understandable with the lighter bullets.
After having a lot of fun with the S&W .44 Special revolver, I went out the following day with a Model 686 from the Performance Center. S&W's Performance Center is a special activity that provides hand fitted guns to customers who are willing to pay a little, and sometimes a lot, extra to get a revolver or pistol that is superior in quality. This particular 686 is called an "L Comp." The revolver has a single port compensator on the barrel, and a single tritium front sight. The 686 was made to be sold by Lew Horton, a firearms distributor, so the serial number starts with "LH." The original Model 10 Military and Police model .38 Special revolver evolved into the Model 15 (Combat Masterpiece - with adjustable sights) and then the Model 19 (Combat Magnum in .357 Magnum caliber). When the Model 19, and it's stainless steel counterpart the Model 66, were fired with a lot of .357 Magnum ammunition, there was a lot of wear on the guns. Smith and Wesson fixed that problem by going to the stronger "L" frame design. My other PC revolver is a Model 19 so it uses .38 Special +P ammunition most of the time. The new "L Comp" can, and does, shoot .357 Magnum ammunition all day long.
One of the legitimate concerns about a revolver that has a single port compensator, or any pistol with a compensator for that matter, is that the flash from the muzzle and from the compensator will blind the shooter at night. I used to believe that, until I had a chance to use the Model 19 "K Comp" at a defensive handgun course at Front Sight. The muzzle flash is there, but it goes away, and if you have a tritium dot front sight, you see the sight very soon after the shot if fired. Picking the right ammunition can lower the muzzle flash even more.
S&W Performance Center "K Comp" (Model 19) with JPoint Electronic Sight
The new invention worked! I have no idea what my scores were on the 6 different match stages (4 USPSA classifiers and 2 field courses), but the speedloader holder worked fine. I wound up putting the buckle of the "instructor belt," one of those cool looking belts we wear to shooting maches and nowhere else, on my left side about even with the top of the front pocket. This allowed me to put two of the Uncle Mike's cartridge holders "front and center." Each of these holder held two speedloaders. Since I load the revolver with an HKS speedloader before the stage begins, I always had 24 rounds ready to reload once the stage got started. I had a couple of problems with the actual reloading, but that was nothing more than a skills problem on my part. The speedloader holders kept the speedloaders right where they should be, even during the "field courses" which involve moment between shooting positions.
We were having too much fun to take pictures, but one of the stages deserves a few comments. One of the targets was about 35 meters away from the shooter. This is Long Range for pistols as far as I'm concerned. This is "in range" for shotgun slugs, because if your threat is at 35 meters and you've run out of places to run and hide, a shotgun slug works very well at 35-75 meters and beyond. Regardless of the logic involved, the stage called for us to shoot at the distant target 12 times. All 12 of my shots hit the target. The hits were not all "A zone" hits, but all would have had some effect in a real world situation. At 35 meters you want to use the bad person as a berm or backstop to ensure stray rounds don't hit good people who are out shopping and have no interest in your problems.
The S&W was flawless all day. This is a great gun. As the typical reader of this Web might must have realized by now, the search for the ideal handgun appears to be never ending. Glocks, by virtue of their elegance of design and reliability, are always going to be near the top of the list, but the term "Glock Perfection" is a semi-oyxmoron; they're not perfect, just almost compared to everything else out there except maybe, just maybe new production, or Performance Center S&W revolvers!
Italics should be used with caution. In this case, the need for emphasis was so great that there was no choice. Granted, you do have to suspend diebelief a lot to imagine a situation in which a 6 shot .38 Special revolver would be the equivalent of a Glock 20 loaded for bear, but a certain amount of nostalgia is allowed to creep into every hobby. Revolvers, compared to Glocks, are harder to shoot, and require all sorts of different techniques for key skills like trigger reset. With a Glock, any Glock, I would have gotten better hits at 35 meters. The revolver is just more of a challenge, so it's also more fun - for those who equate "challenge" and "fun."
Random
Images
Fresno, California. Upscale at last.
St. Anthony's, Idaho. No place for Spring Break.
...and now back to the regular topic.
Friday at the Idaho Falls Silhouette Range.
A busy schedule has led to a backlog in testing several new
guns. This past Friday (September 5, 2003), I was able to get to
the Silhouette range west of Idaho Falls and check out two "new"
(unfired until then) guns. One is an FN FAL .308 rifle and the
other is a Smith and Wesson Model 696, a 5 shot .44 Special
revolver. The S&W revolver worked great. The FN FAL
needs to be adjusted for the ammunition used in it, by adjusting a gas
tube. More research is needed, but that's the fun of having
something new and different.The new revolver worked great. I had three different types of ammunition available, Speer Gold Dot, Speer Blazer (same 200 grain Gold Dot bullets in each, and CorBon 165 grain .44 specials that appeared to have Hornady bullets. The Gold Dots, from either the regular or Blazer cases, were very accurate. the CorBons impacted a little lower, but that's understandable with the lighter bullets.
After having a lot of fun with the S&W .44 Special revolver, I went out the following day with a Model 686 from the Performance Center. S&W's Performance Center is a special activity that provides hand fitted guns to customers who are willing to pay a little, and sometimes a lot, extra to get a revolver or pistol that is superior in quality. This particular 686 is called an "L Comp." The revolver has a single port compensator on the barrel, and a single tritium front sight. The 686 was made to be sold by Lew Horton, a firearms distributor, so the serial number starts with "LH." The original Model 10 Military and Police model .38 Special revolver evolved into the Model 15 (Combat Masterpiece - with adjustable sights) and then the Model 19 (Combat Magnum in .357 Magnum caliber). When the Model 19, and it's stainless steel counterpart the Model 66, were fired with a lot of .357 Magnum ammunition, there was a lot of wear on the guns. Smith and Wesson fixed that problem by going to the stronger "L" frame design. My other PC revolver is a Model 19 so it uses .38 Special +P ammunition most of the time. The new "L Comp" can, and does, shoot .357 Magnum ammunition all day long.
One of the legitimate concerns about a revolver that has a single port compensator, or any pistol with a compensator for that matter, is that the flash from the muzzle and from the compensator will blind the shooter at night. I used to believe that, until I had a chance to use the Model 19 "K Comp" at a defensive handgun course at Front Sight. The muzzle flash is there, but it goes away, and if you have a tritium dot front sight, you see the sight very soon after the shot if fired. Picking the right ammunition can lower the muzzle flash even more.
Did Somebody Say "K Comp?"
S&W Performance Center "K Comp" (Model 19) with JPoint Electronic Sight
The SouthEastern Idaho Practical
Shooters (www.seips.org) held a regular IPSC match on Saturday
September 13, 2003. This was the perfect opportunity to try out
the old reliable K Comp revolver with the new JPoint dot sight.
The revolver was photographed next to the very fancy Apple keyboard
used with the iBook laptop. Notice the rear sight is set back
from the muzzle. This leaves room for the single port
compensator. The JPoint sight is mounted in place of the standard
adjustable sight. The sight is shown with the protective cover
removed. There is no "on-off" switch on the sight. The
single battery lasts for many months. Since the sight adjusts for
ambient light, the protective cover makes the circuit think the sight
is in a dark room and the sight darkens. This extends battery
life.
I had never fired the revolver in competition before, and never before with the JPoint sight. I don't look for hits on targets as many competitors do. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, I'm only competing with the best I can do. Other, younger, smarter people always get better scores. I just want to fire accurate shots as soon as I can. The second reason is that in the real world you don't see where bullets impact. You learn to trust your front sight, knowing, as experts know, that the bullet will go where the front sight was at the moment the gun fires. If the sights are aligned and on target, and you control the trigger, the bullet will hit where it should. Since I'm old, I have to use special glasses to focus on the front sight. With the JPoint sight, I could wear my regular sun glasses and not have to tilt my head to see through the mid-distance lense located at the top of my shooting glasses. Even with all of this in mind, I hoped I would do well with the red dot on the JPoint. I was astounded with the results. As soon as I did take a look at the targets, the hits were all in the "A" zone. This is important for a variety of reasons. As long as you hit the "A" zone, you get the same score as someone shooting a major (as in .45 ACP) caliber, so "A" hits are very useful when the score it totaled. It was also a good indication that the sights work as advertised. Of course, the rest of the world discovered this awhile back, but I was busy doing other things while the rest of the world was lookng through dot sights.
As long as I took good care to control the trigger, the dot sights were very effective all day. In fact, the numerous two shot "A" zone groups, were very tight - a standard indication that the shooter can speed up and trade some of that accuracy for a better time.
Now it's NOVEMBER! Good grief. I've neglected to keep up with this Web page. If you've been reading the "Latest" links from the home page, you haven't missed anything...except another trip to Front Sight. The Front Sight visit was so routine that I didn't take a lot of pictures, but may post a few pictures later when I get a chance. I went back through the 4 Day Defensive Handgun class. I thought it would be interesting to take the class with the Springfield XD-40, and I used that pistol for the first day and a half, then switched to the Glock 19. Like a Golfer with a favorite club, I tend to go back to the Glock pistols when it's time to get the shots off quick. The trigger reset on the Springfield XD-40 is ok for the average shooter. It is not ok for someone who wants to put a lot of pistol rounds downrange in a short time. In the recent IPSC "Factory Gun" National Championship, a stock Glock was a winner against Springfield, and the guy shooting the Springfield was one of the best shooters in the world.
Although I've gotten several new revolvers, and one nice semi-automatic pistol in recent weeks, there just hasn't been time to give those a good try out. The new ones include a Smith and Wesson "L Comp" 686 (7 shot .357 Magnum), a somewhat rare Ruger stainless .41 Magnum Bisley (based on the Blackhawk frame that has adjustable sights), and one of the new Walther PPK-S/1 .380 pistols. The Walther came out of the box with the heaviest trigger I've ever encountered. This is a common problem with the PPK design and the only known (to me) way to fix this is to send the gun to Cylinder and Slide in Nebraska for some serious gunsmithing. I did that and the resulting PPK is great, not only because of the improved trigger, but also because the S-1 design has cured the problem of the slide cutting into larger hands. There is an increased beavertail, and some of the sharp edges have been smoothed.
So why a PPK? The .380 is weak. The PPK design is ancient. James Bond is now using a P-99. The Kahr T-9 packs a lot more power in an equivalent package (with a T-40 entering the retail arena Real Soon). So, why a PPK? Because this is a very cool looking gun. That's enough reason right now. It's also a very accurate and reliable pistol, a great back-up to other calibers. There are more than a few police officers, and others, carrying the PPK as a back-up pistol.
The "L Comp" may be the ultimate "carry" revolver, although it is a bit heavy. It it wasn't a bit heavy, the recoil from a .357 Magnum cartridge might be annoying. Since this is a Performance Center gun, the trigger, sights, general workmanship (including a non-fluted cylinder) are top notch. Blade-Tech came through with a nice holster, and there are plenty of 7 round HKS speedloaders available. This year the Performance Center is making a 586 (blued) version of the "L Comp." I prefer the stainless model for carrying around in the western mountains.
The new Ruger .41 Magnum Bisley is another good "mountain gun." I know S&W likes to use the term "mountain gun" for limited production models in the heavier calibers, but in Idaho the term "mountain gun" just describes where you may be carrying a revolver. I'm looking forward to trying the .41 with various hunting loads, not to go hunting, but to pick an accurate heavy bullet round to have along just in case.
I almost forgot to mention yet another revolver, this one obtained in a trade for an auto pistol I no longer needed. I got a Taurus 7 shot .357 Magnum, the "Tracker" model with a 4 inch compensated barrel. This is not a fancy revolver, but if it proves to be reliable, it may become a "throw it in the pick-up and clean it every six months" kind of gun, nothing fancy, but something that can be counted on to work.
Playing catch-up with the Web site material on November 15, 2003.
Here are some pictures...
Beretta Cx4 Storm 9 mm Carbine, Plain and with Accessories
I had never fired the revolver in competition before, and never before with the JPoint sight. I don't look for hits on targets as many competitors do. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, I'm only competing with the best I can do. Other, younger, smarter people always get better scores. I just want to fire accurate shots as soon as I can. The second reason is that in the real world you don't see where bullets impact. You learn to trust your front sight, knowing, as experts know, that the bullet will go where the front sight was at the moment the gun fires. If the sights are aligned and on target, and you control the trigger, the bullet will hit where it should. Since I'm old, I have to use special glasses to focus on the front sight. With the JPoint sight, I could wear my regular sun glasses and not have to tilt my head to see through the mid-distance lense located at the top of my shooting glasses. Even with all of this in mind, I hoped I would do well with the red dot on the JPoint. I was astounded with the results. As soon as I did take a look at the targets, the hits were all in the "A" zone. This is important for a variety of reasons. As long as you hit the "A" zone, you get the same score as someone shooting a major (as in .45 ACP) caliber, so "A" hits are very useful when the score it totaled. It was also a good indication that the sights work as advertised. Of course, the rest of the world discovered this awhile back, but I was busy doing other things while the rest of the world was lookng through dot sights.
As long as I took good care to control the trigger, the dot sights were very effective all day. In fact, the numerous two shot "A" zone groups, were very tight - a standard indication that the shooter can speed up and trade some of that accuracy for a better time.
Now it's NOVEMBER! Good grief. I've neglected to keep up with this Web page. If you've been reading the "Latest" links from the home page, you haven't missed anything...except another trip to Front Sight. The Front Sight visit was so routine that I didn't take a lot of pictures, but may post a few pictures later when I get a chance. I went back through the 4 Day Defensive Handgun class. I thought it would be interesting to take the class with the Springfield XD-40, and I used that pistol for the first day and a half, then switched to the Glock 19. Like a Golfer with a favorite club, I tend to go back to the Glock pistols when it's time to get the shots off quick. The trigger reset on the Springfield XD-40 is ok for the average shooter. It is not ok for someone who wants to put a lot of pistol rounds downrange in a short time. In the recent IPSC "Factory Gun" National Championship, a stock Glock was a winner against Springfield, and the guy shooting the Springfield was one of the best shooters in the world.
Although I've gotten several new revolvers, and one nice semi-automatic pistol in recent weeks, there just hasn't been time to give those a good try out. The new ones include a Smith and Wesson "L Comp" 686 (7 shot .357 Magnum), a somewhat rare Ruger stainless .41 Magnum Bisley (based on the Blackhawk frame that has adjustable sights), and one of the new Walther PPK-S/1 .380 pistols. The Walther came out of the box with the heaviest trigger I've ever encountered. This is a common problem with the PPK design and the only known (to me) way to fix this is to send the gun to Cylinder and Slide in Nebraska for some serious gunsmithing. I did that and the resulting PPK is great, not only because of the improved trigger, but also because the S-1 design has cured the problem of the slide cutting into larger hands. There is an increased beavertail, and some of the sharp edges have been smoothed.
So why a PPK? The .380 is weak. The PPK design is ancient. James Bond is now using a P-99. The Kahr T-9 packs a lot more power in an equivalent package (with a T-40 entering the retail arena Real Soon). So, why a PPK? Because this is a very cool looking gun. That's enough reason right now. It's also a very accurate and reliable pistol, a great back-up to other calibers. There are more than a few police officers, and others, carrying the PPK as a back-up pistol.
The "L Comp" may be the ultimate "carry" revolver, although it is a bit heavy. It it wasn't a bit heavy, the recoil from a .357 Magnum cartridge might be annoying. Since this is a Performance Center gun, the trigger, sights, general workmanship (including a non-fluted cylinder) are top notch. Blade-Tech came through with a nice holster, and there are plenty of 7 round HKS speedloaders available. This year the Performance Center is making a 586 (blued) version of the "L Comp." I prefer the stainless model for carrying around in the western mountains.
The new Ruger .41 Magnum Bisley is another good "mountain gun." I know S&W likes to use the term "mountain gun" for limited production models in the heavier calibers, but in Idaho the term "mountain gun" just describes where you may be carrying a revolver. I'm looking forward to trying the .41 with various hunting loads, not to go hunting, but to pick an accurate heavy bullet round to have along just in case.
I almost forgot to mention yet another revolver, this one obtained in a trade for an auto pistol I no longer needed. I got a Taurus 7 shot .357 Magnum, the "Tracker" model with a 4 inch compensated barrel. This is not a fancy revolver, but if it proves to be reliable, it may become a "throw it in the pick-up and clean it every six months" kind of gun, nothing fancy, but something that can be counted on to work.
Playing catch-up with the Web site material on November 15, 2003.
Here are some pictures...
Notice the differences between the
rifles shown above. The top picture shows a Bushmaster rifle with
a 20" match barrel. I took this rifle to the class at Front Sight
in Pahrump, Nevada for the 4 Day Practical Rifle class. It is an
accurate rifle, but the accuracy comes at a price: weight.
In a practical rifle course, you carry the rifle around a lot, and have
to snap it from one of three ready positions: high ready -with
"eyes, muzzle, target" all lined up; field ready - a more relaxed carry
with the rifle held lower; and ready - a more "formal" ready position
used for searching an area. After two and a half days of the
class, I asked one of the instructors to function check and approve my
back-up rifle for use in the course. At Front Sight, they check
all guns used in training. You can never be too safe. The
shorter, lighter Bushmaster 16" carbine was used for the rest of the
course with a basic sling, not a "tactical sling." With this
arrangement, I was back to the "sling muzzle down" support side carry I
used with the shotgun, a very comfortable way to carry a rifle, but
still be able to bring it into action in a short time.
And now for something different...
And now for something different...
Beretta Cx4 Storm 9 mm Carbine, Plain and with Accessories
When I saw the Cx4 at the SHOT Show last
February (and that seems like a long time ago...), I wasn't too
impressed. On the other hand, I didn't have a chance to handle
the rifle. When I saw one at the local Sportsman's Warehouse a
day after returning, and recovering, from the Front Sight Practical
Rifle class, I tried some of the "moves" I had learned - presenting the
rifle from the ready positons, for example. I checked out the
controls on the "Storm" to see if they would facilitate malfunction
clearances, and they do. So, on impulse, I got the Beretta Cx4
Storm carbine.
This morning (it's still November 15, 2003 here), I had a chance to fire the carbine at the Unified Sportsmen's range near Rexburg, Idaho. To my left were the 1,000 yard shooters with their ultra precision and very heavy rifles. To my right, off in the distance, were cowboy action shooters hitting metal plates at shorter ranges. I fired the Storm at about 30 yards and hit a notebook paper size target each time. No sight adjustments were needed. Next weekend, I'm hoping to use the Beretta in an IPSC match instead of a pistol (if the match director says it's all right). The Storm carbine uses regular Beretta 92 magazines, and that means there are decent 15 round magazines availble for the carbine for a reasonable price.
So, the Beretta Cx4 Storm is yet another experiment with 9 mm sub-rifles. Note - if a sub-machine gun fires a pistol caliber and a machine gun fires a rifle caliber, I guess all of these 9 mm carbines are sub-rifles. The Ruger PC9 was interesting, but big. The Kel-Tec folding rifle was interesting, but small. The Storm is just plain interesting. I may put an optical sight on it one of these days. For now, the "iron" sights are ok.
What's next? Well, there are rumors of a Smith and Wesson Model 646 .40 S&W revolver on the "L" frame being made for one of the distributors. The Model 610 (10 mm) revolver is a bit large for me. An "L" frame is perfect. A revolver that was the right size and used .40 S&W ammunition would be a great setup. Stay tuned.
This morning (it's still November 15, 2003 here), I had a chance to fire the carbine at the Unified Sportsmen's range near Rexburg, Idaho. To my left were the 1,000 yard shooters with their ultra precision and very heavy rifles. To my right, off in the distance, were cowboy action shooters hitting metal plates at shorter ranges. I fired the Storm at about 30 yards and hit a notebook paper size target each time. No sight adjustments were needed. Next weekend, I'm hoping to use the Beretta in an IPSC match instead of a pistol (if the match director says it's all right). The Storm carbine uses regular Beretta 92 magazines, and that means there are decent 15 round magazines availble for the carbine for a reasonable price.
So, the Beretta Cx4 Storm is yet another experiment with 9 mm sub-rifles. Note - if a sub-machine gun fires a pistol caliber and a machine gun fires a rifle caliber, I guess all of these 9 mm carbines are sub-rifles. The Ruger PC9 was interesting, but big. The Kel-Tec folding rifle was interesting, but small. The Storm is just plain interesting. I may put an optical sight on it one of these days. For now, the "iron" sights are ok.
What's next? Well, there are rumors of a Smith and Wesson Model 646 .40 S&W revolver on the "L" frame being made for one of the distributors. The Model 610 (10 mm) revolver is a bit large for me. An "L" frame is perfect. A revolver that was the right size and used .40 S&W ammunition would be a great setup. Stay tuned.
Well, it's here, and there's good news
and bad news. The good news is that the ergonomics, balance,
trigger, and just about everything else are great. The revolver
is light and points well. The bad news? It didn't
work. When I got the revolver, I looked at it from the side,
noting the very nice titanium cylinder, but also noting that when the
trigger was pressed to the rear, the firing pin didn't extend far from
the frame in the general direction of the primers. That may be
the problem, and it will be up to the S&W repair facility to set
this straight.
The revolver didn't require a new holster. It fits into the Blade-Tech holster designed for the S&W 7 shot L Comp. The longer barrel extends a bit below the bottom of the holster, but that's not a problem. The only problem with this revolver is that is...does...not...work. With guns, that's "bad."
It turns out there's more to the story, and the story isn't even finished yet. The misfires were with the S&W supplied moon clips and with Blazer ammunition. There's a Web site called www.moonclips.com, and I believe you can also get there by typing in www.tkcustom.com. This place sells moon clips, but also sells the Model 646 and some other revolvers that use moon clips. So, I sent some e-mail to Tom at TK Custom and asked if he knew anything about this. In his reply he said that S&W provides two different thicknesses of moon clips with the revolver (a surprise) and that Blazer is the worst ammunition to use in the 646 while Federal is the best. I had no idea there were different moon clips provided, and I was using Blazer at the match - because it's Cheap. Now the gun is back at S&W and we're all going to pay for shipping and this could have been prevented if there had been some "READ THIS FIRST" type documentation supplied with the revolver. Even Microsoft gives you a fair chance of understanding their software after you've paid a lot of money for it.
When the 646 gets back, I'll borrow a micrometer and see what kind of moon clips I have, separate those by thickness, and then go try some American Eagle (Federal) ammunition. Live and learn, and the best lessons aren't always free.
On a different topic...
This is not a revolver.
The revolver didn't require a new holster. It fits into the Blade-Tech holster designed for the S&W 7 shot L Comp. The longer barrel extends a bit below the bottom of the holster, but that's not a problem. The only problem with this revolver is that is...does...not...work. With guns, that's "bad."
It turns out there's more to the story, and the story isn't even finished yet. The misfires were with the S&W supplied moon clips and with Blazer ammunition. There's a Web site called www.moonclips.com, and I believe you can also get there by typing in www.tkcustom.com. This place sells moon clips, but also sells the Model 646 and some other revolvers that use moon clips. So, I sent some e-mail to Tom at TK Custom and asked if he knew anything about this. In his reply he said that S&W provides two different thicknesses of moon clips with the revolver (a surprise) and that Blazer is the worst ammunition to use in the 646 while Federal is the best. I had no idea there were different moon clips provided, and I was using Blazer at the match - because it's Cheap. Now the gun is back at S&W and we're all going to pay for shipping and this could have been prevented if there had been some "READ THIS FIRST" type documentation supplied with the revolver. Even Microsoft gives you a fair chance of understanding their software after you've paid a lot of money for it.
When the 646 gets back, I'll borrow a micrometer and see what kind of moon clips I have, separate those by thickness, and then go try some American Eagle (Federal) ammunition. Live and learn, and the best lessons aren't always free.
On a different topic...
This is not a revolver.
This past weekend I taught the first two
days of an NRA instructor class in Idaho Falls, the first one I'd
taught in awhile, and the first time I've taught an instructor class by
myself. I was a bit nervous because everybody in Idaho already
knows how to shoot guns, and I was concerned that some of the strict
rules imposed by the NRA, like never using the word "weapon" might
cause some communications problems. Just the oppposite; people in
Idaho respect firearms enough to want to learn the right ways to teach
firearms knowledge and skills to the next generation.
NRA basic classes cover about the same things: safety, how firearms work, how to handle firearms in a safe manner, how to shoot, clean and store guns, and then some information on follow-up activities like shooting sports. In the Home Firearm Safety class, the instructors learn to demonstrate handling and unloading a variety of guns (rifles, shotguns, and handguns). There is always a temptation to bring as many guns to the class as will fit in the car, but since the class is about teaching it's only necessary to bring a few examples. In this recent class, the S&W Model 64 revolver was a good exemplar, and so was the Glock 17 shown above. One of the students brought a Beretta 92 and that's another good one to show because it has a bunch of controls and indicators on the frame and slide.
Several classes at Front Sight have increased my appreciation for the engineering that went into the Glock design, and have increased my respect for the Glock's simplicity and reliability. This is also true in training situations. When someone asked about a tactical reload, all I had to do was take out the pistol, reach for a spare magazine, and make the exchange as I had done hundreds of times. The old joke about "would you like to see that in slow motion" came to mind.
And now for something different.
NRA basic classes cover about the same things: safety, how firearms work, how to handle firearms in a safe manner, how to shoot, clean and store guns, and then some information on follow-up activities like shooting sports. In the Home Firearm Safety class, the instructors learn to demonstrate handling and unloading a variety of guns (rifles, shotguns, and handguns). There is always a temptation to bring as many guns to the class as will fit in the car, but since the class is about teaching it's only necessary to bring a few examples. In this recent class, the S&W Model 64 revolver was a good exemplar, and so was the Glock 17 shown above. One of the students brought a Beretta 92 and that's another good one to show because it has a bunch of controls and indicators on the frame and slide.
Several classes at Front Sight have increased my appreciation for the engineering that went into the Glock design, and have increased my respect for the Glock's simplicity and reliability. This is also true in training situations. When someone asked about a tactical reload, all I had to do was take out the pistol, reach for a spare magazine, and make the exchange as I had done hundreds of times. The old joke about "would you like to see that in slow motion" came to mind.
And now for something different.
This is a VEPR KTR rifle. The
pictures show a .223 version. I just got a 7.62X39 version (same
caliber as the AK-47, and uses the same magazines). Notice that
in the top picture the standard AK type safey is right where it
belongs. Then take a look at the lower picture just behind the
trigger. The KTR has another safety that can be operated by the
thumb on the right hand. There's a scope mount above the trigger
on the left side of the rifle, and some very good M-16/AR-15 style
sights on the gun - as well as a place to mount an optical sight.
Somebody sat down and figured how to make a decent reliable accurate
rifle with the good features of a couple of guns, and the KTR is the
result. The AK style muzzle brake design works well, and the only
thing that looks unusual on this rifle is something most people
wouldn't notice - the length of the gas tube. The tube runs from
the front sight to the receiver, a little longer than usual for this
type of action.
The rifle is in Virginia right now, but will be in Idaho soon for a tryout.
It's December 13, 2003, and the 646 is back, and it works. The S&W shop note said that the firing pin had been replaced. I took it out this afternoon with three kinds of ammunition, and two different thicknesses of moon clips. The ammunition was American Eagle (Federal's practice ammunition), Cor Bon's premium .40 hollow point ammunition, and some Mag Tech. The Federal worked fine with the TK Custom thicker moon clips, and so did the Cor Bon. There were a couple of misfired with the Mag Tech, but it worked ok after that. I'm glad the Federal American Eagle worked so well, because I've had very good luck with that brand in other calibers and in other situations.
It's time to start a New Page. Please keep all of the above in mind as you click here to go to the 2004 continuation of "First Impressions."
The rifle is in Virginia right now, but will be in Idaho soon for a tryout.
It's December 13, 2003, and the 646 is back, and it works. The S&W shop note said that the firing pin had been replaced. I took it out this afternoon with three kinds of ammunition, and two different thicknesses of moon clips. The ammunition was American Eagle (Federal's practice ammunition), Cor Bon's premium .40 hollow point ammunition, and some Mag Tech. The Federal worked fine with the TK Custom thicker moon clips, and so did the Cor Bon. There were a couple of misfired with the Mag Tech, but it worked ok after that. I'm glad the Federal American Eagle worked so well, because I've had very good luck with that brand in other calibers and in other situations.
It's time to start a New Page. Please keep all of the above in mind as you click here to go to the 2004 continuation of "First Impressions."