Month: December 2015

Categories
AG attorney general carry concealed FFL Immortal Arms license non-resident NRA-ILA reciprocacy Utah VA

Utah Non-Resident Concealed Carry License

Tomorrow I’ll be attending a firearms class that will broaden the number of states I’ll be able to legally carry while concealed.  Immortal Arms of Culpeper is giving the class.

The Virginia attorney general recently altered the reciprocacy agreements to where it negatively affects 26 other states.  They will not be able to carry concealed while in VA after 1 Feb 2016 (although open carry is an option).  5-6 of those states require VA reciprocacy, so those are immediately affected.  Two of those require you to be a permanent state citizen (ie, they don’t accept non-resident applications)  The Utah non-resident license remedies all of the negativity of the reciprocacy changes — all but the two that don’t allow non-resident applicants.

Here’s the deal.  This does not affect VA CC permit holders…not in VA, at least.  It does affect non-residents (visitors) who may want to carry concealed.  It will eventually affect VA CC permit holders that might want to visit NC (for example), as NC will more than likely deny reciprocacy with VA because of VA’s recent changes.  It’ll eventually affect most if not all of the 26 states that VA removed from it’s reciprocacy program.  Most people are complaining and we’re hoping that we can eventually reverse this decision, but it will take time.

Some options:

  • Get a Utah non-resident CC license
  • Get a VA non-resident CC license
  • Get a PA non-resident CC license
  • Get a NH non-resident CC license
  • Get a FL non-resident CC license

More reading on the issue is here.

Some people argue that one of those are better than the others.  IMO, there are no absolute answers.  It depends on what YOU want/need.  All of them have cons (they don’t all cover the same states).  Some have more prerequisites than others (Utah requires a fee for the class, FL’s license is far cheaper)  Pick which you think is best.  I opted for the Utah because it’s well-known and when I found out about the changes, I was able to immediately find an instructor who could give me a class within a week of the bad news.  With the other state licenses, I’d have had to wait.  Utah worked best for my requirements (being able to quickly obtain it).  None of the above options will give back South Carolina, by the way.

For those of you who visit VA frequently, look at getting the VA non-resident CC license or carry openly when visiting.  IMO, that’s the better way, unless you already have a license that will allow you to carry concealed after 1 Feb 2016.

Categories
DA/SA decocker GP Grand Power kydex manual P1 P11 Red Hill Tactical safety

GP P11 – Ready To Conceal Carry!

I finally found an inside waistband holster for my P11.  I cheated.  How?  I couldn’t find any for the P11 anywhere and didn’t feel like begging for any holster makers to make one for me.  I didn’t feel like trying to make one myself, either.  I searched and found that many holsters for the P1 are available for sale.  The P1 is the next size up from the P11…it’s the compact version of the Grand Power K-100, which is a full-sized handgun.  The P11 is the sub-compact version of the K-100.  They are identical, feature-wise.  The only differences are the length of the grips and the length of the slides.  So, I bought a P1 holster thinking that the P11 would fit inside without issue.  The holster was kydex, so it was important that the slides and features be pretty much identical, placement-wise.  I wasn’t disappointed, as it was almost as if this holster was made for the P11.  The slide length of the P1 is 3.6″ while the P11’s slide is 3.3″, so I had .3″ extra between the tip of the handgun and the tip of the holster.

Some issues that I describe in the video is that the holster was molded with a P1 with it’s slide safety disabled.  I’d thought the GP DA/SA handguns were designed to be carried cocked & locked (one in the chamber with the hammer cocked and safetied).  The guns are DA/SA without a decocker, so if an owner wants to carry his GP in DA mode, he/she will have to lower the hammer on a chambered round (ie, decocking manually).  This is not a trivial procedure and if done hastily or wrong, a round could be negligently discharged.  I’ve been practicing several different manual decocking techniques and will eventually be ready to carry with one in the chamber in DA mode, but for now, I’m enabling the safety and carrying cocked and locked.  While this causes a slight fitment issue with the kydex while the gun is holstered, it doesn’t cause any safety issues…it just looks a tad bit odd, is all.

I’ll eventually have to buy some extra 12-round magazines for the P11.  I’ve two right now, but I want several more so that I can practice at the range without having to stop and reload the two mags after they’re empty.  They are not cheap but I will not buy cheap CZ mags to alter…I’d rather do this right and just buy the expensive mags.

This gun carries good in the kydex holster.  It feels lighter than my other holsters (Alien Gear IWB Cloak Tuck 3.0s) and it is certainly less complicated/busy.  It is easy to clip to my belt.  I can quickly get dressed, grab my gun, and install it on my belt while walking around the house.  I can’t do that with my Alien Gear holsters.  The con is that I’ve to wear t-shirts under my shirts now, because the Kydex doesn’t shield my body from the gun’s rough edges (part of the slide, grip, and hammer sometimes dig into my side.  This might also be a good reason to start carrying in DA mode…the manual safety is protected, but that part of the gun is what is rubbing against my body, so I’m thinking that it would be safer to just have the gun in DA mode.

I bought the holster from Red Hill Tactical.  I’ve visited their site in the past but this is the first time I’ve actually bought something from them.  This holster vendor was recommended by the Grand Power forums.

Categories
cleaning mat Equinox grip screws grips Hogue P220 rubber

New Grips For The P220 Equinox!

I asked for a few things for Christmas:

  • A Sig Sauer P220 cleaning mat
  • A set of black hex headed screws for my P220 Grips
  • A set of Hogue rubber grips.

I’ve installed the grips but not the black hex head screws:

The OEM grips look better, but the rubber grips feel better and will no doubt be better at the range.  The don’t look bad, but don’t look as good as the black stained wood grips.  They were simple to install.

I can’t wait to take these to the range.

Categories
1911 22TCM 45ACP fail to extract fail to feed JHP TulAmmo Winchester

Recent Range Visit

Last night I visited Elite Shooting Sports to shoot my .22TCM MS 1911 and Metro Arms ACC .45ACP 1911.

First, I started out with the .22TCM 1911.  I was immediately accurate with it (well, accurate enough considering I’d not shot it since April 2015, I was shooting it pretty well):

From 7 yards

I then moved the target out and focused on the head:

From 10 yards

I then moved to the .45ACP and didn’t fare as well.  The last time I fired this handgun was Feb 2015:

7 yards out

The recoil took me aback.  Now, when I first shot this gun, it felt great in my hands.  For some reason, it didn’t feel great this time around, but this could be because I’d just shot the .22TCM 1911, which has VZ grips.  It could also be because I’m more used to 9mm now (this gun has substantial push/recoil, even with it being a beaver-tailed).  Here’s more:

I stayed 7 yards out, since I was having issues putting lead onto the bulls-eye

I can’t understand what I was doing wrong.  Yes, I’m aware of target analysis and what it means when I’m grouping to the lower left of the target.  I actually took my time with several magazines to ensure I was properly actuating the trigger, but I was still hitting lower left.  Although I was able to touch the bulls-eye, I wasn’t able to do it consistently.  I couldn’t hit the head of the target, either.

I was using TulAmmo and Winchester white box JHP.  The TulAmmo was inconsistent, power-wise, as I noticed that the slide moved slowly many times, so I switched to the Winchester and noticed less of that, but only shot maybe 25 rounds of it.  I still wasn’t hitting where I wanted, but at least the slide was acting normally when the gun went BANG.  Another thing — this gun does NOT like TulAmmo.  The ammo kept hanging on the feed ramp.  I didn’t notice this when I first shot it back in February.

Here are my range notes from February:

Half of the ammo was Remington UMC (green/white box).  47 of it was Perfecta FMJ.  I had 3 x FTEs with the black (original) mag.

This gun is FUN to fire!  The recoil is much less than the P220.  It is also very controllable, aim-wise — I nailed the bulls-eye several times and the majority of my hits were toward the middle when compared to the groupings of the other guns I’ve fired.

Back to this range visit.  The Winchester JHP did fine, but TulAmmo is dirty as hell…the feed ramp was heavily covered in carbon.  I can polish the feed ramp but I won’t.  I just won’t shoot TulAmmo as defensive ammo…that’s the best solution.  It’s the ammo, not the gun, and since this is practice ammo, it’s all good.
 
Very odd failure to extract situation here…I had to drop the mag to clear it (it wouldn’t rack back).  
 
I had several FTEs in Feb that I attributed to a possible mag issue.  I think that was a wrong assessment, since the mag would have nothing to do with any problems after the round has been fired.  I also had several FTEs with this range visit (2-3).  All of it was with the TulAmmo.  None of the Winchester FTE’d.  A friend suggested I was limp-wristing.  I don’t think I’ve ever limp-wristed a big caliber handgun before…I don’t think it’s happening now, either, but I’m not sure how to test for that, but like I said, none of the other ammo failed to extract.  I’m going to attribute this to the the TulAmmo.

 

Lesson learned – don’t shoot TulAmmo from this gun!

Notice in my notes that I had no issues controlling the gun, I was able to nail the bulls-eye several times, and most of the rounds were hitting toward the middle.  What has changed?  The ammo?  My perceptions on this gun’s recoil?  I’ll admit, when I first pulled the trigger, the recoil caught me off-guard (I’m used to firing 9mm).  It could’ve ruined the rest of my session with this gun.  Should I keep practicing with it?  I’m not planning to carry any of my .45ACP handguns, so it’s not essential that I train with this particular gun.  It’s a range gun, for now, but it does bug me that I can’t put lead on target with this gun like I can with my other handguns.  I just might change the grips, though (to a set of VZ grips).

And then, when I went back to my .22TCM, I found that I couldn’t hit anywhere near where I was aiming, when I had such a good session with it at the beginning of the range session.  I fired 25 rounds before deciding to quit for the night…I left the range in a bit of a fog.  I’m not sure why my aim was so jacked up after switching up guns…maybe I was slapping the trigger or maybe I the gun wasn’t properly centered in my hands…I don’t know.

 
 
 
 

 

Categories
.380ACP Alien Gear ammo CHP Cloak Tuck grip module assembly JHP P320 PP PPK/S Walther Winchester

Sister’s Birthday / P320SC Holster Fitment

My sister’s birthday is today.  She’s 40 years old.  I got tired of trying to guess what she wanted and asked her to tell me if she needed/wanted anything.  She said she wanted ammo.

She has a Walther PPK/S .380ACP.  She has a North Carolina concealed handgun permit and carries as much as she can (she’s also a federal employee, so she can’t carry anywhere near work…she can’t even leave her weapon in her car while on work property).

I bought her 200 rounds of Winchester Personal Protection JHP ammo.  It’s JHP ammo that is designed for defense (it is not range ammo).  I told her to ensue that she shoots 25 or so rounds to ensure the gun can fire the ammo without feed or extraction issues.

When speaking on the phone with her, she also stated she’d been watching my Facebook posts and had gotten herself an Alien Gear IWB holster (the Cloak Tuck 2.0).  I was very surprised, as I thought she was carrying in her purse.  She asked for belt suggestions.  I told her to go back to where she bought her gun (in Fayetteville) and ask them if she could try her 1.25″ belts (she shouldn’t need anything bigger for the PPK/S).  I told her that a good strong belt is essential but she’s already been wearing the holster and says it’s extremely comfortable for her.

On a different note, I saw someone on the forums complaining about their P320 Subcompact’s round trigger guard and the fact that the grip module assembly might not fit in other holsters designed for other sizes of P320 handguns. Well, I’ve a P320 Compact shell for my cloak Tuck 3.0 IWB holster. I’ve the P320 Compact and have the parts to convert it to Subcompact. I converted it and tested fitment in the aforementioned holster…it fits without issue, probably because I’m using the Compact slide with the Subcompact grip module. In that configuration, the slide dictates fitment more than the SC’s trigger guard. That’s a good thing, since I didn’t want any more holsters / shells.

UPDATE:

Categories
147-grain battery flat-nosed Grand Power lubrication P11 Mk12 Remington

Grand Power P11 – Battery Issues Possibly Resolved

I field-stripped the P11 immediately after a range visit.  If you remember, I described a problem with the gun awhile back.

I’ll take it to the range again with grease applied to areas that didn’t have it prior to my last visit.  To summarize the video, I fired a bit under 300 rounds of various 9mm ammo from it and only had two failures to return to battery.  Both failures were with Remington UMC 147-grain flat-nosed FMJ.  I had no failures with TulAmmo steel-cased or Winchester PP JHP.

And, as usual, the gun was certainly accurate (my trigger discipline aside):

GP P11 – 9 yards out (instead of my normal 7 yards), 24 rounds (2 mags) of Remington UMC flat-nosed 147-grain FMJ

I also spoke awhile back about the lack of a holster for this gun.  Someone who viewed one of my videos gave me a point of contact that could make one.  I was thinking on trying to make one myself.  Either route would be good, I think.  I just need it to be an in-waistband holster.  Once I have that and once I get the battery issues resolved, I may consider carrying this gun.

Categories
Colion Nior LA Times mass shooting San Bernardino terrorist watch list

Colion Nior: LA Times Update – Suspects’ weapons were legally purchased

Check this out:

According to the LA Times: Suspects’ weapons were legally purchased. Police said the two suspects were armed with two…
Posted by Mr. Colion Noir (@MrColionNoir) on Thursday, December 3, 2015

Incredible!

If they got them legally, it’s probably a given that they weren’t on the terrorist watch list, which is ironic, because Obama mentioned that a law is needed that prevents gun purchases for people on the watch list. It will fail if radicals such as these two are not on the watch list.

WTH kinda of buggery is this double-talk of theirs??

Categories
CA Farook Malik mass shooting radicalized San Bernardino Syred Tashfeen terrorist

CNN Sources: San Bernardino Shooter Was Radicalized; Communicated With More Than One International Terror Suspect

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/12/03/cnn-sources-san-bernardino-shooter-was-radicalized-and-communicated-with-more-than-one-international-terror-suspect/

A snippet:

San Bernardino shooter Syred Farook was apparently radicalized and in touch with more than one international terrorism suspects, according to law enforcement sources cited by CNN.

Farook reportedly communicated with overseas terror suspect over the phone and using social media.

The network also reported that Farook traveled to Saudi Arabia at least twice prior to Wednesday’s shooting that left 14 people dead and at least 17 injured. During one of those trips, Farook reportedly brought home Tashfeen Malik, his wife and parter [sic] in crime, on a “fiance visa.”

My comments:

WARNING: ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM COMING THROUGH!!!!!!!!!!!

They’re going to have a difficult time convincing the nation that this was a workplace-related. This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill active shooting. And all those gun-related laws that CA has didn’t stop or slow down this group. And the topic of creating laws to stop people on the terror watch list from purchasing guns…do you actually NEED a law for that?  And would that have stopped this group? They’d have had to have been on the watch list…I don’t believe they were on that list (they might be scribbled in, though).