Day: December 28, 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.