Author: r2kba.patriot

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1911 AIWB appendix concealed carry gun belt holster

I Added A Wedge to My Crossbreed Hybrid Holster

I was able to rig up a wedge to the Crossbreed The Reckoning holster.

I used heel gels (ala Dr. Scholls) and velcro.

I carried using the holster most of the day. It’s a HUGE improvement! The pelvic hot spot is no longer a hot spot.

At first I thought I needed more wedge, but I’ll play around with the holster height – I can affort to raise it a bit so that the muzzle is not right above my junk (remember though, this is a Commander-sized 1911 I’m trying to appendix-carry).

Once I get the 5-hole clips, I’ll have better cant and height adjustment.

Every day, I feel that I’m getting this thing dialed in a bit better. The thing is, this holster isn’t exactly cheap. I shouldn’t have to be tweaking things like this. IMO, ALL AIWB holsters need to include a wedge (possibly adjustable). Yeah, I realize that each body is different, but if I’m going to spend $100+ for a holster, it needs to be better configurable. Another thing: Crossbreed should be including 5-hole clips with these, as the holsters are marketed as AIWB-capable. They already included the claw – why the claw and not also a wedge and 5-hole clips??

Pics of the holster (on and off the body):

This will give approximately 1/4″ of leverage and pushes the grip into the stomach, helping with less printing of the grip. And yeah, the leather is already wearing (and this photo is zoomed-in).
Secured with velcro. Velcro is stuck to clear packing tape (sticks better this way than directly to the leather).
This protruds out a bit, purposely – I wanted a good buffer since this area is a strong pressure point.
How it looks now.
This is pre-wedge install.
This right here is what counts! This is MUCH better than the above picture – less printing!
Categories
1911 AIWB holster

I’m Currently Experiencing Issues Carrying at the Appendix Position

For now, I’m back to carrying strong side.

The issue is that I’m having some issues carrying at the appendix position. Part of it is a holster issue. The Crossbreed Reckoning needs a wedge – the claw alone won’t tuck the 1911’s grip into my body enough and the gun’s muzzle is putting pressure on my lower abdomen. Also, I doubt that I’ll be able to bend over fully while carrying a Commander-sized 1911, but will better assess things once I’ve made some customizations.

I ordered some velcro patches and a set of Dr. Scholls heel gels. I’ll be attempting to make my own wedge (the velcro has adhesive to stick to the Reckoning’s leather backing).

I’ll ensure I add enough velcro so that I can fine-tune where the wedge is placed on the holster, so that I can better adjust it to hide my 1911. I will use a hair dryer after the velcro is placed on the holster so that it sticks better (I’m hoping the leather allows the velcro to stick without issue – it’s not soft suede).

I’m also going to order a set of clips that offer better adjustability (5-hole clips for this holster are here). Doing this will allow me to better place the holstered gun so that it’s not awkward for me.

The above-mentioned customizations will hopefully have me carrying AIWB full-time soon.

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1911 9mm RIA Rock Island Armory

Range Visit Summary For 11/15/2022

I visited the range for the first time since April 2022. I’m still focusing on 1911s, and I’m preparing to carry my RIA Rock Ultra MS in 9mm.

Why carry the 9mm instead one of my 45ACPs? The two 45ACP 1911s I have are the Metro Arms American Classic Commander and the Tisas Duty (full-sized). I’ve found that even though the heavy metal frame soaks up a good bit of the recoil of those 1911s, 9mm shoots even better from the 1911 frame. As well, 9mm is cheaper and easier to find, locally or otherwise.

Another thought: If I end up ever having to defend myself, I’d have to temporarily give up my gun for case evidence. I do not want to give up any gun but of my 1911s, the ugliest is that 9mm Rock Ultra! While it’s the ugliest, I shoot it the best, by far!

I didn’t want to bother with capturing video footage during this range visit, so I have none, but I did keep the targets and I’ll post them down below.

The below pictures are in chronological order of when I shot at them. Each second picture is a picture of quick range notes (written on the back side of each target).

I shot between 7 and 10 yards – anything further and I struggle to see where I need to hit (all but one target are designed to be shot from 7-10 yards. My actual range notes will be at the bottom of this page.

I’ve two holsters that’ll fit the Rock Ultra without issue, but I’m wondering if I should try carrying appendix – I’m eyeing a holster but need to know if I can commit to it before spending $100-120 on a AIWB holster.

I also just bought two extra 10-round mags so that I can use my two WC mags for carry duty.

Photos of the targets:

I numbered in which order I shot at each mini-target.
I numbered (and circled the number) in which order I shot at each mini-target. I also counted each hit per mini-target.
I aimed between the dead space between the right-side mini-target, attempting a group of five.

Range Notes:

**********************

I brought 350 rounds with me, but only shot 228 (one box of 50 was half empty).

I brought the following brands:
Norma 115-gr FMJ (100)
Federal Hi-shok 115-gr JHP (50)
Belom 115-gr FMJ (50)
Fiocchi 115-gr FMJ (28)

Of the total, there were 8 FTFs and one FTE (stovepipe). It was with one brand of ammo – the Federal Hi-shok JHP. The FTFs were almost certainly due to the hollow points – I expected as much. The FTFs only occurred at the top of each mag (top 3 rounds). After the 2nd-3rd round, the issue stopped. It stopped after 3 mags, as well. Note that the mags were Wilson Combat mags and two ACT mags. It happened with both mag brands, so this wasn’t a mag issue.

This gun is accurate as all hell! I ate the middle out of a target at 10 yards (shot 50 rounds). It’s flat-shooting. Yeah, the initial grouping had opened up but I found I had to just be steady (and watch my breathing as well) to get tight groups.

I will probably begin to carry this gun, which is why I put so much ammo through it this range session. I just need to refer to my notes on which JHP this gun didn’t have issues with – I think I shot some 9mm SD ammo through it last range visit.

Rock Ultra MS in 9mm
Categories
article mass shooter mass shooting

USA Today Opinion Article: Why the Fear of Mass Shootings is pervasive

Warning: This article is using misleading statistics. I’ll leave it to you to read the aforementioned article, but will provide some relevant quotes from the article:

Survey after survey has found that fears of mass shootings are not restricted to school settings. Nearly half of Americans reported in 2019 being worried that they or a family member will fall victim to a mass shooting, and a third say they avoid certain public places because of the threat of a mass shooting.

Here’s another.

Although feelings of anxiety and apprehension must not be dismissed, fears are not always consistent with the risk. But unlike fear of flying or of sharks that can be controlled by avoidance of airplanes or oceans, students cannot choose to dodge school (other than home schooling), and always buying groceries online so as not to face the possibility of supermarket shootout is hardly ideal. One could decide never to attend a holiday parade or a concert, but staying indoors for fear of the unthinkable is an overreaction.

As well:

If there is anything about mass shootings that reflect an epidemic, it is in the spread of panic. It might help restore some sensibility, however, to address two major reasons why fear of mass shootings is so pervasive: misleading statistics and gratuitous news coverage.

And lastly:

The media obviously shouldn’t ignore massacres when they occur. However, by relaying accurate statistics about the risk and avoiding coverage that is more alarming than informing, we can confront the real problem of gun violence without hype and hysteria.

In my opinion, the media is purposely doing this to further indoctrinate folks into thinking guns are bad. I’ll agree that gun violence is bad, but guns are tools…it’s the human behind the gun that’s the issue.

That’s the first article in a LONG while that cuts against the media “grain”. I’m actually surprised it wasn’t buried (it showed in my browser when I was searching for weather info in a Microsoft Edge browser). It’s actually refreshing to see such articles and more such articles need to be published, as a counter to the media’s abuse in spamming readers with skewed and misleading gun violence articles.

Categories
active shooter anti-gun liberal mass shooter mass shooting

Never Let a Good Opportunity Go To Waste…

Never let a good opportunity go to waste, even if you’ve to be untruthful and misleading.

Snippets of the article:

The CNN story states that the Supreme Court Justices who dissented in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, INC. vs Bruen, cited data from the Gun Violence Archive, or GVA, which falsely claimed there have been 277 mass shootings since the beginning of 2022…an average of one mass shooting per day.

It is not until later in the story — much later — that CNN mentions the misleading definition the GVA uses to define a mass shooting, which the Second Amendment Foundation first exposed.

“When most Americans hear the term ‘mass shooting,’ they picture a crazed gunman stalking the halls of a school or a shopping mall, coldly and randomly executing innocent young victims,” CNN wrote, quoting from the Second Amendment Foundation’s July 2021 story. “What does not come to mind are rival drug crews shooting it out in Chicago or Detroit, or a madman murdering his entire family.”

Not included in the CNN story was a full explanation of the vast differences between the GVA’s definition of a mass shooting and how the FBI categorizes the crime, or the massive discrepancies the two definitions produce.

This type of deception is becoming an art form for the Liberal media organizations.

Read the full article at CNN Tries to Prop Up Their Debunked Source for Misleading Mass Shooting Data – The Truth About Guns

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anti-gun news smart gun suicide

Here’s Another Failed Attempt at Creating a Smart Gun

I just saw the following article.

Company’s personalized ‘smart gun’ aims to make firearms safer – ABC News (go.com)

I’ll say the same things I said when I last posted about smart guns:

This solves nothing. If a person wants to kill themselves, they’ll find a way. Folks are so focused on making smart technology that doesn’t allow folks to commit suicide by gun. What of the various other quick suicide methods? A person can quickly jump off a bridge or out of a window or balcony or anything that is several stories upward. A person can cut themselves. A person can jump in front of a train, car, or bus. I’m saying that folks can do this but folks HAVE done those things and no one bats an eye, yet if they commit suicide by gun, people go apeshit.

Additionally, the last time I posted about this subject, the mentioned smart gun approximately $2,500 in price. WTF!?

What happens when the tech somehow glitches? If it has electronics, there will always be the chance of glitches and other electrical issues. If it malfunctions when needed (ie, emergencies such as self defense), the gun is useless.

All guns eventually need to be cleaned and oiled. How does the electrics within the smart guns withstand repeated cleaning and oiling over the life of the firearm? If it malfunctions because of cleaning and oiling, the gun is useless.

The gun can be activated via smartphone app…WTH?? There could be a crack/hack that could circumvent the “smart” aspect of the gun. Any app can be hacked. This would probably be one of the first things the hacker community does. Also, if an app is communicating with any module that’s installed within the gun, the gun could be susceptible to outside malicious attacks (the gun would probably be listening for any commands that the phone might send and it would probably do it over NFC, WiFi, or Bluetooth…all such things have been hacked in the past).

Smart guns with all that tech can probably also be traced. What’s to say that such a gun isn’t beaconing somewhere and sharing information (like location)? Most gun owners I know don’t want such information piped to Big Brother. Even if the government weren’t involved, an app means that the selling company is aware of who is using their app, which means they can track every user of the smart gun. Yeah, F that.

There are many aspects of smart guns that folks think solve a particular problem but, IMO, it causes more problems.

Let’s say I buy this particular handgun. What’s to stop me, the owner, from committing suicide with it? Nothing! Folks commit suicide with their own firearms all the time…they don’t typically use someone else’s.

This could solve the issue of folks leaving their guns where non-owners can find them, yes, but if folks locked up their non-smart handguns, that could lessen kids shooting themselves or prevent adult folks using the discovered gun to commit suicide, but again, such things could be lessened by locking up unused guns.

As well, when has a cook not been burned? I find it highly unreasonable to expect there to be no firearms mishaps ever, especially in a country where 2A and (millions of) firearms are prevalent. Shit will happen. That’s not an excuse for negligence but there are an awful lot of humans in the U.S. To think that folks will always follow laws and common sense is a very bad expectation.

There’s another problem. Guns in gun safes aren’t readily available. If someone breaks into your home and attacks you before you can get to the safe to obtain the gun, owning the gun is useless. At some point, you’ve to have a gun on standby (at the ready) to properly be prepared. A violent felon won’t stop to give you the time you need to get to your gun that you put in your safe for safety’s sake. Imagine if cops kept their guns in safes until ready to use…but wait, they don’t do that…they always have one readily available. I carry a gun 90% of the time, even in the house. If I’m asleep, the gun is in the nightstand drawer that is next to my bed. When I shower, it’s in the bathroom with me, on the counter next to the sink. While driving, it is either on me or in the console. I don’t typically go places that don’t allow guns, so I don’t normally leave it in my car unattended (for someone to steal). Any unused guns are locked in my large safe. All of this works for me. I’m not sure why it’s not working for other folks, but I won’t be forced into a smart gun just because some folks can’t get it right.

The only folks that are going to buy such a gun are cucks or Liberal-minded folks that think that inanimate objects kill. You can own a gun and also teach your children to not play or touch the guns. We teach kids about how to avoid pedophiles and how to not play with fire (or how to avoid or not do anything else that can hurt/maim/kill), yet there are kids that still don’t pay heed. That’s not the fault of the kid, but that isn’t the fault of said inanimate object or the object’s owners, either. Sometimes kids will do stupid things…we ALL have done stupid things as kids. Kids aren’t infallible, but neither are parents (yes, some parents do some dumb shit, even smart ones, because most parents aren’t taught to be parents…they learn on the fly). At some point, we should stop blaming inanimate objects or even the parents of kids, since many kids WILL find ways to do things they’re not supposed to do.

Our society is always attempting to find solutions to problems that could be better solved by doing things that most folks think is the difficult way. When you see someone that’s having mental difficulty, speak with them and alert folks that can help. We also need to provide better mental health services. We always pretend that there’s an issue but never put the money aside that could assist in making mental health services better. It seems folks always want to avoid or ignore that aspect of things, but gravitate toward the seemingly easier and seemingly quicker solution to things: banning or restricting gun usage or creating “smart” weapons.

If we applied the same efforts and fortitude that we’ve been throwing at gun control to things such as finding cures for mental health issues, cancers, or dementias (examples of illnesses that tend to be ravaging us), I truly think we’d have found a cure or at least found several illness blockers. Look at how folks with HIV are now surviving for decades (and there’s recently been someone that received a stem cell treatment that apparently cured their HIV).

Until our society as a whole grows the backbone to face the issue of mental health and it’s related issues that currently affect this country, this problem will NOT go away. Don’t expect me to give up a right or buy a smart gun to “remedy” mental health issues when no one has tried to bolster our mental health system. There are enough laws and so-called solutions (in fact, there are too many). Biden and his cadaver supporters like Pelosi keep chanting that the 2A isn’t absolute. No shit…there’s been no other amendment that has so many conditions or qualifiers. This country would’ve burned to the ground if we’d ever done such things to any of the other rights within the Bill of Rights.

Categories
active shooter mass shooter mass shooting

Reason.com Article – Media Inflates Counts of Mass School Shootings

There have been 13 mass school shootings since 1966, not 27 this year, per a very recently posted Reason.com article. The difference is determined by defining the meaning of school shooting. This is a good read because it offers good reference material and offers objective discussion material. This article highlights (unintentionally or intentionally) the issues with the media inflating data to further their argument.

The meat of the article:

Obviously, 13 incidents in the last 56 years is a very different statistic than 27 incidents in the last few months. The two figures are so far apart because they measure separate things. One-off gun incidents are a serious problem in the U.S., and those taking place at schools are no exception. Mass casualty events, on the other hand, constitute less than 1 percent of all gun deaths. Suicides and non–mass-casualty murders—usually carried out with handguns rather than assault rifles—constitute the overwhelming majority of gun crimes.

There Have Been 13 Mass School Shootings Since 1966, Not 27 This Year (reason.com)

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technical issues

Had a bit of a system issue

Well, I thought I’d have to reinstall the blog.

I did some system maintenance and broke the website. I thought I’d be smart and change a setting while doing the maintenance, but it broke things badly. I thought it was due to something other than the change I’d made, but I changed it back today, just to see if that was the issue. Well…that was the issue.

So, we’re back. Apologies if the website looked odd for a few days.

Categories
shooting spring break Texas Texas Ranger Museum

I Visited Texas During the Spring Break of 2022

My wife, son, and I visited Texas during Spring Break. We have friends of the family that live out there and wanted to visit. As well as visit, we wanted to sight-see and maybe check out homes/land out there.

I took off a week (5 business days but a total of 9 days including two weekends). We drove from VA. We left on early on a Saturday and couldn’t arrive until Monday, so we took our time. We could’ve arrived that Sunday but the Airbnb we were staying at wasn’t available until Monday.

We stopped in Paris, TX, which was cool…we visited their veterans’ memorial there. We also visited the Texas Ranger museum, which I highly recommend if you’re interested in history or guns. We also visited Magnolia (Two Silos), which is Chip and Joanna Gaines’ place – that was very nice.

Much of our visit was driving and socializing. My son loved both the drive and the visit, as we did some fishing and he was introduced to farm life. He was also able to shoot his first guns (Note: I have not taught him about firearms due to personal reasons, but he has now had a taste and I will begin his firearms education now).

Of the shooting, we shot on my friends’ farm. That’s the first time I’ve ever shot steel. I LOVED it. It was also the first time I shot suppressed. I got the chance to shoot a Ruger Take-down, which was suppressed, and a CZ bolt-action 22 (not sure of it’s name), as well as another Ruger 22 bolt-action.

Before I left, I had a difficult time deciding what to bring with me. I ended up bringing a lot of 9mm and 22TCM9R ammo, and my RIA MS 1911 with both 9mm and 22TCM barrels, as well as my Grand Power P11 and Canik TP9SC. Sadly, I didn’t get to shoot much, since I spent a majority of my time with my son. My friends absolutely loved my 22TCM 1911. They kept referring to it as the hand cannon! Even my wife and son thought it was loud. It shot steel (didn’t damage the plates, though, as it was AR500 steel). One thing of note, the front fiber optic filament was super-bright in the sunlight.

I think I might have to find an outdoor range. There’s only one near me and it’s maybe 50 min away and requires you shoot their reloads, but the lanes are free with unlimited time – they don’t have steel, either. There’s another range further out that has steel, but I’ve never shot there. They also allow you to bring your own steel.

About Texas – I’ve lived there in the past, once as a child while my dad was stationed at Fort Hood, and once when my wife was stationed at Fort Hood. I’ve spent the largest portion of that time as a child, but I was old enough to where I remember everything. We’ve been looking to move somewhere nearer to my wife’s folks (who are in CA). We’ve considered Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. We’d never considered Texas because I never asked my wife about it (I assumed she hated it). Well, we’re now seriously considering Texas as our next home. The home would have to be at least 10 acres so that I can have a shooting range. Our move timeframe is 5 years out, so we will begin prepping our current home to sell. I’ll look again at properties at maybe the 6-12 month mark to see if we can find land/home in Central Texas (between Austin and Dallas, preferably, there’s so much area, that we’ll look well beyond that area too).

I think Texas will gel well with my family’s mindset. I’m glad I visited my friends, as they shared a wealth of information to help us look for our next home. I’m very excited and hope we’re able to visit again in a few years.

Categories
1911 45ACP American Classic ammo B45R JHP Metro Arms Rock Island Armory SDS Imports

My Thoughts Regarding 1911s and Jacketed Hollow Point Ammunition

One thing I’ve never done is attempt to carry a 1911. Carrying means I’ve to test JHP before committing to carrying. Everyone knows (or should know) that most 1911s don’t always readily shoot JHP.

I currently have shot 429 rounds from my SDS Imports DB45R 1911. Most of that ammo has been FMJ. Since I’ve been curious about it’s carry capabilities, I’ve been trying to shoot JHP from it, initially with mixed results.

I initially shot Remington HTP 185-gr JHP, which generated several failures to feed (FTFs).

I also shot Federal LE 185-gr JHP as well (maybe 25 rounds), which also generated some FTFs.

I documented in a previous post that I’d shot International Cartridge Corporation’s (ICC) 45ACP 155-gr frangible hollow points. For the most part, these shot without issue. That ammo can be used as defense ammo.

This past week, I shot 20 rounds of Underwood ($$$) 45ACP +P 230-gr JHP. 8 of the 20 rounds generated FTFs. I was using Wilson Combat mags with this ammo. Since this ammo is expensive and since it generated so many FTFs, I will stop shooting that ammo through the DB45R. Once I suspect that the gun will shoot it without FTFs, I’ll test the ammo again.

I shot Inceptor ARX 118-gr defense ammo (non-JHP), using the WC mag. There were no FTFs.

I shot PMC Bronze 185-gr JHP (non-SD ammo), using the WC mag.. There were no FTFs.

I shot Hornady Critical Defense 185-gr JHP, using the WC mag.. There were no FTFs.

So, I now know that I can use the following ammo as viable ammo for self defense:

  • ICC 155-gr FHP
  • Inceptor ARX 118-gr
  • PMC Bronze 185-gr JHP
  • Hornady Critical Defense 185-gr JHP

I plan to continue to shoot the PMC Bronze JHP ammo as range ammo, to continue the break-in process of the DB45R 1911.

During this round of testing, I also shot the same ammo listed above from the Metro Arms American Classic Commander (ACC) 1911 chambered in 45ACP. Note that I didn’t shoot the Critical Defense nor the Inceptor ARX from this gun, since the projectiles will almost certainly feed without issue (I tested them by chambering a round of each make, as well).

I shot most of the ICC 155-gr FHP ammo from the ACC 1911. There were initially a few FTFs, but I believe the issue was a worn recoil spring. I replaced the recoil spring and the FTFs disappeared.

I shot Underwood (again, $$$) 185-gr +P JHP from this gun, using the WC mag. This ammo was almost TOO hot, but in the gun’s defense, it isn’t as heavy as the DB45R 1911, so there’s less weight to mitigate the recoil of this hot ammo. The ammo was so hot that I had to pause in shooting the 8-round mag, since my hand was in pain. Even so, there was only one FTF, but I’m sure this may have been because the ammo was so hot that I was beginning to limp wrist.

The Remington HTP 185-gr JHP was tested the visit prior to this visit. There were some FTFs.

I also shot some of the Federal LE 185-gr JHP…there were two FTFs with that.

The rest of the listed ammo shot without issue. I’m at 520 rounds shot through this 1911, so it may be close to being broken in, which is why there’s less issues with JHP with this gun.

I also shot my RIA Rock Ultra 9mm MS 1911. I also have a RIA Tac Ultra MS 1911 which has a 22TCM barrel and spring, as well as a 9mm barrel and spring. I installed the 9mm barrel and spring for this range visit.

Both 9mm MS 1911s ran without no feed issues whatsoever. I shot several types of SD ammo, some of it JHP and some of it frangible ammo. I did have one failure to extract (FTE) with the frangible ammo when shooting the Tac Ultra, but that’s to be expected with 100-gr ammo (this ammo make was Hevi-Shot).

I was extremely impressed with the 9mm MS 1911s. I’m thinking of just carrying the 9mms instead of the 45ACP 1911s.

I’ll continue to document the testing of shooting the defense ammo.