Month: August 2013

Earlier this week, I took my M&P 9 and 9c in to have Trijicon night sights installed. Yes, I know I could have done them myself, except, I’ve never been good at “fixing” things, and I’d rather have pay a professional rather than chance screwing up my guns.

Since these two are my EDC pistols, this meant dragging out my old Sig 225 to carry while these were in the shop. Don’t get me wrong, I like my Sig, but there’s a reason I upgraded to the M&Ps. Still, I needed something to carry while the M&Ps were out of action. My suspicions were confirmed when the tech told me it should take 5 to 7 business days to complete. Needless to say, I was surprised when I got a phone call that afternoon.

Gunsmith: Mr. Ward, your pistols are completed and you can pick them up at your convenience.

Me: Really? I thought they wouldn’t be done for another week.

Gunsmith: Yeah, well I got in between two heavy builds, wanted something simple to do, and saw your pistols just sitting there. So, their done and you can pick them up.

Me: I’ll be there in 20.

I do so love seeing those three dots glowing green in the night.

For the few of you who don’t read Miguel’s blog, but for some reason read mine, he’s holding a blog shoot at Nexus in Davies, Florida on Sept. 21st at 10.

My idea would be to get us one of the nice ranges at Nexus for ourselves and do a bit more than just static bang-bang. I have to work out the details and even if it can be rented. I would love to work with everybody on shooting on the move, from cover and some basic positions. Nothing fancy, just the basics.

You will need a handgun, magazines (3 preferable, more the merrier) holster and mag pouch, eye and ear protection (you may wanna double on ear if you are sensitive), cap or visor, a roll of 1/2 inch masking tape and about 100-150 rounds of ammo. Nexus has ammo and IPSC targets that last longer than just paper ones.

This thing is open to gun bloggers and readers of those blogs. After we are done shooting, we can depart to some nearby eatery and make excuses as why we shot so crappy. One thing…OK, two things: I don’t eat chicken or stuff that lives underwater.

I’m planning on mozying on down to see how badly I shoot. Maybe I’ll bring my sword if it gets too bad. Sword always beats paper!

My nephew goes back to school next week. So, I took the day off of work, collected the boy and my shootin’ buddy, and headed down to the shooting range.

That’s with the brand new 10/22 we bought for him to use.

And with the M&P-15/22.

Shootin’ buddy helping my nephew.

The boy blew a couple of targets apart with concentrated .22 fire and had a great time. Another new shooter firmly in the fold.

The Army is looking at some of the limitations with the Beretta M9 and deciding if they need a new handgun.

Lethality is among the M9’s several “limitations,” said Daryl Easlick, project officer for close effects. The requirement for a new pistol calls for “an increase in permanent wound channel,” which suggests something more powerful than a 9mm may be on the horizon.

Other limitations the new pistol must overcome include:

• The slide-mounted safety. When solders rack the slide to alleviate a jam or stovepipe in the M9, they often inadvertently engage the safety — and won’t realize this until they reacquire and squeeze the trigger.

• The open-slide design, which allow contaminants and dirt into the system.

• The lack of a modular grip, integrated rail and night-sight capabilities.

• The inability to suppress.

• Limited service life — replacement should have a service life of at least 25,000 rounds.

There is a lot of talk about switching to a .40 S&W. The big contenders would be Glock, Sig, HK, and of course, S&W’s M&P. I’m a little biased because my EDC are an M&P 9 and 9c (sometimes one or both).

My personal opinion would be the adoption of a polymer-framed, striker-fired “family” like the Glocks or M&Ps.