Pleasantly Surprised

So Mrs. Drang walked in the house and asked me "What did you order from Ukraine?"

I laughed and said "That's exactly how I thought this conversation would go."

Anyway. There have been reports of prowlers in the neighborhood, and I work midnights.  Suddenly, that 20 gauge old coach gun I'd bought her for Christmas all those years ago seemed like more than just a prop for the contemplated (but not acted upon) pursuit of Cowboy Action Shooting as a hobby.

The thing with a double barrel shotgun, of course, is that you only have two shots. Also, it is hard to maintain it in  a "cruiser ready" status, that is, shell in the magazine, but none chambered. On a pump action shotgun you load the magazine but have the slide all the way back...

I had a butt-mounted shell holder, but it was so loose on the 20 that it slid forward. Also, it's nylon and elastic, so looked "wrong".

Amazingly few leather shell holders for 20 gauges out there, until I found an outfit on Etsy, BronzeDog. Price was reasonable for all-leather, so I ordered one...

Buttstock Cartridge Holder Leather Buttstock Ammo Holder

...and that, of course, was when I discovered they're in Ukraine.

I placed the order on April 17th. They make to order, which means they started working on it when I placed the order.

We picked it up It arrived today, the 30th. {EDIT: The 30th being Monday, and the UPS store being closed on Sunday, it might have come in Saturday afternoon after we picked up mail.}

The lace locks in behind the swell of the pistol grip pretty firmly.
Photo ©2018 D.W. Drang and the Cluemeter

I need to pick up some more 20 gauge buckshot.
Photo ©2018 D.W. Drang and the Cluemeter

The cheekpad is a nice touch.Not too high.
Photo ©2018 D.W. Drang and the Cluemeter

The excess lace will be tucked in.
Photo ©2018 D.W. Drang and the Cluemeter

They do butt and belt mounted ammo holders for rifles and shotguns, and satchels for same for range or hunting blind use, and also do dog collars and the like.

Good, high-quality leather, and sturdy construction.  Recommended.

TriggrCon, Media/Industry day.

When we last we saw our intrepid blogger, he was stuck in traffic, heading home from Triggrcon Range Day.

In case you hadn't heard, the Seattle-Tacoma area has nasty traffic these days. Besides, all that free ammo can really take it out of a guy, you feel an obligation to not let it go to waste.

So, first things first: Today and tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday July 29th and 30th, TriggrCon is open to the public for "Enthusiast Days." Go to the website to register, for free.

Up front, I did confirm that the last pistol caliber carbine and sub machine gun I fired at Range Day was by Battle Arms Development, and made that correction in my previous post.

The show itself is being held at the Greater Tacoma Conference Center.

Which bans guns and knives on site, and has security pawing through your bags and checking you with a hand wand.

It was hardly a TSA-level search, and I suspect I could have gotten a pocket pistol in, in my bag, but it's still annoying that they couldn't find a venue that either had more reasonable policies, or was willing to make an exception.

Especially since you walk in and turn left, and Freedom Munitions was selling ammo by the case, and knives, and if you turn right the Triggrcon Proshop is selling guns.

While wandering over to the Proshop I stopped at the Sig Sauer station -- they have a trailer set up as a traveling display, I've sen it elsewhere -- and confirmed that Sig does have plans for a .22LR P320, it's just that no one knows when...

But first... Before you got to the security station, there were several tables set up out front, mostly of local operations.

Mostly... The first stop I made was at the booth/table/display for PHLster Holsters. I've been admiring their Flat Pack Tourniquet "device"
(Another pic-heavy post, after the break...)

Rangemaster Combatives Pistol, Take One

This weekend I took Tom Givens' Rangemaster Combative Pistol class, at West Coast Armory North

• The way you know it was a good class is you walk away from it not sure if you can digest all the learning that occurred.
• AAR/Comments on actual learning that occurred will follow in a day or two three. {edit: OOPS! Sorry, DWD}
• We spent more time on the range than in the classroom, about a 3 to 1 ratio or higher, but the classroom time was well-spent. 
• I've heard some say "If I spend money for a shooting class, I want to shoot, not hear a lecture."
• While some topics lend themselves best to demonstrate/drill on the range, others are really best addressed sitting at a desk, taking notes.
• West Coast Armory North is a nice facility. Three bays with 6 lanes each, well-ventilated, and clean and well-lit. John (owner, who was in the class) mentioned that they are changing out the backstop material later this summer.
• My complaints are two:
  
  1. It's too far north for me, and
  2. After most of the day on my feet, I was wishing John had put in an elevator.
• Seriously, returning to the (upstairs) classroom I felt like I'd just finished a 20 mile ruck march.
• Also, John, I was wrong about no mention on the blog about dancing: There is a reference to The Hot Brass Dance.
• The Detroit Holster Hastings worked well, within its design parameters. 
• I went with the Tek-Lok belt attachment.
• This meant that the holster stuck a quarter inch or so out from my body.
• This meant that there was a little more leverage for the holstered pistol to sag a bit.
• When I got home Saturday night I figured out how to move the spacers -- the Tek-Lok can work with up to a 1.75" belt, and comes with spaces for 1.5" belts -- to take up the slack. 
• I also switched to the Wilderness Frequent Flyer belt, which is a tad stiffer than the 5.11 Double Duty belt I had been wearing.
• Bottom Line: Good holster, not ideal for concealed carry for me. (Maybe the Metro, for concealed carry.)

Product review, Detroit Holster "Hastings"

(Consider it a "First Impressions" review, with a follow-up to come, if you like...)

Some time ago I became aware of an outfit calling itself "Detroit Holster".

While not one of the Big Names in kydex benders, they have gotten good reviews, which intrigued me as a native of the Motor City.

As a native Detroiter, I confess to getting a bit of a kick from the fact that most of the holsters are named for significant Detroit roads: the 8 Mile (thank you, Slim Shady), the John R, the Dix, the Hastings...

When I signed up for Tom Givens' Combative Pistol class at the end of June, I decided that I needed an out-of-waistband holster for my Sig P320 Carry, with Streamlight TLR-1.¹

Most of the Big Name kydex benders are advertising a 6-8 week lead time, or more, whereas Detroit Holsters says

CURRENT LEAD IS APPROXIMATELY 2-4 WEEKS.  ** Most “8 Mile”, “Hastings”, “John R” and “MoTown”, models without light/laser are currently shipping in about 1 – 2 weeks **  

I placed my order for a Hastings OWB holster on Monday, May 15nd.

It arrived up on Friday, May  26th.  Note that the disclaimer says "without" light/laser, this was with.

With the Hastings, you have a choice between a paddle, and Tek-Lok; I went with the Tek-Lok, because I've seen paddle holsters come out on the draw²...

Holding the holster in my hands fit was very tight, enough so I was wondering if the draw would be awkward.

Based on 15 or 20 minutes of dry practice, draw and present, holster, repeat, the concern was not warranted. I'm hardly Mr Coordinated, so I'm sure the draw wasn't pretty, but I had no problems.³ With the Tek-Lok the holster does stick out far enough to be less than ideal for concealability, but that's what the Sub-Compact P320s are for.

I got black, out of some sort of frugality. They have lots of colors available. And patterns. Including The Colors and the Lone Star Flag. The gun is Flat Dark Earth, I probably should have spent the extra fin or sawbuck and gone with FDE or Coyote, but...

Pictures follow. Not sure what trick of the light caused the flat black holster appear to be brown in the pics...

Detroit Holster's Hastings OWB Holster.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Holster and gun.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Front view.
Like most holsters for light-bearing handguns, retention is on the light, and is pretty tight.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Back view of the Tek-Lok.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Business end view. That's the cell phone flash, not the light itself.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Regulars will recall I had Holster Issues at Ernest Langdon's Tactical Pistol class last October; while it is too soon to say that I, personally, will perform any better at Tom Givens class next month, I certainly should be better off, equipment-wise. (Not blaming the gear for my being behind the power curve, but I made some dubious decisions that resulted in self-induced snake-bite...) My review of the Tom Givens class will certainly include a more detailed gear review, so stay tuned..

I may need to order myself a Hastings in Old Glory for my 1911 Rail Gun w/Surefire U400.

Unless Detroit Holsters offers a custom "Spirit of Detroit" pattern⁴...

***

1. While I hate it when we, as Gun Geeks, start getting all specific about the gat we have, what features or options it has, etc., when buying a holster the specific model and any options, such as a light, matter.
2. This might have been operator error, i.e., not ensuring everything was securely in place, but still...
3. Wilderness Frequent Flyer belt, if anyone is wondering. 
4. The Spirit of Detroit - Wikipedia

Gettin' Siggy

Hit the range today, just shy of 200 rounds through the Sig P320s.

Benchmade Barrage, Sig P320 Carry, SigP320 Sub-compact.
Benchmade Knives was having a special event at the PX when I bought the P320 Compact.
Copyright 2017 DW Drang

This is a photo-heavy post, so click to read and see the rest after the jump...

Retail Derpitude

Or: How To Alienate New Shooters!

So, a friend and co-worker surprised me by casually mentioning in conversation a week or two ago that she was having trouble finding a holster for her pistol.

I suppose she thought I knew she had bought herself a pistol, but up until a month or so ago we had spent quite a while on opposite shifts, and on those rare occasions when we did have a chance to chat over coffee it was usually over the stupidity of colleagues and/or management.

Anyway, I was glad to hear that she had avoided any pressure or "advice" to go with a snub nosed revolver or a .380, which are all too often recommended as "Lady's guns", and in deciding to go with a 9mm she went with a S&W M&P 9 Compact, rather than a Glock 43 or an S&W Shield because "the extra capacity seemed like a good idea."

Not only that, but she has eschewed off-body (purse, fanny pack) carry for reasons both practical and tactical.

Now, she has decided that for her purposes a cross-draw holster will work best. We discussed the potential drawbacks, and she acknowledged them, but feels that this will serve her best, and I refuse to push lest she decide either not to carry, or not to speak to me again... 😞

Thus we come to the derpitude, to wit, not only is she having trouble finding a cross-draw holster in stock, at least one dealer said that "nobody makes those."

Not "We don't stock those as there's not much call for them, let's see what I can order", but "No such thing".

Furthermore, he implied that there weren't (m)any holsters for the M&P 9 Compact at all!

{Insert Facepalm Meme Here}

Naturally, within half an hour or so I had forwarded her half a dozen links to various and sundry holster makers' wares for the M&P 9C, including cross-draws, highlighting holster makers local to us.

I also had to keep explaining that a cross-draw holster may be worn forward of the hip, but that referring to it as an appendix holster (as Minion #1 kept doing) was going to confuse people as to where and how you are planning to place the thing. ("No, I'm going to wear it for cross-draw." "I understand, but these days when you say 'appendix carry' people will assume you mean strong-side in waist band. With practice, this can be a very good way to carry concealed, but that's not what you intend.")

Hopefully her fashionable belts will support the holster, when she finally gets it...

Musings, 1911

So, there seem to be two schools of thought about the 1911-pattern pistol:

1. It's an archaic jam-o-matic, or 
2. It's Certain Death for Evildoers.

The truth, of course, is that it's neither.

Here are some facts*:
The M1911 was designed by John Moses Browning (pbuh) to US Army specs.

The story is well known, the Army went from the Single Action Army revolver in .45 "Long" Colt¹, to a double-action revolver in .38, which proved less than adequate in the Philippines.

At the time, semi-automatic pistols² were just coming into use, and the Army included features that seemed like a good idea at the time.

• Things like multiple safeties, since it was expected that most of the Army's pistoleros were going to be on horseback.³
• And lanyard rings, ditto. (Including on magazines!)
• And sights that are nearly vestigial, since the art of combat marksmanship as envisioned by the military at the time didn't really go in for sighted fire as we know it.
• Also, of course, it was made of steel because what else was there?
• Oh, and keep the tolerances somewhat loose to allow for minimal maintenance under field conditions, not to mention so that it will cycle ammunition loaded "kinda sorta" to spec under wartime conditions.

Jump ahead fifty years or so.  A bunch of guys have been exposed to the 1911 and the .45 ACP round but, largely because of Army pistol marksmanship instruction, don't really understand it. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, of officers and technical specialists have been handed a big chunk of metal and told "go qualify", but not really told how to do so. Once again, the #2 pencil is the greatest tool for making sure the unit's numbers come out right... But what the hey, we won, right?⁴

But the war's over, and a bunch of guys are getting together to invent a new sport involving pistol shooting. And it turns out the M1911 is a pretty good tool for that.

Gun Skool Thoughts, Part II

So, when talking to folks who have never been to formal training that did not involve everyone wearing the same clothes and addressing others as "Sergeant" or "Sir", I've found some... odd ideas.

When you are reading the course description, make sure you read the part that says what to being with you.

Yes, they expect you to provide your own ammunition.

• Some schools will provide it for you -- read "sell it to you" -- if you make prior arrangements, but usually the only ones that provide ammo are also providing guns. 
• Check the expected round count and take extra. 
• Try to figure out what works best on your gun(s), don't just go for the cheapest bulk pack. 
• Ask me how I know that last...

One colleague at work was outraged at the thought that he was paying all this money for a class and had to provide his own ammo. Of course, usually Uncle Sam had been providing his ammo...

There are several reasons for this:

Stick it! A product review

Once you start shooting regularly -- or irregularly, as the case may be -- you will, as I have mentioned before, want to acquire more magazines, since the magazine seems to be the most common point of failure in a semi-automatic pistol.

And once you start shooting regularly and using all your magazines, you will find that, sure enough, some fail and you need to ditch them (or repair them, if possible) but if they all look alike...

So you need to be able to identify which magazine it was that had the damaged feed lips, or whatever.

There are many options. On my 1911 magazines, I used paint pen:

"Drang G.I. 7rd. #4"

Paint pen wears off, but is easy enough to re-apply.

But if you have my penmanship, it looks like crap. If it matters to you...

Anyway, I was looking for a better way to manage my ammo cans, and went looking to see if there was a better looking option than a stencil and a can of spray paint. (Yes, Avery labels and a printer are usable, but ink jet ink runs in the rain. I spent 20 years in the Army. It always rains when I train...)

And I found these folks: STICKIT2THEMAX - Stickers, Banners, T-Shirts and more.

SI2TM (hope they don't mind my abbreviating their name) does ammo can stickers, in a variety of calibers and colors:

Keep reading for some info on the ammo cans!

Turns out that SI2TM also does magazine base plate stickers for several different firearms; they have both "Number and Caliber" stickers in a decent section of text  colors, and what might as well be called "morale stickers." The number stickers come in sets of 1-6 and 7-12, but for the true magazine hoarder it would be easy enough to have, say 1-12 with white on black, and 1-12 with yellow on black, etc.

(For the Sig 250/320, subcompact magazines are a different order item than the compact and full magazines)

(For some foolish reason I neglected to get a picture of the full sheet until I was over halfway through.)

The stickers are printed on a heavy duty vinyl, and seem to have a pretty good quality adhesive, although when I attached on sticker askew, I was able to peel it off and re-apply it.  Obviously, I haven't tried these out with a full destructive testing regime, and I doubt I will, but they seem to be a great option for keeping track of range/training ammo versus defensive/match ammo, both in a magazine and in the can.


I had no idea how we have been conditioned by e-commerce.  I ordered these on Tuesday. Got the order confirmation and receipt in email, then... nothing. No tracking number. What's wrong with these people?!

My order arrived on Saturday. From the east coast. Never mind...

By the way, in the photo above with the can sticker on the cans, the two cans on the right hand side of the photo are old GI 7.62mm cans. The two flat OD Green cans on the left were acquired at... Costco.

$20 for a set of one .50 caliber can and one .30 caliber can.Going back for more, I hope they're still in stock...

Stop the derp!

So, elsewhere on the Internet, in a discussion of defense training for folks in the education business, someone trotted out the hoary chestnut "Just keep a can of wasp spray on your desk!"

I didn't like that advice the first time I heard it, on the basis that spraying folks with nerve agent seemed like a bad idea. If you need a less than lethal option, OC spray or Mace, or even one of those crappy stun guns they sell everywhere, would seem like a better idea.

Why? Because the label tells you not to use in an enclosed space, or to evacuate an enclosed space before use. Because these products generally have a warning that says something like "Illegal to use in a manner inconsistent with this labeling" as part of the safety precautions.  Because of the possibility of some lawyer standing up in a courtroom and reading the label of the can, and challenging any suggestion that it was "less than lethal". Since you gave and/or took advice that this was useful as a self-defense tool, the issue of liability is greater than I was comfortable with.

Mind you, if you're attacked by a gang while spraying that wasp nest in the back year, it's what you have and they have it coming, but deliberately arming yourself with a bug bomb seems questionable.

I suppose the reason that wasp spray specifically gets recommended is that it shoots what seems to be a powerful stream for a relatively long range, and the target will curl up and drop when hit. It's a (relatively) little bitty bug, hit by a stream that is powerful relative to it's size, and formulated to it's biology.

So when someone said "Wasp Spray", I mentioned that I thought it was a bad idea, and sat back with a metaphorical bowl of popcorn and waited for the experts.

They did not disappoint:
Wasp spray for self defense? This myth just won’t die! – www.GrantCunningham.com

You should read the whole thing, but:

The concentration of pyrethrins in a typical wasp spray isn’t all that high, but the amount of material in the stream which hits the insect may weigh as much as it does; even in a small concentration, the insect will get a huge dose of the poison relative to its weight. The distillates which serve as the carrier are selected to get past the bug’s exoskeleton and deliver the poison very rapidly. The result is the effect described above: the insect loses its ability to control its muscular functions in mid-air and drops to the ground, where it rapidly dies.

When directed at a human, I can tell you from experience this doesn’t happen. As I said at the top, several years ago I managed to spray myself in the face with some wasp spray as I attempted to snuff out a large nest. I wasn’t looking at the can as I shifted my grip to get the spray into an difficult place, and I was wearing gloves so that I couldn’t tell where the button was pointed. Instead of hitting the nest the spray hit my face!

I was in no way incapacitated and had no problem walking into the house, cleaning myself off, and checking the manufacturer’s website for first aid procedures. I did notice some tingling and my vision was a little blurry in one eye for a bit, but that was about the extent of it.

Mr. Cunningham also links to an American Preppers Network article with a detailed discussion of the chemical make-up of wasp spray, and of the differences between OC for humans and for bears, as well as a link to a news item about a couple who tried unsuccessfully to use wasp spray to "repel boarders" during a home invasion.

Plus, this video:

So, spraying wasp spray on a news crew filming the news in a public area put them in such distress they thought it was... windshield washer fluid.

Can we please stop the derp?

Observations from a rainy day

This isn't a Pineapple Express, which is heavy rains caused by fronts out of Hawaii; I guess when the weather comes to us from Japan, we call it the Sushi Express? (Virtuously avoiding tasteless jokes regarding the date it hit...)

Anyway. Traffic through Tacoma hasn't gotten any better.

Tactical Tailor is one of those stores where it pays to know what I'm looking for, get in, get it, and get out. Bunches and bunches of gear I no longer have any need for...

Quantico Tactical offers manufacturer's LE/MIL prices at all retail locations. Speaking of spending money...

Despite recent events and hyperbole from the gun-banners responding to same, there does not seem to be a shortage of guns or ammo in stores.

Except .22LR. Again.

Or still, if you prefer.

Oldest serving vet finally retires!

After 94 years!!!

World War/Cold War/Gulf War Veteran to Retire After 94 Years Of Service - Bearing Arms

M2HB Machine Gun #324 entered service with the US Army in 1921.
Photo from Bearing Arms.com

"Ma Deuce" number 324 was returned to Anniston Army Depot for it's first ever overhaul and upgrade.

First.

Ever.

And the reason it's being retired?

From (U.S. Army Found an M2 .50 caliber Machine-Gun Still Shooting Perfectly After 90 Years of Service | RealClearDefense) the original article:

Modifications made to the weapon in the field mean part of the receiver would have to be removed through welding and replaced with new metal, a process which usually means the receiver is scrap. 

“I’d rather put this one on display than send it to the scrap yard,” said Clark, adding the weapon’s age makes it appealing as a historical artifact. 

Currently, the 389th M2 is on display in the Small Arms Repair Facility. There is an approval process the older weapon would have to go through in order to be similarly displayed. Clark and Jeff Bonner, the Weapons Division chief, are researching and beginning that process.

So there's hope.

For the vets reading this, the replacement M2A1 will  have has* fixed headspace and timing, so they don't need to be adjusted every time the barrel is changed.

For those who have no experience with this, take my word for it that this is a major improvement.

Also, the fact that the "A1" model of a weapon is only being introduced after 94 years...!

Yet another bit of proof, if proof were needed, that John Moses browning (pbuh) was the greatest firearms designer ever.


*Updated to reflect the fact that upgrades have already begun.

Admit it: We've all thought about it.

​Popular Mechanics: How to Shoot Down a Drone

I don't need this. I don't need this. I don't need this...

Building your own CNC router/milling machine

Every time I think "You know, I haven't even clicked a link in the email from Instructables lately, maybe I just unsubscribe", they post something that has me thinking "Maybe I should go ahead and send them some money..."

Amazon Deal Alerts! 07/31/2015

Bonus Deal of the Day: Surefire P3X Fury LED Flashlight
$144.99, which is (we are told) 42% off. Offer ends in 14 hours. (Midnight, PDT, unless it's sold out first.)

SureFire Single Output Reflector Flashlight
$164, 35% off. Ends in, um, 20 minutes from now...

SureFire Scout LED Weapon Light
$282, 42% off. Ends ion about 2 and a half hours from now.
I've been debating one of these, or the Surefire forend for the Mossberg 500...

SureFire Fury Scout Light Rail-Mountable LED WeaponLight
Or maybe this one...?
$286, 36% off. 4 hours and 40 minutes or so left.

And if you know any lady fighter pilots:
TAG Heuer Women's Formula One Chronograph Watch
A mere $1011, 56% off! Offer good for 4 hours and 40-odd minutes!

There are a bunch of Surefire products coming up later today; I'm wondering if the market has become saturated, perhaps they produced too much, what with the bottom falling out of the Global War on Terror market and all.

Take that, clickbait!

So, I read this article: Marine Corps to Hold Bake Sale To Buy Modern Sniper Rifles - Bearing Arms - M40, Marines, military, sniper rifles
which, despite the title, is not an actual Duffleblog article, but a commentary on the fact that Congress and/or the Navy can find the money for a fighter that costs $250,000,000 a pop but cannot will not buy the Marine Corps' snipers a new rifle that actually meets the current needs of the military.

At the bottom of the page is a clickbait link titled

WOAH! - These 23 Military Fighter Jets are Now For Sale to the Public! America Loves Horsepower

And, yes, the misspelling of "whoa" is in the original.

Which isn't surprising when you consider that the photo with the link is of an OV-1 Mohawk.

You will note right away that this is not a jet aircraft.

What may not be quite so obvious is that it is not a fighter, although the original concept called for it to be used by the Marine Corps in a strike role, so the first prototypes had hard-points for weapons.

The Marine Corps dropped out of the program due to insufficient funding (hmmm, do we detect a pattern) and the Air Force pitched a fit at the thought that the Army would operate an armed fixed-wing aircraft, so all hard-points for weapons were eliminated. The attachment point you see in the photo is for photo-recon or RADAR/Electronic Intelligence pods. (I believe that some in Viet Nam retained the ability to launch smoke rockets for artillery spotting.)

The last Mo-chickens were built in 1970, and served into 1996. I never hung with the pilots, but got the impression that, except for the guys who wrangled them, they weren't too popular. On the other hand, or perhaps "for one thing", the flight crew was one pilot and one enlisted sensor operator, in a fixed-wing aircraft which was rumored not to be very high on the "easy to fly" list.

When I was at Ft. Huachuca training to be EH-60 Quickfix II flight crew/operator at one point we got to watch the 96D QUICK LOOK trainees going through "suspended agony", getting ready for their ejection seat training. So far as I know, these were the only enlisted personnel who had to get ejection seat training in any service. (I could well be wrong.)

Later on, my First Sergeant at Ft. Ord had some really awesome photographs on his office wall of mountains and volcanoes ("We were supporting the Forest Service and Geological Survey when  Mount Saint Helens erupted") and...

"Top, is that Stonehenge?"

"Yeah, we were doing a joint exercise with the Brits at Salisbury Plain, and accidentally flew too low with the camera running. We got in trouble for it, but it was worth it."

Later, I was in Korea,but not physically present, when the commander (or that's the way I heard it!) of the 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion would crash on the OV-1's last operational flight.

Frankly, no one was surprised.

Attention Glockenspielers!

If you are a devotee of the personification of the polymer 2x4 that shoots, and wish that there were a way to block the striker when holstering in the same manner that a pistolero with pistol with an external hammer can use his or her thumb to hold the hammer back or block it from moving forward, some sort of  Gadget, perhaps, well, there's a gadget update.

Bottom line, funding via Indiegogo will start next Friday (July 11, 2015); link will be posted at pistol-training.com.

Here's a review from someone who has been testing a prototype: The Gadget: an additional safety device for Glock pistols | Gun Nuts Media.

As for me, well, 2x4s are uncomfortable for my hands, so, until I can scrape up the dough to buy a used one and have some major surgery done on the frame, I'll just wish them well.*

***

*"Uncomfortable for my hands" is, perhaps, misleading. It doesn't hurt to shoot a Glock, but I cannot get a good grip on them. I have an acquaintance who derides the idea that ergonomics are -- is? -- of any importance in pistol marksmanship; all I can say is, "Whatever works for you.:
I regret that I didn't order a CCF Raceframe before they ceased production. These were Glock pistol frames, mechanically, but made from aluminum or steel, and available in a 1911-like configuration.
Come to think of it, most of my regrets in life are about guns I never owned...

I have no use for this

None at all.

Still pretty cool, though.

Souvenirs!

So, NRAAM 2015 ended a week and a half ago, and we've been home a week. I still need to write up Kelly Grayson's "Trauma Care for Shooters" class, and the two seminars we attended, but upon my return I pushed to get all of my minions' performance reviews done on time -- and I think I was the first to actually have them all done -- but now I am struggling with the common side effects of too much time on a pressurized petri dish with a hundred or more total strangers.

So actual, you know, writing will have to wait.

In the meantime, a few pics I hadn't previously posted:

In time, I realized that there's not really much differance between a kid in a candy shop, and a Bearcat in a Knife Shop*:

 So, I mentioned on Facebook that Brownell's had the best tote bags of all the vendors I saw. Theirs had a pocket on each end the right size for a water bottle, with a smaller clear plastic slot above it you could use for business cards or whatnot.

I went and grabbed one, and saw that TOPS Knives had 5 or 6 tables across from Brownell's, a very simple setup with tables full of blades for sale and sales guys ready to take your money...

Souvenirs, Hers, Mine, Ours:

 Hers: TOPS Devil's Claw.

 Mine: TOPS Lite Trekker. The tan and orange scales are an option. The fire stick is standard on this model.

ours: TOPS ATAX .
If you buy it online it comes with an instructional video, which I think might be a good idea.

*There is, however, no truth to the rumor that I only married her for her knife collection.

Odds and Ends from #NRAAM 2015

Some more pics. Spent the rest of last week visiting my folks, and didn't get these up.

 

Colt Lightweight Commander Rail Gun I believe this was in 9mm, but not sure.

 Colt 1903 and 1908 pocket pistols. I understand that there is going to be a limited production run.

 Ruger SP101 in .327 Federal. For a .32 caliber the projectile moves out pretty smart. Ruger rep said that they couldn't make it work with less than a 3" barrel. Didn't answer my question about "So when is the 3" barrel version coming out?"

 Ruger LCR in 9mm, showing the cuts in the cylinder for the moon clips. Also asked about an LCR in .327 Federal, same answer "Would need at least a 3" barrel." Same non-answer to "And...?"

Magnum Research BFR in .45-70....

 ...and in .30-30 and .500 S&W. Took these for a co-worker who was talking about getting a S&W .500, because he thought it would be the most outrageous handgun.

We looked at the Ergo Delta Grip for j-frames. They claim that it forces one to lock one's wrist in the most effective position for shooting a j-frame and similar sized revolver. Hard to say without actually shooting one, but it seems to be so.
Whether it's the best solution for carrying such a handgun concealed, would probably be a personal decision.

Mrs.Drang auditioning for her new career as "Handgun Hand Model." Yes, she's using a teacup grip, she knows better, but she did it to allow a better view of the pistola.
I confess, I've had a hankering for one of these S&W Performance Center Model 629s.  That snub barrel will hardly get the most effective performance out of any .44 Magnum or even .44 Special round, but it would be a far better solution for carrying on most environments. (My opinion.)
All stainless, so the weight would make it easier to shoot than the lightweight versions that use a lot of alloys.
Granted, it's fat enough to make it harder to conceal.

NRA Commemorative Ar 15. Of course.